1,720,966 research outputs found
Effects induced by 8 weeks of postural and aerobic training in people with low back pain
No full textPurpose: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the major spine disorders which seriously impairs many daily activities and limits functional skills. The role of exercise in LBP management is well documented, even if the debate about the most effective type of training is still present. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of an 8 weeks specific training on LBP symptoms, trunk mobility and postural control in adult people suffering from this pathology.
Methods: Twenty people (age: 50-70 years old) were recruited for the study. All participants were untrained and affected from chronic non-specific LBP. Participants were divided into 2 groups composed by 10 people each one: Training Group 1 (TG-1) and Training Group 2 (TG-2). Both groups trained twice a week for 8 weeks with a duration of 60-90 minutes each session. TG-1 performed a set of exercises for the prevention and treatment of LBP (Back School Program) and TG-2 performed 30 minutes of aerobic training using bike (intensity: 70% of heart rate reserve) in addition to Back School protocol. All participants were assessed pre and post training to evaluate pain intensity (Numerical Rating Scale – NRS), functional disability (Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire - RMQ), trunk mobility (Spinal Mouse) and postural control (Nintendo Balance Board® and MyPerfectPosture® Software - BAL). Spinal Mouse tested thoracic (THR), lumbar (LUM), sacral (SAC) mobility and spine length (LENGTH) of sagittal and frontal plane. BAL evaluated center of pressure during 30” static standing position in eyes open (COP-OA) and closed conditions (COP-OC).
Results:
NRS and RMQ significantly improved in both TG-1 and TG-2 (p<0.01) with no difference between groups. In Spinal Mouse evaluation, TG-2 significantly increased THR mobility during sagittal flexion (p<0.05) and SAC during right side bending (p<0.01) while TG-1 significantly increased THR mobility and LENGTH during sagittal standing (p<0.05) and SAC during right side bending (p<0.01) and sagittal flexion (p<0.05). In COP test, both TG-1 and TG-2 evidenced better COP-OA and COP-OC values with significance only in TG-1 for Y axis in OA condition. No difference between groups for all Spinal Mouse and BAL data.
Conclusions: Previous results suggest that combination of aerobic training and Back School Program doesn’t lead to better improvement in pain perception, quality of life, trunk mobility and balance compared to Back School Program alone. Although both kind of training were effective, TG-1 evidenced better improvement in spine mobility of sagittal plane and postural control. Consequently, these findings suggest that aerobic exercise positively influences the relation between respiratory system and thoracic mobility in people suffering from LBP.
Reference:
Barni L., Calabretta L., Lepori L., Pasquetti P., Gulisano M., Freddolini M., “Does an Aerobic Exercise Improve Outcomes in Older Sedentary Nonspecific Low Back Pain Subjects? A Randomized Controlled Study”, Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation 2018 Apr-Jun;34(2):88-9
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Aging is associated with a decrease of the Golgi apparatus volume in the rabbit spinal ganglion neurons
No full textModificazioni quantitative dell’apparato di Golgi delle cellule satelliti dei gangli spinali nel corso dell’invecchiamento
No full textAppropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
The Golgi apparatus of satellite cells associated with spinal ganglion neurons: changes with age in the rabbit
No full textWe studied the Golgi apparatus in the satellite cell sheaths enveloping spinal ganglion neurons of rabbits aged 12, 42, and 79 months. We found neither structural changes nor indications of peripheral displacement of this organelle with advancing age. The mean percentage of cytoplasmic volume occupied by the Golgi apparatus decreased significantly passing from young adult to old rabbits. This decrease was only in very minor part a consequence of lipofuscin accumulation, so that the ratio between the total volume of the Golgi apparatus and the functionally active volume of cytoplasm decreased with age. The mean cytoplasmic volume of perineuronal satellite cell sheaths did not change significantly with increasing age, whereas the total volume of the Golgi apparatus within these sheaths decreased significantly with age. This decrease strongly suggests that the activity of satellite cells diminishes in old age, further suggesting that these cells are unable to compensate for the decrease in the neuronal metabolism that a number of authors have described in old age
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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