1,721,062 research outputs found
Quantitative Characterization of Upper Limb Intensity and Symmetry of Use in Healthcare Workers Using Wrist-Worn Accelerometers
Full text linkDue to the continuous and prolonged exposure to highly physically
demanding tasks, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at risk to develop low back
and upper limb (UL) musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Since repetitiveness and
movement asymmetries have been hypothesized to play an important role on the
development of UL-MSD, in this study we propose an approach based on the
use of wearable accelerometers to quantitatively characterize the main features
of UL use during actual working tasks. To this aim, we tested thirty full-time
professional HCWs which operate in wards characterized by different profiles of
risk assessed using the “Movement and Assistance of Hospital Patients” (MAPO)
technique. During a regular shift day, their activity was simultaneously monitored
both using wrist-worn accelerometers and direct visual observation. Accelerations
were processed to calculate severalmetrics associatedwith intensity and symmetry
of use of UL. The results showed that among the daily routine activities, patient
hygiene requires the most intense use of the UL,while meal distribution is the most
asymmetrical. The knowledge of intensity and asymmetry of UL use associated
to specific working tasks might represent a useful tool to highlight potentially
harmful condition and plan suitable ergonomic interventions
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
The development of swimming power
No full textthe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the transfer strength training method on swimming power.
METHODS:
twenty male swimmers "master" were randomly allocated to strength (n= 10, ST) and swimming training (n=10, SW) groups. Both groups performed six-weeks training based on swimming training for SW and strength training which consisted in a weight training session immediately followed by the maximum swimming velocity. The performance in both groups was assessed by Maximal-Mechanical-External-Power (MMEP) before and after the six-weeks period, using a custom ergometer that provided force, velocity, and power measurement in water.
RESULTS:
a significant increased MMEP in ST group (5.73% with p 0.05). Conversely, in the SW group there was a decreased in MMEP (7.31%; p 0.05).
CONCLUSION:
this study showed that the transfer training method, based on combination of weight training (in dry condition) immediately followed by fast swim (in water) significantly improves swimming-power in master
Variations on the Author
Full text link“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
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe 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
Kinematics adaptation and inter-limb symmetry during gait in obese adults
Full text linkThe main purpose of this study is to characterize lower limb joint kinematics during gait in obese individuals by analyzing inter-limb symmetry and angular trends of lower limb joints during walking. To this purpose, 26 obese individuals (mean age 28.5 years) and 26 normal-weight age-and sex-matched were tested using 3D gait analysis. Raw kinematic data were processed to derive joint-specific angle trends and angle-angle diagrams (synchronized cyclograms) which were characterized in terms of area, orientation and trend symmetry parameters. The results show that obese individuals exhibit a kinematic pattern which significantly differs from those of normal weight especially in the stance phase. In terms of inter-limb symmetry, higher values were found in obese individuals for all the considered parameters, even though the statistical significance was detected only in the case of trend symmetry index at ankle joint. The described alterations of gait kinematics in the obese individuals and especially the results on gait asymmetry are important, because the cyclic uneven movement repeated for hours daily can involve asymmetrical spine loading and cause lumbar pain and could be dangerous for overweight individuals
Inter-joint coordination during gait in people with multiple sclerosis: A focus on the effect of disability
No full textBackground: Walking difficulties, which are widespread among people with MS (pwMS), represent one of the major factors contributing to physical disability and, as such, may greatly affect an individual's independence and quality of life. In this context, the study of lower limb kinematics may provide an important contribution to unveiling the underlying mechanisms of walking dysfunctions in MS. However, limited information about the inter-joint coordination during gait—the functional relationship between joint pairs during the whole gait cycle—is available. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the gait patterns of 104 pwMS (56 women, 48 men, mean age 46.3, average Expanded Disability Status Scale score 3.5) and 84 unaffected individuals age-and-sex-matched, who underwent 3D computerized gait analysis carried out using an optical motion capture system. PwMS were also stratified into two groups according to their level of disability. Those with EDSS ≤ 3.5 (n = 62) formed the “low-mild disability” group, while those with EDSS > 3.5 (n = 42) were assigned to the “moderate-severe disability” group. The raw data were processed to calculate the main spatio-temporal parameters and the kinematics in the sagittal plane at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. At each point of the gait cycle, the angular values were employed to build angle-angle diagrams (cyclograms) for the hip-knee and the knee-ankle joint couples. Inter-joint coordination was quantified using geometric features of the cyclograms (i.e., area, perimeter, and dimensionless ratio) and compared between groups. For pwMS only, we also explored possible relationships between cyclograms parameters, disability level, and spatio-temporal parameters of gait. Results: PwMS exhibit a well-known gait pattern characterized by reduced speed, stride length, increased step width, and double support phase duration. Their inter-joint coordination was found altered at both hip-knee and knee-ankle joint couples, as indicated by the significantly reduced cyclogram area and perimeter with respect to unaffected individuals. However, the detailed analysis of the angle-angle diagram trajectories showed some differences associated with the level of disability. In particular, pwMS with mild-low disability exhibit cyclograms partly superposed with those of unaffected individuals in the first half of the stance phase (hip-knee couple) and the second half of the swing phase (knee-ankle couple), while in those with a moderate-severe disability, the differences are substantially extended to the whole gait cycle. Significant moderate to large correlations were also observed between cyclogram area and perimeter, EDSS score, and spatio-temporal parameters of gait. Conclusion: The study of inter-joint coordination during gait in pwMS represents a useful source of information about the way lower limb joints interact, thus potentially expanding the knowledge of the mechanisms underlying walking dysfunctions associated with the disease. From a clinical perspective, the availability of reference data for the co-variation of hip-knee and knee-ankle joint angles during gait can effectively support both the characterization of the progression of the disease and the assessment of the effectiveness of rehabilitative treatments
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe 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
Plantar pressure patterns in women affected by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome while standing and walking.
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