The immediate effects of local and adjacent acupuncture on the tibialis anterior muscle: a human study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study compares the immediate effects of local and adjacent acupuncture on the tibialis anterior muscle and the amount of force generated or strength in Kilogram Force (KGF) evaluated by a surface electromyography.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study consisted of a single blinded trial of 30 subjects assigned to two groups: local acupoint (ST36) and adjacent acupoint (SP9). Bipolar surface electrodes were placed on the tibialis anterior muscle, while a force transducer was attached to the foot of the subject and to the floor. An electromyograph (EMG) connected to a computer registered the KGF and root mean square (RMS) before and after acupuncture at maximum isometric contraction. The RMS values and surface electrodes were analyzed with Student's t-test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty subjects were selected from a total of 56 volunteers according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria and were assigned to one of the two groups for acupuncture. A significant decrease in the RMS values was observed in both ST36 (t = -3.80, <it>P </it>= 0,001) and SP9 (t = 6.24, <it>P </it>= 0.001) groups after acupuncture. There was a decrease in force in the ST36 group after acupuncture (t = -2.98, <it>P </it>= 0.006). The RMS values did not have a significant difference (t = 0.36, <it>P </it>= 0.71); however, there was a significant decrease in strength after acupuncture in the ST36 group compared to the SP9 group (t = 2.51, <it>P </it>= 0.01). No adverse events were found.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Acupuncture at the local acupoint ST36 or adjacent acupoints SP9 reduced the tibialis anterior electromyography muscle activity. However, acupuncture at SP9 did not decrease muscle strength while acupuncture at ST36 did.</p

Operation and control of a current source converter series tapping of an LCC-HVDC link for integration of offshore wind power plants

This work presents a series tapping station for integrating Offshore Wind Power Plants (OWPP) into a (Line Commutated Converter High Voltage Direct Current) LCC-HVDC transmission system. The tapping station allows to integrate wind power resources without building a new HVDC link and it is based on a Current Source Converter (CSC). However, the CSC requires a minimum DC current to extract the power coming from the OWPP which may not be guaranteed depending on the power conditions of the HVDC corridor. For this reason, this paper proposes a coordinated operation and control of the CSC and the OWPP. A steady-state analysis is performed to determine the appropriate AC voltage level of the CSC. A power reduction algorithm is presented to limit power extraction during a reduction in the current of the HVDC transmission system and under loss of communications between the CSC and the OWPP. The proposed algorithm and the performance of the system are validated through simulation results.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The broadening of the concept of creativity in English as a Second Language creative writing classes

ABSTRACT: Creative Writing in English (CWE) has not been extensively researched in Brazil. There are few courses on CWE in Brazilian Languages and Literature universities, and even fewer available publications on this area as well (MYERS, 2006; MORLEY, 2007; BLYTHE and SWEET, 2008; HEALEY, 2009; OBERHOLZER, 2014). For these reasons, the main objective of this research was to investigate the development (VYGOTSKY, 2004; 2007;, M. C.E EINER, A. (2010) 2014. a grammar JOHN-STEINER, CONNERY &amp; MARJANOVIC-SHAN, 2015) of undergraduate students’ concepts about creativity. To achieve that, the researcher investigated the participating students’ initial and final concepts about creativity in a creative writing course in English. This course had 12 Brazilian undergraduate students. The initial results indicated that they all shared a very strict view upon creativity, however, their concepts were all broadened extensively by the end of the course due to the development of the creative writing course as well as the teacher’s pedagogical interventions. Keywords: Creativity; Creative Writing; Broadenin

O APROFUNDAMENTO DOS CONCEITOS DOS ALUNOS DE ESCRITA CRIATIVA SOBRE AS FANFICTIONS

The multimodal gerne fanfictions have been one of the commonest cyberliterary texts produced on the internet. However, the various definitions of fanfictions seem not to be related to the cyberspace (JENKINS, 1992; TUSHNET, 1997; PUGH, 2005; THOMAS, 2006; HELLEKSON, 2014; COPPA, 2017). Therefore, the first objective of this article was to identify the students’ actual concepts about fanfictions (VYGOTSKY, 2004, 2007). The qualitative data was collected in a fanfictional creative writing (FCW) course. This course was organized and taught based on the Vygotskian sociocultural theory. The second objective was then to analyze if the FCW course did help its students broaden their concepts about fanwriting. As a result, the FCW students displayed signs of syncretizing, complexifying and conceptualizing about the fanwriting process.O gênero fanfiction vem se consolidando como um dos textos ciberliterários mais comuns produzidos na internet. No entanto, as várias definições de fanfictions que parecem não estar relacionadas ao ciberespaço. Assim, este artigo abordou os conceitos mais recorrentes sobre fanfictions e o processo de construção de sentido a partir da teoria sociocultural vygotskiana. Portanto, o primeiro objetivo foi o de identificar os conceitos preliminares dos alunos sobre fanfictions. Os dados qualitativos foram coletados em um curso de escrita criativa fanfictional (ECF). Este curso foi organizado e ministrado com base na teoria sociocultural vygotskyana. O segundo objetivo foi, então, o de analisar se o curso ECF ajudou os alunos a aprofundar seus conceitos sobre fanwriting, ou seja, o processo de escrever fanfictions. Como resultado, os alunos do ECF apresentaram sinais de sincretização, complexificação e conceituação sobre o processo de fanwriting

The development of undergraduate students’ concepts about the fanfictional genre system

The fanfictional genre has not been extensively investigated in Brazil. In fact, there is very little academic work on this genre in universities (MYERS, 2006, MORLEY, 2007, BLYTHE &amp; SWEET, 2008, HEALEY, 2009 and OBERHOLZER, 2014). Therefore, a Fanfictional Creative Writing in English course (FCWE) was developed and taught at the end of 2016. This course was attended by 5 undergraduate students in Languages and Literatures. Two of the objectives of this course were to 1) identify and 2) develop concepts about fanfictions. For this article, only student A was taken as an example. The methodology applied was the Case Study (DUFF, 2008, 2012; DYSON, 2005; STAKE, 2006). The FCWE course was based on the Vygotskian sociocultural theory (VYGOTSKY, 2004; 2007). As a result, student A demonstrated signs of development regarding social facts, speech acts, genre sets, and genre systems (BAZERMAN, 2012; CURRY &amp; LILLIS, 2016)

Fault mode operation strategies for dual H-bridge current flow controller in meshed HVDC grid

Peer ReviewedPreprin

The territorial economic impact of entrepreneurial youthfulness

Entrepreneurship and youth population interact to enhance economic performance, and actions oriented to bring down social barriers linked to the fear to entrepreneurial failure are as important as policies focused on access to finance or human capital formation. Entrepreneurship generates opportunities for professional development, social and economic integration, the maintenance of the rural population and the attraction of new residents to these territories. Young entrepreneurs face more than financial constraints, as local economic conditions and their risk aversion are important barriers to engage in entrepreneurial activities. To achieve greater rates of entrepreneurship amongst rural youths, policy should mould the value system of the community in general, and not exclusively that of young adults.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Understanding the use of digital payments in Brazil: An analysis from the perspective of digital divide measures

This paper analyzes the factors that influence the use of digital payments in Brazil from the perspective of digital divide studies. For this purpose, the research uses the microdata of the 2019 edition of a Brazilian nationwide survey named ICT Households Survey. The main findings demonstrate that women, as well as users of low-income social class, were less likely to use digital payments. The results also indicate that although different studies highlight the relevance of mobile phones as a means to promote digital financial inclusion to low-income groups, this paper\u27s findings show that the exclusive use of mobile phones to access the Internet had a negative impact on the use of digital payments. These results demonstrate the need to better understand the implications of the exclusive use of this type of device in harnessing digital financial services in the context of developing countries of the global South

Modelling and control of an interline Current Flow Controller for meshed HVDC grids

This article is focused on the modelling and control of an interline Current Flow Controller (CFC) for meshed HVDC grids. The operation states of the CFC are presented and an average model is derived. The average model is used to perform steady-state analysis on a 3-terminal meshed grid, showing the current change capabilities and the benefits on the operation area. The converter control is designed using a linearised model. The system performance of the CFC is tested by means of simulation in a 3-terminal grid and in a 5-terminal grid.Postprint (author's final draft