Reliability of shoulder rotators isometric strength test using a novel pulley electromechanical dynamometer. Influence of the assessment position

Indexación: Scopus.Background: The shoulder complex, because of its relatively extensive freedom of motion, offers a great variety of testing positions and articular planes for strength examination. Despite this, reliability of results are not clearly addressed. A novel pulley electromechanical dynamometer (FED) (functional electronic dynamometer) could be an alternative in strength assessment, however, the relative and absolute reliability have not been reported in the literature. Objectives: To report the results of shoulder internal (IR) and rotators (ER) peak torque reliability in two assessment positions by FED in asymptomatic subjects. Methods: Fifty-two healthy college students were included and tested twice within a two week period. In a supine position, the subjects randomly performed four isometric strength tests (i.e. IR at 40°, IR at 90°, ER at 40°, and ER at 90° of shoulder abduction). Results: The intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for relative reliability at 90° were 0.96 (0.94-0.98) for IR and 0.94 (0.90-0.96) for ER. ICC at 40° were 0.89 (0.80-0.94) for IR and 0.97 (0.94-0.98) for ER. Absolute reliability expressed as standard error of measurement compared to the mean (SEM%) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of minimal detectable change percentage (MDC%) at 90° were 8.8% (-20.8, 28.4%) and 11.4% (-28.0, 35.2%) for ER. MDC% at 40° were 12.6% (-35.5, 34.8%) for IR and 18.1% (-28.1, 35, 2%) for ER. Conclusions: Isometric strength testing protocol using FED showed an excellent reproducibility and can be safely used in clinical settings to monitor the strength changes in a group of individuals or in a single individual. © 2018, Asian Journal of Sports Medicine.http://asjsm.com/en/articles/60406.htm

An Empirical Study of Real-World SPARQL Queries

Understanding how users tailor their SPARQL queries is crucial when designing query evaluation engines or fine-tuning RDF stores with performance in mind. In this paper we analyze 3 million real-world SPARQL queries extracted from logs of the DBPedia and SWDF public endpoints. We aim at finding which are the most used language elements both from syntactical and structural perspectives, paying special attention to triple patterns and joins, since they are indeed some of the most expensive SPARQL operations at evaluation phase. We have determined that most of the queries are simple and include few triple patterns and joins, being Subject-Subject, Subject-Object and Object-Object the most common join types. The graph patterns are usually star-shaped and despite triple pattern chains exist, they are generally short.Comment: 1st International Workshop on Usage Analysis and the Web of Data (USEWOD2011) in the 20th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW2011), Hyderabad, India, March 28th, 201

Identification and characterization of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus candidate protective antigens for the control of cattle tick infestations

The cattle ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp., affect cattle production in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Tick vaccines constitute a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to tick control. The recombinant Rhipicephalus microplus Bm86 antigen has been shown to protect cattle against tick infestations. However, variable efficacy of Bm86-based vaccines against geographic tick strains has encouraged the research for additional tick-protective antigens. Herein, we describe the analysis of R. microplus glutathione-S transferase, ubiquitin (UBQ), selenoprotein W, elongation factor-1 alpha, and subolesin (SUB) complementary DNAs (cDNAs) by RNA interference (RNAi) in R. microplus and Rhipicephalus annulatus. Candidate protective antigens were selected for vaccination experiments based on the effect of gene knockdown on tick mortality, feeding, and fertility. Two cDNA clones encoding for UBQ and SUB were used for cattle vaccination and infestation with R. microplus and R. annulatus. Control groups were immunized with recombinant Bm86 or adjuvant/saline. The highest vaccine efficacy for the control of tick infestations was obtained for Bm86. Although with low immunogenic response, the results with the SUB vaccine encourage further investigations on the use of recombinant subolesin alone or in combination with other antigens for the control of cattle tick infestations. The UBQ peptide showed low immunogenicity, and the results of the vaccination trial were inconclusive to assess the protective efficacy of this antigen. These experiments showed that RNAi could be used for the selection of candidate tick-protective antigens. However, vaccination trials are necessary to evaluate the effect of recombinant antigens in the control of tick infestations, a process that requires efficient recombinant protein production and formulation systems

Safety and CO2 emissions: Implications of using organic fluids in a ship’s waste heat recovery system

Current Marine Policies and regulations greatly favour the use of efficiency enhancing technologies such as the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery systems (WHRS), through the entry into force of International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). However, safety regulations such as IMO Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS), International Gas Code and Classification Societies still consider the use of highly flammable organic fluids on board ships as hazardous and undesirable, requiring special Administration approval. The benefits of organic fluids in emerging technologies will likely increase their usefulness on board in the near future. Furthermore, current ship safety systems and integrated platform management systems greatly reduce the risks associated with their low flash point making them acceptable for marine use given specific design considerations. This paper studies the case of an Aframax tanker navigating the route North Sea – Naantali, Finland using a slow speed diesel engine. A code with a multi-objective optimization approach generated explicitly for this purpose produces different optimal WHRS designs for the vessel’s operating profile. The WHRS is installed after the turbo compressors in the exhaust gas system, where it absorbs part of the available waste heat and converts it to electricity using a generator. This results in a reduction in fuel consumption, hence decreasing the emission of greenhouse gases. The different optimal designs are compared with a steam WHRS to show the strengths and weaknesses of using an ORC WHRS on board. The ORC technology is at its early stages of development in the marine field, it is important that safety policies follow the evolution of the technology and its associated safety equipment. This paper will serve to recognize the specific safety considerations associated with the ORC and highlight the advantages of carrying organic fluids on board as a solution to increasing CO2 emission restrictions and other environmental concerns

Secuenciación dinámica de sistemas de fabricación flexible mediante aprendizaje automático: análisis de los principales sistemas de secuenciación existentes

Una forma habitual de secuenciar de modo dinámico los trabajos en los sistemas de fabricación es mediante el empleo de reglas de secuenciación. Sin embargo, el problema que presenta este método es que el comportamiento del sistema de fabricación dependerá de su estado, y no existe una regla que supere a las demás en todos los posibles estados que puede presentar el sistema de fabricación. Por lo tanto, sería interesante usar en cada momento la regla más adecuada. Para lograr este objetivo, se pueden utilizar sistemas de secuenciación que emplean aprendizaje automático que permiten, analizando el comportamiento previo del sistema de fabricación (ejemplos de entrenamiento), obtener el conocimiento necesario para determinar la regla de secuenciación más apropiada en cada instante. En el presente trabajo se realiza una revisión de los principales sistemas de secuenciación existentes en la literatura que utilizan aprendizaje automático para variar de forma dinámica la regla de secuenciación empleada en cada momento

NGC2180: a disrupting open cluster

The spatial dependence of luminosity and mass functions of evolved open clusters is discussed in this work using J and H 2MASS photometry. The target objects are the overlooked open cluster NGC2180 and the intermediate-age open cluster NGC3680. We conclude that, although in an advanced dynamical state (mass segregated), NGC3680 does not present strong signs of dissolution. On the other hand, NGC2180 presents flat, eroded LFs throughout its structure, indicating that in addition to mass segregation, Galactic tidal stripping has been effective in depleting this cluster of stars. Accordingly, NGC2180 may be the missing link between evolved open clusters and remnants. We study both clusters in the context of dynamical states estimated from diagnostic-diagrams involving photometric and structural parameters. Both clusters are dynamically evolved systems. In particular, NGC2180 is closer to open cluster remnants than NGC3680.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Integrated supply of stemwood and residual biomass to forest-based biorefineries

The demand for forest biomass as raw material for a wide range of products in the developing bioeconomy is expected to increase. Along with a constant pressure on forestry to increase its productivity, this development has led to the search for new procurement methods and new assortments. The present study assessed innovative supply chain practices, with a particular focus on the integrated supply of stemwood and residual tree parts. The assortments considered included tree sections, long tops, saw logs with stump cores and small whole trees from thinnings. The assessment included geographically explicit modelling of the supply chain operations and estimation of supply cost and energy use for three industrial locations in Northern Sweden. The innovative supply chains were compared to conventional, separate, harvest of stemwood and logging residues. We conclude that integrated harvest of tops and branches with stemwood assortments, as well as whole-tree harvest in early thinnings, has a significant potential to reduce the supply cost for the non-stemwood assortments. Stump wood generally remains the most expensive assortment. The energy use analysis confirms earlier research showing that the energy input is relatively small compared to the energy content of the harvested feedstock

Hormigón ligero autocompactante con fibras para rehabilitación de forjados

The slabs of some buildings in Barcelona are formed by unidirectional beams, with a ceramic arch in between, which are filled with broken pottery or construction waste. These structures often present problems such as displacement of the tiles arranged over it due to the lack of stiffness of the filling material. This supposes a risk to the user and could also cause durability problems. In order to rehabilitate it, a lightweight self-compacting concrete reinforced with fibres (HLACF) has been designed to be used as a filling material, improving the stiffness of the structure. This paper presents a structural analysis of a standard case and the results of an experimental campaign. The concrete showed a density of 1665 kg/m3, a slump flow of 605 mm and a compressive strength of 22.3 MPa, at 28 days. These results are in agreement with the requirements, overcoming common lightweight concrete segregation problems.Los forjados de ciertos edificios del ensanche de Barcelona, formados por viguetas unidireccionales con un revoltón de cerámica entre ellas y un relleno posterior (material cerámico y residuos de construcción), suelen presentar problemas de movimientos y despegues de las baldosas situadas en la parte superior, con el consiguiente riesgo para el usuario, aparte de los problemas de durabilidad asociados. Para rehabilitar esas estructuras se ha diseñado un hormigón ligero autocompactante con fibras (HLACF), como relleno de modo que mejore la rigidez a la estructura. El artículo presenta el análisis estructural de una solución tipo así como los resultados de una campaña experimental realizada. Como resultado se obtiene un hormigón de densidad de 1.665 kg/m3, escurrimiento de 605 mm y resistencia a compresión de 22,3 MPa, a los 28 días, que cumple con los requisitos y significa superar problemas de segregación previsibles para este tipo de hormigones