Effect of neural mobilization on sensory and motor function in asymptomatic individuals

Introdução: A mobilização do sistema nervoso é uma intervenção utilizada pelos fisioterapeutas com vista a facilitar a mobilidade neural. Pode ser realizada em mobilidade ou em tensão. O objetivo do presente estudo foi o de comparar o efeito da mobilização em mobilidade com a mobilização em tensão no limiar de sensibilidade ao calor e ao frio, no limiar de dor ao calor, no limiar de dor à pressão mecânica e na força de preensão em indivíduos assintomáticos. Métodos: Sessenta participantes assintomáticos participaram no estudo e foram randomizados para receber mobilização em tensão (n=30) ou mobilização em mobilidade (n=30). Ambos os grupos foram avaliados para variáveis sociodemográficas e antropométricas, dor, catastrofização, medo do movimento, ansiedade, função sensorial e motora antes da intervenção, imediatamente após e trinta minutos depois da intervenção. Resultados: Houve uma interação significativa entre os fatores tempo e intervenção para o limiar de dor à pressão mecânica na região do antebraço (F(2,55)=5,98); p=0,004), tendo-se verificado que o aumento do limiar de sensibilidade foi superior no grupo que recebeu mobilização em tensão comparativamente ao grupo que recebeu mobilização em mobilidade. Não se verificaram diferenças entre a mobilização em tensão e em mobilidade para as restantes variáveis. Conclusão: A mobilização em tensão parece ter um efeito hipoalgésico superior à mobilização em mobilidade em indivíduos assintomáticos. Nenhuma das técnicas parece ter um efeito no limiar de sensibilidade ao frio, ao calor, na dor ao calor e na força de preensãoAbstract Background: The mobilization of the nervous system is an intervention used by physiotherapists to facilitate neural mobility and can be performed as a gliding or a tension technique. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of gliding and tensioning on the threshold of sensitivity to heat and to cold, on the threshold of pain to heat, on the threshold of pain to mechanical pressure and on grip strength in asymptomatic individuals. Methods: Sixty healthy participants were randomized to receive gliding (n=30) or tensioning (n=30) neural mobilization. Both groups were evaluated for sociodemographic and anthropometric variables, pain, catastrophisation, fear of movement, anxiety, sensory and motor function at baseline, immediately after the intervention as well as thirty minutes later. Results: There was no interaction between time and intervention for the pressure pain threshold in the forearm (F(2,55)=5,98); p=0,004), suggesting a higher increase in the group that received neural tensioning when compared to the group that received neural gliding. No effect of time or interactions were found for the remaining variables. Conclusion: Neural tensioning seems to be superior to neural gliding in terms of promoting hypoalgesia in asymptomatic subjects. Neither gliding nor tensioning seem to have an effect on cold, heat and pain to heat thresholds or on strengthMestrado em Fisioterapi

Neural gliding versus neural tensioning: effects on heat and cold thresholds, pain thresholds and hand grip strength in asymptomatic individuals

Introduction: Neural mobilization can be performed in a way that facilitates movement through a stretching technique (tensioning) or in a way that maximizes the gliding of peripheral nerves in relation to adjacent structures (gliding). Evidence on how these techniques compare in terms of effects are scarce. The aim of this study is to compare the effects of neural gliding and neural tensioning targeting the median nerve on heat and cold temperature threshold, heat pain threshold, pressure pain thresholds and hand grip strength in asymptomatic participants. Methods: Participants received 4 series of 10 repetitions of either neural gliding (n = 30) or neural tensioning (n = 30) and were assessed for heat and cold temperature threshold, heat pain threshold, pressure pain threshold, and hand grip strength at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 30 min post-intervention. Results: A significant main interaction between time and intervention was found for the PPT at the forearm (F(2,55) = 5.98; p = 0.004), favouring the tensioning neural mobilization. No significant differences were found for the other variables. Conclusions: Four series of 10 repetitions of neural tensioning targeting the median nerve in asymptomatic subjects seem to be enough to induce hypoalgesia and have no negative effects on A-delta and C mediated sensory function and on hand grip strength production.publishe

Stacked Denoising Autoencoders and Transfer Learning for Immunogold Particles Detection and Recognition

In this paper we present a system for the detection of immunogold particles and a Transfer Learning (TL) framework for the recognition of these immunogold particles. Immunogold particles are part of a high-magnification method for the selective localization of biological molecules at the subcellular level only visible through Electron Microscopy. The number of immunogold particles in the cell walls allows the assessment of the differences in their compositions providing a tool to analise the quality of different plants. For its quantization one requires a laborious manual labeling (or annotation) of images containing hundreds of particles. The system that is proposed in this paper can leverage significantly the burden of this manual task. For particle detection we use a LoG filter coupled with a SDA. In order to improve the recognition, we also study the applicability of TL settings for immunogold recognition. TL reuses the learning model of a source problem on other datasets (target problems) containing particles of different sizes. The proposed system was developed to solve a particular problem on maize cells, namely to determine the composition of cell wall ingrowths in endosperm transfer cells. This novel dataset as well as the code for reproducing our experiments is made publicly available. We determined that the LoG detector alone attained more than 84\% of accuracy with the F-measure. Developing immunogold recognition with TL also provided superior performance when compared with the baseline models augmenting the accuracy rates by 10\%

The influence of paper surface sizing on inkjet pigment penetration

The effect of paper surface sizing on inkjet pigment penetration was evaluated by studying four different paper samples: one taken as reference, without surface sizing (paper RP), one surface sized with cationic starch (RPS1), one with a mixture of cationic starch and poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (RPS2), and one with a mixture of cationic starch and poly(styreneco- acrylate) (RPS3). Assessment was based on the grey level analysis of a black printed area on the top surface of the paper samples and on internal layers below that printed area (obtained by delamination of the paper sheets). From the grey level distribution curves it was possible to confirm that the majority of the ink was retained at the top surface, as expected. The penetration degree of the ink pigment was RPS1 < RPS3 << RPS2 << RP and the results were found to be related to the polar component of the surface energy. The ink penetration into the paper sheets was less pronounced for the papers with a higher surface polar character due to the stronger interactions between the water based ink and the surface sizing agents. The highest ink penetration was observed for sample RP due to the very low polarity (and lower topographical uniformity) of its surface

Influence of TEMPO-oxidised cellulose nanofibrils on the properties of filler-containing papers

In this work, cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) were produced from a Eucalyptus globulus bleached kraft pulp by TEMPO-mediated oxidation and mechanical homogenisation, and their effects in papermaking, namely filler flocculation and retention, dry and wet-web strength and structural properties, were studied in detail. Cellulose nanofibrils possessing 0.6 mmol/g carboxyl groups and a degree of polymerisation (DP) of ca. 550 were found to promote filler flocculation and retention in the fibre mat, whereas the same amount (3 wt%) of CNF having 1.5 mmol/g of carboxyl groups, a DP of ca. 200 and a similar mean diameter exhibited the opposite effect. These results were interpreted with the help of flocculation studies of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) in the presence of CNF carried out by laser diffraction spectrometry. In addition, the mechanical and structural properties of the handsheets were analysed, revealing that the less charged CNF led to more closed matrices and, even increasing the filler retention, had a positive role on the tensile strength. A bonding mechanism among eucalypt fibres, PCC, CNF and a linear cationic polyacrylamide is proposed, consistent with the flocculation, retention and paper strength and structural property results. It is concluded that, to be used in papermaking, the CNF must not have a high charge (or a small length) to be able to flocculate the filler particles and, at the same time, to increase the filler-to-cellulosic fibres bonding. A complementary study on the wet-web resistance of handsheets produced with the less charged CNF was conducted for moisture contents between 10 and 70%, showing that these CNF can significantly improve the handsheet wet tensile strength (nearly 100%) even for water contents above 50%. The use of CNF in the paper machine may thus contribute, through the higher wet-web tensile resistance, to reducing breaks and increasing the operating speeds and, through the higher filler retention, to important fibre and cost savings

Nanostructured Bacterial Cellulose-Poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid) Composite Membranes with High Storage Modulus and Protonic Conductivity

The present study reports the development of a new generation of bio-based nanocomposite proton exchange membranes based on bacterial cellulose (BC) and poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA), produced by in situ free radical polymerization of sodium 4-styrenesulfonate using poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) as cross-linker, followed by conversion of the ensuing polymer into the acidic form. The BC nanofibrilar network endows the composite membranes with excellent mechanical properties at least up to 140 degrees C, a temperature where either pure PSSA or Nafion are soft, as shown by dynamic mechanical analysis. The large concentration of sulfonic acid groups in PSSA is responsible for the high ionic exchange capacity of the composite membranes, reaching 2.25 mmol g(-1) for a composite with 83 wt % PSSA/PEGDA. The through-plane protonic conductivity of the best membrane is in excess of 0.1 S cm(-1) at 94 degrees C and 98% relative humidity (RH), decreasing to 0.042 S cm(-1) at 60% RH. These values are comparable or even higher than those of ionomers such as Nafion or polyelectrolytes such as PSSA. This combination of electric and viscoelastic properties with low cost underlines the potential of these nanocomposites as a bio-based alternative to other polymer membranes for application in fuel cells, redox flow batteries, or other devices requiring functional proton conducting elements, such as sensors and actuators

N-confused porphyrin immobilized on solid supports: Synthesis and metal ions sensing efficacy

Thanks are due to FCT/MEC for the financial support to the QOPNA research Unit (FCT UID/QUI/00062/2013), the CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2013) and CICECO (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 and UID/CTM/50011/2013), through national funds and when applicable co-financed by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and "Compete" 2020, and also to the Portuguese NMR Network. Scientific PROTEOMASS Association (Portugal) and the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry LAQV (FCT/MEC (UID/QUI/50006/2013) and PT2020-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007265) for general funding. NMM Moura and ATPC Gomes thank FCT for their postdoctoral grants (SFRH/BPD/84216/2012 and SFRH/BPD/79521/2011, respectively). Tiago Fernandes thanks FCT for the PhD grant (SFRH/BD/130934/2017). Ana L. Daniel-da-Silva acknowledges FCT for the research contract under the Program 'Investigador FCT' 2014.In this work, the N-confused porphyrin 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-2-aza-21-carbaporphyrin (NCTPP) was immobilized on neutral or cationic supports based on silica and on Merrifield resin. The new materials were characterized by appropriate techniques (UV-Vis spectroscopy, SEM, and zeta potential analysis). Piezoelectric quartz crystal gold electrodes were coated with the different hybrids and their ability to interact with heavy metals was evaluated. The preliminary results obtained showed that the new materials can be explored for metal cations detection and the modification of the material surface is a key factor in tuning the metal selectivity.publishersversionpublishe

Nanostructured Bacterial Cellulose–Poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid) Composite Membranes with High Storage Modulus and Protonic Conductivity

The present study reports the development of a new generation of bio-based nanocomposite proton exchange membranes based on bacterial cellulose (BC) and poly­(4-styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA), produced by <i>in situ</i> free radical polymerization of sodium 4-styrenesulfonate using poly­(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) as cross-linker, followed by conversion of the ensuing polymer into the acidic form. The BC nanofibrilar network endows the composite membranes with excellent mechanical properties at least up to 140 °C, a temperature where either pure PSSA or Nafion are soft, as shown by dynamic mechanical analysis. The large concentration of sulfonic acid groups in PSSA is responsible for the high ionic exchange capacity of the composite membranes, reaching 2.25 mmol g^–1 for a composite with 83 wt % PSSA/PEGDA. The through-plane protonic conductivity of the best membrane is in excess of 0.1 S cm^–1 at 94 °C and 98% relative humidity (RH), decreasing to 0.042 S cm^–1 at 60% RH. These values are comparable or even higher than those of ionomers such as Nafion or polyelectrolytes such as PSSA. This combination of electric and viscoelastic properties with low cost underlines the potential of these nanocomposites as a bio-based alternative to other polymer membranes for application in fuel cells, redox flow batteries, or other devices requiring functional proton conducting elements, such as sensors and actuators