Validity and reliability of an offline ultrasound measurement of bladder base displacement in women

[Abstract] The effect of different exercises on the position of pelvic organs in women has not been sufficiently assessed. The objective was to analyze the validity and reliability of a new two-dimensional ultrasound algorithm to measure offline the displacement of the bladder base during abdominal exercises. This algorithm could be a useful method to future studies in determine the most appropriate exercises in sports and in rehabilitative program for the pelvic floor in women. All subjects were tested by transverse transabdominal ultrasound. The measurements were conducted offline using a customized code written in MATLAB (Ecolab) for image-processing, and manually on the ultrasound monitor using electronic calipers. The agreement was assessed with a paired t-test, Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient (r), the Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), the intraclass correlation coefficient ICC (A,2) and a Bland–Altman plot. The reliability was confirmed by the interdays intra-rater ICC coefficient. The results were that Ecolab and ultrasound transducer measures did not differ statistically (p = 0.246). Furthermore, both methods showed a very strong relationship, and the Ecolab demonstrated to be a valid and reliable method. We concluded that Ecolab seemed to be a valid and reliable tool to assess the effect of abdominal contractions in the female pelvic floor.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España); PID2020-113578RB-I00Xunta de Galicia; ED431C-2020/14Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/0

Physical therapy in unilateral and bilateral vestibular hypofunction

[ES] Introducción: La rehabilitación vestibular (RV) basada en la terapia física, tiene el objetivo, en el caso de patología vestibular, de inducir la compensación del sistema nervioso central (SNC) a nivel de núcleos vestibulares y de otros niveles del SNC. Incluye ejercicios de habituación, adaptación y sustitución vestibular, ejercicios para mejorar el equilibrio y el control postural dinámico y ejercicios para el acondicionamiento general. En este capítulo discutimos los recientes avances sobre el adiestramiento del equilibrio y de la marcha, la estabilidad de la mirada y la habituación, en el contexto de los trastornos vestibulares uni y bilaterales. Método: Revisión narrativa. Resultados: Los ejercicios se prescriben para mejorar la función; fortaleciendo, y favoreciendo la flexibilidad y la resistencia, a través de la adaptación del RVO, la habituación, la sustitución sensorial, la marcha y el equilibrio postural. Son más eficaces los programas personalizados que los genéricos. El cumplimiento mejora con la personalización y las visitas de seguimiento a un fisioterapeuta. Discusión/Conclusiones: La RV permite mejorar el déficit funcional y los síntomas subjetivos derivados de la hipofunción vestibular periférica uni y bilateral, así como las alteraciones del equilibrio de origen central. Los objetivos de la RV consisten en reducir los síntomas para mejorar la estabilidad postural y de la mirada (particularmente durante los movimientos de la cabeza) y devolver al individuo a sus actividades normales, incluyendo la actividad física, la conducción y el trabajo habitual. Los médicos deben ofrecer la RV a quienes muestren limitaciones funcionales relacionadas con un déficit vestibular, pues actualmente se considera el tratamiento estándar en la disfunción vestibular periférica

El reto en la docencia de la igualdad ante la diversidad

El proyecto presenta iniciativas llevadas a cabo por el equipo investigador encaminadas a incorporar las perspectivas de género y discapacidad en la docencia. Del mismo modo, se señalan algunas actividades incorporadas a la docencia de la asignatura "Políticas Públicas" que se imparte en varias titulaciones, con el objetivo de favorecer la impartición de esta materia en inglés

Guía de saúde infantil : actividades preventivas e de promoción da saúde en pediatría de atención primaria

Se trata de una guía de salud infantil dirigida a los profesionales que trabajan en el ámbito de la asistencia sanitaria a los niños y adolescentes en atención primaria del Sistema Público de Salud de Galicia.Trátase dunha guía de saúde infantil dirixida aos profesionais que traballan no ámbito da asistencia sanitaria aos nenos e adolescentes na atención primaria do Sistema Público de Saúde de Galicia

Dairy product consumption and changes in cognitive performance: two-year analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus Cohort

Scope: Dairy consumption has been suggested to impact cognition; however, evidence is limited and inconsistent. This study aims to longitudinally assess the association between dairy consumption with cognitive changes in an older Spanish population at high cardiovascular disease risk. Methods and results: Four thousand six hundred sixty eight participants aged 55–75 years, completed a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline and a neuropsychological battery of tests at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Multivariable linear regression models are used, scaled by 100 (i.e., the units of β correspond to 1 SD/100), to assess associations between baseline tertile daily consumption and 2-year changes in cognitive performance. Participants in the highest tertile of total milk and whole-fat milk consumption have a greater decline in global cognitive function (β: –4.71, 95% CI: –8.74 to –0.69, p-trend = 0.020 and β: –6.64, 95% CI: –10.81 to –2.47, p-trend = 0.002, respectively) compared to those in the lowest tertile. No associations are observed between low fat milk, yogurt, cheese or fermented dairy consumption, and changes in cognitive performance. Conclusion:Results suggest there are no clear prospective associations between consumption of most commonly consumed dairy products and cognition, although there may be an association with a greater rate of cognitive decline over a 2-year period in older adults at high cardiovascular disease risk for whole-fat milk

A System to Generate SignWriting for Video Tracks Enhancing Accessibility of Deaf People

Video content has increased much on the Internet during last years. In spite of the efforts of different organizations and governments to increase the accessibility of websites, most multimedia content on the Internet is not accessible. This paper describes a system that contributes to make multimedia content more accessible on the Web, by automatically translating subtitles in oral language to Sign Writing, a way of writing Sign Language. This system extends the functionality of a general web platform that can provide accessible web content for different needs. This platform has a core component that automatically converts any web page to a web page compliant with level AA of WAI guidelines. Around this core component, different adapters complete the conversion according to the needs of specific users. One adapter is the Deaf People Accessibility Adapter, which provides accessible web content for the Deaf, based on Sign Writting. Functionality of this adapter has been extended with the video subtitle translator system. A first prototype of this system has been tested through different methods including usability and accessibility tests and results show that this tool can enhance the accessibility of video content available on the Web for Deaf people

Transabdominal Ultrasound to Assess the Displacement of the Bladder Base During Abdominal and Pelvic Floor Contractions in Continent Parous Versus Nulliparous Women

[Abstract] Introduction and hypothesis: The effect of different abdominal contractions on the position of pelvic organs in parous women during postpartum exercises has not been sufficiently assessed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the displacement of the bladder base (BB) during different pelvic floor and abdominal contractions in parous women compared to nulliparous women. We hypothesised that abdominal and perineal contractions will produce a disparate effect on the position of the BB between groups. Methods: Cross-sectional study including a convenience sample of 63 volunteers (35 nulliparous vs. 28 postpartum women). Transabdominal ultrasound was used in mode B to image the displacement of the BB. The protocol included six different pelvic floor and abdominal contractions commonly used in postpartum rehabilitation. Results: The BB elevated significantly more in the postpartum group compared to nulliparous women when performing submaximal contraction of pelvic floor and transversus abdominis muscles simultaneously with axial elongation of the back (0.93 ± 0.55 cm in parous women vs. 0.66 ± 0.46 cm in nulliparous women). In contrast, the BB was found to descend significantly during a curl-up contraction in both groups (0.93 ± 0.55 cm in parous women vs. 0.66 ± 0.46 cm in nulliparous women). Conclusions: The overall results of this study showed that perineal and superficial abdominal contractions produced different immediate effects compared to deep abdominal contractions on the displacement of BB in parous and nulliparous women. Further research is required to assess the long-term effects of these contractions

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity in Subcutaneous and Visceral Adipose Tissues from Obese and Non-Obese Patients with and without Colorectal Cancer

To investigate the molecular mechanisms that link obesity and colorectal cancer (CRC), we analyzed parameters related to telomere function in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues (SAT and VAT), including subjects with and without CRC, who were classified according to their body mass index (BMI). Adipose tissues were obtained from 147 patients who had undergone surgery. A total of 66 cases corresponded to CRC patients, and 81 subjects were not affected by cancer. Relative telomere length was established by qPCR, and telomerase activity was determined by a method based on the telomeric repeat amplification protocol. Our results indicated longer telomeres in patients affected by CRC, both in SAT and VAT, when compared to the group of subjects without CRC. Tumor local invasion was associated with telomere length (TL) in SAT. Considering the BMI values, significant differences were found in the TL of both adipose tissues between subjects affected by CRC and those without cancer. Overweight subjects showed the greatest differences, with longer telomeres in the group of CRC patients, and a higher number of cases with telomerase reactivation in the VAT of subjects without cancer. In conclusion, parameters related to telomere function in adipose tissue could be considered as potential biomarkers in the evaluation of CRC and obesity.Carlos III Institute of Health (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad), SpainEuropean Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), ‘A way to make Europe.’Depto. de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularDepto. de CirugíaDepto. de MedicinaFac. de FarmaciaFac. de MedicinaTRUEpu

Obesity and telomere status in the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer submitted to curative intention surgical treatment

The risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) development has been associated with telomere dysfunction and obesity. However, clinical relevance of these parameters in CRC prognosis is not clear. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of obesity and telomere status in the prognosis of patients affected by CRC and submitted to curative surgical treatment. According to published data, this is the first work in which obesity and telomere status are jointly considered in relation to CRC prognosis. A prospective study including 162 patients with CRC submitted to curative surgical treatment was performed. Subjects were classified according to their BMI. Telomere status was established through telomere length and telomerase activity evaluation. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software package version 22. Telomere shortening was inversely associated with BMI in patients with CRC. Notably, among patients with CRC, subjects with obesity exhibited less shortening of tumor telomeres than non‑obese patients (P=0.047). Patients with shorter telomeres, both in the tumor (median telomere length 31.85 kg/m2 showed the worse clinical outcomes compared with subjects with other BMI values. Interestingly, the impact of BMI showed sex dependence, since only the group of men displayed significant differences in CRC prognosis in relation to obesity status (P=0.037). From the results of the present study, based on a multivariate prediction model to establish prognosis, it was concluded that telomere length is a useful biomarker to predict prognosis in patients with CRC. Regardless of BMI values, the improved clinical evolution was associated with shorter telomeres. The impact of BMI seems to be associated with other factors, such as sex.Carlos III Institute of Health (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad), SpainEuropean Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) ‘A way to make Europe’Depto. de Bioquímica y Biología MolecularDepto. de CirugíaDepto. de MedicinaFac. de FarmaciaFac. de MedicinaTRUEpu