myWebAccess: A platform for repairing, enhancing and re-distributing Web Services accessible to people with disability

International audienceWeb services are an emerging technology which has attracted much attention from both the research and the industry sectors in recent years. The exploitation of web services as components in web applications facilitates development and supports applications interoperability, regardless of the programming language and platform used. However, existing web services development standards do not take into account the fact that the provided content and the interactive functionality should be accessible to, and easily operable by, people with disabilities. This paper presents a platform named myWebAccess, which provides a mechanism for the semi-automated "repair" of web services' interaction characteristics in order to support the automatic generation of interface elements that conform to the de facto standard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. myWebAccess enhances interaction quality for specific target user groups, including people with visual and motor disabilities, and supports the use of web services on diverse platforms (e.g., mobile phones equipped with a browser). The users of myWebAccess can create a personalized environment containing their favourite services, and can interact with them through interfaces appropriate to their specific individual characteristics

Supporting Accessible User Interfaces using Web Services

International audienceWeb services are an emerging technology which has attracted much attention from both the research and the industry sectors in recent years. The exploitation of web services as components in web applications facilitates development and supports applications interoperability, regardless of the programming language and platform used. However, existing web services development standards do not take into account the fact that the provided content and the interactive functionality should be accessible to, and easily operable by, people with disabilities. This book chapter presents a platform named myWebAccess, which provides a mechanism for the semi-automated "repair" of web services' interaction characteristics in order to support the automatic generation of interface elements that conform to the de facto standard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. myWebAccess enhances interaction quality for specific target user groups, including people with visual and motor disabilities, and supports the use of web services on diverse platforms (e.g., mobile phones equipped with a browser). The web developers can build their own design templates and the users of myWebAccess can create a personalized environment containing their favourite services. Thus, they can interact with them through interfaces appropriate to their specific individual characteristics

Supporting Accessible User Interfaces using Web Services

International audienceWeb services are an emerging technology which has attracted much attention from both the research and the industry sectors in recent years. The exploitation of web services as components in web applications facilitates development and supports applications interoperability, regardless of the programming language and platform used. However, existing web services development standards do not take into account the fact that the provided content and the interactive functionality should be accessible to, and easily operable by, people with disabilities. This book chapter presents a platform named myWebAccess, which provides a mechanism for the semi-automated "repair" of web services' interaction characteristics in order to support the automatic generation of interface elements that conform to the de facto standard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. myWebAccess enhances interaction quality for specific target user groups, including people with visual and motor disabilities, and supports the use of web services on diverse platforms (e.g., mobile phones equipped with a browser). The web developers can build their own design templates and the users of myWebAccess can create a personalized environment containing their favourite services. Thus, they can interact with them through interfaces appropriate to their specific individual characteristics

myWebAccess: A platform for repairing, enhancing and re-distributing Web Services accessible to people with disability

International audienceWeb services are an emerging technology which has attracted much attention from both the research and the industry sectors in recent years. The exploitation of web services as components in web applications facilitates development and supports applications interoperability, regardless of the programming language and platform used. However, existing web services development standards do not take into account the fact that the provided content and the interactive functionality should be accessible to, and easily operable by, people with disabilities. This paper presents a platform named myWebAccess, which provides a mechanism for the semi-automated "repair" of web services' interaction characteristics in order to support the automatic generation of interface elements that conform to the de facto standard of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. myWebAccess enhances interaction quality for specific target user groups, including people with visual and motor disabilities, and supports the use of web services on diverse platforms (e.g., mobile phones equipped with a browser). The users of myWebAccess can create a personalized environment containing their favourite services, and can interact with them through interfaces appropriate to their specific individual characteristics

COVID-19 Infection among Elite Football Players: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study

Little is known about the risk of COVID-19 infection among footballers. We aimed to investigate the incidence and characteristics of COVID-19 infection among footballers. In total, 480 football players of Super League Greece and 420 staff members participated in a prospective cohort study, which took place from May 2020 to May 2021. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from footballers and staff members weekly. All samples (n = 43,975) collected were tested using the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for the detection of “SARS-CoV-2”. In total, 190 positive cases (130 among professional football players and 60 among staff) were recorded. Out of the 190 cases that turned positive, 64 (34%) cases were considered as symptomatic, and 126 (66%) cases were asymptomatic. The incidence rate of a positive test result for footballers was 0.57% (confidence interval (CI) 0.48–0.68%) and for staff members it was 0.27% (CI 0.20%, 0.34%), respectively. Footballers recorded a twofold increased risk of COVID-19 infection in comparison to staff members (relative risk = 2.16; 95% CI = 1.59–2.93; p-value < 0.001). No significant transmission events were observed during the follow-up period. We found a low incidence of COVID-19 infection among professional footballers over a long follow-up period. Furthermore, the implementation of a weekly diagnostic testing (RT-PCR) was critical to break the transmission chain of COVID-19, especially among asymptomatic football players and staff members

Tuberculous pyomyositis: a re-emerging entity of many faces

Tuberculosis (TB) has become a global concern due to its increasing incidence, particularly in immunocompromised patients, closely following the migratory patterns of populations. TB pyomyositis is a rare extrapulmonary manifestation of TB. Its clinical presentation varies and requires a high degree of suspicion for early diagnosis. We present three patients diagnosed with TB pyomyositis: a 46-year-old man with dermatomyositis (DM) and hepatitis B who presented with fever, muscle weakness, and an abscess at the right proximal arm; a 71-year-old immunocompetent male, with a past medical history of tuberculous lymphadenopathy in childhood, who presented with a 2-month history of fever and pain at the right thigh, and a 44-year-old woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) on prednisone and methotrexate who presented with skin eruption at her thighs mimicking lupus panniculitis. In all three patients, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was identified as the causative agent. The lack of specific signs, the false negative tuberculin skin test in some cases, and the unfamiliarity of many clinicians with this entity can cause diagnostic delays. Prompt diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion especially in immunocompromised patients with fever. © 2014 Clinical Rheumatology

No difference in osteoarthritis after surgical and non-surgical treatment of ACL-injured knees after 10 years

Purpose: Aim of this study was to record and compare the functional and activity level as well as the manifestations of osteoarthritis after isolated ACL ruptures between patients with conservative treatment and ACL reconstruction with hamstrings tendon graft.Methods: Thirty-two patients diagnosed with ACL rupture were recorded. Clinical examination included the Tegner and Lysholm activity scale, the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Form and KT-1000 arthrometer. Narrowing of the medial and lateral joint spaces was assessed using the IKDC knee examination score. Results: Median follow-up was 10.3 years (range 10–11). Fifteen patients were conservatively treated (median age 33 years, range 25–39). Seventeen patients were operated (median age 31 years, range 20–36). There was significant difference between the mean values of IKDC scores in favour of the ACL-reconstruction group of patients, 86.8 (SD 6.5) versus 77.5 (SD 13.8), respectively (p = 0.04). The mean value of anteroposterior tibial translation was 1.5 mm (SD 0.2) for ACL-reconstruction group of patients, while the corresponding mean value for ACL-conservative group was 4.5 mm (SD 0.5), p = 0.03. Four patients in ACL-reconstruction group had radiological findings of grade C or D according to IKDC form. In ACL-conservative group, five patients presented similar signs (n.s.). Conclusions: ACL reconstruction using hamstrings autograft resulted in better functional outcome and laxity measurements than ACL-conservative management. However, the incidence of radiological osteoarthritis was similar between the two groups and independent on the pre-operative grade of laxity and functional status of the patients. Equally, bone bruises were not found as a risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis after ACL rupture. Level of evidence: Prospective randomized study, Level II. © 2015 European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, Arthroscopy (ESSKA