The impact of ergonomic design on smart garments

This paper reports the design process of a smart garment, which comprised 3-lead sEMG (Surface Electromyography) electrodes. The ergonomic design is central for a proper monitoring response because it is a related with the stability and very well contacted between the electrode and the user’ body. For this, different body postures and the t-shirt behavior on the body was studied and simulated using a virtual prototype. This approach contributed to understanding ways to solving problems related to fit and the electrodes’ stabilization. Furthermore, physical and electronic tests using a prototype on a human subject were conducted. The real prototype presented positive results on the EMG monitoring, showing the impact of ergonomic design on the smart garment. The EMG system was tested and presented good results, especially in regular movements. However, the system still needs to be improved in order to get a better signal when it comes to movements without pauses.This work is financed by Project “Deus ex Machina”, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000026, funded by CCDRN, through Sistema de Apoio à Investigação Cientifica e Tecnológica (Projetos Estruturados I&D&I) of Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, from Portugal 2020 and by Project UID/CTM/00264/2019 of 2C2T –Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia Têxtil, funded by National Founds through FCT/MCTES".We also want to thank colleagues Ricardo Moreira for testing the shirt on his body and André Paiva for the knowledge shared with the team

Transitory activation of AMPK at reperfusion protects the ischaemic-reperfused rat myocardium against infarction

PURPOSE: AMPK plays a crucial role in the regulation of the energy metabolism of the heart. During ischaemia, AMPK activation is a known adaptative prosurvival mechanism that helps to maintain the energy levels of the myocardium. However, it still remains unclear if activation of AMPK during reperfusion is beneficial for the heart. Two known AMPK activators (metformin and AICAR) were used to verify the hypothesis that a transitory activation of AMPK at reperfusion may exert cardioprotection, as reflected in a reduction in myocardial infarct size. METHODS: Perfused rat hearts were subjected to 35 min ischaemia and 120 min reperfusion. Metformin (50 microM) or AICAR (0.5 mM) were added for 15 min at the onset of reperfusion alone or with Compound C (CC, 10 microM), an AMPK inhibitor. Infarct size and alpha-AMPK phosphorylation were measured. RESULTS: Metformin significantly reduced infarct size from 47.8 +/- 1.7% in control to 31.4 +/- 2.9%, an effect abolished by CC when the drugs were given concomitantly. Similarly, AICAR also induced a significant reduction in infarct size to 32.3 +/- 4.8%, an effect also abrogated by CC. However, metformin's protection was not abolished if CC was administered later in reperfusion. In addition, alpha-AMPK phosphorylation was significantly increased in the metformin treated group during the initial 30 min of reperfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that, in our ex vivo model of myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury, AMPK activation in early reperfusion is associated with a reduction in infarct size

Craniometric variation among Brazilian and Scottish populations: a physical anthropology approach

The present investigation intended to compare the craniometric variations of two samples of different nationalities (Brazilian and Scottish). Materials and methods: The Brazilian sample consisted of 100 modern complete skulls, including 53 female skulls and 47 male skulls, and the Scottish sample consisted of 100 historical skulls (61 males, 39 females) and 36 mandibles (24 males, 12 females). The cranial measurement protocol was composed of 40 measurements, 11 bilateral and 29 unilateral, and the measurement protocol of the mandible was composed of 15 measurements, with six that were bilateral and nine that were unique. The comparative analysis of the metric variability between the two samples was performed using the means and medians analysis, the t-test, the Wilcoxon test, and the coefficient of variance, with a significance level of 5%. Results: The results showed that, among the 72 analysed variables, 44 measurements (61.11%) presented statistical differences between the samples. The Scottish skull tends to have a cranial length (GOL diff=5.53), breadth (XCB diff=3.78) and height (NPH diff=5.33) greater than the Brazilian skulls, and the Scottish mandibles tend to show a higher mandibular ramus height (MRH diff=9.25), a higher mandibular body height (HMB diff=6.37) and a larger bigonial breadth (BGB diff=5.29) than the Brazilians. The discriminant analysis of the 51 cranial measurements and 21 mandibular measurements showed a variation of the percentage of accuracy between 46.3- 83.8%. Conclusion: The metric analysis demonstrated that there is variability between the two samples studied (61.11%), but a concrete cause cannot be determined considering the multifactorial aspects of the variations of form and size

Wright Mills y su crítica al diseño de segunda posguerra. Los aportes de la sociología al mundo del diseño

El artículo profundiza sobre dos textos elaborados por el sociólogo Charles Wright Mills en donde critica la posición que tomó el diseño industrial desde la crisis del ’29 y en especial desde la Segunda Posguerra. El autor reprocha a los diseñadores industriales haber dejado su rol como parte del aparato cultural para ser miembro del aparato comercial, al prestar sus conocimientos sobre arte y diseño a la gran industria. Desde la crisis de sobreproducción del ’29 el capitalismo se dinamizó a través del consumo masivo y la obsolescencia programada es decir, del desgaste de los objetos por cuestiones de prestigio o moda. En esa tarea el diseñador fue un engranaje indispensable al generar nuevas estéticas que promueven el cambio de moda o al vincular los objetos al status socioeconómico. Por esa razón Wright Mills invita a los diseñadores, arquitectos, paisajistas, planificadores urbanos, a volver a pensar su lugar social y promover políticas que contribuyan al bienestar humano.The article elaborates on two texts written by sociologist C. Wright Mills where he criticizes the position taken by industrial designers since the 1929 crisis and especially since the Second World War. The author complains that the designer have left their role as part of the cultural apparatus to be a member of the commercial apparatus, in providing their knowledge of art and design to big industry. Since the ’29 crisis of overproduction invigorated capitalism through massive consumption and planned obsolescence of objects for reasons of prestige or fashion. In this task the designer was indispensable to generate new aesthetic that promote change in fashion or by linking objects to socioeconomic status gear. For that reason Wright Mills invites designers, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, to rethink their social responsibilities and promote policies that contribute to human welfare.O artigo aprofunda sobre dois textos elaborados pelo sociólogo Charles Wright Mills onde critica a posição que tomou o design industrial desde a crise do ’29 e especialmente desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial. O autor critica aos desenhadores industriais ter deixado seu papel como parte do aparelho cultural para ser membro do aparelho comercial, ao prestar seus conhecimentos sobre arte e design à grande indústria. Desde a crise de sobreprodução do ’29 o capitalismo dinamizou-se através do consumo em massa e a obsolescência programada isto é, do desgaste dos objetos por questões de prestígio ou moda. Nessa tarefa o desenhador foi uma engrenagem indispensável ao gerar novas estéticas que promovem a mudança de moda ou ao vincular os objetos ao status socioeconômico. Por esa razón Wright Mills convida a los desenhadores, arquitetos, paisagistas, planejadores urbanos, a voltar a pensar seu lugar social e promover políticas que contribuam ao bem- -estar humano

Antibiosis in Ascia monuste orseis Godart (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) caused by kale genotypes

Ascia monuste orseis (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is one of the main insect pests of kale. The study was done to  identify kale varieties resistant to A. monuste orseis by the antibiosis resistance mechanism. Kale genotypes (26) were evaluated in experiments performed at the Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Goiano Federal Institute - Campus Urutaí. A completely randomized experimental design with 50 replicates was used. The biological parameters evaluated were (a) larval stage: development time, instars, viability and larval weight 15 days after hatching; (b) pupal stage: development time, weight of 24-h-old pupae, viability; (c) larvae-adult stage: development time and viability. The genotypes Gigante I-915 and Pires 1 de Campinas have antibiosis resistance. Gigante I-915 caused high larval mortality and Pires 1 de Campinas resulted in low larval and pupal viability of A. monuste orseis.Key words: Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala, Brassicaceae, Great Southern White, host plant resistance, integrated pest management (IPM)

Stimulation of endothelial progenitor cells: a new putative effect of several cardiovascular drugs

The role of vascular endothelium in cardiovascular disorders is well recognized. Mature endothelial cells contribute to the repair of endothelial injury, but they only have a limited capacity to do so. This has led to growing interest and further investigation into circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and their role in vascular healing, repair, and postnatal neovascularization. The current perception of vascular health is that of a balance between ongoing injury and resultant vascular repair, mediated at least in part by circulating EPCs. Circulating EPCs play an important role in accelerating endothelialization at areas of vascular damage, and EPC enumeration is a viable strategy for assessing reparative capacity. Recent studies have shown that EPCs are affected both in number and function by several cardiovascular risk factors as well as various cardiovascular disease states, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and coronary artery disease. The present review summarizes the most relevant studies on the effects of cardiovascular drugs on vascular function and EPCs, focusing on their mechanisms of action

Illusions of general relativity in Brans-Dicke gravity

Contrary to common belief, the standard tenet of Brans-Dicke theory reducing to general relativity when omega tends to infinity is false if the trace of the matter energy-momentum tensor vanishes. The issue is clarified in a new approach using conformal transformations. The otherwise unaccountable limiting behavior of Brans-Dicke gravity is easily understood in terms of the conformal invariance of the theory when the sources of gravity have radiation-like properties. The rigorous computation of the asymptotic behavior of the Brans-Dicke scalar field is straightforward in this new approach.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, to appear in Physical Review