The effect of standing and sitting postures on breathing in brass players

Purpose: The object of this study was to examine the effect of posture on breathing in brass players. Breathing when standing was compared with sitting erect on a flat, downward or upward sloping seat, or on a reclining seat. Methods: Spirometry was used to measure aspects of lung function. Muscle activity and respiratory movements during different playing tasks were recorded using electromyography and inductive plethysmography. Results: Only sitting in a reclining position produced statistically significantly lower values for VC, FVC, FEV1, PEF than standing. When players were asked to produce a note of maximum duration, only a downward sloping seat caused a significant change (an 11% reduction) compared to standing. When seated, the abdominal component of respiratory movement was significantly higher during these long notes than when standing, though maximum activity in abdominal wall muscles was significantly reduced (by 32–44%). On a downward sloping seat, muscle activity was significantly higher (9%) than on a flat seat. Tongued and untongued sforzando notes recruited significantly less abdominal muscle activity (33–67%) when sitting than when standing. When playing a trumpet study, abdominal muscle activity was significantly reduced on a downward sloping seat (by 32%) and on a flat seat (by 40%) in comparison to standing. Muscle activity in the two sitting positions were not significantly different. Conclusion: Though brass players are often told to “sit as if standing”, abdominal muscle activity is always significantly reduced when sitting on a flat or downward sloping seat, however when greater respiratory effort is required, activity on downward sloping seats may rise closer to that of standing

From waste to fertile technosol - The circular approach of the French research prject SITERRE

Sustainable Urban Agricultures : Vector for the Ecological Transition, TOULOUSE, FRANCE, 06-/06/2017 - 09/06/2017Today, 50 % of the world population live in urban areas with an increasing evolution for the next decade. The city is an anthropological environment created by the man and for the man. For a very long time, the city was built to protect humans from wild animals. Nowadays, the city is a workplace, a hosting place, an entertainment place, a place of life in which the people must find all the necessary elements for his balance. The modern city presents a 'linear metabolism' that needs inputs (food, industrial products, raw materials) to develop all its activities with a lot of movement, circulation and transformation of material resources. A the end of the metabolize chain, the city produces waste that flow out of the urban system involving depletion of natural resources, pollution and toxic environments. Thus in the urban context, the balance, necessary for human physical and mental health, is a hot topic that must be deal with the environment and the nature. To preserve its viability, the urban system must evolve rapidly to a 'circular metabolism' by decreasing input consumption and by limiting economic and ecological costs for the transportation, treatment and landfill of waste materials