Strategy for respiratory exercise pattern associated with upper limb movements in COPD patients

INTRODUCTION: Upper limb exercises are frequently used in respiratory physiotherapy, with UL elevation and controlled inspiratory timing. However, the use of expiration during upper limb elevation appears to be a strategy that could minimize the action of accessory muscles in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In this context, little is known about the synchrony of upper limb (UL) movements associated with breathing. The aim of this study was to investigate the respiratory pattern of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients during different UL exercises associated with respiratory exercises. METHODS: Fifteen chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients participated in this study. Respiratory pattern analysis by inductance plethysmography was performed during four types of upper limb exercises, two shoulder flexion-extension (one associated with inspiratory time during the concentric phase and the other associated with expiratory time) and two shoulder abduction-adduction (same timing as above). Statistical analysis was performed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and ANOVA with Tukey tests (p< 0.05). RESULTS: The thoracoabdominal coordination measurements increased in the two exercises using both inspiration during shoulder flexion (PhRIB: 172%; PhREB: 131%; PhRTB: 142% and PhAng: 238%) as well as in shoulder horizontal abduction (PhRIB: 145%; PhREB: 109%; PhRTB: 130% and PhAng: 229%), differing from the exercises with expiration at the time of shoulder flexion and horizontal abduction. CONCLUSION: The exercises performed with inverted respiratory time produced less asynchrony and can be used as important strategies during physical exercise programs in these patients

UMA ABORDAGEM MULTIAGENTES PARA SISTEMA DEFENSIVO EM UM TIME DE FUTEBOL DE ROBÔS BÍPEDES

This article describes the defense module developed for an autonomous robot soccer team. Believing artificial intelligence is capable of overcoming limitations of movement such as slow walking, a new behaviour state was created and added to the decision making logic of our agents: a player marker focused on the opponent with current possession of the ball, defensively supporting the ally currently active. This module was developed during the 2014 edition of RoboCup, where it was initially validated and, later on, automatic tests were performed showing an improvement not only on the team's defense, but also in its overall performance. A few variables, such as ball possession, game concentration zone, among others were measured to estimate the impacts of adopting this module.Este artigo descreve o módulo de defesa cooperativa desenvolvido para um time autônomo de futebol de robôs. Acreditando que a inteligência artificial é capaz de superar limitações da movimentação, foi criado um novo estado comportamental para compor a tomada de decisão dos agentes: uma marcação focada no oponente com atual posse da bola, dando suporte de defesa ao jogador aliado em estado ativo. Este módulo foi desenvolvido durante a edição de 2014 da RoboCup, tendo sido inicialmente validado ainda em competição, e posteriormente através de testes automatizados, através dos quais foi possível perceber uma melhora não só na defesa do time, mas também em seu desempenho geral. Uma série de indicadores como posse de bola, zona de concentração de jogo entre outros foram mensurados para aferir os impactos da adoção deste módulo

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved