Comparative analysis between visual and computerized photogrammetry postural assessment

OBJETIVOS: Comparar a concordância interobservador da avaliação postural visual e por fotogrametria e verificar se os resultados quantitativos da fotogrametria correspondem à detecção de simetrias e assimetrias pela avaliação postural visual qualitativa. MÉTODOS: Vinte e um voluntários (24±1,9 anos) foram inicialmente avaliados visualmente por três fisioterapeutas experientes que preencheram um protocolo de avaliação postural. Em seguida tiveram fotografados a face e o corpo todo nos planos frontal anterior, posterior e sagital. As fotos foram utilizadas para traçar ângulos a partir de marcadores fixados à pele, em vários pontos anatômicos, que são referências frequentes na avaliação postural tradicional. Essas fotografias foram analisadas por três examinadores diferentes da avaliação postural visual. A concordância de cada método de avaliação postural foi avaliada pelos Coeficientes de Cramer V ou de PHI, considerando-se um nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: Foi encontrada uma concordância entre os examinadores que utilizaram a fotogrametria para todos os segmentos avaliados. Não apresentaram concordância os segmentos comissura labial (p=0,00), acrômio clavicular (p=0,01), esternoclavicular (p=0,00), espinhas ilíacas anterior e posterior (p=0,00 e p=0,01) e ângulo inferior da escápula (p=0,00), que foram analizados por meio da avaliação postural visual. A comparação entre a fotogrametria e a avaliação postural visual demonstrou que o grau de concordância entre os dois métodos de avaliação foi pouco significativo para alguns segmentos do membro inferior e pelve. CONCLUSÕES: Nessas condições experimentais, os dados da fotogrametria não podem ser correlacionados com os dados da avaliação postural visual. A avaliação postural visual apresentou dados menos concordantes do que a fotogrametria, devendo ser questionada sua utilização como gold-standart.OBJECTIVES: To compare the interobserver agreement between visual and photogrammetry postural assessment and to determine whether the quantitative photogrammetry results correspond to the symmetries and asymmetries detected through qualitative visual postural assessment. METHODS: Twenty-one volunteers (mean age 24±1.9 years) were visually evaluated by three experienced physical therapists, who completed a postural assessment form. The participants' face and whole body were then photographed in the anterior and posterior frontal and sagittal planes. The photographs were used to draw angles from markers fixed to the skin at various anatomical points that are frequent references in traditional postural assessment. These photographs were analyzed by three examiners (other than the ones who performed the visual assessment). The agreement in each postural assessment method was determined using Cramer's V or the Phi coefficient, with the significance level set at 5%. RESULTS: There was agreement between the examiners who used photogrammetry, for all segments analyzed. No agreement was found for the labial commissure (p=0.00), acromioclavicular joint (p=0.01), sternoclavicular joint (p=0.00), anterior and posterior iliac spines (p=0.00 and p=0.01) or inferior angle of the scapula (p=0.00) when assessed visually. The comparison between photogrammetry and visual postural assessment showed that the agreement level between the two assessment methods was poor for some segments of the lower limb and pelvis. CONCLUSIONS: Under these experimental conditions, the photogrammetry data were not correlated with the results from the visual postural assessment. The visual postural assessment produced data that were in less agreement than the photogrammetry data, and its use as a gold standard must be questioned

One-point functions in massive integrable QFT with boundaries

We consider the expectation value of a local operator on a strip with non-trivial boundaries in 1+1 dimensional massive integrable QFT. Using finite volume regularisation in the crossed channel and extending the boundary state formalism to the finite volume case we give a series expansion for the one-point function in terms of the exact form factors of the theory. The truncated series is compared with the numerical results of the truncated conformal space approach in the scaling Lee-Yang model. We discuss the relevance of our results to quantum quench problems.Comment: 43 pages, 20 figures, v2: typos correcte

The Brazilian health system at crossroads: progress, crisis and resilience

The Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS)) has enabled substantial progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Brazil. However, structural weakness, economic and political crises and austerity policies that have capped public expenditure growth are threatening its sustainability and outcomes. This paper analyses the Brazilian health system progress since 2000 and the current and potential effects of the coalescing economic and political crises and the subsequent austerity policies. We use literature review, policy analysis and secondary data from governmental sources in 2000–2017 to examine changes in political and economic context, health financing, health resources and healthcare service coverage in SUS. We find that, despite a favourable context, which enabled expansion of UHC from 2003 to 2014, structural problems persist in SUS, including gaps in organisation and governance, low public funding and suboptimal resource allocation. Consequently, large regional disparities exist in access to healthcare services and health outcomes, with poorer regions and lower socioeconomic population groups disadvantaged the most. These structural problems and disparities will likely worsen with the austerity measures introduced by the current government, and risk reversing the achievements of SUS in improving population health outcomes. The speed at which adverse effects of the current and political crises are manifested in the Brazilian health system underscores the importance of enhancing health system resilience to counteract external shocks (such as economic and political crises) and internal shocks (such as sector-specific austerity policies and rapid ageing leading to rise in disease burden) to protect hard-achieved progress towards UHC

COPPER FRACTIONATION IN PROTEINS FROM PLASMA, MUSCLE AND LIVER OF NILE TILAPIA

COPPER FRACTIONATION IN PROTEINS FROM PLASMA, MUSCLE AND LIVER OF NILE TILAPIA. Copper fractionation in plasma, muscle and liver of Nile tilapia was performed after protein separation by 2D-PAGE. SR XRF analysis indicated the presence of copper in three protein spots of plasma, and in two protein spots of muscle and liver, respectively. Copper ions were found to be distributed mostly in proteins that had a molar mass of less than 54 kDa and greater than 13 kat and a pI in the 5.3-9.3 range. The copper concentration bound to these proteins was determined by GFAAS which showed concentrations in the 1.20-4.82 mg g(-1) range.35349349

An introduction to immunology and immunopathology

In basic terms, the immune system has two lines of defense: innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Innate immunity is the first immunological, non-specific (antigen-independent) mechanism for fighting against an intruding pathogen. It is a rapid immune response, occurring within minutes or hours after aggression, that has no immunologic memory. Adaptive immunity, on the other hand, is antigen-dependent and antigen-specific; it has the capacity for memory, which enables the host to mount a more rapid and efficient immune response upon subsequent exposure to the antigen. There is a great deal of synergy between the adaptive immune system and its innate counterpart, and defects in either system can provoke illness or disease, such as autoimmune diseases, immunodeficiency disorders and hypersensitivity reactions. This article provides a practical overview of innate and adaptive immunity, and describes how these host defense mechanisms are involved in both health and illness

Continuity and change in human resources policies for health: lessons from Brazil

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Assimilation of healthy and indulgent impressions from labelling influences fullness but not intake or sensory experience

Background: Recent evidence suggests that products believed to be healthy may be over-consumed relative to believed indulgent or highly caloric products. The extent to which these effects relate to expectations from labelling, oral experience or assimilation of expectations is unclear. Over two experiments, we tested the hypotheses that healthy and indulgent information could be assimilated by oral experience of beverages and influence sensory evaluation, expected satiety, satiation and subsequent appetite. Additionally, we explored how expectation-experience congruency influenced these factors. Results: Results supported some assimilation of healthiness and indulgent ratings—study 1 showed that indulgent ratings enhanced by the indulgent label persisted post-tasting, and this resulted in increased fullness ratings. In study 2, congruency of healthy labels and oral experience promoted enhanced healthiness ratings. These healthiness and indulgent beliefs did not influence sensory analysis or intake—these were dictated by the products themselves. Healthy labels, but not experience, were associated with decreased expected satiety. Conclusions: Overall labels generated expectations, and some assimilation where there were congruencies between expectation and experience, but oral experience tended to override initial expectations to determine ultimate sensory evaluations and intake. Familiarity with the sensory properties of the test beverages may have resulted in the use of prior knowledge, rather than the label information, to guide evaluations and behaviour

Ferritins: furnishing proteins with iron

Ferritins are a superfamily of iron oxidation, storage and mineralization proteins found throughout the animal, plant, and microbial kingdoms. The majority of ferritins consist of 24 subunits that individually fold into 4-α-helix bundles and assemble in a highly symmetric manner to form an approximately spherical protein coat around a central cavity into which an iron-containing mineral can be formed. Channels through the coat at inter-subunit contact points facilitate passage of iron ions to and from the central cavity, and intrasubunit catalytic sites, called ferroxidase centers, drive Fe2+ oxidation and O2 reduction. Though the different members of the superfamily share a common structure, there is often little amino acid sequence identity between them. Even where there is a high degree of sequence identity between two ferritins there can be major differences in how the proteins handle iron. In this review we describe some of the important structural features of ferritins and their mineralized iron cores and examine in detail how three selected ferritins oxidise Fe2+ in order to explore the mechanistic variations that exist amongst ferritins. We suggest that the mechanistic differences reflect differing evolutionary pressures on amino acid sequences, and that these differing pressures are a consequence of different primary functions for different ferritins