Evaluation of functional, autonomic and inflammatory outcomes in children with asthma

Asthma is common in childhood. This respiratory disease is characterized by persistent inflammation of the airways even when the child is not in thethroes of an attack. Chronic inflammation is caused by an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and antiinflammatory mechanisms as well as autonomic dysfunction, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis and control of this condition. The impact of these physiopathological aspects leads to inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle, which exerts an influence on functional capacity and control of the disease. The main objective of non-pharmacological therapy is the clinical control of asthma and the minimization of airway obstruction and hyperinflation during an attack. These factors can be controlled with noninvasive ventilation. The aim or the present review was to describe important neural, inflammatory and functional mechanisms that affect children with asthma.

The Brunel Mood Scale Rating in Mental Health for Physically Active and Apparently Healthy Populations

There is a positive relationship between mood states and mental health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the construct validity and internal consistency of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) for use with different populations, which are physically active and apparently healthy. Measures were obtained from 1295 male (N = 709, 34 ± 20 years, mean ± SD) and female (N = 576, 43 ± 24 years, mean ± SD) volunteers. Factor analysis was used, verifying that six factors (components) accounted for 62.65% of the total variance of the scale. The Varimax method with Kaiser Normalization for the rotation of the factors for the main components, and it was observed that the 24 scale items loaded on six mood factors (anger, depression, tension, vigor, fatigue, and confusion). Internal consistency was good for all the factors identified. We suggest that the results provide some support for validity of the BRUMS for use with different populations, which are physically active and apparently healthy.

Chronic pain profile: An interaction between biological and psychosocial factors

OBJECTIVE: To Identify subgroups of workers with chronic pain based on the interaction of different pain dimensions (sensory, affective, evaluative and mixed), depression, beliefs regarding pain, physical incapacity and socio-demographic-clinical data. METHODS:An observational cross-sectional study was carried out with a convenience sample made up of 115 patients with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD). The participants answered the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Survey of Pain Attitudes, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and a form for socio-demographic and clinical data. RESULTS: Four distinct subgroups were identified, two of which reported pain of a sensory-affective nature and two reported predominantly sensory pain. The individuals in subgroups I and III reported higher levels for all variables analyzed, while the first cluster had the highest mean scores. The subgroup II exhibited moderate degrees of physical disability and a high sick leave index, although the members of this group were less depressed and less dependent upon analgesics. Lower levels of pain, physical disability and depression were associated to subgroup IV, which also had the greatest proportion of males. Beliefs were similar among the subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with moderate to strong chronic pain associated to sensory and affective components exhibited a higher degree of disability and depression. The results suggest that the chronification process of pain and its functional consequences vary between individuals and are influenced by emotional factors.

Photodynamic Therapy in the Healing of the Areolo-Papillary Complex after Mastectomy—Case Report

Some breast reconstruction surgeries after mastectomy, or even reductive mammoplasty, may evolve unexpectedly when the areolopapillary complex heals and develop dehiscences, necrosis and delayed healing. The purpose of this case report was to verify the efficacy of photodynamic therapy in wound healing of the areolopapillary complex. This was a case report of a female patient with diabetes, fibromyalgia and diagnosed with breast cancer, with necrotic areolopapillary complex, after debridement, photodynamic therapy started with clobetasol propionate associated with methylene blue and low power laser application. At the beginning of the treatment with photodynamic therapy, the wound had 6 centimeters of diameter, and after 19 sessions, the wound was closed completely with normalization of the color of the nipple. The photodynamic therapy is advancing a lot in healing of infected wounds and complex wounds. It can be said that in this case report, photodynamic therapy was fundamental for the complete healing, being considered a promising treatment and another alternative for dermatofunctional physiotherapists.

SimTCM: A human patient simulator with application to diagnostic accuracy studies of Chinese medicine

OBJECTIVE： The aim of this work is to develop and implement the SimTCM, an advanced computationa model that incorporates relevant aspects from traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） theory as well as advanced statistical and epidemiological techniques for simulation and analysis of human patients. METHODS： SimTCM presents five major attributes for simulation： representation of true and false profiles for any single pattern; variable count of manifestations for each manifestation profile; empirical distributions of patterns and manifestations in a disease-specific population; incorporation of uncertainty in clinical data; and the combination of the four examinations. The proposed model is strengthened by following international standards for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies, and incorporates these standards in its treatment of study population, sample size calculation, data collection of manifestation profiles, exclusion criteria and missing data handling, reference standards, randomization and blinding and test reproducibility. RESULTS： Simulations using data from patients diagnosed with hypertension and post-stroke sensory- motor impairments yielded no significant differences between expected and simulated frequencies of patterns （P = 0.22 or higher）. Time for convergence of simulations varied from 9.90 s （9.80, 10.27） to 28.31 s （26.33, 29.52）. The ratio iteration profile necessary for convergence varied between 1：1 and 5：1. CONCLUSION： This model is directly connected to forthcoming models in a large project to design and implement the Suite TCM： ProntTCM, SciTCM, DiagTCM, StudentTCM, Research TCM, HerbsTCM, AcuTCM, and DataTCM. It is expected that the continuity of the SuiteTCM project enhances the evidence-based practice of Chinese medicine.

Vibration-Damping technology in tennis racquets:Effects on vibration transfer to the arm,muscle fatigue and tennis performance

High vibration transfer from a tennis racquet to the player may cause discomfort,and is hypothesized to influence performance and the onset of muscle fatigue.This study examined a racquet with a novel vibration damping technology(VDT)designed to mitigate frame vibration.Racquet vibration,post-impact vibration transfer to the player,arm electromyographic activity and tennis performance were compared to a non-VDT racquet.Nineteen young adult,competitive tennis players hit forehands and serves until near exhaustion on two days;using one of the two racquets each day.Tri-axial accelerometers mounted to racquet shaft,hand and forearm recorded vibration behaviour.Surface electromyography recorded activity of five arm muscles.In comparison to the non-VDT racquet,the VDT design showed:1)A significantly lower mean normalised acceleration signal energy at the racquet during unfatigued play(-40%)and at near exhaustion(-34%),which corresponded to a 20–25%lower signal energy at the hand.2)Reduced signs of arm muscle fatigue at near exhaustion,which was most pronounced in biceps and wrist extensors.3)Players hit 11%more forehands and placed 40%more hits in the target area at near exhaustion.Conclusion:VDT effectively reduces racquet vibration.Initial evidence indicates that it may delay muscle fatigue,which was associated with increased ball placement accuracy.