SIMON: Integration of mobility and parking solutions for people with disabilities.

Mobility and parking in urban areas are often difficult for people with disabilities. Obstacles include lack of accessible information on routes, transport alternatives and parking availability, as well as fraud in the use of the specific services intended for these citizens. The SIMON project aims to improve this situation through the integration of different ICT solutions.

Experimental procedure for measuring and comparing head-neck-trunk posture and movements caused by different progressive addition lens designs.

This study demonstrates that appropriate measurement procedures can detect differences in head movement in a near reading task when using three different progressive addition lenses (PALs). The movements were measured using an anatomical reference system with a biomechanical rationale. This reference system was capable of representing rotations for comparing head flexion relative to trunk, head flexion relative to neck, head rotation relative to trunk and trunk flexion.

Kinematics of the trunk in sitting posture: an analysis based on the instantaneous axis of rotation.

This paper presents a new approach for analysing trunk kinematics in sitting posture based on the characterisation of thorax and pelvis motion by means of ranges of motion and instantaneous axes of rotation (IAR). These variables are estimated from videophotogrammetric data. An experiment was carried out in order to analyse three motions associated with the flexion-extension movement: the absolute motions of the pelvis and thorax and the relative motion between the thorax and pelvis.

Objective firmness, average pressure and subjective perception in mattresses for the elderly.

For elderly people, the desirable situation of living independently means facing everyday tasks and risks alone [Monk et al., 2006. Towards a practical framework for managing the risks of selecting technology to support independent living.

[Intra-arterial fibrinolysis in acute thrombosis of the basilar artery].

Introduction: Ischemia in the territory of the basilar artery presents with a variable clinical picture of hemiparesia-tetraplegia, progressive deterioration of level of consciousness, irregular respiration and apnea leading to irreversible coma and death in between 75% and 86% of cases. The usual treatment is supportive.

Clinical Case: We present the case of a 49 year old woman with acute thrombosis of the basilar artery and a progressive course leading to coma.

Diseases that simulate acute appendicitis on ultrasound.

Ultrasound is useful in the assessment of patients with possible appendicitis. A diagnosis of appendicitis can be made in patients with persistent right lower quadrant pain when a non-compressible appendix greater than 6 mm in diameter is shown. When a normal appendix is affected by an adjacent lesion, reactive inflammation can cause secondary enlargement of the appendix.

Effects of captopril on regional segment motion during acute coronary occlusion.

The effects of captopril on myocardial segment function in different degrees of transient coronary occlusion were studied using ultrasonic dimension gauges in 15 open-chest dogs. The occlusion procedures (OP) were performed on the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in eight dogs and on the left circumflex coronary artery (Cx) in seven dogs. To measure the changes in segment shortening in the subendocardium we used eight dogs (ischemic and control zones: four dogs LAD and four dogs Cx).

Sick sinus syndrome: strategies for reducing mortality.

The evolution of sick sinus syndrome is slow, and its clinical and electrocardiographic manifestations are intermittent. A-V and I-V conduction disturbances often arise, but incidence of defects with clinical consequences is too low. Death rate, when large groups are considered, is slightly higher than that of the general population of the same age and with similar pathologies.

[The cardioprotective action of nifedipine during short-term transient ischemia].

To determine the therapeutic activity on regional myocardial function of nifedipine intravenous administration (0.16 mg/kg) during short term myocardial induced ischemia, we used 6 mongrel dogs anesthetized and intubated those who we have implanted 3 pairs of ultrasonic crystals in the subendocardial layer. Utilizing an open chest canine model we performed total 1 minute and partial 2 minutes 30 seconds alternative obstructions, controlled with electromagnetic flowmeters in the anterior descending (AD) and circumflex (Cx) coronary arteries before and after drug administration.

[Regional differences in the contractile function of the subendocardium and subepicardium of the left ventricle in the dog].

With the objective to study the regional differences in myocardial function of different left ventricular (LV) segments, twelve pairs of ultrasound crystals were implanted in six open-chest dogs. Six pairs in the subendocardium and six in the subepicardium in three zones of the left ventricle (4 in the apex, 4 in the left anterior descending region and 4 in the circumflex region). In each zone of subendocardium one pair was placed parallel to the epicardial fibers (long axis) and the other following the circumferential plane of the left ventricle (short axis); the same orientation was followed in the subepicardium.