Virtual reality as a telerehabilitation strategy for people with autism spectrum disorder during the COVID-19 quarantine scenario: physical activity, motor performance and enjoyment.

PURPOSE: People with autism spectrum disorder could benefit from physical activity during the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions, mainly to maintain adequate physical activity. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility, enjoyment, and potential effect of telerehabilitation using a serious game named 'MoveHero'. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Registered in Clinical Trials (NCT04402034). We adopted a remotely run Telerehabilitation research design with 44 participants recruited: 22 People with ASD people and 22 non-ASD individuals. RESULTS: All participants safely participated, 100% adherence to sessions, ∼60% enjoying the task, and significantly improved performance, with better performance for the NA group at most practice moments. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support both how to implement a gaming intervention and the need to investigate the efficacy of serious games to motivate moderate intensity physical activity in people with ASD.

A new and thrilling way to promote physical activity is through telerehabilitation to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.A tool that can possibly influence the mood of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Help to implement home-based rehabilitation to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Cardiac autonomic modulation in response to postural transition during a virtual reality task in individuals with spinal cord injury: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: The postural transition from sitting to standing is a moment of dysautonomic occurrence in individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Different tools can be used to minimize this event, such as virtual reality. Thus, we aimed to analyze cardiac autonomic modulation in individuals with SCI during postural transition from the sitting to orthostatism position using a cognitive virtual reality (VR) task. METHODS: Individuals with and without SCI were positioned on the Easy Stand® device, sitting at rest, at 0° considering the angle between the seat and the floor, elevation at 45°, and orthostatism at 90°, for 5 minutes in each position. Heart rate variability (HRV) measures of sympathovagal balance were collected (heart rate receiver: Polar V800). The groups were subdivided into two groups, one that performed VR as an intervention during the postural angle changes and another group that did not perform VR. RESULTS: We evaluated 76 individuals, 40 with a medical diagnosis of SCI and 36 who composed the able-bodied control group without SCI, matched by age and sex. The HRV results showed that the SCI group who performed the task in VR demonstrated no significant difference in parasympathetic activation and global variability between the sitting versus 90° positions. There was better sympathovagal balance in SCI and able-bodied control groups who performed the VR task between the sitting versus 90° positions. CONCLUSION: The use of a VR task seems to contribute to better sympathovagal balance, with the potential to reduce dysautonomia during postural changes.

Smartphone apps for tracking physical activity and sedentary behavior: A criterion validity review / Aplicativos de smartphone para monitorar a atividade física e o comportamento sedentário: uma revisão sistemática de estudos de validação

Smartphone apps have been developed and investigated in validation studies for tracking human be-havior such as physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB). However, as it is unclear whether these apps are valid for tracking PA and SB when compared to research-grade accelerometers, thus, this systematic review aimed to investigate the validity of smartphone apps for tracking PA and SB using the accelerometer as a criterion measure. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, SportDiscus, and Scopus databases. The mean percentage difference (MPD) was used to evaluate criterion validity. Ten studies (n = 662) validating different apps using ActiGraph accelerometers as criteria measure (six were conducted in free-living conditions, two in laboratory conditions, and two in both conditions) were included for analyses. While four apps were considered valid for tracking PA, six were not valid or fully valid. The MPD analysis revealed that apps provide no valid scores for tracking PA measures (MPD = -12.6 ­ 37.7). The scarcity of studies investigat-ing SB limits the tracking of the results on this behavior. Study designs, smartphone location, and exercise intensity tend to affect the accuracy of apps tracking PA; thus, the current review showed conflicting results among studies. This review shows that it is not possible to generalize the valid scores for all apps

Aplicativos para smartphones têm sido desenvolvidos e investigados em estudos de validação para rastrea-mento de comportamento humano, como atividade física (AF) e comportamento sedentário (CS). No entan-to, como não está claro se esses aplicativos são válidos para rastrear AF e CS quando comparados a acelerôme-tros de grau de pesquisa, portanto, essa revisão sistemática teve o objetivo investigar a validade de aplicativos de smartphone para rastreamento de AF e CS usando o acelerômetro como medida de critério. Uma busca sistemática foi realizada em quatro bases de dados. A diferença percentual média (MPD) foi utilizada para avaliar a validade de critério. Dez estudos (n = 662) validando diferentes aplicativos usando acelerômetros ActiGraph como medida de critério (seis foram realizados em condições de vida diária, dois em condições de laboratório e dois em ambas as condições) foram incluídos para análise. Enquanto quatro aplicativos foram considerados válidos para rastreamento de AF, seis não eram válidos ou totalmente válidos. A análise do MPD revelou que os aplicativos não fornecem pontuações válidas para rastrear medidas de AF (MPD = -12,6 ­ 37,7). A escassez de estudos investigando o CS limita o rastreamento dos resultados sobre esse comportamento. Desenhos de estudo, localização do smartphone e intensidade do exercício tendem a afetar a precisão dos aplicativos que rastreiam AF; assim, a presente revisão mostrou resultados conflitantes entre os estudos. Esta revisão mostra que não é possível generalizar as pontuações válidas para todos os aplicativos.

Association between fibroblast growth factor 23 and functional capacity among independent elderly individuals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of between serum fibroblast growth factor 23 and the functional capacity among independent individuals, aged 80 or older. METHODS: The functional capacity of 144 elderly was assessed by Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, cognitive tests, handgrip strength and the timed ability to rise from a chair and sit down five times. Fibroblast growth factor 23 was measured using an ELISA assay. RESULTS: Participants in the lowest fibroblast growth factor 23 tertile had the highest mean±standard deviation estimated glomerular filtration rate, the highest mean hemoglobin level, the lowest average number of diseases and the lowest number of medications used. In participants with the estimated glomerular filtration rate >45mL/minute/1.73m2, mean fibroblast growth factor 23 level was higher in those with 25(OH) vitamin D <20ng/mL than in those with 25(OH) vitamin D ≥20ng/mL (75.6RU/mL±42.8 versus 68.5RU/mL±41.7; p<0.001). There was an increase in the mean serum cystatin C (from 1.3mg/mL±0.3 to 1.5mg/mL±0.3 to 1.7mg/mL±0.4) as function of higher fibroblast growth factor 23 tertile (p<0.001). Fibroblast growth factor 23 levels were not significantly associated with capacity in physical or cognitive tests. CONCLUSION: In independent community-dwelling elderly, aged ≥80 years, fibroblast growth factor 23 was associated with aged-related comorbidities and renal function but not with functional capacity.

Association between fibroblast growth factor 23 and functional capacity among independent elderly individuals / Associação entre fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 e capacidade funcional em idosos independentes

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the association of between serum fibroblast growth factor 23 and the functional capacity among independent individuals, aged 80 or older. Methods The functional capacity of 144 elderly was assessed by Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, cognitive tests, handgrip strength and the timed ability to rise from a chair and sit down five times. Fibroblast growth factor 23 was measured using an ELISA assay. Results Participants in the lowest fibroblast growth factor 23 tertile had the highest mean±standard deviation estimated glomerular filtration rate, the highest mean hemoglobin level, the lowest average number of diseases and the lowest number of medications used. In participants with the estimated glomerular filtration rate >45mL/minute/1.73m2, mean fibroblast growth factor 23 level was higher in those with 25(OH) vitamin D <20ng/mL than in those with 25(OH) vitamin D ≥20ng/mL (75.6RU/mL±42.8 versus 68.5RU/mL±41.7; p<0.001). There was an increase in the mean serum cystatin C (from 1.3mg/mL±0.3 to 1.5mg/mL±0.3 to 1.7mg/mL±0.4) as function of higher fibroblast growth factor 23 tertile (p<0.001). Fibroblast growth factor 23 levels were not significantly associated with capacity in physical or cognitive tests. Conclusion In independent community-dwelling elderly, aged ≥80 years, fibroblast growth factor 23 was associated with aged-related comorbidities and renal function but not with functional capacity.

RESUMO Objetivo Examinar a associação entre o fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 sérico e a capacidade funcional em indivíduos independentes, com 80 anos ou mais. Métodos A capacidade funcional de 144 idosos foi avaliada por meio de Atividades Instrumentais da Vida Diária, testes cognitivos, força de preensão manual e capacidade de levantar de uma cadeira e sentar cinco vezes. O fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 foi medido pelo teste ELISA. Resultados Os participantes no tercil mais baixo de fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 tiveram a maior média±desvio-padrão da taxa de filtração glomerular estimada, concentração média de hemoglobina mais alta, menor número médio de doenças e menor número de medicamentos utilizados. Em participantes com taxa de filtração glomerular estimada >45mL/minuto/1,73m2, o nível médio do fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 foi maior naqueles com 25(OH) vitamina D <20ng/mL do que naqueles com 25(OH) vitamina D ≥20ng/mL (75,6RU/mL±42,8 versus 68,5RU/mL±41,7; p<0,001). Houve aumento na cistatina C sérica média (de 1,3mg/mL±0,3 a 1,5mg/mL±0,3 a 1,7mg/mL±0,4) em função do tercil de fator de crescimento 23 de fibroblastos mais alto (p<0,001). Os níveis de fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 não foram significativamente associados à capacidade em testes físicos ou cognitivos. Conclusão Em idosos independentes residentes na comunidade ≥80 anos, o fator de crescimento de fibroblastos 23 foi associado a comorbidades relacionadas à idade e à função renal, mas não à capacidade funcional.

Functional performance comparison between real and virtual tasks in older adults: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Ageing is usually accompanied by deterioration of physical abilities, such as muscular strength, sensory sensitivity, and functional capacity, making chronic diseases, and the well-being of older adults new challenges to global public health. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a task practiced in a virtual environment could promote better performance and enable transfer to the same task in a real environment. METHOD: The study evaluated 65 older adults of both genders, aged 60 to 82 years (M = 69.6, SD = 6.3). A timing coincident task was applied to measure the perceptual-motor ability to perform a motor response. The participants were divided into 2 groups: started in a real interface and started in a virtual interface. RESULTS: All subjects improved their performance during the practice, but improvement was not observed for the real interface, as the participants were near maximum performance from the beginning of the task. However, there was no transfer of performance from the virtual to real environment or vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: The virtual environment was shown to provide improvement of performance with a short-term motor learning protocol in a timing coincident task. This result suggests that the practice of tasks in a virtual environment seems to be a promising tool for the assessment and training of healthy older adults, even though there was no transfer of performance to a real environment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN02960165. Registered 8 November 2016.

Similarity-based scoring method for classification of health informatics content / Método baseado no escore de similaridade para a classificação de conteúdo em Informática em Saúde / Método basado en la puntuación de similitud para clasificar el contenido en Informática de la Salud

Objective: There has been a considerable growth of the architecture and complexity of digital repositories in Health Informatics (HI). For information retrieval different information treatment and representation, such as automatic content classification, are required. The purpose of this study is to present the results of a procedure for automatic classification of scientific articles in HI using a specific thesaurus. Design: Statistical, vector, and artificial intelligence methods were applied to classify HI-related content. Articles extracted from the HI and Health journals and a specialized HI thesaurus were used for method application and result evaluation. Measurements: Statistical procedures and measures of accuracy, precision, recall, area under the ROC curve, and combination of precision and recall (F1 measure) were performed to measure the degree of similarity between terms of the specialized HI thesaurus and the selected articles. Results: The percentage of accuracy achieved was 0.87, F1 measure was 0.87 and the area under the ROC curve was 0.94. Conclusion: The results were positive, showing that the use of a specialized thesaurus on Health Informatics in conjunction with the methods used allows the classification of articles in the areas of Health Informatics and Health.

Objetivo: Há um crescimento considerável na arquitetura e complexidade dos repositórios digitais em Informática em Saúde (IS). A recuperação de informação neste cenário requer diferentes tratamentos e representações, como a classificação automática de conteúdo. O propósito deste estudo é apresentar os resultados de um processo automatizado para a classificação de artigos científicos de Informática em Saúde, utilizando um tesauro especializado neste domínio de conhecimento. Métodos: Métodos estatísticos, vetoriais e de inteligência artificial foram aplicados para classificar conteúdo relacionado à Informática em Saúde. Artigos científicos publicados em revistas de Saúde e Informática em Saúde, bem como um tesauro especializado em Informática em Saúde foram utilizados para a aplicação dos métodos e avaliação dos resultados.Avaliação: Métodos estatísticos e medidas de acurácia, precisão, revocação, área sob a curva ROC e F1-measure foram realizadas para medir o grau de similaridade entre os termos do tesauro especializado e os artigos selecionados. Resultados: O percentual de acurácia obtido foi de 0.87, F1-measure foi 0.87 e a área sob a curva ROC foi 0.94. Conclusão: Os resultados obtidos foram positivos, mostrando que a utilização de um tesauro especializado em Informática em Saúde em conjunto com os métodos aplicados possibilita a classificação de artigos nos domínios da Informática em Saúde e Saúde.

Objetivo: Hay un aumento considerable de la complejidad y la arquitectura de los repositorios digitales en Informática de la Salud (IS). La recuperación de la información en este escenario requiere diferentes tratamientos y actuaciones, como la clasificación automática de contenidos. El propósito de este estudio es presentar los resultados de un proceso automatizado para la clasificación de artículos científicos sobre Informática en Salud, utilizando un diccionario de sinónimos en la misma área de interés. Métodos: Los métodos estadísticos, el vector y la inteligencia artificial han sido aplicados para clasificar los contenidos relacionados con la Informática en Salud. Artículos publicados en revistas de Salud y de Informática en Salud, así como un diccionario especializado en Informática en Salud se utilizó para la aplicación de métodos y la evaluación de los resultados. Clasificación: Métodos estadísticos y medidas de la exactitud, precisión, cobertura, área bajo la curva ROC y F1 mediciones se realizaron para medir el grado de similitud entre los términos del diccionario de sinónimos y artículos especializados seleccionados. Resultados: El porcentaje de precisión obtenido fue de 0,87, F1-medida fue de 0,87 y el área bajo la curva ROC fue de 0,94. Conclusión: Los resultados fueron positivos, demostrando que el uso de un tesauro especializado en Informática en Salud en relación con los métodos que permite la clasificación de los artículos en las áreas de Informática en Salud y Salud.