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Copyright of Mediterranean Journal of Communication / Revista Mediterránea de Comunicación is the property of Revista Mediterranea de Comunicacion / Mediterranean Journal of Communication and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To assess if early alterations detected by Pentacam in children suffering from mild ocular allergy are suggestive of ectasia. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 49 medical records of patients of both sexes, aged between 3 and 14 years was performed. In this sample, 31 children suffered from grade I ocular allergy, and 18 presented no signs or symptoms of ocular allergy and comprised the control group. Several Pentacam indexes were evaluated. Results: A statistically significant association was found in the variables "Df -- variation of the anterior corneal elevation map" and "combined Pentacam", which can be related to the early detection of corneal ectasia in these patients. Conclusion: There was a causal relation between prevalence of ocular allergy and tomographic alterations on the cornea, suggestive of keratoconus in some probably susceptible patients, which may be considered a risk factor for this complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intention of this case study was to analyze a sport artifact sold in the Costa Rican market, the Skyrunner®, from the biomechanical and physiological point of view. For it, the biomechanics and physiological differences are studied when the Skyrunner® is and is not used. A man (20 years, 1.67 m, 55 kg) was the case of study. The analysis of the biomechanical variables was made by means of a force platform, with which the vertical force was obtained, the height, the jump flight time, vertical impulse and duration of the impulse phase. For the measurement of the physiological variables a metabolic car was used to evaluate the power consumption while the subject was exercised in an endless band during the heating, the exercise and the phase of recovery. In general, the use of the Skyrunner® caused a greater cost of energy that can be attributed to the requirement of mechanisms of balance and muscular tension that entail an important cost of energy. The height of the jumps with Skyrunner® was greater by 50%, although the vertical impulse was nearly 15% less. The time of impulse was 27.5% the time of a normal jump and forces were generated almost three times greater. This denotes the great mechanical efficiency of the system that is able to keep and use greater amount of elastic energy accumulated in the structure, in comparison with that produced by the legs in an isolated form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]