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Introduction: Leprosy is a chronic, slowly developing infectious disease that affects the peripheral nerves, specifically Schwann cells. Individuals with the multibacillary type exhibit a propensity for developing chronic pain and a decrease in sensitivity in the plantar region, which directly interferes with balance maintenance. The evaluation of static balance in this population is made through the measurement of the center of pressure (COP) oscillations. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the association between postural control and COP oscillations using a force platform and finding accelerations of the center of mass (COM) from inertial sensors for reliable and portable balance assessment in leprosy patients. Objective: To validate the application of inertial sensors for patients with leprosy by establishing a correlation with the outcomes obtained from a force platform. Methods: This is an observational study with a case-control design, in which 30 participants with leprosy and 30 healthy participants were recruited to evaluate static balance using an inertial sensor and a force platform. Participants underwent balance assessment under two conditions (Eyes Open: OE and Eyes Closed: CE), and data from the platform and sensor were processed using Matlab computational routines. The data were quantified using four parameters: Total Displacement (TD), Area, Antero-Posterior Displacement (APdisp), and Medio-Lateral Displacement (MLdisp). Results: The evaluated parameters showed significantly different values between the groups, where the Leprosy group exhibited significantly higher values compared to the control group, both in the OE and CE conditions for all four parameters. The sensor corroborated the differences demonstrated by the platform and followed the same trend for medio-lateral displacements and accelerations. It can be observed that the evaluated parameters exhibited a varied correlation ranging from moderate to large between the platform and the sensor. Among the four variables, MLdisp had the lowest correlation. Discussion: The results partially confirmed the first hypothesis of concurrent validation, showing a moderate to large correlation between the force platform and the inertial sensor. The second hypothesis of clinical validation was also partially confirmed, as not all group differences observed in the COP measurements from the force platform were reflected in the COM measurements from the inertial sensor. Specifically, the force platform indicated greater oscillations in participants with multibacillary leprosy compared to controls, a finding statistically confirmed by the sensor for all measures except MLdisp. Conclusion: This research confirmed the concurrent validity of the inertial sensor with the force platform and its clinical validation, demonstrating that this instrument can be applied in clinical settings due to its low cost and ease of use. The findings may contribute to public health by identifying postural control tools for patients with multibacillary leprosy. Author summary: Our study aimed to validate the application of inertial sensors for patients with leprosy by establishing a correlation with the outcomes obtained from a force platform. Due to the disease's impact on sensory perception and chronic pain in the plantar region, maintaining balance becomes challenging for affected individuals. Using a force platform and an inertial sensor, we evaluated balance in 30 leprosy patients and 30 healthy participants under Eyes Open and Eyes Closed conditions. Results revealed significantly higher values in balance parameters for the leprosy group compared to controls, indicating greater instability. The inertial sensor confirmed these differences, particularly in medio-lateral displacements and accelerations. While correlation between the platform and sensor varied, our study validated the sensor's concurrent and clinical efficacy. This research underscores the potential of inertial sensors as reliable, cost-effective tools for assessing balance in clinical settings, especially for patients with multibacillary leprosy. Our findings contribute to enhancing public health efforts by offering practical solutions for monitoring and managing balance deficits in this neglected disease population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical experiments using hierarchical stimuli to investigate the ability of capuchin monkeys to integrate visual information based on global or local clues reported findings suggesting a behavioral preference for local information of the image. Many experiments using mosaics have been conducted with capuchin monkeys to identify some of their perceptual phenotypes. As the identification of an image in a mosaic demands the integration of elements that share some visual features, we evaluated the discrimination of shapes presented in solid and mosaic stimuli in capuchin monkeys. Shape discrimination performance was tested in 2 male adult capuchin monkeys in an experimental chamber with a touchscreen video monitor, in three experiments: (i) evaluation of global and local processing using hierarchical stimuli; (ii) evaluation of target detection using simple discrimination procedures; (iii) evaluation of shape discrimination using simple discrimination and delayed matching-to-sample procedures. We observed that both monkeys had preferences for local processing when tested by hierarchical stimuli. Additionally, detection performance for solid and mosaic targets was highly significant, but for shape discrimination tasks we found significant performance when using solid figures, non-significant performance when using circle and square shapes in mosaic stimuli, and significant performance when using Letter X and Number 8 shapes in mosaic stimuli. Our results are suggestive that the monkeys respond to local contrast and partly to global contrast in mosaic stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Timed-Up and Go (TUG) test is widely utilized by healthcare professionals for assessing fall risk and mobility due to its practicality. Currently, test results are based solely on execution time, but integrating technological devices into the test can provide additional information to enhance result accuracy. This study aimed to assess the reliability of smartphone-based instrumented TUG (iTUG) parameters. We conducted evaluations of intra- and inter-device reliabilities, hypothesizing that iTUG parameters would be replicable across all experiments. A total of 30 individuals participated in Experiment A to assess intra-device reliability, while Experiment B involved 15 individuals to evaluate inter-device reliability. The smartphone was securely attached to participants' bodies at the lumbar spine level between the L3 and L5 vertebrae. In Experiment A, subjects performed the TUG test three times using the same device, with a 5 min interval between each trial. Experiment B required participants to perform three trials using different devices, with the same time interval between trials. Comparing stopwatch and smartphone measurements in Experiment A, no significant differences in test duration were found between the two devices. A perfect correlation and Bland–Altman analysis indicated good agreement between devices. Intra-device reliability analysis in Experiment A revealed significant reliability in nine out of eleven variables, with four variables showing excellent reliability and five showing moderate to high reliability. In Experiment B, inter-device reliability was observed among different smartphone devices, with nine out of eleven variables demonstrating significant reliability. Notable differences were found in angular velocity peak at the first and second turns between specific devices, emphasizing the importance of considering device variations in inertial measurements. Hence, smartphone inertial sensors present a valid, applicable, and feasible alternative for TUG assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Poor sleep quality have been widely reported in patients with long COVID. Determining the characteristics, type, severity, and relationship of long COVID with other neurological symptoms is essential for the prognosis and management of poor sleep quality. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a public university in the eastern Amazon region of Brazil between November 2020 and October 2022. The study involved 288 patients with long COVID with self-report neurological symptoms. One hundred thirty-one patients were evaluated by using standardised protocols: Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Beck Anxiety Inventory, Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCRC), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). This study aimed to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with long COVID with poor sleep quality and their relationship with other neurological symptoms (anxiety, cognitive impairment, and olfactory disorder). Results: Patients with poor sleep quality were mainly women (76.3%), 44.04 ± 12.73 years old, with >12 years of education (93.1%), and had monthly incomes of up to US $240.00 (54.2%). Anxiety and olfactory disorder were more common in patients with poor sleep quality. Discussion: Multivariate analysis shows that the prevalence of poor sleep quality was higher in patients with anxiety, and olfactory disorder is associated with poor sleep quality. In this cohort of patients with long COVID, the prevalence of poor sleep quality was highest in the group tested by PSQI and were associated with other neurological symptoms, such as anxiety and olfactory dysfunction. A previous study indicates a significant association between poor sleep quality and psychological disorders over time. Recent studies involving neuroimaging found functional and structural changes in Long COVID patients with persistent olfactory disfunction. Poor sleep quality are integral part of complex changes related to Long COVID and should be part of patient’s clinical management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Aging causes substantial changes in the intraocular lens, which leads to a reduction in chromatic perception. We aimed to measure the ocular light dispersion component in relation to the reduction in color vision by aging. Methods: Intraocular straylight was quantified psychophysically by C-Quant for light dispersion [Log(s)], reliability of the results (ESD), and psychometric sampling quality (Q). The Cambridge Color Test Trivector protocol measured the chromaticity thresholds for protan, deutan, and tritan color confusion axis in CIE 1976 u’ v’ units. We tested 224 subjects aged 24–68 years (106 men) with normal best-corrected visual acuity and without clinical evidence of cataracts. Results: A significant positive correlation was found between ocular dispersion of light and chromaticity thresholds for protan (r = 0.42; p < 0.001), deutan (r = 0.49; p < 0.001) and tritan (r = 0.51; p < 0.0001) color confusion axes with a moderate effect size (η 2 = 0.39). However, a weak contribution of the logarithm of the straylight in predicting the chromaticity threshold for protan (b = 0.15; p = 0.025), deutan (b = 0.27; p = 0.001) and tritan (b = 0.21; p = 0.001) color confusion axes was verified in the regression coefficients. The other two measurement quality parameters estimated in the C-Quant were not correlated with chromaticity thresholds, suggesting that there are no problems with the quality of the measurement performed. Conclusion: An increase in ocular light dispersion that occurs physiologically with aging negatively impacts the chromaticity threshold in a similar manner across all three color confusion axes. The weak regression effects suggest that neural rather than optical processes were more related to the reduction in chromaticity in aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Virtual reality (VR) has been suggested as a new therapeutic approach in various sectors of rehabilitation, including the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), and one of its treatment goals is to improve the gait pattern and walking ability of patients. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate if VR, along with conventional physiotherapy treatment (CT), has superior effects to kinesiotherapy alone on pain, physical capacity, balance, and the parameters of anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) in patients with knee OA. Design: This study is a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Setting: Secondary care at Hospital SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals, Brazil. Participants: Forty participants (31 women and 9 men) with knee OA in at least one knee and able to ambulate independently. Intervention: A rehabilitation program (8 consecutive weeks, 50-minute session, twice a week). Patients were randomized into the intervention groups CT or VR. Main Outcome Measures: Primary-latency of APA, amplitude of APA, and time to reach the maximum acceleration amplitude. Secondary-balance control by Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test, pain, and physical capacity by Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index. Results: The results of the study showed that conventional treatment significantly improved pain intensity, physical capacity, and balance in individuals with knee OA; however, only the group that used VR showed improvement in the APA parameters. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that VR associated with conventional treatment improved APAs in patients with knee OA.

Background: Peripheral nerve disease may lead to physical disability because of decreased muscle strength and/or loss of sensitivity in the dermatomes of affected peripheral nerves. Both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- and leprosy-affected patients can develop neurological damage; therefore, the coinfection of these diseases presents new challenges to the health care of these patients., Aims and Objective: This study aimed to investigate the motor alterations of patients coinfected with HIV and leprosy and their relationship with clinical and anthropometric characteristics, compared with individuals with isolated diseases., Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 90 individuals were divided equally into three groups: HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) group, leprosy group and HIV/leprosy group. All individuals underwent an evaluation of muscle strength and upper limb endurance adjusted for the Brazilian standards, a palm print pressure test using a digital dynamometer and anthropometric measurements (weight, height and skin folds)., Results: The HIV/leprosy group had the highest mean body mass index, followed by the leprosy group and the HIV/AIDS group. Skinfolds were similar between the groups. Multiple linear regression, adjusted for sex and age, revealed the coinfection of HIV and leprosy as possible contributor to a worse prognosis of muscle function, highlighting the bilateral reduction in the levels of palm print compression strengths compared with isolated diseases (HIV and leprosy). High CD4 count and shorter antiretroviral therapy duration were associated with worse indices of muscle strength, such as gripping and resistance, in coinfected patients., Conclusion: Patients coinfected with HIV and leprosy exhibited greater motor damage than those with isolated diseases. Thus, motor damage may be related to the sum of the neurological manifestations of the two morbidities., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Dermatology.)