Disk I/O is the primary performance bottleneck for a wide range of workloads due to the relatively large, mechanical seek and rotational delay overheads incurred during I/O operations. Current-day file systems that exclusively manage storage space on disk drives employ static data layouts and do not attempt to optimize for application access patterns. We argue that this lack of application awar...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the feasibility and safety of Xbox KinectTM training of the upper extremity in subacute stroke rehabilitation. DESIGN A single-blind, randomized controlled, pilot study. PATIENTS Twenty consecutive patients with stroke. METHODS Participants were allocated randomly to 2 groups: the control group received conventional therapy and the experimental group received additio...

BACKGROUND Patients with COPD use a higher proportion of their peak aerobic capacity during the performance of domestic activities of daily life (ADLs) compared to healthy peers, accompanied by a higher degree of task-related symptoms. To date, the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the task-related metabolic demands remains unknown in patients with COPD. Therefore, the aim of our study was ...

The aim of the present study was to establish the differences in dyspnoea perception between children with undiagnosed and diagnosed asthma. A cross-sectional community-based study was performed, which included a parental questionnaire on the child’s respiratory health and testing of airway reversibility and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). ‘‘Diagnosed asthma’’ was defined by a physician’s ...

OBJECTIVE To translate the Need for Recovery Scale (NFR) into Brazilian Portuguese and culturally adapt it and assess the stability, internal consistency and convergent validity of the Brazilian scale among industrial workers. METHODS The translation process followed the guidelines for cultural adaptation of questionnaires including the steps of translation, synthesis, back translation, exper...

Short-burst oxygen therapy (SBOT) remains an unproven treatment for reduction of exertional dyspnoea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to assess whether SBOT before exercise reduces dyspnoea or improves performance, and whether SBOT after exercise reduces dyspnoea during recovery. Twenty-two clinically stable COPD patients (mean forced expiratory volume in one se...

A randomized, controlled, single-blind study was performed on 20 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and exercise-induced hypoxaemia. Ten patients each were randomly assigned to one of two groups, one training with air and the other training with oxygen. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding values measured prior to the study. The patients trained 3 ...