The virtual reality format had improved selective attention and conflict resolution ability, revealing the potential of CR, specifically with virtual reality exercise, on executive function. Implications for Rehabilitation In cardiac rehabilitation, especially in phase III, it is important to develop and to present alternative strategies, as virtual reality using the Kinect in a home context. Taking into account the relationship between the improvement of the executive function with physical exercise, it is relevant to access the impact of a cardiac rehabilitation program on the executive function. Enhancing the value of the phase III of cardiac rehabilitation.

Subjects with cardiovascular diseases are referred to cardiac rehabilitation, with a possibility of using virtual reality environments. The study aimed to analyze the effect of a home-based specific exercise program, maintenance phase, with a six months period, performed in a virtual reality (Kinect) or conventional (booklet) environment, on the body composition, eating patter ns and lipid profile of subjects with coronary artery disease. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with subjects from a hospital in Porto, Portugal. Subjects were randomly assigned to either intervention group 1 (n = 11), whose program encompassed the use of Kinect; or intervention group 2, a booklet (n = 11) or a control group, only receiving education concerning cardiovascular risk factors (n = 11) during 6 months. Beyond the baseline, at 3 and 6 months the body composition was assessed with a bioimpedance scale and a tape-measure, eating patterns with the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and three months later, the lipid profile with laboratory tests. Descriptive and inferential statistical measures were used with a significance level of 0.05. Results: The intervention group 1 revealed significant improvements in the waist-to-hip ratio after 6 months (p = 0.033) and, between the baseline and third month, when compared with the control group (p = 0.041). The intervention group 1 also decreased their ingestion of total fat (p = 0.032) after six months and increased the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.017) 3 months after the program's conclusion. Conclusions: The virtual reality format had a positive influence on body composition, specifically on the waist-to-hip ratio, in the first three months.

Cardiovascular diseases lead to a high consumption of financial resources. An important part of the recovery process is the cardiovascular rehabilitation. This study aimed to present a new cardiovascular rehabilitation system to 11 outpatients with coronary artery disease from a Hospital in Porto, Portugal, later collecting their opinions. This system is based on a virtual reality game system, using the Kinect sensor while performing an exercise protocol which is integrated in a home-based cardiovascular rehabilitation programme, with a duration of 6 months and at the maintenance phase. The participants responded to a questionnaire asking for their opinion about the system. The results demonstrated that 91% of the participants (n = 10) enjoyed the artwork, while 100% (n = 11) agreed on the importance and usefulness of the automatic counting of the number of repetitions, moreover 64% (n = 7) reported motivation to continue performing the programme after the end of the study, and 100% (n = 11) recognized Kinect as an instrument with potential to be an asset in cardiovascular rehabilitation. Criticisms included limitations in motion capture and gesture recognition, 91% (n = 10), and the lack of home space, 27% (n = 3). According to the participants' opinions, the Kinect has the potential to be used in cardiovascular rehabilitation; however, several technical details require improvement, particularly regarding the motion capture and gesture recognition.

15 16Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of different manual techniques on cervical ranges of 17 motion and pressure pain sensitivity in subjects with latent trigger point of the upper trapezius muscle. tion, restricted range of movement, and producing auton-63 omous phenomena (eg, skin blood flow response).

Objective: To analyze the short-and long-term effects of microcurrent used with aerobic exercise on abdominal fat (visceral and subcutaneous).Methods: Forty-two female students from a university population were randomly assigned into five group: intervention group (IG) 1 (n=9), IG2 (n=9), IG3 (n=7), IG4 (n=8), and placebo group (PG) (n=9). An intervention program of 10 sessions encompassing microcurrent and aerobic exercise (performed with a cycloergometer) was applied in all groups, with slightly differences between them. In IG1 and IG2, microcurrent with transcutaneous electrodes was applied, with different frequency values; 30-minute exercise on the cycloergometer was subsequently performed. IG3 used the same protocol as IG1 but with different electrodes (percutaneous), while in IG4 the microcurrent was applied simultaneously with the cycloergometer exercise. Finally, the PG used the IG1 protocol but with the microcurrent device switched off. All groups were evaluated through ultrasound and abdominal perimeter measurement for visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat assessment; through calipers for skinfolds measurement; through bioimpedance to evaluate weight, fat mass percentage, and muscular mass; and through blood analyses to measure cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose levels.Results: After intervention sessions, visceral fat decreased significantly in IG1 compared with the PG. Subcutaneous fat was reduced significantly in all groups compared with the PG. After 4 weeks, almost all results were maintained. Conclusion:The addition of microcurrent to aerobic exercise may reduce fat more than does aerobic exercise alone.

IntroductionCoronary artery disease is associated with decreased levels of physical activity, contributing to increases in abdominal fat and consequently increasing metabolic risk. The innovative use of microcurrents may be an effective method to increase the lipolytic rate of abdominal adipocytes. This study aimed to investigate the effects of utilizing microcurrents in a home-based exercise program in subjects with coronary artery disease to assess changes in total, subcutaneous and visceral abdominal adipose tissue. MethodsThis controlled trial included 44 subjects with myocardial infarction, randomly divided into Intervention Group 1 (IG1; n = 16), Intervention Group 2 (IG2; n = 12) and Control Group (CG; n = 16). IG1 performed a specific exercise program at home during 8 weeks, and IG2 additionally used microcurrents on the abdominal region before the exercise program. All groups were given health education sessions. Computed tomography was used to evaluate abdominal, subcutaneous and visceral fat, accelerometers to measure habitual physical activity and the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for dietary intake. ResultsAfter 8 weeks, IG2 showed a significantly decrease in subcutaneous fat (p ≤ 0.05) when compared to CG. Concerning visceral fat, both intervention groups showed a significant decrease in comparison to the CG (p ≤ 0.05). No significant changes were found between groups on dietary intake and habitual physical activity, except for sedentary activity that decreased significantly for IG2 in comparison with CG (p ≤ 0.05). ConclusionThis specific home-based exercise program using microcurrent therapy for individuals with coronary artery disease showed improvements in visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat.

URTI were related with day care centres' risk factors, LRTI were associated with mother-related and household-related risk factors and AOM was connected with child-related risk factors.

Introduction: Increased abdominal fat and sedentary lifestyles contribute to cardiovascular disease risk. Low-intensity electrical current (microcurrent) on the abdominal region, associated with physical exercise, appears to be an innovative method to increase the lipolytic rate of abdominal adipocytes, in order to reduce abdominal fat. This study aimed to analyze the acute effects of microcurrent associated with an aerobic exercise program in healthy subjects in lipolysis. Method: A double-blinded, randomized controlled trial was developed and conducted in a higher education school. Eighty-three healthy subjects, aged between 18 and 30 years old and with a 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m 2 body mass index were randomly assigned either to an experimental or to a placebo group. Subjects received a trans-abdominal microcurrent stimulation for 40 min with (experimental group) or without (placebo group) electrical current, followed by a single aerobic exercise session (60 min at 45-55% VO2max intensity). Lipolytic activity (serum glycerol), abdominal fat (waist circumference, abdominal skinfold, ultrasonography), and serum lipid profile (serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) were evaluated in all subjects. Physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) and dietary intake (food-frequency questionnaire) questionnaires were applied. Results: After the intervention, lipolytic rate was significantly higher (p = 0.003) in the experimental group (mean = 0.15) than in the placebo group (mean = 0.09). Glycerol results showed a statistically significant increase between baseline and after the intervention for both experimental group (p = 0.001) and the placebo group (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Combined use of microcurrent and physical aerobic exercise had an acute effect enhancing lipolytic rate comparing to exercise alone, in young healthy subjects.