PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were twofold: (a) measure the effects of temporal parameters on both ball velocity and upper limb joint kinetics in order to identify pathomechanical factors during the tennis serve; and (b) validate these pathomechanical factors by comparing injured and non-injured players. METHODS: Serves of expert ...

BACKGROUND: People with chronic ankle instability display different ankle joint motions compared to healthy people. The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies used to control ankle joint motions between a group of people with chronic ankle instability and a group of healthy, matched controls. METHODS: Kinematic data ...

The primary objective of this study was to quantify the effect of dynamic cart pushing exertions on the biomechanical loading of shoulder and low back. Ten participants performed cart pushing tasks on flat (0°), 5°, and 10° ramped walkways at 20 kg, 30 kg, and 40 kg weight conditions. An optoelectronic motion capturing ...

We report the systematic control of the morphology of β-NaYF4:Yb,Er/Tm upconversion nanophosphors (UCNPs) from large spheres (37.9 nm) to rods (length = 60.1 nm, width = 21.5 nm) and from rods to hexagonal prisms (length = 48.8 nm, width = 44.0 nm) or small spheres (14.0 nm) by the use ...

Backward walking (BW) is a recently emerging exercise. However, limited studies exist regarding the motion analysis of BW compared with that of forward walking (FW). The present study identified the mechanisms of BW through kinetic analysis and focused on BW time-reversed data. A three-dimensional motion capture system was used to ...

Conspicuity limitations make bicycling at night dangerous. This experiment quantified bicyclists' estimates of the distance at which approaching drivers would first recognize them. Twenty five participants (including 13 bicyclists who rode at least once per week, and 12 who rode once per month or less) cycled in place on a ...

The timing of visual information pick-up for visual anticipation was examined by comparing the capability of multiple skill groups, expert and near-expert karate athletes and novices, to block attacks using an in situ temporal occlusion paradigm. Participants stood facing a karate opponent and then attempted to block attacks (kicks and ...

Optogenetics has rapidly become a standard method in neuroscience research. Although significant progress has been made in the development of molecular tools, refined techniques for combined light delivery and recording in vivo are still lacking. For example, simultaneous intracellular recording and light stimulation have only been possible by using two ...

It has been argued that when an observer moves, a contingent retinal-image motion of a stimulus would strengthen the perceived glossiness. This would be attributed to the veridical perception of three-dimensional structure by motion parallax. However, it has not been investigated whether the effect of motion parallax is more than ...

Recognizing the importance of both the torque-angle and torque-velocity relations, three-dimensional (3D) human strength capabilities (i.e., peak torque as a function of both joint angle and movement velocity) have been increasingly reported. It is not clear, however, the degree to which these surfaces vary between joints, particularly between joints with ...

STUDY DESIGN: Bench research. INTRODUCTION: Although information on the range of motion (ROM) required to perform activities is important when setting ROM goals to enable patients to engage in them, there are few studies reporting the required ROM of fingers. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To analyze the range of joint ...

Using 4-dimensional computed tomographic scanner to determine the motion pattern of the acromioclavicular (AC) joint during adduction of the arm, with and without resisted superior elevation. Sixteen healthy volunteers (5 women and 11 men; mean ± SD age, 42 ± 11 years). Four different motions were measured: AC joint width, ...

PURPOSE: This study investigates how well experts can adjust the settings of a commercial noise reduction system to optimize the intelligibility for naïve normal hearing listeners. METHOD: In Experiment 1, five experts adjusted parameters for a noise reduction system while aiming to optimize intelligibility. The stimuli consisted of speech presented ...

Abstract Few studies have focused on the effect of posture during sprint start. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of the modification of horizontal distance between the blocks during sprint start on three dimensional (3D) joint angular velocity. Nine trained sprinters started using three different starting ...

Studies have shown that a minute, noise-like electrical stimulation (ES) of a lower limb joint stabilizes one-legged standing (OS), possibly due to the noise-enhanced joint proprioception. To demonstrate the practical utility of this finding, we assessed whether the bipedal stance (BS), relatively stable and generally employed in daily activities, is ...

The passive stiffness at the MCP joint is a result of the elasticity of muscle-tendon units (MTUs) and capsule ligament complex (CLC), however, the relative contributions of these two components are unknown. We hypothesize that the MTUs provide the majority of the contributions to the joint stiffness by generating resistive ...

The purpose of this study was to compare underwater behavioral and auditory evoked potential (AEP) audiograms in a single captive adult loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). The behavioral audiogram was collected using a go/no-go response procedure and a modified staircase method of threshold determination. AEP thresholds were measured using subdermal ...

Objective: To investigate speech recognition performance in noise with bilateral open-fit hearing aids and as reference also with closed earmolds, in omnidirectional mode, directional mode, and directional mode in conjunction with noise reduction. Design: A within-subject design with repeated measures across conditions was used. Speech recognition thresholds in noise were ...

PURPOSE: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition in which visual perception to both static and moving stimuli is altered. The aim of this study was to investigate the early cortical responses of subjects with ASD to simple patterns and moving radial rings using visual evoked potentials (VEPs). METHODS: Male ...

A NiO(x) buffer layer is introduced in GaN-based light-emitting diodes to form low resistance ohmic contacts between p-type GaN and graphene conductive electrodes, leading to improved performance with lower operating voltage and higher light output power.

PURPOSE: To establish the normal range of values for rod-isolated b-wave amplitudes in achromatopsia and cone dystrophies. METHODS: We reviewed charts of 112 patients with various types of cone dystrophy, and compared their standardized electroretinographic rod b-wave amplitudes with age-matched normal controls. Twenty-six patients had known mutations in achromatopsia and ...

The visual pigments of rods and cones were studied in eight Fennoscandian populations of nine-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius). The wavelength of maximum absorbance of the rod pigment (λ(max)) varied between populations from 504 to 530 nm. Gene sequencing showed that the rod opsins of all populations were identical in amino ...

A recently discovered type of mammalian retinal ganglion cell encodes environmental light intensity and mediates non-image-forming visual behaviors, such as the pupillary reflex and circadian photoentrainment. These intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) generate endogenous, melanopsin-based photoresponses as well as extrinsic, rod/cone-driven responses. Because the ipRGCs' light responses and the ...

Sensory sensitivity is typically measured using behavioural techniques (psychophysics), which rely on observers responding to very large numbers of stimulus presentations. Psychophysics can be problematic when working with special populations, such as children or clinical patients who may lack the compliance or cognitive skills to perform the behavioural tasks. We ...

PURPOSE: Mouse mutants for proteins expressed in the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex at the photoreceptor terminal have electroretinogram (ERG) b-waves with a delayed onset and time course. The b-wave is defined by the sum of PII generated by depolarizing bipolar cells and slow PIII generated by Müller glial cells. In this study, ...

This paper presents the kinematic design of a spatial, 1-degree-of-freedom closed linkage to be used as an exoskeleton for thumb motion. Together with an already-designed finger mechanism, it forms a robotic device for hand therapy. The goal for the exoskeleton is to generate the desired grasping and pinching path of ...

Recently it has been demonstrated that auditory brainstem responses, ABRs, to chirps are larger with the ER-2 than with the ER-3A insert earphone due to differences between the corresponding amplitude-frequency responses. Therefore a modified chirp, which equalizes the amplitude-frequency response of the ER-3A, is constructed and subsequently compared to the ...

Estimation of joint angles for human joints is important for many applications in Bioengineering. Most of the existing angular joint sensors rely on the assumption of the knowledge of the type of motion and location of the joint. This paper presents a new design for the measurement of finger joint ...

BACKGROUND: Commercial electrophysiology systems for recording evoked potentials always connect patients to the acquisition unit via long wires. Wires guarantee timely transfer of signals for synchronization with the stimuli, but they are susceptible to electromagnetic and electrostatic interferences. Though wireless solutions are readily available (e.g. Bluetooth), they introduce high delay ...

The retinal image is sampled concurrently, and largely independently, by three physiologically and anatomically distinct pathways, each with separate ON and OFF subdivisions. The retinal circuitry giving rise to an ON pathway receiving input from the short-wave-sensitive (S) cones is well understood, but the S-cone OFF circuitry is more controversial. ...

Purpose  To test a simple electroretinographic protocol on a representative sample of minipigs. Animal studied  Minipig. Procedures  Electroretinogram recordings were conducted on 162 healthy minipigs (81 males and 81 females) aged 4-6 months. After a 1.5-h light-adaptation period, the animals were anesthetized with general anesthesia. First, binocular full-field photopic electroretinogram recordings ...

STUDY DESIGN:: Comparative in-vitro, biomechanical study. OBJECTIVE:: Compare the effect of rod curvature and material properties on rod flattening and correctional forces. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA:: Traditional methods of correction for large progressive deformities involve three-dimensional correction, performed with an attempt to reach a balanced correction in all planes, spinal ...

Cu(2)O/TiO(2) heterojunction photocatalyst is built on carbon aerogel (CA) substrate with good adsorption properties by sol impregnation and seed-mediated synthesis approach. The Cu(2)O/TiO(2)/CA electrode has excellent electrosorptive and high efficient photocatalytic properties. Its morphology and surface chemical composition are characterized with SEM, TEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra. The ...

The aim of the present study was to determine if the patterns of mechanomyographic (MMG) amplitude across force would change with strength training. Twenty-two healthy men completed an 8-week strength training program. During three separate testing visits (pre-test, week 4, and week 8), the MMG signal was detected from the ...

Selective local N-doped TiO(2) electrodes were fabricated using a pulsed laser deposition method. Different from the uniform nitrogen-doping in TiO(2) electrodes showing the diminution of IPCE in the UV light region, the inner nitrogen-doped TiO(2) electrode uniquely enhanced IPCE in the UV light region significantly (up to 95% at 320 ...

The morphology, fine structure and spectral sensitivity of retinal photoreceptors of two anchovy species were investigated using light and electron microscopy and microspectrophotometry. Distinct regional specialisation of cones was observed. Long and short (bilobed) cones were observed in the horizontal retinal belt, including the nasal and temporal retinal zones. Only ...

Recovery of the light response in vertebrate photoreceptors requires the shutoff of both active intermediates in the phototransduction cascade: the visual pigment and the transducin-phosphodiesterase complex. Whichever intermediate quenches more slowly will dominate photoresponse recovery. In suction pipette recordings from isolated salamander ultraviolet- and blue-sensitive cones, response recovery was delayed, ...

Non-pulsatile tinnitus is considered to be an auditory phantom percept. The extremely emotional context of disabling tinnitus often leads to a higher level of selective attention directed toward the tinnitus. As such, tinnitus is a continuously distracting auditory event. Auditory attention is associated with the activation of the intraparietal sulcus ...

Oscillatory potentials (OPs) are typically isolated from the electroretinogram (ERG) via linear, time-invariant, bandpass filtering. The use of a highpass cutoff frequency that is too low results in a- and b-wave contamination of the OP signal, while a cutoff frequency that is too high removes significant OP signal energy. Two ...

ABSTRACT The recent development of automated cough monitors has enabled objective assessment of cough frequency. A study was undertaken to determine whether short duration recordings (<6 hours) accurately reflect 24-hour cough frequency and to investigate their responsiveness.100 adults with chronic cough underwent 24-hour cough frequency monitoring with the Leicester Cough ...

Previously we have reported a family of convective patterns formed by charge-stabilized aqueous colloidal suspensions under constant (dc) vertical electric fields [Y. Han and D. G. Grier, J. Chem. Phys. 122, 164701 (2005); and ibid. 125, 144707 (2006)]. These patterns form in the bulk when electrokinetic forces act in the ...

PURPOSE.: Following exposure to a bright light that bleaches a significant portion of photopigment, the eyes take several minutes to regain sensitivity. This slow process, known as dark adaptation, is impaired in patients with age-related macular degeneration and is an important candidate biomarker for this disease. The aim of this ...

Graphene has attracted enormous attention for radio-frequency transistor applications because of its exceptional high carrier mobility, high carrier saturation velocity, and large critical current density. Herein we report a new approach for the scalable fabrication of high-performance graphene transistors with transferred gate stacks. Specifically, arrays of gate stacks are first ...

Methanesulfonic acid sodium salt (Dipyrone), an antipyretic and analgesic drug, has been demonstrated to improve cerebral ischemia through the inhibition of mitochondrial cell death cascades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential photoprotective activity of methanesulfonic acid sodium salt in a model of light-induced retinopathy. One hundred ...

Dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) acoustic sounds were characterized by analyzing narrowband recordings [0-16 kHz in New Zealand (NZ) and 0-24 kHz in Argentina], and sounds in broadband recordings (0-200 kHz) were compared to their counterparts in down-sampled narrowband recordings (0-16 kHz). The most robust similarity between sounds present in broadband ...

Cochlear implants (CI) perform especially well if residual acoustic hearing is retained and combined with the CI in the same ear (also termed hybrid or electric-acoustic stimulation). However, in most CI patients, residual hearing is at least partially compromised during surgery, and in some it is lost completely. At present, ...

This paper reports the recording and analysis of an aerodynamic database of 51 words produced by four patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis. The vowel-fricative-vowel boundaries were manually annotated, and the mean absolute oral airflow amplitude (OA), fundamental frequency (f0), and first formant intensity (IF1) were extracted from a 20 ...

Purpose: To examine the amplification and kinetics of murine rod photoresponses by recording ERG flash responses in vivo and ex vivo from the same retina. We also aimed to evaluate the two available methods for isolating the rod signal from the ERG flash response, i.e. pharmacology and paired flash method ...

We observe a near-ideal high speed amplitude impulse response in an SOA-EAM-SOA configuration under optimum conditions. Full amplitude recovery times as low as 10ps with modulation depths of 70% were observed in pump-probe measurements. System behavior could be controlled by the choice of signal wavelength, SOA current biases and EAM ...

Visible light induces switching of surface chemical patterns based on hybrid gels of thermally responsive poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) copolymer networks containing iron oxide nanoparticles. The swelling of these hybrid gels is reduced upon illumination, allowing controlled unfolding of creased features formed due to an elastic surface instability.