Muscular activity and its relationship to biomechanics and human performance

The purpose of this manuscript is to address the issue of muscular activity, human motion, fitness, and exercise. Human activity is reviewed from the historical perspective as well as from the basics of muscular contraction, nervous system controls, mechanics, and biomechanical considerations. In addition, attention has been given to some of the principles involved in developing muscular adaptations through strength development. Brief descriptions and findings from a few studies are included. These experiments were conducted in order to investigate muscular adaptation to various exercise regimens. Different theories of strength development were studied and correlated to daily human movements. All measurement tools used represent state of the art exercise equipment and movement analysis. The information presented here is only a small attempt to understand the effects of exercise and conditioning on Earth with the objective of leading to greater knowledge concerning human responses during spaceflight. What makes life from nonliving objects is movement which is generated and controlled by biochemical substances. In mammals. the controlled activators are skeletal muscles and this muscular action is an integral process composed of mechanical, chemical, and neurological processes resulting in voluntary and involuntary motions. The scope of this discussion is limited to voluntary motion

A Handbook of Theories on Designing Alignment Between People and the Office Environment

Although workplace design and management are gaining more and more attention from modern organizations, workplace research is still very fragmented and spread across multiple disciplines in academia. There are several books on the market related to workplaces, facility management (FM), and corporate real estate management (CREM) disciplines, but few open up a theoretical and practical discussion across multiple theories from different fields of studies. Therefore, workplace researchers are not aware of all the angles from which workplace management and effects of workplace design on employees has been or could be studied. A lot of knowledge is lost between disciplines, and sadly, many insights do not reach workplace managers in practice. Therefore, this new book series is started by associate professor Rianne Appel-Meulenbroek (Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands) and postdoc researcher Vitalija Danivska (Aalto University, Finland) as editors, published by Routledge. It is titled ‘Transdisciplinary Workplace Research and Management’ because it bundles important research insights from different disciplinary fields and shows its relevance for both academic workplace research and workplace management in practice. The books will address the complexity of the transdisciplinary angle necessary to solve ongoing workplace-related issues in practice, such as knowledge worker productivity, office use, and more strategic workplace management. In addition, the editors work towards further collaboration and integration of the necessary disciplines for further development of the workplace field in research and in practice. This book series is relevant for workplace experts both in academia and industry. This first book in the series focuses on the employee as a user of the work environment. The 21 theories discussed and applied to workplace design in this book address people’s ability to do their job and thrive in relation to the office workplace. Some focus more on explaining why people behave the way they do (the psychosocial environment), while others take the physical and/or digital workplace quality as a starting point to explain employee outcomes such as health, satisfaction, and performance. They all explain different aspects for achieving employee-workplace alignment (EWA) and thereby ensuring employee thriving. The final chapter describes a first step towards integrating these theories into an overall interdisciplinary framework for eventually developing a grand EWA theory. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003128830, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Control of Hind Limb Muscle Spindles from the Mesencephalon and Diencephalon in the Cat

Appelberg and Emonet-Denand (1965) observed an increase in dynamic sensitivity of muscle spindles in hind limb muscles during stimulation in the mesencephalon in the approximate location of the Red Nucleus. This was seen in a flexor (Peroneus Tertius) and an extensor (Flexor Digitorum Longus). Using this and later work as a basis, Appelberg (1981) described an area covering the dorsocaudal part of the Red Nucleus and dorsal and caudal to it, which on stimulation selectively recruited hindlimb gamma motoneurones. The aim of this project was to investigate the effect of stimulation in the region described by Appelberg (1981) on gamma motoneurones of the Tenuissimus muscle, and to assess its value as an experimental tool. Other possible areas for selective recruitment of dynamic and other types of gamma motoneurone were also to be investigated. Two types of experiment were carried out. In one, spindles of the Tenuissimus muscle were exposed (isolated) with their nerve and blood supplies intact. Then, by direct observation of intrafusal fibres, the effect of stimulation in the mesencephalon and telencephalon was assessed. In the other type of experiment, single group la afferent fibres from Tenuissimus, Peroneus Tertius, and Flexor Digitorum Longus muscles were prepared in dorsal root filaments. The nature of any changes in gamma firing was inferred from changes in the afferents' response to muscle length change. Static effects were seen in many experiments, and mixed dynamic and static in some. The static bag2 and chain fibres showed a large degree of independence in their excitation and inhibition, and were seen to be affected in opposite ways on some occasions. However, no clear area emerged as a particular site for recruitment of any type of intrafusal fibre in tenuissimus spindles. It was also seen that the act of inserting microelectrodes into the habenulae silenced spontaneous activity in a tenuissimus spindle. This was not the case for the red nucleus or the substantia nigra. It was concluded that tenuissimus is not affected from the area described by Appelberg (1981) and that the assertion that this area selectively recruits dynamic gammas in hind limb muscles has to be qualified until tested in individual muscles. The results from single experiments on Peroneus Tertius and Flexor Digitorum Longus support this view

Human Enhancement Technologies and Our Merger with Machines

A cross-disciplinary approach is offered to consider the challenge of emerging technologies designed to enhance human bodies and minds. Perspectives from philosophy, ethics, law, and policy are applied to a wide variety of enhancements, including integration of technology within human bodies, as well as genetic, biological, and pharmacological modifications. Humans may be permanently or temporarily enhanced with artificial parts by manipulating (or reprogramming) human DNA and through other enhancement techniques (and combinations thereof). We are on the cusp of significantly modifying (and perhaps improving) the human ecosystem. This evolution necessitates a continuing effort to re-evaluate current laws and, if appropriate, to modify such laws or develop new laws that address enhancement technology. A legal, ethical, and policy response to current and future human enhancements should strive to protect the rights of all involved and to recognize the responsibilities of humans to other conscious and living beings, regardless of what they look like or what abilities they have (or lack). A potential ethical approach is outlined in which rights and responsibilities should be respected even if enhanced humans are perceived by non-enhanced (or less-enhanced) humans as “no longer human” at all

Workshop on Countering Space Adaptation with Exercise: Current Issues

The proceedings represent an update to the problems associated with living and working in space and the possible impact exercise would have on helping reduce risk. The meeting provided a forum for discussions and debates on contemporary issues in exercise science and medicine as they relate to manned space flight with outside investigators. This meeting also afforded an opportunity to introduce the current status of the Exercise Countermeasures Project (ECP) science investigations and inflight hardware and software development. In addition, techniques for physiological monitoring and the development of various microgravity countermeasures were discussed

The Art and Science of Somatics: Theory, History and Scientific Foundations

What is somatics? Somatics is the name given to the field of western mind-body methods, encompassing ways of working with the body that are therapeutic, educational, artistic, and physically expressive. This study analyzes philosophies of somatic movement educational methods to observe what scientific principles and processes ground somatic work. An extensive literature review investigates five historical pioneers of somatics and explores influences on somatic theory from the fields of somatic psychology, neuroscience, the human potential movement, physiology and human anatomy, and psychoneuroimmunology. Qualitative analysis studies from mind-body medicine and the somatics field are compared. Using an interdisciplinary theoretical approach, I attempted to bridge and consolidate ideas to explore the philosophical and scientific foundation of somatics as a field, focusing on the principles behind somatic educational methods. In this qualitative study I am looking for information that supports the hypothesis that somatics is a human science. Through this research I found somatic work to have a distinct, traceable history of evidence proving its efficacy