Humans plan for the near future to walk economically on uneven terrain

Humans experience small fluctuations in their gait when walking on uneven terrain. The fluctuations deviate from the steady, energy-minimizing pattern for level walking, and have no obvious organization. But humans often look ahead when they walk, and could potentially plan anticipatory fluctuations for the terrain. Such planning is only sensible if it serves some an objective purpose, such as maintaining constant speed or reducing energy expenditure, that is also attainable within finite planning capacity. Here we show that humans do plan and perform optimal control strategies on uneven terrain. Rather than maintain constant speed, they make purposeful, anticipatory speed adjustments that are consistent with minimizing energy expenditure. A simple optimal control model predicts economical speed fluctuations that agree well with experiments with humans (N = 12) walking on seven different terrain profiles (correlated with model r = 0.517 std. 0.109, P < 0.05 all terrains). Participants made repeatable speed fluctuations starting about seven to eight steps ahead of each terrain feature (up to 7.5 cm height difference each step, up to 16 consecutive features). They need not plan farther ahead, because each leg collision with ground dissipates energy, preventing momentum from persisting indefinitely. About seven to eight steps of continuous look-ahead and working memory thus suffice to practically optimize for any length of terrain. Humans reason about walking in the near future to plan complex optimal control sequences.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure

A mechanical analysis of force distribution between redundant, multiple degree-of-freedom actuators in the human: Implications for the central nervous system

This paper is a mechanical analysis of the apparent redundancy of muscles in the human body. Because differentiation of motor commands appears to occur at the motor unit level, the analysis examines possible distributions of motor unit activation levels for a given motor task. The transformation from these motor commands to movement is defined mathematically. Each motor unit, regardless of how many joints it crosses, produces a single action, a vector describing multi-joint motor tasks including control of position and/or force. These individual actions, even for apparently antagonistic muscles, are summed to produce overall movement. Because there are many possible combinations of motor unit actions which produce a desired net action, it is hypothesized that the central nervous system uses some consistent criteria for selecting favored combinations. Modeling these criteria with optimization cost functions, it is shown that the potential cost for producing movement decreases with increasing numbers of actuators, distributed in a variety of configurations. This approach is compatible with self-organizing topographic feature maps, which demonstrate how the central nervous system may perform the described transformations.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31302/1/0000208.pd

An optimal state estimation model of sensory integration in human postural balance

We propose a model for human postural balance, combining state feedback control with optimal state estimation. State estimation uses an internal model of body and sensor dynamics to process sensor information and determine body orientation. Three sensory modalities are modeled: joint proprioception, vestibular organs in the inner ear, and vision. These are mated with a two degree-of-freedom model of body dynamics in the sagittal plane. Linear quadratic optimal control is used to design state feedback and estimation gains. Nine free parameters define the control objective and the signal-to-noise ratios of the sensors. The model predicts statistical properties of human sway in terms of covariance of ankle and hip motion. These predictions are compared with normal human responses to alterations in sensory conditions. With a single parameter set, the model successfully reproduces the general nature of postural motion as a function of sensory environment. Parameter variations reveal that the model is highly robust under normal sensory conditions, but not when two or more sensors are inaccurate. This behavior is similar to that of normal human subjects. We propose that age-related sensory changes may be modeled with decreased signal-to-noise ratios, and compare the model's behavior with degraded sensors against experimental measurements from older adults. We also examine removal of the model's vestibular sense, which leads to instability similar to that observed in bilateral vestibular loss subjects. The model may be useful for predicting which sensors are most critical for balance, and how much they can deteriorate before posture becomes unstable.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49185/2/jne5_3_s07.pd

An Optimal Control Model for Analyzing Human Postural Balance

Abstract-The question posed in this study is whether optimal control and state estimation can explain selection of control strategies used by humans, in response to small perturbations to stable upright balance. To answer this question, a human sensorimotor control model, compatible with previous work by others, was assembled. This model incorporates linearized equations and full-state feedback with provision for state estimation. A form of gain-scheduling is employed to account for nonlinearities caused by control and biomechanical constraints. By decoupling the mechanics and transforming the controls into the space of experimentally observed strategies, the model is made amenable to the study of a number of possible control objectives. The objectives studied include cost functions on the state deviations, so as to control the center of mass, provide a stable platform for the head, or maintain upright stance, along with a cost function on control effort. Also studied was the effect of time delay on the stability of controls produced using various control strategies. An objective function weighting excursion of the center of mass and deviations from the upright stable position, while taking advantage of fast modes of the system, as dictated by inertial parameters and musculoskeletal geometry, produces a control that reasonably matches experimental data. Given estimates of sensor performance, the model is also suited for prediction of uncertainty in the response

Postural feedback responses scale with biomechanical constraints in human standing

We tested whether human postural responses can be described in terms of feedback control gains, and whether these gains are scaled by the central nervous system to accommodate biomechanical constraints. A feedback control model can describe postural responses for a wide range of perturbations, but biomechanical constraints—such as on the torque that can be exerted on the ground—make a single set of feedback gains inappropriate for all perturbations. To observe how postural responses change with perturbation magnitude, we applied fast, backward perturbations of magnitudes 3–15 cm to 13 healthy young volunteers (4 men, 9 women, aged 20–32 years). We used a 3-segment, sagittal-plane biomechanical model and a linear state feedback controller to reproduce the observed postural responses. Optimization was used to identify the best-fit feedback control gains for each trial. Results showed that trajectories of joint angles and joint torques were scaled with perturbation magnitude. This scaling occurred gradually, rather than abruptly changing at magnitudes where biomechanical constraints became active. Feedback gains were found to fit reasonably well with data ( R 2 =0.92) and to be multivariate and heterogenic in character, meaning that the torque produced at any joint is generally a function of motions not only at the same joint, but other joints as well. Hip gains increased and ankle gains decreased nearly linearly with perturbation magnitude, in accordance with biomechanical limitations on ground reaction torque. These results indicate that postural adjustments can be described as a single feedback control scheme, with scalable heterogenic gains that are adjusted according to biomechanical constraints.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46537/1/221_2003_Article_1674.pd

Effect of altered sensory conditions on multivariate descriptors of human postural sway

Multivariate descriptors of sway were used to test whether altered sensory conditions result not only in changes in amount of sway but also in postural coordination. Eigenvalues and directions of eigenvectors of the covariance of shnk and hip angles were used as a set of multivariate descriptors. These quantities were measured in 14 healthy adult subjects performing the Sensory Organization test, which disrupts visual and somatosensory information used for spatial orientation. Multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant analysis showed that resulting sway changes were at least bivariate in character, with visual and somatosensory conditions producing distinct changes in postural coordination. The most significant changes were found when somatosensory information was disrupted by sway-referencing of the support surface ( P =3.2·10 −10 ). The resulting covariance measurements showed that subjects not only swayed more but also used increased hip motion analogous to the hip strategy. Disruption of vision, by either closing the eyes or sway-referencing the visual surround, also resulted in altered sway ( P =1.7·10 −10 ), with proportionately more motion of the center of mass than with platform sway-referencing. As shown by discriminant analysis, an optimal univariate measure could explain at most 90% of the behavior due to altered sensory conditions. The remaining 10%, while smaller, are highly significant changes in posture control that depend on sensory conditions. The results imply that normal postural coordination of the trunk and legs requires both somatosensory and visual information and that each sensory modality makes a unique contribution to posture control. Descending postural commands are multivariate in nature, and the motion at each joint is affected uniquely by input from multiple sensors.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42010/1/221-122-2-185_81220185.pd

CMB-S4 Science Book, First Edition

This book lays out the scientific goals to be addressed by the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background experiment, CMB-S4, envisioned to consist of dedicated telescopes at the South Pole, the high Chilean Atacama plateau and possibly a northern hemisphere site, all equipped with new superconducting cameras. CMB-S4 will dramatically advance cosmological studies by crossing critical thresholds in the search for the B-mode polarization signature of primordial gravitational waves, in the determination of the number and masses of the neutrinos, in the search for evidence of new light relics, in constraining the nature of dark energy, and in testing general relativity on large scales

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Extragalactic Sources at 148 GHz in the 2008 Survey

We report on extragalactic sources detected in a 455 square-degree map of the southern sky made with data at a frequency of 148 GHz from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope 2008 observing season. We provide a catalog of 157 sources with flux densities spanning two orders of magnitude: from 15 to 1500 mJy. Comparison to other catalogs shows that 98% of the ACT detections correspond to sources detected at lower radio frequencies. Three of the sources appear to be associated with the brightest cluster galaxies of low redshift X-ray selected galaxy clusters. Estimates of the radio to mm-wave spectral indices and differential counts of the sources further bolster the hypothesis that they are nearly all radio sources, and that their emission is not dominated by re-emission from warm dust. In a bright (>50 mJy) 148 GHz-selected sample with complete cross-identifications from the Australia Telescope 20 GHz survey, we observe an average steepening of the spectra between 5, 20, and 148 GHz with median spectral indices of $\alpha_{\rm 5-20} = -0.07 \pm 0.06$, $\alpha_{\rm 20-148} = -0.39 \pm0.04$, and $\alpha_{\rm 5-148} = -0.20 \pm 0.03$. When the measured spectral indices are taken into account, the 148 GHz differential source counts are consistent with previous measurements at 30 GHz in the context of a source count model dominated by radio sources. Extrapolating with an appropriately rescaled model for the radio source counts, the Poisson contribution to the spatial power spectrum from synchrotron-dominated sources with flux density less than 20 mJy is C^{\rm Sync} = (2.8 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-6} \micro\kelvin^2.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Specific effects of KChIP3/calsenilin/DREAM, but not KChIPs 1, 2 and 4, on calcium signalling and regulated secretion in PC12 cells

The KChIPs (K+ channel-interacting proteins) are members of the NCS (neuronal calcium sensor) protein family of Ca2+-binding proteins. It is unclear to what extent the KChIPs have distinct functions although they all interact with Kv4 K+ channels. KChIP3 has also been shown to repress transcription of specific genes via binding to DRE (downstream regulatory element) motifs and all KChIPs may share this function. In the present study, we have compared the function of isoforms of the four KChIPs. KChIPs 1–4 were found to stimulate the traffic of Kv4.2 channels to the plasma membrane. KChIP3 expression in PC12 cells resulted in an increase in exocytosis evoked by activation of purinergic receptors. In contrast, KChIPs 1, 2 and 4, although expressed to the same extent, had no effect on secretion. In addition, KChIP3 but not KChIPs 1, 2 and 4 modified the ATP-induced Ca2+ signal resulting in a delay in recovery after the peak Ca2+ elevation and also specifically resulted in down-regulation of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger NCX3, which could explain the effects on the Ca2+ signal and secretion. Regulation of NCX3 by KChIP3 has been shown to occur via its DREAM (DRE antagonist modulator) function [Gomez-Villafuertes, Torres, Barrio, Savignac, Gabellini, Rizzato, Pintado, Gutierrez-Adan, Mellstrom, Carafoli and Naranjo (2005) J. Neurosci. 25, 10822–10830] suggesting that this activity might depend on the cellular context of expression of the various KChIPs. These results reveal a new role for KChIP3 in the regulation of Ca2+-regulated secretion and also suggest that the functions of each of the KChIPs may be more specialized than previously appreciated

The diagnostic value of liver biopsy

BACKGROUND: Since the introduction of molecular diagnostic tools such as markers for hepatitis C and different autoimmune diseases, liver biopsy is thought to be useful mainly for staging but not for diagnostic purposes. The aim was to review the liver biopsies for 5 years after introduction of testing for hepatitis C, in order to evaluate what diagnostic insights – if any – remain after serologic testing. METHODS: Retrospective review of all liver biopsies performed between 1.1.1995 and 31.12.1999 at an academic outpatient hepatology department. The diagnoses suspected in the biopsy note were compared with the final diagnosis arrived at during a joint meeting with the responsible clinicians and a hepatopathologist. RESULTS: In 365 patients, 411 diagnoses were carried out before biopsy. 84.4 % were confirmed by biopsy but in 8.8 %, 6.8 % and 10.5 % the diagnosis was specified, changed or a diagnosis added, respectively. Additional diagnoses of clinical relevance were unrecognized biliary obstruction and additional alcoholic liver disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Liver biopsy led to change in management for 12.1 % of patients. CONCLUSION: Even in the era of advanced virological, immunological and molecular genetic testing, liver biopsy remains a useful diagnostic tool. The yield is particularly high in marker negative patients but also in patients with a clear-cut prebiopsy diagnosis, liver biopsy can lead to changes in patient management