Amadis of Gaul, Books I and II: A Novel of Chivalry of the 14th Century Presumably First Written in Spanish

Includes a new Introduction by John E. Keller In the long history of European prose fiction, few works have been more influential and more popular than the romance of chivalry Amadis of Gaul . Although its original author is unknown, it was probably written during the early fourteenth century. The first great bestseller of the age of printing, Amadis of Gaul was translated into dozens of languages and spawned sequels and imitators over the centuries. A handsome, valiant, and undefeatable knight, Amadis is perhaps best known today as Don Quixote’s favorite knight-errant and model. This exquisite English translation restores a masterpiece to print. A most welcome arrival. It\u27s availability opens up the possibility of a wider, general audience, and of teaching Amadis not only to the graduate comparatist, but also to the large undergraduate audience. -- Bulletin of Spanish Studies What made the original and its sequels international bestsellers in the early age of printing is bound to appeal to many modern readers. Amadis combines the sentimental with the chivalric, while adding bountiful measures of pure adventure and fantasy. -- La Coronica Set in and around England after the Roman era, but before the advent of Arthur, it tells the complex interwoven story of the adventures of Amadis, the greatest knight of all time. . . . This 16th century bestseller presents an exciting, past-paced and ultimately very entertaining story that modern readers should have little difficulty in appreciating. -- SF Sitehttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_spanish_literature/1002/thumbnail.jp

Conventionally assessed voluntary activation does not represent relative voluntary torque production

The ability to voluntarily activate a muscle is commonly assessed by some variant of the twitch interpolation technique (ITT), which assumes that the stimulated force increment decreases linearly as voluntary force increases. In the present study, subjects (n = 7) with exceptional ability for maximal voluntary activation (VA) of the knee extensors were used to study the relationship between superimposed and voluntary torque. This includes very high contraction intensities (90–100%VA), which are difficult to consistently obtain in regular healthy subjects (VA of ∼90%). Subjects were tested at 30, 60, and 90° knee angles on two experimental days. At each angle, isometric knee extensions were performed with supramaximal superimposed nerve stimulation (triplet: three pulses at 300 Hz). Surface EMG signals were obtained from rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, and medialis muscles. Maximal VA was similar and very high across knee angles: 97 ± 2.3% (mean ± SD). At high contraction intensities, the increase in voluntary torque was far greater than would be expected based on the decrement of superimposed torque. When voluntary torque increased from 79.6 ± 6.1 to 100%MVC, superimposed torque decreased from 8.5 ± 2.6 to 2.8 ± 2.3% of resting triplet. Therefore, an increase in VA of 5.7% (from 91.5 ± 2.6 to 97 ± 2.3%) coincided with a much larger increase in voluntary torque (20.4 ± 6.1%MVC) and EMG (33.9 ± 6.6%max). Moreover, a conventionally assessed VA of 91.5 ± 2.6% represented a voluntary torque of only 79.6 ± 6.1%MVC. In conclusion, when maximal VA is calculated to be ∼90% (as in regular healthy subjects), this probably represents a considerable overestimation of the subjects’ ability to maximally drive their quadriceps muscles

Twitch interpolation: superimposed twitches decline progressively during a tetanic contraction of human adductor pollicis

The assessment of voluntary activation of human muscles usually depends on measurement of the size of the twitch produced by an interpolated nerve or cortical stimulus. In many forms of fatiguing exercise the superimposed twitch increases and thus voluntary activation appears to decline. This is termed ‘central’ fatigue. Recent studies on isolated mouse muscle suggest that a peripheral mechanism related to intracellular calcium sensitivity increases interpolated twitches. To test whether this problem developed with human voluntary contractions we delivered maximal tetanic stimulation to the ulnar nerve (≥60 s at physiological motoneuronal frequencies, 30 and 15 Hz). During the tetani (at 30 Hz) in which the force declined by 42%, the absolute size of the twitches evoked by interpolated stimuli (delivered regularly or only in the last second of the tetanus) diminished progressively to less than 1%. With stimulation at 30 Hz, there was also a marked reduction in size and area of the interpolated compound muscle action potential (M wave). With a 15Hz tetanus, a progressive decline in the interpolated twitch force also occurred (to∼10%) but did so before the area of the interpolatedMwave diminished. These results indicate that the increase in interpolated twitch size predicted fromthe mouse studies does not occur. Diminution in superimposed twitches occurred whether or not the M wave indicated marked impairment at sarcolemmal/t-tubular levels. Consequently, the increase in superimposed twitch, which is used to denote central fatigue in human fatiguing exercise, is likely to reflect low volitional drive to high-threshold motor units, which stop firing or are discharging at low frequencies

Voluntary activation during maximal contraction with advancing age: a brief review

It is well established that the loss of muscle mass (i.e. sarcopenia) is the primary factor contributing to the reduction in muscle force with ageing. Based on the observation that force declines at a faster rate than muscle mass, neural alterations are also thought to contribute to muscle weakness by reducing central drive to the agonist muscles and by increasing coactivation of the antagonist muscles. Researchers have attempted to quantify the contribution of impaired voluntary drive to the decline in muscle force using superimposed electrical stimulation during maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) and by recording surface electromyographic (EMG) activity. Although reduced voluntary activation of agonist muscles and increased coactivation of antagonist muscles during a MVC have been reported with advancing age, such changes are not supported by all studies. These discrepancies may be explained by differences in sensitivity between the methods used to assess voluntary activation, as well as differences between the characteristics of the study population, the muscle group that is tested, and the type of contraction that is performed. The objective of this review is to summarize current knowledge regarding the activation of agonist and antagonist muscles during MVC in elderly and to try to clarify the disparities in literature concerning the influence of a possible deficit in voluntary activation on the maximal force capacity of muscles in elderly adults.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe