Effect of Wearing a New Prophylactic Orthosis on Postural Balance

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of an innovative prophylactic knee orthosis on postural balance. This prophylactic knee orthosis is designed with a compression that is oriented in a chosen direction. The purpose of this compression is to improve stability in dynamic situations. Orthoses are used to provide functional improvements to knee problems. However, more scientific validation is needed for this type of product. Methods: 20 sportsmen in team sports performed a functional test: the Y-Balance Test. This reliable and reproducible test allows to evaluate the postural balance of the lower limb. The subjects were tested in 3 conditions: prophylactic orthosis with innovative compression, control orthosis (with no compression) and without orthosis. The average of the three trials were collected in each direction and condition. Results: The prophylactic orthosis had a better standardized score in the anterior direction (p<0.05) and a better composite score (p<0.05) than the control orthosis (no compression). However, there were no differences in the normalized score in the other directions. There were no significant differences between the prophylactic orthosis and without orthosis. Conclusion:Wearing the prophylactic orthosis improves postural balance compared to a orthosis with no compression. But there is no difference between the prophylactic orthosis and without orthosis on postural balance

EFFECTS OF EXERCISES INTENSITY ON FACIAL HEAT DISTRIBUTION IN MALE SUBJECTS AND RELATIONSHIP WITH FEELING SCALE

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of exercises intensity on facial thermoregulation and to evaluate the relationships between changes in men’s facial temperature and changes in affect that occur during muscular exercise. Moreover, a special attention has been paid on the possible relationship between the skin facial temperature and the heart rate of subjects. Fifty-four male performed a 12 min long session of aerobic exercise at moderate-to-high intensity. IR cartographies were performed using an IR camera. Pleasure and displeasure levels were assessed repeatedly over the exercise session

EFFECT OF NONCIRCULAR O-SYMETRIC CHAINRING ON MUSCULAR ACTIVATION DURING STEADY-STATE PEDALLING

The purpose of this preliminary study was to compare the surface EMG level activity of seven muscles (gluteus maximus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius medialis and soleus) while pedalling with circular and noncircular ring (OSymetric). Five cyclists rode at 2 power output levels (150 - 200 W) and 3 different pedalling cadences (70 – 90 – 110 rpm) on SRM ergotrainer. Unlike the other muscles, gluteus maximus and vastus medialis were more recruited while pedalling with OSymetric ring (~5-15%) only at the lowest cadence (70 rpm). These neuromuscular behaviours might be related to the increase in time of the power crank sector induced by the O-Symetric design. However, this substantial advantage didn’t appear as benefical for higher crank velocities, probably due to muscle activation-deactivation dynamics

MEASUREMENT OF MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS AND MUSCULAR ACTIVITY IN CYCLING ON COBBLESTONES AT RACE PACE – A SINGLE CASE STUDY

The aim of this research is to reveal the best bike configuration, wheels, and tyre pressure for competitive cycling on cobblestones. One former professional cyclist performed 16.75 laps on a cobbled road track (1.55 km). Three accelerometers were mounted on the stem, the seat post and the down tube. sEMG of the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum, and thoracolumbar fascia were measured by wireless sensors that measured also soft tissue longitudinal accelerations. The pressure inflated on tubular tyres led to significant differences on effective values of vibrations, each time higher at 5.5 rather than 5 bar. The methods implemented in this study appear to be consistent in revealing the best bike configuration and settings when vibrations are the main elements in races

A retrospective international study on factors associated with injury, discomfort and pain perception among cyclists

Although cycling has been associated with overuse/fatigue and acute injuries, there is lack of information regarding associated risk factors and prevention factors. The objective of the study was to determine the factors associated with injury, and perceptions of discomfort and pain in cyclists. A total of 739 cyclists completed an online questionnaire between February and October 2016. The questionnaire acquired information on participant demographics, characteristics related to cycling profile and fitness training, bike components and cycling posture, self-reported perceptions of comfort and pain, and injuries sustained in the last 12 months. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) that examined factors associated with reporting overuse/fatigue injury, acute injury, body discomfort, saddle discomfort, and pain while cycling. Odds of reporting an overuse/fatigue injury increased when the cyclists complemented training with running (OR = 1.74; 95%CI = 1.03-2.91) or swimming (OR = 2.17; 95%CI = 1.19-3.88), and with reported pain while cycling (OR = 1.17; 95%CI = 1.05-3.69) and not cycling (OR = 1.76; 95%CI = 1.07-2.90). Odds of reporting an acute injury increased when biking to work (OR = 1.79; 95%CI = 1.07-2.86), and decreased with increased average cycling speed (1-km/h decrease OR = 0.93; 95%CI = 0.88-0.97), and compared to low-end bike, with the use of mid-range (OR = 0.25; 95%CI = 0.09-0.72) and high-end bike (OR = 0.34; 95%CI = 0.13-0.96). Although body discomfort was only associated with saddle discomfort and the presence of pain during cycling, saddle discomfort was also associated with biking to work (OR = 0.46; 95%CI = 0.22-0.88). Finally, pain perception was associated with a number of factors such as ride to work, core training, cycling experience, saddle discomfort, pain while not cycling. Numerous factors are associated with injury, and perceptions of discomfort and pain in cyclists. Such factors should be considered when developing training routines, bicycle maintenance best practices, and injury prevention programs

Hybrid simulation of Titan's interaction with the supersonic solar wind during Cassini's T96 flyby

By applying a hybrid (kinetic ions and fluid electrons) simulation code, we study the plasma environment of Saturn's largest moon Titan during Cassini's T96 flyby on 1 December 2013. The T96 encounter marks the only observed event of the entire Cassini mission where Titan was located in the supersonic solar wind in front of Saturn's bow shock. Our simulations can quantitatively reproduce the key features of Cassini magnetic field and electron density observations during this encounter. We demonstrate that the large-scale features of Titan's induced magnetosphere during T96 can be described in terms of a steady state interaction with a high-pressure solar wind flow. About 40 min before the encounter, Cassini observed a rotation of the incident solar wind magnetic field by almost 90°. We provide strong evidence that this rotation left a bundle of fossilized magnetic field lines in Titan's ionosphere that was subsequently detected by the spacecraft.Fil: Feyerabend, Moritz. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: Simon, Sven. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: Neubauer, Fritz M.. Universitat Zu Köln; AlemaniaFil: Motschmann, Uwe. Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft- Und Raumfahrt; Alemania. Technische Universitat Braunschweig; AlemaniaFil: Bertucci, Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Edberg, Niklas J. T.. Instiutet For Rymdfysik; SueciaFil: Hospodarsky, George B.. University Of Iowa; Estados UnidosFil: Kurth, William S.. University Of Iowa; Estados Unido

The ancestral retinoic acid receptor was a low-affinity sensor triggering neuronal differentiation.

Retinoic acid (RA) is an important intercellular signaling molecule in vertebrate development, with a well-established role in the regulation of hox genes during hindbrain patterning and in neurogenesis. However, the evolutionary origin of the RA signaling pathway remains elusive. To elucidate the evolution of the RA signaling system, we characterized RA metabolism and signaling in the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii, a powerful model for evolution, development, and neurobiology. Binding assays and crystal structure analyses show that the annelid retinoic acid receptor (RAR) binds RA and activates transcription just as vertebrate RARs, yet with a different ligand-binding pocket and lower binding affinity, suggesting a permissive rather than instructive role of RA signaling. RAR knockdown and RA treatment of swimming annelid larvae further reveal that the RA signal is locally received in the medial neuroectoderm, where it controls neurogenesis and axon outgrowth, whereas the spatial colinear hox gene expression in the neuroectoderm remains unaffected. These findings suggest that one early role of the new RAR in bilaterian evolution was to control the spatially restricted onset of motor and interneuron differentiation in the developing ventral nerve cord and to indicate that the regulation of hox-controlled anterior-posterior patterning arose only at the base of the chordates, concomitant with a high-affinity RAR needed for the interpretation of a complex RA gradient

Enceladus and Titan: Emerging Worlds of the Solar System (ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper)

Some of the major discoveries of the recent Cassini-Huygens mission have put Titan and Enceladus firmly on the Solar System map. The mission has revolutionised our view of Solar System satellites, arguably matching their scientific importance with that of their planet. While Cassini-Huygens has made big surprises in revealing Titan's organically rich environment and Enceladus' cryovolcanism, the mission's success naturally leads us to further probe these findings. We advocate the acknowledgement of Titan and Enceladus science as highly relevant to ESA's long-term roadmap, as logical follow-on to Cassini-Huygens. In this white paper, we will outline important science questions regarding these satellites and identify the pertinent science themes we recommend ESA cover during the Voyage 2050 planning cycle. Addressing these science themes would make major advancements to the present knowledge we have about the Solar System, its formation, evolution and likelihood that other habitable environments exist outside the Earth's biosphere

Erratum to: "Double volume reflection of a proton beam by a sequence of two bent crystals" [Phys. Lett. B 658 (2008) 109]

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An integrative multi-dimensional genetic and epigenetic strategy to identify aberrant genes and pathways in cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genomics has substantially changed our approach to cancer research. Gene expression profiling, for example, has been utilized to delineate subtypes of cancer, and facilitated derivation of predictive and prognostic signatures. The emergence of technologies for the high resolution and genome-wide description of genetic and epigenetic features has enabled the identification of a multitude of causal DNA events in tumors. This has afforded the potential for large scale integration of genome and transcriptome data generated from a variety of technology platforms to acquire a better understanding of cancer.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show how multi-dimensional genomics data analysis would enable the deciphering of mechanisms that disrupt regulatory/signaling cascades and downstream effects. Since not all gene expression changes observed in a tumor are causal to cancer development, we demonstrate an approach based on multiple concerted disruption (MCD) analysis of genes that facilitates the rational deduction of aberrant genes and pathways, which otherwise would be overlooked in single genomic dimension investigations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Notably, this is the first comprehensive study of breast cancer cells by parallel integrative genome wide analyses of DNA copy number, LOH, and DNA methylation status to interpret changes in gene expression pattern. Our findings demonstrate the power of a multi-dimensional approach to elucidate events which would escape conventional single dimensional analysis and as such, reduce the cohort sample size for cancer gene discovery.</p