Preventing Non-Contact ACL Injuries in Female Athletes: What Can We Learn from the Dancers?

Study design: Cross-sectional case control.
 Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dance experience and movement instruction on lower extremity kinematics and muscle activation during landing tasks Background/Aim: Current research demonstrates that dancers exhibit a much lower incidence of ACL injuries when compared to athletes of other sports despite the fact that dancers jump and land frequently in their training and performance. The mechanism that underlies this disparity is unclear.
 Methods: We analyzed lower extremity biomechanics during landing in 27 subjects (age 18-25 years, 12 dancers and 15 non-dancers). In the non-instructed (NI) conditions, participants were shown a video in which a successful landing was demonstrated. They were then shown the same videos with specific verbal instructions (VI) on how to perform the landings. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure the activation of gluteus maximus and medius during the deceleration phase of landings. Peak hip knee and hip frontal plane angles were acquired using a 3-D motion capture system. Two-way mixed measures ANOVAs were used to assess the effects of group (dancers vs. non-dancers) and instruction (NI vs. VI) on the biomechanical variables.
 Results: During landings, dancers demonstrated greater gluteus maximus activation and maintained generally more neutral hip and knee alignments when compared to non-dancers. A significant interaction showed that instruction led to increased knee valgus angle in non-dancers but not dancers Conclusions: Our findings suggested that dance training experience may lead to safer landing mechanics. Specific acute movement instruction can potentially deteriorate the mechanics of those with no dance training experience

Bilayer Lift-Off Process for Aluminum Metallization

Recently published reports in the literature for bilayer lift-off processes have described recipes for the patterning of metals that have recommended metal-ion-free developers, which do etch aluminum. We report the first measurement of the dissolution rate of a commercial lift-off resist (LOR) in a sodium-based buffered commercial developer that does not etch aluminum. We describe a reliable lift-off recipe that is safe for multiple process steps in patterning thin (\u3c100  nm) and thick aluminum devices with micron-feature sizes. Our patterning recipe consists of an acid cleaning of the substrate, the bilayer (positive photoresist/LOR) deposition and development, the sputtering of the aluminum film along with a palladium capping layer and finally, the lift-off of the metal film by immersion in the LOR solvent. The insertion into the recipe of postexposure and sequential develop-bake-develop process steps are necessary for an acceptable undercut. Our recipe also eliminates any need for accompanying sonication during lift-off that could lead to delamination of the metal pattern from the substrate. Fine patterns were achieved for both 100-nm-thick granular aluminum/palladium bilayer bolometers and 500-nm-thick aluminum gratings with 6-μm lines and 4-μm space

Benchmarking a Soil Moisture Data Assimilation System for Agricultural Drought Monitoring

Despite considerable interest in the application of land surface data assimilation systems (LDAS) for agricultural drought applications, relatively little is known about the large-scale performance of such systems and, thus, the optimal methodological approach for implementing them. To address this need, this paper evaluates an LDAS for agricultural drought monitoring by benchmarking individual components of the system (i.e., a satellite soil moisture retrieval algorithm, a soil water balance model and a sequential data assimilation filter) against a series of linear models which perform the same function (i.e., have the same basic inputoutput structure) as the full system component. Benchmarking is based on the calculation of the lagged rank cross-correlation between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil moisture estimates acquired for various components of the system. Lagged soil moistureNDVI correlations obtained using individual LDAS components versus their linear analogs reveal the degree to which non-linearities andor complexities contained within each component actually contribute to the performance of the LDAS system as a whole. Here, a particular system based on surface soil moisture retrievals from the Land Parameter Retrieval Model (LPRM), a two-layer Palmer soil water balance model and an Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is benchmarked. Results suggest significant room for improvement in each component of the system

Some psychological benefits of urban nature: Mental vitality from time spent in nearby nature.

A one-time era of vast energy and natural resources allowed an industrial civilization to emerge and flourish. This gift of resources allowed for the building of modern society’s infrastructure and the flood of goods and services. Those resources, however, were never limitless. The coming decline in resource availability and quality will significantly alter individual and community life patterns, and initiate a drawn-out transition to a new normal. These changes in the biophysical basis of everyday life will tax our social, emotional and attentional capacities. Individuals will struggle to remain clearheaded and effective while coping with immutable biophysical limits. It is here that psychology will play a major role since what is being faced is not a technological or political challenge but an existential one. Psychological research posits that time spent in nature restores our mental effectiveness, emotional outlook and subjective well-being. Furthermore, the full psychological benefits of nature may not require exceptional natural environments such as scenic parks, exquisite gardens or immense green spaces. Everyday nature, even that judged to be mundane, may suffice. This is an important notion since nature in small-scale neighborhood settings is inexpensive to maintain and widely accessible to the vast majority of people. This chapter explores this idea, first by developing the theoretical basis for using ordinary nature to restore mental and social effectiveness and second by presenting a study of two designed residential neighborhoods that differ dramatically on the quality and amount of nearby nature. Results of the study are consistent with theory and prior research in indicating that residents who committed to spending time outdoors in their neighborhood showed greater mental clarity and effectiveness, regardless of the quality of the surrounding natural settings. Considered together, the theory and results support the suggestion that exposure to nearby nature significantly benefits mental functioning even in the absence of superlative design features. Time spent in everyday nature, which is available to most people, is as effective as experiencing the breathtaking beauty of extraordinary natural settings. The chapter presents these findings as having important implications for citizens who must maintain their mental clarity and emotional stability while responding to trying environmental circumstances. Even under a business-as-usual resource scenario, budget constraints and existing land use patterns make it difficult to create new natural areas. A scenario that includes a reduction of net energy surplus and a descent in natural resource availability makes these findings all the more useful.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136087/1/De Young, R., K. Scheuer, T. Brown, T. Crow & J. Stewart (2017) Some psychological benefits of urban nature, in Columbus, A. M. (Ed.) Advances in Psychology Research 116 (Pp. 93-120).pdfDescription of De Young, R., K. Scheuer, T. Brown, T. Crow & J. Stewart (2017) Some psychological benefits of urban nature, in Columbus, A. M. (Ed.) Advances in Psychology Research 116 (Pp. 93-120).pdf : Main articl

Microwave Implementation of Two-Source Energy Balance Approach for Estimating Evapotranspiration

A newly developed microwave (MW) land surface temperature (LST) product is used to substitute thermal infrared (TIR) based LST in the Atmosphere Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) modelling framework for estimating ET from space. ALEXI implements a two-source energy balance (TSEB) land surface scheme in a time-differential approach, designed to minimize sensitivity to absolute biases in input records of LST through the analysis of the rate of temperature change in the morning. Thermal infrared (TIR) retrievals of the diurnal LST curve, traditionally from geostationary platforms, are hindered by cloud cover, reducing model coverage on any given day. This study tests the utility of diurnal temperature information retrieved from a constellation of satellites with microwave radiometers that together provide 6-8 observations of Ka-band brightness temperature per location per day. This represents the first ever attempt at a global implementation of ALEXI with MW-based LST and is intended as the first step towards providing all-weather capability to the ALEXI framework. The analysis is based on 9-year long, global records of ALEXI ET generated using both MW and TIR based diurnal LST information as input. In this study, the MW-LST sampling is restricted to the same clear sky days as in the IR-based implementation to be able to analyse the impact of changing the LST dataset separately from the impact of sampling all-sky conditions. The results show that long-term bulk ET estimates from both LST sources agree well, with a spatial correlation of 92% for total ET in the Europe/Africa domain and agreement in seasonal (3-month) totals of 83-97 % depending on the time of year. Most importantly, the ALEXI-MW also matches ALEXI-IR very closely in terms of 3-month inter-annual anomalies, demonstrating its ability to capture the development and extent of drought conditions. Weekly ET output from the two parallel ALEXI implementations is further compared to a common ground measured reference provided by the FLUXNET consortium. Overall, the two model implementations generate similar performance metrics (correlation and RMSE) for all but the most challenging sites in terms of spatial heterogeneity and level of aridity. It is concluded that a constellation of MW satellites can effectively be used to provide LST for estimating ET through ALEXI, which is an important step towards all-sky satellite-based retrieval of ET using an energy balance framework

The Riverside and Berwyn experience: Contrasts in landscape structure, perceptions of the urban landscape, and their effects on people

Published online: July 6, 2005Humans not only structure the landscape through their activities, but their perceptions of nature are affected by the spatial and temporal arrangements (structure) in the landscape. Our understanding of these interactions, however, is limited. We explored the relationship between landscape structure and peoples’ perceptions of nature in the Chicago, IL, USA, suburbs of Riverside and Berwyn because they offer contrasting paradigms of an urban landscape. Designed in the 1800s by Frederick Law Olmsted, Riverside has several unique design elements (curvilinear streets, ample setbacks, parkways of variable width with mowed grass and naturalistic groupings of trees) that define the structure and composition of this landscape. The urban forestwas the keystone of Olmsted’s desire to create a harmonious community characterized by “refined sylvan beauty”. In contrast, the adjacent community of Berwyn has right-angled streets with small lots and narrow setbacks for houses. Differences in landscape structure between the two communities produced differences in the diversity, size, and composition of woody vegetation. As measured by patch-size distribution, Riverside had greater diversity in landscape structure than Berwyn, and in turn, Riverside had greater diversity in the composition and size of the woody vegetation compared to Berwyn. Riverside tended toward a “natural” appearance with vegetation, while yards in Berwyn tended to be trimmed and edged. Significant differences between the mean ratings of Riverside and Berwyn respondents were found for six of seven community attribute categories. Riverside participants reported receiving greater benefit from the visual and nature-related features of the urban forest than did Berwyn respondents. Berwyn residents ranked social atmosphere for the community and locomotion (wayfinding) highest among the seven community attribute categories. Despite differences between the two communities, residents valued the green residential environment provided by vegetation. However, the more diverse urban landscape as measured by built structures, woody vegetation, and lot size and shape proved to be more satisfying to the residents of these two communities. The design concepts developed and implemented by Olmsted more than century ago in Riverside are still relevant to city planners striving to develop living environments that are satisfying to urban and suburban residents.Ecosystem Management Institute and the McIntire-Stennis Program. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MIPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83539/1/Crow,_T.,_T._Brown_&_R._De_Young_(2006)_The_Riverside_and_Berwyn_experience,_LUP,_75,_282–299.pd

Microwave Implementation of the Two-Source Energy Balance Approach for Estimating Evapotranspiration

A newly developed microwave (MW) land surface temperature (LST) product is used to substitute thermal infrared (TIR) based LST in the two-source energy balance approach (TSEB) for estimating ET from space. This TSEB land surface scheme, the Atmosphere Land Exchange Inverse (ALEXI) model framework, is an approach that minimizes sensitivity to absolute biases in input records of LST through the analysis of the rate of temperature change in the morning. This experiment is therefore an important test of the ability to retrieve diurnal temperature information from a constellation of satellites with microwave radiometers that together provide 6-8 observations of Ka-band brightness temperature per location per day. This represents the first ever attempt at a global implementation of ALEXI with MW-based LST and is intended as the first step towards providing all-weather capability to the ALEXI framework. The leveraging of all sky capability of MW sensors is the main motivation of this work, as TIR-based ALEXI is limited to clear sky conditions.The analysis is based on a 9-year long record of ALEXI ET generated with MW-LST as an input, which is compared to an existing implementation of the same framework with thermal infrared based LST. In this study, the MW-LST sampling is restricted to the same clear sky days as in the IR-based implementation to be able to analyse the impact of changing the LST dataset separately from the impact of sampling all-sky conditions. The results show that long-term bulk ET estimates agree with a spatial correlation of 92 for total ET in the EuropeAfrica domain and agreement in seasonal (3-month) totals of 83-97 depending on the time of year. Most importantly, the ALEXI-MW also matches ALEXI-IR very closely in terms of 3-month inter-annual anomalies, demonstrating its ability to capture the development and extent of drought conditions. The weekly ET output from the two parallel ALEXI implementations is further compared to a common ground measured reference provided by the FLUXNET consortium. Overall, they indicate a surprisingly close match in both performance metrics (correlation and RMSE) for all but the most challenging sites in terms of spatial heterogeneity and level of aridity. Moreover, merging MW- and IR-based ALEXI may provide estimates of ET with a reduced uncertainty, even during nominally clear sky days. It is concluded that a constellation of MW satellites can effectively be used to provide LST for estimating ET through TSEB, which is an important step towards all-sky satellite-based ET estimates