Lower limb stiffness estimation during running: the effect of using kinematic constraints in muscle force optimization algorithms

The focus of this paper is on the effect of muscle force optimization algorithms on the human lower limb stiffness estimation. By using a forward dynamic neuromusculoskeletal model coupled with a muscle short-range stiffness model we computed the human joint stiffness of the lower limb during running. The joint stiffness values are calculated using two different muscle force optimization procedures, namely: Toque-based and Torque/Kinematic-based algorithm. A comparison between the processed EMG signal and the corresponding estimated muscle forces with the two optimization algorithms is provided. We found that the two stiffness estimates are strongly influenced by the adopted algorithm. We observed different magnitude and timing of both the estimated muscle forces and joint stiffness time profile with respect to each gait phase, as function of the optimization algorithm used

Análise do acúmulo de transcritos de ?-3-dessaturases em genótipos de soja contrastantes para o teor de ácido linolênico.

Os ácidos graxos poliinsaturados, como linoléico e linolênico, são os principais responsáveis pela alta instabilidade oxidativa a altas temperaturas do óleo destinado a frituras e à fabricação de biodiesel. A biossíntese de ácidos graxos poliinsaturados é catalisada pelas dessaturases. A -6-dessaturase converte ácido oléico (18:19) a linoléico (18:29,12) e a -3-dessaturase produz ácido linolênico (18:39,12,15) a partir de 18:29,12. Três genes principais (GmFAD3A, GmFAD3B e GmFAD3C) foram caracterizados como responsáveis pela produção de -3-dessaturase em soja. Os mecanismos precisos de regulação da produção de ácido linolênico ainda não são muito claros, o que dificulta o processo de obtenção de genótipos com baixo conteúdo desse ácido graxo. A análise molecular de mutantes de soja com baixo conteúdo de ácido linolênico poderá ajudar a elucidar tais mecanismos. Os objetivos principais deste trabalho foram determinar os níveis de mRNAs das principais -3-dessaturases, correlacionando-os com as concentrações relativas de ácidos linolênico durante a ontogenia da semente de soja em genótipos normais e mutantes. Para isso, foram utilizados três genótipos contrastantes para essa característica: A29, (~1% 18:315,12,9); N85-2176 (~3% 18:315,12,9) e Tucunaré (Variedade comercial, ~8% 18:315,12,9). As plantas foram cultivadas em casa de vegetação e suas sementes foram coletadas separadamente em 5 estádios de desenvolvimento de acordo com o peso úmido da semente: 1º estádio: 0 a 125 mg; 2º estádio: 126 a 250 mg; 3º estádio: 251 a 375 mg; 4º estádio: superior a 376 mg; 5 º estádio: semente madura. Os teores de ácidos graxos na fração óleo das sementes nos cinco estádios de desenvolvimento foram determinados por cromatografia gasosa e a expressão gênica, por PCR quantitativo, utilizando como o controle endógeno o gene da GAPDH (gliceraldeído-3-fosfato desidrogenase). De modo geral, o conteúdo de 18:39,12,15 decresceu drasticamente nos estádios iniciais em todos os genótipos. No entanto, não foi observada expressão diferencial entre os genes GmFAD3A, GmFAD3B e GmFAD3C, que pudessem explicar tais alterações. O genótipo A29, seguido de N85-2176, apresentou a menor concentração de 18:39,12,15 durante todo o desenvolvimento da semente. Estes genótipos apresentaram expressão praticamente nula do gene GmFAD3A. Além disso, A29 apresentou expressão reduzida do gene GmFAD3B. Assim, pelo menos em parte, os níveis de transcritos dos genes GmFAD3A e GmFAD3B explicam as diferenças na concentração de ácidos graxos da fração óleo em A29 e N85-2176. Apoio financeiro: CNPq e CAPES

Restoring EU competitiveness

With the advent of the digital revolution in the 1990s, productivity growth in the EU began to slip behind that in the US and other leading trading partners. This trend has undermined the comparative ability of European firms to compete and to provide rewarding jobs and a high standard of living. Low comparative productivity and misallocation of investment, alongside many structural weaknesses, help explain why the global crisis hit Europe so hard, and why EU-wide recovery still presents such a challenge. Since 1990, the inflation-adjusted absolute GDP per capita gap between the EU and US has increased by more than 50%. In absolute terms, the GDP per capita of EU regions has diverged since 1990, not converged. Productivity growth in the EU has trailed the US since the mid-1990s and was hit harder during the crisis than in other regions.Eine chronische Investitionsschwäche in wichtigen Bereichen, ineffiziente und fragmentierte Finanzmärkte sowie institutionelle Hemmnisse sind die Ursache dafür, dass Europa sein Potenzial für ein langfristiges, nachhaltiges Wachstum und für die Verstärkung seiner Wettbewerbsfähigkeit nicht nutzt. Sieben Krisenjahre in Folge haben viel Vertrauen zerstört, einen Rückgang der Gesamtinvestitionen bewirkt und strukturelle Investitionslücken vergrößert. Dieser Bericht untersucht, wie die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der EU langfristig wiederhergestellt werden kann und welche Aufgaben der öffentliche Sektor dabei übernehmen kann. Im Mittelpunkt des Berichts stehen die Grundvoraussetzungen für einen Erfolg, der langfristiger Investitionen bedarf und für unser Wohlergehen in Zukunft entscheidend ist. Der Bericht enthält Informationen darüber, wie strategische Prioritäten festgelegt werden und warum die Maßnahmen zur Ankurbelung langfristiger, wettbewerbsfördernder Investitionen auf europäischer Ebene verstärkt werden müsse

A cooperative instinct

Acting on a gut feeling may sometimes lead to poor decisions, but it will usually support the common good, according to a study showing that human intuition favours cooperative, rather than selfish, behaviour

Beware Of Popular Kids Bearing Gifts:A Framed Field Experiment

ArticleThe literature on pro-social behavior shows that older children are more generous than younger children; however, the level of individual generosity is heterogeneous even between children of the same age. This paper investigates whether a child’s popularity affects his/her generosity. Our participants – 231 children, six to twelve years old – decide how many of their four colored wristbands they want to share with another anonymous child. We manipulate the visibility of this decision: in treatment Public, the decisions are revealed to the entire class at the end of the game, whereas in treatment Private children’s decisions remain secret. In addition, we elicited each child’s network of friends using an innovative “seating map” mechanism. Our results reveal that more popular children are more generous in Public than Private decision environments, while less popular children behave similarly in both cases. Moreover, older children in Public display greater generosity than (i) older children in Private and (ii) younger children in either Public or Private. Finally, in Public, older and more popular children share more than less popular older children, and more than younger children regardless of popularity; whereas, in Private there is no effect of popularity on children of any age. Our findings point to another reason to adopt transparent decision making in teams and organizations: it may promote the generosity of some (perhaps especially popular leaders) without detrimentally impacting the pro-sociality of others

Giving is a question of time: Response times and contributions to a real world public good

Recent experimental research has examined whether contributions to public goods can be traced back to intuitive or deliberative decision-making, using response times in public good games in order to identify the specific decision process at work. In light of conflicting results, this paper reports on an analysis of response time data from an online experiment in which over 3400 subjects from the general population decided whether to contribute to a real world public good. The between-subjects evidence confirms a strong positive link between contributing and deliberation and between free-riding and intuition. The average response time of contributors is 40 percent higher than that of free-riders. A within-subject analysis reveals that for a given individual, contributing significantly increases and free-riding significantly decreases the amount of deliberation required