Effects of muscular response for the intensity of vibratory stimulus applied on the ankle tendon

The present study was conducted to measure the individual threshold value for the somatosensory system of the human body, the thresholds value of vibratory stimulus were assessed through the ascent and descent methods. In the interests of the attainment of this study`s goal, comparing the thresholds value measured and change of state of the muscles when applied on the ankle tendon connected to muscles, changes in threshold measurement accuracy due to the differences in measuring methods were discussed. The experiment was conducted by constructing systems to stimulate somethetic sensibility by vibratory stimulus, ultrasound imaging system and EMG system. Five adult males were involved in this experiment. According to the results of experiments, the threshold value of somatosensory stimulation measured by the ascent method was greater than the threshold values measured by the descent method. And the muscular response to the somatosensory stimulation applied to the tibialis anterior tendon showed a larger rate of change with the ascending stimulus than with the descending stimulus. The results of this study could serve as a basis to discuss the reliability of the measurement method of the human body’s individual threshold value for the somatosensory system through the ascent and descent methods and can be used as reference data for the integration and performance threshold measurement methods

A study on the changes in gait characteristics by applying sub-threshold vibration stimulus in the ankle

This study was conducted to suggest the potential use of a mechanical vibration stimulus in the ankle to correct gait abnormalities. As for the mechanical vibration stimulus, different locations and durations are suggested based on the detection results of real-time gait patterns. 5 young males participated in this study. They were asked to perform assigned gait tasks when either a threshold or sub-threshold stimulus was applied in the tibialis anterior and Achilles tendon. The analysis results of gait cycle and muscle activity showed the changes on gait cycle, the activity pattern of used muscle for gait and the movement pattern of the ankle were observed based on the applied locations of vibration stimulus. Also, the result of sub-threshold stimulus showed similar effects as that of threshold stimulus. As such, the mechanical vibration stimulus was considered to affect gait by being adjusted its characteristics and local stimulus also would affect human body systemically. The result of this study can be used as basic data for the correction of individual’s specific gait abnormality and rehabilitation using vibration stimulus

Taking Better Care of the Fields: Knowledge Politics of Sugar Beet, Soil, and Agriculture after Socialism in Western Poland.

After Poland joined the EU in 2004, the Polish sugar industry had to close down 59 out of 78 factories as a result of the European sugar reform following a WTO dispute with cane-sugar producing countries. This dissertation examines this process together with the earlier privatization of factories and changes in quality control and agricultural technology in the province of Wielkopolska in Western Poland. I argue that the driving force behind the privatization process was the politics of comparison within Europe and the aspirations of local farmers for recognition as equal partners with Western farmers, and the farmers’ perception of dutiful nurturing towards crop and soil. Using the concept of assemblage to trace the interaction between agricultural knowledge and practice in different thought styles, and as a narrative strategy to integrate agency and materiality, local politics and social memory, as well as post-socialist transformations surrounding changes, I explore the ways new knowledge from the West is constructed as modern and more scientific but at the same time subject to local adaptation. Polish farmers try to produce sugar beet of matching quality by using modern scientific knowledge in farming and employing technologies of self-presentation as rational farmers or farm managers to prove that they are equally modern. They use new ways of interpreting visual signs in everyday farming – the aesthetics of fields, the quality of sugar beet, the use and care of agricultural machines. The use of numbers in the form of statistics and arithmetic allow farmers to visualize and calculate soil nutrients and costs, and provide a means of comparison with beet farmers in other countries as well. In contrast, less visible qualities of the soil such as less calculable physical and biological qualities were not so palpable unless there was a problem. These farmers are neither consistently conforming nor steadily resistant – they are rather good at performing defiant confidence while having doubts, and performing ambivalence when they already have made up their minds. They try to overcome uncertainty with their own sense of independence by focusing on nurturing and taking care of their crops and the soil.PHDAnthropology and HistoryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93967/1/djkz_1.pd

Practicing Hospitality: Ideas of Recognition and Proper Arrival among Refugees and Refugee Supporters in a German City

During the 2015 refugee crisis, hospitality for migrants was frequently invoked as a European value, in both secular and religious contexts. Hospitality as a valued principle varies from actual instances of hospitality, which involve conditions and moral expectations. This article examines expectations of morality in humanitarian church organizations responses to the refugee crisis, based on a case study of an open café project for refugees in a German metropolitan city. Notions of hosting, being a guest, choosing a home, arrival, and integration play significant roles in considerations about the organization for this regular event. The line between volunteers and visitors becomes increasingly blurred with time, but moral discourses focusing on language, translation, self-formation, and personhood recur and reinforce the distinction of host and guest

Emotion regulation from a virtue perspective

Background The ability to regulate one’s emotional state is an important predictor of several behaviors such as reframing a challenging situation to reduce anger or anxiety, concealing visible signs of sadness or fear, or focusing on reasons to feel happy or calm. This capacity is referred to as emotion regulation. Deficits in this ability can adversely affect one’s adaptive coping, thus are associated with a variety of other psychopathological symptoms, including but not limited to depression, borderline personality disorder, substance use disorders, eating disorders, and somatoform disorders. Methods The present study examined emotion regulation in relation to the virtue-based psychosocial adaptation model (V-PAM). 595 participants were clustered based on their Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) score, producing two clusters (i.e., high functioning vs. low functioning). Then, emotion regulation group membership was discriminated by using five V-PAM virtue constructs, including courage, integrity, practical wisdom, committed action, and emotional transcendence. Results Results show that five virtues contribute to differentiating group membership. Practical wisdom was the strongest contributor, followed by integrity, emotional transcendence, committed action, and courage. Predictive discriminant analysis was conducted and 71% of cases were correctly classified. A discussion of the relationship between emotion regulation and virtues was elaborated. Conclusion The concept of virtue holds significant importance in the comprehension of an individual’s capacity to regulate their emotions, meriting future study. Methods: The present study examined emotion regulation in relation to the virtue-based psychosocial adaptation model (V-PAM). 595 participants were clustered based on their Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) score, producing two clusters (i.e., high functioning vs. low functioning). Then, emotion regulation group membership was discriminated by using five V-PAM virtue constructs, including courage, integrity, practical wisdom, committed action, and emotional transcendence. Results: Results show that five virtues contribute to differentiating group membership. Practical wisdom was the strongest contributor, followed by integrity, emotional transcendence, committed action, and courage. Predictive discriminant analysis was conducted and 71% of cases were correctly classified. A discussion of the relationship between emotion regulation and virtues was elaborated. Conclusion: The concept of virtue holds significant importance in the comprehension of an individual\u27s capacity to regulate their emotions, meriting future study