The effect of dual tasking on foot biomechanics in people with functional ankle instability

Background: Some cases of repeated inversion ankle sprains are thought to have a neurological basis and are termed functional ankle instability (FAI). In addition to factors local to the ankle, such as loss of proprioception, cognitive demands have the ability to influence motor control and may increase the risk of repetitive lateral sprains. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cognitive demand on foot kinematics in physically active people with functional ankle instability. Methods: 21 physically active participants with FAI and 19 matched healthy controls completed trials of normal walking (single task) and normal walking while performing a cognitive task (dual task). Foot motion relative to the shank was recorded. Cognitive performance, ankle kinematics and movement variability in single and dual task conditions was characterized. Results: During normal walking, the ankle joint was significantly more inverted in FAI compared to the control group pre and post initial contact. Under dual task conditions, there was a statistically significant increase in frontal plane foot movement variability during the period 200ms pre and post initial contact in people with FAI compared to the control group (p<0.05). Dual task also significantly increased plantar flexion and inversion during the period 200ms pre and post initial contact in the FAI group (p<0.05). Conclusion: participants with FAI demonstrated different ankle movement patterns and increased movement variability during a dual task condition. Cognitive load may increase risk of ankle instability in these people

A survey of the relationship between EQ and organizational entrepreneurship of the employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province (Iran)

In recent decades, organizational entrepreneurship is taken into attention by researchers. The concept of organizational entrepreneurship is of great importance for the organizations in a new era, as well as the factors affecting the entrepreneurial orientation are. EQ as a variable related to the management of our own feelings and establishing the effective communication with others took our attention. One of the psychological variables in relation with organizational entrepreneurship is EQ. EQ is an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. Based on the importance of organizational entrepreneurship and the effect of personality characteristics including EQ on organizational entrepreneurship, the present study attempted to evaluate the relation between EQ and organizational entrepreneurship in Bank Maskan of Kerman province. The present study is applied in terms of aim and it is descriptive-correlation in terms of method. The study population was the employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province as 357 people. The sample size was selected randomly based on Cochran’s formula, 185 employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province. For data collection of EQ data, Shrink test was applied and to evaluate the organizational entrepreneurship, Dr. Moqimi questionnaire was used and their reliability by Cronbach’s alpha were 0.89, 0.87, respectively. For data analysis, one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis were applied and the results showed a positive and strong relation between EQ and organizational entrepreneurshi

A survey of the relationship between EQ and organizational entrepreneurship of the employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province (Iran)

In recent decades, organizational entrepreneurship is taken into attention by researchers. The concept of organizational entrepreneurship is of great importance for the organizations in a new era, as well as the factors affecting the entrepreneurial orientation are. EQ as a variable related to the management of our own feelings and establishing the effective communication with others took our attention. One of the psychological variables in relation with organizational entrepreneurship is EQ. EQ is an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. Based on the importance of organizational entrepreneurship and the effect of personality characteristics including EQ on organizational entrepreneurship, the present study attempted to evaluate the relation between EQ and organizational entrepreneurship in Bank Maskan of Kerman province. The present study is applied in terms of aim and it is descriptive-correlation in terms of method. The study population was the employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province as 357 people. The sample size was selected randomly based on Cochran’s formula, 185 employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province. For data collection of EQ data, Shrink test was applied and to evaluate the organizational entrepreneurship, Dr. Moqimi questionnaire was used and their reliability by Cronbach’s alpha were 0.89, 0.87, respectively. For data analysis, one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis were applied and the results showed a positive and strong relation between EQ and organizational entrepreneurshi

A survey of the relationship between EQ and organizational entrepreneurship of the employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province (Iran)

In recent decades, organizational entrepreneurship is taken into attention by researchers. The concept of organizational entrepreneurship is of great importance for the organizations in a new era, as well as the factors affecting the entrepreneurial orientation are. EQ as a variable related to the management of our own feelings and establishing the effective communication with others took our attention. One of the psychological variables in relation with organizational entrepreneurship is EQ. EQ is an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. Based on the importance of organizational entrepreneurship and the effect of personality characteristics including EQ on organizational entrepreneurship, the present study attempted to evaluate the relation between EQ and organizational entrepreneurship in Bank Maskan of Kerman province. The present study is applied in terms of aim and it is descriptive-correlation in terms of method. The study population was the employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province as 357 people. The sample size was selected randomly based on Cochran’s formula, 185 employees of Bank Maskan in Kerman province. For data collection of EQ data, Shrink test was applied and to evaluate the organizational entrepreneurship, Dr. Moqimi questionnaire was used and their reliability by Cronbach’s alpha were 0.89, 0.87, respectively. For data analysis, one-sample t-test and Pearson correlation analysis were applied and the results showed a positive and strong relation between EQ and organizational entrepreneurshi

Impes modeling of volumetric dry gas reservoirs with mobile water

As the importance of natural gas as a resource increases, the importance of volumetric dry gas reservoirs with mobile water as the dominant gas reservoir types will also increase. This research developed an efficient, user-friendly simulation program specifically designed to model two-phase flow of gas and water in these reservoirs. Since fluid compression and viscous forces are the dominant parameters that control fluid movement in a dry gas reservoir, we used the Implicit Pressure and Explicit Saturation (IMPES) formulation of flow equations in which neither gravity nor capillary pressure terms are pertinent. Therefore, the IMPES approach showed greater stability for all cases considered in this work. The developed simulator is a Visual Basic Application (VBA) code for which the users can obsereve the results in a pertinent Microsoft Excel file. This program allows users to study the depletion behavior of volumetric dry gas reservoirs with mobile water as efficiently and accurately as is now possible in more expensive commercially available reservoir simulators. The program was validated by comparing the results with a well-recognized commercial reservoir simulator (CMG). The results of a battery of tests of this simulator matched very well with results of the commercial reservoir simulator for all tested schemes including different simulation plans; reservoir, grid and fluid data; and well configurations. The observed applicability of the program suggests when dealing with volumetric dry gas reservoirs with mobile water there is no need to employ more expensive commercial reservoir simulators, as the program can reliably be used for any simulation scheme of this case. Furthermore, the program can later be applied in a more robust reservoir simulator as the part that handles dry gas cases

The effect of three different insoles on ankle movement variability during walking in athletes with functional ankle instability.

Increased ankle movement variability has been reported in people with functional ankle instability (FAI). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of textured insole, lateral wedge, and textured lateral wedge insole on ankle movement variability during walking in athletes with FAI. Twenty-one athletes diagnosed with FAI participated in this before-after study. Kinematic data were collected during four conditions (5 repeated trials per condition): (1) flat ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) insole, (2) textured flat EVA insole, (3) prefabricated lateral heel and sole wedge insole, and (4) textured lateral heel and sole wedge. The analysis of ankle movement variability was conducted during stance phase and 200 ms before initial contact to 200 ms after initial contact. The coefficient of multiple correlations (CMC) was calculated to investigate pattern variability and intraclass correlation (ICC) was used to investigate variability at the points of interest. In terms of pattern variability, wearing textured lateral wedge increased CMC compared to other insoles. However, statistically significant differences were observed only in the frontal plane during stance phase ( < 0.05). In terms of variability at the points of interest, in the frontal plane and in all points of interest, wearing textured lateral wedge increased ICC compared to other insoles. The effects of other insoles on ankle movement variability were inconsistent. The results of this study showed that textured insole has the potential to decrease variability and the use of texture with lateral wedge may more improve variability in athletes with FAI

RoboVac: A Combined Vacuum Blower Toolkit For Agricultural Robots

Robotics and automation are the multi-billion dollar future of farming, but many labor-intensive tasks including bug and moisture control are still performed by hand. The new RoboVac toolkit will streamline and economize these operations as one neat compact system. It is a fully electric bug vacuum solution that is intended for pest management on various crops. For this project, it was tested on chives. It features a retrofitted leaf blower repurposed into a vacuum, mounted onto a portable modular aluminum frame with efficient electronics that can be easily integrated into an autonomous vehicle platform. The intended future operation platform will be the RSL’s AgRover. This system outperformed existing gas-powered solutions by an 8% higher bug capture rate

The effect of stroke on foot biomechanics; underlying mechanisms and the functional consequences

Although approximately one-third of stroke survivors suffer abnormal foot posture and this can influence mobility [1], there is very little objective information regarding the foot and ankle after stroke