DIFFERENCES IN GAIT DYNAMICS AMONG VARIOUS TYPES OF SHOE

INTRODUCTION: The foot provides an important source of feedback for locomotion (Nurse et al., 2005). The healthy locomotor system integrates input from the neuronal system as well as feedback from visual, vestibular and proprioceptive sensors (Hausdorff, 2007). Shoe constructions can support altering gait mechanics and/or stability training (Nigg et al., 2006). Particularly, feedback from the feet may be influenced by changing the types of shoe. According to recent studies, gait variability, such as stride-to-stride fluctuation, may be a biomechanical marker for changes of gait mechanics (Hausdorff, 2007; Peng et al., 1995). The study of gait variability offers a complementary way of quantifying locomotion and its changes with aging and disease as well as a means of monitoring the effects of therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation (Hausdorff, 2007). Then, usually temporal (stride interval time, swing interval time, stance interval time, step interval time, double support time) and spatial (stride length, step length, step width) variables were used for variability analysis. Thus, analyses for gait variability were so-called “gait dynamics“. And types of shoe may cause changes of gait performance during walking. In present study we would like to identify differences of gait dynamics (from variability point of views) between shoe types during treadmill walking

A STUDY ON GAIT PATTERN BETWEEN OLD AND YOUNG ADULTS TO EVALUATE ELDERLY SHOE: PRELIMINARY STUDY

INTRODUCTION: There are differences between gait performance of old and that of young adults (Paroczai, 2006). It is believed that these differences might have effects on the developmental procedure of shoes for the elderly. However the standard of elderly shoe for development and evaluation is not enough. Traditional gait analysis methods (kinematics and kinetics) and gait variability were used. Gait variability can offer a complementary way of quantifying locomotion and its changes with aging and disease as well as a means of monitoring the effects of therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation (Hausdorff, 2007). Especially, according to recent studies, variability was closely related to gait stability (Hausdorff, 2007). The goal of this study was to find elderly gait pattern for evaluating elderly shoe based on stability point of view

A geometric constraint over k-dimensional objects and shapes subject to business rules

This report presents a global constraint that enforces rules written in a language based on arithmetic and first-order logic to hold among a set of objects. In a first step, the rules are rewritten to Quantifier-Free Presburger Arithmetic (QFPA) formulas. Secondly, such formulas are compiled to generators of k-dimensional forbidden sets. Such generators are a generalization of the indexicals of cc(FD). Finally, the forbidden sets generated by such indexicals are aggregated by a sweep-based algorithm and used for filtering. The business rules allow to express a great variety of packing and placement constraints, while admitting efficient and effective filtering of the domain variables of the k-dimensional object, without the need to use spatial data structures. The constraint was used to directly encode the packing knowledge of a major car manufacturer and tested on a set of real packing problems under these rules, as well as on a packing-unpacking problem

Objective Prediction of Pharyngeal Swallow Dysfunction in Dysphagia through Artificial Neural Network Modelling

This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving'. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons LtdBackground Pharyngeal pressure-flow analysis (PFA) of high resolution impedance-manometry (HRIM) with calculation of the swallow risk index (SRI) can quantify swallow dysfunction predisposing to aspiration. We explored the potential use of artificial neural networks (ANN) to model the relationship between PFA swallow metrics and aspiration and to predict swallow dysfunction. Methods Two hundred consecutive dysphagia patients referred for videofluoroscopy and HRIM were assessed. Presence of aspiration was scored and PFA software derived 13 metrics and the SRI. An ANN was created and optimized over training cycles to achieve optimal classification accuracy for matching inputs (PFA metrics) to output (presence of aspiration on videofluoroscopy). Application of the ANN returned a value between 0.00 and 1.00 reflecting the degree of swallow dysfunction. Key Results Twenty one patients were excluded due to insufficient number of swallows (<4). Of 179, 58 aspirated and 27 had aspiration pneumonia history. The SRI was higher in aspirators (aspiration 24 [9, 41] vs no aspiration 7 [2, 18], p < 0.001) and patients with pneumonia (pneumonia 27 [5, 42] vs no pneumonia 8 [3, 24], p < 0.05). The ANN Predicted Risk was higher in aspirators (aspiration 0.57 [0.38, 0.82] vs no aspiration 0.13 [0.4, 0.25], p < 0.001) and in patients with pneumonia (pneumonia 0.46 [0.18, 0.60] vs no pneumonia 0.18 [0.6, 0.49], p < 0.01). Prognostic value of the ANN was superior to the SRI. Conclusions & Inferences In a heterogeneous cohort of dysphagia patients, PFA with ANN modeling offers enhanced detection of clinically significant swallowing dysfunction, probably more accurately reflecting the complex interplay of swallow characteristics that causes aspiration

Randomised clinical trial: the long‐term safety and tolerability of naloxegol in patients with pain and opioid‐induced constipation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108643/1/apt12899.pd

Factors affecting metal mobilisation during oxidation of sulphidic, sandy wetland substrates

Most metals accumulate as sulphides under anoxic conditions in wetland substrates, reducing their bioavailability due to the solubility of metal sulphides. However, upon oxidation of these sulphides when the substrate is occasionally oxidised, metals can be released from the solid phase to the pore water or overlaying surface water. This release can be affected by the presence of carbonates, organic matter and clay. We compared changes of Cd, Cu and Zn mobility (CaCl2 extraction) during oxidation of a carbonate-rich and a carbonate-poor sulphidic, sandy wetland substrate. In addition, we studied how clay with low and high cation sorption capacity (bentonite and kaolinite, respectively) and organic matter (peat) can counteract Cd, Cu and Zn release during oxidation of both carbonate-rich and carbonate-poor sulphidic sediments. CaCl2-extractability of Cu, a measure for its availability, is low in both carbonate-poor and carbonate-rich substrates, whereas its variability is high. The availability of Cd and Zn is much higher and increases when peat is supplied to carbonate-poor substrates. A strong reduction of Cd and Zn extractability is observed when clay is added to carbonate-poor substrates. This reduction depends on the clay type. Most observations could be explained taking into account pH differences between treatments, with kaolinite resulting in a lower pH in comparison to bentonite. These pH differences affect the presence and characteristics of dissolved organic carbon and the metal speciation, which in turns affects the interaction of metals with the solid soil phase. In carbonate-rich substrates, Cd and Zn availability is lower and the effects of peat and clay amendment are less clear. The latter can also be attributed to the high pH and lack of pH differences between treatments

MRI for the evaluation of gastric physiology

Radiolog