HIPS DON’T LIE: ANALYZING FRONTAL PLANE KINEMATICS IN ADULTS OF VARYING AGES DURING STEP TASKS

M. Jain, K. Wiegand Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA Aging is linked to reduced physical activity, which can lead to loss of strength and coordination. Previous research indicates older individuals display greater asymmetries and altered kinematic patterns in fundamental movements, which can contribute to injury risk. PURPOSE: Assess the relationships between age and frontal plane kinematics of the hip and knee during step-up and step-down tasks. METHODS: Five of 75 participants have completed the study thus far: 2 males and 3 females, age 42.8±15.4. Participants completed three single leg step-ups and step-downs on each limb from a 25 cm height while 2D frontal plane kinematics were recorded. Following informed consent, markers were placed bilaterally on anterior and posterior landmarks of the lower extremity. Knee Valgus and hip drop angles were calculated from exported kinematic data. Average maximum and minimum values of the dominant limb were calculated across trials. Range of motion (ROM) for each angle was calculated as average minimum value minus average maximum value. The relationships between age and hip drop ROM, age and knee valgus ROM, and age and symmetry were assessed using bivariate correlations (α=0.05). RESULTS: Means and standard deviations are presented in Table 1. Initial findings indicate a strong positive correlation between age and contralateral hip drop (r=0.14, p\u3e0.05). No correlations between age and knee valgus (r=0.08, p\u3e0.05), age and hip drop symmetry (r=-0.21, p\u3e0.05) or age and knee valgus symmetry (r=-0.11, p\u3e0.05) were found. CONCLUSION: Preliminary data observed increased age may be associated with risky frontal plane hip kinematics. Further testing on a broader age range and remaining participants is necessary. Supported by the ACSM NW Student Research Award

Measurement of heavy-hole spin dephasing in (InGa)As quantum dots

We measure the spin dephasing of holes localized in self-assembled (InGa)As quantum dots by spin noise spectroscopy. The localized holes show a distinct hyperfine interaction with the nuclear spin bath despite the p-type symmetry of the valence band states. The experiments reveal a short spin relaxation time {\tau}_{fast}^{hh} of 27 ns and a second, long spin relaxation time {\tau}_{slow}^{hh} which exceeds the latter by more than one order of magnitude. The two times are attributed to heavy hole spins aligned perpendicular and parallel to the stochastic nuclear magnetic field. Intensity dependent measurements and numerical simulations reveal that the long relaxation time is still obscured by light absorption, despite low laser intensity and large detuning. Off-resonant light absorption causes a suppression of the spin noise signal due to the creation of a second hole entailing a vanishing hole spin polarization.Comment: accepted to be published in AP

A simulation study comparing common methods for analyzing species–habitat associations of plants

Question Species-specific habitat associations are one of several processes that lead to a clustered spatial pattern of plant populations. This pattern occurs in tropical and temperate forests. To analyze species–habitat associations, four methods are commonly used when determining species–habitat associations from spatial point pattern and environmental raster data. Two of the methods randomize the spatial point pattern of plants, and two randomize the raster data of habitat patches. However, the strengths and weaknesses of the four methods have never been analyzed in detail. Methods We conducted a simulation study to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the four most used methods. The methods are the gamma test, pattern reconstruction, the torus-translation test and the randomized-habitats procedure. We simulated neutral landscapes representing habitat patches and point patterns representing fine-scale plant distributions. We built into our simulations known positive and negative species–habitat associations. Results All four methods were equally good at detecting species–habitat associations. Detected positive associations better than negative ones. Furthermore, correct detections were mostly influenced by the initial spatial distribution of the point patterns, landscape fragmentation and the number of simulated null model randomizations. Conclusions The four methods have advantages and disadvantages, and which is the most suitable method largely depends on the characteristics of the available data. However, our simulation study shows that the results are consistent between methods

Use of soil moisture information in yield models

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Deposition of fluoride on enamel surfaces released from varnishes is limited to vicinity of fluoridation site

The aim of the in-situ study was to determine fluoride uptake in non-fluoridated, demineralized enamel after application of fluoride varnishes on enamel samples located at various distances from the non-fluoridated samples. All enamel samples used were demineralized with acidic hydroxyethylcellulose before the experiment. Intra-oral appliances were worn by ten volunteers in three series: (1, Mirafluorid, 0.15% F; 2, Duraphat, 2.3% F and 3, unfluoridated controls) of 6days each. Each two enamel samples were prepared from 30 bovine incisors. One sample was used for the determination of baseline fluoride content (BFC); the other was treated according to the respective series and fixed in the intra-oral appliance for 6days. Additionally, from 120 incisors, each four enamel samples were prepared (one for BFC). Three samples (a-c) were placed into each appliance at different sites: (a) directly neighboured to the fluoridated specimen (=next), (b) at 1-cm distance (=1cm) and (c) in the opposite buccal aspect of the appliance (=opposite). At these sites, new unfluoridated samples were placed at days 1, 3 and 5, which were left in place for 1day. The volunteers brushed their teeth and the samples with fluoridated toothpaste twice per day. Both the KOH-soluble and structurally bound fluoride were determined in all samples to determine fluoride uptake and were statistically analyzed. One day, after fluoridation with Duraphat, KOH-soluble fluoride uptake in specimen a (=next) was significantly higher compared to the corresponding samples of both the control and Mirafluorid series, which in turn were not significantly different from each other. At all other sites and time points, fluoride uptake in the enamel samples were not different from controls for both fluoride varnishes. Within the first day after application, intra-oral-fluoride release from the tested fluoride varnish Duraphat leads to KOH-soluble fluoride uptake only in enamel samples located in close vicinity to the fluoridation sit

A visual demonstration of convergence properties of cooperative coevolution

We introduce a model for cooperative coevolutionary algorithms (CCEAs) using partial mixing, which allows us to compute the expected long-run convergence of such algorithms when individuals ’ fitness is based on the maximum payoff of some N evaluations with partners chosen at random from the other population. Using this model, we devise novel visualization mechanisms to attempt to qualitatively explain a difficult-to-conceptualize pathology in CCEAs: the tendency for them to converge to suboptimal Nash equilibria. We further demonstrate visually how increasing the size of N, or biasing the fitness to include an ideal-collaboration factor, both improve the likelihood of optimal convergence, and under which initial population configurations they are not much help

Updates to the recently introduced family Lacipirellulaceae in the phylum Planctomycetes: isolation of strains belonsging to the novel genera Aeoliella, Botrimarina, Pirellulimonas and Pseudobythopirellula and the novel species Bythopirellula polymerisocia and Posidoniimonas corsicana

Eight novel strains of the phylum Planctomycetes were isolated from different aquatic habitats. Among these habitats were the hydrothermal vent system close to Panarea Island, a public beach at Mallorca Island, the shore of Costa Brava (Spain), and three sites with brackish water in the Baltic Sea. The genome sizes of the novel strains range from 4.33 to 6.29 Mb with DNA G+C contents between 52.8 and 66.7%. All strains are mesophilic (Topt 24–30 °C) and display generation times between 17 and 94 h. All eight isolates constitute novel species of either already described or novel genera within the family Lacipirellulaceae. Two of the novel species, Posidoniimonas polymericola (type strain Pla123a$^{T}$ = DSM 103020$^{T}$ = LMG 29466$^{T}$) and Bythopirellula polymerisocia (type strain Pla144$^{T}$ = DSM 104841$^{T}$ = VKM B-3442$^{T}$), belong to established genera, while the other strains represent the novel genera Aeoliella gen. nov., Botrimarina gen. nov., Pirellulimonas gen. nov. and Pseudobythopirellula gen. nov. Based on our polyphasic analysis, we propose the species Aeoliella mucimassa sp. nov. (type strain Pan181$^{T}$ = DSM 29370$^{T}$ = LMG 31346$^{T}$ = CECT 9840$^{T}$ = VKM B-3426$^{T}$), Botrimarina colliarenosi sp. nov. (type strain Pla108$^{T}$ = DSM 103355$^{T}$ = LMG 29803$^{T}$), Botrimarina hoheduenensis sp. nov. (type strain Pla111$^{T}$ = DSM 103485$^{T}$ = STH00945$^{T}$, Jena Microbial Resource Collection JMRC), Botrimarina mediterranea sp. nov. (type strain Spa11$^{T}$ = DSM 100745$^{T}$ = LMG 31350$^{T}$ = CECT 9852$^{T}$ = VKM B-3431$^{T}$), Pirellulimonas nuda sp. nov. (type strain Pla175$^{T}$ = DSM 109594$^{T}$ = CECT 9871$^{T}$ = VKM B-3448$^{T}$) and Pseudobythopirellula maris sp. nov. (type strain Mal64$^{T}$ = DSM 100832$^{T}$ = LMG 29020$^{T}$)

Additions to the genus Gimesia: description of Gimesia alba sp. nov., Gimesia algae sp. nov., Gimesia aquarii sp. nov., Gimesia aquatilis sp. nov., Gimesia fumaroli sp. nov. and Gimesia panareensis sp. nov., isolated from aquatic habitats of the Northern Hemisphere

Thirteen novel planctomycetal strains were isolated from five different aquatic sampling locations. These comprise the hydrothermal vent system close to Panarea Island (Italy), a biofilm on the surface of kelp at Monterey Bay (CA, USA), sediment and algae on Mallorca Island (Spain) and Helgoland Island (Germany), as well as a seawater aquarium in Braunschweig, Germany. All strains were shown to belong to the genus Gimesia. Their genomes cover a size range from 7.22 to 8.29 Mb and have a G+C content between 45.1 and 53.7%. All strains are mesophilic (Topt 26-33 °C) with generation times between 12 and 32 h. Analysis of fatty acids yielded palmitic acid (16:0) and a fatty acid with the equivalent chain length of 15.817 as major compounds. While five of the novel strains belong to the already described species Gimesia maris and Gimesia chilikensis, the other strains belong to novel species, for which we propose the names Gimesia alba (type strain Pan241wT = DSM 100744T = LMG 31345T = CECT 9841T = VKM B-3430T), Gimesia algae (type strain Pan161T = CECT 30192T = STH00943T = LMG 29130T), Gimesia aquarii (type strain V144T = DSM 101710T = VKM B-3433T), Gimesia fumaroli (type strain Enr17T = DSM 100710T = VKM B-3429T) and Gimesia panareensis (type strain Enr10T = DSM 100416T = LMG 29082T). STH numbers refer to the Jena Microbial Resource Collection (JMRC)