LANDING WITH A SUPINATED ANKLE JOINT COULD INCITE AN INVERSION SPRAIN INJURY

Ankle sprain injury mechanism has been recently analysed quantitatively. This study further investigated if a supinated ankle joint at landing is an aetiology of the injury. One inversion ankle sprain case from a previous study was selected, and the video sequences of two similar play movements performed by the same athlete without injury were collected and analysed by a model-based image-matching motion analysis method. The ankle joint orientations at the moment of landing in these three cases were compared. Results showed that the ankle joint was in a supination orientation with a combined 14 degrees inversion and 16 degrees plantarflexion at landing, while it was neutral in the inversion/eversion plane and dorsiflexed to 10-21 degrees in the non-injury cases. The supination ankle joint at landing was suggested to be the inciting event of the injury

Development of the deep flexor tendons and lumbricalis muscle in the hand and foot: a histological study using human mid-term fetuses

To revisit fetal development of the deep flexor tendons of the hand and foot, we examined the paraffin-embedded histology of 20 mid-term fetuses at 8-15 weeks of estimated gestational age (35-118 mm crown-rump length or CRL). At 8-9 weeks, in front of the metacarpal bones, the flexor pollicis longus and flexor digitorum profundus muscles provided a plate-like, common tendon from which the lumbricalis muscles originated. However, in the foot, we had no evidence of such a common tendon. The flexor pollicis tendon was separated from the common tendon at 9-10 weeks possibly due to a mechanical stress from the laterally growing thumb. Notably, at the lumbricalis muscle origins at 10-12 weeks, the flexor digitorum profundus and flexor digitorum longus tendons remained undifferentiated and the primitive tenocytes were dispersed from them. The dispersed cells seemed to develop into an interface tissue between the lumbricalis muscle fiber and the deep tendon. In 3 of 5 specimens at 15 weeks, we found excess number of the flexor digitorum profundus tendons (5-7) in the proximal side of the lumbricalis muscle origin. However, the excess tendons dispersed in the lumbricalis muscle origin. The development of the lumbricalis muscle origin might follow the tendon splitting for 4 fingers. However, conversely, we hypothesized that the developing lumbricalis muscles re-arranged the deep flexor tendons to provide a configuration of “one deep tendon per one finger (or toe)”. The quadrates plantae muscle seemed not to contribute on the re-arrangement

Effects of avatar character performances in virtual reality dramas used for teachers’ education

Virtual reality drama has the benefit of enhancing immersion, which was lacking in original e-Learning systems. Moreover, dangerous and expensive educational content can be replaced by stimulating users\u2019 interest. In this study, we investigate the effects of avatar performance in virtual reality drama. The hypothesis that the psychical distance between virtual characters and their viewers changes according to the size of video shots is tested with an autonomic nervous system function test. Eighty-four college students were randomly assigned to three groups. Virtual reality drama is used to train teachers concerning school bullying prevention, and deals with the dialogue between teachers and students. Group 1 was provided with full-shot video clips, Group 2 was shown various clips from full shots to extreme close-ups, and Group 3 was provided with close-up shots. We found that the virtual reality drama viewers\u2019 levels of stimulation changed in relation to the size of the shots. The R-R (between P wave and P wave) intervals of the electrocardiograms (ECGs, bio-signal feedback) became significantly narrower as the shot size became smaller

Thermodynamics and classification of cosmological models in the Horava-Lifshitz theory of gravity

We study thermodynamics of cosmological models in the Horava-Lifshitz theory of gravity, and systematically investigate the evolution of the universe filled with a perfect fluid that has the equation of state $p=w\rho$, where $p$ and $\rho$ denote, respectively, the pressure and energy density of the fluid, and $w$ is an arbitrary real constant. Depending on specific values of the free parameters involved in the models, we classify all of them into various cases. In each case the main properties of the evolution are studied in detail, including the periods of deceleration and/or acceleration, and the existence of big bang, big crunch, and big rip singularities. We pay particular attention on models that may give rise to a bouncing universe.Comment: revtex4, 21 figures. New references added & some changes made in Introduction. Version to appear in JCA

Interpretation of Fracture Toughness and R-Curve Behavior by Direct Observation of Microfracture Process in Ti-Based Dendrite-Containing Amorphous Alloys

Fracture properties of Ti-based amorphous alloys containing ductile beta dendrites were explained by directly observing microfracture processes. Three Ti-based amorphous alloys were fabricated by adding Ti, Zr, V, Ni, Al, and Be into a Ti-6Al-4V alloy by a vacuum arc melting method. The effective sizes of dendrites varied from 63 to 104 mu m, while their volume fractions were almost constant within the range from 74 to 76 pct. The observation of the microfracture of the alloy containing coarse dendrites revealed that a microcrack initiated at the amorphous matrix of the notch tip and propagated along the amorphous matrix. In the alloy containing fine dendrites, the crack propagation was frequently blocked by dendrites, and many deformation bands were formed near or in front of the propagating crack, thereby resulting in a zig-zag fracture path. Crack initiation toughness was almost the same at 35 to 36 MPaaem within error ranges in the three alloys because it was heavily affected by the stress applied to the specimen at the time of crack initiation at the crack tip as well as strength levels of the alloys. According to the R-curve behavior, however, the best overall fracture properties in the alloy containing fine dendrites were explained by mechanisms of blocking of the crack growth and crack blunting and deformation band formation at dendrites. (C) The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2015ope

Search for leptophobic Z ' bosons decaying into four-lepton final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for black holes and other new phenomena in high-multiplicity final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Measurements of differential production cross sections for a Z boson in association with jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for high-mass diphoton resonances in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV and combination with 8 TeV search

Peer reviewe