Comparison of in vivo human knee joint kinematics using axodes

The human knee is of particular interest because of its importance in mobility. Pain and stability can be directly related to the motion, or kinematics, of the knee. Many studies have been conducted to quantify human knee kinematics, both in vitro and in vivo. One of the inherent issues with in vivo, skin mounted measurement systems is that they do not account for soft tissue artifact. Compensation for soft tissue artifact has been a difficult challenge for skin mounted tracking systems and has not yet been achieved. Therefore, bone mounted skeletal pins were chosen as the method of gathering kinematic data for this study. Mounting bone pins is not the quintessential method to study motion due to its invasive nature; nevertheless, it provides a great amount of trustworthy, useful insight. Murphy conducted an in vivo experiment to capture the 3D kinematics of the normal human knee. The kinematic data were used to find the Instantaneous Screw Axis or Instantaneous Helical Axes (IHA). If progressive IHA’s are plotted on the same plot, the surface that is created is called the moving axode of the motion. Several degrees of freedom are needed to accurately describe the kinematics of the human knee during normal movement. The current study further analyzes the data that Murphy reported in 1990. The goal is to find an effective way to express kinematic information in a coordinate system-independent manner so that comparison is meaningful and feasible between gait/ROM trials, subjects, and knee repair/replacement methods. Axodes were used to compare knee kinematics, trial to trial, for gait, range of motion (ROM), and pivot step. It was established that 6 independent screws are required to fully describe the motion during gait. Thus, the knee behaves like a 6 DOF mechanism during gait and, therefore, two-, three-, four-, or five-screw system models are insufficient to adequately and uniquely define the screw system. Screw invariants were found to be a viable option of understanding knee kinematics. Axodes were plotted with pre-stance, stance phase, and post-stance phase indicated. Screw invariants, pitch and moment, were plotted as a function of flexion angle

Adele S. Buffington

Building on her early success in silent cinema, Adele S. Buffington enjoyed a long and successful career as a Hollywood screenwriter. Unfortunately, very little has been written about Buffington’s career, especially as it relates to her roots in silent cinema. Born Adele Burgdorfer in St. Louis, she began working as a movie theatre ticket cashier as a teenager. During her three years as a cashier, she was able to study numerous films on screen before her first attempts at writing a scenario of her own (McCreadie 58). She also took notice of the movie patrons as they flooded into the theatre to see their favorite characters on the screen. She is quoted in the Ft. Wayne, Indiana, newspaper as saying: “I had always wanted to write, but never had the nerve to try before. But there came the hour when I simply had to do it—and I did. Every night when my work in the cage was done, I went to the library and read, getting details and atmosphere for the scenes I had in mind—for the background against which I wanted those dear people I knew to move and make drama. Then when everyone else was asleep, I would write and write” (qtd. in McCreadie 58)

Dorothy Farnum

As with many women in early cinema, such as Jeanie Macpherson and Frances Marion, Dorothy Farnum’s career in Hollywood began with acting before settling into writing. Known for her intelligence and beauty, she worked well in front of the camera. From articles in the Los Angeles Times, we know that she was educated in a convent boarding school (location unknown) where Farnum mastered French history and literature and became fluent in Spanish and German (C27, 33). Although she received several offers to act and even appeared in the films Over Night (1915) and The Cub (1915), she was reported to have instead preferred writing scenarios for the silent screen. Farnum’s scenario writing career began in 1919 when she approached producer Harry Rapf with an original scenario titled The Broken Melody. Impressed with her skills, he employed Farnum at a commission of twenty-five dollars a week. Unfortunately, after just two weeks Farnum proved to be too inexperienced and was released from her contract. Rapf promised to employ her once she attained a footing in the industry and refined her trade. Farnum continued to work for a few years, steadily writing adaptations and scenarios. Finally, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, Rapf rehired her in May 1926 and gave her work on what would become one of her most renowned films: Beau Brummel (1924) starring John Barrymore (C27)

American Government (Dalton)

This Grants Collection for American Government was created under a Round Five ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process. Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials: Linked Syllabus Initial Proposal Final Reporthttps://oer.galileo.usg.edu/polisci-collections/1002/thumbnail.jp

Improvement and further development of SSM/I overland parameter algorithms using the WetNet workstation

Since the launch of the DMSP Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I), several algorithms have been developed to retrieve overland parameters. These include the present operational algorithms resulting from the Navy calibration/validation effort such as land surface type (Neale et al. 1990), land surface temperature (McFarland et al. 1990), surface moisture (McFarland and Neale, 1991) and snow parameters (McFarland and Neale, 1991). In addition, other work has been done including the classification of snow cover and precipitation using the SSM/I (Grody, 1991). Due to the empirical nature of most of the above mentioned algorithms, further research is warranted and improvements can probably be obtained through a combination of radiative transfer modelling to study the physical processes governing the microwave emissions at the SSM/I frequencies, and the incorporation of additional ground truth data and special cases into the regression data sets. We have proposed specifically to improve the retrieval of surface moisture and snow parameters using the WetNet SSM/I data sets along with ground truth information namely climatic variables from the NOAA cooperative network of weather stations as well as imagery from other satellite sensors such as the AVHRR and Thematic Mapper. In the case of surface moisture retrievals the characterization of vegetation density is of primary concern. The higher spatial resolution satellite imagery collected at concurrent periods will be used to characterize vegetation types and amounts which, along with radiative transfer modelling should lead to more physically based retrievals. Snow parameter retrieval algorithm improvement will initially concentrate on the classification of snowpacks (dry snow, wet snow, refrozen snow) and later on specific products such as snow water equivalent. Significant accomplishments in the past year are presented

Some aspects of electron–phonon interaction in the thermal modulation spectra of molecular crystals

The details of the temperature dependent intensity and linewidth of zero‐phonon bands in molecular crystal absorption and emission spectra are considered in relation to the line shape functions observed in thermal modulation spectra. Theory suggests and experiment confirms that in the limit of the Condon and adiabatic approximations for linear electron–phonon coupling, the extraordinary temperature dependence of zero‐phonon bands may be utilized to separate them from diffuse background absorption or emission. Qualitative consideration of line broadening from quadratic electron–phonon coupling utilizing a configuration coordinate model suggests that even when these terms dominate the linear interaction, increased resolution may be obtained in a thermal modulation spectrum. The theoretical considerations are illustrated with several experimental examples and some applications of the technique are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70661/2/JCPSA6-65-12-5068-1.pd

Mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis

Ph. D. Thesis.Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease, characterised by reduced bone mass and altered microarchitecture, with subsequent loss of strength, increased fragility and risk of fragility fractures. Hip fractures alone cost the NHS £2 billion per year and have associated high morbidity and mortality. The pathogenesis of falling bone mineral density, ultimately leading to a diagnosis of osteoporosis is incompletely understood but the disease is currently thought to be multifactorial. Humans are known to accumulate mitochondrial mutations with age and mounting evidence suggests that this may be intrinsic to changes in phenotype with advancing age and pathogenesis of age-related disease. Mitochondrial mutations have been shown to occur from the age of 30 years in tissues such as colon, which interestingly correlates with commencement of decline in bone mineral density. This work has demonstrated the presence of mitochondrial DNA mutations in individual human stem cells and respiratory chain deficiency in human osteoblasts for the first time using novel techniques including single-cell PCR, flow cytometry and imaging mass cytometry. Work with the Polgmut/mut mouse model which acquire mitochondrial mutations at an enhanced rate, has demonstrated significantly higher levels of osteoblast respiratory chain deficiency compared to age matched wild type controls. This was associated with significantly reduced osteoblast population densities, reduced bone formation and increased osteoclast activity. Through these novel techniques, this work has demonstrated that underlying mitochondrial pathology directly affects mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblast potentially contributing to osteoporosis which will lead the way for development of new treatment modalities