A KINEMATIC COMPARISON OF RUNNING ON TREADMILL AND OVERGROUND SURFACES

Treadmills are often used for research in sport running shoes and physical training. The purpose of this study was to compare the kinematics in treadmill and overground running, and to investigate if the shoe testing on treadmill can reflect the performance of the running shoes on overground surfaces. Thirteen male subjects were recruited to run on treadmill, tartan, grass and concrete surfaces. Effective vertical stiffness, temporal and kinematic parameters were measured. The results showed that the running patterns within overground surfaces were not significantly different, while the significant differences were found between treadmill and overground running

A KINETIC COMPARISON OF RUNNING ON TREADMILL AND OVERGROUND SURFACES: AN ANALYSIS OF PLANTAR PRESSURE

The purpose of this study was to compare the plantar pressure in treadmill and overground running. It aimed to investigate whether treadmill is a suitable surface to carry out running shoe cushioning test. Fourteen male volunteers were recruited to run on four different running conditions i.e. treadmill, tartan, grass, and concrete with controlled running speed. A mobile plantar pressure measuring system was employed and peak pressure was measured. The results showed that the plantar pressure of treadmill running was different to that of overground running in total foot, medial midfoot, lateral midfoot and lesser toes

ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS ON LOWER EXTREMITY MUSCLES DURING OVERGROUND AND TREADMILL RUNNING

The goal of this study was to compare treadmill running with overground running, so as to investigate if the shoe testing and training on treadmill can reflect the overground performance. Thirteen Chinese male subjects were instructed to run on the four conditions (1.Treadmill, 2.Tartan, 3.Grass, 4.Concrete). Comparisons between running conditions were made for muscle activity. The electromyography (EMG) signals from rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, biceps fermoris and medial gastrocnemius in one stride were evaluated. Results of the root mean square of EMG signal in rectus femoris, biceps femoris and gastrocnemius were found to be significantly different between overground and treadmill running during stance phase and the time point of toe off

Scaling and trends of hourly precipitation extremes in two different climate zones – Hong Kong and the Netherlands

Hourly precipitation extremes in very long time series from the Hong Kong Observatory and the Netherlands are investigated. Using the 2 m dew point temperature from 4 h before the rainfall event as a measure of near surface absolute humidity, hourly precipitation extremes closely follow a 14% per degree dependency – a scaling twice as large as following from the Clausius-Clapeyron relation. However, for dew point temperatures above 23 °C no significant dependency on humidity was found. Strikingly, in spite of the large difference in climate, results are almost identical in Hong Kong and the Netherlands for the dew point temperature range where both observational sets have sufficient data. Trends in hourly precipitation extremes show substantial increases over the last century for both De Bilt (the Netherlands) and Hong Kong. For De Bilt, not only the long term trend, but also variations in hourly precipitation extremes on an inter-decadal timescale of 30 yr and longer, can be linked very well to the above scaling; there is a very close resemblance between variations in dew point temperature and precipitation intensity with an inferred dependency of hourly precipitation extremes of 10 to 14% per degree. For Hong Kong there is no connection between variations in humidity and those in precipitation intensity in the wet season, May to September. This is consistent with the found zero-dependency of precipitation intensity on humidity for dew points above 23 °C. Yet, outside the wet season humidity changes do appear to explain the positive trend in hourly precipitation extremes, again following a dependency close to twice the Clausius-Clapeyron relation

Identification of genetic risk factors in the Chinese population implicates a role of immune system in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a leading cause of mortality among the elderly. We performed a whole-genome sequencing study of AD in the Chinese population. In addition to the variants identified in or around the APOE locus (sentinel variant rs73052335, P = 1.44 × 10−14), two common variants, GCH1 (rs72713460, P = 4.36 × 10−5 ) and KCNJ15 (rs928771, P = 3.60 × 10−6 ), were identified and further verified for their possible risk effects for AD in three small non-Asian AD cohorts. Genotype–phenotype analysis showed that KCNJ15 variant rs928771 affects the onset age of AD, with earlier disease onset in minor allele carriers. In addition, altered expression level of the KCNJ15 transcript can be observed in the blood of AD subjects. Moreover, the risk variants of GCH1 and KCNJ15 are associated with changes in their transcript levels in specific tissues, as well as changes of plasma biomarkers levels in AD subjects. Importantly, network analysis of hippocampus and blood transcriptome datasets suggests that the risk variants in the APOE, GCH1, and KCNJ15 loci might exert their functions through their regulatory effects on immune-related pathways. Taking these data together, we identified common variants of GCH1 and KCNJ15 in the Chinese population that contribute to AD risk. These variants may exert their functional effects through the immune system

Development of Shear Modulus Reduction Curves Based on Lotung Downhole Ground Motion Data

In this study, equivalent shear moduli (or shear-wave velocities) and their variations with shearing strain at the Lotung seismic experiment site were back-calculated from recorded downhole array ground motions. Ground motion data for various levels of shaking (peak ground surface accelerations ranging from 0.03g to 0.21g) recorded during seven earthquakes were used in the analyses. Results show that downhole array ground motion data can be used to infer in-situ dynamic soil properties over a wide strain range

Epidemiology of human infections with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Guangdong, 2016 to 2017

We describe the epidemiology of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H7N9) based on poultry market environmental surveillance and laboratory-confirmed human cases (n = 9) in Guangdong, China. We also compare the epidemiology between human cases of high- and low-pathogenic avian influenza A(H7N9) (n = 51) in Guangdong. Case fatality and severity were similar. Touching sick or dead poultry was the most important risk factor for HPAI A(H7N9) infections and should be highlighted for the control of future influenza A(H7N9) epidemics.published_or_final_versio

Genetic and polygenic risk score analysis for Alzheimer's disease in the Chinese population

Introduction: Dozens of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated loci have been identified in European-descent populations, but their effects have not been thoroughly investigated in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Methods: TaqMan array genotyping was performed for known AD-associated variants in a Hong Kong Chinese cohort. Regression analysis was conducted to study the associations of variants with AD-associated traits and biomarkers. Lasso regression was applied to establish a polygenic risk score (PRS) model for AD risk prediction. Results: SORL1 is associated with AD in the Hong Kong Chinese population. Meta-analysis corroborates the AD-protective effect of the SORL1 rs11218343 C allele. The PRS is developed and associated with AD risk, cognitive status, and AD-related endophenotypes. TREM2 H157Y might influence the amyloid beta 42/40 ratio and levels of immune-associated proteins in plasma. Discussion: SORL1 is associated with AD in the Hong Kong Chinese population. The PRS model can predict AD risk and cognitive status in this population