INFLUENCE OF AGING ON THE DYNAMICS OF LATERAL STABILIZATION IN WALKING, IN DIFFERENT EXPERIHENTAL CONDITIONS RELATED TO SHOE WEARING AND FLOOR HARDNESS

Review of biomechanics literature on the influence of aging on the locomotor system indicates that safe load bearing as well as deformation sustaining capabilities of biological tissues decrease with age. Postural studies of older populations have di8closed more body sway than in younger age groups and have often associated loss of balance with locomotion problems of old age people. On the other hand, biomechanical studies of walking and running have already demonstrated t h a t wearing shoes and shoe characteristics can play an important r o l e in shock absorption. However the influence of aging on the dynamic of lateral stabilization in walking in relationship with shoe wearing and floor hardness has received very little attention. Such a biomechanical approach t o locomotion is becoming more important since more and more older people are involved in sport and fitness activities including some form of locomotion. The present study has been undertaken in order to investigate the influence of aging together with shoe wearing and floor hardness on some of the main components, of lateral stabilization in walking, namely the lateral forces, the lateral impulse and the lateral deviation o f the center of pressure. Three groups of 15 physically active male subjects (17-22, 40-45 and 65-70 years old) were instructed to walk on a tri-dimensional force platform a t a predetermined pace set with a metronome;. Experimental conditions included walking barefoot and with regular shoes, on a hard and a softer surfaces. Kinetic data were recorded on the 5th, 25th, 50th, 100th and 500th steps for each condition, with the use of the computerized . Ariel Performance Analysis System. Analysis of the results disclosed important differences between the age groups in all three experimental parameters. Lower lateral forces exerted by the older age group lead t o the hypothesis of a different stabilization strategy based on energy saving. Findings were also discussed in relationship with the lateral stabilization process and applications were made to sport and fitness activities a s well a s the daily living situations

A BIOMECHANICAL AND KINESIOLOGICAL APPROACH IN THE TEACHING OF EFFICIENT SURGICAL SKILLS TO MEDICAL STUDENTS

A competency-based surgery residents teaching and training program including a biomechanical and kinesiological approach was developed in order to improve procedural learning and mastery of invasive skills. Principles of biomechanics and kinesiology have been taught and applied to many aspects of surgical tasks, including instrument holding and manipulation, body positioning and posture, segments alignment. Results demonstrate more precise movements and more efficient performance of surgical tasks in residents participating in the program

Communicative Competence for Researchers working with LGBTQ Communities

The ethical principles of respect and justice oblige the use of culturally sensitive approaches when engaging participants in research, however cultural competence training is lacking for researchers who work with LGBTQ populations. The purpose of this study was to explore how researchers can create a welcoming research environment for LGBTQ research participants in the context of historical distrust of medical research as a barrier to research participation among minority populations. Grounded by a framework of communicative competence, this study explored elements of preferred communication during recruitment and informed consent for research involving LGBTQ participants. Grammatical, sociolinguistic, strategic and discourse competence domains aided exploration of the preferences held by participants in LGBTQ sub-groups, as well as the perceived barriers to research. Thirty-six participants, who self-identified as part of the LGBTQ community and were recruited through our community partner, the Center for Health Impact, took part in either focus groups or individual interviews. Preliminary analysis reveals community engagement and building trust are key, particularly in an academic medical center where a patient\u27s clinical experiences may impact their willingness to become a research participant. Participants offered insight into each competence domain, covering: terminology to promote inclusivity, body language to avoid, reducing stigma by being up front and feedback on crafting a more LGBTQ-friendly basic demography questionnaire. These findings will aid in the refinement of an LGBTQ-focused version of our Simulation-based Community-engaged Research Intervention for Informed Consent Protocol Testing and Training (SCRIIPTT) to build communicative competence among clinical researchers

Proteomic profile of KSR1-regulated signalling in response to genotoxic agents in breast cancer

Kinase suppressor of Ras 1 (KSR1) has been implicated in tumorigenesis in multiple cancers, including skin, pancreatic and lung carcinomas. However, our recent study revealed a role of KSR1 as a tumour suppressor in breast cancer, the expression of which is potentially correlated with chemotherapy response. Here, we aimed to further elucidate the KSR1-regulated signalling in response to genotoxic agents in breast cancer. Stable isotope labelling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) was implemented to globally characterise cellular protein levels induced by KSR1 in the presence of doxorubicin or etoposide. The acquired proteomic signature was compared and GO-STRING analysis was subsequently performed to illustrate the activated functional signalling networks. Furthermore, the clinical associations of KSR1 with identified targets and their relevance in chemotherapy response were examined in breast cancer patients. We reveal a comprehensive repertoire of thousands of proteins identified in each dataset and compare the unique proteomic profiles as well as functional connections modulated by KSR1 after doxorubicin (Doxo-KSR1) or etoposide (Etop-KSR1) stimulus. From the up-regulated top hits, several proteins, including STAT1, ISG15 and TAP1 are also found to be positively associated with KSR1 expression in patient samples. Moreover, high KSR1 expression, as well as high abundance of these proteins, is correlated with better survival in breast cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy. In aggregate, our data exemplify a broad functional network conferred by KSR1 with genotoxic agents and highlight its implication in predicting chemotherapy response in breast cancer

In-air hearing of a diving duck: A comparison of psychoacoustic and auditory brainstem response thresholds

Auditory sensitivity was measured in a species of diving duck that is not often kept in captivity, the lesser scaup. Behavioral (psychoacoustics) and electrophysiological [the auditory brainstem response (ABR)] methods were used to measure in-air auditory sensitivity, and the resulting audiograms were compared. Both approaches yielded audiograms with similar U-shapes and regions of greatest sensitivity (2000-3000 Hz). However, ABR thresholds were higher than psychoacoustic thresholds at all frequencies. This difference was least at the highest frequency tested using both methods (5700 Hz) and greatest at 1000 Hz, where the ABR threshold was 26.8 dB higher than the behavioral measure of threshold. This difference is commonly reported in studies involving many different species. These results highlight the usefulness of each method, depending on the testing conditions and availability of the animals

Eggshell geochemistry reveals ancestral metabolic thermal regulation in Dinosauria

Studying the origin of avian thermoregulation is complicated by a lack of reliable methods to measure body temperatures in extinct dinosaurs. Evidence from bone histology and stable isotope analysis often relies on uncertain assumptions about the relationship between growth rate and body temperature, or the isotopic composition (δ18O) of body water. By contrast, clumped isotope (Δ47) paleothermometry, which relies on the binding of 13C to 18O, provides a robust tool for determining the body temperatures of dinosaurs, but has yet to be applied across a broad phylogenetic range while accounting for the influence of paleoenvironmental conditions. Applying this method to well-preserved fossil eggshells, we find that the three major clades of dinosaurs, Ornithischia, Sauropodomorpha, and Theropoda, were characterized by warm body temperatures. Dwarf titanosaurs may have exhibited similar body temperatures to larger sauropods, although these conclusions are provisional in light of uncertainties in the taxonomic assignment of dwarf titanosaur eggshell. Regardless, our results reveal that metabolically controlled thermoregulation was the ancestral condition for Dinosauria

Kepler Presearch Data Conditioning I - Architecture and Algorithms for Error Correction in Kepler Light Curves

Kepler provides light curves of 156,000 stars with unprecedented precision. However, the raw data as they come from the spacecraft contain significant systematic and stochastic errors. These errors, which include discontinuities, systematic trends, and outliers, obscure the astrophysical signals in the light curves. To correct these errors is the task of the Presearch Data Conditioning (PDC) module of the Kepler data analysis pipeline. The original version of PDC in Kepler did not meet the extremely high performance requirements for the detection of miniscule planet transits or highly accurate analysis of stellar activity and rotation. One particular deficiency was that astrophysical features were often removed as a side-effect to removal of errors. In this paper we introduce the completely new and significantly improved version of PDC which was implemented in Kepler SOC 8.0. This new PDC version, which utilizes a Bayesian approach for removal of systematics, reliably corrects errors in the light curves while at the same time preserving planet transits and other astrophysically interesting signals. We describe the architecture and the algorithms of this new PDC module, show typical errors encountered in Kepler data, and illustrate the corrections using real light curve examples.Comment: Submitted to PASP. Also see companion paper "Kepler Presearch Data Conditioning II - A Bayesian Approach to Systematic Error Correction" by Jeff C. Smith et a