Overground vs. Treadmill Running: Do Runners Use the Same Strategy to Adjust Stride Length and Frequency While Running at Different Velocities?

Running speed is determined by stride frequency and stride length. As running speed is adjusted, runners make greater adjustments in stride length at slower speeds with a shift to stride frequency adjustments at the faster speeds. The relationship between stride frequency and stride length is largely based on overground research which leads to the purpose of this study to analyze whether the connection of stride frequency and stride length will adjust similar due to changes in running velocity during overground and treadmill running. The protocol was recently approved by The Institutional Review Board and data collection is currently in progress; - thus the following present abstract does not contain data. In order to compare runner’s gait pattern responses to velocity changes, two wearable technologies (Garmin Fenix2, Garmin, Kansas, USA; runScribe, Scribe Lab, San Francisco, USA) designed to measure stride length and stride frequency will be utilized. Subjects will run at a variety of velocities overground and then on the treadmill with speeds ranging from slow, preferred, and fast. The main dependent variables will be stride frequency and stride length. The null hypothesis is: The relationship between stride length and stride frequency is similar while running overground and on a treadmill at different velocities. The results of this study will be helpful to runners as well as development of wearable technology used to quantify run metrics

Tailored gamification and serious game framework based on fuzzy logic for saving energy in connected thermostats

Connected thermostats (CTs) often save less energy than predicted because consumers may not know how to use them and may not be engaged in saving energy. Additionally, several models perform contrary to consumers’ expectations and are thus not used the way they are intended to. As a result, CTs save less energy and are underused in households. This paper reviews aspects of gamification and serious games focused on engaging consumers. A gamification and serious games framework is proposed for saving energy that is tailored by a fuzzy logic system to motivate connected thermostat consumers. This intelligent gamification framework can be used to customize the gamification and serious game strategy to each consumer so that fuzzy logic systems can be adapted according to the requirements of each consumer. The framework is designed to teach, engage, and motivate consumers while helping them save electrical energy when using their thermostats. It is described the proposed framework as well as a mockup that can be run on a cellphone. Although this framework is designed to be implemented in CTs, it can be translated to their energy devices in smart homes

Dynamic analysis of beam structures considering geometric and constitutive nonlinearity

A fully geometric and constitutive nonlinear model for the description of the dynamic behavior of beam structures is developed. The proposed formulation is based on the geometrically exact formulation for beams due to Simo but, in this article an intermediate curved reference configuration is considered. The resulting deformation map belongs to a nonlinear differential manifold and, therefore, an appropriated version of Newmark’s scheme is used in updating the kinematics variables. Each material point of the cross-section is assumed to be composed of several simple materials with their own constitutive laws. The mixing rule is used to describe the resulting composite. An explicit expression for the objective measure of the strain rate acting on each material point is deduced in this article. Details about its numerical implementation in the time-stepping scheme are also addressed. Viscosity is included at the constitutive level by means of a thermodynamically consistent visco damage model developed in terms of the material description of the First Piola Kirchhoff stress vector. The constitutive part of the tangent tensor is deduced including the effect of rate dependent inelasticity. Finally, several numerical examples, validating the proposed formulation, are given

Two-scale approach for the nonlinear dynamic analysis of RC structures with local non-prismatic parts

There is general agreement in the fact that fully three-dimensional (3D) numerical techniques provide the most precise tools for simulating the behavior of RC buildings even when their computational costs for real structures became them unpractical. Moreover, one-dimensional formulations (1D) are rather limited for predicting the mechanical behavior of framed structures which present local weakness that can determine their global responses, such as it is the case of poor detailed joints of RC buildings in seismic zones or precast concrete structures. An alternative approach, combining both simplicity and computational efficiency, is given by coupling reduced models for prismatic elements with full 3D models for the zones corresponding to connecting joints. In this work, a two-scale approach is developed for obtaining the nonlinear dynamic response of RC buildings with local non-prismatic parts. At global scale level all the elements are rods; however, if local parts with complex geometry appear, the corresponding elements are analyzed considering fully 3D models which constitute the local scale level. The dimensional-coupling between scales is performed imposing the kinematics hypothesis of the beam model on surface-interfaces of the 3D model. An iterative Newton-Raphson scheme which considers the interaction between scales is developed to obtain the response at global level. The tangential stiffness of the local models are obtained numerically. Computationally, the problem is managed by means of a master-slave approach, where the global scale problem acts as the master and the local models are the slaves; iterative communication between scales considers internal forces and moments as well as tangential tensors. The process stops when global convergence is achieved. From the computational point of view, the developed method is implemented in a parallelized scheme, where the master and slave problems are solved independently by different programs thus minimizing the intervention on existing codes specific for beams and solids. Finally, numerical examples are included

Static analysis of beam structures under nonlinear geometric and constitutive behavior

In this article, the nonlinear constitutive behavior is considered in the geometrically nonlinear formulation for beams proposed by Simo and Vu-Quoc. The displacement based method is employed in solving the resulting nonlinear problem in the static case. Thermodynamically consistent three-dimensional constitutive laws are used in describing the material behavior, leading to a more precise estimation of the energy dissipated by the structures. The simple mixing rule is also applied in modeling materials which are composed by several simple components. An appropriated cross sectional analysis is implemented under the assumption and limitations of the planarity of the beam cross sections. Special attention is paid to the development of a method for defining the global damage state of a structure based on a scalar damage index capable of describing the residual strength and the load carrying capacity. Several numerical examples, including composite materials and strain localization, are presented and discussed

An Endogenous Retrovirus from Human Hookworm Encodes an Ancient Phlebovirus-Like Class II Envelope Fusion Protein

Within the parasitic nematode Ancylostoma ceylanicum, a ~20 million-year-old Bel/Pao LTR retrotransposon encodes an ancient viral class II envelope fusion protein termed Atlas Gc. Typically, retroviruses and related degenerate retrotransposons encode a hemagglutinin-like class I envelope fusion protein. A subset of Bel/Pao LTR retrotransposons within the phylum Nematoda have acquired a phlebovirus-like envelope gene and utilized the encoded fusion machinery to escape the genome as intact exogenous retroviruses. This includes C. elegans retroelement 7 virus which was recently reclassified as a member of the genus Semotivirus. A 3.76 Å cryoEM reconstruction confirms Atlas Gc as a closely related phleboviral homologue and class II fusion protein in a novel case of gene exaptation. Preliminary biophysical and biochemical characterization indicate Atlas Gc functions under specific physiological conditions targeting late-endosomal membranes, much like modern viral class II envelope fusion proteins. Phylogenetic analyses support the reclassification of the Atlas endogenous retrovirus and five other A. ceylanicum ERVs as novel semotiviruses of Belpaoviridae of the new viral order of reverse-transcribing viruses Ortervirales

Computational simulation of the seismic response of buildings with energy dissipating devices

In this work, the nonlinear dynamic response of RC buildings with energy dissipating devices is studied using advanced computational techniques. A fully geometric and constitutive nonlinear model is used for describing the dynamic behavior of structures. The equations of motion are expressed in terms of cross sectional forces and strains and its weak form is solved using the displacement based finite element method. A suitable version of Newmark’s scheme is used in updating the kinematics variables in a classical Newton type iterative scheme. Material points of the cross section are assumed to be composed of several simple materials with their own constitutive laws. The mixing theory is used to treat the resulting composite. A specific finite element based on the beam theory is proposed for the dissipators including constitutive relations. Finally, several numerical tests are carried out to validate the proposed model

Non-linear seismic analysis of RC structures with energy-dissipating devices

The poor performance of some reinforced concrete (RC) structures during strong earthquakes has alerted about the need of improving their seismic behavior, especially when they are designed according to obsolete codes and show low structural damping, important second-order effects and low ductility, among other defects. These characteristics allow proposing the use of energy-dissipating devices for improving their seismic behavior. In this work, the non-linear dynamic response of RC buildings with energy dissipators is studied using advanced computational techniques. A fully geometric and constitutive non-linear model for the description of the dynamic behavior of framed structures is developed. The model is based on the geometrically exact formulation for beams in finite deformation. Points on the cross section are composed of several simple materials. The mixing theory is used to treat the resulting composite. A specific type of element is proposed for modeling the dissipators including the corresponding constitutive relations. Special attention is paid to the development of local and global damage indices for describing the performance of the buildings. Finally, numerical tests are presented for validating the ability of the model for reproducing the non-linear seismic response of buildings with dissipators