Pulsed Ultrasound Does Not Affect Recovery From Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Aim: To investigate the effects of pulsed Ultrasound (US) in recovery from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Methods: Twelve healthy male athletes (mean age 23.83±1.697 year) performed an eccentric exercise protocol of non-dominant elbow flexors to induce muscle soreness on 2 occasions separated by 3 weeks. Subjects in experimental group received pulsed US (1 MHz, intensity 0.8 W/cm2, mark space ratio 1:10), whereas control group received sham US after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Perception of muscle soreness, active ROM and muscle strength were the parameters measured at 0 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h with the help of VAS, manual goniometer and JONEX muscles master instrument respectively. Results: Post hoc t test analysis revealed significant differences (p <0.05) between 0 h and 72 h in the parameter of ROM (t = 6.18) and muscle power (t = 2.54) as well as between 24 h and 48 h in the parameter of muscle soreness (t = 3.13) in control group. Similar differences were also observed in the experimental group. No significant inter-group differences at α level of 0.05 was observed in any parameter at any level. Conclusion: The pattern of recovery from DOMS was not influenced by the application of pulsed Ultrasound at the parameters discussed here

Subgap Two-Photon States in Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Evidence for Strong Electron Correlations

Strong electron correlation effects in the photophysics of quasi-one-dimensional $\pi$-conjugated organic systems such as polyenes, polyacetylenes, polydiacetylenes, etc., have been extensively studied. Far less is known on correlation effects in two-dimensional $\pi$-conjugated systems. Here we present theoretical and experimental evidence for moderate repulsive electron-electron interactions in a number of finite polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules with $D_{6h}$ symmetry. We show that the excited state orderings in these molecules are reversed relative to that expected within one-electron and mean-field theories. Our results reflect similarities as well as differences in the role and magnitude of electron correlation effects in these two-dimensional molecules compared to those in polyenes.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Multiscale Methods for Random Composite Materials

Simulation of material behaviour is not only a vital tool in accelerating product development and increasing design efficiency but also in advancing our fundamental understanding of materials. While homogeneous, isotropic materials are often simple to simulate, advanced, anisotropic materials pose a more sizeable challenge. In simulating entire composite components such as a 25m aircraft wing made by stacking several 0.25mm thick plies, finite element models typically exceed millions or even a billion unknowns. This problem is exacerbated by the inclusion of sub-millimeter manufacturing defects for two reasons. Firstly, a finer resolution is required which makes the problem larger. Secondly, defects introduce randomness. Traditionally, this randomness or uncertainty has been quantified heuristically since commercial codes are largely unsuccessful in solving problems of this size. This thesis develops a rigorous uncertainty quantification (UQ) framework permitted by a state of the art finite element package \texttt{dune-composites}, also developed here, designed for but not limited to composite applications. A key feature of this open-source package is a robust, parallel and scalable preconditioner \texttt{GenEO}, that guarantees constant iteration counts independent of problem size. It boasts near perfect scaling properties in both, a strong and a weak sense on over $15,000$ cores. It is numerically verified by solving industrially motivated problems containing upwards of 200 million unknowns. Equipped with the capability of solving expensive models, a novel stochastic framework is developed to quantify variability in part performance arising from localized out-of-plane defects. Theoretical part strength is determined for independent samples drawn from a distribution inferred from B-scans of wrinkles. Supported by literature, the results indicate a strong dependence between maximum misalignment angle and strength knockdown based on which an engineering model is presented to allow rapid estimation of residual strength bypassing expensive simulations. The engineering model itself is built from a large set of simulations of residual strength, each of which is computed using the following two step approach. First, a novel parametric representation of wrinkles is developed where the spread of parameters defines the wrinkle distribution. Second, expensive forward models are only solved for independent wrinkles using \texttt{dune-composites}. Besides scalability the other key feature of \texttt{dune-composites}, the \texttt{GenEO} coarse space, doubles as an excellent multiscale basis which is exploited to build high quality reduced order models that are orders of magnitude smaller. This is important because it enables multiple coarse solves for the cost of one fine solve. In an MCMC framework, where many solves are wasted in arriving at the next independent sample, this is a sought after quality because it greatly increases effective sample size for a fixed computational budget thus providing a route to high-fidelity UQ. This thesis exploits both, new solvers and multiscale methods developed here to design an efficient Bayesian framework to carry out previously intractable (large scale) simulations calibrated by experimental data. These new capabilities provide the basis for future work on modelling random heterogeneous materials while also offering the scope for building virtual test programs including nonlinear analyses, all of which can be implemented within a probabilistic setting

Supraclavicularis proprius muscle associated with supraclavicular nerve entrapment

Entrapment neuropathy of the supraclavicular nerve is rare and, when it occurs, is usually attributable to branching of the nerve into narrow bony clavicular canals. We describe another mechanism for entrapment of this nerve with the aberrant muscle; supraclavicularis being found during the routine dissection of an embalmed 82-year-old cadaver. Our report details a unique location for this rare muscular variation whereby the muscle fibres originated posteriorly on the medial aspect of the clavicle before forming a muscular arch over the supraclavicular nerve and passing laterally towards the trapezius and acromion. We recommend that in clinical instances of otherwise unexplained unilateral clavicular pain or tenderness, nerve compression from the supraclavicularis muscle must be borne in mind.