JoVE Monthly Highlights: September 2017

Abstract

From a body of great articles this month, our first article, in JoVE Neuroscience, takes a peep at your peepers. Here, our Authors describe a method to perform spectral domain optical coherence tomography on mouse retinas, to study optic neuropathies. This technique concentrates on retinal ganglion cells in the peripapillary region, and provides a fast and accurate assessment of retinal thickness - allowing for changes, and possible signs of ophthalmic diseases, to be tracked. That's blinking marvelous! Zooming out from the eyes, JoVE Engineering switches focus to protecting the head. Using an anthropometric test device and high-speed cameras, our Authors simulate helmeted cranial impacts at speeds up to 8.3 m/s. When compared to established human tolerance curves, the data can be used to estimate the risk of diffuse brain and osteoligamentous neck injuries. In turn, this can help determine which helmets provide the best protection - and safety never goes out of style. Moving from head to toe our next study, from JoVE Behavior, describes a method to synchronously capture lower-limb joint movements and ground reaction force while wearing high-heels. Using three-dimensional motion analysis and a configured force platform, our Authors observe noticeable differences in the biomechanical adaptations adopted by Experienced versus Inexperienced Wearers. This suggests that further studies evaluating gait and footwear biomechanics should take individual experience into account. Finally, from footwear to the ground beneath, JoVE Environment takes a look at soil erosion. Here, our Authors describe a simple method to map patterns of soil erosion and deposition in agricultural land. The authors use a ground-based differential GPS to accurately measure elevation and then collect soil from prescribed depth intervals. The researchers found significant correlations between change in elevation and soil surface carbonate, illustrating the indirect relationship between crop management techniques and changes in land sustainability. You've just had a sneak peek of the September 2017 issue of JoVE. Visit the website to see the full-length articles, plus many more, in JoVE: The World's Premier Video Journal.