Double Length Research Articles

Lack of adaptation during prolonged split-belt locomotion in the intact and spinal cat.

During split-belt locomotion in humans where one leg steps faster than the other, the symmetry of step lengths and double support periods of the slow and fast legs is gradually restored. When returning to tied-belt locomotion, there is an after-effect, with a reversal in the asymmetry observed in the early split-belt period, indicating that the new pattern was stored within the central nervous system. In this study, we investigated if intact and spinal-transected cats show a similar pattern of adaptation to split-belt locomotion by measuring kinematic variables and electromyography before, during and after 10min of split-belt locomotion. The results show that cats do not adapt to prolonged split-belt locomotion. Our results suggest an important physiological difference in how cats and humans respond to prolonged asymmetric locomotion. In humans, gait adapts to prolonged walking on a split-belt treadmill, where one leg steps faster than the other, by gradually restoring the symmetry of interlimb kinematic variables, such as double support periods and step lengths, and by reducing muscle activity (EMG, electromyography). The adaptation is also characterized by reversing the asymmetry of interlimb variables observed during the early split-belt period when returning to tied-belt locomotion, termed an after-effect. To determine if cats adapt to prolonged split-belt locomotion and to assess if spinal locomotor circuits participate in the adaptation, we measured interlimb variables and EMG in intact and spinal-transected cats before, during and after 10min of split-belt locomotion. In spinal cats, only the hindlimbs performed stepping with the forelimbs stationary. In intact and spinal cats, step lengths and double support periods were, on average, symmetric, during tied-belt locomotion. They became asymmetric during split-belt locomotion and remained asymmetric throughout the split-belt period. Upon returning to tied-belt locomotion, symmetry was immediately restored. In intact cats, the mean EMG amplitude of hindlimb extensors increased during split-belt locomotion and remained increased throughout the split-belt period, whereas in spinal cats, EMG amplitude did not change. Therefore, the results indicate that the locomotor pattern of cats does not adapt to prolonged split-belt locomotion, suggesting an important physiological difference in the control of locomotion between cats and humans. We propose that restoring left-right symmetry is not required to maintain balance during prolonged asymmetric locomotion in the cat, a quadruped, as opposed to human bipedal locomotion.

Structure of unsaturated fatty acids in 2D system

The behaviour of Langmuir monolayers corresponding to unsaturated fatty acids belonging to the omega-9 (oleic acid), omega-3 (α-linolenic and stearidonic acids) and omega-6 (linoleic, γ-linolenic and eicosadienoic acids) series was studied in order to get insight into the influence of various factors (such as subphase temperature, length, degree of unsaturation and position of the double bonds in the aliphatic chains) on the molecular conformation of these fatty acids spread at the A/W interface. The obtained results derived from the surface pressure − area isotherms, compressibility modulus and monolayer thickness prove that the lift-off and the limiting areas of investigated films increase both with the number of double bonds and length of the hydrocarbon chain. Also, the monolayers are more compressible (more fluid) upon increasing their tails unsaturation degree. However, eicosadienoic (EA) film is more rigid due to its longer acyl chain. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) monolayers, except for EA, exhibit anomalous temperature dependence (area contraction with increasing temperature), which was attributed to the increased solubility of PUFAs molecules with temperature. The recorded thickness values of the monolayers were compared with those estimated from theoretical molecular conformations in order to establish the orientation and configuration of molecules in different surface states of their monolayer.

Overview of the TCV tokamak program: scientific progress and facility upgrades

The TCV tokamak is augmenting its unique historical capabilities (strong shaping, strong electron heating) with ion heating, additional electron heating compatible with high densities, and variable divertor geometry, in a multifaceted upgrade program designed to broaden its operational range without sacrificing its fundamental flexibility. The TCV program is rooted in a three-pronged approach aimed at ITER support, explorations towards DEMO, and fundamental research. A 1 MW, tangential neutral beam injector (NBI) was recently installed and promptly extended the TCV parameter range, with record ion temperatures and toroidal rotation velocities and measurable neutral-beam current drive. ITER-relevant scenario development has received particular attention, with strategies aimed at maximizing performance through optimized discharge trajectories to avoid MHD instabilities, such as peeling-ballooning and neoclassical tearing modes. Experiments on exhaust physics have focused particularly on detachment, a necessary step to a DEMO reactor, in a comprehensive set of conventional and advanced divertor concepts. The specific theoretical prediction of an enhanced radiation region between the two X-points in the low-field-side snowflake-minus configuration was experimentally confirmed. Fundamental investigations of the power decay length in the scrape-off layer (SOL) are progressing rapidly, again in widely varying configurations and in both D and He plasmas; in particular, the double decay length in L-mode limited plasmas was found to be replaced by a single length at high SOL resistivity. Experiments on disruption mitigation by massive gas injection and electron-cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) have begun in earnest, in parallel with studies of runaway electron generation and control, in both stable and disruptive conditions; a quiescent runaway beam carrying the entire electrical current appears to develop in some cases. Developments in plasma control have benefited from progress in individual controller design and have evolved steadily towards controller integration, mostly within an environment supervised by a tokamak profile control simulator. TCV has demonstrated effective wall conditioning with ECRH in He in support of the preparations for JT-60SA operation.

Synthesis of strong and stretchable double network (DN) hydrogels of PVA-borax and P(AM-co-HEMA) and study of their swelling kinetics and mechanical properties

Strong and stretchable double network (DN) hydrogels are reported here which are consisting of first network of PVA-borax double strand and crosslinked P(AM-co-HEMA) as the second network. The first network is formed due to PVA-borax complexation in which the second network of AM and HEMA was embedded by in-situ polymerization. These DN hydrogels are having high degree of equilibrium swelling and mechanical properties. The swelling behavior of the hydrogels increased with AM content and decreased with HEMA content because of more hydrophilic nature of AM unit than HEMA unit in DN hydrogels. The tensile strengths of such hydrogels were observed to be 363.0 kPa, 183.4 kPa and 36.3 kPa respectively for the 20 wt%, 40 wt% and 60 wt% water content in the DN hydrogels (having 100% AM content in the second network). On the other hand, the tensile strength of the control single network crosslinked polyacrylamide (CPAM) hydrogels (no double network) was observed to be 280.9. kPa for 20 wt% and 112.6 kPa for 40 wt% water content in the hydrogel. Therefore, about 30% and 62% improvement of mechanical properties is observed in these cases due to DN hydrogels. High tensile strength of the DN hydrogels may be attributed to the reinforcing influence of PVA-borax complex onto the P(AM-co-HEMA) network. Such a DN hydrogel is observed to be 13 times of the stretchable cycle of its double length. The mechanical properties of the DN hydrogels varies not only with the composition of second network of P(AM-co-HEMA) but also by the influence of H-bonding. Optimum mechanical properties are observed at the composition of AM/HEMA 30/70 to 75/25 in the DN hydrogels. The influence of H-bonding is more prominent in case of lower water content in the hydrogels than that of the hydrogels having more water content.

Optimizing the yield of transient mono-dimethyl disulfide adducts for elucidating double bond positions of long chain alkenones

Long chain alkenones (LCAs) are among the most successful biomarkers for paleotemperature reconstructions. However, fundamental questions regarding the biosynthesis and cellular functions of alkenones in haptophyte algae remain poorly understood. Recent discoveries of LCAs with double bond positions and chain lengths that differ from common structures further highlight the importance of continued research into structural variations of this important class of lipid biomarkers to improve LCA applications as temperature proxies. Double bond positions on alkyl chains can be effectively determined by preparing mono-double bond adducts with dimethyl disulfide (DMDS-1), and subsequent gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. However, previously published procedures for adduct preparation were originally designed for mono-unsaturated fatty acids, and generally produce low product yields when applied to alkenones. Here we demonstrate that the problem originates mainly from DMDS and alkenone overreaction at high temperatures for long time periods, and, secondarily, insufficient amount of iodine catalyst. The overreaction results in DMDS reacting with multiple double bonds, and the possible formation of intermolecular linkages, creating non-volatile products. These products are of little use for elucidating alkenone structures. We demonstrate that by reducing the reaction temperature and time, and by using an optimal amount of iodine, we can maximize the yield of transient DMDS-1 adducts for alkenone structure determination.

Gastrointestinal Complications After Cardiac Surgery: A Nationwide Population-Based Analysis of Morbidity and Mortality Predictors

The authors aimed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of gastrointestinal (GI) complications in cardiac and aortic surgery using recent versions of the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) to provide clinicians with a better understanding of these uncommon but potentially serious complications. Population-based study. NIS database 2010-2012. Patients undergoing cardiac and aortic aneurysm repair surgeries. Not applicable. The most common GI complication was postoperative ileus, which also had the lowest mortality, followed by GI hemorrhage. Mesenteric ischemia demonstrated the highest mortality, followed by intestinal perforation. Mortality was highest in those with infective endocarditis (16.02%), followed by myocardial infarction (12.48%). GI complications were highest in patients undergoing repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm, followed by off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that GI complications after cardiac surgery occurred at a rate of 4.17%, which is similar to that reported in the NIS database from 1998 to 2002 in coronary artery bypass grafting patients, but higher than that previously described in single-center studies. GI complications after cardiac surgery increased inpatient mortality 3-fold and more than doubled length of stay. Improved recognition and understanding of the predisposing risk factors and complications elucidated in this study could serve to increase the necessity for timely diagnosis and treatment of patients at high risk for GI complications after cardiac surgery.

Properties of discontinuous S2-glass fiber-particulate-reinforced resin composites with two different fiber length distributions

PurposeTo investigate the reinforcing efficiency and light curing properties of discontinuous S2-glass fiber-particulate reinforced resin composite and to examine length distribution of discontinuous S2-glass fibers after a mixing process into resin composite. MethodsExperimental S2-glass fiber-particulate reinforced resin composites were prepared by mixing 10wt% of discontinuous S2-glass fibers, which had been manually cut into two different lengths (1.5 and 3.0mm), with various weight ratios of dimethacrylate based resin matrix and silaned BaAlSiO2 filler particulates. The resin composite made with 25wt% of UDMA/SR833s resin system and 75wt% of silaned BaAlSiO2 filler particulates was used as control composite which had similar composition as the commonly used resin composites. Flexural strength (FS), flexural modulus (FM) and work of fracture (WOF) were measured. Fractured specimens were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Double bond conversion (DC) and fiber length distribution were also studied. ResultsReinforcement of resin composites with discontinuous S2-glass fibers can significantly increase the FS, FM and WOF of resin composites over the control. The fibers from the mixed resin composites showed great variation in final fiber length. The mean aspect ratio of experimental composites containing 62.5wt% of particulate fillers and 10wt% of 1.5 or 3.0mm cutting S2-glass fibers was 70 and 132, respectively. No difference was found in DC between resin composites containing S2-glass fibers with two different cutting lengths. ConclusionDiscontinuous S2-glass fibers can effectively reinforce the particulate-filled resin composite and thus may be potential to manufacture resin composites for high-stress bearing application.

Geodesic Path-Based Diffusion Acceleration for Image Denoising

We propose an advanced anisotropic-diffusion (AD)-based approach for an image denoising method, which utilizes a geodesic path to produce single-pass adaptive smoothing by analyzing the diffusion continuity. The proposed method consists of the following four procedures: element-weight determination, geodesic path-based kernel (GPK) generation, single-pass smoothing using the GPK, and post-processing of the GPK smoothing. In the first procedure, weights for neighboring pixels are calculated by diffusivity analysis. In the second procedure, a geodesic path is selected using a geodesic distance that is calculated by a diffusion continuity analysis. In the third procedure, GPK-based smoothing is applied to a given noisy image to extract the noise-free pixel value. Finally, a distant AD that uses the double diffusion length is applied to the resultant image by the GPK filtering to enhance the quality of noise suppression in smooth regions. In addition to the main procedures, schemes for the robust outlier reduction and complexity reduction are introduced. The simulation results showed that the proposed method improved the denoising quality by increasing the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM) by up to 4.094 dB and 0.057, respectively, compared to the AD-based benchmark methods. Compared to block-matching and 3-D filtering, the proposed method showed comparable quality of noise reduction with similar PSNR and SSIM values, which it accomplished with much less computation time.

Fluid-thermal analysis of aerodynamic heating over spiked blunt body configurations

When flying at hypersonic speeds, the spiked blunt body is constantly subjected to severe aerodynamic heating. To illustrate the thermal response of different configurations and the relevant flow field variation, a loosely-coupled fluid-thermal analysis is performed in this paper. The Mesh-based parallel Code Coupling Interface (MpCCI) is adopted to implement the data exchange between the fluid solver and the thermal solver. The results indicate that increases in spike diameter and length will result in a sharp decline of the wall temperature along the spike, and the overall heat flux is remarkably reduced to less than 300W/cm2 with the aerodome mounted at the spike tip. Moreover, the presence and evolution of small vortices within the recirculation zone are observed and proved to be induced by the stagnation effect of reattachment points on the spike. In addition, the drag coefficient of the configuration with a doubled spike length presents a maximum drop of 4.59% due to the elevated wall temperature. And the growing difference of the drag coefficient is further increased during the accelerating process.

Arrays of Ultrathin CdS Nanoflakes with High-Energy Surface for Efficient Gas Detection.

It is fascinating and challenging to endow conventional materials with unprecedented properties. For instance, cadmium sulfide (CdS) is an important semiconductor with excellent light response; however, its potential in gas-sensing was underestimated owing to relatively low chemical activity and poor electrical conductivity. Herein, we demonstrate that an ideal architecture, ultrathin nanoflake arrays (NFAs), can improve significantly gas-sensing properties of CdS material. The CdS NFAs are grown directly on the interdigitated electrode to expose large surface area. Their thickness is reduced below the double Debye length of CdS, permitting to achieve a full depletion of carriers. Particularly, the prepared CdS nanoflakes are enclosed with high-energy {0001} facets exposed, which provides more active sites for gas adsorption. Moreover, the NFAs exhibit the light-trapping effect, which further enhances their gas sensitivity. As a result, the as-prepared CdS NFAs demonstrate excellent gas-sensing and light-response properties, thus being capable of dual gas and light detection.

Relative leaping abilities of native versus invasive cyprinids as criteria for selective barrier design

Restoration of river connectivity favors the spread of native but also of exotic invasive populations, mainly freshwater fish. This has rarely been studied, and never between migrating cyprinids. To harmonize both objectives, the feasibility of a selective leaping barrier for migratory cyprinids is studied through the measurement of fish leaping capabilities while freely migrating at a weir in the Guadiana River of southwest Spain. A cross-population analysis provided the cost-benefit outcomes of completely blocking the invasive Carassius auratus while allowing negotiation for most of the native Luciobarbus sp. populations. Larger fish reached higher leap heights, the highest being attained by the native barbel species. Barbels reached up to four times its total length and a maximum height of approximately 150 cm, while the figures for the invasive goldfish were double total length with a maximum of approximately 80 cm. The selective obstacle height (SOH) for goldfish was 81.2 cm, the estimated maximum height that the tip of a jumping goldfish could reach. Facility designs (whether culvert, weir or fish pass) with this SOH criterion guarantees complete migration failure of goldfish. Also, most (95–99%) of the barbels migrating populations will surpass the SOH regardless of body length; only the less capable or those in poor condition will be blocked. Advice on SOH utility to evaluate existing instream structures—and their position within the cost-benefit balance—is provided.

Non-linear simulations of the TCV Scrape-Off Layer

To investigate the mechanisms leading to the heat deposition onto the first wall in the Scrape-Off Layer (SOL), we perform dedicated numerical non-linear simulations of the SOL plasma dynamics of a TCV discharge using the GBS code. The simulated parallel heat flux profiles on the limiter agree qualitatively with the experimental ones obtained by means of infrared thermography, showing a double scale length. Non-ambipolar currents are found to flow to the limiter, consistently with the experiments. The contribution of the latter to the total heat flux is discussed. The results of a second simulation identical to the first one but with 40 times higher resistivity are also discussed.

Abstract P211: N-Acetyl-Seryl-Aspartyl-Lysyl-Proline (Ac-SDKP) Promotes Tube Formation in Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells

Ac-SDKP is an endogenous peptide with anti-inflammation and anti-fibrotic effects in hypertensive and cardiovascular diseases. It is cleaved from Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) and hydrolyzed by angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Ac-SDKP plasma concentration increases after treatment with ACE inhibitors (ACEi) and some of the beneficial effects of ACEi treatment has been ascribed to Ac-SDKP. Ac-SDKP is a mediator of angiogenesis in in-vitro and in-vivo animal models. Ac-SDKP stimulates rodents derived immortalized aortic endothelial cells migration and capillary-like structures formation (tube formation). Similarly, Ac-SDKP increases capillary density after myocardial infarction in rats. The mechanism related to angiogenesis induced by Ac-SDKP is not known. Tβ4 (Ac-SDKP precursor) promotes endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis by the activation of the VEGF/AKT pathway. Our objective is to evaluate the Ac-SDKP pro-angiogenic effect in Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells (HCAEC) and the mechanism that regulates the angiogenic effect of Ac-SDKP. HCAEC do not produce VEGF, thus we hypothesize that Ac-SDKP increases VEGF expression in fibroblasts and that indirectly could promote capillary tube formation in endothelial cells. We used primary culture of rat cardiac fibroblast (RCF) and we treated these cells with 10nM Ac-SDKP for 24 hours. VEGF concentration in cell supernatant was measured by ELISA. Cells were starved without serum overnight before the Ac-SDKP treatment. For capillary tube formation assay, HCAEC cells were seeded into matrigel and incubated in presence of 10nM Ac-SDKP for 12 hours, pictures were taken by double phase contrast microscope and tube length was quantified with image J software and the results were expressed as percentage of control. After Ac-SDKP treatment, VEGF concentration did not increase in the supernatant of RCF (control: 0.12±0.07 vs. Ac-SDKP: 0.14±0.09 mg/ml; p=0.7). However, Ac-SDKP treatment induced the development of tube formation in HCAECs by 7±2% respect to control (p=0.037). We conclude that Ac-SDKP induces capillary tube formation not only in rodent but also in human derived endothelial cells. The mechanism by which Ac-SDKP promotes tube formation in HCAECs is still unknown.

Optimal collision security in double block length hashing with single length key

The idea of double block length hashing is to construct a compression function on 2n bits using a block cipher with an n-bit block size. All optimally secure double block length hash functions known in the literature employ a cipher with a key space of double block size, 2n-bit. On the other hand, no optimally secure compression functions built from a cipher with an n-bit key space are known. Our work deals with this problem. Firstly, we prove that for a wide class of compression functions with two calls to its underlying n-bit keyed block cipher collisions can be found in about $$2^{n/2}$$2n/2 queries. This attack applies, among others, to functions where the output is derived from the block cipher outputs in a linear way. This observation demonstrates that all security results of designs using a cipher with 2n-bit key space crucially rely on the presence of these extra n key bits. The main contribution of this work is a proof that this issue can be resolved by allowing the compression function to make one extra call to the cipher. We propose a family of compression functions making three block cipher calls that asymptotically achieves optimal collision resistance up to $$2^{n(1-\varepsilon )}$$2n(1-ź) queries and preimage resistance up to $$2^{3n(1-\varepsilon )/2}$$23n(1-ź)/2 queries, for any $$\varepsilon >0$$ź>0. To our knowledge, this is the first optimally collision secure double block length construction using a block cipher with single length key space. We additionally prove this class of functions indifferentiable from random functions in about $$2^{n/2}$$2n/2 queries, and demonstrate that no other function in this direction achieves a bound of similar kind.

Chronic kidney disease as major determinant of the renal risk related to on-pump cardiac surgery: a single-center cohort study

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is a common complication and is associated with the poorest outcomes. Therefore, early prediction of CSA-AKI remains a major issue. Severity scores such as the STS score could estimate the risk of AKI preoperatively. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the risk factors of on-pump CSA-AKI and to assess the performance of the STS score in order to predict CSA-AKI.Patients: We identified 252 patients with on-pump cardiac surgery, and the STS score was defined retrospectively.Results: AKI occurred in 14.6% (n = 37/252) of patients and renal replacement therapy was required in 21.6% of AKI (n = 8/37). CSA-AKI was associated with 35.1% in-hospital mortality (vs. 1.4%) and nearly doubled length of stay (14.5 vs. 8.0 d). The risk of CSA-AKI was mainly determined by preoperative morbidities such as chronic kidney disease, peripheral vascular disease, and severe congestive heart failure. Long cardio-pulmonary bypass time was also a determinant. CSA-AKI + patients exhibited higher STS renal risk (5.6% vs. 2.0%; p < 0.0001), resulting in a good discrimination between AKI + and AKI − patients (area under curve [AUC] 0.80). Interestingly, a basal renal function ≤55 ml/min/1.73m2 was as good as the STS score to predict CSA-AKI (AUC 0.75; P 0.26).Conclusions: On-pump CSA-AKI was observed in nearly 15% of cases and was associated with poorer outcomes. Interestingly, the risk of CSA-AKI could be estimated preoperatively, thanks to the basal renal function, which exhibited an equal performance to the STS score.

Effects of polydispersity on liquid–liquid equilibrium of polymeric fluids

The effects of polymer polydispersity on the liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) of polymer solutions were investigated for the simple case of polydisperse polymer solutions: mixtures composed of a solvent and two monodisperse polymers of different molecular weights. Various quasi-binary cloud point curves including the upper critical solution temperature (UCST), lower critical solution temperature (LCST), both UCST and LCST, and closed loop miscibility were determined from thermal optical analysis (TOA). To describe the phase equilibrium of polydisperse polymer solutions, we extended the chain length contribution term in the modified double lattice chain length dependent model (extended MDL-CL). Phase equilibrium calculations were conducted for several ternary systems including hypothetical hourglass type LLE. The extended MDL-CL model appropriately described the effect of polymer polydispersity on the LLE of polymer solutions and the calculated results were in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data.

Porosity estimation at depths below the borehole bottom from resistivity logs and electromagnetic resistivity

ABSTRACTA neural network approach to porosity prediction below the well bottom from either the electrical resistivity logs or electromagnetic resistivity profiles is developed using the data from Soultz‐sous‐Forets area (France). It is shown that the neural network approach enables the porosity to be predicted at the depths below the bottom of the borehole from the resistivity well‐logging data and by resistivity profiles determined by inversion of the electromagnetic sounding data collected in the vicinity of the well. The results indicate that the forecasts based on the electrical logging data are more accurate (average relative errors being equal to 3%–5%) when the target depths do not exceed the double length of the well log used for calibration. In the absence of the resistivity logs at target depths or when the target to well depth ratio is large enough, the forecasts based on the electromagnetic resistivity data are more preferable.

Influência da neuropatia diabética no comportamento de respostas biomecânicas e sensorials no andar em esteira rolante

Biomechanical investigation of the human movement has been bringing important discussions about the musculoskeletal system functions and the control of movement. The human walking is one of the most studied motor behaviors and its mechanical aspects contribute to characterize, identify, and intervene in pathological conditions. Dynamic, kinematic, and electromyographic analyses of pathological gait can significantly help the comprehension of the control mechanism of gait and its compensatory alterations. These analyses can also contribute to therapeutic and preventive interventions in patients whose walking behavior is altered due to some disease that accomplish the neuromotor system. In the present study, we described and interpreted self-cadence walking in a treadmill of neuropathic diabetic subjects under biomechanical considerations, such as dynamic, temporal, spatial, and electromyographic analysis during stance phase. We also studied sensorial and motor aspects in order to characterize the neuropathic and control subjects. The somatossensorial responses and pain tolerance threshold in the neuropathic subjects were significantly higher and considered away from the normal patterns. The self-cadence and the treadmill velocity were significantly lower in neuropathic gait. Single and double stance time, stride and step length were significantly higher during neuropathic gait. The neuropathic subjects showed lower vertical force peaks and lower deflections of vertical force and those findings were secondary consequences of the conservative strategy of lowering the gait velocity adopted by the neuropathic in order to reach a more stable locomotor pattern. The electromyographic responses of the thigh and leg muscles in neuropathic subjects showed lower magnitudes and were delayed paring to the normal recruitment pattern, specially the anteriortibialis muscle right and left. These findings lead us to conclude that probably central and/or peripheral control mechanisms of the gait of neuropathic diabetic patients are altered due to somatossensorial and motor deficits. The mechanism of load reduction during walking was considered inefficient because of the activation delay of the lateral vastus and anterior tibialis muscles. We conclude that the peripheral diabetic neuropathy damages not only somatossensorial and motor sources but also intrinsic mechanisms of motor control leading to alterations in the ankle efficiency in gait. This resulting distal inefficiency compromises some of the principal requirements to gait, which are progression and balance.

Double gyroid structures made of asymmetric dimers

ABSTRACTGyroid cubic phases are interesting for both scientists and engineers due to possible applications in electronic devices. New series of dimeric molecules, despite their flexible molecular structure, can display double gyroid cubic phase with Ia3d symmetry and lattice parameter corresponding to double molecular length. The cubic phase is structurally related to columnar phase and both phases often coexist in the same temperature window. Apparently, for studied compounds stronger molecular asymmetry promotes cubic structure. Interestingly, for the examined compounds the transition between two isotropic liquids was observed.

The effect of text messaging on reactive balance and the temporal and spatial characteristics of gait

The aim of this study was to determine the effects text messaging has on gait characteristics and reactive balance. Thirty-two subjects were recruited. Data was collected on texting ability in standing, while walking and while in perturbed stance. Data on gait parameters using the GAITRiteTM were collected while walking normally and while walking and texting. Data on reactive balance in perturbed stance (DMA score) using the PROPRIO 5000™ was collected while standing and while standing and texting. Repeated measures statistics were applied. No practical difference in texting ability was found between the three conditions of standing, walking and perturbed stance. A significant difference was found between mean gait characteristics of velocity, cadence, double limb support and mean step length during normal walking and walking while texting (p<.05). No statistical significance was shown between mean heel to heel support. A significant difference was found between reactive balance ability (mean DMA score) in perturbed stance and perturbed stance while texting (p<.05). The data imply that gait and balance are negatively impacted while texting and that subjects will maintain their baseline texting speed and accuracy at the expense of gait speed and impaired balance.