Greater Head Research Articles

Buddha Amitayus and the artistic heritage of Zanabazar (1635-1723)

Images of Buddha Amitayus are recognizable by the main attribute -a vessel with the elixir of immortality placed in his palms, which rest upon his knees. The images of various versions are very often found in the Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhist regions. This is explained by the wide popularity of his cult. The Amitayus cult is one of the tantric ways to protect the life and health of the believer. Rituals aim to extend the time of life on purpose to continue the active practice of Buddhism. Among the main texts connected to the cult are the “Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra” (1st century), "Amitayus-dhyana Sutra” (4th century), and the "Longevity Sutra”. Amitayus is a power manifestation of Tathagata Buddha Amitabha, the head of the lotus family. He lives in the Pure Lands of Sukhavadi, where Amitayus stays among the bodhisattvas in the retinue of Buddha Amitabha. This factor is directly linked to the idea of a long life. The Western Paradise of Sukhavati is a place where all the material and bodily needs are readily available to live beings. The aggression and the acquisitiveness are defeated, and people are exclusively concerned with their spiritual growth. The great Mongolian artist, educator and head of state paid due attention to the cult of Amitayus, which is evidenced by the magnificent sculptures which constitute his artistic heritage. These are large sculptures of Buddha Amitayus from the Museum-Temple of the Choijin Lama in Mongolia and the Museum of the History of Buryatia in Ulan-Ude, Russia. The sculptures differ in size, technique, plastic, as well as some details. At the same time, proportions, filigree processing at all stages of production, unity of aesthetics and style remain unchanged.

Head control and head-trunk coordination as a function of anticipation in sidestepping

ABSTRACT Head reorientation precedes body reorientation during direction change to facilitate gaze realignment, thus enhancing perceptual awareness. Whole body kinematics are dependent on the available planning time. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of anticipation on head control and head-trunk coordination during sidestepping tasks. Fourteen male collegiate athletes performed anticipated and unanticipated sidestepping tasks. Transverse plane head, trunk and heading direction, as well as head-trunk coordination were assessed. During change of direction tasks, we observed greater head orientation towards the new travel direction, followed by heading direction and then trunk direction during both anticipated and unanticipated tasks. With reduced planning time, heading in the preparatory phase and trunk rotation in the preparatory and stance phases were significantly less oriented towards the new travel direction, with no differences in head rotation. During anticipated sidestepping, significantly greater in-phase coordination was observed during the preparatory phase compared to unanticipated sidestepping. Head reorientation facilitates gaze realignment and may be prioritized irrespective of planning time during sidestepping tasks. During anticipated trials, the head and trunk move more synchronously compared to unanticipated sidestepping, highlighting the potential benefits of aligning the degrees of freedom earlier in the change of direction stride and optimizing perceptual awareness.

Study on the influence of seating orientation during frontal impacts by child occupant human body model response analysis

Objective Autonomous driving cars must be developed to ensure that children will have the highest level of protection in case of collision. Changes to the vehicle cabin design (different seat orientations, fully reclining seats, etc.) may significantly impact child occupant safety. Understanding child occupant responses under these new conditions is necessary to decrease risk and enhance child safety. In this study, child occupant response in different seating orientations exposed to frontal impacts with a focus on the head injuries and kinematics was analyzed. Methods Finite elements simulations were performed using the PIPER 6-year-old human body model (HBM). All simulations were carried out in a generic full vehicle environment. The child model was positioned in an adequate generic car restraint system (CRS) in the left rear vehicle seat in 4 seating orientations: 0° (forward-facing position), 30°, 60°, and 90° (living room position). Two scenarios were evaluated for all seating orientations according to the left front seat backrest position: reclined position nominal upright and rest position (55°). All seat configurations were subjected to the mobile progressive deformable barrier frontal impact (European New Car Assessment Programme [Euro NCAP] frontal impact testing protocol). A total of 8 scenarios were simulated in LS-DYNA. Results Based on the Euro NCAP injury risk rate, 90° seating orientation (living room position) was the safest among all selected scenarios independent of the left front seat backrest position. The worst case was found in 60° seat rotation. The highest values for Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and head acceleration (Acc 3 ms) were noted for this case. Higher Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC) values were observed at higher seat rotation angles. Hence, a 90° seating orientation showed the highest BrIC value. Attending to the skull stress, greater head injuries were caused principally by contact with the vehicle interior (seat headrest). Maximum stress values were reached at 30° and 60° seating orientations with the front seat in rest position. In 90° seating orientation, high stress values were also identified. Conclusions These results show that attending to these new seating orientations, current child safety standards are not sufficient to ensure children the highest level of protection. Other additional criteria such as BrIC or skull stress that offer a way to capture brain injuries should be used.

Dynamic Water-Level Regulation at Run-of-River Hydropower Plants to Increase Efficiency and Generation

In times of the energy transition and the intensified expansion of renewable energy systems, this article presents an optimization approach for run-of-river power, i.e., dynamic water-level regulation. Its basic idea is to use river sections influenced by backwater more evenly via the operating regime of a hydropower plant. In contrast to conventional dam and weir water level management, the head of the reservoir is not shifted toward the weir while the discharge rate increases but is kept in position by temporarily raising the water level. This generates a greater head for higher discharge rates of an operating regime. As can be shown using an example, this has a direct effect on the performance and, in interaction with the discharge duration curve, on the annual work of the plant. The dynamic water-level regulation, thus, represents an environmentally compatible, energy-efficient optimization for run-of-river hydropower plants.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSBOUNDARY HYDROPOWER SYSTEM ON DRINA RIVER AS SYNERGY OF WATER -FOOD-ENERGY-CLIMATE NEXUS

The Drina River has always been a source of drinking water and irrigation for food production, with all its tributaries and branching catchment area across the territories of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. It has connected peoples and cultures for centuries with its bridges. At the same time, with its great head, the Drina has always represented a significant hydropower potential. Throughout history, numerous watermills have been built on it. Currently, there are several constructed hydro-technical facilities on the Drina and in its catchment area. Among them, the most important are dams, with roads over them, associated hydroelectric power plants and belonging structures for flood control, water intakes for drinking water or irrigation. Due to multiple possible, almost always conflicting purposes, as well as several states, entities and other stakeholders, the management of Drina River water resources from the angle of the water-food-energy and climate nexus is an extremely complex problem. In addition to the impact on hydropower, agriculture, forestry, transport, irrigation and drainage, tourism and socio-cultural events, the construction of such strategic structures has also an impact on the climate of the Western Balkans. The issue of optimization within the nexus of the water-food-energy-climate requires holistic research to find synergistic solutions. These solutions are certainly a compromise. But inevitably, they must meet the criteria of sustainable development and the requirements of reducing global warming, according to the set conditions of the adopted European Green Plan for the Western Balkans. This paper proposes a methodology for finding optimal/compromise hydropower solutions, which synergistically include all parameters of influence. Holistic research of sustainable hydropower systems on the Drina River, from the angle of the water-food-energyclimate nexus, is presented. Particularly detailed analyses of the course of the river between the towns of Foča and Goražde, as well as the downstream part between Zvornik and mouth, known as the Lower Drina. In these sections, the most pronounced conflict is whether water will be used for drinking and/or food production and/or energy production and what impact possible solutions have on the climate of the region.

Effects of breed and ejaculate volume on sperm morphology and semen parameters of boars.

The aim of the study was to determine the relation between the semen quality, frequency of sperm defects, sperm dimensions and shape, and the ejaculate volume of Large White and Landrace boars. A total of 648 ejaculates collected from 31 Large White and 30 Landrace boars were divided into three groups according to the criterion of the ejaculate volume. In this study Landrace boars produced ejaculates with higher volume, sperm concentration, and total numbers of spermatozoa than Large White boars. Landrace boars also showed a lower frequency of sperm with morphological abnormalities (P < 0.05). Landrace boars sperm had larger heads, which were by 0.15 μm longer, and by a larger perimeter and area (P < 0.05). Landrace boar spermatozoa also had a longer flagellum and were generally larger and by 2.07 μm longer than Large White boar sperm (P < 0.05). Significant differences were also found in the shape of sperm of the two breeds (P < 0.05). Landrace boars sperm had more elongated heads, and the ratio of head size to flagellum length was lower than in Large White boars sperm (P < 0.05). Sperm from ejaculates with low volume had a shorter flagellum and a greater head length/flagellum length ratio than sperm from medium- and high-volume ejaculates (P < 0.05).

Broccoli yield and dry matter partitioning in response to application of sediment from post-harvest washing of mussels

The response of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L., ‘Arcadia’) yield to application rates of mussel sediment (MS) from post-harvest washing as source of nitrogen (N) was evaluated in a 2 yr (2011–2012) study in Bouctouche, NB, Canada. Treatments in 2011 included a control (no amendment or fertilizer), three rates of MS (28 000, 42 000, and 56 000 L·ha−1 equivalent to 14.7, 22.0, and 29.4 kg N·ha−1) and an inorganic N fertilizer (135 kg N·ha−1). In 2012, all plots were split, with just half of each plot receiving a repeat treatment application. Fertilizer and MS increased total fresh yields by 115% and 29%, respectively, compared with the control, with no significant differences between MS application rates. Total dry matter yield followed the same order as total fresh yield, but only at P &lt; 0.10 in either years. Marketable yield was not affected by treatments in 2011 or by their residual effect in 2012, while it was greater in fertilizer compared with other treatments after 2 yr repeated application. The greatest head compactness and the lowest yellow-eye were measured in fertilizer treatment in both years, while no differences among MS treatments and the control were observed. The effect of treatments on total dry biomass and its partitioning in the broccoli plant was significant (P &lt; 0.05) in both years. Yield and biomass data revealed that 42 000 L MS·ha−1 application rate plus supplemental N sources can be recommended under the soil and climate conditions of the Canadian Maritimes. The concentration of salts in MS is an application rate limiting factor.

Different Lower-Limb Setup Positions Do Not Consistently Change Backstroke Start Time to 10 m.

Backstroke starts involve the athlete starting from a flexed position with their feet against the pool wall and then extending their ankles, knees, hips and back to push off; however, swimmers can start in different positions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance impact of different knee extension angles in the setup position for a backstroke start. Ten backstroke swimmers completed maximum-effort starts in each of two setup positions: one with the knees maximally flexed, and one with the knees less flexed. The start handles and touchpad were instrumented with multi-axial force sensors. Activity of major hip and knee extensors was measured using surface electromyography. Body position in the sagittal plane was recorded using high-speed cameras. There was no overall difference in time to 10 m between the two conditions (p = 0.36, dz = 0.12), but some participants showed differences as large as 0.12 s in time to 10 m between start conditions. We observed that starts performed from a setup position with less knee flexion had an average 0.07 m greater head entry distance (p = 0.07, dz = 0.53), while starts from a setup position with maximal knee flexion had an average 0.2 m/s greater takeoff velocity (p = 0.02, dz = 0.78). Both head entry distance and takeoff velocity are related to start performance, suggesting each position may optimize different aspects of the backstroke start. Coaches should assess athletes individually to determine which position is optimal.

Male strategies and mating behavior in the Neotropical bee Epicharis (Anepicharis) dejeanii (Apidae: Centridini)

This study describes the mating behavior of Epicharis dejeanii and evaluates the reproductive strategies employed by males during the reproductive period. Samples were collected in an aggregation of E. dejeanii nests, located in southern Brazil. Observations on mating behavior and male patrols were performed for 37 days, from 06:00 to 18:00, during two reproductive periods, in the wet-warm season. During the samplings, males patrolling and/or copulating with E. dejeanii females were collected and used for morphometric measurements. Males were active in November and December when they showed two mating patrol strategies: i) flyover near the ground; (ii) flights over trees (at heights of approximately 2.5 m and distant about 2 to 5 m from nesting aggregation). The results revealed a greater head width and intertegular distance among males patrolling above the plants, suggesting that the adopted patrol strategy has an association with the body size of males. However, both strategies were effective in copulation success. The males demonstrated a peak of activity in the patrol for females between 9:00 and 11:30 hours, which coincided with the period of greatest emergence of females, as well as when the largest number of matings were observed.

Height estimation from head dimensions in South-South Nigeria

BackgroundHeight estimation is an important stage of forensic investigation to identify an unknown person. The problem of unidentified human remains in the study area, due to local militia activities, kidnapping, and murder, necessitated this study to assess the correlation between the body height and head dimensions and to formulate regression models for estimation of height that are population and gender-specific.Materials and methodsThe study involved 952 subjects (464 males and 488 females), aged 18–30 years, from five ethnic groups and sampled from six universities in South-South Nigeria. Stature, head circumference, head length, and head width were measured using a standard anthropometric method. The data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Statistical significance was pegged at p < 0.05.ResultsThere was a significantly greater head dimension in males compared to females. There was a significant relationship between height and head dimensions in the majority of data. The relationship of the head circumference with stature was strongest in male data among the Bekwara and combined data among the Esan and Urhobo. Regarding the head length, the strongest relationship was in females and combined data among Bekwara, and males and combined data among the Ogbia had the strongest relationship. The relationship of stature with the head width was strongest in males and combined data among the Bekwara, and female data among the Ogbia.ConclusionThis study showed that head dimensions can be used as tools in the height reconstruction of an individual using simple and multiple regression models, and this has medico-legal implication.

Influence of Irrigation Frequency on Radicchio (Cichorium Intybus L.) Yield

Red chicory (radicchio) plants produce leafy heads that are of great commercial interest and they require a proper irrigation technique to achieve satisfactory productivity. The use of mini-sprinklers with high-frequency irrigation schedules may increase radicchio productivity, provide better growing conditions due to timely intervention, and save water, but so far little research has been carried out on this topic. This experiment aims at evaluating the effect of two mini-sprinkler irrigation schedules (high- and low-frequency) on radicchio yield and growing conditions over a 5-year cultivation period. Marketable radicchio head production was on average 12% greater with the high-frequency schedule (26.5 t ha−1) than with the low-frequency schedule (23.6 t ha−1), mainly due to greater head weight. The number of underweight, pre-flowering, rotten, and missing plants was significantly different between the two schedules when these variables were considered separately, but the overall number of marketable plants was greater in the high-frequency schedule during certain years. In general, the high-frequency schedule permitted to increase both radicchio yield and to reduce irrigation water use on average by 14% (−24 mm in volume), improving the irrigation water productivity by 19% (from 0.18 t mm−1 of the low-frequency schedule to 0.22 t mm−1 of the high-frequency schedule). Reducing the irrigation interval permits a timely adaptation to the weather course and improves radicchio growing conditions, presenting itself as a valid strategy that could be adopted by the farmers, upon appropriate consideration of energy and management costs.

Sit-Stand Workstations: Relations Among Postural Sway, Task, Proprioception and Discomfort

Adjustable-height desks are promoted to reduce the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting. Musculoskeletal benefits may arise from increased postural variability, often measured as postural sway. We assessed postural sway using inertial measurement units while participants used computer workstations in seated and standing postures and during both typing and clicking tasks and related the sway data to proprioception and discomfort. Median acceleration of the head and trunk was significantly lower in typing compared to clicking tasks, but there were no significant differences between seated and standing positions. Proprioception did not change after computer work, but subjects with increased neck discomfort had greater head and neck repositioning error. The results suggest that different cognitive demands of tasks may play a larger role in postural sway than workstation configuration and that proprioception may be an effective measure to assess the development of discomfort.

Swift on Swifts

Jonathan Swift was very interested in his own name. More precisely, he seems to have looked up what a ‘swift’ was in Francis Willughby’s Ornithology (1678) and come across the following: This is the biggest of all Swallows we have hitherto seen. It hath a great Head, a huge wide mouth; but a very small black Bill, (wherein it agrees with the Churn-Owl) towards the Nosthrils broad and depressed. Its Tongue is broad, and somewhat cloven: Its Nosthrils long, placed obliquely, obtuse toward the Head, acute toward the point of the Bill: Its Eyes great, and their Irides of a hazel colour. It hath almost no variety or difference of colour in the whole body: For as well the upper as the lower side, and also the Wings and Tail are black, with an obscure tincture of green, or red: Only under the Chin is a notable spot of white or ash-colour.1

Characterization of the motion of booster-seated children during simulated in-vehicle precrash maneuvers

Objective: Precrash occupant motion may affect head and trunk position and restraint performance in a subsequent crash, particularly for young children. Others have studied seat belt–restrained adult drivers and adult and adolescent passengers in precrash maneuvers. For younger children, optimal restraint includes a belt-positioning booster seat, which in precrash maneuvers may contribute in unique ways to the overall body motion. Therefore, the objective of this study was to quantify booster-seated child occupant kinematic, kinetic, and muscle responses during precrash maneuvers and characterize booster movement with respect to the overall occupant kinematics.Methods: Vehicle maneuver tests were conducted with a recent model year sedan at the Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC, Marysville, Ohio). Three precrash vehicle maneuvers were simulated: Automated and manual emergency braking (AEB and MEB) and oscillatory swerving or slalom (SLA). Each maneuver was repeated twice for each participant. Seven 6- to 8-year-old booster-seated children participated in the study and all subjects were seated in the right rear seat. Vehicle dynamics (i.e., motion, position, and orientation) were measured with an inertial and Global Positioning System navigation system (Oxford RT 3003). Kinematic data from human volunteers were collected with an 8-camera 3D motion capture system (Optitrack Prime 13 200 Hz, NaturalPoint, Inc.). Photoreflective markers were placed on participants’ head and trunk. Electromyography (EMG; Trigno EMG Wireless Delsys, Inc., 2,000 Hz) sensors were placed on bilateral muscles predicted to be most likely involved in bracing behaviors.Results: Children demonstrated greater head and trunk velocity in MEB (head 123.7 ± 13.1 cm/s, trunk 77.6 ± 14.1 cm/s) compared to AEB (head 45.31 ± 11.5 cm/s, trunk 27.1 ± 5.5 cm/s; P < .001). Participants also showed greater head motion in MEB (18.9 ± 1.4 cm) vs. AEB (15.1 ± 4.8 cm) but the differences were not statistically significant (P < .1). Overall, the booster seats themselves did not move substantially (<3 cm) in the braking maneuvers. During the SLA, however, the booster seat moved laterally up to 5 cm in several subjects, contributing substantially to peak trunk (6.5–14.0 cm) and head (9.9–21.4 cm) excursion during the maneuver. Booster-seated children also exhibited a greater activation of biceps and deltoid muscles and abdominal and middle trapezii muscles than the sternocleidomastoids during these maneuvers.Conclusions: The quantification of booster seat motion and neuromuscular control and the relationship between kinematics and muscle activation in booster-seated children in precrash maneuvers provides important data on the transition between the precrash and crash phases for this young age group and may help identify opportunities for interventions that integrate active and passive safety.

The Shadow Emperor. A Biography of Napoléon III

Professor Strauss-Schom describes himself as a ‘biographer-historian…interested in the personalities and…interrelationships [of] those individuals who create or are involved with…the events that shape “the outcome of history”’. In this case, the leading role is played by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, posing as the heir to his uncle, the great ‘hero’ who had contributed so much to the restoration of order and prosperity, and achievement of military glory following the 1789 Revolution. Taking advantage of this ‘myth’, together with the establishment of manhood suffrage following the February 1848 Revolution combined with widespread ‘social fear’, Louis-Napoleon was able to establish himself as the first elected President of France, to carefully manage a coup-d’état, followed by two legitimizing plebiscites, and establish himself as an authoritarian Emperor. However, the regime’s ignoble origins and final ignominious defeat in 1870 contributed to the creation of a ‘black’ legend by generations of republican historians. Strauss-Schom’s contribution is firmly ‘revisionist’, adding substance to the emphasis evident since at least the later 1940s on the imperial regime’s ‘technocratic’ achievements—the reconstruction of Paris in which the Emperor’s plan to create a modern, monumental, sanitary and more easily controlled capital was implemented by Georges Haussmann—unique as Strauss-Schom points out, among the key figures of the regime in his refusal to take bribes; the creation of a modern transportation infrastructure; financial reform; and establishment of the conditions for more rapid economic growth and greater prosperity. The Emperor also made a considerable effort to secure the long-term survival of his regime by engaging in a risky process of political liberalization—culminating in the reforms approved by plebiscite on 8 May 1870—the regime’s last triumph. These policies attracted widespread support as well, however, as creating space for the regime’s opponents to express their grievances. As the conservative politician Philippe Séguin insisted in 1990, in a book entitled Louis-Napoléon le Grand, the much disparaged Emperor had indeed been a great head of state. His uncle in comparison is reduced by Strauss-Schom to the status of a destructive ‘madman [who] wanted to satisfy his ego and conquer the world’.

Apply base rank - sized cities in Iraq for two years 2007.2030

Including the base level - Size (Rand - Size rule) trying to come up with a system that can be found by the cities in the territory, so search application base level - has cared sized cities in Iraq to get to know the applicability of this rule to the cities of Iraq. The urban landscape in Iraq (according to the duration of the study or for the years 2007.2030) is characterized by control of the city of a great head of a Baghdad and a number of major cities and this means a lack of hierarchy-out, and that exists in Iraq major city and a few large sovereign cities and not balanced urban. Any the urban landscape in Iraq, representatives of the big city away Gradually urban balance in accordance with the standard rank - size where a regular hierarchy, there is a relationship between the sizes of cities and numbers, with the less volumes cities increased in number and vice versa.

Cultivar and planting season affect lettuce performance in a tropical organic production system

Lettuce is a cool season crop typically grown at high altitudes or during the winter months in tropical climates, but is an important vegetable with potential for increased local production in Puerto Rico. To evaluate year round production potential, eleven lettuce cultivars were grown organically in Lajas under eight environments: winter, spring, summer and fall seasons in 2011 and 2012. All cultivars flowered later in the winter than in other seasons. There was a trend for flowering to be earliest in summer, but in many cultivars bolting occurred equally early in spring or fall. For most cultivars the greatest head weight and harvest yield was observed in the winter or spring season. Fall plantings generally resulted in plants with the smallest heads and lowest yields while summer plantings were intermediate in head weight and yield. ‘Queensland’ was the highest yielder in every season, yielding more than twice the average of all the genotypes in the summer and fall seasons, making it a valuable cultivar for year round production in the tropics. ‘Bergam’s Green’, ‘Jericho’ and ‘Parris Island’ also performed fairly well throughout the year. ‘Black Seeded Simpson’, a locally popular cultivar, performed poorly.&#x0D;

Vibratory bed assisted infrared drying of parboiled rice and its rice bran stability

The purposes of this research were divided into two parts: (1) to determine the drying characteristics and quality of parboiled paddy undergoing vibratory bed assisted infrared (VIR) drying, and (2) to study the stability of rice bran from the VIR-dried parboiled paddy. Infrared (IR) drying and hot air (HA) drying were applied for comparison purpose. For the experiment 1, VIR drying of parboiled paddy provided the best drying characteristics with the shortest drying time of 50 min and the maximum drying rate of 0.00146 g water/g dry matter·min. VIR drying also produced the greatest head rice yield of 61.3%. The experiment 2 presented that rice bran from VIR-dried parboiled paddy had the highest oil content of 0.256 ± 0.041 g/g dry matter and the most stable in term of minimum change in free fatty acid (FFA) content. The increase in FFA during storage for 14 days was 0.36%. However, the increases in FFA of rice bran from IR-and HA-dried parboiled rice and normal rice were 0.38, 1.36, and 4.10%, respectively.

A Comparison of Head-Hand Coordination Patterns during Squash Forehand Strokes in Expert and Less-Skilled Squash Players

Objective: To compare head and hand movement patterns during squash forehand motions between experts and less-skilled squash players. Method: Four experts and four less-skilled squash players participated in this study. They performed squash forehand swings and a VICON motion analysis system was used to obtain displacement and velocity data of the head and right hand during the movement. Mann-Whitney U-tests were performed to compare head and hand range of motion and peak velocity, and cross-correlation was performed to analyze the head-hand coordination pattern between groups in three movement directions. Results: In terms of head and hand kinematic data, experts had greater head range of motion during down swings than less-skilled squash players. Experts seemed to reach peak hand velocity at impact by reaching peak head velocity followed by hand peak velocity within a given temporal sequence. In terms of headhand coordination patterns, both groups revealed high positive correlations in the medial-lateral direction, indicating a dominant allocentric coordination pattern. However, experts had uncoupled coordination patterns in the vertical direction and less-skilled squash players had high positive correlations. These results indicate that the head-hand movement pattern likely an important factor squash forehand movement. Conclusion: Analysis of head and hand movement patterns could be a key variable in squash training to reach expert-level performance.

UPPER BODY ACCELERATIONS DURING LOCOMOTION IN DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS AND GENDERS

Aim: The purpose of this study is to measure the acceleration of upper body (pelvis, shoulder and head) during walking and to investigate whether the acceleration patterns differ among age groups and genders. Methods: Twenty-nine old subjects and thirty young subjects participated in this study. Tri-axial accelerations were measured on the back of upper body (head, shoulder and pelvis). Subjects performed two trials of walking on a treadmill in their own comfortable speeds. Three-way ANOVA (repeated measures) was carried out for the root mean square of each directional acceleration with age, gender and sensor position as independent factors. Results: Age effect was significant on the RMS accelerations of the transverse plane. In the anteroposterior direction, the pelvis acceleration was greater in the younger group, while the head acceleration was greater in the older group ([Formula: see text]). In the mediolateral direction, the pelvis acceleration was comparable between age groups but the shoulder and head accelerations were greater in the older group ([Formula: see text]). The overall accelerations were greater in men than in women ([Formula: see text]). The phase-delay and attenuation of shoulder acceleration relative to the pelvis acceleration was smaller for the elderly in AP and ML directions ([Formula: see text]). Normalization of RMS accelerations by height, weight and leg length did not affect the age differences but negated the gender differences. Discussion: Greater head acceleration in older subjects were related to less attenuation of acceleration in the upper body, which may affect the sensory systems in the head and deteriorate balance control during locomotion.