Human Movement Studies Research Articles

Survival of Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherer Ancestry in the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe represents an important test case for the study of human population movements during prehistoric periods. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the peninsula formed a periglacial refugium [1] for hunter-gatherers (HGs) and thus served as a potential source for the re-peopling of northern latitudes [2]. The post-LGM genetic signature was previously described as a cline from Western HG (WHG) to Eastern HG (EHG), further shaped by later Holocene expansions from the Near East and the North Pontic steppes [3-9]. Western and central Europe were dominated by ancestry associated with the ∼14,000-year-old individual from Villabruna, Italy, which had largely replaced earlier genetic ancestry, represented by 19,000-15,000-year-old individuals associated with the Magdalenian culture [2]. However, little is known about the genetic diversity in southern European refugia, the presence of distinct genetic clusters, and correspondence with geography. Here, we report new genome-wide data from 11 HGs and Neolithic individuals that highlight the late survival of Paleolithic ancestry in Iberia, reported previously in Magdalenian-associated individuals. We show that all Iberian HGs, including the oldest, a ∼19,000-year-old individual from El Mirón in Spain, carry dual ancestry from both Villabruna and the Magdalenian-related individuals. Thus, our results suggest an early connection between two potential refugia, resulting in a genetic ancestry that survived in later Iberian HGs. Our new genomic data from Iberian Early and Middle Neolithic individuals show that the dual Iberian HG genomic legacy pertains in the peninsula, suggesting that expanding farmers mixed with local HGs. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

INSTRUMENTOS DE EVALUACIÓN FISIOTERAPÉUTICA EN POBLACIÓN ADULTA Y PEDIÁTRICA UTILIZADAS EN LA PRÁCTICA CLÍNICA

Introducción La fisioterapia como área de estudio del movimiento corporal humano, se ha enfatizado en ofrecer herramientas de recuperación a pacientes con diversos tipos de patología a nivel osteomuscular, cardiovascular y neuromuscular. Los procesos de evaluación en fisioterapia son importantes para la identificación de alteraciones estructurales y funcionales en el movimiento corporal humano, en la actualidad existen diversos instrumentos de evaluación con altos niveles de confiabilidad que permiten identificar alteraciones funcionales en los pacientes. Objetivo realizar una revisión de la literatura sobre pruebas clínicas utilizadas para la evaluación del movimiento corporal humano en población adulta y pediátrica en la práctica clínica categorizada por las categorías de la APTA. Método revisión sistemática de la literatura donde se tuvieron en cuenta estudios contemplados del año 2000 al 2016, literatura que contemplara los siguientes términos DeCS: Evaluation, Physical Therapy, pediatrics, adult. Resultados se pudo identificar que entre población adulta y pediátrica existen diferencias en las escalas de medición utilizadas para la evaluación del movimiento corporal humano, las escalas pueden ser categorizadas a través de las categorías de la APTA como características antropométricas, capacidad aeróbica y resistencia, integridad integumentaria, dolor, conciencia atención y cognición, integridad refleja, función motora, desarrollo neuromotor e integridad sensorial, rango de movimiento y flexibilidad, desempeño muscular, marcha y locomoción, balance, autocuidado y manejo en el hogar. Conclusión se pudieron identificar pruebas clínicas con altos niveles de validez y confiabilidad que permiten determinar alteraciones del movimiento corporal humano en adultos y niños, estas pruebas pueden ser categorizadas a través de las categorías de la APTA.

Dose-response relationship between very vigorous physical activity and cardiovascular health assessed by heart rate variability in adults: Cross-sectional results from the EPIMOV study.

The minimum amount of physical activity needed to obtain health benefits has been widely determined. Unlikely, the impact of extreme amounts of very vigorous physical activity (VVPA, ≥ 8 metabolic equivalents) to the heart remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the dose-response relationship between VVPA and heart rate variability (HRV) in adults. We selected 1040 asymptomatic individuals (60% women, 42 ± 15 years, 28 ± 6 kg/m2) from the Epidemiology and Human Movement Study (EPIMOV). Participants remained in the supine position for 10 min, and we selected an intermediate 5-min window for HRV analysis. The standard deviation of the RR intervals, root mean square of RR intervals, successive RR intervals that differ > 50 ms, powers of the low-and high-frequency bands and Poincaré plot standard deviations were quantified. Participants used a triaxial accelerometer (Actigraph GT3x+) above the dominant hip for 4–7 consecutive days for quantifying their physical activity. We also evaluated the maximum oxygen uptake () during an exercise test. We stratified participants into five groups according to the VVPA in min/week (group 1, ≤ 1.50; 2, 1.51–3.16; 3, 3.17–3.54; 4, 3.55–20.75; and 5, > 20.75). The linear trends of the HRV through the quintiles of VVPA were investigated. We used logarithmic transformations to compare the five groups adjusted for age, sex, cardiovascular risk, and . We found a better HRV with increased VVPA for all HRV indices studied (p trend < 0.05). However, group 5 did not differ from group 4 (p > 0.05) for none of the indices. We conclude that there is an incremental benefit of VVPA on HRV of asymptomatic adults. Since we found neither additional benefits nor the harmful impact of amounts of VVPA as high as 22 min/week on HRV, our results should not discourage asymptomatic adults to perform VVPA.

Efectos de la microgravedad sobre la condición física en astronautas. ¿Existe intervención fisioterapéutica?

Physiotherapy as the area of the study of human body movement has opened roads in research in different areas. For example, aerospace medicine has reported that exposure to space during a mission involves physiological changes at the cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and neuromuscular levels in astronauts due to exposure to microgravity, it has been reported that physical activity and exercise protocols can be Used for the prevention and training of astronauts showing significant effects on the physical condition.

Embodied pedagogies in human movement studies classrooms: A postgraduate pathway into teaching and learning

Studying is above all thinking about experience, and thinking about experience is the best way to think accurately.—Paulo Freire (1985, 3, in Offord 2016, 62)Contemporary cultural studies is engage...

3-D motion capture for long-term tracking of spontaneous locomotor behaviors and circadian sleep/wake rhythms in mouse

BackgroundLocomotor activity provides an index of an animal's behavioral state. Here, we report a reliable and cost-effective method that allows long-term (days to months) simultaneous tracking of locomotion in mouse cohorts (here consisting of 24 animals). New methodThe technique is based on a motion capture system used mainly for human movement study. A reflective marker was placed on the head of each mouse using a surgical procedure and labeled animals were returned to their individual home cages. Camera-recorded data of marker displacement resulting from locomotor movements were then analyzed with custom built software. To avoid any data loss, data files were saved every hour and automatically concatenated. Long-term recordings (up to 3 months) with high spatial (<1mm) and temporal (up to 100Hz) resolution of animal movements were obtained. ResultsThe system was validated by analyzing the spontaneous activity of mice from post-natal day 30–90. Daily motor activity increased up to 70days in correspondence with maturational changes in locomotor performance. The recorded actigrams also permitted analysis of circadian and ultradian rhythms in cohort sleep/wake behavior. Comparison with existing method(s)In contrast to traditional session-based experimental approaches, our technique allows locomotor activity to be recorded with minimal experimenter manipulation, thereby minimizing animal stress. ConclusionsOur method enables the continuous long-term (up to several months) monitoring of tens of animals, generating manageable amounts of data at minimal costs without requiring individual dedicated devices. The actigraphic data collected allows circadian and ultradian analysis of sleep/wake behaviors to be performed.

The Kinesiology Curriculum: Using Student Responses to Evaluate Course Content

The academic discipline of kinesiology is relatively new (1960s) and is devoted to the study of human movement. The knowledge base and subject of study continues to develop and now includes inquiry regarding the impact of physical activity on health, society, and quality of life. The purpose of this course content evaluation was to identify kinesiology students’ views on the addition of public health content in the curriculum. A lecture addressing the background history of public health, with supported reading, was given to forty students enrolled in an upper level Bachelor of Kinesiology-health course. Students were advised of the inclusion of this topic on the final exam and that their responses would be used to inform future direction of the course material. Students were asked to provide their opinion, through a written response to the question: Does public health belong in the Faculty of Kinesiology? A content analysis was employed and seven themes were identified from students’ responses. The themes highlighted professional experience, enhanced leadership, and health promotion and physical activity’s contribution to health. In summary, students positively evaluated the inclusion of public health within the kinesiology curriculum and perhaps this is not surprising given the scoring associated with the question. Despite this limitation, students provided insightful responses worthy of reflection that should be considered in a dialogue about the inclusion of public health content in the kinesiology curriculum.

Could post-mortem computed tomography angiography inform cardiopulmonary resuscitation research?

AimFirstly, to develop an optimised chest compression post mortem computed tomography angiography protocol in the adult human during closed chest compression to investigate cardiopulmonary resuscitation blood flow, and secondly to provide preliminary observations of post-mortem anatomical cardiac chamber movement using a novel radiolucent static chest compression device. MethodsVariable volumes of radiological contrast agent were injected intravenously into a series of consented human cadavers. Each cadaver had chest compressions delivered with a LUCAS™2 mechanical chest compressor. Following each cycle of chest compressions, each cadaver was imaged with a Toshiba Aquilion CXL 128 slice computed tomography (CT) scanner to investigate the extent of contrast distribution. A chest compression simulator was then designed and built to allow static CT imaging of 1cm incremental cadaver chest compressions to a depth of 5cm. ResultsMechanical compressions: Ten cases were recruited for the CT angiography component of the study. Two were subsequently excluded from the study at the time of the initial, non-contrast PMCT scan. A further case was recruited in Emergency Department (ED). CT demonstrable antegrade arterial contrast distribution was achieved in 2 cases. The other 7 cases, including that undertaken in ED shortly after death, showed venous retrograde flow. Incremental compressions: Five new cases underwent incremental chest compression imaging. All cases demonstrated compression of the sternum, ribs, atria and great vessels. The right and left ventricles were not compressed, but moved laterally and inferiorly, further into the left chest cavity. The left hemi-diaphragm, stomach and liver moved inferiorly. The sternum, ventricles, hemi-diaphragm, stomach and liver all moved back to their original position on incremental release. ConclusionThe study suggests that with further protocol modification and access to human cadavers as near to death as possible, chest compression post mortem computed angiography (CCPMCTA) could be used as a model for the study of human vascular flow and heart movement during CPR.

How social structures, space, and behaviors shape the spread of infectious diseases using chikungunya as a case study

Whether an individual becomes infected in an infectious disease outbreak depends on many interconnected risk factors, which may relate to characteristics of the individual (e.g., age, sex), his or her close relatives (e.g., household members), or the wider community. Studies monitoring individuals in households or schools have helped elucidate the determinants of transmission in small social structures due to advances in statistical modeling; but such an approach has so far largely failed to consider individuals in the wider context they live in. Here, we used an outbreak of chikungunya in a rural community in Bangladesh as a case study to obtain a more comprehensive characterization of risk factors in disease spread. We developed Bayesian data augmentation approaches to account for uncertainty in the source of infection, recall uncertainty, and unobserved infection dates. We found that the probability of chikungunya transmission was 12% [95% credible interval (CI): 8-17%] between household members but dropped to 0.3% for those living 50 m away (95% CI: 0.2-0.5%). Overall, the mean transmission distance was 95 m (95% CI: 77-113 m). Females were 1.5 times more likely to become infected than males (95% CI: 1.2-1.8), which was virtually identical to the relative risk of being at home estimated from an independent human movement study in the country. Reported daily use of antimosquito coils had no detectable impact on transmission. This study shows how the complex interplay between the characteristics of an individual and his or her close and wider environment contributes to the shaping of infectious disease epidemics.

Measuring Multidimensional Subjective Well-Being with the I COPPE Scale in a Hispanic Sample

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to provide initial validity evidence for measuring multidimensional subjective well-being in a Hispanic sample with the Interpersonal, Community, Occupational, Physical, Psychological, Economic (I COPPE) Scale. Participants were 641 English-speaking adults who self-identified as Hispanic. Bi-factor analyses were used to evaluate (a) the a priori measurement theory for responses to the I COPPE Scale and (b) convergent relationships of the seven I COPPE subjective well-being factors with scores from established comparison instruments. There was evidence that (a) the a priori hypothesized measurement theory for responses to the I COPPE Scale emerged in an exploratory bi-factor analysis and (b) the I COPPE subjective well-being factors exhibited convergent relationships with scores from comparison instruments. Use of the I COPPE Scale to derive multidimensional measures of subjective well-being may be of potential utility to future research in the interdisciplinary study of human movement and in a diversity of populations in which health disparities may exist.

Combining discriminative spatiotemporal features for daily life activity recognition using wearable motion sensing suit

Motion sensing plays an important role in the study of human movements, motivated by a wide range of applications in different fields, such as sports, health care, daily activity, action recognition for surveillance, assisted living and the entertainment industry. In this paper, we describe how to classify a set of human movements comprising daily activities using a wearable motion capture suit, denoted as FatoXtract. A probabilistic integration of different classifiers recently proposed is employed herein, considering several spatiotemporal features, in order to classify daily activities. The classification model relies on the computed confidence belief from base classifiers, combining multiple likelihoods from three different classifiers, namely Naive Bayes, artificial neural networks and support vector machines, into a single form, by assigning weights from an uncertainty measure to counterbalance the posterior probability. In order to attain an improved performance on the overall classification accuracy, multiple features in time domain (e.g., velocity) and frequency domain (e.g., fast Fourier transform), combined with geometrical features (joint rotations), were considered. A dataset from five daily activities performed by six participants was acquired using FatoXtract. The dataset provided in this work was designed to be extremely challenging since there are high intra-class variations, the duration of the action clips varies dramatically, and some of the actions are quite similar (e.g., brushing teeth and waving, or walking and step). Reported results, in terms of both precision and recall, remained around 85 %, showing that the proposed framework is able to successfully classify different human activities.

RehabGesture: An Alternative Tool for Measuring Human Movement

Systems for range of motion (ROM) measurement such as OptoTrak, Motion Capture, Motion Analysis, Vicon, and Visual 3D are so expensive that they become impracticable in public health systems and even in private rehabilitation clinics. Telerehabilitation is a branch within telemedicine intended to offer ways to increase motor and/or cognitive stimuli, aimed at faster and more effective recovery of given disabilities, and to measure kinematic data such as the improvement in ROM. In the development of the RehabGesture tool, we used the gesture recognition sensor Kinect(®) (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) and the concepts of Natural User Interface and Open Natural Interaction. RehabGesture can measure and record the ROM during rehabilitation sessions while the user interacts with the virtual reality environment. The software allows the measurement of the ROM (in the coronal plane) from 0° extension to 145° flexion of the elbow joint, as well as from 0° adduction to 180° abduction of the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint, leaving the standing position. The proposed tool has application in the fields of training and physical evaluation of professional and amateur athletes in clubs and gyms and may have application in rehabilitation and physiotherapy clinics for patients with compromised motor abilities. RehabGesture represents a low-cost solution to measure the movement of the upper limbs, as well as to stimulate the process of teaching and learning in disciplines related to the study of human movement, such as kinesiology.

Biomechanics of human walking and stability descriptive parameters

From the time of Aristotle onward, there have been countless books written on the topic of movement in animals and humans. However, research of human motion, especially walking mechanisms, has increased over the last fifty years. The study of human body movement and its stability during locomotion involves both neuronal and mechanical aspect. The mechanical aspect, which is in the scope of this thesis, requires knowledge in the field of biomechanics. Walking is the most common maneuver of displacement for humans and it is performed by a stable dynamic motion. In this article it is introduced the bases of the human walking in biomechanical terms. Furthermore, two stability descriptive parameters during walking are also explained - Center of Pressure (CoP) and Zero-Moment Pint (ZMP).

Measurement of human movement under metrological controlled conditions

The study and modelling of human movement requires accurate measurement of forces and of kinematic quantities, with proper control and monitoring of measurement uncertainty. The metrological aspects of such experimentation are often overlooked in the biomechanical literature. In contrast, we present here a complete measurement system that combines a double force platform with vision and inertial sensors, with some degree of instrumental redundancy, which permits a cross-validation of different measuring channels. Therefore, the system permits the characterization of a person's movement, enabling, at the same time, the verification of the acquired experimental data. Details are provided on the system and on the measurement procedure, in order that experimentation can be reproduced, if needed, in other laboratories. Then, as a test case, the experimental study of hopping is considered. Experimental results are discussed, with special focus on kinematic quantities, and system performance is discussed, by properly accounting for uncertainty issues.

The effect of toe marker placement error on joint kinematics and muscle forces using OpenSim gait simulation.

Marker placement can be a significant source of error in biomechanical studies of human movement. The toe marker placement error is amplified by footwear since the toe marker placement on the shoe only relies on an approximation of underlying anatomical landmarks. Three total knee replacement subjects were recruited and three self-speed gait trials per subject were collected. The height variation between toe and heel markers of four types of footwear was evaluated from the results of joint kinematics and muscle forces using OpenSim. The reference condition was considered as the same vertical height of toe and heel markers. The results showed that the residual variances for joint kinematics had an approximately linear relationship with toe marker placement error for lower limb joints. Ankle dorsiflexion/plantarflexion is most sensitive to toe marker placement error. The influence of toe marker placement error is generally larger for hip flexion/extension and rotation than hip abduction/adduction and knee flexion/extension. The muscle forces responded to the residual variance of joint kinematics to various degrees based on the muscle function for specific joint kinematics. This study demonstrates the importance of evaluating marker error for joint kinematics and muscle forces when explaining relative clinical gait analysis and treatment intervention.

Assessing the sociology of sport: On indigeneity, politics of identity and Australian sports

On the 50th anniversary of the ISSA and IRSS, Chris Hallinan, a leading international scholar on the political and economic contexts of sport, considers the role of indigeneity and the politics of identity in Australian sports. The trajectory of inquiry departed from biocentric strands in human movement studies to extend the legacy of sociology of sport to critical analyses of racism, racialisation, the politics of ethnic identities, and their connection to the politics of Australian identities. Postcolonial studies in this area of inquiry progressed through stages, first considering racism encountered by Aboriginal athletes, moving to critical indigenous sport studies and assessments of how indigenous sport might counter prevailing Anglo-Australian nationalist discourse, to a more recent stage, where the dynamics have been assessed by indigenous sport scholars. It is argued that the future of sociology of sport research on indigeneity and the politics of identities resides in a growing reflexivity that considers whether approaches may reproduce the ‘shackles of colonialism,’ a key element in awareness that may lead to policies to help redress the underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in leadership and management in sport.

Style in the Dance and Human Movement Studies

This article ultimately identifies style in the dance and human movement studies by contrasting it with technique in various dance forms. The essay concludes that “style” in dance forms (and other physical activities) is centered in the human capacity for language use, which permits the construction of personal identities and self-awareness.

Kinematic measurements for the characterization of the dynamics of hopping

The study of human movement requires the accurate measurement of the forces and of the kinematic quantities involved. Here we consider hopping, that deserves great attention in the literature, since it combines the activation of a complex sensorimotor control with the relative simplicity of the gesture. The movement of the center of mass and the contact conditions are of special interest. Thus a measuring system that combines digital image acquisition, force measurement based on a force plate and extensive use of inertial sensors, for linear and rotational motion, has been developed and characterized. The results concerning the accurate measurement of contact conditions are specially outlined.

Muybridge in the Parlor

Commonly regarded as one of the pioneers of motion-picture technology, Eadweard Muybridge carried out several photographic studies of animal and human movement in the late nineteenth century. One of Muybridge's lesser-known commissions was an album of interior photographs that he created in 1880 for his friends Kate and Robert Johnson. This article offers a close reading of this album and argues that it has more in common with Muybridge's motion studies than historians have previously recognized. Far from being a commercial outlier, the album offered Muybridge an opportunity to experiment with the technological and cultural possibilities of photography in a new way. Through ghosts, mirrors, and other forms of representational excess, these images make visible Muybridge's handiwork as a photographer and the intellectual complexity of his collaboration with Kate and Robert Johnson.

Dynamic Retrospective Regression for Functional Data

Samples of curves, or functional data, usually present phase variability in addition to amplitude variability. Existing functional regression methods do not handle phase variability in an efficient way. In this article we propose a functional regression method that incorporates phase synchronization as an intrinsic part of the model, and then attains better predictive power than ordinary linear regression in a simple and parsimonious way. The finite-sample properties of the estimators are studied by simulation. As an example of application, we analyze neuromotor data arising from a study of human lip movement. This article has supplementary materials online.