Movements Of Different Parts Research Articles

Ab. No. 62 Spatiotemporal Parameters of Gait Symmetry and Asymmetry in Normal Healthy Individuals

Introduction: Human gait, or the way people walk, is a complicated motor activity involving coordinated movements of different parts of the body. It is crucial in everyday activities and is influenced by a variety of factors such as age, health status, and musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. Understanding the many characteristics of gait, especially symmetry and asymmetry, is critical for getting insights into normal locomotion patterns and recognizing potential deviations associated with certain conditions. The objective of the current study is to determine the of spatiotemporal parameters of gait symmetry and asymmetry in individuals aged 20 to 79. Methods: A Cross-sectional observational study was done on 72 healthy adults (20 to 79 years) using convenience sampling. Subjects were divided into six groups according to the decade having 12 subjects in each group. Gait analysis was done using a portable single layer pressure sensitive walkway (Gait Rite). Subjects were asked to walk three times on the walkway at their preferred speed and data was collected. Result: A total of 9 spatiotemporal parameters were studied for evaluating asymmetry of these 7 spatiotemporal parameters were consistently asymmetry across the age groups and two parameters were consistently symmetrical across the age groups. Conclusion: The study establishes spatiotemporal parameters of gait symmetry and asymmetry across the age groups in normal ambulatory individuals. Implications: The identification of consistent asymmetry and symmetry in spatiotemporal gait parameters across age groups provides valuable insights for understanding the nuances of normal locomotion, aiding in the characterization of age-related variations, and serving as a foundation for detecting potential deviations associated with various conditions.

Development of an Anthropomorphic Dental Simulator Based on the Robo-C Robot

An analysis of robots (simulators) in education is provided. Promising directions for their development are highlighted, such as realism, interactivity, adaptation and personalization. The features of using simulators in dentistry are considered. The main disadvantages of existing simulators in dentistry have been identified, namely the lack of a communicative component and imitation of patient behavior. The anthropomorphic dental simulator is based on the Robo-C robot, which is a unique combination of advanced technologies and human facial expressions, which allows it to communicate with people, reproduce movements of different parts of the body and express emotions. As dental components, the following components were created and implemented into the Robo-C control system: a Smart jaw, including cameras and a temperature sensor, and a Smart tooth, including a pressure sensor. The Robo-C control system has been upgraded taking into account the Smart jaw and Smart tooth, which made it possible to connect the dental treatment process with the robot’s servos through its linguistic base. The process of analyzing data obtained from Smart jaw cameras using a neural network is described. A two-stage classification scheme for dental defects has been proposed and its effectiveness has been proven. The linguistic base contains a set of rules with the help of which devices (microphone, speakers, servos, Smart jaw, Smart tooth) interact with each other. An example of compiling a linguistic database rule is given. The linguistic base, Smart-jaw and Smart-tooth are configured for one of four cases: caries treatment, tooth preparation for a crown, tooth extraction, endodontic treatment. Treatment quality control is carried out using a comprehensive assessment of communication interaction with the robot and analysis of Smart-jaw and Smart-tooth data. An example of work in one of the cases is given. The anthropomorphic dental simulator presented in the article allows the use of new technologies in the training of dentists, as well as the simulation of various dental procedures, which will significantly improve the practical preparation of students for working with patients.

Preparation of quaternized N-halamine modified graphene oxide based antibacterial hydrogel and wound healing of bacterial infection

In clinical practice, the wound on the surface of the skin is prone to bacterial infection, for which healing of infected wounds has always been a tremendous challenge for clinics and research institutions. We developed a multifunctional bactericidal, recyclable, and slow-release graphene oxide-based hydrogel for bacterial wound healing and real-time monitoring of bacterial infection in this study. At the same time, the material has a sensing function, which can be used in the connection between the injured skin and the continuous detection equipment. QNGH (quaternarized N-halamine-grafted GO hydrogel) is manufactured by hydrogen bonding between quaternized N-halamine-modified graphene oxide and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The results show that in the mouse model of full-thickness skin repair, the hydrogel can continuously release germicidal ions and recyclability, promoting wound healing and contraction. Further, the graphene oxide-based hydrogel has excellent strain sensing performance. It detects the bending and stretching movements of different parts of the human body quickly, stably, and sensitively to show an excellent real-time monitoring performance of human motion. The sensing function of the hydrogel further broadens its application field. Therefore, this hydrogel material is expected to be a candidate material for sensing devices at the wound.

The Vernacular Literary Resistance in Colonial Punjab and Colonial Balochistan 1880-1925: A Comparative and Historical Analysis

This study explores the Balochi-Brahui vernacular literary resistance in comparison with the Punjabi language from a historical perspective, which has never been highlighted before. Vernacular literary resistance during British colonial rule triggered numerous physical resistance movements in different parts of the Raj, from British Balochistan in the west to the colonized Punjab in the east. The movement in Punjab was designed to protect the Punjabi language against the forceful imposition of Urdu along with English, while in Balochistan the literary movement had its agenda to protect local Baloch people from the Christian missionaries who were busy propagating Christianity by using both Balochi and Brahui languages. The present study is based on a mixed method of analytical and explanatory methods, and it has endeavored that all the sources are critically analyzed. The Vernacular Literary resistance of both regions powerfully affected British colonial state formation with its full zeal and enthusiasm.

Comparative study on digital inclusion among socially vulnerable activists and leaderships of organized social movements in Brazil

This article analyses the challenges experienced by activists with social vulnerabilities who continued their activism online or face-to-face during the pandemic, focusing especially on Black and Indigenous women. I have also studied the types of resistance found in the period between March 2020 and July 2021. On the other hand, I will analyse leaders of organized social movements – or those in the process of formalization – to understand how these leaders organized themselves in the digital world. This qualitative and quantitative research was carried out through online questionnaires and online focus groups composed by activists with social vulnerabilities and leaders of organized social movements in different parts of Brazil. Due to a long period of turmoil, social division, self-isolation and perpetual stress have become the daily norm in our country. As we faced various political conflicts and social trials, the strength of our relationships and associations allowed us to endure. This research will also follow the digital difficulties in Brazil, finding levels of partial and total digital exclusion among the analysed groups. Despite the difficulties of navigating the digital world, activists and leaders of Brazilian social movements sought alternatives through resistance and solidarity, including sharing access to the internet via cell phones. This reflection is based on the research New Forms of Representation While Facing Digital Transformation finished in December 2021 for the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation.

Spatiotemporal Parameters of Gait in terms of Symmetry in Asymptomatic Individuals

Context: Human gait, or the way people walk, is a complicated motor activity involving coordinated movements of different parts of the body. It is crucial in everyday activities and is influenced by a variety of factors such as age, health status, and musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. Understanding the many characteristics of gait, especially symmetry and asymmetry, is critical for getting insights into normal locomotion patterns and recognising potential deviations associated with certain conditions. Aims: The current study aims to understand the different aspects of gait such as symmetry and asymmetry of gait to develop a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of human gait. Settings and Design: Convenience sampling was used. This was a cross-sectional observational study. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 72 healthy adults between the age group of 20 and 80 according to the criteria. Convenience sampling was used. Subjects were divided into six groups having 12 subjects in each group. Gait analysis was done using GAITRite. Subjects were asked to walk three times on the walkway at their preferred speed. Since all the variables are continuous, all the data have been processed in terms of the mean. Statistical Analysis: The Statistical Software, namely Jamovi 0.9.5.12 (jamovi.org), was used for statistical analysis. Results: It was observed that step time and cycle time can be considered parameters representing symmetry and parameters such as step length, stride length, H-H base of support, swing (% of gait cycle) stance (% of gait cycle), single support (% of gait cycle), and double support (% of gait cycle) represent gait asymmetry. Conclusions: This study establishes the asymmetric parameters of gait across the age span the minimum detectable difference in all the parameters were calculated.

U.S. Foreign Policy under President Trump: The Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea Regions

The current phase in international relations can be best characterized by one word – transition. The Post-Cold War order is rapidly disappearing, creating strategic ambiguity for all actors. The U.S. hegemony is over or close to over despite the fact that militarily Washington will be safely far out of reach for several decades to come. However, the growing national debt, the looming crisis in the Social Security and Medicare systems, uncontrolled migration, growing populism and partisan fighting does not bode well for the future of U.S. dominance. At the same time, no nation, be it China, Russia, India or Brazil, has the necessary resources or will to compete for the new world hegemony. The absence of a world hegemon means that no state has the power to enforce the implementation of key international rules and norms. Regardless how one perceives the international principles – as balanced or biased – the rule-based order at least provides a minimal level of stability since the actors involved on the international stage have a clear understanding what may and may not be done. However, since the late 2000s the situation has changed. We are increasingly facing an international security architecture where key actors may easily break the norms and rules, and this will eventually bring us to a situation upon which no rules can be based. The election of President Trump sent shock waves through the United States’ political establishment and surprised international relations pundits worldwide. Despite the apparent growth of the right-wing populist movements in different parts of the world, the culmination of which was presumably the BREXIT referendum held in June 2016, few if any could imagine that a real estate developer and reality TV star had any chance of defeating one of the most respected representatives of the US political establishment. The November 2016 elections had widespread implications on both American domestic and foreign policies. President Trump’s decision to denounce globalism created a situation where the so-called “vertical globalism” (Western-led efforts to spread a liberal international order all over the world through the promotion of democracy and a market economy) might be transformed into a “horizontal globalism” based on regional integration models covering vast territories of Europe and Asia, Africa and Latin America. In this paper we will analyze President Trump’s foreign policy in several key geographical areas and its implications. However, in order to better understand the significant changes in U.S. foreign policy ushered in by President Trump and make predictions for future developments, it is worth starting with an examination of Trump’s foreign policy perceptions as well as of the ongoing debates within the foreign policy establishment itself.

The digital era and public sector reforms: Transformation or new tools for competing values?

AbstractThis article considers the tools and management approaches associated with the “digital‐era” public sector reform, which many observers suggest has supplanted or should supplant previous reforms such as those associated with the New Public Management. This article levers and adapts the Competing Values Framework to categorize various public service reform movements—Traditional Public Administration, New Public Management, Public Value Management, and New Public Governance—and associated value systems and cultures. It argues that not only do these prior reform movements persist as values and repertoires in public service systems, but they are also each variously receiving oxygen from “digital” as the latest wave of technological innovation affecting societies, markets, and governments. It calls for more systematic empirical work to gauge how digital tools have been affecting the mix and balance of values and repertoires associated with these reform movements in different parts of public service systems in Canada and beyond.

Spatial Adjustment Strategy to Improve the Sensitivity of Ionogels for Flexible Sensors

AbstractRecently, ionogels‐based flexible/stretchable sensors have been receiving great attention, which greatly promotes the development of artificial flexible electronics. Except transparency, stretchability, stability, self‐healing, and adhesion, the high conductivity of ionogels and high sensitivity as a sensor still are huge challenges. This work proposes a spatial adjustment strategy to improve sensitivity and conductivity through reducing the spatial hinderance without a change in the compound types and ratio. The addition of space pre‐occupier during the preparation of the ionogel reduces the entanglement of polymer chains for better flowability of the polymer network. After removing the solvent from formed ionogels, the obtained free volume could facilitate the movement of ions and mobility of polymers. Through this way, the sensitivity (up to 1.6 times) and conductivity (up to 1.3 times) of ionogels are successfully improved, while maintaining their excellent transparency, stretchability, stability, and electromechanical properties, such as fast response speed and good repeatability. The detecting ability of movements of different parts of the human body is proved. It is worth mentioning that this simple and effective strategy needs no special requirement for chemical structure, so that it has broad applicability in various systems and opens up a new way for the development of flexible sensors.

Preparation of Polyvinyl alcohol Hydrogel Braided Wire Reinforced by Soluble starch Granules Based on Magnetoionic induction and Piezoelectric sensing

AbstractIntegrating textiles with a signal collector may provide sustainable solutions for wearable electronic devices in the Internet of Things era owing to the soaring development of chemistry and materials. This study adopted soluble starch(S) granules for advancing the resistance and formability of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) hydrogel in the structural deformation stage, thus preparing a PVA based composite hydrogel wire that may be produced continuously. In the whole process, the mechanical performance, strain resistance and sensing property of the hydrogel wire were studied. The results showed that when PVA : S=7 : 3, the hydrogel wire had the best formability and mechanical performance, and the stress and strain were 2.3 MPa and 255 % respectively. When starch granules were added in the hydrogel wire, the coincidence degree between starting stress and cyclic stress was increased after the wire was stretched by 17.5 %, and thus, the stability of the hydrogel wire was improved. In addition, the electronic skin strain sensors assembled with hydrogel wires can detect the movement of different parts of the body effectively. In particular, a piezoelectric sensor braided with polyurethane‐encapsulated hydrogel wire may not only generate a voltage about 0.4 mV at a slight touch, but also locate the stress point. When an induction coil is prepared with the hydrogel wire, the magnetoionic induction of a single coil can produce a significant induced voltage, which is conductive to the wireless signal transmission of hydrogel. As a conductor, the hydrogel wire also had a current reaction in phase to AC voltage. And according to the experiment, it is speculated that as braided and electronically integrated, the hydrogel wire can be used in smart fabrics for strain sensing, wireless signal transmission, and force location.

A ionic liquid enhanced conductive hydrogel for strain sensing applications

Strain-sensitive and conductive hydrogels have attracted extensive research interest due to their potential applications in various fields, such as healthcare monitoring, human–machine interfaces and soft robots. However, low electrical signal transmission and poor tensile properties still limit the application of flexible sensing hydrogels in large amplitude and high frequency motion. In this study, a novel ionic liquid segmental polyelectrolyte hydrogel consisting of acrylic acid (AAc), 1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide (VBIMBr) and aluminum ion (Al3+) was prepared by molecular design and polymer synthesis. The cationic groups and amphiphilicity of ionic liquid chain segments effectively improve the tensile behavior of the polyelectrolyte hydrogel, with a maximum tensile strength of 0.16 MPa and a maximum breaking strain of 604%. The introduction of ionic liquid segments increased the current carrying concentration of polyelectrolyte hydrogel, and the conductivity reached the initial 4.8 times (12.5 S/m), which is a necessary condition for detecting various amplitude and high frequency limb movements. The flexible electronic sensor prepared by this polyelectrolyte hydrogel efficiently detects the movement of different parts of the human body stably and sensitively, even in extreme environment (−20 °C). These outstanding advantages demonstrate the great potential of this hydrogel in healthcare monitoring and wearable flexible strain sensors.

Cage-like radiotherapy system for noncoplanar radiotherapy

The aim of this study was to design a cage-like radiotherapy system (CRTS) to further promote the clinical application of noncoplanar radiotherapy. The CRTS comprises two stands, two O-rings, several arc girders, an X-ray head, an imaging subsystem, and a treatment couch. The X-ray head rotates with O-rings around the patient’s body and slides along the arc girder. Compared with the C-arm linear accelerator (C-Linac), the clinically available spatial irradiation angle ranges (SIARs) of the CRTS for the head, chest, and abdomen were 33%, 63.6%, and 62.6% larger, respectively. Moreover, according to a preliminary planning comparison based on the dose distribution simulation method, the CRTS achieved much better protection of normal tissue than the C-Linac. Furthermore, the CRTS enabled accurate noncoplanar irradiation without movement of the body being irradiated, allowed automatic control of the movements of different parts without risk of collisions, and provided continuous radiation over an angle that considerably exceeded a full turn. These advantages make CRTS very promising for noncoplanar radiotherapy.

Концепція етнополітичного сепаратизму, його місце та роль у сучасних політичних процесах

One of the most urgent ethnopolitical problems in our time is the growth in the number of separatist movements in different parts of the world. This phenomenon developed and gained strength in the second half of the 20th century simultaneously with the anti-colonial and national liberation movements. Moreover, it is worth noting that the movements that set as their main goal the separation of a certain part of the multinational state and the creation of an independent national-state entity in this territory, have intensified not only in the third world countries, where the colonial legacy has left a significant number of disputed borders, but also in the oldest western democracies – Great Britain, USA, Spain, Italy, France and a number of other states. The impulse to gain political independence through the proclamation of a separatist ideology is a clear sign of modern international relations. The wave of separatist aspirations of ethnic groups now and then manifests itself, and sometimes even increases in scale practically on all continents. However, until now ethnopolitical separatism remains one of the least studied and least understood political phenomena. In the most general sense, ethnopolitical separatism (otlat. Separatus – separated) is the striving of an ethnic group to isolate, separate and achieve autonomy or political independence by a certain area of the state. The complexity of the interpretation of this phenomenon is caused not only by the multi-factoriality of separatism itself, but also by the absence of established theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of separatist tendencies in political life. At the same time, the very forms of minimizing violence in the course of implementing the ideology of ethnopolitical separatism are studied within the framework of such an interdisciplinary direction as the "paradigm of conflict". Despite the fact that the conflict paradigm is often used to analyze ethnopolitical separatism, it cannot claim to be the only methodological approach to the study of this phenomenon.

Cultural resistance in occupied Palestine and the use of creative international solidarity through song1

Protest song has been an important component of grassroots political struggles, and the Palestinian resistance to Zionist settler-colonization is no exception. This article draws on original research with activists in the Palestinian popular resistance on the impact of song during the first intifada (1987 to 1993) and more recently in the opposition to the segregation wall and accelerated colonization of the West Bank. The significance of international solidarity to the Palestinian struggle is noted, and the role of protest song in international solidarity is explored. The activities of Edinburgh-based community choir San Ghanny in using song as an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian popular anti-colonial struggle is analysed. Protest song is a globally recognizable form, which can help to build connections with social movements in different parts of the world and in different periods of history, which is both rooted in individual places and struggles, and also transcends these at the level of global solidarity.

Design of a control system for a mini-automatic transplanting machine of plug seedling

In China, vegetable production system has been dominated by small and medium-sized agricultural facilities over the open-field cultivational practices. Low ceiling height and narrow width are dimensional attributes associated with most of these facilities. Due to these dimensional parametric constraints, the application of available field transplanting machinery in such facilities is a problematic subject which leads the vegetable growers towards manual transplanting. In order to meet the needs of small and medium-sized agricultural facilities for automatic vegetable transplanting, a smaller size wireless remote-controlled automatic transplanting machine was designed, which can transplant seedlings quickly in the greenhouse and by considering the stainability of environment electric power was adopted to drive all the mechanisms. In the process of agricultural production, the control system of agricultural machinery plays an important role in the degree of automation of mechanical equipment. Therefore, this paper focuses on the design of the control system of the newly premeditated automatic transplanting machine. The hardware of the control system is separated into three portions: the sensors for signal acquisition, the programmable controller for signal processing, and the driving elements for specific actions. PLC (Programmable logic controller) is adopted as the central control system of the transplanting machines which controls the automatic movement of seedlings tray carrier, seedlings extraction and feeding, and seedlings transmission to the planting units automatically. In order to control the overall movement of seedling transplanting machine, a microcontroller is adapted to control the hub and steering motor. The key driving elements of the control system are solenoid valves and electric motors which controls the action of pneumatic air cylinders and linear movement of different parts of machine respectively. The overall software design of the control system is accomplished, together with coordinated motion between components, control flow design and control program writing. In order to test the motion coordination of each component and the rationality of the control system of the Mini-Automatic transplanting machine, different planting frequencies were set to record the success rate of seedling collection and transplanting. The results of the trials exhibited that at the planting frequencies of 40, 50 and 60 plants/row/min the overall success rates were noted 98.6%, 97.2% and 96.5% respectively. It shows that the key parts of the transplanting machine are synchronized in motion, accurate in positioning, reasonable in assembling the control system and stable in operation, which meets the requirements of transplanting seedlings in the dry land.

Flexible and lead-free piezoelectric nanogenerator as self-powered sensor based on electrospinning BZT-BCT/P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers

Recently, the flexible and environmental-friendly piezoelectric generators have drawn much attentions due to the power-supplying apply applications of powering implantable and wearable devices. In this work, an environmental-friendly and flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator is proposed based on electrospinning nanofiber which is composed of 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 (BZT-BCT) and polyvinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene P(VDF-TrFE). The as-prepared nanofiber mats with different amounts of doping of BZT-BCT nanoparticles varied from 0 wt% to 50 wt% are characterized by XRD and SEM. Based on the testing results, the nanofiber generator with 40 % content of BZT-BCT exhibits the excellent output performance, which produces the output voltage as high as 13.01 V under cyclic tapping under 6 N and 10 Hz, which is mostly attributed from the doping of the BZT-BCT with high piezoelectric coefficient. The generator can be deployed as the self-powered sensor, which can measure the tensile and compressive deformation, the movement of different parts of body. Due to the advantages of flexibility and environmental kindness, this developed nanogenerator has great potential for wearable and implantable devices.

Етнічний сепаратизм, його місце та роль в політичних процесах

One of the most actualized ethnopolitical problems of our time is the growth in the number of separatist movements in different parts of the world. This phenomenon developed and gained strength in the second half of the 20th century simultaneously with the anti-colonial and national liberation movements. Moreover, it is worth noting that movements that set as their main goal the separation of a certain part of a multinational state and the creation of an independent national-state entity in this territory, have intensified not only in third world countries, where the colonial legacy left a significant number of disputed borders, but and in the oldest Western democracies. The course of the processes of ethnic separatism in multi-ethnic states largely depends on the degree of development of democratic institutions and values in society. Depending on this factor, the movement for secession from a single state may take the form of a constitutional process and public dialogue, or an intra-state conflict (or even war, depending on the scale of the violence). Briefly summarizing the above, it is necessary to highlight the following. Ethnic separatism means a movement whose main goal is to secede an ethnic region from a multinational state and create its own state formation or join another state. Thus, the concept of ethnic separatism does not include such phenomena as the disintegration of the state or its regionalization (so-called economic separatism), which act as independent processes not directly interdependent on the phenomenon of ethnic separatism. Ethnic separatism, as a phenomenon, to one degree or another inherent in all multinational states, has a serious impact not only on intrastate group relations, but also on international politics, which makes it possible to characterize it as a challenge to the world order that emerged after the end of the Cold War.

Tongue Part Movement Trajectories for /r/ Using Ultrasound.

Because it shows the movement of different parts of the tongue in real time, ultrasound biofeedback therapy is a promising technology for speech research and remediation. One limitation is the difficulty of interpreting real-time ultrasound images of tongue motion. Our image processing system, TonguePART, tracks the tongue surface and allows for the acquisition of quantitative tongue part trajectories. TonguePART automatically identifies the tongue contour based on ultrasound image brightness and tracks motion of the tongue root, dorsum, and blade in real time. We present tongue part trajectory data from 2 children with residual sound errors on /r/ and 2 children with typical speech, focusing on /r/ (International Phonetic Alphabet ɹ) in the phonetic context /ɑr/. We compared the tongue trajectories to magnetic resonance images of sustained vowel /ɑ/ and /r/. Measured trajectories show larger overall displacement and greater differentiation of tongue part movements for children with typical speech during the production of /ɑr/, compared to children with residual speech sound disorders. TonguePART is a fast, reliable method of tracking articulatory movement of tongue parts for syllables such as /ɑr/. It is extensible to other sounds and phonetic contexts. By tracking tongue parts, clinical researchers can investigate lingual coordination. TonguePART is suitable for real-time data collection and biofeedback. Ultrasound biofeedback therapy users may make more progress using simplified biofeedback of tongue movement.

Optical Imaging of Brain Motor Cortex Activation During Wrist Movement Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)

Background: Optical imaging has attracted the researcher’s attention in recent years as an uncompromising and efficient method to measure the changes in brain cortex activity. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a method that measures hemodynamic changes in the brain cerebral cortex based on optical principles. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the activities of the brain cortex during wrist movement using fNIRS. Methods: In this study, the activity of the brain motor cortex was investigated during right wrist movement in 10 young right-handed volunteers. Data were collected using a 48-channel fNIRS device with two wavelengths of 855 nm and 765 nm. For this experiment, 20 channels were used and the sampling frequency was set at 10 Hz. Results: Signal intensity in the motor cortex was significantly higher during movement than in the rest (P ≤ 0.05). The activation map of wrist movements was separated spatially in the motor cortex. The highest activity was recorded in the primary motor cortex (M1). There was a significant difference in the focus of the maximum activation of the brain between the four main directions. Conclusions: It is possible to differentiate between different directions of movement using near-infrared signals. The presence of directional activation in the cerebral cortex helps confirm the notion that this part of the brain participates in the processing of complex information besides controlling the movement of different parts of the body.

A Path out of Patriarchy? Political Agency and Social Identity of Women Fighters

Violent movements in different parts of the world have employed large numbers of women fighters. I address the question of how and why so many women from diverse backgrounds join an ethnic insurgency. Informed by an intersectional approach, I suggest that when gender and ethnic inequalities overlap, an ethnic insurgency promising gender emancipation would have strong appeal among women. At the same time, the intersection of class and gender shapes distinctive patterns of mobilization among women of an ethnic minority. In particular, uneducated women with lower class backgrounds join the movement because it provides them with the most viable way out of patriarchal relations. I employ a multi-method research design to study a paradigmatic case of women in arms, the Kurdish insurgency. I use an original large dataset containing information about more than 9,000 militants, from extensive fieldwork entailing dozens of in-depth interviews, and an archival study of sources in primary languages. My findings reveal the effects of unequal relationships based on ethnicity, gender, and class on violent political mobilization and the ambivalent relationship between women’s political agency and empowerment.