Number Of Steps Research Articles

Do Vibram Fivefingers® really mimic barefoot conditions? A study examining walking efficiency

Although the role of Vibram Fivefingers® (minimal footwear) in running is gaining in popularity, the influence of this style of footwear on walking and energy efficiency is currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if energy efficiency was similar in barefoot walking compared to wearing Vibram Fivefingers®. Fifteen participants (8 females, 7 males, age range 21 – 48 years) walked on a treadmill for 20 minutes at a speed of 4.2km/hour (0% incline) in two randomly assigned conditions: barefoot and Vibram Fivefingers®. Heart rate, (HR), oxygen consumed in litres per kilogram (VO2/kg), respiration exchange ratio (RER), number of steps (NoS) and the physiological cost index (PCI) were measured for each condition. The Footwear Comfort Scale was completed after wearing Vibram Fivefingers®. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) between HR, VO2/kg, RER, NoS and PCI between each condition. The areas of medio-lateral control, heel cup fit and shoe length were identified by the Footwear Comfort Scale as the least comfortable. The findings of this study suggest that Vibram Fivefingers® are equal in terms of energy efficiency when compared to barefoot walking. Further research is required to explore the role of minimal footwear during other weightbearing activities.

Parallelized laser-direct patterning of nanocrystalline metal thin films by use of a pulsedlaser-induced thermo-elastic force

Thin film patterning by the conventional lithographic technique requires a numberof steps including the deposition, development, and removal of the photoresistlayer. Here we demonstrate that metal thin films evaporated on glass can bedirectly patterned by a spatially modulated pulsed Nd-YAG laser beam (wavelength = 1064 nm,pulse width = 6 ns) incident from the backside of the substrate. This method utilizes a pulsed laser-inducedthermo-elastic force exerted on the film which plays a role in detaching it from thesubstrate. High-fidelity patterns at the micrometer scale have been fabricated over a fewsquare centimeters by a single pulse with pulse energy of 850 mJ. This is attributed to thefact that deposited metal films are polycrystalline with nano-sized grains, and thuslocalized etching of the material is possible with shearing along the weakly bonded grainboundary regions. We have also developed a nano-block model to simulate the laser-directpatterning of nanocrystalline thin films. Experimental results could be well describedwith this simulation model. The patterning process presented here provides asimple photoresist-free route to fabricate metal thin film patterns on transparentsubstrates.

Purification of Chymotrypsin-Trypsin Inhibitor from Winged Bean Seeds using Single Step Immunoaffinity Column

Problem statement: Winged bean is a rich source of protease inhibitors. The seeds of winged bean contain several serine protease inhibitors of which winged bean chymotrypsin-trypsin inhibitor (WbCTI) is of significant importance due to its dual inhibition of both chymotrypsin and trypsin. The purification of WbCTI has always been difficult and a time taking process that involved large number of steps and various purification columns. Approach: This study was focused on the single step method of purification of WbCTI to homogeneity from winged bean seeds using immunoaffinity column chromatography. Results: WbCTI was purified to homogeneity using anti-WbCTI antibody column in a single step which gave a single band on SDS-PAGE analysis and with almost one and half times more yield of purified protein than obtained from previously mentioned purification methods. Conclusion: This method using immunoaffinity column is high yielding and time saving process of purification.

An algorithm for solving the absolute value equation

Presented is an algorithm which for each A, B ∈ Rn×n and b ∈ Rn in a finite numberof steps either finds a solution of the equation Ax + B|x| = b, or states existence of a singular matrix S satisfying |S − A|≤|B| (and in most cases also constructs such an S).

The Optimal Process Analysis for Precision-Drilling of Mold Steel SKD61

The Taguchi method is regarded as a powerful tool to design optimization for quality. In this study, it was used to find the optimal cutting parameters for precision-drilling operations. The cutting parameters include guiding drilling, spindle speed, feed rate, stepping amount, number of steps and cutting fluid. The considered characteristics of performance are tool life, and the variation of drilled hole-diameter. Taguchi Method and Orthogonal Array were applied to the experiments of precision-drilling so as to allocate the corresponding processing parameters. The obtained results were then evaluated by Response Table, Response Chart, and Analysis of Variance methods (ANOVA) to acquire the optimal processing parameters. These were further confirmed by experiment. Finally, the analysis of the precision-drilling process applied for mold steel SKD61 shows that this approach can greatly improve the drilling performance of a small-drilling process.

Use of pedometers to measure physical activity in dogs

To determine whether pedometers can be used to measure physical activity in dogs. Cross-sectional study. 26 dogs. To determine pedometer accuracy, number of steps recorded with the pedometer as dogs walked, trotted, and ran for a distance of approximately 30 m (100 ft) at each gait was compared with actual number of steps. Dogs and owners then wore pedometers for 7 to 14 days, and dog pedometer output was compared with body condition score, owner-reported activity of the dog, and owner pedometer output. Most owners classified their dogs as active or quite active and indicated that their dogs exercised 3 to 7 days/wk. For all dogs, body condition score was 5, 6, or 7 on a scale from 1 to 9. At a walk, pedometers overestimated actual number of steps by approximately 17% in large and medium dogs and underestimated actual number of steps by approximately 7% in small dogs. No significant differences between pedometer-recorded and actual number of steps were detected when dogs trotted or ran. Number of steps per day for the dogs was significantly correlated with owner-reported activity of the dog (r = 0.305) and number of steps per day for the owners (r = 0.469) and was inversely correlated with body condition score (r = -0.554). Results suggest that pedometers can measure physical activity in dogs with reasonable accuracy. A lower number of steps per day was associated with a higher body condition score, and less active owners generally had less active dogs.

EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON BALANCE, GAIT, FALLS, FUNCTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL STATUS IN A PSYCHOGERITARIC POPULATION

Functional Status declines with age and is of particular concern in a psychogeriatric-institutionalized population. Psychiatric patients have been shown to be only half as active, versus non-psychiatric patients with a four times greater risk of falling. Although strength exercise has been shown to be useful for elderly populations, there is very little data on the effects of exercise on institutionalized psychogeriatric patients. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of an exercise program that combined lower leg strengthening using cuff ankle weights with endurance, gait and balance training. METHODS: Eleven psychogeriatric patients participated in this 12-week exercise intervention 2 days per week for 25 minutes at a relatively low-moderate intensity. Assesments performed included the Tinetti Gait and Balance (TGB), Timed Sit to Stand (TSS), and Timed Walk (TW)/Number of Steps (NS). Assessments were recorded at time 0 (0 weeks) and at completion (12 weeks.) RESULTS: There was a highly significant improvement in all of the variables tested (TGB, TSS, TW and NS) (p < 0.0002). Significance was set at the .05 level (p < 0.05). In addtion, all subjects, when combined had a total of 12 previous falls prior to the 12-week investigation. During our 12-week study all subjects maintained a fall-free status. Interviews with the primary caretakers indicated improvement or maintenance in physical activity levels, energy level, social interaction, behavior, attention span, disposition and a decrease in daytime sleeping/resting in bed. CONCLUSIONS: A 12-week exercise program combining strength and endurance training appears to improve the functional ability and improve or maintain psychological status in the institutionalized psychogeriatric population.

On pivot rules for simplex method of interior points, and their investigation on Klee-Minty cube

In [25] it was proposed a parametric linear transformation, which is a "convex" combination of the Gauss transformation of elimination method and the Gram-Schmidt transformation of modified orthogonalization process. Using this transformation, in particular, elimination methods were generalized, Dantzig's optimality criterion and simplex method were developed [26]. The essence of the simplex method development is the following. At each sth step the pivot (positive) vector of length Ks is selected, that allows us to move to improved feasible solution after the step of the generalized Gauss-Jordan complete elimination method. In this method the movement to the optimal point takes place over pseudobases, i.e., over interior points. This method is parametric and finite. Since the method is parametric there are various variants to choose the pivot vectors (rules), in the sense of their lengths and indices. In this article we propose three rules, which are the development of Dantzig's first rule. These rules are investigated on the Klee-Minty cube (problem) [14, 31]. It is shown that for two rules the number of steps necessary equals to 2n, and for third rule we obtain the standard simplex method with the largest coefficient rule, i.e., the number of steps for solving this problem is 2n - 1.

On the deep structure of the blowing-up of curve singularities

Let C be a germ of curve singularity embedded in (kn, 0). It is well known that the blowing-up of C centred on its closed ring, Bl(C), is a finite union of curve singularities. If C is reduced we can iterate this process and, after a finite number of steps, we find only non-singular curves. This is the desingularization process. The main idea of this paper is to linearize the blowing-up of curve singularities Bl(C) → C. We perform this by studying the structure of [Oscr ]Bl(C)/[Oscr ]C as W-module, where W is a discrete valuation ring contained in [Oscr ]C. Since [Oscr ]Bl(C)/[Oscr ]C is a torsion W-module, its structure is determined by the invariant factors of [Oscr ]C in [Oscr ]Bl(C). The set of invariant factors is called in this paper as the set of micro-invariants of C (see Definition 1·2).In the first section we relate the micro-invariants of C to the Hilbert function of C (Proposition 1·3), and we show how to compute them from the Hilbert function of some quotient of [Oscr ]C (see Proposition 1·4).The main result of this paper is Theorem 3·3 where we give upper bounds of the micro-invariants in terms of the regularity, multiplicity and embedding dimension. As a corollary we improve and we recover some results of [6]. These bounds can be established as a consequence of the study of the Hilbert function of a filtration of ideals g = {g[r,i+1]}i [ges ] 0 of the tangent cone of [Oscr ]C (see Section 2). The main property of g is that the ideals g[r,i+1] have initial degree bigger than the Castelnuovo–Mumford regularity of the tangent cone of [Oscr ]C.Section 4 is devoted to computation the micro-invariants of branches; we show how to compute them from the semigroup of values of C and Bl(C) (Proposition 4·3). The case of monomial curve singularities is especially studied; we end Section 4 with some explicit computations.In the last section we study some geometric properties of C that can be deduced from special values of the micro-invariants, and we specially study the relationship of the micro-invariants with the Hilbert function of [Oscr ]Bl(C). We end the paper studying the natural equisingularity criteria that can be defined from the micro-invariants and its relationship with some of the known equisingularity criteria.

Precision of magnetic resonance velocity and acceleration measurements: theoretical issues and phantom experiments.

Magnetic resonance (MR) sequences have been developed for acquiring multiple components of velocity and/or acceleration in a reasonable time and with a single acquisition. They have many parameters that influence the precision of measurements: NS, the number of flow-encoding steps; NEX, the number of signal accumulations; and ND, the number of dimensions. Our aims were to establish a general relationship revealing the precision of these measurements as a function of NS, ND, and NEX and to validate it by experiments using phantoms. Previous work on precision has been restricted to two-step (NS = 2) or 1D (ND = 1) MR velocity measurements. We describe a comprehensive approach that encompasses both multistep and multidimensional strategies. Our theoretical formula gives the precision of velocity and acceleration measurements. It was validated experimentally with measurements on a rotating disk phantom. This phantom was much easier to handle than fluid-based phantoms. It could be used to assess both velocity and acceleration sequences and provided accurate and precise assessments over a wide, adjustable range of values within a single experiment. Increasing each of the three parameters, NS, ND, and NEX, improves the precision but makes the acquisition time longer. However, if only one parameter is to be assessed, maximizing the number of steps (NS) is the most efficient way of improving the precision of measurements; if several parameters are of interest, they should be measured simultaneously. By contrast, increasing the number of signals accumulated (NEX) is the least efficient strategy.

A Bijection for Directed-Convex Polyominoes

In this paper we consider two classes of lattice paths on the plane which use \textitnorth, \textiteast, \textitsouth,and \textitwest unitary steps, beginningand ending at (0,0).We enumerate them according to the number ofsteps by means of bijective arguments; in particular, we apply the cycle lemma.Then, using these results, we provide a bijective proof for the number of directed-convex polyominoes having a fixed number of rows and columns.

Effects of Daily Walking Exercise on Chronic Hemodialysis Outpatients.

In this study, forty-one hemodialysis outpatients performed a daily walking exercise. For this exercise, patients were instructed to walk beyond a daily target number of steps for three consecutive weeks. The target number of steps was defined as 120% of the average number of steps per day prior to the exercise. The effects of this exercise were examined by comparing the six-minute walking distance (6MD), and physiological cost index (PCI) before and after performing the exercise. The results were as follows: the target numberof steps during the exercise period was achieved by 19 of 41 patients; 6MD of target achieving patients was significantly increased by this exercise; the difference in PCI before and after this exercise was not statistically significant. This study suggests that the present exercise triggered an increase in the number of steps per day and improved the actual walking performance as measured by 6MD.

Quality Managed Facilities

Investigates quality issues in facilities management, relating them to total quality and customer care. Reassesses the European approach to TQM and compares it with the Japanese standards. Suggests that the only purpose of any business is to create a customer. Pinpoints a number of steps to be identified on the quality journey to systems capable of audit to international quality standards. Concludes that the benefits of quality initiatives will take time to emerge.

Monobath Processing for Holography

One of the problems encountered when photographic emulsions are used as the recording medium in holography is the appreciable time delay before the reconstruction can be viewed. This is largely due to the number of steps involved in processing and can be annoying in many applications.