Sudden Movements Research Articles

Flight control strategy for jet transport in severe clear-air turbulence based on flight data mining

AbstractThis paper presents a new concept of the control strategy in prevention program for the airlines to prevent the injuries of passengers and crew members for transport aircraft. A twin-jet transport aircraft encountered severe clear-air turbulence at transonic flight in descending phase is the study case of the present paper. The nonlinear and unsteady flight controllability models based on flight data mining and the fuzzy-logic modeling of artificial intelligence technique, are utilised to support this new concept. The proposed flight controllability models with the function of nonlinear dynamic inversion are employed to provide flight control strategy through flight simulations of dynamic inversion process; it is an innovation in mathematical modelling of aerospace engineering. Since the sudden plunging motion with the abrupt change in attitude and gravitational acceleration (i.e. the normal load factor) to affect the flight safety the most, hazard mitigation is a great concern for the aviation community. The present study is initiated to examine possible mitigation concepts of accident prevention to provide a training course for loss of control in-flight program to the airlines.

Tongue biting and sudden limb movements during sleep in childhood - are we talking about epilepsy? Not always!

Tongue biting and sudden limb movements during sleep in childhood - are we talking about epilepsy? Not always!

Sunspot Shearing and Sudden Retraction Motion Associated with the 2013 August 17 M3.3 Flare* *Released on May 10, 2022.

In this Letter, we give a detailed analysis of the M3.3 class flare that occurred on 2013 August 17 (SOL2013-08-17T18:16). It presents a clear picture of mutual magnetic interaction initially from the photosphere to the corona via the abrupt rapid shearing motion of a small sunspot before the flare, and then suddenly from the corona back to the photosphere via the sudden retraction motion of the same sunspot during the flare’s impulsive phase. About 10 hr before the flare, a small sunspot in the active region NOAA 11818 started to move northeast along a magnetic polarity inversion line (PIL), creating a shearing motion that changed the quasi-static state of the active region. A filament right above the PIL was activated following the movement of the sunspot and then got partially erupted. The eruption eventually led to the M3.3 flare. The sunspot was then suddenly pulled back to the opposite direction upon the flare onset. During the backward motion, the Lorentz force underwent a simultaneous impulsive change both in magnitude and direction. Its directional change is found to be conformable with the retraction motion. The observation provides direct evidence for the role of the shearing motion of the sunspot in powering and triggering the flare. It especially confirms that the abrupt motion of a sunspot during a solar flare is the result of a backreaction caused by the reconfiguration of the coronal magnetic field.

Intelligent solutions for earthquake data analysis and prediction for future smart cities

The analysis and prediction of the Earthquake for smart cities are of greatest significance because all the critical infrastructure like drinking water resources, mobile networks, healthcare, power grid, and transportation, may affect the social-economic balance of the place which is tampered with such natural disasters. An earthquake has some effect on the environment due to the sudden movement of tectonic plates known as Earthquake Environmental Effects (EEE). These changes can be divided into 2 categories namely primary (e.g. subsidence, surface faulting) and secondary effects (displaced rocks, tsunami, landslides). In this paper, the major contribution revolves around earthquakes and their analysis. Earthquakes occur due to the shifting of tectonic plates on the lithosphere. These movements occur due to the Frictional stress between gliding plate borders builds up and leads to fault line failure. This sudden shaking of the plates releases a certain kind of energy in the Lithosphere which creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are also categorized into different classes ranging from minor to great, depending on their magnitude.

The impact of online teaching on stress and burnout of academics during the transition to remote teaching from home

BackgroundThe higher education institutions worldwide have been transformed unexpectedly to online teaching. This sudden movement from blended learning or traditional face-to-face teaching has severely disrupted university activities and posed many challenges for teaching staff, who were asked to develop online versions of their courses overnight. This study explores the effect of the current changes in education style and working from home on the stress and burnout levels of teaching staff.MethodsThis study utilized a cross-sectional design, whereby 278 participants (faculty and course instructors) from 17 campuses of one of the largest colleges in United Arab Emirates completed a web-based survey. Numerous instruments were utilized to obtain the following data: participants demographics; their perceived stress during online teaching; their perception of the impact of teaching from home on their family’s daily life, physical health, mental health and ability to cope with stress; burnout level; and their satisfaction with online teaching.ResultsAround 60% of participants reported moderate stress level during online teaching (moderate stress = 5 to 8) under COVID-19 (M 6.21 ± 2.26). An independent sample t-test and ANOVA tests revealed that participants with 7–10 years of online teaching experience reported more stress than participants who have 4–6 years online teaching experience (M 7.29, ±1.11 Vs. 5.30, ±2.69; P = 0.04). Moreover, multiple regression analysis showed that higher stress levels and lower satisfaction with the online teaching experience were associated with more significant personal and working burnout. Married participants with school-age children were at greater risk of personal burnout.ConclusionThe transition to remote education imposed mental burdens and stress on faculty members. Supportive professional development strategies to enrich faculty with online teaching skills are urgently required.

Screening of the TMEM151A Gene in Patients With Paroxysmal Kinesigenic Dyskinesia and Other Movement Disorders.

BackgroundParoxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia (PKD) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by recurrent involuntary movements usually triggered by sudden movements. Mutations in the TMEM151A gene were found to be the causative factor of PKD in recent studies. It has also been revealed that loss-of-function is the mechanism by which TMEM151A mutations cause PKD.MethodsTo investigate the genetic basis of PKD and broaden the clinical spectrum of the TMEM151A mutations, we recruited 181 patients of Chinese origin with movement disorders (MDs), including 39 PRRT2-negative PKD, 3 paroxysmal exercise-induced dyskinesia (PED), 2 paroxysmal non-kinesigenic dyskinesia (PNKD), 127 isolated dystonia, 8 choreas, and 2 myoclonus-dystonia syndromes. Whole-exome sequencing was applied to identify their possible disease-causing mutations. Then, Sanger sequencing was performed for validation and co-segregation analysis. Genetic analysis was also performed on additional family members of patients with TMEM151A mutations. Clinical manifestations of all PKD cases with mutations in TMEM151A reported, so far, were reviewed.ResultsTwo novel variants of the TMEM151A gene (NM_153266.4, NP_694998.1), c.627_643dup (p.A215Gfs*53) and c.627delG (p.L210Wfs*52), were identified in 2 patients with PKD by whole-exome sequencing and further Sanger sequencing. Both variants were inherited by the patients from their respective mothers. No mutation of the TMEM151A gene was found in the other type of movement disorders. In reviewing the clinical presentation of TMEM151A-related PKD, no statistically significant difference in the age of onset, family history, duration of attacks, laterality, and phenotype was found between genders. More male patients received treatment and had a good response. A higher proportion of female patients did not receive any treatment, possibly because they had a milder condition of the disease.ConclusionsThis study further validated the role of TMEM151A in PKD. Future studies on protein function will be needed to ascertain the pathogenesis of TMEM151A in PKD.

Preprocessing of Gravity Data

The paper deals with computation techniques applied in preprocessing of gravity data, which are based on time series analysis by using mathematical and statistical smoothing techniques such as moving average, moving median, cumulative and moving average, etc. The main aim of gravity data preprocessing is to avoid abrupt errors caused by a sudden movement of the subsoil due to human or natural activities or systematic instrumental influences and so provide relevant gravity values, which are then subjected to further processing. The new approach of the described research involves the preprocessing phase in gravity data analysis to identify and avoid gross errors, which could influence the size of unknown parameters estimated by the least square method in the processing phase.

Human Activity Recognition by Sequences of Skeleton Features.

In recent years, much effort has been devoted to the development of applications capable of detecting different types of human activity. In this field, fall detection is particularly relevant, especially for the elderly. On the one hand, some applications use wearable sensors that are integrated into cell phones, necklaces or smart bracelets to detect sudden movements of the person wearing the device. The main drawback of these types of systems is that these devices must be placed on a person’s body. This is a major drawback because they can be uncomfortable, in addition to the fact that these systems cannot be implemented in open spaces and with unfamiliar people. In contrast, other approaches perform activity recognition from video camera images, which have many advantages over the previous ones since the user is not required to wear the sensors. As a result, these applications can be implemented in open spaces and with unknown people. This paper presents a vision-based algorithm for activity recognition. The main contribution of this work is to use human skeleton pose estimation as a feature extraction method for activity detection in video camera images. The use of this method allows the detection of multiple people’s activities in the same scene. The algorithm is also capable of classifying multi-frame activities, precisely for those that need more than one frame to be detected. The method is evaluated with the public UP-FALL dataset and compared to similar algorithms using the same dataset.

Millimeter-Wave Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar-Based Soft Fall Detection Using Pattern Contour-Confined Doppler-Time Maps

Fall accidents are one of the leading causes of non-natural death of older people. It is necessary to design and implement fall detection systems in older people’s homes. Among all indoor fall detection approaches, radar-based methods are considered one of the optimum solutions. In this paper, a millimetre-wave frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar-based fall detection method using pattern contour-confined Doppler-time (PCC-DT) maps is proposed. The soft fall motions, which can lead to missed detections, are studied and analyzed. When Doppler-time (DT) maps are used to interpret different motions, the redundant information and outliers can cause detection errors. The proposed PCC-DT map can diminish the superfluous information and remove outlier points to improve detection accuracy. The experimental results show that the proposed method can detect sudden and soft fall motions with high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity.

Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Square and Sinusoidal Waves Vibration Parameters on Heat Sink Forced Convective Heat Transfer Enhancement

Among numerous electronic cooling methods, a vibrating heat sink using sinusoidal wave vibration effectively enhances the heat transfer by disturbing the thermal boundary layer. However, sinusoidal wave vibration has reached its limits in enhancing heat transfer. The present study utilizes a new square wave-shaped vibration and numerically investigates the thermal performance of a heat sink subjected to sinusoidal and square waves vibration. It is found that using the square wave vibration is more beneficial to the thermal performance of the heat sink than the sinusoidal wave. The sudden impulsive motion of square wave vibration induces a higher randomness of the airflow profile and recirculation zones than the sinusoidal wave, causing the air flow to impinge directly into the fin surfaces, and further enhances the heat transfer. Furthermore, increasing the frequency and amplitude leads to a higher heat transfer enhancement. Moreover, square wave vibration achieves a 25% increase in Nusselt values compared to the nonvibrating fins and it is 11% higher than the Nusselt number recorded by the sinusoidal vibration. Consequently, Reynolds number values can be reduced by 42.2% to achieve the Nusselt number values of nonvibrating fins, potentially reducing the cooling system or fin size. This reduction may contribute to solving the challenges of electronic systems compactness.

Real-scale investigation of liquid CO2 discharge from the emergency release coupler of a marine loading arm

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage has been recognised as a necessary measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 shipping represents a promising transportation option that offers flexible sink-source matching to enable decarbonisation at a global scale. In order to implement safe and reliable loading and offloading operations at the terminal, marine loading arms require the integration of emergency release systems in the event of sudden movement of the ship away from the berthing line. In this study, a cryogenic test facility was constructed to handle CO2 in proximity of the triple point (∼0.9 MPa[abs] – 1.7 MPa[abs], 227 K - 239 K) and replicate the principles of an emergency release coupler during a shutdown, with the aim of investigating the CO2 discharge and dispersion behaviour, and determining the implications on coupler design and safety protocols. Findings show that separation of the test vessel leads to an abrupt discharge of the liquefied CO2 inventory and several phase transitions within 0.6 s of the start of the discharge in all tests. The clouds disperse in a ‘tulip’ shape that could be clearly observed from afar, and generation of carbon dioxide solids was observed on the vessel surface in all performed tests, bringing the temperature inside the vessel to approximately 190 K. The implementation of protective barriers is expected to reduce the impact of the release, though the risk of asphyxiation or cryogenic burns to surrounding personnel cannot be ruled out given the magnitude of the discharge process.

Design and standard utilization of safety devices for the radiation treatment management of heavy patients.

PurposeIncreasing number of heavy cancer patients has created challenges in diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology. Practical weight limits of the equipment can become an obstacle both for imaging and treatment of these patients. Most magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography (CT) tables’ static load capacities are between 450 and 500 pounds, and linear accelerator tables can support similar weights depending on the type of the table and manufacturer. One recurring issue we encountered was failure of the treatment couch's longitudinal drive belt due to heavy patients’ sudden movement. In several cases, snapping of the longitudinal drive belt occurred when the patient's weight was under 300 lbs (below the rated weight limit). Additionally, we observed vertical deflection of the couch when extended/cantilevered with heavy patients. The purpose of this work was to implement immobilization methods and safety devices for radiation treatment management of heavy patients in order to increase patient/provider safety, prevent treatment couch damage, and reduce treatment disruptions.Materials and methodsWe created three safety devices for treatment management of heavy patients. Wooden brace and Scissor jack were used to lock the couch longitudinal axis (while the couch longitudinal drive was floated) during the setup of a heavy patient and absorb the mechanical impulse applied to the couch longitudinal drive belt. Wooden brace was built in house and positioned in between the wall and treatment couch to lock the longitudinal axis. Commercially available 10 in × 10 in scissor jack lift with adjustable height 3 ½ in – 13 in was modified to increase effectiveness and safety. An additional stand was created with adjustable height and rolling rubber wheels to support the couch when extended/cantilevered with heavy patients.ResultsUsing these devices prevented the longitudinal belt from breaking and improved the patient/therapist safety at eight treatment sites within our network. No farther couch belt failures were observed since devices were introduced for clinical use. All three devices can be used and removed without any modifications done to the treatment couch.

Effects of Immediate Aversive Stimulation on Haloperidol-Induced Catalepsy in Rats.

In animal models, the administration of the dopaminergic D2 antagonist haloperidol affects the nigrostriatal pathway, inducing catalepsy, a state of immobility similar to Parkinson’s disease (PD) bradykinesia and akinesia. In PD, the motor impairments are due to difficulties in selecting and executing motor actions, associated with dopamine loss in basal ganglia and cortical targets. Motor and affective limbic networks seem to be integrated via a striato-nigro-striatal network, therefore, it is not surprising that the motor impairments in PD can be influenced by the patient’s emotional state. Indeed, when exposed to aversive stimuli or life-threatening events, immobile patients are capable of performing sudden movements, a phenomenon known as paradoxical kinesia. Thus, the present study investigated the effects of unconditioned and conditioned aversive stimulation on haloperidol-induced catalepsy in rats. First, male Wistar rats received intraperitoneal administration of saline or haloperidol (1 or 2 mg/kg) and were evaluated in the catalepsy bar test to assess the cataleptic state induced by the different doses of haloperidol over time. Next, we evaluated the effects of two types of unconditioned aversive stimuli–100 lux light (1 and 20 s) or 0.6 mA footshock (1 s)–on the catalepsy. Finally, we evaluated the effects of light conditioned stimuli (Light-CS), previously paired with footshocks, on the cataleptic state. Catalepsy was observed following haloperidol 1 and 2 mg/kg administration. Exposure to footshocks, but not to light, significantly reduced step-down latency during the catalepsy test. Although unconditioned light did not affect catalepsy, paired Light-CS did reduce step-down latency. Here, we have provided evidence of face validity for the study of paradoxical kinesia. In addition to demonstrating that immediate exposure to an aversive stimulus is capable of disrupting the cataleptic state, our findings show that haloperidol-induced catalepsy seems to be differently influenced depending on the modality of aversive stimulation. Our data suggest that the selective recruitment of threat response systems may bypass the dysfunctional motor circuit leading to the activation of alternative routes to drive movement.

To the clinic and pathogenesis of reflected headaches in diseases of the lungs and pleura

We observed patients with upper quadrant reflected syndrome, which arose in connection with lung pathology. 45 of them (40.9%) had reflected headaches in addition to other algic signs of repercussive syndrome (pain in the upper arm, shoulder joint, arm, chest, etc.). In 60%, they resembled hemicrania and coincided with the side of the pleuro-pulmonary process with its unilateral localization, in the rest they were diffuse, but clearly dominated in intensity on the side of the affected lung. By nature, they were pulsating, aching, aching; they usually occurred in the occipital region and spread anteriorly to the parietal, less often the frontal region; sometimes they were given to the eye or ear. In half of the patients, they intensified with sudden head movements or, conversely, with prolonged forced head position. In 32 patients, kefalgia was combined with noise in the head or ears (according to the type of objective ear noise). In addition, 12 patients complained of dizziness, but only 2 had systemic dizziness, the rest experienced a feeling of nausea, uncertainty when walking, etc. 12 patients with headache companions had visual disturbances, expressed in periodic darkening in the eyes, a feeling of shroud or fog in front of the eyes, flickering of flies or black dots. Soreness of typical vegetative algic points on the head and neck was noted: supraorbital [7], vertebral artery [22]. As a rule, the temporal reflex of S. S. Vermel (1929) turned out to be positive. Thus, the violations listed above were clearly of vegetative-vascular origin.

ENHANCED TEACHER-LEARNING BASED ALGORITHM IN REAL SIZE STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION

Space frame structures that are made up of a huge number of members are often used on a large scale, hence their accurate evaluation is important to achieve the optimal design. On the other hand, the use of space Frames and 3D truss structures has become more popular due to its time efficiency. Also, these types of structures can carry loads in longspan buildings and are used in large-scale structures such as halls, hangars, passenger stations, etc. In this study, a novel evolutionary algorithm, named ETLBO, has been proposed for the optimization of space frame design in real-size structures. Despite the existing methods in the literature, the ETLBO method can be used for large-scale space frame structures due to its high speed with sufficient accuracy. At first, four optimization algorithms Particle swarm optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), Differential Evolution (DE), and Teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO) under structural problems have been evaluated. The results show that the TLBO algorithm performs better in solving problems and has been better in most problems than other algorithms. So, we have tried to improve this algorithm based on a machine learning approach and combination operators. Algorithm improvement is created by adding a crossover operation between the new solution and the best solution in the teacher phase. This change causes a sudden movement and escapes from the local minima for the algorithm. Enhanced algorithm results show that convergence speed and optimal response quality have improved. Finally, using this algorithm, several new practical examples have been optimized.

The multiple twists in the tale: Brain iron accumulation, facial jerks, and truncal dystonia

A 42-year-old lady presented with abnormal sudden brief jerky involuntary movements involving both hands and face, which worsened on assuming posture or during action. These movements started at the age of around ten years. Gradually she started noticing posturing of hand with the backward pulling of the neck and upper part of the trunk. These symptoms were very slowly progressive. There was no associated gait difficulty, chewing or swallowing difficulty. There was no history of cognitive decline or psychiatric disturbance.

Neuroinflammation in a Rat Model of Tourette Syndrome.

ObjectiveTourette syndrome (TS) is a group of childhood-onset chronic neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by tics, i.e., repetitive, sudden, and involuntary movements or vocalizations, which is often associated with various psychopathological and/or behavioral comorbidities, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders and have a worse prognosis. The mechanism of TS is still not clear. The relationship between immune activation, neuroinflammation, and neuropsychiatric disorders has attracted much attention in the past two decades. To explore the underlying mechanism in TS, the relationship between neuroinflammation and behavioral alterations in TS rats was investigated in this study.MethodsA total of 36 Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into three groups randomly as follows: the TS, control (CON), and drug intervention groups. The TS rat group was treated with haloperidol (Hal) (the TS + Hal group). The TS rat model was established using 3,3-iminodipropionitrile (IDPN), which is a well-known animal model of TS. The behavioral syndromes, brain tissue cytokines, like interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and microglial activation of the three groups were assessed.ResultsThe behavioral scores of rats in the TS group and the TS + Hal group were higher than those in the CON group (P < 0.05), but the scores of behavioral tests in the TS + Hal group were lower than those in the TS group (P < 0.05). The levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the rat brain tissue were significantly higher in the TS group than in the CON group (P < 0.05), while no significant differences were found between the CON group and the TS + Hal group (P > 0.05). The microglia was significantly activated in the TS group and slightly activated in the TS + Hal group, which was considerably less than that in the TS group.ConclusionThe IDPN-induced TS rats had significant neuroinflammation in the brain, and the interaction between dopamine (DA) dysregulation and immune dysfunction may play a vital role in the pathogenic mechanisms of TS.

Le facteur E et ses caractéristiques neurophysiologiques et motrices : sont-elles modulables chez les enfants avec une paralysie cérébrale ? Une revue de la littérature

Although the current definition of cerebral palsy requires us to make a classification of children based on their motor abilities, other associated disorders, such as perceptual disturbances, may be the source of the main problem of our patients. These perceptual disturbances include the "startle response", commonly known in France as "Factor E". This reaction is a sudden and involuntary movement characterized by an opening motor pattern, although other autonomous and emotional components may be present. As the "Factor E" can directly impact on the autonomy and activities of the daily lives of our patients, the following problem arises: What neurophysiological and motor characteristics of factor E allow it to be modulated in children with cerebral palsy? A literature review on seven different databases was performed, finding five articles that meet the eligibility criteria. In general, we can affirm that "Factor E" has a motor pattern which is similar to that of the startle reflex found in lambda subjects and that it is habituated which can be rapid in patients with cerebral palsy.

Analysis and Reduction of the Sloshing Phenomena Due To Sudden Movement of Spray Mixture Tanker

The sloshing phenomenon occurs in partially filled tankers due to sudden movement can affect the tank structure integrity and impair the dynamic stability of the tanker. The effects of sloshing phenomena in a spray mixture tank due to acceleration or deceleration of the agricultural vehicle is investigated under three filling levels of 25%, 50%, and 75%. The pressure time distributions on the tank wall were evaluated by using a multiphase transient model (water and air as an ideal gas) and a free surface flow in a homogeneous model. It was possible to verify the wave behavior of sloshing. The condition of 75% tank filling volume generated the highest pressure on the tank wall. The effectiveness of two types of vertical baffles in suppressing pressure was numerically investigated. Shear stress on the tank bottom wall under these proposed arrangements was analyzed by steady-state models and mechanical agitation, considering a filled tank. The proposed solution based on two partial vertical baffles and a central gap was the most effective. It promotes the higher reduction of wall impact pressure and other sloshing instabilities and maintains similar results of mixture agitation of the tank without baffles.

Alteration of Ligamento-Muscular Reflex Patterns After Cutaneous and Periarticular Desensitization of the Basal Thumb Joint: An Electromyographic Study

Stimulation of the dorsoradial ligament (DRL) of the first carpometacarpal joint (CMC-1) has shown a ligamento-muscular reflex pathway between the DRL and CMC-1 stabilizing muscles in healthy volunteers. However, it remains unclear how this ligamento-muscular reflex pattern is altered after anesthetizing sensory skin receptors and administering a further periarticular block around the CMC-1 joint, which may influence the dynamic aspects of joint stability. Ligamento-muscular reflexes were obtained from the extensor pollicis longus, abductor pollicis longus, abductor pollicis brevis, and the first dorsal interosseous muscles in 10 healthy participants after establishing superficial anesthesia of the skin around the CMC-1. The DRL was stimulated with a fine wire electrode while EMG activities were recorded during isometric tip, key, and palmar pinch. The measurements were repeated after an additional periarticular CMC-1 block using 5 ml of 1% lidocaine. Average EMG values were analyzed to compare the prestimulus and poststimulus activity. Statistically significant changes in poststimulus EMG activity were observed in all 4 muscles and all 3 tested thumb positions. A markedly reduced activity in all 4 muscles was observed in the palmar position, followed by the tip and key pinch positions. Almost no reactions were observed in the first 20 ms poststimulus for all muscles in all positions. Superficial skin anesthesia and an additional periarticular CMC-1 block anesthesia resulted in a reduced ligamento-muscular reflex pattern in all 4 muscles. Ligamento-muscular reflexes play an important role in dynamic CMC-1 joint stability. The elimination of early reactions, those considered joint-protective reflexes, is a potential risk factor for developing osteoarthritis or injury because it results in an inability to adequately protect and stabilize the joint in sudden movements.