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Sample records for hands feet head

  1. Thermal comfort zone of the hands, feet and head in males and females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciuha, Urša; Mekjavic, Igor B

    2017-10-01

    The present study compared the thermal comfort zones (TCZ) of the hands, feet and head in eight male and eight female participants, assessed with water-perfused segments (WPS). On separate occasions, and separated by a minimum of one day, participants were requested to regulate the temperature of three distal skin regions (hands, feet and head) within their TCZ. On each occasion they donned a specific water-perfused segment (WPS), either gloves, socks or hood for assessing the TCZ of the hands, feet and head, respectively. In the absence of regulation, the temperature of the water perfusing the WPS changed in a saw-tooth manner from 10 to 50°C; by depressing a switch and reversing the direction of the temperature at the limits of the TCZ, each participant defined the TCZ for each skin region investigated. The range of regulated temperatures (upper and lower limits of the TCZ) did not differ between studied skin regions or between genders. Participants however maintained higher head (35.7±0.4°C; p˂0.001) skin temperature (Tsk) compared to hands (34.5±0.8°C) and feet (33.8±1.1°C). When exposed to normothermic conditions, distal skin regions do not differ in ranges of temperatures, perceived as thermally comfortable. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. The design of hands and feet contamination monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Jiangxue; Shen Yang; Deng Changming; Zhang Jia; Hou Lei; Meng Dan

    2011-01-01

    In order to protect the hands and feet of personnel engaged in nuclear, draw on advanced hands and feet contamination monitor, we design a new radiation protection instrumentation. It describes the composition of the hands and feet contamination monitor, and software program design. It describes the hardware monitor software, firmware and computer programming techniques. If device found your hand and foot surface is contamination, it will prompt you to decontamination, to protect your hands and feet of safety. (authors)

  3. Chondroblastoma of the hands and feet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davila, Jesse A.; Amrami, Kimberly K.; Sundaram, Murali; Adkins, Mark C. [Mayo Clinic, Department of Radiology, Rochester (United States); Unni, Krishnan K. [Mayo Clinic, Department of Surgical Pathology, Rochester (United States)

    2004-10-01

    To review the imaging findings, age and gender distribution of chondroblastoma of the hands and feet. Twenty-five cases of pathologically proven chondroblastoma of the hands and feet were reviewed. Available imaging modalities included radiographs (n=24), CT (n=3), MRI (n=5), and radionuclide bone scintigraphy (n=1). The following imaging features for each case were tabulated: location, presence of sclerotic margin, calcification, expansion, presence of fluid/fluid levels on cross-sectional imaging and surrounding edema on MRI. The images were evaluated for skeletal maturity using closure of the physeal plate in the region as a standard. The average age at time of diagnosis was 23 years (range 7-57 years). Eighty-four percent (n=21) of the patients were skeletally mature. Males (20 of 25) outnumbered females by a ratio of 5:1. The bones of the foot accounted for 22 cases: calcaneus (n=8), talus (n=8), metatarsals (n=3), and the cuboid (n=3). The bones of the hand accounted for three cases: phalanx (n=1), triquetrum (n=1), and a metacarpal (n=1). Radiographically all lesions were osteolytic with identifiable calcification in 54% (13 of 24). Fluid/fluid levels were seen in four of five cases on MRI. Edema on MR images was seen in 40% (2 of 5). The size of the lesions ranged from 2 to 41 cm{sup 2}. Chondroblastomas of the hands and feet share many of the radiographic characteristics seen in the long bones, but manifest in skeletally mature patients with a higher male to female ratio than in long bone chondroblastoma. Talar and calcaneal lesions were encountered only in males. Chondroblastoma of the wrist and hand appears to be exceptionally rare. (orig.)

  4. Chondroblastoma of the hands and feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davila, Jesse A.; Amrami, Kimberly K.; Sundaram, Murali; Adkins, Mark C.; Unni, Krishnan K.

    2004-01-01

    To review the imaging findings, age and gender distribution of chondroblastoma of the hands and feet. Twenty-five cases of pathologically proven chondroblastoma of the hands and feet were reviewed. Available imaging modalities included radiographs (n=24), CT (n=3), MRI (n=5), and radionuclide bone scintigraphy (n=1). The following imaging features for each case were tabulated: location, presence of sclerotic margin, calcification, expansion, presence of fluid/fluid levels on cross-sectional imaging and surrounding edema on MRI. The images were evaluated for skeletal maturity using closure of the physeal plate in the region as a standard. The average age at time of diagnosis was 23 years (range 7-57 years). Eighty-four percent (n=21) of the patients were skeletally mature. Males (20 of 25) outnumbered females by a ratio of 5:1. The bones of the foot accounted for 22 cases: calcaneus (n=8), talus (n=8), metatarsals (n=3), and the cuboid (n=3). The bones of the hand accounted for three cases: phalanx (n=1), triquetrum (n=1), and a metacarpal (n=1). Radiographically all lesions were osteolytic with identifiable calcification in 54% (13 of 24). Fluid/fluid levels were seen in four of five cases on MRI. Edema on MR images was seen in 40% (2 of 5). The size of the lesions ranged from 2 to 41 cm 2 . Chondroblastomas of the hands and feet share many of the radiographic characteristics seen in the long bones, but manifest in skeletally mature patients with a higher male to female ratio than in long bone chondroblastoma. Talar and calcaneal lesions were encountered only in males. Chondroblastoma of the wrist and hand appears to be exceptionally rare. (orig.)

  5. Patterns of radiographic changes in hands and feet of rheumatoid arthritis in Saudi Arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Arfaj, Abdurhman S.; Al-Boukai, Ahmad A.

    2005-01-01

    The aim of the study was to characterize the pattern of radiographic changes in the hands and feet of rheumatoid arthritis in Saudi patients. The radiographs of hands and feet of rheumatoid arthritis patients attending rheumatology outpatient clinics of King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, over the period extending from March to June 2001, were examined and reported for the presence of osteopenia, joint space narrowing, and erosions. Fifty-six rheumatoid arthritis patients were studied. Their mean age was 50 + 1.9 years, and mean disease duration was 9.07 + 0.84 years. Generalized osteopenia was seen in 16/56 (29%) and periarticular osteopenia in 38/56 (68%). Joint space narrowing was present in 9/56 (16%) of feet and 35/56 (63%) of hand x-rays. Erosions were seen in 3/56 (6%) of feet and in 22/56 (39%) of hand x-rays. Significant correlation was seen between joints space narrowing, joint erosions, and disease duration. Radiographic changes in hands and feet of Saudi rheumatoid arthritis patients are less severe than those reported from the West, and the pattern is also different with less affection of the feet. (author)

  6. Radiographic features of Ewing's sarcoma of the bones of the hands and feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baraga, J.J.; Amrami, K.K.; Swee, R.G.; Wold, L.; Unni, K.K.

    2001-01-01

    The radiographic features of Ewing's sarcoma of the bones of the hands and feet are reviewed utilizing cases obtained from the Mayo Clinic patient files and the consultation files of Drs. D.C. Dahlin and K.K. Unni. This series consists of a total of 43 cases of pathologically proven Ewing's sarcoma involving the small bones of the hands and feet. The classic radiographic features of Ewing's sarcoma in the long bones, including lytic, permeative destruction, aggressive periosteal reaction, cortical violation, and a soft tissue mass, are also seen in the bones of the hands and feet, with similar frequency. These classic features are most commonly present in lesions affecting the short tubular bones. Lesions affecting the tarsal bones more often demonstrate atypical radiographic features. These atypical radiographic appearances may play a role in the reported delay in diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma within the tarsal bones. (orig.)

  7. Development of the long bones in the hands and feet of children: radiographic and MR imaging correlation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laor, Tal [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Clarke, Jeffrey P. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Children' s Healthcare of Atlanta, Department of Radiology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Yin, Hong [Children' s Healthcare of Atlanta, Department of Pathology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

    2016-04-15

    The long bones of the hands and feet in children have an epiphyseal end with a secondary center of ossification and an adjacent transverse physis. In contrast to other long bones in the body, the opposite end in the hands and feet, termed the non-epiphyseal end, is characterized by direct metaphyseal extension of bone to complete terminal ossification. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to illustrate the developmental stages of each end of the long bones of the hands and feet with radiographic and MR imaging to provide a foundation from which to differentiate normal from abnormal growth. (orig.)

  8. Radiographic features of Ewing's sarcoma of the bones of the hands and feet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baraga, J.J.; Amrami, K.K.; Swee, R.G. [Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (United States). Dept. of Radiology; Wold, L. [Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (United States).. Dept. of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology; Unni, K.K. [Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (United States). Dept. of Surgical Pathology

    2001-03-01

    The radiographic features of Ewing's sarcoma of the bones of the hands and feet are reviewed utilizing cases obtained from the Mayo Clinic patient files and the consultation files of Drs. D.C. Dahlin and K.K. Unni. This series consists of a total of 43 cases of pathologically proven Ewing's sarcoma involving the small bones of the hands and feet. The classic radiographic features of Ewing's sarcoma in the long bones, including lytic, permeative destruction, aggressive periosteal reaction, cortical violation, and a soft tissue mass, are also seen in the bones of the hands and feet, with similar frequency. These classic features are most commonly present in lesions affecting the short tubular bones. Lesions affecting the tarsal bones more often demonstrate atypical radiographic features. These atypical radiographic appearances may play a role in the reported delay in diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma within the tarsal bones. (orig.)

  9. HFS-II hands and feet contamination monitor for α, β

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du Xiangyang; Han Shuping; Wang Xiaodong; Fan Liya; Zhang Yong; Rao Xianming; Fang Jintu

    1999-11-01

    HFS-II Hands and Feet Contamination Monitor for α, β is a necessary device which monitors the entrance of controlling area of nuclear power plant and nuclear facility, and it consists of nuclear detector, nuclear electronic circuit, computer data processing and controlling divisions, input/output controlling etc. Physical indicators conform to the requirements of relative national standard GB8703-87 and department standard EJ/T586

  10. Congenital malformations of hands and feet in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. A. Kovalenko-Klychkova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome is rare genetic disorder with multiple limb malformations and neurological manifestation, caused by inborn defect of cholesterol metabolism. Congenital deformities of feet and hands are most common orthopedic symptoms in this syndrome. Description of a girl with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome demonstrates specific features of this disorder and emphasize the importance of proper interpretation of orthopedic malformations for early diagnosis of genetic conditions.

  11. Tuberculosis of the joints of the hands and feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eckel, H.; Duee, K.

    1985-01-01

    Eighty-nine patients with tuberculosis of joints in the hands or feet have been examined. There has been a change in the peak incidence from adolescence to adult life. The high number of incorrect diagnoses was remarkable (45% in our own patients). A previous tuberculous infection was found in 40% of the patients. Osteoporosis, or bone atrophy, are important radiological signs for the early diagnosis and follow-up of articular tuberculosis. The later phase is characterised by narrowing of joint spaces. Later still there is destruction of subchondral lamellae and fusion of the carpal and tarsal bones, resulting in changes of shape and position. (orig.) [de

  12. The Hands and Feet of the Child: Towards a Philosophy of Habilitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthamatten, Eric

    2012-01-01

    Much of the history of philosophy has deployed the metaphor of sight over and above language of tactility and feeling. The body, the flesh, the hands and feet are seen as impediments to reason's upward journey towards the pure "light" of truth. But it is precisely these tactile points of contact with the world where knowledge and action begins and…

  13. DISABILITIES OF HANDS, FEET AND EYES IN NEWLY-DIAGNOSED LEPROSY PATIENTS IN EASTERN NEPAL

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    SCHIPPER, A; LUBBERS, WJ; HOGEWEG, M; DESOLDENHOFF, R

    The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude of hand/feet/eye disabilities in newly diagnosed leprosy patients by examining all newly diagnosed leprosy patients who presented at the Eastern Leprosy Control Project (supported by The Netherlands Leprosy Relief Association), made up of a

  14. Are human hands and feet affected by climate? A test of Allen's rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betti, Lia; Lycett, Stephen J; von Cramon-Taubadel, Noreen; Pearson, Osbjorn M

    2015-09-01

    In recent years, several studies have shown that populations from cold, high-latitude regions tend to have relatively shorter limbs than populations from tropical regions, with most of the difference due to the relative length of the zeugopods (i.e., radius, ulna, tibia, fibula). This pattern has been explained either as the consequence of long-term climatic selection or of phenotypic plasticity, with temperature having a direct effect on bone growth during development. The aims of this study were to test whether this pattern of intra-limb proportions extended to the bones of the hands and feet, and to determine whether the pattern remained significant after taking into account the effects of neutral evolutionary processes related to population history. Measurements of the limb bones, including the first metatarsal and metacarpal, were collected for 393 individuals from 10 globally distributed human populations. The relationship between intra-limb indices and minimum temperature was tested using generalized least squares regression, correcting for spatial autocorrelation. The results confirmed previous observations of a temperature-related gradient in intra-limb proportions, even accounting for population history. This pattern extends to the hands, with populations from cold regions displaying a relatively shorter and stockier first metacarpal; however, the first metatarsal appears to be wider but not shorter in cold-adapted populations. The results suggest that climatic adaptation played a role in shaping variation in limb proportions between human populations. The different patterns shown by the hands and feet might be due to the presence of evolutionary constraints on the foot to maintain efficient bipedal locomotion. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Illusory body ownership of an invisible body interpolated between virtual hands and feet via visual-motor synchronicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Ryota; Sugimoto, Maki; Minamizawa, Kouta; Hoshi, Takayuki; Inami, Masahiko; Kitazaki, Michiteru

    2018-05-15

    Body ownership can be modulated through illusory visual-tactile integration or visual-motor synchronicity/contingency. Recently, it has been reported that illusory ownership of an invisible body can be induced by illusory visual-tactile integration from a first-person view. We aimed to test whether a similar illusory ownership of the invisible body could be induced by the active method of visual-motor synchronicity and if the illusory invisible body could be experienced in front of and facing away from the observer. Participants observed left and right white gloves and socks in front of them, at a distance of 2 m, in a virtual room through a head-mounted display. The white gloves and socks were synchronized with the observers' actions. In the experiments, we tested the effect of synchronization, and compared this to a whole-body avatar, measuring self-localization drift. We observed that visual hands and feet were sufficient to induce illusory body ownership, and this effect was as strong as using a whole-body avatar.

  16. The definition and diagnosis of cold hypersensitivity in the hands and feet: Finding from the experts survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Kwang-Ho; Jeong, Young-Seok; Go, Ho-Yeon; Sun, Seung-Ho; Kim, Tae-Hoon; Jung, Ki-Yong; Song, Yun-Kyung; Ko, Seong-Gyu; Choi, You-Kyung; Park, Jong-Hyeong; Lee, Siwoo; Lee, Youngseop; Jeon, Chan-Yong

    2018-03-01

    Cold hypersensitivity in the hands and feet (CHHF) is a symptom patients usually feel cold in their hands and feet, but not dealt with a disease in western medicine. However, it is often appealed by patients at a clinic of Korean medicine (KM), considered to be a sort of key diagnostic indicator, and actively treated by physicians. Nevertheless, there is no standardized diagnostic definition for CHHF. Therefore, we surveyed KM experts' opinions to address the clinical definition, diagnostic criteria, and other relevant things on CHHF. We developed a survey to assess the definition, diagnosis, causes, and accompanying symptoms on CHHF. 31 experts who work at specialized university hospitals affiliated with KM hospitals consented to participation. Experts responded to survey questions by selecting multiple-choice answers or stating their opinions. Vast majority of experts (83.8%) agreed with our definition on CHHF ("a feeling of cold as a symptom; that one's hands or feet become colder than those of average people in temperatures that are not normally perceived as cold"). 77.4% of experts considered subjective symptoms on CHHF were more important than medical instrument results. Constitution or genetic factors (87.1%) and stress (64.5%) were the most common causes reported for CHHF. This study offers an expert consensus regarding the themes, opinions, and experiences of practitioners with CHHF. Our results underscore the need for standardized definitions and diagnostic criteria for CHHF.

  17. Three cases of feet and hand amputation from Medieval Estremoz, Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Teresa; Liberato, Marco; Marques, Carina; Cunha, Eugénia

    2017-09-01

    Peri-mortem limb amputations are rarely reported in the paleopathological literature. The cases reported here concern severing of both hands and feet observed in three adult male skeletons, exhumed from the medieval Portuguese necropolis of Rossio do Marquês de Pombal, Estremoz, Portugal. The fact that they were found in the same site, in graves placed side by side, that all are young males, and that the three skeletons show similar perimortem injuries, make this a unique case meriting detailed analysis. Considering the lesions' location and pattern, as well as historical data, we hypothesize that this is a case of amputation as a consequence of judicial punishment. Estremoz was an important city in sustaining the Royal power at a regional scale during the medieval period. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. NUI framework based on real-time head pose estimation and hand gesture recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Hyunduk

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The natural user interface (NUI is used for the natural motion interface without using device or tool such as mice, keyboards, pens and markers. In this paper, we develop natural user interface framework based on two recognition module. First module is real-time head pose estimation module using random forests and second module is hand gesture recognition module, named Hand gesture Key Emulation Toolkit (HandGKET. Using the head pose estimation module, we can know where the user is looking and what the user’s focus of attention is. Moreover, using the hand gesture recognition module, we can also control the computer using the user’s hand gesture without mouse and keyboard. In proposed framework, the user’s head direction and hand gesture are mapped into mouse and keyboard event, respectively.

  19. The initial ultrasonographic examination of hands and feet joints in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Ponikowska

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Objectives : The aim was to assess of the morphology, intensity, and activity of changes in the first ultrasonographic (US examination of hands and feet in patients with early arthritis (lasting up to 12 months who were ultimately diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA. An attempt was made to demonstrate a correlation between the intensity of lesions in US and selected laboratory parameters. Material and methods : Ultrasonographic examination was performed using a LOGIC GE 500 device on a group of 60 patients with arthritis (46 women, 14 men aged 18–80, previously untreated. In total, 3120 hand and feet joints were examined. The assessment focused on the presence of joint effusion, synovial proliferation and power Doppler signals (assessed on a semi-quantitative scale. Each patient underwent laboratory tests, necessary for making a diagnosis. In order to analyze the correlations between changes in US and laboratory parameters, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, reactive protein test (CRP, rheumatoid factor (RF, and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs were used. Results : In the study group, the average duration of arthritis symptoms until the first US examination was 5.6 months. Among the 3120 examined hand and foot joints, deviations from the norm appeared in 1093 joints, synovial hypertrophy was found in 471 joints (grade 1 synovial hypertrophy was reported most frequently, while presence of signal in Power Doppler was revealed in 261 joints (grade 1 was observed most frequently. A statistically significant correlation was found between the intensity of changes in Power Doppler and CRP concentration. Conclusions : In patients with increased concentrations of CRP, we may expect arthritis of higher intensity, therefore, in order to prevent the progression of destructive changes, it is necessary to quickly implement effective disease-modifying antirheumatic treatment. The conducted research showed that the activity of joint

  20. Prevalence of pain in the head, back and feet in refugees previously exposed to torture: a ten-year follow-up study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Dorthe Reff; Montgomery, Edith; Bøjholm, Søren

    2007-01-01

    exposed to torture in their home country were interviewed at a Danish rehabilitation clinic on average 8 years after their final release from confinement and re-interviewed 10 years later. Interviews focused on history of exposure to physical and mental torture and on pain in the head, back and feet...

  1. Radiographic appearance of Ewing sarcoma of the hands and feet: report from the Intergroup Ewing Sarcoma Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reinus, W.R.; Gilula, L.A.; Shirley, S.K.; Askin, F.B.; Siegal, G.P.

    1985-01-01

    Review of current data from the Intergroup Ewing Sarcoma Study (IESS) shows that Ewing sarcoma is rare in bones of the hands and feet. The 12 patients from the IESS protocols with hand or foot Ewing sarcoma are comparable to those already reported in the literature. With the exception of lesions in the calcaneus, the prognosis for disease-free survival is excellent. The radiographic features of hand and foot Ewing sarcoma are generally those of classic Ewing sarcoma: permeation, soft-tissue mass, and often, associated sclerotic reaction. However, with the exception of sclerosis, features suggesting bone reaction and slow tumor growth in these patients were distinctly uncommon compared with Ewing sarcoma in general. Apparently location of the lesion is important, since in the reported cases in the literature and in this series, lesions of the calcaneus fared poorly. The importance of this set of patients therefore relates to awareness and early recognition of an unusual appearance and location of Ewing sarcoma

  2. A method of simultaneous no-screen X-ray film taking with direct twofold magnification of hands and feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zajgner, J.; Szymanska-Prach, H.

    1978-01-01

    The authors propose an original method of X-ray examination of hands and feet which makes possible simultaneous radiography without screen and direct twofold magnified film taking. The method is not connected with the necessity of exposing the patient to an additional dose of X-rays. It has been tried in 20 patients with suspected rheumatoid arthritis. It requires an X-ray tube with 0.3 x 0.3 mm microfocus. (author)

  3. Head and hand detuning effect study of narrow-band against wide-band mobile phone antennas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bahramzy, Pevand; Pedersen, Gert Frølund

    2014-01-01

    Wide-band (WB) and narrow-band (NB) antennas in terms of performance are compared, when interacting with the user’s right head and hand (RHH). The investigations are done through experimental measurements, using standardised head phantom and hand. It is shown that WB antennas detune more than NB ...

  4. Differences in Cortical Representation and Structural Connectivity of Hands and Feet between Professional Handball Players and Ballet Dancers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Jessica; Topka, Marlene Sofie; Hänggi, Jürgen

    2016-01-01

    It is known that intensive training and expertise are associated with functional and structural neuroadaptations. Most studies, however, compared experts with nonexperts; hence it is, specifically for sports, unclear whether the neuroplastic adaptations reported are sport-specific or sport-general. Here we aimed at investigating sport-specific adaptations in professional handball players and ballet dancers by focusing on the primary motor and somatosensory grey matter (GM) representation of hands and feet using voxel-based morphometry as well as on fractional anisotropy (FA) of the corticospinal tract by means of diffusion tensor imaging-based fibre tractography. As predicted, GM volume was increased in hand areas of handball players, whereas ballet dancers showed increased GM volume in foot areas. Compared to handball players, ballet dancers showed decreased FA in both fibres connecting the foot and hand areas, but they showed lower FA in fibres connecting the foot compared to their hand areas, whereas handball players showed lower FA in fibres connecting the hand compared to their foot areas. Our results suggest that structural adaptations are sport-specific and are manifested in brain regions associated with the neural processing of sport-specific skills. We believe this enriches the plasticity research in general and extends our knowledge of sport expertise in particular. PMID:27247805

  5. Differences in Cortical Representation and Structural Connectivity of Hands and Feet between Professional Handball Players and Ballet Dancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Jessica; Topka, Marlene Sofie; Hänggi, Jürgen

    2016-01-01

    It is known that intensive training and expertise are associated with functional and structural neuroadaptations. Most studies, however, compared experts with nonexperts; hence it is, specifically for sports, unclear whether the neuroplastic adaptations reported are sport-specific or sport-general. Here we aimed at investigating sport-specific adaptations in professional handball players and ballet dancers by focusing on the primary motor and somatosensory grey matter (GM) representation of hands and feet using voxel-based morphometry as well as on fractional anisotropy (FA) of the corticospinal tract by means of diffusion tensor imaging-based fibre tractography. As predicted, GM volume was increased in hand areas of handball players, whereas ballet dancers showed increased GM volume in foot areas. Compared to handball players, ballet dancers showed decreased FA in both fibres connecting the foot and hand areas, but they showed lower FA in fibres connecting the foot compared to their hand areas, whereas handball players showed lower FA in fibres connecting the hand compared to their foot areas. Our results suggest that structural adaptations are sport-specific and are manifested in brain regions associated with the neural processing of sport-specific skills. We believe this enriches the plasticity research in general and extends our knowledge of sport expertise in particular.

  6. Differences in Cortical Representation and Structural Connectivity of Hands and Feet between Professional Handball Players and Ballet Dancers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica Meier

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available It is known that intensive training and expertise are associated with functional and structural neuroadaptations. Most studies, however, compared experts with nonexperts; hence it is, specifically for sports, unclear whether the neuroplastic adaptations reported are sport-specific or sport-general. Here we aimed at investigating sport-specific adaptations in professional handball players and ballet dancers by focusing on the primary motor and somatosensory grey matter (GM representation of hands and feet using voxel-based morphometry as well as on fractional anisotropy (FA of the corticospinal tract by means of diffusion tensor imaging-based fibre tractography. As predicted, GM volume was increased in hand areas of handball players, whereas ballet dancers showed increased GM volume in foot areas. Compared to handball players, ballet dancers showed decreased FA in both fibres connecting the foot and hand areas, but they showed lower FA in fibres connecting the foot compared to their hand areas, whereas handball players showed lower FA in fibres connecting the hand compared to their foot areas. Our results suggest that structural adaptations are sport-specific and are manifested in brain regions associated with the neural processing of sport-specific skills. We believe this enriches the plasticity research in general and extends our knowledge of sport expertise in particular.

  7. Moving the hands and feet specifically impairs working memory for arm- and leg-related action words.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shebani, Zubaida; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2013-01-01

    Language and action systems of the human brain are functionally interwoven. Speaking about actions and understanding action-related speech sparks the motor system of the human brain and, conversely, motor system activation has an influence on the comprehension of action words and sentences. Although previous research has shown that motor systems become active when we understand language, a major question still remains whether these motor system activations are necessary for processing action words. We here report that rhythmic movements of either the hands or the feet lead to a differential impairment of working memory for concordant arm- and leg-related action words, with hand/arm movements predominantly impairing working memory for words used to speak about arm actions and foot/leg movements primarily impairing leg-related word memory. The resulting cross-over double dissociation demonstrates that body part specific and meaning-related processing resources in specific cortical motor systems are shared between overt movements and working memory for action-related words, thus documenting a genuine motor locus of semantic meaning. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Srl.

  8. Optical Head-Mounted Computer Display for Education, Research, and Documentation in Hand Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Shawn; Lee, Donald H

    2016-01-01

    Intraoperative photography and capturing videos is important for the hand surgeon. Recently, optical head-mounted computer display has been introduced as a means of capturing photographs and videos. In this article, we discuss this new technology and review its potential use in hand surgery. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Prevalence of pain in the head, back and feet in refugees previously exposed to torture: a ten-year follow-up study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Dorthe Reff; Montgomery, Edith; Bøjholm, Søren

    2007-01-01

    AIM: To estimate change over 10 years concerning the prevalence of pain in the head, back and feet, among previously tortured refugees settled in Denmark, and to compare associations between methods of torture and prevalent pain at baseline and at 10-year follow-up. METHODS: 139 refugees previous...... associated with the type and bodily focus of the torture. This presents a considerable challenge to future evidence-based development of effective treatment programs....

  10. Bone scan and joint scan of hands and feet in rheumatoid arthritis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carpentier, N.; Verbeke, S.; Perdrisot, R.; Grilo, R.M.; Quenesson, E.; Bonnet, C.; Vergne, P.; Treves, R.; Bertin, P.; Boutros-Toni, F.

    2000-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the ability of joint scan and bone scan of hands and feet, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, to localize the altered joints. The sensitivity, the specificity, the positive predictive value (PPV) and the negative predictive value (NPV) of joint scan were determined in comparison with clinical joint assessment. Fifteen patients (780 joints) were clinically examined (pain and synovitis); during the same day, a bone scan and a joint scan were realized by oxidronate 99m Tc intravenous injection. Patients were scanned 5 minutes (tissual time, T t ) and 3 hours 1/4 (bone time, T 0 ) after the administration. The uptake of the bi-phosphonate was evaluated with a qualitative method using a grey scale. The uptake of 99m Tc oxidronate was quantitated using an extra-articular region of interest. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of the scan at Tt were 46%, 96%, 85% et 78%. The same parameters were 75%, 66%, 53% and 84% for the scan realized at T 0 . The joint scan has showed 22% of false positive. These false positives could be a consequence of an earlier detection of joint alterations by scan. The joint scan should forecast the evolution of joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. (author)

  11. Cold hands, warm feet: sleep deprivation disrupts thermoregulation and its association with vigilance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romeijn, Nico; Verweij, Ilse M; Koeleman, Anne; Mooij, Anne; Steimke, Rosa; Virkkala, Jussi; van der Werf, Ysbrand; Van Someren, Eus J W

    2012-12-01

    Vigilance is affected by induced and spontaneous skin temperature fluctuations. Whereas sleep deprivation strongly affects vigilance, no previous study examined in detail its effect on human skin temperature fluctuations and their association with vigilance. In a repeated-measures constant routine design, skin temperatures were assessed continuously from 14 locations while performance was assessed using a reaction time task, including eyes-open video monitoring, performed five times a day for 2 days, after a normal sleep or sleep deprivation night. Participants were seated in a dimly lit, temperature-controlled laboratory. Eight healthy young adults (five males, age 22.0 ± 1.8 yr (mean ± standard deviation)). One night of sleep deprivation. Mixed-effect regression models were used to evaluate the effect of sleep deprivation on skin temperature gradients of the upper (ear-mastoid), middle (hand-arm), and lower (foot-leg) body, and on the association between fluctuations in performance and in temperature gradients. Sleep deprivation induced a marked dissociation of thermoregulatory skin temperature gradients, indicative of attenuated heat loss from the hands co-occurring with enhanced heat loss from the feet. Sleep deprivation moreover attenuated the association between fluctuations in performance and temperature gradients; the association was best preserved for the upper body gradient. Sleep deprivation disrupts coordination of fluctuations in thermoregulatory skin temperature gradients. The dissociation of middle and lower body temperature gradients may therefore be evaluated as a marker for sleep debt, and the upper body gradient as a possible aid in vigilance assessment when sleep debt is unknown. Importantly, our findings suggest that sleep deprivation affects the coordination between skin blood flow fluctuations and the baroreceptor-mediated cardiovascular regulation that prevents venous pooling of blood in the lower limbs when there is the orthostatic

  12. Integration Head Mounted Display Device and Hand Motion Gesture Device for Virtual Reality Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rengganis, Y. A.; Safrodin, M.; Sukaridhoto, S.

    2018-01-01

    Virtual Reality Laboratory (VR Lab) is an innovation for conventional learning media which show us whole learning process in laboratory. There are many tools and materials are needed by user for doing practical in it, so user could feel new learning atmosphere by using this innovation. Nowadays, technologies more sophisticated than before. So it would carry in education and it will be more effective, efficient. The Supported technologies are needed us for making VR Lab such as head mounted display device and hand motion gesture device. The integration among them will be used us for making this research. Head mounted display device for viewing 3D environment of virtual reality laboratory. Hand motion gesture device for catching user real hand and it will be visualized in virtual reality laboratory. Virtual Reality will show us, if using the newest technologies in learning process it could make more interesting and easy to understand.

  13. Aplasics born without hands mirror the goal of hand actions with their feet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gazzola, Valeria; van der Worp, Henk; Mulder, Theodorus; Wicker, Bruno; Rizzolatti, Giacomo; Keysers, Christian

    2007-01-01

    The premotor and parietal mirror neuron system (MNS) is thought to contribute to the understanding of observed actions by mapping them onto "corresponding" motor programs of the observer [1-24], but how would the MNS respond to the observation of hand actions if the observer never had hands? Would

  14. The pattern of skeletal anomalies in the cervical spine, hands and feet in patients with Saethre-Chotzen syndrome and Muenke-type mutation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trusen, Andreas; Beissert, Matthias; Darge, Kassa; Collmann, Hartmut

    2003-01-01

    Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS) and Muenke-type mutation (MTM) are complex syndromes with craniosynostosis and skeletal anomalies including syndactyly, carpal and tarsal fusions, and cervical spine abnormalities. In this study, we analysed radiographs of the cervical spine, hands and feet of a large patient population with genetically proven SCS and MTM. The aim was to describe the pattern of skeletal anomalies and to determine whether specific features are present that could help differentiate between the two entities. Radiographs of 43 patients (23 males, 20 females) with SCS (n=35) or MTM (n=8) were evaluated. The median age was 8 years (range 1 month-36 years). All radiographs were reviewed by two radiologists. In the hands and feet, a variety of anomalies such as brachyphalangy, clinodactyly, partial syndactyly, partial carpal or tarsal fusion, and cone-shaped epiphyses were noted. Duplicated distal phalanx of the hallux (n=12/35) and triangular deformity of the epiphysis of the distal phalanx of the hallux (n=10/35) were detected in SCS only; calcaneo-cuboid fusion (n=2/35) was detected in MTM only. In the cervical spine, fusion of vertebral bodies and/or the posterior elements occurred only in patients with SCS. Pathognomonic signs for SCS are the triangular shape of the epiphysis and duplicated distal phalanx of the hallux. Calcaneo-cuboid fusion was detected in MTM only. These signs may be helpful in the differentiation of SCS from MTM. (orig.)

  15. Radiographic Measurements of the Affected and Unaffected Feet in Patients with Unilateral Hallux Limitus A Case-Control Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knox, Andrew F; Bryant, Alan R

    2016-05-01

    Controversy exists regarding the structural and functional causes of hallux limitus, including metatarsus primus elevatus, a long first metatarsal, first-ray hypermobility, the shape of the first metatarsal head, and the presence of hallux interphalangeus. Some articles have reported on the radiographic evaluation of these measurements in feet affected by hallux limitus, but no study has directly compared the affected and unaffected feet in patients with unilateral hallux limitus. This case-control pilot study aimed to establish whether any such differences exist. Dorsoplantar and lateral weightbearing radiographs of both feet in 30 patients with unilateral hallux limitus were assessed for grade of disease, lateral intermetatarsal angle, metatarsal protrusion distance, plantar gapping at the first metatarsocuneiform joint, metatarsal head shape, and hallux abductus interphalangeus angle. Data analysis was performed using a statistical software program. Mean radiographic measurements for affected and unaffected feet demonstrated that metatarsus primus elevatus, a short first metatarsal, first-ray hypermobility, a flat metatarsal head shape, and hallux interphalangeus were prevalent in both feet. There was no statistically significant difference between feet for any of the radiographic parameters measured (Mann-Whitney U tests, independent-samples t tests, and Pearson χ(2) tests: P > .05). No significant differences exist in the presence of the structural risk factors examined between affected and unaffected feet in patients with unilateral hallux limitus. The influence of other intrinsic factors, including footedness and family history, should be investigated further.

  16. Reliability of a novel thermal imaging system for temperature assessment of healthy feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrova, N L; Whittam, A; MacDonald, A; Ainarkar, S; Donaldson, A N; Bevans, J; Allen, J; Plassmann, P; Kluwe, B; Ring, F; Rogers, L; Simpson, R; Machin, G; Edmonds, M E

    2018-01-01

    Thermal imaging is a useful modality for identifying preulcerative lesions ("hot spots") in diabetic foot patients. Despite its recognised potential, at present, there is no readily available instrument for routine podiatric assessment of patients at risk. To address this need, a novel thermal imaging system was recently developed. This paper reports the reliability of this device for temperature assessment of healthy feet. Plantar skin foot temperatures were measured with the novel thermal imaging device (Diabetic Foot Ulcer Prevention System (DFUPS), constructed by Photometrix Imaging Ltd) and also with a hand-held infrared spot thermometer (Thermofocus® 01500A3, Tecnimed, Italy) after 20 min of barefoot resting with legs supported and extended in 105 subjects (52 males and 53 females; age range 18 to 69 years) as part of a multicentre clinical trial. The temperature differences between the right and left foot at five regions of interest (ROIs), including 1st and 4th toes, 1st, 3rd and 5th metatarsal heads were calculated. The intra-instrument agreement (three repeated measures) and the inter-instrument agreement (hand-held thermometer and thermal imaging device) were quantified using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and the 95% confidence intervals (CI). Both devices showed almost perfect agreement in replication by instrument. The intra-instrument ICCs for the thermal imaging device at all five ROIs ranged from 0.95 to 0.97 and the intra-instrument ICCs for the hand-held-thermometer ranged from 0.94 to 0.97. There was substantial to perfect inter-instrument agreement between the hand-held thermometer and the thermal imaging device and the ICCs at all five ROIs ranged between 0.94 and 0.97. This study reports the performance of a novel thermal imaging device in the assessment of foot temperatures in healthy volunteers in comparison with a hand-held infrared thermometer. The newly developed thermal imaging device showed very good agreement in

  17. Hand and foot contamination monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakati, R.K.; Kaptral, R.S.; Ananthkrishnan, T.S.; Pansare, M.G.

    1989-01-01

    In order to make quick measurements of beta and gamma contaminations on hands and feet of personnel working in radioactive environments, hand and foot contamination monitors are widely used. This paper describes such a monitor system designed with Intel 8085 based microcomputer. The monitoring and warning system is designed to perform measurement of activity spread over surface of hands and soles of shoes or feet. Even though the system has many features to aid testing and maintainance operation, it is easy to use for unskilled persons. In order to check the contamination, the person stands on platform and inserts both his hands into detector assemblies thereby actuating the sensing switches. After a preset interval, annunciation of clean or contaminated status is declared by the system. (author)

  18. Impact Response for Two Designs of Athletic Prosthetic Feet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsin N. Hamzah

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The present work evaluated the differences in mechanical properties of two athletic prosthetic feet samples when subjected to impact while running. Two feet samples designated as design A and B were manufactured using layers of different orientations of woven glass fiber reinforced with unsaturated polyester resin as bonding epoxy. The samples’ layers were fabricated with hand lay-up method. A theoretical study was carried out to calculate the mechanical properties of the composite material used in feet manufacturing, then experimental load-deflection test was applied at 0 degree position and 25 degree dorsiflexion feet position and impact test were applied for both feet designs to observe the behavior of the feet under static and impact loading and compare properties like stiffness, efficiency, rigidity, and shock absorption at different drop angles range from 25 degrees to 60 degrees which perform the foot positions while running. The load-deflection test result shows that the maximum deflection of the proposed design B was 32.2 mm at 0° and 38.45mm at 25°. While it was 41mm at 0˚ and 39mm at 25˚ for design A. Impact test result shows that design B foot gives peak load of 128 .7 kg with a peak time of 0.06 sec, while design Afoot gives 125.32 kg peak load with a time of 0.069 sec.

  19. Burning Feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... be accompanied by a pins and needles sensation (paresthesia) or numbness, or both. Burning feet may also be referred to as tingling feet or paresthesia. While fatigue or a skin infection can cause ...

  20. Backstroke start kinematic and kinetic changes due to different feet positioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Jesus, Karla; de Jesus, Kelly; Figueiredo, Pedro; Gonçalves, Pedro; Pereira, Suzana Matheus; Vilas-Boas, João Paulo; Fernandes, Ricardo Jorge

    2013-01-01

    The backstroke swimming start international rules changed in 2005. This study compared two backstroke start variants, both with feet parallel to each other but in complete immersion and emersion. Six elite swimmers performed two sets of 4 maximal 15 m bouts, each set using one of the variants. The starts were videotaped in the sagittal plane with two cameras, providing bi-dimensional dual-media kinematic evaluation, and an underwater force plate and a handgrip instrumented with a load cell collected kinetic data. Backstroke start with feet immerged displayed greater centre-of-mass horizontal starting position, centre-of-mass horizontal velocity at hands-off and take-off angle. Backstroke start with feet emerged showed greater wall contact time, centre-of-mass horizontal and downward vertical velocity at take-off, lower limbs horizontal impulse, and centre-of-mass downward vertical velocity during flight phase. Backstroke start with feet immerged and emerged displayed similar centre-of-mass horizontal water reach, back arc angle and 5 m starting time. Irrespective of the swimmer's feet positioning, coaches should emphasise each variant's mechanical advantages during the wall contact phases. Furthermore, the maintenance of those advantages throughout the flight should be stressed for better backstroke start performance.

  1. Radiological findings in the hand in Seckel syndrome (bird-headed dwarfism)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poznanski, A.K.; Iannaccone, G.; Pasquino, A.M.; Boscherini, B.

    1983-02-01

    Two patients with severe intrauterine growth retardation and bird-headed appearance are described. These two children had most of the clinical features of the so-called Seckel dwarfism. The radiological findings included: (1) ivory epiphyses affecting all phalanges in one patient and many phalanges in another; (2) cone-shaped epiphyses in the proximal phalanges; (3) marked disharmonic bone maturation between carpals and phalanges, between individual carpals, and from side to side; (4) alteration in the length of the hand bones, with considerable similarity of the metacarpophalangeal pattern between the two children; (5) relatively small carpals, which have an angular configuration; and (6) relatively normal or increased cortical thickness of the metacarpals.

  2. Radiolical findings in the hand in Seckel syndrome (bird-headed dwarfism)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poznanski, A.K.; Northwestern Univ., Chicago, IL; Iannaccone, G.; Pasquino, A.M.; Boscherini, B.

    1983-01-01

    Two patients with severe intrauterine growth retardation and bird-headed appearance are described. These two children had most of the clinical features of the so-called Seckel dwarfism. The radiological findings included: (1) ivory epiphyses affecting all phalanges in one patient and many phalanges in another; (2) cone-shaped epiphyses in the proximal phalanges; (3) marked disharmonic bone maturation between carpals and phalanges, between individual carpals, and from side to side; (4) alteration in the length of the hand bones, with considerable similarity of the metacarpophalangeal pattern between the two children; (5) relatively small carpals, which have an angular configuration; and (6) relatively normal or increased cortical thickness of the metacarpals. (orig.)

  3. Initial experience with visualizing hand and foot tendons by dual-energy computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Kai; Sun, Cong; Liu, Cheng; Ma, Rui

    2009-01-01

    To assess the feasibility of visualizing hand and foot tendons by dual-energy computed tomography (CT). Twenty patients who suffered from hand or feet pains were scanned on dual-source CT (Definition, Forchheim, Germany) with dual-energy mode at tube voltages of 140 and 80 kV and a corresponding ratio of 1:4 between tube currents. The reconstructed images were postprocessed by volume rendering techniques (VRT) and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR). All of the suspected lesions were confirmed by surgery or follow-up studies. Twelve patients (total of 24 hands and feet, respectively) were found to be normal and the other eight patients (total of nine hands and feet, respectively) were found abnormal. Dual-energy techniques are very useful in visualizing tendons of the hands and feet, such as flexor pollicis longus tendon, flexor digitorum superficialis/profundus tendon, Achilles tendon, extensor hallucis longus tendon, and extensor digitorum longus tendon, etc. It can depict the whole shape of the tendons and their fixation points clearly. Peroneus longus tendon in the sole of the foot was not displayed very well. The distal ends of metacarpophalangeal joints with extensor digitoium tendon and extensor pollicis longus tendon were poorly shown. The lesions of tendons such as the circuitry, thickening, and adherence were also shown clearly. Dual-energy CT offers a new method to visualize tendons of the hand and foot. It could clearly display both anatomical structures and pathologic changes of hand and foot tendons.

  4. Hand-held Raman sensor head for in-situ characterization of meat quality applying a microsystem 671 nm diode laser

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Heinar; Sowoidnich, Kay; Maiwald, Martin; Sumpf, Bernd; Kronfeldt, Heinz-Detlef

    2009-05-01

    A hand-held Raman sensor head was developed for the in-situ characterization of meat quality. As light source, a microsystem based external cavity diode laser module (ECDL) emitting at 671 nm was integrated in the sensor head and attached to a miniaturized optical bench which contains lens optics for excitation and signal collection as well as a Raman filter stage for Rayleigh rejection. The signal is transported with an optical fiber to the detection unit which was in the initial phase a laboratory spectrometer with CCD detector. All elements of the ECDL are aligned on a micro optical bench with 13 x 4 mm2 footprint. The wavelength stability is provided by a reflection Bragg grating and the laser has an optical power of up to 200 mW. However, for the Raman measurements of meat only 35 mW are needed to obtain Raman spectra within 1 - 5 seconds. Short measuring times are essential for the hand-held device. The laser and the sensor head are characterized in terms of stability and performance for in-situ Raman investigations. The function is demonstrated in a series of measurements with raw and packaged pork meat as samples. The suitability of the Raman sensor head for the quality control of meat and other products will be discussed.

  5. Expansion of the clinical phenotype of the distal 10q26.3 deletion syndrome to include ataxia and hyperemia of the hands and feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacaria, Melanie; Srour, Myriam; Michaud, Jacques L; Doja, Asif; Miller, Elka; Schwartzentruber, Jeremy; Goldsmith, Claire; Majewski, Jacek; Boycott, Kym M

    2017-06-01

    Distal deletion of the long arm of chromosome 10 is associated with a dysmorphic craniofacial appearance, microcephaly, behavioral issues, developmental delay, intellectual disability, and ocular, urogenital, and limb abnormalities. Herein, we present clinical, molecular, and cytogenetic investigations of four patients, including two siblings, with nearly identical terminal deletions of 10q26.3, all of whom have an atypical presentation of this syndrome. Their prominent features include ataxia, mild-to-moderate intellectual disability, and hyperemia of the hands and feet, and they do not display many of the other features commonly associated with deletions of this region. These results point to a novel gene locus associated with ataxia and highlight the variability of the clinical presentation of patients with deletions of this region. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Visual Search and Target Cueing: A Comparison of Head-Mounted Versus Hand-Held Displays on the Allocation of Visual Attention

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Yeh, Michelle; Wickens, Christopher D

    1998-01-01

    We conducted a study to examine the effects of target cueing and conformality with a hand-held or head-mounted display to determine their effects on visual search tasks requiring focused and divided attention...

  7. Muscle Fatigue in the Three Heads of the Triceps Brachii During a Controlled Forceful Hand Grip Task with Full Elbow Extension Using Surface Electromyography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Asraf; Sundaraj, Kenneth; Badlishah Ahmad, R; Ahamed, Nizam Uddin; Islam, Anamul; Sundaraj, Sebastian

    2015-06-27

    The objective of the present study was to investigate the time to fatigue and compare the fatiguing condition among the three heads of the triceps brachii muscle using surface electromyography during an isometric contraction of a controlled forceful hand grip task with full elbow extension. Eighteen healthy subjects concurrently performed a single 90 s isometric contraction of a controlled forceful hand grip task and full elbow extension. Surface electromyographic signals from the lateral, long and medial heads of the triceps brachii muscle were recorded during the task for each subject. The changes in muscle activity among the three heads of triceps brachii were measured by the root mean square values for every 5 s period throughout the total contraction period. The root mean square values were then analysed to determine the fatiguing condition for the heads of triceps brachii muscle. Muscle fatigue in the long, lateral, and medial heads of the triceps brachii started at 40 s, 50 s, and 65 s during the prolonged contraction, respectively. The highest fatiguing rate was observed in the long head (slope = -2.863), followed by the medial head (slope = -2.412) and the lateral head (slope = -1.877) of the triceps brachii muscle. The results of the present study concurs with previous findings that the three heads of the triceps brachii muscle do not work as a single unit, and the fiber type/composition is different among the three heads.

  8. Preliminary results of hydrologic testing: The composite Umtanum basalt flow top at borehole RRL-2 (3,568 - 3,781 feet)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strait, S.R.; Spane, F.A. Jr.

    1982-11-01

    This report presents preliminary results and description of hydrologic test activities for the composite Umtanum basalt flow top (3,568--3,781 feet) at Borehole RRL-2. Hydrologic tests conducted include two constant discharge air-lift and four slug tests. Preliminary results indicate an observed hydraulic head for the test interval of 405.7 feet above mean sea level. Transmissivity values determined from hydrologic tests performed, range between 244 to 481 ft 2 /day, with an assigned best estimate of 480 ft 2 /day. The best estimate of equivalent hydraulic conductivity, based on an effective test thickness of 157 feet, is 3.1 ft/day. 7 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs

  9. Design and Development of Hand and Foot Contamination Monitor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Akter

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available A hand and foot contamination monitor is a health physics instrument to provide detection and measurement of beta-gamma contamination on the palm of each hand and on the bottom surface of both feet/shoes. There are four channels of detection for two hands and two feet. Four G-M detectors have been used in a single unit to cover the whole area of hand and feet. A regulated high voltage DC power supply (900 V has been designed using the PIC12F675 microcontroller to operate the pancake Geiger-Müller detectors. The reading is displayed on a linearly scaled 0-100 Bq/cm2 analog panel meter. The monitor detects beta–gamma radiation emitted by radioactive materials, and if the detected value exceeds a preset level, the monitor sounds an alarm and displays a reading in the respective panel meter. Indicator lamps are used to show the status of contamination. The performance of the system has been tested by using pulse generator and by flat surface radioactive calibration sources. Electronic linearity, detection efficiency, response to the contamination, calibration factor and percentage of error has been measured. Test results were satisfactory and the present system can be used instead of similar imported instruments.

  10. Lateral Sesamoid Position Relative to the Second Metatarsal in Feet With and Without Hallux Valgus: A Prospective Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geng, Xiang; Zhang, Chao; Ma, Xin; Wang, Xu; Huang, Jiazhang; Xu, Jian; Wang, Chen

    2016-01-01

    We sought to determine whether hallux valgus displaces the sesamoid bones laterally away from a stationary first metatarsal or whether the first metatarsal head is displaced medially from the stationary sesamoids, which remain in position relative to the rest of the forefoot. We reviewed weightbearing radiographs in the dorsal plantar view of 128 consecutive patients (149 feet) seen over 2 months in 2014. Of these, 82 feet (55%) had a hallux valgus angle of >15° (hallux valgus group) and 67 feet (45%) had an angle of no more than 15° (control group). We measured the absolute distances from the center of the lateral sesamoid and the first metatarsal head to the long axis of the second metatarsal. Next, the relative distances, defined as the ratio of these 2 absolute distances to the length of the second metatarsal, were calculated to adjust for foot size. Both the absolute and the relative distances from the center of the first metatarsal head to the second metatarsal differed significantly between the 2 groups and correlated positively with the hallux valgus angle and first intermetatarsal angle. However, neither the absolute nor the relative distance to the lateral sesamoid bone differed significantly between the groups, nor did they correlate with either of the 2 angles. Thus, despite medial shifting of the first metatarsal in hallux valgus, the lateral sesamoid retains its relationship to the second metatarsal in transverse plane. Its apparent lateral movement is a radiographic misinterpretation. Awareness of this misinterpretation should improve the success of corrective surgery. Copyright © 2016 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Sex determination from hand and foot dimensions in a North Indian population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Sharma, Abhilasha

    2011-03-01

    Hands and feet are often recovered from the site of natural as well as man-made disasters because of bomb blasts, train accidents, plane crashes, or mass homicides. This study is intended to establish standards for determination of sex from the dimensions of hands and feet in a North Indian population. The data for this study comprise 123 men and 123 women aged between 17 and 20 years from the "Rajput" population of Himachal Pradesh in North India. Four anthropometric measurements viz. hand length, hand breadth, foot length, and foot breadth have been taken on both sides of each subject following international anthropometric standards. The hand index (hand breadth/hand length × 100) and the foot index (foot breadth/foot length × 100) were calculated. Sectioning points and regression models are derived for the hand and foot dimensions and the derived indices. The hand and foot dimensions show a higher accuracy in sex determination by sectioning point analysis when compared to hand and foot index. Of the hand and the foot dimensions, hand breadth and foot breadth showed better accuracy in sex determination. Hand index and foot index remain poor sex discriminators in the study. © 2011 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  12. Skin Cancers of the Feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Foot Health Awareness Month Diabetes Awareness What Are Skin Cancers of the Feet? Skin cancer can develop anywhere on the body, including ... cell carcinoma is the most common form of cancer on the skin of the feet. Most types of early squamous ...

  13. Comparison of wrist and head TLD doses with whole body TLD doses during high active jobs at RAPS-5 and 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Ravi Kant; Abhishek, Neel; Kakkar, Amandeep; Kumar, Rajesh

    2016-01-01

    In nuclear power plant radiation dose monitoring and assessment is done to control the individual dose and station collective doses. While performing a radioactive job on systems or equipment with significant radiation levels of non uniform and beaming radiation; there is potential of localized exposure to extremities hands in particular and lens of the eye in comparison to other body parts. Keeping in view of this, separate equivalent dose limit to the extremities (hands and feet) and lens of the eye are defined by ICRP. A study has been carried out during Biennial Shutdown (BSD) of RAPS-6 in the month of October-2015 to establish the correlation between the doses received by chest TLDs which is being used to estimate the effective whole body dose of the radiation worker and the doses received in wrist TLD and head TLDs which are being used to monitor the equivalent dose received by hands and lens of the eye with applying a suitable correction factor

  14. Sweaty Feet (Hyperhidrosis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... RAC) Information OIG Opioid and Chronic Pain Management OSHA Off-Label Use Physician Payment Sunshine Act (Open ... prescription medications, often anticholinergics, can be used. Severe cases of sweaty feet may be treated with a ...

  15. Accuracy of Plantar Electrodes Compared with Hand and Foot Electrodes in Fat-free-mass Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michel Y. Jaffrin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the measurement of fat-free mass (FFM by bioimpedance using foot-to-foot impedancemeters (FFI with plantar electrodes measuring the foot-to-foot resistance R34 and hand-to-foot medical impedancemeters. FFM measurements were compared with corresponding data using Dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA. Equations giving FFM were established using linear multiple regression on DXA data in a first group of 170 subjects. For validation, these equations were used on a second group of 86 subjects, and FFM were compared with DXA data; no significant difference was observed. The same protocol was repeated, but using electrodes on the right hand and foot in standing position to measure the hand to-foot resistance R13. Mean differences with DXA were higher for R13 than for R34. Effect of electrode size and feet position on resistance was also investigated. R34 decreased when electrode area increased or if feet were moved forward. It decreased if feet were moved backward. A proper configuration of contact electrodes can improve measurement accuracy and reproducibility of FFI.

  16. Postural responses of head and foot cutaneous microvascular flow and their sensitivity to bed rest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aratow, Michael; Hargens, Alan R.; Meyer, J.-UWE; Arnaud, Sara B.

    1991-01-01

    To explore the mechanism for facial puffiness, headache, and nasal congestion associated with microgravity and cephalad fluid shifts, the postural responses of the cutaneous microcirculation (CMC) in the forehead and dorsum of the foot of eight healthy men were studied by changing body position on a tilt table and measuring blood flows with a laser Doppler flowmeter. Increasing arterial pressure in the feet by moving from a -6-deg head-down tilt to a 60-deg head-up posture decreased foot CMC by 46.5 + or - 12.0 percent. Raising arterial pressure in the head increased forehead CMC by 25.5 + or - 0.7 percent (p less than 0.05). To investigate the possibility that these opposite responses could be modified by simulated microgravity, tilt test were repeated after 7 d of -6-deg head-down-tilt bed rest. The responses were not significantly different from those recorded before bed rest. Therefore, CMC in the feet is well regulated to prevent edema when shifting to an upright position, whereas there is less regulation in the head CMC.

  17. Comparing Arc-shaped Feet and Rigid Ankles with Flat Feet and Compliant Ankles for a Dynamic Walker

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kuhlemann, Ilyas; Matthias Braun, Jan; Wörgötter, Florentin

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we show that exchanging curved feet and rigid ankles by at feet and compliant ankles improves the range of gait parameters for a bipedal dynamic walker. The new lower legs were designed such that they t to the old set-up, allowing for a direct and quantitative comparison. The dynamic...

  18. Talk to the virtual hands: self-animated avatars improve communication in head-mounted display virtual environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trevor J Dodds

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: When we talk to one another face-to-face, body gestures accompany our speech. Motion tracking technology enables us to include body gestures in avatar-mediated communication, by mapping one's movements onto one's own 3D avatar in real time, so the avatar is self-animated. We conducted two experiments to investigate (a whether head-mounted display virtual reality is useful for researching the influence of body gestures in communication; and (b whether body gestures are used to help in communicating the meaning of a word. Participants worked in pairs and played a communication game, where one person had to describe the meanings of words to the other. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In experiment 1, participants used significantly more hand gestures and successfully described significantly more words when nonverbal communication was available to both participants (i.e. both describing and guessing avatars were self-animated, compared with both avatars in a static neutral pose. Participants 'passed' (gave up describing significantly more words when they were talking to a static avatar (no nonverbal feedback available. In experiment 2, participants' performance was significantly worse when they were talking to an avatar with a prerecorded listening animation, compared with an avatar animated by their partners' real movements. In both experiments participants used significantly more hand gestures when they played the game in the real world. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the studies show how (a virtual reality can be used to systematically study the influence of body gestures; (b it is important that nonverbal communication is bidirectional (real nonverbal feedback in addition to nonverbal communication from the describing participant; and (c there are differences in the amount of body gestures that participants use with and without the head-mounted display, and we discuss possible explanations for this and ideas for future investigation.

  19. Handedness and phenotypic characteristics of the head and face

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cvetković Milena

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Craniofacial characteristics are used to identify similarities and differences between human populations or within a single population. The aim of this study is to provide data on the differences/similarities between two groups of subjects, left-handed and right-handed children, based on the parameters that determine the phenotypic characteristics of the head and face: head dimensions, face dimensions, hair color, eye color and earlobe shape. The study participants included 1354 students aged 7 to 15 years from regular schools of southeastern Serbia. The instruments used include: the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire for handedness determination, the cephalometer, and the questionnaire. 135 students (9.97% were identified as left-handed, and the differences in the observed parameters were recorded between left-handed and right-handed girls in relation to the cephalic index, nasal index, head breadth, face breadth, and eye color.

  20. Hand Osteoblastoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Farzan

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: Osteoblastoma is one of the rarest primary bone tumors. Although, small bones of the hands and feet are the third most common location for this tumor, the hand involvement is very rare and few case observations were published in the English-language literature. Materials and Methods: In this study, we report five cases of benign osteoblastoma of the hand, 3 in metacarpals and two in phalanxes. The clinical feature is not specific. The severe nocturnal, salicylate-responsive pain is not present in patients with osteoblastoma. The pain is dull, persistent and less localized. The clinical course is usually long and there is often symptoms for months before medical attention are sought. Swelling is a more persistent finding in osteoblastoma of the hand that we found in all of our patients. The radiologic findings are indistinctive, so preoperative diagnosis based on X-ray appearance is difficult. In all of our 5 cases, we fail to consider osteoblastoma as primary diagnosis. Pathologically, osteoblastoma consisting of a well-vascularized connective tissue stroma in which there is active production of osteoid and primitive woven bone. Treatment depends on the stage and localization of the tumor. Curettage and bone grafting is sufficient in stage 1 or stage 2, but in stage 3 wide resection is necessary for prevention of recurrence. Osteosarcoma is the most important differential diagnosis that may lead to inappropriate operation.

  1. High-grade surface osteosarcoma of the hand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abe, Kuniko; Hayashi, Tomayoshi; Kinoshita, Naoe [Nagasaki University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Nagasaki (Japan); Kumagai, Kenji; Shindo, Hiroyuki [Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nagasaki (Japan); Uetani, Masataka [Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Radiology and Radiation Biology, Nagasaki (Japan); Ishida, Tsuyoshi [National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kohnodai Hospital, Chiba (Japan); Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Department of Molecular Bone and Cartilage Pathology, Hard Tissue Genome Research Center, Tokyo (Japan)

    2007-09-15

    A 32-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of mild pain in the right ring finger. Radiographs and CT revealed a calcified lesion with cortical erosion on the surface of the proximal aspect of the right ring finger proximal phalanx. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the lesion showed low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images and slight enhancement with gadolinium. Clinically, it was diagnosed as a benign bone-forming lesion such as florid reactive periostitis, and excision was accordingly performed. However, histological examination revealed proliferation of atypical osteoblastic cells among irregularly arranged osteoid seams. Taking the imaging findings into account, a pathological diagnosis of high-grade surface osteosarcoma was established. In general, bone- and cartilage-forming lesions of the hands and feet are benign. Osteosarcoma of short tubular bones in the hands and feet is extremely rare; moreover, high-grade surface osteosarcoma is one of the rarest subtypes of osteosarcoma. Nonetheless, high-grade surface osteosarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis, particularly if the radiological findings or clinical course are not entirely typical of a more common benign process, to avoid incorrect clinicoradiological and pathological diagnosis. (orig.)

  2. High-grade surface osteosarcoma of the hand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, Kuniko; Hayashi, Tomayoshi; Kinoshita, Naoe; Kumagai, Kenji; Shindo, Hiroyuki; Uetani, Masataka; Ishida, Tsuyoshi

    2007-01-01

    A 32-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of mild pain in the right ring finger. Radiographs and CT revealed a calcified lesion with cortical erosion on the surface of the proximal aspect of the right ring finger proximal phalanx. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the lesion showed low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images and slight enhancement with gadolinium. Clinically, it was diagnosed as a benign bone-forming lesion such as florid reactive periostitis, and excision was accordingly performed. However, histological examination revealed proliferation of atypical osteoblastic cells among irregularly arranged osteoid seams. Taking the imaging findings into account, a pathological diagnosis of high-grade surface osteosarcoma was established. In general, bone- and cartilage-forming lesions of the hands and feet are benign. Osteosarcoma of short tubular bones in the hands and feet is extremely rare; moreover, high-grade surface osteosarcoma is one of the rarest subtypes of osteosarcoma. Nonetheless, high-grade surface osteosarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis, particularly if the radiological findings or clinical course are not entirely typical of a more common benign process, to avoid incorrect clinicoradiological and pathological diagnosis. (orig.)

  3. Why Do Feet Stink?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Oooh, boy — your feet have been in those sneakers a long time! On the car ride home, ... shoes or insoles. Some insoles or shoes, especially sneakers, may be washable — a great way to kill ...

  4. Isolation and Characterization of Collagen from Chicken Feet

    OpenAIRE

    P. Hashim; M. S. Mohd Ridzwan; J. Bakar

    2014-01-01

    Collagen was isolated from chicken feet by using papain and pepsin enzymes in acetic acid solution at 4°C for 24h with a yield of 18.16% and 22.94% by dry weight, respectively. Chemical composition and characteristics of chicken feet collagen such as amino acid composition, SDS-PAGE patterns, FTIR spectra and thermal properties were evaluated. The chicken feet collagen is rich in the amino acids glycine, glutamic acid, proline and hydroxyproline. Electrophoresis pattern demonstrated two disti...

  5. Postural stability when walking and exposed to lateral oscillatory motion: benefits from hand supports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayık, Hatice Müjde; Griffin, Michael J

    2015-01-01

    While walking on a treadmill, 20 subjects experienced lateral oscillations: frequencies from 0.5 to 2 Hz and velocities from 0.05 to 0.16 m s(- 1) rms. Postural stability was indicated by ratings of 'discomfort or difficulty in walking', the movement of the centre of pressure beneath the feet and lateral forces applied to a hand support. Hand support improved postural stability with all frequencies and all velocities of oscillatory motion: the lateral velocity of the centre of pressure reduced by 30-50% when using support throughout motion, by 20-30% when instructed to use the support only when required and by 15% during normal walking without oscillation. Improvements in stability, and the forces applied to the hand support, were independent of support height when used continuously throughout motion. When support was used only when required, subjects preferred to hold it 118-134 cm above the surface supporting the feet.

  6. Elemental Water Impact Test: Phase 2 36-Inch Aluminum Tank Head

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassilakos, Gregory J.

    2014-01-01

    Spacecraft are being designed based on LS-DYNA simulations of water landing impacts. The Elemental Water Impact Test (EWIT) series was undertaken to assess the accuracy of LS-DYNA water impact simulations. EWIT Phase 2 featured a 36-inch aluminum tank head. The tank head was outfitted with one accelerometer, twelve pressure transducers, three string potentiometers, and four strain gages. The tank head was dropped from heights of 1 foot and 2 feet. The focus of this report is the correlation of analytical models against test data. As a measure of prediction accuracy, peak responses from the baseline LS-DYNA model were compared to peak responses from the tests.

  7. What are Head Cavities? - A History of Studies on Vertebrate Head Segmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuratani, Shigeru; Adachi, Noritaka

    2016-06-01

    Motivated by the discovery of segmental epithelial coeloms, or "head cavities," in elasmobranch embryos toward the end of the 19th century, the debate over the presence of mesodermal segments in the vertebrate head became a central problem in comparative embryology. The classical segmental view assumed only one type of metamerism in the vertebrate head, in which each metamere was thought to contain one head somite and one pharyngeal arch, innervated by a set of cranial nerves serially homologous to dorsal and ventral roots of spinal nerves. The non-segmental view, on the other hand, rejected the somite-like properties of head cavities. A series of small mesodermal cysts in early Torpedo embryos, which were thought to represent true somite homologs, provided a third possible view on the nature of the vertebrate head. Recent molecular developmental data have shed new light on the vertebrate head problem, explaining that head mesoderm evolved, not by the modification of rostral somites of an amphioxus-like ancestor, but through the polarization of unspecified paraxial mesoderm into head mesoderm anteriorly and trunk somites posteriorly.

  8. Radiographic findings of the hand and foot in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scutellari, P.N.; Stabellini, R.; Orzincolo, C.; Franceschini, F.; Govoni, M.; Trotta, F.

    1987-01-01

    A detail examination of the hands and feet was performed in a group of 34 patients affected by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), using low-dose mammographic film and Rank Xerox selenium plate, according to current diagnostic techniques. All patients presented articular symptoms (pain and arthralgia). The high incidence (38.8%) of patients with no radiographic evidence of bone damage-even though articular symptoms are present-is emphasized. In such cases, it is very difficult to distinguish SLE from rheumatoid arthritis, especially as far as therapeutic management and prognosis are concerned. The lack of any pathognomonic radiological sign of the lupus arthritis, in the hands as well as in the feet, is then stressed. Nevertheless, artropathy in SLE is defined as a deforming unerosive arthritis, with a typical symmetric distribution, affecting most commonly (according to incidence) the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints. In the hand, arthropathy is referred to as Jaccoud's type arthritis, because it is characterized by joint deformities which can be corrected. In the foot, the main abnormalities include hallux valgus, subluxation of the matatarsophalangeal joints and widening of the forefoot

  9. Radiographic findings of the hand and foot in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scutellari, P N; Stabellini, R; Orzincolo, C; Franceschini, F; Govoni, M; Trotta, F

    1987-01-01

    A detail examination of the hands and feet was performed in a group of 34 patients affected by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), using low-dose mammographic film and Rank Xerox selenium plate, according to current diagnostic techniques. All patients presented articular symptoms (pain and arthralgia). The high incidence (38.8%) of patients with no radiographic evidence of bone damage-even though articular symptoms are present-is emphasized. In such cases, it is very difficult to distinguish SLE from rheumatoid arthritis, especially as far as therapeutic management and prognosis are concerned. The lack of any pathognomonic radiological sign of the lupus arthritis, in the hands as well as in the feet, is then stressed. Nevertheless, artropathy in SLE is defined as a deforming unerosive arthritis, with a typical symmetric distribution, affecting most commonly (according to incidence) the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints. In the hand, arthropathy is referred to as Jaccoud's type arthritis, because it is characterized by joint deformities which can be corrected. In the foot, the main abnormalities include hallux valgus, subluxation of the matatarsophalangeal joints and widening of the forefoot.

  10. Automated measurement of joint space width in early rheumatoid arthritis hand radiographs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huo, YH

    2017-01-01

    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, affecting predominantly small joints of hands and feet. The current gold standard for assessment of radiographic progression in RA is the Sharp/van der Heijde scoring method (SvdH), scoring both bone erosions and joint space narrowing

  11. The effectiveness of a head-heart-hands model for natural and environmental science learning in urban schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jagannathan, Radha; Camasso, Michael J; Delacalle, Maia

    2018-02-01

    We describe an environmental and natural science program called Nurture thru Nature (NtN) that seeks to improve mathematics and science performance of students in disadvantaged communities, and to increase student interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. The program draws conceptual guidance from the Head-Heart-Hands model that informs the current educational movement to foster environmental understanding and sustainability. Employing an experimental design and data from seven cohorts of students, we find some promising, albeit preliminary, indications that the program can increase students' science knowledge and grades in mathematics, science and language arts. We discuss the special adaptations that environmental and sustainability education programs need to incorporate if they are to be successful in today's resource depleted urban schools. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Superhydrophobic gecko feet with high adhesive forces towards water and their bio-inspired materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Kesong; Du, Jiexing; Wu, Juntao; Jiang, Lei

    2012-01-01

    Functional integration is an inherent characteristic for multiscale structures of biological materials. In this contribution, we first investigate the liquid-solid adhesive forces between water droplets and superhydrophobic gecko feet using a high-sensitivity micro-electromechanical balance system. It was found, in addition to the well-known solid-solid adhesion, the gecko foot, with a multiscale structure, possesses both superhydrophobic functionality and a high adhesive force towards water. The origin of the high adhesive forces of gecko feet to water could be attributed to the high density nanopillars that contact the water. Inspired by this, polyimide films with gecko-like multiscale structures were constructed by using anodic aluminum oxide templates, exhibiting superhydrophobicity and a strong adhesive force towards water. The static water contact angle is larger than 150° and the adhesive force to water is about 66 μN. The resultant gecko-inspired polyimide film can be used as a ``mechanical hand'' to snatch micro-liter liquids. We expect this work will provide the inspiration to reveal the mechanism of the high-adhesive superhydrophobic of geckos and extend the practical applications of polyimide materials.

  13. 'n Nota oor die vertaling van Jeremia 2:37 ("Met jou hande op jou hoof"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H.F. Stander

    1998-08-01

    Full Text Available A note on the translation of Jeremiah 2:37 ("With your hands on your head" In Jeremiah 2:37 God says to Israel: "You will leave that place (= Egypt with your hands upon your head". In this article various Bible translations and commentaries are scrutinized to determine how modem exegetes interpret this phrase. Thereafter the author discusses Egyptian depictions of mourners in funeral processions with their hands on their heads. He shows how an exploration of Egyptian Art can contribute to a better understanding of Jeremiah 2:37. This study also shows that the two dynamic Afrikaans translations of the Bible ("Die Lewende Bybel" and "Die Nuwe Afrikaanse Vertaling" are wide off the mark in their interpretation of the phrase "with your hands on your head". The author also argues that exegetes should not only rely on written texts when they study the ancient world in which the Scriptures originated, but that they should also explore works of art.

  14. Tactile pavement for guiding walking direction: An assessment of heading direction and gait stability.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pluyter, N.; de Wit, L.P.; Bruijn, S.M.; Plaisier, M.A.

    2015-01-01

    For maintaining heading direction while walking we heavily rely on vision. Therefore, walking in the absence of vision or with visual attention directed elsewhere potentially leads to dangerous situations. Here we investigated whether tactile information from the feet can be used as a (partial)

  15. Effect of Putting Grip on Eye and Head Movements During the Golf Putting Stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George K. Hung

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this article is to determine the effect of three different putting grips (conventional, cross-hand, and one-handed on variations in eye and head movements during the putting stroke. Seven volunteer novice players, ranging in age from 21 to 22 years, participated in the study. During each experimental session, the subject stood on a specially designed platform covered with artificial turf and putted golf balls towards a standard golf hole. The three different types of grips were tested at two distances: 3 and 9 ft. For each condition, 20 putts were attempted. For each putt, data were recorded over a 3-s interval at a sampling rate of 100 Hz. Eye movements were recorded using a helmet-mounted eye movement monitor. Head rotation about an imaginary axis through the top of the head and its center-of-rotation was measured by means of a potentiometer mounted on a fixed frame and coupled to the helmet. Putter-head motion was measured using a linear array of infrared phototransistors embedded in the platform. The standard deviation (STD, relative to the initial level was calculated for eye and head movements over the duration of the putt (i.e., from the beginning of the backstroke, through the forward stroke, to impact. The averaged STD for the attempted putts was calculated for each subject. Then, the averaged STDs and other data for the seven subjects were statistically compared across the three grip conditions. The STD of eye movements were greater (p < 0.1 for conventional than cross-hand (9 ft and one-handed (3 and 9 ft grips. Also, the STD of head movements were greater (p < 0.1; 3 ft for conventional than cross-hand and one-handed grips. Vestibulo-ocular responses associated with head rotations could be observed in many 9 ft and some 3 ft putts. The duration of the putt was significantly longer (p < 0.05; 3 and 9 ft for the one-handed than conventional and cross-hand grips. Finally, performance, or percentage putts made, was

  16. Flexible flat feet in children: a real problem?

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Rodríguez, A; Martín-Jiménez, F; Carnero-Varo, M; Gómez-Gracia, E; Gómez-Aracena, J; Fernández-Crehuet, J

    1999-06-01

    To estimate the prevalence of flexible flat feet in the provincial population of 4- to 13-year-old schoolchildren and the incidence of treatments considered unnecessary. Province of Málaga, Spain. We examined and graded by severity a sample of 1181 pupils taken from a total population of 198 858 primary schoolchildren (CI: 95%; margin of error: 5%). The sample group was separated into three 2-year age groups: 4 and 5 years, 8 and 9 years, and 12 and 13 years. The plantar footprint was classified according to Denis1 into three grades of flat feet: grade 1 in which support of the lateral edge of the foot is half that of the metatarsal support; grade 2 in which the support of the central zone and forefoot are equal; and grade 3 in which the support in the central zone of the foot is greater than the width of the metatarsal support. The statistical analysis for the evaluation of the differences between the groups was performed with Student's t and chi2 tests as appropriate. The prevalence of flat feet was 2.7%. Of the 1181 children sampled, 168 children (14.2%) were receiving orthopedic treatment, but only 2.7% had diagnostic criteria of flat feet. When we inspected the sample, we found that a number of children were being treated for flat feet with boots and arch supports. Most of them did not have a flat plantar footprint according to the criteria that we used for this work. Furthermore, in the group of children that we diagnosed as having flat feet, only 28.1% were being treated. We found no significant differences between the number of children receiving orthopedic treatments and the presence or absence of a flat plantar footprint. Children who were overweight in the 4- and 5-year-old group showed an increased prevalence for flat feet as diagnosed by us. The data suggest that an excessive number of orthopedic treatments had been prescribed in the province. When extrapolated to the 1997 population of schoolchildren within the age groups studied the figures

  17. A 24-year-old Ethiopian Farmer with Burning Feet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, Benjamin Jelle; Korevaar, Daniel Arnoldus; van der Zee, Janneke

    2012-01-01

    Podoconiosis is a non-infectious tropical disease caused by exposure of bare feet to irritant alkalic clay soils. This causes an asymmetrical swelling of the feet and lower limbs due to lymphoedema. This swelling is called "elephantiasis" and may lead to severe disability of the patient. It is found

  18. Head and eye movement as pointing modalities for eyewear computers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jalaliniya, Shahram; Mardanbeigi, Diako; Pederson, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    examined using head and eye movements to point on a graphical user interface of a wearable computer. The performance of users in head and eye pointing has been compared with mouse pointing as a baseline method. The result of our experiment showed that the eye pointing is significantly faster than head......While the new generation of eyewear computers have increased expectations of a wearable computer, providing input to these devices is still challenging. Hand-held devices, voice commands, and hand gestures have already been explored to provide input to the wearable devices. In this paper, we...

  19. Diabetes - taking care of your feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diabetes - foot care - self-care; Diabetic foot ulcer - foot care; Diabetic neuropathy - foot care ... Diabetes can damage the nerves and blood vessels in your feet. This damage can cause numbness and ...

  20. A Pilot Study on Gait Kinematics of Old Women with Bound Feet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Foot binding has a long and influential history in China. Little is known about biomechanical changes in gait caused by bound foot. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in lower limb kinematics between old women with bound feet and normal feet during walking. Six old women subjects (three with bound feet and three controls with normal feet volunteered to participate in this study. Video data were recorded with a high speed video camera and analysed in the SIMI motion analysis software. Compared to normal controls, bound feet subjects had faster gait cadence with shorter stride length as well as smaller ankle and knee range of motion (ROM. During preswing phase, ankle remained to be dorsiflexion for bound foot subjects. The data from bound foot group also demonstrated that toe vertical displacement increased continuously during whole swing phase without a minimum toe clearance (MTC. The findings indicate that older women with bound feet exhibit significant differences in gait pattern compared to those with normal feet, which is characterised by disappeared propulsion/push-off and reduced mobility of lower limb segments.

  1. Alignment of diabetic feet images

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klein, Almar; van der Heijden, Ferdinand; Slump, Cornelis H.; Uyl, M.J.; Philips, W.

    2007-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of aligning the images of feet taken at different instances in time. We propose to use SIFT keypoints to find the geometric deformation between two photo’s. We then have a set of landmarks for each image. By finding the corresponding landmarks (i.e. matching the

  2. The thermodynamic cycle of an entropy-driven stepper motor walking hand-over-hand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zabicki, Michal; Ebeling, Werner; Gudowska-Nowak, Ewa

    2010-01-01

    Graphical abstract: We develop a new model of an entropy-driven stepper motor walking hand-over-hand, coupled to the energy reservoir of ATP. - Abstract: We develop a model of a kinesin motor based on an entropy-driven spring between the two heads of the stepper. The stepper is coupled to the energy depot which is reservoir of ATP. A Langevin equation for the motion of the two legs in a ratchet potential is analyzed by performing numerical simulations. It is documented that the model motor is able to work against a load force with an efficiency of about 10-30%. At a critical load force the motor stops to operate.

  3. Radiographic findings in wrists and hands of patients with leprosy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carreto, A.; Montero, F.; Garcia Frasquet, A.; Carpintero, P.

    1998-01-01

    Leprosy, like other neuropathic disorders, can involve the skeleton, affecting both bone and joints, especially those segments that have to withstand weight. To asses the osteoarticular involvement of the wrist and hand in 58 patients with leprosy. The radiographic images of wrist and hand of 58 patients with Hansen's disease were reviewed. The entire spectrum of specific and nonspecific bone lesions described in the literature is presented. Despite the fact that the upper limbs do not have to withstand the weight that the feet and ankles do, radiographic images show that gripping and other common motions can also produce lesions compatible with those of neuropathic arthropathy. (Author) 20 refs

  4. Earthquake at 40 feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, G. J.

    1976-01-01

    The earthquake that struck the island of Guam on November 1, 1975, at 11:17 a.m had many unique aspects-not the least of which was the experience of an earthquake of 6.25 Richter magnitude while at 40 feet. My wife Bonnie, a fellow diver, Greg Guzman, and I were diving at Gabgab Beach in teh outer harbor of Apra Harbor, engaged in underwater phoyography when the earthquake struck. 

  5. Drilling a deep geologic test well at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, Arthur P.; Seefelt, Ellen L.

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), is drilling a deep geologic test well at Hilton Head Island, S.C. The test well is scheduled to run between mid-March and early May 2011. When completed, the well will be about 1,000 feet deep. The purpose of this test well is to gain knowledge about the regional-scale Floridan aquifer, an important source of groundwater in the Hilton Head area. Also, cores obtained during drilling will enable geologists to study the last 60 million years of Earth history in this area.

  6. Leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental x-ray unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Eun Kyung

    2007-01-01

    To compare the leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental X-ray unit with radiation from fixed dental X-ray unit. For evaluation we used one hand-held dental X-ray unit and Oramatic 558 (Trophy Radiologie, France), a fixed dental X-ray unit. Doses were measured with Unfors Multi-O-Meter 512L at the right and left hand levels of X-ray tube head part for the scattered and leakage radiation when human skull DXTTR ΙΙΙ was exposed to both dental X-ray units. And for the leakage radiation only, doses were measured at the immediately right, left, superior and posterior side of the tube head part when air was exposed. Exposure parameters of hand-held dental X-ray unit were 70 kVp, 3 mA , 0.1 second, and of fixed X-ray unit 70 kVp, 8 mA, 0.45 second. The mean dose at the hand level when human skull DXTTR ΙΙΙ was exposed with portable X-ray unit 6.39 μGy, and the mean dose with fixed X-ray unit 3.03 μGy (p<0.001). The mean dose at the immediate side of the tube head part when air was exposed with portable X-ray unit was 2.97 μGy and with fixed X-ray unit the mean dose was 0.68 μGy (p<0.01). The leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental radiography was greater than from fixed dental radiography

  7. Leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental x-ray unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Eun Kyung [Dankook Univ. School of Dentistry, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-06-15

    To compare the leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental X-ray unit with radiation from fixed dental X-ray unit. For evaluation we used one hand-held dental X-ray unit and Oramatic 558 (Trophy Radiologie, France), a fixed dental X-ray unit. Doses were measured with Unfors Multi-O-Meter 512L at the right and left hand levels of X-ray tube head part for the scattered and leakage radiation when human skull DXTTR {iota}{iota}{iota} was exposed to both dental X-ray units. And for the leakage radiation only, doses were measured at the immediately right, left, superior and posterior side of the tube head part when air was exposed. Exposure parameters of hand-held dental X-ray unit were 70 kVp, 3 mA , 0.1 second, and of fixed X-ray unit 70 kVp, 8 mA, 0.45 second. The mean dose at the hand level when human skull DXTTR {iota}{iota}{iota} was exposed with portable X-ray unit 6.39 {mu}Gy, and the mean dose with fixed X-ray unit 3.03 {mu}Gy (p<0.001). The mean dose at the immediate side of the tube head part when air was exposed with portable X-ray unit was 2.97 {mu}Gy and with fixed X-ray unit the mean dose was 0.68 {mu}Gy (p<0.01). The leakage and scattered radiation from hand-held dental radiography was greater than from fixed dental radiography.

  8. Feet, Footwork, Footwear, and "Being Alive" in the Modern School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Catherine

    2018-01-01

    This article considers the theoretical argument of anthropologist Tim Ingold, that the denial and subsequent encasement of bare feet in footwear was a critical characteristic of the development of modern societies, in exploring three aspects of feet, footwork, and footwear in the history of the modern school. First, the material conditions of feet…

  9. Ground reaction force characteristics of Tai Chi push hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yao-Ting; Chang, Jia-Hao; Huang, Chen-Fu

    2014-01-01

    Push Hand is an advanced training technique for the Yang-style old frame 108 forms Tai Chi Chuan. It is performed by two practitioners. To clarify how people use forces during Push Hand training, it is important to review the ground reaction force (GRF). Here, we quantify the characteristics of the GRF during Push Hand training. Kinematic data and GRF data from 10 Tai Chi Chuan practitioners (29.9 ± 7.87 years) were synchronously recorded using a three-dimensional motion analysis system (200 frames · s(-1)) and three-dimensional force plates (1000 Hz). The resultant GRF for both feet for the 0%, 50% and 100% phases of attack and defence were compared to body weight using a paired-samples t-test. The differences in the resultant GRF between the 0%, 50% and 100% phases of attack and defence were tested by one-way repeated-measures ANOVA. The significance level was set to 0.05. The total resultant GRF was almost equal to the participant's body weight in push hand. This result was consistent throughout the entire push hand process. Our results revealed that the GRF was comparable to the body weight, implying that practitioners do not push or resist their opponents during the push hand process.

  10. Turning semicircular canal function on its head: dinosaurs and a novel vestibular analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgi, Justin A; Sipla, Justin S; Forster, Catherine A

    2013-01-01

    Previous investigations have correlated vestibular function to locomotion in vertebrates by scaling semicircular duct radius of curvature to body mass. However, this method fails to discriminate bipedal from quadrupedal non-avian dinosaurs. Because they exhibit a broad range of relative head sizes, we use dinosaurs to test the hypothesis that semicircular ducts scale more closely with head size. Comparing the area enclosed by each semicircular canal to estimated body mass and to two different measures of head size, skull length and estimated head mass, reveals significant patterns that corroborate a connection between physical parameters of the head and semicircular canal morphology. Head mass more strongly correlates with anterior semicircular canal size than does body mass and statistically separates bipedal from quadrupedal taxa, with bipeds exhibiting relatively larger canals. This morphologic dichotomy likely reflects adaptations of the vestibular system to stability demands associated with terrestrial locomotion on two, versus four, feet. This new method has implications for reinterpreting previous studies and informing future studies on the connection between locomotion type and vestibular function.

  11. Turning semicircular canal function on its head: dinosaurs and a novel vestibular analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justin A Georgi

    Full Text Available Previous investigations have correlated vestibular function to locomotion in vertebrates by scaling semicircular duct radius of curvature to body mass. However, this method fails to discriminate bipedal from quadrupedal non-avian dinosaurs. Because they exhibit a broad range of relative head sizes, we use dinosaurs to test the hypothesis that semicircular ducts scale more closely with head size. Comparing the area enclosed by each semicircular canal to estimated body mass and to two different measures of head size, skull length and estimated head mass, reveals significant patterns that corroborate a connection between physical parameters of the head and semicircular canal morphology. Head mass more strongly correlates with anterior semicircular canal size than does body mass and statistically separates bipedal from quadrupedal taxa, with bipeds exhibiting relatively larger canals. This morphologic dichotomy likely reflects adaptations of the vestibular system to stability demands associated with terrestrial locomotion on two, versus four, feet. This new method has implications for reinterpreting previous studies and informing future studies on the connection between locomotion type and vestibular function.

  12. Analysis of experience of feet functions perfection in rhythmic gymnastic exercises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nesterova T.V.

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Trainers and gymnasts take the problem of the special preparation feet and developments of method of its perfection to the number of the actual. The results of the pedagogical testing are shown that basic (basic, pushed, amortisation and specific (aesthetic, manipulation, integral functions feet have a different degree of display. They will be realized in exercises on all of the stages of long-term preparation of sportswomen. Most dynamic perfection of functions feet gymnasts take place on the stages of initial and preliminary base preparation.

  13. Simulation of saltwater movement in the Floridan aquifer system, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, Peter W.

    1988-01-01

    Freshwater to supply Hilton Head Island, S.C., is obtained from the upper permeable zone of the Upper Floridan aquifer. Long-term pumping at Savannah, Ga., and the steadily increasing pumping on Hilton Head Island, have lowered Upper Floridan heads near the center of the island from about 10 feet above sea level to about 6 to 7 feet below sea level. The seaward hydraulic gradient that existed before pumping began has been reversed, thus increasing the potential for saltwater intrusion. Simulations of predevelopment, recent, and future ground-water flow in the Floridan aquifer system beneath the north end of Hilton Head Island and Port Royal Sound are presented. A finite-element model for fluid-density-dependent ground-water flow and solute transport was used in cross section. The general configuration of the simulated predevelopment flowfield is typical of a coastal aquifer having a seaward gradient in the freshwater. The freshwater flows toward Port Royal Sound over an intruding wedge of saltwater. The simulated flowfield at the end of 1983 shows that ground water in the Floridan aquifer system beneath most of Hilton Head Island has reversed its predevelopment direction and is moving toward Savannah. The distribution of chloride concentrations, based on simulation at the end of 1983, is about the same as the predevelopment distribution of chloride concentrations obtained from simulation. Results of two 50-year simulations from 1983 to 2034 suggest that there will be no significant threat of saltwater intrusion into the upper permeable zone of the Upper Floridan aquifer if heads on Hilton Head Island remain at current levels for the next 45 to 50 years. However, if head decline continues at the historical rate, any flow that presently occurs from the north end of the island toward Port Royal Sound will cease, allowing lateral intrusion of saltwater to proceed. Even under these conditions, chloride concentrations in the upper permeable zone of the Upper Floridan

  14. Preference for orientations commonly viewed for one's own hand in the anterior intraparietal cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Regine Zopf

    Full Text Available Brain regions in the intraparietal and the premotor cortices selectively process visual and multisensory events near the hands (peri-hand space. Visual information from the hand itself modulates this processing potentially because it is used to estimate the location of one's own body and the surrounding space. In humans specific occipitotemporal areas process visual information of specific body parts such as hands. Here we used an fMRI block-design to investigate if anterior intraparietal and ventral premotor 'peri-hand areas' exhibit selective responses to viewing images of hands and viewing specific hand orientations. Furthermore, we investigated if the occipitotemporal 'hand area' is sensitive to viewed hand orientation. Our findings demonstrate increased BOLD responses in the left anterior intraparietal area when participants viewed hands and feet as compared to faces and objects. Anterior intraparietal and also occipitotemporal areas in the left hemisphere exhibited response preferences for viewing right hands with orientations commonly viewed for one's own hand as compared to uncommon own hand orientations. Our results indicate that both anterior intraparietal and occipitotemporal areas encode visual limb-specific shape and orientation information.

  15. Effect of irradiation on sensory quality of fermented spicy chicken feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Meixu; Li Shurong; Pei Ying; Jiang Xiujie; Wang Zhidong; Deng Wenmin; Chen Xun; Huang Min; Chen Hao

    2010-01-01

    Irradiation could effectively control lactobacillus of fermented spicy chicken feet and extend its shelf life. Sensory evaluation standard of fermented spicy chicken feet was established to study the sensory change after irradiation according to related standards and research results. Color and shape (weight 30%), scent (weight 30%), texture and taste (weight 40%) were selected as sensory evaluation items. The sensory evaluation results after irradiation 3 days didn't show significance difference among control, 3, 5, 8 and 12 kGy irradiated samples, and the sensory evaluation score of 10 kGy irradiated sample was much higher then other sample groups. The results after irradiation 11d were almost as same as 3d results. It is indicated that the sensory quality of fermented spicy chicken feet would not destroyed by irradiation, and suitable dosage of irradiation may promote the sensory quality of fermented spicy chicken feet. (authors)

  16. Gout on CT of the feet: A symmetric arthropathy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doyle, Anthony J.; Boyer, Lucinda; Dong, Jing; Dalbeth, Nicola; McQueen, Fiona; Rome, Keith; Frecklington, Mike

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of bone erosions in the feet of patients with gout using CT and thereby to test the hypothesis that gout is an asymmetric arthropathy. CT scans of both feet were obtained from 25 patients with chronic gout. CT scans were scored for bone erosion using a semi-quantitative method based on the rheumatoid arthritis MRI scoring system (RAMRIS). CT bone erosion was assessed at 22 bones in each foot (total 1,100 bones) by two independent radiologists. Symmetry was assessed by two methods: (i) comparing right and left foot scores for each patient; and (ii) calculating the proportion of paired joints with or without erosions. Observer agreement was excellent (intra-class correlation coefficient 0.92). In the group overall, the difference in scores between the feet was not significant (Student's t-test P = 0.8). In 17 of 25 patients, the difference in erosion scores between the two feet was less than the inter-observer difference. In 24 of 25 patients, the proportion of paired joints was greater than 0.5, indicating symmetric disease. Erosive disease from gout is, in fact, a symmetric process in our patient group. This finding is contrary to the established view of gout as an asymmetric arthritis and lends new insight into the behaviour of this common disease.

  17. Advances in Propulsive Bionic Feet and Their Actuation Principles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre Cherelle

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In the past decades, researchers have deeply studied pathological and nonpathological gait to understand the human ankle function during walking. These efforts resulted in the development of new lower limb prosthetic devices aiming at raising the 3C-level (control, comfort, and cosmetics of amputees. Thanks to the technological advances in engineering and mechatronics, challenges in the field of prosthetics have become an important source of interest for roboticists. Currently, most of the bionic feet are still on a research level but show promising results and a preview of tomorrow's commercial prosthetic devices. In this paper, the authors present the current state-of-the-art and the latest advances in propulsive bionic feet with its actuation principles. The context of this review study is outlined followed by a brief description of the basics in human biomechanics and criteria for new prosthetic designs. A new categorization based on the actuation principle of propulsive ankle-foot prostheses is proposed. Based on simulations, the general principles and benefits of each actuation method are explained. The corresponding latest advances in propulsive bionic feet are presented together with their main characteristics and scientific outcomes. The authors also propose to the reader a comparison analysis of the presented devices with a discussion of the general tendencies in new prosthetic feet.

  18. Decontamination of fermented chicken feet by 60Co irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Peng; Wang Yan; Huang Min; Wu Ling; Du Xiaoying; Lei Qing; Xie Yan

    2010-01-01

    Fermented chicken feet was treated by 60Co irradiation, and the aerobic plate count, enumeration of coliforms, pathogens and TBARS value were measured during storage. The results showed that, aerobic plate count of all irradiated samples was lower than control, and enumeration of coliforms, and pathogens of Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella, Salmonella were not detected. TBARS value of all treatments was stable during 60 d storage. It could be concluded that 60Co irradiation of chicken feet was an effective method to prolong its shelf life. (authors)

  19. [Duodenum-preserving total pancreatic head resection and pancreatic head resection with segmental duodenostomy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takada, Tadahiro; Yasuda, Hideki; Nagashima, Ikuo; Amano, Hodaka; Yoshiada, Masahiro; Toyota, Naoyuki

    2003-06-01

    A duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection (DPPHR) was first reported by Beger et al. in 1980. However, its application has been limited to chronic pancreatitis because of it is a subtotal pancreatic head resection. In 1990, we reported duodenum-preserving total pancreatic head resection (DPTPHR) in 26 cases. This opened the way for total pancreatic head resection, expanding the application of this approach to tumorigenic morbidities such as intraductal papillary mucinous tumor (IMPT), other benign tumors, and small pancreatic cancers. On the other hand, Nakao et al. reported pancreatic head resection with segmental duodenectomy (PHRSD) as an alternative pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy technique in 24 cases. Hirata et al. also reported this technique as a new pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenostomy with increased vessel preservation. When performing DPTPHR, the surgeon should ensure adequate duodenal blood supply. Avoidance of duodenal ischemia is very important in this operation, and thus it is necessary to maintain blood flow in the posterior pancreatoduodenal artery and to preserve the mesoduodenal vessels. Postoperative pancreatic functional tests reveal that DPTPHR is superior to PPPD, including PHSRD, because the entire duodenum and duodenal integrity is very important for postoperative pancreatic function.

  20. A Study on Stability of Limit Cycle Walking Model with Feet: Parameter Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonggwon Jeon

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, two kinds of feet, namely, curved and flat feet, are added to limit cycle walking model to investigate its stability properties. Although both models are already proposed and are investigated, most previous works are focused on efficiency and gait behaviors. Only the stability properties of the simplest walking model conceived Garcia et al. are well defined. Therefore, there is still a need for a precise research on the effect of feet, especially in the view of local stability, bifurcation route to chaos, global stability, falling boundary and energy balance line. Therefore, this article revisits the stability analysis of limit cycle walking model with various foot shape. To analyze the effects of feet, we re-derive the equation of motion of modified models by adding one more parameter of foot shape than the simplest walking model. Also, the falling boundary and energy balance line of modified models are derived to get proper initial conditions for stable walking and to explain global stability. Simulation results show us that the curved feet can enlarge both stable walking range and area of basin of attraction while the case of flat feet depends on foot shape parameter.

  1. Heading-vector navigation based on head-direction cells and path integration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubie, John L; Fenton, André A

    2009-05-01

    Insect navigation is guided by heading vectors that are computed by path integration. Mammalian navigation models, on the other hand, are typically based on map-like place representations provided by hippocampal place cells. Such models compute optimal routes as a continuous series of locations that connect the current location to a goal. We propose a "heading-vector" model in which head-direction cells or their derivatives serve both as key elements in constructing the optimal route and as the straight-line guidance during route execution. The model is based on a memory structure termed the "shortcut matrix," which is constructed during the initial exploration of an environment when a set of shortcut vectors between sequential pairs of visited waypoint locations is stored. A mechanism is proposed for calculating and storing these vectors that relies on a hypothesized cell type termed an "accumulating head-direction cell." Following exploration, shortcut vectors connecting all pairs of waypoint locations are computed by vector arithmetic and stored in the shortcut matrix. On re-entry, when local view or place representations query the shortcut matrix with a current waypoint and goal, a shortcut trajectory is retrieved. Since the trajectory direction is in head-direction compass coordinates, navigation is accomplished by tracking the firing of head-direction cells that are tuned to the heading angle. Section 1 of the manuscript describes the properties of accumulating head-direction cells. It then shows how accumulating head-direction cells can store local vectors and perform vector arithmetic to perform path-integration-based homing. Section 2 describes the construction and use of the shortcut matrix for computing direct paths between any pair of locations that have been registered in the shortcut matrix. In the discussion, we analyze the advantages of heading-based navigation over map-based navigation. Finally, we survey behavioral evidence that nonhippocampal

  2. Altered Levels of Serum Zinc and Cadmium in Patients with Chronic Vesiculobullous Hand and Feet Dermatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Swastika Suvirya

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Micronutrients serve many important functions in our body and altered levels of heavy and trace metals are associated with cutaneous and systemic disorders. Vesicular palmoplantar eczema is an entity whose etiopathogenesis is a mystery. In this prospective case-noncase study blood levels of Zinc and Cadmium in 37 patients of chronic vesiculobullous hand dermatitis were estimated and compared with 40 noncases with similar age and gender distributions. Low serum Zinc levels were found in patients as compared to noncases. The mean difference of serum Zinc between the case and noncase groups was 27.26; the mean value of serum Zinc between the two groups was statistically significant (p<0.0001. However, elevated Cadmium levels were detected in only 5 patients and in none of the noncases. The mean concentration of serum Cadmium was 2.32±0.38 μg/dL, with a range of 1.90–2.80 μg/dL for the five cases in whom Cadmium was detected. Various toxic and trace metals can interact by influencing each other’s absorption, retention, distribution, and bioavailability in the body. The clinical significance of this finding lies in the possible beneficial role of Zinc supplementation in the therapy of chronic vesiculobullous hand dermatitis.

  3. Happy@feet application for the management of diabetic foot osteomyelitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiquet, S; Desbiez, F; Tauveron, I; Mrozek, N; Vidal, M; Lesens, O

    2016-12-01

    We aimed to develop and implement an application that could improve the management of patients presenting with diabetic foot osteomyelitis. Physicians from the multidisciplinary diabetic foot infection team and a software engineer first assessed the needs required for the infection management and application. An experimental version was then designed and progressively improved. A final version was implemented in clinical practice in 2013 by the multidisciplinary diabetic foot infection team of our university hospital. The application, known as Happy@feet, helps gather and allows access to all required data for patient management, dispenses prescriptions (antibiotics, nursing care, blood tests), and helps follow the evolution of the wound. At the end of the consultation, a customizable letter is generated and may be directly sent to the persons concerned. This application also facilitates clinical and economic research. In 2014, Happy@feet was used to follow 83 patients during 271 consultations, 88 of which were day care hospitalizations. The Happy@feet application is useful to manage these complex patients. Once the learning period is over, the time required for data collection is compensated by the rapid dispense of prescriptions and letters. Happy@feet can be used for research projects and will be used in a remote patient management project. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  4. Assessing Children's Legs and Feet

    OpenAIRE

    Wedge, John H.

    1985-01-01

    Shoes are necessary for protection and warmth. Normal children do not require shoes for support. There is no scientific evidence that shoes—‘orthopedic’ or otherwise—influence or alter the growth or shape of the normal child's foot except, perhaps, adversely if they fit poorly. Family physicians must understand common variations of normal foot and leg development if they are to effectively advise and reassure parents about appropriate footwear. Flat feet, knock knees, bow legs, in-toeing, and...

  5. Diffraction enhanced imaging of normal and arthritic mice feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crittell, Suzanne; Cheung, K.C.; Hall, Chris; Ibison, Mark; Nolan, Paul; Page, Robert; Scraggs, David; Wilkinson, Steve

    2007-01-01

    The aim of this experiment was to produce X-ray images of mice feet using the diffraction-enhanced imaging (DEI) system at the UK Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) at Daresbury. There were two broad types of mice feet samples studied: normal and arthritic. The two types of samples were imaged using several views and compared in order to determine whether it would be possible to detect the early morphological changes linked with this form of arthritis. We found that the DEI images produced were indeed of sufficient quality to show the presence of some osteoarthritic changes

  6. Differences in pediatric vertical ground reaction force between planovalgus and neutrally aligned feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauk, Jolanta; Szymul, Joanna

    2014-01-01

    Ground reaction forces (GRF) reflect the force history of human body contact with the ground. The purpose of this study was to explore human gait abnormalities due to planovalgus by comparing vertical GRF data between individuals with planovalgus and those with neutrally aligned feet. Second we estimated associations between various measurements and vertical GRF parameters in a pediatric population. Boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 18 years (72 planovalgus feet and 74 neutrally aligned feet) took part in this study. Ground reaction forces were recorded by two Kistler platforms and normalized to body weight. Comparison of vertical GRF between planovalgus and neutrally aligned feet suggests that the first and the second peaks of vertical force (Fz1, Fz2) are most affected by planovalgus. The results also indicate that neutrally aligned feet display a different ground reaction force pattern than planovalgus, and that differences between boys and girls may be observed. The shape of the vertical GRF curve can help in clinical interpretation of abnormal gait.

  7. Estimation of stature from hand and foot dimensions in a Korean population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Wonjoon; Kim, Yong Min; Yun, Myung Hwan

    2018-04-01

    The estimation of stature using foot and hand dimensions is essential in the process of personal identification. The shapes of feet and hands vary depending on races and gender, and it is of great importance to design an adequate equation in consideration of variances to estimate stature. This study is based on a total of 5,195 South Korean males and females, aged from 20 to 59 years. Body dimensions of stature, hand length, hand breadth, foot length, and foot breadth were measured according to standard anthropometric procedures. The independent t-test was performed in order to verify significant gender-induced differences and the results showed that there was significant difference between males and females for all the foot-hand dimensions (pfoot length showed highest correlation, whereas the hand breadth showed least correlation. The stepwise regression analysis was conducted, and the results showed that males had the highest prediction accuracy in the regression equation consisting of foot length and hand length (R 2 =0.532), whereas females had the highest accuracy in the regression model consisting of foot length and hand breadth (R 2 =0.437) The findings of this study indicated that hand and foot dimensions can be used to predict the stature of South Korean in the forensic science field. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

  8. Ocorrência de dermatófitos em amostras de unhas, pés e mãos coletadas de estudantes universitários Occurrence of dermatophyte, in nails, feet and hands of universitary students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emersom Roberto Siqueira

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho teve como objetivo, avaliar a presença de dermatófitos, especificamente em unhas, pés e mãos de estudantes universitários com e sem lesões sugestivas de dermatofitose. Foram coletadas 280 amostras dessas regiões, das quais 31 (11,1% apresentaram positividade apenas pelo exame direto, e 20 (7,1% tiveram, além do exame direto positivo, crescimento de dermatófito, mediante cultivo da amostra biológica. T. rubrum foi o dermatófito isolado com maior freqüência (80%, seguido por T. mentagrophytes (20%. Considerando os sítios analisados neste trabalho, a ocorrência de dermatófitos foi observada em 10,4% nas unhas dos pés, 5% nas escamas de pés, 2,5% nas unhas das mãos e apenas 0,4% nas escamas das mãos.The objective of this paper was to evaluate the occurrence of dermatophytes, specifically in the nails, feet and hands of university students with and without lesions. Two hundred and eighty samples were collected; 31 (11.1% were positive by direct examination, while only 20 (7.1% showed dermatophyte growth in culture, as well as direct positive examination. Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequently isolated (80% dermatophyte followed by T. mentagrophytes (20%. Considering the sites analyzed, dermatophyte occurrence was: 10.4% in toenails, 5% in foot skin, 2.5% in fingernails and 0.4% in hand skin.

  9. Foot Placement Modification for a Biped Humanoid Robot with Narrow Feet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenji Hashimoto

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a walking stabilization control for a biped humanoid robot with narrow feet. Most humanoid robots have larger feet than human beings to maintain their stability during walking. If robot’s feet are as narrow as humans, it is difficult to realize a stable walk by using conventional stabilization controls. The proposed control modifies a foot placement according to the robot's attitude angle. If a robot tends to fall down, a foot angle is modified about the roll axis so that a swing foot contacts the ground horizontally. And a foot-landing point is also changed laterally to inhibit the robot from falling to the outside. To reduce a foot-landing impact, a virtual compliance control is applied to the vertical axis and the roll and pitch axes of the foot. Verification of the proposed method is conducted through experiments with a biped humanoid robot WABIAN-2R. WABIAN-2R realized a knee-bended walking with 30 mm breadth feet. Moreover, WABIAN-2R mounted on a human-like foot mechanism mimicking a human's foot arch structure realized a stable walking with the knee-stretched, heel-contact, and toe-off motion.

  10. A Study on Stability of Limit Cycle Walking Model with Feet: Parameter Study

    OpenAIRE

    Yonggwon Jeon; Youn-sik Park; Youngjin Park

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, two kinds of feet, namely, curved and flat feet, are added to limit cycle walking model to investigate its stability properties. Although both models are already proposed and are investigated, most previous works are focused on efficiency and gait behaviors. Only the stability properties of the simplest walking model conceived Garcia et al. are well defined. Therefore, there is still a need for a precise research on the effect of feet, especially in the view of local stability,...

  11. Genetic correlations between claw health and feet and leg conformation in Norwegian Red cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ødegård, C; Svendsen, M; Heringstad, B

    2014-07-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate genetic correlations between claw disorders and feet and leg conformation traits in Norwegian Red cows. A total of 188,928 cows with claw health status recorded at claw trimming from 2004 to September 2013 and 210,789 first-lactation cows with feet and leg conformation scores from 2001 to September 2013 were included in the analyses. Traits describing claw health were corkscrew claw, infectious claw disorders (dermatitis, heel horn erosion, and interdigital phlegmon), and laminitis-related claw disorders (sole ulcer, white line disorder, and hemorrhage of sole and white line). The feet and leg conformation traits were rear leg rear view (new and old definition), rear leg side view, foot angle, and hoof quality. Feet and leg conformation traits were scored linearly from 1 to 9, with optimum scores depending on the trait. Claw disorders were defined as binary (0/1) traits for each lactation. Threshold sire models were used to model claw disorders, whereas the feet and leg conformation traits were described by linear sire models. Three multivariate analyses were performed, each including the 5 feet and leg conformation traits and 1 of the 3 claw disorders at a time. Posterior means of heritability of liability of claw disorders ranged from 0.10 to 0.20 and heritabilities of feet and leg conformation traits ranged from 0.04 to 0.11. Posterior standard deviation of heritability was ≤0.01 for all traits. Genetic correlations between claw disorders and feet and leg conformation traits were all low or moderate, except between corkscrew claw and hoof quality (-0.86), which are supposed to measure the same trait. The genetic correlations between rear leg rear view (new) and infectious claw disorders (-0.20) and laminitis-related claw disorders (0.26), and between hoof quality and laminitis-related claw disorders (-0.33) were moderate. Eight of the 15 genetic correlations between claw disorders and feet and leg conformation traits had 0

  12. Comparison of inverse modeling results with measured and interpolated hydraulic head data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobson, E.A.

    1986-12-01

    Inverse modeling of aquifers involves identification of effective parameters, such as transmissivities, based on hydraulic head data. The result of inverse modeling is a calibrated ground water flow model that reproduces the measured hydraulic head data as closely as is statistically possible. An inverse method that includes prior information about the parameters (i.e., kriged log transmissivity) was applied to the Avra Valley aquifer of southern Arizona using hydraulic heads obtained in three ways: measured at well locations, estimated at nodes by hand contouring, and estimated at nodes by kriging. Hand contouring yields only estimates of hydraulic head at node points, whereas kriging yields hydraulic head estimates at node points and their corresponding estimation errors. A comparison of the three inverse applications indicates the variations in the ground water flow model caused by the different treatments of the hydraulic head data. Estimates of hydraulic head computed by all three inverse models were more representative of the measured or interpolated hydraulic heads than those computed using the kriged estimates of log transmissivity. The large-scale trends in the estimates of log transmissivity determined by the three inverse models were generally similar except in the southern portion of the study area. The hydraulic head values and gradients produced by the three inverse models were similar in the interior of the study area, while the major differences between the inverse models occurred along the boundaries. 17 refs., 18 figs., 1 tab

  13. Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of isolated arthrogryposis of feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Degani, S; Shapiro, I; Lewinsky, R; Sharf, M

    1989-01-01

    Prenatal diagnosis of isolated arthrogryposis of the feet at the ankle joint was made by ultrasound and confirmed at birth. The criteria for ruling out joint contracture are absence of fixed limb deformity, and free fetal motion.

  14. The Phonetics of Head and Body Movement in the Realization of American Sign Language Signs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyrone, Martha E; Mauk, Claude E

    2016-01-01

    Because the primary articulators for sign languages are the hands, sign phonology and phonetics have focused mainly on them and treated other articulators as passive targets. However, there is abundant research on the role of nonmanual articulators in sign language grammar and prosody. The current study examines how hand and head/body movements are coordinated to realize phonetic targets. Kinematic data were collected from 5 deaf American Sign Language (ASL) signers to allow the analysis of movements of the hands, head and body during signing. In particular, we examine how the chin, forehead and torso move during the production of ASL signs at those three phonological locations. Our findings suggest that for signs with a lexical movement toward the head, the forehead and chin move to facilitate convergence with the hand. By comparison, the torso does not move to facilitate convergence with the hand for signs located at the torso. These results imply that the nonmanual articulators serve a phonetic as well as a grammatical or prosodic role in sign languages. Future models of sign phonetics and phonology should take into consideration the movements of the nonmanual articulators in the realization of signs. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  15. A novel aromatic oil compound inhibits microbial overgrowth on feet: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Misner Bill D

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Athlete's Foot (Tinea pedis is a form of ringworm associated with highly contagious yeast-fungi colonies, although they look like bacteria. Foot bacteria overgrowth produces a harmless pungent odor, however, uncontrolled proliferation of yeast-fungi produces small vesicles, fissures, scaling, and maceration with eroded areas between the toes and the plantar surface of the foot, resulting in intense itching, blisters, and cracking. Painful microbial foot infection may prevent athletic participation. Keeping the feet clean and dry with the toenails trimmed reduces the incidence of skin disease of the feet. Wearing sandals in locker and shower rooms prevents intimate contact with the infecting organisms and alleviates most foot-sensitive infections. Enclosing feet in socks and shoes generates a moisture-rich environment that stimulates overgrowth of pungent both aerobic bacteria and infectious yeast-fungi. Suppression of microbial growth may be accomplished by exposing the feet to air to enhance evaporation to reduce moistures' growth-stimulating effect and is often neglected. There is an association between yeast-fungi overgrowths and disabling foot infections. Potent agents virtually exterminate some microbial growth, but the inevitable presence of infection under the nails predicts future infection. Topical antibiotics present a potent approach with the ideal agent being one that removes moisture producing antibacterial-antifungal activity. Severe infection may require costly prescription drugs, salves, and repeated treatment. Methods A 63-y female volunteered to enclose feet in shoes and socks for 48 hours. Aerobic bacteria and yeast-fungi counts were determined by swab sample incubation technique (1 after 48-hours feet enclosure, (2 after washing feet, and (3 after 8-hours socks-shoes exposure to a aromatic oil powder-compound consisting of arrowroot, baking soda, basil oil, tea tree oil, sage oil, and clove oil. Conclusion

  16. A 24-year-old Ethiopian Farmer with Burning Feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Visser, Benjamin Jelle; Korevaar, Daniel Arnoldus; van der Zee, Janneke

    2012-01-01

    Podoconiosis is a non-infectious tropical disease caused by exposure of bare feet to irritant alkalic clay soils. This causes an asymmetrical swelling of the feet and lower limbs due to lymphoedema. This swelling is called “elephantiasis” and may lead to severe disability of the patient. It is found in areas of tropical Africa, Central and South America and north-west India, where such soils coexist with high altitude, high seasonal rainfall and low income. Social stigmatization of people with the disease is widespread and economic losses are enormous. Podoconiosis is unique in being an entirely preventable non-communicable tropical disease. However, so far it has received little attention from health care policy makers. PMID:23042845

  17. Vibration produced by hand-held olive electrical harvesters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emanuele Cerruto

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper reports the results of some laboratory and field tests aimed at assessing the acceleration levels transmitted to the hand-arm system by electric portable harvesters for olive. Four harvesting heads, different for shape and kinematic system, and five bars, different for diameter, length and material (aluminium and carbon fibre, were used in assembling eleven harvesters. The vibrations were measured in two points, next to the handgrips. The laboratory tests allowed the evaluation of the acceleration levels in standard controlled conditions, while the field tests allowed the assessing of the effects of the tree canopy with respect to the no load running. The laboratory tests showed that in reducing the vibration level plays a major role the kinematic system of the harvesting head and then the bar material. The classical flap-type harvester produced accelerations of around 20 m/s2, while by using a harvesting head with two parts in opposite movement, the accelerations were lowered to about 6 m/s2. The use of carbon fibres for the bars, besides the reduction in weight, produced also a reduction in acceleration (from 21 to 16 m/s2. The field tests proved that the tree canopy had a negative effect on the vibrations transmitted to the hand-arm system, especially when the aluminium bar of small diameter was used.

  18. Carrying Position Independent User Heading Estimation for Indoor Pedestrian Navigation with Smartphones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhi-An Deng

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel heading estimation approach for indoor pedestrian navigation using the built-in inertial sensors on a smartphone. Unlike previous approaches constraining the carrying position of a smartphone on the user’s body, our approach gives the user a larger freedom by implementing automatic recognition of the device carrying position and subsequent selection of an optimal strategy for heading estimation. We firstly predetermine the motion state by a decision tree using an accelerometer and a barometer. Then, to enable accurate and computational lightweight carrying position recognition, we combine a position classifier with a novel position transition detection algorithm, which may also be used to avoid the confusion between position transition and user turn during pedestrian walking. For a device placed in the trouser pockets or held in a swinging hand, the heading estimation is achieved by deploying a principal component analysis (PCA-based approach. For a device held in the hand or against the ear during a phone call, user heading is directly estimated by adding the yaw angle of the device to the related heading offset. Experimental results show that our approach can automatically detect carrying positions with high accuracy, and outperforms previous heading estimation approaches in terms of accuracy and applicability.

  19. A U-shaped linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with double feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yingxiang; Liu, Junkao; Chen, Weishan; Shi, Shengjun

    2012-05-01

    A U-shaped linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with double feet was proposed in this paper. The proposed motor contains a horizontal transducer and two vertical transducers. The horizontal transducer includes two exponential shape horns located at the leading ends, and each vertical transducer contains one exponential shape horn. The horns of the horizontal transducer and the vertical transducer intersect at the tip ends where the driving feet are located. Longitudinal vibrations are superimposed in the motor and generate elliptical motions at the driving feet. The two vibration modes of the motor are discussed, and the motion trajectories of driving feet are deduced. By adjusting the structural parameters, the resonance frequencies of two vibration modes were degenerated. A prototype motor was fabricated and measured. Typical output of the prototype is no-load speed of 854 mm/s and maximum thrust force of 40 N at a voltage of 200 V(rms).

  20. Effect of irradiation on nutritional quality of chicken feet with pickled peppers in shelf life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Shurong; Zhou Linyan; Yi Jianyong; Feng Min; Li Li; Yang Ping; Wang Dening; Gu Guiqiang; Zhu Jiating

    2013-01-01

    The effect of irradiation on nutritional quality of soft packaged chicken feet with pickled peppers within shelf life were investigated. Chicken feet were irradiated by E-beam which max dose was 10 kGy, and all the samples were stored at 0 ∼ 10℃ and analyzed one month after irradiation treatment. Significant sterilizing effect was got for soft packaged chicken feet with pickled peppers by irradiation; The contents of protein and fat were changed after irradiation treatment; the contents of V_A, V_E and V_B_3 in irradiated chicken feet were increased; The total contents of amino acids increased when irradiation dose were more than 4 kGy; The contents of total acids decreased after irradiation treatment, but the contents of cholesterol and nitrite increased. Above all, irradiation treatment can be used to improve nutritional quality of chicken feet with pickled peppers in shelf life. (authors)

  1. [Diagnostic and organizational error in head injuries].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaba, Czesław; Zaba, Zbigniew; Swiderski, Paweł; Lorkiewicz-Muszyíska, Dorota

    2009-01-01

    The study aimed at presenting a case of a diagnostic and organizational error involving lack of detection of foreign body presence in the soft tissues of the head. Head radiograms in two projections clearly demonstrated foreign bodies that resembled in shape flattened bullets, which could not have been missed upon evaluation of the X-rays. On the other hand, description of the radiograms entered by the attending physicians to the patient's medical record indicated an absence of traumatic injuries or foreign bodies. In the opinion of the authors, the case in question involved a diagnostic error: the doctors failed to detect the presence of foreign bodies in the head. The organizational error involved the failure of radiogram evaluation performed by a radiologist.

  2. Terrain Adaptability Mechanism of Large Ruminants' Feet on the Kinematics View.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qun; Ding, Xilun; Xu, Kun

    2015-01-01

    Ruminants live in various parts of land. Similar cloven hooves assist ruminants in adapting to different ground environment during locomotion. This paper analyzes the general terrain adaptability of the feet of ruminants using kinematics of the equivalent mechanism model based on screw theory. Cloven hooves could adjust attitude by changing relative positions between two digits in swing phase. This function helps to choose better landing orientation. "Grasping" or "holding" a rock or other object on the ground passively provides extra adhesion force in stance phase. Ruminants could adjust the position of the metacarpophalangeal joint or metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP or MCP) with no relative motion between the tip of feet and the ground, which ensures the adhesion and dexterity in stance phase. These functions are derived from an example from chamois' feet and several assumptions, which are believed to demonstrate the foundation of adaptation of ruminants and ensure a stable and continuous movement.

  3. Cinderella's Lessons on Footbinding: How Tiny Feet Found their Way into the Chinese Cinderella Story

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tyler Scott Smith

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The story of Cinderella has had many variants, some dating back to ancient Tibetan trade routes and dynastic China. When the tale is analysed in comparison to other variants it is found that in the Chinese version Yeh-Shen (Cinderella is prized for the small size of her feet. The result of Yeh-Shen having small feet in the story is that she is led her into wealth, power and marriage, the same pursuable goals that led to the custom of footbinding. In southern China the custom of footbinding became a historically defining feature of the society. A women's beauty and her delicacy were judged by the size of her feet, and small feet were the aim of the binding. Small feet played such an important role in the society that it can be found as early as the ninth century C.E., in the traditional oral story, Yeh-Shen.

  4. Why language matters: a tour through hand hygiene literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Pires

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hand hygiene has evolved over the last decades and many terminologies emerged. We aimed to analyse the evolution in the frequency of utilization of key hand hygiene terms in the literature along the years. Methods We identified keywords and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH used in MEDLINE® indexation related to hand hygiene by searching international guidelines and the MeSH database. We performed a MEDLINE® search combining the selected keywords and MeSH and analysed the number of publications retrieved yearly. Results The literature search yielded 9019 publications when all hand hygiene related search terms were combined, between 1921 and November 2016. The total number of publications per year increased from a median of 4 (IQR 3, 6 in the 1950’s to 554 (IQR 478, 583 between 2011 and 2015. The most frequently used keywords are hand disinfection, hand hygiene, hand washing, handrub, hand sanitizer and alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR. Until the 1990s, hand disinfection and hand washing were the most frequently used terms. Whilst the last decade has seen a remarkable increase in publications mentioning hand disinfection and hand hygiene and for the first time handrub, hand sanitizers and ABHR were introduced in the literature. Hand disinfection, hand hygiene and hand sanitizers are the main MeSH used by MEDLINE®. Since 2013 hand hygiene is the most frequently used MeSH and keyword. Conclusions The change seen in literature in the last two decades, from hand washing and hand disinfection to hand hygiene, most probably reflect the paradigm shift favouring use of ABHR over soap and water promoted by international guidelines in the early 2000s.

  5. Sea urchin tube feet are photosensory organs that express a rhabdomeric-like opsin and PAX6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesser, Michael P.; Carleton, Karen L.; Böttger, Stefanie A.; Barry, Thomas M.; Walker, Charles W.

    2011-01-01

    All echinoderms have unique hydraulic structures called tube feet, known for their roles in light sensitivity, respiration, chemoreception and locomotion. In the green sea urchin, the most distal portion of these tube feet contain five ossicles arranged as a light collector with its concave surface facing towards the ambient light. These ossicles are perforated and lined with pigment cells that express a PAX6 protein that is universally involved in the development of eyes and sensory organs in other bilaterians. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sequencing and real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) also demonstrate the presence and differential expression of a rhabdomeric-like opsin within these tube feet. Morphologically, nerves that could serve to transmit information to the test innervate the tube feet, and the differential expression of opsin transcripts in the tube feet is inversely, and significantly, related to the amount of light that tube feet are exposed to depending on their location on the test. The expression of these genes, the differential expression of opsin based on light exposure and the unique morphological features at the distal portion of the tube foot strongly support the hypothesis that in addition to previously identified functional roles of tube feet they are also photosensory organs that detect and respond to changes in the underwater light field. PMID:21450733

  6. Work hands and feet in motion on the vertical ladder into the prosthesis disabled lower limb

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Yugang

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The influence of the conditions of ascent and descent on the stairs with disabilities is shown. The study involved 12 persons with lower limb prosthetic right or left foot. The purpose was to determine the specific conditions of disabled people in the process of adaptation to the complicated conditions of their life. Underlying this approach is the study of the biomechanical characteristics the movements of disabled people in special terms. The factors that influence the effectiveness of the disability movement on the stairs is shown. These include slope angle, a compensatory effort of the hands and the ability to maintain balance while moving. These studies are the basis for a meaningful solution to improve the disability movement in the complicated conditions.

  7. Validation of hand and foot anatomical feature measurements from smartphone images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amini, Mohammad; Vasefi, Fartash; MacKinnon, Nicholas

    2018-02-01

    A smartphone mobile medical application, previously presented as a tool for individuals with hand arthritis to assess and monitor the progress of their disease, has been modified and expanded to include extraction of anatomical features from the hand (joint/finger width, and angulation) and foot (length, width, big toe angle, and arch height index) from smartphone camera images. Image processing algorithms and automated measurements were validated by performing tests on digital hand models, rigid plastic hand models, and real human hands and feet to determine accuracy and reproducibility compared to conventional measurement tools such as calipers, rulers, and goniometers. The mobile application was able to provide finger joint width measurements with accuracy better than 0.34 (+/-0.25) millimeters. Joint angulation measurement accuracy was better than 0.50 (+/-0.45) degrees. The automatically calculated foot length accuracy was 1.20 (+/-1.27) millimeters and the foot width accuracy was 1.93 (+/-1.92) millimeters. Hallux valgus angle (used in assessing bunions) accuracy was 1.30 (+/-1.29) degrees. Arch height index (AHI) measurements had an accuracy of 0.02 (+/-0.01). Combined with in-app documentation of symptoms, treatment, and lifestyle factors, the anatomical feature measurements can be used by both healthcare professionals and manufacturers. Applications include: diagnosing hand osteoarthritis; providing custom finger splint measurements; providing compression glove measurements for burn and lymphedema patients; determining foot dimensions for custom shoe sizing, insoles, orthotics, or foot splints; and assessing arch height index and bunion treatment effectiveness.

  8. Inter-observer reliability of high-resolution ultrasonography in the assessment of bone erosions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: experience of an intensive dedicated training programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierrez, Marwin; Filippucci, Emilio; Ruta, Santiago; Salaffi, Fausto; Blasetti, Patrizia; Di Geso, Luca; Grassi, Walter

    2011-02-01

    The present study was aimed at testing the ability of a rheumatologist without experience in ultrasound (US) who attended an intensive 4-week training programme focused on US assessing bone erosions in the hands and feet in patients with RA. Twenty patients diagnosed with RA according to the ACR criteria were included in the study. All US examinations were performed bilaterally by two investigators (with different experience in the field of musculoskeletal US) at the following sites: the dorsal, lateral and volar aspect of the second metacarpal, ulnar and fifth metatarsal head; and the dorsal and volar aspect of the third metacarpal and second proximal heads. Each quadrant was scanning in longitudinal and transverse scans for assessing the qualitative, semiquantitative and quantitative US findings indicative of bone erosions according the OMERACT preliminary definition. Both κ-values and overall agreement percentages of qualitative and semiquantitative assessments showed moderate to excellent agreement between the two investigators. Similar results were obtained for the quantitative assessment with the concordance correlation coefficient value always significant. The only exception was the volar aspects, in particular those of the fifth metatarsal head. Our study suggests that after a 4-week dedicated training programme, a rheumatologist without experience in US is able to detect and score bone erosions in the hands and feet of patients with RA.

  9. A feasibility and efficacy trial of a hand-held humidification device in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Priyanka; Lazar, Ann A; Ryan, William R; Yom, Sue S

    2017-08-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the effects of warm-mist humidification during and after head and neck radiation therapy (HN RT) on quality of life (QOL), as measured by the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck (MDASI-HN) HN score. A secondary aim was to compare QOL among compliers (≥60% of protocol-recommended usage) versus non-compliers. Twenty patients self-administered a hand-held, self-sterilizing humidification device for a recommended time of at least 15 min twice daily for 12 weeks. Patients completed the MDASI-HN instrument at RT start, after 6 weeks, and after 12 weeks. Compliance was reported weekly. The average HN score at baseline was 1.7 (SD = 1.8) and increased to 6.0 (SD = 1.6) after 6 weeks; this increase was much higher than anticipated and the primary endpoint could not be reached. However, compliers had an average of nearly two less HN symptoms (-1.8, 95% CI -4 to 0.2; p = 0.08) than non-compliers at 6 weeks and fewer symptoms at 12 weeks as well (-0.9, 95% CI -2.9 to 1.2; p = 0.39). The most common terms patients used to describe humidification were "helpful" and "soothing." Compliance with humidification during RT was associated with fewer reported HN symptoms and a strong trend to better QOL. Improvements were seen from compliance with occasional required use of a portable, inexpensive device. Our findings support continued efforts to reduce barriers to humidification, as an intervention that should be considered for standard HN RT clinical practice.

  10. T2 signal intensity as an imaging biomarker for patients with superficial Fibromatoses of the hands (Dupuytren's disease) and feet (Ledderhose disease) undergoing definitive electron beam irradiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, James S; Wolfson, Aaron H; Subhawong, Ty K

    2018-02-01

    Electron beam therapy is a definitive radiation treatment option for superficial fibromatoses of the hands and feet. Because objective criteria for treatment response remain poorly defined, we sought to describe changes in electron beam treated lesions on MRI. The study included 1 male and 9 female patients with a total of 37 superficial fibromatoses; average age was 60.7 years. Standard 6 MeV electron beam treatment included 3 Gy per fraction for 10 or 12 treatments using split-course with 3-month halfway break. Pre- and post-treatment MRIs were evaluated to determine lesion size (cm3), T2 signal intensity and contrast enhancement (5-point ordinal scales) by a fellowship trained musculoskeletal radiologist. MRI findings were correlated with clinical response using a composite 1-5 ordinal scale, Karnofsky Performance Scale and patient-reported 10-point visual analog scale for pain. Mean volume decreased from 1.5 to 1.2 cm 3 (p = 0.01, paired t-test). Mean T2 hyperintensity score decreased from 3.0 to 2.1 (p Wilcoxon signed-rank). Mean enhancement score available for 22 lesions decreased from 3.8 to 3.0 (p Wilcoxon signed-rank). Performance scores improved from 78.9 ± 13.7 to 84.6 ± 6.9 (p = 0.007, paired t-test). Pain scores decreased from 3.0 ± 3.3 to 1.1 ± 2.0 (p = 0.0001, paired t-test). Post-treatment T2 signal correlated weakly with performance and pain (Spearman's ρ = -0.37 and 0.16, respectively). MRI is valuable for evaluating patients undergoing electron beam therapy for superficial fibromatoses: higher pretreatment T2 intensity may predict benefit from radiotherapy. T2 hypointensity may be a better marker than size for therapeutic effect.

  11. [Blast injuries of the hands in precarious health situation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allah, K C; Kossoko, H; Assi Djè Bi Djè, V; Yéo, S; Bonny, R; Richard Kadio, M

    2014-06-01

    The hands of "blast" resulting from the handling of unstable explosives. Their repercussion is functional and vital in trauma patients. The authors report their experience of care from the hands of blast in precarious health situation. Between 2001 and 2012, 33 hand blasts were supported in 30 injured civilians and military, received emergency, during and after armed conflict. Two women (6.7%) and 28 men (93.3%) were received, including four teenagers (13.3%) and 26 adults (86.7%). During the war, 15 officers weapon (50%) and three civilians (10%) underwent surgery, or 60% of hand injuries. In peacetime, civilians were mostly operated in 33.3% of cases, against 6.7% of cases of agents' weapon. Nineteen hands blast (57.6%) were observed during the war and 14 in peacetime, or 42.4% of cases. The average age was 25.2 years, with extremes of 12 and 50 years. Thirteen left hands (39.4%) and 20 right hands (60.6%) were operated. The lesion concerned all the anatomical structures of the hand. It was unilateral in 27 cases (81.9%) and bilateral in three cases (9.1%). Three types of hand trauma were observed and were as follows: trauma patients with injuries of the hand (18.2%), trauma of severe and isolated proximal hand or finger amputations (75.7%), and trauma of the hand without apparent seriousness (6.1%). The associated lesion was eye (one case), chest (one case), abdominal (five cases). Debridement was performed immediate emergency (93.9%) and delayed (6.1%). The treatment was surgical hemostasis, made mainly of amputations (69.7%) and regularization of digital stumps (12.1%). The repair was performed in 18.2% of cases. One death has been reported in a polytrauma patient with chest blast. Blast injuries of the hand are common in times of war in armed agents. The young people, manual workers and children are paying a heavy price in peacetime. As land mines which affect feet, instable hand grenades are left exposed in nature. In precarious health situation, instead of

  12. Golf hand prosthesis performance of transradial amputees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Stephanie L; Wernke, Matthew M; Lura, Derek J; Kahle, Jason T; Dubey, Rajiv V; Highsmith, M Jason

    2015-06-01

    Typical upper limb prostheses may limit sports participation; therefore, specialized terminal devices are often needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of transradial amputees to play golf using a specialized terminal device. Club head speed, X-factor, and elbow motion of two individuals with transradial amputations using an Eagle Golf terminal device were compared to a non-amputee during a golf swing. Measurements were collected pre/post training with various stances and grips. Both prosthesis users preferred a right-handed stance initially; however, after training, one preferred a left-handed stance. The amputees had slower club head speeds and a lower X-factor compared to the non-amputee golfer, but increased their individual elbow motion on the prosthetic side after training. Amputees enjoyed using the device, and it may provide kinematic benefits indicated by the increase in elbow flexion on the prosthetic side. The transradial amputees were able to swing a golf club with sufficient repetition, form, and velocity to play golf recreationally. Increased elbow flexion on the prosthetic side suggests a potential benefit from using the Eagle Golf terminal device. Participating in recreational sports can increase amputees' health and quality of life. © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2014.

  13. Development of inexpensive prosthetic feet for high-heeled shoes using simple shoe insole model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Margrit R; Tucker, Kerice A; Hansen, Andrew H

    2014-01-01

    The large majority of prosthetic feet are aimed at low-heeled shoes, with a few models allowing a heel height of up to 5 cm. However, a survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association indicates that most women wear heels over 5 cm; thus, current prosthetic feet limit most female prosthesis users in their choice. Some prosthetic foot components are heel-height adjustable; however, their plantar surface shapes do not change to match the insole shapes of the shoes with different heel heights. The aims of the study were therefore (1) to develop a model that allows prediction of insole shape for various heel height shoes in combination with different shoe sizes and (2) to develop and field-test low-cost prototypes of prosthetic feet whose insole shapes were based on the new model. An equation was developed to calculate insole shapes independent of shoe size. Field testing of prototype prosthetic feet fabricated based on the equation was successful and demonstrated the utility of the equation.

  14. Concept for a large master/slave-controlled robotic hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grissom, William A.; Abdallah, Mahmoud A.; White, Carl L.

    1988-01-01

    A strategy is presented for the design and construction of a large master/slave-controlled, five-finger robotic hand. Each of the five fingers will possess four independent axes each driven by a brushless DC servomotor and, thus, four degrees-of-freedom. It is proposed that commercially available components be utilized as much as possible to fabricate a working laboratory model of the device with an anticipated overall length of two-to-four feet (0.6 to 1.2 m). The fingers are to be designed so that proximity, tactile, or force/torque sensors can be imbedded in their structure. In order to provide for the simultaneous control of the twenty independent hand joints, a multilevel master/slave control strategy is proposed in which the operator wears a specially instrumented glove which produces control signals corresponding to the finger configurations and which is capable of conveying sensor feedback signals to the operator. Two dexterous hand master devices are currently commercially available for this application with both undergoing continuing development. A third approach to be investigated for the master control mode is the use of real-time image processing of a specially patterned master glove to provide the respective control signals for positioning the multiple finger joints.

  15. Biased Brownian motion mechanism for processivity and directionality of single-headed myosin-VI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwaki, Mitsuhiro; Iwane, Atsuko Hikikoshi; Ikebe, Mitsuo; Yanagida, Toshio

    2008-01-01

    Conventional form to function as a vesicle transporter is not a 'single molecule' but a coordinated 'two molecules'. The coordinated two molecules make it complicated to reveal its mechanism. To overcome the difficulty, we adopted a single-headed myosin-VI as a model protein. Myosin-VI is an intracellular vesicle and organelle transporter that moves along actin filaments in a direction opposite to most other known myosin classes. The myosin-VI was expected to form a dimer to move processively along actin filaments with a hand-over-hand mechanism like other myosin organelle transporters. However, wild-type myosin-VI was demonstrated to be monomer and single-headed, casting doubt on its processivity. Using single molecule techniques, we show that green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fused single-headed myosin-VI does not move processively. However, when coupled to a 200 nm polystyrene bead (comparable to an intracellular vesicle in size) at a ratio of one head per bead, single-headed myosin-VI moves processively with large (40 nm) steps. Furthermore, we found that a single-headed myosin-VI-bead complex moved more processively in a high-viscous solution (40-fold higher than water) similar to cellular environment. Because diffusion of the bead is 60-fold slower than myosin-VI heads alone in water, we propose a model in which the bead acts as a diffusional anchor for the myosin-VI, enhancing the head's rebinding following detachment and supporting processive movement of the bead-monomer complex. This investigation will help us understand how molecular motors utilize Brownian motion in cells.

  16. Large scale study on the variation of RF energy absorption in the head & brain regions of adults and children and evaluation of the SAM phantom conservativeness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keshvari, J.; Kivento, M.; Christ, A.; Bit-Babik, G.

    2016-04-01

    This paper presents the results of two computational large scale studies using highly realistic exposure scenarios, MRI based human head and hand models, and two mobile phone models. The objectives are (i) to study the relevance of age when people are exposed to RF by comparing adult and child heads and (ii) to analyze and discuss the conservativeness of the SAM phantom for all age groups. Representative use conditions were simulated using detailed CAD models of two mobile phones operating between 900 MHz and 1950 MHz including configurations with the hand holding the phone, which were not considered in most previous studies. The peak spatial-average specific absorption rate (psSAR) in the head and the pinna tissues is assessed using anatomically accurate head and hand models. The first of the two mentioned studies involved nine head-, four hand- and two phone-models, the second study included six head-, four hand- and three simplified phone-models (over 400 configurations in total). In addition, both studies also evaluated the exposure using the SAM phantom. Results show no systematic differences between psSAR induced in the adult and child heads. The exposure level and its variation for different age groups may be different for particular phones, but no correlation between psSAR and model age was found. The psSAR from all exposure conditions was compared to the corresponding configurations using SAM, which was found to be conservative in the large majority of cases.

  17. FLAT FEET OF DHE CHILDREN IN PRE-SCHOOL AGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Admira Koničanin

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Subjekt : Of this research are flat feet of the children of both sexes in pre-school age children Aim : Of the research is confirm wheter is exists or flat feel of the children of both sexes in pre-school age.

  18. Homozygous sequence variants in the WNT10B gene underlie split hand/foot malformation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asmat Ullah

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Split-hand/split-foot malformation (SHFM, also known as ectrodactyly is a rare genetic disorder. It is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of limb malformations characterized by absence/hypoplasia and/or median cleft of hands and/or feet. To date, seven genes underlying SHFM have been identified. This study described four consanguineous families (A-D segregating SHFM in an autosomal recessive manner. Linkage in the families was established to chromosome 12p11.1–q13.13 harboring WNT10B gene. Sequence analysis identified a novel homozygous nonsense variant (p.Gln154* in exon 4 of the WNT10B gene in two families (A and B. In the other two families (C and D, a previously reported variant (c.300_306dupAGGGCGG; p.Leu103Argfs*53 was detected. This study further expands the spectrum of the sequence variants reported in the WNT10B gene, which result in the split hand/foot malformation.

  19. Doppler sonography of diabetic feet: Quantitative analysis of blood flow volume

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seo, Young Lan; Kim, Ho Chul; Choi, Chul Soon; Yoon, Dae Young; Han, Dae Hee; Moon, Jeung Hee; Bae, Sang Hoon

    2002-01-01

    To analyze Doppler sonographic findings of diabetic feet by estimating the quantitative blood flow volume and by analyzing waveform on Doppler. Doppler sonography was performed in thirty four patients (10 diabetic patients with foot ulceration, 14 diabetic patients without ulceration and 10 normal patients as the normal control group) to measure the flow volume of the arteries of the lower extremities (posterior and anterior tibial arteries, and distal femoral artery. Analysis of doppler waveforms was also done to evaluate the nature of the changed blood flow volume of diabetic patients, and the waveforms were classified into triphasic, biphasic-1, biphasic-2 and monophasic patterns. Flow volume of arteries in diabetic patients with foot ulceration was increased witha statistical significance when compared to that of diabetes patients without foot ulceration of that of normal control group (P<0.05). Analysis of Doppler waveform revealed that the frequency of biphasic-2 pattern was significantly higher in diabetic patients than in normal control group(p<0.05). Doppler sonography in diabetic feet showed increased flow volume and biphasic Doppler waveform, and these findings suggest neuropathy rather than ischemic changes in diabetic feet.

  20. Normative data for cutaneous threshold and spatial discrimination in the feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinkel, Willem D; Aziz, M Hosein; Van Deelen, Meike J M; Willemsen, Sten P; Castro Cabezas, Manuel; Van Neck, Johan W; Coert, J Henk

    2017-09-01

    No data are available for normative values of cutaneous threshold and spatial discrimination in the feet. We developed clinically applicable reference values in relation to the nerve distributions of the feet. We determined foot sensation in 196 healthy individuals. Cutaneous threshold (1-point static discrimination, S1PD) was tested with monofilaments (0.008 to 300 gram) and spatial discrimination (2-point static [S2PD] and moving [M2PD] discrimination) on five locations per foot. There was a significant age-dependent increase in S1PD, S2PD, and M2PD values (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between both feet. S1PD values differed up to 0.8 g between genders. There were no significant differences between genders for S2PD and M2PD measurements. M2PD values were generally lower than S2PD values. This study provides age-related normative values for foot sensation to help clinicians assess sensory deficits in relation to aging and identify patients with underlying nerve problems. Muscle Nerve 56: 399-407, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Doppler sonography of diabetic feet: Quantitative analysis of blood flow volume

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seo, Young Lan; Kim, Ho Chul; Choi, Chul Soon; Yoon, Dae Young; Han, Dae Hee; Moon, Jeung Hee; Bae, Sang Hoon [Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2002-09-15

    To analyze Doppler sonographic findings of diabetic feet by estimating the quantitative blood flow volume and by analyzing waveform on Doppler. Doppler sonography was performed in thirty four patients (10 diabetic patients with foot ulceration, 14 diabetic patients without ulceration and 10 normal patients as the normal control group) to measure the flow volume of the arteries of the lower extremities (posterior and anterior tibial arteries, and distal femoral artery. Analysis of doppler waveforms was also done to evaluate the nature of the changed blood flow volume of diabetic patients, and the waveforms were classified into triphasic, biphasic-1, biphasic-2 and monophasic patterns. Flow volume of arteries in diabetic patients with foot ulceration was increased witha statistical significance when compared to that of diabetes patients without foot ulceration of that of normal control group (P<0.05). Analysis of Doppler waveform revealed that the frequency of biphasic-2 pattern was significantly higher in diabetic patients than in normal control group(p<0.05). Doppler sonography in diabetic feet showed increased flow volume and biphasic Doppler waveform, and these findings suggest neuropathy rather than ischemic changes in diabetic feet.

  2. EVIDENCE FOR ROTATIONAL MOTIONS IN THE FEET OF A QUIESCENT SOLAR PROMINENCE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orozco Suárez, D.; Asensio Ramos, A.; Trujillo Bueno, J.

    2012-01-01

    We present observational evidence of apparent plasma rotational motions in the feet of a solar prominence. Our study is based on spectroscopic observations taken in the He I 1083.0 nm multiplet with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter attached to the German Vacuum Tower Telescope. We recorded a time sequence of spectra with 34 s cadence placing the slit of the spectrograph almost parallel to the solar limb and crossing two feet of an intermediate size, quiescent hedgerow prominence. The data show opposite Doppler shifts, ±6 km s –1 , at the edges of the prominence feet. We argue that these shifts may be interpreted as prominence plasma rotating counterclockwise around the vertical axis to the solar surface as viewed from above. The evolution of the prominence seen in EUV images taken with the Solar Dynamics Observatory provided us with clues to interpret the results as swirling motions. Moreover, time-distance images taken far from the central wavelength show plasma structures moving parallel to the solar limb with velocities of about 10-15 km s –1 . Finally, the shapes of the observed intensity profiles suggest the presence of, at least, two components at some locations at the edges of the prominence feet. One of them is typically Doppler shifted (up to ∼20 km s –1 ) with respect to the other, thus suggesting the existence of supersonic counter-streaming flows along the line of sight.

  3. An increased fluid intake leads to feet swelling in 100-km ultra-marathoners - an observational field study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cejka Caroline

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An association between fluid intake and changes in volumes of the upper and lower limb has been described in 100-km ultra-marathoners. The purpose of the present study was (i to investigate the association between fluid intake and a potential development of peripheral oedemas leading to an increase of the feet volume in 100-km ultra-marathoners and (ii to evaluate a possible association between the changes in plasma sodium concentration ([Na+] and changes in feet volume. Methods In seventy-six 100-km ultra-marathoners, body mass, plasma [Na+], haematocrit and urine specific gravity were determined pre- and post-race. Fluid intake and the changes of volume of the feet were measured where the changes of volume of the feet were estimated using plethysmography. Results Body mass decreased by 1.8 kg (2.4% (p +] increased by 1.2% (p p = 0.0005. The volume of the feet remained unchanged (p > 0.05. Plasma volume and urine specific gravity increased (p r = 0.54, p +] (r = -0.28, p = 0.0142. Running speed was negatively related to both fluid intake (r = -0.33, p = 0.0036 and the change in feet volume (r = -0.23, p = 0.0236. The change in the volume of the feet was negatively related to the change in plasma [Na+] (r = -0.26, p = 0.0227. The change in body mass was negatively related to both post-race plasma [Na+] (r = -0.28, p = 0.0129 and running speed (r = -0.34, p = 0.0028. Conclusions An increase in feet volume after a 100-km ultra-marathon was due to an increased fluid intake.

  4. Large scale study on the variation of RF energy absorption in the head and brain regions of adults and children and evaluation of the SAM phantom conservativeness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keshvari, J; Kivento, M; Christ, A; Bit-Babik, G

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents the results of two computational large scale studies using highly realistic exposure scenarios, MRI based human head and hand models, and two mobile phone models. The objectives are (i) to study the relevance of age when people are exposed to RF by comparing adult and child heads and (ii) to analyze and discuss the conservativeness of the SAM phantom for all age groups. Representative use conditions were simulated using detailed CAD models of two mobile phones operating between 900 MHz and 1950 MHz including configurations with the hand holding the phone, which were not considered in most previous studies. The peak spatial-average specific absorption rate (psSAR) in the head and the pinna tissues is assessed using anatomically accurate head and hand models. The first of the two mentioned studies involved nine head-, four hand- and two phone-models, the second study included six head-, four hand- and three simplified phone-models (over 400 configurations in total). In addition, both studies also evaluated the exposure using the SAM phantom. Results show no systematic differences between psSAR induced in the adult and child heads. The exposure level and its variation for different age groups may be different for particular phones, but no correlation between psSAR and model age was found. The psSAR from all exposure conditions was compared to the corresponding configurations using SAM, which was found to be conservative in the large majority of cases. (paper)

  5. Overt head movements and persuasion: a self-validation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briñol, Pablo; Petty, Richard E

    2003-06-01

    The authors report 3 experiments that examine a new mechanism by which overt head movements can affect attitude change. In each experiment, participants were induced to either nod or to shake their heads while listening to a persuasive message. When the message arguments were strong, nodding produced more persuasion than shaking. When the arguments were weak, the reverse occurred. These effects were most pronounced when elaboration was high. These findings are consistent with the "self-validation" hypothesis that postulates that head movements either enhance (nodding) or undermine (shaking) confidence in one's thoughts about the message. In a 4th experiment, the authors extended this result to another overt behavior (writing with the dominant or nondominant hand) and a different attitude domain (self-esteem).

  6. Improved head direction command classification using an optimised Bayesian neural network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Son T; Nguyen, Hung T; Taylor, Philip B; Middleton, James

    2006-01-01

    Assistive technologies have recently emerged to improve the quality of life of severely disabled people by enhancing their independence in daily activities. Since many of those individuals have limited or non-existing control from the neck downward, alternative hands-free input modalities have become very important for these people to access assistive devices. In hands-free control, head movement has been proved to be a very effective user interface as it can provide a comfortable, reliable and natural way to access the device. Recently, neural networks have been shown to be useful not only for real-time pattern recognition but also for creating user-adaptive models. Since multi-layer perceptron neural networks trained using standard back-propagation may cause poor generalisation, the Bayesian technique has been proposed to improve the generalisation and robustness of these networks. This paper describes the use of Bayesian neural networks in developing a hands-free wheelchair control system. The experimental results show that with the optimised architecture, classification Bayesian neural networks can detect head commands of wheelchair users accurately irrespective to their levels of injuries.

  7. MRTouch: Adding Touch Input to Head-Mounted Mixed Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Robert; Schwarz, Julia; Throm, Nick; Wilson, Andrew D; Benko, Hrvoje

    2018-04-01

    We present MRTouch, a novel multitouch input solution for head-mounted mixed reality systems. Our system enables users to reach out and directly manipulate virtual interfaces affixed to surfaces in their environment, as though they were touchscreens. Touch input offers precise, tactile and comfortable user input, and naturally complements existing popular modalities, such as voice and hand gesture. Our research prototype combines both depth and infrared camera streams together with real-time detection and tracking of surface planes to enable robust finger-tracking even when both the hand and head are in motion. Our technique is implemented on a commercial Microsoft HoloLens without requiring any additional hardware nor any user or environmental calibration. Through our performance evaluation, we demonstrate high input accuracy with an average positional error of 5.4 mm and 95% button size of 16 mm, across 17 participants, 2 surface orientations and 4 surface materials. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of our technique to enable on-world touch interactions through 5 example applications.

  8. Quantity of ethanol absorption after excessive hand disinfection using three commercially available hand rubs is minimal and below toxic levels for humans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toma Cyril D

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the increasing promotion of alcohol-based hand rubs and the worldwide use of ethanol-based hand rubs in hospitals only few studies have specifically addressed the issue of ethanol absorption when repeatedly applied to human skin. The aim of this study was to assess if ethanol absorption occurs during hygienic and surgical hand disinfection using three different alcohol-based hand-rubs, and to quantify absorption levels in humans. Methods Twelve volunteers applied three hand-rubs containing 95% (hand-rub A, 85% (hand-rub B and 55% ethanol (hand-rub C; all w/w. For hygienic hand disinfection, 4 mL were applied 20 times for 30 s, with 1 minute break between applications. For surgical hand disinfection, 20 mL of each hand rub was applied to hands and arms up to the level of the elbow 10 times for 3 minutes, with a break of 5 minutes between applications. Blood concentrations of ethanol and acetaldehyde were determined immediately prior and up to 90 minutes after application using head space gas chromatography. Results The median of absorbed ethanol after hygienic hand disinfection was 1365 mg (A, 630 mg (B, and 358 mg (C. The proportion of absorbed ethanol was 2.3% (A, 1.1% (B, and 0.9% (C. After surgical hand disinfection, the median of absorbed ethanol was 1067 mg (A, 1542 mg (B, and 477 mg (C. The proportion of absorbed ethanol was 0.7% (A, 1.1% (B, and 0.5% (C. The highest median acetaldehyde concentration after 20 hygienic hand disinfections was 0.57 mg/L (hand-rub C, after 30 min, after 10 surgical hand disinfections 3.99 mg/L (hand-rub A, after 20 minutes. Conclusion The overall dermal and pulmonary absorption of ethanol was below toxic levels in humans and allows the conclusion that the use of the evaluated ethanol-based hand-rubs is safe.

  9. Tactile pavement for guiding walking direction: An assessment of heading direction and gait stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pluijter, Nanda; de Wit, Lieke P W; Bruijn, Sjoerd M; Plaisier, Myrthe A

    2015-10-01

    For maintaining heading direction while walking we heavily rely on vision. Therefore, walking in the absence of vision or with visual attention directed elsewhere potentially leads to dangerous situations. Here we investigated whether tactile information from the feet can be used as a (partial) substitute for vision in maintaining a stable heading direction. If so, participants should be better able to keep a constant heading direction on tactile pavement that indicates directionality than on regular flat pavement. However, such a pavement may also be destabilizing. Thus we asked participants to walk straight ahead on regular pavement, and on tactile pavement (tiles with ridges along the walking direction) while varying the amount of vision. We assessed the effects of the type of pavement as well as the amount of vision on the variability of the heading direction as well as gait stability. Both of these measures were calculated from accelerations and angular velocities recorded from a smartphone attached to the participants trunk. Results showed that on tactile pavement participants had a less variations in their heading direction than on regular pavement. The drawback, however, was that the tactile pavement used in this study decreased gait stability. In sum, tactile pavement can be used as a partial substitute for vision in maintaining heading direction, but it can also decrease gait stability. Future work should focus on designing tactile pavement that does provided directional clues, but is less destabilizing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Energy storage and release of prosthetic feet. Part 1: biomechanical analysis related to user benefits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Postema, K.; Hermens, Hermanus J.; de Vries, J.; de Vries, J.; Koopman, Hubertus F.J.M.; Eisma, W.H.

    1997-01-01

    The energy storing and releasing behaviour of 2 energy storing feet (ESF) and 2 conventional prosthetic feet (CF) were compared (ESF: Otto Bock Dynamic Pro and Hanger Quantum; CF: Otto Bock Multi Axial and Otto Bock Lager). Ten trans-tibial amputees were selected. The study was designed as a

  11. A hand-held 3D laser scanning with global positioning system of subvoxel precision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arias, Nestor; Meneses, Nestor; Meneses, Jaime; Gharbi, Tijani

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we propose a hand-held 3D laser scanner composed of an optical head device to extract 3D local surface information and a stereo vision system with subvoxel precision to measure the position and orientation of the 3D optical head. The optical head is manually scanned over the surface object by the operator. The orientation and position of the 3D optical head is determined by a phase-sensitive method using a 2D regular intensity pattern. This phase reference pattern is rigidly fixed to the optical head and allows their 3D location with subvoxel precision in the observation field of the stereo vision system. The 3D resolution achieved by the stereo vision system is about 33 microns at 1.8 m with an observation field of 60cm x 60cm.

  12. Extraction of Collagen from Chicken Feet with Various Acidic Solutions and Soaking Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prayitno Prayitno

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to know the ability of various acidic solutions on dissolving collagen  chicken feet, with different soaked time.  Each acid 5 percent (v/v, collagen extraction was done by washing chicken feet and then cutted into small pieces and finally grinded.  Every 100 gram treatment was soaked in acetic acid (a1, citric acid (a2, lactic acid (a3 and hydrochloric acid (a4, for 12, 24 and 36 hours.  Precipitated collagen in the filtrate was 5 percent NaOH to reach the neutral pH (pH 7.  Collagen precipitate was separated by filtration usingfilter paper and then  rendement was calculated, HPLC was used to determin amino acid composition, and SDS-PAGE was use determin the type of collagen.  This experiment use factorial completely randomized design (CRD 4 x 3 and three time replication.   Result showed that lactic acid has highest capability to dissolve collagen, while citric acid the lowest.  Combination of acid solution and soaking time had significant (P<0.01 effect on dissolving collagen of chicken feet.  Extracted collagen in all acid solution, hassame amino acid, composition but different in percentage of amino acid molecules.  Collagen type in treatment combination was the same, but for soaking time of 36 hours revealed some peptide band.  Lactic acid had highest capability of collagen extraction in chicken feet than citric acid, acetic acid and hydrochloric acid with soaking time of 12, 24 and 36 hours.  It was estimated that extracted collagen can be grouped to type I consisted of two chain of a1. (Animal Production 9(2: 99-104 (2007   Key Words : Chicken feet, acids, soaking time, collagen

  13. Radiation dosimetry of an accidental overexposure using EPR spectrometry and imaging of human bone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schauer, D.A.; Desrosiers, M.F.; Kuppusamy, P.; Zweier, J.L.

    1997-01-01

    On 11 December 1991 a radiation accident occurred at an industrial accelerator facility. 'A description of the facility and details of the accident are reported in Schauer et al., 1993a)'?. In brief, during maintenance on the lower window pressure plate of a 3 MV potential drop accelerator, an operator placed his hands, head, and feet in the radiation beam. The filament voltage of the electron source was turned ''off'', but the full accelerating potential was on the high voltage terminal. The operator's body, especially his extremities and head, were exposed to electron dark current. At approx. 3 months post-irradiation, the four digits of the victim's right hand and most of the four digits of his left hand were amputated. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometry was used to estimate the radiation dose to the victim's extremities. Extremity dose estimates ranged from 55.0 Gy (±4.7 Gy) to 108 Gy (±24.1 Gy). (Author)

  14. Sex differences in relative foot length and perceived attractiveness of female feet: relationships among anthropometry, physique, and preference ratings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voracek, Martin; Fisher, Maryanne L; Rupp, Barbara; Lucas, Deanna; Fessler, Daniel M T

    2007-06-01

    Foot size proportionate to stature is smaller in women than in men, and small feet apparently contribute to perceived physical attractiveness of females. This exploratory study investigated the sex difference in relative foot length and interrelations among foot length, physique, and foot preference ratings in samples from Austria and Canada, each comprised of 75 men and 75 women. The findings included the following lines of evidence: the sex difference in relative foot length replicated in both data sets; the magnitude of this sex effect was large. Relative foot length was smaller in young, nulliparous, and slim women. Pointed-toe and high-heel shoes were more likely worn by smaller, lighter, and slimmer women. Men reported liking women's feet in general more than vice versa. A vast majority of both men and women favored small feet in women, but large feet in men. One's own foot size appeared to correspond to evaluations of attractiveness; particularly, women with small feet preferred small feet in women in general. The preference for small feet in women was convergent across different methods of evaluating attractiveness. Directions for investigations in this emerging field of research on physical attractiveness are discussed.

  15. Simultaneous bilateral Mason type IIb radial head fractures in a young female: Was an increased carrying angle the cause?

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    2015-01-01

    Radial head fracture is the most common type of elbow fracture in adults. It results from a fall on an outstretched hand. However, simultaneous bilateral radial head fractures are extremely rare. We report a case of simultaneous bilateral mason type IIb radial head fractures in a young female, which was treated nonoperatively with excellent results

  16. Copper sulphate burns to the hands, a complication of traditional medicine

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lapid, Oren

    2008-01-01

    An 11-year-old girl of Bedouin origin presented with infected burns on the dorsum of both her hands. The burns had an unusual configuration in the form of spirals, and child abuse was suspected. The family reported that the burns had been caused by a treatment, for head aches, dispensed by a

  17. Attention to body-parts varies with visual preference and verb-effector associations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyer, Ty W; Maouene, Josita; Sethuraman, Nitya

    2017-05-01

    Theories of embodied conceptual meaning suggest fundamental relations between others' actions, language, and our own actions and visual attention processes. Prior studies have found that when people view an image of a neutral body in a scene they first look toward, in order, the head, torso, hands, and legs. Other studies show associations between action verbs and the body-effectors used in performing the action (e.g., "jump" with feet/legs; "talk" with face/head). In the present experiment, the visual attention of participants was recorded with a remote eye-tracking system while they viewed an image of an actor pantomiming an action and heard a concrete action verb. Participants manually responded whether or not the action image was a good example of the verb they heard. The eye-tracking results confirmed that participants looked at the head most, followed by the hands, and the feet least of all; however, visual attention to each of the body-parts also varied as a function of the effector associated with the spoken verb on image/verb congruent trials, particularly for verbs associated with the legs. Overall, these results suggest that language influences some perceptual processes; however, hearing auditory verbs did not alter the previously reported fundamental hierarchical sequence of directed attention, and fixations on specific body-effectors may not be essential for verb comprehension as peripheral visual cues may be sufficient to perform the task.

  18. Head first C#

    CERN Document Server

    Stellman, Andrew

    2010-01-01

    You want to learn C# programming, but you're not sure you want to suffer through another tedious technical book. You're in luck: Head First C# introduces this language in a fun, visual way. You'll quickly learn everything from creating your first program to learning sophisticated coding skills with C# 4.0, Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4, while avoiding common errors that frustrate many students. The second edition offers several hands-on labs along the way to help you build and test programs using skills you've learned up to that point. In the final lab, you'll put everything together. From o

  19. The relationship between flat feet and cavus foot with body mass index in girl students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behnaz Hajirezaei

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between flat feet and cavus foot with body mass index in girl students. Methods: The study population consisted of the Mazandaran University students that their number was 260 (130 girl college students and 130 girl students of non-physical education formed. Sampling of participants over the two days. Height and weight of the subjects were measured, then they were placed on a mirror box and were taken the photographs of the Plantar foot. for picture Plantar foot was used of the mirror box (pedescope. data analyzed by Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: The results of Pearson correlation coefficient test in physical education subjects showed there was no relationship the between BMI and flat feet (0.306. Also, the relationship between BMI and cavus foot was significant and direct (0.330. The results of Spearman correlation coefficient test in physical education subjects showed that the relationship between BMI and flat feet was significant (0.457. Also, there was no relationship between BMI and cavus foot (-0.026. The results in non-physical education subjects showed the relationship between BMI and flat feet was significant, but was in the opposite direction (-0.493. Also, the relationship between BMI and cavus foot was significant and direct (0.424. The results of Spearman correlation test showed that the relationship and flat feet was significant but was in the opposite direction (-0.648. Also, the relationship between BMI and cavus foot was significant (0.413. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it seems to there was no relationship between flat feet and cavus foot with body mass index in girl students.

  20. Effects of carrying a backpack in a symmetrical manner on the shape of the feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drzał-Grabiec, Justyna; Snela, Sławomir; Rachwał, Maciej; Rykała, Justyna; Podgórska, Justyna

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess changes in the shape of the feet while carrying a backpack constituting 10% of a child's weight. It was an observational, cross-sectional study involving 118 primary school children aged 11-13 years. Selected parameters of foot shape were assessed in both a normal position and with a backpack using podoscopy and a CQ-ST examination device. The study revealed significant differences in the length and width of the right and left feet between assessments. Moreover, the longitudinal arch of the foot was significantly lowered and deformity of the great toe was reported. Carrying a backpack constituting 10% of a child's weight results in lowering of the longitudinal and traverse arches of the feet and advanced toe deformities. We performed an observational, cross-sectional study examining the effect of carrying a backpack constituting 10% of a child's weight on parameters of foot shape and observed significant lowering of the longitudinal and traverse arches of the feet and advanced toe deformities.

  1. T2 signal intensity as an imaging biomarker for patients with superficial fibromatoses of the hands (Dupuytren's disease) and feet (Ledderhose disease) undergoing definitive electron beam irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Banks, James S.; Subhawong, Ty K. [University of Miami Miller School of Medicine/Jackson Memorial Hospital, Department of Radiology, Miami, FL (United States); Wolfson, Aaron H. [University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Miami, FL (United States)

    2018-02-15

    Electron beam therapy is a definitive radiation treatment option for superficial fibromatoses of the hands and feet. Because objective criteria for treatment response remain poorly defined, we sought to describe changes in electron beam treated lesions on MRI. The study included 1 male and 9 female patients with a total of 37 superficial fibromatoses; average age was 60.7 years. Standard 6 MeV electron beam treatment included 3 Gy per fraction for 10 or 12 treatments using split-course with 3-month halfway break. Pre- and post-treatment MRIs were evaluated to determine lesion size (cm3), T2 signal intensity and contrast enhancement (5-point ordinal scales) by a fellowship trained musculoskeletal radiologist. MRI findings were correlated with clinical response using a composite 1-5 ordinal scale, Karnofsky Performance Scale and patient-reported 10-point visual analog scale for pain. Mean volume decreased from 1.5 to 1.2 cm{sup 3} (p = 0.01, paired t-test). Mean T2 hyperintensity score decreased from 3.0 to 2.1 (p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon signed-rank). Mean enhancement score available for 22 lesions decreased from 3.8 to 3.0 (p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon signed-rank). Performance scores improved from 78.9 ± 13.7 to 84.6 ± 6.9 (p = 0.007, paired t-test). Pain scores decreased from 3.0 ± 3.3 to 1.1 ± 2.0 (p = 0.0001, paired t-test). Post-treatment T2 signal correlated weakly with performance and pain (Spearman's ρ = -0.37 and 0.16, respectively). MRI is valuable for evaluating patients undergoing electron beam therapy for superficial fibromatoses: higher pretreatment T2 intensity may predict benefit from radiotherapy. T2 hypointensity may be a better marker than size for therapeutic effect. (orig.)

  2. T2 signal intensity as an imaging biomarker for patients with superficial fibromatoses of the hands (Dupuytren's disease) and feet (Ledderhose disease) undergoing definitive electron beam irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banks, James S.; Subhawong, Ty K.; Wolfson, Aaron H.

    2018-01-01

    Electron beam therapy is a definitive radiation treatment option for superficial fibromatoses of the hands and feet. Because objective criteria for treatment response remain poorly defined, we sought to describe changes in electron beam treated lesions on MRI. The study included 1 male and 9 female patients with a total of 37 superficial fibromatoses; average age was 60.7 years. Standard 6 MeV electron beam treatment included 3 Gy per fraction for 10 or 12 treatments using split-course with 3-month halfway break. Pre- and post-treatment MRIs were evaluated to determine lesion size (cm3), T2 signal intensity and contrast enhancement (5-point ordinal scales) by a fellowship trained musculoskeletal radiologist. MRI findings were correlated with clinical response using a composite 1-5 ordinal scale, Karnofsky Performance Scale and patient-reported 10-point visual analog scale for pain. Mean volume decreased from 1.5 to 1.2 cm 3 (p = 0.01, paired t-test). Mean T2 hyperintensity score decreased from 3.0 to 2.1 (p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon signed-rank). Mean enhancement score available for 22 lesions decreased from 3.8 to 3.0 (p < 0.0001, Wilcoxon signed-rank). Performance scores improved from 78.9 ± 13.7 to 84.6 ± 6.9 (p = 0.007, paired t-test). Pain scores decreased from 3.0 ± 3.3 to 1.1 ± 2.0 (p = 0.0001, paired t-test). Post-treatment T2 signal correlated weakly with performance and pain (Spearman's ρ = -0.37 and 0.16, respectively). MRI is valuable for evaluating patients undergoing electron beam therapy for superficial fibromatoses: higher pretreatment T2 intensity may predict benefit from radiotherapy. T2 hypointensity may be a better marker than size for therapeutic effect. (orig.)

  3. A case study of Chinese bound feet: application of footprint analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reischl, Uwe; Nandikolla, Vidja; Colby, Conrad; Mijović, Budimir; Wei, Hsian-Chuen

    2008-06-01

    Foot print patterns of the bound feet of a 90-year-old Chinese female were made to obtain insight into the ergonomic consequences of a Chinese custom that caused significant disabilities for many women throughout history. Pressure patterns were evaluated using the techniques applied to standard thumb print analsyis. A digital summary of the pressure patterns were compared to the patterns obtained from a normal subject. The outcomes indicated that the bound foot produced greater plantar tissue pressures than the non-bound foot. These observations help explain the discomfort, gait abnormalities, and disabilities exhibited by many older women with bound feet living in China today. Although foot-binding is no longer practiced, this study offers an ergonomic perspective on a custom practiced in China for centuries.

  4. Elemental Water Impact Test: Phase 3 Plunge Depth of a 36-Inch Aluminum Tank Head

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassilakos, Gregory J.

    2014-01-01

    Spacecraft are being designed based on LS-DYNA water landing simulations. The Elemental Water Impact Test (EWIT) series was undertaken to assess the accuracy of LS-DYNA water impact simulations. Phase 3 featured a composite tank head that was tested at a range of heights to verify the ability to predict structural failure of composites. To support planning for Phase 3, a test series was conducted with an aluminum tank head dropped from heights of 2, 6, 10, and 12 feet to verify that the test article would not impact the bottom of the test pool. This report focuses on the comparisons of the measured plunge depths to LS-DYNA predictions. The results for the tank head model demonstrated the following. 1. LS-DYNA provides accurate predictions for peak accelerations. 2. LS-DYNA consistently under-predicts plunge depth. An allowance of at least 20% should be added to the LS-DYNA predictions. 3. The LS-DYNA predictions for plunge depth are relatively insensitive to the fluid-structure coupling stiffness.

  5. Neuropsychological development in preschool children born with asymmetrical intrauterine growth restriction and impact of postnatal head growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaric, Andrea Simić; Galić, Slavka; Kolundzić, Zdravko; Bosnjak, Vlatka Mejaski

    2013-07-01

    Neuropsychological development and the impact of postnatal head growth were studied in preschool children with asymmetrical intrauterine growth restriction. Examinees born at term with a birth weight below the 10th percentile were matched to the control group according to chronological and gestational age, gender, and maternal education. Fifty children were in each group, with a mean age of 6 years, 4 months. The Touwen neurological examination, the Čuturić developmental test, an imitative hand positions test, and a visual attention test were performed. There were significant differences (Pmotor variables, the developmental quotient, and the imitative hand positions test. Fine motor skills had the most discriminative power. Relative growth of the head in relation to weight gain was positively correlated to neurocognitive outcome. Intrauterine growth-restricted children with a current head circumference ≤10th percentile had poorer outcomes. Conclusively, intrauterine growth restriction has a negative impact on neurocognitive development. Slow postnatal head growth is correlated with a poorer neuropsychological outcome.

  6. Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Unipolar and Bipolar Radial Head Prosthesis in Patients with Radial Head Fracture: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hongwei; Wang, Ziyang; Shang, Yongjun

    2018-06-01

    To compare clinical outcomes of unipolar and bipolar radial head prosthesis in the treatment of patients with radial head fracture. Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE, Google Scholar databases were searched until April 18, 2016 using the following search terms: radial head fracture, elbow fracture, radial head arthroplasty, implants, prosthesis, unipolar, bipolar, cemented, and press-fit. Randomized controlled trials, retrospective, and cohort studies were included. The Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS), disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) score, radiologic assessment, ROM, and grip strength following elbow replacement were similar between prosthetic devices. The pooled mean excellent/good ranking of MEPS was 0.78 for unipolar and 0.73 for bipolar radial head arthroplasty, and the pooled mean MEPS was 86.9 and 79.9, respectively. DASH scores for unipolar and bipolar prosthesis were 19.0 and 16.3, respectively. Range of motion outcomes were similar between groups, with both groups have comparable risk of flexion arc, flexion, extension deficit, rotation arc, pronation, and supination (p values bipolar prosthesis). However, bipolar radial head prosthesis was associated with an increased chance of heterotopic ossification and lucency (p values ≤0.049) while unipolar prosthesis was not (p values ≥0.088). Both groups had risk for development of capitellar osteopenia or erosion/wear (p values ≤0.039). Unipolar and bipolar radial head prostheses were similar with respect to clinical outcomes. Additional comparative studies are necessary to further compare different radial head prostheses used to treat radial head fracture.

  7. Feet swelling in a multistage ultraendurance triathlete: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knechtle B

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Beat Knechtle,1 Matthias Alexander Zingg,2 Patrizia Knechtle,1 Thomas Rosemann,2 Christoph Alexander Rüst2 1Gesundheitszentrum St Gallen, St Gallen, 2Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Abstract: Recent studies investigating ultraendurance athletes showed an association between excessive fluid intake and swelling of the lower limbs such as the feet. To date, this association has been investigated in single-stage ultraendurance races, but not in multistage ultraendurance races. In this case study, we investigated a potential association between fluid intake and feet swelling in a multistage ultraendurance race such as a Deca Iron ultratriathlon with ten Ironman triathlons within 10 consecutive days. A 49-year-old well-experienced ultratriathlete competed in autumn 2013 in the Deca Iron ultratriathlon held in Lonata del Garda, Italy, and finished the race as winner within 129:33 hours:minutes. Changes in body mass (including body fat and lean body mass, foot volume, total body water, and laboratory measurements were assessed. Food and fluid intake during rest and competing were recorded, and energy and fluid turnovers were estimated. During the ten stages, the volume of the feet increased, percentage body fat decreased, creatinine and urea levels increased, hematocrit and hemoglobin values decreased, and plasma [Na+] remained unchanged. The increase in foot volume was significantly and positively related to fluid intake during the stages. The poststage volume of the foot was related to poststage total body water, poststage creatinine, and poststage urea. This case report shows that the volume of the foot increased during the ten stages, and the increase in volume was significantly and positively related to fluid intake during the stages. Furthermore, the poststage volume of the foot was related to poststage total body water, poststage creatinine, and poststage urea. The continuous feet swelling during the race was

  8. Use of a holder-vacuum tube device to save on-site hands in preparing urine samples for head-space gas-chromatography, and its application to determine the time allowance for sample sealing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Toshio; Sumino, Kimiaki; Ohashi, Fumiko; Ikeda, Masayuki

    2011-01-01

    To facilitate urine sample preparation prior to head-space gas-chromatographic (HS-GC) analysis. Urine samples containing one of the five solvents (acetone, methanol, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone and toluene) at the levels of biological exposure limits were aspirated into a vacuum tube via holder, a device commercially available for venous blood collection (the vacuum tube method). The urine sample, 5 ml, was quantitatively transferred to a 20-ml head-space vial prior to HS-GC analysis. The loaded tubes were stored at +4 ℃ in dark for up to 3 d. The vacuum tube method facilitated on-site procedures of urine sample preparation for HS-GC with no significant loss of solvents in the sample and no need of skilled hands, whereas on-site sample preparation time was significantly reduced. Furthermore, no loss of solvents was detected during the 3-d storage, irrespective of hydrophilic (acetone) or lipophilic solvent (toluene). In a pilot application, high performance of the vacuum tube method in sealing a sample in an air-tight space succeeded to confirm that no solvent will be lost when sealing is completed within 5 min after urine voiding, and that the allowance time is as long as 30 min in case of toluene in urine. The use of the holder-vacuum tube device not only saves hands for transfer of the sample to air-tight space, but facilitates sample storage prior to HS-GC analysis.

  9. The three-dimensional shapes of underground coal miners' feet do not match the internal dimensions of their work boots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobson, Jessica A; Riddiford-Harland, Diane L; Bell, Alison F; Steele, Julie R

    2018-04-01

    Mining work boots provide an interface between the foot and the ground, protecting and supporting miners' feet during lengthy coal mining shifts. Although underground coal miners report the fit of their work boots as reasonable to good, they frequently rate their boots as uncomfortable, suggesting that there is a mismatch between the shape of their feet and their boots. This study aimed to identify whether dimensions derived from the three-dimensional scans of 208 underground coal miners' feet (age 38.3 ± 9.8 years) differed from the internal dimensions of their work boots. The results revealed underground coal miners wore boots that were substantially longer than their feet, possibly because boots available in their correct length were too narrow. It is recommended boot manufacturers reassess the algorithms used to create boot lasts, focusing on adjusting boot circumference at the instep and heel relative to increases in foot length. Practitioner Summary: Fit and comfort ratings suggest a mismatch between the shape of underground coal miners' feet and their boots exists. This study examined whether three-dimensional scans of 208 miners' feet differed from their boot internal dimensions. Miners wore boots substantially longer than their feet, possibly due to inadequate width.

  10. Skin disorders affecting the feet | Motswaledi | South African Family ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Skin disorders of the feet can affect the glabrous skin on the dorsal aspects, or the thick skin on the plantar aspects, thereof, or both. Some can affect one foot, and others both of them. These diseases can be inflammatory, genetically inherited, infectious and neoplastic in origin. It is important to identify them and to start ...

  11. Foot deformation during walking: differences between static and dynamic 3D foot morphology in developing feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barisch-Fritz, Bettina; Schmeltzpfenning, Timo; Plank, Clemens; Grau, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    The complex functions of feet require a specific composition, which is progressively achieved by developmental processes. This development should take place without being affected by footwear. The aim of this study is to evaluate differences between static and dynamic foot morphology in developing feet. Feet of 2554 participants (6-16 years) were recorded using a new scanner system (DynaScan4D). Each foot was recorded in static half and full weight-bearing and during walking. Several foot measures corresponding to those used in last construction were calculated. The differences were identified by one-way ANOVA and paired Student's t-test. Static and dynamic values of each foot measure must be considered to improve the fit of footwear. In particular, footwear must account for the increase of forefoot width and the decrease of midfoot girth. Furthermore, the toe box should have a more rounded shape. The findings are important for the construction of footwear for developing feet.

  12. Injury rates in Shotokan karate

    OpenAIRE

    Critchley, G. R.; Mannion, S.; Meredith, C.

    1999-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To document the injury rate in three British Shotokan karate championships in consecutive years. In these tournaments strict rules governed contact, with only "light" or "touch" contact allowed. Protective padding for the head, hands, or feet was prohibited. METHODS: Prospective recording of injuries resulting from 1770 bouts in three national competitions of 1996, 1997, and 1998. Details of ages and years of karate experience were also obtained. RESULTS: 160 injuries were su...

  13. Radial head fracture associated with posterior interosseous nerve injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernardo Barcellos Terra

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Fractures of the radial head and radial neck correspond to 1.7-5.4% of all fractures and approximately 30% may present associated injuries. In the literature, there are few reports of radial head fracture with posterior interosseous nerve injury. This study aimed to report a case of radial head fracture associated with posterior interosseous nerve injury. CASE REPORT: A male patient, aged 42 years, sought medical care after falling from a skateboard. The patient related pain and limitation of movement in the right elbow and difficulty to extend the fingers of the right hand. During physical examination, thumb and fingers extension deficit was observed. The wrist extension showed a slight radial deviation. After imaging, it became evident that the patient had a fracture of the radial head that was classified as grade III in the Mason classification. The patient underwent fracture fixation; at the first postoperative day, thumb and fingers extension was observed. Although rare, posterior interosseous nerve branch injury may be associated with radial head fractures. In the present case, the authors believe that neuropraxia occurred as a result of the fracture hematoma and edema.

  14. Transfer of metallic debris from the metal surface of an acetabular cup to artificial femoral heads by scraping: comparison between alumina and cobalt-chrome heads.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chong Bum; Yoo, Jeong Joon; Song, Won Seok; Kim, Deug Joong; Koo, Kyung-Hoi; Kim, Hee Joong

    2008-04-01

    We aimed to investigate the transfer of metal to both ceramic (alumina) and metal (cobalt-chrome) heads that were scraped by a titanium alloy surface under different load conditions. The ceramic and metal heads for total hip arthroplasties were scraped by an acetabular metal shell under various loads using a creep tester. Microstructural changes in the scraped area were visualized with a scanning electron microscope, and chemical element changes were assessed using an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. Changes in the roughness of the scraped surface were evaluated by a three-dimensional surface profiling system. Metal transfer to the ceramic and metal heads began to be detectable at a 10 kg load, which could be exerted by one-handed force. The surface roughness values significantly increased with increasing test loads in both heads. When the contact force increased, scratching of the head surface occurred in addition to the transfer of metal. The results documented that metallic debris was transferred from the titanium alloy acetabular shell to both ceramic and metal heads by minor scraping. This study suggests that the greatest possible effort should be made to protect femoral heads, regardless of material, from contact with metallic surfaces during total hip arthroplasty.

  15. Hand and foot pressures in the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) reveal novel biomechanical trade-offs required for walking on gracile digits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivell, Tracy L; Schmitt, Daniel; Wunderlich, Roshna E

    2010-05-01

    Arboreal animals with prehensile hands must balance the complex demands of bone strength, grasping and manipulation. An informative example of this problem is that of the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a rare lemuriform primate that is unusual in having exceptionally long, gracile fingers specialized for foraging. In addition, they are among the largest primates to engage in head-first descent on arboreal supports, a posture that should increase loads on their gracile digits. We test the hypothesis that aye-ayes will reduce pressure on their digits during locomotion by curling their fingers off the substrate. This hypothesis was tested using simultaneous videographic and pressure analysis of the hand, foot and digits for five adult aye-ayes during horizontal locomotion and during ascent and descent on a 30 degrees instrumented runway. Aye-ayes consistently curled their fingers during locomotion on all slopes. When the digits were in contact with the substrate, pressures were negligible and significantly less than those experienced by the palm or pedal digits. In addition, aye-ayes lifted their hands vertically off the substrate instead of 'toeing-off' and descended head-first at significantly slower speeds than on other slopes. Pressure on the hand increased during head-first descent relative to horizontal locomotion but not as much as the pressure increased on the foot during ascent. This distribution of pressure suggests that aye-ayes shift their weight posteriorly during head-first descent to reduce loads on their gracile fingers. This research demonstrates several novel biomechanical trade-offs to deal with complex functional demands on the mammalian skeleton.

  16. Smoking addiction: the shift from head to hands: Approach bias towards smoking-related cues in low-dependent versus dependent smokers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Detandt, Sandrine; Bazan, Ariane; Quertemont, Etienne; Verbanck, Paul

    2017-07-01

    The dual process theory is central to several models of addiction, implying both an increase of stimulus salience and deficits in inhibitory control. Our major aim is to provide behavioral evidence for an approach bias tendency in smokers and more specifically during smoking cue exposure. The second aim is to examine whether this bias differs in low-dependent versus dependent smokers. Thirty-two smokers (17 low dependent and 15 dependent; cut-off FTND of 4) and 28 non-smokers performed a modified Go/NoGo task using tobacco-related words and neutral words as stimuli. Smokers generally made more mistakes and tended to be faster for smoking-related cues specifically. Low dependents acknowledged more their dependency in declarative questionnaires while making more errors and being slower specifically on smoking cues; dependent smokers were less prone to indicate their addiction, but were faster and accurate when it came to picking the smoking cues. These results suggest that a shift has operated from a mental preoccupation with smoking in the low-dependent group, to smoking as a motor habit in our dependent group. This finding invites experts to rethink smoking addiction in the light of this crucial moment, namely, the shift "from head to hands".

  17. Development of inexpensive prosthetic feet for high-heeled shoes using simple shoe insole model

    OpenAIRE

    Margrit R. Meier, PhD; Kerice A. Tucker, BSc; Andrew H. Hansen, PhD

    2014-01-01

    The large majority of prosthetic feet are aimed at low-heeled shoes, with a few models allowing a heel height of up to 5 cm. However, a survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association indicates that most women wear heels over 5 cm; thus, current prosthetic feet limit most female prosthesis users in their choice. Some prosthetic foot components are heel-height adjustable; however, their plantar surface shapes do not change to match the insole shapes of the shoes with different heel height...

  18. Hubungan Supervisi Kepala Ruangan Dengan Pelaksanaan Five Moments Hand Hygiene Perawat di RSUP Haji Adam Malik Medan

    OpenAIRE

    Simanjuntak, Heppy Delpia

    2016-01-01

    Five moments hand hygiene is an action to wash hands by nurses in five types of situation which is aimed to decrease microorganism transmission and to ward off infection. It good implementation involves ward heads as the spearheads of the goal for good nursing care in a hospital; they have to have the capacity to supervise in managing nursing care. The objective of the research was to find out the correlation of ward heads’ supervision with the implementation of nurses’ five moments hand hygi...

  19. Effects of high-rate wastewater spray disposal on the water-table aquifer, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speiran, G.K.

    1985-01-01

    A study by the U.S. Geological Survey from April 1982 through December 1983 evaluated the effects of high-rate disposal of treated wastewater on the water table aquifer, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Flooding of topographically low areas resulted from the application of 10.8 inches of wastewater in 10 days in January 1983. The water table remained 2-1/2 to 5-1/2 feet below land surface when wastewater was applied at rates of 5 inches per week in August and December 1983. (USGS)

  20. Comparison of 3 in vivo methods for assessment of alcohol-based hand rubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmonds-Wilson, Sarah; Campbell, Esther; Fox, Kyle; Macinga, David

    2015-05-01

    Alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) are the primary method of hand hygiene in health-care settings. ICPs increasingly are assessing ABHR product efficacy data as improved products and test methods are developed. As a result, ICPs need better tools and recommendations for how to assess and compare ABHRs. Two ABHRs (70% ethanol) were tested according to 3 in vivo methods approved by ASTM International: E1174, E2755, and E2784. Log10 reductions were measured after a single test product use and after 10 consecutive uses at an application volume of 2 mL. The test method used had a significant influence on ABHR efficacy; however, in this study the test product (gel or foam) did not significantly influence efficacy. In addition, for all test methods, log10 reductions obtained after a single application were not predictive of results after 10 applications. Choice of test method can significantly influence efficacy results. Therefore, when assessing antimicrobial efficacy data of hand hygiene products, ICPs should pay close attention to the test method used, and ensure that product comparisons are made head to head in the same study using the same test methodology. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Hand dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus: Systematic review with meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundmi, Shubha; Maiya, Arun G; Bhat, Anil K; Ravishankar, N; Hande, Manjunatha H; Rajagopal, K V

    2018-03-01

    People with type 2 diabetes mellitus frequently show complications in feet and hands. However, the literature has mostly focused on foot complications. The disease can affect the strength and dexterity of the hands, thereby reducing function. This systematic review and meta-analysis focused on identifying the existing evidence on how type 2 diabetes mellitus affects hand strength, dexterity and function. We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, CINHAL, Scopus and Web of Science, and the Cochrane central register of controlled trials for reports of studies of grip and pinch strength as well as hand dexterity and function evaluated by questionnaires comparing patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and healthy controls that were published between 1990 and 2017. Data are reported as standardized mean difference (SMD) or mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among 2077 records retrieved, only 7 full-text articles were available for meta-analysis. For both the dominant and non-dominant hand, type 2 diabetes mellitus negatively affected grip strength (SMD: -1.03; 95% CI: -2.24 to 0.18 and -1.37, -3.07 to 0.33) and pinch strength (-1.09, -2.56 to 0.38 and -1.12, -2.73 to 0.49), although not significantly. Dexterity of the dominant hand did not differ between diabetes and control groups but was poorer for the non-dominant hand, although not significantly. Hand function was worse for diabetes than control groups in 2 studies (MD: -8.7; 95% CI: -16.88 to -1.52 and 4.69, 2.03 to 7.35). This systematic review with meta-analysis suggested reduced hand function, specifically grip and pinch strength, for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus versus healthy controls. However, the sample size for all studies was low. Hence, we need studies with adequate sample size and randomized controlled trials to provide statistically significant results. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. Use of a novel smart heating sleeping bag to improve wearers' local thermal comfort in the feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, W F; Zhang, C J; Lai, D D; Wang, F M; Kuklane, K

    2016-01-13

    Previous studies have revealed that wearers had low skin temperatures and cold and pain sensations in the feet, when using sleeping bags under defined comfort and limit temperatures. To improve wearers' local thermal comfort in the feet, a novel heating sleeping bag (i.e., MARHT) was developed by embedding two heating pads into the traditional sleeping bag (i.e., MARCON) in this region. Seven female and seven male volunteers underwent two tests on different days. Each test lasted for three hours and was performed in a climate chamber with a setting temperature deduced from EN 13537 (2012) (for females: comfort temperature of -0.4 °C, and for males: the limit temperature of -6.4 °C). MARHT was found to be effective in maintaining the toe and feet temperatures within the thermoneutral range for both sex groups compared to the linearly decreased temperatures in MARCON during the 3-hour exposure. In addition, wearing MARHT elevated the toe blood flow significantly for most females and all males. Thermal and comfort sensations showed a large improvement in feet and a small to moderate improvement in the whole body for both sex groups in MARHT. It was concluded that MARHT is effective in improving local thermal comfort in the feet.

  3. Use of a novel smart heating sleeping bag to improve wearers’ local thermal comfort in the feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, W. F.; Zhang, C. J.; Lai, D. D.; Wang, F. M.; Kuklane, K.

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies have revealed that wearers had low skin temperatures and cold and pain sensations in the feet, when using sleeping bags under defined comfort and limit temperatures. To improve wearers’ local thermal comfort in the feet, a novel heating sleeping bag (i.e., MARHT) was developed by embedding two heating pads into the traditional sleeping bag (i.e., MARCON) in this region. Seven female and seven male volunteers underwent two tests on different days. Each test lasted for three hours and was performed in a climate chamber with a setting temperature deduced from EN 13537 (2012) (for females: comfort temperature of -0.4 °C, and for males: the limit temperature of -6.4 °C). MARHT was found to be effective in maintaining the toe and feet temperatures within the thermoneutral range for both sex groups compared to the linearly decreased temperatures in MARCON during the 3-hour exposure. In addition, wearing MARHT elevated the toe blood flow significantly for most females and all males. Thermal and comfort sensations showed a large improvement in feet and a small to moderate improvement in the whole body for both sex groups in MARHT. It was concluded that MARHT is effective in improving local thermal comfort in the feet.

  4. Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sambo, C F; Liang, M; Cruccu, G; Iannetti, G D

    2012-02-01

    Electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist may elicit a blink reflex [hand blink reflex (HBR)] mediated by a neural circuit at brain stem level. As, in a Sherringtonian sense, the blink reflex is a defensive response, in a series of experiments we tested, in healthy volunteers, whether and how the HBR is modulated by the proximity of the stimulated hand to the face. Electromyographic activity was recorded from the orbicularis oculi, bilaterally. We observed that the HBR is enhanced when the stimulated hand is inside the peripersonal space of the face, compared with when it is outside, irrespective of whether the proximity of the hand to the face is manipulated by changing the position of the arm (experiment 1) or by rotating the head while keeping the arm position constant (experiment 3). Experiment 2 showed that such HBR enhancement has similar magnitude when the participants have their eyes closed. Experiments 4 and 5 showed, respectively, that the blink reflex elicited by the electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve, as well as the N20 wave of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by the median nerve stimulation, are entirely unaffected by hand position. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that the brain stem circuits mediating the HBR in humans undergo tonic and selective top-down modulation from higher order cortical areas responsible for encoding the location of somatosensory stimuli in external space coordinates. These findings support the existence of a "defensive" peripersonal space, representing a safety margin advantageous for survival.

  5. Avascular Necrosis of the Metacarpal Head: A Review of 4 Cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldekhayel, Salah; Ghanad, Erfan; Mudgal, Chaitanya S

    2018-04-03

    To report on 4 cases of avascular necrosis of the metacarpal head. We retrospectively reviewed 4 patients who received a diagnosis of avascular necrosis of the metacarpal head and were treated from 2000 to 2016. All patients were males with involvement of the dominant hand. Three patients had a history of trauma and/or fractures in another finger and one had a history of fracture in the same finger. The diagnosis was confirmed on regular x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging. Nonsurgical management was offered to all patients (rest, placement of an orthosis, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) for 3 to 6 months. Two patients responded well to nonsurgical management and improved in their symptoms. One patient refused surgical intervention and continued to have persistent pain. The other patient was treated with curettage and bone graft and had total resolution of pain symptoms with full active range of motion. A high index of suspicion is required to diagnose and treat avascular necrosis of the metacarpal head correctly. Treatment options are numerous and require further studies to investigate their effectiveness in the treatment of this rare disease. Therapeutic V. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Heading and head injuries in soccer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkendall, D T; Jordan, S E; Garrett, W E

    2001-01-01

    In the world of sports, soccer is unique because of the purposeful use of the unprotected head for controlling and advancing the ball. This skill obviously places the player at risk of head injury and the game does carry some risk. Head injury can be a result of contact of the head with another head (or other body parts), ground, goal post, other unknown objects or even the ball. Such impacts can lead to contusions, fractures, eye injuries, concussions or even, in rare cases, death. Coaches, players, parents and physicians are rightly concerned about the risk of head injury in soccer. Current research shows that selected soccer players have some degree of cognitive dysfunction. It is important to determine the reasons behind such deficits. Purposeful heading has been blamed, but a closer look at the studies that focus on heading has revealed methodological concerns that question the validity of blaming purposeful heading of the ball. The player's history and age (did they play when the ball was leather and could absorb significant amounts of water), alcohol intake, drug intake, learning disabilities, concussion definition and control group use/composition are all factors that cloud the ability to blame purposeful heading. What does seem clear is that a player's history of concussive episodes is a more likely explanation for cognitive deficits. While it is likely that the subconcussive impact of purposeful heading is a doubtful factor in the noted deficits, it is unknown whether multiple subconcussive impacts might have some lingering effects. In addition, it is unknown whether the noted deficits have any affect on daily life. Proper instruction in the technique is critical because if the ball contacts an unprepared head (as in accidental head-ball contacts), the potential for serious injury is possible. To further our understanding of the relationship of heading, head injury and cognitive deficits, we need to: learn more about the actual impact of a ball on the

  7. Sex-related differences in foot shape of adult Caucasians--a follow-up study focusing on long and short feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krauss, I; Langbein, C; Horstmann, T; Grau, S

    2011-03-01

    The study's purpose was to substantiate findings on sex-related differences in foot morphology focusing on fringe sizes. Altogether, 287 Caucasian adults with long or short feet were scanned. Data were analysed together with data from 847 subjects from a previous study with comparable inclusion criteria and anthropometric data by: (1)comparing absolute measures within 237-277 mm foot length (FL); (2) comparing averaged measures across sizes in % of foot length for 203-323 mm FL; (3) reclassifying the additional subjects into a previously defined foot type classification. Male feet were wider and higher for the same FL. Averaged across sizes, no relevant differences between sexes were found for widths and heights. Slender or flat-pointed foot types were more common in longer feet, shorter feet tended to be bigger. Definitions for 'long' and 'short' are sex-related with an offset of three shoe sizes (EU). Results of this follow-up study on long and short feet can substantiate previous findings mainly described for the most common sizes. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Improper footwear can cause pain and injury and proper fit is a major criterion for shoe buyers. Knowledge about sex-related differences in foot shape is important for shoe design. This study supplements the field of knowledge for very small and large feet.

  8. Towards surface analysis on diabetic feet soles to predict ulcerations using photometric stereo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chanjuan; van der Heijden, Ferdi; van Netten, Jaap J.

    2012-03-01

    Diabetic foot ulceration is a major complication for patients with diabetes mellitus. Approximately 15% to 25% of patients with Type I and Type II diabetes eventually develop feet ulcers. If not adequately treated, these ulcers may lead to foot infection, and ultimately to total (or partial) lower extremity amputation, which means a great loss in health-related quality of life. The incidence of foot ulcers may be prevented by early identification and subsequent treatment of pre-signs of ulceration, such as callus formation, redness, fissures, and blisters. Therefore, frequent examination of the feet is necessary, preferably on a daily basis. However, self-examination is difficult or impossible due to consequences of the diabetes. Moreover, frequent examination by health care professionals is costly and not feasible. The objective of our project is to develop an intelligent telemedicine monitoring system that can be deployed at the patients' home environment for frequent examination of patients feet, to timely detect pre-signs of ulceration. The current paper reports the preliminary results of an implementation of a photometric stereo imaging system to detect 3D geometric abnormalities of the skin surfaces of foot soles. Using a flexible experimental setup, the system parameters such as number and positions of the illuminators have been selected so as to optimize the performance with respect to reconstructed surface. The system has been applied to a dummy foot sole. Finally, the curvature on the resulting 3D topography of the foot sole is implemented to show the feasibility of detecting the pre-signs of ulceration using photometric stereo imaging. The obtained results indicate clinical potential of this technology for detecting the pre-signs of ulceration on diabetic feet soles.

  9. Hallux abductus interphalangeus in normal feet, early-stage hallux limitus, and hallux valgus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Lopez, Jose M; Ramos-Ortega, Javier; Reina-Bueno, Maria; Domínguez-Maldonado, Gabriel; Palomo-Toucedo, Inmaculada C; Munuera, Pedro V

    2014-03-01

    Excessive deviation of the distal phalanx in abduction frequently occurs in advanced stages of hallux rigidus but not in hallux valgus. Therefore, theoretically there should be no significant differences in the hallux interphalangeal angle (HIPA) between individuals with normal feet, those with hallux valgus, and those with mild hallux limitus. The objective of the present study was thus to determine if significant differences in HIPA exist in the early stages of hallux valgus or hallux limitus deformities. The hallux interphalangeal angle was measured in three groups of participants: a control group with normal feet (45 participants), a hallux valgus group (49 participants), and a hallux limitus group (48 participants). Both of the pathologies were at an early stage. A dorsoplantar radiograph under weightbearing conditions was taken for each individual, and measurements (HIPA and hallux abductus angle [HAA]) were taken using AutoCAD (Autodesk Inc, San Rafael, California) software. Intergroup comparisons of HIPA, and correlations between HIPA, HAA, and hallux dorsiflexion were calculated. The comparisons revealed no significant differences in the values of HIPA between any of the groups (15.2 ± 5.9 degrees in the control group, 15.5 ± 3.9 degrees in the hallux valgus group, and 16.15 ± 4.3 in the hallux limitus group; P  =  0.634). The Pearson correlation coefficients in particular showed no correlation between hallux dorsiflexion, HAA, and HIPA. For the study participants, there were similar deviations of the distal phalanx of the hallux with respect to the proximal phalanx in normal feet and in feet with the early stages of the hallux limitus and hallux valgus deformities.

  10. Child seat belt guidelines: Examining the 4 feet 9 inches rule as the standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morse, Amber M; Aitken, Mary E; Mullins, Samantha H; Miller, Beverly K; Pomtree, Mindy M; Ulloa, Erin M; Montgomery, Jeffrey S; Saylors, Marie E

    2017-08-01

    Current American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations regarding transition from child safety/booster seat to adult safety belt use indicate that children should be at least 4 feet 9 inches, 8 years old, or 80 pounds. Proper fit in the vehicle seat, assessed with a five-point fit test, should also be met. Although most children reach 4 feet 9 inches around age 8 years, each child and vehicle presents a unique combination; thus a child may not fit appropriately in all vehicle types using only the 4 feet 9 inches requirement. We enrolled children, aged 7 years to 12 years, into our study. Height, weight, and demographic data were obtained. A Child Passenger Safety Technician then performed the five-point fit test in each of a uniform lineup of five vehicles. Data were collected on fit in the standard vehicle seat and also in a booster seat. We set 90% as the threshold proportion of children who meet all criteria for proper fit to validate current recommendations of a height of 4 feet 9 inches. Data were collected on 388 children. The percentage of 90% proper fit was met in the compact car and small sport-utility vehicle (SUV). However, only 80 (77%) of 104 students (p vehicles (large SUVs and trucks). This emphasizes the need for evaluation of fit by a trained personnel and/or development of standard back seat dimensions in all vehicles for maximum safety. Epidemiologic study, level III; Therapeutic study, level V.

  11. Thermal Imaging of Skin Changes on the Feet of Type II Diabetics

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ammer, K

    2001-01-01

    .... Increased temperature of the feet of diabetics is another frequent finding. We investigated the relationship between skin changes and areas of increased skin temperature recorded with an Infrared Scanner ACEMA 870...

  12. [Ex vivo microCT analysis of possible microfractures of the femoral head during implantation of a cementless hip resurfacing femoral component].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerch, M; Olender, G; von der Höh, N; Thorey, F; von Lewinski, G; Meyer-Lindenberg, A; Windhagen, H; Hurschler, C

    2009-01-01

    Microfractures of the femoral head during implantation of the femoral components are suspected to be a cause of fractures at the implant/neck junction which represent a common failure mode in hip resurfacing arthroplasty. Callus formation observed in femoral head retrievals suggests the occurrence of microfractures inside the femoral head, which might be inadvertently caused by the surgeon during implantation. The aim of this biomechanical study was to analyse whether or not the implantation of a cementless femoral component hip resurfacing system causes microfractures in the femoral head. After the preparation of 20 paired human cadaveric femoral heads, the cementless femoral component ESKA Typ BS (ESKA Implants GmbH & Co., Lübeck) was implanted on 9 specimens with an impaction device that generates 4.5 kN impaction force. On 9 specimens the femoral component was implanted by hand. One head was used as a fracture model, 1 specimen served as control without manipulation. The femoral component used for impaction was equipped with hinges to enable its removal without further interfering with the bone stock. Specimens were scanned with a microCT device before and after impaction and the microCT datasets before and after impaction were compared to identify possible microfractures. Twenty strikes per hand or with the impaction device provided sufficient implant seating. Neither the macroscopic examination nor the 2-dimensional microCT analysis revealed any fractures of the femoral heads after impaction. At least macroscopically and in the 2-dimensional microCT analysis, implantation of the cementless hip resurfacing femoral component ESKA Typ BS with 4.5 kN or by hand does not seem to cause fractures of the femoral head. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.

  13. Quantitative estimation of the state of vault feet gymnasts on the different stages of the long-term training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.V. Makarova

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of the vaults given about the state is conducted feet gymnasts on the different stages of the long-term training. 93 sportswomen of different qualification took part in research. The system of Big foot was used. It is set that on the early stages of the long-term training for gymnasts observed flattening heights of unevenness of navicular bone above the floor. With growth of qualification of sportswomen to avoid development of pathological changes of vaults feet actually not possibly. It is conditioned the rules of competitions to complication of competition compositions and technique of execution of elements of calisthenics. It is marked that appearance of flattening feet requires: corrections in the system of training; introduction of the specially developed methods on the removal of existent deformations; prophylaxis of flat-footedness; strengthening of musculoskeletal system feet.

  14. Biomechanical characteristics, patient preference and activity level with different prosthetic feet: a randomized double blind trial with laboratory and community testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raschke, Silvia U; Orendurff, Michael S; Mattie, Johanne L; Kenyon, David E A; Jones, O Yvette; Moe, David; Winder, Lorne; Wong, Angie S; Moreno-Hernández, Ana; Highsmith, M Jason; J Sanderson, David; Kobayashi, Toshiki

    2015-01-02

    Providing appropriate prosthetic feet to those with limb loss is a complex and subjective process influenced by professional judgment and payer guidelines. This study used a small load cell (Europa™) at the base of the socket to measure the sagittal moments during walking with three objective categories of prosthetic feet in eleven individuals with transtibial limb loss with MFCL K2, K3 and K4 functional levels. Forefoot stiffness and hysteresis characteristics defined the three foot categories: Stiff, Intermediate, and Compliant. Prosthetic feet were randomly assigned and blinded from participants and investigators. After laboratory testing, participants completed one week community wear tests followed by a modified prosthetics evaluation questionnaire to determine if a specific category of prosthetic feet was preferred. The Compliant category of prosthetic feet was preferred by the participants (P=0.025) over the Stiff and Intermediate prosthetic feet, and the Compliant and Intermediate feet had 15% lower maximum sagittal moments during walking in the laboratory (P=0.0011) compared to the Stiff feet. The activity level of the participants did not change significantly with any of the wear tests in the community, suggesting that each foot was evaluated over a similar number of steps, but did not inherently increase activity. This is the first randomized double blind study in which prosthetic users have expressed a preference for a specific biomechanical characteristic of prosthetic feet: those with lower peak sagittal moments were preferred, and specifically preferred on slopes, stairs, uneven terrain, and during turns and maneuvering during real world use. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  15. Parsing the roles of neck-linker docking and tethered head diffusion in the stepping dynamics of kinesin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhechun; Goldtzvik, Yonathan; Thirumalai, D

    2017-11-14

    Kinesin walks processively on microtubules (MTs) in an asymmetric hand-over-hand manner consuming one ATP molecule per 16-nm step. The individual contributions due to docking of the approximately 13-residue neck linker to the leading head (deemed to be the power stroke) and diffusion of the trailing head (TH) that contributes in propelling the motor by 16 nm have not been quantified. We use molecular simulations by creating a coarse-grained model of the MT-kinesin complex, which reproduces the measured stall force as well as the force required to dislodge the motor head from the MT, to show that nearly three-quarters of the step occurs by bidirectional stochastic motion of the TH. However, docking of the neck linker to the leading head constrains the extent of diffusion and minimizes the probability that kinesin takes side steps, implying that both the events are necessary in the motility of kinesin and for the maintenance of processivity. Surprisingly, we find that during a single step, the TH stochastically hops multiple times between the geometrically accessible neighboring sites on the MT before forming a stable interaction with the target binding site with correct orientation between the motor head and the [Formula: see text] tubulin dimer.

  16. Trabecular bone structure correlates with hand posture and use in hominoids.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zewdi J Tsegai

    Full Text Available Bone is capable of adapting during life in response to stress. Therefore, variation in locomotor and manipulative behaviours across extant hominoids may be reflected in differences in trabecular bone structure. The hand is a promising region for trabecular analysis, as it is the direct contact between the individual and the environment and joint positions at peak loading vary amongst extant hominoids. Building upon traditional volume of interest-based analyses, we apply a whole-epiphysis analytical approach using high-resolution microtomographic scans of the hominoid third metacarpal to investigate whether trabecular structure reflects differences in hand posture and loading in knuckle-walking (Gorilla, Pan, suspensory (Pongo, Hylobates and Symphalangus and manipulative (Homo taxa. Additionally, a comparative phylogenetic method was used to analyse rates of evolutionary changes in trabecular parameters. Results demonstrate that trabecular bone volume distribution and regions of greatest stiffness (i.e., Young's modulus correspond with predicted loading of the hand in each behavioural category. In suspensory and manipulative taxa, regions of high bone volume and greatest stiffness are concentrated on the palmar or distopalmar regions of the metacarpal head, whereas knuckle-walking taxa show greater bone volume and stiffness throughout the head, and particularly in the dorsal region; patterns that correspond with the highest predicted joint reaction forces. Trabecular structure in knuckle-walking taxa is characterised by high bone volume fraction and a high degree of anisotropy in contrast to the suspensory brachiators. Humans, in which the hand is used primarily for manipulation, have a low bone volume fraction and a variable degree of anisotropy. Finally, when trabecular parameters are mapped onto a molecular-based phylogeny, we show that the rates of change in trabecular structure vary across the hominoid clade. Our results support a link

  17. Foot reflexology in feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Natália Chantal Magalhães; Chaves, Érika de Cássia Lopes; de Carvalho, Emilia Campos; Carvalho, Leonardo César; Iunes, Denise Hollanda

    2015-01-01

    to evaluate the effect of foot reflexology on feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. this is a randomized, controlled and blind clinical trial. The sample was comprised by people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who, after being randomized into Treated group (n = 21) and Control group (n = 24), received guidelines on foot self-care. To the Treated Group it was also provided 12 sessions of foot reflexology. The scores of impairment indicators related to skin and hair, blood circulation, tissue sensitivity and temperature were measured by means of the instrument for assessing tissue integrity of the feet of people with diabetes mellitus. Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, Mann-Whitney test and regression analyzes were applied to the data, considering a significance level of 5% (P value foot reflexology had a beneficial effect on feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, which makes it a viable therapy, deserving investment. This study was registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials - RBR-8zk8sz.

  18. Gen-2 Hand-Held Optical Imager towards Cancer Imaging: Reflectance and Transillumination Phantom Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anuradha Godavarty

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Hand-held near-infrared (NIR optical imagers are developed by various researchers towards non-invasive clinical breast imaging. Unlike these existing imagers that can perform only reflectance imaging, a generation-2 (Gen-2 hand-held optical imager has been recently developed to perform both reflectance and transillumination imaging. The unique forked design of the hand-held probe head(s allows for reflectance imaging (as in ultrasound and transillumination or compressed imaging (as in X-ray mammography. Phantom studies were performed to demonstrate two-dimensional (2D target detection via reflectance and transillumination imaging at various target depths (1–5 cm deep and using simultaneous multiple point illumination approach. It was observed that 0.45 cc targets were detected up to 5 cm deep during transillumination, but limited to 2.5 cm deep during reflectance imaging. Additionally, implementing appropriate data post-processing techniques along with a polynomial fitting approach, to plot 2D surface contours of the detected signal, yields distinct target detectability and localization. The ability of the gen-2 imager to perform both reflectance and transillumination imaging allows its direct comparison to ultrasound and X-ray mammography results, respectively, in future clinical breast imaging studies.

  19. Energy expenditure in people with transtibial amputation walking with crossover and energy storing prosthetic feet: A randomized within-subject study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Cody L; Kramer, Patricia A; Morgan, Sara J; Halsne, Elizabeth G; Cheever, Sarah M; Hafner, Brian J

    2018-05-01

    Energy storing feet are unable to reduce the energy required for normal locomotion among people with transtibial amputation. Crossover feet, which incorporate aspects of energy storing and running specific feet, are designed to maximize energy return while providing stability for everyday activities. Do crossover prosthetic feet reduce the energy expenditure of walking across a range of speeds, when compared with energy storing feet among people with transtibial amputation due to non-dysvascular causes? A randomized within-subject study was conducted with a volunteer sample of twenty-seven adults with unilateral transtibial amputation due to non-dysvascular causes. Participants were fit with two prostheses. One had an energy storing foot (Össur Variflex) and the other a crossover foot (Össur Cheetah Xplore). Other components, including sockets, suspension, and interface were standardized. Energy expenditure was measured with a portable respirometer (Cosmed K4b2) while participants walked on a treadmill at self-selected slow, comfortable, and fast speeds with each prosthesis. Gross oxygen consumption rates (VO 2  ml/min) were compared between foot conditions. Energy storing feet were used as the baseline condition because they are used by most people with a lower limb prosthesis. Analyses were performed to identify people who may benefit from transition to crossover feet. On average, participants had lower oxygen consumption in the crossover foot condition compared to the energy storing foot condition at each self-selected walking speed, but this difference was not statistically significant. Participants with farther six-minute walk test distances, higher daily step counts, and higher Medicare Functional Classification Levels at baseline were more likely to use less energy in the crossover foot. Crossover feet may be most beneficial for people with higher activity levels and physical fitness. Further research is needed to examine the effect of crossover feet on

  20. Multilevel groundwater monitoring of hydraulic head and temperature in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 2009–10

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twining, Brian V.; Fisher, Jason C.

    2012-01-01

    During 2009 and 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Idaho National Laboratory Project Office, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, collected quarterly, depth-discrete measurements of fluid pressure and temperature in nine boreholes located in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer. Each borehole was instrumented with a multilevel monitoring system consisting of a series of valved measurement ports, packer bladders, casing segments, and couplers. Multilevel monitoring at the Idaho National Laboratory has been ongoing since 2006. This report summarizes data collected from three multilevel monitoring wells installed during 2009 and 2010 and presents updates to six multilevel monitoring wells. Hydraulic heads (heads) and groundwater temperatures were monitored from 9 multilevel monitoring wells, including 120 hydraulically isolated depth intervals from 448.0 to 1,377.6 feet below land surface. Quarterly head and temperature profiles reveal unique patterns for vertical examination of the aquifer’s complex basalt and sediment stratigraphy, proximity to aquifer recharge and discharge, and groundwater flow. These features contribute to some of the localized variability even though the general profile shape remained consistent over the period of record. Major inflections in the head profiles almost always coincided with low-permeability sediment layers and occasionally thick sequences of dense basalt. However, the presence of a sediment layer or dense basalt layer was insufficient for identifying the location of a major head change within a borehole without knowing the true areal extent and relative transmissivity of the lithologic unit. Temperature profiles for boreholes completed within the Big Lost Trough indicate linear conductive trends; whereas, temperature profiles for boreholes completed within the axial volcanic high indicate mostly convective heat transfer resulting from the vertical movement of groundwater. Additionally, temperature profiles

  1. Reliability of digital photography for assessing lower extremity alignment in individuals with flatfeet and normal feet types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashnagar, Zinat; Hadian, Mohammad Reza; Olyaei, Gholamreza; Talebian Moghadam, Saeed; Rezasoltani, Asghar; Saeedi, Hassan; Yekaninejad, Mir Saeed; Mahmoodi, Rahimeh

    2017-07-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the intratester reliability of digital photographic method for quantifying static lower extremity alignment in individuals with flatfeet and normal feet types. Thirteen females with flexible flatfeet and nine females with normal feet types were recruited from university communities. Reflective markers were attached over the participant's body landmarks. Frontal and sagittal plane photographs were taken while the participants were in a standardized standing position. The markers were removed and after 30 min the same procedure was repeated. Pelvic angle, quadriceps angle, tibiofemoral angle, genu recurvatum, femur length and tibia length were measured from photographs using the Image j software. All measured variables demonstrated good to excellent intratester reliability using digital photography in both flatfeet (ICC: 0.79-0.93) and normal feet type (ICC: 0.84-0.97) groups. The findings of the current study indicate that digital photography is a highly reliable method of measurement for assessing lower extremity alignment in both flatfeet and normal feet type groups. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. Child seat belt guidelines: Examining the 4 feet 9 inches rule as the standard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morse, Amber M; Aitken, Mary E; Mullins, Samantha H; Miller, Beverly K; Pomtree, Mindy M; Ulloa, Erin M; Montgomery, Jeffrey S; Saylors, Marie E

    2017-11-01

    Current American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations regarding transition from child safety/booster seat to adult safety belt use indicate that children should be at least 4 feet 9 inches, 8 years old, or 80 pounds. Proper fit in the vehicle seat, assessed with a five-point fit test, should also be met. Although most children reach 4 feet 9 inches around age 8 years, each child and vehicle presents a unique combination; thus a child may not fit appropriately in all vehicle types using only the 4 feet 9 inches requirement. We enrolled children, aged 7 years to 12 years, into our study. Height, weight, and demographic data were obtained. A Child Passenger Safety Technician then performed the five-point fit test in each of a uniform lineup of five vehicles. Data were collected on fit in the standard vehicle seat and also in a booster seat. We set 90% as the threshold proportion of children who meet all criteria for proper fit to validate current recommendations of a height of 4 feet 9 inches. Data were collected on 388 children. The percentage of 90% proper fit was met in the compact car and small sport-utility vehicle (SUV). However, only 80 (77%) of 104 students (p guidelines for an adult seat belt do not meet safety requirements for fit, especially in larger, commonly used vehicles (large SUVs and trucks). This emphasizes the need for evaluation of fit by a trained personnel and/or development of standard back seat dimensions in all vehicles for maximum safety. Epidemiologic level 1.

  3. Steel syndrome: dislocated hips and radial heads, carpal coalition, scoliosis, short stature, and characteristic facial features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, John M; Ramirez, Norman; Betz, Randal; Mulcahey, Mary Jane; Pino, Franz; Herrera-Soto, Jose A; Carlo, Simon; Cornier, Alberto S

    2010-01-01

    A syndrome of children with short stature, bilateral hip dislocations, radial head dislocations, carpal coalitions, scoliosis, and cavus feet in Puerto Rican children, was reported by Steel et al in 1993. The syndrome was described as a unique entity with dismal results after conventional treatment of dislocated hips. The purpose of this study is to reevaluate this patient population with a longer follow-up and delineate the clinical and radiologic features, treatment outcomes, and the genetic characteristics. This is a retrospective cohort study of 32 patients in whom we evaluated the clinical, imaging data, and genetic characteristics. We compare the findings and quality of life in patients with this syndrome who have had attempts at reduction of the hips versus those who did not have the treatment. Congenital hip dislocations were present in 100% of the patients. There was no attempt at reduction in 39% (25/64) of the hips. In the remaining 61% (39/64), the hips were treated with a variety of modalities fraught with complications. Of those treated, 85% (33/39) remain dislocated, the rest of the hips continue subluxated with acetabular dysplasia and pain. The group of hips that were not treated reported fewer complaints and limitation in daily activities compared with the hips that had attempts at reduction. Steel syndrome is a distinct clinical entity characterized by short stature, bilateral hip and radial head dislocation, carpal coalition, scoliosis, cavus feet, and characteristic facial features with dismal results for attempts at reduction of the hips. Prognostic Study Level II.

  4. Co-regulated expression of HAND2 and DEIN by a bidirectional promoter with asymmetrical activity in neuroblastoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berthold Frank

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background HAND2, a key regulator for the development of the sympathetic nervous system, is located on chromosome 4q33 in a head-to-head orientation with DEIN, a recently identified novel gene with stage specific expression in primary neuroblastoma (NB. Both genes are expressed in primary NB as well as most NB cell lines and are separated by a genomic sequence of 228 bp. The similar expression profile of both genes suggests a common transcriptional regulation mediated by a bidirectional promoter. Results Northern Blot analysis of DEIN and HAND2 in 20 primary NBs indicated concurrent expression levels of the two genes, which was confirmed by microarray analysis of 236 primary NBs (Pearson's correlation coefficient r = 0.65. While DEIN expression in the latter cohort was associated with stage 4S (p = 0.02, HAND2 expression was not associated with tumor stage. In contrast, both HAND2 and DEIN transcript levels were highly associated with age at diagnosis DEIN orientation, an average 3.4 fold increase in activity was observed as compared to the promoterless vector, whereas an average 15.4 fold activation was detected in HAND2 orientation. The presence of two highly conserved putative regulatory elements, one of which was shown to enhance HAND2 expression in branchial arches previously, displayed weak repressor activity for both genes. Conclusion HAND2 and DEIN represent a gene pair that is tightly linked by a bidirectional promoter in an evolutionary highly conserved manner. Expression of both genes in NB is co-regulated by asymmetrical activity of this promoter and modulated by the activity of two cis-regulatory elements acting as weak repressors. The concurrent quantitative and tissue specific expression of HAND2 and DEIN suggests a functional link between both genes.

  5. Foot Placement Indicator for Balance of Planar Bipeds with Point Feet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pieter van Zutven

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract If humanoid robots are to be used in society, they should be able to maintain their balance. Knowing where to step is crucially important. In this paper we contribute an algorithm that can compute the foot step location such that bipedal balance is maintained for planar bipeds with point feet and an arbitrary number of non-massless links on a horizontal and flat ground. The algorithm is called the foot placement indicator (FPI and it extends the foot placement estimator (FPE. The FPE uses an inverted pendulum model to capture the dynamics of a humanoid robot, whereas the FPI deals with multi-body models with distributed masses. This paper analyses equilibrium sets and the stability of planar bipeds with point feet. The algorithm uses conservation of energy throughout the step, taking into account the instantaneous impact dynamics at foot strike. A simulation case study on a five-link planar biped shows the effectiveness of the FPI.

  6. Low-head air stripper treats oil tanker ballast water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldman, M.

    1992-01-01

    Prototype tests conducted during the winter of 1989/90 have successfully demonstrated an economical design for air stripping volatile hydrocarbons from oily tanker ballast water. The prototype air stripper, developed for Alyeska's Ballast Water Treatment (BWT) facility in Valdez, Alaska, ran continuously for three months with an average removal of 88% of the incoming volatile organics. Initially designed to remove oil and grease compounds from tanker ballast water, the BWT system has been upgraded to a three-step process to comply with new, stringent regulations. The BWT biological oxidation process enhances the growth of bacteria present in the incoming ballast water through nutrient addition, aeration, and recirculation within a complete-mixed bioreactor. The average removal of BETX is over 95%, however, occassional upsets required the placement of a polishing air stripper downstream of the aeration tanks. Packed-tower air stripping was investigated but deemed economically unfeasible for a facility that would only occasionally be used. Twelve feet of excess gravity head in the existing BWT hydraulic gradeline were employed to drive the air stripper feed. This limited the stripper packing depth to 8 feet and imposed constraints on the design of the inlet water and air distributors. Water distribution, air flow, temperature effects, and fouling from constituents in the ballast water were investigated. The prototype was operated under water and air flow conditions similar to those specified for the full-scale unit, and at a range of test conditions above and below the normal design conditions

  7. A Soft Casting Technique for Managing Pediatric Hand and Foot Burns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Young Mee; Nederveld, Cindy; Campbell, Kristen; Moulton, Steven

    2018-04-04

    Hand and foot burns in children are difficult to dress. The authors have developed a soft casting technique to manage burns to these areas. The aim of this study is to report the outcomes using weekly dressing changes with a soft casting technique to manage pediatric hand and foot burns in the outpatient setting. A retrospective chart review was performed on children with burns to the hands or feet, who underwent dressing changes with a soft casting technique at the Children's Hospital Colorado Burn Center. Soft casting was performed by placing antibiotic ointment-impregnated nonadherent gauze over the burn wound(s), wrapping the extremity using rolled gauze, applying soft cast pad, plaster, soft cast tape, and an elastic bandage. This was changed weekly. Two hundred ninety-eight children with hand burns had a mean age of 16.8 ± 2 months. Two hundred forty-eight children had partial thickness burn injuries (83%), 50 had full thickness burn injuries (17%), and the mean total body surface area (TBSA) was 1 ± 2.4%. The mean time to heal was 10.1 ± 1.7 days for all subjects. Sixty-six children with foot burns were identified with a mean age of 24 ± 2.6 months. Forty-six children had partial thickness injuries (70%), 20 had full thickness burn injuries (30%), and the mean TBSA was 2.3 ± 2.9%. The mean time to heal was 14.1 ± 2.2 days for all subjects. Weekly dressing changes using a soft casting technique are effective for the outpatient management of pediatric hand and foot burns. This method avoids costly inpatient hospital care, reduces the number of painful dressing changes, and allows children to heal in their own environment.

  8. Low cost heads-up virtual reality (HUVR) with optical tracking and haptic feedback

    KAUST Repository

    Margolis, Todd

    2011-01-23

    Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have created a new, relatively low-cost augmented reality system that enables users to touch the virtual environment they are immersed in. The Heads-Up Virtual Reality device (HUVR) couples a consumer 3D HD flat screen TV with a half-silvered mirror to project any graphic image onto the user\\'s hands and into the space surrounding them. With his or her head position optically tracked to generate the correct perspective view, the user maneuvers a force-feedback (haptic) device to interact with the 3D image, literally \\'touching\\' the object\\'s angles and contours as if it was a tangible physical object. HUVR can be used for training and education in structural and mechanical engineering, archaeology and medicine as well as other tasks that require hand-eye coordination. One of the most unique characteristics of HUVR is that a user can place their hands inside of the virtual environment without occluding the 3D image. Built using open-source software and consumer level hardware, HUVR offers users a tactile experience in an immersive environment that is functional, affordable and scalable.

  9. Low cost heads-up virtual reality (HUVR) with optical tracking and haptic feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margolis, Todd; DeFanti, Thomas A.; Dawe, Greg; Prudhomme, Andrew; Schulze, Jurgen P.; Cutchin, Steve

    2011-03-01

    Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have created a new, relatively low-cost augmented reality system that enables users to touch the virtual environment they are immersed in. The Heads-Up Virtual Reality device (HUVR) couples a consumer 3D HD flat screen TV with a half-silvered mirror to project any graphic image onto the user's hands and into the space surrounding them. With his or her head position optically tracked to generate the correct perspective view, the user maneuvers a force-feedback (haptic) device to interact with the 3D image, literally 'touching' the object's angles and contours as if it was a tangible physical object. HUVR can be used for training and education in structural and mechanical engineering, archaeology and medicine as well as other tasks that require hand-eye coordination. One of the most unique characteristics of HUVR is that a user can place their hands inside of the virtual environment without occluding the 3D image. Built using open-source software and consumer level hardware, HUVR offers users a tactile experience in an immersive environment that is functional, affordable and scalable.

  10. Effects of lower limb amputation on the mental rotation of feet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Curtze, Carolin; Otten, Bert; Postema, Klaas

    What happens to the mental representation of our body when the actual anatomy of our body changes? We asked 18 able-bodied controls, 18 patients with a lower limb amputation and a patient with rotationplasty to perform a laterality judgment task. They were shown illustrations of feet in different

  11. Prevalence of foot eczema and associated occupational and non-occupational factors in patients with hand eczema.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brans, Richard; Hübner, Anja; Gediga, Günther; John, Swen M

    2015-08-01

    Foot eczema often occurs in combination with hand eczema. However, in contrast to the situation with hand eczema, knowledge about foot eczema is scarce, especially in occupational settings. To evaluate the prevalence of foot eczema and associated factors in patients with hand eczema taking part in a tertiary individual prevention programme for occupational skin diseases. In a retrospective cohort study, the medical records of 843 patients taking part in the tertiary individual prevention programme were evaluated. Seven hundred and twenty-three patients (85.8%) suffered from hand eczema. Among these, 201 patients (27.8%) had concomitant foot eczema, mainly atopic foot eczema (60.4%). An occupational irritant component was possible in 38 patients with foot eczema (18.9%). In the majority of patients, the same morphological features were found on the hands and feet (71.1%). The presence of foot eczema was significantly associated with male sex [odds ratio (OR) 1.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-2.49], atopic hand eczema (OR 1.60, 95%CI: 1.15-2.22), hyperhidrosis (OR 1.73, 95%CI: 1.33-2.43), and the wearing of safety shoes/boots at work (OR 2.04, 95%CI: 1.46-2.87). Tobacco smoking was associated with foot eczema (OR 1.79, 95%CI: 1.25-2.57), in particular with the vesicular subtype. Foot eczema is common in patients with hand eczema, and is related to both occupational and non-occupational factors. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Warm hands, cold heart: progressive whole-body cooling increases warm thermosensitivity of human hands and feet in a dose-dependent fashion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filingeri, Davide; Morris, Nathan B; Jay, Ollie

    2017-01-01

    What is the central question of this study? Investigations on inhibitory/facilitatory modulation of vision, touch and pain show that conditioning stimuli outside the receptive field of testing stimuli modulate the central processing of visual, touch and painful stimuli. We asked whether contextual modulation also exists in human temperature integration. What is the main finding and its importance? Progressive decreases in whole-body mean skin temperature (the conditioning stimulus) significantly increased local thermosensitivity to skin warming but not cooling (the testing stimuli) in a dose-dependent fashion. In resembling the central mechanisms underlying endogenous analgesia, our findings point to the existence of an endogenous thermosensory system in humans that could modulate local skin thermal sensitivity to facilitate thermal behaviour. Although inhibitory/facilitatory central modulation of vision and pain has been investigated, contextual modulation of skin temperature integration has not been explored. Hence, we tested whether progressive decreases in whole-body mean skin temperature (T sk ; a large conditioning stimulus) alter the magnitude estimation of local warming and cooling stimuli applied to hairy and glabrous skin. On four separate occasions, eight men (27 ± 5 years old) underwent a 30 min whole-body cooling protocol (water-perfused suit; temperature, 5°C), during which a quantitative thermosensory test, consisting of reporting the perceived magnitude of warming and cooling stimuli (±8°C from 30°C baseline) applied to the hand (palm/dorsum) and foot (sole/dorsum), was performed before cooling and every 10 min thereafter. The cooling protocol resulted in large progressive reductions in T sk [10 min, -3.36°C (95% confidence interval -2.62 to -4.10); 20 min, -5.21°C (-4.47 to -5.95); and 30 min, -6.32°C (-5.58 to -7.05); P fashion. In highlighting a novel feature of human temperature integration, these findings point to the existence

  13. A typewriting system operated by head movements, based on home-computer equipment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heuvelmans, A.M.F.; Mélotte, H.E.M.; Neve, J.J.

    1990-01-01

    For persons who cannot move their hands and legs we have designed a relatively inexpensive typewriting system which can be operated by movements of the head. The typewriter is made up of commercially available home computer equipment - i e, a computer including monitor and printer and a headset

  14. The effect that energy storage and return feet have on the propulsion of the body: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crimin, Anthony; McGarry, Anthony; Harris, Elena Jane; Solomonidis, Stephan Emanuel

    2014-09-01

    A variety of energy storage and return prosthetic feet are currently available for use within lower limb prostheses. Designs claim to provide a beneficial energy return during push-off, but the extent to which this occurs remains disputed. Techniques currently used to measure energy storage, dissipation and return within the structure of the prosthetic foot are debatable, with limited evidence to support substantial elastic energy storage and return from existing designs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of energy storage and return foot designs through considering the ankle power during push-off and the effect on body centre of mass propulsion. To achieve this aim, the gait patterns of six trans-tibial prosthetic users wearing different designs of energy storage and return feet were analysed while ascending a ramp. Three examples of energy storage and return feet (suitable for moderate activity) were selected and randomly evaluated: the Blatchford's Epirus, Össur Assure and College Park Tribute feet. The power at the anatomical and mechanical ankle joints was integrated to evaluate the work done over the gait cycle. The direction of the inertial force, and therefore propulsion of the body centre of mass, was used to indicate the effect of the energy return by the energy storage and return feet. Results indicate that although energy storage and return feet may provide energy return, the work done around the prosthetic ankle indicates net power absorption. Therefore, the prosthetic limb is unable to contribute to the body centre of mass propulsion to the same extent as the biological limb. © IMechE 2014.

  15. Foot placement indicator for balance of planar bipeds with point feet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zutven, van P.W.M.; Nijmeijer, H.

    2013-01-01

    When humanoid robots are going to be used in society, they should be capable to maintain the balance. Knowing where to step appears to be crucially important to remain balanced. In this paper we contribute an algorithm for planar bipeds with point feet and an arbitrary number of non-massless links

  16. Low cost heads-up virtual reality (HUVR) with optical tracking and haptic feedback

    KAUST Repository

    Margolis, Todd; DeFanti, Thomas A.; Dawe, Greg; Prudhomme, Andrew; Schulze, Jurgen P.; Cutchin, Steven

    2011-01-01

    consumer 3D HD flat screen TV with a half-silvered mirror to project any graphic image onto the user's hands and into the space surrounding them. With his or her head position optically tracked to generate the correct perspective view, the user maneuvers a

  17. Radiographic appearance of the feet of mammoth donkeys and the finding of subclinical laminitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, M.; Taylor, T.; Slater, M.; Hood, D.; Weir, V.; Elslander, J.

    1995-01-01

    All feet of 10 clinically sound mammoth donkeys (Group I) were radiographed to determine the appearance of the distal phalanx. The distal phalanges had blunted to concave-shaped dorsal solar margins which varied in appearance from slight to pronounced. The distal phalanges of the forefeet were wider than those of the hindfeet, and also were positioned a greater distance from the dorsal aspect of the hoof wall. The greater distance between the dorsal aspect of the hoof wall and the distal phalanges seemed related to the presence of a periosteal-like bony proliferation on the dorsum of the distal phalanx. This bony proliferation occurred in those distal phalanges which also had radiographic findings consistent with pedal osteitis. Next, all feet of 5 additional mammoth donkeys (Group II) that were to be necropsied for various reasons, were examined similarly to Group I, necropsied and found to have laminitis. Only 2 of these 5 donkeys had been lame; only one had rotation of the distal phalanges (in the forefeet). Radiographic data from the 4 donkeys without rotation seemed most similar to that found in those Group I donkeys which had periosteal reactions on their distal phalanges. Conclusions from this study were that: 1) feet of mammoth donkeys have some anatomic differences from those of domestic horses, 2) subclinical laminitis and pedal osteitis can occur in mammoth donkeys, 3) rotation of the distal phalanx occurs in some, but not all laminitic donkeys, 4) laminitic changes may be more pronounced in their fore than in their hindfeet, and 5) additional studies of donkeys need to be done, examining both proven normal and confirmed laminitic feet

  18. Cinderella's Lessons on Footbinding: How Tiny Feet Found their Way into the Chinese Cinderella Story

    OpenAIRE

    Tyler Scott Smith

    2013-01-01

    The story of Cinderella has had many variants, some dating back to ancient Tibetan trade routes and dynastic China. When the tale is analysed in comparison to other variants it is found that in the Chinese version Yeh-Shen (Cinderella) is prized for the small size of her feet. The result of Yeh-Shen having small feet in the story is that she is led her into wealth, power and marriage, the same pursuable goals that led to the custom of footbinding. In southern China the custom of footbinding b...

  19. Effects of aluminum hinged shoes on the structure of contracted feet in Thoroughbred yearlings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Kousuke; Hiraga, Atsushi; Takahashi, Toshiyuki; Kuwano, Atsutoshi; Morrison, Scott Edward

    2015-01-01

    We applied aluminum hinged shoes (AHSs) to the club foot-associated contracted feet of 11 Thoroughbred yearlings to examine the effects of the shoes on the shape of the hoof and third phalanx (P III). After 3 months of AHS use, the size of the affected hooves increased significantly, reaching the approximate size of the healthy contralateral hooves with respect to the maximum lateral width of the foot, the mean ratio of the bearing border width to the coronary band width, and the mean ratio of the solar surface width to the articular surface width. These results suggest that the AHSs corrected the contracted feet in these yearling horses.

  20. Head-motion-controlled video goggles: preliminary concept for an interactive laparoscopic image display (i-LID).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aidlen, Jeremy T; Glick, Sara; Silverman, Kenneth; Silverman, Harvey F; Luks, Francois I

    2009-08-01

    Light-weight, low-profile, and high-resolution head-mounted displays (HMDs) now allow personalized viewing, of a laparoscopic image. The advantages include unobstructed viewing, regardless of position at the operating table, and the possibility to customize the image (i.e., enhanced reality, picture-in-picture, etc.). The bright image display allows use in daylight surroundings and the low profile of the HMD provides adequate peripheral vision. Theoretic disadvantages include reliance for all on the same image capture and anticues (i.e., reality disconnect) when the projected image remains static, despite changes in head position. This can lead to discomfort and even nausea. We have developed a prototype of interactive laparoscopic image display that allows hands-free control of the displayed image by changes in spatial orientation of the operator's head. The prototype consists of an HMD, a spatial orientation device, and computer software to enable hands-free panning and zooming of a video-endoscopic image display. The spatial orientation device uses magnetic fields created by a transmitter and receiver, each containing three orthogonal coils. The transmitter coils are efficiently driven, using USB power only, by a newly developed circuit, each at a unique frequency. The HMD-mounted receiver system links to a commercially available PC-interface PCI-bus sound card (M-Audiocard Delta 44; Avid Technology, Tewksbury, MA). Analog signals at the receiver are filtered, amplified, and converted to digital signals, which are processed to control the image display. The prototype uses a proprietary static fish-eye lens and software for the distortion-free reconstitution of any portion of the captured image. Left-right and up-down motions of the head (and HMD) produce real-time panning of the displayed image. Motion of the head toward, or away from, the transmitter causes real-time zooming in or out, respectively, of the displayed image. This prototype of the interactive HMD

  1. Do free-falling quantum cats land on their feet?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chryssomalakos, C; Serrano-Ensástiga, E; Hernández-Coronado, H

    2015-01-01

    We present a quantum description of the mechanism by which a free-falling cat manages to reorient itself and land on its feet, having all along zero angular momentum. Our approach is geometrical, making use of the fiber bundle structure of the cat configuration space. We show how the classical picture can be recovered, but also point out a purely quantum scenario, that ends up with a Schroedinger cat. Finally, we sketch possible applications to molecular, nuclear, and nano-systems. (paper)

  2. Two-gun suicide by simultaneous shots to the head: interdisciplinary reconstruction on the basis of scene investigation, autopsy findings, GSR analysis and examination of firearms, bullets and cartridge cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosse Perdekamp, Markus; Nadjem, Hadi; Merkel, Joachim; Braunwarth, Roland; Pollak, Stefan; Thierauf, Annette

    2011-07-01

    Suicidal shots fired simultaneously to the head from two handguns are rare. The authors report about a recent case in which a Smith & Wesson cal. 9 mm pistol and a Smith & Wesson cal. .357 Magnum revolver were used. Sitting on a sofa, a 33-year-old man (member of a shooting club) fired two simultaneous shots to the head; the pistol held in the left hand was discharged into the left temple, and the revolver held in the right hand was fired into the mouth. Both weapons remained in the respective hands. An upside-down muzzle imprint in the left temporal region and recoil injuries of a mandibular incisor, and the lower lip indicated that both the pistol and the revolver had been held in an inverted manner at the time of discharge. Blood stains (backspatter) and gunshot residues were present on both firing hands, whereas forward spatter originating from the exit wounds was deposited on the wall behind the suicide's head.

  3. Dynamics and Optimal Feet Force Distributions of a Realistic Four-legged Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saurav Agarwal

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a detailed dynamic modeling of realistic four-legged robot. The direct and inverse kinematic analysis for each leg has been considered in order to develop an overall kinematic model of the robot, when it follows a straight path. This study also aims to estimate optimal feet force distributions of the said robot, which is necessary for its real-time control. Three different approaches namely, minimization of norm of feet forces (approach 1, minimization of norm of joint torques (approach 2 and minimization of norm of joint power (approach 3 have been developed. Simulation result shows that approach 3 is more energy efficient foot force formulation than other two approaches. Lagrange-Euler formulation has been utilized to determine the joint torques. The developed dynamic models have been examined through computer simulation of continuous gait of the four-legged robot.

  4. A Four-Feet Walking-Type Rotary Piezoelectric Actuator with Minute Step Motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yingxiang; Wang, Yun; Liu, Junkao; Xu, Dongmei; Li, Kai; Shan, Xiaobiao; Deng, Jie

    2018-05-08

    A four-feet walking-type rotary piezoelectric actuator with minute step motion was proposed. The proposed actuator used the rectangular motions of four driving feet to push the rotor step-by-step; this operating principle was different with the previous non-resonant actuators using direct-driving, inertial-driving, and inchworm-type mechanisms. The mechanism of the proposed actuator was discussed in detail. Transient analyses were accomplished by ANSYS software to simulate the motion trajectory of the driving foot and to find the response characteristics. A prototype was manufactured to verify the mechanism and to test the mechanical characteristics. A minimum resolution of 0.095 μrad and a maximum torque of 49 N·mm were achieved by the prototype, and the output speed was varied by changing the driving voltage and working frequency. This work provides a new mechanism for the design of a rotary piezoelectric actuator with minute step motion.

  5. Foot reflexology in feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: randomized trial 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Natália Chantal Magalhães; Chaves, Érika de Cássia Lopes; de Carvalho, Emilia Campos; Carvalho, Leonardo César; Iunes, Denise Hollanda

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Objective: to evaluate the effect of foot reflexology on feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Method: this is a randomized, controlled and blind clinical trial. The sample was comprised by people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who, after being randomized into Treated group (n = 21) and Control group (n = 24), received guidelines on foot self-care. To the Treated Group it was also provided 12 sessions of foot reflexology. The scores of impairment indicators related to skin and hair, blood circulation, tissue sensitivity and temperature were measured by means of the instrument for assessing tissue integrity of the feet of people with diabetes mellitus. Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, Mann-Whitney test and regression analyzes were applied to the data, considering a significance level of 5% (P value foot reflexology had a beneficial effect on feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, which makes it a viable therapy, deserving investment. This study was registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials - RBR-8zk8sz. PMID:26444161

  6. Skeletal pathology and variable anatomy in elephant feet assessed using computed tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie Regnault

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Foot problems are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in elephants, but are underreported due to difficulties in diagnosis, particularly of conditions affecting the bones and internal structures. Here we evaluate post-mortem computer tomographic (CT scans of 52 feet from 21 elephants (seven African Loxodonta africana and 14 Asian Elephas maximus, describing both pathology and variant anatomy (including the appearance of phalangeal and sesamoid bones that could be mistaken for disease. We found all the elephants in our study to have pathology of some type in at least one foot. The most common pathological changes observed were bone remodelling, enthesopathy, osseous cyst-like lesions, and osteoarthritis, with soft tissue mineralisation, osteitis, infectious osteoarthriti, subluxation, fracture and enostoses observed less frequently. Most feet had multiple categories of pathological change (81% with two or more diagnoses, versus 10% with a single diagnosis, and 9% without significant pathology. Much of the pathological change was focused over the middle/lateral digits, which bear most weight and experience high peak pressures during walking. We found remodelling and osteoarthritis to be correlated with increasing age, more enthesopathy in Asian elephants, and more cyst-like lesions in females. We also observed multipartite, missing and misshapen phalanges as common and apparently incidental findings. The proximal (paired sesamoids can appear fused or absent, and the predigits (radial/tibial sesamoids can be variably ossified, though are significantly more ossified in Asian elephants. Our study reinforces the need for regular examination and radiography of elephant feet to monitor for pathology and as a tool for improving welfare.

  7. Variations in daily quality assurance dosimetry from device levelling, feet position and backscatter material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceylan, Abdurrahman; Cullen, Ashley; Butson, Martin; Yu, Peter K.N.; Alnawaf, Hani

    2012-01-01

    Daily quality assurance procedures are an essential part of radiotherapy medical physics. Devices such as the Sun Nuclear, DQA3 are effective tools for analysis of daily dosimetry including flatness, symmetry, energy, field size and central axis radiation dose measurement. The DQA3 can be used on the treatment couch of the linear accelerator or on a dedicated table/bed for superficial and orthovoltage x-ray machines. This device is levelled using its dedicated feet. This work has shown that depending on the quantity of backscatter material behind the DQA3 device, the position of the levelling feet can affect the measured central axis dose by up to 1.8 % (250 kVp and 6 MV) and that the introduction of more backscatter material behind the DQA3 can lead to up to 7.2 % (6 MV) variations in measured central axis dose. In conditions where no backscatter material is present, dose measurements can vary up to 1 %. As such this work has highlighted the need to keep the material behind the DQA3 device constant as well as maintaining the accuracy of the feet position on the device to effectively measure the most accurate daily constancy achievable. Results have also shown that variations in symmetry and energy calculations of up to 1 % can occur if the device is not levelled appropriately. As such, we recommend the position of the levelling feet on the device be as close as possible to the device so that a constant distance is kept between the DQA3 and the treatment couch and thus minimal levelling variations also occur. We would also recommend having no extra backscattering material behind the DQA3 device during use to minimise any variations which might occur from these backscattering effects.

  8. Persistent and late occurring lesions in irradiated feet of rats: their clinical relevance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopewell, J.W.

    1982-01-01

    Radiation-induced deformity, as characterized by tissue loss, has been investigated in rat feet. The acute epithelial response and the loss of deeper tissues occur concomitantly after irradiation. The greatest loss of tissue (severe deformity) was produced in feet where the healing of the epithelial reaction was greatly delayed. While deformity will clearly continue to ''persist'' after the acute reaction has healed it is misleading to refer to this lesion as ''late'' damage. A late-occurring lesion, not previously described in the literature, can be produced in the rat foot by high doses of radiation delivered in such a way that moist desquamation is avoided, i.e. by extending the total treatment time. Parallels are drawn between reactions in rodents and those in the skin of pig and man. (author)

  9. Structure-based molecular simulations reveal the enhancement of biased Brownian motions in single-headed kinesin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanada, Ryo; Kuwata, Takeshi; Kenzaki, Hiroo; Takada, Shoji

    2013-01-01

    Kinesin is a family of molecular motors that move unidirectionally along microtubules (MT) using ATP hydrolysis free energy. In the family, the conventional two-headed kinesin was experimentally characterized to move unidirectionally through "walking" in a hand-over-hand fashion by coordinated motions of the two heads. Interestingly a single-headed kinesin, a truncated KIF1A, still can generate a biased Brownian movement along MT, as observed by in vitro single molecule experiments. Thus, KIF1A must use a different mechanism from the conventional kinesin to achieve the unidirectional motions. Based on the energy landscape view of proteins, for the first time, we conducted a set of molecular simulations of the truncated KIF1A movements over an ATP hydrolysis cycle and found a mechanism exhibiting and enhancing stochastic forward-biased movements in a similar way to those in experiments. First, simulating stand-alone KIF1A, we did not find any biased movements, while we found that KIF1A with a large friction cargo-analog attached to the C-terminus can generate clearly biased Brownian movements upon an ATP hydrolysis cycle. The linked cargo-analog enhanced the detachment of the KIF1A from MT. Once detached, diffusion of the KIF1A head was restricted around the large cargo which was located in front of the head at the time of detachment, thus generating a forward bias of the diffusion. The cargo plays the role of a diffusional anchor, or cane, in KIF1A "walking."

  10. Structure-based molecular simulations reveal the enhancement of biased Brownian motions in single-headed kinesin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryo Kanada

    Full Text Available Kinesin is a family of molecular motors that move unidirectionally along microtubules (MT using ATP hydrolysis free energy. In the family, the conventional two-headed kinesin was experimentally characterized to move unidirectionally through "walking" in a hand-over-hand fashion by coordinated motions of the two heads. Interestingly a single-headed kinesin, a truncated KIF1A, still can generate a biased Brownian movement along MT, as observed by in vitro single molecule experiments. Thus, KIF1A must use a different mechanism from the conventional kinesin to achieve the unidirectional motions. Based on the energy landscape view of proteins, for the first time, we conducted a set of molecular simulations of the truncated KIF1A movements over an ATP hydrolysis cycle and found a mechanism exhibiting and enhancing stochastic forward-biased movements in a similar way to those in experiments. First, simulating stand-alone KIF1A, we did not find any biased movements, while we found that KIF1A with a large friction cargo-analog attached to the C-terminus can generate clearly biased Brownian movements upon an ATP hydrolysis cycle. The linked cargo-analog enhanced the detachment of the KIF1A from MT. Once detached, diffusion of the KIF1A head was restricted around the large cargo which was located in front of the head at the time of detachment, thus generating a forward bias of the diffusion. The cargo plays the role of a diffusional anchor, or cane, in KIF1A "walking."

  11. [Repair of soft tissue defect in hand or foot with lobulated medial sural artery perforator flap].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fengjing, Zhao; Jianmin, Yao; Xingqun, Zhang; Liang, Ma; Longchun, Zhang; Yibo, Xu; Peng, Wang; Zhen, Zhu

    2015-11-01

    To explore the clinical effect of the lobulated medial sural artery perforator flap in repairing soft tissue defect in hand or foot. Since March 2012 to September 2014, 6 cases with soft tissue defects in hands or feet were treated by lobulated medial sural artery flaps pedicled with 1st musculo-cutaneous perforator and 2st musculo-cutaneous perforator of the medial sural artery. The size of the flaps ranged from 4.5 cm x 10.0 cm to 6.0 cm x 17.0 cm. 5 cases of lobulated flap survived smoothly, only 1 lobulated flap had venous articulo, but this flap also survived after the articulo was removed by vascular exploration. All flaps had desirable appearance and sensation and the two-point discrimination was 6 mm in mean with 4 to 12 months follow-up (average, 7 months). Linear scar was left in donor sites in 3 cases and skin scar in 3 cases. There was no malfunction in donor sites. Lobulated medial sural artery perforator flap is feasible and ideal method for the treatment of soft tissue defect in hand or foot with satisfactory effect.

  12. Foot reflexology in feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: randomized trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália Chantal Magalhães da Silva

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available AbstractObjective: to evaluate the effect of foot reflexology on feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Method: this is a randomized, controlled and blind clinical trial. The sample was comprised by people with type 2 diabetes mellitus who, after being randomized into Treated group (n = 21 and Control group (n = 24, received guidelines on foot self-care. To the Treated Group it was also provided 12 sessions of foot reflexology. The scores of impairment indicators related to skin and hair, blood circulation, tissue sensitivity and temperature were measured by means of the instrument for assessing tissue integrity of the feet of people with diabetes mellitus. Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, Mann-Whitney test and regression analyzes were applied to the data, considering a significance level of 5% (P value <0.05.Results: participants who received the therapy showed better scores in some impairment indicators related to skin and hair (hair growth, elasticity/turgor, hydration, perspiration, texture and integrity of the skin/ skin peeling.Conclusion: the foot reflexology had a beneficial effect on feet impairment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, which makes it a viable therapy, deserving investment. This study was registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials - RBR-8zk8sz.

  13. Variability of morphometric parameters of feet in various forms of lower extremities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konnova O.V.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: to identify the various forms of lower extremities variability of linear and angular parameters of feet in girls aged 17-19 years. Material and Methods. The object of the study included 242 students from Saratov State Medical University, 17—19 years. Foot digital plantography photometric device-software complex «Plantvizor» and measuring distances between sibling points of lower extremities to highlight their forms have been used as a method of research. Results. 8 forms of lower extremities, among which half per cent occurs in isolated form, valgus-direct from the mil-lennim clearance opening and a trapezoidal shape of lower extremities varus. In all forms of lower extremities morphometric parameters of feet and ratio of statistically significant differences in various forms of lower extremities have been studied. Conclusion. Anatomical basis for operational adjustment of axial disorders of tibiae and its influence on morphofunctional state of foot can be resulted from the study.

  14. Heads Up

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Connect with Us HEADS UP Apps Reshaping the Culture Around Concussion in Sports Get HEADS UP on Your Web Site Concussion ... HEADS UP on your web site! Create a culture of safety for young athletes Officials, learn how you can ... UP to Providers HEADS UP to Youth Sports HEADS UP to School Sports HEADS UP to ...

  15. Extravehicular mobility unit training and astronaut injuries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, Samuel; Krog, Ralph L.; Feiveson, Alan H.

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Astronaut spacewalk training can result in a variety of symptom complaints and possible injuries. This study quantified and characterized signs, symptoms, and injuries resulting from extravehicular activity spacesuit training at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, immersion facility. METHODS: We identified the frequency and incidence of symptoms by location, mechanisms of injury, and effective countermeasures. Recommendations were made to improve injury prevention, astronaut training, test preparation, and training hardware. At the end of each test, a questionnaire was completed documenting signs and symptoms, mechanisms of injury, and countermeasures. RESULTS: Of the 770 tests, there were 190 in which suit symptoms were reported (24.6%). There were a total of 352 reported suit symptom comments. Of those symptoms, 166 were in the hands (47.16%), 73 were in the shoulders (20.7%), and 40 were in the feet (11.4%). Others ranged from 6.0% to 0.28%, respectively, from the legs, arms, neck, trunk, groin, and head. Causal mechanisms for the hands included moisture and hard glove contacts resulting in fingernail injuries; in the shoulders, hard contact with suit components and strain mechanisms; and in the feet, hard boot contact. The severity of symptoms was highest in the shoulders, hands, and feet. CONCLUSIONS: Most signs and symptoms were mild, self-limited, of brief duration, and were well controlled by available countermeasures. Some represented the potential for significant injury with consequences affecting astronaut health and performance. Correction of extravehicular activity training-related injuries requires a multidisciplinary approach to improve prevention, medical intervention, astronaut training, test planning, and suit engineering.

  16. Modeling and analysis of passive dynamic bipedal walking with segmented feet and compliant joints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yan; Wang, Qi-Ning; Gao, Yue; Xie, Guang-Ming

    2012-10-01

    Passive dynamic walking has been developed as a possible explanation for the efficiency of the human gait. This paper presents a passive dynamic walking model with segmented feet, which makes the bipedal walking gait more close to natural human-like gait. The proposed model extends the simplest walking model with the addition of flat feet and torsional spring based compliance on ankle joints and toe joints, to achieve stable walking on a slope driven by gravity. The push-off phase includes foot rotations around the toe joint and around the toe tip, which shows a great resemblance to human normal walking. This paper investigates the effects of the segmented foot structure on bipedal walking in simulations. The model achieves satisfactory walking results on even or uneven slopes.

  17. Performance Comparison Between FEDERICA Hand and LARM Hand

    OpenAIRE

    Carbone, Giuseppe; Rossi, Cesare; Savino, Sergio

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes two robotic hands that have been\\ud developed at University Federico II of Naples and at the\\ud University of Cassino. FEDERICA Hand and LARM Hand\\ud are described in terms of design and operational features.\\ud In particular, careful attention is paid to the differences\\ud between the above-mentioned hands in terms of transmission\\ud systems. FEDERICA Hand uses tendons and pulleys\\ud to drive phalanxes, while LARM Hand uses cross four-bar\\ud linkages. Results of experime...

  18. Optimal conditions for obtaining collagen from chicken feet and its characterization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Íris Braz da Silva ARAÚJO

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The objective of this study was to extract collagen from chicken feet, determining optimal extraction conditions according to acetic acid concentration, pepsin content and time of enzymatic hydrolysis. A factorial design 23 was used, with three replications at the central point, totaling 11 experiments. The response variable studied was the collagen content of the isolate obtained. In addition to the optimization, the characterization of the isolates with higher and lower collagen content, in relation to the amino acid profile, electrophoretic profile, peptide hydrophobicity and functional properties, such as water solubility, water retention capacity and emulsifying activity, were carried out. The proposed model was statistically significant, with conditions of higher collagen content of 0.3 mol/L of acetic acid, 0.2% of pepsin and 12 hours of hydrolysis. The collagen isolate under these conditions showed higher iminoacids content, higher sum of peptide areas, higher solubility in water and water retention at 60 °C. The treatment with lower collagen content showed high emulsifying activity. The collagen isolate of the chicken feet presented characteristics makes it suitable for application in the food industry.

  19. Back to basics: hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spruce, Lisa

    2013-11-01

    Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are a significant issue in the United States and throughout the world, but following proper hand hygiene practices is the most effective and least expensive way to prevent HAIs. Hand hygiene is inexpensive and protects patients and health care personnel alike. The four general types of hand hygiene that should be performed in the perioperative environment are washing hands that are visibly soiled, hand hygiene using alcohol-based products, surgical hand scrubs, and surgical hand scrubs using an alcohol-based surgical hand rub product. Barriers to proper hand hygiene may include not thinking about it, forgetting, skin irritation, a lack of role models, or a lack of a safety culture. One strategy for improving hand hygiene practices is monitoring hand hygiene as part of a quality improvement project, but the most important aspect for perioperative team members is to set an example for other team members by following proper hand hygiene practices and reminding each other to perform hand hygiene. Copyright © 2013 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Eliminating drift of the head gesture reference to enhance Google Glass-based control of an NAO humanoid robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoqian Mao

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a strategy for hand-free control of an NAO humanoid robot via head gesture detected by Google Glass-based multi-sensor fusion. First, we introduce a Google Glass-based robot system by integrating the Google Glass and the NAO humanoid robot, which is able to send robot commands through Wi-Fi communications between the Google Glass and the robot. Second, we detect the operator’s head gestures by processing data from multiple sensors including accelerometers, geomagnetic sensors and gyroscopes. Next, we use a complementary filter to eliminate drift of the head gesture reference, which greatly improves the control performance. This is accomplished by the high-pass filter component on the control signal. Finally, we conduct obstacle avoidance experiments while navigating the robot to validate the effectiveness and reliability of this system. The experimental results show that the robot is smoothly navigated from its initial position to its destination with obstacle avoidance via the Google Glass. This hands-free control system can benefit those with paralysed limbs.

  1. Stiff Hands

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Stiff Hands Email to a friend * required fields ...

  2. Hand Infections

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Hand Infections Email to a friend * required fields ...

  3. Postural stability effects of random vibration at the feet of construction workers in simulated elevation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simeonov, P; Hsiao, H; Powers, J; Ammons, D; Kau, T; Amendola, A

    2011-07-01

    The risk of falls from height on a construction site increases under conditions which degrade workers' postural control. At elevation, workers depend heavily on sensory information from their feet to maintain balance. The study tested two hypotheses: "sensory enhancement"--sub-sensory (undetectable) random mechanical vibrations at the plantar surface of the feet can improve worker's balance at elevation; and "sensory suppression"--supra-sensory (detectable) random mechanical vibrations can have a degrading effect on balance in the same experimental settings. Six young (age 20-35) and six aging (age 45-60) construction workers were tested while standing in standard and semi-tandem postures on instrumented gel insoles. The insoles applied sub- or supra-sensory levels of random mechanical vibrations to the feet. The tests were conducted in a surround-screen virtual reality system, which simulated a narrow plank at elevation on a construction site. Upper body kinematics was assessed with a motion-measurement system. Postural stability effects were evaluated by conventional and statistical mechanics sway measures, as well as trunk angular displacement parameters. Analysis of variance did not confirm the "sensory enhancement" hypothesis, but provided evidence for the "sensory suppression" hypothesis. The supra-sensory vibration had a destabilizing effect, which was considerably stronger in the semi-tandem posture and affected most of the sway variables. Sensory suppression associated with elevated vibration levels on a construction site may increase the danger of losing balance. Construction workers at elevation, e.g., on a beam or narrow plank might be at increased risk of fall if they can detect vibrations under their feet. To reduce the possibility of losing balance, mechanical vibration to supporting structures used as walking/working surfaces should be minimized when performing construction tasks at elevation. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Biceps brachii long head overactivity associated with elbow flexion contracture in brachial plexus birth palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheffler, Lindsey C; Lattanza, Lisa; Sison-Williamson, Mitell; James, Michelle A

    2012-02-15

    The etiology of elbow flexion contracture in children with brachial plexus birth palsy remains unclear. We hypothesized that the long head of the biceps brachii muscle assists with shoulder stabilization in children with brachial plexus birth palsy and that overactivity of the long head during elbow and shoulder activity is associated with an elbow flexion contracture. Twenty-one patients with brachial plexus birth palsy-associated elbow flexion contracture underwent testing with surface electromyography. Twelve patients underwent repeat testing with fine-wire electromyography. Surface electrodes were placed on the muscle belly, and fine-wire electrodes were inserted bilaterally into the long and short heads of the biceps brachii. Patients were asked to perform four upper extremity tasks: elbow flexion-extension, hand to head, high reach, and overhead ball throw. The mean duration of muscle activity in the affected limb was compared with that in the contralateral, unaffected limb, which was used as a control. Three-dimensional motion analysis, surface dynamometry, and validated function measures were used to evaluate upper extremity kinematics, elbow flexor-extensor muscle imbalance, and function. The mean activity duration of the long head of the biceps brachii muscle was significantly higher in the affected limb as compared with the contralateral, unaffected limb during hand-to-head tasks (p = 0.02) and high-reach tasks (p = 0.03). No significant differences in mean activity duration were observed for the short head of the biceps brachii muscle between the affected and unaffected limbs. Isometric strength of elbow flexion was not significantly higher than that of elbow extension in the affected limb (p = 0.11). Overactivity of the long head of the biceps brachii muscle is associated with and may contribute to the development of elbow flexion contracture in children with brachial plexus birth palsy. Elbow flexion contracture may not be associated with an elbow

  5. Elastic-Plastic Nonlinear Response of a Space Shuttle External Tank Stringer. Part 1; Stringer-Feet Imperfections and Assembly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Song, Kyongchan; Elliott, Kenny B.; Raju, Ivatury S.; Warren, Jerry E.

    2012-01-01

    Elastic-plastic, large-deflection nonlinear stress analyses are performed for the external hat-shaped stringers (or stiffeners) on the intertank portion of the Space Shuttle s external tank. These stringers are subjected to assembly strains when the stringers are initially installed on an intertank panel. Four different stringer-feet configurations including the baseline flat-feet, the heels-up, the diving-board, and the toes-up configurations are considered. The assembly procedure is analytically simulated for each of these stringer configurations. The location, size, and amplitude of the strain field associated with the stringer assembly are sensitive to the assumed geometry and assembly procedure. The von Mises stress distributions from these simulations indicate that localized plasticity will develop around the first eight fasteners for each stringer-feet configuration examined. However, only the toes-up configuration resulted in high assembly hoop strains.

  6. Confronting hip resurfacing and big femoral head replacement gait analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panagiotis K. Karampinas

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Improved hip kinematics and bone preservation have been reported after resurfacing total hip replacement (THRS. On the other hand, hip kinematics with standard total hip replacement (THR is optimized with large diameter femoral heads (BFH-THR. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the functional outcomes of THRS and BFH-THR and correlate these results to bone preservation or the large femoral heads. Thirty-one patients were included in the study. Gait speed, postural balance, proprioception and overall performance. Our results demonstrated a non-statistically significant improvement in gait, postural balance and proprioception in the THRS confronting to BFH-THR group. THRS provide identical outcomes to traditional BFH-THR. The THRS choice as bone preserving procedure in younger patients is still to be evaluated.

  7. A High Percentage of Beef Bull Pictures in Semen Catalogues Have Feet and Lower Legs that Are Not Visible

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcy K. Franks

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A total of 1379 beef bull pictures were surveyed to determine visibility of feet and legs from four American semen company websites. Five different breeds were represented: Angus, Red Angus, Hereford (polled and horned, Simmental, and Charolais. In addition to visibility, data on other variables were collected to establish frequencies and correlations. These included breed, color, material that obscured visibility, such as grass, picture taken at livestock show or outside, semen company, photographer, video, and age of bull. A foot and leg visibility score was given to each bull picture. Only 19.4% of the pictures had fully visible feet and legs. Both the hooves and dewclaws were hidden on 32.5% of the pictures. Correlation between bull’s birthdate and the first four visibility scores was statistically significant (P < 0.0001. As age increased the feet and legs were more likely to be visible in the bull’s picture. This may possibly be due to greater availability of both photo editing software and digital photography. One positive finding was that 6% of the bulls had a video of the bull walking which completely showed his feet and legs.

  8. Roger Bailey takes over as head of CAS

    CERN Multimedia

    Katarina Anthony

    2011-01-01

    Established at the beginning of 1983, the CERN Accelerator School has developed to include two courses per year offered to hundreds of students from all over the world. Following the successful management of Daniel Brandt, Roger Bailey joins the newly formed Office of the Director of Accelerators and Technology (DAT) and becomes the new Head of the CERN Accelerator School (CAS).   Roger Bailey, the new Head of the CERN Accelerator School.  After 8 years of successful growth in popularity for the School, Daniel Brandt has handed on the baton to Roger Bailey. “The success of the CERN Accelerator School has been the result of a fantastic team effort,” says Brandt. “Along with my assistant - initially Suzanne von Wartburg and then Barbara Strasser - I had help from an advisory committee to decide both on the specialist topic and the venue for each workshop, and dedicated programme committees to help find the expert lecturers for the courses. Their support has ...

  9. Towards surface analysis on diabetic feet soles to predict ulcerations using photometric stereo

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, C.; van der Heijden, Ferdinand; van Netten, Jaap J.; Vo-Dinh, Tuan; Mahadevan-Jansen, Anita; Grundfest, Warren

    2012-01-01

    Diabetic foot ulceration is a major complication for patients with diabetes mellitus. Approximately 15% to 25% of patients with Type I and Type II diabetes eventually develop feet ulcers. If not adequately treated, these ulcers may lead to foot infection, and ultimately to total (or partial) lower

  10. Whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging of human brain during voluntary movements of dominant and subdominant hands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Wei; Yan Zixu; Ma Xiaohai; Zhang Zhaoqi; Lin Chongyu; Zang Yufeng; Weng Xuchu

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To identify the neural substrates of voluntary movements of dominant and subdominant hands by using the whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods: Seven right-handed healthy volunteers were scanned at a Sonata 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner (Siemens) while they were performing the visually instructive movement tasks with their right and left index fingers. Image data were co-registered to correct head motion, spatially normalized according to the standard coordinates, and spatially smoothed with isotopic Guassian Kernel. Statistical parametric maps (activation maps) for right and left hands were generated respectively by cross-correlation analysis. Results: Voluntary movements of the right/dominant hand mainly activated contralateral primary motor cortex (MI), bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), bilateral second motor area (MII), and ipsilateral cerebellum, whereas movements of the left/subdominant hand additionally elicited activation in contralateral premotor area (PMC). Moreover, activation volumes in SMA and MII during movements of the subdominant hand were significantly larger than those during movements of the dominant hand. Conclusion: A large set of structures in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum is involved in voluntary movements, as revealed by whole brain-based fMRI. Movements of the subdominant hand are more dependent on higher control areas, such as SMA and PMC, comparing to movements of the dominant hand

  11. Baseline coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from Owls Head, Maine, to the Virginia/North Carolina border, May 19-22, 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Karen L.M.; Hapke, Cheryl J.; Himmelstoss, Emily A.

    2015-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts baseline and storm response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms. On May 19-22, 2009, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey from Owls Head, Maine, to the Virginia/North Carolina border aboard a Cessna 207A at an altitude of 500 feet (ft) and approximately 1,200 ft offshore. This mission was flown to collect baseline data for assessing incremental changes since the last survey, and the data can be used in the assessment of future coastal change.

  12. Normative Values for Electrochemical Skin Conductance Measurements for Quantitative Assessment of Sudomotor Function in Healthy Indian Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shivaprasad, C; Goel, Amit; Vilier, Alice; Calvet, Jean-Henri

    2018-01-01

    Electrochemical skin conductance (ESC) test is a widely accepted objective technique for quantitatively assessing sudomotor dysfunction, which is one of the earliest-detected neurophysiologic abnormalities in diabetic patients with distal symmetric polyneuropathy. This study aimed to provide normative data for ESC values among healthy Indian participants and assess the potential influence of age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) on ESC measurements. A sample of 217 healthy participants aged 18-75 years were recruited and assessed for parameters including age, gender, BMI, and ESC measurements of the hands and feet. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess the normality of the data. Pearson's correlation was used to evaluate the association between age, gender, and BMI, and ESC measurements. The mean age of the participants was 43.3 ± 13.2 years, and mean BMI was 26.0 ± 4.3 kg/m 2 . Mean ESC for the hands and feet was 68.9 ± 13.1 and 71 ± 12.9 micro-Siemens, respectively, and there was a significant correlation between values from the right and left hands and feet ( r = 0.9, P < 0.0001). A significant correlation was also observed between ESC measurements of the hands and feet ( r = 0.94, P < 0.0001). ESC values of both hands and feet declined with age. A weak but significant inverse correlation between ESC and age was observed for the hands ( r = 0.02, P = 0.01) and for the feet ( r = 0.12, P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in hand or feet ESC measurement between male and female participants. No significant correlation was observed between BMI and ESC of hands or feet. Only age was identified as a significant determinant of ESC on multivariate logistic regression analysis. Normative values for Indians are lower than that reported for Caucasians.

  13. A comparison of foot kinematics in people with normal- and flat-arched feet using the Oxford Foot Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinger, Pazit; Murley, George S; Barton, Christian J; Cotchett, Matthew P; McSweeney, Simone R; Menz, Hylton B

    2010-10-01

    Foot posture is thought to influence predisposition to overuse injuries of the lower limb. Although the mechanisms underlying this proposed relationship are unclear, it is thought that altered foot kinematics may play a role. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate differences in foot motion between people with normal- and flat-arched feet using the Oxford Foot Model (OFM). Foot posture in 19 participants was documented as normal-arched (n=10) or flat-arched (n=9) using a foot screening protocol incorporating measurements from weightbearing antero-posterior and lateral foot radiographs. Differences between the groups in triplanar motion of the tibia, rearfoot and forefoot during walking were evaluated using a three-dimensional motion analysis system incorporating a multi-segment foot model (OFM). Participants with flat-arched feet demonstrated greater peak forefoot plantar-flexion (-13.7° ± 5.6° vs -6.5° ± 3.7°; p=0.004), forefoot abduction (-12.9° ± 6.9° vs -1.8° ± 6.3°; p=0.002), and rearfoot internal rotation (10.6° ± 7.5° vs -0.2°± 9.9°; p=0.018) compared to those with normal-arched feet. Additionally, participants with flat-arched feet demonstrated decreased peak forefoot adduction (-7.0° ± 9.2° vs 5.6° ± 7.3°; p=0.004) and a trend towards increased rearfoot eversion (-5.8° ± 4.4° vs -2.5° ± 2.6°; p=0.06). These findings support the notion that flat-arched feet have altered motion associated with greater pronation during gait; factors that may increase the risk of overuse injury. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Ponseti's manipulation in neglected clubfoot in children more than 7 years of age: a prospective evaluation of 25 feet with long-term follow-up.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Shah Alam; Kumar, Ashok

    2010-09-01

    We wanted to evaluate the efficacy of Ponseti's technique in neglected clubfoot in children more than 7 years of age. The results of Ponseti's method were evaluated in 21 children (25 feet) with neglected club feet. Patients were evaluated using the Dimeglio scoring system. All patients underwent percutaneous tenotomy of the Achilles tendon. The mean age at the time of treatment was 8.9 years. The mean follow-up period was 4.7 years. The average Dimeglio score at the start of the treatment was 14.2 compared with an average score of 0.95 at the end of the treatment at 1-year follow-up. Eighteen feet (85.7%) had full correction. Recurrence was seen in six feet (24%). At 4-year follow-up, the average Dimeglio score for 19 feet was 0.18. We recommend that Ponseti's method should be the preferred initial treatment modality for neglected clubfeet.

  15. Grasping hand verbs: oscillatory beta and alpha correlates of action-word processing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina Niccolai

    Full Text Available The grounded cognition framework proposes that sensorimotor brain areas, which are typically involved in perception and action, also play a role in linguistic processing. We assessed oscillatory modulation during visual presentation of single verbs and localized cortical motor regions by means of isometric contraction of hand and foot muscles. Analogously to oscillatory activation patterns accompanying voluntary movements, we expected a somatotopically distributed suppression of beta and alpha frequencies in the motor cortex during processing of body-related action verbs. Magnetoencephalographic data were collected during presentation of verbs that express actions performed using the hands (H or feet (F. Verbs denoting no bodily movement (N were used as a control. Between 150 and 500 msec after visual word onset, beta rhythms were suppressed in H and F in comparison with N in the left hemisphere. Similarly, alpha oscillations showed left-lateralized power suppression in the H-N contrast, although at a later stage. The cortical oscillatory activity that typically occurs during voluntary movements is therefore found to somatotopically accompany the processing of body-related verbs. The combination of a localizer task with the oscillatory investigation applied to verb reading as in the present study provides further methodological possibilities of tracking language processing in the brain.

  16. EthoHand: A dexterous robotic hand with ball-joint thumb enables complex in-hand object manipulation

    OpenAIRE

    Konnaris, C; Gavriel, C; Thomik, AAC; Aldo Faisal, A

    2016-01-01

    Our dexterous hand is a fundmanetal human feature that distinguishes us from other animals by enabling us to go beyond grasping to support sophisticated in-hand object manipulation. Our aim was the design of a dexterous anthropomorphic robotic hand that matches the human hand's 24 degrees of freedom, under-actuated by seven motors. With the ability to replicate human hand movements in a naturalistic manner including in-hand object manipulation. Therefore, we focused on the development of a no...

  17. Hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klokker, Louise; Terwee, Caroline B; Wæhrens, Eva Ejlersen

    2016-01-01

    as well as those items from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) item bank that are relevant to patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Selection will be based on consensus among reviewers. Content validity of selected items will be established......INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus about what constitutes the most appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) instrument for measuring physical function in patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Existing instruments lack psychometric testing and vary in feasibility...... and their psychometric qualities. We aim to develop a PROM instrument to assess hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will perform a systematic search to identify existing PROMs to rheumatic hand conditions, and select items relevant for hand-related physical function...

  18. Hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Klokker, Louise; Terwee, Caroline; Wæhrens, Eva Elisabet Ejlersen

    2016-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus about what constitutes the most appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) instrument for measuring physical function in patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Existing instruments lack psychometric testing and vary in feasibility...... and their psychometric qualities. We aim to develop a PROM instrument to assess hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will perform a systematic search to identify existing PROMs to rheumatic hand conditions, and select items relevant for hand-related physical function...... as well as those items from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) item bank that are relevant to patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Selection will be based on consensus among reviewers. Content validity of selected items will be established...

  19. A Novel Cellular Handset Design for an Enhanced Antenna Performance and a Reduced SAR in the Human Head

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salah I. Al-Mously

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel cellular handset design with a bottom-mounted short loaded-whip antenna. This new handset design is modeled and simulated using a finite difference time-domain (FDTD-based platform SEMCAD. The proposed handset is based on a current commercially available bar-phone type with a curvature shape, keypad positioned above the screen, and top-mounted antenna. The specific absorption rates (SARs are determined computationally in the specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM and anatomically correct model of a human head when exposed to the EM-field radiation of the proposed cellular handset and the handset with top-mounted antenna. The two cellular handsets are simulated to operate at both GSM standards, 900 MHz as well as 1800 MHz, having different antenna dimensions and intput power of 0.6 W and 0.125 W, respectively. The proposed human hand holding the two handset models is a semirealistic hand model consists of three tissues: skin, muscle, and bone. The simulations are conducted with handset positions based on the IEEE standard 1528-2003. The results show that the proposed handset has a significant improvement of antenna efficiency when it is hand-held close to head, as compared with the handset of top-mounted antenna. Also, the results show that a significant reduction of the induced SAR in the human head-tissues can be achieved with the proposed handset.

  20. A historical review of head and neck cancer in celebrities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Folz, B J; Ferlito, A; Weir, N; Pratt, L W; Rinaldo, A; Werner, J A

    2007-06-01

    The illnesses of celebrity patients always receive more attention from the general public than those of ordinary patients. With regard to cancer, this fact has helped to spread information about the four major malignancies: breast cancer, prostatic cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Head and neck cancer, on the other hand, is still not well recognised by the lay public, although the risk factors are similar to those of lung cancer. It was the objective of this analysis to identify cases of celebrity patients, the description of which could help to increase awareness of head and neck cancer, its symptoms and risk factors. The Internet and medical literature databases were searched for celebrity patients who had suffered from head and neck cancer. The search revealed numerous famous head and neck cancer patients. However, only seven cases were documented well in the medical literature. Among the identified persons were one emperor, two United States presidents, a legendary composer, a world-renowned medical doctor, an outstanding athlete and an extraordinary entertainer. In spite of their exclusive position in society, these patients did not have a better prognosis compared with ordinary patients of their time. Only two of the group experienced long term survival and only one was cured. None of these influential figures used their influence to fund research or to promote knowledge about their respective diseases. The identified cases could help increase public awareness of head and neck cancer. Similar to activities in other oncologic fields, current celebrity head and neck cancer patients should be encouraged to discuss their diseases openly, which could have a positive effect on public health.

  1. Radiographic bone changes in multibacillary leprosy patients in Aburof mission clinic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mustafa, El Rayah Mohamed

    1996-08-01

    Leprosy is an infectious, chronic granulomatous disease, caused by M. leprae. It is one of the most seriously disabling and economically important disease. In Sudan it affects about 20 thousands people. In this study 60 patients of MB leprosy were included. Historry and physical examination were carried out for each patient. BI was done for all patients and were subjected to x-ray investigations of the paranasal sinuses, hands and feet. 85%(51) of these patients were found to have radiographic changes in paranasal sinuses, 35 patients with mucosal thickening and 16 with diffuse opacified sinuses. 86.7% (52) of those patients were found to have radiographic bone changes in their hand and feet. 23.6% and 75.4% were found with specific and non-specific bone changes in their hands and feet respectively. A spectrum of radiographic bone changes was found in the hands and feet including; destruction, fractures, phalangeal resoption, distal phalangeal tapering, flexion deformities, osteoarthritic changes, charcot's joints, osteoporosis cystic bone changes and enlarged nutrient bone foramina. The majority of patients with radiographic changes in the paranasal sinsuses, hands and feet, were found to have long duration of the disease and more bacterial load. The disability in hands and feet is the major risk factor in bone affection in MB leprosy. (Author)

  2. [Viral warts on hands and feet are often self-limiting].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordentoft, Esben Lynge; Waldorf, Frans Boch

    2013-05-27

    Viral warts are common skin lesions caused by human papilloma virus. This article describes the pathogenesis, symptoms and treatment methods of cutaneous warts. The majority resolves spontaneously and the evidence on treatment of warts is rather poor, however, products with salicylic acid and cryotherapy have been surveyed most rigorously and shown to increase treatment rates.

  3. Congenital Amputation Involving the Hands and Feet: A Case Report

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There were forefoot amputations on both lower limbs. Scars were noticed over the amputation stumps with no associated congenital anomaly. Conclusion: Congenital amputation involving all limbs as an isolated entity is a rare condition; the cause of which is probably as a result of congenital amniotic bands. Keywords: ...

  4. Revisiting reflexology: Concept, evidence, current practice, and practitioner training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Embong, Nurul Haswani; Soh, Yee Chang; Ming, Long Chiau; Wong, Tin Wui

    2015-10-01

    Reflexology is basically a study of how one part of the human body relates to another part of the body. Reflexology practitioners rely on the reflexes map of the feet and hands to all the internal organs and other human body parts. They believe that by applying the appropriate pressure and massage certain spots on the feet and hands, all other body parts could be energized and rejuvenated. This review aimed to revisit the concept of reflexology and examine its effectiveness, practices, and the training for reflexology practitioners. PubMed, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and SpringerLink databases were utilized to search the following medical subject headings or keywords: foot massage, reflexology, foot reflexotherapy, reflexological treatment, and zone therapy. The articles published for the last 10 years were included. Previous systematic reviews failed to show concrete evidence for any specific effect of reflexology in any conditions. Due to its non-invasive, non-pharmacological complementary nature, reflexology is widely accepted and anecdotal evidence of positive effect reflexology in a variety of health conditions are available. Adequate training for practitioners is necessary to ensure the consistency of service provided.

  5. Revisiting reflexology: Concept, evidence, current practice, and practitioner training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurul Haswani Embong

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Reflexology is basically a study of how one part of the human body relates to another part of the body. Reflexology practitioners rely on the reflexes map of the feet and hands to all the internal organs and other human body parts. They believe that by applying the appropriate pressure and massage certain spots on the feet and hands, all other body parts could be energized and rejuvenated. This review aimed to revisit the concept of reflexology and examine its effectiveness, practices, and the training for reflexology practitioners. PubMed, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and SpringerLink databases were utilized to search the following medical subject headings or keywords: foot massage, reflexology, foot reflexotherapy, reflexological treatment, and zone therapy. The articles published for the last 10 years were included. Previous systematic reviews failed to show concrete evidence for any specific effect of reflexology in any conditions. Due to its non-invasive, non-pharmacological complementary nature, reflexology is widely accepted and anecdotal evidence of positive effect reflexology in a variety of health conditions are available. Adequate training for practitioners is necessary to ensure the consistency of service provided.

  6. feets: feATURE eXTRACTOR for tIME sERIES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabral, Juan; Sanchez, Bruno; Ramos, Felipe; Gurovich, Sebastián; Granitto, Pablo; VanderPlas, Jake

    2018-06-01

    feets characterizes and analyzes light-curves from astronomical photometric databases for modelling, classification, data cleaning, outlier detection and data analysis. It uses machine learning algorithms to determine the numerical descriptors that characterize and distinguish the different variability classes of light-curves; these range from basic statistical measures such as the mean or standard deviation to complex time-series characteristics such as the autocorrelation function. The library is not restricted to the astronomical field and could also be applied to any kind of time series. This project is a derivative work of FATS (ascl:1711.017).

  7. Single-limb force data for two lemur species while vertically clinging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Laura E; Hanna, Jandy; Schmitt, Daniel

    2015-11-01

    Vertical clinging and climbing have been integral to hypotheses about primate origins, yet little is known about how an animal with nails instead of claws resists gravity while on large, vertical, and cylindrical substrates. Here we test models of how force is applied to maintain posture, predicting (1) the shear component force (Fs ) at the hands will be higher than the feet; (2) the normal component force (Fn ) at the feet will be relatively high compared to the hands; (3) the component force resisting gravity (Fg ) at the feet will be relatively high compared to the hands; (4) species with a high frequency of vertical clinging postures will have low Fg at the hands due to relatively short forelimbs. Using a novel instrumented support, single-limb force data were collected during clinging postures for the hands and feet and compared across limbs and species for Propithecus verreauxi (N = 2), a habitual vertical clinger and leaper, and Varecia variegata (N = 3), a habitual above-branch arboreal quadruped. For both species, hand Fs were significantly higher than at the feet and Fn and Fg at the feet were significantly higher than at the hands. Between species, P. verreauxi has relatively low Fg at the hands and Fn at the feet than V. vareigata. These results support previous models and show that hindlimb loading dominance, characteristic of primate locomotion, is found during clinging behaviors and may allow the forelimbs to be used for foraging while clinging. These findings provide insight into selective pressures on force distribution in primates and primate locomotor evolution. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Bone marrow changes on STIR MR images of asymptomatic feet and ankles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zubler, Veronika; Mengiardi, Bernard; Pfirrmann, Christian W.A.; Duc, Sylvain R.; Schmid, Marius R.; Hodler, Juerg; Zanetti, Marco

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, pattern and size of bone marrow changes on short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) magnetic resonance (MR) images of asymptomatic feet and ankles. In 78 asymptomatic volunteers (41 women, 37 men; median age 47 years; range 23-83 years) sagittal STIR MR images of hindfoot and midfoot were reviewed for various patterns of high signal changes in bone marrow. The size of these bone marrow changes was measured, and signal intensity was rated semi-quantitatively using a scale from 0 (=normal) to 10 (=fluid-like). Fifty percent (39/78) of all volunteers had at least one bone marrow change. Thirty-six percent (28/78) of all volunteers had edema-like changes, 26% (20/78) had necrosis-like changes, and 5% (4/78) had cyst-like changes. The long diameters of all changes varied between 4 mm and 16 mm (median 7.5 mm). The median signal intensity for all changes was 5.0 (range 1-10). Bone marrow changes on STIR MR images are commonly detected in asymptomatic feet and ankles. However, such changes tend to be small (<1 cm) or subtle. (orig.)

  9. Head-mounted eye tracking of a chimpanzee under naturalistic conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fumihiro Kano

    Full Text Available This study offers a new method for examining the bodily, manual, and eye movements of a chimpanzee at the micro-level. A female chimpanzee wore a lightweight head-mounted eye tracker (60 Hz on her head while engaging in daily interactions with the human experimenter. The eye tracker recorded her eye movements accurately while the chimpanzee freely moved her head, hands, and body. Three video cameras recorded the bodily and manual movements of the chimpanzee from multiple angles. We examined how the chimpanzee viewed the experimenter in this interactive setting and how the eye movements were related to the ongoing interactive contexts and actions. We prepared two experimentally defined contexts in each session: a face-to-face greeting phase upon the appearance of the experimenter in the experimental room, and a subsequent face-to-face task phase that included manual gestures and fruit rewards. Overall, the general viewing pattern of the chimpanzee, measured in terms of duration of individual fixations, length of individual saccades, and total viewing duration of the experimenter's face/body, was very similar to that observed in previous eye-tracking studies that used non-interactive situations, despite the differences in the experimental settings. However, the chimpanzee viewed the experimenter and the scene objects differently depending on the ongoing context and actions. The chimpanzee viewed the experimenter's face and body during the greeting phase, but viewed the experimenter's face and hands as well as the fruit reward during the task phase. These differences can be explained by the differential bodily/manual actions produced by the chimpanzee and the experimenter during each experimental phase (i.e., greeting gestures, task cueing. Additionally, the chimpanzee's viewing pattern varied depending on the identity of the experimenter (i.e., the chimpanzee's prior experience with the experimenter. These methods and results offer new

  10. Hawk eyes II: diurnal raptors differ in head movement strategies when scanning from perches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Rourke, Colleen T; Pitlik, Todd; Hoover, Melissa; Fernández-Juricic, Esteban

    2010-09-22

    Relatively little is known about the degree of inter-specific variability in visual scanning strategies in species with laterally placed eyes (e.g., birds). This is relevant because many species detect prey while perching; therefore, head movement behavior may be an indicator of prey detection rate, a central parameter in foraging models. We studied head movement strategies in three diurnal raptors belonging to the Accipitridae and Falconidae families. We used behavioral recording of individuals under field and captive conditions to calculate the rate of two types of head movements and the interval between consecutive head movements. Cooper's Hawks had the highest rate of regular head movements, which can facilitate tracking prey items in the visually cluttered environment they inhabit (e.g., forested habitats). On the other hand, Red-tailed Hawks showed long intervals between consecutive head movements, which is consistent with prey searching in less visually obstructed environments (e.g., open habitats) and with detecting prey movement from a distance with their central foveae. Finally, American Kestrels have the highest rates of translational head movements (vertical or frontal displacements of the head keeping the bill in the same direction), which have been associated with depth perception through motion parallax. Higher translational head movement rates may be a strategy to compensate for the reduced degree of eye movement of this species. Cooper's Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks, and American Kestrels use both regular and translational head movements, but to different extents. We conclude that these diurnal raptors have species-specific strategies to gather visual information while perching. These strategies may optimize prey search and detection with different visual systems in habitat types with different degrees of visual obstruction.

  11. Hand Fractures

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is ... Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy ... DESCRIPTION The bones of the hand serve as a framework. This framework supports the muscles that make the wrist and fingers move. When ...

  12. Hand size and growth in untreated and IGF-I treated patients with Laron syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konen, O; Silbergeld, A; Lilos, P; Kornreich, L; Laron, Z

    2009-03-01

    We have previously reported on the linear growth, growth of the head circumference and foot length in untreated and IGF-I treated patients with Laron syndrome (LS) (primary GH insensitivity). To assess the size and growth of the hands in patients with LS from early childhood to adult age. Ten IGF-I treated children with LS (4 M, 6 F) and 24 untreated patients (10 M, 14 F) were studied. Measurements of palm length were made on available standardized hand X-rays from infancy to adult age. The measurements were compared to normal references and SD values were calculated for each measurement. The growth of the hand was compared to the concomitant height of the body. Hand SDS in untreated patients with LS decreased with age, from a mean of -2.8 +/- 0.7 (age 1-3 years) to -7.3 +/- 0.8 (age 13-15 years) and to -9.0 +/- 3.9 (age 40-50 years). During 9 years of IGF-I treatment the hand size deficit SDS did not improve in contradistinction to the height SDS which decreased from -6.2 +/- 1.2 to -3.9 +/- 0.5. Congenital IGF-I deficiency, as in Laron syndrome, profoundly affects the size and growth of the hand as part of its growth retardation characteristics, resulting in acromicria.

  13. Whole-body magnetic resonance angiography for presurgical planning of free-flap head and neck reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kramer, Manuel; Nkenke, Emeka; Kikuchi, Keiichi; Schwab, Siegfried A.; Janka, Rolf; Uder, Michael; Lell, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: Aim of the study was to evaluate if a whole-body magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) protocol meets the requirements to evaluate the donor and host site target vessels for planning of microvascular head and neck reconstructions. Patients and methods: In 20 patients, scheduled for reconstruction of the mandible with fibular free flaps, contrast-enhanced whole-body MRA was performed prior to surgery. 32-Channel 1.5-T MR angiograms were acquired using a 2-step contrast (gadobutrol) injection scheme to visualize the arterial vasculature from head to feet. Maximum intensity projection and multiplanar reconstruction technique was employed to visualize MRA data. For image evaluation the arterial tree was divided into 51 segments. The presence of artefacts impairing diagnostic quality was noted. Evaluable segments were assessed regarding the presence of stenoses >50% diameter reduction, occlusions or aneurysms. Results: No adverse reactions or complications occurred. Of 1020 vessel segments 1003 (98.3%) were evaluable. 36 stenoses >50%, 50 occlusions and one aneurysm were observed. In 21 of 40 lower limbs relevant atherosclerotic changes were depicted. Conclusion: Whole-body MRA proved to be a suitable three-dimensional, noninvasive, nonionising modality for preoperative evaluation of the entire arterial vasculature.

  14. Comparison of Intercuneiform 1-2 Joint Mobility Between Hallux Valgus and Normal Feet Using Weightbearing Computed Tomography and 3-Dimensional Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimura, Tadashi; Kubota, Makoto; Suzuki, Naoki; Hattori, Asaki; Marumo, Keishi

    2018-03-01

    An association has been reported between hallux valgus and hypermobility of the first ray, but subluxation of the intercuneiform 1-2 joint was also suspected in some cases. However, dynamics of the intercuneiform 1-2 joint has seldom been investigated. This study used weightbearing computed tomography (CT) and a 3-dimensional (3D) analysis system to evaluate displacement of the intercuneiform 1-2 joint, intercuneiform 2-3 joint, and second cuneonavicular joint due to weightbearing in hallux valgus and normal feet. Patients were 11 women with hallux valgus (mean age, 56 years; mean hallux valgus angle, 43 degrees; mean first-second intermetatarsal angle, 22 degrees) and 11 women with normal feet (mean age, 57 years; mean hallux valgus angle, 14 degrees; mean first-second intermetatarsal angle, 9 degrees). Each patient was placed supine with the lower limbs extended, and CT was performed under nonweightbearing and weightbearing conditions (load equivalent to body weight). 3D models reconstructed from CT images were used to compare displacement of the intermediate cuneiform relative to the medial cuneiform under nonweightbearing and weightbearing conditions. Relative to the medial cuneiform, the middle cuneiform was displaced by 0.1 and 0.8 degrees due to dorsiflexion, 0.2 and 1.0 degrees due to inversion, and 0.7 and 0.7 degrees due to abduction in normal feet and feet with hallux valgus, respectively, with the latter having significantly greater dorsiflexion ( P = .0067) and inversion ( P = .0019). There was no significant intergroup difference at the intercuneiform 2-3 joint and second cuneonavicular joint. This study clarified the detailed load-induced displacement of the cuneiform 3-dimensionally. Compared with normal feet, hallux valgus feet had significantly greater mobility of the intercuneiform 1-2 joint, suggesting hypermobility of this joint. Level III, case-control study.

  15. Why do the Karo Batak prefer women with big feet? Flexible mate preferences and the notion that one size fits all.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kushnick, Geoff

    2013-09-01

    Men may find women with small feet relative to body size more attractive because foot size reliably indexes nubility-i.e., age and parity. I collected judgments of attractiveness in response to drawings of women with varying foot sizes from a sample of 159 Karo Batak respondents from North Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of a collaborative project on foot size and attractiveness. The data revealed a contrarian preference among the Karo Batak for women with big feet. The judgments were compared with the results of an existing cross-cultural study that found a preference for women with small feet in aggregate, but a mix of small- and large-foot preferences in the societies taken individually. Using contingency table analysis, I found that ecology and less exposure to Western media were associated with a preference for women with big feet; patriarchal values were not. The findings suggest that human mating preferences may arise in response to local ecological conditions, and may persist and spread via cultural transmission. This has implications for the concept of universality espoused in some versions of evolutionary psychology.

  16. Kinematics of the AM-50 heading machine cutting head

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sikora, W; Bak, K; Klich, R [Politechnika Slaska, Gliwice (Poland). Instytut Mechanizacji Gornictwa

    1987-01-01

    Analyzes motion of the cutter head of the AM-50 heading machine. Two types of head motion are comparatively evaluated: planar motion and spatial motion. The spatial motion consists of the head rotational motion and horizontal or vertical feed motion, while planar motion consists of rotational motion and vertical feed motion. Equations that describe head motion under conditions of cutter vertical or horizontal feed motion are derived. The angle between the cutting speed direction and working speed direction is defined. On the basis of these formulae variations of cutting speed depending on the cutting tool position on a cutter head are calculated. Calculations made for 2 extreme cutting tools show that the cutting speed ranges from 1,205 m/s to 3,512 m/s. 4 refs.

  17. Hyaluronic acid microneedle patch for the improvement of crow's feet wrinkles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Sun Young; Kwon, Hyun Jung; Ahn, Ga Ram; Ko, Eun Jung; Yoo, Kwang Ho; Kim, Beom Joon; Lee, Changjin; Kim, Daegun

    2017-11-01

    Hyaluronic acid (HA) has an immediate volumizing effect, due to its strong water-binding potential, and stimulates fibroblasts, causing collagen synthesis, with short- and long-term effects on wrinkle improvement. We investigated the efficacy and safety of HA microneedle patches for crow's feet wrinkles. Using a randomized spilt-face design, we compared microneedle patches with a topical application containing the same active ingredients. We enrolled 34 Korean female subjects with mild to moderate crow's feet wrinkles. The wrinkle on each side of the subject's face was randomly assigned to a HA microneedle patch or HA essence application twice a week for 8 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated at weeks 2, 4, and 8. Skin wrinkles were measured as average roughness using replica and PRIMOS. Skin elasticity was assessed using a cutometer. Two independent blinded dermatologists evaluated the changes after treatment using the global visual wrinkle assessment score. Subjects assessed wrinkles using the subject global assessment score. Skin wrinkles were significantly reduced and skin elasticity significantly increased in both groups, although improvement was greater in the patch group at week 8 after treatment. In the primary and cumulative skin irritation tests, the HA microneedle patch did not induce any skin irritation. The HA microneedle patch is more effective than the HA essence for wrinkle improvement and is a safe and convenient without skin irritation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. A Comparison of Foot Plantar Pressure in Badminton Players with Normal and High-Arched Feet during the Two-Way Lunge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parvane Bazipoor

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Compared to the individuals with a normal arch structure, those with high or low arch can be at an increased risk of overuse injuries. The risk of overuse injury among athletes is high due, in part, to the repeated loading of the lower extremities. The current study aimed to determine if foot type (high-arched or normal results in differences in plantar pressure during two badminton-specific movements (right-reverse lunge and right-lateral lunge. Methods: Twenty badminton players (10 with normal feet and 10 with higharched feet completed five trials in both right-reverse and right-lateral lunge, while in-shoe pressure data were collected at 100 Hz. The peak pressure and mean pressure were analyzed among the subjects for five major anatomical regions of the foot, using the independent t test in SPSS version 20. The foot type was determined by the foot posture index (FPI (α<0.05. Results: Results showed that the plantar pressure characteristics of normal and high-arched feet were different; such that in high-arched feet, as compared to normal subjects, there were significantly fewer pressure strikes in the medial (P=0.010 and lateral (P=0.002 mid-foot in right-reverse lunge and this was significantly higher in forefoot (P=0.003 and toes (P=0.010. However, the peak (P=0.157 and mean (P=0.104 pressure in the heel was higher but not significant. In the right- lateral lunge, we found statistically lower peak pressure stroke for the lateral mid-foot (P=0.010 and forefoot (P=0.011; however, the mean pressure was lower in the lateral (P=0.010 and medial (P=0.040 mid-foot and forefoot (P=0.120, although it was not significant in the forefoot. Conclusion: Results showed that the medial longitudinal arch of the foot might cause pressure differences in the feet among the players with normal and higharched feet. As the results demonstrated, in high-arched feet, there are some regions where plantar pressure is higher and some where it is lower

  19. FREQUENCY DEFORMITY SCOLIOSIS AND FLAT FEET IN PUPILS III, V.VII GRADE SCHOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dejаn Gojković

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Scoliosis is a lateral deviation of the spine or the angular deviation of the normal position of one or more segmenata.Funkcional curve can be fully corrected until the internal structural scoliosis are bone disorders, muscle nerve elements that support the spine, and complete correction is impossible. Static role is reflected in the foot taking kisses body weight through the bones pop and transmission and distribution of weight on the main point of support of the foot and therefore subject to various changes in the normal foot status.Dinamic role is reflected in walking, running and jumping in different forms. Because of this, the percentage of foot disorders is particularly large in the form of lowering the testing we arche.Perform o.š.Pale Pale deformities in scoliosis and flat feet in students III, V, VII grade. Our aim was to verify the extent to which physical education classes take appropriate measures in the detection and removal of poor posture and physical deformities. For testing we used: clinical method for scoliosis, a method for flat feet -Thomson method.

  20. Hand Matters: Left-Hand Gestures Enhance Metaphor Explanation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argyriou, Paraskevi; Mohr, Christine; Kita, Sotaro

    2017-01-01

    Research suggests that speech-accompanying gestures influence cognitive processes, but it is not clear whether the gestural benefit is specific to the gesturing hand. Two experiments tested the "(right/left) hand-specificity" hypothesis for self-oriented functions of gestures: gestures with a particular hand enhance cognitive processes…

  1. Maintenance experiences with hand and foot monitor for monitoring alpha and beta radiation of personnel in NFC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramachandra Rao, A.; Kulkarni, R.S.; Banerjee, P.K.

    2010-01-01

    NFC is producing natural uranium and enriched uranium fuels for various reactors including PHWR etc. Monitoring of α and β radiations in the active plants of NFC is very much essential in many aspects. The personnel who are handling radiation materials have to be monitored for α radiation of hands and cloths and β radiation of feet. So the Alpha and Beta Monitor became important monitoring equipment for monitoring α and β radiations of persons working in active plants of NFC. Many Alpha and Beta Monitors of make, ECIL, PLA, and Nucleonix etc. were being used in active plants in NFC. Basically α and β radiation monitors consists of four PMT (Photo Multiplier Tubes) for detection of radiation of hands and one PMT for monitoring clothes. The PMT use ZnS (Ag) as the scintillator for detection of α radiation. GM tubes are used to detect β radiation of feet. The latest Hand and Foot Monitors have been incorporated with PC based monitoring system along with software for making the monitoring process more efficient and user friendly. As an instrumentation maintenance team for these monitors, our experiences are varied. These monitors are to be periodically maintained and tested for its effective functioning in monitoring the nuclear radiation. The monitors procured from M/s. ECIL were being used since long time in these areas. The instrumentation maintenance had faced some problems with these monitors such as frequent failure of High Voltage cards, Amplifier and Counter PCB cards. Modifications were made in the circuits of High Voltage and Counter cards to minimize the failure rate and for loading of Display and Monitoring Software through Hard disk instead of from floppy disk. So the availability of monitors for monitoring radiation got improved. Later the introduction of more sophisticated α and β radiation monitors of M/s. PLA make in these areas further improved monitoring of radiation of personnel working in active areas. These monitors are more user

  2. Whole-head analysis of cortical spatial organization from unilateral stimulation of median nerve in both hands: No complete hemisphere homology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theuvenet, Peter J.; van Dijk, Bob W.; Peters, M.J.; van Ree, Jan M.; Lopes da Silva, Fernando L.; Chen, Andrew C.N.

    2005-01-01

    We examined the contralateral hemispheric cortical activity in MEG (151 ch) after unilateral median nerve stimulation of the right and left hand in twenty healthy right-handed subjects. The goal was to establish parameters to describe cortical activity of the hemispheric responses and to study the

  3. [Hand osteoarthritis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Šenolt, Ladislav

    Hand osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic disorder causing pain and limitation of mobility of affected joints. The prevalence of hand OA increases with age and more often affects females. Clinical signs obviously do not correlate with radiographic findings - symptomatic hand OA affects approximately 26 % of adult subjects, but radiographic changes can be found in up to two thirds of females and half of males older than 55 years.Disease course differ among individual patients. Hand OA is a heterogeneous disease. Nodal hand OA is the most common subtype affecting interphalangeal joints, thumb base OA affects first carpometacarpal joint. Erosive OA represents a specific subtype of hand OA, which is associated with joint inflammation, more pain, functional limitation and erosive findings on radiographs.Treatment of OA is limited. Analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the only agents reducing symptoms. New insights into the pathogenesis of disease should contribute to the development of novel effective treatment of hand OA.

  4. Oral cavity changes following treatment of oncologic patients with tumors of the head and neck

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyubenov, T.; Vasilev, V.; Boneva, I.

    1982-01-01

    Changes mainly in the soft tissue structures of the oral cavity (salivary glands and mucosa, following ionizing radiation treatment of tumors of the head and neck), were studied. The relationship between the morphologic characteristics of the lesions and the dose and, on the other hand, the correlation with the clinical symptoms are discussed. (authors)

  5. Chondrosarcoma of the Proximal Phalanx of the Fourth Digit: A Rare Location

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thivi Vasilakaki

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Cartilaginous tumors involving the small bones of the hands and feet are usually benign such as enchondroma, chondromyxoid fibroma and chondroblastoma. The small bones of the hands and feet are rarely involved by primary chondrosarcoma. Proximal phalanges are the most common sites in the hands, but the fourth digit is the least common site. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 76-year-old Greek female who presented to our hospital with a painful swollen mass measuring 4.5 × 2.6 cm on the fourth digit of the left hand. The radiograph showed a destructive, permeative lytic tumor of the proximal phalanx with extension into soft tissue. The patient underwent curettage, and the microscopic examination of the specimen revealed grade 2 chondrosarcoma. Conclusion: Cartilaginous tumors involving the small bones of the hands and feet are usually benign such as enchondroma, chondromyxoid fibroma and chondroblastoma. Primary chondrosarcoma is the third most common malignancy of bone after myeloma and osteosarcoma, but the small bones of the hands and feet are very rarely involved by chondrosarcoma (1% of all chondrosarcoma. However, in these cases differentiation between a benign lesion and chondrosarcoma may be difficult. Occasionally chondrosarcoma of the hands and feet is associated with multiple recurrences or distal metastasis.

  6. Prenatal diagnosis of isochromosome 20q in a fetus with vertebral anomaly and rocker-bottom feet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Receveur

    2017-10-01

    Conclusion: The data would allow establishing a phenotype–genotype correlation. Thus, we proposed to define a recognizable syndrome combining cranio-facial dysmorphism, vertebral bodies' anomalies, feet and cerebral malformations.

  7. Iambic Feet in Paumari and the Theory of Foot Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel L. Everett

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes stress and moraic constituencies in Paumari, an endangered language of the Arawan family of the Brazilian Amazon. It argues that Paumari feet are quantity-insensitive iambs, built from right-to-left within the prosodic word. Both of these latter claims are theoretically important because they violate some proposed universals of foot structure. The paper also discusses more general implications of the Paumari data for theories of foot size and shape, proposing two constraints on foot size, Foot Maximality and Foot Minimality, to replace the less fine-tuned constraint Foot Binarity.

  8. FeetForward: On Blending New Classroom Technologies into Secondary School Teachers’ Routines

    OpenAIRE

    An , Pengcheng; Bakker , Saskia; Eggen , Berry

    2017-01-01

    Part 5: Interaction at the Workplace; International audience; Secondary school teachers have complex, intensive and dynamic routines in their classrooms, which makes their attentional resources limited for human-computer interaction. Leveraging principles of peripheral interaction can reduce attention demanded by technologies and interactions could blend more seamlessly into the everyday routine. We present the design and deployment of FeetForward - an open-ended, and foot-based peripheral in...

  9. [Trichophyton tonsurans associated with non-albicans Candida species in hands onychomycosis about a Moroccan case].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouara, S; Ait Hlilou, B; Abbadi, A; Khalki, H; Benbella, I; Lahmadi, K; Er-Rami, M

    2017-03-01

    Trichophyton tonsurans is an anthropophilic dermatophyte, frequent in the USA and in Asia where it is responsible for causing tinea capitis. At present, we attend an emergence of this species in certain regions where it was not or little met. Here, we report a case of onychomycosis of the hand due to T. tonsurans associated with non-albicans Candida species at an adult woman. The patient is a 62-year-old woman, with hypertension and diabetes. She reports the rather frequent use of chemical cleaners for the housework. She presented one year previously a distal onycholysis of the last four fingers of the left hand. The clinical examination objectified a presence of intertrigo in the second interdigital space. The mycological examination showed at the direct examination mycelial elements and the culture allowed the isolation of T. tonsurans associated with non-albicans Candida species. Our observation highlights especially the identification of a species, which has been described only once in Morocco about a case with onychomycosis of the feet. A possible emergence of this species in our country is not far from being possible. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  10. ST-segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction in a Patient with Acromegaly: A Case Report and Literature Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming-Ying Lu

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Acromegaly is a disorder caused by the excess production of pituitary growth hormone and is characterized by the enlargement of the hands, feet and head. Increased morbidity and mortality with acromegaly is associated with cardiovascular complications, hypertension, glucose intolerance, cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. We report a case of acromegaly, which presented with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction. The patient received successful primary transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent implantation. Acromegaly was suspected from typical appearance, and confirmed with hormonal examination and imaging of the pituitary mass. We discuss this case in comparison with previous literature.

  11. Denmark: HAND in HAND Policy Questionnaire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Hilmar Dyrborg; Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

    2018-01-01

    Som del af det internationale EU finansierede projekt Hand in Hand, der fokuserer på de såkaldte SEI-kompetencer (Social, Emotional, Intercultural), er dansk policy i relation til elevernes sociale, emotionelle og interkulturelle læring kortlagt i denne rapport. Der refereres bl.a. til "elevernes...

  12. The syntactic organization of pasta-eating and the structure of reach movements in the head-fixed mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whishaw, Ian Q; Faraji, Jamshid; Kuntz, Jessica R; Mirza Agha, Behroo; Metz, Gerlinde A S; Mohajerani, Majid H

    2017-09-08

    Mice are adept in the use of their hands for activities such as feeding, which has led to their use in investigations of the neural basis of skilled-movements. We describe the syntactic organization of pasta-eating and the structure of hand movements used for pasta manipulation by the head-fixed mouse. An ethogram of mice consuming pieces of spaghetti reveals that they eat in bite/chew bouts. A bout begins with pasta lifted to the mouth and then manipulated with hand movements into a preferred orientation for biting. Manipulation involves many hand release-reach movements, each with a similar structure. A hand is advanced from a digit closed and flexed (collect) position to a digit extended and open position (overgrasp) and then to a digit closed and flexed (grasp) position. Reach distance, hand shaping, and grasp patterns featuring precision grasps or whole hand grasps are related. To bite, mice display hand preference and asymmetric grasps; one hand (guide grasp) directs food into the mouth and the other stabilizes the pasta for biting. When chewing after biting, the hands hold the pasta in a symmetric resting position. Pasta-eating is organized and features structured hand movements and so lends itself to the neural investigation of skilled-movements.

  13. A possible new syndrome with double endocrine tumors in association with an unprecedented type of familial heart-hand syndrome: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yamagishi Masakazu

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction The combination of a pituitary prolactinoma and an aldosterone-producing adrenal adenoma is extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, double endocrine tumors in association with heart-hand syndrome have not previously been reported. Case presentation A 21-year-old Japanese woman presented with galactorrhea and decreased visual acuity. A large pituitary adenoma with an increased level of serum prolactin was apparent by computed tomography. She additionally showed mild hypertension (136/90 mmHg accompanied by hypokalemia. The plasma aldosterone concentration was increased. Computed tomography showed a mass in the right adrenal gland. No other tumors were found despite extensive imaging studies. Physical and radiographic examinations showed skeletal malformations of the hands and feet, including hypoplasia of the first digit in all four limbs. An atrial septal defect was demonstrated by echocardiography. Similar digital and cardiac abnormalities were detected in our patient's father, and a clinical diagnosis of hereditary heart-hand syndrome was made. Conclusion No established heart-hand syndrome was wholly compatible with the family's phenotype. Her father had no obvious endocrine tumors, implying that the parent of transmission determined variable phenotypic expression of the disease: heart-hand syndrome with multiple endocrine tumors from the paternal transmission or no endocrine tumor from the maternal transmission. This suggests that the gene or genes responsible for the disease may be under tissue-specific imprinting control.

  14. Hand Surgery: Anesthesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Hand Surgery Anesthesia Email to a friend * required ...

  15. [Head masters' perception of school-based hostility in Alicante, Spain: a qualitative study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez Fernández, Carmen; Hernández-Aguado, Ildefonso; Torres Cantero, Alberto M

    2006-01-01

    There is growing social concern about school violence but little is known about how this situation is experienced in the schools. The objective of this study was to know the perception that School's head masters have of the school-based hostility, on their causes, how they value current preventive strategies, and their recommendations to develop future preventive interventions. We conducted an exploratory study with 14 semistructured interviews of School's head masters. Interviews were conducted at the Schools between May and June 2003 in 1 independent school, 9 state comprehensive schools, and 4 other comprehensive schools within the city of Alicante. The perception of the head masters is that the prevalence of violence is low, more verbal than physical and within gender. They identify lack of punctuality, absenteeism and lack of interest as forms of hostility. As causes they identified age, family problems, school environment, society, media (TV and video-games) and poor language skills. Preventive methods in use were, on one hand, extra-lessons and transversal contents foreseen in the Education Law and common to all schools, and, on the other hand, ideological and pedagogical contents which were specific of some centres. Recommendations focused in demands for increased economic support and skilled human resources. School-based violence is not perceived as an alarming school issue, nor by its magnitude neither by the immediate causes and students' characteristics to which it is associated. A heavier emphasis is placed on external and environmental causes perceived as much more difficult to confront.

  16. Real-time head movement system and embedded Linux implementation for the control of power wheelchairs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, H T; King, L M; Knight, G

    2004-01-01

    Mobility has become very important for our quality of life. A loss of mobility due to an injury is usually accompanied by a loss of self-confidence. For many individuals, independent mobility is an important aspect of self-esteem. Head movement is a natural form of pointing and can be used to directly replace the joystick whilst still allowing for similar control. Through the use of embedded LINUX and artificial intelligence, a hands-free head movement wheelchair controller has been designed and implemented successfully. This system provides for severely disabled users an effective power wheelchair control method with improved posture, ease of use and attractiveness.

  17. Costo-osteochondral graft for post-traumatic osteonecrosis of the radial head in an adolescent boy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwai, S; Sato, K; Nakamura, T; Okazaki, M; Itoh, Y; Toyama, Y; Ikegami, H

    2011-01-01

    We present a case of post-traumatic osteonecrosis of the radial head in a 13-year-old boy which was treated with costo-osteochondral grafts. A satisfactory outcome was seen at a follow-up of two years and ten months. Although costo-osteochondral grafting has been used in the treatment of defects in articular cartilage, especially in the hand and the elbow, the extension of the technique to manage post-traumatic osteonecrosis of the radial head in a child has not previously been reported in the English language literature. Complete relief of pain was obtained and an improvement in the range of movement was observed. The long-term results remain uncertain.

  18. Hand Anatomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is ... Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons Anatomy The upper extremity is ...

  19. Frovatriptan

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... works by narrowing blood vessels around the brain, blocking pain signals from being sent to the brain, ... in the hands or feet swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or ...

  20. Dragons with Clay Feet? : Transition, sustainable land use and rural environment in China and Vietnam

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spoor, M.; Heerink, N.; Qu, F.

    2007-01-01

    Dragons with Clay Feet? presents state-of-the-art research on the impact of ongoing and anticipated economic policy and institutional reforms on agricultural development and sustainable rural resource in two East-Asian transition (and developing) economies--China and Vietnam.

  1. A proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Marion Willard; Ramcharan, Michael; Floyd, Rod; Globe, Gary; Ndetan, Harrison; Williams, Ronald; Ivie, Ronald

    2009-01-01

    Abstract Objective By nature, chiropractic is a hands-on profession using manipulation applied to the joints with direct skin-to-skin contacts. Chiropractic tables are designed with a face piece to accommodate the prone patient's head in a neutral position and hand rests to allow for relaxed shoulders and upper spine so treatment is facilitated. The purpose of this article is to present a proposed guideline for hand and treatment table surface sanitizing for the chiropractic profession that is evidence-based and can easily be adopted by teaching institutions and doctors in the field. Methods A review of the chiropractic literature demonstrated that pathogenic microbes are present on treatment tables in teaching clinics at multiple facilities, yet no standardized protocols exist in the United States regarding table sanitizing and hand hygiene in chiropractic clinics or education institutions. This article reviews the scientific literature on the subject by using several search engines, databases, and specific reviews of documents pertaining to the topic including existing general guidelines. Results The literature has several existing guidelines that the authors used to develop a proposed protocol for hand and table sanitizing specific to the chiropractic profession. Recommendations were developed and are presented on hand hygiene and table sanitizing procedures that could lower the risk of infection for both clinical personnel and patients in chiropractic facilities. Conclusion This article offers a protocol for hand and table sanitizing in chiropractic clinics and education institutions. The chiropractic profession should consider adoption of these or similar measures and disseminate them to teaching clinics, institutions, and private practitioners. PMID:19646384

  2. Interwoven fluctuations during intermodal perception: fractality in head sway supports the use of visual feedback in haptic perceptual judgments by manual wielding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelty-Stephen, Damian G; Dixon, James A

    2014-12-01

    Intermodal integration required for perceptual learning tasks is rife with individual differences. Participants vary in how they use perceptual information to one modality. One participant alone might change her own response over time. Participants vary further in their use of feedback through one modality to inform another modality. Two experiments test the general hypothesis that perceptual-motor fluctuations reveal both information use within modality and coordination among modalities. Experiment 1 focuses on perceptual learning in dynamic touch, in which participants use exploratory hand-wielding of unseen objects to make visually guided length judgments and use visual feedback to rescale their judgments of the same mechanical information. Previous research found that the degree of fractal temporal scaling (i.e., "fractality") in hand-wielding moderates the use of mechanical information. Experiment 1 shows that head-sway fractality moderates the use of visual information. Further, experience with feedback increases head-sway fractality and prolongs its effect on later hand-wielding fractality. Experiment 2 replicates effects of head-sway fractality moderating use of visual information in a purely visual-judgment task. Together, these findings suggest that fractal fluctuations may provide a modal-general window onto not just how participants use perceptual information but also how well they may integrate information among different modalities. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Comparison of working length control consistency between hand K-files and Mtwo NiTi rotary system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krajczár, Károly; Varga, Enikő; Marada, Gyula; Jeges, Sára; Tóth, Vilmos

    2016-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the consistency of working length control between hand instrumentation in comparison to engine driven Mtwo nickel-titanium rotary files. Forty extracted maxillary molars were selected and divided onto two parallel groups. The working lengths of the mesiobuccal root canals were estimated. The teeth were fixed in a phantom head. The root canal preparation was carried out group 1 (n=20) with hand K-files, (VDW, Munich, Germany) and group 2 (n=20) with Mtwo instruments (VDW, Munich, Germany). Vestibulo-oral and mesio-distal directional x-ray images were taken before the preparation with #10 K-file, inserted into the mesiobuccal root canal to the working length, and after preparation with #25, #30 and #40 files. Working lenght changes were detected with measurements between the radiological apex and the instrument tips. In the Mtwo group a difference in the working competency (protary files. Mtwo NiTi rotary file did therefore proved to be more accurate in comparison to the conventional hand instrumentation. Working length, Mtwo, nickel-titanium, hand preparation, engine driven preparation.

  4. Didanosine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... doctor if you have or have ever had peripheral neuropathy (numbness, tingling, burning, or pain sensation in your hands or feet, or decreased ability to feel temperature or touch in your hands or feet). tell ...

  5. Promoting academic and social-emotional school readiness: the head start REDI program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bierman, Karen L; Domitrovich, Celene E; Nix, Robert L; Gest, Scott D; Welsh, Janet A; Greenberg, Mark T; Blair, Clancy; Nelson, Keith E; Gill, Sukhdeep

    2008-01-01

    Forty-four Head Start classrooms were randomly assigned to enriched intervention (Head Start REDI-Research-based, Developmentally Informed) or "usual practice" conditions. The intervention involved brief lessons, "hands-on" extension activities, and specific teaching strategies linked empirically with the promotion of: (a) social-emotional competencies and (b) language development and emergent literacy skills. Take-home materials were provided to parents to enhance skill development at home. Multimethod assessments of three hundred and fifty-six 4-year-old children tracked their progress over the course of the 1-year program. Results revealed significant differences favoring children in the enriched intervention classrooms on measures of vocabulary, emergent literacy, emotional understanding, social problem solving, social behavior, and learning engagement. Implications are discussed for developmental models of school readiness and for early educational programs and policies.

  6. Implementation of motivational strategies between head teachers and foreign language teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pisoňová Mária

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There is no doubt these days that knowledge of different forms of motivation and its implementation in the work environment is a prerequisite for improving the quality of work results and subsequent achievement of organizational goals. Every head teacher meets this phenomenon. A lack of motivation is behind a number of unfulfilled tasks, unwillingness to look for efficient work practices, absence, disloyalty to their own society, refusing overtime, not accepting necessary changes, ignoring requests for assistance, and more. It is not easy to find a way to solve these problems. However, theory and practice go hand in hand and together it creates the perfect symbiosis which looks at the ailments mentioned and gradually finds answers. Where to start in order to be successful in this quest? We should first recognize the meaning and importance of motivation in the work process. The role of the head teacher is to know teachers to have a positive impact on their behaviour and entrust them with such tasks corresponding to their knowledge and skills. Work motivation is focused on carrying out a work obligation and should lead to the required working behaviour. Motivation to work is also connected to the work environment and climate in which teachers work. In general, we can say that teachers’ satisfaction at work determines their personal relationships outside the workplace as well.

  7. Six Feet Under o la muerte nuestra de cada día

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Guillermo Medina Montaño

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A partir del modelo de análisis ADN de las series televisivas, los autores abordan la serie Six Feet Under, su estructura narrativa, su lenguaje audiovisual, así como la construcción psicológica y moral de los personajes que en ella convergen para así escudriñar los mensajes y valores de una de las obras más vistas en su tipo y en su tiempo.

  8. Gender differences in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head acceleration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tierney, Ryan T; Sitler, Michael R; Swanik, C Buz; Swanik, Kathleen A; Higgins, Michael; Torg, Joseph

    2005-02-01

    Recent epidemiological research has revealed that gender differences exist in concussion incidence but no study has investigated why females may be at greater risk of concussion. Our purpose was to determine whether gender differences existed in head-neck segment kinematic and neuromuscular control variables responses to an external force application with and without neck muscle preactivation. Forty (20 females and 20 males) physically active volunteers participated in the study. The independent variables were gender, force application (known vs unknown), and force direction (forced flexion vs forced extension). The dependent variables were kinematic and EMG variables, head-neck segment stiffness, and head-neck segment flexor and extensor isometric strength. Statistical analyses consisted of multiple multivariate and univariate analyses of variance, follow-up univariate analyses of variance, and t-tests (P Gender differences existed in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head angular acceleration. Females exhibited significantly greater head-neck segment peak angular acceleration (50%) and displacement (39%) than males despite initiating muscle activity significantly earlier (SCM only) and using a greater percentage of their maximum head-neck segment muscle activity (79% peak activity and 117% muscle activity area). The head-neck segment angular acceleration differences may be because females exhibited significantly less isometric strength (49%), neck girth (30%), and head mass (43%), resulting in lower levels of head-neck segment stiffness (29%). For our subject demographic, the results revealed gender differences in head-neck segment dynamic stabilization during head acceleration in response to an external force application. Females exhibited significantly greater head-neck segment peak angular acceleration and displacement than males despite initiating muscle activity earlier (SCM only) and using a greater percentage of their maximum head-neck segment

  9. Gambler's fallacy, hot hand belief, and the time of patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongbin Wang

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The gambler's fallacy and the hot hand belief have been classified as two exemplars of human misperceptions of random sequential events. This article examines the times of pattern occurrences where a fair or biased coin is tossed repeatedly. We demonstrate that, due to different pattern composition, two different statistics (mean time and waiting time can arise from the same independent Bernoulli trials. When the coin is fair, the mean time is equal for all patterns of the same length but the waiting time is the longest for streak patterns. When the coin is biased, both mean time and waiting time change more rapidly with the probability of heads for a streak pattern than for a non-streak pattern. These facts might provide a new insight for understanding why people view streak patterns as rare and remarkable. The statistics of waiting time may not justify the prediction by the gambler's fallacy, but paying attention to streaks in the hot hand belief appears to be meaningful in detecting the changes in the underlying process.

  10. A head-mounted display system for augmented reality: Initial evaluation for interventional MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wendt, M.; Wacker, F.K.

    2003-01-01

    Purpose: To discuss the technical details of a head mounted display with an augmented reality (AR) system and to describe a first pre-clinical evaluation in interventional MRI. Method: The AR system consists of a video-see-through head mounted display (HMD), mounted with a mini video camera for tracking and a stereo pair of mini cameras that capture live images of the scene. The live video view of the phantom/patient is augmented with graphical representations of anatomical structures from MRI image data and is displayed on the HMD. The application of the AR system with interventional MRI was tested using a MRI data set of the head and a head phantom. Results: The HMD enables the user to move around and observe the scene dynamically from various viewpoints. Within a short time the natural hand-eye coordination can easily be adapted to the slightly different view. The 3D perception is based on stereo and kinetic depth cues. A circular target with a diameter of 0.5 square centimeter was hit in 19 of 20 attempts. In a first evaluation the MRI image data augmented reality scene of a head phantom allowed good planning and precise simulation of a puncture. Conclusion: The HMD in combination with AR provides a direct, intuitive guidance for interventional MR procedures. (orig.) [de

  11. The Marxist Aspect in Bessie Head's A Question of Power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Fathi Helaly

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available South Africa is one country where racial discrimination was widespread. Like the rest of the color-skinned people, colored writers in South Africa are marginalized and denied the right to express their experiences of living in a society riddled with racial inequality and oppression. Marxism is a school of thought that is concerned about the conflict between the dominant powerful classes and the oppressed ones in any given society. According to Marxism, literary texts are viewed as material that can be interpreted within historical contexts. South Africa is a country where the Apartheid System has been dominant. It is a country that has people of different ethnicity: the White, the Black and the Colored who are known as people of mixed race or hybrid. In South Africa colored people are doubly oppressed by their community, as they belong neither to the Black nor to the White. The colored people are marginalized and demeaned to a very degraded status by their society. Bessie Head is a South African female writer who is concerned about the clash between the different classes in her society. In this study the researcher wants to explore the class-struggle of women in general and the hybrid females in particular under the Apartheid System from a Marxist point of view. As a South-African female writer, Head is concerned about the struggle for power between the White and The Black, on the one hand, and between the hybrids on the other. A Question of Power can be seen as an indictment of the governing system in South Africa. It is a system that governs people not as ordinary human beings but according to the color of their skin. It is an autobiographical novel that tells the story of Elizabeth as a women living under the Apartheid System. Elizabeth, the fictional character of Bessie Head, has to suffer greatly as a woman but her suffering as a hybrid is even greater. On the one hand, she is socially marginalized as a female living in a patriarchal

  12. Effects of alignment on the roll-over shapes of prosthetic feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen, Andrew

    2008-12-01

    Recent work suggests that a prosthetic ankle-foot component's roll-over shape - the effective rocker it conforms to between initial contact and opposite initial contact (the 'roll-over' interval of walking) - is closely linked to its final alignment in the prosthesis (as determined by a skilled prosthetist using heuristic techniques). If true, this information may help to determine the appropriate alignment for a lower limb prosthesis before it is built, or a priori. Knowledge is needed for future models that will incorporate the roll-over shape including the relative effect of alignment on the roll-over shape's radius of curvature and arc length. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypotheses that: (i) Changes in prosthesis alignment alter the position and orientation of a foot's roll-over shape in prosthesis-based coordinates, and (ii) these changes occur without changing the radius of curvature or arc length of the roll-over shape. To examine the hypotheses, this study examined the effects of nine alignment settings on the roll-over shapes of two prosthetic feet. The idea that alignment changes move and rotate roll-over shapes of prosthetic feet in prosthesis coordinates is supported by this work, but the hypothesis that the radius of curvature and arc length do not change for different alignments is not strongly supported by the data. A revised approach is presented that explains some of the changes to the roll-over shape parameters due to changes in rotational alignment.

  13. Pancreatitis, panniculitis, and polyarthritis (PPP) syndrome: MRI features of intraosseous fat necrosis involving the feet and knees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Dong Joo; Lee, Sun Joo; Choo, Hye Jung; Her, Minyoung; Yoon, Hye Kyoung

    2017-01-01

    Pancreatitis, panniculitis, and polyarthritis (PPP) syndrome is extremely rare and presents as a triad of the three diseases. The patient usually presents with mild or absent abdominal symptoms. Here, we report on a case of a 66-year-old male who presented with pain and swelling in both legs and mild abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis by pancreatic enzyme analysis and abdominal computed tomography (CT) and with skin lesions of panniculitis through a biopsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multifocal intraosseous fat necrosis and arthritis involving both the feet and the knees. Therefore, we report a case of PPP syndrome with intraosseous fat necrosis involving both the feet and the knees. (orig.)

  14. Pancreatitis, panniculitis, and polyarthritis (PPP) syndrome: MRI features of intraosseous fat necrosis involving the feet and knees

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Dong Joo; Lee, Sun Joo; Choo, Hye Jung [Busan Paik Hospital, Department of Radiology, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Her, Minyoung [Busan Paik Hospital, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Hye Kyoung [Busan Paik Hospital, Department of Pathology, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-02-15

    Pancreatitis, panniculitis, and polyarthritis (PPP) syndrome is extremely rare and presents as a triad of the three diseases. The patient usually presents with mild or absent abdominal symptoms. Here, we report on a case of a 66-year-old male who presented with pain and swelling in both legs and mild abdominal pain. He was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis by pancreatic enzyme analysis and abdominal computed tomography (CT) and with skin lesions of panniculitis through a biopsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed multifocal intraosseous fat necrosis and arthritis involving both the feet and the knees. Therefore, we report a case of PPP syndrome with intraosseous fat necrosis involving both the feet and the knees. (orig.)

  15. Subdigital setae of chameleon feet: friction-enhancing microstructures for a wide range of substrate roughness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinner, Marlene; Westhoff, Guido; Gorb, Stanislav N

    2014-06-27

    Hairy adhesive systems of microscopic setae with triangular flattened tips have evolved convergently in spiders, insects and arboreal lizards. The ventral sides of the feet and tails in chameleons are also covered with setae. However, chameleon setae feature strongly elongated narrow spatulae or fibrous tips. The friction enhancing function of these microstructures has so far only been demonstrated in contact with glass spheres. In the present study, the frictional properties of subdigital setae of Chamaeleo calyptratus were measured under normal forces in the physical range on plane substrates having different roughness. We showed that chameleon setae maximize friction on a wide range of substrate roughness. The highest friction was measured on asperities of 1 μm. However, our observations of the climbing ability of Ch. calyptratus on rods of different diameters revealed that also claws and grasping feet are additionally responsible for the force generation on various substrates during locomotion.

  16. Robotic hand project

    OpenAIRE

    Karaçizmeli, Cengiz; Çakır, Gökçe; Tükel, Dilek

    2014-01-01

    In this work, the mechatronic based robotic hand is controlled by the position data taken from the glove which has flex sensors mounted to capture finger bending of the human hand. The angular movement of human hand’s fingers are perceived and processed by a microcontroller, and the robotic hand is controlled by actuating servo motors. It has seen that robotic hand can simulate the movement of the human hand that put on the glove, during tests have done. This robotic hand can be used not only...

  17. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May ... 34 How The Clean Hands - Safe Hands System Works - Duration: 3:38. Clean Hands-Safe Hands 5, ...

  18. Personal Tracking Charts

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... appetite Tingling in hands/feet Pain in hands/feet Rash Dry skin Dry mouth Hair loss Change in sight Change in sleep Change in sex drive Change in body shape Change in mental health Lack of concentration keeping ...

  19. Regional cerebral blood flow during rest and skilled hand movements by xenon-133 inhalation and emission computerized tomography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauritzen, M; Henriksen, L; Lassen, N A

    1981-01-01

    Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was studied in 16 normal adult volunteers during rest and in 10 the study was repeated during skilled hand movements. A fast-rotating ("dynamic"), single-photon emission computerized tomograph (ECT) with four detector heads was used. Xenon-133 was inhaled over a 1...... motor area on both sides by 34 +/- 15% (p less than 0.025)....

  20. Polydactyly in the Southwest: art or anatomy-a photo essay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirthler, Maureen A; Hutchison, Richard L

    2012-12-01

    Rock art in the Four Corners area often includes pictures of hands and feet, which may be representational or symbolic. There is correlation between actual metatarsal bones and carvings of polydactyl feet. No duplicated hand bones have been found, but we postulate petroglyphs of polydactyl hands are a reflection of a real congenital difference.

  1. Flued head replacement alternatives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smetters, J.L.

    1987-01-01

    This paper discusses flued head replacement options. Section 2 discusses complete flued head replacement with a design that eliminates the inaccessible welds. Section 3 discusses alternate flued head support designs that can drastically reduce flued head installation costs. Section 4 describes partial flued head replacement designs. Finally, Section 5 discusses flued head analysis methods. (orig./GL)

  2. 49 CFR 231.24 - Box and other house cars with roofs, 16 feet 10 inches or more above top of rail. 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Box and other house cars with roofs, 16 feet 10... APPLIANCE STANDARDS § 231.24 Box and other house cars with roofs, 16 feet 10 inches or more above top of.... Same as specified for “Box and Other House Cars.” (2) Dimensions. Same as specified for “Box and Other...

  3. Bottom head assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fife, A.B.

    1998-01-01

    A bottom head dome assembly is described which includes, in one embodiment, a bottom head dome and a liner configured to be positioned proximate the bottom head dome. The bottom head dome has a plurality of openings extending there through. The liner also has a plurality of openings extending there through, and each liner opening aligns with a respective bottom head dome opening. A seal is formed, such as by welding, between the liner and the bottom head dome to resist entry of water between the liner and the bottom head dome at the edge of the liner. In the one embodiment, a plurality of stub tubes are secured to the liner. Each stub tube has a bore extending there through, and each stub tube bore is coaxially aligned with a respective liner opening. A seat portion is formed by each liner opening for receiving a portion of the respective stub tube. The assembly also includes a plurality of support shims positioned between the bottom head dome and the liner for supporting the liner. In one embodiment, each support shim includes a support stub having a bore there through, and each support stub bore aligns with a respective bottom head dome opening. 2 figs

  4. Giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath of the hand - magnetic resonance image and orthopaedic treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirova, G.; Monovska, T.; Jablanski, V.; Alexieva, K.; Velev, M.

    2009-01-01

    Giant cell tumour of the tendon sheath (GCT-TS), also known as localized nodular tenosynovitis, is a benign neoplasm that occurs dominantly on the digits. These tumours most commonly occur in patients aged 30-50 years and are associated with degenerative joint disease. GCT-TS usually arises from the synovium of tendon sheets, affecting interfalangeal joints of the hand, feet, ankle and knees. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is able to depict characteristic signal intensities and can accurately assess the tumor size and degree of extent around the phalanx. We present a case of a 36 years-old male patient with GCT-TS in the flexor tendon of his left second finger, diagnosed with Magnetic Resonance imaging. The mass was excised widely with preservation of the flexor tendon without recurrence. (authors)

  5. Effect of Visual Angle on the Head Movement Caused by Changing Binocular Disparity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toru Maekawa

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available It has been shown that vertical binocular disparity has no or little effect on the perception of visual direction (Banks et al., 2002. On the other hand, our previous study has reported that a continuous change of vertical disparity causes an involuntary sway of the head (Maekawa et al., 2009. We predict that the difference between those results attributes to the dissociation between the processes for perception and action in the brain. The aim of this study is to investigate in more details the condition that influences the process of disparity information. The present experiment particularly varied the visual angle of stimulus presentation and measured the head movement and body sway caused by changing vertical disparity. Results showed that the head movement was greater as the visual angle of the stimulus was smaller. It has been reported that stimulus of only small visual angle affect depth perception (Erklens et al., 1995. Thus, our result suggests that perception and action produced by vertical disparity are consistent as far as the effect of the stimulus size is concerned.

  6. Hand biometric recognition based on fused hand geometry and vascular patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, GiTae; Kim, Soowon

    2013-02-28

    A hand biometric authentication method based on measurements of the user's hand geometry and vascular pattern is proposed. To acquire the hand geometry, the thickness of the side view of the hand, the K-curvature with a hand-shaped chain code, the lengths and angles of the finger valleys, and the lengths and profiles of the fingers were used, and for the vascular pattern, the direction-based vascular-pattern extraction method was used, and thus, a new multimodal biometric approach is proposed. The proposed multimodal biometric system uses only one image to extract the feature points. This system can be configured for low-cost devices. Our multimodal biometric-approach hand-geometry (the side view of the hand and the back of hand) and vascular-pattern recognition method performs at the score level. The results of our study showed that the equal error rate of the proposed system was 0.06%.

  7. Hand Hygiene With Alcohol-Based Hand Rub: How Long Is Long Enough?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pires, Daniela; Soule, Hervé; Bellissimo-Rodrigues, Fernando; Gayet-Ageron, Angèle; Pittet, Didier

    2017-05-01

    BACKGROUND Hand hygiene is the core element of infection prevention and control. The optimal hand-hygiene gesture, however, remains poorly defined. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the influence of hand-rubbing duration on the reduction of bacterial counts on the hands of healthcare personnel (HCP). METHODS We performed an experimental study based on the European Norm 1500. Hand rubbing was performed for 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, or 60 seconds, according to the WHO technique using 3 mL alcohol-based hand rub. Hand contamination with E. coli ATCC 10536 was followed by hand rubbing and sampling. A generalized linear mixed model with a random effect on the subject adjusted for hand size and gender was used to analyze the reduction in bacterial counts after each hand-rubbing action. In addition, hand-rubbing durations of 15 and 30 seconds were compared to assert non-inferiority (0.6 log10). RESULTS In total, 32 HCP performed 123 trials. All durations of hand rubbing led to significant reductions in bacterial counts (Phand rubbing were not significantly different from those obtained after 30 seconds. The mean bacterial reduction after 15 seconds of hand rubbing was 0.11 log10 lower (95% CI, -0.46 to 0.24) than after 30 seconds, demonstrating non-inferiority. CONCLUSIONS Hand rubbing for 15 seconds was not inferior to 30 seconds in reducing bacterial counts on hands under the described experimental conditions. There was no gain in reducing bacterial counts from hand rubbing longer than 30 seconds. Further studies are needed to assess the clinical significance of our findings. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:547-552.

  8. Potentiometric Surface of the Lower Patapsco Aquifer in Southern Maryland, September 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtin, Stephen E.; Andreasen, David C.; Staley, Andrew W.

    2009-01-01

    This report presents a map showing the potentiometric surface of the lower Patapsco aquifer in the Patapsco Formation of Early Cretaceous age in Southern Maryland during September 2007. The map is based on water-level measurements in 65 wells. The highest measured water level was 111 feet above sea level near the northwestern boundary and outcrop area of the aquifer in northern Prince George's County. From this area, the potentiometric surface declined towards well fields at Severndale and Arnold. The measured ground-water levels were 87 feet below sea level at Severndale, and 42 feet below sea level at Arnold. There was also a cone of depression covering a large area in Charles County that includes Waldorf, La Plata, Indian Head, and the Morgantown power plant. The ground-water levels measured were as low as 219 feet below sea level at Waldorf, 187 feet below sea level at La Plata, 106 feet below sea level at Indian Head, and 89 feet below sea level at the Morgantown power plant.

  9. Hand in Hand - SEI Programmes for School Staff

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Birgitte Lund; Réol, Lise Andersen; Laursen, Hilmar Dyrborg

    2017-01-01

    This catalogue of research in the field of SEI programmes for the school staff’s and teachers’ SEI competencies is based on a review performed by the main researchers Birgitte Lund Nielsen, Lise Andersen Réol and Hilmar Dyrborg Laursen, VIA University College, Denmark, but discussed by the entire...... team of Hand in Hand partner countries and researchers. The aim was to identify the central aspects and elements concerning successful implementation, and school staff’s development of professional competencies in the specific field of supporting students’ social, emotional and intercultural (SEI......) competencies. Abstract: Framed by the EU-project Hand in Hand focusing on Social, Emotional and Intercultural (SEI) competencies among students and school staff, the paper discusses implementation and professional competencies based on a research review. The following five topics were identified: 1...

  10. Hand Biometric Recognition Based on Fused Hand Geometry and Vascular Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, GiTae; Kim, Soowon

    2013-01-01

    A hand biometric authentication method based on measurements of the user's hand geometry and vascular pattern is proposed. To acquire the hand geometry, the thickness of the side view of the hand, the K-curvature with a hand-shaped chain code, the lengths and angles of the finger valleys, and the lengths and profiles of the fingers were used, and for the vascular pattern, the direction-based vascular-pattern extraction method was used, and thus, a new multimodal biometric approach is proposed. The proposed multimodal biometric system uses only one image to extract the feature points. This system can be configured for low-cost devices. Our multimodal biometric-approach hand-geometry (the side view of the hand and the back of hand) and vascular-pattern recognition method performs at the score level. The results of our study showed that the equal error rate of the proposed system was 0.06%. PMID:23449119

  11. Guideline Implementation: Hand Hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Judith L

    2017-02-01

    Performing proper hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis is essential to reducing the rates of health care-associated infections, including surgical site infections. The updated AORN "Guideline for hand hygiene" provides guidance on hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis, the wearing of fingernail polish and artificial nails, proper skin care to prevent dermatitis, the wearing of jewelry, hand hygiene product selection, and quality assurance and performance improvement considerations. This article focuses on key points of the guideline to help perioperative personnel make informed decisions about hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis. The key points address the necessity of keeping fingernails and skin healthy, not wearing jewelry on the hands or wrists in the perioperative area, properly performing hand hygiene and surgical hand antisepsis, and involving patients and visitors in hand hygiene initiatives. Perioperative RNs should review the complete guideline for additional information and for guidance when writing and updating policies and procedures. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. What will we do with 104,000,000 cubic feet of Fernald waste?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Motl, G.P.; Krieger, G.J.

    1995-01-01

    The Fernald Site, a Department of Energy (DOE) uranium metal production facility that ceased production in 1989, is now being remediated by the DOE under terms of a Consent Agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and a Consent Decree with the State of Ohio. It is estimated that the cleanup will generate 104,000,000 cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste including construction debris, pit sludge, radium residue and a huge volume of uranium contaminated soil. The waste handling strategy for this huge volume of waste includes minimizing remedial waste generation, recycling material when economically feasible, free-releasing clean material and volume reduction. It is anticipated that large scale radium residue vitrification and sludge drying equipment/facilities will be constructed onsite for waste treatment prior to off-site disposal. Fernald waste disposition will include both onsite disposal (if approved under CERCLA) and off-site disposal at both commercial and DOE waste disposal facilities. The waste disposition strategy selected reflects a diverse variety of technical, political, regulatory and economic factors. This presentation will describe the current views at Fernald on open-quotes what will we do with 104,000,000 cubic feet of Fernald waste.close quotes

  13. Potentiometric Surface of the Lower Patapsco Aquifer in Southern Maryland, September 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtin, Stephen E.; Andreasin, David C.; Staley, Andrew W.

    2010-01-01

    This report presents a map showing the potentiometric surface of the lower Patapsco aquifer in the Patapsco Formation of Early Cretaceous age in Southern Maryland during September 2009. The map is based on water-level measurements in 64 wells. The highest measured water level was 110 feet above sea level near the northwestern boundary and outcrop area of the aquifer in northern Prince George's County. From this area, the potentiometric surface declined towards well fields at Severndale, Broad Creek, and Arnold. The measured groundwater levels were 99 feet below sea level at Severndale, 50 feet below sea level at Broad Creek, and 36 feet below sea level at Arnold. There was also a cone of depression in Charles County that includes Waldorf, La Plata, Indian Head, and the Morgantown power plant. The groundwater levels measured were as low as 215 feet below sea level at Waldorf, 149 feet below sea level at La Plata, 121 feet below sea level at Indian Head, and 96 feet below sea level at the Morgantown power plant. The map also shows well yield in gallons per day for 2008 at wells or well fields.

  14. Inspections of Hand Washing Supplies and Hand Sanitizer in Public Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Mary M.; Blea, Mary; Trujillo, Rebecca; Greenberg, Cynthia

    2010-01-01

    Hand washing and hand antisepsis are proven infection control measures in the school setting, yet barriers such as lack of soap, paper towels, and hand sanitizer can hinder compliance. This pilot study measured the prevalence of hand cleaning supplies in public schools. Ten school districts (93 schools) participated in school nurse inspections. In…

  15. Radial head button holing: a cause of irreducible anterior radial head dislocation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, Su-Mi; Chai, Jee Won; You, Ja Yeon; Park, Jina [Seoul National University Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Bae, Kee Jeong [Seoul National University Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    ''Buttonholing'' of the radial head through the anterior joint capsule is a known cause of irreducible anterior radial head dislocation associated with Monteggia injuries in pediatric patients. To the best of our knowledge, no report has described an injury consisting of buttonholing of the radial head through the annular ligament and a simultaneous radial head fracture in an adolescent. In the present case, the radiographic findings were a radial head fracture with anterior dislocation and lack of the anterior fat pad sign. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) clearly demonstrated anterior dislocation of the fractured radial head through the torn annular ligament. The anterior joint capsule and proximal portion of the annular ligament were interposed between the radial head and capitellum, preventing closed reduction of the radial head. Familiarity with this condition and imaging findings will aid clinicians to make a proper diagnosis and fast decision to perform an open reduction. (orig.)

  16. Effect of hand sanitizer location on hand hygiene compliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cure, Laila; Van Enk, Richard

    2015-09-01

    Hand hygiene is the most important intervention to prevent infection in hospitals. Health care workers should clean their hands at least before and after contact with patients. Hand sanitizer dispensers are important to support hand hygiene because they can be made available throughout hospital units. The aim of this study was to determine whether the usability of sanitizer dispensers correlates with compliance of staff in using the sanitizer in a hospital. This study took place in a Midwest, 404-bed, private, nonprofit community hospital with 15 inpatient care units in addition to several ambulatory units. The usability and standardization of sanitizers in 12 participating inpatient units were evaluated. The hospital measured compliance of staff with hand hygiene as part of their quality improvement program. Data from 2010-2012 were analyzed to measure the relationship between compliance and usability using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The total usability score (P = .0046), visibility (P = .003), and accessibility of the sanitizer on entrance to the patient room (P = .00055) were statistically associated with higher observed compliance rates. Standardization alone showed no significant impact on observed compliance (P = .37). Hand hygiene compliance can be influenced by visibility and accessibility of dispensers. The sanitizer location should be part of multifaceted interventions to improve hand hygiene. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Validation of the OMERACT Psoriatic Arthritis Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (PsAMRIS) for the Hand and Foot in a Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glinatsi, Daniel; Bird, Paul; Gandjbakhch, Frederique; Mease, Philip J; Bøyesen, Pernille; Peterfy, Charles G; Conaghan, Philip G; Østergaard, Mikkel

    2015-12-01

    To assess changes following treatment and the reliability and responsiveness to change of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Psoriatic Arthritis Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (PsAMRIS) in a randomized controlled trial. Forty patients with PsA randomized to either placebo or abatacept (ABA) had MRI of either 1 hand (n = 20) or 1 foot (n = 20) at baseline and after 6 months. Images were scored blindly twice by 3 independent readers according to the PsAMRIS (for synovitis, tenosynovitis, periarticular inflammation, bone edema, bone erosion, and bone proliferation). Inflammatory features improved numerically but statistically nonsignificantly in the ABA group but not the placebo group. Baseline intrareader intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were good (≥ 0.50) to very good (≥ 0.80) for all features in both hand and foot. Baseline interreader ICC were good (ICC 0.72-0.96) for all features, except periarticular inflammation and bone proliferation in the hand and tenosynovitis in the foot (ICC 0.25-0.44). Intrareader and interreader ICC for change scores varied. Guyatt's responsiveness index (GRI) was high for inflammatory features in the hand and metatarsophalangeal joints (GRI -0.67 to -3.13; bone edema not calculable). Minimal change and low prevalence resulted in low ICC and GRI for bone damage. PsAMRIS showed overall good intrareader agreement in the hand and foot, and inflammatory feature scores were responsive to change, suggesting that PsAMRIS may be a valid tool for MRI assessment of hands and feet in PsA clinical trials.

  18. Die Sprache der Hande zu den Handen sprechen (Talking the Language of the Hands to the Hands). DB-LINK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Barbara

    This paper examines the importance of hands for the person who is deafblind, reviews hand development, and identifies specific teaching skills that facilitate hand development and expressiveness in persons who are deafblind. It notes that the hands of a deafblind individual serve not only as tools but also as sense organs (to compensate for their…

  19. Hand hygiene strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Yazaji, Eskandar Alex

    2011-01-01

    Hand hygiene is one of the major players in preventing healthcare associated infections. However, healthcare workers compliance with hand hygiene continues to be a challenge. This article will address strategies to help improving hand hygiene compliance. Keywords: hand hygiene; healthcare associated infections; multidisciplinary program; system change; accountability; education; feedback(Published: 18 July 2011)Citation: Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2011, 1: 72...

  20. Cloning, Characterization, and Expression Levels of the Nectin Gene from the Tube Feet of the Sea Urchin Paracentrotus Lividus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toubarro, Duarte; Gouveia, Analuce; Ribeiro, Raquel Mesquita; Simões, Nélson; da Costa, Gonçalo; Cordeiro, Carlos; Santos, Romana

    2016-06-01

    Marine bioadhesives perform in ways that manmade products simply cannot match, especially in wet environments. Despite their technological potential, bioadhesive molecular mechanisms are still largely understudied, and sea urchin adhesion is no exception. These animals inhabit wave-swept shores, relying on specialized adhesive organs, tube feet, composed by an adhesive disc and a motile stem. The disc encloses a duo-gland adhesive system, producing adhesive and deadhesive secretions for strong reversible substratum attachment. The disclosure of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus tube foot disc proteome led to the identification of a secreted adhesion protein, Nectin, never before reported in adult adhesive organs but, that given its adhesive function in eggs/embryos, was pointed out as a putative substratum adhesive protein in adults. To further understand Nectin involvement in sea urchin adhesion, Nectin cDNA was amplified for the first time from P. lividus adhesive organs, showing that not only the known Nectin mRNA, called Nectin-1 (GenBank AJ578435), is expressed in the adults tube feet but also a new mRNA sequence, called Nectin-2 (GenBank KT351732), differing in 15 missense nucleotide substitutions. Nectin genomic DNA was also obtained for the first time, indicating that both Nectin-1 and Nectin-2 derive from a single gene. In addition, expression analysis showed that both Nectins are overexpressed in tube feet discs, its expression being significantly higher in tube feet discs from sea urchins just after collection from the field relative to sea urchin from aquarium. These data further advocate for Nectin involvement in sea urchin reversible adhesion, suggesting that its expression might be regulated according to the hydrodynamic conditions.

  1. The marble head of a statuette from Mediana (excavations in 2001

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Plemić Bojana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available During the archaeological excavations in Mediana in 2001, the head of a marble statuette of exceptional beauty and craftsmanship was discovered. It was an isolated discovery, the sculpture probably having been imported from some Greek artistic centre or an eastern Mediterranean workshop, presenting a part of a larger ensemble of sculptures that had adorned an imperial villa with peristyle. Since the head was found in pieces and being just part of a sculptural representation with no reliable attributes, the question of its identification is a difficult task. It was possible to determine, using stylistic traits' analysis that the statuette was made under the influence of Hellenistic cult sculpture, namely that it followed the rules of the school of Praxiteles. On the other hand, the iconographic elements, in particular that of the hairstyle, lead us to the conclusion that this statuette could represent one of two Roman goddesses, either Venus or Diana.

  2. The human hand as an inspiration for robot hand development

    CERN Document Server

    Santos, Veronica

    2014-01-01

    “The Human Hand as an Inspiration for Robot Hand Development” presents an edited collection of authoritative contributions in the area of robot hands. The results described in the volume are expected to lead to more robust, dependable, and inexpensive distributed systems such as those endowed with complex and advanced sensing, actuation, computation, and communication capabilities. The twenty-four chapters discuss the field of robotic grasping and manipulation viewed in light of the human hand’s capabilities and push the state-of-the-art in robot hand design and control. Topics discussed include human hand biomechanics, neural control, sensory feedback and perception, and robotic grasp and manipulation. This book will be useful for researchers from diverse areas such as robotics, biomechanics, neuroscience, and anthropologists.

  3. Comparison of plantar pressure distribution in subjects with normal and flat feet during gait

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aluisio Otavio Vargas Avila

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the possible relationship between loss of thenormal medial longitudinal arch measured by the height of the navicular bone in a static situationand variables related to plantar pressure distribution measured in a dynamic situation. Elevenmen (21 ± 3 years, 74 ± 10 kg and 175 ± 4 cm participated in the study. The Novel Emed-ATSystem was used for the acquisition of plantar pressure distribution data (peak pressure, meanpressure, contact area, and relative load at a sampling rate of 50 Hz. The navicular drop testproposed by Brody (1982 was used to assess the height of the navicular bone for classificationof the subjects. The results were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test, with the level of significanceset at p ≤ 0.05. Differences were observed between the two groups in the mid-foot regionfor all variables studied, with the observation of higher mean values in subjects with flat feet.There were also significant differences in contact area, relative load, peak pressure, and meanpressure between groups. The present study demonstrates the importance of paying attentionto subjects with flat feet because changes in plantar pressure distribution are associated withdiscomfort and injuries.

  4. Effect of head pitch and roll orientations on magnetically induced vertigo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mian, Omar S; Li, Yan; Antunes, Andre; Glover, Paul M; Day, Brian L

    2016-02-15

    Lying supine in a strong magnetic field, such as in magnetic resonance imaging scanners, can induce a perception of whole-body rotation. The leading hypothesis to explain this invokes a Lorentz force mechanism acting on vestibular endolymph that acts to stimulate semicircular canals. The hypothesis predicts that the perception of whole-body rotation will depend on head orientation in the field. Results showed that the direction and magnitude of apparent whole-body rotation while stationary in a 7 T magnetic field is influenced by head orientation. The data are compatible with the Lorentz force hypothesis of magnetic vestibular stimulation and furthermore demonstrate the operation of a spatial transformation process from head-referenced vestibular signals to Earth-referenced body motion. High strength static magnetic fields are known to induce vertigo, believed to be via stimulation of the vestibular system. The leading hypothesis (Lorentz forces) predicts that the induced vertigo should depend on the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the head. In this study we examined the effect of static head pitch (-80 to +40 deg; 12 participants) and roll (-40 to +40 deg; 11 participants) on qualitative and quantitative aspects of vertigo experienced in the dark by healthy humans when exposed to the static uniform magnetic field inside a 7 T MRI scanner. Three participants were additionally examined at 180 deg pitch and roll orientations. The effect of roll orientation on horizontal and vertical nystagmus was also measured and was found to affect only the vertical component. Vertigo was most discomforting when head pitch was around 60 deg extension and was mildest when it was around 20 deg flexion. Quantitative analysis of vertigo focused on the induced perception of horizontal-plane rotation reported online with the aid of hand-held switches. Head orientation had effects on both the magnitude and the direction of this perceived rotation. The data suggest

  5. Effects of pressure, cold and gloves on hand skin temperature and manual performance of divers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zander, Joanna; Morrison, James

    2008-09-01

    Cold water immersion and protective gloves are associated with decreased manual performance. Although neoprene gloves slow hand cooling, there is little information on whether they provide sufficient protection when diving in cold water. Nine divers wearing three-fingered neoprene gloves and dry suits were immersed in water at 25 and 4 degrees C, at depths of 0.4 msw (101 kPa altitude adjusted) and 40 msw (497 kPa) in a hyperbaric chamber. Skin temperatures were measured at the fingers, hand, forearm, chest and head. Grip strength, tactile sensitivity and manual dexterity were measured at three time intervals. There was an exponential decay in finger and back of hand skin temperatures with exposure time in 4 degrees C water. Finger and back of hand skin temperatures were lower at 40 msw than at 0.4 msw (P effect of pressure or temperature on grip strength. Tactile sensitivity decreased linearly with finger skin temperature at both pressures. Manual dexterity was not affected by finger skin temperature at 0.4 msw, but decreased with fall in finger skin temperature at 40 msw. Results show that neoprene gloves do not provide adequate thermal protection in 4 degrees C water and that impairment of manual performance is dependent on the type of task, depth and exposure time.

  6. Constraint Study for a Hand Exoskeleton: Human Hand Kinematics and Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fai Chen Chen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In the last few years, the number of projects studying the human hand from the robotic point of view has increased rapidly, due to the growing interest in academic and industrial applications. Nevertheless, the complexity of the human hand given its large number of degrees of freedom (DoF within a significantly reduced space requires an exhaustive analysis, before proposing any applications. The aim of this paper is to provide a complete summary of the kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the human hand as a preliminary step towards the development of hand devices such as prosthetic/robotic hands and exoskeletons imitating the human hand shape and functionality. A collection of data and constraints relevant to hand movements is presented, and the direct and inverse kinematics are solved for all the fingers as well as the dynamics; anthropometric data and dynamics equations allow performing simulations to understand the behavior of the finger.

  7. HandTutor™ enhanced hand rehabilitation after stroke--a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carmeli, Eli; Peleg, Sara; Bartur, Gadi; Elbo, Enbal; Vatine, Jean-Jacques

    2011-12-01

    This study assessed the potential therapeutic benefi t of using HandTutor™ in combination with traditional rehabilitation in a post-stroke sub-acute population. The study compares an experimental group receiving traditional therapy combined with HandTutorTM treatment, against a control group receiving only traditional therapy. An assessor-blinded, randomized controlled pilot trial, was conducted in the Reuth rehabilitation unit in Israel. Thirty-one stroke patients in the sub-acute phase, were randomly assigned to one of the two groups (experimental or control) in sets of three. The experimental group (n = 16) underwent a hand rehabilitation programme using the HandTutorTM combined with traditional therapy. The control group (n = 15) received only traditional therapy. The treatment schedules for both groups were of similar duration and frequency. Improvements were evaluated using three indicators: 1) The Brunnström-Fugl-Meyer (FM) test, 2) the Box and Blocks (B&B) test and 3) improvement parameters as determined by the HandTutorTM software. Following 15 consecutive treatment sessions, a signifi cant improvement was observed within the experimental group (95% confi dence intervals) compared with the control group: B&B p = 0.015; FM p = 0.041, HandTutor™ performance accuracy on x axis and performance accuracy on y axis p stroke hand function rehabilitation.

  8. Head injury: audit of a clinical guideline to justify head CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haydon, Nicholas B.

    2013-01-01

    Head injury causes significant morbidity and mortality, and there is contention about which patients to scan. The UK National Health Service Clinical Guideline (CG) 56 provides criteria for selecting patients with clinically important brain injury who may benefit from a head CT scan, while minimising the radiation and economic burden of scanning patients without significant injury. This study aims to audit the documentation of the use of these guidelines in a busy UK trauma hospital and discusses the comparison with an Australian (New South Wales (NSW) ) head injury guideline. A retrospective cohort study of 480 patients presenting with head injury to the emergency department over 2 months was performed. The patient notes were assessed for documentation of each aspect of the clinical guidelines. Criteria were established to assess the utilisation of the CG 56. A database of clinical data was amalgamated with the head CT scan results for each patient. For the UK CG 56, 73% of the criteria were documented, with the least documented being 'signs of basal skull fracture' and 'amnesia of events'. Thirty-two per cent of patients received head CT and of these, 24% (37 patients) were reported to have pathology. Twenty-four patients underwent head CT without clinical justification being documented, none of which had reported pathology on CT. The study shows that the head injury guidelines are not being fully utilised at a major UK trauma hospital, resulting in 5% of patients being exposed to ionising radiation without apparent documented clinical justification. The NSW guideline has distinct differences to the CG 56, with a more complex algorithm and an absence of specific time frames for head CT completion. The results suggest a need for further education and awareness of head injury clinical guidelines.

  9. The Avocado Hand

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Rahmani, G

    2017-11-01

    Accidental self-inflicted knife injuries to digits are a common cause of tendon and nerve injury requiring hand surgery. There has been an apparent increase in avocado related hand injuries. Classically, the patients hold the avocado in their non-dominant hand while using a knife to cut\\/peel the fruit with their dominant hand. The mechanism of injury is usually a stabbing injury to the non-dominant hand as the knife slips past the stone, through the soft avocado fruit. Despite their apparent increased incidence, we could not find any cases in the literature which describe the “avocado hand”. We present a case of a 32-year-old woman who sustained a significant hand injury while preparing an avocado. She required exploration and repair of a digital nerve under regional anaesthesia and has since made a full recovery.

  10. Right and left support feet of the Central Barrel Yoke of the CMS Detector

    CERN Multimedia

    Franz Leher, DWE

    2000-01-01

    Fully loaded the Central Barrel will weigh 3000 tonnes. Those feet have tosupport this weight. Therefore they are made of 120 mm thick steel plates.To guarantee a maximum coverage for the muon detctor they will house a muon detector just benaeth the top plate. Weight of 1 foot is 35 tonnes.Its height is 3.5 m and it is 2.5 m large

  11. Outcomes of a questionnaire survey on intracranial hypotension following minor head injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dohi, Kenji; Aruga, Tohru; Abe, Toshiaki; Ogawa, Takeki; Onuma, Takehide; Katayama, Yoichi; Sakaki, Toshisuke; Shima, Katsuji; Hirakawa, Kimiyoshi

    2007-01-01

    Intracranial hypotension (IH) is a rare condition caused by leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Recently, a small number of clinicians have proposed a new concept about IH following minor head injury. They suggest that many of their patients with IH can be successfully treated with epidural blood patch therapy. They also argue that some patients with post-traumatic cervical syndrome and general fatigue syndrome suffer from IH following minor head injury. Consequently, IH following minor head injury was widely recognized and dealt with as a social problem in Japan. On the other hand, pathophysiological aspects of the condition as well as the provisional criteria to describe this clinical entity remain to be elucidated. In 2006, the Japan Society of Neurotraumatology performed a questionnaire survey asking 44 hospitals belonging to trustees of this society about IH following minor head injury. This paper provides a report of the outcomes of this survey. The response rate to this questionnaire was 57% (25/44). Fifty-six percent of respondents did not have experience of IH following minor head injury. Moreover, respondents' criteria for describing this disease differed greatly, especially in the radiological examinations and symptoms for the diagnosis of this entity which showed significant variation. These problems might originate from the general features of this disease. With the exception of postural headache, the symptoms of this disease varied enormously. This wide range of symptoms confused with the pathophysiolosies of a great many similar conditions. As such, clarifications of the pathophysiological characteristics of IH following minor head injury, together with consensus on specific criteria to describe the condition, are required. In conclusion, the results of this survey revealed many serious scientific and social problems associated with the diagnosis and treatment of intracranial hypotension following minor head injury. Scientific study including the

  12. Head Trauma: First Aid

    Science.gov (United States)

    First aid Head trauma: First aid Head trauma: First aid By Mayo Clinic Staff Most head trauma involves injuries that are minor and don't require ... 21, 2015 Original article: http://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-head-trauma/basics/ART-20056626 . Mayo ...

  13. Exploring the gap between hand washing knowledge and practices in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabbi, Sifat E; Dey, Nepal C

    2013-01-30

    Hand washing is considered as one of the most effective hygiene promotion activities for public health in developing countries. This study compared hand washing knowledge and practices in BRAC's water; sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme areas over time. This study is a cross-sectional comparative study between baseline (2006), midline (2009) and end-line (2011) surveys in 50 sub-districts from the first phase of the programme. Thirty thousand households from 50 sub-districts were selected in two steps: i) 30 villages were selected from each sub-district by cluster sampling, and ii) 20 households were chosen systematically from each village. The matched households were considered (26,404 in each survey) for analysis. Data were collected from households through face-to-face interview using a pre-tested questionnaire. Respondents were the adult female members of the same households, who had knowledge of day-to-day household activities related to water, sanitation and hygiene. A gap between perception and practice of proper hand washing practices with soap was identified in the study areas. Hand washing practice with soap before eating was much lower than after defecation. In baseline data, 8% reported to wash their hands with soap which significantly increased to 22% in end line. Hand washing knowledge and practices before cooking food, before serving food and while handling babies is considerably limited than other critical times. A multivariate analysis shows that socio-economic factors including education of household head and respondent, water availability and access to media have strong positive association with hand washing with soap. Gap between knowledge and practice still persists in hand washing practices. Long term and extensive initiatives can aware people about the effectiveness of hand washing.

  14. Exploring the gap between hand washing knowledge and practices in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional comparative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rabbi Sifat E

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Hand washing is considered as one of the most effective hygiene promotion activities for public health in developing countries. This study compared hand washing knowledge and practices in BRAC’s water; sanitation and hygiene (WASH programme areas over time. Methods This study is a cross-sectional comparative study between baseline (2006, midline (2009 and end-line (2011 surveys in 50 sub-districts from the first phase of the programme. Thirty thousand households from 50 sub-districts were selected in two steps: i 30 villages were selected from each sub-district by cluster sampling, and ii 20 households were chosen systematically from each village. The matched households were considered (26,404 in each survey for analysis. Data were collected from households through face-to-face interview using a pre-tested questionnaire. Respondents were the adult female members of the same households, who had knowledge of day-to-day household activities related to water, sanitation and hygiene. Results A gap between perception and practice of proper hand washing practices with soap was identified in the study areas. Hand washing practice with soap before eating was much lower than after defecation. In baseline data, 8% reported to wash their hands with soap which significantly increased to 22% in end line. Hand washing knowledge and practices before cooking food, before serving food and while handling babies is considerably limited than other critical times. A multivariate analysis shows that socio-economic factors including education of household head and respondent, water availability and access to media have strong positive association with hand washing with soap. Conclusion Gap between knowledge and practice still persists in hand washing practices. Long term and extensive initiatives can aware people about the effectiveness of hand washing.

  15. Viewpoint Integration for Hand-Based Recognition of Social Interactions from a First-Person View.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambach, Sven; Crandall, David J; Yu, Chen

    2015-11-01

    Wearable devices are becoming part of everyday life, from first-person cameras (GoPro, Google Glass), to smart watches (Apple Watch), to activity trackers (FitBit). These devices are often equipped with advanced sensors that gather data about the wearer and the environment. These sensors enable new ways of recognizing and analyzing the wearer's everyday personal activities, which could be used for intelligent human-computer interfaces and other applications. We explore one possible application by investigating how egocentric video data collected from head-mounted cameras can be used to recognize social activities between two interacting partners (e.g. playing chess or cards). In particular, we demonstrate that just the positions and poses of hands within the first-person view are highly informative for activity recognition, and present a computer vision approach that detects hands to automatically estimate activities. While hand pose detection is imperfect, we show that combining evidence across first-person views from the two social partners significantly improves activity recognition accuracy. This result highlights how integrating weak but complimentary sources of evidence from social partners engaged in the same task can help to recognize the nature of their interaction.

  16. Head and neck cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vogl, S.E.

    1988-01-01

    This book contains 10 chapters. Some of the titles are: Combined Surgical Resection and Irradiation for Head and Neck Cancers; Analysis of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Head and Neck Database: Identification of Prognostic Factors and the Re-evaluation of American Joint Committee Stages; Combined Modality Approach to Head and Neck Cancer; Induction Combination Chemotherapy of Regionally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer; and Outcome after Complete Remission to Induction Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer

  17. Effect of head restraint backset on head-neck kinematics in whiplash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stemper, Brian D; Yoganandan, Narayan; Pintar, Frank A

    2006-03-01

    Although head restraints were introduced in the 1960s as a countermeasure for whiplash, their limited effectiveness has been attributed to incorrect positioning. The effect of backset on cervical segmental angulations, which were previously correlated with spinal injury, has not been delineated. Therefore, the practical restraint position to minimize injury remains unclear. A parametric study of increasing head restraint backset between 0 and 140mm was conducted using a comprehensively validated computational model. Head retraction values increased with increasing backset, reaching a maximum value of 53.5mm for backsets greater than 60mm. Segmental angulation magnitudes, greatest at levels C5-C6 and C6-C7, reached maximum values during the retraction phase and increased with increasing backset. Results were compared to a previously published head restraint rating system, wherein lower cervical extension magnitudes from this study exceeded mean physiologic limits for restraint positions rated good, acceptable, marginal, and poor. As head restraint contact was the limiting factor in head retraction and segmental angulations, the present study indicates that minimizing whiplash injury may be accomplished by limiting head restraint backset to less than 60mm either passively or actively after impact.

  18. Ability of Hand Hygiene Interventions Using Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers and Soap To Reduce Microbial Load on Farmworker Hands Soiled during Harvest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Aceituno, Anna Fabiszewski; Bartz, Faith E; Hodge, Domonique Watson; Shumaker, David J; Grubb, James E; Arbogast, James W; Dávila-Aviña, Jorgé; Venegas, Fabiola; Heredia, Norma; García, Santos; Leon, Juan S

    2015-11-01

    Effective hand hygiene is essential to prevent the spread of pathogens on produce farms and reduce foodborne illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act Proposed Rule for Produce Safety recommends the use of soap and running water for hand hygiene of produce handlers. The use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) may be an effective alternative hygiene intervention where access to water is limited. There are no published data on the efficacy of either soap or ABHS-based interventions to reduce microbial contamination in agricultural settings. The goal of this study was to assess the ability of two soap-based (traditional or pumice) and two ABHS-based (label-use or two-step) hygiene interventions to reduce microbes (coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus spp.) and soil (absorbance of hand rinsate at 600 nm [A600]) on farmworker hands after harvesting produce, compared with the results for a no-hand-hygiene control. With no hand hygiene, farmworker hands were soiled (median A600, 0.48) and had high concentrations of coliforms (geometric mean, 3.4 log CFU per hand) and Enterococcus spp. (geometric mean, 5.3 log CFU per hand) after 1 to 2 h of harvesting tomatoes. Differences in microbial loads in comparison to the loads in the control group varied by indicator organism and hygiene intervention (0 to 2.3 log CFU per hand). All interventions yielded lower concentrations of Enterococcus spp. and E. coli (P hands (P hand washing with soap at reducing indicator organisms on farmworker hands. Based on these results, ABHS is an efficacious hand hygiene solution for produce handlers, even on soiled hands.

  19. Hand Therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... from conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow , as well as from chronic problems such as ... Tools Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist on Tennis Elbow Advice from a Certified Hand Therapist: Living with( ...

  20. Flight Lieutenant Peach's observations on Burning Feet Syndrome in Far Eastern Prisoners of War 1942-45.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roocroft, N T; Mayhew, E; Parkes, M; Frankland, A W; Gill, G V; Bouhassira, D; Rice, A S C

    2017-03-01

    'Burning Feet Syndrome' affected up to one third of Far Eastern Prisoners of War in World War 2. Recently discovered medical records, produced by RAF Medical Officer Nowell Peach whilst in captivity, are the first to detail neurological examinations of patients with this condition. The 54 sets of case notes produced at the time were analysed using modern diagnostic criteria to determine if the syndrome can be retrospectively classed as neuropathic pain. With a history of severe malnutrition raising the possibility of a peripheral polyneuropathy, and a neuroanatomically plausible pain distribution, this analysis showed that Burning Feet Syndrome can now be described as a 'possible' neuropathic pain syndrome. After 70 years, the data painstakingly gathered under the worst of circumstances have proved to be of interest and value in modern diagnostics of neuropathic pain. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Physicians. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  1. Incorporating 3D-printing technology in the design of head-caps and electrode drives for recording neurons in multiple brain regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Headley, Drew B; DeLucca, Michael V; Haufler, Darrell; Paré, Denis

    2015-04-01

    Recent advances in recording and computing hardware have enabled laboratories to record the electrical activity of multiple brain regions simultaneously. Lagging behind these technical advances, however, are the methods needed to rapidly produce microdrives and head-caps that can flexibly accommodate different recording configurations. Indeed, most available designs target single or adjacent brain regions, and, if multiple sites are targeted, specially constructed head-caps are used. Here, we present a novel design style, for both microdrives and head-caps, which takes advantage of three-dimensional printing technology. This design facilitates targeting of multiple brain regions in various configurations. Moreover, the parts are easily fabricated in large quantities, with only minor hand-tooling and finishing required. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  2. Complementary medicine use in patients with head and neck cancer in Ireland.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Amin, Mohamed

    2010-08-01

    The objectives of the study were: first, to determine the prevalence of traditional medicine (TM) and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in head and neck cancer patients in Ireland; second, to educate ourselves on the plethora of CAM\\/TM options available to patients outside the dominion of conventional medicine. The study design consisted of a cross-sectional survey carried out in three head and neck cancer centres. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 110 head and neck cancer patients attending the three cancer centres and data were collected for statistical analysis. A total of 106 patients completed the questionnaire; 21.7% of the participants used CAM\\/TM since their diagnosis with head and neck cancer. CAM\\/TM usage was higher in female (34.3%) than in male patients (16.2%). CAM\\/TM use was more common in the 41-50-year age group, in patients with higher educational levels and those holding strong religious beliefs, and also in married than single patients. The most common types of CAM\\/TM used were spiritual and laying on of hands. The most common reasons reported for using CAM\\/TM were to counteract the ill effects of treatment and increase the body\\'s ability to fight cancer. Sources of information on CAM\\/TM were friends (65%), family (48%) and media (21%). This survey reveals a high prevalence of CAM\\/TM use in head and neck cancer patients, hence emphasising the need for otolaryngologists to educate themselves on the various therapies available to be able to provide informative advice. There is an urgent need for evidence-based investigation of various CAM\\/TM therapies currently offered to patients.

  3. Healing of ulcers on the feet correlated with distal blood pressure measurements in occlusive arterial disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holstein, P; Lassen, N A

    1980-01-01

    The frequency of healing in subchronic ulcers in 66 feet in 62 patients with arterial occlusive disease was correlated with the systolic digital blood pressure (SDBP) and the systolic ankle blood pressure (SABP), both measured with a strain gauge, and with the skin perfusion pressure on the heel...

  4. Hand hygiene--evaluation of three disinfectant hand sanitizers in a community setting.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita Babeluk

    Full Text Available Hand hygiene is acknowledged as the single most important measure to prevent nosocomial infections in the healthcare setting. Similarly, in non-clinical settings, hand hygiene is recognised as a key element in helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three different disinfectant hand sanitizers in reducing the burden of bacterial hand contamination in 60 healthy volunteers in a community setting, both before and after education about the correct use of hand sanitizers. The study is the first to evaluate the efficacy and ease of use of different formulations of hand rubs used by the general population. The products tested were: Sterillium (perfumed, liquid, desderman pure gel (odorless, gel and Lavit (perfumed, spray. Sterillium and desderman are EN1500 (hygienic hand rub certified products (available in pharmacy and Lavit is non EN1500 certified and available in supermarkets. The two EN1500 certified products were found to be significantly superior in terms of reducing bacterial load. desderman pure gel, Sterillium and Lavit reduced the bacterial count to 6.4%, 8.2% and 28.0% respectively. After education in the correct use of each hand rub, the bacterial load was reduced even further, demonstrating the value of education in improving hand hygiene. Information about the testers' perceptions of the three sanitizers, together with their expectations of a hand sanitizer was obtained through a questionnaire. Efficacy, followed by skin compatibility were found to be the two most important attributes of a hand disinfectant in our target group.

  5. The Differential Effect of Sustained Operations on Psychomotor Skills of Helicopter Pilots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Terry W; Newman, David G

    2018-06-01

    Flying a helicopter is a complex psychomotor skill requiring constant control inputs from pilots. A deterioration in psychomotor performance of a helicopter pilot may be detrimental to operational safety. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that psychomotor performance deteriorates over time during sustained operations and that the effect is more pronounced in the feet than the hands. The subjects were helicopter pilots conducting sustained multicrew offshore flight operations in a demanding environment. The remote flight operations involved constant workload in hot environmental conditions with complex operational tasking. Over a period of 6 d 10 helicopter pilots were tested. At the completion of daily flying duties, a helicopter-specific screen-based compensatory tracking task measuring tracking accuracy (over a 5-min period) tested both hands and feet. Data were compared over time and tested for statistical significance for both deterioration and differential effect. A statistically significant deterioration of psychomotor performance was evident in the pilots over time for both hands and feet. There was also a statistically significant differential effect between the hands and the feet in terms of tracking accuracy. The hands recorded a 22.6% decrease in tracking accuracy, while the feet recorded a 39.9% decrease in tracking accuracy. The differential effect may be due to prioritization of limb movement by the motor cortex due to factors such as workload-induced cognitive fatigue. This may result in a greater reduction in performance in the feet than the hands, posing a significant risk to operational safety.McMahon TW, Newman DG. The differential effect of sustained operations on psychomotor skills of helicopter pilots. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(6):496-502.

  6. The difference between the potentiometric surfaces of the lower Patapsco aquifer in southern Maryland, September 1990 and September 2007

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtin, Stephen E.; Andreasen, David C.; Staley, Andrew W.

    2009-01-01

    This report presents a map showing the change in the potentiometric surface of the lower Patapsco aquifer in the Patapsco Formation of Early Cretaceous age in Southern Maryland for September 1990 and September 2007. The map, based on water-level measurements in 45 wells, shows that the change of the potentiometric surface during the 17-year period ranged from increases of 19 feet at Indian Head and 6 feet near the outcrop area in Glen Burnie, to declines of 41 feet at Arnold, 45 feet at Severndale, 68 feet at Crofton Meadows, 77 feet at Waldorf, 76 feet at La Plata, 28 feet at the Morgantown power plant, and 35 feet at the Swan Point subdivision south of Morgantown.

  7. In a demanding task, three-handed manipulation is preferred to two-handed manipulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdi, Elahe; Burdet, Etienne; Bouri, Mohamed; Himidan, Sharifa; Bleuler, Hannes

    2016-02-25

    Equipped with a third hand under their direct control, surgeons may be able to perform certain surgical interventions alone; this would reduce the need for a human assistant and related coordination difficulties. However, does human performance improve with three hands compared to two hands? To evaluate this possibility, we carried out a behavioural study on the performance of naive adults catching objects with three virtual hands controlled by their two hands and right foot. The subjects could successfully control the virtual hands in a few trials. With this control strategy, the workspace of the hands was inversely correlated with the task velocity. The comparison of performance between the three and two hands control revealed no significant difference of success in catching falling objects and in average effort during the tasks. Subjects preferred the three handed control strategy, found it easier, with less physical and mental burden. Although the coordination of the foot with the natural hands increased trial after trial, about two minutes of practice was not sufficient to develop a sense of ownership towards the third arm.

  8. Ultrasound-guided plantar fascia release technique: a retrospective study of 46 feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vohra, Praveen K; Japour, Christopher J

    2009-01-01

    Ultrasound-guided plantar fascia release offers the surgeon clear visualization of anatomy at the surgical site. This technique uses small arthroscopic dissecting instruments through a 0.5-cm incision, allowing the surgeon to avoid the larger and more tissue-disruptive incision that is traditionally used for plantar heel spur resection and plantar fascia releases. Forty-one patients (46 feet) were selected for the study. The mean patient age was 47 years. Twenty-nine were considered obese with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m(2). Patients were functionally and subjectively evaluated 4 weeks after surgery using the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society Ankle and Hindfoot Rating Scale. Results from the study show a significant improvement (P = .05 confidence level) 4 weeks postoperatively for the 41 patients (46 feet), compared to their preoperative condition. The mean pretest score was 33.6 (range 10-52); this score improved to 88.0 (range 50-100), 4 weeks postoperatively. There were no postoperative infections or complications. The ultrasound-guided plantar fascia release technique is a practical surgical procedure for the relief of chronic plantar fascia pain because the surgeon is able to clearly visualize the plantar fascia by ultrasound. In addition, there is minimal disruption to surrounding tissue because small instruments are passed through a small 0.5-cm incision. The traditional open method of heel spur surgery, in contrast, uses a larger skin incision of 3 to 5 cm, followed by larger instruments to dissect to the plantar fascia.

  9. Vertical illusory self-motion through haptic stimulation of the feet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordahl, Rolf; Nilsson, Niels Christian; Turchet, Luca

    2012-01-01

    Circular and linear self-motion illusions induced through visual and auditory stimuli have been studied rather extensively. While the ability of haptic stimuli to augment such illusions has been investigated, the self-motion illusions which primarily are induced by stimulation of the haptic...... to generate the haptic feedback while the final condition included no haptic feedback. Analysis of self-reports were used to assess the participants' experience of illusory self-motion. The results indicate that such illusions are indeed possible. Significant differences were found between the condition...... modality remain relatively unexplored. In this paper, we present an experiment performed with the intention of investigating whether it is possible to use haptic stimulation of the main supporting areas of the feet to induce vertical illusory self-motion on behalf of unrestrained participants during...

  10. Radial head dislocation during proximal radial shaft osteotomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazel, Antony; Bindra, Randy R

    2014-03-01

    The following case report describes a 48-year-old female patient with a longstanding both-bone forearm malunion, who underwent osteotomies of both the radius and ulna to improve symptoms of pain and lack of rotation at the wrist. The osteotomies were templated preoperatively. During surgery, after performing the planned radial shaft osteotomy, the authors recognized that the radial head was subluxated. The osteotomy was then revised from an opening wedge to a closing wedge with improvement of alignment and rotation. The case report discusses the details of the operation, as well as ways in which to avoid similar shortcomings in the future. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. 46 CFR 107.111 - Definitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... gross tons and non-self-propelled; or (3) More than 65 feet in length and propelled by steam. Muster... unit means a unit with a ship shape or barge type displacement hull of single or multiple hull...) under head of about 35 feet from a distance of about 10 feet, and for a period of 5 minutes, can be...

  12. About Hand Surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Find a hand surgeon near you. © 2009 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Definition developed by ASSH Council. Other Links CME Mission Statement and Disclaimer Policies and Technical Requirements Exhibits and Partners ASSH 822 W. Washington Blvd. ... 2018 by American Society for Surgery of the Hand × Search Tips Tip ...

  13. Perfection of technical and tactical preparation of sportsmen of hand-to-hand fight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serebryak V.V.

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Essence of innovative hike is considered to upgrading preparation of sportsmen of hand-to-hand fight. 58 sportsmen of section of hand-to-hand fight took part in research. Age of sportsmen are from 17 to 22 years. Developed and approved the most effective technical and tactical charts of construction of duel with the opponents of different styles of single combats. It is well-proven that offered approach instrumental in development of operative thought and adaptation to sparring of hand-to-hand fight.

  14. Osteoarthritis of the Hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Osteoarthritis Email to a friend * required fields From * ...

  15. Effect of hot bag application on the extremities in angiography of patients with Raynaud's syndrome

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Won, Je Hwan; Han, Kyong Lim; Kim, Chan

    2004-01-01

    It is sometimes difficult to evaluate the angiographic findings pertaining to spasm of the arteries in the hands and feet in patients with Raynaud's syndrome. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of applying a hot bag to the hands and/or feet for the control of vasospasm in patients with Raynaud's syndrome during angiography. Forty five cases (hands: feet=15:30) in forty patients (M:F=9:31, mean age; 39 years) with Raynaud's syndrome whose conventional angiography demonstrated the presence of vasospasm were included. First, digital subtraction angiography of the extremities was performed at room temperature (20 to 21 degrees Celsius). Then a hot bag was applied for 5 minutes on the hand or foot, and a post-hot bag angiography of the extremity was performed. The angiographic findings were classified into 6 grades in the case of the feet (0; anterior/posterior tibial artery, 1; dorsalis pedis /lateral plantar artery, 2; arcuate artery/plantar arch, 3; metatarsal artery, 4; digital artery, 5; blushing of toe tip) and 5 grades in the case of the hands (0; ulnar/radial artery, 1; palmar arch, 2; common palmar artery, 3; proper palmar artery, 4; blushing of finger tip) according to the level of the visualized vessels on the angiography. The time and the time difference to maximal visualization of the vessels between the measurements taken at room temperature and those taken after the hot bag application were calculated. In all cases, more. vessels were visualized after the hot bag application than at room temperature. After the application of the hot bag, the grade of vessel visualization was increased in both the feet (range; 1-4, mean; 2.3) and hands (range; 1-2, mean; 1.4). The time to the maximal visualization of the vessels was faster after the hot bag application than at room temperature. The time difference between the two groups ranged from 1 to 33 seconds (mean; 12.3 seconds) in the feet and 2 to 26 seconds (mean; 11.8 seconds) in the

  16. A rectangle-type linear ultrasonic motor using longitudinal vibration transducers with four driving feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yingxiang; Chen, Weishan; Liu, Junkao; Shi, Shengjun

    2013-04-01

    To make full use of the vibrational energy of a longitudinal transducer, a rectangle-type linear ultrasonic motor with four driving feet is proposed in this paper. This new motor consists of four longitudinal vibration transducers which are arranged in a rectangle and form an enclosed construction. Lead zirconate titanate ceramics are embedded into the middle of the transducer and fastened by a wedge-caulking mechanism. Each transducer includes an exponentially shaped horn located on each end. The horns of the vertical transducers intersect at the base of the horizontal transducers' horns; the tip ends of the horizontal transducers' horns are used as the driving feet. Longitudinal vibrations are superimposed in the motor and generate elliptical movements at the tip ends of the horns. The working principle of the proposed motor is analyzed. The resonance frequencies of two working modes are tuned to be close to each other by adjusting the structural parameters. Transient analysis is developed to gain the vibration characteristics of the motor. A prototype motor is fabricated and measured. The vibration test results verify the feasibility of the proposed design. Typical output of the prototype is a no-load speed of 928 mm/s and maximum thrust force of 60 N at a voltage of 200 Vrms.

  17. Chemoradiotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: focus on targeted therapies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bozec, A.; Thariat, J.; Bensadoun, R.J.; Milano, G.

    2008-01-01

    Radiotherapy is an essential treatment for many patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Its association with molecular targeted therapies represents a real progress. Among the recent advances in the molecular targeted therapy of cancer, the applications centred on E.G.F.R. are currently the most promising and the most advanced at clinical level. Considering the set of therapeutic tools targeting E.G.F.R., there are at present two well-identified emerging categories of drugs with monoclonal antibodies, on the one hand, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, on the other. In many preclinical studies, the combination of anti-E.G.F.R. drugs with irradiation has led to additive or supra-additive cytotoxic effects. Furthermore, anti-angiogenic agents have shown promising results in association with anti-E.G.F.R. drugs and radiotherapy. This research effort has recently produced encouraging clinical results in advanced head and neck cancer with combination of cetuximab (an anti-E.G.F.R. monoclonal antibody) with irradiation with a significant impact on patient survival. Active and efficient clinical research is currently ongoing to determine the place of molecular targeted therapies in the treatment of head and neck cancer, particularly in association with radiotherapy. (authors)

  18. The research on a novel type of the solar-blind UV head-mounted displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shun-long

    2011-08-01

    Ultraviolet technology of detecting is playing a more and more important role in the field of civil application, especially in the corona discharge detection, in modern society. Now the UV imaging detector is one of the most important equipments in power equipment flaws detection. And the modern head-mounted displays (HMDs) have shown the applications in the fields of military, industry production, medical treatment, entertainment, 3D visualization, education and training. We applied the system of head-mounted displays to the UV image detection, and a novel type of head-mounted displays is presented: the solar-blind UV head-mounted displays. And the structure is given. By the solar-blind UV head-mounted displays, a real-time, isometric and visible image of the corona discharge is correctly displayed upon the background scene where it exists. The user will see the visible image of the corona discharge on the real scene rather than on a small screen. Then the user can easily find out the power equipment flaws and repair them. Compared with the traditional UV imaging detector, the introducing of the HMDs simplifies the structure of the whole system. The original visible spectrum optical system is replaced by the eye in the solar-blind UV head-mounted displays. And the optical image fusion technology would be used rather than the digital image fusion system which is necessary in traditional UV imaging detector. That means the visible spectrum optical system and digital image fusion system are not necessary. This makes the whole system cheaper than the traditional UV imaging detector. Another advantage of the solar-blind UV head-mounted displays is that the two hands of user will be free. So while observing the corona discharge the user can do some things about it. Therefore the solar-blind UV head-mounted displays can make the corona discharge expose itself to the user in a better way, and it will play an important role in corona detection in the future.

  19. Hand eczema

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibler, K.S.; Jemec, G.B.E.; Flyvholm, M.-A.

    2012-01-01

    Background. Healthcare workers are at increased risk of developing hand eczema. Objectives. To investigate the prevalence and severity of self-reported hand eczema, and to relate the findings to demographic data, occupation, medical speciality, wards, shifts, and working hours. Patients/materials......Background. Healthcare workers are at increased risk of developing hand eczema. Objectives. To investigate the prevalence and severity of self-reported hand eczema, and to relate the findings to demographic data, occupation, medical speciality, wards, shifts, and working hours. Patients...... dermatitis, younger age, male sex (male doctors), and working hours. Eighty nine per cent of subjects reported mild/moderate lesions. Atopic dermatitis was the only factor significantly related to severity. Sick leave was reported by 8% of subjects, and notification to the authorities by 12%. Conclusions...... or severity, but cultural differences between professions with respect to coping with the eczema were significant. Atopic dermatitis was related to increased prevalence and severity, and preventive efforts should be made for healthcare workers with atopic dermatitis....

  20. Self-motion perception and vestibulo-ocular reflex during whole body yaw rotation in standing subjects: the role of head position and neck proprioception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panichi, Roberto; Botti, Fabio Massimo; Ferraresi, Aldo; Faralli, Mario; Kyriakareli, Artemis; Schieppati, Marco; Pettorossi, Vito Enrico

    2011-04-01

    Self-motion perception and vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) were studied during whole body yaw rotation in the dark at different static head positions. Rotations consisted of four cycles of symmetric sinusoidal and asymmetric oscillations. Self-motion perception was evaluated by measuring the ability of subjects to manually track a static remembered target. VOR was recorded separately and the slow phase eye position (SPEP) was computed. Three different head static yaw deviations (active and passive) relative to the trunk (0°, 45° to right and 45° to left) were examined. Active head deviations had a significant effect during asymmetric oscillation: the movement perception was enhanced when the head was kept turned toward the side of body rotation and decreased in the opposite direction. Conversely, passive head deviations had no effect on movement perception. Further, vibration (100 Hz) of the neck muscles splenius capitis and sternocleidomastoideus remarkably influenced perceived rotation during asymmetric oscillation. On the other hand, SPEP of VOR was modulated by active head deviation, but was not influenced by neck muscle vibration. Through its effects on motion perception and reflex gain, head position improved gaze stability and enhanced self-motion perception in the direction of the head deviation. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Automated cross-modal mapping in robotic eye/hand systems using plastic radial basis function networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Qinggang; Lee, M. H.

    2007-03-01

    Advanced autonomous artificial systems will need incremental learning and adaptive abilities similar to those seen in humans. Knowledge from biology, psychology and neuroscience is now inspiring new approaches for systems that have sensory-motor capabilities and operate in complex environments. Eye/hand coordination is an important cross-modal cognitive function, and is also typical of many of the other coordinations that must be involved in the control and operation of embodied intelligent systems. This paper examines a biologically inspired approach for incrementally constructing compact mapping networks for eye/hand coordination. We present a simplified node-decoupled extended Kalman filter for radial basis function networks, and compare this with other learning algorithms. An experimental system consisting of a robot arm and a pan-and-tilt head with a colour camera is used to produce results and test the algorithms in this paper. We also present three approaches for adapting to structural changes during eye/hand coordination tasks, and the robustness of the algorithms under noise are investigated. The learning and adaptation approaches in this paper have similarities with current ideas about neural growth in the brains of humans and animals during tool-use, and infants during early cognitive development.

  2. The Effect of Antibacterial Formula Hand Cleaners on the Elimination of Microbes on Hands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, J. R.

    2002-05-01

    : The purpose of this project is to find out which one of the antibacterial hand cleanser (antibacterial bar soap, antibacterial liquid hand soap, and liquid hand sanitizer) is more effective in eliminating microbes. If antibacterial- formula liquid hand soap is used on soiled hands, then it will be more effective in eliminating microbes. Germs are microorganisms that cause disease and can spread from person-to-person. Bacteria are a kind of microbe, an example of which is Transient Flora that is often found on hands. Hand washing prevents germs from spreading to others. During the procedure, swabs were used to take samples before and after the soiled hands had been washed with one of the antibacterial hand cleansers. Nutrient Easygel was poured into petri dishes to harden for 1 day, and then samples were swabbed on the gel. The Petri dishes were placed in an incubator for 24 hours, and then data was recorded accordingly. The antibacterial liquid hand soap was sufficient in eliminating the majority of bacteria. The hands had 65% of the bacteria on them, and after the liquid hand soap was used only 37% of the bacteria remained.

  3. Head Lice

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... nits. You should also use hot water to wash any bed linens, towels, and clothing recently worn by the person who had head lice. Vacuum anything that can’t be washed, such as the couch, carpets, your child’s car seat, and any stuffed animals. Because head lice ...

  4. 75 FR 61460 - Hampshire Paper Company; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-05

    ...; (5) a 67-foot-long by 32-foot concrete powerhouse containing a horizontal axial flow turbine with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 1,470 cubic feet per second and a net head of 32 feet, directly connected to...

  5. Robotic Hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-01-01

    The Omni-Hand was developed by Ross-Hime Designs, Inc. for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. The multiple digit hand has an opposable thumb and a flexible wrist. Electric muscles called Minnacs power wrist joints and the interchangeable digits. Two hands have been delivered to NASA for evaluation for potential use on space missions and the unit is commercially available for applications like hazardous materials handling and manufacturing automation. Previous SBIR contracts resulted in the Omni-Wrist and Omni-Wrist II robotic systems, which are commercially available for spray painting, sealing, ultrasonic testing, as well as other uses.

  6. Effect of radial head implant shape on joint contact area and location during static loading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shannon, Hannah L; Deluce, Simon R; Lalone, Emily A; Willing, Ryan; King, Graham J W; Johnson, James A

    2015-04-01

    To examine the effect of implant shape on radiocapitellar joint contact area and location in vitro. We used 8 fresh-frozen cadaveric upper extremities. An elbow loading simulator examined joint contact in pronation, neutral rotation, and supination with the elbow at 90° flexion. Muscle tendons were attached to pneumatic actuators to allow for computer-controlled loading to achieve the desired forearm rotation. We performed testing with the native radial head, an axisymmetric implant, a reverse-engineered patient-specific implant, and a population-based quasi-anatomic implant. Implants were inserted using computer navigation. Contact area and location were quantified using a casting technique. We found no significant difference between contact locations for the native radial head and the 3 implants. All of the implants had a contact area lower than the native radial head; however, only the axisymmetric implant was significantly different. There was no significant difference in contact area between implant shapes. The similar contact areas and locations of the 3 implant designs suggest that the shape of the implant may not be important with respect to radiocapitellar joint contact mechanics when placed optimally using computer navigation. Further work is needed to explore the sensitivity of radial head implant malpositioning on articular contact. The lower contact area of the radial head implants relative to the native radial head is similar to previous benchtop studies and is likely the result of the greater stiffness of the implant. Radial head implant shape does not appear to have a pronounced influence on articular contact, and both axisymmetric and anatomic metal designs result in elevated cartilage stress relative to the intact state. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Radiologic head CT interpretation errors in pediatric abusive and non-abusive head trauma patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kralik, Stephen F.; Finke, Whitney; Wu, Isaac C.; Ho, Chang Y.; Hibbard, Roberta A.; Hicks, Ralph A.

    2017-01-01

    Pediatric head trauma, including abusive head trauma, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this research was to identify and evaluate radiologic interpretation errors of head CTs performed on abusive and non-abusive pediatric head trauma patients from a community setting referred for a secondary interpretation at a tertiary pediatric hospital. A retrospective search identified 184 patients <5 years of age with head CT for known or potential head trauma who had a primary interpretation performed at a referring community hospital by a board-certified radiologist. Two board-certified fellowship-trained neuroradiologists at an academic pediatric hospital independently interpreted the head CTs, compared their interpretations to determine inter-reader discrepancy rates, and resolved discrepancies to establish a consensus second interpretation. The primary interpretation was compared to the consensus second interpretation using the RADPEER trademark scoring system to determine the primary interpretation-second interpretation overall and major discrepancy rates. MRI and/or surgical findings were used to validate the primary interpretation or second interpretation when possible. The diagnosis of abusive head trauma was made using clinical and imaging data by a child abuse specialist to separate patients into abusive head trauma and non-abusive head trauma groups. Discrepancy rates were compared for both groups. Lastly, primary interpretations and second interpretations were evaluated for discussion of imaging findings concerning for abusive head trauma. There were statistically significant differences between primary interpretation-second interpretation versus inter-reader overall and major discrepancy rates (28% vs. 6%, P=0.0001; 16% vs. 1%, P=0.0001). There were significant differences in the primary interpretation-second interpretation overall and major discrepancy rates for abusive head trauma patients compared to non-abusive head trauma

  8. Radiologic head CT interpretation errors in pediatric abusive and non-abusive head trauma patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kralik, Stephen F.; Finke, Whitney; Wu, Isaac C.; Ho, Chang Y. [Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indianapolis, IN (United States); Hibbard, Roberta A.; Hicks, Ralph A. [Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Child Protection Programs, Indianapolis, IN (United States)

    2017-07-15

    Pediatric head trauma, including abusive head trauma, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this research was to identify and evaluate radiologic interpretation errors of head CTs performed on abusive and non-abusive pediatric head trauma patients from a community setting referred for a secondary interpretation at a tertiary pediatric hospital. A retrospective search identified 184 patients <5 years of age with head CT for known or potential head trauma who had a primary interpretation performed at a referring community hospital by a board-certified radiologist. Two board-certified fellowship-trained neuroradiologists at an academic pediatric hospital independently interpreted the head CTs, compared their interpretations to determine inter-reader discrepancy rates, and resolved discrepancies to establish a consensus second interpretation. The primary interpretation was compared to the consensus second interpretation using the RADPEER trademark scoring system to determine the primary interpretation-second interpretation overall and major discrepancy rates. MRI and/or surgical findings were used to validate the primary interpretation or second interpretation when possible. The diagnosis of abusive head trauma was made using clinical and imaging data by a child abuse specialist to separate patients into abusive head trauma and non-abusive head trauma groups. Discrepancy rates were compared for both groups. Lastly, primary interpretations and second interpretations were evaluated for discussion of imaging findings concerning for abusive head trauma. There were statistically significant differences between primary interpretation-second interpretation versus inter-reader overall and major discrepancy rates (28% vs. 6%, P=0.0001; 16% vs. 1%, P=0.0001). There were significant differences in the primary interpretation-second interpretation overall and major discrepancy rates for abusive head trauma patients compared to non-abusive head trauma

  9. [Footwear according to the "business dress code", and the health condition of women's feet--computer-assisted holistic evaluation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorkowski, Jacek; Mrzygłód, Mirosław; Kotela, Ireneusz; Kiełbasiewicz-Lorkowska, Ewa; Teul, Iwona

    2013-01-01

    According to the verdict of the Supreme Court in 2005, an employer may dismiss an employee if their conduct (including dress) exposes the employer to losses or threatens his interests. The aim of the study was a holistic assessment of the pleiotropic effects of high-heeled pointed shoes on the health condition of women's feet, wearing them at work, in accordance with the existing rules of the "business dress code". A holistic multidisciplinary analysis was performed. It takes into account: 1) women employees of banks and other large corporations (82 persons); 2) 2D FEM computer model developed by the authors of foot deformed by pointed high-heeled shoes; 3) web site found after entering the code "business dress code". Over 60% of women in the office wore high-heeled shoes. The following has been found among people walking to work in high heels: 1) reduction in the quality of life in about 70% of cases, through periodic occurrence of pain and reduction of functional capacity of the feet; 2) increase in the pressure on the plantar side of the forefoot at least twice; 3) the continued effects the forces deforming the forefoot. 1. An evolutionary change of "dress code" shoes is necessary in order to lead to a reduction in non-physiological overload of feet and the consequence of their disability. 2. These changes are particularly urgent in patients with so-called "sensitive foot".

  10. Non-contrast MRI perfusion angiosome in diabetic feet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, Jie [Cardiovascular Imaging Lab, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, MO (United States); Hastings, Mary K.; Mueller, Michael J. [Washington University School of Medicine, The Program in Physical Therapy, St. Louis, MO (United States); Muccigross, David; Hildebolt, Charles F. [Washington University School of Medicine, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, MO (United States); Fan, Zhaoyang [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Gao, Fabao [West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Department of Radiology, Chengdu (China); Curci, John [Washington University School of Medicine, The Department of Surgery, St. Louis, MO (United States)

    2015-01-15

    The purpose of this study is to develop a non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach to evaluate skeletal muscle perfusion in the diabetic foot based on the concept of angiosomes of the foot. Five healthy volunteers and five participants with diabetes (HbA1c = 7.2 ± 1.8 %) without a history of peripheral artery disease were examined. The non-contrast perfusion measurements were performed during a toe flexion challenge. Absolute perfusion maps were created and two regions (medial and lateral) on the maps were segmented based on angiosomes. Regional difference in the perfusion of foot muscle was readily visualized in the MRI perfusion angiosomes during the challenge. In the participants with diabetes, the perfusion during toe flexion challenge was significantly lower than in healthy volunteers (P < 0.01). The average perfusion for the medial plantar region of the right foot was lower in subjects with diabetes (38 ± 9 ml/min/100 g) than in healthy subjects (93 ± 33 ml/min/100 g). Non-contrast MRI perfusion angiosome maps demonstrate the feasibility of determining regional perfusion in foot muscles during toe challenge and may facilitate evaluation of muscle perfusion in diabetic feet. (orig.)

  11. Non-contrast MRI perfusion angiosome in diabetic feet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, Jie; Hastings, Mary K.; Mueller, Michael J.; Muccigross, David; Hildebolt, Charles F.; Fan, Zhaoyang; Gao, Fabao; Curci, John

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a non-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach to evaluate skeletal muscle perfusion in the diabetic foot based on the concept of angiosomes of the foot. Five healthy volunteers and five participants with diabetes (HbA1c = 7.2 ± 1.8 %) without a history of peripheral artery disease were examined. The non-contrast perfusion measurements were performed during a toe flexion challenge. Absolute perfusion maps were created and two regions (medial and lateral) on the maps were segmented based on angiosomes. Regional difference in the perfusion of foot muscle was readily visualized in the MRI perfusion angiosomes during the challenge. In the participants with diabetes, the perfusion during toe flexion challenge was significantly lower than in healthy volunteers (P < 0.01). The average perfusion for the medial plantar region of the right foot was lower in subjects with diabetes (38 ± 9 ml/min/100 g) than in healthy subjects (93 ± 33 ml/min/100 g). Non-contrast MRI perfusion angiosome maps demonstrate the feasibility of determining regional perfusion in foot muscles during toe challenge and may facilitate evaluation of muscle perfusion in diabetic feet. (orig.)

  12. Development of five-finger robotic hand using master-slave control for hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Koki; Yamada, Hiroshi; Kato, Ryu; Seki, Tatsuya; Yokoi, Hiroshi; Mukai, Masaya

    2016-08-01

    This study aims to develop a robotic hand as a substitute for a surgeon's hand in hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS). We determined the requirements for the proposed hand from a surgeon's motions in HALS. We identified four basic behaviors: "power grasp," "precision grasp," "open hand for exclusion," and "peace sign for extending peritoneum." The proposed hand had the minimum necessary DOFs for performing these behaviors, five fingers as in a human's hand, a palm that can be folded when a surgeon inserts the hand into the abdomen, and an arm for adjusting the hand's position. We evaluated the proposed hand based on a performance test and a physician's opinions, and we confirmed that it can grasp organs.

  13. The association between head and cervical posture and temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olivo, Susan Armijo; Bravo, Jaime; Magee, David J; Thie, Norman M R; Major, Paul W; Flores-Mir, Carlos

    2006-01-01

    To carry out a systematic review to assess the evidence concerning the association between head and cervical posture and temporomandibular disorders (TMD). A search of Medline, Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, Lilacs, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted in all languages with the help of a health sciences librarian. Key words used in the search were posture, head posture, cervical spine or neck, vertebrae, cervical lordosis, craniomandibular disorders or temporomandibular disorders, temporomandibular disorders, and orofacial pain or facial pain. Abstracts which appeared to fulfill the initial selection criteria were selected by consensus. The original articles were retrieved and evaluated to ensure they met the inclusion criteria. A methodological checklist was used to evaluate the quality of the selected articles and their references were hand-searched for possible missing articles. Twelve studies met all inclusion criteria and were analyzed in detail for their methodology and information quality. Nine articles that analyzed the association between head posture and TMD included patients with mixed TMD diagnosis; 1 article differentiated among muscular, articular, and mixed symptomatology; and 3 articles analyzed information from patients with only articular problems. Finally, 2 studies evaluated the association between head posture and TMD in patients with muscular TMD. Several methodological defects were noted in the 12 studies. Since most of the studies included in this systematic review were of poor methodological quality, the findings of the studies should be interpreted with caution. The association between intra-articular and muscular TMD and head and cervical posture is still unclear, and better controlled studies with comprehensive TMD diagnoses, greater sample sizes, and objective posture evaluation are necessary.

  14. Hands in Systemic Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is ... Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy ... hands, being composed of many types of tissue, including blood vessels, nerves, skin and skin-related tissues, bones, and muscles/tendons/ligaments, may show changes that reflect a ...

  15. Non-invasive head fixation for external irradiation of tumors of the head and neck

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bale, R.J.; Sweeney, R.; Nevinny, M.; Auer, T.; Bluhm, A.; Lukas, P.; Vogele, M.; Thumfart, W.F.

    1998-01-01

    Purpose: To fully utilize the technical capabilities of radiation diagnostics and planning, a precise and reproducible method of head fixation is a prerequisite. Method: We have adapted the Vogele-Bale-Hohner (VBH) head holder (Wellhoefer Dosimetrie, Schwarzenbruck, Germany), originally designed for frameless stereotactic operations, to the requirements of external beam radiotherapy. A precise and reproducible head fixation is attained by an individualized vacuum upper-dental cast which is connected over 2 hydraulic arms to an adjustable head- and rigid base-plate. Radiation field and patient alignment lasers are marked on a relocatable clear PVC localization box. Results: The possibility of craniocaudal adjustment of the head plate on the base plate allows the system to adapt to the actucal position of the patient on the raditherapy couch granting tensionless repositioning. The VBH head holder has proven itself to be a precise yet practicable method of head fixation. Duration of mouthpiece production and daily repositioning is comparable to that of the thermoplastic mask. Conclusion: The new head holder is in routine use at our hospital and quite suitable for external beam radiation of patients with tumors of the head and neck. (orig.) [de

  16. Head, Neck, and Oral Cancer

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Head and Neck Pathology Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Close to 49,750 Americans will be diagnosed ... Head and Neck Pathology Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Close to 49,750 Americans will be diagnosed ...

  17. Assessment of the radio-frequency electromagnetic fields induced in the human body from mobile phones used with hands-free kits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuehn, Sven; Cabot, Eugenia; Christ, Andreas; Capstick, Myles; Kuster, Niels [Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT' IS), Zuerich (Switzerland)], E-mail: kuehn@itis.ethz.ch

    2009-09-21

    In this study, the radiation emission from mobile phones when used with wireless and wired hands-free kits (HFK) was evaluated to determine the necessity for a dedicated compliance procedure and the extent to which the use of wired and wireless HFK can reduce human exposure. The specific absorption rates (SAR) from wireless HFK were determined experimentally. Wired HFK were evaluated dosimetrically while connected to mobile phones (GSM900/1800, UMTS1950) under maximized current coupling onto the HFK cable and various wire routing configurations. In addition, experimentally validated simulations of a wired HFK and a mobile phone operating on anatomical whole-body models were performed. The maximum spatial peak SAR in the head when using wired HFK was more than five times lower than ICNIRP limits. The SAR in the head depends on the output power of the mobile phone, the coupling between the antenna and cable, external attenuation and potential cable specific attenuation. In general, a wired HFK considerably reduces the exposure of the entire head region compared to mobile phones operated at the head, even under unlikely worst-case coupling scenarios. However, wired HFK may cause a localized increase of the exposure in the region of the ear inside the head under worst-case conditions. Wireless HFK exhibit a low but constant exposure.

  18. Assessment of the radio-frequency electromagnetic fields induced in the human body from mobile phones used with hands-free kits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuehn, Sven; Cabot, Eugenia; Christ, Andreas; Capstick, Myles; Kuster, Niels

    2009-01-01

    In this study, the radiation emission from mobile phones when used with wireless and wired hands-free kits (HFK) was evaluated to determine the necessity for a dedicated compliance procedure and the extent to which the use of wired and wireless HFK can reduce human exposure. The specific absorption rates (SAR) from wireless HFK were determined experimentally. Wired HFK were evaluated dosimetrically while connected to mobile phones (GSM900/1800, UMTS1950) under maximized current coupling onto the HFK cable and various wire routing configurations. In addition, experimentally validated simulations of a wired HFK and a mobile phone operating on anatomical whole-body models were performed. The maximum spatial peak SAR in the head when using wired HFK was more than five times lower than ICNIRP limits. The SAR in the head depends on the output power of the mobile phone, the coupling between the antenna and cable, external attenuation and potential cable specific attenuation. In general, a wired HFK considerably reduces the exposure of the entire head region compared to mobile phones operated at the head, even under unlikely worst-case coupling scenarios. However, wired HFK may cause a localized increase of the exposure in the region of the ear inside the head under worst-case conditions. Wireless HFK exhibit a low but constant exposure.

  19. Computed Tomography (CT) -- Head

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Physician Resources Professions Site Index A-Z Computed Tomography (CT) - Head Computed tomography (CT) of the head uses special x-ray ... What is CT Scanning of the Head? Computed tomography, more commonly known as a CT or CAT ...

  20. Hand Hygiene – Evaluation of Three Disinfectant Hand Sanitizers in a Community Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babeluk, Rita; Jutz, Sabrina; Mertlitz, Sarah; Matiasek, Johannes; Klaus, Christoph

    2014-01-01

    Hand hygiene is acknowledged as the single most important measure to prevent nosocomial infections in the healthcare setting. Similarly, in non-clinical settings, hand hygiene is recognised as a key element in helping prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three different disinfectant hand sanitizers in reducing the burden of bacterial hand contamination in 60 healthy volunteers in a community setting, both before and after education about the correct use of hand sanitizers. The study is the first to evaluate the efficacy and ease of use of different formulations of hand rubs used by the general population. The products tested were: Sterillium (perfumed, liquid), desderman pure gel (odorless, gel) and Lavit (perfumed, spray). Sterillium and desderman are EN1500 (hygienic hand rub) certified products (available in pharmacy) and Lavit is non EN1500 certified and available in supermarkets. The two EN1500 certified products were found to be significantly superior in terms of reducing bacterial load. desderman pure gel, Sterillium and Lavit reduced the bacterial count to 6.4%, 8.2% and 28.0% respectively. After education in the correct use of each hand rub, the bacterial load was reduced even further, demonstrating the value of education in improving hand hygiene. Information about the testers' perceptions of the three sanitizers, together with their expectations of a hand sanitizer was obtained through a questionnaire. Efficacy, followed by skin compatibility were found to be the two most important attributes of a hand disinfectant in our target group. PMID:25379773

  1. Efficacy of alcohol-based hand sanitizer on hands soiled with dirt and cooking oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickering, Amy J; Davis, Jennifer; Boehm, Alexandria B

    2011-09-01

    Handwashing education and promotion are well established as effective strategies to reduce diarrhea and respiratory illness in countries around the world. However, access to reliable water supplies has been identified as an important barrier to regular handwashing in low-income countries. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) is an effective hand hygiene method that does not require water, but its use is not currently recommended when hands are visibly soiled. This study evaluated the efficacy of ABHS on volunteers' hands artificially contaminated with Escherichia coli in the presence of dirt (soil from Tanzania) and cooking oil. ABHS reduced levels of E. coli by a mean of 2.33 log colony forming units (CFU) per clean hand, 2.32 log CFU per dirt-covered hand, and 2.13 log CFU per oil-coated hand. No significant difference in efficacy was detected between hands that were clean versus dirty or oily. ABHS may be an appropriate hand hygiene method for hands that are moderately soiled, and an attractive option for field settings in which access to water and soap is limited.

  2. COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF GIRLS FEET AGED 17-19

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.V. Konnova

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available During examination of plantograms of the girls (n = 242 three forms of feet: egiptal, rectangular and greek have been distinguished, statistically characterized by reliable distinctions of separate linear and angular parameters and coefficient of the anterior part of the foot. Coefficients used for examination of the pathology of the foot fornix do not possess sufficient information and need additional examination of the dimensions of the angels of ankle-bone, calcaneal and navicular bones.

  3. Morphometric Changes in Talus of Club Foot A Gross Observation in Human Foetuses

    OpenAIRE

    Fazal-ur-Rehman,; Faruqi, Nafis A

    2012-01-01

    Both the feet of six human foetuses of different age groups having unilateral club feet, were dissected for morphological study. Six morphometric parameters considered for comparing gross anatomical changes in normal and deformed feet, were 1-Maximum length of the talus, 2-Longitudinal dimension of head of talus, 3-Anterior trochlear breadth, 4-Maximum medial talar height, 5-Talar neck and calcaneal angle, 6-Talocalcaneal angle. All the foetuses with congenital club feet have almost similar d...

  4. Occupational Exposure to Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers: The Diagnostic Role of Alcohol Biomarkers in Hair.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salomone, A; Bozzo, A; Di Corcia, D; Gerace, E; Vincenti, M

    2018-04-01

    Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) in hair are effective direct biomarkers of ethanol ingestion, whose analytical determination can be used to discriminate between chronic and occasional ethanol intake. Ethanol is a compound widely used in some workplaces (e.g., clinics, hospitals) and is present in considerable amounts in mouthwash for oral cleaning, medications, cosmetic products, hydro-alcoholic disinfectants and antiseptics for hands. This study examined the ethyl alcohol exposure derived from hand disinfectants (in gel form) by simulating the typical occupational situation of medical-health workers (healthcare workers, nurses, surgeons, etc.) who frequently wash their hands with antiseptic sanitizer. Two types of hand disinfectants with 62% w/w of ethanol content were daily applied to the hands of a teetotaler for 20 times a day, for 4 consecutive weeks, thus simulating a typical workplace situation and a cumulative dermal exposure to ethanol of ~1,100 g. Different matrices (head, chest and beard hair, urine) were regularly sampled and analyzed using a ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem massspectrometry validated method for EtG and a (HS)SPME-GC-MS validated technique for FAEEs. The data obtained showed that a significant dermal absorption and/or inhalation of ethanol occurred, and that the use of detergents produce urinary EtG concentrations both higher than the cut-offs normally used for clinical and forensic analyses (either 100 and 500 ng/mL, depending on the context). The concentrations of the ethanol metabolites in the keratin matrices were, respectively, below the cut-off of 7 pg/mg for EtG and below 0.5 ng/mg for FAAEs (0.35 ng/mg for ethyl palmitate). In conclusion, the regular use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers can affect the concentration of urinary EtG and lead to positive analytical results, particularly when specimens are obtained shortly after sustained use of ethanol-containing hand sanitizer. On the

  5. Representation of Patients' Hand Modulates Fear Reactions of Patients with Spider Phobia in Virtual Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peperkorn, Henrik M; Diemer, Julia E; Alpers, Georg W; Mühlberger, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    Embodiment (i.e., the involvement of a bodily representation) is thought to be relevant in emotional experiences. Virtual reality (VR) is a capable means of activating phobic fear in patients. The representation of the patient's body (e.g., the right hand) in VR enhances immersion and increases presence, but its effect on phobic fear is still unknown. We analyzed the influence of the presentation of the participant's hand in VR on presence and fear responses in 32 women with spider phobia and 32 matched controls. Participants sat in front of a table with an acrylic glass container within reaching distance. During the experiment this setup was concealed by a head-mounted display (HMD). The VR scenario presented via HMD showed the same setup, i.e., a table with an acrylic glass container. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. In one group, fear responses were triggered by fear-relevant visual input in VR (virtual spider in the virtual acrylic glass container), while information about a real but unseen neutral control animal (living snake in the acrylic glass container) was given. The second group received fear-relevant information of the real but unseen situation (living spider in the acrylic glass container), but visual input was kept neutral VR (virtual snake in the virtual acrylic glass container). Participants were instructed to touch the acrylic glass container with their right hand in 20 consecutive trials. Visibility of the hand was varied randomly in a within-subjects design. We found for all participants that visibility of the participant's hand increased presence independently of the fear trigger. However, in patients, the influence of the virtual hand on fear depended on the fear trigger. When fear was triggered perceptually, i.e., by a virtual spider, the virtual hand increased fear. When fear was triggered by information about a real spider, the virtual hand had no effect on fear. Our results shed light on the

  6. Development of a project on North Unit Irrigation District’s Main Canal at the Monroe Drop, using a novel low-head hydropower technology called the SLH100

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schneider, Abraham [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States); Schneider, Gia [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States); McKinstry, Katherine [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States); Harwood, Meghan [Natel Energy, Inc., Alameda, CA (United States)

    2017-03-14

    Natel Energy is a low­-head, distributed hydropower company based out of Alameda, CA. Natel manufactures and sells proprietary hydroelectric turbines called hydroEngines® that are suitable for low-­head, high-­flow settings, and range from 30kW to 1 MW of capacity per unit. Natel’s hydroEngine is a state­-of­the-­art two stage impulse turbine, using blades mounted symmetrically on two belts perpendicular to the axis of travel, and using linearly­-moving foils, rather than a rotor, to enable efficient conversion of kinetic energy of large volumes of water at low head with no risk of cavitation. In addition, the hydroEngine can be installed at or above tailwater level, reducing the excavation necessary to build the powerhouse and thus reducing total installed cost and project footprint. Thus, the hydroEngine technology enables a new generation of small hydro installations with low cost of project development, fish-­friendly operations, and small project footprint. In September of 2015, Natel Energy formally commissioned its first project installation in Madras, Oregon, installing 1 SLH100 turbine at an existing drop structure on the North Unit Irrigation District (NUID) Main Canal. The water falls between 13.5 feet to 16.5 feet at this structure, depending on flow. The plant has an installed capacity of 250 kW and an expected annual generation of approximately 873 MWh. The plant operates at an annual capacity factor of 40%, and a capacity factor over the irrigation season, or period of available flow, of 80%. Annual capacity factor is calculated as a percentage of plant operating hours relative to a total of 8,760 hours in a year; because the irrigation canal in which the Project is located only runs water from April to October, the available flow capacity factor is higher. Net greenhouse gas reductions from the Monroe Project are estimated to be 602 tCO2/year. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the specifications for Natel’s first

  7. "Puffy hand syndrome".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chouk, Mickaël; Vidon, Claire; Deveza, Elise; Verhoeven, Frank; Pelletier, Fabien; Prati, Clément; Wendling, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    Intravenous drug addiction is responsible for many complications, especially cutaneous and infectious. There is a syndrome, rarely observed in rheumatology, resulting in "puffy hands": the puffy hand syndrome. We report two cases of this condition from our rheumatologic consultation. Our two patients had intravenous drug addiction. They presented with an edema of the hands, bilateral, painless, no pitting, occurring in one of our patient during heroin intoxication, and in the other 2 years after stopping injections. In our two patients, additional investigations (biological, radiological, ultrasound) were unremarkable, which helped us, in the context, to put the diagnosis of puffy hand syndrome. The pathophysiology, still unclear, is based in part on a lymphatic toxicity of drugs and their excipients. There is no etiological treatment but elastic compression by night has improved edema of the hands in one of our patients. Copyright © 2016 Société française de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  8. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) -- Head

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... News Physician Resources Professions Site Index A-Z Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Head Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head uses a powerful ... the Head? What is MRI of the Head? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that ...

  9. Hand eczema classification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diepgen, T L; Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Brandao, F M

    2008-01-01

    of the disease is rarely evidence based, and a classification system for different subdiagnoses of hand eczema is not agreed upon. Randomized controlled trials investigating the treatment of hand eczema are called for. For this, as well as for clinical purposes, a generally accepted classification system...... A classification system for hand eczema is proposed. Conclusions It is suggested that this classification be used in clinical work and in clinical trials....

  10. Study of anxiety symptoms in drawing-a-person test of Khorramabad 10 years old children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    hosein Ebrahimi Moghaddam

    2014-03-01

    Results: Significant signs (p>0.05 in test group children (anxious were: small eyes, very bold graphic lines, parallel lines shaded and plaid, scrawl and repeated cleaning - abnormal physical state, to use black color, anxious face of dummy, small head, long legs, big feet, horizontal and inflexible arms and closed hands. Also signs of anxiety were significant based on sex in drawing-a-person test. Conclusion: According to findings of the present research and importance of anxiety disorders recognition in childhood and its impact on life time, it is suggested to pay more attention to these signs of children's drawings. Through timely diagnosis of children with anxiety disorders, future impacts of anxiety can be prevented.

  11. A new form of spondyloperipheral dysplasia with facial dysmorphism, flattened vertebrae, hypoplastic pelvis, brachydactyly and soft tissue syndactyly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitoh, Hiroshi

    2001-01-01

    We report the case of a 9-year-old Japanese boy with spondyloperipheral skeletal dysplasia associated with facial dysmorphism, pelvic abnormalities, and distinctive hands and feet. Radiographic manifestations included mild platyspondyly with posterior scalloping, small flared ilia with shallow acetabulae, mesomelic shortening of long bones, marked delay of carpal bone maturation, and brachydactyly with hypoplastic middle and terminal phalanges bilaterally in both hands and feet. There was bilateral soft tissue syndactyly of the 2nd and 3rd interdigital spaces of the hands, the 2nd interdigital space of the feet, with hypoplastic nails. The clinical and radiographic manifestations in this case appear to represent a unique type of skeletal dysplasia. (orig.)

  12. New frontiers in the rubber hand experiment: when a robotic hand becomes one's own.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caspar, Emilie A; De Beir, Albert; Magalhaes De Saldanha Da Gama, Pedro A; Yernaux, Florence; Cleeremans, Axel; Vanderborght, Bram

    2015-09-01

    The rubber hand illusion is an experimental paradigm in which participants consider a fake hand to be part of their body. This paradigm has been used in many domains of psychology (i.e., research on pain, body ownership, agency) and is of clinical importance. The classic rubber hand paradigm nevertheless suffers from limitations, such as the absence of active motion or the reliance on approximate measurements, which makes strict experimental conditions difficult to obtain. Here, we report on the development of a novel technology-a robotic, user- and computer-controllable hand-that addresses many of the limitations associated with the classic rubber hand paradigm. Because participants can actively control the robotic hand, the device affords higher realism and authenticity. Our robotic hand has a comparatively low cost and opens up novel and innovative methods. In order to validate the robotic hand, we have carried out three experiments. The first two studies were based on previous research using the rubber hand, while the third was specific to the robotic hand. We measured both sense of agency and ownership. Overall, results show that participants experienced a "robotic hand illusion" in the baseline conditions. Furthermore, we also replicated previous results about agency and ownership.

  13. Reactor head shielding apparatus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schukei, G.E.; Roebelen, G.J.

    1992-01-01

    This patent describes a nuclear reactor head shielding apparatus for mounting on spaced reactor head lifting members radially inwardly of the head bolts. It comprises a frame of sections for mounting on the lifting members and extending around the top central area of the head, mounting means for so mounting the frame sections, including downwardly projecting members on the frame sections and complementary upwardly open recessed members for fastening to the lifting members for receiving the downwardly projecting members when the frame sections are lowered thereto with lead shielding supported thereby on means for hanging lead shielding on the frame to minimize radiation exposure or personnel working with the head bolts or in the vicinity thereof

  14. Head, Neck, and Oral Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... find out more. Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Close to 49,750 Americans will be diagnosed ... find out more. Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Close to 49,750 Americans will be diagnosed ...

  15. The head-mounted microscope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ting; Dailey, Seth H; Naze, Sawyer A; Jiang, Jack J

    2012-04-01

    Microsurgical equipment has greatly advanced since the inception of the microscope into the operating room. These advancements have allowed for superior surgical precision and better post-operative results. This study focuses on the use of the Leica HM500 head-mounted microscope for the operating phonosurgeon. The head-mounted microscope has an optical zoom from 2× to 9× and provides a working distance from 300 mm to 700 mm. The headpiece, with its articulated eyepieces, adjusts easily to head shape and circumference, and offers a focus function, which is either automatic or manually controlled. We performed five microlaryngoscopic operations utilizing the head-mounted microscope with successful results. By creating a more ergonomically favorable operating posture, a surgeon may be able to obtain greater precision and success in phonomicrosurgery. Phonomicrosurgery requires the precise manipulation of long-handled cantilevered instruments through the narrow bore of a laryngoscope. The head-mounted microscope shortens the working distance compared with a stand microscope, thereby increasing arm stability, which may improve surgical precision. Also, the head-mounted design permits flexibility in head position, enabling operator comfort, and delaying musculoskeletal fatigue. A head-mounted microscope decreases the working distance and provides better ergonomics in laryngoscopic microsurgery. These advances provide the potential to promote precision in phonomicrosurgery. Copyright © 2011 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

  16. Hand Hygiene: When and How

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hand Hygiene When and How August 2009 How to handrub? How to handwash? RUB HANDS FOR HAND HYGIENE! WASH HANDS WHEN VISIBLY SOILED Duration of the ... its use. When? YOUR 5 MOMENTS FOR HAND HYGIENE 1 BEFORETOUCHINGA PATIENT 2 B P ECFLOER R ...

  17. Heading Frequency Is More Strongly Related to Cognitive Performance Than Unintentional Head Impacts in Amateur Soccer Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Walter F; Kim, Namhee; Ifrah, Chloe; Sliwinski, Martin; Zimmerman, Molly E; Kim, Mimi; Lipton, Richard B; Lipton, Michael L

    2018-01-01

    Compared to heading, unintentional head impacts (e.g., elbow to head, head to head, head to goalpost) in soccer are more strongly related to risk of moderate to very severe Central Nervous System (CNS) symptoms. But, most head impacts associated with CNS symptoms that occur in soccer are mild and are more strongly related to heading. We tested for a differential relation of heading and unintentional head impacts with neuropsychological (NP) test performance. Active adult amateur soccer players were recruited in New York City and the surrounding areas for this repeated measures longitudinal study of individuals who were enrolled if they had 5+ years of soccer play and were active playing soccer 6+ months/year. All participants completed a baseline validated questionnaire ("HeadCount-2w"), reporting 2-week recall of soccer activity, heading and unintentional head impacts. In addition, participants also completed NP tests of verbal learning, verbal memory, psychomotor speed, attention, and working memory. Most participants also completed one or more identical follow-up protocols (i.e., HeadCount-2w and NP tests) at 3- to 6-month intervals over a 2-year period. Repeated measures General Estimating Equations (GEE) linear models were used to determine if variation in NP tests at each visit was related to variation in either heading or unintentional head impacts in the 2-week period before testing. 308 players (78% male) completed 741 HeadCount-2w. Mean (median) heading/2-weeks was 50 (17) for men and 26 (7) for women. Heading was significantly associated with poorer performance on psychomotor speed ( p  impacts were not significantly associated with any NP test. Results did not differ after excluding 22 HeadCount-2w with reported concussive or borderline concussive symptoms. Poorer NP test performance was consistently related to frequent heading during soccer practice and competition in the 2 weeks before testing. In contrast, unintentional head impacts incurred

  18. Driving While Interacting With Google Glass: Investigating the Combined Effect of Head-Up Display and Hands-Free Input on Driving Safety and Multitask Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tippey, Kathryn G; Sivaraj, Elayaraj; Ferris, Thomas K

    2017-06-01

    This study evaluated the individual and combined effects of voice (vs. manual) input and head-up (vs. head-down) display in a driving and device interaction task. Advances in wearable technology offer new possibilities for in-vehicle interaction but also present new challenges for managing driver attention and regulating device usage in vehicles. This research investigated how driving performance is affected by interface characteristics of devices used for concurrent secondary tasks. A positive impact on driving performance was expected when devices included voice-to-text functionality (reducing demand for visual and manual resources) and a head-up display (HUD) (supporting greater visibility of the driving environment). Driver behavior and performance was compared in a texting-while-driving task set during a driving simulation. The texting task was completed with and without voice-to-text using a smartphone and with voice-to-text using Google Glass's HUD. Driving task performance degraded with the addition of the secondary texting task. However, voice-to-text input supported relatively better performance in both driving and texting tasks compared to using manual entry. HUD functionality further improved driving performance compared to conditions using a smartphone and often was not significantly worse than performance without the texting task. This study suggests that despite the performance costs of texting-while-driving, voice input methods improve performance over manual entry, and head-up displays may further extend those performance benefits. This study can inform designers and potential users of wearable technologies as well as policymakers tasked with regulating the use of these technologies while driving.

  19. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) -- Head

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... News Physician Resources Professions Site Index A-Z Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - Head Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head uses a powerful ... the Head? What is MRI of the Head? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that ...

  20. Head, Neck, and Oral Cancer

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... find out more. Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Close to 49,750 Americans will be diagnosed ... find out more. Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Oral, Head and Neck Pathology Close to 49,750 Americans will be diagnosed ...

  1. Head-positioning scintillation camera and head holder therefor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kay, T.D.

    1976-01-01

    A holder for immobilizing the head of a patient undergoing a vertex brain scan by a Gamma Scintillation Camera is described. The holder has a uniquely designed shape capable of comfortably supporting the head. In addition, this holder can be both adjustably and removably utilized in combination with the scintillation camera so as to enable the brain scan operation to take place while the patient is in the seated position

  2. Effect of propranolol in head tremor: quantitative study following single-dose and sustained drug administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calzetti, S; Sasso, E; Negrotti, A; Baratti, M; Fava, R

    1992-12-01

    The effect of the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol has been investigated in nine patients suffering from isolated (six patients) or prominent (three patients) essential tremor of the head. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study the tremorolytic efficacy of propranolol has been assessed by a quantitative accelerometric method after a single oral dose (120 mg) and following 2 weeks of sustained treatment with two different dosage regimens of the drug (120 and 240 mg daily). As compared with placebo, a significant reduction in tremor magnitude was found following a single oral dose but not on sustained administration of the beta-blocker at either dosage. The results suggest that the efficacy of sustained propranolol on isolated or prominent essential head tremor is less predictable and satisfactory than expected on the basis of the single-dose response, as compared with hand tremor.

  3. Heading Frequency Is More Strongly Related to Cognitive Performance Than Unintentional Head Impacts in Amateur Soccer Players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walter F. Stewart

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available ObjectiveCompared to heading, unintentional head impacts (e.g., elbow to head, head to head, head to goalpost in soccer are more strongly related to risk of moderate to very severe Central Nervous System (CNS symptoms. But, most head impacts associated with CNS symptoms that occur in soccer are mild and are more strongly related to heading. We tested for a differential relation of heading and unintentional head impacts with neuropsychological (NP test performance.MethodActive adult amateur soccer players were recruited in New York City and the surrounding areas for this repeated measures longitudinal study of individuals who were enrolled if they had 5+ years of soccer play and were active playing soccer 6+ months/year. All participants completed a baseline validated questionnaire (“HeadCount-2w”, reporting 2-week recall of soccer activity, heading and unintentional head impacts. In addition, participants also completed NP tests of verbal learning, verbal memory, psychomotor speed, attention, and working memory. Most participants also completed one or more identical follow-up protocols (i.e., HeadCount-2w and NP tests at 3- to 6-month intervals over a 2-year period. Repeated measures General Estimating Equations (GEE linear models were used to determine if variation in NP tests at each visit was related to variation in either heading or unintentional head impacts in the 2-week period before testing.Results308 players (78% male completed 741 HeadCount-2w. Mean (median heading/2-weeks was 50 (17 for men and 26 (7 for women. Heading was significantly associated with poorer performance on psychomotor speed (p < 0.001 and attention (p = 0.02 tasks and was borderline significant with poorer performance on the working memory (p = 0.06 task. Unintentional head impacts were not significantly associated with any NP test. Results did not differ after excluding 22 HeadCount-2w with reported concussive or borderline concussive symptoms

  4. Radio frequency-induced temperature elevations in the human head considering small anatomical structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmid, G.; Ueberbacher, R.; Samaras, T.

    2007-01-01

    In order to enable a detailed numerical radio frequency (RF) dosimetry and the computations of RF-induced temperature elevations, high-resolution (0.1 mm) numerical models of the human eye, the inner ear organs and the pineal gland were developed and inserted into a commercially available head model. As radiation sources, generic models of handsets at 400, 900 and 1850 MHz operating in close proximity to the head were considered. The results, obtained by finite-difference time domain-based computations, showed a highly heterogeneous specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution and SAR-peaks inside the inner ear structures; however, the corresponding RF-induced temperature elevations were well below 0.1 deg. C, when considering typical output power values of hand-held devices. In case of frontal exposure, with the radiation sources ∼2.5 cm in front of the closed eye, maximum temperature elevations in the eye in the range of ∼0.2-0.6 deg. C were found for typical device output powers. A reduction in tissue perfusion mainly affected the maximum RF-induced temperature elevation of tissues deep inside the head. Similarly, worst-case considerations regarding pulsed irradiation affected temperature elevations in deep tissue significantly more than in superficial tissues. (authors)

  5. Study on forefoot by computerized tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Machida, Eiichi (Nihon Univ., Tokyo. School of Medicine)

    1983-10-01

    Computerized tomography (CT) was used to study coronary sections of the forefoot in both normal and abnormal human feet. CT images of the transverse arches at the metatarsal head, middle and base of the shaft were classified into five patterns. In the pattern most commonly found in normal feet, the second metatarsus appeared elevated above the other metatarsal bones at all points, and there was a gradual and even reduction in elevation from the second to the fifth metatarsal. In cases of hallux valgus, however, a variety of deformities were noted in the arc of the second to fifth metatarsals, particularly at the head. The rotation of the first metatarsus and shift of the sesamoids were measured from CT images at the head of the first metatarsus. In hallux valgus, both the rotation and the sesamoid shift appeared to have a wider angle than in the case of normal feet. In normal feet, the differences between the rotation of the first metatarsus and shift of the sesamoids were relatively small, whereas in hallux valgus there was a much greater degree of variation. Furthermore, while normal feet the variation in rotation of the first metatarsus and sesamoid shift both tended to be either great or small, in hallux valgus a large degree of sesamoid shift was sometimes found in combination with a small degree of rotation of the first metatarsus.

  6. Study on forefoot by computerized tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machida, Eiichi

    1983-01-01

    Computerized tomography (CT) was used to study coronary sections of the forefoot in both normal and abnormal human feet. CT images of the transverse arches at the metatarsal head, middle and base of the shaft were classified into five patterns. In the pattern most commonly found in normal feet, the second metatarsus appeared elevated above the other metatarsal bones at all points, and there was a gradual and even reduction in elevation from the second to the fifth metatarsal. In cases of hallux valgus, however, a variety of deformities were noted in the arc of the second to fifth metatarsals, particularly at the head. The rotation of the first metatarsus and shift of the sesamoids were measured from CT images at the head of the first metatarsus. In hallux valgus, both the rotation and the sesamoid shift appeared to have a wider angle than in the case of normal feet. In normal feet, the differences between the rotation of the first metatarsus and shift of the sesamoids were relatively small, whereas in hallux valgus there was a much greater degree of variation. Furthermore, while normal feet the variation in rotation of the first metatarsus and sesamoid shift both tended to be either great or small, in hallux valgus a large degree of sesamoid shift was sometimes found in combination with a small degree of rotatin of the first metatarsus. (author)

  7. Is the hand to speech what speech is to the hand?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mildner, V

    2000-01-01

    Interference between the manual and the verbal performance on two types of concurrent verbal-manual tasks was studied on a sample of 48 female right-handers. The more complex verbal task (storytelling) affected both hands significantly, the less complex (essentially phonemic) task affected only the right hand, with insignificant negative influence on the left-hand performance. No significant reciprocal effects of the motor task on verbalization were found.

  8. Hand hygiene in reducing transient flora on the hands of healthcare workers: an educational intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapil, R; Bhavsar, H K; Madan, M

    2015-01-01

    Hand hygiene has now been recognised as one of the most effective intervention to control the transmission of infections in a hospital and education is an important tool to ensure its implementation. In order to convince the users and as a part of education, it is important to generate evidence on the role of hand hygiene in reducing the bacterial flora on their hands. The present study was undertaken in a tertiary care hospital to demonstrate the presence of bacterial flora on the hands of healthcare workers (HCW) in different categories, to teach them proper hand hygiene technique using alcohol-based hand rub and determine the outcome for reduction of bacteria. A total sample size of 60 subjects including resident doctors, medical students, nurses and hospital attendants were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Each person was educated on the technique of hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub and hand impressions were cultured before and after hand hygiene. All the subjects were also given a questionnaire to assess their perception on hand hygiene. The WHO posters on proper hand hygiene were displayed in the appropriate areas of the hospital in addition, as an educational tool. Majority (42 out of 60) of the HCWs had bacterial count up to 100 colonies or more on both hands before the application of hand rub while working in the hospital. After use of alcohol hand rub with a proper hand hygiene technique, it was found that the percentage reduction was 95-99% among doctors and nurses, 70% among hospital attendants and 50% among sanitary attendants. Staphylococcus aureus was present on the hands of eight persons of which three were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The study demonstrates that transient bacteria are present on the hands of HCWs but majority could be removed by proper hand hygiene, which needs continuous education to be effective. It also shows that active education by demonstrating the proper hand hygiene technique

  9. Comparative clinical, roentgenological, scintigraphic and thermographic investigations in psoriasis arthropathica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loreck, D.; Lips, H.; Schulze, P.

    1988-01-01

    20 patients with psoriasis arthropatica and different duration of the articular symptoms were examined. Besides clinical investigation radiographs of both hands and feet (central and phalanges), scintigraphy of hands, feet and the sacroiliac joints as well as liquid crystal thermograhy of both hands were performed and the results are compared. The conclusions drawn characterize the diagnostic value of the methods. Scintigraphy as well as thermography are very good means for the early detection of psoriasis arthropathica. (author)

  10. Hand aperture patterns in prehension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bongers, Raoul M; Zaal, Frank T J M; Jeannerod, Marc

    2012-06-01

    Although variations in the standard prehensile pattern can be found in the literature, these alternative patterns have never been studied systematically. This was the goal of the current paper. Ten participants picked up objects with a pincer grip. Objects (3, 5, or 7cm in diameter) were placed at 30, 60, 90, or 120cm from the hands' starting location. Usually the hand was opened gradually to a maximum immediately followed by hand closing, called the standard hand opening pattern. In the alternative opening patterns the hand opening was bumpy, or the hand aperture stayed at a plateau before closing started. Two participants in particular delayed the start of grasping with respect to start of reaching, with the delay time increasing with object distance. For larger object distances and smaller object sizes, the bumpy and plateau hand opening patterns were used more often. We tentatively concluded that the alternative hand opening patterns extended the hand opening phase, to arrive at the appropriate hand aperture at the appropriate time to close the hand for grasping the object. Variations in hand opening patterns deserve attention because this might lead to new insights into the coordination of reaching and grasping. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Characteristics of antigravity spontaneous movements in preterm infants up to 3 months of corrected age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyagishima, Saori; Asaka, Tadayoshi; Kamatsuka, Kaori; Kozuka, Naoki; Kobayashi, Masaki; Igarashi, Risa; Hori, Tsukasa; Yoto, Yuko; Tsutsumi, Hiroyuki

    2016-08-01

    We investigated whether spontaneous antigravity limbs movements in very low birth weight preterm infants were insufficient compared to those in term infants. The relationship between the quality of general movements (GMs) and antigravity limbs movements was also examined. Preterm infants with very low birth weight without central nervous system disorders nor severe respiration disorders, and healthy term infants were recruited. The infants were set in a supine position. The distance between both hands and between both feet, and the height of both hands and feet from the floor were recorded at 1-3 corrected months for preterm infants, and at 1-3 months for term infants by a 3D motion capture system. The measurements were adjusted for body proportions. GMs in preterm and term infants were assessed similarly. Thirteen preterm and 15 term infants completed the study. In preterm infants, the distance between both hands and between both feet were longer, and the height of both hands and feet were lower than those in term infants in all measurements. In term infants, the height of both hands and feet increased as they developed, but no change was observed in preterm infants. In preterm infants with abnormal GMs, the distance between both hands was longer, and the height of both hands and feet was lower than that in those with normal GMs. There were no such differences between preterm infants with normal GMs and term infants with normal GMs. Antigravity limbs movements in preterm infants within the first 3 month of corrected age were insufficient compared with those in term infants. Furthermore, no improvement with development was observed in preterm infants. In addition, preterm infants with abnormal GMs showed worse antigravity limbs movements than preterm and term infants with normal GMs. The preterm infants with normal GMs could behave similar to the full term infants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Mütoloogilisest mõtlemisest kahe-jalaga-maa-peal-seletustes. On mythological thinking in the representation of the concept two-feet-on-the-ground

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mari-Liis Madisson

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on the simultaneous co-existence of mythological and descriptive thinking in common sense discourse. Specifically, it concentrates on the synthesis of types of thought in those understandings that are characterized by the well-known expression having (one’s two-feet-on-the-ground. In order to provide concreteness for the meaning of the expression, I investigated Estonian cyberspace as one of the most prevalent arenas of common sense discourse, and it appeared that two-feet-on-the-ground is used to refer to rationality, sanity and practicality as opposed to, for example, dreamers, bohemians and people who talk about karma or believe in UFOs. People who use having (one’s two-feet-on-the-ground as a key element in their self-description assume that the way they understand the world is more rational and closer to reality than that of bohemians and spiritualists. Behind the above-mentioned two notions, which in themselves are not easy to define, there is a gleam of a more general tendency of Western thought. This is the conclusion reached by Rein Vihalemm, who has argued that what is accepted as truthful knowledge on the level of common sense is usually understood as being synonymous with scientific knowledge; in turn, the notion of the scientific is usually connected with inductive-empirical science. This article argues that the understandings that are posited as having two-feet-on-the-ground are mixed with categories that cannot be considered as belonging to inductive-empirical logic. The question of values, metaphysics and teleology is always (at least implicitly present in those representations. That idea seems to be natural in academic discourse but is not as self-evident on the common-sense level. Those who describe themselves as standing with their two-feet-on-the-ground usually think of metaphysics and teleology as being subjective, useless and distant. In describing the specificity of the logic of two-feet

  13. Twice-a-day fractionated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kita, Midori [Tokyo Metropolitan Hospital of Fuchu (Japan)

    1996-12-01

    To improve the local control rate in radiotherapy for hand and neck cancer, several prospected twice-a-day fractionated radiotherapy (TDRF) were conducted in Tokyo Women`s Medical College. T2 glottic cancer was irradiated with 1.5 Gy/fraction, 2 fraction/day to a total dose of 72 Gy. Five cumulative local control rate was 88.2%. Locally advanced head and neck cancer was treated with TDFR and systemic chemotherapy. Response rate was 100%. Palliative radiotherapy with TDFR was done to relive from the pain and other symptoms for advanced and recurrent cases. Nine cases of 11 were relieved from the symptoms. These results was suggested the TDFR was useful to improve the local control rate. (author)

  14. Twice-a-day fractionated radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kita, Midori

    1996-01-01

    To improve the local control rate in radiotherapy for hand and neck cancer, several prospected twice-a-day fractionated radiotherapy (TDRF) were conducted in Tokyo Women's Medical College. T2 glottic cancer was irradiated with 1.5 Gy/fraction, 2 fraction/day to a total dose of 72 Gy. Five cumulative local control rate was 88.2%. Locally advanced head and neck cancer was treated with TDFR and systemic chemotherapy. Response rate was 100%. Palliative radiotherapy with TDFR was done to relive from the pain and other symptoms for advanced and recurrent cases. Nine cases of 11 were relieved from the symptoms. These results was suggested the TDFR was useful to improve the local control rate. (author)

  15. Regional cerebral blood flow during rest and skilled hand movements by xenon-133 inhalation and emission computerized tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lauritzen, M.; Henriksen, L.; Lassen, N.A.

    1981-01-01

    Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) was studied in 16 normal adult volunteers during rest and in 10 the study was repeated during skilled hand movements. A fast-rotating (''dynamic''), single-photon emission computerized tomograph (ECT) with four detector heads was used. Xenon-133 was inhaled over a 1-min period at a concentration of 10 mCi/L. The arrival and washout of the radioisotope was recorded during four 1-min periods. Two slices, 2 cm thick, 7 and 12 cm above the orbitomeatal line were obtained in every study. CBF averaged 60 ml/100 g/min (SD +/- 11) in the lower slice and 51 ml/100 g/min (SD +/- 13) in the upper slice. A symmetric pattern comparing right to left sides was found in both slices. Finger tapping and writing with the right hand increased CBF in specific areas of the upper slice: in the contralateral hand area by 35 +/- 15% (p less than 0.025), and in the supplementary motor area on both sides by 34 +/- 15%

  16. Unimanual SNARC Effect: Hand Matters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianna eRiello

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available A structural representation of the hand embedding information about the identity and relative position of fingers is necessary to counting routines. It may also support associations between numbers and allocentric spatial codes that predictably interact with other known numerical spatial representations, such as the mental number line. In this study, 48 Western participants whose typical counting routine proceeded from thumb-to-little on both hands performed magnitude and parity binary judgments. Response keys were pressed either with the right index and middle fingers or with the left index and middle fingers in separate blocks. 24 participants responded with either hands in prone posture (i.e. palm down and 24 participants responded with either hands in supine (i.e. palm up posture. When hands were in prone posture, the counting direction of the left hand conflicted with the direction of the left-right mental number line, whereas the counting direction of the right hand was consistent with it. When hands were in supine posture, the opposite was true. If systematic associations existed between relative number magnitude and an allocentric spatial representation of the finger series within each hand, as predicted on the basis of counting habits, interactions would be expected between hand posture and a unimanual version of the Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC effect. Data revealed that with hands in prone posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the right hand, and with hands in supine posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the left hand. We propose that a posture-invariant body structural representation of the finger series provides a relevant frame of reference, a within-hand directional vector, that is associated to simple number processing. Such frame of reference can significantly interact with stimulus-response correspondence effects that have been attributed to the mapping of numbers on a mental

  17. Trajectory Correction and Locomotion Analysis of a Hexapod Walking Robot with Semi-Round Rigid Feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yaguang; Jin, Bo; Wu, Yongsheng; Guo, Tong; Zhao, Xiangmo

    2016-01-01

    Aimed at solving the misplaced body trajectory problem caused by the rolling of semi-round rigid feet when a robot is walking, a legged kinematic trajectory correction methodology based on the Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) is proposed. The concept of ideal foothold is put forward for the three-dimensional kinematic model modification of a robot leg, and the deviation value between the ideal foothold and real foothold is analyzed. The forward/inverse kinematic solutions between the ideal foothold and joint angular vectors are formulated and the problem of direct/inverse kinematic nonlinear mapping is solved by using the LS-SVM. Compared with the previous approximation method, this correction methodology has better accuracy and faster calculation speed with regards to inverse kinematics solutions. Experiments on a leg platform and a hexapod walking robot are conducted with multi-sensors for the analysis of foot tip trajectory, base joint vibration, contact force impact, direction deviation, and power consumption, respectively. The comparative analysis shows that the trajectory correction methodology can effectively correct the joint trajectory, thus eliminating the contact force influence of semi-round rigid feet, significantly improving the locomotion of the walking robot and reducing the total power consumption of the system. PMID:27589766

  18. Difference between the potentiometric surfaces of the Lower Patapsco aquifer in southern Maryland, September 1990 and September 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtin, Stephen E.; Andreasen, David C.; Staley, Andrew W.

    2010-01-01

    This report presents a map showing the change in the potentiometric surface of the lower Patapsco aquifer in the Patapsco Formation of Early Cretaceous age in Southern Maryland between September 1990 and September 2009. The map, based on water level differences obtained from 45 wells, shows that the change of the potentiometric surface during the 19-year period ranged from increases of 25 feet at Indian Head and 4 feet near the outcrop area in Glen Burnie, to declines of 35 feet at Arnold, 56 feet at Severndale, 28 feet at Crofton Meadows, 73 feet at Waldorf, 79 feet near La Plata, 35 feet at the Morgantown power plant, and 32 feet at Swan Point. The map also shows well yield in gallons per day for 2008 at wells or well fields.

  19. Comparative study of presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution versus traditional presurgical hand hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López Martín, M Beatriz; Erice Calvo-Sotelo, Alejo

    To compare presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution following the WHO protocol with traditional presurgical hand hygiene. Cultures of the hands of surgeons and surgical nurses were performed before and after presurgical hand hygiene and after removing gloves at the end of surgery. Cultures were done in 2different days: the first day after traditional presurgical hand hygiene, and the second day after presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution following the WHO protocol. The duration of the traditional hand hygiene was measured and compared with the duration (3min) of the WHO protocol. The cost of the products used in the traditional technique was compared with the cost of the hydroalcoholic solution used. The variability of the traditional technique was determined by observation. Following presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution, colony-forming units (CFU) were detected in 5 (7.3%) subjects, whereas after traditional presurgical hand hygiene CFU were detected in 14 subjects (20.5%) (p < 0.05). After glove removal, the numbers of CFU were similar. The time employed in hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution (3min) was inferior to the time employed in the traditional technique (p < 0.05), its cost was less than half, and there was no variability. Compared with other techniques, presurgical hand hygiene with hydroalcoholic solution significantly decreases CFU, has similar latency time, a lower cost, and saves time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  20. Wash Your Hands

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... hand sanitizers might not remove harmful chemicals like pesticides and heavy metals from hands. Be cautious when ... Health Promotion Materials Fact Sheets Podcasts Posters Stickers Videos Web Features Training & Education Our Partners Publications, Data & ...

  1. Robotically enhanced rubber hand illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arata, Jumpei; Hattori, Masashi; Ichikawa, Shohei; Sakaguchi, Masamichi

    2014-01-01

    The rubber hand illusion is a well-known multisensory illusion. In brief, watching a rubber hand being stroked by a paintbrush while one's own unseen hand is synchronously stroked causes the rubber hand to be attributed to one's own body and to "feel like it's my hand." The rubber hand illusion is thought to be triggered by the synchronized tactile stimulation of both the subject's hand and the fake hand. To extend the conventional rubber hand illusion, we introduce robotic technology in the form of a master-slave telemanipulator. The developed one degree-of-freedom master-slave system consists of an exoskeleton master equipped with an optical encoder that is worn on the subject's index finger and a motor-actuated index finger on the rubber hand, which allows the subject to perform unilateral telemanipulation. The moving rubber hand illusion has been studied by several researchers in the past with mechanically connected rigs between the subject's body and the fake limb. The robotic instruments let us investigate the moving rubber hand illusion with less constraints, thus behaving closer to the classic rubber hand illusion. In addition, the temporal delay between the body and the fake limb can be precisely manipulated. The experimental results revealed that the robotic instruments significantly enhance the rubber hand illusion. The time delay is significantly correlated with the effect of the multisensory illusion, and the effect significantly decreased at time delays over 100 ms. These findings can potentially contribute to the investigations of neural mechanisms in the field of neuroscience and of master-slave systems in the field of robotics.

  2. Coordination of hand shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesyna, Colin; Pundi, Krishna; Flanders, Martha

    2011-03-09

    The neural control of hand movement involves coordination of the sensory, motor, and memory systems. Recent studies have documented the motor coordinates for hand shape, but less is known about the corresponding patterns of somatosensory activity. To initiate this line of investigation, the present study characterized the sense of hand shape by evaluating the influence of differences in the amount of grasping or twisting force, and differences in forearm orientation. Human subjects were asked to use the left hand to report the perceived shape of the right hand. In the first experiment, six commonly grasped items were arranged on the table in front of the subject: bottle, doorknob, egg, notebook, carton, and pan. With eyes closed, subjects used the right hand to lightly touch, forcefully support, or imagine holding each object, while 15 joint angles were measured in each hand with a pair of wired gloves. The forces introduced by supporting or twisting did not influence the perceptual report of hand shape, but for most objects, the report was distorted in a consistent manner by differences in forearm orientation. Subjects appeared to adjust the intrinsic joint angles of the left hand, as well as the left wrist posture, so as to maintain the imagined object in its proper spatial orientation. In a second experiment, this result was largely replicated with unfamiliar objects. Thus, somatosensory and motor information appear to be coordinated in an object-based, spatial-coordinate system, sensitive to orientation relative to gravitational forces, but invariant to grasp forcefulness.

  3. GPK heading machine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krmasek, J.; Novosad, K.

    1981-01-01

    This article evaluates performance tests of the Soviet made GPK heading machine carried out in 4 coal mines in Czechoslovakia (Ostrava-Karvina region and Kladno mines). GPK works in coal seams and rocks with compression strength of 40 to 50 MPa. Dimensions of the tunnel are height 1.8 to 3.8 m and width 2.6 to 4.7 m, tunnel gradient plus to minus 10 degrees. GPK weighs 16 t, its conical shaped cutting head equipped with RKS-1 cutting tools is driven by an electric motor with 55 kW capacity. Undercarriage of the GPK, gathering-arm loader, hydraulic system, electric system and dust supression system (water spraying or pneumatic section) are characterized. Specifications of GPK heading machines are compared with PK-3r and F8 heading machines. Reliability, number of failures, dust level, noise, productivity depending on compression strength of rocks, heading rate in coal and in rocks, energy consumption, performance in inclined tunnels, and cutting tool wear are evaluated. Tests show that GPK can be used to drive tunnels in coal with rock constituting up to 50% of the tunnel crosscut, as long as rock compression strength does not exceed 50 MPa. In rocks characterized by higher compression strength cutting tool wear sharply increases. GPK is characterized by higher productivity than that of the PK-3r heading machine. Among the weak points of the GPK are: unsatisfactory reliability and excessive wear of its elements. (4 refs.) (In Czech)

  4. Inexpensive and Time-Efficient Hand Hygiene Interventions Increase Elementary School Children's Hand Hygiene Rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snow, Michelle; White, George L.; Kim, Han S.

    2008-01-01

    Routine hand hygiene has been cited by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a cost-effective and important hygiene measure in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Several studies have explored children's hand hygiene habits, effects of scheduled hand hygiene, hand hygiene environmental…

  5. Representation of heading direction in far and near head space

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poljac, E.; Berg, A.V. van den

    2003-01-01

    Manipulation of objects around the head requires an accurate and stable internal representation of their locations in space, also during movements such as that of the eye or head. For far space, the representation of visual stimuli for goal-directed arm movements relies on retinal updating, if eye

  6. Clean Hands Count

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... intended to promote or encourage adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations. It is a component of the Clean ... also aims to address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to play a role in ...

  7. Reactor vessel head permanent shield

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hankinson, M.F.; Leduc, R.J.; Richard, J.W.; Malandra, L.J.

    1989-01-01

    A nuclear reactor is described comprising: a nuclear reactor pressure vessel closure head; control rod drive mechanisms (CRDMs) disposed within the closure head so as to project vertically above the closure head; cooling air baffle means surrounding the control rod drive mechanisms for defining cooling air paths relative to the control rod drive mechanisms; means defined within the periphery of the closure head for accommodating fastening means for securing the closure head to its associated pressure vessel; lifting lugs fixedly secured to the closure head for facilitating lifting and lowering movements of the closure head relative to the pressure vessel; lift rods respectively operatively associated with the plurality of lifting lugs for transmitting load forces, developed during the lifting and lowering movements of the closure head, to the lifting lugs; upstanding radiation shield means interposed between the cooling air baffle means and the periphery of the enclosure head of shielding maintenance personnel operatively working upon the closure head fastening means from the effects of radiation which may emanate from the control rod drive mechanisms and the cooling air baffle means; and connecting systems respectively associated with each one of the lifting lugs and each one of the lifting rods for connecting each one of the lifting rods to a respective one of each one of the lifting lugs, and for simultaneously connecting a lower end portion of the upstanding radiation shield means to each one of the respective lifting lugs

  8. Effects of aluminum hinged shoes on the structure of contracted feet in Thoroughbred yearlings

    OpenAIRE

    TANAKA, Kousuke; HIRAGA, Atsushi; TAKAHASHI, Toshiyuki; KUWANO, Atsutoshi; MORRISON, Scott Edward

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT We applied aluminum hinged shoes (AHSs) to the club foot-associated contracted feet of 11 Thoroughbred yearlings to examine the effects of the shoes on the shape of the hoof and third phalanx (P III). After 3 months of AHS use, the size of the affected hooves increased significantly, reaching the approximate size of the healthy contralateral hooves with respect to the maximum lateral width of the foot, the mean ratio of the bearing border width to the coronary band width, and the mea...

  9. Programming of left hand exploits task set but that of right hand depends on recent history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Rixin; Zhu, Hong

    2017-07-01

    There are many differences between the left hand and the right hand. But it is not clear if there is a difference in programming between left hand and right hand when the hands perform the same movement. In current study, we carried out two experiments to investigate whether the programming of two hands was equivalent or they exploited different strategies. In the first experiment, participants were required to use one hand to grasp an object with visual feedback or to point to the center of one object without visual feedback on alternate trials, or to grasp an object without visual feedback and to point the center of one object with visual feedback on alternating trials. They then performed the tasks with the other hand. The result was that previous pointing task affected current grasping when it was performed by the left hand, but not the right hand. In experiment 2, we studied if the programming of the left (or right) hand would be affected by the pointing task performed on the previous trial not only by the same hand, but also by the right (or left) hand. Participants pointed and grasped the objects alternately with two hands. The result was similar with Experiment 1, i.e., left-hand grasping was affected by right-hand pointing, whereas right-hand grasping was immune from the interference from left hand. Taken together, the results suggest that when open- and closed-loop trials are interleaved, motor programming of grasping with the right hand was affected by the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial only if it was a grasping trial, suggesting that the trial-to-trial transfer depends on sensorimotor memory and not on task set. In contrast, motor programming of grasping with the left hand can use information about the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial to specify the parameters of the movement, even when the type of movement that occurred was quite different (i.e., pointing) and was performed with the right hand. This suggests that

  10. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... today; no cure tomorrow - Duration: 3:10. World Health Organization 75,362 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 views 5:46 Hand Washing Technique - ...

  11. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... today; no cure tomorrow - Duration: 3:10. World Health Organization 74,478 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 411,292 views 5:46 Hand Washing Technique - ...

  12. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... to promote or encourage adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations. It is a component of the Clean ... aims to address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to play a role in ...

  13. A dermatoglyphics of foot in the prognosis of sporting gift: differential distinctions of dermatoglyphics of foot for sportsmen and people which do not go in for sports

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serhiyenko L.P.

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The features of forming of dermatoglyphics of feet are compared for sportsmen and people, which do not go in for sports. In researches took part 209 men and 198 women in age 17-19 years, which did not go in for systematic sports. The quantitative and high-quality indexes of dermatoglyphics of fingers and soles of foot were determined on a method T.D. Gladkova. It is certain that as genetic markers of propensity to the sporting gift there can be more difficult dermatoglyphics patterns (W on the first finger and soles of feet and more considerable indexes of comb-shaped count on the first tiptoes. A dermatoglyphics of fingers and hands of hands is more informing in a prognosis high motive gift, than dermatoglyphics of feet. It can be predefined that is analysed greater amount of indexes of dermatoglyphics of hands as compared to feet. Probability of genetic prognosis is more high for girls, what for boys.

  14. iHand: an interactive bare-hand-based augmented reality interface on commercial mobile phones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Junyeong; Park, Jungsik; Park, Hanhoon; Park, Jong-Il

    2013-02-01

    The performance of mobile phones has rapidly improved, and they are emerging as a powerful platform. In many vision-based applications, human hands play a key role in natural interaction. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the interaction between human hands and the mobile phone. Thus, we propose a vision- and hand gesture-based interface in which the user holds a mobile phone in one hand but sees the other hand's palm through a built-in camera. The virtual contents are faithfully rendered on the user's palm through palm pose estimation, and reaction with hand and finger movements is achieved that is recognized by hand shape recognition. Since the proposed interface is based on hand gestures familiar to humans and does not require any additional sensors or markers, the user can freely interact with virtual contents anytime and anywhere without any training. We demonstrate that the proposed interface works at over 15 fps on a commercial mobile phone with a 1.2-GHz dual core processor and 1 GB RAM.

  15. A profitable use of by-products of the poultry slaughter. The tanning of hen’s feet skins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Iade Vergara

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this development is to add value to one of the by-products of the poultry slaughtery, the chicken’s feet. The process began with the skinning of the chicken’s feet, which underwent a tanning process to obtain a leather characterised for its similarity with exotic leathers such as the reptile ones. To facilitate its possible production by artisanal means we designed a more environmental-friendly process, eliminating the use of sodium sulfide in the stages corresponding to dehairing and liming, followed by a chromium-free tanning based on a combination of vegetable tannins and synthetic retanning agents. Confirmation of the tanning of the skins was performed by measuring the shrinkage temperature of leathers, obtaining a value of 80 °C, higher than those of the raw hides. Physical properties were evaluated to characterize the product, obtaining tensile strength values of 0,65 kg/mm2 and a tear resistance of 2,10 kg/mm.

  16. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene - Duration: 1:53. Salem Health 13,972 views 1:53 Hand Hygiene ... Mode: Off History Help Loading... Loading... Loading... About Press Copyright Creators Advertise Developers +YouTube Terms Privacy Policy & ...

  17. Axis of eye rotation changes with head-pitch orientation during head impulses about earth-vertical.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Migliaccio, Americo A; Schubert, Michael C; Clendaniel, Richard A; Carey, John P; Della Santina, Charles C; Minor, Lloyd B; Zee, David S

    2006-06-01

    The goal of this study was to assess how the axis of head rotation, Listing's law, and eye position influence the axis of eye rotation during brief, rapid head rotations. We specifically asked how the axis of eye rotation during the initial angular vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) changed when the pitch orientation of the head relative to Earth-vertical was varied, but the initial position of the eye in the orbit and the orientation of Listing's plane with respect to the head were fixed. We measured three-dimensional eye and head rotation axes in eight normal humans using the search coil technique during head-and-trunk (whole-body) and head-on-trunk (head-only) "impulses" about an Earth-vertical axis. The head was initially oriented at one of five pitch angles (30 degrees nose down, 15 degrees nose down, 0 degrees, 15 degrees nose up, 30 degrees nose up). The fixation target was always aligned with the nasooccipital axis. Whole-body impulses were passive, unpredictable, manual, rotations with peak-amplitude of approximately 20 degrees , peak-velocity of approximately 80 degrees /s, and peak-acceleration of approximately 1000 degrees /s2. Head-only impulses were also passive, unpredictable, manual, rotations with peak-amplitude of approximately 20 degrees , peak-velocity of approximately 150 degrees /s, and peak-acceleration of approximately 3000 degrees /s2. During whole-body impulses, the axis of eye rotation tilted in the same direction, and by an amount proportional (0.51 +/- 0.09), to the starting pitch head orientation (P rotation could be predicted from vectorial summation of the gains (eye velocity/head velocity) obtained for rotations about the pure yaw and roll head axes. Thus, even when the orientation of Listing's plane and eye position in the orbit are fixed, the axis of eye rotation during the VOR reflects a compromise between the requirements of Listing's law and a perfectly compensatory VOR.

  18. Unimanual SNARC Effect: Hand Matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riello, Marianna; Rusconi, Elena

    2011-01-01

    A structural representation of the hand embedding information about the identity and relative position of fingers is necessary to counting routines. It may also support associations between numbers and allocentric spatial codes that predictably interact with other known numerical spatial representations, such as the mental number line (MNL). In this study, 48 Western participants whose typical counting routine proceeded from thumb-to-little on both hands performed magnitude and parity binary judgments. Response keys were pressed either with the right index and middle fingers or with the left index and middle fingers in separate blocks. 24 participants responded with either hands in prone posture (i.e., palm down) and 24 participants responded with either hands in supine (i.e., palm up) posture. When hands were in prone posture, the counting direction of the left hand conflicted with the direction of the left-right MNL, whereas the counting direction of the right hand was consistent with it. When hands were in supine posture, the opposite was true. If systematic associations existed between relative number magnitude and an allocentric spatial representation of the finger series within each hand, as predicted on the basis of counting habits, interactions would be expected between hand posture and a unimanual version of the spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect. Data revealed that with hands in prone posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the right hand, and with hands in supine posture a unimanual SNARC effect was present for the left hand. We propose that a posture-invariant body structural representation of the finger series provides a relevant frame of reference, a within-hand directional vector, that is associated to simple number processing. Such frame of reference can significantly interact with stimulus-response correspondence effects, like the SNARC, that have been typically attributed to the mapping of numbers on a left

  19. A person-oriented approach to hand hygiene behaviour: Emotional empathy fosters hand hygiene practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sassenrath, Claudia; Diefenbacher, Svenja; Siegel, André; Keller, Johannes

    2016-01-01

    Adopting a social-psychological approach, this research examines whether emotional empathy, an affective reaction regarding another's well-being, fosters hand hygiene as this affects other's health-related well-being extensively. Three studies tested this notion: (a) a cross-sectional study involving a sample of health care workers at a German hospital, (b) an experiment testing the causal effect of empathy on hand hygiene behaviour and (c) an 11-week prospective study testing whether an empathy induction affected disinfectant usage frequency in two different wards of a hospital. Self-reported hand hygiene behaviour based on day reconstruction method was measured in Study 1, actual hand sanitation behaviour was observed in Study 2 and disinfectant usage frequency in two different hospital wards was assessed in Study 3. Study 1 reveals an association of empathy with hand hygiene cross-sectionally, Study 2 documents the causal effect of empathy on increased hand sanitation. Study 3 shows an empathy induction increases hand sanitiser usage in the hospital. Increasing emotional empathy promotes hand hygiene behaviour, also in hospitals. Besides providing new impulses for the design of effective interventions, these findings bear theoretical significance as they document the explanatory power of empathy regarding a distal explanandum (hand hygiene).

  20. Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance is Associated with the Change of Perception toward Hand Hygiene among Medical Personnel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Se Jeong; Chung, Moon Joo; Lee, Ju Hee; Kang, Hyun Joo; Lee, Jeong-a; Kim, Yong Kyun

    2014-01-01

    Background Hand hygiene compliance has improved significantly through hand hygiene promotion programs that have included poster campaign, monitoring and performance feedback, and education with special attentions to perceived subjective norms. We investigated factors associated with improved hand hygiene compliance, focusing on whether the improvement of hand hygiene compliance is associated with changed perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. Materials and Methods Hand hygiene compliance and perceptions toward hand hygiene among medical personnel were compared between the second quarter of 2009 (before the start of a hand hygiene promotion program) and the second quarter of 2012. We assessed adherence to hand hygiene among medical personnel quarterly according to the WHO recommended method for direct observation. Also, we used a modified self-report questionnaire to collect perception data. Results Hand hygiene compliance among physicians and nurses improved significantly from 19.0% in 2009 to 74.5% in 2012 (P Hand hygiene compliance among the medical personnel continued to improve, with a slight decline in 2013. Perceptions toward hand hygiene improved significantly between 2009 and 2012. Specifically, improvements were evident in intention to adhere to hand hygiene, knowledge about hand hygiene methods, knowledge about hand hygiene indications including care of a dirty and a clean body site on the same patient, perceived behavioral and subjective norms, positive attitude toward hand hygiene promotion campaign, perception of difficulty in adhering to hand hygiene, and motivation to improve adherence to hand hygiene. Conclusions The examined hand hygiene promotion program resulted in improved hand hygiene compliance and perception toward hand hygiene among medical personnel. The improved perception increased hand hygiene compliance. Especially, the perception of being a role model for other colleagues is very important to improve hand hygiene

  1. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... intended to promote or encourage adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations. It is a component of the Clean ... also aims to address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene and empower patients to play a role in ...

  2. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,760 ... 536,963 views 1:46 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,574 views ...

  3. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,097 ... 089,212 views 4:50 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 26,032 views ...

  4. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 029 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 ... 081,511 views 4:50 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,194 views ...

  5. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,097 ... 086,746 views 4:50 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,802 views ...

  6. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 453 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,702 ... 28,656 views 3:40 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 26,480 views ...

  7. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 024 views 2:58 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 ... 2,805 views 3:13 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,574 views ...

  8. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 362 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 412,404 ... 219,427 views 1:27 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 25,194 views ...

  9. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 585 views 3:10 Wash 'Em - Hand Hygiene Music Video - Duration: 5:46. Jefferson Health 413,097 ... 28,656 views 3:40 Hand hygiene FULL music video - Duration: 2:33. AlfredHealthTV 26,032 views ...

  10. Arthritis of the hand - Rheumatoid

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... All Topics A-Z Videos Infographics Symptom Picker Anatomy Bones Joints Muscles Nerves Vessels Tendons About Hand Surgery What is a Hand Surgeon? What is a Hand Therapist? Media Find a Hand Surgeon Home Anatomy Rheumatoid Arthritis Email to a friend * required fields ...

  11. Recalibration of a ground-water flow model of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in Southeastern Arkansas, 1918, with simulations of hydraulic heads caused by projected ground-water withdrawals through 2049

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanton, Gregory P.; Clark, Brian R.

    2003-01-01

    The Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer, encompassing parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee supplies an average of 5 billion gallons of water per day. However, withdrawals from the aquifer in recent years have caused considerable drawdown in the hydraulic heads in southeastern Arkansas and other areas. The effects of current ground-water withdrawals and potential future withdrawals on water availability are major concerns of water managers and users as well as the general public. A full understanding of the behavior of the aquifer under various water-use scenarios is critical for the development of viable water-management and alternative source plans. To address these concerns, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg District, and the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission developed and calibrated a ground-water flow model for the Mississippi River valley alluvial aquifer in southeastern Arkansas to simulate hydraulic heads caused by projected ground-water withdrawals. A previously published ground-water flow model for the alluvial aquifer in southeastern Arkansas was updated and recalibrated to reflect more current pumping stresses with additional stress periods added to bring the model forward from 1982 to 1998. The updated model was developed and calibrated with MODFLOW-2000 finite difference numerical modeling and parameter estimation software. The model was calibrated using hydraulic-head data collected during 1972 and 1982 and hydraulic-head measurements made during spring (February to April) of 1992 and 1998. The residuals for 1992 and 1998 have a mean absolute value of 4.74 and 5.45 feet, respectively, and a root mean square error of 5.9 and 6.72 feet, respectively. The effects of projected ground-water withdrawals were simulated through 2049 in three predictive scenarios by adding five additional stress periods of 10 years each. In the three scenarios

  12. 'Focus on feet'--the effects of systemic lupus erythematosus: a narrative review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, A E; Crofts, G; Teh, L S

    2013-09-01

    The manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) vary between individuals, from the severe and life-threatening renal and central nervous system involvement, to the involvement of skin, musculoskeletal and vascular system, and the complications of infection influencing the quality of life. However, as specific manifestations affecting the lower limb are perceived as receiving little focus, the purpose of this narrative literature review is to identify the specific factors associated with SLE that may have implications for lower limb and foot morbidity. A structured search of databases was conducted. The inclusion was restricted to publications in the English language, those that specifically investigate the feet as affected with SLE. No restriction on year of publication was imposed to reduce publication bias and to capture as many publication in relation to feet. Eleven papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were seven additional papers that made observations related to the articular or vascular complications of the feet. This narrative review provides some information on how SLE affects the lower limb and foot in relation to the musculoskeletal and vascular systems. However, there is a lack of literature that specifically focuses on all the manifestations of SLE and the complications associated with its management. There are indications that SLE affects lower limb and foot morbidity but the scale of these problems is unclear and this is partly because of the absence of research and the lack of a 'gold standard' framework for the assessment of the lower limb and foot. In addition to clinical foot health assessment, ultrasonography may be a useful alternative to plain film radiography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in capturing the extent of articular and extra-articular manifestations. Further, the Ankle Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI) may be useful in identifying those with atherosclerosis and ischaemia. There are indications that SLE affects

  13. An electromyographic study of the effect of hand grip sizes on forearm muscle activity and golf performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorbie, Graeme G; Hunter, Henry H; Grace, Fergal M; Gu, Yaodong; Baker, Julien S; Ugbolue, Ukadike Chris

    2016-01-01

    The study describes the differences in surface electromyography (EMG) activity of two forearm muscles in the lead and trail arm at specific phases of the golf swing using a 7-iron with three different grip sizes among amateur and professional golfers. Fifteen right-handed male golfers performed five golf swings using golf clubs with three different grip sizes. Surface EMG was used to measure muscle activity of the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) on both forearms. There were no significant differences in forearm muscle activity when using the three golf grips within the group of 15 golfers (p > 0.05). When using the undersize grip, club head speed significantly increased (p = 0.044). During the backswing and downswing phases, amateurs produced significantly greater forearm muscle activity with all three grip sizes (p < 0.05). In conclusion, forearm muscle activity is not affected by grip sizes. However, club head speed increases when using undersize grips.

  14. Case report: 16-Year-old male with autistic disorder with preoccupation with female feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Early, Maureen C; Erickson, Craig A; Wink, Logan K; McDougle, Christopher J; Scott, Eric L

    2012-06-01

    This paper highlights clinical challenges faced when diagnosing and then treating an individual presenting to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic because of unwelcome comments he made to female peers about their feet. Novel use of exposure therapy helped him effectively decrease his comments from 1 to 2 times per month to once every 6 months. Conceptualizing this case as the individual's failed attempts toward relationships with females instead of sexual harassment led to diminution of problematic behavior. Implications for diagnosis and treatment of individuals with Autistic Disorder displaying problematic behaviors are presented.

  15. Head trauma and CT with special reference to diagnosis of complications of head trauma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samejima, Kanji; Yoshii, Nobuo; Tobari, Chitose

    1979-01-01

    Cases in which CT was useful for the diagnosis of complications of head trauma were reported. First, complications of head trauma were given an outline, and then, cases of protrusion of the brain, traumatic pneumocephalus, and cerebro-vascular disorders caused by head trauma were mentioned. (Tsunoda, M.)

  16. Exploding head syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpless, Brian A

    2014-12-01

    Exploding head syndrome is characterized by the perception of abrupt, loud noises when going to sleep or waking up. They are usually painless, but associated with fear and distress. In spite of the fact that its characteristic symptomatology was first described approximately 150 y ago, exploding head syndrome has received relatively little empirical and clinical attention. Therefore, a comprehensive review of the scientific literature using Medline, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and PubMed was undertaken. After first discussing the history, prevalence, and associated features, the available polysomnography data and five main etiological theories for exploding head syndrome are summarized. None of these theories has yet reached dominance in the field. Next, the various methods used to assess and treat exploding head syndrome are discussed, as well as the limited outcome data. Finally, recommendations for future measure construction, treatment options, and differential diagnosis are provided. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 49 CFR 228.105 - Additional requirements; construction within one-third mile (1,760 feet) (536 meters) of certain...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... employee safety from toxic gases or explosions such as employee training and evacuation plans, availability... TRANSPORTATION HOURS OF SERVICE OF RAILROAD EMPLOYEES Construction of Employee Sleeping Quarters § 228.105... within 3 miles (15,840 feet) (4,827 meters) of the reporting point for the employees who are to be housed...

  18. Mind the hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davidsen, Jacob; Christiansen, Ellen Tove

    2014-01-01

    Apart from touching the screen, what is the role of the hands for children collaborating around touchscreens? Based on embodied and multimodal interaction analysis of 8- and 9-year old pairs collaborating around touchscreens, we conclude that children use their hands to constrain and control acce...

  19. Oral health of early head start children: a qualitative study of staff, parents, and pregnant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mofidi, Mahyar; Zeldin, Leslie P; Rozier, R Gary

    2009-02-01

    We explored the oral health knowledge, attitudes, and activities of Early Head Start (EHS) staff members, parents, and pregnant women, along with their suggestions related to future oral health educational interventions targeting EHS children. Nine focus groups were conducted with EHS staff, parents, and pregnant women. Audiotapes of sessions were transcribed and entered into ATLAS.ti 5.0 for coding and analysis. Attitudes about the importance of children's oral health among parents and pregnant women were mixed. Staff members voiced responsibility for children's oral health but frustration in their inability to communicate effectively with parents. Parents in turn perceived staff criticism regarding how they cared for their children's oral health. Gaps were noted in the oral health activities of EHS programs. Participants expressed confusion regarding the application of Head Start oral health performance standards to EHS. The need for culturally sensitive, hands-on oral health education was highlighted. Tailored, theory-based interventions are needed to improve communication between EHS staff and families. Clear policies on the application of Head Start oral health performance standards to EHS are warranted. Educational activities should address the needs and suggestions of EHS participants.

  20. Verbal Prompting, Hand-over-Hand Instruction, and Passive Observation in Teaching Children with Developmental Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biederman, G. B.; Fairhall, J. L.; Raven, K. A.; Davey, V. A.

    1998-01-01

    A study involving six children (ages 5-13) with mental retardation found that overall passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling in teaching skills, and that passive modeling was significantly more effective than hand-over-hand modeling with response-contingent verbal prompting. (Author/CR)

  1. Postural Effects on the Mental Rotation of Body-Related Pictures: An fMRI Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fangbing Qu

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the embodied effects involved in the mental rotation of pictures of body parts (hands and feet. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD signals were collected from 18 healthy volunteers who performed mental rotation tasks of rotated drawings of hands under different arm postures. Congruent drawings of hands (those congruent with left-hand posture evoked stronger activation in the left supplementary motor area (SMA, left precentral gyrus, and left superior parietal lobule (SPL than did incongruent drawings of hands. Congruent drawings of hands (those congruent with right-hand posture evoked significant activation in the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL, right SMA, bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG, left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, and bilateral superior frontal gyrus (SFG compared to that evoked by the incongruent drawings of hands. Similar methodology was implemented with drawings of feet. However, no significant differences in brain activation were observed between congruent and incongruent drawings of feet. This finding suggests that body posture influences body part-related mental rotation in an effector-specific manner. A direct comparison between the medially and laterally rotated drawings revealed activation in the right IPL, left precentral gyrus, bilateral IFG, and bilateral SFG. These results suggest that biomechanical constraints affect the cognitive process of mental rotation.

  2. Upper Limb-Hand 3D Display System for Biomimetic Myoelectric Hand Simulator

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Jimenez, Gonzalo

    2001-01-01

    A graphics system displaying both upper limb posture and opening-closing of a prosthetic hand was developed for realtime operation of our biomimetic myoelectric hand simulator, Posture of the upper...

  3. Uncertainties in effective dose estimates of adult CT head scans: The effect of head size

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregory, Kent J.; Bibbo, Giovanni; Pattison, John E.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: This study is an extension of a previous study where the uncertainties in effective dose estimates from adult CT head scans were calculated using four CT effective dose estimation methods, three of which were computer programs (CT-EXPO, CTDOSIMETRY, and IMPACTDOSE) and one that involved the dose length product (DLP). However, that study did not include the uncertainty contribution due to variations in head sizes. Methods: The uncertainties due to head size variations were estimated by first using the computer program data to calculate doses to small and large heads. These doses were then compared with doses calculated for the phantom heads used by the computer programs. An uncertainty was then assigned based on the difference between the small and large head doses and the doses of the phantom heads. Results: The uncertainties due to head size variations alone were found to be between 4% and 26% depending on the method used and the patient gender. When these uncertainties were included with the results of the previous study, the overall uncertainties in effective dose estimates (stated at the 95% confidence interval) were 20%-31% (CT-EXPO), 15%-30% (CTDOSIMETRY), 20%-36% (IMPACTDOSE), and 31%-40% (DLP). Conclusions: For the computer programs, the lower overall uncertainties were still achieved when measured values of CT dose index were used rather than tabulated values. For DLP dose estimates, head size variations made the largest (for males) and second largest (for females) contributions to effective dose uncertainty. An improvement in the uncertainty of the DLP method dose estimates will be achieved if head size variation can be taken into account.

  4. Uncertainties in effective dose estimates of adult CT head scans: The effect of head size

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregory, Kent J.; Bibbo, Giovanni; Pattison, John E. [Department of Medical Physics, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia 5000 (Australia) and School of Electrical and Information Engineering (Applied Physics), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095 (Australia); Division of Medical Imaging, Women' s and Children' s Hospital, North Adelaide, South Australia 5006 (Australia) and School of Electrical and Information Engineering (Applied Physics), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095 (Australia); School of Electrical and Information Engineering (Applied Physics), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, South Australia 5095 (Australia)

    2009-09-15

    Purpose: This study is an extension of a previous study where the uncertainties in effective dose estimates from adult CT head scans were calculated using four CT effective dose estimation methods, three of which were computer programs (CT-EXPO, CTDOSIMETRY, and IMPACTDOSE) and one that involved the dose length product (DLP). However, that study did not include the uncertainty contribution due to variations in head sizes. Methods: The uncertainties due to head size variations were estimated by first using the computer program data to calculate doses to small and large heads. These doses were then compared with doses calculated for the phantom heads used by the computer programs. An uncertainty was then assigned based on the difference between the small and large head doses and the doses of the phantom heads. Results: The uncertainties due to head size variations alone were found to be between 4% and 26% depending on the method used and the patient gender. When these uncertainties were included with the results of the previous study, the overall uncertainties in effective dose estimates (stated at the 95% confidence interval) were 20%-31% (CT-EXPO), 15%-30% (CTDOSIMETRY), 20%-36% (IMPACTDOSE), and 31%-40% (DLP). Conclusions: For the computer programs, the lower overall uncertainties were still achieved when measured values of CT dose index were used rather than tabulated values. For DLP dose estimates, head size variations made the largest (for males) and second largest (for females) contributions to effective dose uncertainty. An improvement in the uncertainty of the DLP method dose estimates will be achieved if head size variation can be taken into account.

  5. Head Impact Laboratory (HIL)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The HIL uses testing devices to evaluate vehicle interior energy attenuating (EA) technologies for mitigating head injuries resulting from head impacts during mine/...

  6. Effect of glass-forming biopreservatives on head group rotational dynamics in freeze-dried phospholipid bilayers: A 31P NMR study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, P.; Sen, S.; Risbud, S. H.

    2009-07-01

    P31 NMR spectroscopy has been used to elucidate the role of glass-forming sugars in the preservation of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid bilayers. P31 wideline NMR spectra of freeze-dried pure DPPC, DPPC/trehalose, DPPC/glucose, and DPPC/hydroxyethyl starch (HES) mixtures collected in the temperature range of 25-80 °C have been simulated to obtain quantitative information about rotational dynamics and orientation of the lipid head groups in these media. In the case of pure DPPC, DPPC/glucose, and DPPC/HES, the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition of DPPC bilayer is characterized by a sudden increase in the rate of rotational diffusion of the PO4 head groups near 40 °C. The corresponding rotational jump frequency increases from a few kilohertz in the gel phase to at least several megahertz in the liquid crystalline phase. On the other hand, in the case of DPPC/trehalose mixture the temperature of this onset of rapid head group dynamics is increased by ˜10 °C. Trehalose reduces the lipid head group motions most effectively in the temperature range of T ≤50 °C relevant for biopreservation. Additionally, and possibly more importantly, trehalose is found to strongly restrict any change in the orientation of the diffusion axis of the PO4 head groups during the phase transformation. This unique ability of trehalose to maintain the dynamical and orientational rigidity of lipid head groups is likely to be responsible for its superior ability in biopreservation.

  7. Multi-head Watson-Crick automata

    OpenAIRE

    Chatterjee, Kingshuk; Ray, Kumar Sankar

    2015-01-01

    Inspired by multi-head finite automata and Watson-Crick automata in this paper, we introduce new structure namely multi-head Watson-Crick automata where we replace the single tape of multi-head finite automaton by a DNA double strand. The content of the second tape is determined using a complementarity relation similar to Watson-Crick complementarity relation. We establish the superiority of our model over multi-head finite automata and also show that both the deterministic and non-determinis...

  8. Clean Hands Count

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... 03. R Mayer 371,490 views 4:03 The psychological trick behind getting people to say yes - Duration: 8:06. PBS NewsHour 606,671 views 8:06 Should You Really Wash Your Hands? - Duration: 4:51. Gross Science 57,828 views 4:51 Healthcare Worker Hand ...

  9. Access to waterless hand sanitizer improves student hand hygiene behavior in primary schools in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickering, Amy J; Davis, Jennifer; Blum, Annalise G; Scalmanini, Jenna; Oyier, Beryl; Okoth, George; Breiman, Robert F; Ram, Pavani K

    2013-09-01

    Handwashing is difficult in settings with limited resources and water access. In primary schools within urban Kibera, Kenya, we investigated the impact of providing waterless hand sanitizer on student hand hygiene behavior. Two schools received a waterless hand sanitizer intervention, two schools received a handwashing with soap intervention, and two schools received no intervention. Hand cleaning behavior after toilet use was monitored for 2 months using structured observation. Hand cleaning after toileting was 82% at sanitizer schools (N = 2,507 toileting events), 38% at soap schools (N = 3,429), and 37% at control schools (N = 2,797). Students at sanitizer schools were 23% less likely to have observed rhinorrhea than control students (P = 0.02); reductions in student-reported gastrointestinal and respiratory illness symptoms were not statistically significant. Providing waterless hand sanitizer markedly increased student hand cleaning after toilet use, whereas the soap intervention did not. Waterless hand sanitizer may be a promising option to improve student hand cleansing behavior, particularly in schools with limited water access.

  10. Robotic hand and fingers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salisbury, Curt Michael; Dullea, Kevin J.

    2017-06-06

    Technologies pertaining to a robotic hand are described herein. The robotic hand includes one or more fingers releasably attached to a robotic hand frame. The fingers can abduct and adduct as well as flex and tense. The fingers are releasably attached to the frame by magnets that allow for the fingers to detach from the frame when excess force is applied to the fingers.

  11. Intensity modulated radiotherapy in the head and neck cancers: prescribed dose, clinical challenges and results; Radiotherapie par modulation d'intensite dans les cancers de la tete et du cou: dose prescrite, defis cliniques et resultats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, E.; Crehange, G.; Truc, G.; Maingon, P. [Centre Georges-Francois-Leclerc, Dept. de Radiotherapie, 21 - Dijon (France); Deville, C.; Bonnetain, F. [Centre Georges-Francois-Leclerc, Dept. de Statistiques, 21 - Dijon (France); Bosset, M. [Centre Hospitalier Jean-Minjoz, Dept. de Radiotherapie, 25 - Besancon (France)

    2007-11-15

    It is important to get new data to guide the clinician in one hand in the optimization of the I.M.C.R.T. use for the head and neck cancers treatment, in an other hand in the selection of patients able to receive this technique. The results should be correlated with the delayed and acute side effects. (N.C.)

  12. Comparison of ethanol hand sanitizer versus moist towelette packets for mealtime patient hand hygiene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Herleen; Knighton, Shanina; Zabarsky, Trina F; Donskey, Curtis J

    2017-09-01

    To facilitate patient hand hygiene, there is a need for easy-to-use products. In a survey of 100 patients, a single-use ethanol hand sanitizer packet took less time to access than a single-use moist towelette packet (3 vs 23 seconds) and was preferred by 74% of patients for mealtime hand hygiene. Performance of patient hand hygiene increased when a reminder was provided at the time of meal tray delivery. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing: the disruptive effects of attention to the hands in skilled typewriting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Gordon D; Crump, Matthew J C

    2009-10-01

    Everyone knows that attention to the details disrupts skilled performance, but little empirical evidence documents this fact. We show that attention to the hands disrupts skilled typewriting. We had skilled typists type words preceded by cues that told them to type only the letters assigned to one hand or to type all of the letters. Cuing the hands disrupted performance markedly, slowing typing and increasing the error rate (Experiment 1); these deleterious effects were observed even when no keystrokes were actually inhibited (Experiment 3). However, cuing the same letters with colors was not disruptive (Experiment 2). We account for the disruption with a hierarchical control model, in which an inner loop controls the hands and an outer loop controls what is typed. Typing letters using only one hand requires the outer loop to monitor the inner loop's output; the outer loop slows inner-loop cycle time to increase the likelihood of inhibiting responses with the unwanted hand. This produces the disruption.

  14. Waterless Hand Rub Versus Traditional Hand Scrub Methods for Preventing the Surgical Site Infection in Orthopedic Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwakiri, Kentaro; Kobayashi, Akio; Seki, Masahiko; Ando, Yoshiyuki; Tsujio, Tadao; Hoshino, Masatoshi; Nakamura, Hiroaki

    2017-11-15

    MINI: Fourteen hundred consecutive patients were investigated for evaluating the utility of waterless hand rub before orthopaedic surgery. The risk in the surgical site infection incidence was the same, but costs of liquids used for hand hygiene were cheaper and the hand hygiene time was shorter for waterless protocol, compared with traditional hand scrub. A retrospective cohort study with prospectively collected data. The aim of this study was to compare SSI incidences, the cost of hand hygiene agents, and hand hygiene time between the traditional hand scrub and the waterless hand rub protocols before orthopedic surgery. Surgical site infections (SSI) prolong hospitalization and are a leading nosocomial cause of morbidity and a source of excess cost. Recently, a waterless hand rub protocol comprising alcohol based chlorhexidine gluconate for use before surgery was developed, but no studies have yet examined its utility in orthopedic surgery. Fourteen hundred consecutive patients who underwent orthopedic surgery (spine, joint replacement, hand, and trauma surgeries) in our hospital since April 1, 2012 were included. A total of 712 cases underwent following traditional hand scrub between April 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013 and 688 cases underwent following waterless hand rub between June 1, 2013 and April 30, 2014. We compared SSI incidences within all and each subcategory between two hand hygiene protocols. All patients were screened for SSI within 1 year after surgery. We compared the cost of hand hygiene agents and hand hygiene time between two groups. The SSI incidences were 1.3% (9 of 712) following the traditional protocol (2 deep and 7 superficial infections) and 1.1% (8 of 688) following the waterless protocol (all superficial infections). There were no significant differences between the two groups. The costs of liquids used for one hand hygiene were about $2 for traditional hand scrub and less than $1 for waterless hand rub. The mean hand hygiene time was 264

  15. 45 CFR 1308.21 - Parent participation and transition of children into Head Start and from Head Start to public...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... into Head Start and from Head Start to public school. 1308.21 Section 1308.21 Public Welfare... AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES, HEAD START PROGRAM HEAD START... Standards § 1308.21 Parent participation and transition of children into Head Start and from Head Start to...

  16. Discrimination of Motor Imagery-Induced EEG Patterns in Patients with Complete Spinal Cord Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Pfurtscheller

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available EEG-based discrimination between different motor imagery states has been subject of a number of studies in healthy subjects. We investigated the EEG of 15 patients with complete spinal cord injury during imagined right hand, left hand, and feet movements. In detail we studied pair-wise discrimination functions between the 3 types of motor imagery. The following classification accuracies (mean ± SD were obtained: left versus right hand 65.03% ± 8.52, left hand versus feet 68.19% ± 11.08, and right hand versus feet 65.05% ± 9.25. In 5 out of 8 paralegic patients, the discrimination accuracy was greater than 70% but in only 1 out of 7 tetraplagic patients. The present findings provide evidence that in the majority of paraplegic patients an EEG-based BCI could achieve satisfied results. In tetraplegic patients, however, it is expected that extensive training-sessions are necessary to achieve a good BCI performance at least in some subjects.

  17. Body mass index and progressive hand osteoarthritis: data from the Oslo hand osteoarthritis cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnusson, K; Slatkowsky-Christensen, B; van der Heijde, D; Kvien, T K; Hagen, K B; Haugen, I K

    2015-01-01

    Few longitudinal studies have studied the association between body mass index (BMI) and hand osteoarthritis (OA). We aimed to explore the association between BMI and progressive hand OA in a longitudinal study of the Oslo hand OA cohort. Participants with existing hand OA had hand radiographs and BMI data taken at baseline and 7-year follow-up (n = 103). The radiographs were read according to the Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) scale. First, we examined the association between baseline BMI and incident OA (KL grade ≥ 2) in joints without OA at baseline (adjusted for age and sex) using generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses. Second, we examined whether changes in BMI from baseline to follow-up were associated with increasing KL sum score from baseline to follow-up using linear regression. We repeated the analyses using changes in number of joints with symptomatic OA and patient-reported pain and physical function as the outcome. The mean (SD) age at baseline was 61.6 (5.6) years and 91 (94%) of the cohort were women. The mean (SD) BMI was 25.7 (4.0) kg/m(2) at baseline and the mean (SD) BMI change was 1.1 (2.0) kg/m(2). There was no relationship between baseline BMI and development of more joints with OA during follow-up. Similarly, there was no association between change in BMI and hand OA progression, increasing hand pain or disability. In the Oslo hand OA cohort, higher BMI was not related to hand OA progression.

  18. On the Other Hand : Nondominant Hand Use Increases Sense of Agency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Damen, Tom G. E.; Dijksterhuis, Ap; van Baaren, Rick B.

    In two studies, we investigated the influence of hand dominance on the sense of self-causation or agency. Participants alternately used their dominant or nondominant hand to cause the occurrence of an effect (a tone) in a task in which agency was made ambiguous. Participants were subsequently asked

  19. Visual appearance of a virtual upper limb modulates the temperature of the real hand: a thermal imaging study in Immersive Virtual Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tieri, Gaetano; Gioia, Annamaria; Scandola, Michele; Pavone, Enea F; Aglioti, Salvatore M

    2017-05-01

    To explore the link between Sense of Embodiment (SoE) over a virtual hand and physiological regulation of skin temperature, 24 healthy participants were immersed in virtual reality through a Head Mounted Display and had their real limb temperature recorded by means of a high-sensitivity infrared camera. Participants observed a virtual right upper limb (appearing either normally, or with the hand detached from the forearm) or limb-shaped non-corporeal control objects (continuous or discontinuous wooden blocks) from a first-person perspective. Subjective ratings of SoE were collected in each observation condition, as well as temperatures of the right and left hand, wrist and forearm. The observation of these complex, body and body-related virtual scenes resulted in increased real hand temperature when compared to a baseline condition in which a 3d virtual ball was presented. Crucially, observation of non-natural appearances of the virtual limb (discontinuous limb) and limb-shaped non-corporeal objects elicited high increase in real hand temperature and low SoE. In contrast, observation of the full virtual limb caused high SoE and low temperature changes in the real hand with respect to the other conditions. Interestingly, the temperature difference across the different conditions occurred according to a topographic rule that included both hands. Our study sheds new light on the role of an external hand's visual appearance and suggests a tight link between higher-order bodily self-representations and topographic regulation of skin temperature. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Eye-based head gestures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mardanbegi, Diako; Witzner Hansen, Dan; Pederson, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    A novel method for video-based head gesture recognition using eye information by an eye tracker has been proposed. The method uses a combination of gaze and eye movement to infer head gestures. Compared to other gesture-based methods a major advantage of the method is that the user keeps the gaze...... mobile phone screens. The user study shows that the method detects a set of defined gestures reliably.......A novel method for video-based head gesture recognition using eye information by an eye tracker has been proposed. The method uses a combination of gaze and eye movement to infer head gestures. Compared to other gesture-based methods a major advantage of the method is that the user keeps the gaze...