Search results for "Musculoskeletal"
showing 10 items of 1714 documents
A Dynamic Simulation of a Human Gait Using the Hybrid Muscle Model and a QCT-Based Flexible Tibia
2009
The flexible multibody simulation [9] approach can be used in a wide variety of engineering applications. In a previous study of authors [1], flexible multibody simulation approach was used to estimate strains during walking at tibial midshaft. In the previous study, simple muscle models were used in conjunction with a flexible tibia model based on magnetic resonance images (MRI). This study is an extension of the previous developments [1], [2] demonstrating the potential of model improvement by introducing hybrid muscle models, along with the flexible tibia based model on computed tomography (CT). The computed tomography technique allows for the accounting of inhomogeneous density and elas…
On the severity of economic downturns: Lessons from cross-country evidence
2012
Abstract We measure the severity of recessions as a function of their amplitude and duration. Within a quantile regression framework, we assess what causes economic downturns to be more or less severe. We find that the most severe downturns have striking similarities regarding cumulated domestic credit and large current account deficits.
Identification of the essential protein domains for Mib2 function during the development of the Drosophila larval musculature and adult flight muscles
2016
The proper differentiation and maintenance of myofibers is fundamental to a functional musculature. Disruption of numerous mostly structural factors leads to perturbations of these processes. Among the limited number of known regulatory factors for these processes is Mind bomb2 (Mib2), a muscle-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase, which was previously established to be required for maintaining the integrity of larval muscles. In this study, we have examined the mechanistic aspects of Mib2 function by performing a detailed functional dissection of the Mib2 protein. We show that the ankyrin repeats, in its entirety, and the hitherto uncharacterized Mib-specific domains (MIB), are important for the…
A systematic review of maternal smoking during pregnancy and fetal measurements with meta-analysis
2017
Maternal smoking during pregnancy is linked to reduced birth weight but the gestation at onset of this relationship is not certain. We present a systematic review of the literature describing associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and ultrasound measurements of fetal size, together with an accompanying meta-analysis. Studies were selected from electronic databases (OVID, EMBASE and Google Scholar) that examined associations between maternal smoking or smoke exposure and antenatal fetal ultrasound measurements. Outcome measures were first, second or third trimester fetal measurements. There were 284 abstracts identified, 16 papers were included in the review and the meta-anal…
Deviations in pedestrian itineraries in urban areas: a method to assess the role of environmental factors
2010
Walking has long been neglected in urban-mobility research, but it is now making its way into numerous studies using various approaches. Empirical data are often processed in well-known models of flow allocation to study the behaviour of pedestrians and to identify their preferences. However, these models assume that route choices are predetermined at the start of each trip and do not admit any possible intervening decision along these trips. We propose to overcome this limitation through a new method for the analysis of pedestrian behaviour. This method, which we call ‘deviation analysis’ consists of (1) identifying the intersections from which a pedestrian has chosen a route longer than …
Preventive effect of risedronate on bone loss and frailty fractures in elderly women treated with anastrozole for early breast cancer.
2011
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of adjuvant anastrozole, alone or associated with risedronate, on BMD and bone fracture risk in women more than 70 years old with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer (EBC). In a group of 51 elderly women (aged 76.4 ± 5.0 years) considered for adjuvant aromatase inhibitors for EBC, 24 patients with T-scores ≥ -2 and no prevalent fractures received anastrozole 1 mg/day (group A), and 27 patients with T-scores < -2, or with T-scores ≥ -2 and prevalent fractures (group B), received anastrozole (1 mg/day) plus risedronate (35 mg/week). Both groups received supplementation with 1 g calcium carbonate and 800 IU vitamin D per day. Differen…
Validation of a subject specific 3-actuator torque-driven model in human vertical jumping.
2013
In this study, a forward dynamic subject specific 3-actuator torque-driven model of the human musculoskeletal system was created based on measurements of individual characteristics of a subject. Simulation results were compared with experimental vertical squat jumping with and without adding weights. By analyzing kinematic and kinetic experimental data at the instant of the toe-off for the same initial conditions, it was shown that a simple computer simulation using a suitable cost function could reproduce the real task performed by humans. This investigation is the first step in a wider project that will incorporate elastic components, and that will evaluate the advantages of the individua…
Different Wings Flowfields Interaction on the Wing-Propeller Coupling
1997
A high-portability numerical technique based on the method of free wake analysis (FWA) is described that analyzes the interference between an aircraft propeller and a wing having different planforms and computes the influence of the wing aerodynamic field on the propeller performance. For an isolated propeller and wing, the models employed are based on the FWA and Prandtl theory, respectively. The performance of the propeller in the presence of the wing is related to the wing angle of attack and to the variation of wing circulation and the corresponding induced velocity at the propeller disk. A numerical model, previously and successfully used, was implemented to account for the effects of …
odeling of Human Arm Energy Expenditure for Predicting Energy Optimal Trajectories
2011
Human arm motion can inspire the trajectory planning of anthropomorphic robotic arms to achieve energy-efficient movements. An approach for predicting metabolic cost in the planar human arm motion by means of the biomechanical simulation is proposed in this work. Two biomechanical models, including an analytical model and a musculoskeletal model, are developed to implement the proposed approach. The analytical model is developed by modifying a human muscle expenditure model, in which the muscles are grouped as torque providers for computation efficiency. In the musculoskeletal model, the predication of metabolic cost is conducted on the basis of individual muscles. With the proposed approac…
ACL Rehabilitation Enhanced by 3D Modeling Software
2010
The main purpose of this paper is to show possible positive effect of 3D modeling application in rehabilitation. Authors provide clinic example of patient with ACL reconstruction. The patient has undertaken the therapy consisting of regular rehabilitation sessions as well as those enhanced by 3D rehabilitation application. The improvement in ACL rehabilitation was significant and worth further exploration.