Obesity and knee joint torque and power during level walking.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Previous work from our laboratory has shown that reflex activity is systematically evoked in a number of major knee muscles by large (>5 degrees ) (non-physiological) abduction angular perturbations of the human knee. This reflex action was shown to originate from periarticular tissue afferents. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that specific muscle activation patterns exist in knee muscles with preferential activation in medial muscles in response to the lateral perturbations. This study examines the hypothesis that in response to the mechanical stimulus, the sensory information mediated by these afferents results in activation patterns that provide the largest resisting moment by the knee muscles. It is further hypothesized that this near maximum resistance cannot be achieved by the selective activation of medial muscles alone. To examine this, the previously reported mechanically induced reflex EMG activation patterns, a stochastic 3D musculoskeletal patello-femoral joint model, and new data from selective electrical stimulation experiments were used. Using the model, the knee adduction-abduction moment in response to an applied abduction load at the knee joint for every possible random set of quadriceps activity was computed. These adduction moments were then compared to the adduction moment computed by the model when the mechanically induced muscle activation patterns were used. The data presented here illustrated that selective activation of a medial muscle alone would result in an abduction moment, regardless of the knee flexion angle. Furthermore, the findings of this study revealed that the recorded combinations of muscle activity provide a near maximum capability of the quadriceps muscles to resist externally applied abducting stimuli. It was concluded that stabilization in the abduction direction could only be achieved by a control strategy that involves activation of both medial and lateral muscles at the knee. It was also concluded that this control strategy was near optimal when mediated by joint afferents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Kinesin-1 is a twin-headed molecular motor that moves along microtubules in 8-nm steps, using a walking action in which the two heads interact alternately with the microtubule. Constructs with only one head can also produce impulses of force and motion, indicating that the walking action is an amplification strategy that leverages an underlying force-generating event. Recent work suggests that directional force is produced either by directionally biased selection of microtubule binding sites or by a conformational change subsequent to the binding event. We report here that surface-attached rat kinesin-1 monomers drive counterclockwise rotation of sliding microtubules around their axes, and that by manipulating the assay geometry, we could reduce or block the torsional motion with negligible effects on the axial motion. We can account for this behavior on the simple assumption that kinesin heads tend to bind to the closest available tubulin heterodimer in the lattice, but only in the case where an additional biasing process is present that shifts the start position for diffusion-to-capture toward the microtubule plus end by approximately 1 nm.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The aim of the present study was to compare kinetically the roles of the lower extremities in generating trunk rotation in the tennis one-handed and two-handed backhand strokes. Fourteen male collegiate tennis players, seven with a preference for the one- and seven with a preference for the two-handed technique, were recruited as participants. The motion of each backhand stroke was filmed using two high-speed cine-cameras, and the ground reaction forces on the feet were measured separately using two force platforms to determine the joint moments and joint reaction forces at the hip, knee and ankle joints. A significant difference in hip joint moments between the two types of stroke was found in the phase from the start of forward rotation of the pelvis to the start of racket forward movement. For trunk rotation, the one-handed backhand players exerted a large joint moment in the front leg, whereas the two-handed backhand players exerted a large joint moment in the back leg. The exertion of a large hip joint moment in the latter stroke was comparable with the exertion in a forehand stroke reported previously.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The assembly of RecA onto a torsionally constrained double-stranded DNA molecule was followed in real time using magnetic tweezers. Formation of a RecA-DNA filament on the DNA tether was stalled owing to different physical processes depending on the applied stretching force. For forces up to 3.6 pN, the reaction stalled owing to the formation of positive plectonemes in the remaining DNA molecule. Release of these plectonemes by rotation of the magnets led to full coverage of the DNA molecule by RecA. At stretching forces larger than 3.6 pN, the twist induced during filament formation caused the reaction to stall before positive supercoils were generated. We deduce a maximum built-up torsion of 10.1 +/- 0.7 k(b)T. In vivo this built-up torsion may be used to favor regression of a stalled replication fork or to free the chromosomal DNA in E.coli from its condensing proteins.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The purpose of this study was to assess fatigue and recovery of isotonic power and isometric contractile properties after a series of maximal isotonic contractions. Using a Biodex dynamometer, 13 men [26 yr (SD 3)] performed isotonic [50% of isometric maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) every 1.2 s through 75 degrees range of motion] single-limb knee extensions at the fastest velocity they could achieve until velocity was reduced by 35%. Time to task failure was 38 s, and, compared with baseline, power declined by approximately 42% [741.0 (SD 106.0) vs. 426.5 W (SD 60.3) at task failure], and MVC declined by approximately 26% [267.3 (SD 42.5) vs. 198.4 N.m (SD 45.7) at task failure]. Power recovered by 5 min, whereas MVC did not recover, and at 10 min was only approximately 85% of baseline. Isometric MVC motor unit activation was approximately 95% at rest and was unchanged at task failure (approximately 96%), but a small amount of failure was apparent between 1.5 and 10 min of recovery (approximately 87 to approximately 91%). Half relaxation time measured from a 50-Hz isometric tetanus was significantly prolonged by approximately 33% immediately after task failure but recovered by 1.5 min. A decline in the 10- to 50-Hz ratio of the evoked isometric contractions was observed at 5 and 10 min of recovery, which suggests excitation-contraction coupling impairment. Changes in velocity and half relaxation time during the protocol were strongly and negatively correlated (r = -0.85). Thus mainly peripheral mechanisms were implicated in the substantial depression but relatively fast recovery of isotonic power. Furthermore, isometric muscle contractile properties were related to some, but not all, changes in isotonic function.
BACKGROUND: Intramedullary screws frequently are used for fixation of Jones fractures of the fifth metarsal. While the ability of intramedullary screw fixation in fifth metatarsals to resist bending and tensile forces is well known, the ability to withstand torsion has not been studied. This paper compares the torsional stiffness of Jones fractures treated with 6.5-mm short- threaded intramedullary screws to those treated with 5.0-mm cannulated short-threaded intramedullary screws. METHODS: Nine fresh-frozen, matched pairs of cadaver fifth metatarsals had an acute Jones fracture simulated with an osteotomy. They were stabilized with intramedullary screws and then loaded to failure. RESULTS: The torsional stiffness of the metatarsals fixed with the 6.5-mm did not differ significantly from that using 5.0-mm screws. However, to achieve stability, the 5.0-mm screw had to be long enough to reach the metatarsal head and neck. This tended to straighten the normally curved fifth metatarsal bone and caused lateral gapping at the fracture site. CONCLUSION: Both 5.0-mm or 6.5-mm screws provide equal torsional rigidity, but 5.0-mm screws may need to be longer, which could potentially straighten the fifth metatarsal shaft in patients who have a curved fifth metatarsal.
A new approach is proposed for manipulating and rotating micro- or nano-objects by using polarized laser light with low intensity. The polarized light excites resonant dipoles on a cap-shaped Au nanoparticle array, which generates a highly nonuniform radiation field that induces large dielectrophoresis force on dielectric objects. The orientation control of the objects is realized by adjusting the polarization direction of the incident light. Theoretical modeling, fabrication, and characterization results for the cap-shaped Au nanoparticle array, as well as preliminary trapping results, are reported.