BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Numerous interventions have been proposed to improve balance in older adults with varying degrees of success. A novel approach may be to use an off-the-shelf video game system utilizing real-time force feedback to train older adults. The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using Nintendo's Wii Fit for training to improve clinical measures of balance...

The changes in channel geometry downstream of Hapcheon Dam, South Korea, are closely examined. Daily pulses of water from peak hydropower generation and from sudden sluice gate operations affect the 45-km reach of the Hwang River between the Hapcheon Reregulation Dam and the Nakdong River. From 1983 to 2003, the median bed-material size, d50, increased from 1.0 to 5.7 mm, and the bed slope of t...

In large rivers, complex sediment dynamics cause rapid changes in the position and shape of bed deposits. Regular monitoring of changes in river bed geometry is essential for assessing the nature of morphological change and associated bed load during low, high, and medium flow conditions. We demonstrate the application of Direct Sampling (DS) for patching partial river morphological surveys to ...

Deuterium and oxygen-18 enrichment in river water during its transit across dryland region is found to occur systematically along evaporation lines with slopes of close to 4 in (2)H-(18)O space, largely consistent with trends predicted by the Craig-Gordon model for an open-water dominated evaporating system. This, in combination with reach balance assessments and derived runoff ratios, strongly...

Removal of nonnative riparian trees is accelerating to conserve water and improve habitat for native species. Widespread control of dominant species, however, can lead to unintended erosion. Helicopter herbicide application in 2003 along a 12-km reach of the Rio Puerco, New Mexico, eliminated the target invasive species saltcedar (Tamarix spp.), which dominated the floodplain, as well as the na...

Flood wave propagation in river channel flow can be enunciated by nonlinear equations of motion for unsteady flow. It is difficult to find analytical solution of these non-linear equations. Hence, in this paper verification of the finite element model has been carried out against available numerical predictions and field data. The results of the model indicate a good matching with both Preissma...