OBJECTIVE To examine the frequency domain characteristics of the ground reaction forces of young and elderly females during free walking. DESIGN Independent t-tests were used to examine the frequency content of all three components of the ground reaction force. BACKGROUND Frequency domain analysis has the potential to assist in identifying changes in gait that may be masked in the time doma...

People prefer gaits that minimize their energetic cost. Research focused on step frequency selection suggests that a fast predictive process and a slower optimization process underlie this energy optimization. Our purpose in this study was to test whether the mechanisms controlling step frequency selection are used more generally to select one of the most relevant characteristics of walking - p...

Walking time prediction aims to deduce waiting time and travel time for passengers and provide a quantitative basis for the subway schedule management. This model is founded based on transfer passenger flow and type of pedestrian facilities. Chaoyangmen station in Beijing was taken as the learning set to obtain the relationship between transfer walking speed and passenger volume. The sectional ...

Courtship behaviours allow animals to interact and display their qualities before committing to reproduction. In fly courtship, the female decides whether or not to mate and is thought to display receptivity by slowing down to accept the male. Very little is known on the neuronal brain circuitry controlling female receptivity. Here we use genetic manipulation and behavioural studies to identify...

Obesity has been related to postural instability during static standing. It remains unknown how obesity influences stability during dynamic movements like gait. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effects of obesity on dynamic gait stability control in young adults during gait. Forty-four young adults (21 normal-weight and 23 obese) participated in this study. Participants walk...

Walking speed was timed for male and female pedestrians on a public sidewalk with fast, slow, or no music playing in the background (n = 20 per condition). Pedestrians in the fast music condition walked more rapidly than those in the other two conditions. Slow music did not reduce walking speed, relative to the no music condition. Walking speed did not differ by gender in any of the three condi...

This study measures pedestrian walking speeds in New Zealand to estimate the influences of mean walking speeds as these concern urban planning and pedestrian facility design. Research was conducted using field observations of walking speeds under different conditions: gradient and urban/rural townships. The data show complex interrelationships between environment, personal characteristics of pe...

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Feldenkrais Method balance classes on balance and mobility in older adults. This was a prospective non-randomized controlled study with pre/post measures. The setting for this study was the general community. A convenience sample of 26 community-dwelling older adults (median age 75 years) attending Feldenkrais Method balance classes ...

It has previously been shown that a bipedal model consisting of a point mass supported by spring limbs can be tuned to simulate periodic human walking. In this study, we incorporated roller feet into the spring-mass model and evaluated the effect of roller radius, impact angle, and limb stiffness on spatiotemporal gait characteristics, ground reactions, and center-of-pressure excursions. We als...

Before succumbing to slower speeds, older adults may walk with a diminished push-off to prioritize stability over mobility. However, direct evidence for trade-offs between push-off intensity and balance control in human walking, independent of changes in speed, has remained elusive. As a critical first step, we conducted two experiments to investigate: (i) the independent effects of walking spe...