Monitoring changes in physical fitness is relevant in many conditions and groups of patients, but its determination demands substantial effort from the person, personnel and equipment. Besides that, present (sub) maximal exercise tests give a momentary fitness score, which depends on many (external) factors. Obtaining a fitness score based on measures gathered during longer periods of time and ...

In this study, patterns of activity in the soleus (Sol) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles and hindlimb kinematics were evaluated during slope walking in rats after transection and surgical repair either of the entire sciatic nerve (Sci group) or of its two branches separately, the tibial and common fibular nerves (T/CF group). With the latter method, axons from the tibial and common fibular ne...

In this study, patterns of activity in the soleus (Sol) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles and hindlimb kinematics were evaluated during slope walking in rats after transection and surgical repair either of the entire sciatic nerve (Sci group) or of its two branches separately, the tibial and common fibular nerves (T/CF group). With the latter method, axons from the tibial and common fibular ne...

OBJECTIVE Studies on upper limb recovery following stroke have highlighted the importance of the structural and functional integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST) in determining clinical outcomes. However, such relationships have not been fully explored for the lower limb. We aimed to test whether variation in walking impairment was associated with variation in the structural or functional i...

Legged robots have been studied and developed for a long time. The primary advantage of legged motion is that they can traverse terrains inaccessible to wheeled robots. Biped robots are probably the most complicated of legged robots. Despite their complexity there has been a substantial amount of work done in the field including different techniques that have been developed to model, design and...

The role of brain derived nitric oxide in the physiology and behavior remains disputable. One of the reasons of the controversies might be systemic side effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors. Therefore, under nNOS inhibition by 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) we carried out recordings of blood gasses, blood pressure and spontaneous EEG in conscious adult rats. Locomotion and spontaneous behavior w...

Introduction The influence of spasticity may be represented as a dynamical constraint on functional performance. Spasticity has been defined as “a motor disorder characterized by a velocity dependent increase in stretch reflexes ...”. This pathologic reflex behavior is associated with increased resistance to motion at increased velocities thereby limiting the velocity and frequency of voluntary...

Our present study investigated whether the ventilatory and gas exchange responses show different dynamics in response to sinusoidal change in cycle work rate or walking speed even if the metabolic demand was equivalent in both types of exercise. Locomotive parameters (stride length and step frequency), breath-by-breath ventilation (V̇E) and gas exchange (CO2 output (V̇CO2) and O2 uptake (V̇O2)) re...