Maximum locomotor performance is crucial for capturing prey, escaping predators and many other behaviors. However, we know little about what defines maximum performance in vertebrates. Muscles drive the movement of the limbs during locomotion, and thus likely play a major role in defining locomotor capacity. For lizards, the iliofibularis, a swing-phase muscle, is often linked to ecology and/or...

The effect of botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT-A) in stroke patients' upper limbs has been attributed to its peripheral action only. However, BoNT-A depressed recurrent inhibition of lumbar motoneurons, likely due to its retrograde transportation along motor axons affecting synapses to Renshaw cells. Because Renshaw cells control group Ia interneurons mediating reciprocal inhibition between antagon...

Overhead transmission lines are influenced by different factors which are mostly electrical and mechanical. These factors can cause problems for lines, distortions in network and outage of line. In designing transmission lines mechanical properties are evaluated after selecting a suitable conductor and clearance with regard to electrical properties. In lines designing, an important mechanical p...

INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE Characterization of hamstring mechanics during sprinting is fundamental to understanding musculotendon injury mechanisms. The objective of this study was to use muscle-actuated forward dynamic simulations to investigate musculotendon mechanics of the biceps femoris long head during the swing phase of sprinting. METHODS We used a three-dimensional linked segment model with...

Children with cerebral palsy often walk with diminished knee extension during the terminal-swing phase, resulting in a troublesome "crouched" posture at initial contact and a shortened stride. Treatment of this gait abnormality is challenging because the factors that extend the knee during normal walking are not well understood, and because the potential of individual muscles to limit terminal-...

INTRODUCTION Gradual training has been shown to be an effective method to introduce gait perturbations. Previous studies have shown that, when compared to a sudden introduction of asymmetrical walking on a treadmill, gradual training results in efficient motor learning and balance control, and decreased cognitive demand during retention [1]. The kinetic strategies needed to affect these outcome...

Gait alterations of chronic knee arthritis before and after injection of local anesthesia was measured in the orthopedist's office area. A portable gait analyzer was used to evaluate gait characteristics before and after injection of local anesthesia in the chronically arthritic knee. Gait was analyzed during a 400-meter walk. Overall velocity and cadence increased 3.3% (p = 0.016) and 2.8% (p ...

In gravity below Earth-normal, a person should be able to take higher leaps in running. We asked 10 subjects to run on a treadmill in five levels of simulated reduced gravity and optically tracked centre-of-mass kinematics. Subjects consistently reduced ballistic height compared with running in normal gravity. We explain this trend by considering the vertical take-off velocity (defined as maxim...