Dynamically stable biped robots mimicking human locomotion have received significant attention over the last few decades. Formerly, the existence of stable periodic gaits for straight walking of passive biped walkers was well known and investigated as the notion of passive dynamic walking. This study is aimed to elaborate this notion in the case of three dimensional (3D) walking and extend it f...

Background & Aims: The Modified Tardieu Scale (MTS) is a clinical scale for measuring the degree of muscle spasticity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the MTS in measuring poststroke knee extensorspasticity. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed in 2012 at a university clinic of neurological physiotherapy in Tehran, Iran, with repeated measurements. In the pr...

Passive spiral galaxies — unusual galaxies with spiral morphology without any sign of ongoing star formation — have recently been discovered to exist preferentially in cluster infalling regions (at about the virial radius, or at a local galaxy density of ∼ 1 Mpc). The discovery directly connects the passive spiral galaxies to the cluster galaxy evolution studies such as the Butcher-Oemler effec...

Slow component of oxygen uptake (VO2SC) kinetics and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) attainment seem to influence endurance performance during constant-work rate exercise (CWR) performed within the severe intensity domain. In this study, it was hypothesized that delaying the attainment of VO2max by reducing the rates at which VO2 increases with time (VO2SC kinetics) would improve the endurance p...

Efficient muscle-tendon performance during cyclical tasks is dependent on both active and passive mechanical tissue properties. Here we examine whether age-related changes in the properties of muscle-tendon units (MTUs) compromise their ability to do work and utilize elastic energy storage. We empirically quantified passive and active properties of the medial gastrocnemius muscle and material p...

Active and passive shortening of muscle bundles in the canine diaphragm were measured with the objective of testing a consequence of the minimal-work hypothesis: namely, that the ratio of active to passive shortening is the same for all active muscles. Lengths of six muscle bundles in the costal diaphragm and two muscle bundles in the crural diaphragm of each of four bred-for-research beagle do...

The aim of this study was to understand how passive users perceive the trustworthiness of active users and technologies under varying technological conditions. An experimental study was designed to vary the functioning of technologies that active users interacted with, while passive users observed these interactions. Active and passive user ratings of technology and partner were collected. Expl...

Mathematical treatment of massive wall systems is a useful tool for investigation of these solar applications. The objectives of this work are to develop (and validate) a numerical solution model for predication the thermal behaviour of passive solar systems with massive wall, to improve knowledge of using indirect passive solar systems and assess its energy efficiency according to climatic con...

The dexterity of a manipulator with passive joints, also known as an underactuated manipulator, differs from the dexterity of a fully actuated one, even if their mechanical structures are identical. Therefore, for fault tolerance and energy saving purposes, it is important to study the dexterity of underactuated manipulators. The purpose of this work is to quantify the dexterity of underactuate...

NASA is investigating passive wireless sensor technology to reduce instrumentation mass and volume in ground testing, air flight, and space exploration applications. Vehicle health monitoring systems (VHMS) are desired on all aerospace programs to ensure the safety of the crew and the vehicles. Pervasive passive wireless sensor networks facilitate VHMS on aerospace vehicles. Future wireless sen...