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Salt Dreams
No full textSalt Dreams is a collection of dark, tender, and humorous stories that explore themes of memory, identity, and connection, often in fantastical ways. In a remote corner of the Upper Peninsula, a girl converses with a UFO via CB radio. An insomnia patient excavates memory in the labyrinthine tunnels of a salt mine. A VR game gives an anxious woman a window into her husband’s mind. The stories in this collection blend everyday and magical elements—borrowing elements of horror, science fiction, and fairy tale—in a way that allows characters to explore old memories, stories, and relationships in new and surprising ways
THE IMPACT OF FRESH AND USED ANKLE TAPING ON LOWER EXTREMITY BIOMECHANICS DURING SPORTS SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS
Get PDFThis study aimed to investigate the effects of ankle taping on lower extremity joint biomechanics. Kinetic and kinematic data were collected from 25 participants using 3D motion capturing and force platforms without shoes for running (RUN), drop jumping (DJ), and 180° change of direction (COD), in tape applied fresh (TF) and tape after sports-specific use (TU) conditions compared to a barefoot (BF) baseline. Taping conditions decreased peak ankle excursions and moments for the frontal and sagittal planes for some of the sports-specific movements. However, TF did not significantly alter the knee and hip moments in the frontal and sagittal planes. Reducing ankle excursion likely offers some protection to extreme joint ranges. To reduce restrictions imposed by fresh taping on the sagittal plane ankle ROM, applying ankle taping already during the pre-match warm-up might be useful
THE INFLUENCE OF BODYWEIGHT ON SPATIOTEMPORAL PARAMETERS DURING WALKING ON THE ALTERG TREADMILL
Get PDFAlterG treadmills are used for rehabilitation in clinical populations as they can provide up to 80% bodyweight (BW) support, however it is unknown how high levels of unloading might affect spatiotemporal parameters during walking on the AlterG treadmill. 18 healthy adults walked on an AlterG treadmill at 3km/h and 4 km/h at four BW conditions (100, 75, 50, 25%) while wearing Xsens sensors and gait metrics were calculated using the Xsens motion cloud software. Reducing BW in healthy adults via the BW support system on the AlterG treadmill had a small but significant effect on left stance time, swing time and duty factor during walking at 4km/h, but no significant effect on any of the other key spatiotemporal parameters. Therefore, the AlterG treadmill with high levels of BW support can be used for rehabilitation as generally normal gait is maintained
PEAK HAMSTRING MUSCLE-TENDON LENGTHS DURING NON-FATIGUED AND FATIGUED ACCELERATIVE AND MAXIMAL SPEED SPRINT RUNNING IN SOCCER PLAYERS
Get PDFFatigue is thought to be a contributing factor to hamstring injury during sprint running. Injuries can happen during acceleration or maximum speed phases between peak hip flexion and foot-strike, when the hamstring muscle-tendon unit (MTU) is at its longest. The angular displacements of the bones onto which the muscles attach influence hamstring MTU lengths, thus any fatigue-induced alterations to these displacements may be expected to influence MTU lengths, and thus injury risk. We collected 3-D kinematics and modelled hamstring MTU kinematics during the initial three steps of acceleration and two continuous steps of maximum speed sprinting before and after a 45-minute simulated soccer match. Hamstring MTUs exhibited longer lengths during maximum speed compared to acceleration. In maximum speed sprinting, an increase in peak biceps femoris long head (BFlh) length (7 mm) was observed
MACHINE LEARNING APPROACH TO CLASSIFY DECLINE OF COGNITIVE AND MUSCLE FUNCTION IN OLDER WOMEN: GAIT CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON THREE SPEEDS
Get PDFThis study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of machine learning models based on selected gait features caused by cognitive (Cog) and muscle function (MF) declines. A total of 154 women aged 65 or older performed cognitive assessments, five times sit-to-stand test, and gait test at three speeds (preferred, slower (SWS), and faster walking speed (FWS)). The machine learning model accuracies revealed that the random forest (RF) model had 91.2% accuracy when using all gait features and 91.9% accuracy when using the three features (walking speed and coefficient of variation of the left double support phase at FWS and right double support phase at SWS) selected for Cog+MF+ and Cog–MF– classification. We suggest that machine learning analysis using selected gait features may help improve the objective classification and evaluation of Cog and MF in older women
DIFFERENCES IN ANKLE MUSCLE CONTROL STRATEGIES BETWEEN SYMPTOMATIC AND ASYMPTOMATIC PRONATED FEET DURING RUNNING
Get PDFThis study aimed to quantify the differences in the control strategies of ankle muscles between symptomatic pronators (SP) and asymptomatic pronators (AP) during running. Thirty participants were measured by a motion capture system and a surface electromyography device. Results showed that the SP and AP had different muscle-tendon unit length changes during the swing phase, with the SP having less shortening of the soleus and peroneus longus (up to 3.6 mm and 4.0 mm, respectively), faster lengthening of the plantar flexors (up to 80.4 mm/s) but larger (up to 5.7 mm) and faster (up to 46.2 mm/s) shortening of the tibialis anterior. The SP also showed a lower median frequency of the soleus than the AP. These results indicated the different ankle muscle control between them, which might provide new insights into the understanding of pathology of the SP
THE TIMING OF STOMPING (FUMIKOMI) IN KENDO ATTACKS: COMPARISON OF KYU AND DAN LEVEL KENDOKAS
Get PDFAccording to the doctrine of Kendo, spirit, sword, and body must be synchronized. This principle also applies to the timing of stomping when striking the head target. We instrumented a right Kendo sock and a Kendo helmet (head gear) with piezoresistive sensors, and measured the time interval Δt between two impacts, stomping and striking the head target, in 16 Kendokas (6 Kyu and 10 Dan holders). Δt was significantly (p \u3c 0.0001) different in Kyu and Dan holders, with medians of –0.040 s (stomping before striking) and +0.502 s (stomping after striking) respectively, indicating that the two impacts were not synchronised. This study proposes to revise the doctrines of Kendo and accept the fact that in Dan holders, the foot impact on the ground occurs on average 0.5 s after striking the head target
THE EFFECT OF SURFACES ON THE KNEE BIOMECHANICS OF A 90 DEGREE CUT
Get PDFAssessments following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are commonly on surfaces that do not represent the playing or training surface. This study aimed to investigate how different surfaces, specifically a running track and artificial grass, influence biomechanics during a 90-degree change of direction (COD). Seventeen participants performed a 90-degree COD on both a running track surface and an artificial grass surface. Motion capture and force plate data were collected. No significant differences were observed in kinematic variables between surfaces. However, the knee extensor moment and posterior braking force were significantly higher on the running track compared to artificial grass (
CORRELATION BETWEEN LABORATORY AND FIELD CORE STABILITY TESTS AND THEIR LINK WITH PERFORMANCE AND ACL INJURY RISK
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to identify the most relevant field tests for assessing core stability components and performance and injury risk. National-level women handball players (n=14) performed core stability tests in laboratory and field conditions. Moreover, their athletic performance and ACL injury risk were assessed. CKCUEST was explained by flexibility and endurance component of core stability. Shooting speed was correlated with force, flexibility and endurance, while jumping height was linked to flexibility. Positive correlation was found between ACL injury risk and core strength. These findings could help trainers to select more discriminant tests to evaluate their athletes
USING SUBJECT-SPECIFIC STRENGTH COEFFICIENTS TO SCALE MAXIMUM ISOMETRIC FORCES FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL SIMULATION
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to develop a novel scaling method for use in musculoskeletal simulations. Four college athletes performed typical dynamic movement and isometric strength tasks, while we captured motion capture, ground reaction force, and muscle activation data. Data from the strength task were used to determine subject-specific estimates of maximum isometric muscle force. Our method showed that subject-specific multipliers ranged from 2.32 to 3.37, and decreased normalized root mean squared error between simulated and EMG-measured muscle activation by 52-90% compared to standard scaling. Although the scaling method worked for only 4/10 athletes, it may provide more realistic simulation results (e.g., muscle activations) than current methods and improve the use of musculoskeletal simulations in the field of sports biomechanics