Dynamic CT scanning of the knee: Combining weight bearing with real-time motion acquisition.

Background: Imaging the lower limb during weight-bearing conditions is essential to acquire advanced functional joint information. The horizontal bed position of CT systems however hinders this process. The purpose of this study was to validate and test a device to simulate realistic knee weight-bearing motion in a horizontal position during dynamic CT acquisition and process the acquired images.

Homologous and Heterologous Prime-Boost Vaccination: Impact on Clinical Severity of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Infection among Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Belgium.

We investigated effectiveness of (1) mRNA booster vaccination versus primary vaccination only and (2) heterologous (viral vector-mRNA) versus homologous (mRNA-mRNA) prime-boost vaccination against severe outcomes of BA.1, BA.2, BA.

Predicting COVID-19 progression in hospitalized patients in Belgium from a multi-state model.

Objectives: To adopt a multi-state risk prediction model for critical disease/mortality outcomes among hospitalised COVID-19 patients using nationwide COVID-19 hospital surveillance data in Belgium.

Materials And Methods: Information on 44,659 COVID-19 patients hospitalised between March 2020 and June 2021 with complete data on disease outcomes and candidate predictors was used to adopt a multi-state, multivariate Cox model to predict patients' probability of recovery, critical [transfer to intensive care units (ICU)] or fatal outcomes during hospital stay.

Results: Median length of hospital stay was 9 days (interquartile range: 5-14).

Impact of COVID-19 on the Belgian HIV epidemic: slowdown of HIV transmission and testing and adaptation of care.

Background: To gain insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures on the HIV epidemic and services, this study aims to describe HIV trends in 2020 and compare them with previous years.

Methods: Belgian national HIV surveillance data 2017-2020 were analysed for trends in HIV testing, HIV diagnoses, VL measurements, ART uptake and PrEP purchase. Descriptive statistics from 2020 are compared to annual averages from 2017 to 2019 (proportional difference, %).

Evaluating methodological approaches to assess the severity of infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants: scoping review and applications on Belgian COVID-19 data.

Background: Differences in the genetic material of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants may result in altered virulence characteristics. Assessing the disease severity caused by newly emerging variants is essential to estimate their impact on public health. However, causally inferring the intrinsic severity of infection with variants using observational data is a challenging process on which guidance is still limited.

Severity of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Belgium.

Introduction: The pathogenesis of COVID-19 depends on the interplay between host characteristics, viral characteristics and contextual factors. Here, we compare COVID-19 disease severity between hospitalized patients in Belgium infected with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.

Effects of Rehearsal Time and Repertoire Speed on Upper Trapezius Activity in Conservatory Piano Students.

Background: Repetitive piano play may overload neck and shoulder muscles and tendons, leading to playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs).

Methods: In this pilot study (EMG data of the extensor carpi radialis have been published separately), surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of the upper trapezius (UT) was captured in 10 conservatory piano students while playing a fast and a slow music score selected from the individual's repertoire, each 3 minutes long. Measurements were made at baseline and again after 2 hrs and 4 hrs of rehearsal time of the piano études.

Human Musculoskeletal and Energetic Adaptations to Unilateral Robotic Knee Gait Assistance.

Objective: This paper aims to analyse the human musculoskeletal and energetic adaptation mechanisms when physically interacting with a unilateral knee orthosis during treadmill walking.

Methods: Test subjects participated in two walking trials, whereby the orthosis was controlled to deliver five predefined torque profiles of different duration (as % of a gait cycle). The adaptations to assistive torques of different duration were analysed in terms of gait parameters, metabolic effort, and muscle activity.

Prevalence and incidence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in secondary industries of 21st century Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Over the course of the twenty-first century, work-related musculoskeletal disorders are still persisting among blue collar workers. At present, no epidemiological overview exists. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was performed on the epidemiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) within Europe's secondary industries.

An Exploratory Meta-Analytic Review on the Empirical Evidence of Differential Learning as an Enhanced Motor Learning Method.

Differential learning (DL) is a motor learning method characterized by high amounts of variability during practice and is claimed to provide the learner with a higher learning rate than other methods. However, some controversy surrounds DL theory, and to date, no overview exists that compares the effects of DL to other motor learning methods. To evaluate the effectiveness of DL in comparison to other motor learning methods in the acquisition and retention phase.

Passive Shoulder Exoskeletons: More Effective in the Lab Than in the Field?

Shoulder exoskeletons potentially reduce overuse injuries in industrial settings including overhead work or lifting tasks. Previous studies evaluated these devices primarily in laboratory setting, but evidence of their effectiveness outside the lab is lacking. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two passive shoulder exoskeletons and explore the transfer of laboratory-based results to the field.

Walking with a powered ankle-foot orthosis: the effects of actuation timing and stiffness level on healthy users.

Background: In the last decades, several powered ankle-foot orthoses have been developed to assist the ankle joint of their users during walking. Recent studies have shown that the effects of the assistance provided by powered ankle-foot orthoses depend on the assistive profile. In compliant actuators, the stiffness level influences the actuator's performance.

Effects of Rehearsal Time and Repertoire Speed on Extensor Carpi Radialis EMG in Conservatory Piano Students.

Background: Repetitive actions while playing piano may overload forearm muscles and tendons, leading to playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs), including lateral epicondylitis.

Methods: In this pilot study, surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of the extensor carpi radialis (ECR) was captured in 10 conservatory piano students while playing a fast and a slow music score selected from the individual's repertoire, each 3 minutes long. Measurements were made at baseline and again after 2 hrs and 4 hrs of rehearsal time of the piano études.

Statistical parametric mapping of biomechanical one-dimensional data with Bayesian inference.

Recent developments in Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) for continuum data (e.g. kinematic time series) have been adopted by the biomechanics research community with great interest.

The Effect of Optic Flow Speed on Active Participation During Robot-Assisted Treadmill Walking in Healthy Adults.

This study aimed to investigate: 1) the effect of optic flow speed manipulation on active participation during robot-assisted treadmill walking (RATW), 2) the influence of the type of virtual environment, and 3) the level of motion sickness and enjoyment. Twenty-eight healthy older adults were randomized in two groups: "stimulus rich" Park group (50% male, 61± 6 year) and "stimulus poor" Hallway group (43% male, 62± 5 year). Subjects walked in the Lokomat with immersive virtual reality (VR) with a matched, slow and fast optic flow speed, each lasting 7 minutes.

Short-term effects of differential learning and contextual interference in a goalkeeper-like task: Visuomotor response time and motor control.

In this experiment, we compared changes in visuomotor performance and motor control after a single session of differential learning (DL) and contextual interference (CI) in a reaching task to mimic goalkeeping. Subjects (n = n = 16) stood in front of a wall with six LED-light targets that flashed on in a random order and subjects had to move their hand in front of it as fast as possible in order to extinguish the target. After the pre-test subjects followed a DL or CI training session, followed immediately by a post-test, followed by one hour of rest and a retention test.

Questioning the "SPIN and SNOUT" rule in clinical testing.

Specificity (SP) and sensitivity (SE) answer the question 'what is the chance of a positive or negative test in response to the presence or absence of a clinical condition?'. Related to SP and SE are the diagnostic procedures of SNOUT and SPIN. SNOUT is the acronym for 'Sensitive test when Negative rules OUT the disease', SPIN for, 'Specific test when Positive rules IN the disease'.

The Uncontrolled Manifold Concept Reveals That the Structure of Postural Control in Recurve Archery Shooting Is Related to Accuracy.

In this study, we examine the structure of postural variability in six elite-level recurve archers using the uncontrolled manifold concept. Previous research showed equivocal results for the relationship between postural control and shooting accuracy, but these studies were mainly limited to a descriptive approach to postural variability/stability and did not take the simultaneous movements of the upper limb joints into account. In this study, we show that the goal-equivalent variability which stabilizes the orientation of the arrow in space is significantly larger than that of the non-goal-equivalent variability in arrows of high accuracy (score 9 or 10).

Evaluation of coordination hysteresis in a multidimensional movement task with continuous relative phase and Self-Organizing Maps.

Hysteresis in the coordination of movement can be described in the language of coordination dynamics as an asymmetrical response of a system's order parameter with respect to opposite changes in a control parameter. For movement tasks involving a large number of active degrees-of-freedom, the order parameter can be modelled with a pattern recognition approach like Self-Organizing Maps (SOM). This study explored this method in a rope-skipping task, which involves the coordinated oscillation of several segments in the lower and upper limb and trunk and we compared the results to a classical order parameter like continuous relative phase.

Continuous Knee Cooling Affects Functional Hop Performance - A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Cryotherapy is widely used in sports and rehabilitation to aid recovery and injury management. The purpose was to examine if a low temperature computer controlled continuous knee cooling protocol (10°C) for one hour and a moderate continuous knee cooling protocol (18°C) for one hour affected neuromuscular activity and functional performance tests. We used a randomized controlled study design.