Progressive resistance training after stroke: effects on muscle strength, muscle tone, gait performance and perceived participation.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of progressive resistance training on muscle strength, muscle tone, gait performance and perceived participation after stroke.

Design: A randomized controlled trial.

Subjects: Twenty-four subjects (mean age 61 years (standard deviation 5)) 6-48 months post-stroke.

Superimposed electrical stimulation: assessment of voluntary activation and perceived discomfort in healthy, moderately active older and younger women and men.

Objective: An inability of the nervous system to fully activate the muscle is one factor that can contribute to age-related muscle weakness. Superimposed electrical stimulation can be used to determine voluntary muscle activation (VA). The aim of this study was to assess VA of the quadriceps muscle in healthy older and younger subjects.

Voluntary activation and central activation failure in the knee extensors in young women and men.

Quadriceps muscle weakness is common after knee injuries. This weakness is caused, in part, by reduced voluntary activation (VA) because of central activation failure (CAF). Superimposed electrical stimulation techniques are used to assess VA and to detect CAF.

Knee muscle strength, gait performance, and perceived participation after stroke.

Objective: To assess the relation between knee muscle strength, gait performance, and perceived participation in subjects with chronic mild to moderate poststroke hemiparesis.

Design: Descriptive analysis of convenience sample.

Setting: University hospital.

How to assess the reliability of measurements in rehabilitation.

To evaluate the effects of rehabilitation interventions, we need reliable measurements. The measurements should also be sufficiently sensitive to enable the detection of clinically important changes. In recent years, the assessment of reliability in clinical practice and medical research has developed from the use of correlation coefficients to a comprehensive set of statistical methods.

What change in isokinetic knee muscle strength can be detected in men and women with hemiparesis after stroke?

Objective: To assess the intra-rater (between occasions) test-retest reliability of isokinetic knee muscle strength measurements in subjects with chronic poststroke hemiparesis and to define limits for the smallest change that indicates real (clinical) improvements for stroke patients.

Subjects: Fifty men and women (mean age 58 +/- 6.4 years) 6-46 months post stroke, able to walk at least 300 m with or without a unilateral assistive device.

Reliability of gait performance tests in men and women with hemiparesis after stroke.

Objective: To assess the reliability of 6 gait performance tests in individuals with chronic mild to moderate post-stroke hemiparesis.

Design: An intra-rater (between occasions) test-retest reliability study.

Subjects: Fifty men and women (mean age 58+/-6.

Structure and function of the ankle dorsiflexor muscles in young and moderately active men and women.

The aim was to investigate determinants of ankle dorsiflexor muscle (DF) strength and size in moderately active young men and women (n = 30; age 20-31 yr). Concentric (Con) and eccentric (Ecc) strength were measured isokinetically. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine the muscle cross-sectional area (CSA).

Effects of superimposed electrical stimulation on perceived discomfort and torque increment size and variability.

Superimposed electrical stimulation techniques can be used to detect central activation failure (CAF), that is, incomplete central nervous system recruitment or suboptimal activation of motor units. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two stimulation parameters on perceived discomfort and torque increment size and variability. Discomfort was evaluated using a visual analog scale (0-100 mm) for pain.

Some relationships between spirochaete infections and digital dermatitis in four UK dairy herds.

Digital dermatitis, presenting as a focal necrotic dermatitis on the skin of cows' feet adjacent to the interdigital space, has been associated with dermal infection by spirochaetes. Lesions cause severe, transient lameness. An enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was used to measure IgG(2) antibody titres against three different spirochaetes: USA bovine Treponema isolates 1-9185MED and 2-1498, and a UK strain of Borrelia burgdorferi B31.

Enzyme activities in the tibialis anterior muscle of young moderately active men and women: relationship with body composition, muscle cross-sectional area and fibre type composition.

The aims of this study were (i) to assess the differences between men and women in maximal activities of selected enzymes of aerobic and anaerobic pathways involved in skeletal muscle energy production, and (ii) to assess the relationships between maximal enzyme activities, body composition, muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and fibre type composition. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of 15 men and 15 women (age 20-31 years) with comparable physical activity levels. The muscle CSA was determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Comparison of external and internal pelvic measurements of Belgian Blue cattle from sample herds in Belgium and the United kingdom.

Measurements describing pelvic conformation of pedigree Belgian Blue cows were obtained from a sample of nine herds in Flanders, Belgium, comprising 111 adult breeding cows, and from 11 herds in the United Kingdom comprising 108 similar cows. All herds in the Belgian sample (111 cows) managed parturition by elective caesarian section as did seven herds (56 cows) in the UK sample; the remainder of UK herds (52 cows) allowed cows the opportunity to calve naturally per vagina before resorting to caesarian section. The data described the external and internal measurements, and pelvic area characteristic of this breed, irrespective of the different selection pressures applied over a number of years to this breed through variation in farm management and market forces present in either country.

Assessment of contractile and noncontractile components in human skeletal muscle by magnetic resonance imaging.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for the assessment of contractile and noncontractile components of human skeletal muscle is described, and the inter-rater and intra-rater test-retest reliability for repeated measurements from the same MR image are examined. Twenty cross-sectional MR images from the right lower leg were obtained from 30 healthy young men and women (mean age 24.1 years, SD 3.

Ankle dorsiflexor muscle performance in healthy young men and women: reliability of eccentric peak torque and work measurements.

The aims of this study were: (i) to assess the test-retest intrarater reliability of eccentric ankle dorsiflexor muscle performance in young healthy men and women using the Biodex dynamometer; and (ii) to examine different statistical indices for the interpretation of reliability. Thirty men and women (age 22.5 +/- 2.

Reliability of isokinetic ankle dorsiflexor strength measurements in healthy young men and women.

The purposes of this study were: (i) to determine the test-retest reliability of isokinetic ankle dorsiflexor strength measurements in young healthy adults using the Biodex dynamometer, and (ii) to examine several statistical measures for the interpretation of reliability. Thirty men and women (mean age 23 +/- 3 years) performed three maximal concentric contractions at 30 degrees/s, 60 degrees/s, 90 degrees/s, 120 degrees/s and 150 degrees/s. Reliability of peak torque, work and torque at a specific time were assessed by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 2,1), Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (r), standard error of the measurement (SEM), method error (ME) and coefficient of variation (CV), and by plotting the differences between observations against their means.

Superimposed single impulse and pulse train electrical stimulation: A quantitative assessment during submaximal isometric knee extension in young, healthy men.

Superimposed electrical stimulation techniques can be used to detect central activation failure (CAF), defined as incomplete central nervous system recruitment, suboptimal activation of motor units, or both. The purpose of this study was to evaluate superimposed electrical stimulation techniques to be used to detect CAF during isometric knee extension. We performed three sets of experiments and compared the torque increments from transcutaneous electrical stimulation with: (i) single impulses of different amplitudes (100 V, 150 V, and 200 V) and a pulse train of 100 Hz (100 V, 100 ms); (ii) pulse trains (100 Hz, 100 V) of different lengths (100 ms, 200 ms, and 300 ms); and (iii) pulse trains (100 Hz, 100 ms) of different amplitudes (50 V, 100 V, 150 V, and 200 V).

Skeletal muscle fatigue and endurance in young and old men and women.

The effects of increasing age on skeletal muscle fatigue and endurance were assessed in 22 healthy young (14 men and 8 women; mean age, 28 +/- 6 years) and 16 healthy old (8 men and 8 women; mean age, 73 +/- 3 years) individuals. All subjects performed 100 repeated maximum dynamic knee extensions at 90 degrees.s-1 (1.

Epidemiology of lameness in dairy cattle: the influence of cubicles and indoor and outdoor walking surfaces.

A survey of cubicles and indoor and outdoor walking surfaces on 37 farms served by four veterinary practices in Somerset, Cheshire, Wirral and west. Wales was carried out in 1989 to 1991. A study of the space requirements of Friesian/Holstein cows at pasture showed that they required approximately 240 cm x 120 cm lying space and a further 60 cm lunging space for rising.

Epidemiology of lameness in dairy cattle: description and analysis of foot lesions.

Information from 37 dairy farms, in four regions of England and Wales provided data on 8991 lesions and the preventive trimming of 4837 cows' feet. Of the total of 13,828 forms returned, veterinary surgeons treated 32 per cent and farmers or stockmen 46 per cent. Of the 8645 lesions associated with episodes of lameness, lesions in the hindlimbs accounted for 92 per cent, of which 65 per cent were in the outer claw, 20 per cent in the skin and 14 per cent in the inner claw.

Incidence and prevalence of lameness in dairy cattle.

A survey was made of 37 dairy farms in Wirral, mid-Cheshire, mid-Somerset and Dyfed, Wales, to assess the incidence and prevalence of lameness in the cows between May 1989 and September 1991. The incidence was obtained from records made whenever a cow was examined for lameness or received preventive foot-trimming. The mean annual incidence was 54.

Heavy-resistance training in older Scandinavian men and women: short- and long-term effects on arm and leg muscles.

The short- and long-term effects of heavy-resistance training (85% of one-repetition maximum (RM)) on elbow flexion and knee extension dynamic and isokinetic strength and on morphology in the biceps brachii and vastus lateralis muscles were evaluated during 1 year in 35 Scandinavian men and women, aged 70-77 years, 12 of whom formed a control group. After the first 11 weeks of training (n = 23; 3 times/week) elbow flexion and knee extension dynamic strength (1 RM) had increased [mean +/- SD] 49% +/- 16 and 163% +/- 75, respectively, with no significant difference between men and women. For the following 27 weeks, strength was maintained with one training session per week (n = 12) but dropped without training (n = 11).

Factors affecting the integrity of latissimus dorsi muscle grafts: implications for cardiac assistance from skeletal muscle.

Background: Severe latissimus dorsi muscle damage may compromise cardiomyoplasty performance. We analyzed factors underlying the damage produced in 20 sheep latissimus dorsi muscles by isolating the influences of electrical stimulation, mobilization (with some loss of vascular supply), loss of normal resting tension, or a combination of these.

Methods: In group I (n = 3), the muscle was mobilized except for its neurovascular pedicle and reattached at normal resting length.

Fibre type composition of rabbit tibialis anterior and extensor digitorum longus muscles.

Rabbit tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles are used extensively in studies of stimulation-induced fibre type transformation, but the proportions and sizes of the 2 main fibre types, and the way in which they are distributed within the muscles, have never been described in any detail. In this study, transverse sections were processed by enzyme histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques and assessed morphometrically. The data were analysed by multivariate methods.

Observer variation in field data describing foot shape in dairy cattle.

A qualitative scoring method was devised to describe foot shape in dairy cattle, which relied solely on visual observations. Four independent trained observers used the method to assess the foot shape of 248 cows located on three farms on two different occasions, and the percentages of agreement and near-agreement for intraobserver and interobserver variation on scores for foot shape were calculated. Score assessment methods were suitable for describing features with a broad variation within one score value; reducing the number of observers did not improve best agreement between separate observations by more than 80 per cent.

The effect of vaccination against Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo infection at the time of service on pregnancy rates in dairy cows.

Fertility data from 16 dairy herds vaccinated against hardjo infection were used to assess pregnancy rates in cattle vaccinated around the day of mating. There was no improvement in pregnancy rates 30-60 d after vaccination. Pregnancy rates in the period 5 d before and 10 d after vaccination were statistically lower than those found in 30-60 d around vaccination.