Neuromuscular adaptations after osseointegration of a bone-anchored prosthesis in a unilateral transfemoral amputee - a case study.

Purpose: Many individuals with a lower limb amputation experience problems with the fitting of the socket of their prosthesis, leading to dissatisfaction or device rejection. Osseointegration (OI)- the implantation of a shaft directly interfacing with the remaining bone- is an alternative for these patients. In this observational study, we investigated how bone anchoring influences neuromuscular parameters during balance control in a patient with a unilateral transfemoral amputation.

Unilateral transfemoral amputees exhibit altered strength and dynamics of muscular co-activation modulated by visual feedback.

Somatosensory perception is disrupted in patients with a lower limb amputation. This increases the difficulty to maintain balance and leads to the development of neuromuscular adjustments. We investigated how these adjustments are reflected in the co-activation of lower body muscles and are modulated by visual feedback.

Influence of Augmented Visual Feedback on Balance Control in Unilateral Transfemoral Amputees.

Patients with a lower limb amputation rely more on visual feedback to maintain balance than able-bodied individuals. Altering this sensory modality in amputees thus results in a disrupted postural control. However, little is known about how lower limb amputees cope with augmented visual information during balance tasks.

Evidence for a Solid-Electrolyte Inductive Effect in the Superionic Conductor LiGeSnPS.

Strategies to enhance ionic conductivities in solid electrolytes typically focus on the effects of modifying their crystal structures or of tuning mobile-ion stoichiometries. A less-explored approach is to modulate the chemical bonding interactions within a material to promote fast lithium-ion diffusion. Recently, the idea of a solid-electrolyte inductive effect has been proposed, whereby changes in bonding within the solid-electrolyte host framework modify the potential energy landscape for the mobile ions, resulting in an enhanced ionic conductivity.

Intermuscular coupling and postural control in unilateral transfemoral amputees - a pilot study.

The dynamics of the adjustment of center of pressure (CoP) has been utilized to understand motor control in human pathologies characterized by impairments in postural balance. The control mechanisms that maintain balance can be investigated via the analysis of muscle recruitment using electromyography (EMG) signals. In this work, we combined these two techniques to investigate balance control during upright standing in transfemoral unilateral amputees wearing a prosthesis.

Physicochemical Concepts of the Lithium Metal Anode in Solid-State Batteries.

Developing reversible lithium metal anodes with high rate capability is one of the central aims of current battery research. Lithium metal anodes are not only required for the development of innovative cell concepts such as lithium-air or lithium-sulfur batteries, they can also increase the energy density of batteries with intercalation-type cathodes. The use of solid electrolyte separators is especially promising to develop well-performing lithium metal anodes, because they can act as a mechanical barrier to avoid unwanted dendritic growth of lithium through the cell.

Toward a Fundamental Understanding of the Lithium Metal Anode in Solid-State Batteries-An Electrochemo-Mechanical Study on the Garnet-Type Solid Electrolyte LiAlLaZrO.

For the development of next-generation lithium batteries, major research effort is made to enable a reversible lithium metal anode by the use of solid electrolytes. However, the fundamentals of the solid-solid interface and especially the processes that take place under current load are still not well characterized. By measuring pressure-dependent electrode kinetics, we explore the electrochemo-mechanical behavior of the lithium metal anode on the garnet electrolyte LiAlLaZrO.

Ionic Conductivity of the NASICON-Related Thiophosphate Na Ti Ga (PS ).

Inspired by the recent interest in fast ionic conducting solids for electrolytes, the ionic conductivity of a novel ionic conductor Na Ti Ga (PS ) has been investigated. Using X-ray diffraction and impedance spectroscopy the sodium ionic conductivity in this compound was demonstrated, in which bond valence sum analysis suggests a tunnel diffusion for Na . Substitution with Ga leads to an increasing Na content, an expansion of the lattice and an increasing conductivity with increasing x in Na Ti Ga (PS ) .

Comparing the Descriptors for Investigating the Influence of Lattice Dynamics on Ionic Transport Using the Superionic Conductor NaPSSe .

Recent work on superionic conductors has demonstrated the influence of lattice dynamics and the softness of the lattice on ionic transport. When examining either the changes in the acoustic phonon spectrum or the whole phonon density of states, both a decreasing activation barrier of migration and a decreasing entropy of migration have been observed, highlighting that the paradigm of "the softer the lattice, the better" does not always hold true. However, both approaches to monitor the changing lattice dynamics probe different frequency ranges of the phonon spectrum, and thus, it is unclear if they are complementary.

Local Tetragonal Structure of the Cubic Superionic Conductor NaPS.

The sodium superionic conductor NaPS is known to crystallize in one of two different structural polymorphs at room temperature (i.e., cubic or tetragonal, depending on the synthetic conditions).

Influence of Lattice Polarizability on the Ionic Conductivity in the Lithium Superionic Argyrodites LiPSX (X = Cl, Br, I).

In the search for novel solid electrolytes for solid-state batteries, thiophosphate ionic conductors have been in recent focus owing to their high ionic conductivities, which are believed to stem from a softer, more polarizable anion framework. Inspired by the oft-cited connection between a soft anion lattice and ionic transport, this work aims to provide evidence on how changing the polarizability of the anion sublattice in one structure affects ionic transport. Here, we systematically alter the anion framework polarizability of the superionic argyrodites LiPSX by controlling the fractional occupancy of the halide anions (X = Cl, Br, I).