Sensitivity of Thoracolumbar Spine Musculoskeletal Model Loading in Neutral Standing and Forward Flexion Static Postures to Thoracic Disc Stiffness.

This study aimed to quantify the sensitivity of a thoracolumbar musculoskeletal model with a flexible thoracic spine and articulated ribcage to disc flexural stiffness variation inherent from in-vitro cadaveric data. The model was personalized to a normal weight subject, whose upper body segmental masses and centers of mass were computed using a body-shape-based approach. Joint flexural stiffness curves were defined based on in-vitro flexion-extension moment-rotation data from several specimens taken at various thoracic levels, with stiffness variation reaching 1.

Effect of Anthropometry on Plantar Pressure Distribution during Gait in Overweight Male Subjects.

Traditionally, research on plantar pressure in overweight/obese populations has predominantly focused on dividing the plantar surface into two or three regions, considering factors such as body mass index (BMI), age, and gender. This study took a more comprehensive approach, incorporating various anthropometric measurements representing body shape, including arm, leg, and shoulder lengths, as well as thigh, chest, waist, hip, and ankle circumferences. Utilizing retrospective data from overweight but healthy male subjects, the study yielded results revealing robust correlations with Euclidean measurements, circumferential measurements, and circumferential ratios.

Ground Reaction Forces and Moments in Stroke Survivors: Experimental versus AnyBody Model Predictions.

Multibody dynamics models and simulations offer an efficient alternative to traditional methods, such as force plates, pressure sensing mats, and instrumented treadmills, for computing ground reaction forces (GRF) and moments (GRM), valuable in the quantification of the gait of neurological patients. Accurate determination of GRF and GRM magnitudes, with a specific focus on the disruptive shear components affecting gait, is essential for post-stroke gait assessment and rehabilitation. This study explored the predictive capability of musculoskeletal models equipped with foot contact elements, by comparing them with experimental data from a published dataset.

A Multicriteria Decision-Making Framework for Access Point Selection in Hybrid LiFi/WiFi Networks Using Integrated AHP-VIKOR Technique.

Since light fidelity (LiFi) and wireless fidelity (WiFi) do not interfere with one another, a LiFi/WiFi hybrid network may provide superior performance to existing wireless options. With many users and constant changes, a network can easily become overloaded, leading to slowdowns and fluctuations in data transfer speeds. Access point assignment (APA) is required with the increase of users, which can negatively impact the system performance and quality-of-service (QoS) due to mobility and line-of-sight (LOS) blockage.

Effects of cryopreservation on gram-positive bacteria contaminants in umbilical cord blood.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of cryopreservation in post-thaw umbilical cord blood units for the survivability of Gram-positive bacteria strains.

Background: Microbial screening is required for all cord blood units (CBUs). Four gram-positive contaminants were documented to survive cryopreservation poorly and isolation of other contaminants were reported.

An efficient resource utilization scheme within PMIPv6 protocol for urban vehicular networks.

Recently, the mobility management of urban vehicular networks has become great challenges for researchers due to its unique mobility requirements imposed by mobile users when accessing different services in a random fashion. To provide a ubiquitous Internet and seamless connectivity, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has proposed a Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) protocol. This is meant to address the signaling of the mobility transparent to the Mobile Node (MN) and also guarantee session continuity while the MN is in motion.

Quality of Service Class Identifier (QCI) radio resource allocation algorithm for LTE downlink.

The increasing demand for network applications, such as teleconferencing, multimedia messaging and mobile TV, which have diverse requirements, has resulted in the introduction of Long Term Evolution (LTE) by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE networks implement resource allocation algorithms to distribute radio resource to satisfy the bandwidth and delay requirements of users. However, the scheduling algorithm problem of distributing radio resources to users is not well defined in the LTE standard and thus considerably affects transmission order.

Free radical scavenging activity of conjugated linoleic acid as single or mixed isomers.

Context: Conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) are a mixture of positional and geometric isomers of linoleic acid (LA) and believed to have many positive biological activities.

Objective: The present study was undertaken to assess the antioxidant activity of cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12 as single or mixed CLA isomers at two ratios, 1:6 and 1:13 (trans-10, cis-12/cis-9, trans-11).

Materials And Methods: A microplate reader was used to determine the free radical scavenging properties of CLAs against DPPH radical in ethanol.