Body-Worn IMU-Based Human Hip and Knee Kinematics Estimation during Treadmill Walking.

Traditionally, inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based human joint angle estimation techniques are evaluated for general human motion where human joints explore all of their degrees of freedom. Pure human walking, in contrast, limits the motion of human joints and may lead to unobservability conditions that confound magnetometer-free IMU-based methods. This work explores the unobservability conditions emergent during human walking and expands upon a previous IMU-based method for the human knee to also estimate human hip angles relative to an assumed vertical datum.

Body-Worn IMU Human Skeletal Pose Estimation Using a Factor Graph-Based Optimization Framework.

Traditionally, inertial measurement units- (IMU) based human joint angle estimation requires a priori knowledge about sensor alignment or specific calibration motions. Furthermore, magnetometer measurements can become unreliable indoors. Without magnetometers, however, IMUs lack a heading reference, which leads to unobservability issues.

Determinants of hamstring fascicle length in professional rugby league athletes.

Objectives: Investigate the determinants of hamstring fascicle length in professional rugby league players.

Design: Retrospective cohort study METHODS: Thirty-three elite male athletes underwent testing in the pre-season and in-season periods. Fascicle length measurements of the biceps femoris long head, 3D kinematics and elapsed time-periods at thigh angular velocities between 20°/s to peak velocity during a single-leg Nordic hamstring strength test, GPS-derived running loads, age and previous injury history were all recorded.

Correction: McGrath, T., et al. An Auto-Calibrating Knee Flexion-Extension Axis Estimator using Principal Component Analysis with Inertial Sensors. 2018, 18(6), 1882.

The authors wish to make the following revisions to this paper [...

Objective Metrics Quantifying Fit and Performance in Spacesuit Assemblies.

Human-spacesuit fit is not well understood, especially in relation to operational performance and injury risk. Current fit decisions use subjective feedback. This work developed and evaluated new metrics for quantifying fit and assessed metric sensitivity to changes in padding between the human and hip brief assembly (HBA).

An Auto-Calibrating Knee Flexion-Extension Axis Estimator Using Principal Component Analysis with Inertial Sensors.

Inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been demonstrated to reliably measure human joint angles—an essential quantity in the study of biomechanics. However, most previous literature proposed IMU-based joint angle measurement systems that required manual alignment or prescribed calibration motions. This paper presents a simple, physically-intuitive method for IMU-based measurement of the knee flexion/extension angle in gait without requiring alignment or discrete calibration, based on computationally-efficient and easy-to-implement Principle Component Analysis (PCA).

An Ecological Study of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Part 2: Functional Performance Tests Correlate With Return-to-Sport Outcomes.

Background: Additional high-quality prospective studies are needed to better define the objective criteria used in relation to return-to-sport decisions after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in active populations.

Purpose: To investigate prospectively the relationship between functional performance test results at 24 weeks postoperative and return-to-sport activity (Tegner activity score) at 12 and 24 months, respectively, after synthetic (ligament advanced reinforcement system [LARS]) and autograft (doubled semitendinosus/gracilis [2ST/2GR]) ACL reconstructions.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

An Ecological Study of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Part 1: Clinical Tests Do Not Correlate With Return-to-Sport Outcomes.

Background: Additional high-quality prospective studies are needed to better define the objective criteria used in relation to return-to-sport decisions after synthetic (ligament advanced reinforcement system [LARS]) and autograft (hamstring tendon [2ST/2GR]) anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in active populations.

Purpose: To prospectively investigate and describe the recovery of objective clinical outcomes after autograft (2ST/2GR) and synthetic (LARS) ACL reconstructions, as well as to investigate the relationship between these clinimetric test outcomes and return-to-sport activity (Tegner activity scale [TAS] score) at 12 and 24 months postoperatively.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

The effect of limb dominance on lower limb functional performance--a systematic review.

Lower limb dominance (or lateral preference) could potentially effect functional performance. Clinicians are often asked to make judgements as to when a patient has sufficiently "recovered" from an injury, typically using strength and dynamic performance outcome measures. The primary purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature in relation to limb dominance within active adult populations and discuss some limitations to current methods and relate this to current clinical practice.

Normative Values for Grip and Pinch Strength for 6- to 19-Year-Olds.

Objectives: To provide current normative data for grip and pinch strength in children and young adults aged 6 to 19 years as well as to examine the effect of age, sex, and hand dominance on grip and pinch strength.

Design: Descriptive cross-sectional.

Setting: Two grade schools, 2 high schools, and 1 university.

Investigation of Listeria, Salmonella, and toxigenic Escherichia coli in various pet foods.

The Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN), in collaboration with the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) and its Microbiology Cooperative Agreement Program (MCAP) laboratories, conducted a study to evaluate the prevalence of selected microbial organisms in various types of pet foods. The goal of this blinded study was to help the Center for Veterinary Medicine prioritize potential future pet food-testing efforts. The study also increased the FERN laboratories' screening capabilities for foodborne pathogens in animal feed matrices, since such pathogens may also be a significant health risk to consumers who come into contact with pet foods.

Rapid detection of the Vibrio cholerae ctx gene in food enrichments using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

A real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay for the detection of the ctxA gene of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae (Vc) was validated against standard culture techniques. The first experimental phase determined optimal enrichment conditions for detection by culture and qPCR of Vc in shrimp, bottled water, milk, and potato salad. The conditions tested included temperature (35 and 42 degrees C), time (6 and 18 h), and effect of shaking (0 and 100 rpm).