Gait stability,variability and complexity on inclined surfaces

This study evaluated the gait stability, variability, and complexity of healthy young adults on inclined surfaces. A total of 49 individuals walked on a treadmill at their preferred speed for 4 min at inclinations of 6%, 8%, and 10% in upward (UP) and downward (DOWN) conditions, and in horizontal (0%) condition. Gait variability was assessed using average standard deviation trunk acceleration between strides (VAR), gait stability was assessed using margin of stability (MoS) and maximum Lyapunov exponent (λs), and gait complexity was assessed using sample entropy (SEn). Trunk variability (VAR) increased in the medial-lateral (ML), anterior-posterior, and vertical directions for all inclined conditions. The SEn values indicated that movement complexity decreased almost linearly from DOWN to UP conditions, reflecting changes in gait pattern with longer and slower steps as inclination increased. The DOWN conditions were associated with the highest variability and lowest stability in the MoS ML, but not in λs. Stability was lower in UP conditions, which exhibited the largest λs values. The overall results support the hypothesis that inclined surfaces decrease gait stability and alter gait variability, particularly in UP conditions.     

Some meteorological conditions associated with forest fires in Galicia (Spain)

The present paper offers data on the effect of certain meteorological parameters on the outbreak of forest fires in Galicia (Spain). In a day-to-day analysis, the values of the stability of the air column and the saturation deficit at the lower levels are related to the number of fires occurring in the following 24 h.     

An Estimation Procedure for the Joint Distribution of Spatial Direction and Thickness of Flat Bodies Using Vertical Sections. Part II: An application in soil micromorphology

In soil micromorphology fissures are considered in vertical sections. To get information about the properties of the soil the joint distribution of spatial direction and width of these fissures is of interest. The fissures are mathematically generalized to flat bodies which are defined as stationary weighted surface processes with the weight “thickness”. In a typical point of the surface process suitable, joint parametric distributions of direction and thickness are assumed. The parameters have to be estimated from measurements on vertical sections which are taken from the soil. On these sections only a visible thickness and a visible angle can be observed. The joint distribution of these variables can be expressed by the joint distribution of spatial direction and thickness with the same parameters and in this indirect way the parameters can be estimated. The paper describes how to randomize the vertical section and how to measure the visible variables on the sections. The Chi-Square method is proposed for the parameter estimation. Further it is discussed how to derive good starting values for the numerical procedure. All this is demonstrated in a simulation study using the Bingham-Mardia distribution for the direction and the lognormal distribution for the thickness including a way to correlate the mean thickness and the direction. Finally an application in soil micromorphology is demonstrated for one soil horizon.     

Modela-r as a Froude and Strouhal dimensionless numbers combination for dynamic similarity in running

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that running at fixed fractions of Froude (Nfr) and Strouhal (Str) dimensionless numbers combinations induce dynamic similarity between humans of different sizes. Nineteen subjects ran in three experimental conditions, (i) constant speed, (ii) similar speed (Nfr) and (iii) similar speed and similar step frequency (Nfr and Str combination). In addition to anthropometric data, temporal, kinematic and kinetic parameters were assessed at each stage to measure dynamic similarity informed by dimensional scale factors and by the decrease of dimensionless mechanical parameter variability. Over a total of 54 dynamic parameters, dynamic similarity from scale factors was met for 16 (mean r=0.51), 32 (mean r=0.49) and 52 (mean r=0.60) parameters in the first, the second and the third experimental conditions, respectively. The variability of the dimensionless preceding parameters was lower in the third condition than in the others. This study shows that the combination of Nfr and Str, computed from the dimensionless energy ratio at the center of gravity (Modela-r) ensures dynamic similarity between different-sized subjects. The relevance of using similar experimental conditions to compare mechanical dimensionless parameters is also proved and will highlight the study of running techniques, or equipment, and will allow the identification of abnormal and pathogenic running patterns. Modela-r may be adapted to study other abilities requiring bounces in human or animal locomotion or to conduct investigations in comparative biomechanics.     

Applications of Hydrolytic and Decarboxylating Enzymes in Biotransformations

Peptides, and oligosaccharides and glycosides, can be synthesised by making use of the ‘reverse hydrolytic activity’ of proteases and glycosidases respectively. In applying these enzymes to the practical synthesis of these classes of compound, several factors need to be considered, namely the need to shift the rate-determining step through the use of activated substrates, the need to minimise competing hydrolysis of these and the need to minimise hydrolysis of the products. In spite of these problems, the enzymatic methods have many attractive features, not least amongst which is the absolute control of stereochemistry in acyl transfer and glycosyl transfer respectively.     

医疗保险总额预付试点三级医院患者就医感受调查

目的 调查上海市实行医疗保险总额预付的三级医院中患者的就医感受。方法 经培训的调查员应用结构式调查问卷对上海市10家实行医疗保险总额预付的三级医院的699名患者进行面对面访谈，数据分析主要采用描述性统计。结果 城保患者对门诊医生明显减少处方金额（或处方天数）的感受强于非城保患者，城保和非城保患者的住院就医感受差异无显著统计学意义。结论 医疗保险总额预付对上海三级医院患者就医感受的总体效应似偏弱，而且有限的影响主要集中于门诊而非住院环节。     

The effect of behavioural and morphological plasticity on foraging efficiency in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus sp.)

We conducted an experiment to assess the change in foraging efficiency resulting from diet-induced morphological and behavioural plasticity in a species of freshwater, threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus sp.). Different degrees of morphological and behavioural change were induced using two prey items commonly found in the diet of this species, allowing us to estimate the relative importance of each type of plasticity. The purpose of the experiment was twofold. First, earlier work had suggested that diet variability might be an important factor in the evolution of trophic morphological plasticity in sticklebacks. The present results extend this work by revealing the adaptive significance of morphological plasticity. The current experiment also qualitatively assessed the compatibility of the time scale of morphological change with that of the natural resource variability experienced by this species. The results indicate that diet-induced plasticity improves foraging efficiency continuously for up to 72 days of prey exposure. This is probably due in part to plasticity of the external trophic morphology but our results also suggest a complex interplay between morphology and behaviour. The time scale appears to be matched to that of natural diet variability although it is possible that some traits exhibit non-labile plasticity. Our discussion highlights the important distinction between conditions favouring the evolution of labile versus non-labile plasticity. The second objective of the experiment was to determine the relative importance of morphological and behavioural plasticity. Few studies have attempted to quantify the adaptive significance of morphological plasticity and no study to our knowledge has separated the effects of morphological and behavioural plasticity. Our experiment reveals that both behavioural and morphological plasticity are important and it also suggests a dichotomy between the two: behavioural plasticity predominately affects searching efficiency whereas morphological plasticity predominately affects handling efficiency.     

The interactive effects of temperature,food level and maternal phenotype on offspring size in Daphnia magna

Invertebrate offspring are usually larger in colder environments. To test for possible effects of covariates (e.g. maternal phenotype and feeding conditions) on this pattern, we performed a laboratory experiment to look at the effect of temperature on newborn weight in the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna. Three tempèratures (12°C, 16°C and 22°C) and two food levels (10,000 cells ml^–1 and 150,000 cells ml^–1) were used, and offspring were examined from the first five clutches of mothers that had been maintained under the constant experimental conditions for three generations. Preliminary analysis suggested that newborn weight was significantly affected by temperature although patterns in the data were not clear cut. In addition, the covariates mother weight and clutch size were positively and negatively correlated with newborn weight, respectively; and later clutches tended to contain heavier offspring. Therefore, in an effort to control for the effects of the covariates, repeated-measures analysis of covariance was performed using ratio values of newborn weight/mother weight (relative newborn weight) as the dependent variable, clutch size as the covariate and clutch number as the repeated measures term. Now, temperature as a main effect in an ANCOVA model did not significantly influence relative newborn weight. The repeatedmeasure term clutch number also became nonsignificant, indicating that when differences in mother weight due to age were accounted for there were no overall differences in relative newborn weight between clutches from a particular mother. Temperature effects on relative newborn weight were only significant as part of interaction terms with food concentration and with clutch number. Thus there were different weight responses to temperature within food levels, and between clutch numbers within food levels. Under the low-food conditions newborn were heaviest at 16°C, lightest at 12°C and intermediate at 22°C. Conversely, under the high-food condition newborn were lightest at 16°C, heaviest at 12°C and again intermediate at 22°C. However, newborn tended to be heavier under the low food condition, and food concentration was highly significant as a main effect. Mother growth rate showed no significant relationship with newborn weight. It is concluded that direct temperature effects on relative newborn weight are marginal and nonsignificant. Temperature effects through interactions with food concentration and clutch number are important determinants of newborn weight, but relatively speaking account for only a small proportion of observed variance in newborn weight (25%), compared with the direct effect of food concentration (67%).