Investigation of Micro-wear and Micro-friction Properties for Bionic Non-smooth Concave Components

Five kinds of 45^# steel samples with concave features on the surface were manufactured using Laser Texturing Technology (LIT). Optimum design theory was used to design the experiment, and a two-level orthogonal table-L16 (2^15) design was adopted , Micro-wear and micro-friction experienced by samples with concave surface features and samples with smooth surfaces were compared experimentally. The wear resistance of samples with concave surface features was increased most,and different surface morphologies had different effects on f~iction and wear properties.     

EMG median frequency changes in the neck–shoulder stabilizers of symptomatic office workers when challenged by different physical stressors

The problem of work-related neck and upper limb disorders among computer users has been reported extensively in the literature, and commonly cited risk factors include static posture, speed and force of keyboard operation. The present study examined changes in median frequency (MF) of the neck–shoulder muscles in symptomatic and asymptomatic office workers when they were exposed to these three physical stressors.

A quasi-experimental Case–Control design was used to examine MF changes in two groups of female office workers when they were subjected to controlled doses of computer work involving prolonged static posture, increased typing speed and increased typing force. The MF of four major neck–shoulder muscles were examined bilaterally and compared between groups.

The MF changes over time-at-task did not clearly illustrate any muscle fatigue mechanism. However, Case Group consistently showed trends for higher MF than the Control Group, and this pattern was observed in response to all three physical stressors. The consistent group differences in MF suggest different muscle recruitment strategies between symptomatic and asymptomatic office workers. These results implied that symptomatic individuals had altered motor control, which may have important implications in understanding the etiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.     

Quantitative assessment of upper limb muscle fatigue depending on the conditions of repetitive task load

The aim of this study was to discriminate fatigue of upper limb muscles depending on the external load, through the development and analysis of a muscle fatigue index. Muscle fatigue is expressed by a fatigue index based on an amplitude parameter (calculated in the time domain) and a fatigue index based on a frequency parameter (a parameter calculated in the frequency domain). The fatigue index involves a regression function that describes changes in the EMG signal parameter, time elapsing before muscle fatigue and the probability of specific trends in changes in EMG parameters for the population under study.

The experimental study covered a group of 10 young men. During the study, they exerted force at a specific level and for a specific time in 12 load variants. During the study, EMG signals from four muscles of the upper limb were recorded (trapezius pars descendents, biceps brachii caput breve, extensor carpi radialis brevis, flexor carpi ulnaris). For each variant and for each examined muscles, the value of the fatigue index was calculated. Values of that index quantitatively expressed fatigue of a specific muscle in a specific load variant.

A statistical analysis indicated variation in the fatigue of the biceps brachii caput breve, extensor carpi radialis brevis, and flexor carpi ulnaris muscles depending on the external load (load variant) according to the task performed with the upper limb.

The study demonstrated usefulness of the fatigue index in expressing quantitatively muscle fatigue and in discriminating muscle fatigue depending on the external load.     

A new child-friendly 3D bimanual protocol to assess upper limb movement in children with unilateral cerebral palsy: Development and validation

Unilateral cerebral palsy (uCP) causes upper limb movement disorders that impact on daily activities, especially in bimanual condition. However, a few studies have proposed bimanual tasks for 3D motion analysis. The aim of this study was to validate the new version of a child-friendly, 3D, bimanual protocol for the measurement of joint angles and movement quality variables. Twenty children with uCP and 20 typically developing children (TDC) performed the five-task protocol integrated into a game scenario. Each task specifically targeted one or two upper limb degrees of freedom. Joint angles, smoothness and trajectory straightness were calculated. Elbow extension, supination, wrist extension and adduction amplitudes were reduced; hand trajectories were less smooth and straight in children with uCP compared to TDC. Correlations between the performance-based score and kinematic variables were strong. High within and between-session reliability was found for most joint angle variables and lower reliability was found for smoothness and straightness in most tasks. The results therefore demonstrated the validity and reliability of the new protocol for the objective assessment of bimanual function in children with uCP. The evaluation of both joint angles and movement quality variables should increase understanding of pathological movement patterns and help clinicians to optimize treatment.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03888443.     

Plausibility of inferred ancestral phenotypes and the evaluation of alternative models of limb evolution in scincid lizards

Phylogenetic approaches to inferring ancestral character states are becoming increasingly sophisticated; however, the potential remains for available methods to yield strongly supported but inaccurate ancestral state estimates. The consistency of ancestral states inferred for two or more characters affords a useful criterion for evaluating ancestral trait reconstructions. Ancestral state estimates for multiple characters that entail plausible phenotypes when considered together may reasonably be assumed to be reliable. However, the accuracy of inferred ancestral states for one or more characters may be questionable where combined reconstructions imply implausible phenotypes for a proportion of internal nodes. This criterion for assessing reconstructed ancestral states is applied here in evaluating inferences of ancestral limb morphology in the scincid lizard clade Lerista. Ancestral numbers of digits for the manus and pes inferred assuming the models that best fit the data entail ancestral digit configurations for many nodes that differ fundamentally from configurations observed among known species. However, when an alternative model is assumed for the pes, inferred ancestral digit configurations are invariably represented among observed phenotypes. This indicates that a suboptimal model for the pes (and not the model providing the best fit to the data) yields accurate ancestral state estimates.     

Upper limb kinematical analysis of an elite weight lifter in the squat snatch

The kinematical parameters such as translational acceleration and angular acceleration in the upper limb of a weightlifter may change regularly during different phases of squat snatch. This study aims to make this question clear. At first, the joint coordinate system (JCS) of human upper limb based on the anatomical landmarks is defined. Then a novel method for calculating the kinematical parameters was brought forward, which was based on analyzing the relative position of the JCS to world coordinate system during an instantaneous situation and the relationship among each JCS at different times during squat snatch. Motion capture system is used to gather the data of the upper limb in an elite weightlifter during squat snatch (the mass of the barbell is 20 kg) and the method mentioned before is applied to analyze the data. Finally, the law of the change of kinematical parameters in each phase of squat snatch is found.     

Direct observation of toxic effects of cyanobacterial extracellular products on Daphnia

The filtrate from a suspension of the cyanobacterium Anabaena minutissima var. attenuata depressed thoracic limb beat frequency of Daphnia carinata by 38–45% in a food-free medium. Repeated exposure to the filtrate produced a similar depression of activity with full or neary full recovery. Response time to the filtrate was 5–8 min and recovery time was 8–12 min. The dose effect on limb beat frequency was continuous, linear, correlated with increased concentration and with no threshold. There was no relationship between body length and limb beat frequency.The interaction between toxicity and food concentration was tested using the diatom Cyclotella suspended in Anabaena filtrate. Daphnia limb beat frequency was depressed by 62%.     

原花青素对小鼠后肢缺血肌肉的作用及miR-133b的表达变化

肢体缺血后的氧化应激反应将导致肌肉损伤,刺激肌卫星细胞（satellite cells,SCs）的成肌分化,从而完成损伤修复,而肌源性miRNAs参与其中。原花青素（proanthocyanidins,PC）来源于植物多酚提取物,具有抗氧化应激的作用。但原花青素对缺血肌肉的作用和机制尚不明确。本文研究原花青素对小鼠后肢缺血肌肉的作用,探讨miR 133b在其中的表达及作用。雄性C57/BL6小鼠经左后肢缺血后随机分为：对照组（H₂O）、低浓度PC（low dose PC,LDPC）组（1 mg/kg）和高浓度PC（high dose PC,HDPC）组（20 mg/kg）。对缺血肢体运动功能评分：7 d时,对照组为1.33±0.14,LDPC组为1.50±0.15,HDPC组为2.08±0.23;14 d时,对照组为2.17±0.31,LDPC组为2.00±0.37,HDPC组为3.83±0.17。说明高浓度PC可促进缺血肢体运动功能恢复（P<0.05）。测定各组的氧化应激产物丙二醛含量,在7 d时：血浆中,对照组为32.85±7.61 nmol/μL,LDPC组为35.90±7.45 nmol/μL,HDPC组为10.46±2.49 nmol/μL;缺血肌肉中,对照组为39.75±7.61 nmol/μg,LDPC组为28.75±7.05 nmol/μg,HDPC组为15.80±3.63 nmol/μg。表明高浓度PC可有效降低后肢缺血小鼠体内氧化应激水平（P<0.05）。HE染色结果显示,高浓度组再生肌纤维比例（7 d,53.88%±8.13%;21 d,39.30%±0.37%）均明显高于（P<0.05）对照组（7 d,10.61%±3.00%;21 d,22.61%±3.16%）和低浓度组（7 d,14.57%±2.94%;21 d,18.74%±4.73%）。RT-qPCR检测缺血肌肉中miR-133b-3p含量,与对照组相比,高浓度组的miR-133b-3p表达上调（3.26倍,P<0.05）。生物信息学分析发现,PPP2CA、PPP2CB和MKP-1可能是miR-133b-3p的靶基因。Western印迹检测发现,与对照组相比,高浓度组PCNA、MyoD和ERK2表达升高,而p-ERK2表达下降（P<0.05）。以上结果说明,高浓度原花青素可降低缺血后的氧化应激反应,促进缺血肌肉再生,而miR-133b-3p和ERK信号通路可能参与其中。