A Critique of Authenticity and Recognition

While forms of ethics based upon authenticity and recognition are holding sway in contemporary philosophical debates (Ferrara, Honneth, Fraser, etc.), many of the implications of both processes – conceptual, moral, political – are still insufficiently reflected upon. The talk will offer a “critique” (in the Kantian sense) of both, based upon an analysis of the “semiotics” of authenticity and the resulting perpetuation of a regime of authority of experts, as well as commenting upon the striking absence of the realm of literature and the arts from this debate, except in some references to a rather abstract notion of Aesthetics. It will also critically revaluate the concept of agency implicit in an ethics of authenticity and recognition.

The influence of ideological interest groups on congressional financial support of international family planning

The World Health Organization estimates there are about 585,000 maternal deaths each year, with 98% of the maternal deaths in developing countries. Access to family planning methods is one method to decrease maternal mortality and morbidity. ^ The U.S. was the leader in providing financial and technical assistance to developing countries to enable women to have this access. The election of Ronald Regan changed the course of U.S. support; abortion became a central factor in the political decision-making with regards to the financial support of international family planning. ^ One factor that may sway policy-makers' decisions is the influence of ideological interest groups, Political Action Committees funding of candidates in relation to votes on bills that impacted on financial support of international family planning and the amount spent by these groups on lobbyist was reviewed. Pro-choice funding of candidates was greater for the four of the fives votes supporting family planning. Pro-Choice lobbyist spending was $185,000 vs. $8,184,000 spent by Pro-Life ideological groups. ^

Stand Structure Governs the Crown Collisions of Lodgepole Pine

We investigated tree sway and crown collision behavior of even-aged lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) stands of different structure in Alberta, Canada, to examine how these factors might affect loss of leaf area as stands mature. The Two Creeks stand (TC) had high density and slender trees, while the Chickadee stand (CH) had stout trees. The TC stand was then thinned (TCT) to reduce the stand density. For each stand, simultaneous tree sways of a group of 10 trees were monitored with biaxial clinometers during wind speed of 5 m/s (canopy top). Crown collisions were reconstructed by combining sway displacement of individual trees with their respective crown dimensions. Comparing the sway statistics between stands with contrasting mean bole slenderness (TC and CH) indicated that more slender trees have greater sway displacements, faster sway speeds, and a greater depth of collision. Disturbance by thinning increased sway displacements, sway speeds, and depth of collisions at TCT. Tree sway patterns were circular in shape and not aligned with wind direction, but patterns were elongated after thinning. This demonstrates the high frequency of crown collision experienced by stands with slender trees and supports the notion that crown collisions result in empty space between crowns of trees.

Public Support for Enlargement: Economic, Cultural, or Normative?

The current research questioned whether public opinion on enlargement can be adequately explained only by economic calculation and cultural/community identity. When the analytical viewpoint was expanded from the conventional individual level to state level, it was revealed that constructivist considerations-such as the democratization and reunification of Europe-play a critical role in pushing forward enlargement. Drawing on the perspective of international relations, this study introduced a synthetic model to analyze public opinion on enlargement in the EU's 15 old member states. The analysis using a Eurobarometer dataset showed that on public support for enlargement, constructivist attitudes held as much sway as cultural/community attitudes. In fact, expectations of democratization were the most important determinant of support for enlargement in the case of Turkey.

Mapping wide row crops with video sequences acquired from a tractor moving at treatment speed

This paper presents a mapping method for wide row crop fields. The resulting map shows the crop rows and weeds present in the inter-row spacing. Because field videos are acquired with a camera mounted on top of an agricultural vehicle, a method for image sequence stabilization was needed and consequently designed and developed. The proposed stabilization method uses the centers of some crop rows in the image sequence as features to be tracked, which compensates for the lateral movement (sway) of the camera and leaves the pitch unchanged. A region of interest is selected using the tracked features, and an inverse perspective technique transforms the selected region into a bird’s-eye view that is centered on the image and that enables map generation. The algorithm developed has been tested on several video sequences of different fields recorded at different times and under different lighting conditions, with good initial results. Indeed, lateral displacements of up to 66% of the inter-row spacing were suppressed through the stabilization process, and crop rows in the resulting maps appear straight

Análisis de la marcha: evaluación de un exoesqueleto aplicado a la marcha asistida

La marcha humana es el mecanismo de locomoción por el cual el cuerpo humano se traslada en línea recta gracias a una serie de movimientos coordinados de la pelvis y de las articulaciones del miembro inferior. Frecuentemente se encuentra influenciada por factores biomecánicos, anatómicos o patologías del sistema neuromusculoesquelético que modifican la forma de caminar de cada individuo. La lesión de médula espinal es una de las patologías que afectan el desarrollo normal de los patrones de la marcha por alteración de la movilidad, de la sensibilidad o del sistema nervioso autónomo. Aunque la lesión medular afecta otras funciones, además de la pérdida de función motora y sensorial, la recuperación de la capacidad de caminar es la mayor prioridad identificada por los pacientes durante la rehabilitación. Por ello, el desarrollo de dispositivos que faciliten la rehabilitación o compensación de la marcha es uno de los principales objetivos de diferentes grupos de investigación y empresas. En el contexto del proyecto Hybrid Technological Platform for Rehabilitation, Functional Compensation and Training of Gait in Spinal Cord Injury Patients se ha desarrollado un dispositivo que combina una órtesis activa (exoesqueleto) y un andador motorizado. Este sistema, como otros dispositivos, tiene el movimiento humano como estándar de referencia, no obstante no se evalúa de manera habitual, cómo es el patrón de la marcha reproducido y su similitud o diferencias con la marcha humana, o las modificaciones o adaptaciones en la interacción con el cuerpo del paciente. El presente estudio trata de examinar las características de la marcha normal en diversos grupos de población, y las diferencias con el patrón de marcha lenta. Finalmente, se pretende evaluar qué modificaciones y adaptaciones sufre el patrón de marcha lenta teórico al ser reproducido por el exoesqueleto. La presente investigación consiste en un estudio cuantitativo transversal desarrollado en dos etapas: estudio 1 y estudio 2. En el estudio 1 se analizó el patrón de la marcha a velocidad libremente seleccionada (normal) y el patrón de la marcha a velocidad lenta (0.25m/s) en 62 sujetos distribuidos en grupos considerando el sexo y los percentiles 25, 50 y 75 de estatura de la población española. Durante el estudio 2 se analizó el patrón de la marcha lenta reproducido por el dispositivo Hybrid a diferentes porcentajes de peso corporal (30%, 50% y 70%) en diez sujetos seleccionados aleatoriamente de la muestra del estudio 1. En ambos estudios se obtuvieron variables espacio-temporales y cinemáticas mediante un sistema de captura de movimiento con 6 cámaras distribuidas a lo largo de un pasillo de marcha. Se calcularon las medias, las desviaciones estándar y el 95% de intervalo de confianza, y el nivel alfa de significación se estableció en α=0.05 para todas las pruebas estadísticas. Las principales diferencias en el patrón normal de la marcha se encontraron en los parámetros cinemáticos de hombres y mujeres, aunque también se presentaron diferencias entre los grupos en función de la estatura. Las mujeres mostraron mayor flexión de cadera y rodilla, y mayor extensión de tobillo que los hombres durante el ciclo normal, aunque la basculación lateral de la pelvis, mayor en las mujeres, y el desplazamiento lateral del centro de gravedad, mayor en los hombres, fueron los parámetros identificados como principales discriminantes entre sexos. La disminución de la velocidad de la marcha mostró similares adaptaciones y modificaciones en hombres y en mujeres, presentándose un aumento de la fase de apoyo y una disminución de la fase de oscilación, un retraso de los máximos y mínimos de flexoextensión de cadera, rodilla y tobillo, y una disminución del rango articular en las tres articulaciones. Asimismo, la basculación lateral de la pelvis y el movimiento vertical del centro de gravedad disminuyeron, mientras que el movimiento lateral del centro de gravedad y el ancho de paso aumentaron. Durante la evaluación del patrón de la marcha reproducido por el exoesqueleto se observó que las tres articulaciones del miembro inferior disminuían el rango de movimiento por la falta de fuerza de los motores para contrarrestar el peso corporal, incluso con un 70% de descarga de peso. Además, la transferencia de peso se encontró limitada por la falta de movimiento de la pelvis en el plano frontal y se sustituyó por un aumento de la inclinación del tronco y, por tanto, del movimiento lateral del centro de gravedad. Este hecho, junto al aumento del desplazamiento vertical del centro de gravedad, hizo del patrón de la marcha reproducido por el exoesqueleto un movimiento poco eficiente. En conclusión, se establecen patrones de marcha normal diferenciados por sexos, siendo la basculación lateral de la pelvis y el movimiento lateral del centro de gravedad los parámetros discriminantes más característicos entre sexos. Comparando la marcha a velocidad libremente seleccionada y la velocidad lenta, se concluye que ambos sexos utilizan estrategias similares para adaptar el patrón de la marcha a una velocidad lenta y se mantienen las características diferenciadoras entre hombres y mujeres. En relación a la evaluación del dispositivo Hybrid, se deduce que la falta de movimiento lateral de la pelvis condiciona la transferencia de peso y el aumento del rango de movimiento del centro de gravedad y, en consecuencia, tiene como resultado un patrón de la marcha poco eficiente. Este patrón no resultaría indicado para los procesos de rehabilitación o recuperación de la marcha, aunque podría considerarse adecuado para la compensación funcional de la bipedestación y la locomoción. ABSTRACT The human walking is a means of moving body forward using a repetitious and coordinated sequence of pelvis and lower limb motions. It is frequently influenced by biomechanical and anatomical factors or by musculoskeletal pathologies which modify the way of walking. The spinal injury is one of those pathologies which affect the normal pattern of walking, due to the alteration of the mobility, the sensory or the autonomic nervous system. Although the spinal injury affects many other body functions, apart from the motor and sensory ones, the main priority for patients is to recover the ability of walking. Consequently, the main objective of many research groups and private companies is the development of rehabilitation and compensation devices for walking. In this context, the Hybrid Technological Platform for Rehabilitation, Functional Compensation and Training of Gait in Spinal Cord Injury Patients project has developed a device which integrates an exoskeleton and a motorized smart walker. This system, as other similar devices, has the human movement as standard reference. Nevertheless, these devices are not usually evaluated on the way they reproduce the normal human pattern or on the modifications and in the interactions with the patient’s body. The aim of the present study is to examine the normal walking characteristics, to analyze the differences between self-selected and low speed walking patterns, and to evaluate the modifications and adaptations of walking pattern when it is reproduced by the exoskeleton. The present research is a quantitative cross-sectional study carried out in two phases: study 1 and study 2. During the study 1, the self-selected and the low speed (0.25m/s) walking patterns were analyzed in sixty-two people distributed in groups, according to sex and 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles of height for Spanish population. The study 2 analyzed the low speed walking pattern reproduced by the Hybrid system in three conditions: 30%, 50% and 70% of body weight support. To do this, ten subjects were randomly selected and analyzed from the people of study 1. An optoelectronic system with six cameras was used to obtain spatial, temporal and kinematic parameters in both studies. Means, standard deviations and 95% confidence intervals of the study were calculated. The alpha level of significance was set at α=0.05 for all statistical tests. The main differences in normal gait pattern were found in kinematic parameters between men and women. The hip and the knee were more flexed and the ankle plantar flexion was higher in women than in men during normal gait cycle. Although the greater pelvic obliquity of women and the higher lateral movement of center of gravity of men were the most relevant discriminators between male and female gait patterns. Comparing self-selected and low speed walking patterns, both sexes showed similar adaptations and modifications. At low speed walking, men and women increased the stance phase ratio and decreased the swing phase ratio. The maximum and minimum peak flexion of hip, knee and ankle appeared after and the range of motion of them decreased during low speed walking. Furthermore, the pelvic obliquity and the vertical movement of the center of gravity decreased, whereas the lateral movement of center of gravity and step width increased. Evaluating the gait pattern reproduced by the exoskeleton, a decrease of lower limb range of motion was observed. This was probably due to the lack of strength of the engines, which were not able to control the body weight, even with the 70% supported. Moreover, the weight transfer from one limb to the contralateral side was restricted due to the lack of pelvis obliquity. This movement deficiency was replaced by the lateral torso sway and, consequently, the increase of lateral movement of the center of gravity. This fact, as well as the increase of the vertical displacement of the center of gravity, made inefficient the gait pattern reproduced by the exoskeleton. In conclusion, different gait patterns of both sexes have been determined, being pelvis obliquity and lateral movement of center of gravity the most relevant discriminators between male and female gait patterns. Comparing self-selected and low speed walking patterns, it was concluded that both sexes use similar strategies for adapting the gait pattern to a low speed, and therefore, the differentiating characteristics of normal gait are maintained. Regarding the Hybrid system evaluation, it was determined that the gait pattern reproduced by the exoskeleton is inefficient. This was due to the lack of pelvis obliquity and the increase of the center of gravity displacement. Consequently, whereas the walking pattern reproduced by the exoskeleton would not be appropriated for the rehabilitation process, it could be considered suitable for functional compensation of walking and standing.

Avaliação quantitativa dos efeitos da levodopa e da estimulação do núcleo subtalâmico sobre o equilíbrio em pacientes com doença de Parkinson

INTRODUÇÃO: Os efeitos da levodopa (LD) e da estimulação cerebral profunda (ECP) de núcleo subtalâmico (STN) sobre o equilíbrio e sintomas axiais são até o momento controversos. OBJETIVOS: Avaliar quantitativamente os efeitos da ECP de STN e da LD sobre o equilíbrio estático em pacientes com DP operados, em comparação com a LD em pacientes não operados. MÉTODOS: Trinta e um pacientes submetidos a ECP de STN entre 3 meses e 1 ano e meio antes da avaliação e 26 controles portadores de DP não operados, estágios Hoehn e Yahr 2 a 4 foram avaliados usando UPDRS para avaliação clínica e plataforma de força para avaliar oscilações posturais. O primeiro grupo foi avaliado com ECP e sem medicação, com ECP e com medicação e sem ECP e sem medicação. O segundo grupo foi avaliado com e sem medicação. Cada paciente foi avaliado com os olhos abertos e fechados. O deslocamento do centro de pressão anteroposterior, laterolateral, a área, velocidade e deslocamento total linear foram medidos pela plataforma de força. Os dados paramétricos foram comparados usando o teste t de Student e os dados não-paramétricos foram comparados pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis. A avaliação clínica consistiu na parte 3 da escala UPDRS e na escala Hoehn e Yahr. Nível de significância estatística considerada foi p=0,05. RESULTADOS: Os pacientes não operados oscilaram mais quando sob efeito da levodopa do que sem medicação. No grupo operado, a maior oscilação é no grupo com ECP desligada e sem medicação. Tende a reduzir sob efeito da ECP apresenta redução significativa sob efeito simultâneo de ECP e levodopa. CONCLUSÃO: A associação da ECP de NST com medicação tem impacto positivo sobre o controle postural. O efeito da ECP de NST reverte o efeito negativo da levodopa sobre as oscilações observadas em pacientes não operados

Small Town America Under the “Lights:” Contemporary Images of Rural America in the Series Friday Night Lights

Author: Heather K. Smith Title: Small Town America Under the “Lights:” Contemporary Images of Rural America in the Series Friday Night Lights Advisor: Rodney Buxton Degree Date: August 2015 ABSTRACT What is Small Town America? The answer to this varies based on a person’s experiences. This is not always from real-world exposure, but often vicariously through television. For some, television is the only opportunity to create a perception for such areas. For others, television could reinforce or sway their perceptions of Small Town America. Therefore, a comprehension of the identity for Small Town America broadcasted through the small screen is important. This research utilized the theory of semiotics to analyze cinematography and mise-en-scene in the opening credits of Friday Night Lights to unearth the themes and overarching ideology for Small Town America conveyed by the series. A modern depiction of rural America that played on considered “traditional values” arose. Unexpectedly, the research also unveiled the inability for an “authentic” or cohesive identity for Small Town America, or any person, location or group for that matter, to exist.

Agings and the parameters in static postural way

There is strong scientific evidence from research trials that aging is associated with loss of muscle mass and decline of neuromuscular abilities. Postural stability is an important neuromuscular ability for the maintenance of upright posture as well as maintaining equilibrium or balance while performing movements and everyday activities. Postural stability is also an important factor in elderly people where postural instability is a major contributor to falls. In our study young and elderly subjects stood quietly in upright posture with parallel positions of their feet and opened eyes on a force platform and performed 3 trials with each trial lasting 30 s. The effects of healthy aging on postural sway parameters were studied. We found that age-related changes in postural sway mostly affect the velocity of the center of pressure movement and the mean amplitude center of pressure movement during static postural sway test.

Impacts fonctionnels du traumatisme craniocérébral léger sur la vision et l'équilibre postural chez l'adulte

Le traumatisme craniocérébral léger (TCCL) a des effets complexes sur plusieurs fonctions cérébrales, dont l’évaluation et le suivi peuvent être difficiles. Les problèmes visuels et les troubles de l’équilibre font partie des plaintes fréquemment rencontrées après un TCCL. En outre, ces problèmes peuvent continuer à affecter les personnes ayant eu un TCCL longtemps après la phase aiguë du traumatisme. Cependant, les évaluations cliniques conventionnelles de la vision et de l’équilibre ne permettent pas, la plupart du temps, d’objectiver ces symptômes, surtout lorsqu’ils s’installent durablement. De plus, il n’existe pas, à notre connaissance, d’étude longitudinale ayant étudié les déficits visuels perceptifs, en tant que tels, ni les troubles de l’équilibre secondaires à un TCCL, chez l’adulte. L’objectif de ce projet était donc de déterminer la nature et la durée des effets d’un tel traumatisme sur la perception visuelle et sur la stabilité posturale, en évaluant des adultes TCCL et contrôles sur une période d’un an. Les mêmes sujets, exactement, ont participé aux deux expériences, qui ont été menées les mêmes jours pour chacun des sujets. L’impact du TCCL sur la perception visuelle de réseaux sinusoïdaux définis par des attributs de premier et de second ordre a d’abord été étudié. Quinze adultes diagnostiqués TCCL ont été évalués 15 jours, 3 mois et 12 mois après leur traumatisme. Quinze adultes contrôles appariés ont été évalués à des périodes identiques. Des temps de réaction (TR) de détection de clignotement et de discrimination de direction de mouvement ont été mesurés. Les niveaux de contraste des stimuli de premier et de second ordre ont été ajustés pour qu’ils aient une visibilité comparable, et les moyennes, médianes, écarts-types (ET) et écarts interquartiles (EIQ) des TR correspondant aux bonnes réponses ont été calculés. Le niveau de symptômes a également été évalué pour le comparer aux données de TR. De façon générale, les TR des TCCL étaient plus longs et plus variables (plus grands ET et EIQ) que ceux des contrôles. De plus, les TR des TCCL étaient plus courts pour les stimuli de premier ordre que pour ceux de second ordre, et plus variables pour les stimuli de premier ordre que pour ceux de second ordre, dans la condition de discrimination de mouvement. Ces observations se sont répétées au cours des trois sessions. Le niveau de symptômes des TCCL était supérieur à celui des participants contrôles, et malgré une amélioration, cet écart est resté significatif sur la période d’un an qui a suivi le traumatisme. La seconde expérience, elle, était destinée à évaluer l’impact du TCCL sur le contrôle postural. Pour cela, nous avons mesuré l’amplitude d’oscillation posturale dans l’axe antéropostérieur et l’instabilité posturale (au moyen de la vitesse quadratique moyenne (VQM) des oscillations posturales) en position debout, les pieds joints, sur une surface ferme, dans cinq conditions différentes : les yeux fermés, et dans un tunnel virtuel tridimensionnel soit statique, soit oscillant de façon sinusoïdale dans la direction antéropostérieure à trois vitesses différentes. Des mesures d’équilibre dérivées de tests cliniques, le Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2nd edition (BOT-2) et le Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) ont également été utilisées. Les participants diagnostiqués TCCL présentaient une plus grande instabilité posturale (une plus grande VQM des oscillations posturales) que les participants contrôles 2 semaines et 3 mois après le traumatisme, toutes conditions confondues. Ces troubles de l’équilibre secondaires au TCCL n’étaient plus présents un an après le traumatisme. Ces résultats suggèrent également que les déficits affectant les processus d’intégration visuelle mis en évidence dans la première expérience ont pu contribuer aux troubles de l’équilibre secondaires au TCCL. L’amplitude d’oscillation posturale dans l’axe antéropostérieur de même que les mesures dérivées des tests cliniques d’évaluation de l’équilibre (BOT-2 et BESS) ne se sont pas révélées être des mesures sensibles pour quantifier le déficit postural chez les sujets TCCL. L’association des mesures de TR à la perception des propriétés spécifiques des stimuli s’est révélée être à la fois une méthode de mesure particulièrement sensible aux anomalies visuomotrices secondaires à un TCCL, et un outil précis d’investigation des mécanismes sous-jacents à ces anomalies qui surviennent lorsque le cerveau est exposé à un traumatisme léger. De la même façon, les mesures d’instabilité posturale se sont révélées suffisamment sensibles pour permettre de mesurer les troubles de l’équilibre secondaires à un TCCL. Ainsi, le développement de tests de dépistage basés sur ces résultats et destinés à l’évaluation du TCCL dès ses premières étapes apparaît particulièrement intéressant. Il semble également primordial d’examiner les relations entre de tels déficits et la réalisation d’activités de la vie quotidienne, telles que les activités scolaires, professionnelles ou sportives, pour déterminer les impacts fonctionnels que peuvent avoir ces troubles des fonctions visuomotrice et du contrôle de l’équilibre.

The South Caucasus - Between integration and fragmentation

The South Caucasus is situated at the intersection of Eurasia’s major transport and energy corridors, making it an important geostrategic region. Traditional regional actors Iran, Turkey and Russia have jostled for influence and power in the region for centuries, and are now faced with competition from the EU, China, the US and NATO. Although Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have been independent for more than two decades, they still continue to feel the sway, and sometimes threat, of external actors. As a response, the three South Caucasus states have chosen very different geostrategic paths since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leaving the region more fragmented and volatile than ever. In this book, various authors offer a deep and broad understanding of the developments in the South Caucasus, analyse the different foreign trajectories that each of the three state is following, and highlight the impact of external actors’ policies.

Songs of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America.

"Published by the direction of the Grand Chapter."

New York: old & new : its story, streets, and landmarks,

v. 1. section 1. New Amsterdam and its burghers. section 2. The sway of the English. section 3. New York as a free city.--v. 3. section 1. Through the old city. section 2. The Common to Love lane. section 3. Bloomingdale and beyond.

Simplest tasks have greatest dual task interference with balance in brain injured adults

Attention difficulties and poor balance are both common sequel following a brain injury. This study aimed to determine whether brain injured adults had greater difficulty than controls in performing a basic balance task while concurrently completing several different cognitive tasks varying in visuo-spatial attentional load and complexity. Twenty brain injured adults and 20 age-, sex- and education level-matched controls performed a balance-only task (step stance held for 30s), five cognitive-only tasks (simple and complex non-spatial, visuo-spatial, and a control articulation task), and both together (dual tasks). Brain injured adults showed a greater centre of pressure (COP) excursion and velocity in all conditions than controls. Brain injured adults also demonstrated greater interference with balance when concurrently performing two cognitive tasks than control subjects. These were the control articulation and the simple non-spatial task. It is likely that distractibility during these simple tasks contributed to an increase in COP motion and interference with postural stability in stance. Performing visuo-spatial tasks concurrently with the balance task did not result in any change in COP motion. Dual task interference in this group is thus unlikely to be due to structural interference. Similarly, as the more complex tasks did not uniformly result in increased interference, a reduction in attentional capacity in the brain injured population is unlikely to be the primary cause of dual task interference in this group. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Somatosensation, circulation and stance balance in elderly dysvascular transtibial amputees

Objective: To establish the relationship between poor lower limb somatosensory and circulatory status with standing balance, falls history, age and mobility level in dysvascular transtibial amputees (TTAs). Design: Within-subjects evaluation of somatosensation, circulation and stance balance measures in dysvascular transtibial amputees. Setting: Physiotherapy department of a tertiary metropolitan hospital in Australia. Participants: Twenty-two community-dwelling unilateral dysvascular transtibial amputee volunteers, aged between 54 and 86 recruited from a metropolitan hospital outpatient amputee clinic. Main outcome measures: Lower limb vibration sense, light touch sensation and circulatory status were related to centre of pressure excursion during quiet stance, dynamic balance measures of forward and lateral reach distance, and demographic information such as falls history and mobility level. Results: Overall, poor somatosensory status was associated with poor stance balance. There was an association between poor vibration and circulation and increased centre of pressure excursion in quiet stance and reduced reach distance, whereas poor light touch was linked with even weight-bearing in quiet stance. Poor vibration sense was associated with a history of frequent falls. Conclusions: Compromised lower limb somatosensation and circulation was linked with poor balance and a history of frequent falls in the elderly dysvascular amputee population.