Influence of hip-flexion angle on hamstrings isokinetic activity in sprinters.

CONTEXT: Hamstrings strains are common and debilitating injuries in many sports. Most hamstrings exercises are performed at an inadequately low hip-flexion angle because this angle surpasses 70° at the end of the sprinting leg's swing phase, when most injuries occur. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of various hip-flexion angles on peak torques of knee flexors in isometric, concentric, and eccentric contractions and on the hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio. DESIGN: Descriptive laboratory study. SETTING: Research laboratory. Patients and Other Participants: Ten national-level sprinters (5 men, 5 women; age = 21.2 ± 3.6 years, height = 175 ± 6 cm, mass = 63.8 ± 9.9 kg). Intervention(s): For each hip position (0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° of flexion), participants used the right leg to perform (1) 5 seconds of maximal isometric hamstrings contraction at 45° of knee flexion, (2) 5 maximal concentric knee flexion-extensions at 60° per second, (3) 5 maximal eccentric knee flexion-extensions at 60° per second, and (4) 5 maximal eccentric knee flexionextensions at 150° per second. Main Outcome Measure(s): Hamstrings and quadriceps peak torque, hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio, lateral and medial hamstrings root mean square. RESULTS: We found no difference in quadriceps peak torque for any condition across all hip-flexion angles, whereas hamstrings peak torque was lower at 0° of hip flexion than at any other angle (P < .001) and greater at 90° of hip flexion than at 30° and 60° (P < .05), especially in eccentric conditions. As hip flexion increased, the hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio increased. No difference in lateral or medial hamstrings root mean square was found for any condition across all hip-flexion angles (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Hip-flexion angle influenced hamstrings peak torque in all muscular contraction types; as hip flexion increased, hamstrings peak torque increased. Researchers should investigate further whether an eccentric resistance training program at sprint-specific hip-flexion angles (70° to 80°) could help prevent hamstrings injuries in sprinters. Moreover, hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio assessment should be standardized at 80° of hip flexion.

Implementación y evaluación de estrategias para optimizar la adquisición y procesado de tensiones Hall usando una tarjeta A/D en entorno Matlab

Implementación del programa de gestión de la tarjeta A/D para la adquisición de las tensiones Hall y garantizar la coherencia del sistema de medida. Implementación de la interfaz gráfica que permite la interacción programa-usuario y un módulo de representación de resultados. Optimización del rendimiento de la tarjeta A/D utilizando un amplificador de señal y la implementación de un módulo de filtraje digital para procesar y analizar los datos recogidos.

Argon-laser iridoplasty in the management of uveitis-induced acute angle-closure glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To report the use of argon laser iridoplasty in the management of uveitic acute angle-closure glaucoma. METHODS: Interventional case report. RESULTS: A 46-year-old man developed uveitic acute angle-closure glaucoma with an intraocular pressure (IOP) of 65 mmHg. After unsuccessful attempts with medical treatment and two laser peripheral iridotomies, iridoplasty allowed to break posterior synechiae, open the angle, and reduce the IOP within a few hours. CONCLUSIONS: Argon laser iridoplasty allowed rapid reduction of IOP and prevented the need for emergency surgery. Therefore, the authors stipulate that it is a viable management option in active uveitic acute angle-closure glaucoma.

Angle Parking on Iowa's Low Volume Primary Extentions in Small Towns, January 2003

On-street parking has been considered problematic by engineers for many years. In fact, numerous studies have concluded that diagonal or angle parking in particular is potentially more of a safety concern than parallel or no parking at all. It is a common position of many states, including Iowa, to discourage or completely prohibit angle parking on primary road extensions in urban areas. However, with the acceptance of “context sensitive design” and traffic calming techniques, policies for on-street parking are receiving re -consideration in many agencies including the FHWA. This study was undertaken to analyze operational and safety histories in the state of Iowa where various types of on-street parking have existed for many years, concentrating in particular on smaller communities. Specifically of interest was a comparison of diagonal parking locations to other types with regard to related crash histories. If possible, it was intended to develop guidelines to assist Iowa Department of Transportation designers in the consideration of parking requirements for road improvements through small communities. In this regard, several criteria were analyzed to determine possible contribution to crash history including road width, clearance to parked vehicles, traffic volumes, community population, and length of parking area. None of these factors, with the possible exception of population, displayed a clearly definable relationship to crash history. However, when average crash rates for various parking types were compared for non-intersection crashes, differences in rates between areas with diagonal parking and those with parallel parking were almost negligible. In fact, those observed rates were less than sample locations with no parking at all. These results seem to indicate that indeed there may exist no compelling justification for blanket prohibition of angle parking along Iowa’s primary extensions in all urban areas. Rather, a case-by-case investigation with each project design of the most applicable parking type would seem appropriate in smaller communities.

Le droit aux valeurs d'affection : étude sous l'angle de l'article 28 CC

INTRODUCTION : L'affection, et son contraire l'aversion, se manifestent à chaque instant de l'existence. Que ce soit au travers de notre relation avec les membres de notre entourage, les perceptions sonores, visuelles, olfactives qui nous saisissent à tout instant, il est constamment demandé à notre personnalité d'apprécier, de choisir, de rejeter en fonction de nos penchants, sans que ce choix soit nécessairement explicable ou justifiable par des arguments que chacun pourrait comprendre. L'affection, en tant qu'émanation de la personnalité, est-elle juridiquement protégée ? La question semble saugrenue mais il suffit de penser à la protection de la relation avec ses proches que la jurisprudence a bâtie sur la base de l'article 28 CC pour se rendre compte que l'affection est à l'évidence protégée en tant que composante de la personnalité. Mais où s'arrête-t-elle ? S'il est acquis qu'elle protège une relation entre deux êtres, peut-elle porter sur un objet ayant appartenu à un proche, par exemple une montre héritée d'un parent décédé ? Une réaction instinctive nous incite à répondre par l'affirmative; nous entendons cependant démontrer que cette protection trouve aussi des fondements juridiques, et qu'elle a des conséquences légales; ainsi en va-t-il si la montre est endommagée par un tiers : doit-on alors se limiter au remboursement de la valeur vénale, en compensant uniquement le dommage matériel, ou le titulaire du droit à l'affection peut-il réclamer, en sus de la valeur vénale, le dédommagement du tort moral ? Et si la montre est en main d'un tiers, comment aménager le rapport de deux personnes légitimées à invoquer un lien sur un objet, l'une en vertu de son droit de propriété, l'autre en vertu de son sentiment affectif ? La protection ne s'arrête certainement pas aux objets qui rappellent le souvenir d'un être proche. D'autres objets, tels un arbre planté à sa naissance, un objet qui matérialise un événement personnel important, sont aussi susceptibles d'être l'objet d'un lien affectif. Bien qu'ils n'aient pas, en raison de l'absence de lien préalable avec un être physique, de substrat duquel tirer la justification juridique de la protection, nous démontrerons que ce lien affectif est également protégé. Et, enfin, peut-on, à notre époque, parler d'affection sans évoquer les animaux ? Quelles sont les règles applicables au statut de l'animal depuis que le législateur a décidé qu'il n'est plus une chose ? Voilà une troisième catégorie de valeurs d'affection qui nous occupera et dont nous étudierons le régime particulier de protection depuis la récente modification du Code civil suisse. L'étude de la protection des valeurs d'affection a ceci de particulier qu'elle était au début du siècle souvent citée dans le catalogue des droits de la personnalité, notamment lorsque les auteurs commentaient ce nouvel article 28 CC que l'on disait si novateur. Cet ouvrage entend déterminer ce qu'il reste aujourd'hui de cette doctrine si prompte à voir dans l'article 28 CC ce qu'il n'est peut-être plus vraiment actuellement, c'est-à-dire un puissant vecteur du développement des conceptions juridiques et de l'évolution de la protection de la personnalité. L'on entend souvent que la tendance sociale est à l'individualisme, à la précarisation des rapports humains et à l'anonymisation de la société. Le renouveau du débat sur la protection des valeurs d'affection, notamment par la modification législative touchant le statut de l'animal, est la manifestation du besoin social de protéger les liens affectifs portant sur un objet, que ce soit une alliance, un arbre planté à sa naissance, ou un animal de compagnie. Après l'analyse des sources de la protection des valeurs d'affection, nous examinerons quelles peuvent être les conséquences légales de cette protection s'agissant de la réparation du tort moral, et au niveau de la résolution de conflits de droit qui peuvent surgir entre le titulaire du droit à la valeur d'affection et le tiers propriétaire. Il s'agira également de déterminer si la récente modification législative sur le statut de l'animal apporte des solutions nouvelles à ces questions.

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Book, 2007

Biographies of Iowa Women's Hall of Fame 1975-2007 inductees by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women.

Intraoral open reduction and internal fixation of displaced mandibular angle fractures using a specific ad hoc reduction-compression forceps: a preliminary study

OBJECTIVES: To preliminarily evaluate prospectively the accuracy and reliability of a specific ad hoc reduction-compression forceps in intraoral open reduction of transverse and displaced mandibular angle fractures. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed the clinical and radiologic data of 7 patients with 7 single transverse and displaced angle fractures. An intraoral approach was performed in all of the patients without using perioperative intermaxillary fixation. A single Arbeitsgemeinschaft Osteosynthese (AO) unilock reconstruction plate was fixed to each stable fragment with 3 locking screws (2.0 mm in 5 patients and 2.4 mm in 2 patients) at the basilar border of the mandible, according to AO/American Society of Internal Fixation (ASIF) principles. Follow-up was at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, and we noted the status of healing and complications, if any. RESULTS: All of the patients had satisfactory fracture reduction as well as a successful treatment outcome without complications. CONCLUSION: This preliminary study demonstrated that the intraoral reduction of transverse and displaced angle fractures using a specific ad hoc reduction-forceps results in a high rate of success.

Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Book

Biographies of Iowa Women's Hall of Fame 1975-2006 inductees.

Assignment strategies for large proteins by magic-angle spinning NMR: the 21-kDa disulfide-bond-forming enzyme DsbA.

We present strategies for chemical shift assignments of large proteins by magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR, using the 21-kDa disulfide-bond-forming enzyme DsbA as prototype. Previous studies have demonstrated that complete de novo assignments are possible for proteins up to approximately 17 kDa, and partial assignments have been performed for several larger proteins. Here we show that combinations of isotopic labeling strategies, high field correlation spectroscopy, and three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) backbone correlation experiments yield highly confident assignments for more than 90% of backbone resonances in DsbA. Samples were prepared as nanocrystalline precipitates by a dialysis procedure, resulting in heterogeneous linewidths below 0.2 ppm. Thus, high magnetic fields, selective decoupling pulse sequences, and sparse isotopic labeling all improved spectral resolution. Assignments by amino acid type were facilitated by particular combinations of pulse sequences and isotopic labeling; for example, transferred echo double resonance experiments enhanced sensitivity for Pro and Gly residues; [2-(13)C]glycerol labeling clarified Val, Ile, and Leu assignments; in-phase anti-phase correlation spectra enabled interpretation of otherwise crowded Glx/Asx side-chain regions; and 3D NCACX experiments on [2-(13)C]glycerol samples provided unique sets of aromatic (Phe, Tyr, and Trp) correlations. Together with high-sensitivity CANCOCA 4D experiments and CANCOCX 3D experiments, unambiguous backbone walks could be performed throughout the majority of the sequence. At 189 residues, DsbA represents the largest monomeric unit for which essentially complete solid-state NMR assignments have so far been achieved. These results will facilitate studies of nanocrystalline DsbA structure and dynamics and will enable analysis of its 41-kDa covalent complex with the membrane protein DsbB, for which we demonstrate a high-resolution two-dimensional (13)C-(13)C spectrum.

Post-detection analysis for grating-based ultra-small angle X-ray scattering.

Until recently, the hard X-ray, phase-sensitive imaging technique called grating interferometry was thought to provide information only in real space. However, by utilizing an alternative approach to data analysis we demonstrated that the angular resolved ultra-small angle X-ray scattering distribution can be retrieved from experimental data. Thus, reciprocal space information is accessible by grating interferometry in addition to real space. Naturally, the quality of the retrieved data strongly depends on the performance of the employed analysis procedure, which involves deconvolution of periodic and noisy data in this context. The aim of this article is to compare several deconvolution algorithms to retrieve the ultra-small angle X-ray scattering distribution in grating interferometry. We quantitatively compare the performance of three deconvolution procedures (i.e., Wiener, iterative Wiener and Lucy-Richardson) in case of realistically modeled, noisy and periodic input data. The simulations showed that the algorithm of Lucy-Richardson is the more reliable and more efficient as a function of the characteristics of the signals in the given context. The availability of a reliable data analysis procedure is essential for future developments in grating interferometry.