Efficacy of Slow Reversal Hold and Isometrics in Improving Muscle Strength, Increasing Range of Motion, and Reducing Pain in Patients with Osteoarthritis of Knee

Osteoarthritis of knee is a common problem in the elderly population worldwide. Physical therapy has been shown to be useful in decreasing pain and increasing mobility in this population. The aim of this study was to study the effectiveness of slow reversal hold and isometric exercise techniques in reducing pain, increasing muscle strength, and increasing range of motion for knee flexion in patients with osteoarthritis of knee. The other aim of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of these two interventions. 60 subjects participated in this study and were randomly assigned either to the slow reversal hold group (n = 30) or, to the isometrics exercise group (n = 30). All subjects performed their respective exercises for 3 weeks. Pain scores using the visual analog scale, muscle strength using manual muscle testing of quadriceps and hamstrings, and range of motion (ROM) for knee flexion using a goniometer were recorded both pre-treatment and post-treatment for both left and right knees. Both the interventions showed a significant decrease in pain scores, an increase in muscle strength, as well as an increase in the ROM. However, ROM was significantly increased in the slow reversal hold group as compared to the isometrics group in both knees. It was concluded that both exercise techniques could be useful in patients with osteoarthritis of knee for decreasing pain and increasing muscle strength. Slow reversal hold technique might be a better technique than isometrics for increasing ROM for knee flexion.

Isometric Immersions of Lightlike Warped Product Manifolds

In this paper, we deal with isommetric immersions of globally null warped product manifolds into Lorentzian manifolds with constant curvature c in codimension k≥3. Under the assumptions that the globally null warped product manifold has no points with the same constant sectional curvature c as the Lorentzian ambient, we show that such isometric immersion splits into warped product of isometric immersions.

ON THE FIGIEL TYPE PROBLEM AND EXTENSION OFε-ISOMETRY BETWEEN UNIT SPHERES

This paper studies two isometric problems between unit spheres of Banach spaces.In the first part,we introduce and study the Figiel type problem of isometric embeddings between unit spheres.However,the classical Figiel theorem on the whole space cannot be trivially generalized to this case,and this is pointed out by a counterexample.After establishing this,we find a natural necessary condition required by the existence of the Figiel operator.Furthermore,we prove that when X is a space with the T-property,this condition is also sufficient for an isometric embedding T:S_(X)→S_(Y) to admit the Figiel operator.This answers the Figiel type problem on unit spheres for a large class of spaces.In the second part,we consider the extension of bijectiveε-isometries between unit spheres of two Banach spaces.It is shown that every bijectiveε-isometry between unit spheres of a local GL-space and another Banach space can be extended to be a bijective 5ε-isometry between the corresponding unit balls.In particular,whenε=0,this recovers the MUP for local GL-spaces obtained in[40].

Eccentric exercise-induced muscle weakness abolishes sex differences in fatigability during sustained submaximal isometric contractions

Background:Females are typically less fatigable than males during sustained isometric contractions at lower isometric contraction intensities.This sex difference in fatigability becomes more variable during higher intensity isometric and dynamic contractions.While less fatiguing than isometric or concentric contractions,eccentric contractions induce greater and longer lasting impairments in force production.However,it is not clear how muscle weakness influences fatigability in males and females during sustained isometric contractions.Methods:We investigated the effects of eccentric exercise-induced muscle weakness on time to task failure(TTF)during a sustained submaximal isometric contraction in young(18-30 years)healthy males(n=9)and females(n=10).Participants performed a sustained isometric contraction of the dorsiflexors at 35°plantar flexion by matching a 30%maximal voluntary contraction(MVC)torque target until task failure(i.e.,falling below 5%of their target torque for>2 s).The same sustained isometric contraction was repeated 30 min after 150 maximal eccentric contractions.Agonist and antagonist activation were assessed using surface electromyography over the tibialis anterior and soleus muscles,respectively.Results:Males were~41%stronger than females.Following eccentric exercise both males and females experienced an~20%decline in maximal voliuntary contraction torque.TTF was-34%longer in females than males prior to eccentic exercise-induced muscle weakness.However,following eccentric exercise-induced muscle weakness,this sex-related difference was abolished,with both groups having an"45%shorter TTF.Notably,there was~100%greater antagonist activation in the female group during the sustained isometric contraction following exercise-induced weakness as compared to the males.Conclusion:This increase in antagonist activation disadvantaged females by decreasing their TTF,resulting in a blunting of their typical fatigability advantage over males.

Coherence Based Sufficient Condition for Support Recovery Using Generalized Orthogonal Matching Pursuit

In an underdetermined system,compressive sensing can be used to recover the support vector.Greedy algorithms will recover the support vector indices in an iterative manner.Generalized Orthogonal Matching Pursuit(GOMP)is the generalized form of the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit(OMP)algorithm where a number of indices selected per iteration will be greater than or equal to 1.To recover the support vector of unknown signal‘x’from the compressed measurements,the restricted isometric property should be satisfied as a sufficient condition.Finding the restricted isometric constant is a non-deterministic polynomial-time hardness problem due to that the coherence of the sensing matrix can be used to derive the sufficient condition for support recovery.In this paper a sufficient condition based on the coherence parameter to recover the support vector indices of an unknown sparse signal‘x’using GOMP has been derived.The derived sufficient condition will recover support vectors of P-sparse signal within‘P’iterations.The recovery guarantee for GOMP is less restrictive,and applies to OMP when the number of selection elements equals one.Simulation shows the superior performance of the GOMP algorithm compared with other greedy algorithms.

Hemodynamic Fetal Response to Maternal Isometric Exercise in Pregnant Patients with Hypertension

Objective: to evaluate the maternal-fetal hemodynamic response with Doppler in pregnant women with chronic arterial hypertension and preeclampsia submitted to controlled isometric activity. Methods: experimental study comparing 50 healthy and 26 hypertensive and 24 preeclamptic pregnant women, from 26 to 36 weeks of gestational age, submitted to isometric contraction with handgrip dynamometer. Maternal hemodynamic parameters (systolic and diastolic blood pressure;heart rate;uterine arteries Doppler) and fetal (heart rate;umbilical artery, middle cerebral and venous duct Doppler) were evaluated before, during and post-isometry. Results: in preeclampsia were observed higher values of blood pressure and uterine artery indexes in all times;middle cerebral artery indexes in the pre and post-isometry;and of maternal heart rate post-isometry. In hypertensive women, systolic blood pressure is increased all the times, with indexes of the right uterine and middle cerebral arteries higher in pre-isometry;middle cerebral and umbilical arteries greater during isometry;and maternal heart rate and umbilical artery indexes bigger after isometry. Conclusion: blood pressure is higher in preeclamptic and hypertension women. The right uterine artery has more resistance in preeclampsia, with a significant decrease in pre to isometry in hypertensive and preeclamptic women;and increased in contraction to post-isometry in healthy and hypertensive women. The left uterine artery increases resistance post-isometry in all groups. The fetal hemodynamic parameters did not show significant differences when comparing the before, during and post-isometry.

Hemodynamic Fetal Response to Maternal Isometric Exercise in Pregnant Patients with Diabetes

Background: Studies on physical activity during pregnancy and its impact on mother and fetus are still limited. International protocols consider only aerobic exercise and fail to provide information about other modalities such as isometric exercise. Isometric exercise promotes cardiorespiratory resistance and muscle strengthening, but it is rarely tested on pregnant women because it increases maternal blood pressure and can subsequently affect placental circulation. Objectives: To assess the fetal response by use of Doppler study in diabetes pregnant women submitted to isometric exercise. Methods: A cross-sectional experimental study was conducted on 25 diabetes pregnant women with gestational age between 26 and 36 weeks. The patients were submitted to isometric handgrip, and data were collected from the mother (blood pressure, heart rate and Doppler velocimetry for the uterine arteries) and from the fetus (heart rate, Doppler velocimetry for the umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery and ductus venosus). All variables were collected before, during and after the isometric handgrip. Results: There was a significant reduction in the pulsatilityindex (average values pre 0.77 ± 0.30, trans 0.65 ± 0.22, and post 0.75 ± 0.22, with p = 0.001), resistance index (average values pre 0.49 ± 0.12, trans 0.44 ± 0.10, and post 0.48 ± 0.90, with p =

基于等距映射的监督多流形学习算法

目前的监督多流形学习算法大多数都根据数据的类别标记对彼此间的距离进行调整,能较好实现多流形的分类,但难以成功展现各流形的内在几何结构,泛化能力也较差,因此文中提出一种基于等距映射的监督多流形学习算法.该算法采用适合于多流形的最短路径算法,得到在多流形下依然能正确逼近相应测地距离的最短路径距离,并采用Sammon映射以更好地保持短距离,最终可成功展现各流形的内在几何结构.此外,该算法根据邻近局部切空间的相似性可准确判定新数据点所在的流形,从而具有较强的泛化能力.该算法的有效性可通过实验结果得以证实.

BTE康复训练和评估系统功能简介

本文主要介绍了美国BTE公司生产的康复系统的评估和治疗功能,并对临床和科研意义进行探讨。

Linear Isometries of S^p Spaces

Abstract This paper gencralizes the result about linear isometries of S~ spaces given by W.P.Novinger and D.M.Oberlin[2]for the unite dise of C to the bounded symmetric domains of C^n

Opiate-induced constipation related to activation of small intestine opioid μ2-receptors

AIM： To investigate the role of opioid p-receptor subtype in opiate-induced constipation （OIC）.METHODS： The effect of Ioperamide on intestinal transit was investigated in mice. Ileum strips were isolated from 12-wk-old male BALB/c mice for identification of isometric tension. The ileum strips were precontracted with 1 μmol/L acetylcholine （ACh）. Then, decrease in muscle tone （relaxation） was characterized after cumu- lative administration of 0.1-10μ~mol/L Ioperamide into the organ bath, for a concentration-dependent study. Specific blockers or antagonists were used for pretreat- ment to compare the changes in Ioperamide-induced relaxation.RESULTS： In addition to the delay in intestinal transit, Ioperamide produced a marked relaxation in isolated ileum precontracted with ACh, in a dose-dependent manner. This relaxation was abolished by cyprodime,a selective opioid p-receptor antagonist, but not modified by naloxonazine at a dose sufficient to block opioid μ-1 receptors. Also, treatment with opioid μ-1 receptor agonist failed to modify the muscle tone. Moreover, the relaxation by Ioperamide was attenuated by glibenclamide at a dose sufficient to block ATP-sensitive K^＋ （KATP） channels, and by protein kinase A （PKA） inhibitor, but was enhanced by an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase for cyclic adenosine monophosphate （cAMP）.CONCLUSION： Loperamide induces intestinal relaxa- tion by activation of opioid μ-2 receptors via the cAMP- PKA pathway to open KATp channels, relates to OIC.

sEMG Feature Analysis on Forearm Muscle Fatigue During Isometric Contractions

In order to detect and assess the muscle fatigue state with the surface electromyography(sEMG) characteristic parameters,this paper carried out a series of isometric contraction experiments to induce the fatigue on the forearm muscles from four subjects,and recorded the sEMG signals of the flexor carpi ulnaris.sEMG's median frequency(MDF) and mean frequency(MF) were extracted by short term Fourier transform(STFT),and the root mean square(RMS) of wavelet coefficients in the frequency band of 5—45 Hz was obtained by continuous wavelet transform(CWT).The results demonstrate that both MDF and MF show downward trends within 1 min; however,RMS shows an upward trend within the same time.The three parameters are closely correlated with absolute values of mean correlation coefficients greater than 0.8.It is suggested that the three parameters above can be used as reliable indicators to evaluate the level of muscle fatigue during isometric contractions.

ISOMETRIES ON THE SPACE s

In this article, the author presents some results of the isometric linear extension from some spheres in the finite dimensional space s（n）. Moreover, the author presents the representation for the onto isometric mappings in the space s. It is obtained that if V is a surjective isometry from the space s onto s with V（0） = 0, then V must be real linear.

Ecological biomass allocation strategies in plant species with different life forms in a cold desert, China

Biomass allocation patterns among plant species are related to their adaptive ecological strategies. Ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plant life forms represent three typical growth strategies of plants that grow in autumn and early spring in the cold deserts of China. These plants play an important role in reducing wind velocity in the desert areas. However, despite numerous studies, the strategies of biomass allocation among plant species with these three life forms remain contentious. In this study, we conducted a preliminary quadrat study during 2014–2016 in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert, China, to investigate the allocation patterns of above-ground biomass(AGB) and below-ground biomass(BGB) at the individual level in 17 ephemeral, 3 ephemeroid and 4 annual plant species. Since ephemeral plants can germinate in autumn, we also compared biomass allocation patterns between plants that germinated in autumn 2015 and spring 2016 for 4 common ephemeral species. The healthy mature individual plants of each species were sampled and the AGB, BGB, total biomass(TB), leaf mass ratio(LMR) and root/shoot ratio(R/S) were calculated for 201 sample quadrats in the study area. We also studied the relationships between AGB and BGB of plants with the three different life forms(ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual). The mean AGB values of ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plants were 0.806, 3.759 and 1.546 g/plant, respectively, and the mean BGB values were 0.106, 4.996 and 0.166 g/plant, respectively. The mean R/S value was significantly higher in ephemeroid plants(1.675) than in ephemeral(0.154) and annual(0.147) plants. The mean LMR was the highest in annual plants, followed by ephemeroid plants and ephemeral plants, reflecting the fact that annual plants allocate more biomass to leaves, associated with their longer life span. Biomass of ephemeral plants that germinated in autumn was significantly higher than those of corresponding plants that germinated in spring in terms of AGB, BGB and TB. However, the R/S value was similar in plants that germinated in autumn and spring. The slope of regression relationship between AGB and BGB differed significantly among the three plant life forms. These results support different biomass allocation hypotheses. Specifically, at the individual level, the AGB and BGB partitioning supports the allometric hypothesis for ephemeroid and annual plants and the isometric hypothesis for ephemeral plants.

EXTENSION OF ISOMETRIES BETWEEN THE UNIT SPHERES OF COMPLEX lp(Γ)(p > 1) SPACES

In this paper, we study the extension of isometries between the unit spheres of complex Banach spaces lp（Γ） and lp（△）（p 〉1）. We first derive the representation of isometries between the unit spheres of complex Banach spaces lp（Γ） and lp（△）. Then we arrive at a conclusion that any surjective isometry between the unit spheres of complex Banach spaces lp（Γ）and lp（△） can be extended to be a linear isometry on the whole space.

Key changes in denervated muscles and their impact on regeneration and reinnervation

The neuromuscular junction becomes progressively less receptive to regenerating axons if nerve repair is delayed for a long period of time. It is difficult to ascertain the denervated muscle＇s residual receptivity by time alone. Other sensitive markers that closely correlate with the extent of denervation should be found. After a denervated muscle develops a fibrillation potential, muscle fiber conduction velocity, muscle fiber diameter, muscle wet weight, and maximal isometric force all decrease; remodeling increases neuromuscular junction fragmentation and plantar area, and expression of myogenesis-related genes is initially up-regulated and then down-regulated. All these changes correlate with both the time course and degree of denervation. The nature and time course of these denervation changes in muscle are reviewed from the literature to explore their roles in assessing both the degree of detrimental changes and the potential success of a nerve repair. Fibrillation potential amplitude, muscle fiber conduction velocity, muscle fiber diameter, mRNA expression levels of myogenic regulatory factors and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor could all reflect the severity and length of denervation and the receptiveness of denervated muscle to regenerating axons, which could possibly offer an important clue for surgical choices and predict the outcomes of delayed nerve repair.

ON TECHNOLOGICAL PR OBLEMS OF FABRICATION OF RELIEF DESIGNS BY ISOMETRIC TRANSFORMATION OF THIN SHEET

Some problems connect ed with production of new light-weight filler type are considered for sandwich layers. Constructively, the filler is the folded structure that can be developed on a plane. This feature makes it possible to produce the filler by isometric t ransformation of thin sheet through local bending without material stretching.Th e main difficulty is that the bending must be carried out along all lines of com plex-shaped marking-out at a time. The problem of shaping can be solved by use of the original shaping device that can be transformed in operation. The herein -presented technology of production makes it possible to fabricate parts with d eep relief using a wide gamut of different materials even as the thin-sheet met al alloys and paper.

Self-thinning lines and allometric relation in Chinese fir(Cunninghamia lanceolata) stands

We calculated a self-thinning exponent of 1.05 for tree mass using the 3/2 power equation in 93 Cunninghamia lanceolata plots.According to Weller’s allometric model,the self-thinning exponent for tree mass was calculated as 1.28 from the allometric exponents h and d.The both self-thinning exponents were significantly lower than 3/2.The self-thinning exponent of organs was estimated to be 1.42 for stems,0.93 for branches,0.96 for leaves,1.35 for roots and 1.28 for shoots,respectively.The self-thinning exponent of stem mass was not significantly different from 3/2,whereas thinning exponents of trees,branches,leaves and roots were significantly lower than 3/2.The stand leaf mass and stand branch mass were constant regardless of the stand density.The scaling relations among branch,leaf,stem,root and shoot mass（MB,ML,MS,MR and MA,respectively） showed that MB and ML scaled as the3/4 power of MS,whereas MS or MA scaled isometrically with respect to MR.

On the Busemann-Petty＇s Problem for Lp-intersection Body

Haberl and Ludwig introduced the L_p-intersection body I_pK for an originsymmetric star body K in R^n,where p < 1 and p ≠ 0.In this paper,we consider the Busemann-Petty's problem for L_p-intersection bodies I_pK and I_pL.That is,whether I_pK ■ IpL implies Vol_n(K) ≤ Vol_n(L).We obtain that for two origin-symmetric star bodies K and L in R^n,such that(R^n,||·||K) embeds in L_p and I_pK ■ IpL,then vol_n(K) ≤ vol_n(L) for 0 < p < 1 and vol_n(K) ≥ vol_n(L) for p < 0.

Skeletal muscle stiffness as measured by magnetic resonance elastography after chronic spinal cord injury:a cross-sectional pilot study

Skeletal muscle stiffness is altered after spinal cord injury(SCI).Assessing muscle stiffness is essential for rehabilitation and pharmaceutical interventions design after SCI.The study used magnetic resonance elastography to assess the changes in stiffness after chronic SCI compared to matched able-bodied controls and determine its association with muscle size,spasticity,and peak torque in persons with SCI.Previous studies examined the association between muscle stiffness and spasticity,however,we are unaware of other studies that examined the effects of muscle composition on stiffness after SCI.Ten participants(one female)with chronic SCI and eight(one female)matched able-bodied controls participated in this cross-sectional study.Magnetic resonance elastography was utilized to monitor stiffness derived from shear waves propagation.Modified Ashworth scale was used to evaluate spasticity scores in a blinded fashion.Peak isometric and isokinetic torques were measured using a biodex dynamometer.Stiffness values were non-significantly lower(12.5%;P=0.3)in the SCI group compared to able-bodied controls.Moreover,stiffness was positively related to vastus lateralis whole muscle cross-sectional area(CSA)(r2=0.64,P<0.005)and vastus lateralis absolute muscle CSA after accounting for intramuscular fat(r2=0.78,P<0.0007).Stiffness was also positively correlated to both isometric(r2=0.55-0.57,P<0.05)and isokinetic peak(r2=0.46-0.48,P<0.05)torques.Our results suggest that larger clinical trial is warranted to confirm the preliminary findings that muscle stiffness is altered after SCI compared to healthy controls.Stiffness appeared to be influenced by infiltration of intramuscular fat and modestly by the spasticity of the paralyzed muscles.The preliminary data indicated that the relationship between muscle stiffness and peak torque is not altered with changing the frequency of pulses or angular velocities.All study procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center,USA(IRB#:02314)on May 3,2017.