Effect of external and internal cues on core muscle activation during the Sahrmann five-level core stability test

BACKGROUND Pain in the back or pelvis or fear of back pain may affect the timing or cocontraction of the core muscles.In both static and dynamic movements,the Sahrmann core stability test provides an assessment of core muscle activation and a person's ability to stabilize the lumbopelvic complex.Preparatory cues and images can be used to increase the activation of these muscles.To attain optimal movement patterns,it will be necessary to determine what cueing will give the most effective results for core stability.AIM To investigate the effects of external and internal cues on core muscle activation during the Sahrmann five-level core stability test.METHODS Total 68 participants(21.83±3.47 years)were randomly allocated to an external(n=35)or internal cue group(n=33).Participants performed the Sahrmann fivelevel core stability test without a cue as baseline and the five-level stability exercises with an internal or external cue.External cue group received a pressure biofeedback unit(PBU),and the internal cue group received an audio cue.A Delsys Trigno^(TM)surface electromyography unit was used for muscle activation from the rectus abdominis,external oblique,and transverse abdominis/internal oblique muscles.RESULTS Linear mixed effects model analysis showed that cueing had a significant effect on core muscle activation(P=0.001);however,there was no significant difference between cue types(internal or external)(P=0.130).CONCLUSION Both external and internal cueing have significant effects on core muscle activation during the Sahrmann five-level core stability test and the PBU does not create higher muscle activation than internal cueing.

基于CUES分析的威胁评估技术

威胁评估是海军指控系统的一项重要技术,cues分析则是威胁评估中的重要组成部分。威胁评估过程中cues的来源,使用哪些cues,这些cues之间的关系如何,它们与威胁水平之间的关系如何,当cues存在冲突信息时对威胁评估过程又有哪些影响,对这些问题进行了研究,并提出了一种改进的TA认知模型。

Male Music Frogs Compete Vocally on the Basis of Temporal Sequence Rather Than Spatial Cues of Rival Calls

Male-male vocal competition in anuran species may be influenced by cues related to the temporal sequence of male calls as well by internal temporal, spectral and spatial ones. Nevertheless, the conditions under which each type of cue is important remain unclear. Since the salience of different cues could be reflected by dynamic properties of male-male competition under certain experimental manipulation, we investigated the effects of repeating playbacks of conspecific calls on male call production in the Emei music frog（Babina daunchina）. In Babina, most males produce calls from nest burrows which modify the spectral features of the cues. Females prefer calls produced from inside burrows which are defined as highly sexually attractive（HSA） while those produced outside burrows as low sexual attractiveness（LSA）. In this study HSA and LSA calls were broadcasted either antiphonally or stereophonically through spatially separated speakers in which the temporal sequence and/or spatial position of the playbacks was either predictable or random. Results showed that most males consistently avoided producing advertisement calls overlapping the playback stimuli and generally produced calls competitively in advance of the playbacks. Furthermore males preferentially competed with the HSA calls when the sequence was predictable but competed equally with HSA and LSA calls if the sequence was random regardless of the availability of spatial cues, implying that males relied more on available sequence cues than spatial ones to remain competitive.

Teaching New Mothers about Infant Feeding Cues May Increase Breastfeeding Duration

The objective of this pilot study was to compare two different methods of educating prenatal women regarding breast-feeding. Comparisons were made between traditional and innovative methods to determine which was more effective in increasing breastfeeding duration. Over a 32 month period, 197 prenatal women were assigned to either a control (C, n = 139) or an experimental (E, n = 51) group. The C group received standard breastfeeding education, while the E group received standard education in addition to information about infant hunger cues. Cox Regression and Kap-lan- Meier analysis were performed. Estimated mean number of weeks for C and E groups to continue breastfeeding was 14.3 + 17.4 weeks and 18.5 + 17.1 weeks, respectively. At 26 weeks, duration of breastfeeding approached significance (chi square = 2.907, df = 1, p = 0.088), indicating probability of continuing to breastfeed was about 28% better for those in E group when compared to C group. Duration of breastfeeding may increase when prenatal women are taught to identify infant behavior such as hunger cues.

Male horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus use multiple sensory cues to locate mates

The use of multisensory cues to locate mates can increase an organism＇s success by acting as a back-up plan when one system fails, by providing additional information to the receiver, and by increasing their ability to detect mates using senses that have different ranges in a variable aquatic environment. In this contribution we review the sensory cues that male horseshoe crabs Lirnulus polyphemus are known to use when locating mates and then provide new data that shed light on this subject. Dur- ing the breeding season, females migrate into shore during high tides to spawn. Males attach to females as they approach the beach or are attracted to pairs already spawning. Vision is well established as an important cue in attracting males. Although chemoreception is well known in other marine arthropods, and horseshoe crabs have the anatomy available, there are few studies on chemical cues in this species. Experiments are presented here that provide evidence for chemical cue use. We show that the attraction, and retention, of attached and satellite males to actively spawning females and mating pairs involves multimodal cues

Orientation of larval and juvenile horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus to visual cues: Effects of chemical odors

Adult horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus have long served as models for the study of vision in marine arthropods. Yet, little is known about the ability of early life history stages to detect and respond to visual cues. We examined the visually directed movements of larvae and first stage juveniles to horizons containing dark visual targets of different sizes. The study tested the hypotheses that （1） larval and juvenile crabs can detect and respond to visual targets and （2） the direction of orientation varies with the presence of chemical cues associated with settlement habitats. Orientation of larval and juvenile crabs to rectangles subtending angles from 30--330~ was tested in a circular arena containing water that either lacked estuarine chemical cues （offshore water） or contained odors from aquatic vegetation or known predators. In the absence of chemical odors, larvae oriented toward and juveniles moved away from dark horizons subtending angles 〉 60~. When placed in water containing chemical odors from potential nursery habitats, including the seagrasses Halodule wrightii and Syringodium filiforme, crabs reversed their direction of orientation relative to their responses in offshore water. Odors from two known predators, the mummichug Fundulus grandis and blue crab Callinectes sapidus, had no affect on the orientation of larvae. Yet, juveniles responded to both odors by moving toward the visual target. Results support the hypothesis that the visual orientation of larval and juvenile horseshoe crabs changes upon exposure to habitat and predator cues and that the direction of the response undergoes an ontogenetic shift following metamorphosis

Understanding Nonverbal Communication Cues of Human Personality Traits in Human-Robot Interaction

With the increasing presence of robots in our daily life,there is a strong need and demand for the strategies to acquire a high quality interaction between robots and users by enabling robots to understand users’mood,intention,and other aspects.During human-human interaction,personality traits have an important influence on human behavior,decision,mood,and many others.Therefore,we propose an efficient computational framework to endow the robot with the capability of understanding the user’s personality traits based on the user’s nonverbal communication cues represented by three visual features including the head motion,gaze,and body motion energy,and three vocal features including voice pitch,voice energy,and mel-frequency cepstral coefficient(MFCC).We used the Pepper robot in this study as a communication robot to interact with each participant by asking questions,and meanwhile,the robot extracts the nonverbal features from each participant’s habitual behavior using its on-board sensors.On the other hand,each participant’s personality traits are evaluated with a questionnaire.We then train the ridge regression and linear support vector machine(SVM)classifiers using the nonverbal features and personality trait labels from a questionnaire and evaluate the performance of the classifiers.We have verified the validity of the proposed models that showed promising binary classification performance on recognizing each of the Big Five personality traits of the participants based on individual differences in nonverbal communication cues.

A Fusion Neutron Source Driven Sub-Critical Nuclear Energy System: A Way for Early Application of Fusion Technology

This paper proposes a sub-critical nuclear energy system driven by fusion neutron source, FDS, which can be used to transmute long-lived radioactive wastes and to produce fissile nuclear fuel as a way for early application of fusion technology. The necessity and feasibility to develop that system in China are illustrated on the basis of prediction of the demand of energy source in the first half of the 21th century, the status of current fission energy supply and the progress in fusion technology in the world. The characteristics of fusion neutron driver and the potential for transmutation of long-lived nuclear wastes and breeding of fissile nuclear fuel in a blanket are analyzed. A scenario of development steps is proposed.

Recovery of oil and free fatty acids from spent bleaching earth using sub-critical water technology supported with kinetic and thermodynamic study

This work represents the extraction of oil with high free fatty acid content from spent bleaching earth using sub-critical water technology as a greener production pathway. The extraction efficiencies under different conditions were investigated. The studied parameters include temperatures in the range of 180 to 270°C, the feed to solventfeed-to-solvent (in this case water) ratio (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 and 1:5) and extraction times in the range of 5-60 minutes. The results showed that the optimum temperature, feed to solventfeed-to-solvent ratio, and extraction time were 270°C, 1:3, and 20 minutes, respectively. In another experiment, the extracted free fatty acids were converted into mono-, di-, and triglycerides through esterification with glycerol to increase the value added of the extracted products. The kinetics of the extraction process was found to be corresponding to an irreversible consecutive unimolecular-type first order reaction, consisting of the extraction step followed by the decomposition reaction step. Both reaction rates of extraction and decomposition were estimated using the reaction rate equations utilizing the nonlinear regression method. The apparent activation energy was calculated to be 46.1 kJ·mol-1. This result indicates a diffusion controlled reaction. For more exploration and deep understanding of the extraction mechanism, other thermodynamic parameters were also calculated and analyzed including,ΔH#, ΔS#, and ΔG# of the extraction step.

3D printed nerve guidance channels: computer-aided control of geometry, physical cues, biological supplements and gradients

Nerve guidance channels for peripheral nerve injury： Over the past decade, nerve guidance channels （NGCs） have emerged as a promising technology for regenerating gap injuries in peripheral nerves. Nerve gap injuries resulting from neurodegeneration and trauma, such as car accidents and battlefield wounds, affect hun- dreds of thousands of people annually. Motivated by suboptimal results obtained with the current gold standard of autologous grafting （i.e., autografts）, various commercially available NGCs composed of synthetic and biomaterials are now alternatively available （Jia et al., 2014; Jones et al., 2016）.

Law governing strata and ground movement due to sub-critical extraction

The strata movement induced by sub-critical extraction is a problem not receiving due attention because of its relatively small magnitude of deformation. However, with the increase of mining depth, sub-critical extraction has become a general phenomenon. This calls for an in-depth investigation into the characteristics of ground movements observed under different extents of sub-critical extraction, so as to determine the appropriate mining technique for use. Following a discussion of the factors influencing the extent of super-critical extraction, the super-critical extraction extent evaluation criteria was presented, the characteristics and laws of the strata and ground movements caused by such an extraction condition were systematically analyzed, and the mechanism of surface subsidence induced by sub-critical extraction was revealed. The result of study may serve as a basis for the development of the strata and ground movement prediction model and the mining techniques appropriate for use at depth beneath surface structures and buildings.

Fouling process and anti-fouling mechanisms of dynamic membrane assisted by photocatalytic oxidation under sub-critical fluxes

Membrane fouling is often considered as a hindrance for the application of microfiltration/ultrafiltration(MF/UF) for drinking water production. A novel process of photocatalytic membrane reactor/dynamic membrane(PMR/DM), operating in a continuous mode under sub-critical flux, was proposed for the mitigation of membrane fouling caused by humic acids(HAs) in water. The mechanism of membrane fouling alleviation with synergistic photocatalytic oxidation and dynamic layer isolating effect was comprehensively investigated from the characterization of foulant evolution responsible for the reversible and irreversible fouling. The results showed that the PMR/DM utilized photocatalytic oxidation to enhance the porosity and hydrophilicity of the fouling layer by converting the high molecular weight(MW) and hydrophobic HA molecules with carboxylic functional groups and aromatic structures into low-MW hydrophilic or transphilic fractions, including tryptophan-like or fulvic-like substances. The fouling layer formed in the PMR/DM by combination of photocatalytic oxidation and DM running at a sub-critical flux of 100 L·h^-1·m^-2, was more hydrophilic and more porous, resulting in the lowest trans-membrane pressure(TMP) growth rates, as compared to the processes of ceramic membrane(CM), DM and PMR/CM.Meanwhile, the dynamic layer prevented the foulants, particularly the high-MW hydrophobic fractions,from contacting the primary membrane, which enabled the membrane permeability to be restored easily.

In-plane shear(ModeⅡ) crack sub-critical propagation of rock at high temperature

In-plane shear crack sub-critical propagation of rock at high temperature was studied by finite element method and shear-box(i.e.compression-shear) test with newly designed electrically conductive adhesive method.Numerical and experimental results show that the normalized shear(Mode Ⅱ) stress intensity factors,K ⅡT/KT0 is decreased as the temperature increases because high temperature can improve stress distribution at crack tip and reduce the Mode Ⅱ stress intensity factor.Microscopic features of fractured surface are of little pits and secondary micro-cracks in the vicinity(1.5-4.0 mm) of the crack tip.The chevron-shape secondary cracks gradually merge in the length of about 4-5 mm and disappear along the direction of crack propagation.Stable shear crack propagation time is increased with the increasing temperature while the stable shear crack propagation rate is decreased with the increasing temperature,since high temperature can increase the shear(Mode Ⅱ) fracture toughness and prevent the crack growth.It is necessary to ensure the ligament of specimen long enough to measure the maximum unstable crack propagation rate of rock.

Effect of holes on in-plane shear(Mode Ⅱ) crack sub-critical propagation of rock

Shear-box(i.e.compression-shear) test and newly designed electrically conductive adhesive method were used to measure shear crack sub-critical propagation time and rate of sandstone specimen.Different cubic specimens with and without holes were tested to study the effect of holes on the shear crack sub-critical propagation.Numerical and experimental results show that three independent variables of hole,the interval distance S,the distance between the center of hole and the crack tip L,and hole radius R,have different contribution to the ratio of stress intensity factor of the specimen with holes to that of the specimen without hole,KⅡ/KⅡ0.Increasing S and decreasing L and R will result in the decrease of KⅡ/KⅡ0 and help crack arrest.The weight relation of the independent variables for KⅡ/KⅡ0 is S>L>R.The specimen DH3 with the largest value of S and the smallest values of L and R has the longest sub-critical crack propagation time and the smallest sub-critical crack propagation rate.Adding two suitable holes symmetrically to the original crack plane in rock specimen is considered to be a potential method for crack arrest of rock.

Sub-Criticality Measurement with Source Term for Research Reactor in Inverse Kinetics Method

In reactor physics tests, it is important to monitor sub-criticality continuously during criticality approach. Reactivity measurements by the inverse kinetics method are widely used during the operation of a nuclear reactor. This technique is successfully applied at sufficiently high power level or to a core without an external neutron source where the neutron source term in point reactor kinetics equations may be neglected. For operation at low power levels or in the sub-critical domain, the increase in the fluctuation of the neutron signal may cause difficulties in the evaluation of reactivity and the effect of direct emission from the external neutron source may not be neglected. Therefore, contribution of the neutron source must be taken into account and this implies knowledge of a quantity proportional to the source strength, which calls the source term and then it should be determined. The research work has been conducted to measure reactivity with source term using a dedicated reactivity measurement system by the Least Square Inverse Kinetics Method (LSIKM). Application to a simulator of HANARO research reactor, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), with known source strength and reactivity worth has showed consistent and satisfactory agreement.

Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Wheat Straw in Sub-critical Water/Ethanol with Ionic Liquid for Bio-oil Production

Hydrothermal liquefaction of wheat straw in sub-critical water with ionic liquid was investigated in an autoclave. The product distribution at different temperatures and pressures was studied. The liquid oil and the residuals were tested by 1H NMR, FTIR and SEM techniques. The results indicated that under the same conditions, the oil yield from liquefaction of wheat straw in water/ethanol was higher than that in sub-critical water. The result also showed that under the investigated conditions, adding 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride([Bmim]Cl) could increase the total conversion and gas yield, while at the same time the yield of n-hexane insoluble fraction and the tetrahydrofuran soluble fraction was reduced. Moreover, the results also showed that upon adding [Bmim]Cl the contents of the aliphatic hydrogen and phenols in liquid oil also increased along with improved oil quality.

Predatory Cues Influence the Behavioral Responses and Metamorphic Traits of Polypedates maculatus(Anura: Rhacophoridae)

Mechanisms of predator detection and the influence of the presence of nonlethal predators on antipredator defense behavior and metamorphic traits were studied in the Indian tree frog, Polypedates maculatus. Exposure of P. maculatus tadpoles to chemical cues of caged predator（crabs, Barytelphusa spp.） fed with either conspecific or heterogeneric tadpoles, or were starved elicited defense behavior（by avoiding predator zone） in them. Such a behavior was not evident when exposed to predators housed in a glass beaker（visual cues）. Both early（Gosner stage 27–28） and later（Gosner stage 35–36） stage tadpoles when exposed to caged predators（fed with conspecific tadpoles）, prey tadpoles spent less time swimming and remained motionless for longer periods. Yet, the time spent by prey in feeding was unaffected. Further, the predator avoidance behavior exhibited by them was of the same intensity regardless of whether the caged predators were fed or starved implying the influence of predator＇s kairomones. Tadpoles reared with caged predator reached the metamorphic climax stage（MC stage; Gosner stage 42） earlier than those reared without a predator. Size at emergence（Gosner stage 46） was comparable in both the groups. The findings suggest that P. maculatus tadpoles assess predation risk chiefly by sensing kairomones of the predator in eliciting antipredator defense behaviors. Accelerated development and early metamorphosis without any compromise of the size at emergence may be due to their unaltered feeding activity.

Encoding of local and global cues in domestic dogs’ spatial working memory

The current study investigated whether domestic dogs encode local and/or global cues in spatial working memory. Seven dogs were trained to use a source of allocentric information (local and/or global cues) to locate an attractive object they saw move and disappear behind one of the three opaque boxes arrayed in front of them. To do so, after the disappearance of the target object and out of the dogs’ knowledge, all sources of allocentric information were simultaneously shifted to a new spatial position and the dogs were forced to follow a U-shaped pathway leading to the hiding box. Out of the seven dogs that were trained in the detour problem, only three dogs learned to use the cues that were moved from trial to trial. On tests, local (boxes and experimenter) and/or global cues (walls of the room) were systematically and drastically shifted to a new position in the testing chamber. Although they easily succeeded the control trials, the three dogs failed to use a specific source of allocentric information when local and global cues were put in conflict. In discussion, we explore several hypotheses to explain why dogs have difficulties to use allocentric cues to locate a hidden object in a detour problem and why they do not differentiate the local and global cues in this particular experimental setting.

Relevance of Visual, Auditory, and Olfactory Cues in Pet Dogs’ Awareness of Humans

Many studies have looked at how dogs respond to human communicative information. Here, we examined which human communicative factors were important in influencing dogs’ responses. Eleven healthy pet dogs with no apparent aggressive behaviour toward people were recruited. Five sensory conditions (all cues presented;either a visual, an auditory, or an olfactory cue presented;no cues presented) were provided three times randomly to each dog during the tests. All tests were video recorded, and both the dogs’ behaviour and time taken to reach the person when she presented each of the sensory cue conditions were observed. Total rates of reaching the person were as follows: 97.0% (all cues), 87.9% (auditory cues), 84.4% (visual cues), 84.4% (olfactory cues), and 69.7% (no cues). The time taken for the dog to notice the person in the box and then obtain a reward from her differed among the five conditions: all cues (6.00 ± 0.32 s) and visual cues (6.02 ± 0.91 s) were significantly faster than auditory cues (18.56 ± 9.57 s) and no cues (26.55 ± 11.72 s). Thus the type of information input was important in recognition of the person by the dogs and influenced the dogs’ response times;visual cues appeared advantageous in confirming the person’s presence.

Age Related Changes in Attentional Bias Triggered by Gaze Cues

We investigated if attentional bias directed to the right increased with age. We assessed the characteristics of the following types of eye-gaze by using the Posner cueing paradigm. Younger (n =16) and older (n = 20) adults participated in this study. First of all, a face which looked straight ahead was presented at the center of screen, followed by a gaze cue that looked left or right. Immediately after this informative cue, a target stimulus (“*”) appeared to the left or right of the face. The stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between the cue and the target was selected from 300, 700, and 1100 ms. Participants were required to judge whether the target appeared to the left or the right of the gaze cue as quickly and accurately as possible. Results showed that older adults indicate a larger positive gaze-cueing effect when the eye-gaze shifted rightward, whereas this effect was not observed for a leftward shift. Moreover, a negative gaze-cueing effect (inhibition of return) was observed when the SOA was longer only for the leftward eye-gaze shift of older adults. These modulations of the cueing effect did not appear in younger adults. These findings demonstrate that the rightward attentional bias in older adults is more robust than the leftward bias.