膝骨关节炎患者的三维运动解析

背景　膝骨关节炎（KOA）患者发生膝关节变形、活动受限、步态异常等改变,预示KOA是与运动学、动力学等生物力学因素关系密切的一种疾病。而目前临床上缺乏对这些运动学、动力学指标的客观定量评定指标。目的　应用VICON三维运动捕捉系统解析KOA患者的病情,为临床医生治疗、康复计划的制定和实施提供新的重要参考依据。方法　2010年10月-2017年6月,选择上海交通大学医学院附属瑞金医院门诊及住院的双KOA患者10例作为KOA组,另外招募无膝关节疼痛的健康中老年人10例作为对照组。采用英国VICON三维运动捕捉系统对两组受试者进行行走测试,并分析受试者的步行情况和膝关节的生物力学（运动学、动力学）特征。结果　与正常人比较,KOA患者存在明显的步态和生物力学特征：步频、跛行指数、步长、步幅、步速均缩短,双足支撑期、单足支撑期、一步时间、步行周期均延长（P<0.05）;膝关节屈曲角峰值,冠状面最初角度,矢状面、冠状面、水平面膝关节最大活动范围均减小（P<0.05）;膝关节角速度、膝关节角加速度峰值和平均值均减小（P<0.05）;膝关节伸展力矩峰值减小（P<0.05）;Y轴和Z轴方向地板反作用力峰值减小（P<0.05）。结论　KOA患者关节内及其周围生物力学环境发生了明显变化,同时下肢运动出现了异常。而采用VICON运动捕捉系统对KOA患者和正常人进行三维步态分析,有助于更好地了解膝关节运动学和动力学等指标,为KOA诊断、治疗及研究提供重要的参考依据。     

Bacterial rheotaxis

The motility of organisms is often directed in response to environmental stimuli. Rheotaxis is the directed movement resulting from fluid velocity gradients, long studied in fish, aquatic invertebrates, and spermatozoa. Using carefully controlled microfluidic flows, we show that rheotaxis also occurs in bacteria. Excellent quantitative agreement between experiments with Bacillus subtilis and a mathematical model reveals that bacterial rheotaxis is a purely physical phenomenon, in contrast to fish rheotaxis but in the same way as sperm rheotaxis. This previously unrecognized bacterial taxis results from a subtle interplay between velocity gradients and the helical shape of flagella, which together generate a torque that alters a bacterium's swimming direction. Because this torque is independent of the presence of a nearby surface, bacterial rheotaxis is not limited to the immediate neighborhood of liquid-solid interfaces, but also takes place in the bulk fluid. We predict that rheotaxis occurs in a wide range of bacterial habitats, from the natural environment to the human body, and can interfere with chemotaxis, suggesting that the fitness benefit conferred by bacterial motility may be sharply reduced in some hydrodynamic conditions.     

Training implications of maximal forces on a computer-controlled and motor-driven leg press by age group, sex, footplate direction, and speed

Strength training that overloads lengthening muscle fibers may result in greater strength gains with less effort and perceived exertion than conventional training modalities. This study evaluates a device capable of this overloading (a motor-driven and computer-controlled leg press) to develop recommendations for future training interventions. Unimpaired younger and older men and women (7/group, total n=28) performed three maximal-effort trials for both directions of footplate motion (IN and OUT) at three speed profiles (knee rotation speeds of 15, 25, and 35°/s) on a motor-driven and computer-controlled leg press. Normalized forces were tested for effects of age group, sex, direction of footplate motion, and knee rotation speed. Peak forces were 57% greater for younger and 20% greater for IN. Trends of greater IN relative to OUT forces (IN overloading) were present in women, but this was due to an inverse correlation between strength and IN overloading that was independent of age group and sex. Leg press strength training on a device that is capable of overloading lengthening muscle fibers is a promising new training method that appears to have the greatest potential benefits for the weakest participants. Training target profiles on the device tested and others similar to it should be set based on participant-specific maximums across the ROM in both IN and OUT directions at a speed in the middle of the range to be trained.     

Three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography: methodological aspects and clinical potential

Speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) is an advanced echocardiographic technique that allows a novel approach to the assessment of cardiac physiology through the study of myocardial mechanics. In its three-dimensional (3D) modality, it overcomes the drawbacks inherent to other echocardiographic techniques, namely two-dimensional echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging. Several research studies and software improvements have led 3D-STE to become a promising tool for accurate evaluation of global and regional cardiac function. This article addresses the image acquisition, analytical methods, and parameters of myocardial mechanics that could be derived from 3D-STE. This systematic guidance may help to establish its usefulness in the global and regional evaluation of cardiac function, and to facilitate its clinical application.     

A position anchor sinks the double-drift illusion

When the internal texture of a Gabor patch moves orthogonally to its envelope''s motion, the perceived path, viewed in the periphery, shifts dramatically in position, and direction relative to the true path (the double-drift illusion). Here, we examine positional uncertainty as a critical factor underlying this illusory shift. We presented participants with an anchoring line at different distances from the drifting Gabor''s physical path. Our results indicate that placing an anchor (a fixed line) close to the Gabor''s path halved the magnitude of the illusion. This suppression was symmetrical for anchors placed on either side of the Gabor. In a second experiment, we used crowding to degrade the anchoring line''s position information by embedding it in a set of parallel lines. In this case, despite the presence of the same lines that reduced the illusion when presented in isolation, the illusory shift was now largely restored. We suggest that the adjacent lines crowded each other, reducing their positional certainty, and thus their ability to anchor the location of the moving Gabor. These findings indicate that the positional uncertainty of the equiluminant Gabor patch is critical for the illusory position offset.     

Anterior cervical decompression and fusion on neck range of motion,pain, and function: a prospective analysis

Background contextIntractable cervical radiculopathy secondary to stenosis or herniated nucleus pulposus is commonly treated with an anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) procedure. However, there is little evidence in the literature that demonstrates the impact such surgery has on long-term range of motion (ROM) outcomes.PurposeThe objective of this study was to compare cervical ROM and patient-reported outcomes in patients before and after a 1, 2, or 3 level ACDF.Study designProspective, nonexperimental.Patient sampleForty-six patients.Outcome measuresThe following were measured preoperatively and also at 3 and 6 months after ACDF: active ROM (full and painfree) in three planes (ie, sagittal, coronal, and horizontal), pain visual analog scale, Neck Disability Index, and headache frequency.MethodsPatients undergoing an ACDF for cervical radiculopathy had their cervical ROM measured preoperatively and also at 3 and 6 months after the procedure. Neck Disability Index and pain visual analog scale values were also recorded at the same time.ResultsBoth painfree and full active ROM did not change significantly from the preoperative measurement to the 3-month postoperative measurement (ps>.05); however, painfree and full active ROM did increase significantly in all three planes of motion from the preoperative measurement to the 6-month postoperative measurement regardless of the number of levels fused (ps≤.023). Visual analog scale, Neck Disability Index, and headache frequency all improved significantly over time (ps≤.017).ConclusionsOur results suggest that patients who have had an ACDF for cervical radiculopathy will experience improved ROM 6 months postoperatively. In addition, patients can expect a decrease in pain, an improvement in neck function, and a decrease in headache frequency.