Article
Neurosciences
Javad Sarvestan, Peyman Aghaie Ataabadi, Fateme Yazdanbakhsh, Shahram Abbasi, Ali Abbasi, Zdenek Svoboda
Summary: Uphill walking results in adjustments in ankle, knee, and hip joint angles to provide a stable base of support, but may also lead to reduced ankle movement variability and potential injuries during long-term uphill walking.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kenneth P. Clark
Summary: This study explores the effects of body dimensions on mechanical determinants of sprinting performance using fundamental kinematic and kinetic relationships. The research highlights the inherent biological tradeoffs and emphasizes the importance of considering leg length in interpreting the relationship between mechanical variables and sprinting speed. The framework proposed in the study could help athletes with specific body dimensions and sprinting performance goals establish minimum requirements for maximum velocity.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Shanpu Fang, Vinayak Vijayan, Megan E. Reissman, Allison L. Kinney, Timothy Reissman
Summary: The study investigates the impact of adding mass to lower-limb exoskeletons on joint kinematics and kinetics during walking. Results show that smaller masses have limited effects, while larger masses significantly alter joint movements and forces. These findings can inform the design and control strategies of future exoskeletons.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Wan Shi Low, Kheng Yee Goh, Sim Kuan Goh, Chen Hua Yeow, Khin Wee Lai, Siew Li Goh, Joon Huang Chuah, Chow Khuen Chan
Summary: Walking speed is a good indicator for recognizing gait abnormalities, and this study proposes the use of a deep learning framework with recurrent neural network (RNN) to interpret human walking speed, aiming to improve the accuracy of clinical diagnoses.
MULTIMEDIA TOOLS AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Thiago R. T. Santos, Vanessa L. Araujo, Anne Khuu, Sangjun Lee, Cara L. Lewis, Thales R. Souza, Kenneth G. Holt, Sergio T. Fonseca
Summary: This study found that fast walking may require non-uniform changes in dynamic stiffness among lower limb joints, with the knee and hip increasing their stiffness at fast speeds. Gender only influenced ankle stiffness, with males having greater stiffness than females.
JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Cesar R. Castano, Lindsey D. Lee, Helen J. Huang
Summary: This study investigated how healthy young and older adults adjust their gait strategies in response to perturbations of varying unpredictability. The findings suggest that more unpredictable perturbations lead to more cautious gait strategies, which are more pronounced in older adults. Additionally, increasing unpredictability demands greater balance control and results in increased variability of step parameters.
Article
Sport Sciences
Shayne Vial, Jodie Cochrane Wilkie, Mitchell Turner, Anthony J. Blazevich
Summary: A study found intriguing adaptations in sprint running gait during fatigue. Contrary to expectations, the differences between legs were greater in non-fatigued sprinting. Additionally, during fatigue, the non-dominant leg shifted towards greater horizontal force production, accompanied by increased work at the distal joint.
JOURNAL OF SPORTS SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Kunyang Wang, Sivangi Raychoudhury, Dan Hu, Lei Ren, Jing Liu, Haohua Xiu, Wei Liang, Bingqian Li, Guowu Wei, Zhihui Qian
Summary: The study found that increasing running speed results in the functional axis of the metatarsophalangeal joint moving to a more anterior position, while in walking, the position of the axis moves more superiorly. Additionally, with increasing speed, the orientation of the functional axis in the sagittal plane becomes more oblique.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Michelle Graham, John J. Socha
Summary: In arboreal habitats, dynamic movements play a crucial role in gap-crossing behaviors of arboreal animals. Research has shown that flying snakes are able to use jumping behaviors to cross larger distances, instead of employing the cantilever crawl used by most snakes. This dynamic jumping behavior allows flying snakes to access greater resources in the arboreal environment.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Aaron S. Fox, Jason Bonacci, John Warmenhoven, Meghan F. Keast
Summary: The effect of the quantity and selection of gait cycles on biomechanical measures in running technique analysis is examined. The study finds that using more gait cycles can reduce the error of representative means compared to the "ground truth," and analyzing a small sample of cycles (5-10 cycles) typically results in minimal error (<2 degrees) at lower speeds.
Article
Neurosciences
Karna Potwar, Dongheui Lee
Summary: Heeled footwear benefits people with movement disorders but can cause foot injuries in healthy individuals. The study proposes a bipedal model that can estimate gait parameters corresponding to different center of pressure trajectories, aiding in the design of foot orthotics for patients with gait disorders.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katherine A. J. Daniels, J. F. Burn
Summary: The study demonstrates that changes in limb kinematics can occur even without introducing mechanical requirements or increasing collision risks due to manipulation of obstacle geometry. Horizontal displacement of a baseline beneath an obstacle induced a horizontal translation of limb trajectory, indicating that systematic changes to limb trajectories can occur without a change in sensed mechanical constraints or optimization. The nature of visuomotor control of human leaping may involve continuous mapping of sensory input to kinematic output rather than being responsive only to information perceived as mechanically relevant.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Heather Ewart, Peter Tickle, Robert Nudds, William Sellers, Dane Crossley, Jonathan Codd
Summary: Tortoises have an optimum speed range to minimize their metabolic cost of transport. They are economical walkers due to the biomechanics of their walking gait and the specialization of their limb muscle physiology. These findings highlight the unique energy efficiency in tortoise locomotion.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Masataka Yamamoto, Koji Shimatani, Masaki Hasegawa, Yuichi Kurita, Yuto Ishige, Hiroshi Takemura
Summary: The study investigates the use of a single camera-based pose estimation system for gait analysis, finding good to excellent agreement for temporo-spatial parameters and hip/knee kinematics, but poor to fair agreement for ankle kinematics. This suggests that gait analysis using OpenPose can be a valuable clinical assessment tool for certain parameters.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Joel Marouvo, Filipa Sousa, Orlando Fernandes, Maria Antonio Castro, Szczepan Paszkiel
Summary: This study found significant gait kinematic differences between flatfoot and neutral foot subjects in various lower limb segments, including the ankle, knee, hip, and pelvis rotation. These differences may play an important role in the early detection of health impairments related to foot posture.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Christopher Basu, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: Giraffes have specialized locomotor morphology with low effective mechanical advantage (EMA) due to their long limb segments and modest muscle lever arms. Limb segment length is a determinant of EMA, and unless muscle moment arms scale isometrically with limb length, tall mammals are prone to low EMA.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Eva C. Herbst, Enrico A. Eberhard, Christopher T. Richards, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: Joint range of motion (RoM) analysis is crucial for understanding animal locomotion within an ecosystem. This study presents a detailed analysis of both in vivo and ex vivo data on salamander hindlimb joints, providing valuable information for comparative studies.
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Andrew R. Cuff, Ashleigh L. A. Wiseman, Peter J. Bishop, Krijn B. Michel, Raphaelle Gaignet, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: In vertebrates, muscle forces acting on bones drive active movement. This study investigates the relationship between physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) and muscular attachment areas (AAs) in hindlimb muscles of Nile crocodiles and bird species. Findings show variations in the ratio between AAs and PCSA within and across species, but muscle fascicle lengths are consistent within individual species. Equations can predict the ratio of muscle AA to PCSA, and this method can be used to estimate muscle sizes in archosaurian muscles.
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jack A. Cooper, John R. Hutchinson, David C. Bernvi, Geremy Cliff, Rory P. Wilson, Matt L. Dicken, Jan Menzel, Stephen Wroe, Jeanette Pirlo, Catalina Pimiento
Summary: This study used a well-preserved fossil to create a three-dimensional model of the extinct Megalodon shark's body and inferred its movement and feeding ecology. The research found that Megalodon could swim faster than any modern shark species and consume prey the size of modern apex predators. Its preference for large prey helped reduce competition and provided sustained energy for long migrations. The study suggests that Megalodon played an important ecological role as a transoceanic superpredator and its extinction had significant impacts on global nutrient transfer and trophic food webs.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Oliver E. Demuth, Ashleigh L. A. Wiseman, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: Birds and crocodylians, the remaining members of Archosauria, have major differences in posture and gait. The ancestral capabilities of bipedalism in archosaurs are contentious. Euparkeria capensis, a central taxon for studying locomotion in archosaurs, is argued to be facultatively bipedal, but no biomechanical tests have been performed. Through musculoskeletal models and simulations, it is unlikely that Euparkeria was bipedal, suggesting ancestral bipedal abilities in Archosauria are unlikely.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Jordan Gonet, Jeremie Bardin, Marc Girondot, John R. Hutchinson, Michel Laurin
Summary: The water-to-land transition of the first tetrapod vertebrates is a crucial stage in their evolution. Through the study of bone microanatomy in reptiles, we can gain insights into the mechanisms behind their locomotor and postural diversity. We have developed a model to infer locomotion in extinct reptiles based on microanatomical parameters and have applied it to 7 taxa with debated locomotion strategies.
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2023)
Review
Biology
Oliver E. Demuth, Eva Herbst, Delyle T. Polet, Ashleigh L. A. Wiseman, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: This article reviews the modern interface of three-dimensional empirical and theoretical approaches to studying the terrestrial locomotion of tetrapod vertebrates using appendages. These methods, ranging from more empirical approaches like motion capture to theoretical approaches like musculoskeletal simulations, have commonalities and synergistic potential when integrated. The article discusses the challenges and pitfalls of these methods and their current and future usage, highlighting their matured state and the new possibilities they offer for answering complex research questions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Jordan Gonet, Jeremie Bardin, Marc Girondot, John R. Hutchinson, Michel Laurin
Summary: Mammals have a long evolutionary history and are now one of the most diverse groups of tetrapod vertebrates. This diversity is reflected in their postural variations and microanatomical differences in the bones. The study shows how these anatomical parameters can be related to posture and provides a model that can be used to infer the posture of extinct synapsids.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Correction
Evolutionary Biology
Jordan Gonet, Jeremie Bardin, Marc Girondot, John R. Hutchinson, Michel Laurin
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Jordan Gonet, Jeremie Bardin, Marc Girondot, John R. Hutchinson, Michel Laurin
Summary: Reptiles, including lizards, turtles, crocodiles, and birds, exhibit a diverse range of locomotion and limb bone microstructure. This study quantitatively examines the relationship between angular microanatomical parameters of reptilian femoral cross-sections and locomotion using elliptic Fourier transforms and statistical analyses. Results show that while phylogeny plays a significant role, a functional signal exists, with bipeds showing a craniolateral-caudomedial deficit in bone compactness, and quadrupeds showing a dorsoventral deficit. These findings provide insights into the complex interplay between phylogeny, femoral cross-sectional microanatomy, and locomotion in reptiles.
ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sophie Macaulay, Tatjana Hoehfurtner, Samuel R. R. Cross, Ryan D. Marek, John R. Hutchinson, Emma R. Schachner, Alice E. Maher, Karl T. Bates
Summary: Research challenges the traditional dichotomy between dinosaurs and birds, showing that their evolution is not strictly defined by phylogenetics, but rather by the different demands of terrestrial and flight lifestyles. The evolution of body shape and mass distribution in birds suggests modularity, with powered flight evolving before fully crouched bipedalism.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jordan Gonet, Michel Laurin, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: Extant amniotes exhibit diverse postures. Limbs with erect or crouched postures are found in different taxa based on their locomotion and body mass. The postural transition from sprawling to erect limbs occurred in both reptiles and synapsids during the Mesozoic Era. This study examines the link between femoral posture and trabecular architecture using phylogenetic analysis, revealing conflicting results regarding the evolution of posture in amniotes.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mauro B. S. Lacerda, Jonathas S. Bittencourt, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: The study analyzed the macroevolution of the locomotor system in early Theropoda, with a focus on Megalosauroidea. By scoring Spinosaurus and mapping the modifications onto a phylogeny, the researchers studied the disparities in the evolution of Megalosauroidea. The findings provide a stronger foundation for future studies on pelvic/appendicular musculature and locomotor function.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Mauro B. S. Lacerda, Jonathas S. Bittencourt, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: This study reconstructs the hindlimb musculature of Piatnitzkysauridae, providing a more complete understanding of myological evolution in theropod pelvic appendages.
JOURNAL OF ANATOMY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Max J. Kurz, John R. Hutchinson
Summary: Elephants use visual feedback to correct and maintain the proper sequencing of their limbs during locomotion.