Article
Physiology
Marie Keime, Loic Chomienne, Cedric Goulon, Patrick Sainton, Thomas Lapole, Remy Casanova, Martin Bossard, Caroline Nicol, Cecile Martha, Benoit Bolmont, Arnaud Hays, Fabrice Vercruyssen, Pascale Chavet, Lionel Bringoux
Summary: Motor control, including locomotion, is influenced by gravity and can be adapted to reduced body weight. This study used virtual reality to investigate the effects of different gravity conditions on running performance and perception. The findings showed that reducing body weight altered biomechanics, but had inconsistent effects on perceived upright and virtual motion sensation.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Sophie Orr, James Casler, Jesse Rhoades, Pablo de Leon
Summary: Past research has focused on the energy difference between different locomotion methods in reduced gravity at different speeds. However, the full range of reasons behind locomotion selection has not been researched. This study found fundamental changes in the way humans move in simulated Martian and Lunar gravity conditions, which should be considered in astronaut training and equipment development.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Scott Jasechko, Debra Perrone
Summary: Groundwater wells supply water to billions of people, but millions of wells are at risk of running dry if groundwater levels decline by only a few meters. Newer wells are not being constructed deeper than older wells in some places with significant groundwater level declines, suggesting that they are equally likely to run dry if groundwater levels continue to decline.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Charlotte Richter, Bjoern Braunstein, Benjamin Staeudle, Julia Attias, Alexander Suess, Tobias Weber, Katya N. Mileva, Joern Rittweger, David A. Green, Kirsten Albracht
Summary: The study examined the effects of running at simulated 0.7 g on gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior, revealing differences in fascicle-series elastic element behavior between simulated hypogravity and 1 g running. Shorter peak series elastic element lengths at simulated 0.7 g are attributed to lower muscular and gravitational forces acting on it.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Christian Ison, Connor Neilsen, Jessica DeBerardinis, Mohamed B. Trabia, Janet S. Dufek
Summary: The study found significant differences between the 100% body weight condition and the 40% and 20% body weight conditions, but no significant differences in COP path length and width between the 40% and 20% body weight conditions. Stance time differed significantly between the 40% and 20% body weight conditions. The findings may help clinicians develop effective rehabilitation strategies to unload body weight for safe exercise.
Article
Soil Science
Xiaofang Wang, Yi Li, Henry Wai Chau, Dexiu Tang, Junying Chen, Mohamed Bayad
Summary: The study found that the growth of summer maize in water repellent soils could be hindered by weak root water uptake and high soil water evaporation. This was supported by data and simulations showing a decrease in maize root water uptake and higher evaporation rates in water repellent soils compared to control.
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Peter H-Y Lo, Philip L-F Liu
Summary: This study investigates water waves generated by a subcritically moving bottom obstacle in constant water depth using a combination of analytical and numerical approaches. Two types of waves are revealed - transient free waves and trapped waves. Linear analytical solutions accurately predict the characteristics of water waves generated by a bottom obstacle.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Physics, Particles & Fields
Angel Rincon, Benjamin Koch, Cristobal Laporte, Felipe Canales, Norman Cruz
Summary: In this study, we investigate the consequences of running gravitational coupling on the properties of the three-dimensional BTZ black hole. Using the functional form of gravitational coupling obtained from asymptotic safe gravity theory, we compute the solution of the Einstein field equations based on the standard scale setting relation. We analyze the horizon and thermodynamic properties of this new class of black hole solutions and discuss the impact of the scale dependent parameter xi on the cosmological constant and metric functions. We also find a violation of the null energy condition when considering scale dependent gravity and Newton's coupling simultaneously.
EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
P. Rychtowski, B. Tryba, D. Baranowska, B. Zielinska, H. Nishiguchi, M. Toyoda
Summary: Reduction of TiO2 has been studied under different conditions. The addition of ammonia solution followed by hydrothermal treatment and calcination in Ar resulted in the formation of surface defects such as hole traps and oxygen vacancies in the reduced TiO2. Heat-treatment under hydrogen gas produced the highest amount of reduced Ti3+ centers, leading to improved water splitting and enhanced photocatalytic properties. Hydrogen was found to be a stronger reducing agent than ammonia gas.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dominique Moser, Katharina Biere, Christian Liemersdorf, Marina Tuschen, Ruth Hemmersbach, Alexander Chouker
Summary: Microgravity is a major stressor in space that affects immune cell function. Hypergravity has been shown to have beneficial effects on the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system. This study investigated whether mild mechanical loading could prevent immune dysregulation caused by microgravity.
Article
Forestry
Emilie Champagne, Roxanne Turgeon, Alison D. Munson, Patricia Raymond
Summary: To promote forest transition under future climatic conditions, managers could use adaptive silvicultural tools such as assisted migration of tree species to areas with suitable climates. However, assisted migration plantations face risks of browsing by ungulate herbivores and decreased water availability due to climate change. Different tree species and geographic provenances show varying responses to simulated browsing and reduced water availability, highlighting the importance of species-specific growth and allocation responses in planning climate-adapted strategies like assisted migration.
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Xuying Xu, Yihong Wang, Rubin Wang
Summary: This study explores how the brain encodes spatial information, specifically the mechanism of representing real movements in three-dimensional space. By simulating the activity of grid cells and place cells in different dimensions, the encoding characteristics of place cells on complex surfaces are revealed. The results suggest that spatial cognition is achieved through a mosaic of lower-dimensional codes.
NONLINEAR DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Liubov E. Amirova, Anastasija Plehuna, Ilya Rukavishnikov, Alina A. Saveko, Aleko Peipsi, Elena S. Tomilovskaya
Summary: This study aimed to assess changes in muscle tone in a microgravity environment, using the MyotonPRO device to measure multiple muscles. Variations in muscle tone responses were observed among different muscles in Dry Immersion experiments.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Mechanics
Albert Dai, Yu-Lin Huang
Summary: High-resolution simulations were conducted to study the merging and splitting processes in the lobe-and-cleft structure of gravity currents on a no-slip boundary. The simulations showed that the mean lobe width and mean maximum lobe width increase with the front Reynolds number, reaching a maximum value under certain conditions.
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Vita Stepanova, Kaja Ewa Moczulska, Guido N. Vacano, Ilia Kurochkin, Xiangchun Ju, Stephan Riesenberg, Dominik Macak, Tomislav Maricic, Linda Dombrowski, Maria Schoernig, Konstantinos Anastassiadis, Oliver Baker, Ronald Naumann, Ekaterina Khrameeva, Anna Vanushkina, Elena Stekolshchikova, Alina Egorova, Anna Tkachev, Randall Mazzarino, Nathan Duval, Dmitri Zubkov, Patrick Giavalisco, Terry G. Wilkinson, David Patterson, Philipp Khaitovich, Svante Paeaebo
Summary: Analysis of the metabolomes of humans, chimpanzees, and macaques revealed differences in the concentrations of certain metabolites, particularly those downstream of adenylosuccinate lyase. The human-specific amino acid substitution in this enzyme is believed to contribute to the reduced de novo synthesis of purines in humans.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Antonella Maselli, Paolo De Pasquale, Francesco Lacquaniti, Andrea d'Avella
Summary: Predicting the outcome of observed actions is crucial for efficient interpersonal interactions, including interceptive sports. Research shows that humans can effectively predict the unfolding of complex full-body actions, optimizing interactive motor performance.
Article
Neurosciences
Barbara La Scaleia, Francesco Lacquaniti, Myrka Zago
Summary: Small-amplitude motion perturbations of the whole body can improve vestibular perception and enhance the recognition of motion direction. This effect may be attributed to stochastic resonance mechanisms, as the stochastic oscillations of the body can increase the probability of recognizing subthreshold vestibular signals.
Article
Neurosciences
Margit M. Bach, Coen S. Zandvoort, Germana Cappellini, Yury Ivanenko, Francesco Lacquaniti, Andreas Daffertshofer, Nadia Dominici
Summary: This study tracked the development of walking and running in two typically developing children over a period of nearly three years. The findings showed that the maturity of running pattern varied between the two children, with some demonstrating mature running on the basis of adult patterns, while others did not reach maturity. Interestingly, mature running alternated with episodes of immature running within sessions. Additionally, analysis of muscle synergies revealed that the participant who did not reach mature running had more differences in muscle contraction when compared to adults than the other child.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Yury Ivanenko, Elena Y. Shapkova, Daria A. Petrova, Daria F. Kleeva, Mikhail A. Lebedev
Summary: Neuromodulation through spinal cord electrical stimulation (SCES) is effective in restoring function, but its effectiveness can be enhanced by combining it with exoskeleton gait training (EGT) that promotes activity-dependent plasticity. Assessing individual characteristics of spinal cord function is important for developing personalized SCES and EGT therapies. Combining SCES and EGT can have a synergistic rehabilitative effect on restoring multiple functions in paralyzed individuals.
FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Simone Ranaldi, Cristiano De Marchis, Mariano Serrao, Alberto Ranavolo, Francesco Draicchio, Francesco Lacquaniti, Silvia Conforto
Summary: The characterization of both limbs' behaviour in prosthetic gait is crucial for improving prosthetic components and increasing the biomechanical capability of trans-femoral amputees. This study proposes the planar covariation law of lower limb elevation angles as a compact description of prosthetic gait. The results show consistent patterns of the planar covariation law in prostheses users, indicating its significant biomechanical meaning and potential for guiding prosthetic device control mechanisms based on relevant kinematic quantities.
JOURNAL OF NEUROENGINEERING AND REHABILITATION
(2023)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Maura Mezzetti, Colleen P. Ryan, Priscilla Balestrucci, Francesco Lacquaniti, Alessandro Moscatelli
Summary: The aim of this article is to reconsider hierarchical models in a Bayesian framework, which have seldom been applied in the analysis of psychometric functions. The main advantage of using Bayesian models is the reduction of parameter uncertainty through the combination of prior knowledge and experimental data. The Bayesian hierarchical model, implemented using JAGS and rjags, provides a promising and powerful method for analyzing psychometric functions.
FRONTIERS IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Germana Cappellini, Francesca Sylos-Labini, Priscilla Avaltroni, Arthur H. H. Dewolf, Carla Assenza, Daniela Morelli, Francesco Lacquaniti, Yury Ivanenko
Summary: This article discusses the adaptive adjustments and developmental deficits in gait control in children with cerebral palsy when changing locomotion direction. The results show significant differences between children with CP and typically developing children in this task, highlighting the potential use of sideways locomotion as a rehabilitation protocol to improve gait performance.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Francesco Lacquaniti, Barbara La Scaleia, Myrka Zago
Summary: Noise is a ubiquitous random disturbance in the external environment and the nervous system, which can either degrade or improve information processing and performance depending on the context. Various sources of noise have different effects on the neural processing of self-motion signals and resulting perceptual responses. The precision of individual vestibular neurons in encoding head motion is worse than behavioral precision, but neural population codes match behavioral precision. Vestibular thresholds reflect the contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic noise to perception and tend to deteriorate with age.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Iole Indovina, Alberto Cacciola, Sergio Delle Monache, Demetrio Milardi, Francesco Lacquaniti, Nicola Toschi, Jerome Cochereau, Gianfranco Bosco
Summary: This study investigated the neural correlates of agoraphobia by comparing the pre- and post-surgery connectivities in the vestibular network of a patient who developed agoraphobia after surgical removal of a glioma. The results showed overall disconnection in the vestibular network after surgery, but functional connectivity analysis revealed a reorganization of the network, indicating altered processing of visuo-vestibular-spatial information that leads to agoraphobia symptoms.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Irina Y. Dolinskaya, Irina A. Solopova, Dmitry S. Zhvansky, Damiana Rubeca, Francesca Sylos-Labini, Francesco Lacquaniti, Yury Ivanenko
Summary: This study investigates the early manifestations of muscle tone in preterm infants and compared them to full-term infants. The results suggest a reduction in sensorimotor responses to muscle lengthening and shortening, indicating a decrease in excitability and the development of appropriate muscle tone during the first year of life. The alterations in responses observed in preterm infants primarily occur in the early months, possibly reflecting changes in the excitability of the sensorimotor networks.
Editorial Material
Biology
Francesco Lacquaniti, Barbara La Scaleia, Myrka Zago
PHYSICS OF LIFE REVIEWS
(2023)