Tyrimo objektas: Jonavos miesto bei Kėdainių rajono kaimo vyresniojo amžiaus gyventojai. Tyrimo tikslas: Nustatyti mieste ir kaime gyvenančių vyresnio amžiaus žmonių fizinio aktyvumo ir griuvimų rizikos sąsajas. Hipotezė: Kaime gyvenantys žmonės yra fiziškai aktyvesni bei jų kritimų rizika yra mažesnė. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Nustatyti vyresnio amžiaus žmonių fizinį aktyvumą. 2. Nustatyti fizinio aktyvumo sąsają su vyresniojo amžiaus žmonių kritimų rizika. 3. Aptarti miesto ir kaimo žmonių kritimų rizikos skirtumus. Tyrimo imtis ir organizavimas. Anketinė, anoniminė apklausa buvo vykdoma 2013m. Vasario – Balandžio mėnesiais Jonavos mieste bei Kėdainių rajono kaimeliuose (Nociūnų k., ir t.t). Apklausiami buvo vyresniojo amžiaus žmonės (nuo 50m.). Mieste buvo apklausiama 100 gyvenančių respondentų, kaime taip pat - 100 respondentų. Išvados: 1. Nustačius vyresniojo amžiaus žmonių fizinį aktyvumą, fiziškai aktyvių žmonių kaime buvo net du trečdaliai, nei mieste, todėl galime manyti, jog kaime gyvenantys žmonės save laiko fiziškai aktyviais, nes jų kasdieninė veikla susijusi su fiziniu darbu: ūkio - sodo darbai. 2. Per pastaruosius metus aktyvūs žmonės šiek tiek dažniau krisdavo nei neaktyvūs. Tačiau tarp grupių statistiškai patikimo skirtumo nenustatyta. 3. Kaime ir mieste gyvenančių vyresniojo amžiaus žmonių griuvimų riziką labiausiai įtakojantys šie veiksniai: baimė pargriūti, galvos svaigimas ar sukimosi pojūtis kai atsigula, regos sutrikimai, pusiausvyros praradimas keičiant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Subject: Jonava city and Kėdainiai district rural older populations. Aim of the study: to identify the relation between physical activity and fall risk of older people in city and village. Hypothesis: people in village are more physical active and they have less risk to fall. Objectives: 1. To identify physical activity of older people. 2. To identify the relation between physical activity and risk of falls of older people. 3. Discuss both urban and rural people to take the risk of falls differences. Sample and organization. Questionnaire, an anonymous survey was implemented the 2013. February - April in Jonava city and Kėdainiai district villages ( Nociūnai, etc. ). Interviewed were older people (from 50m).. The town people were surveyed 100 respondents living in rural areas - as well as 100 respondents. Conclusions: 1. Identified older people physical activity was observed that physically active people in rural consisted 70 proc., while in city only 14 proc. To assume, rural people consider themselves more actives because of daily activities on farm and garden. 2. During the last year physically active people fell a little more than inactive. However no statistically significant difference between two groups. 3. The most influencing factors of older people in falls risk: fear of falling, dizziness or spinning when they lie down, visual disturbances, loss of balance moving body position.

The sport of equestrian cross country eventing has seen many serious and even fatal injuries due to rotational horse falls in recent years. The sport originally consisted of horse and rider teams jumping stationary, wood fences. However, in a move towards increasing safety for horses and riders, frangible and deformable safety devices have been emerging in the field. This thesis provides an overview of safety designs that are currently available and those that are on the horizon. Also, a path-finder method of evaluating and developing safety fence designs was outlined and applied to two distinct designs, a hinged gate and a collapsible table fence. A full size prototype of the hinged gate was constructed and tested in the field in two different locations. The collapsible table fence design was developed and then a ½ geometric scale prototype was constructed to demonstrate design feasibility and to analyze design development challenges.

Research into traumatic brain injury (TBI) mechanisms is essential for the development of methods to prevent its occurrence. One of the most common ways to incur a TBI is from falls, especially for the young and very old. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how the acceleration loading curves influenced the occurrence of different types of TBI, namely: epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and contusion. This investigation was conducted in three parts. The first study conducted reconstructions of 20 TBI cases with varying outcomes using MADYMO, Hybrid III, and finite element methodologies. This study provided a dataset of threshold values for each of the TBI injuries measured in parameters of strain and stress. The results of this study indicated that using a combined reconstructive approach produces results which are in keeping with the literature for TBI. The second study examined how the characteristics of the loading curves which were produced from each reconstruction influenced the outcome using a principal components analysis. It was found that the duration of the event accounted for much of the variance in the results, followed with the acceleration components. Different curve characteristics also accounted for differing amounts of variance in each of the lesion types. Study 3 examined how the dynamic response of the impact influenced where in the brain a subdural hematoma (SDH) could occur. It was found that the largest magnitudes of acceleration produced SDH in the parietal lobe, and the lowest in the occipital lobe. Overall this thesis examined the mechanism of injury for TBI using a large dataset with methodologies which complement each other’s limitations. As a result in depth information of the nature of TBI was attained and information provided which may be used to improve future protection and standard development.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the Minimal Chair Height Standing (MCHS) test, could effectively identify “fallers” in a population of Canadian older adults, and to compare its effectiveness with the commonly used Sit-to-Stand (STS) test. DESIGN: Cross-sectional with counter-balanced assignment of testing order. SETTING: Community centers, independent-living and assisted-living facilities. PARTICIPANTS: 167 older adults (mean age=83.6yrs), able to walk independently. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were interviewed for medical conditions, physical activity, cognitive status (Mini Mental State Examination), mobility and independence (Independent Activities of Daily Living). Height, weight and shank length were measured. Fall history was self-reported and recorded retrospectively. The main outcome measures were MCHS and STS scores. RESULTS: MCHS performance was significantly worse for fallers (37.7cm, 95% CI: 35.5-40.0cm) than non-fallers (30.3cm, 95% CI: 28.1-32.5cm). Fallers showed significantly slower times in the STS. For participants with cardiac disease and/or stroke, MCHS scores discriminated between fallers and non-fallers (p=.001), but the STS did not (p=.233). For participants with knee replacements, MCHS discriminated between fallers and non-fallers (p=.044) but the STS did not (p=.076). CONCLUSIONS: The MCHS was found to be simple, practical and feasible for use with the elderly. The current study demonstrates its effectiveness as a fall-risk screening instrument for use with Canadian older adults. Further studies should be undertaken to determine its predictive validity. / Graduate

Fall-related hip fractures are a substantial public health issue. Unfortunately, little is known about whether the effective stiffness of the pelvis, a critical component governing impact force during lateral falls, differs substantially across different segments of the population. The objective of this thesis was to enhance the knowledge base surrounding pelvis impact dynamics by assessing the influence of gender and body mass index (BMI) on the effective stiffness of the pelvis, and on resulting peak loads applied to the hip, during sideways falls. Towards this end I conducted pelvis release trials (in which the pelvis was suspended and suddenly released onto a force plate) with males and females with low (<22) and high (>28) BMIs. One resonance-based (kvibe), and three force-deflection based (k1st, kcombo 300, and kcombo opt) methods of effective pelvic stiffness estimation were examined. The resulting stiffness estimates, and peak forces sustained during the pelvis release experiments, were compared between each BMI and sex group. The optimized force-deflection stiffness estimation method, kcombo opt provided the strongest fit to the experimental data. Strong main effects of BMI (f (1,13) = 10.87, p = 0.003) and sex (f (1,13) = 5.97, p = 0.022) were found for this stiffness estimation method. Additionally, a significant BMI-sex interaction was observed (f (3,6) = 5.31, p = 0.030), with low BMI males having much higher stiffness estimates than any other group. Normalized peak forces were higher in low BMI participants than in high BMI participants (f(1,13)=24.9, p<0.001). Linear regression demonstrated that peak impact force was positively associated with effective pelvic stiffness (β = 0.550, t(25) = 3.110, p=0.005), height (β = 0.326, t(25) = 2.119, p=0.045) and soft tissue thickness (β = 0.785, t(25) = 4.573, p<0.001). This thesis has demonstrated that body habitus and sex have significant effects on the stiffness of the pelvis during lateral falls. These differences are likely related to a combination of soft tissue and pelvic anatomical differences between BMI and sex groups. Pelvic stiffness, along with other easily collected variables, may be helpful in predicting peak forces resulting from lateral falls in the elderly. Differences in pelvic stiffness estimates between BMI and sex groups, and estimation method, necessitate careful consideration. These data will aid in selecting the most appropriate pelvic stiffness parameters when modeling impact dynamics for higher energy falls.

No description available.

[Truncated abstract] The cost of managing osteoporotic fractures places a significant financial burden on the health-care system. To reduce the fracture burden, early identification of fracture risk is essential to allow early intervention. The limitations associated with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), such as limited sensitivity and specificity, cost, ionising radiation and accessibility, have resulted in the emergence of other technologies for assessing bone fragility. An example is the portable and non-ionising quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technology. The discriminatory power of quantitative ultrasonometry in fracture risk identification, either independently or in combination with other established risk factors, currently remains contentious. It is recommended that fracture risk assessment should not only focus on bone status, but also on the risk of falls. Additionally, it has been noted that disability arising from osteoporotic fractures, even when these fractures are not identified clinically, can translate into psychosocial symptoms and a poorer perception of health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The primary aim of the present study was to investigate if a composite model comprising: calcaneal QUS, falls risk and HRQoL assessments, can identify a group of elderly women at high risk of osteoporotic fracture from those at lower risk. One hundred and four community-dwelling women (mean age 71.3 ±5.8 years) were recruited for this study. These women underwent a series of tests that included: DXA bone mineral density (BMD) evaluation of the proximal femur and lumbar spine (L1 L4); calcaneal QUS measurement; spinal radiography; rasterstereographic back surface curvature (BSC) examination; and performance-based assessment of strength, mobility and balance. The women were classified into a `High Risk’group or a `Low Risk’ group using three separate classification criteria: i) low BMD, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended T-score of < -2.5, and⁄or a history of fragility fracture (Osteoporotic [OP] group versus Non-Osteoporotic [NOP] group); ii) presence of at least one radiographically identified prevalent vertebral fracture (Vertebral Fracture [VF] group versus Non-Vertebral Fracture [NVF] group); or iii) a history of either forearm or wrist fracture (Forearm/Wrist Fracture [WF] group versus Non-Forearm/Wrist Fracture [NWF] group)

Project (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1983. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 266-271).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2003. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.