A simple model of an antagonistic muscle system is developed based on several published physiological observations and is found to be a linear first order approximation to mammalian muscle. The model response is compared to that of the human hand in various tests including impulse response, frequency response, step response and the effect of sliding friction. The results of these tests are used to select the mechanical parameters of the proposed model. The final model simulates many of the observed responses of the human hand when executing motions similar to handwriting. A control scheme is proposed for use with the mechanical model and an electronic simulation of the whole system is conducted using a digital and an analogue computer. Good matches of displacement and acceleration waveforms from human handwriting were produced by the simulation. A discussion of some physiological evidence supporting the proposed control scheme is given. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

M.Tech.

The main purpose of this study was to observe the changes in muscular strength and endurance of the extensor muscles of the hand after the arm had been exposed to electrical stimulation. Twenty-four university students were chosen for this study. The subjects were divided into three groups of eight,, attempting to make each group homogeneous with respect to their Maximal Voluntary Iscitetric Contraction of the extensor muscles of the hand. All subjects were trained with the hand at 150 degrees with respect to the forearm (Position 1) . Group 1 (ES) received five minutes of electrical stimulation to the dorsal surface of the forearm each weekday for a four week period. The placement of the electrodes were at the musculotendonous area of the extensor muscles of the hand. The intensity of the faradic stimulation was just below the subjects pain threshold. Each contraction elicited by the electrical stimulation was for a duration of 880 msec, and the relaxation between each contraction was 1030 msec. Group 2 (VI) performed four sets of eight Maximal Voluntary Contractions, where each contraction was held for a duration of two seconds. Training took place on the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week for a four week duration. Group 3 (ES+VIj performed the training of Groups 1 and 2 for four weeks. Subjects were tested for their Maximal Voluntary Contraction in both Position 1 and Position 2 (180 degrees with respect to the forearm). Endurance was calculated on the subjects fatigue curve. The time in seconds to 65% of their MVC (for each testing period) was used as a measure of their relative endurance. The testing of strength and endurance was done before any training took place, after two weeks of training, and at the duration of the four week period. Significant strength gains occurred in all three groups between the Pre test and Mid-Post in Position 1 and Position 2. During the Mid-Post training period only the ES+VI group had significant strength gains in Position 1; whereas in Position 2 both the ES and ES+VI groups yielded significant strength gains. It was illustrated that individual strength gains in the ES and VI groups were not additive in either position tested, and that one training method is not significantly better than another when observing mean strength gains over time. During the four week training period the endurance of the muscles did not alter significantly when locking at the mean of all three groups. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Hand of Glory is a collection of poems smashed together using a spotlight shining on a pseudo slasher movie language. I was attempting to talk about love, pain, and isolation by using a lexicon that was not my own to create or look at a memorial differently. It was written from 2010-2014 at UMass Amherst under the tutelage of Dara Wier, James Tate, Peter Gizzi, and Noy Holland with help from Matthew Suss, Ben Kopel, Caroline Cabrera, Anne Holmes, Gale Thompson, and many others.

No description available.

This study is an initial attempt to investigate the dialog between knitting and tufting. The approach is to experiment with different knitting techniques for different results and subsequently use the tufting as a decorative shaping tool for the knitted fabric. By using the method of trial and error, the goal was to find criteria to make the material lead. Subsequently, this study questions the common way of tufting by bringing an element of stretchy into the execution. The thesis shows the development of an alternative backing for tufting to make a wearable fabric for fashion. It was concluded that it is possible to tuft in a knitted fabric as long as the fabric has tension. The criteria for executing this method were that the knitted fabric can not be too sparsely knitted and one has to use the loop-tufting gun to be able to make stitches.

A conflicted and contentious literature has emerged from the proposal that visuospatial information from static images can automatically trigger associated motor representations. Curiously, investigations into this visual-motor relationship have predominantly focused on images of manipulable objects, while relatively little work has made use of images of body parts- whose referents are represented directly in the motor system. Limited work has made use of hand images as task-irrelevant primes, in an effort to determine whether a hand image automatically evokes a motor representation of the viewer’s corresponding limb. The results of these studies have provided diverging evidence and have resulted in competing theoretical accounts. Here, I present results from a series of stimulus-response compatibility experiments that were designed to probe the nature of representations generated by static hand images, while also addressing potential methodological weaknesses of the previous works. The results show that both stimulus properties and task demands influence the way in which an image of a hand is coded. Notably, I provide clear evidence that motor representations can be evoked automatically by depictions of particular hand postures, but that these representations are not an automatic, ineluctable component of the general processing of any hand image. These results not only contribute to a more unified account of hand representations, but also have wider implications for our understanding of the conditions under which static displays can engage motor representations. / Graduate

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No description available.

Aufgrund der Beeinträchtigung eines oder beider Beine sind viele Menschen zur selbstständigen Fortbewegung im Alltag auf ein Hilfsmittel angewiesen. Gehstützen sind das aufgrund hoher Nutzerfreundlichkeit am häufigsten eingesetzte Hilfsmittel bei kurz oder langandauernder Funktionseinschränkung. Die im Vergleich zum normalen Gang erhöhte Belastung der oberen Extremitäten kann in schwerwiegenden Komplikationen wie Thrombosen, Gewebe- und Nervenschäden resultieren. Um diese möglichst gering zu halten, wurden im Laufe der Zeit verschiedene Gehstützenmodelle entwickelt. Ziel der durchgeführten Studie war es, die Belastung der Hände bei verschiedenen hier zu Lande häufig genutzten Gehstützenmodellen und verschiedenen Entlastungen zu erfassen und diese miteinander zu vergleichen. Hierfür zogen wir 26 gesunde Probanden heran, die mit ergonomischen UAG, Arthritis-Gehstützen und anatomischen UAG eine definierte Strecke in festgesetzter, für alle gleicher Reihenfolge liefen. Die zwischen der Hand und dem Gehstützengriff angebrachten Sensormatten erfassten im ersten Studienteil die auf die komplette Hand einwirkende Last und im zweiten Studienteil die Belastung der radialen und ulnaren Hohlhandhälfte separat. Sensorsohlen erfassten zeitgleich die Bodenreaktionskraft. Die Studie zeigte, dass die mit bis zu 70% des Körpergewichts (KG) beim Gehen mit UAG stark belastete Hand mit Arthritis-Gehstützen deutlich entlastet werden kann. Die Belastung konnte auf 16% verringert werden. Eine schwierigere Handhabe muss jedoch in Kauf genommen werden. Bei Beschwerden der Hand, besonders im ulnaren Bereich, sollten anatomische UAG gegenüber ergonomischen UAG bevorzugt werden. Die Belastung der ulnaren Handfläche lag hiermit mit 17% des KG deutlich unter der Belastung mit ergonomischen UAG mit 23% des KG. Die Belastung der radialen Hälfte unterschied sich nicht. Da die Belastung der Hand mit steigender Beinentlastung stieg, sollte die Entlastung möglichst gering und zeitlich kurzgehalten werden. / Due to impairment of one or both legs many people depend on assistive devices for independent mobility in their daily lives. Among these, crutches are the most commonly used aids due to their high userfriendliness in cases of short-term or prolonged functional limitations. The increased load on the upper extremities compared to normal walking can lead to serious complications such as thrombosis, tissue, and nerve damage. To minimize these risks, various crutch models have been developed. The study aimed to define the load on hands using various commonly used types of crutches while walking with different loads on the left leg. 26 healthy participants walked a defined distance in a predetermined, uniform sequence using crutches with ergonomic (eUAG) handles and anatomic handles (aUAG) and arthritis crutches. Sensor mats between hand and handles continuously measured the load transmitted, while sensor soles in the shoes recorded the ground reaction forces simultaneously. The load on the palm and separately the radial and ulnar halves of the palm were analyzed. The study revealed that the hand heavily burdened with up to 70% of body weight while using UAG and can be significantly relieved by using arthritis crutches (16%). However, this comes with a more difficult handling. In cases of hand discomfort, especially at the ulnar half ot the palm, anatomical UAG should be preferred over ergonomic UAG. The load on the ulnar palm was significantly lower with anatomical UAG at 17% of body weight compared to the load with ergonomic UAG (23%). The radial half of the palm had a similar load to bear with both types of handles. Leg relief should be kept as small and as short as possible, because load to bear by the hand increased with greater leg relief.