Study design is among the most fundamental factors influencing collection and interpretation of data. The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of design choices by evaluating gait mechanics in healthy control participants using three primary objectives: 1) determine the repeatability of marker placement, 2) determine the effect of set versus self-selected walking speed, and 3) examine the correlation between gait asymmetry and motor variability. Ten and fifty-one healthy control participants were recruited for aim 1 and aims 2/3, respectively. Reflective markers were placed on lower-extremity bony landmarks and participants walked on an instrumented treadmill while 3D motion capture data was collected. For aim 1, this procedure was repeated at two time points 30 minutes apart. For aims 2 and 3, participants completed set and self-selected speed trials. JMP Pro 13 was used to compare joint kinetics and gait kinematics for all aims. Marker placement was repeatable between time points. Participants walked slower in the self-selected walking speed trial, which resulted in both kinematic and kinetic gait mechanics alterations. Gait asymmetry was significantly correlated with motor variability for both spatial and temporal measures. Current study findings reiterated the importance of walking speed when evaluating gait symmetry, joint kinetics, and kinematics. The decision regarding whether to utilize a set or self-selected speed condition within a study design should be made based on whether the measures of interest are independent of walking speed. Gait asymmetry and motor variability are related and should not be treated as independent components of gait. / Master of Science / This study aims to evaluate gait mechanics in healthy young adults by evaluating the impact of multiple study design choices and relationships between different aspects of gait (walking). Loading and movement walking data was collected from a total of sixty-one participants. This data was then used to calculate several measures of gait including symmetry between limbs, joint ranges of motion, and variability of movement. The potential impact of study design choices including setting walking speed for all participants and evaluating loading asymmetry and movement variability independently are discussed based on the findings of the current study.

Abstract available in the Annual coaches and Sport Science College.

According to the procreation asymmetry there is no moral reason to create a new and foreseeably happy person just because this person will be happy, but there is however a moral reason against creating a new and foreseeably unhappy person just because this person will be unhappy. A common way to defend this conjunction of claims is by employing a so-called existence-requirement, according to which the happiness of a given person p in a world w depends on it being possible to understand p as an existing person in w. The aim of this paper is to consider whether this existence-requirement strategy is compatible with other intuitions and convictions held in normative moral theory and populations ethics. This aim will be achieved by considering whether the existence-requirement strategy is compatible with three plausible desiderata for a solution to the (normative) procreation asymmetry. Although some solutions to some potential incompatibilities are suggested, the thesis that will be argued for is that every instance of the existence-requirement strategy is incompatible with at least one of the relevant desiderata. Where the common denominating incompatibility for all instances of the existence-requirement strategy is to be found in an inability to be sufficiently action-guiding. / Enligt fortplantningsasymmetrin finns det inget moraliskt skäl att skapa en ny person som kommer att vara lycklig bara för att den personen kommer att vara lycklig. Detta samtidigt som det finns ett moraliskt skäl att inte skapa en ny person som kommer att vara olycklig bara för att den personen kommer att vara olycklig. Ett vanligt sätt att försvara denna sammansättning av påståenden är genom att använda ett så kallat existensvillkor, enligt vilket lyckan av en given person p i en värld w är villkorad av att p kan förstås som en existerande person in w. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att överväga huruvida den vederbörande existensvillkorsstrategin är förenlig med intuitioner och övertygelser hållna inom normativ moralteori och populationsetik. Detta syfte kommer att uppnås genom att överväga huruvida existensvillkorsstrategin är förenlig med tre rimliga desiderata för en lösning av den (normativa) fortplantningsasymmetrin. Fastän en del lösningar på vissa potentiella oförenligheter föreslås, är den tes som argumenteras för är i slutändan att varje exempel på existensvillkorsstrategin är oförenligt med åtminstone ett av de relevanta desiderata. Där den gemensamma nämnaren för samtliga exempel på existensvillkorsstrategin går att finna i en oförmåga att vara tillräckligt handlingsvägledande

According to the procreation asymmetry there is no moral reason to create a new and foreseeably happy person just because this person will be happy, but there is however a moral reason against creating a new and foreseeably unhappy person just because this person will be unhappy. A common way to defend this conjunction of claims is by employing a so-called existence-requirement, according to which the happiness of a given person p in a world w depends on it being possible to understand p as an existing person in w. The aim of this paper is to consider whether this existence-requirement strategy is compatible with other intuitions and convictions held in normative moral theory and populations ethics. This aim will be achieved by considering whether the existence-requirement strategy is compatible with three plausible desiderata for a solution to the (normative) procreation asymmetry. Although some solutions to some potential incompatibilities are suggested, the thesis that will be argued for is that every instance of the existence-requirement strategy is incompatible with at least one of the relevant desiderata. Where the common denominating incompatibility for all instances of the existence-requirement strategy is to be found in an inability to be sufficiently action-guiding. / Enligt fortplantningsasymmetrin finns det inget moraliskt skäl att skapa en ny person som kommer att vara lycklig bara för att den personen kommer att vara lycklig. Detta samtidigt som det finns ett moraliskt skäl att inte skapa en ny person som kommer att vara olycklig bara för att den personen kommer att vara olycklig. Ett vanligt sätt att försvara denna sammansättning av påståenden är genom att använda ett så kallat existensvillkor, enligt vilket lyckan av en given person p i en värld w är villkorad av att p kan förstås som en existerande person in w. Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att överväga huruvida den vederbörande existensvillkorsstrategin är förenlig med intuitioner och övertygelser hållna inom normativ moralteori och populationsetik. Detta syfte kommer att uppnås genom att överväga huruvida existensvillkorsstrategin är förenlig med tre rimliga desiderata för en lösning av den (normativa) fortplantningsasymmetrin. Fastän en del lösningar på vissa potentiella oförenligheter föreslås, är den tes som argumenteras för är i slutändan att varje exempel på existensvillkorsstrategin är oförenligt med åtminstone ett av de relevanta desiderata. Där den gemensamma nämnaren för samtliga exempel på existensvillkorsstrategin går att finna i en oförmåga att vara tillräckligt handlingsvägledande.

The opponent process theory of emotion [Solomon, R.L., and Corbit, J.D. (1974). An opponent-process theory of motivation: I. Temporal dynamics of affect. Psychological Review, 81, 119-143.] predicts a temporary reversal of emotional valence during the recovery from emotional stimulation. We hypothesized that this affective contrast would be apparent in asymmetrical activity patterns in the frontal lobes, and would be more apparent for left frontally active individuals. The present study tested this prediction by examining EEG asymmetries during and after blocked presentations of aversive pictures selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). 12 neutral images, 12 aversive images, and 24 neutral images were presented in blocks. Participants who were right frontally active at baseline did not show changes in EEG asymmetry while viewing aversive slides or after cessation. Participants left frontally active at baseline, however, exhibited greater relative left frontal activity after aversive stimulation than before stimulation. Asymmetrical activity patterns in the frontal lobes may relate to affect regulatory processes, including contrasting opponent after-reactions to aversive stimuli.

Parmi les approches employées pour caractériser l’état sanitaire des populations antérieures, l’utilisation de l’asymétrie fluctuante (AF) pour rendre compte de la stabilité de développement (DS) du squelette est rare. Après plus d’un demi-siècle de recherches, la DS reste assez méconnue chez l’Homme. Aujourd’hui, les techniques de morphométrie géométrique permettent de quantifier plus finement les variations en analysant de nouveaux aspects morphologiques en 3D.Les objectifs de ce travail étaient:1-Déterminer si l’analyse morpho-géométrique de l’AF chez l’Homme permet de distinguer deux populations.2-Établir si cette distinction peut être attribuée à une différence d’état sanitaire.Les données de deux populations caractérisées par des contextes sanitaires distincts ont été confrontées. Deux échantillons de 70 paires de fémurs adultes d'âge et de sexe comparables ont été sélectionnés. Vingt-sept points-repères ont été positionnés sur chaque surface osseuse reconstruite en 3D. L’AF a été analysée en termes d’amplitude et de localisation sur le fémur.Finalement, cette analyse morpho-géométrique a permis de distinguer deux populations au contextes sanitaires distincts. La population la moins favorisée a exprimé un degré d’AF plus élevé. Considérant l’impact des facteurs potentiels de variation, le stress sanitaire explique le mieux les perturbations de la DS. Au vu de la localisation de l’AF sur le fémur, le facteur biomécanique semble aussi jouer un rôle relatif. Chez l’Homme, la localisation de l’asymétrie fluctuante peut donc être dirigée en partie par les contraintes biomécaniques, cependant son amplitude est principalement influencée par le stress sanitaire. / Among the approaches used to characterize the health status in past populations, the use of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) to evaluate developmental stability (DS) in bone is rare. After more than half a century of research, DS remains relatively unknown in humans. Today, geometric morphometrics techniques offer new perspectives. It is now possible to quantify variations more precisely and approach them by analyzing a new morphological element: shape.The aim of this work was twofold:1-Determine whether the geometric morphometrics analysis of FA in humans can distinguish two populations.2-Determine whether this distinction can be attributed to a difference in health status.The data of two populations of known and distinct health statuses and environmental contexts were compared. Two samples of 70 pairs of adult femurs of comparable age and sex were selected. Two sets of 27 landmarks were placed on the 3D isosurfaces of each femur. FA was analyzed and characterized in terms of range of magnitude and pattern of expression in the femur.Finally, this geometric morphometrics analysis allowed to distinguish two populations that have developed under distinct environmental conditions. The population that experienced higher levels of stress expressed a higher degree of FA. After considering the impact of potential factors of variation, the health stress seems to best explain disturbances of DS. However, given its pattern of expression on the femur, the biomechanical factor seems to play also a relative role. Therefore, in humans, the pattern of expression of FA is directed in part by biomechanical constraints but its magnitude remains mostly influenced by health stress.

This diploma thesis deals primarily with the existence of the asymmetry of the bony pelvis and the sexual dimorphism of the asymmetry of the pelvic canal, which is caused by different reproductive functions of each of the sexes. Furthermore, the correlation or linear dependence of the external pelvic and pelvic canal dimensions was investigated. The study uses 3D pelvic models created in Avizo 7.1 from CT images of the recent French population. The material consists of 74 probands, of which 36 are males and 38 are females. The models were digitalized using Viewbox 4 software, in which 29 landmarks were applied to each pelvic model. These correspond to 24 dimensions divided into three groups: the size of the non-canal pelvis, the dimensions of the pelvic canal and the dimensions for calculating the correlation between the non-canal pelvis and the pelvic canal. The degree of asymmetry was evaluated using the formulas for the calculation of directorial (DA) and absolute (AA) asymmetry. Student's paired t-test was used for statistical analysis of asymmetry to determine asymmetry in previous studies. Gender differences were determined by the Mann-Whitney U test. At the same time, an analysis using the mixed model ANOVA was also performed, which in addition incorporates an intraobservation measurement...

Infants prefer familiar adults (e.g. parents) to unfamiliar adults (e.g. strangers), but they also vary in which strangers they prefer. By 6-months, infants look longer at attractive than unattractive faces (e.g., Langlois et al., 1987); and by 12-months, infants show approach behaviors toward attractive strangers and withdrawal behaviors toward unattractive strangers (Langlois, Roggman, & Rieser-Danner, 1990). These preferences may be due to a mechanism referred to as cognitive averaging (e.g., Rubenstein, Kalakanis, & Langlois, 1999). Infants cognitively average face exemplars to form a face prototype. Infants likely perceive attractive faces as familiar because these faces are similar to the face prototype; and they likely perceive unattractive faces as especially novel because these face are dissimilar from the face prototype. Even young infants may be more motivated to approach attractive than unattractive faces but do not fully express this motivation due to limitations in locomotion and communication. I applied EEG asymmetry to study neural correlates of approach and withdrawal motivation in response to attractive and unattractive faces with 6- and 10-month-olds. More specifically, I measured EEG alpha power at mid-frontal regions while 39 infants viewed a series of attractive and unattractive faces. Left EEG asymmetry relates to approach motivation whereas right EEG asymmetry relates to withdrawal motivation. I predicted infants would show greater left EEG asymmetry (i.e., approach motivation) when viewing attractive faces than when viewing unattractive faces, and that 6-montholds would show even greater left asymmetry than 10-month-olds due to developmental differences in stranger wariness. Results supported the main hypothesis but not hypotheses regarding age. Infant EEG asymmetry was greater in response to attractive faces than unattractive faces suggesting that infants are more motivated to approach attractive people than unattractive people as early as 6-months. These results link visual preferences evident at 6-months to overt behaviors evident by 12-months providing additional information regarding rudiments of attractiveness stereotypes. Furthermore, this investigation supports the use of EEG asymmetry methodology to measure infant approach/withdrawal motivation, providing infant researchers one more tool to better understand how infants evaluate novel individuals in their social environment as they decide whom to approach and whom to avoid. / text

We have studied gas flow and particle deposition in a realistic three-dimensional model of the bronchial tree, extending from the trachea to the segmental bronchi (7th airway generation for the most distal ones) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The model is based on the morphometrical data of Horsfield et al. [J. Appl. Physiol., 31: 207-217, 1971] and on bronchoscopic and CT images, which give the spatial 3D-orientation of the curved ducts. It incorporates realistic angles of successive branching planes. Steady inspiratory flow varying between 50cm³/s and 500cm³/s was simulated as well as deposition of spherical aerosol particles (1 to 7 m diameter, 1g/cm³ density). Flow simulations indicated non-fully developed flows in the branches because of their relative short lengths. Velocity flow profiles in the segmental bronchi, taken one diameter downstream the bifurcation, were distorted compared with the flow in a simple curved tube, and wide patterns of secondary flow fields were observed. Both were due to the asymmetrical 3D configuration of the bifurcating network. Viscous pressure drop in the model was compared with results obtained by Pedley et al. [Respir Physiol, 9: 387-405, 1970], which are shown to be a good first approximation. Particle deposition increased with particle size and was minimal for approximately 200cm³/s inspiratory flow but it was highly heterogeneous for branches of the same generation.

No description available.