A solid-state laser system for the next generation of gravitational wave detectors with an output power of 220 W at the wavelength of 1064 nm is presented. Single-frequency operation of the laser was ...achieved by injection-locking of a high-power ring oscillator to an amplified non-planar ring oscillator (NPRO) following the Pound–Drever–Hall scheme. The high-power stage which features four longitudinally pumped Nd:YAG laser crystals as active media in a ring resonator configuration was designed for reliable long term operation. Using a non-confocal ring cavity to filter the output beam, a pure TEM
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mode with 168 W output power was obtained.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This study compared the effect of Nintendo Wii Fit to the Matter of Balance program, a valid and reliable program, on improving balance, and well-being to decrease the risk of falls.
Residents of an ...independent living senior housing facility were recruited and thirty-two residents ages 63 to 90 participated. Participants were separated into three groups: (1) Wii Fit group (n=11) completed balance games on the Wii Fit in individual sessions twice a week and supplemental home exercises; (2) Matter of Balance Group (n=11) completed exercises from the Matter of Balance Program in a group setting twice a week; (3) Control group (n=10) received no intervention. Intervention lasted three weeks.
One-way ANOVA's were completed. Scores from the assessments were not statistically significant at post-test Berg Balance Scale (p=0.837); Tinetti Gait and Balance Assessment (p=0.913); SF-36 (p=0.256). Results from a self-report demonstrated that Wii Fit is an enjoyable form of exercise for an elderly population.
Although, the interventions failed to significantly increase balance, with an increase in intervention duration of Wii Fit or Matter of Balance balance may be improved. Although results were not significant this study adds to the growing body of evidence regarding the use of Wii Fit as a rehabilitation tool.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study reports a postural after-effect of leaning that follows a period of stance on an inclined surface with eyes closed. This leaning after-effect maintained the body-to-surface relationship as ...if subjects still stood on the incline. We examined the incidence and robustness of the leaning after-effect in 51 healthy subjects. The location of the center of pressure (CoP) under the feet and the alignment of the trunk and legs were measured before, during and after blindfolded subjects stood on a 5 degrees toes-up inclined surface for 2.5 min. When the surface was inclined, all subjects stood with their trunk and legs aligned near to gravity-vertical, similar to the alignment adopted in the pre-incline period. When the surface returned to horizontal in the post-incline period, there was a continuum of postural alignment strategies across subjects. At one extreme, subjects leaned forward, with an average trunk lean near 5 degrees . The leaned posture decayed exponentially toward baseline postural alignment across a period of up to 5 min. At the other extreme, subjects did not lean in the post-incline period, but instead, stayed aligned near upright with respect to gravity. Subjects were highly consistent in their post-incline postural behaviors upon repeated testing over days to months and across different directions of surface inclination. Our results suggest that individuals have well-established, preferred, sensory strategies for controlling postural orientation when vision is not available. Subjects who leaned in the post-incline period appear to depend more on the geometry of the support surface as a reference frame and to rely more on proprioceptive information to extract kinematic relationships, whereas subjects who did not lean appear to depend more on gravity as a reference frame and to rely more on sensory information related to forces and load.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
In this report we describe the outcome of a consensus meeting that occurred at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, March 12 through 14, 2005. The meeting brought together 39 ...specialists from multiple clinical and research disciplines including developmental pediatrics, neurology, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurophysiology, muscle physiology, motor control, and biomechanics. The purpose of the meeting was to establish terminology and definitions for 4 aspects of motor disorders that occur in children: weakness, reduced selective motor control, ataxia, and deficits of praxis. The purpose of the definitions is to assist communication between clinicians, select homogeneous groups of children for clinical research trials, facilitate the development of rating scales to assess improvement or deterioration with time, and eventually to better match individual children with specific therapies. "Weakness" is defined as the inability to generate normal voluntary force in a muscle or normal voluntary torque about a joint. "Reduced selective motor control" is defined as the impaired ability to isolate the activation of muscles in a selected pattern in response to demands of a voluntary posture or movement. "Ataxia" is defined as an inability to generate a normal or expected voluntary movement trajectory that cannot be attributed to weakness or involuntary muscle activity about the affected joints. "Apraxia" is defined as an impairment in the ability to accomplish previously learned and performed complex motor actions that is not explained by ataxia, reduced selective motor control, weakness, or involuntary motor activity. "Developmental dyspraxia" is defined as a failure to have ever acquired the ability to perform age-appropriate complex motor actions that is not explained by the presence of inadequate demonstration or practice, ataxia, reduced selective motor control, weakness, or involuntary motor activity.
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