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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Analysis Of Gait Characteristics In Mentally Handicapped Individuals, Prakriti Parijat, Jian Liu, Thurmon E. Lockhart, Courtney Haynes Nov 2017

Analysis Of Gait Characteristics In Mentally Handicapped Individuals, Prakriti Parijat, Jian Liu, Thurmon E. Lockhart, Courtney Haynes

Jian Liu

Physical and motor dysfunctions in mentally handicapped individuals predispose them to a higher risk of slip and fall accidents. It is estimated that over 60 million people are currently suffering with some level of developmentally related cognitive impairment (American Disability Act ADA, 2000). Mental retardation occurs in 2.5-3% of the general population. About 6-7.5 million mentally retarded individuals live in the United States alone (ADA, 2000). Slip induced fall accidents are a primary source of injury in people with mental retardation (MR). Often, the incidence of falls among this population is compounded by other disabilities such as autism, seizure, and …


Emg And Kinematic Responses To Unexpected Slips After Slip Training In Virtual Reality, Prakriti Parijat, Thurmon E. Lockhart, Jian Liu Oct 2017

Emg And Kinematic Responses To Unexpected Slips After Slip Training In Virtual Reality, Prakriti Parijat, Thurmon E. Lockhart, Jian Liu

Jian Liu

The objective of the study was to design a virtual reality (VR) training to induce perturbation in older adults similar to a slip and examine the effect of the training on kinematic and muscular responses in older adults. Twenty-four older adults were involved in a laboratory study and randomly assigned to two groups (VR training and control). Both groups went through three sessions including baseline slip, training, and transfer of training on slippery surface. The training group experienced 12 simulated slips using a visual perturbation induced by tilting a VR scene while walking on the treadmill and the control group …


Hispanic Maternal And Children's Perceptions Of Neighborhood Safety Related To Walking And Cycling, Norma Olvera, Dennis W. Smith, Chanam Lee, Jian Liu, Jay Lee, Stephanie Kellam, Jun-Hyun Kim Sep 2017

Hispanic Maternal And Children's Perceptions Of Neighborhood Safety Related To Walking And Cycling, Norma Olvera, Dennis W. Smith, Chanam Lee, Jian Liu, Jay Lee, Stephanie Kellam, Jun-Hyun Kim

Jian Liu

This study examined neighborhood safety as perceived by children (mean age=10 years) and their mothers, and its association with children's physical activity. For all eight safety items examined, children perceived their environment as less dangerous than mothers (p<0.05). None of the multiple regression models predicting children's physical activity by safety perceptions were significant (p>0.10). The maternal perception model explained the highest percentage of variance (R2=0.26), compared to the children's perception model (R2=0.22). Findings suggest that future studies should explore relations between self-reported and objectively measured safety barriers to Hispanic youth walking and cycling.


A Review Focujsed On The Psychological Effectiveness Of Tai Chi On Different Populations, Long Zhang, Thomas Lowder, Jian Liu Sep 2017

A Review Focujsed On The Psychological Effectiveness Of Tai Chi On Different Populations, Long Zhang, Thomas Lowder, Jian Liu

Jian Liu

No abstract provided.


Local Dynamic Stability Associated With Load Carrying, Jian Liu, Thurmon E. Lockhart Sep 2017

Local Dynamic Stability Associated With Load Carrying, Jian Liu, Thurmon E. Lockhart

Jian Liu

Objectives: Load carrying tasks are recognized as one of the primary occupational factors leading to slip and fall injuries. Nevertheless, the mechanisms associated with load carrying and walking stability remain illusive. The objective of the current study was to apply local dynamic stability measure in walking while carrying a load, and to investigate the possible adaptive gait stability changes. Methods: Current study involved 25 young adults in a biomechanics research laboratory. One tri-axial accelerometer was used to measure three-dimensional low back acceleration during continuous treadmill walking. Local dynamic stability was quantified by the maximum Lyapunov exponent (maxLE) from a nonlinear …


Aging Effect On Foot Dynamics During Unexpected Slips, Jian Liu, Thurmon E. Lockhart Sep 2017

Aging Effect On Foot Dynamics During Unexpected Slips, Jian Liu, Thurmon E. Lockhart

Jian Liu

Slip-induced fall accidents have been recognized as a serious threat to the health of the elderly.The objective of the current study was to investigate the aging effect on the biomechanical reactions of both perturbed foot and unperturbed foot to the unexpected slips. Nineteen younger (mean age: 25.0 years old) and twenty-one older (mean age: 71.2 years old) adults were involved in a laboratory study,in which slippery surface was induced during walking without their awareness.The reactive responses of both slipping foot and unperturbed foot were quantified by optical motion capture system and force platforms.The results indicate a characteristic toe-touch strategy by …