Validation of an Acoustic-Based Framework of Speech Motor Control: Assessing Criterion and Construct Validity Using Kinematic and Perceptual Measures

Purpose This study investigated the criterion (analytical and clinical) and construct (divergent) validity of a novel, acoustic-based framework composed of five key components of motor control: Coordination, Consistency, Speed, Precision, and Rate. Method Acoustic and kinematic analyses were performed on audio recordings from 22 subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during a sequential motion rate task. Perceptual analyses were completed by two licensed speech-language pathologists, who rated each subject's speech on the five framework components and their overall severity. Analytical and clinical validity were assessed by comparing performance on the acoustic features to their kinematic correlates and to clinician ratings of the five components, respectively. Divergent validity of the acoustic-based framework was then assessed by comparing performance on each pair of acoustic features to determine whether the features represent distinct articulatory constructs. Bivariate correlations and partial correlations with severity as a covariate were conducted for each comparison. Results Results revealed moderate-to-strong analytical validity for every acoustic feature, both with and without controlling for severity, and moderate-to-strong clinical validity for all acoustic features except Coordination, without controlling for severity. When severity was included as a covariate, the strong associations for Speed and Precision became weak. Divergent validity was supported by weak-to-moderate pairwise associations between all acoustic features except Speed (second-formant [F2] slope of consonant transition) and Precision (between-consonant variability in F2 slope). Conclusions This study demonstrated that the acoustic-based framework has potential as an objective, valid, and clinically useful tool for profiling articulatory deficits in individuals with speech motor disorders. The findings also suggest that compared to clinician ratings, instrumental measures are more sensitive to subtle differences in articulatory function. With further research, this framework could provide more accurate and reliable characterizations of articulatory impairment, which may eventually increase clinical confidence in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with different articulatory phenotypes.

Kinematic Alterations in the Shoulder Complex in Rockwood V Acromioclavicular Injuries During Humerothoracic and Scapulothoracic Movements: A Whole-Cadaver Study

Background: Previous cadaveric kinematic studies on acromioclavicular injuries described mainly rotational differences during humerothoracic movements. Although isolated scapulothoracic movements are also often performed during activities of daily life and can be painful after acromioclavicular injuries, they have not been extensively studied. Further, the analysis of joint translations in kinematic studies has received little attention compared with biomechanical studies. Hypothesis: A kinematic analysis of joint motions in the intact shoulder versus a shoulder with Rockwood V injury would demonstrate a different pattern of kinematic alterations during humerothoracic and scapulothoracic movements. Study design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: A kinematic analysis was performed in 14 cadaveric shoulders during 3 humerothoracic passive movements (coronal and sagittal plane elevation and horizontal adduction) and 3 scapulothoracic passive movements (protraction, retraction, and shrug). An optical navigation system registered rotational motions in the sternoclavicular, scapulothoracic, and acromioclavicular joints in the intact and Rockwood V conditions. In the acromioclavicular joint, mediolateral, anteroposterior, and superoinferior translations were also analyzed. Results: In the Rockwood V condition, a significant increase in clavicular elevation in the sternoclavicular joint during both humerothoracic and scapulothoracic movements was demonstrated, whereas a significant decrease in posterior rotation of the clavicle occurred only during humerothoracic movements. In the scapulothoracic joint, the scapular position changed most significantly during protraction. In the acromioclavicular joint, the scapular tilting position was altered significantly during both humerothoracic and scapulothoracic movements, whereas the scapular rotational position changed only during coronal and sagittal plane elevation. The largest significant changes in the scapular protraction position were seen during protraction movement. Further, in the acromioclavicular joint there was a significant inferior translation of the scapula during all motions, a significant anterior translation during protraction and horizontal adduction, and a significant posterior translation during coronal plane elevation. Mediolaterally, the acromial end of the scapula slid further under the distal clavicle during protraction than during horizontal adduction. Conclusion: Large kinematic differences were seen between the intact state and a Rockwood V lesion not only during humerothoracic movements but also during scapulothoracic movements in the cadaveric model. During humerothoracic movements, rotational differences were mainly caused by alterations in the clavicular position. In contrast, during protraction, the alterations in the scapular position were the dominant factor. Clinical Relevance: This study demonstrates that protraction induces larger kinematic alterations than horizontal adduction in acromioclavicular injuries and can therefore be included in both clinical examination and kinematic analyses to identify lesions more clearly.

Individual Differences in Sequential Movement Coordination in Hip-Hop Dance: Capturing Joint Articulation in Practicing the Wave

The current study highlights individual differences in the joint articulation strategies used by novices practicing a hip-hop dance movement, the wave. Twelve young adults, all naive regarding hip-hop dance performance, practized the wave in 120 trials separated into four blocks with the order of internal or external attentional focus counterbalanced across subjects. Various kinematic analyses were analyzed to capture performance success while exploiting the observed individual differences in order to establish the reliability of the proposed performance indicators. An external focus of attention marginally facilitated the smooth transfer of a wave motion across neighboring limb segments as characterized by a constant propagation speed combined with large wave amplitudes. Systematic correlations between the success indicators were found, exemplifying the various degrees of joint articulation that novices prove capable of during an initial practicing session to try and perform a novel complex motor task.

Non-circular flows in HIghMass galaxies in a test of the late accretion hypothesis

We present Hα velocity maps for the HIghMass galaxies UGC 7899, UGC 8475, UGC 9037 and UGC 9334, obtained with the SITELLE Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, to search for kinematic signatures of late gas accretion to explain their large atomic gas reservoirs. The maps for UGC 7899, UGC 9037, and UGC 9334 are amenable to disk-wide radial flow searches with the DiskFit algorithm, and those for UGC 7899 and UGC 9037 are also amenable to inner-disk kinematic analyses. We find no evidence for outer disk radial flows down to $\bar{V}_r \sim 20 \ \mathrm{km\, s}^{-1}$ in UGC 9037 and UGC 9334, but hints of such flows in UGC 7899. Conversely, we find clear signatures of inner (r ≲ 5 kpc) non-circularities in UGC 7899 and UGC 9037 that can be modelled as either bisymmetric (which could be produced by a bar) or radial flows. Comparing these models to the structure implied by photometric disk-bulge-bar decompositions, we favour inner radial flows in UGC 7899 and an inner bar in UGC 9037. With hints of outer disk radial flows and an outer disk warp, UGC 7899 is the best candidate for late accretion among the galaxies examined, but additional modelling is required to disentangle potential degeneracies between these signatures in H i and Hα velocity maps. Our search provides only weak constraints on hot-mode accretion models that could explain the unusually high H i content of HIghMass galaxies.

Late Jurassic Structural Deformation and Late Cenozoic Reactivation of the Southern Junggar Fold-And-Thrust Belt, NW China

Because of the influence of the far field effect of the collision between Euro-Asian and India plates during the Late Cenozoic, the Tian Shan orogenic belt underwent intense reactivation, forming the Southern Junggar fold-and-thrust belt (SJ-FTB) to the north and the Kuqa fold-and-thrust belt to the south. Most previous research focuses on the deformation features and mechanisms during the Late Cenozoic. However, little research has been done on deformation features and mechanisms during the Late Jurassic. In this paper, we conducted geometric and kinematic analyses of seismic profiles and outcrop data to reveal the Late Jurassic deformation characteristics in SJ-FTB. Furthermore, we carried out sandbox modeling experiments to reproduce the regional structural evolution since the Early Jurassic. Angular unconformity between the Cretaceous and Jurassic is well preserved in the Qigu anticline belt. This unconformity also exists in the Huoerguosi–Manasi–Tugulu (HMT) anticline belt, which is the second fold belt of the SJ-FTB, indicating that the HMT anticline belt started to become active during the Late Jurassic. The Qigu anticline belt reactivated intensively during the Late Cenozoic, and the displacement was transferred to the HMT anticline belt along the Paleogene Anjihaihe Formation mudstone detachment. Therefore, the present-day SJ-FTB forms because of the two-stage compressional deformation from both the Late Jurassic and Late Cenozoic (ca. 24 Ma).

Intervention Strategies for the Seismic Improvement of Masonry Buildings Based on FME Validation: The Case of a Terraced Building Struck by the 2016 Central Italy Earthquake

Residential masonry buildings represent a large stock among highly vulnerable structures in medium–high seismic hazard areas, often built without any anti-seismic provisions. Their rehabilitation and/or strengthening according to optimised intervention strategies is topical and may contribute to revaluating zones characterized by depopulation phenomena. In this paper, a terraced building struck by the 2016 Central Italy earthquake is analysed through a frame by macro element (FME) model. The building is composed of six two-storey units made of stone and clay block masonry walls and semi-rigid diaphragms. The numerical model was calibrated based on the damage pattern caused by the earthquake and then used to carry out parametric analyses on the strengthened conditions by simulating both one unit and the entire terrace. The effects of interventions applied to either vertical or horizontal components, both singularly and in combination, were analysed in terms of nonlinear static analyses, and quantified by a performance factor, according to the upgraded seismic code in Italy. Kinematic analyses also completed the assessment of the building. Results compared the capacity of interventions in attaining the targets defined for improvement at both local and overall levels.

Design and Implementation of a Lizard-Inspired Robot

The purpose of this paper is to design a lizard-inspired robot driven by a single actuator. Lizard-inspired robots in previous studies had the issue of slippage of their supporting legs. To overcome this issue, a lizard-inspired robot consisting of a four-bar linkage mechanism was designed. The purpose of this paper was achieved through three processes. The first process was kinematic analysis, where the turning angle and stride length of the robot were analyzed. The kinematic analysis results were verified via numerical simulations. The second process was the design and fabrication of the robot. For the robot’s design, both a shuffle-walking method utilizing a claw-shaped leg mechanism and a sliding-rod mechanism for equipping the actuator on the robot’s own coordinates were designed. The third process was experimental verification. The first experimental result was that the claw-shaped leg mechanism was capable of generating an 85.26 N difference in the static frictional force in the longitudinal direction. The other three experimental results were that the robot was capable of driving with 3.51%, 3.16%, and 3.53% error compared to the kinematic analyses, respectively.

Swallowing Kinematic Analysis Might Be Helpful In Predicting Aspiration And Pyriform Sinus Stasis

Aspiration and pyriform sinus stasis resulting from compromised swallowing might cause aspiration pneumonia, which can have a negative impact on the patient’s prognosis. Clinically, videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) is considered the standard instrument that is able to provide clues that contribute to the physiological impairment of swallowing. In addition, according to previously published literature, the parameters of kinematic analyses of VFSS might provide further information for aspiration detection. In this study, 449 files of VFSS studies from 232 patients were divided into three groups: normal, aspiration, and pyriform sinus stasis. Kinematic analyses and between-group comparison were conducted. Significant between-group differences were noted among parameters, including anterior hyoid displacement, maximal hyoid displacement, and average velocity of hyoid movement. No significant difference was detected in superior hyoid displacement. Furthermore, receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analyses using anterior hyoid displacement, velocity of anterior hyoid displacement, and average velocity of maximal hyoid displacement showed acceptable predictability for detecting aspiration. Using 33.0 mm/s as a cutoff value of average velocity of maximal hyoid displacement, the sensitivity of detecting the presence of aspiration could be about 90%. Therefore, we assumed that the average velocity of maximal hyoid displacement could be a potential screening tool to detect aspiration.

Watt Six-Bar Compliant Mechanism Analysis based on Kinematic and Dynamic Responses

In this study, a complete guide to kinematic and kinetic analyses of a Watt type six-bar compliant mechanism is conducted incorporating the flexible buckling of the initially straight element. In the analysis procedure, the hybrid utilization of the pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) and the nonlinear Elastic theory of beam buckling is presented. This partially compliant mechanism comprises three rigid links and two flexible links. The kinematic analyses of the mechanisms are done by using the vector loop closure equations, the PRBM of a large deflection cantilever beam, and derivation of nonlinear algebraic equations considering the quasi-static equilibrium and load-deflection curve of the flexible parts. Each of the elastic parts makes up a buckling pinned-pinned flexible Euler beam. The vector loop equations are combined with Newton-Euler dynamic formulations to provide the simultaneous constraint matrix. After these operations, the full mechanism is simulated to get both accelerations and forces for each time step. Finally, the design method is validated through experimental results. The findings derived from the combination of buckling Elastica solution and PRBM approach enable the analysis of Watt's six-bar compliant mechanism.