@article{RichterBraunsteinStaeudleetal.2021, author = {Richter, Charlotte and Braunstein, Bj{\"o}rn and St{\"a}udle, Benjamin and Attias, Julia and S{\"u}ss, Alexander and Weber, Tobias and Mileva, Katya N. and Rittweger, J{\"o}rn and Green, David A. and Albracht, Kirsten}, title = {Gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior during running differs between simulated Lunar and Martian gravities}, series = {Scientific reports}, volume = {11}, journal = {Scientific reports}, number = {Article number: 22555}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {London}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-00527-9}, pages = {13 Seiten}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The international partnership of space agencies has agreed to proceed forward to the Moon sustainably. Activities on the Lunar surface (0.16 g) will allow crewmembers to advance the exploration skills needed when expanding human presence to Mars (0.38 g). Whilst data from actual hypogravity activities are limited to the Apollo missions, simulation studies have indicated that ground reaction forces, mechanical work, muscle activation, and joint angles decrease with declining gravity level. However, these alterations in locomotion biomechanics do not necessarily scale to the gravity level, the reduction in gastrocnemius medialis activation even appears to level off around 0.2 g, while muscle activation pattern remains similar. Thus, it is difficult to predict whether gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior during running on Moon will basically be the same as on Mars. Therefore, this study investigated lower limb joint kinematics and gastrocnemius medialis behavior during running at 1 g, simulated Martian gravity, and simulated Lunar gravity on the vertical treadmill facility. The results indicate that hypogravity-induced alterations in joint kinematics and contractile behavior still persist between simulated running on the Moon and Mars. This contrasts with the concept of a ceiling effect and should be carefully considered when evaluating exercise prescriptions and the transferability of locomotion practiced in Lunar gravity to Martian gravity.}, language = {en} } @article{RichterBraunsteinStaeudleetal.2021, author = {Richter, Charlotte and Braunstein, Bjoern and St{\"a}udle, Benjamin and Attias, Julia and Suess, Alexander and Weber, Tobias and Mileva, Katja N. and Rittweger, Joern and Green, David A. and Albracht, Kirsten}, title = {Gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior is preserved during 30\% body weight supported gait training}, series = {Frontiers in Sports and Active Living}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Frontiers in Sports and Active Living}, number = {2}, publisher = {Frontiers}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {2624-9367}, doi = {10.3389/fspor.2020.614559}, pages = {Artikel 614559}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Rehabilitative body weight supported gait training aims at restoring walking function as a key element in activities of daily living. Studies demonstrated reductions in muscle and joint forces, while kinematic gait patterns appear to be preserved with up to 30\% weight support. However, the influence of body weight support on muscle architecture, with respect to fascicle and series elastic element behavior is unknown, despite this having potential clinical implications for gait retraining. Eight males (31.9 ± 4.7 years) walked at 75\% of the speed at which they typically transition to running, with 0\% and 30\% body weight support on a lower-body positive pressure treadmill. Gastrocnemius medialis fascicle lengths and pennation angles were measured via ultrasonography. Additionally, joint kinematics were analyzed to determine gastrocnemius medialis muscle-tendon unit lengths, consisting of the muscle's contractile and series elastic elements. Series elastic element length was assessed using a muscle-tendon unit model. Depending on whether data were normally distributed, a paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed to determine if body weight supported walking had any effects on joint kinematics and fascicle-series elastic element behavior. Walking with 30\% body weight support had no statistically significant effect on joint kinematics and peak series elastic element length. Furthermore, at the time when peak series elastic element length was achieved, and on average across the entire stance phase, muscle-tendon unit length, fascicle length, pennation angle, and fascicle velocity were unchanged with respect to body weight support. In accordance with unchanged gait kinematics, preservation of fascicle-series elastic element behavior was observed during walking with 30\% body weight support, which suggests transferability of gait patterns to subsequent unsupported walking.}, language = {en} } @article{RichterBraunsteinStaeudleetal.2021, author = {Richter, Charlotte and Braunstein, Bjoern and Staeudle, Benjamin and Attias, Julia and Suess, Alexander and Weber, Tobias and Mileva, Katya N. and Rittweger, Joern and Green, David A. and Albracht, Kirsten}, title = {Contractile behavior of the gastrocnemius medialis muscle during running in simulated hypogravity}, series = {npj Microgravity}, volume = {7}, journal = {npj Microgravity}, number = {Article number: 32}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, address = {New York}, issn = {2373-8065}, doi = {10.1038/s41526-021-00155-7}, pages = {7 Seiten}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Vigorous exercise countermeasures in microgravity can largely attenuate muscular degeneration, albeit the extent of applied loading is key for the extent of muscle wasting. Running on the International Space Station is usually performed with maximum loads of 70\% body weight (0.7 g). However, it has not been investigated how the reduced musculoskeletal loading affects muscle and series elastic element dynamics, and thereby force and power generation. Therefore, this study examined the effects of running on the vertical treadmill facility, a ground-based analog, at simulated 0.7 g on gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior. The results reveal that fascicle-series elastic element behavior differs between simulated hypogravity and 1 g running. Whilst shorter peak series elastic element lengths at simulated 0.7 g appear to be the result of lower muscular and gravitational forces acting on it, increased fascicle lengths and decreased velocities could not be anticipated, but may inform the development of optimized running training in hypogravity. However, whether the alterations in contractile behavior precipitate musculoskeletal degeneration warrants further study.}, language = {en} } @article{NeumaierWeissVeldemanetal.2021, author = {Neumaier, Felix and Weiss, Miriam and Veldeman, Michael and Kotliar, Konstantin and Wiesmann, Martin and Schulze-Steinen, Henna and H{\"o}llig, Anke and Clusmann, Hans and Schubert, Gerrit Alexander and Albanna, Walid}, title = {Changes in endogenous daytime melatonin levels after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage - preliminary findings from an observational cohort study}, series = {Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery}, volume = {208}, journal = {Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery}, number = {Article No.: 106870}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0303-8467}, doi = {10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106870}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is associated with early and delayed brain injury due to several underlying and interrelated processes, which include inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial, and neuronal apoptosis. Treatment with melatonin, a cytoprotective neurohormone with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic effects, has been shown to attenuate early brain injury (EBI) and to prevent delayed cerebral vasospasm in experimental aSAH models. Less is known about the role of endogenous melatonin for aSAH outcome and how its production is altered by the pathophysiological cascades initiated during EBI. In the present observational study, we analyzed changes in melatonin levels during the first three weeks after aSAH.}, language = {en} } @article{NeumaierKotliarHaerenetal.2021, author = {Neumaier, Felix and Kotliar, Konstantin and Haeren, Roel Hubert Louis and Temel, Yasin and L{\"u}ke, Jan Niklas and Seyam, Osama and Lindauer, Ute and Clusmann, Hans and Hescheler, J{\"u}rgen and Schubert, Gerrit Alexander and Schneider, Toni and Albanna, Walid}, title = {Retinal Vessel Responses to Flicker Stimulation Are Impaired in Ca v 2.3-Deficient Mice—An in- vivo Evaluation Using Retinal Vessel Analysis (RVA)}, series = {Frontiers in Neurology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Neurology}, publisher = {Frontiers}, doi = {10.3389/fneur.2021.659890}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2021}, language = {en} } @article{MontiWaldvogelRitzmannetal.2021, author = {Monti, Elena and Waldvogel, Janice and Ritzmann, Ramona and Freyler, Kathrin and Albracht, Kirsten and Helm, Michael and De Cesare, Niccol{\`o} and Pavan, Piero and Reggiani, Carlo and Gollhofer, Albert and Narici, Marco Vincenzo}, title = {Muscle in variable gravity: "I do not know where I am, but I know what to do"}, series = {Frontiers in Physiology}, volume = {12}, journal = {Frontiers in Physiology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-042X}, doi = {10.3389/fphys.2021.714655}, pages = {19 Seiten}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Performing tasks, such as running and jumping, requires activation of the agonist and antagonist muscles before (motor unit pre-activation) and during movement performance (Santello and Mcdonagh, 1998). A well-timed and regulated muscle activation elicits a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) response, naturally occurring in bouncing movements (Ishikawa and Komi, 2004; Taube et al., 2012). By definition, the SSC describes the stretching of a pre-activated muscle-tendon complex immediately followed by a muscle shortening in the concentric push-off phase (Komi, 1984). Given the importance of SSC actions for human movement, it is not surprising that many studies investigated the biomechanics of this phenomenon; in particular, drop jumps (DJs) represent a good paradigm to study muscle fascicle and tendon behavior in ballistic movements involving the SSC. Within a DJ, three main phases [pre-activation, braking, and push-off (PO; Komi, 2000)] have been recognized and extensively studied in common and challenging conditions, such as changes in load, falling height, or simulated hypo-gravity (Avela et al., 1994; Arampatzis et al., 2001; Fukashiro et al., 2005; Ishikawa et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007; Ritzmann et al., 2016; Helm et al., 2020). These studies show that the timing and amount of triceps-surae muscle-tendon unit pre-activation in DJs are differentially regulated based on the load applied to the muscle, being optimal in normal "Earth" gravity conditions (Avela et al., 1994), but decreased in simulated hypo-gravity, hyper-gravity (Avela et al., 1994; Ritzmann et al., 2016), or unknown conditions (i.e., unknown falling heights; Helm et al., 2020). Some authors indicated that, when falling from heights different from the optimal one [defined as the drop height giving a maximum DJ performance indicated as peak ground reaction force (GRF) or jump high], electromyographic (EMG) activity of the plantar flexors increases from lower than optimal to higher than optimal heights (Ishikawa and Komi, 2004; Sousa et al., 2007). These findings highlight the ability of the central nervous system to regulate the timing and amount of pre-activation according to different jumping conditions, thus regulating muscle fascicle length, tendon and joint stiffness as well as position, in order to safely land on the ground and quickly re-bounce. Similarly, to pre-activation, also in the braking phase, the plantar flexors are differentially regulated. In optimal height (i.e., load) jumping conditions, gastrocnemius medialis (GM) fascicles shorten at early ground contact (possibly due to the intervention of the stretch reflex; Gollhofer et al., 1992) and behave quasi-isometrically in the late braking phase, enabling tendon elongation, and storage of elastic energy (Gollhofer et al., 1992; Fukashiro et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007). When increasing the falling height (augmenting the impact GRF), the quasi-isometric behavior of fascicles disappears, and fast fascicle lengthening occurs (Ishikawa et al., 2005; Sousa et al., 2007). In the third and last PO phase, fascicles shorten and the tendon releases the elastic energy previously stored. Bobbert et al. (1987) reported no influence of jumping height on the work done and on the net vertical impulse assessed during PO; this observation suggests that, despite an optimal DJ performance might be achieved only in specific conditions (falling heights, loads), the central nervous system seems to be able to regulate muscle behavior in order to effectively perform the required task also in challenging situations. Although the regulation of triceps-surae muscle-tendon unit in DJs has been extensively investigated, very few studies focused on sarcomeres behavior during the performance of this SSC movement (Kurokawa et al., 2003; Fukashiro et al., 2005, 2006). Sarcomeres represent muscle contractile units and are known to express different amounts of force depending on their length (Gordon et al., 1966; Walker and Schrodt, 1974); thus, understanding the time course of their responses during DJs is fundamental to gain further insights into muscle force-generating capacity. In vivo measurement of sarcomere length in humans has been so far been performed only in static positions and under highly controlled experimental conditions (Llewellyn et al., 2008; Sanchez et al., 2015). Instead, human sarcomere length estimation (achieved by dividing GM measured fascicle length for a fixed sarcomere number) in dynamic contractions provided an indirect measure of sarcomere operating range during squat jump, countermovement jump, and DJ (Fukashiro et al., 2005, 2006; Kurokawa et al., 2003). The results of these studies showed that sarcomeres operate in the ascending limb of their length-tension (L-T) relationship in all types of jumps, and particularly so in DJ. However, most of the available observations on sarcomere and muscle fascicle behavior were made in condition of constant gravity. Thus, in order to understand how sarcomere and muscle fascicle length are regulated in variable gravity conditions, we performed experiments in a parabolic flight, involving variable gravity levels, ranging from about zero-g to about double the Earth's gravity (1 g; Waldvogel et al., 2021). Specifically, the aims of the present study were as follows: 1. To investigate the ability of the neuromuscular system in regulating fascicle length in response to conditions of variable gravity. 2. To estimate sarcomere operative length in the different DJ phases, in order to calculate its theoretical force production and its possible modulation in conditions of variable gravity. We hypothesized that muscle fascicles would be differentially regulated in different gravity conditions compared to 1 g, particularly in anticipation of landing and re-bouncing in unknown gravity levels. In addition, we hypothesized that sarcomeres would operate in the upper part of the ascending limb of their L-T relationship, possibly lengthening during the braking phase (especially in hyper-gravity) while operating quasi-isometrically in 1 g.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MandekarJentschLutzetal.2021, author = {Mandekar, Swati and Jentsch, Lina and Lutz, Kai and Behbahani, Mehdi and Melnykowycz, Mark}, title = {Earable design analysis for sleep EEG measurements}, series = {UbiComp '21}, booktitle = {UbiComp '21}, doi = {10.1145/3460418.3479328}, pages = {171 -- 175}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Conventional EEG devices cannot be used in everyday life and hence, past decade research has been focused on Ear-EEG for mobile, at-home monitoring for various applications ranging from emotion detection to sleep monitoring. As the area available for electrode contact in the ear is limited, the electrode size and location play a vital role for an Ear-EEG system. In this investigation, we present a quantitative study of ear-electrodes with two electrode sizes at different locations in a wet and dry configuration. Electrode impedance scales inversely with size and ranges from 450 kΩ to 1.29 MΩ for dry and from 22 kΩ to 42 kΩ for wet contact at 10 Hz. For any size, the location in the ear canal with the lowest impedance is ELE (Left Ear Superior), presumably due to increased contact pressure caused by the outer-ear anatomy. The results can be used to optimize signal pickup and SNR for specific applications. We demonstrate this by recording sleep spindles during sleep onset with high quality (5.27 μVrms).}, language = {en} } @article{KuertenKotliarFuestetal.2021, author = {Kuerten, David and Kotliar, Konstantin and Fuest, Matthias and Walter, Peter and Hollstein, Muriel and Plange, Niklas}, title = {Does hemispheric vascular regulation differ significantly in glaucoma patients with altitudinal visual field asymmetry? A single-center, prospective study}, series = {International Ophthalmology}, volume = {41}, journal = {International Ophthalmology}, number = {41}, editor = {Neri, Piergiorgio}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, isbn = {1573-2630}, doi = {10.1007/s10792-021-01876-0}, pages = {3109 -- 3119}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Purpose Vascular risk factors and ocular perfusion are heatedly discussed in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. The retinal vessel analyzer (RVA, IMEDOS Systems, Germany) allows noninvasive measurement of retinal vessel regulation. Significant differences especially in the veins between healthy subjects and patients suffering from glaucoma were previously reported. In this pilot-study we investigated if localized vascular regulation is altered in glaucoma patients with altitudinal visual field defect asymmetry. Methods 15 eyes of 12 glaucoma patients with advanced altitudinal visual field defect asymmetry were included. The mean defect was calculated for each hemisphere separately (-20.99 ± 10.49 pro- found hemispheric visual field defect vs -7.36 ± 3.97 dB less profound hemisphere). After pupil dilation, RVA measurements of retinal arteries and veins were conducted using the standard protocol. The superior and inferior retinal vessel reactivity were measured consecutively in each eye. Results Significant differences were recorded in venous vessel constriction after flicker light stimulation and overall amplitude of the reaction (p \ 0.04 and p \ 0.02 respectively) in-between the hemispheres spheres. Vessel reaction was higher in the hemisphere corresponding to the more advanced visual field defect. Arterial diameters reacted similarly, failing to reach statistical significance. Conclusion Localized retinal vessel regulation is significantly altered in glaucoma patients with asymmetri altitudinal visual field defects. Veins supplying the hemisphere concordant to a less profound visual field defect show diminished diameter changes. Vascular dysregulation might be particularly important in early glaucoma stages prior to a significant visual field defect.}, language = {en} } @incollection{Kotliar2021, author = {Kotliar, Konstantin}, title = {Ocular rigidity: clinical approach}, series = {Ocular Rigidity, Biomechanics and Hydrodynamics of the Eye}, booktitle = {Ocular Rigidity, Biomechanics and Hydrodynamics of the Eye}, editor = {Pallikaris, I. and Tsilimbaris, M. K. and Dastiridou, A. I.}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-64422-2}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-64422-2_2}, pages = {15 -- 43}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The term ocular rigidity is widely used in clinical ophthalmology. Generally it is assumed as a resistance of the whole eyeball to mechanical deformation and relates to biomechanical properties of the eye and its tissues. Basic principles and formulas for clinical tonometry, tonography and pulsatile ocular blood flow measurements are based on the concept of ocular rigidity. There is evidence for altered ocular rigidity in aging, in several eye diseases and after eye surgery. Unfortunately, there is no consensual view on ocular rigidity: it used to make a quite different sense for different people but still the same name. Foremost there is no clear consent between biomechanical engineers and ophthalmologists on the concept. Moreover ocular rigidity is occasionally characterized using various parameters with their different physical dimensions. In contrast to engineering approach, clinical approach to ocular rigidity claims to characterize the total mechanical response of the eyeball to its deformation without any detailed considerations on eye morphology or material properties of its tissues. Further to the previous chapter this section aims to describe clinical approach to ocular rigidity from the perspective of an engineer in an attempt to straighten out this concept, to show its advantages, disadvantages and various applications.}, language = {en} } @article{KezerashviliDachwald2021, author = {Kezerashvili, Roman Ya and Dachwald, Bernd}, title = {Preface: Solar sailing: Concepts, technology, and missions II}, series = {Advances in Space Research}, volume = {67}, journal = {Advances in Space Research}, number = {9}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0273-1177}, doi = {10.1016/j.asr.2021.01.037}, pages = {2559 -- 2560}, year = {2021}, language = {en} }