Just the sight of you: postural effects of interpersonal visual contact at sea.

The control of standing body posture is affected by mechanical perturbations, such as motion of the support surface. Postural activity also is responsive to subtle social factors: When 2 people interact there is spontaneous interpersonal coordination of their movements. We asked whether interpersonal postural coordination based on visual contact would be robust in the presence of mechanical perturbations that characterize sea travel. During an ocean voyage, pairs of participants stood facing together or facing apart. Interpersonal coordination of body sway was stronger when participants faced each other than when they faced apart. Furthermore, overall body movement was reduced when individuals faced together, suggesting that the sight of another person improved individuals' ability to compensate for ship motion. These findings provide the first evidence that the "soft" constraint of interpersonal visual contact can influence interpersonal postural coordination as people simultaneously adjust postural sway in response to powerful mechanical (i.e., "hard") constraints.

Community management of natural resources: a case study from Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar.

We analyzed the management, resource use and conservation of the Ankarafantsika National Park (Madagascar) to develop a management plan, which provides a sustainable development strategy of the area while empowering the local residents. Using qualitative methodology we performed interviews with villagers and local organizations to assess the park's successes and failures from local stakeholders' perspectives. People living in a village with a permanent Madagascar National Parks (MNP) agent are more favorable to and supportive of the park conservation. People living in the park are supportive but are more divided. On the other hand, people living on the periphery of the park see conservation as more of a burden. Strategies like more equitable distribution of wealth, environment improvement and decentralization of power are discussed to achieve a more sustainable management plan based on community natural resources management. Short-term, medium, and long-term interventions from park authorities are needed to ensure the cooperation of local people in conservation endeavors.

Sound stabilizes locomotor-respiratory coupling and reduces energy cost.

A natural synchronization between locomotor and respiratory systems is known to exist for various species and various forms of locomotion. This Locomotor-Respiratory Coupling (LRC) is fundamental for the energy transfer between the two subsystems during long duration exercise and originates from mechanical and neurological interactions. Different methodologies have been used to compute LRC, giving rise to various and often diverging results in terms of synchronization, (de-)stabilization via information, and associated energy cost. In this article, the theory of nonlinear-coupled oscillators was adopted to characterize LRC, through the model of the sine circle map, and tested it in the context of cycling. Our specific focus was the sound-induced stabilization of LRC and its associated change in energy consumption. In our experimental study, participants were instructed during a cycling exercise to synchronize either their respiration or their pedaling rate with an external auditory stimulus whose rhythm corresponded to their individual preferential breathing or cycling frequencies. Results showed a significant reduction in energy expenditure with auditory stimulation, accompanied by a stabilization of LRC. The sound-induced effect was asymmetrical, with a better stabilizing influence of the metronome on the locomotor system than on the respiratory system. A modification of the respiratory frequency was indeed observed when participants cycled in synchrony with the tone, leading to a transition toward more stable frequency ratios as predicted by the sine circle map. In addition to the classical mechanical and neurological origins of LRC, here we demonstrated using the sine circle map model that information plays an important modulatory role of the synchronization, and has global energetic consequences.

Current concepts and future challenges in facial transplantation.

Facial allotransplantation has become a surgical reality. The first successful segmental human face transplants have demonstrated that facial allografts are reliable, their rejection can be prevented by low-dose immunosuppression, and their neurologic recovery enables oral and expressive functions of the face to be restored. Clinical facts have shown that the risk-benefit balance is acceptable in the medium term, that at the neurocognitive level the allograft is reintegrated in the body scheme of the recipient, and that it does not engender a donor identity transfer. This article presents a classification of facial allografts and discusses the technical, immunologic, and ethical challenges that lie ahead.

Optical modulation of locomotion and energy expenditure at preferred transition speed.

The effect of optical flow on locomotion stability and efficiency was evaluated at preferred walk-run transition speed (PTS). Seven participants were instructed to locomote (walk or run) at PTS, while looking at the end of a three-dimensional virtual corridor projected on a large screen. Three experimental conditions of optical flow were tested: optical flow velocity consistent with locomotion speed (C), optical flow velocity twice faster (F) or slower (S) than locomotion speed. They were contrasted with a control static flow condition. Transitions between patterns were more frequent in (C) than in the other conditions, suggesting that optical flow influenced the stability of locomotion. Moreover, kinematic analyses revealed a stronger destabilization of gait in (F), accompanied by a decrease in energy expenditure in that condition. These results suggest that optical flow influenced both energetic and gait components at PTS, encouraging the exploration and stabilization of the most economic behavior. The mutual dependency of the visual system, the locomotor system and the cardio-respiratory system is emphasized.

Assessment of humeral length in dogs after repair of Salter-Harris type IV fracture of the lateral part of the humeral condyle.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of fracture and subsequent repair on future bone growth of the humerus after Salter-Harris type IV fracture of the lateral part of the humeral condyle (LPHC). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: Dogs (n=11). METHODS: Dogs that had LPHC fracture and an open distal humeral physis repaired (1992-2006) were re-examined and radiographed at >or=12 months of age and humeral length was measured. RESULT: Measurements from 11 dogs showed a significant (P=.02) increase in length of the humeral diaphysis of the affected leg compared with that of the intact limb (median, 1.2%; range, 1.3-3.4%). Condylar deformity secondary to growth disturbance was not observed. CONCLUSION: Shortening or growth deformity was not observed after fracture and repair even if a transcondylar screw was placed through the distal humeral growth plate. A mild overgrowth of the humeral diaphysis was observed, although likely considered clinically unimportant. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Fracture of the LPHC and subsequent repair in dogs >3 months of age do not impair growth of the humeral diaphysis. A transcondylar humeral screw placed through the humeral physis will not result in shortening of the humeral diaphysis. Implant removal to allow for further growth is therefore not indicated.

Assessment of the functional role of accessory pudendal arteries in erection by transrectal color Doppler ultrasound.

PURPOSE: Anatomical studies have demonstrated accessory pudendal arteries originating from supralevator vessels in about two-thirds of men. Injury to accessory pudendal arteries derived from inferior vesical and obturator arteries has been reported to be responsible for vasculogenic impotence after nerve sparing radical prostatectomy. We performed transrectal and perineal color Doppler ultrasound in patients before radical pelvic surgery to identify accessory pudendal arteries and assess their functional role during erection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 12 patients with a mean age of 60 years were examined before radical prostatectomy (10) or cystoprostatectomy (2). Transrectal and perineal color Doppler flow imaging and spectral waveform analysis were performed. Peak systolic velocity, end diastolic velocity, resistive index and arterial diameter were measured before and during pharmacologically induced erection. Transrectal color Doppler ultrasound data were compared with intraoperative findings. RESULTS: Transrectal color Doppler ultrasound visualized accessory pudendal arteries derived from supralevator arteries in 9, and prostatic and seminal vesicle arteries in all patients. Perineal color Doppler ultrasound visualized internal pudendal arteries in all patients. After intracavernosal injection of papaverine accessory and internal pudendal arteries displayed similar significant hemodynamic changes. Diameter as well as peak systolic and end diastolic velocities increased, and resistive index decreased. Prostatic and seminal vesicle arteries showed no significant change. Presence and location of accessory pudendal arteries demonstrated by transrectal color Doppler ultrasound were confirmed by intraoperative findings. CONCLUSIONS: During pharmacologically induced erection hemodynamic changes in accessory and internal pudendal arteries are similar to those described in cavernous arteries, thus demonstrating the functional role of accessory pudendal arteries in penile erection. Color Doppler ultrasound appears to be reliable to examine internal and accessory pudendal arteries based on morphological and functional criteria.