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Ongoing debates about benefits and risks of barefoot- and minimally-shod running have, to date, revealed no conclusive findings for long-term effects on physical performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an 8-week transition to minimalist footwear (MFW) on running economy (RE). Randomised controlled trial. Thirty-two male, habitually-shod runners were assigned randomly to an 8-week training intervention either in minimalist (=intervention group) or conventional running shoes (=control group). The intervention consisted of a gradual increase in use of the new footwear by 5% of the individual weekly distance. Before and after the intervention, a VO2max test was followed by a submaximal RE test at 70% and 80% of vVO2max in both shoe conditions 7days later. RE was measured at the submaximal tests and expressed as caloric unit cost (kcalkg−1km−1) and oxygen consumption (mlkg−1km−1). RE improved in the intervention group over time compared to the control group with small to moderate effect sizes (ES) in both shoe conditions: Effects on RE (kcalkg−1km−1) in conventional running shoes: ES vVO270%: 0.68 (95% CI: −0.14 to 1.51), ES vVO280%: 0.78 (95% CI: 0–1.56). In minimalist footwear: ES vVO270%: 0.3 (95% CI: −0.54 to 1.14), ES vVO280%: 0.42 (95% CI: −0.41 to 1.25). These effects were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The repeated-measures ANOVA also showed no group by time interactions for all submaximal RE testing conditions (p>0.05). Although not reaching statistical significance, training in MFW compared to CRS resulted in small to moderate improvements in RE.

The design rationale describes the justification of design decision or selection. To avoid unnecessary design iterations, a capturing and documentation of this rationale is highly desirable. In digital engineering processes it is of imminent importance not only to document the evaluation processes behind this rationale but to make them repeatable and digitally executable. This allows to design a variety of product variants within an engineering framework. This paper explains an approach based on graph-based design languages and presents it based on a section of an automotive assembly system.

The expression of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) has been shown to be markedly increased in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. However, the proportion of PD-1 + T cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of lung cancer patients has not been sufficiently evaluated so far. In this prospective study, the proportion of PD-1 + CD4 + as well as PD-1 + CD8 + T cells in BAL samples, isolated from patients with lung cancer, asthma or interstitial lung disease (ILD), were determined via flow cytometry and compared for differences. Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed in 34 patients (14 patients with lung cancer, 10 patients with asthma, 10 patients with ILD). The highest median proportion of PD-1 + CD4 + or PD-1 + CD8 + T cells were found in patients with ILD (83.1% [IQR 72.1; 87.5] and 73.8% [IQR 60.3; 86.3]) followed by patients with lung cancer (66.4% [IQR 59; 69] and 77.1% [IQR 35.8; 82.3]) and patients with asthma (61.3% [IQR 57.4; 70.5] and 57.3% [IQR 46; 65]). Thereby, the difference in the proportion of PD-1 + CD3 + CD4 + BAL cells between ILD patients and asthmatics was significantly different ( p  = 0.04). The proportion of PD-1 + CD4 + and PD-1 + CD8 + T cells in the BAL of patients with lung cancer did not differ significantly to patients with benign lung diseases. The highest proportion was observed in ILD patients suggesting further research to evaluate the role of the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in ILD patients.

Geostatistics as a subfield of statistics accounts for the spatial correlations encountered in many applications of, for example, earth sciences. Valuable information can be extracted from these correlations, also helping to address the often encountered burden of data scarcity. Despite the value of additional data, the use of geostatistics still falls short of its potential. This problem is often connected to the lack of user-friendly software hampering the use and application of geostatistics. We therefore present GSTools, a Python-based software suite for solving a wide range of geostatistical problems. We chose Python due to its unique balance between usability, flexibility, and efficiency and due to its adoption in the scientific community. GSTools provides methods for generating random fields; it can perform kriging, variogram estimation and much more. We demonstrate its abilities by virtue of a series of example applications detailing their use.

Physical exercise has been shown to induce structural plasticity in the human brain and to enhance cognitive functions. While previous studies focused on aerobic exercise, suggesting a link between increased cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise-induced neuroplasticity, recent findings have suggested that whole-body exercise with minor metabolic demands elicits beneficial effects on brain structure as well. In the present study, we tested if balance training, challenging the sensory-motor system and vestibular self-motion perception, induces structural plasticity. Thirty-seven healthy adults aged 19–65 years were randomly assigned to either a balance training or a relaxation training group. All participants exercised twice a week for 12 weeks. Assessments before and after the training included a balance test and the acquisition of high-resolution T1-weighted images to analyze morphological brain changes. Only the balance group significantly improved balance performance after training. Cortical thickness was increased in the superior temporal cortex, in visual association cortices, in the posterior cingulate cortex, in the superior frontal sulcus, and in the precentral gyri in the balance group, compared to the relaxation group. Moreover, there was evidence that the balance training resulted in decreased putamen volume. Improved balance performance correlated with the increase of precentral cortical thickness and the decrease in putamen volume. The results suggest that balance training elicits neuroplasticity in brain regions associated with visual and vestibular self-motion perception. As these regions are known for their role in spatial orienting and memory, stimulating visual-vestibular pathways during self-motion might mediate beneficial effects of physical exercise on cognition. •Structural plasticity after 12 weeks of balance training was studied.•Balance training elicited changes in visual-vestibular motion processing areas.•Gray matter changes correlated with balance improvements.•Vestibular networks may contribute to cognitive benefits after physical exercise.

Local dynamic running stability is the ability of a dynamic system to compensate for small perturbations during running. While the immediate effects of footwear on running biomechanics are frequently investigated, no research has studied the long-term effects of barefoot vs. shod running on local dynamic running stability. In this randomized single-blinded controlled trial, young adults novice to barefoot running were randomly allocated to a barefoot or a cushioned footwear running group. Over an 8-week-period, both groups performed a weekly 15-min treadmill running intervention in the allocated condition at 70% of their VO 2 max velocity. During each session, an inertial measurement unit on the tibia recorded kinematic data (angular velocity) which was used to determine the short-time largest Lyapunov exponents as a measure of local dynamic running stability. One hundred running gait cycles at the beginning, middle, and end of each running session were analysed using one mixed linear multilevel random intercept model. Of the 41 included participants (48.8% females), 37 completed the study (drop-out = 9.7%). Participants in the barefoot running group exhibited lower running stability than in the shod running group ( p  = 0.037) with no changes during the intervention period ( p  = 0.997). Within a single session, running stability decreased over the course of the 15-min run ( p  = 0.012) without differences between both groups ( p  = 0.060). Changing from shod to barefoot running reduces running stability not only in the acute phase but also in the longer term. While running stability is a relatively new concept, it enables further insight into the biomechanical influence of footwear.

Background In recent years, minimalist footwear has been increasingly promoted for its use in sportive and recreational activities. These shoes are considered to function naturally like barefoot walking while providing a protective surface. Despite a growing popularity of these shoes in the older population, little is known about the influence of minimalist footwear on gait patterns. This study investigated whether overground walking with minimalist shoes is comparable to barefoot walking regarding gait stability and variability parameters. Methods In a randomized within-subject study design, 31 healthy younger (29 ± 4 years) and 33 healthy community-dwelling older adults (71 ± 4 years) volunteered. Participants walked on flat ground, once barefoot and once with minimalist shoes. Gait variability of minimum toe clearance (MTC), stride length, stride time, and local dynamic gait stability were analysed. Results The results for both age groups showed significant condition effects (minimalist shoes vs. barefoot walking) for the outcomes of local dynamic stability ( p  = .013), MTC variability ( p  = .018), and stride length variability ( p  < .001) indicating increased local dynamic stability and decreased gait variability during the minimalist shoe condition. Group effects (young vs. older adults) were detected in all gait outcomes. Conclusion Walking with minimalist shoes appeared to be associated with better gait performance than walking barefoot in both age groups. Thus, walking with minimalist shoes is not similar to barefoot walking. With respect to reducing the risk of falling, we suggest that minimalist shoes could be an alternative to barefoot walking or a transition option between shoes to barefoot for older adults.

Physical exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functions. However, it is still unknown which type of exercise affects cognition. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a demanding balance training program improves memory and spatial cognition. Forty healthy participants aged 19–65 years were randomly assigned to either a balance or relaxation training intervention. Each group exercised twice a week for a total of 12 weeks. Pre- and posttests assessed balance performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, memory, spatial cognition, and executive functions. Only the balance group significantly increased in balance performance from pre- to posttest, while cardiorespiratory fitness remained unchanged in both groups. Moreover, the balance group significantly improved in memory and spatial cognition. Effects on executive functions were not observed. These results suggest that balance training is capable of improving particularly memory and spatial cognition. Therefore, an increase in cardiorespiratory fitness does not seem to be necessary to induce beneficial effects of physical exercise on cognition. It might be speculated that stimulating the vestibular system during balance training induces changes of the hippocampus and parietal cortex possibly via direct pathways between the vestibular system and these brain regions.

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief flashes of γ-rays and are considered to be the most energetic explosive phenomena in the Universe1. The emission from GRBs comprises a short (typically tens of seconds) and bright prompt emission, followed by a much longer afterglow phase. During the afterglow phase, the shocked outflow—produced by the interaction between the ejected matter and the circumburst medium—slows down, and a gradual decrease in brightness is observed2. GRBs typically emit most of their energy via γ-rays with energies in the kiloelectronvolt-to-megaelectronvolt range, but a few photons with energies of tens of gigaelectronvolts have been detected by space-based instruments3. However, the origins of such high-energy (above one gigaelectronvolt) photons and the presence of very-high-energy (more than 100 gigaelectronvolts) emission have remained elusive4. Here we report observations of very-high-energy emission in the bright GRB 180720B deep in the GRB afterglow—ten hours after the end of the prompt emission phase, when the X-ray flux had already decayed by four orders of magnitude. Two possible explanations exist for the observed radiation: inverse Compton emission and synchrotron emission of ultrarelativistic electrons. Our observations show that the energy fluxes in the X-ray and γ-ray range and their photon indices remain comparable to each other throughout the afterglow. This discovery places distinct constraints on the GRB environment for both emission mechanisms, with the inverse Compton explanation alleviating the particle energy requirements for the emission observed at late times. The late timing of this detection has consequences for the future observations of GRBs at the highest energies

Possible benefits of barefoot running have been widely discussed in recent years. Uncertainty exists about which footwear strategy adequately simulates barefoot running kinematics. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of athletic footwear with different minimalist strategies on running kinematics. Thirty-five distance runners (22 males, 13 females, 27.9 ± 6.2 years, 179.2 ± 8.4 cm, 73.4 ± 12.1 kg, 24.9 ± 10.9 km x week(-1)) performed a treadmill protocol at three running velocities (2.22, 2.78 and 3.33 m x s(-1)) using four footwear conditions: barefoot, uncushioned minimalist shoes, cushioned minimalist shoes, and standard running shoes. 3D kinematic analysis was performed to determine ankle and knee angles at initial foot-ground contact, rate of rear-foot strikes, stride frequency and step length. Ankle angle at foot strike, step length and stride frequency were significantly influenced by footwear conditions (p<0.001) at all running velocities. Posthoc pairwise comparisons showed significant differences (p<0.001) between running barefoot and all shod situations as well as between the uncushioned minimalistic shoe and both cushioned shoe conditions. The rate of rear-foot strikes was lowest during barefoot running (58.6% at 3.33 m x s(-1)), followed by running with uncushioned minimalist shoes (62.9%), cushioned minimalist (88.6%) and standard shoes (94.3%). Aside from showing the influence of shod conditions on running kinematics, this study helps to elucidate differences between footwear marked as minimalist shoes and their ability to mimic barefoot running adequately. These findings have implications on the use of footwear applied in future research debating the topic of barefoot or minimalist shoe running.