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We demonstrate how the slant of a surface affects the relative visual direction between binocular stimuli. In two experiments, we measured the visual direction of a binocular stimulus at different distances in the mid-sagittal plane or in the transverse plane at eye level relative to the center of the stimulus field. Experiment 1 showed that when a binocular stimulus (a vertical bar) was presented in front of or behind a surface slanted along the vertical center of the surface, its visual direction shifted toward the surface. Experiment 2 showed that when a binocular stimulus (a horizontal bar) was presented in front of or behind a surface slanted along the horizontal center of the surface, its visual direction also shifted toward the surface. These results indicate that the slant of a surface should be listed among the variables that contribute to the binocular visual direction, as well as the retinal loci of the stimulus, binocular eye position, the location of the visual egocenter, and stimulus properties.

A fractional model was developed for presenting the thermal assessment of nanoparticles in an inclined moving surface. Water was used as a base fluid, while the nanofluid utilized copper oxide and silver nanoparticles. The modification of the thermal model was further supported by mixed convection, magnetic force, and porous saturated space. Slip effects to the porous surface were also introduced. The fluctuation in temperature at different times was assumed by following the ramped thermal constraints. The fractional computations for the set of flow problems were performed with implementations of the Atangana–Baleanu (AB) and Caputo–Fabrizio (CF) analytical techniques. The integration process for such computations was achieved using the Laplace transformation. The comparative velocity and thermal analysis for the water and kerosene-oil-based nanofluid model is presented. The declining change in the velocity was observed due to the increase in the volume fraction of nanoparticles. It was observed that the increment in the temperature profile was more progressive for the kerosene oil and silver nanoparticle suspension.

Lumbar hyperlordosis and foot overpronation are associated with low back pain with extension pattern. This study examined if standing and walking on inclined surface or gluteus maximus activation alleviates the extent of lumbar lordosis and foot pronation amongst individuals with LBP who were classified with extension pattern. Eighteen adults with foot overpronation (LBP group, n  = 9 and non-LBP group, n  = 9) participated in this cross-sectional and case-control comparison study. Lumbar lordotic angle and rearfoot angle were measured using surface tomography, during standing and walking on treadmill at inclinations of 0°, 6° and 9°, and voluntary gluteus maximus activation at 20%, 40% and 60% of maximal contraction in standing at 0° inclination. The lumbar lordosis angle and rearfoot angle were compared within-group and between two groups across the listed trials in standing and walking. Results indicated no significant change in lumbar lordosis or rearfoot angle in LBP group when standing or walking on 6°or 9°inclined surface ( p  > 0.05). However, voluntary gluteus maximus activation in standing at the level of 20%, 40% and 60% of maximal effort reduced lumbar lordotic angle ( p  < 0.05) but not rearfoot angle ( p  > 0.05) in LBP group. Our findings provide a novel approach to address the hyperlordosis in LBP group with extension pattern, for which voluntary gluteus maximus activation of ≥ 20% of maximal effort could effectively reduce the extent of the lumbar lordosis in level-ground standing in the LBP group. Such modified lumbar posture may alleviate the compressive loading on the spine associated with static upright standing at our daily activities. Increased gluteus maximus activation found during inclined walking may be beneficial to those with LBP and extension pattern.

The investigation of ring footing behavior was crucial as it reduces material consumption and construction expenses and is frequently utilized for large and tall structures to resist lateral forces and improve stability against overturning. Consequently, a series of centrifuge experiments were conducted on a set of ring foundations with varying ring radius ratios placed on a sandy slope. The study analyzed the effects of modifying soil density from loose to dense, alongside changes in the surface inclination angle, β, with values of 15° and 30°. The modification of these factors influences the final bearing capacity; specifically, an elevation in the soil surface’s angle of inclination leads to a reduction in the soil’s ultimate bearing capacity, while the ultimate bearing capacity is improved when ring foundations are placed on strong sandy soil.

The principal objective of the current study is to analyze the Brownian motion and thermophoretic impacts on micropolar nanofluid flow over a nonlinear inclined stretching sheet taking into account the Soret and Dufour effects. The compatible similarity transformations are applied to obtain the nonlinear ordinary differential equations from the partial differential equations. The numerical solution of the present study obtained via the Keller-Box technique. The physical quantities of interest are skin friction, Sherwood number, and heat exchange, along with several influences of material parameters on the momentum, temperature, and concentration are elucidated and clarified with diagrams. A decent settlement can be established in the current results with previously published work in the deficiency of incorporating effects. It is found that the growth of the inclination and nonlinear stretching factor decreases the velocity profile. Moreover, the growth of the Soret effect reduces the heat flux rate and wall shear stress.

Water jet peening (WJP) is a surface enhancement technique that can use the impact pressure to induce compressive residual stress in the narrow concave area of metal components. For WJP on the inclined surface, this research reveals the impact pressure evolution and the forming mechanism of compressive residual stress field (CRSF). Mathematical models of predicting the critical inclined angle θ c and the maximum water hammer pressure P m are developed. Besides, a 3D dynamic finite element model of WJP is developed. Then, the simulation model is verified by the experimental results of the inclined surface. Moreover, the influence of parameters such as inclined angle θ , jet velocity v , and jet diameter d on θ c , P m , and CRSF is investigated by simulation. The results indicate that P m essentially determines the CRSF, and WJP parameters indirectly affect the CRSF by changing P m . v determines θ c , and θ c increases with increasing v . θ and v determine P m , and P m decreases with increasing θ while increases with increasing v . The magnitude and depth of CRSF decrease with increasing θ while increases with increasing v . But d only affects the depth of CRSF, which increases with increasing d .

The first point of contact between a spherical blood drop and a surface is related to the angle between the trajectory of the blood drop and the surface being struck. This angle is often referred to as the impact angle which can be estimated by knowing the width and length of the resultant elliptical bloodstain. Most software programs dedicated to area of origin analysis indicate the location of the backtracked bloodstain trajectory to be at the geometric centre or at the tip of the bloodstain ellipse. However, it is unknown how the first point of contact and the blood drop trajectory (here defined as the locus of the centre of mass of the drop as it travels) are related empirically. Thus, this study aims to look at how the initial point of contact and the trajectory at the impact of a blood drop relates to the formed bloodstain ellipse. Two volumes of blood (0.013 ml and 0.071 ml) were dropped from a height of 10 cm and 40 cm onto an inclined surface at 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°. The transition from a spherical blood drop to an elliptically shaped bloodstain was recorded using a high-speed camera for all tests. A total of 72 ellipses were analyzed to determine the location of the first point of contact and trajectory point of the blood drop and how they relate to the formed elliptical bloodstain. A relationship was found between the first point of contact and the bloodstain trajectory which was dependent on the impact angle. However, there were clear deviations from theoretical assumptions due to blood drop oscillations, the effects of gravity, and the natural fluid characteristics of blood. The results of this study may assist bloodstain pattern analysts and software developers by more accurately applying the location of the blood drop trajectory based on empirical data. •The first point of contact follows a similar trend to the sine value.•The trajectory point moves along the half-length of the bloodstain.•The trajectory point and first point of contact are mainly at different locations.•The trajectory point is not always at the centre or tip of the ellipse.•The first point of contact is not always at the centre of tip of the ellipse.

The design of inclined sleep products may be associated with an increased risk of suffocation when an infant finds themselves prone in the product. It is important to understand how different inclined sleep surface angles impact infants’ muscle activity when considering a safe sleep environment. The purpose of this study was to assess muscle activity of healthy infants when they lie supine and prone on different inclined crib mattress surfaces (0° vs. 10° vs. 20°). Fifteen healthy infants were recruited for this study. Surface EMG was recorded from cervical paraspinal, abdominal, lumbar erector spinae, and triceps muscles for 60 s during supine and prone positioning. Repeated measures ANOVAs and Bonferroni post-hoc adjustments were performed to test the effect of incline angles. Paired t-tests were performed to test the effect of position (supine vs. prone). During prone lying, abdominal muscle activity increased by 33% and 71% for 10° and 20° compared to 0°, while erector spinae and triceps muscle activity decreased for 20° compared to 0°. Lumbar erector spinae and cervical paraspinal muscle activity increased by 185% and 283% for prone compared to supine lying. During prone positioning, the 20° inclined surface resulted in significantly higher muscle activity of the trunk core muscles (abdominals), which may exacerbate fatigue and contribute to suffocation if an infant cannot self-correct to the supine position. Compared to supine positioning, prone lying requires higher musculoskeletal effort to maintain a safe posture to prevent suffocation, and babies likely fatigue faster when lying prone.

Based on fracture mechanics theory, a finite element method was used to determine the stress intensity factors of the inclined crack on the inner surface of the pipe under axial compression load and external pressure. The effects of different influencing factors on the stress intensity factor along the crack front considering crack closure were systematically explored, which were different to those under internal pressure. The effects of high aspect ratio on KII, the crack inclination asymmetry caused by curvature and the effects of the friction coefficient on the stress intensity factors of the pipe with an inclined inner surface crack under axial compression load and external pressure were explored in this paper. To be fit for defect assessment, the solutions for stress intensity factors KII and KIII were derived, and new correction factors fθ and fμ were proposed in the empirical solutions to accommodate the crack inclination asymmetry and the friction coefficient, respectively.

The purpose of this study was to investigate knee biomechanics in uphill walking on slopes of 5°, 10° and 15° for total knee replacement (TKR) patients. Twenty-five post-TKR patients and ten healthy controls performed five walking trials on level ground and different slopes on an instrumented ramp system. A 2 × 2 × 4 (limb × group × incline slope) mixed model ANOVA was used to examine selected variables. The peak knee extension moment (KEM) was greater in 15° uphill walking compared to level, 5° and 10° uphill walking. TKR patients had lower peak KEM and smaller knee extension range of motion than healthy controls in all walking conditions. The Replaced Limb showed lower peak KEM in 10° and 15° uphill walking than the Non-replaced Limb and smaller knee extension range of motion (ROM) in 10° uphill walking. Knee extension and abduction ROM increased with increased incline angles. The greater peak loading-response vertical ground reaction force was found in level walking compared to three levels of uphill walking. The peak loading-response knee abduction moment was greater in level walking compared to 10° and 15° uphill walking. However, the medial knee contact force was greater in non-replaced limb compared to replaced limb in 10° and 15° uphill walking. The results suggest 5° uphill walking may have the potential to become a safe exercise for unilateral TKR patients.