Tukey-Kramer post hoc p values for intact leg stance times, gait cycle time and prosthetic stance phase.

and R.

Studying species interactions in nature often requires elaborate logistics and intense fieldwork. The difficulties in such task might hinder our ability to answer questions on how biotic interactions change with the environment. Fortunately, a workaround to this problem lies within scientific collections. For some animals, the inspection of preserved specimens can reveal the scars of past antagonistic encounters, such as predation attempts. A common defensive behaviour that leaves scars on animals is autotomy, the loss of a body appendage to escape predation. By knowing the collection site of preserved specimens, it is possible to assess the influence of organismal biology and the surrounding environment in the occurrence of autotomy. We produced data on tail loss for 8,189 preserved specimens of 33 snake and 11 amphisbaenian species to investigate biological and environmental correlates of autotomy in reptiles. We applied generalized linear mixed effect models to evaluate whether body size, sex, life-stage, habitat use, activity pattern, biome, tropicality, temperature, and precipitation affect the probability of tail loss in limbless reptiles. We observed autotomy in 23.6% of examined specimens, with 18.7% of amphisbaenian and 33.4% of snake specimens showing tail loss. Probability of tail loss did not differ between snakes and amphisbaenians, but it was higher among large-sized specimens, particularly in adults and females. Chance of tail loss was higher for diurnal and arboreal species, and among specimens collected in warmer regions, but it was unaffected by biome, precipitation, and tropicality. Autotomy in limbless reptiles was affected by size-dependent factors that interplay with ontogeny and sexual dimorphism, although size-independent effects of life-stage and sex also shaped behavioural responses to predators. The increase in probability of tail loss with verticality and diurnality suggests a risk-balance mechanism between species habitat use and activity pattern. Although autotomy is more likely in warmer regions, it seems unrelated to seasonal differences in snakes and amphisbaenians activity. Our findings reveal several processes related to predator-prey interactions involving limbless reptiles, demonstrating the importance of scientific collections to unveil ecological mechanisms at different spatio-temporal scales. Methods We examined a total of 8,847 preserved specimens of 58 snake and 22 amphisbaenian species, deposited in 61 collections from 11 countries (when not specified, acronyms follow Sabaj, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1643/ASIHCODONS2020): Argentina: FML. Brazil: AAGARDA (Adrian A. Garda, field series, transferred to CHUFPB), CEPB, CHUFPB, CHUFPI, CHUFS, CHUFSC, CHUNB, CRIB (Coleção de Referência, Instituto Butantan), CZDP (Coleção Zoológica do Delta do Parnaíba), CZGB, FUNED, IBSP, IEPA, INPA, LZV, MBML, MCN, MCNR, MCP, MHNCI, MNRJ, MPEG, MTR (Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues, field series [to be transferred to MZUSP]), MZUESC, MZUFV, MZUSP, UFACF, UFC, UFG, UFMG-R, UFMT-R, UFPE, UFRGS, UFRN, ULBRA-TO (Centro Universitário Luterano de Palmas, Universidade Luterana do Brasil), URCA, ZUEC, ZUFMS, ZUFSM. Colombia: IAvH-R, ICN, MLS, MPUJ, UIS-R. Ecuador: MZUA, QCAZ. France: MNHN. Germany: ZSM. Paraguay: CZCEN, CZPLT, IIBP, MNHNP. Spain: DBAG. United Kingdom: NHMUK. Uruguay: MHMN, ZVC-R. USA: AMNH, CAS, FMNH, USNM. After removing species with low sample size, the dataset used in the analyses included 8,189 preserved specimens of 33 snake and 11 amphisbaenian species. All analyses in this study were performed in the software R v. 4.2.0.

It is available at https://simtk.org/projects/oi-tfp-model. (ZIP)

The IMU gait data set of 30 transtibial prosthesis wearers.

Passive prosthetic feet lack active plantarflexion and push-off power resulting in gait deviations and compensations by individuals with transtibial amputation (TTA) during slope ascent. We sought to determine the effect of active ankle plantarflexion and push-off power provided by a powered prosthetic ankle-foot (PWR) on lower extremity compensations in individuals with unilateral TTA as they walked up a slope. We hypothesized that increased ankle plantarflexion and push-off power would reduce compensations commonly observed with a passive, energy-storing-returning prosthetic ankle-foot (ESR). We compared the temporal spatial, kinematic, and kinetic measures of ten individuals with TTA (age: 30.2 ± 5.3 yrs) to matched abled-bodied (AB) individuals during 5° slope ascent. The TTA group walked with an ESR and separately with a PWR. The PWR produced significantly greater prosthetic ankle plantarflexion and push-off power generation compared to an ESR and more closely matched AB values. The PWR functioned similar to a passive ESR device when transitioning onto the prosthetic limb due to limited prosthetic dorsiflexion, which resulted in similar deviations and compensations. In contrast, when transitioning off the prosthetic limb, increased ankle plantarflexion and push-off power provided by the PWR contributed to decreased intact limb knee extensor power production, lessening demand on the intact limb knee. Powered Ankle-Foot Prosthesis Slope Ascent Gait DataKinematic, kinetic, and temporal-spatial data during slope ascent in prosthetic users and abled-bodied individuals.PONE-D-15-48188 Data.xlsx

The aim of this study is to present the profile of a patient following a quadriplegic amputation with systemic lupus erythematosus, to show the type of her physical activity and to determine the changes in the level of endurance and physical fitness caused by regular physical activity.The woman ( 43 years old), after a long period of rehabilitation, began regular training sessions with elements of gymnastics. The training sessions focused on reducing body weight, improving performance as well as overall physical and functional fitness.The form of physical activity undertaken by the patient produced good results in improving her physical fitness and endurance. It seems reas onable to conduct general development training with elements of gymnastics not only with this patient, but also with other people with disabilities.

Aerobic metabolism data from the fastest athlete with bilateral leg amputations during submax and maximum aerobic running trials

This study presents a generic OpenSim musculoskeletal model of people with an osseointegrated unilateral transfemoral amputation wearing a generic prosthesis. The model, which consists of seventy-six musculotendon units and two ideal actuators at the knee and ankle joints of the prosthesis, is tested by designing an optimal control strategy that guarantees the tracking of experimental amputee data during level-ground walking while finding the actuators’ torques and minimizing the muscle forces. The model can be made subject-specific and, as such, is able to reproduce the kinematics and dynamics of both healthy and amputee subjects. The model provides a tool to analyze the biomechanics of level-ground walking and to understand the contribution of the muscles and of the prosthesis’ actuators. The proposed OpenSim musculoskeletal model is released as support material to this study.

Joint description of the proposed OpenSim transfemoral amputee model.