S U M M A R Y1. A new technique for monitoring the deep body temperature is described. The technique depends on creating a zone of zero heat-flow across the body shell; this brings the deep body temperature to the skin surface where it is measured with a simple electronic thermometer.2. The new device gives a temperature closely comparable with other methods for measuring the deep body temperature in the resting subject, and is simple to use and socially acceptable.

Mobility after spinal cord injury (SCI) is among the top goals of recovery and improvement in quality of life. Those with tetraplegia rank hand function as the most important area of recovery in their lives, and those with paraplegia, walking. Without hand function, emphasis in rehabilitation is placed on accessing one's environment through technology. However, there is still much reliance on caretakers for many activities of daily living. For those with paraplegia, if incomplete, orthoses exist to augment walking function, but they require a significant amount of baseline strength and significant energy expenditure to use. Options for those with motor complete paraplegia have traditionally been limited to the wheelchair. While wheelchairs provide a modified level of independence, wheelchair users continue to face difficulties in access and mobility. In the past decade, research in SCI rehabilitation has expanded to include external motorized or robotic devices that initiate or augment movement. These robotic devices are used with 2 goals: to enhance recovery through repetitive, functional movement and increased neural plasticity and to act as a mobility aid beyond orthoses and wheelchairs. In addition, lower extremity exoskeletons have been shown to provide benefits to the secondary medical conditions after SCI such as pain, spasticity, decreased bone density, and neurogenic bowel. In this review, we discuss advances in robot-guided rehabilitation after SCI for the upper and lower extremities, as well as potential adjuncts to robotics.

Movement induced modulation of the beta rhythm is one of the most robust neural oscillatory phenomena in the brain. In the preparation and execution phases of movement, a loss in beta amplitude is observed [movement related beta decrease (MRBD)]. This is followed by a rebound above baseline on movement cessation [post movement beta rebound (PMBR)]. These effects have been measured widely, and recent work suggests that they may have significant importance. Specifically, they have potential to form the basis of biomarkers for disease, and have been used in neuroscience applications ranging from brain computer interfaces to markers of neural plasticity. However, despite the robust nature of both MRBD and PMBR, the phenomena themselves are poorly understood. In this study, we characterise MRBD and PMBR during a carefully controlled isometric wrist flexion paradigm, isolating two fundamental movement parameters; force output, and the rate of force development (RFD). Our results show that neither altered force output nor RFD has a significant effect on MRBD. In contrast, PMBR was altered by both parameters. Higher force output results in greater PMBR amplitude, and greater RFD results in a PMBR which is higher in amplitude and shorter in duration. These findings demonstrate that careful control of movement parameters can systematically change PMBR. Further, for temporally protracted movements, the PMBR can be over 7 s in duration. This means accurate control of movement and judicious selection of paradigm parameters are critical in future clinical and basic neuroscientific studies of sensorimotor beta oscillations. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2493–2511, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

A well-trained subject, age 38, ran continously for periods ranging from 60 to 165 min on a motor-driven treadmill at 255.7 m/min while confronted with an airflow equivalent to running speed in cool, moderate, and hot environments. After a period of intensive heat acclimatization, treadmill runs were repeated in the moderate and hot conditions. Measurements were also obtained outdoors in a competitive marathon race. Sweat rate (SR) and mean skin temperature (Ts) were linearly related to Tdb. Acclimatization did not alter VO2max or metabolic rate during the treadmill runs, but heart rat (HR),rectal temperature (Tre), and Ts were lower, SR was higher, and maximal run duration longer in the hot environment, postacclimatization. Maximum runs in the hot environment were terminated by a spiralling increase in Tre to hyperthermic levels, due largely to a marked reduction in cutaneous blood flow, probably reflecting cardiovascular overload from the combined muscular and thermoregulatory blood flow demands, coupled with the effects of progressive dehydration. Utilizing partitional calorimetry and the subject's metabolic heat production, two examples of limiting environmental conditions for his marathon running speed were given.

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Prolonged infrapatellar tendon vibration depressed H-reflex amplitude, but did not affect either maximal or explosive isometric force production of the quadriceps.

PurposeThe reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) is typically modest even with rigorous methods, and therefore further improvements in sEMG reliability are desirable. This study compared the between-session reliability (both within participant absolute reliability and between-participant relative reliability) of sEMG amplitude from single vs. average of two distinct recording sites, for individual muscle (IM) and whole quadriceps (WQ) measures during voluntary and evoked contractions.MethodsHealthy males (n = 20) performed unilateral isometric knee extension contractions: voluntary maximum and submaximum (60%), as well as evoked twitch contractions on two separate days. sEMG was recorded from two distinct sites on each superficial quadriceps muscle.ResultsAveraging two recording sites vs. using single site measures improved reliability for IM and WQ measurements during voluntary (16–26% reduction in within-participant coefficient of variation, CVW) and evoked contractions (40–56% reduction in CVW).ConclusionsFor sEMG measurements from large muscles, averaging the recording of two distinct sites is recommended as it improves within-participant reliability. This improved sensitivity has application to clinical and research measurement of sEMG amplitude.

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