Coordination modes in the multisegmental dynamics of hula hooping

Biological Cybernetics
March 2004, Volume 90, Issue 3, pp 176-190
Cover Date 2004-03-01
DOI 10.1007/s00422-003-0460-4

Ramesh Balasubramaniam (1,2), M.T. Turvey (2,3)

1) Sensory Motor Neuroscience Group, Behavioural Brain Sciences Centre, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK
2) Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, U-20 University of Connecticut, 406 Babbidge Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
3) Haskins Laboratories, 270 Crown Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

Abstract

In hula hooping, organized motions of the body keep the hoop in stable oscillatory motion parallel to the ground. We examined the hypothesis that the multiple degrees of freedom (DF) of the lower limbs in producing the oscillations are resolved into a few control DF. The Karhunen-Loève decomposition was applied to the kinematics of the lower limbs in three experiments in which oscillation amplitude and frequency were manipulated. Kinematic variance was accommodated by two modes whose relative contributions varied with task parameters. Complementary analyses of interjoint Hilbert relative phase suggested a lower-limb organization into a vertical suspension mode and an oscillatory fore-aft mode. These modes might stabilize the hoop’s angular momentum by controlling, respectively, its vertical and horizontal components.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00422-003-0460-4

Accidental condom inhalation

The Indian Journal of Chest Diseases and Allied Sciences
Jan-Mar 2004, 46(1), pp. 55-58

C L Arya, Rajnish Gupta, V K Arora

Jaswant Rai Speciality Hospital, Meerut, India.

Abstract

A 27-year-old lady presented with persistent cough, sputum and fever for the preceding six months. Inspite of trials with antibiotics and anti-tuberculosis treatment for the preceeding four months, her symptoms did not improve. A subsequent chest radiograph showed non-homogeneous collapse-consolidation of right upper lobe. Videobronchoscopy revealed an inverted bag like structure in right upper lobe bronchus and rigid bronchoscopic removal with biopsy forceps confirmed the presence of a condom. Detailed retrospective history also confirmed accidental inhalation of the condom during fellatio.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14870871

The human penis as a semen displacement device

Evolution and Human Behavior
Volume 24, Issue 4, July 2003, Pages 277–289

Gordon G. Gallup Jr., Rebecca L. Burch1, Mary L. Zappieri, Rizwan A. Parvez, Malinda L. Stockwell, Jennifer A. Davis

Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA

Abstract

Inanimate models were used to assess the possibility that certain features of the human penis evolved to displace semen left by other males in the female reproductive tract. Displacement of artificial semen in simulated vaginas varied as a function of glans/coronal ridge morphology, semen viscosity, and depth of thrusting. Results obtained by modifying an artificial penis suggest that the coronal ridge is an important morphological feature mediating semen displacement. Consistent with the view of the human penis as a semen displacement device, two surveys of college students showed that sexual intercourse often involved deeper and more vigorous penile thrusting following periods of separation or in response to allegations of female infidelity.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513803000163

From Kitsch to Chic: The Transformation of Hawaiian Shirt Aesthetics

Clothing and Textiles Research Journal
March 2003 vol. 21 no. 2 75-88
doi: 10.1177/0887302X0302100203

Marcia A. Morgado

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Hawai‘i - Manoa, Miller Hall, #204, 2515 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822

Abstract

The Hawaiian shirt originated in the mid-1930s as a commodity for the tourist market. Unique elements in its design, including tropical print motifs in cartoon-like renditions, brilliant colors, and silky rayon fabrics made the shirt instantly recognizable and contributed to its status as both an essential souvenir purchase and the quintessential element in the stereotype of the tourist as sartorial nerd. An analysis of the transformation of the shirt - from tourist kitsch to highly valued collectible, and from collectible to global fashion - is framed on rubbish theory. The transformation is traced to an assortment of myths that reconstitute the souvenir commodity as an indigenous ethnic art form and a scarce relic of Hawai‘i’s romanticized past and to a surfeit of publications that position the shirt as a collector’s item. The merits of rubbish theory as a framework for the analysis are assessed, and apparel scholars are asked to consider the influence of myth and scholarship on changes in the aesthetic codes of other fashion and appearance-related commodities.

aesthetic codes, rubbish theory, Hawaiian shirt

http://ctr.sagepub.com/content/21/2/75