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128; p = 0.015). Problematic mobile phone use and/or nomophobia may have an influence on decision-making in nursing students. Levels of procrastination, hypervigilance and “buck-passing” in nursing students are affected by mobile phone use throughout their training. These factors may affect their academic performance, as well as their relationships with patients and other colleagues.Expectancy violation refers to the mismatch between an expected and the actual outcome. Maximizing expectancy violation is crucial for exposure-based treatment. Since the original stimulus of fear acquisition (CS+) is rarely available, stimuli that resemble the CS+ (generalization stimuli; GSs) are presented during treatment. A given GS may evoke either strong or weak generalized fear depending on an individual’s threat beliefs. Presenting this GS in extinction would then evoke different levels of expectancy violation, which determines the strength of the subsequent generalization of extinction to other stimuli, including the CS+. After differential fear conditioning, participants exhibited discrete generalization gradients depending on their inferred relational rules (Linear vs Similarity). Crucially, the Linear group showed strong generalized fear to the GS used in extinction. This strong expectancy violation led to enhanced extinction learning and subsequently to strong generalization of extinction as characterized by a flat generalization gradient, and reduced conditioned fear to the CS+. In contrast, the Similarity group showed weak generalized fear to the same GS in extinction, and limited generalization of extinction. These results corroborate the importance of expectancy violation in exposure-based treatment, and suggest that exposure sessions designed to evoke strong threat beliefs may lead to better treatment outcome.

Instrumented treadmills facilitate analysis of consecutive strides in ways that typical overground gait data collections cannot. Researchers have quantified differences between joint kinetic measures whilst walking on an instrumented treadmill compared to those walking overground. The reason for such differences has not yet been established.

Can we identify the source or sources of these errors by comparing centre of pressure and ground reaction force measurements recorded on a treadmill to those collected overground?

Kinematic and kinetic data were recorded while nineteen individuals walked continuously at their self-selected walking speed overground and on a treadmill. Comparisons of the centre of pressure and ground reaction forces were made between the two conditions using 2-tailed paired t-tests and Cohen’s d effect size.

The results indicated that participants had significantly faster backwards, lateral and medial centre of pressure velocities when walking on a treadmill compared to when they we

Gait initiation in level walking is suggested to take three steps before reaching steady-state walking speed. In sloped gait, it is not clear if the general recommendation of level gait can be used.

The aim of this study was to investigate (1) if steady-state walking speed is reached within four steps in sloped gait, and (2) to what extent the number of initial steps cause differences in step length, cadence and ground reaction force (GRF).

Fourteen healthy participants walked on an instrumented ramp at inclinations of 0°, ±6°, ±12°, and ±18°, covering slight (clinical application) to steep (hiking and mountaineering) slopes. The starting position on the ramp was adjusted to collect each of the first to fourth step using a 12 infrared-camera motion capture system and two force plates. For each slope condition steady-state walking speed was determined using the ratio of the braking and propulsion impulse (ratio p

p

p

) and the resultant Centre of Mass (CoM) speed (vel

). Statistical differences between steps were calculated by using a Friedman ANOVA and pairwise post-hoc Wilcoxon tests.

In all inclinations, ≥90 % (uphill) and ≥95 % (downhill) of steady-state speed regarding ratio p

and maximum vel

was reached with the 3rd step. In the level and uphill condition the 4th step showed a slight decrease in vel

. ROC-325 In uphill and downhill condition, the acceleration was mainly generated due to the increase in cadence with significant increases between the 1st and 2nd step as well as between the 2nd and 3rd step. A significant increase in step length was only observed in the uphill conditions.

Steady-state walking speed was reached with the 3rd step and thus, walkways which allow for two initial steps seem to be appropriate for uphill and downhill gait analysis for inclinations up to ±18°.

Steady-state walking speed was reached with the 3rd step and thus, walkways which allow for two initial steps seem to be appropriate for uphill and downhill gait analysis for inclinations up to ±18°.

The movement coordination in patients with knee osteoarthritis may be impaired and the identification of the deficits in lower limb inter-segmental coordination is crucial to understand the effect of knee osteoarthritis on knee function.

This study utilizes continuous relative phase to investigate the pattern and variability of lower limb inter-segmental coordination in patients with knee osteoarthritis and in healthy subjects during walking, and to evaluate inter-segmental coordination alterations in patients.

Gait was measured by a three-dimensional motion capture system for 44 patients with late-stage knee osteoarthritis and 22 healthy subjects. Segmental kinematic parameters, continuous relative phase and its variability were calculated. Independent samples t-tests were used to detect differences between patients and healthy subjects.

Thigh-shank continuous relative phase of patients is significantly decreased by 16.04° and 16.18° during late stance and swing phase as compared with healthy subjecton patterns and increased coordination variability of thigh-shank and shank-foot. Knee dysfunction results in altered lower limbs coordination and unstable motor control during walking. Investigation of inter-segmental coordination could therefore provide insights into changes in neuromuscular control of gait in patients with knee osteoarthritis.