Valgus stress on the elbow during pitching can exceed the tensile strength of the ulnar collateral ligament and is the primary cause of throwing-related elbow injuries. The forearm flexor-pronator muscles act as dynamic stabilizers against elbow valgus stress. However, the temporal changes in activity during repetitive pitching and their relationship with valgus stabilization remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate changes in the activity of the forearm flexor-pronator muscles and medial elbow joint gapping during repetitive pitching, and to examine their association. Fifteen healthy adult males with baseball experience performed 100 maximal-effort pitches. Surface electromyography (EMG) of the pronator teres (PT), flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU), flexor carpi radialis (FCR), and flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) was recorded. The mean and peak EMG activities were calculated as percentages of maximal voluntary contraction. Medial elbow joint gapping was assessed at rest and under valgus stress using ultrasonography. Subjective fatigue related to the pitching task was measured using a visual analog scale. All measurements were taken before pitching and after every 20 pitches. The EMG analysis focused on the phase from the lead leg contact to the end of the pitching motion. Peak FCR activity was significantly higher in the 80th pitch than in the 20th pitch. PT showed higher mean and peak activity than FCU, FCR, and FDS at several time points. Medial elbow joint gapping increased significantly at rest after 100 pitches and under valgus stress from the 60th pitch onward. Subjective whole-body fatigue increased significantly after 40 pitches. Positive correlations were observed between the change in medial joint gapping from pitches 1 to 20 and the changes in peak activity of the PT and FCU, as well as the mean activity of the PT. A positive correlation was also found between the change in gapping from pitches 80 to 100 and the change in FDS peak activity. Forearm flexor-pronator muscle activation patterns change with increasing pitch count, highlighting the dynamic role of these muscles in elbow valgus stabilization.
An increasing number of Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers are receiving ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCLR). However, a substantial proportion of pitchers do not regain their preinjury level of performance. Currently, limited research has investigated the factors associated with return to level (RTL) after UCLR. The authors hypothesized that (1) pitchers whose performance was primarily dependent on fastball effectiveness may face greater challenges in regaining their prior form, (2) those with a history of high workload were more likely to encounter difficulties in recovery, and (3) pitchers who exhibited suboptimal performance before injury may be less likely to achieve a full RTL. Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. This retrospective case-control study analyzed 174 MLB pitchers who underwent primary UCLR between 2015 and 2021. Pitchers were grouped by whether they successfully returned to level, which was defined as returning to MLB within 3 seasons after surgery and recording >100 pitches in at least 1 season. Demographics and pitching metrics were collected to identify risk factors associated with failure to return to prior performance level. In this study, 132 pitchers (75.9%) were able to RTL. No significant differences were found in fastball metrics between groups. Univariate analysis revealed that players who were unable to RTL had fewer games started and innings pitched and lower total pitch counts were more frequently relievers during the index season (P < .05). Additionally, significantly worse fielding independent pitching, earned run average, and wins above replacement (WAR) were observed in this group (P < .05). Multivariate analysis indicated that lower preinjury WAR was identified as a significant risk factor for failing to RTL, with a cutoff value of WAR <0.15 (area under the curve, 0.771; P < .001) indicating increased risk. The study highlighted that players who were unable to RTL were more frequently relievers. Pitching metrics during the index year, including fewer games started, reduced innings pitched, and lower total pitch counts, were linked to failure to RTL. Performance statistics, such as worse performance in fielding independent pitching, earned run average, and WAR during the index year, were linked to an increased risk of being unable to RTL.
Pitch contour processing is critical in music and speech processing, and is likely to be hampered in peripheral and central auditory disorders. Pitch processing is typically altered in congenital amusia, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits of music perception and production, which are related to altered pitch processing. In this study, we examined the effects of multisensory (audio-visual, AV) versus unisensory (auditory-only, A) pitch contour training on the ability to discriminate pitch direction changes in individuals with amusia and their matched control participants. After two consecutive sessions of training (A and AV in a counterbalanced order), improvement in accuracy and reaction times (RTs) was found in both participant groups, with the largest RT improvements for the participants with worst RTs at study onset. When evaluating separately the effect of each training type (A or AV) on performance, amusic participants exhibited improvement in both accuracy and reaction times for large pitch changes after the AV training. In control participants, AV training led to faster reaction times for the small and large pitch changes. AV training gains were numerically larger than A training gains, but a direct comparison provided weak evidence for a difference in these training gains. Overall, both amusic and control participants showed improved performance after the training (whether A or AV), indicating that pitch contour processing can be trained even after a single session, with some limited evidence for more efficient training in a multisensory context. These findings offer new perspectives for long-term audio-visual pitch training in congenital amusia and for populations with other types of pitch perception deficits.
To evaluate whether 100 consecutive pitches induce clinically meaningful increases in medial elbow joint space gap (MJS) in high school baseball players and to examine associations with player characteristics, including early multi-sport participation. In a randomized controlled trial, 34 healthy male high school baseball players were allocated to a pitching group (n = 17) or a control group (n = 17). The pitching group threw 100 fastballs at maximal effort, whereas controls rested for an equivalent duration. MJS was measured by ultrasonography before and after pitching or rest. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for MJS change (mm and %) was calculated using a distribution-based method (0.5 × SD of the pitching group's MJS increase). Group × time effects were tested using a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, and univariate analyses explored relationships between MJS change and participant characteristics. No significant group × time interaction was observed (p = 0.427). In the pitching group, MJS increased by 0.2 ± 1.1 mm (8.3 ± 24.6%), remaining below the MCID thresholds (0.55 mm; 12.3%). Early multi-sport experience during elementary school was associated with smaller MJS expansion (p = 0.009), and the number of non-baseball sports correlated negatively with MJS change (r =  -0.628, p = 0.007). No associations were found with pitch velocity or body composition. A single bout of 100 pitches did not produce clinically meaningful MJS widening in high school baseball players. However, early multi-sport participation was related to reduced MJS expansion, suggesting that diversified sport experience may be an important background factor when refining pitch-count guidance.
Pitch perception is fundamental to speech and music, yet the neural representation of pitch in auditory cortex remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that mice rely on temporal cues for pitch perception because of their wide auditory filters and high-frequency hearing. To investigate, we developed a mouse auditory filter bank model that estimates the temporal pitch salience of complex tones. We then trained mice to discriminate low vs. high fundamental frequencies (F0s) in complex tones and found that modeled temporal pitch salience was highly correlated with behavioral discrimination sensitivity. Widefield calcium imaging showed that the organization of periodotopy in auditory cortex predicts how well mice recognize temporal pitch cues. Mice trained on an F0 discrimination task had larger periodotopic maps with greater vector strengths than naïve mice, demonstrating experience-dependent expansion and refinement of temporal pitch maps in auditory cortex. Our findings establish mice as a robust model for studying the neural basis of temporal pitch perception.
Today, military and civilian applications require miniaturized and cheap optical systems. Both the optics and the detector tend to decrease their size, weight, power, and cost, which is known as the SWAP-C challenge. One way to achieve this goal consists of decreasing the pixel pitch of the focal plane array (FPA). Pixel sizes become smaller and are now close to the wavelength. A common figure of merit used to assess the quality of the whole system is the modulation transfer function (MTF). However, measuring the MTF of small pixels is challenging because it leads to high cut-off frequencies. Experimental methods and data processing have to be adapted to reach these high spatial frequencies. Some years ago, we proposed an interferometric method based on Llyod's mirror setup. Since the first implementation, both the test bench and the image processing method to extract relevant data from experimental images have been improved. In this paper, we apply this method to several microbolometer FPAs with pixel pitches of 17, 12, and 8.5 µm. Experimental results are shown and fitted with an analytical model to deduce technological parameters of the pixels, such as their size and cross-talk information.
The deployment of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for ocean observation is one of the important methods in marine scientific research. The stability of AUV attitude control determines the efficiency and safety of underwater operations. In practical systems, the actuators carried by AUVs have saturation, and the saturation of the actuators greatly affects the performance and stability of AUV attitude control. This article designs an anti-windup [Formula: see text] robust state feedback controller and an anti-windup [Formula: see text] robust dynamic output feedback controller for the pitch attitude control of AUVs to solve the pitch attitude control problem of AUVs subject to input constraints. Firstly, building a Linear-parameter varying (LPV) model for the AUV. Then, we design two anti-windup [Formula: see text] robust controllers based on LPV model. Simulation results verify the reasonable of LPV model and the effectiveness of proposed controllers. Proposed controllers can enable the system to quickly reach the desired attitude under input constraints.
Mesophase pitch (MP) is a high-performance precursor for carbon materials. However, its conventional preparation process is limited by stringent conditions and high costs. In this study, heavy coal tar (HCT) was used as a low-cost carbon source, and polyethylene (PE) was introduced as a modifier to induce MP formation under relatively mild conditions, thereby promoting the thermal polycondensation of HCT. Characterization results show that the addition of different types of PE facilitates the condensation of aromatic molecules and significantly enhances the conversion efficiency of HCT to MP. Among the tested PE types, HDPE exhibits the best performance, with an optimal addition of 6 wt.% at 400 °C, yielding the highest number of uniform mesophase carbon microspheres and the most ordered structure. Based on comprehensive characterization data, an average molecular structure model of the product was constructed, addressing a research gap regarding the role of PE in the thermal polycondensation of HCT. This work provides a new pathway for the energy-efficient preparation and property regulation of MP.
Posterior fossa tumors are the most common solid pediatric neoplasms, and more than 60% of these tumors are associated with hydrocephalus, which can be managed using different strategies, including endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV), ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS), external ventricular drainage (EVD), or direct tumor resection without CSF diversion. The safest and most effective drainage method remains controversial, and most available studies are limited to single-center retrospective analyses, often constrained by small sample sizes. Therefore, multicenter prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal treatment strategy. This is a prospective, multicenter cohort study conducted across more than 20 pediatric neurosurgery centers in Latin America. Patients will be allocated into four groups according to the treatment selected for hydrocephalus (ETV, EVD, VPS, or resection). The primary outcome will be the number of surgical interventions related to the treatment of hydrocephalus during the follow-up period. Secondary outcomes will include mortality, infection, and other clinically relevant complications, analyzed as complementary endpoints. Patients will be followed prospectively for up to 12 months after the index procedure, defined as the intervention performed for the treatment of hydrocephalus, and each group will include at least 50 patients. The REDCap online platform will be used for data collection in the PITCH study, enabling prospective data acquisition across multiple centers in Latin America. This will allow comparison of treatment modalities for obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to posterior fossa tumors (ETV, EVD, VPS, and resection) and evaluation of their impact during the first year after diagnosis.
Wire-like active-region corrugation-pitch-modulated (CPM) distributed-reflector (DR) lasers with complex-coupled (CC) gratings on silicon are numerically investigated for low-frequency-chirp direct modulation. To suppress frequency chirp arising from stopband width variations in CC distributed-feedback (DFB) structures during injection-current variation, a central CPM segment is incorporated into the DFB section, positioning the lasing mode near the Bragg wavelength. Comparative analysis with index-coupled (IC) lasers reveals a trade-off between adiabatic chirp reduction and bandwidth enhancement. An anti-phase CC-CPM-DR design reduces adiabatic chirp by 20% relative to the IC device. Under 50-Gbaud PAM-4 modulation, total dynamic chirp decreases to 70% of the IC case, yielding a markedly clearer eye diagram.
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We investigated factors related to pitching performance-defined by pitch velocity and accuracy-based on baseball experience, pitching workload, anthropometrics, and range of motion and strength (grip and shoulder) among little league baseball players. This cross-sectional study included 348 right-handed baseball players aged 9-12 years. Assessments included baseball and pitching experience, weekly pitching workload during both games and practices, anthropometrics, range of motion, grip, and shoulder strength. Throwing velocity was measured using a radar gun during a standardized flat-ground throwing task, and throwing accuracy was assessed using a nine-zone target scoring system. Players were classified into high- and low-velocity groups based on the median velocity to enable decision tree analysis. Using logistic regression and decision tree analyses, factors associated with throwing velocity and accuracy were identified. Logistic regression analysis revealed that pitcher experience (odds ratio [OR]:3.45; P = .003), pitching workload ≥100/week (OR: 5.16; P = .002), and dominant-side grip strength (OR: 1.17; P = .033) were significantly associated with high pitch velocity. Decision tree analysis showed that players with a strong dominant-side grip (>14.5 kgf), age >10 years, and grip strength >19.8 kgf had the highest probability of high pitch velocity. Among players aged ≤10 years, those with ≥3 years of experience were more likely to have high velocity. Only baseball experience was a significant factor associated with pitch accuracy (OR: 1.23; P = .040). High-accuracy players were taller, older, and had greater nondominant grip strength than low-accuracy players. Throwing velocity was modestly associated with pitching experience, weekly pitching workload, and dominant-side grip strength, whereas throwing accuracy was associated primarily with baseball experience. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the modest effect sizes and cross-sectional design.
Current models suggest that perceptual time dilation between sequential auditory events with greater pitch separation, known as "auditory kappa effects," arises from auditory motion percepts. The prevailing explanation attributes this effect to violations of expected pitch trajectories, as the perceptual system imputes a constant pitch velocity across events. We tested this auditory motion hypothesis against an alternative auditory grouping hypothesis, which proposes that pitch-timing interactions promote the grouping or segregation of auditory events, leading to subjectively shorter or longer perceived intervals between tones. We conducted two experiments to compare kappa effects across sequences with varying pitch separations (velocities) and sequences with inconsistent pitch trajectories, which precluded stable pitch-velocity references. Experiment 1 results showed larger kappa effects for sequences with slower pitch velocities, contradicting the motion hypothesis, and Experiment 2 showed robust kappa effects based on pitch proximity, regardless of unpredictable pitch motion. Phenomenological models associated with each hypothesis demonstrated that the auditory grouping model provided a better fit to our behavioral data in Experiment 2. These findings support perceptual grouping and segregation as fundamental processes underlying timing judgments and challenge our current understanding of feature interactions in auditory perception. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Pitch change detection and pitch memory are behaviorally impaired in congenital amusia. Yet rather preserved mismatch negativity (MMN) to unexpected pitch changes has previously been reported using EEG, suggesting a discrepancy between conscious and preattentive pitch perception in this population. Coupling MEG with EEG, our study re-examined MMN in congenital amusia in light of two factors: stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and change size of the deviant. Individuals with and without congenital amusia passively listened to oddball sequences with either frequency (pitch) or intensity (loudness) deviants, using short (500 ms) or long (1500 ms) SOAs and small or large changes (0.25 or 2 semitones; -5 or -15 dB). In a subsequent active change detection task, participants with amusia had impaired detection of small frequency changes, while a smaller group difference was found for small intensity changes. Long SOAs increased amusics' behavioral response times more than those of controls for frequency and intensity deviants. Time courses of source data in MEG revealed decreased amplitude and increased latency of MMNs to frequency deviants in right temporal and right frontal cortices in amusia, across all the tested SOAs and change sizes. Some MMN abnormalities were found in amusic participants also for intensity deviants, across all the tested SOAs and change sizes. Thanks to the sensitivity of MEG, this study pinpoints that the right-sided fronto-temporal anomalies characterizing amusia are linked to modifications in the processing of sounds in sequences, most particularly for the pitch dimension, already at the preattentive level.
Embodied conversational agents (ECAs) play a crucial role in digital healthcare. While existing studies have examined the effect of ECAs' appearances and nonverbal behaviors on acceptance, the mechanism by which nonverbal behaviors and speech characteristics jointly influence patients' satisfaction remains unclear. This study explores the impact of medical ECAs' nonverbal behaviors and speech characteristics on patients' perceived empathy, trust, and satisfaction. This study adopted a mixed factorial experimental design. Independent variables included nonverbal behaviors (facial expressions: smiling/painful; body postures: open/closed) and verbal behaviors (speech rate and pitch: low/medium/high). Dependent variables included perceived empathy, trust, and satisfaction. Speech rate served as a between-subjects variable and pitch as a within-subjects variable. 75 participants were recruited to watch and interact with the 12 pre-recorded ECA videos presented in a random order. Perceived empathy, trust and satisfaction were measured. Body postures significantly affected satisfaction (p< .001), while facial expressions showed no significant impact (p=.302). Speech rate significantly influenced satisfaction (p=.034), with low rate yielding higher satisfaction than high rate (p= .044); pitch showed no significant main effect (p=.295). Trust fully mediated the relationship between nonverbal behaviors and satisfaction, while empathy and trust serially mediated this effect. Trust partially mediated speech characteristics' effect on satisfaction. The combination of painful expression, open posture, low speech rate, and high pitch yielded significantly higher satisfaction than other conditions (p< .001). Open body postures and low speech rate directly enhanced patients' satisfaction. Trust mediated the effects of both nonverbal behaviors and speech characteristics on satisfaction. The optimal combination of open postures, painful expressions, high pitch, and low speech rate most effectively improved patient satisfaction. These findings provides empirical evidence for multimodal medical ECA design and enhancing digital health service experience.
Chiral plasmonic gold nanomaterials held significant promise for tumor photothermal therapy, with their helical pitch depth playing a critical role in determining both chirality and photothermal performance. However, precise pitch depth control remained a major challenge. Herein, we reported a Br--chiral ligand cooperative strategy to synthesize near-infrared-responsive helical chiral Au nanorods (Au NRs) with finely tunable pitch depths. Systematic investigations revealed distinct ion-regulation mechanisms: Br- selectively passivated [100] facets to promote [111] anisotropic growth of; I-/Cu2+ strongly adsorbed onto [111] to suppress helical development, Fe3+ only altered ligand adsorption without impeding [111] growth. These findings established directional [111] growth as a fundamental for both pitch-depth engineering and chiral structure formation. Optimized chiral Au NRs exhibited a high g-factor of 0.026, a >3-fold stronger localized electromagnetic field, and 16% higher photothermal conversion efficiency with reversibility. In vitro studies show 94% cellular uptake in HepG2 and near-complete cancer ablation under 808 nm irradiation, and high normal cell viability. This work elucidated ion-specific modulation roles, established a "pitch depth-chirality-performance-outcome" correlation, and provided design principles for precision photothermal therapy and chiral sensing.
People with Parkinson's disease and freezing of gait (PD+FOG) exhibit altered gait and turning compared to nonfreezing peers with PD (PD-FOG). However, less work has examined the effects of FOG status on daily-life mobility. Therefore, we compared daily-life gait and turning across PD+FOG and PD-FOG and related gait deficits to self-reported FOG severity and health-related quality of life (QOL). We collected daily-life mobility data over 7 days from 119 people with PD (PD+FOG = 47). Inertial sensors on the feet and lower back assessed 33 gait and balance outcomes. One-way ANCOVAs assessed the effect of FOG status on mobility. Five variables reflecting gait and turning quality were significantly worse in PD+FOG compared to PD-FOG after Holm correction: smaller turn angles, smaller foot pitch at initial contact, and increased variability of double-support time, stride length, and pitch at toe-off. Of these outcomes, two (turn angle & stride length variability) were significantly correlated with freezing severity, and 4 (turn angle, stride length variability, pitch at initial contact and pitch at toe-off variability) related to QOL. Turns per hour also related to QOL. In sum, PD+FOG exhibited worse daily-life gait quality (small turn angle and foot angle at heel strike and increased gait variability) and these outcomes were related to QOL and FOG severity. Daily-life gait quantity (number of turns, strides, and gait bouts per hour) was less affected by FOG. These results provide insight into daily-life mobility of PD+FOG, and support interventions aimed at quality of gait and turning for PD+FOG.
Integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs) have emerged as a promising technology for many applications due to their ability to dynamically control free-space optical beams in a compact and non-mechanical manner. However, these integrated OPAs typically have a restricted field of view (FOV), limited by grating lobes caused by large antenna pitches that are typically necessary to reduce crosstalk between the antennas in the integrated OPA. In this work, we develop and experimentally demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a set of integrated grating-based antennas with significantly-reduced inter-antenna crosstalk that enable half-wavelength-pitch integrated OPAs with grating-lobe-free and wide-FOV functionality. First, we derive a generalized theoretical model to describe the coupling dynamics between lossy modes in a system and use this model to analyze the coupling between antennas. Next, we design and demonstrate a set of three integrated grating-based antennas with different propagation coefficients to enable reduced inter-antenna crosstalk, successfully measuring a significant reduction from 100% to 1% coupling. Finally, using these reduced-crosstalk antennas, we develop and demonstrate a half-wavelength-pitch integrated OPA, successfully demonstrating grating-lobe-free and wide-FOV functionality. This work facilitates new functionality for high-performance integrated OPAs.
Pitch-based sonification of quantitative data increases the accessibility of data visualizations that are otherwise inaccessible for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals. We argue that, although pitch representations can reveal the coarse-grained information of data, such as data trend and value comparison, they cannot effectively convey the fine-grained details like the sign and exact value of individual data points. Informed by existing sound perception research, we propose a spatial audio-based approach by representing data values as the sound direction in the azimuth plane to achieve accessible fine-grained data representation. We conducted a user study with 26 participants (including 10 BLV participants) on four data perception tasks. The results show our approach significantly outperforms pitch representation on fine-grained data perception tasks like recognizing data signs and exact values, and performs similarly on data trend identification, despite its inferior accuracy on data value comparison.
Verbal communication transmits information across diverse linguistic levels, with neural synchronization (NS) between speakers and listeners emerging as a putative mechanism underlying successful speech exchange. However, the specific speech features that drive this synchronization, and how language-specific versus universal characteristics facilitate information transfer, remain poorly understood. We developed a novel feature-based interbrain encoding modeling approach to disentangle the contributions of acoustic and linguistic features to speaker-listener NS during Mandarin storytelling and listening, as measured via magnetoencephalography (MEG). A female speaker and 22 listeners (12 females and 10 males) were recruited and analyzed. We observed strong NS across frontotemporal-parietal networks, with systematic time lags between the speaker and listeners. Crucially, suprasegmental lexical tone features (i.e., tone categories, pitch height, and pitch change), which are essential for lexical meaning in Mandarin, contributed more significantly to NS than either acoustic elements or universal segmental units (i.e., consonants and vowels). These tonal features produced unique spatiotemporal NS patterns, forming language-specific interbrain neural connections that enabled effective transmission of representations between the speaker and listeners. The strength and patterns of NS, driven by these speech features, further predicted listeners' understanding of the speaker's storytelling. These findings demonstrate the interbrain neural mechanisms underlying shared representations during verbal exchange and highlight how language-specific speech features shape neural alignment between speakers and listeners, supporting information transfer.Significance Statement Human communication depends on shared neural representations between speakers and listeners, but the specific features that promote this alignment remain unclear. Using MEG and a feature-based interbrain analysis approach, we show that speaker-listener neural synchronization is driven more by linguistic content than by acoustics alone. Language-specific lexical tones and pitch cues have a stronger influence than segmental features and can predict how effectively listeners comprehend the speaker's stories. These findings highlight the importance of language-specific tonal information in driving interbrain alignment and introduce a new method to distinguish the roles of different speech features. The study provides insights into how production and perception systems are coordinated across brains in space and time, depending on linguistic features during the transfer of verbal information.