How optimal are human movements ? This thesis tackles this issue by focusing especially on climbing movements, studied here under three complementary aspects which are the experimental gathering of climbing sequences, the biomechanical analysis of these data, and the synthesis of gestures by timing optimization. Walking has been largely studied, with good results in animation [Mordatch 2013]. W...

Cerebellar Purkinje cells have two distinct action potentials: complex spikes (CSs) are evoked by single climbing fibers that originate from the contralateral inferior olive. Simple spikes (SSs) are often ascribed to mossy fiber-granule cell-parallel fiber inputs to Purkinje cells. Although generally accepted, this view lacks experimental support. Vestibular stimulation independently activates ...

Mechanisms for the induction of motor learning in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) were evaluated by recording the patterns of neural activity elicited in the cerebellum by a range of stimuli that induce learning. Patterns of climbing-fiber, vestibular, and Purkinje cell simple-spike signals were examined during sinusoidal head movement paired with visual image movement at stimulus frequencies...

This study contributes to our understanding of the phylogenetic significance and major evolutionary trends in the wood of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), one of the largest and economically most important angiosperm families. Based on LM and SEM observations of 56 Apocynoideae species-representing all currently recognized tribes-and eight Periplocoideae, we found striking differences in vesse...

This paper builds the kinematic model of a wall‐ climbing caterpillar robot to reveal the validity and the benefits of the closed‐chain kinematics of the four‐linkage mechanism to a crawling gait. The caterpillar robot can climb on a vertical wall by coordinating the rotations of one active joint and three passive joints. The mechanical property of the closed‐chain kinem...

Résumé en anglais Hill-climbing constitutes one of the simplest way to produce approximate solutions of a combinatorial optimization problem, and is a central component of most advanced metaheuristics. This paper focuses on evaluating climbing techniques in a context where deteriorating moves are not allowed, in order to isolate the intensification aspect of metaheuristics. We aim at providing ...

OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study was to assess whether patients unable to perform a preoperative maximal stair climbing test had an increased incidence of morbidity and mortality after major lung resection compared to patients who were able to exercise. METHODS Three hundred and ninety one patients submitted to pulmonary lobectomy or pneumonectomy for lung cancer were analyzed. Fo...