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  Age-Related differences in arm acceleration and center of mass control during a slip incident

  Lee-Confer, Jonathan S.; Lo, Matthew K.; Troy, Karen L.; Department of Physical Therapy, University of Arizona; Department of Physiology, University of Arizona (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2025-05-06)

  Arm abduction motion can help reduce lateral center of mass (CoM) excursion and restore balance within the frontal plane during slip perturbations. This study aimed to quantify and compare frontal plane arm kinematics and their relationship with CoM control between older and younger adults experiencing a slip. Eleven older adults (age: 72.0 ± 5.0 years) and eleven younger adults (age: 25.5 ± 6.1 years) underwent an induced slip perturbation while walking. Although peak arm abduction angles were similar between groups, younger adults achieved peak arm abduction significantly earlier (542 ± 67 ms) compared to older adults (853 ± 509 ms; p = 0.03). Additionally, younger adults exhibited significantly higher peak arm abduction acceleration compared to older adults (3593.21 ± 1144.80 vs. 2309.83 ± 1428.48 degrees/s2; p = 0.03). Younger adults also demonstrated significantly reduced lateral CoM excursion relative to older adults (4.6 ± 3.5 cm vs. 10.47 ± 6.6 cm; p < 0.01). Peak arm abduction acceleration negatively correlated with lateral CoM excursion (r = -0.52, p < 0.02), indicating that rapid arm movements are associated with improved balance control. A regression analysis confirmed arm abduction acceleration as a significant predictor of lateral CoM displacement (p = 0.005) meaning every 1000 degrees/s2 increase in arm acceleration results in an approximate 2 cm decrease in lateral CoM displacement during a slip. These findings suggest older adults’ diminished arm acceleration in response to slips potentially compromises their ability to stabilize their CoM effectively, highlighting a possible target for fall-prevention interventions.
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  The effect of wood chip surface depth on peak force during impacts

  Lee-Confer, Jonathan; Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences, University of Arizona (Frontiers Media SA, 2025-04-03)

  Objective: Playgrounds are essential for children’s physical, social, and mental health. However, only 4.7% of playgrounds meet safety standards for wood chip surface depth around playground structures. This study aimed to quantify peak force attenuation at safety-compliant (9-inch) vs. non-compliant (5-inch) wood chip depths. Methods: Wood chip layers of 5 inches and 9 inches were placed on a calibrated force platform. A 4.54-kg medicine ball was dropped from a consistent height onto the wood chips, and peak forces and time to peak force were measured. Results: The 9-inchwood chip layer significantly reduced peak forces compared to the 5-inch layer, showing a 44% reduction (p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in time to peak force between the two conditions (p=0.46). Discussion: Compliant wood chip surface depths reduce impact forces substantially, emphasizing the importance of routine inspection and maintenance of playground surfaces to safety standards. This practice can help minimize injuries in children resulting from playground falls.
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  Increased Frequency and Potential Environmental Impacts from Oil Spills After Hurricane Landfalls

  Korgaonkar, Yoga; Scher, Benjamin (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  The increased frequency of oil spills, specifically after hurricanes, can have lingering effects throughout the ecosystem and can cause complexities while restorative efforts are underway. Certain environmentally sensitive areas require different restoration techniques to allow for proper removal of oil with minimal disturbance to the habitat. This project aims to compare oil spills immediately after a hurricane and a non-hurricane event, allowing for a visual representation of increased frequency. Displaying environmentally sensitive areas within the reach of oil spills will illustrate potential impacts of protected and vulnerable land. With numerous sources of publicly available data, we can display where and how much sensitive land may be impacted. Analyzing distance from oil spills, focusing on protected habitats, and concentrating on the most vulnerable and sensitive land will give a precise picture of the lasting impacts of a hurricane. This study looked at two different four-day periods. The first one during normal weather events, and the second was immediately after the landfall of Hurricane Ida. Results show that there was a 600 percent increase in pollution events over a four-day period. This project focuses on one specific hurricane event but provides valuable information. With more time and personnel this process can easily be scaled up to each hurricane that makes landfall in the U.S. Understanding increases in pollution events beforehand, knowing which areas are most vulnerable, and ensuring resources can be deployed easier and faster can allow for less impacts on wildlife and the environment.
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  Wildland Fire Risk Analysis on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation

  Korgaonkar, Yoganand; Edwards, Desiree (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  Wildfires pose a significant threat to natural resources, communities, infrastructure like homes on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. This project developed a GIS- based wildfire risk assessment model utilizing available data and analytical tools in ArcGIS Pro. The analysis incorporated key environmental variables including fuel models from LANDFIRE, topographic features derived from USGS Earth Explorer, and proximity to communities. A weighted overlay approach was applied to classify areas into no risk. low, moderate, high and extreme wildfire risk zones. By adapting methodologies like kriging and weighted overlay, this study has ensured a replicable and objective assessment and framework. The final wildfire risk maps are able to support land managers in prioritizing mitigation efforts and resource allocation for planning and emergency response efforts.
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  A Modelbuilder Workflow for Automating Contour Generation from High-Resolution Elevation Data in a Mosaic Dataset

  Korgaonkar, Yoganand; Dunn, Amy (The University of Arizona., 2025)

  This project streamlines the topographic-contour generation process for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR). Historically, the NMBGMR generated contours internally to leverage access to high-resolution elevation rasters and maintain control over the level of detail and smoothness. Creating contours from elevation data involves a multi-step workflow requiring manual input, mosaicking, reprojecting, clipping, appending data, field calculations, and generalization. This work develops an automated geoprocessing tool using ModelBuilder in ArcGIS Pro, replacing manual steps with a simplified, repeatable process. The model uses a mosaic dataset to efficiently manage the multiple raster tiles used to generate contours. Integrated into the tool is the optional capability of unit conversion, allowing for the creation of contours in either meters or feet, automated clipping to a designated map extent, contour creation at designated intervals, appending to an existing feature class, and attribute calculations. Testing on map areas with steep, mountainous terrain confirmed that the model accurately replicates the original workflow while reducing complexity. The outcome is a user-friendly tool that standardizes contour creation and improves the efficiency of GIS specialists/cartographers when building map kits used by field geologists. This advancement allows for consistent and rapid production of accurate, map-scale appropriate contours to provide topographic context for the overlying geologic data and supports the production of high-quality cartographic layouts.

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