The main aim of this study was to determine the effect of dual-TASK, SINGLE-TASK, and combined-TASK TRAININGon older adults’ gait, with or without the experience of falling.For this purpose, we recruited 120 volunteers in Babol in the 60–80 age range. The participants were randomly divided into different groups, including: two control groups, two experimental groups assigned with SINGLE TASK, two experimental groups assigned with dual TASK, and two groups assigned with combined TASK. To evaluate the quality of gait in older adults, we applied the ‘Timed up and go test (TUG).’ After pre-examining the participants according to the TASK their groups were assigned, they participated in SINGLE-TASK, dual-TASK, and combined-TASK exercises. After about two months, the subjects participated in TUG again. All groups were assessed in both SINGLE-TASK and dual-TASK conditions. The results of mixed ANOVA test showed that the effect of intervention, and the interactive effect of intervention and group under both test conditions were meaningful, but the post-test difference between these two conditions was not significant. Probably, the increase in cognitive and physical ability is the key reason for a better quality of gait.

Background and Aim: Multiple sclerosis is a progressive degenerative disease of myelin in the central nervous system. One of the main complications of the disease is development of balance disorder. Since considerable attention is needed to the balance issue, this study aimed to compare the two methods of SINGLE and dual TASK balance TRAINING on balance in the women with multiple sclerosis.Material and Methods: 20 women between 25 to 45 years of age participated in this study. They were members of the MS association of Khorasn Razavi province with disability scores of (1-4). The patients were randomly assigned to two equal groups (SINGLE and dual balance groups) and conducted balance exercises three sessions per week for 8 weeks. The dual TRAINING group performed a cognitive TASK in addition to the balance TRAINING exercises. Using the Biodex balance analyzer instrument, we evaluated the indices of patients’ balance.Using SPSS software, data analysis was performed by analysis of covariance.Results: Covariate effects were significant for all three variables (p<0.01). The indices of overall and anterior - posterior balance were significantly different between the two groups (p<0.01, p<0.02). The mean values for the overall and anterior-posterior balance indices decreased in the dual TRAINING group, but no significant differences were found in the medial-lateral index (p<0.4).Conclusions: According to the results of this study, dual TRAINING exercises were suitable methods to improve balance disorders in the women with MS.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a selected TRAINING program under dual and SINGLE-TASK conditions on the cognitive flexibility of children with developmental coordination disorder. The research method was semi-experimental and with a pre-test-post-test-follow-up design with control group. The statistical population of this study included male students with developmental disorder in Ahvaz city. From the mentioned population, a sample of 39 subjects who were eligible for inclusion in the study was selected by available sampling method. After the Trail Making Test as a pre-test, they were randomly assigned to three groups: Exercise Dual TASK (n=13), SINGLE TASK TRAINING (n=13) and control (n=13). Then, the two experimental groups performed a selected TRAINING program with different conditions for 8 weeks and 3 sessions each 45 minutes each week. At the end, all subjects were followed by a Trail Making Test and two months later, a follow-up test. Data analysis using one-way covariance analysis as well as t-test showed that in post-test, cognitive flexibility in dual TASK group was superior to both SINGLE and control group (P < 0. 05). In the follow-up test, this superiority remained only rather than the control group. Also, the SINGLE TASK group was superior to the control group in the post-test (P <0. 05). Compared to SINGLE-TASK approaches, dual-TASK-based exercises can improve the cognitive flexibility of children with developmental coordination disorder, so using this method in the planning of classes is suggested for this group of children.

Efficient distribution of service requests between fog and cloud nodes considering user mobility and fog nodes’ overload is an important issue of fog computing. This paper proposes a heuristic method for TASK placement considering the mobility of users, aiming to serve a higher number of requested services and minimize their response time. This method introduces a formula to overload prediction based on the entry-exit ratio of users and the estimated time required to perform current requests that are waiting in the queue of a fog node. Then, it provides a solution to avoid the predicted overloading of fog nodes by sending all delay-tolerant requests in the overloaded fog node’s queue to the cloud to reduce the time required for servicing delay-sensitive requests and to increase their acceptance rate. In addition, to prevent requests from being rejected when the mobile user leaves the coverage area of the current fog node, the requests in the current fog node’s queue will be transferred to the destination fog node. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method is effective in avoiding the overloading of the fog nodes and outperforms the existing methods in terms of response time and acceptance rate.

Introduction: Studies have repeatedly discussed the importance of TRAINING with sufficient cognitive and sensory-motor challenges in successfully transferring Anterior Cruciate Ligament Deficiencies (ACLDs) from rehabilitation centers to sports facilities. For this purpose, this study investigated the effect of mechanical perturbation TRAINING and standard TRAINING on the brain and muscle activity of these individuals while jumping on one leg. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 athletes with unilateral Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rupture (in the coper classification) were randomly assigned to perturbation and standard TRAINING groups. To compare the effect of two types of intervention TRAINING methods, we examined the Similarity Index (SI) and Voluntary Response Index (VRI) in surface Electromyography (sEMG) tests of eight muscles in the lower extremities and relative power of alpha and beta spectra in Quantitative Electroencephalographic (QEEG) tests between two groups and between two limbs of each group members in the SINGLE-leg jump TASK. Results: Both TRAINING groups showed improved neuromuscular control and increased SI on sEMG tests between the two limbs. However, this improvement in the perturbation TRAINING group showed an excellent increase in Effect Size (ES) (intra-group comparison values of SI for perturbation TRAINING group P=0. 0001, ES=3. 6,and P=0. 008, ES=1. 24 in the standard TRAINING group,and P=0. 04, ES=0. 87 in the inter-group comparison). Regarding the post-test of QEEG tests, no significant difference was found between the two groups (alpha P-value: 0. 13, beta P-value: 0. 07). However, in the intra-group comparison, the perturbation TRAINING group achieved excellent symmetry for the relative power spectrum of alpha and beta signals (the similarity values between the two limbs in the perturbation TRAINING group for alpha were P=0. 92, ES=0. 04 and for beta were P=0. 92, ES=0. 02,and these values for standard TRAINING group for alpha were P=0. 07, ES=0. 86 and for beta as P=0. 08, ES=0. 87). Conclusion: The present study results showed that mechanical perturbation and standard TRAINING are suitable for transporting ACLDs to sports environments. Furthermore, in comparing these two TRAINING methods, mechanical perturbation TRAINING in the manner used in this study has higher adequacy to eliminate motor control and central nervous system defects.

Introduction: Performing a secondary TASK while maintaining postural control can aggravate balance impairments among older individuals. The present study aimed to compare the gait harmonic ratio between faller and non-faller community-dwelling older adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 20 faller older adults (13 females and 7 males) and 20 nonfaller older adults (12 females and 8 males) were recruited from the members of a retirement center. Before the trial, a medical code of ethics was granted and the written consent forms were signed by all participants. The variable, the gait harmonic ratio in medial-lateral, vertical, and anterior-posterior directions under SINGLE-TASK and dual-TASK conditions, was measured using an accelerometer. Results: Under the SINGLE-TASK condition, there was no statistically significant difference between the faller and non-faller groups in any direction of gait harmonic ratio. Under the dual-TASK condition, the faller group revealed significantly lower harmonic ratios in medial-lateral (p=0. 010) and vertical (p=0. 032) directions compared to the non-faller group. However, no statistically significant difference was reported between the two groups for the anterior-posterior direction in dual-TASK walking. Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicated that the medial-lateral and vertical gait harmonic ratios can considerably be affected under dual-TASK conditions in faller older individuals.