Effect of Bowen Technique Versus Muscle Energy Technique on Asymptomatic Subjects with Hamstring tightness

INTRODUCTION: The Bowen technique or Bowen therapy is an alternative type of physical manipulation named after Australian Thomas Bowen. This technique works on the soft connective tissue (fascia) of the body. It can be used to treat musculoskeletal or related neurological problems including acute sports injuries and chronic or organic conditions. It is gentle and relaxing and does not use forceful manipulation. Bowen therapy is performed on the superficial and deep fascia. The fascia, or soft tissue, is the part of the connective tissue that envelops, separates and influences every organ and tissue in the body. Muscle energy techniques describes a broad class of manual therapy techniques directed at improving musculoskeletal function or joint function, and improving pain. Historically, the concept emerged as a form of osteopathic manipulative diagnosis and treatment in which the patient muscles are actively used on request, from a precisely controlled position, in a specific direction, and against a distinctly executed counterforce. It targets the soft tissue primarily and can be called as active muscular relaxation technique. AIM OF THE STUDY: To find out the effectiveness of Bowen Technique Versus Muscle Energy Technique on asymptomatic subjects with hamstring tightness. OBJECTIVES: 1. To have in depth knowledge about the muscle hamstring. 2. To improve the hamstring flexibility in healthy individuals. 3. To know about both Bowen and Muscle Energy Techniques. 4. To find out the effectiveness of Bowen Technique versus Muscle Energy Technique on an asymptomatic subjects with hamstring tightness. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: MATERIALS: Treatment couch, Pillows, Blankets, Goniometer, Inch tape. METHODOLOGY: Goniometer is used to measure popliteal angle. Inch tape is used to measure sit and reach test value. Populations: Patients with age group of 18-24 years healthy individual of same sex. Study Design: 1. Quasi Experimental Design. 2. Pre and post experimental study design. Study Setting: 2. Nandha College of Physiotherapy Outpatient Department. 3. Nandha Mens Hostel. Study Duration: Study was conducted for a period of 1-5 days. Treatment Duration: Study was carried out for 1-5 days for each patient. Group A patients received Bowen Technique was performed for in 3 alternate sessions. Group B patients received Muscle Energy Technique was performed for in 3 alternate sessions. Study Sampling: Convenient Sampling Method. Sample Size: Sample size is 30 subjects. Group –A (Bowen technique) 15 patients. Group –B (Muscle Energy Technique) 15 patients. Inclusion Criteria: • Asymptomatic subjects with hamstring tightness. • Only males. • Age group between 18 to 24 years. • 20°-50° degree active knee extension loss with hip in 90 of flexion. • Full passive range of motion of knee extension. • Subjects willing to participate in the study. Exclusion Criteria: • Subjects having low back pain and neurological pain. • Subjects if they have any history of lower extremity injury in past 3 months. • Any fracture or surgery done for back, pelvis, hip or knee. • Spinal deformity. • Any recent abdominal surgery. • Any congenital deformities in lower limb. RESULTS: The study sample comprised 30 patients, of which 30 were males. The median time interval of goniometer and sit and reach test applied before and after therapy was 5 days. Among 30 patients, 15 were treated with bowen technique and 15 were treated with Muscle energy technique. The pre and post test values were assessed in popliteal angle group A. The mean difference value in right side is 7.73 and left side 5.4. The standard deviation value in right side is 2.71 and left side is 1.91. The paired 't' test value for popliteal angle in right side 11.02 and left side 10.50. The paired 't' test value is more than table value 2.15 for 5% level of significance at 14 degrees of freedom. CONCLUSION: On the basis of statistical analysis, we conclude that 3 sessions on alternate days for a week proved to be effective in improving popliteal angle, sit and reach test for flexibility and strength of muscle in both Bowen Technique as well as Muscle Energy Technique but Bowen Technique has shown more improvement in hamstring flexibility and ROM than Muscle Energy Technique. Increase in strength was seen more in Muscle Energy Technique than the Bowen technique. Since this study has given a better result in normal subjects it can be recommended for the use of the patients with hamstring tightness. This study analyses the immediate effect of hamstring flexibility, so the maintenance of flexibility of hamstring muscle for long term can be done as a further study. These techniques can also be used for athletic population. Since this study recruited small number of subjects, the number of subjects can be increased in further studies

Critical Factors Influencing Adoption of Blockchain-Enabled Smart Contracts in Construction Projects

Construction projects are premised upon contractual arrangements, and contracts constitute the basis of their success. A contract enables execution of work and transfer of payments, tracking of key performance indicators, and facilitation of collaboration among project stakeholders. Historically, construction projects have faced critical challenges due to poor alignment between clients’ expectations, contract terms, and contractor performance. The advent of advanced digital technologies under the concept of Industry 4.0 has the potential to benefit construction projects through application of blockchain-enabled smart contracts. However, the adoption of smart contracts in construction projects is in its early stages, and the factors that will influence its adoption remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and establish the critical factors influencing adoption of smart contracts in construction contractual arrangements. This study administered an international questionnaire survey among experienced construction practitioners with involvement in smart contract initiatives and activities. The results obtained from descriptive statistics and fuzzy set-based analysis show that trialability, relative advantage, competitive advantage, and compatibility of smart contracts are the important predictors of the adoption of such contracts. The findings suggest that practitioners share a view that technological characteristics of blockchain-enabled smart contracts are critical to their adoption, regarding the technology’s perceived practicality in improving effectiveness and efficiency of construction projects. This study contributes to technology diffusion research in construction and highlights drivers that require practitioners’ and industry leaders’ attention to ensure successful adoption of smart contracts for cost-effective delivery of construction projects

Winter hardiness of \u3ci\u3eMiscanthus\u3c/i\u3e (III): Genome‐wide association and genomic prediction for overwintering ability in \u3ci\u3eMiscanthus sinensis\u3c/i\u3e

Overwintering ability is an important selection criterion for Miscanthus breeding in temperate regions. Insufficient overwintering ability of the currently leading Miscanthus biomass cultivar, M. ×giganteus (M×g) ‘1993–1780’, in regions where average annual minimum temperatures are −26.1°C (USDA hardiness zone 5) or lower poses a pressing need to develop new cultivars with superior cold tolerance. To facilitate breeding of Miscanthus, this study characterized phenotypic and genetic variation of overwintering ability in an M. sinensis germplasm panel consisting of 564 accessions, evaluated in field trials at three locations in North America and two in Asia. Genome‐wide association (GWA) and genomic prediction analyses were performed. The Korea/N China M. sinensis genetic group is a valuable gene pool for cold tolerance. The Yangtze‐Qinling, Southern Japan, and Northern Japan genetic groups were also potential sources of cold tolerance. A total of 73 marker–trait associations were detected for overwintering ability. Estimated breeding value for overwintering ability based on these 73 markers could explain 55% of the variation for first winter overwintering ability among M. sinensis. Average genomic prediction ability for overwintering ability across 50 fivefold cross‐validations was high (~0.73) after accounting for population structure. Common genomic regions for overwintering ability were detected by GWA analyses and a previous parallel QTL mapping study using three interconnected biparental F1 populations. One QTL on Miscanthus LG 8 encompassed five GWA hits and a known cold‐responsive gene, COR47. The other overwintering ability QTL on Miscanthus LG 11 contained two GWA hits and three known cold stress‐related genes, carboxylesterase 13 (CEX13), WRKY2 transcription factor, and cold shock domain (CSDP1). Miscanthus accessions collected from high latitude locations with cold winters had higher rates of overwintering, and more alleles for overwintering, than accessions collected from southern locations with mild winters

Impact of participatory silvipastoral intervention and soil conservation measures for forage resource enhancement in western Himalaya

Livestock rearing is an important component of rural economy in mid-hills of Himalaya. Inspite of abundant available feed resources, total available biomass is insufficient to sustain the livestock population. Fodder trees particularly in hill ecosystem play an important role in supplementing the fodder requirement especially during the lean period. Information gathered and analysis concludes that Grewia optiva is the most important fodder tree in terms of dominance, palatability and increase in milk yield followed by Artocarpus chaplasha, Morus alba, Bauhinia variegata, Albizia lebbeck and Terminalia alata in Kangra and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh. The crude protein content was found highest in Grewia optiva (19.38%) followed by Albizia lebbeck (18.85%), Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (18.01%) and minimum in case of Quercus incana (9.27%). During scarcity of fodder Ficus religiosa is the only fodder tree fed throughout the year. The established silvipasture produced leaf biomass of 2.77 to 6.77 DM kg/tree (Ghanetta), 2.12 to 5.96 DM kg/tree (Jogindernagar) and 2.25 to 6.93 DM kg/tree (Dagoh). Fodder trees planted under silvipastoral system produced average biomass of 1.83 DM tonnes/ha (Ghanetta), 1.49 DM tonnes/ha (Jogindernagar) and 1.66 DM tonnes/ha (Dagoh). Rainfall events of more than 50 mm, though quite less in number (25/165, 24/192 and 17/149), contributed 47.7, 82.3 and 81.7% to the total runoff at Ghanetta, Jogindernagar and Dagoh, respectively. Among the resource conservation measures trenching in combination with vegetative barrier allowed only 8.2% of rain as runoff compared to 41.5% under control (no measure). The silvipasture systems coupled with contour staggered trenches and / or vegetative barrier can effectively arrest the environmental degradation

Genome biology of the paleotetraploid perennial biomass crop Miscanthus

Miscanthus is a perennial wild grass that is of global importance for paper production, roofing, horticultural plantings, and an emerging highly productive temperate biomass crop. We report a chromosome-scale assembly of the paleotetraploid M. sinensis genome, providing a resource for Miscanthus that links its chromosomes to the related diploid Sorghum and complex polyploid sugarcanes. The asymmetric distribution of transposons across the two homoeologous subgenomes proves Miscanthus paleo-allotetraploidy and identifies several balanced reciprocal homoeologous exchanges. Analysis of M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus populations demonstrates extensive interspecific admixture and hybridization, and documents the origin of the highly productive triploid bioenergy crop M. x giganteus. Transcriptional profiling of leaves, stem, and rhizomes over growing seasons provides insight into rhizome development and nutrient recycling, processes critical for sustainable biomass accumulation in a perennial temperate grass. The Miscanthus genome expands the power of comparative genomics to understand traits of importance to Andropogoneae grasses

Multivariate power series distributions and Neyman's properties for multinomials

A probelm of J. Neyman (in Classical and Contagious Discrete Distributions (G. P. Patil, Ed.), 1965, pp. 4-14) regarding a characterization of positive and negative multinomial distributions is studied in this paper. Some properties of multivariate power series distributions in general which should be of independent interest are also derived

Multivariate power series distributions and Neyman's properties for multinomials

A probelm of J. Neyman (in Classical and Contagious Discrete Distributions (G. P. Patil, Ed.), 1965, pp. 4-14) regarding a characterization of positive and negative multinomial distributions is studied in this paper. Some properties of multivariate power series distributions in general which should be of independent interest are also derived.positive multinomial distributions negative multinomial distributions power series distributions dispersion matrix linear regression

Winter hardiness of \u3ci\u3eMiscanthus\u3c/i\u3e (III): Genome‐wide association and genomic prediction for overwintering ability in \u3ci\u3eMiscanthus sinensis\u3c/i\u3e

Overwintering ability is an important selection criterion for Miscanthus breeding in temperate regions. Insufficient overwintering ability of the currently leading Miscanthus biomass cultivar, M. ×giganteus (M×g) ‘1993–1780’, in regions where average annual minimum temperatures are −26.1°C (USDA hardiness zone 5) or lower poses a pressing need to develop new cultivars with superior cold tolerance. To facilitate breeding of Miscanthus, this study characterized phenotypic and genetic variation of overwintering ability in an M. sinensis germplasm panel consisting of 564 accessions, evaluated in field trials at three locations in North America and two in Asia. Genome‐wide association (GWA) and genomic prediction analyses were performed. The Korea/N China M. sinensis genetic group is a valuable gene pool for cold tolerance. The Yangtze‐Qinling, Southern Japan, and Northern Japan genetic groups were also potential sources of cold tolerance. A total of 73 marker–trait associations were detected for overwintering ability. Estimated breeding value for overwintering ability based on these 73 markers could explain 55% of the variation for first winter overwintering ability among M. sinensis. Average genomic prediction ability for overwintering ability across 50 fivefold cross‐validations was high (~0.73) after accounting for population structure. Common genomic regions for overwintering ability were detected by GWA analyses and a previous parallel QTL mapping study using three interconnected biparental F1 populations. One QTL on Miscanthus LG 8 encompassed five GWA hits and a known cold‐responsive gene, COR47. The other overwintering ability QTL on Miscanthus LG 11 contained two GWA hits and three known cold stress‐related genes, carboxylesterase 13 (CEX13), WRKY2 transcription factor, and cold shock domain (CSDP1). Miscanthus accessions collected from high latitude locations with cold winters had higher rates of overwintering, and more alleles for overwintering, than accessions collected from southern locations with mild winters

Genome‐wide association and genomic prediction for biomass yield in a genetically diverse \u3ci\u3eMiscanthus sinensis\u3c/i\u3e germplasm panel phenotyped at five locations in Asia and North America

To improve the efficiency of breeding of Miscanthus for biomass yield, there is a need to develop genomics‐assisted selection for this long‐lived perennial crop by relating genotype to phenotype and breeding value across a broad range of environments. We present the first genome‐wide association (GWA) and genomic prediction study of Miscanthus that utilizes multilocation phenotypic data. A panel of 568 Miscanthus sinensis accessions was genotyped with 46,177 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and evaluated at one subtropical and five temperate locations over 3 years for biomass yield and 14 yield‐component traits. GWA and genomic prediction were performed separately for different years of data in order to assess reproducibility. The analyses were also performed for individual field trial locations, as well as combined phenotypic data across groups of locations. GWA analyses identified 27 significant SNPs for yield, and a total of 504 associations across 298 unique SNPs across all traits, sites, and years. For yield, the greatest number of significant SNPs was identified by combining phenotypic data across all six locations. For some of the other yield‐component traits, greater numbers of significant SNPs were obtained from single site data, although the number of significant SNPs varied greatly from site to site. Candidate genes were identified. Accounting for population structure, genomic prediction accuracies for biomass yield ranged from 0.31 to 0.35 across five northern sites and from 0.13 to 0.18 for the subtropical location, depending on the estimation method. Genomic prediction accuracies of all traits were similar for single‐location and multilocation data, suggesting that genomic selection will be useful for breeding broadly adapted M. sinensis as well as M. sinensis optimized for specific climates. All of our data, including DNA sequences flanking each SNP, are publicly available. By facilitating genomic selection in M. sinensis and Miscanthus × giganteus, our results will accelerate the breeding of these species for biomass in diverse environments

Biomass yield in a genetically diverse \u3ci\u3eMiscanthus sinensis\u3c/i\u3e germplasm panel evaluated at five locations revealed individuals with exceptional potential

To breed improved biomass cultivars of Miscanthus ×giganteus, it will be necessary to select the highest‐yielding and best‐adapted genotypes of its parental species, Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus. We phenotyped a diverse clonally propagated panel of 569 M. sinensis and nine natural diploid M. ×giganteus at one subtropical (Zhuji, China) and five temperate locations (Sapporo, Japan; Leamington, Ontario, Canada; Fort Collins, CO; Urbana, IL; and Chuncheon, Korea) for dry biomass yield and 14 yield‐component traits, in trials grown for 3 years. Notably, dry biomass yield of four Miscanthus accessions exceeded 80 Mg/ha in Zhuji, China, approaching the highest observed for any land plant. Additionally, six M. sinensis in Sapporo, Japan and one in Leamington, Canada also yielded more than the triploid M. ×giganteus ‘1993‐1780’ control, with values exceeding 20 Mg/ha. Diploid M. ×giganteus was the best‐yielding group at the northern sites. Genotypeby‐ environment interactions were modest among the five northern trial sites but large between Zhuji, and the northern sites. M. sinensisaccessions typically yielded best at trial sites with latitudes similar to collection sites, although broad adaptation was observed for accessions from southern Japan. Genotypic heritabilities for third year yields ranged from 0.71 to 0.88 within locations. Compressed circumference was the best predictor of yield. These results establish a baseline of data for initiating selection to improve biomass yield of M. sinensis and M. ×giganteus in a diverse set of relevant geographies