KINEMATIC AND TEMPORAL CHARACTERISfICS OF SELECTED JUDO HIP THROWS

The sport of judo, developed In 1882 in Japan by Jigoro Kano, is a refined version of the ancient martial art of jujitsu. Typically when one envisions martial arts, the mental image includes kicks, punches, and other striking techniques. The sport of judo involves none of these, but does permit the use of throwing techniques, mat work similar to wrestling, strangle holds and joint locks at the elbow. Despite its original role as a martial art, judo as practiced today is essentially the highest form of wrestling practiced anywhere in the world (Reay &Hobbs, 1979)

Lack of neuromuscular origins of adaptation after a long-term stretching program

pre-printContext: Static stretching is commonly used during the treatment and rehabilitation of orthopedic injuries to increase joint range of motion (ROM) and muscle flexibility. Understanding the physiological adaptations that occur in the neuromuscular system as a result of long-term stretching may provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for changes in flexibility. Objective: To examine possible neurological origins and adaptations in the Ia-reflex pathway that allow for increases in flexibility in ankle ROM, by evaluating the reduction in the synaptic transmission of Ia afferents to the motoneuron pool. Design: Repeated-measures, case-controlled study. Setting: Sports medicine research laboratory. Participants: 40 healthy volunteers with no history of cognitive impairment, neurological impairment, or lower extremity surgery or injury within the previous 12 mo. Intervention: Presynaptic and postsynaptic mechanisms were evaluated with a chronic stretching protocol. Twenty subjects stretched 5 times a wk for 6 wk. All subjects were measured at baseline, 3 wk, and 6 wk. Main Outcome Measures: Ankle-dorsiflexion ROM, Hmax:Mmax, presynaptic inhibition, and disynaptic reciprocal inhibition. Results: Only ROM had a significant interaction between group and time, whereas the other dependent variables did not show significant differences. The experimental group had significantly improved ROM from baseline to 3 wk (mean 6.2 ± 0.9, P < .001), 3 wk to 6 wk (mean 5.0 ± 0.8, P < .001), and baseline to 6 wk (mean 11.2 ±0.9, P < .001). Conclusions: Ankle dorsiflexion increased by 42.25% after 6 wk of static stretching, but no significant neurological changes resulted at any point of the study, contrasting current literature. Significant neuromuscular origins of adaptation do not exist in the Ia-reflex-pathway components after a long-term stretching program as currently understood. Thus, any increases in flexibility are the result of other factors, potentially mechanical changes or stretch tolerance

Developing a Mentoring Framework Through the Examination of Mentoring Paradigms in a Teacher Residency Program

In this paper, we extend on our exploratory study that examined mentors’ conceptualizations and practices of mentoring preservice teachers in a residency program to develop a mentoring framework to guide mentors’ approaches to mentoring preservice teachers in a year-long clinical experience. Our mentoring framework has the potential to make mentors consciously aware of their roles and purposes of mentoring throughout the year and within respective contexts. This metacognitive approach may help them to improve their practice and grow alongside their mentee. The Mentoring Framework for Mentoring is a tool that may be instrumental in developing mentors’ deeper understanding of the roles and purposes of mentoring to promote quality guidance and support for mentees. Our instrument has the potential to inform teacher preparation programs regarding goals and expectations for mentors to develop more formal mentoring guidelines and expectations, to better support the professional development of both preservice teachers and mentors

Resultant Effects of Head Impacts on Vestibular Function Among NCAA Division 1 Male Lacrosse Players

Context: Few studies have evaluated the cumulative effects of the number and magnitude of head impacts on vestibular function among collegiate men\u27s lacrosse players. Objective: To determine theinfluence of the total number of head impacts (THI), peak linear acceleration, and Head Injury Criteria (HIC) score on vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) function after one competitive collegiate lacrosse season. Design: Prospective cohort. Setting: Combined field-based and laboratory study. Patients or Other Participants: 41 male NCAA Division I lacrosse players (age = 20.6 ± 1.4 yrs, height = 181.9 ± 6.6 cm). Interventions: Head impact measures were collected with the GForce Tracker(TM) system, and included total number of head impacts greater than 20 g (THI), magnitude of head impacts as assessed by peak linear acceleration, and Head Injury Criteria (HIC) score. Paired samples t-tests were used to compare thepretest and posttest VOR results. A multiple regression approach was used to explore the contributions of accelerometer variables, participant-reported number of previous concussions, and symptom severity during VOR testing to the post-season VOR measurements (α = 0.05). Main Outcome Measures: VOR parameters, as assessed by the inVision(TM) system included: maximum gaze velocity of the gaze stabilization test (GST) yaw, visual acuity difference of the dynamic visual acuity test (DVA) for pitch and yaw head movements, and absolute change in directional bias for each test. Results: A total of 8,648 impacts were recorded during the 2015 NCAA lacrosse season among the 32 athletes who participated in the post-season VOR assessments. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the total number (mean, 270.3 + 158.2), peak linear acceleration (mean, 50.9 + 158.2 g), HIC score (mean, 33.9 + 38.3), and symptom severity (mean, 2.35 + 2.97) were not significantly related to the changes observed in vestibular function (R = 0.201 to 0.535, P \u3e 0.05). However, participant-reported number of previous concussions was significantly related to the absolute change in directional bias during the GST (P = .036). Theabsolute change in directional bias of participants\u27 vestibular system was 6.64 + 19.57 for GST, 2.25 + 10.73 for DVA pitch, and 2.90 + 8.03 for DVA yaw (P \u3e 0.05). Conclusions: Participant reported concussion history had the greatest influence on changes in VOR directional bias measures and vestibular asymmetry in collegiate male lacrosse players over the course of one competitive season. These findings support the inclusion of vestibular assessment and treatment in concussion management protocols to improve patient care and health related quality of life among lacrosse participants with previous medical histories of concussion. Supported by a Southwest Athletic Trainers\u27 Association Graduate Student Research Grant

Molecular and biochemical characterization of the bicarbonate-sensing soluble adenylyl cyclase from a bony fish, the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC) is a HCO3 - stimulated enzyme that produces the ubiquitous signalling molecule cAMP, and deemed an evolutionarily conserved acid-base sensor. However, its presence is not yet confirmed in bony fishes, the most abundant and diverse of vertebrates. Here, we identified sAC genes in various cartilaginous, ray-finned and lobe-finned fish species. Next, we focused on rainbow trout sAC (rtsAC) and identified 20 potential alternative spliced mRNAs coding for protein isoforms ranging in size from 28 to 186 kDa. Biochemical and kinetic analyses on purified recombinant rtsAC protein determined stimulation by HCO3 - at physiologically relevant levels for fish internal fluids (EC 50 ∼ 7 mM). rtsAC activity was sensitive to KH7, LRE1, and DIDS (established inhibitors of sAC from other organisms), and insensitive to forskolin and 2,5-dideoxyadenosine (modulators of transmembrane adenylyl cyclases). Western blot and immunocytochemistry revealed high rtsAC expression in gill ion-transporting cells, hepatocytes, red blood cells, myocytes and cardiomyocytes. Analyses in the cell line RTgill-W1 suggested that some of the longer rtsAC isoforms may be preferentially localized in the nucleus, the Golgi apparatus and podosomes. These results indicate that sAC is poised to mediate multiple acid-base homeostatic responses in bony fishes, and provide cues about potential novel functions in mammals

Epigenetic analysis leads to identification of HNF1B as a subtype-specific susceptibility gene for ovarian cancer

Contains fulltext : 118378.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)HNF1B is overexpressed in clear cell epithelial ovarian cancer, and we observed epigenetic silencing in serous epithelial ovarian cancer, leading us to hypothesize that variation in this gene differentially associates with epithelial ovarian cancer risk according to histological subtype. Here we comprehensively map variation in HNF1B with respect to epithelial ovarian cancer risk and analyse DNA methylation and expression profiles across histological subtypes. Different single-nucleotide polymorphisms associate with invasive serous (rs7405776 odds ratio (OR)=1.13, P=3.1 x 10(-10)) and clear cell (rs11651755 OR=0.77, P=1.6 x 10(-8)) epithelial ovarian cancer. Risk alleles for the serous subtype associate with higher HNF1B-promoter methylation in these tumours. Unmethylated, expressed HNF1B, primarily present in clear cell tumours, coincides with a CpG island methylator phenotype affecting numerous other promoters throughout the genome. Different variants in HNF1B associate with risk of serous and clear cell epithelial ovarian cancer; DNA methylation and expression patterns are also notably distinct between these subtypes. These findings underscore distinct mechanisms driving different epithelial ovarian cancer histological subtypes

Identification and molecular characterization of a new ovarian cancer susceptibility locus at 17q21.31

Contains fulltext : 118576.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has a heritable component that remains to be fully characterized. Most identified common susceptibility variants lie in non-protein-coding sequences. We hypothesized that variants in the 3' untranslated region at putative microRNA (miRNA)-binding sites represent functional targets that influence EOC susceptibility. Here, we evaluate the association between 767 miRNA-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (miRSNPs) and EOC risk in 18,174 EOC cases and 26,134 controls from 43 studies genotyped through the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study. We identify several miRSNPs associated with invasive serous EOC risk (odds ratio=1.12, P=10(-8)) mapping to an inversion polymorphism at 17q21.31. Additional genotyping of non-miRSNPs at 17q21.31 reveals stronger signals outside the inversion (P=10(-10)). Variation at 17q21.31 is associated with neurological diseases, and our collaboration is the first to report an association with EOC susceptibility. An integrated molecular analysis in this region provides evidence for ARHGAP27 and PLEKHM1 as candidate EOC susceptibility genes