THE INFLUENCE OF WALKING SPEED ON SYMMETRY FOR TEMPORAL-SPATIAL AND GRF PARAMETERS IN BACKWARD WALKING

In general, changes in walking speed are known to influence many biomechanical characteristics of human locomotion. Backward walking (BW) is one of the unique strategies of human locomotion, but there is a little information in BW. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not walking speed influences on symmetry for temporal-spatial parameters and GRF in BW. Ten healthy subjects were asked to walk on a walk-way with force platform at three times on three speed conditions. The influence of walking speed on temporal-spatial parameters and GRF parameters were founded, and some gait parameters showed asymmetry. And also .the calculated SI were showing asymmetry, so the characteristics of backward walking would be influenced walking speed and have possibility of exist some asymmetrical movements in lower leg

A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN CROSS AND DOWN-THE-LINE FOREHAND

The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanics involved in making two different shots, namely, cross (C) and down-the-line (D), under a two-choice reaction condition in soft-tennis. Using the images from two high-speed cameras, forehand drive motions under these conditions were analyzed with the direct linear transformation procedure. The authors considered that for the selected objects of analysis, the experimental environment significantly affected the actions. Anatomical rotations of the upper extremity and center of gravity (COG) of the subjects during forehand motions were compared between C and D. Some differences were observed in the external rotation of the shoulder and the lateral component of COG. The results were discussed from the perspective of the way in which expert players made ball-racket contact under the choice reaction condition. This was considered to be a high time-pressure condition

MEASURING OPEN SPACE QUANTITATIVELY IN ONE-UP-ONE-BACK FORMATION DURING SOFT-TENNIS DOUBLES GAME

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively define and measure the area of open space in one-up-one-back formation adopted in soft-tennis doubles game. Using the film images of real games, the variables of forehand ground strokes and ball bounces for 153 shots were analyzed with the direct linear transformation procedure. Further taking types of stroke technique and game situations into considerations, horizontal distance between contact point and landing point of shots were predicted by multiple regression analysis. As the result, four scales (two for stroke characteristics, stroke technique, and game situation) were selected as significant predictors. Then on the basis of these data, we predicted the horizontal distance of shots and defined the potential areas on court as "open space" in which shots could be landed, and actually computed the area of open space on one case in the game

THE STEREOSCOPIC EFFECT OF A SPINNING BATON FLIGHT

INTRODUCTION: In baton twirling, catching a spinning baton is one of fundamental skills. For successful baton-catching, baton twirlers acquire the efficient visual search behavior setting their gaze not only to parabolic flight but spin of baton (Takahashi et al., 2007). Mazyn et al. (2007) reported that the learning to catch a ball is affected by stereo vision providing accurate depth perception of the ball’s movement. We consider a CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment system, 3D virtual reality display with stereoscopic effect, may be used as a training tool for baton-catching. This preliminary study aimed to examine the stereoscopic effect on the virtual reality simulation of baton-catching in a CAVE system. We reconstructed stereo- and monoscopic stimuli of spinning baton flight simulated by 3D motion capture data and assessed observer’s impression of them

COMPUTER-BASED LEARNING USING CAPTURED TENNIS SERVE MOTION

INTRODUCTION: Motion analysis techniques have revealed kinetic and kinematic aspects of the sport motions, however, more intuitive resources, e.g. visual feedback, would be recommended to the sport practitioners. Féry & Crognier (2001) showed that essential anticipatory information is contained in the opponent’s stroke motion whatever the tactical significance of the situation. Fukuhara et al (2005) proposed that computer graphics animation have possibilities to be utilized in the sport visual training. This study aimed to explore the effect of computer-based visual learning in tennis by testing the judgment performance of novice player who viewed a captured tennis serve animation

Evaluation of Esophageal Varices by Multidetector-row CT: Correlation with Endoscopic ‘Red Color Sign’

<P>To evaluate the ability of multidetector-row CT (MDCT) to predict a risk of hemorrhage in patients with esophageal varices, a total of 40 MDCT scans were performed in 29 patients who had been diagnosed with esophageal varices by conventional upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy. In 11 patients, MDCT was performed both before and after endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS). Endoscopically, the red color sign (RC sign) was present in 28 scans. Of the 11 patients who underwent EIS, the RC sign disappeared after EIS in 9. The MDCT scans were obtained in the arterial, portal, and equilibrial phases, and the portal phase images were used in this study. Subsequently, the extent of esophageal varices was categorized into four MDCT scores. The variceal score, the maximum short axis of the varices, and the presence of palisade vein dilatation obtained from MDCT had significant correlation with endoscopic variceal forms, and the presence and severity of RC sign, respectively (p<0.01). All cases with a maximum minor axis of more than 4 mm showed positive RC sign. MDCT was useful in the evaluation of esophageal varices for predicting a risk of hemorrhage

BIOMECHANICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF CMJ AND SQJ ON THE SAFETY MAT

The purpose of this study was to detect whether differences exist concerning the kinematic parameters of jump (SQJ and CMJ) on two different surfaces (RS and SS). Nine healthy students performed two jumps on two surfaces. Two factor repeated measure (ANOVA) was used for statistical analysis (

The Combination of D-dimer and Glasgow Prognostic Score Can Be Useful in Predicting VTE in Patients with Stage IIIC and IVA Ovarian Cancer

Cancer patients have increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) that must be assessed before treatment. This study aimed to determine effective VTE biomarkers in gynecologic cancer (GC). We investigated the correlation between D-dimer levels, Khorana risk score (KRS), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), and VTE in 1499 GC patients (583 cervical cancer (CC), 621 endometrial cancer (EC), and 295 ovarian cancer (OC) patients) treated at our institution between January 2008 and December 2019. χ2 and Mann–Whitney U-tests were used to determine statistical significance. We used receiver operating characteristic-curve analysis to evaluate the discriminatory ability of each parameter. D-dimer levels were significantly correlated with KRS and GPS in patients with GC. VTE was diagnosed in 11 CC (1.9%), 27 EC (4.3%), and 39 OC patients (13.2%). Optimal D-dimer cut-off values for VTE were 3.1, 3.2, and 3.9 μg/ml in CC, EC and OC patients, respectively. D-dimer could significantly predict VTE in all GC patients. Furthermore, D-dimer combined with GPS was more accurate in predicting VTE than other VTE biomarkers in stage IIIC and IVA OC (AUC: 0.846; p<0.001). This study demonstrates that combined D-dimer and GPS are useful in predicting VTE in patients with OC

The somatic mutations in Interferon-γ signal molecules in human uterine leiomyosarcoma

Human uterine leiomyosarcoma (U-LMS) is neoplastic malignancy that typically arises in tissues of mesenchymal origin. The identification of novel molecular mechanism leading to human U-LMS formation and the establishment of new therapies has been hampered by several critical points. We earlier reported that mice with a homozygous deficiency for proteasome beta subunit 9 (Psmb9)/β1i, an interferon (IFN)-γ inducible factor, spontaneously develop U-LMS. The use of research findings of the experiment with mouse model has been successful in increasing our knowledge and understanding of how alterations, in relevant oncogenic, tumour suppressive, and signaling pathways directly impact sarcomagenesis. The IFN-γ pathway is important for control of tumour growth and invasion and has been implicated in several malignant tumours. In this study, experiments with human tissues revealed a defective expression of PSMB9/β1i in human U-LMS that was traced to the IFN-γ pathway and the specific effect of somatic mutations of JANUS KINASE (JAK) 1 molecule or promoter region on the locus cording PSMB9/β1i gene. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of human U-LMS may lead to identification of new diagnostic candidates or therapeutic targets against human U-LMS