THE EFFECTS OF A 16-WEEK TAI CHI INTERVENTION PROGRAM ON NEUROMUSCULAR RESPONSES AND MUSCLE ACTIVITY OF THE LOWER EXTREMITY IN ELDERLYS

This study examined the effects of a 16-week Tai Chi (TC) training program on muscle strength and endurance of the knee and the ankle, as well as the neuromuscular response to perturbation among elderly people. Forty elderly individuals participated in and completed the study. They were randomly placed into either the TC intervention group (n=22) or the control group (n=18), after which pre- and post-intervention measurements were conducted. The maximum concentric strength and endurance of the knee and ankle were measured by an isokinetic dynamometer. The neuromuscular response indicated by the reaction time of the muscles in the lower limb was examined by measuring the onset latency of the muscles to perturbations on the ankle joint through an electromyography system. The results showed that the 16-week TC intervention the significantly increased knee flexor strength and improved the latency of semitendinous muscle

Foot type classification for chinese children and adolescents

The objective of this study was to examine the three-dimensional foot shape data and determine foot type’s distribution among Chinese children and adolescents. A total of sixteen three-dimensional foot shape variables of 5,069 Chinese children were measured through filming, including 3 girth-related variables, 3 length- related variables, 2 width-related variables, and 8 height-related variables. Cluster analysis was performed to classify these three-dimensional feet data of Chinese children and adolescents into three identified foot types, namely Robust Feet, Slender Feet, and Flat Feet, which differed in terms of length, volume, and arch height. The distribution of the threefoot types varied across the different foot length groups. The foot types classification may be used in the design of shoe lasts and in the comfortable footwear manufacturing to minimize error fitting

Methyl 3,4-bis­(cyclo­propyl­meth­oxy)benzoate

The title compound, C16H20O4, was obtained unintentionally as the byproduct of an attempted synthesis of methyl 3-(cyclo­propyl­meth­oxy)-4-hy­droxy­benzoate. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions

BIOMECHANICS ANALYSIS OF "BRUSH KNEE AND TWIST STEPS" MOVEMENT IN TAI CHI

The purpose of this study was to analyze the biomechanical characteristics of a typical Tai Chi (TC) movement - "brush knee and twist steps". A 3-Dimensional fixed video filming method was used for data collection. Three elite professional athletes of TC performed this movement three times and the best one was selected for analysis. The kinematics data included the distance of hands and feet, the angle between the feet, the joint angles of wrist, elbow and knee, the 3-dimensional displacement, velocity and acceleration of CG. The analysis showed that TC exercise could enhance the lower extremity muscular strength movement coordination, and the neuromuscular control for posture and balance

Compare Deep Learning Model and Conventional Logistic Regression Model for the Identification of Unstable Saccular Intracranial Aneurysms in Computed Tomography Angiography

BACKGROUND: It is crucial to distinguish unstable from stable intracranial aneurysms (IAs) as early as possible to derive optimal clinical decision-making for further treatment or follow-up. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of a deep learning model (DLM) in identifying unstable IAs from computed tomography angiography (CTA) images and to compare its discriminatory ability with that of a conventional logistic regression model (LRM). METHODS: From August 2011 to May 2021, a total of 1,049 patients with 681 unstable IAs and 556 stable IAs were retrospectively analyzed. IAs were randomly divided into training (64%), internal validation (16%), and test sets (20%). Convolutional neural network (CNN) analysis and conventional logistic regression (LR) were used to predict which IAs were unstable. The area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated to evaluate the discriminating ability of the models. One hundred and ninety-seven patients with 229 IAs from Banan Hospital were used for external validation sets. RESULTS: The conventional LRM showed 11 unstable risk factors, including clinical and IA characteristics. The LRM had an AUC of 0.963 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.941-0.986], a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy on the external validation set of 0.922, 0.906, and 0.913, respectively, in predicting unstable IAs. In predicting unstable IAs, the DLM had an AUC of 0.771 (95% CI: 0.582-0.960), a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy on the external validation set of 0.694, 0.929, and 0.782, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The CNN-based DLM applied to CTA images did not outperform the conventional LRM in predicting unstable IAs. The patient clinical and IA morphological parameters remain critical factors for ensuring IA stability. Further studies are needed to enhance the diagnostic accuracy

Purification and characterization of an antimicrobial protein from Gastrodia elata Blume tubers

Purpose: To purify and characterize a novel antimicrobial protein from the Gastrodia elata Blume (Bl.) plant, which has long been used in herbal medicine.Methods: The procedure for isolation and purification of Gastrodia elata protein (GEP) involved phosphate buffer extraction, ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, and gelfiltration chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was employed to detect the apparent molecular mass and determine homogeneity, while paper disc diffusion was used to measure the antibacterial activity of GEP. A hemolytic assay was performed on rabbit red blood cells. The effect of pH, salt concentration, and temperature on the antibacterial activity of GEP was evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration assay.Results: GEP was a 14-kDa monomer and displayed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, with 8.0-mm and 9.4-mm zones of inhibition, respectively, but no antibacterial activity was observed against Escherichia coli. GEP had little hemolytic activity on red blood cells even at a concentrations of up to 200 mg/ml. GEP was thermally stable at temperatures below 70 °C for 30 min, and displayed higher antibacterial activity in the pH range 5.0 to 7.0.Conclusion: GEP protein is relatively thermostable and possesses antimicrobial activity. The results suggest that GEP protein has potential agricultural and industrial applications, such as in transgenic plants.Keywords: Antimicrobial protein, Gastrodia elata, Protein characterizatio

THE INFLUENCE OF BACKPACK CARRIAGE ON TRUNK POSTURE IN CHILDREN DURING UNPLANNED GAIT TERMINATION

This study aimed to examine the trunk posture in children with different backpack loads during unplanned gait termination. Twelve school boys aged 9–10 years completed unplanned and planned gait termination with a backpack load of 0%, 10%, and 15% of their body weight (BW) while level walking. Trunk inclination angle and trunk range of motion at sagittal plane and spinal angle at frontal plane were examined. In comparison with 0% BW load condition, the spinal angle increased significantly at 10% and 15% BW load condition during gait termination (

The measurement of time spent outdoors in child myopia research: a systematic review

The purpose of this article is to summarize the methods most commonly used to measure time spent outdoors and provide a comprehensive review of time and activity recording methods with the aim of encouraging the development of new methods. PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched from Jan. 1st, 1990 to Aug. 31th, 2017. Studies including the following specific terms: “outdoor”, “outside”, “outdoor activity”, “outside activity”, “outdoor time”, “outside time”, and “outdoor AND measurement of time spent outdoors” were considered for this review. In total, three kinds of outdoor time measurements were discussed. Questionnaires have the longest history and are the most thoroughly revised instruments for assessing time spent outdoors, but recall bias is their most substantial drawback. Global positioning system (GPS) tracking can distinguish between indoor and outdoor locations, but its utility is limited due to several factors such as subject compatibility. Light exposure measurement devices are newly emerging, but all of these devices require good subject cooperation. Further efforts and exploration are needed to develop better methods and new tools to record exposure to the outdoors in real time. Moreover, inventing a new device by combining two or more types of devices mentioned above and using the latest technology of en ergy supplementation and autoswitching may make the best use of the advantages and bypass the disadvantages of each tool