Stand-to-sit motion in older women

Objectives : The aims of this study were to examine the biomechanics of StandTS movements in older adults and to identify their optimal StandTS motion by measuring sitting impact forces. Methods : Healthy older women (n = 17) and healthy young women (n = 18) were asked to perform SitTS and StandTS motions at a natural speed using a chair. We measured the ground reaction forces from the participants’ feet and the chair, the angle of the trunk and ankle, vertical velocity, and postural muscle activities using a force plate, motion analyzer, and electromyography, respectively. Results : Sitting impact force was significantly greater in the older women than in the young women during the StandTS motion. There was a significant difference between the trunk angle and the ankle angle during the StandTS motion and sitting impact force had a significant negative correlation with the ankle joint motion in the older women. Conclusions : The ankle joint strategy was characterized by body sway resembling a single-segment-inverted pendulum and suggests that this response is less developed in the older adult. These results indicate that the ankle joint strategy may be an important factor involved in the sitting impact force

運動の楽しさと技能向上から見た学習者の感覚経験を重視した指導方略の効果

Two learning methods for developing high performance and enjoyment in gymnastics were investigated. The participants were healthy undergraduates (n = 38) who were randomly divided into a “model mastery learning group”, for which ideal movements were emphasized, and a “kinesthetic experiential learning group”, for which practice of various movements was emphasized, when performing balance exercises on a gymnastic ball. The psychological effects of the two learning methods were compared using the Intrinsic Motivation Scale, Sport Flow Scale, and Two-Dimensional Mood Scale. Improvements in gymnastic performance were evaluated by timing the durations of balancing on the ball and observations by expert gymnasts.The results indicated that the participants in the kinesthetic experiential learning group had better balancing times and higher intrinsic motivation, flow state, and pleasure mood scores, whereas the stability of posture on the ball was considered to be higher in the model mastery learning group.These findings suggest that learning methods using proactive, trial and error learning, and assorted experiences with versatile kinesthesis are more effective for promoting the enjoyment of gymnastics and improving exercise performance

Tridentate Directing Groups Stabilize 6-Membered Palladacycles in Catalytic Alkene Hydrofunctionalization

Removable tridentate directing groups inspired by pincer ligands have been designed to stabilize otherwise kinetically and thermodynamically disfavored 6-membered alkyl palladacycle intermediates. This family of directing groups enables regioselective remote hydrocarbofunctionalization of several synthetically useful alkene-containing substrate classes, including 4-pentenoic acids, allylic alcohols, homoallyl amines, and bis-homoallylamines, under Pd­(II) catalysis. In conjunction with previous findings, we demonstrate regiodivergent hydrofunctionalization of 3-butenoic acid derivatives to afford either Markovnikov or anti-Markovnikov addition products depending on directing group choice. Preliminary mechanistic and computational data are presented to support the proposed catalytic cycle

Blastocyst quality scoring based on morphologic grading correlates with cell number

Blastocyst quality score (BQS), first reported by Rehman et al., is a numerical blastocyst-morphology grading system based on the criteria established by Gardner and Schoolcraft. We demonstrate a positive correlation between the calculated BQS score and cell number by staining thawed human embryos and suggest that BQS can be applied to evaluate culture systems clinically

Improved development of mouse and human embryos using a tilting embryo culture system

Mammalian embryos experience not only hormonal but also mechanical stimuli, such as shear stress, compression and friction force in the Fallopian tube before nidation. In order to apply mechanical stimuli to embryos in a conventional IVF culture system, the tilting embryo culture system (TECS) was developed. The observed embryo images from the TECS suggest that the velocities and shear stresses of TECS embryos are similar to those experienced in the oviduct. Use of TECS enhanced the development rate to the blastocyst stage and significantly increased the cell number of mouse blastocysts (P < 0.05). Although not statistically significant, human thawed embryos showed slight improvement in development to the blastocyst stage following culture in TECS compared with static controls. Rates of blastocyst formation following culture in TECS were significantly improved in low-quality embryos and those embryos cultured under suboptimal conditions (P < 0.05). The TECS is proposed as a promising approach to improve embryo development and blastocyst formation by exposing embryos to mechanical stimuli similar to those in the Fallopian tube

Development of a Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of (+)-Alline Using Oxidative Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer

Cyclotryptamine alkaloids have been targets of interest in synthetic chemistry for decades. In this thesis, I present a two-step catalytic asymmetric synthesis of (+)-alline from a TEMPO-trapped enantioenriched pyrroloindoline. Combined with the work by Knowles, a four-step synthesis of (+)-alline from commercially available tryptamine has been developed.18 Oxidative PCET was used to create the enantioenriched product, which then underwent a two-step reduction to achieve (+)-alline. It is hypothesized that alline can be activated with acid, and used as a building block to synthesize the oligomeric products, allowing for the synthesis of a variety of cyclotryptamine alkaloids