THE STANDARD MOTION MODEL OF A BASKETBALL SET SHOT FOR TEACHING

The purpose of this study was to create a standard motion model of a basketball set shot. Twenty-one male collegiate basketball players participated in three-dimensional data collection session (Vicon MX+, 250Hz), and the method proposed by Ae, et al. (2007) was used to create a standard motion model. The set shot motion in the standard motion model started with the shoulder flexion and hip extension in the downward phase, followed by the sequential motions of the knee, ankle, shoulder, elbow and wrist joints in the upward phase. Immediately before the ball release, the elbow and wrist joints were abruptly extended. The motion variation in the wrist, elbow and shoulder joints just before the ball release were small, implying there must be some commonality in these joint motions

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

Distinct Characteristics of Circulating Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A and C Levels in Human Subjects

The mechanisms that lead from obesity to atherosclerotic disease are not fully understood. Obesity involves angiogenesis in which vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) plays a key role. On the other hand, vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) plays a pivotal role in lymphangiogenesis. Circulating levels of VEGF-A and VEGF-C are elevated in sera from obese subjects. However, relationships of VEGF-C with atherosclerotic risk factors and atherosclerosis are unknown. We determined circulating levels of VEGF-A and VEGF-C in 423 consecutive subjects not receiving any drugs at the Health Evaluation Center. After adjusting for age and gender, VEGF-A levels were significantly and more strongly correlated with the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference than VEGF-C. Conversely, VEGF-C levels were significantly and more closely correlated with metabolic (e.g., fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, immunoreactive insulin, and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance) and lipid parameters (e.g., triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and non-high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C)) than VEGF-A. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that independent determinants of VEGF-A were the BMI and age, whereas strong independent determinants of VEGF-C were age, triglycerides, and non-HDL-C. In apolipoprotein E-deficient mice fed a high-fat-diet (HFD) or normal chow (NC) for 16 weeks, levels of VEGF-A were not significantly different between the two groups. However, levels of VEGF-C were significantly higher in HFD mice with advanced atherosclerosis and marked hypercholesterolemia than NC mice. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression of VEGF-C in atheromatous plaque of the aortic sinus was significantly intensified by feeding HFD compared to NC, while that of VEGF-A was not. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that VEGF-C, rather than VEGF-A, is closely related to dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis

The status of DECIGO

DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) is the planned Japanese space gravitational wave antenna, aiming to detect gravitational waves from astrophysically and cosmologically significant sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window for gravitational wave astronomy and for the universe. DECIGO will consists of three drag-free spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with 1000 km arm lengths whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry-Perot interferometer, and four units of triangular Fabry-Perot interferometers are arranged on heliocentric orbit around the sun. DECIGO is vary ambitious mission, we plan to launch DECIGO in era of 2030s after precursor satellite mission, B-DECIGO. B-DECIGO is essentially smaller version of DECIGO: B-DECIGO consists of three spacecraft arranged in an triangle with 100 km arm lengths orbiting 2000 km above the surface of the earth. It is hoped that the launch date will be late 2020s for the present

糖アルコールを使用した洋菓子の食後血糖値上昇抑制効果

難消化性糖質は、消化性のブドウ糖や砂糖とは異なった生理作用を持っており、生活習慣病の予防に深く関わっていることが、次第に明らかにされている。我々は、難消化性糖質のひとつであるマルチトールを使用した和菓子(芋羊羹)の、食後血糖値上昇を抑制する効果を報告している。本研究では、マルチトールを使用した洋菓子を作成し、マルチトールによる、食後血糖値上昇抑制効果の再現性を検証するために、血糖値の測定を実施した。対象は、空腹時血糖値が正常な、女子大学生7名とした。糖質50g 分の基準食と、2種類の検査食であるマルチトール入り洋菓子と砂糖入り洋菓子のそれぞれを摂取し、摂取前および摂取開始から15分、30分、45分、60分、90分、120分後の血糖値を測定した。なお、検査食の摂取は、まず全被験者に基準食を与え、基準値を得たのち、対象者を無作為に2群に分け、クロスオーバー比較試験法により、マルチトール検査食と砂糖検査食を、各2回ずつ摂取させた。血糖曲線下面積よりGlycemic index (GI) を算出し、Kolmogorov-Smirnov検定で正規性を調べた後、一元配置分散分析を行い、Bonferroni法により多重比較を行った。基準食のGI を100%とした場合、マルチトール検査食では73.3%、砂糖検査食で86.9%であり、基準食と比較して、マルチトール検査食ではGI が有意に低下した(p=0.013)。基準食と砂糖検査食間では、有意な差は認められなかった。また、マルチトール検査食と砂糖検査食間では、有意な差は認められなかったものの、マルチトール検査食のGI が低下する傾向が認められた(p=0.082)。以上の結果より、マルチトールを使用した洋菓子でも、和菓子(芋羊羹)と同様に、食後血糖上昇抑制作用が認められた