The effects of modified martial arts on older adults

Older adults are at a high risk for falls and diseases that can be prevented or controlled by achieving the recommended daily amounts of activity as outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008). Despite this knowledge, older adults continue to be the least active demographic in the United States, not only placing them at higher risk for disease, but increased risk of falls and decreases in quality of life (Bean, Vora, & Frontera, 2004; Nelson, Rejeski, Blair, Duncan & Judge, 2007). The objective for this project was to implement a modified martial arts program for older adults over the age of 60, and determine its impact on physical performance measures and self-efficacy. Testing the working hypothesis that participating in a modified martial arts program increased strength, endurance, balance and self-efficacy of adults over the age of 60 achieved this aim. The approach to testing this hypothesis was to conduct a pre-post intervention study, where participants over the age of 60 were tested on the Sit to Stand, 8-foot Up and Go, Arm Curl, 4-point Balance Scale and Self-efficacy for Exercise Scale (SEE) before and after a 12-week modified martial arts program. The rationale of this research was based on preliminary findings that strongly suggested that martial arts programs have positive effects on participants, but studies had not fully addressed older populations or the modifications needed to make older adult training more effective. New findings in this regard provided further evidence of the effectiveness of a modified martial arts program in increasing the muscle strength, muscle endurance, balance and self-efficacy in adults over the age of 60. This project is significant in that it identified the extent to which martial arts training could be a safe, effective and engaging exercise opportunity, thereby encouraging greater participation in physical activity among older adult

The Effects of Modified Martial Arts on Older Adults

Older adults are at a high risk for falls and diseases that can be prevented or controlled by achieving the recommended daily amounts of activity as outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008). Despite this knowledge, older adults continue to be the least active demographic in the United States, not only placing them at higher risk for disease, but increased risk of falls and decreases in quality of life (Bean, Vora, & Frontera, 2004; Nelson, Rejeski, Blair, Duncan & Judge, 2007). The objective for this project was to implement a modified martial arts program for older adults over the age of 60, and determine its impact on physical performance measures and self-efficacy. Testing the working hypothesis that participating in a modified martial arts program increased strength, endurance, balance and self-efficacy of adults over the age of 60 achieved this aim. The approach to testing this hypothesis was to conduct a pre-post intervention study, where participants over the age of 60 were tested on the Sit to Stand, 8-foot Up and Go, Arm Curl, 4-point Balance Scale and Self-efficacy for Exercise Scale (SEE) before and after a 12-week modified martial arts program. The rationale of this research was based on preliminary findings that strongly suggested that martial arts programs have positive effects on participants, but studies had not fully addressed older populations or the modifications needed to make older adult training more effective. New findings in this regard provided further evidence of the effectiveness of a modified martial arts program in increasing the muscle strength, muscle endurance, balance and self-efficacy in adults over the age of 60. This project is significant in that it identified the extent to which martial arts training could be a safe, effective and engaging exercise opportunity, thereby encouraging greater participation in physical activity among older adults

Fossorial origin of the turtle shell

The turtle shell is a complex structure that currently serves a largely protective function in this iconically slow-moving group [1]. Developmental [2, 3] and fossil [4-7] data indicate that one of the first steps toward the shelled body plan was broadening of the ribs (approximately 50 my before the completed shell [5]). Broadened ribs alone provide little protection [8] and confer significant locomotory [9, 10] and respiratory [9, 11] costs. They increase thoracic rigidity [8], which decreases speed of locomotion due to shortened stride length [10], and they inhibit effective costal ventilation [9, 11]. New fossil material of the oldest hypothesized stem turtle, Eunotosaurus africanus [12] (260 mya) [13, 14] from the Karoo Basin of South Africa, indicates the initiation of rib broadening was an adaptive response to fossoriality. Similar to extant fossorial taxa [8], the broad ribs of Eunotosaurus provide an intrinsically stable base on which to operate a powerful forelimb digging mechanism. Numerous fossorial correlates [15-17] are expressed throughout Eunotosaurus' skeleton. Most of these features are widely distributed along the turtle stem and into the crown clade, indicating the common ancestor of Eunotosaurus and modern turtles possessed a body plan significantly influenced by digging. The adaptations related to fossoriality likely facilitated movement of stem turtles into aquatic environments early in the groups' evolutionary history, and this ecology may have played an important role in stem turtles surviving the Permian/Triassic extinction event

Best practices and benchmarks for intact protein analysis for top-down mass spectrometry

International audienceOne gene can give rise to many functionally distinct proteoforms, each of which has a characteristic molecular mass. Top-down mass spectrometry enables the analysis of intact proteins and proteoforms. Here members of the Consortium for Top-Down Proteomics provide a decision tree that guides researchers to robust protocols for mass analysis of intact proteins (antibodies, membrane proteins and others) from mixtures of varying complexity. We also present cross-platform analytical benchmarks using a protein standard sample, to allow users to gauge their proficiency