HOW CAN WE TEACH STUDENT TO ESTIMATE VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHTS USING GROUND REACTION FORCE DATA

The purpose of this study was to estimate vertical jump heights using ground reaction force (GRF) data and to suggest one practical example of biomechanical theory application to a real human motion. Vertical jump heights of impulse and flight time method were statistically smaller than three-dimensional video method. The causes of height differences seemed mainly from the fact that impulse was used to move jumper into the horizontal direction as well as into the vertical direction. Other important factors for accurate height calculation are jumper's mass and threshold value of GRF data collection. Vertical jump height calculation with GRF data showed an example of practical application of biomechanical theory to human motion and demonstrated a way of GRF equipment use for effective biomechanical theory education

AN ANALYSIS OF 500 M INLINE SKATE STARTING MOTIONS

The purpose of this study was to examine if there are kinematical variables differences between national representative players (NRP) and non national representative players (NNRP) during 500 m inline skate starting motion. Four NRP and six NNRP were recruited for the study. Each subject executed starting motion five times on a 2x12 m start way in a gymnasium. Kinematical variables were analyzed by the three-dimensional motion analysis system (60Hz). It was hypothesized that there are time and center of mass acceleration differences in starting phase between groups since starting phase has been considered important in sprinting. The results showed that the NRP had significantly shorter starting phase time than that of NNRP

Clinical features and outcomes of gastric variceal bleeding: retrospective Korean multicenter data

Background/AimsWhile gastric variceal bleeding (GVB) is not as prevalent as esophageal variceal bleeding, it is reportedly more serious, with high failure rates of the initial hemostasis (>30%), and has a worse prognosis than esophageal variceal bleeding. However, there is limited information regarding hemostasis and the prognosis for GVB. The aim of this study was to determine retrospectively the clinical outcomes of GVB in a multicenter study in Korea.MethodsThe data of 1,308 episodes of GVB (males:females=1062:246, age=55.0±11.0 years, mean±SD) were collected from 24 referral hospital centers in South Korea between March 2003 and December 2008. The rates of initial hemostasis failure, rebleeding, and mortality within 5 days and 6 weeks of the index bleed were evaluated.ResultsThe initial hemostasis failed in 6.1% of the patients, and this was associated with the Child-Pugh score [odds ratio (OR)=1.619; P<0.001] and the treatment modality: endoscopic variceal ligation, endoscopic variceal obturation, and balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration vs. endoscopic sclerotherapy, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, and balloon tamponade (OR=0.221, P<0.001). Rebleeding developed in 11.5% of the patients, and was significantly associated with Child-Pugh score (OR=1.159, P<0.001) and treatment modality (OR=0.619, P=0.026). The GVB-associated mortality was 10.3%; mortality in these cases was associated with Child-Pugh score (OR=1.795, P<0.001) and the treatment modality for the initial hemostasis (OR=0.467, P=0.001).ConclusionsThe clinical outcome for GVB was better for the present cohort than in previous reports. Initial hemostasis failure, rebleeding, and mortality due to GVB were universally associated with the severity of liver cirrhosis

Phospholipase C-eta 1 is activated by intracellular Ca2+ mobilization and enhances GPCRs/PLC/Ca2+ signaling

Phospholipase C-eta 1 (PLC-eta 1) is the most recently identified PLC isotype and is primarily expressed in nerve tissue. However, its functional role is unclear. In the present study, we report for the first time that PLC-eta 1 acts as a signal amplifier in G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated PLC and Ca2+ signaling. Short-hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knockdown of endogenous PLC-eta 1 reduced lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-, bradykinin (BK)-, and PACAP-induced PLC activity in mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2A (N2A) cells, indicating that PLC-eta 1 participates in GPCR-mediated PLC activation. Interestingly, ionomycin-induced PLC activity was significantly decreased by PLC-eta 1, but not PLC-eta 2, knockdown. In addition, we found that intracellular Ca2+ source is enough for PLC-eta 1 activation. Furthermore, the IP3 receptor inhibitor, 2-APB, inhibited LPA-induced PLC activity in control N2A cells, whereas this effect was not observed in PLC-eta 1 knockdown N2A cells, suggesting a pivotal role of intracellular Ca-2+ mobilization in PLC-eta 1 activation. Finally, we found that LPA-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation and expression of the downstream target gene, krox-24, were significantly decreased by PLC-eta 1 knockdown, and these knockdown effects were abolished by 2-APB. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that PLC-eta 1 is activated via intracellular Ca2+ mobilization from the ER, and therefore amplifies GPCR-mediated signaling.close141

Diagnosis and Treatment of Premature Ejaculation by Urologists in South Korea

Purpose: This study discusses the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE) using various approaches with the goal of evaluating the methods of diagnosis and treatment of PE in clinical practice in 2014 in South Korea. Materials and Methods: We surveyed 200 urologists and andrologists who treated patients with PE from July 1, 2014 to July 29, 2014 using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of 4 parts: disease, comorbidities, diagnosis, and treatment. Using the answers to this survey, current trends in the diagnosis and treatment of PE were investigated using weighted averages. Results: The median number per month of patients who were diagnosed with PE was 14 patients (interquartile range, 7∼24). The time to ejaculation necessary for a diagnosis of PE was considered to be ＜1 minute by 12% of respondents, ＜2 minutes by 27%, ＜3 minutes by 28%, ＜5 minutes by 13%, and 20% stated that diagnosis was based on a patient’s subjective complaint. The treatment methods preferred by PE patients were reported to be pharmacological treatment (87%), surgical treatment (9.5%), and behavioral management (3.5%). The treatment methods used by respondents were pharmacological treatment (77%), surgical treatment (15%), and behavioral management (14%). The most commonly used pharmacological treatment was the oral administration of dapoxetine (97%). Conclusions: In 2014 in South Korea, various methods were used to diagnose and treat PE. The most commonly used treatment for PE was the oral administration of dapoxetine. It was also found that surgical treatment was applied in some cases

Bioinspired Multifunctional Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Carbon-Nanotube-Based Conducting Pastes by Facile and Scalable Printing

Directly printed superhydrophobic surfaces containing conducting nanomaterials can be used for a wide range of applications in terms of nonwetting, anisotropic wetting, and electrical conductivity. Here, we demonstrated that direct-printable and flexible superhydrophobic surfaces were fabricated on flexible substrates via with an ultrafacile and scalable screen printing with carbon nanotube (CNT)-based conducting pastes. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-polyethylene glycol (PEG) copolymer was used as an additive for conducting pastes to realize the printability of the conducting paste as well as the hydrophobicity of the printed surface. The screen-printed conducting surfaces showed a high water contact angle (WCA) (>150°) and low contact angle hysteresis (WCA < 5°) at 25 wt % PDMS-PEG copolymer in the paste, and they have an electrical conductivity of over 1000 S m^–1. Patterned superhydrophobic surfaces also showed sticky superhydrophobic characteristics and were used to transport water droplets. Moreover, fabricated films on metal meshes were used for an oil/water separation filter, and liquid evaporation behavior was investigated on the superhydrophobic and conductive thin-film heaters by applying direct current voltage to the film