Effect of ankle taping on the ankle muscle strength in young healthy women

Of the various approaches to manage or prevent injuries on the ankle joint, Kinesio taping improves static posture stability, stimulating the neuromuscular control system. This study aims to investigate of ankle taping on the peak torque and average power of ankle muscle in young heathy women. Taping was applied to the extensor digitorum, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, soleus of the ankle in 16 healthy women. Isokinetic measurement of the dorsiflexion and plantarflexion patterns were recorded before and after taping. As a result of this study, the pre-post isokinetic parameters improved significantly for plantarflexion (p<0.05) while those for dorsiflexion did not. Through this study, it was found out that ankle taping improved the muscle power of the plantarflexor of young healthy women, and it is expected that applying ankle taping would help young healthy women

Long-Term Variability of Surface Albedo and Its Correlation with Climatic Variables over Antarctica

The cryosphere is an essential part of the earth system for understanding climate change. Components of the cryosphere, such as ice sheets and sea ice, are generally decreasing over time. However, previous studies have indicated differing trends between the Antarctic and the Arctic. The South Pole also shows internal differences in trends. These phenomena indicate the importance of continuous observation of the Polar Regions. Albedo is a main indicator for analyzing Antarctic climate change and is an important variable with regard to the radiation budget because it can provide positive feedback on polar warming and is related to net radiation and atmospheric heating in the mainly snow- and ice-covered Antarctic. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed long-term temporal and spatial variability of albedo and investigated the interrelationships between albedo and climatic variables over Antarctica. We used broadband surface albedo data from the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring and data for several climatic variables such as temperature and Antarctic oscillation index (AAO) during the period of 1983 to 2009. Time series analysis and correlation analysis were performed through linear regression using albedo and climatic variables. The results of this research indicated that albedo shows two trends, west trend and an east trend, over Antarctica. Most of the western side of Antarctica showed a negative trend of albedo (about −0.0007 to −0.0015 year−1), but the other side showed a positive trend (about 0.0006 year−1). In addition, albedo and surface temperature had a negative correlation, but this relationship was weaker in west Antarctica than in east Antarctica. The correlation between albedo and AAO revealed different relationships in the two regions; west Antarctica had a negative correlation and east Antarctica showed a positive correlation. In addition, the correlation between albedo and AAO was weaker in the west. This suggests that the eastern area is influenced by the atmosphere, but that the western area is influenced more strongly by other factors