ANALYSIS OF THE TRIPLE PIROUETTE OF PROFESSIONAL CLASSICAL BALLET DANCERS

Classical ballet pirouette is difficult technique to master even for professional dancers. Little research has been conducted on the pirouette. The purposes of this study were to analyse the pirouette movement of professional classical ballet dancers, and to search critical viewpoints for instruction focusing on their averaged motion (Ae et al.,2007) and motion variation of body segments. The participants were 11 professional female classical ballet dancers performed the triple pirouette. The motion capture system with 12 cameras (Qualisys, Sweden, 250 Hz) was used to collect three-dimensional coordinate data. The coefficient of variation (CV) and standard deviation of the body segments were used to represent the variability of body segment movement. There were smaller motion variations in the shank, thigh, head, and torso of the top dancers, which indicated that the similar motion patterns appeared in the triple pirouette in these segments. On the other hand, the larger variation of the left foot in the preparation and turning phase indicated that ankle adjustment may be employed to maintain balance. The upper extremity with large variation may also function as an angular momentum generator and balance adjustor and may be an indicator of difference in teaching methods

Genetic Predisposition To Acquire a Polybasic Cleavage Site for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses with H5 and H7 hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes evolve from low-pathogenic precursors through the acquisition of multiple basic amino acid residues at the HA cleavage site. Although this mechanism has been observed to occur naturally only in these HA subtypes, little is known about the genetic basis for the acquisition of the polybasic HA cleavage site. Here we show that consecutive adenine residues and a stem-loop structure, which are frequently found in the viral RNA region encoding amino acids around the cleavage site of low-pathogenic H5 and H7 viruses isolated from waterfowl reservoirs, are important for nucleotide insertions into this RNA region. A reporter assay to detect nontemplated nucleotide insertions and deep-sequencing analysis of viral RNAs revealed that an increased number of adenine residues and enlarged stem-loop structure in the RNA region accelerated the multiple adenine and/or guanine insertions required to create codons for basic amino acids. Interestingly, nucleotide insertions associated with the HA cleavage site motif were not observed principally in the viral RNA of other subtypes tested (H1, H2, H3, and H4). Our findings suggest that the RNA editing-like activity is the key mechanism for nucleotide insertions, providing a clue as to why the acquisition of the polybasic HA cleavage site is restricted to the particular HA subtypes. IMPORTANCE Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on the antigenicity of the viral surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase. Of the 16 HA subtypes (H1 to -16) maintained in waterfowl reservoirs of influenza A viruses, H5 and H7 viruses often become highly pathogenic through the acquisition of multiple basic amino acid residues at the HA cleavage site. Although this mechanism has been known since the 1980s, the genetic basis for nucleotide insertions has remained unclear. This study shows the potential role of the viral RNA secondary structure for nucleotide insertions and demonstrates a key mechanism explaining why the acquisition of the polybasic HA cleavage site is restricted to particular HA subtypes in nature. Our findings will contribute to better understanding of the ecology of influenza A viruses and will also be useful for the development of genetically modified vaccines against H5 and H7 influenza A viruses with increased stability

トクシマケン ニオケル ジドウ セイト ノ タイカク ノ ゲンジョウ

The height and weight of all 74,859 students attending to the primary and junior-highschools in the Tokushima prefecture were gathered for the purpose of data collection for thecommittee for prevention of life style related disease. The measurement was performedbetween April and June, 2000 according to the methods recommended by the Japanesegovernment. The histograms of height of each sex and age group showed clear normaldistribution. On the other hands, the histograms of weight and Body Mass Index (BMI)showed the deviation towards the heavier part. We draw histograms of all males and allfemales, and found the existence of two peaks in both of the histograms. We recognizedthat the middle depressed part, which means the less person of that height, indicates thepeak of growth. The most bottoms were 139cm-140cm in female and 152cm-153cm in male

地域で生活する健康な高齢者の足トラブルとフットケアの実態

　高齢者の足・爪にはトラブルが少なくなく，セルフケアできない状態まで悪化したり，転倒や歩行困難につながったりしている．地域で生活する健康な高齢者の足トラブルとフットケアの実態を明らかにすることを研究目的とし、フットケアをとりいれることによって高齢者のADL 改善やQOL 向上を目指すプログラム開発の基礎資料とする．A・B 市で実施されている介護予防のための筋力アップ教室等に通う65 歳以上の男女に無記名自記式質問紙調査を実施した．回答が得られた129 人を分析対象とし，その結果7 割弱の人が足で気になることがあり，気になる内容で多かったのは，「足が冷たい」「外反母趾」であった．自分でしているケア内容は，「保湿クリームを塗る」「冷え防止の靴下をはく」「マッサージ」が多く，何もケアしていない人が15% いた．爪切りは9 割の人が自分でできていた．地域で生活している健康な高齢者は，自分の足で気になることのある人が多かったが，自分で爪切りやセルフケア行動ができていた．一方，足を全く見ない人や何もケアをしていない人，爪切りができなくて放置している人もおり，将来的に足トラブルが発症・悪化していくことが懸念された．地域で生活している健康な高齢者には，足のケアが健康管理の一つであると認識してもらうことができるように，地域の集まりやすい場でのフットケアやオーラルフレイル予防，食生活改善の取り組みも合わせた総合的なプログラム開発が必要である