ACCURACY OF THE MOTUSBASEBALLTM WEARABLE SENSOR

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of the motusBASEBALLTM sensor. Trained/developmental male adult baseball pitchers (n = 10) threw ten pitches each from a regulation mound while kinematic and kinetic data were captured using an optical motion capture system and a motusBASEBALLTM sensor. Absolute and relative agreement were assessed. Outputs from the motusBASEBALLTM sensor were significantly different to the motion capture outputs for elbow varus torque, shoulder rotation, and arm speed (p \u3c .05). Data were similar for arm slot (p = .847). Correlations (r) between system outputs were not significant (p \u3e .05) and ranged from 0.312 to 0.630. The motusBASEBALLTM sensor is not a valid sensor for measuring elbow varus torque, shoulder rotation, and arm speed. Researchers and practitioners should use the device with caution

Chronologic and dental ages of Maltese schoolchildren : a pilot study

Objectives: Dental ageing systems are useful for forensic, research and clinical purposes. As no data exists relating to the dental development of the Maltese population, we set up a pilot study to initiate formation of a set of tables pertaining to the dental development of Maltese schoolchildren. Methods: Panoramic radiographic records of 120 patients aged 11 to 14 years were sequentially collected from the records kept at the School Dental Clinic, Floriana and St Luke’s Hospital. These records were matched for age and sex. The calcification of the teeth was graded according to Nolla (1960) and the results obtained compared to Nolla’s tables to determine how closely the Maltese population conforms to these tables. Results: We found no significant difference between the estimated (dental) age and the chronological age of male schoolchildren. A significant difference existed for female schoolchildren. The dental age of the female schoolchildren was delayed when compared to that of male schoolchildren. Conclusion: Nolla’s tables require to be adjusted to take into account the variation in dental development of the Maltese population. Maltese schoolgirls exhibit slower dental development when compared to the figures given in the literature.peer-reviewe

THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF A GRIP-CONSTRAINT TOOL ON UPPER BODY AND RACKET KINEMATICS DURING TENNIS FOREHANDS

The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effect of a grip-constraint tool on upper body and racket kinematics during tennis single-handed forehand strokes. Upper-body and racket kinematics for two grip conditions, Preferred (self-selected) and Grip-constraint tool (fixed semi-western forehand grip) were captured for eleven tennis players using a 22-camera Vicon motion capture system (240 Hz). Using a grip-constraint tool resulted in a more closed racket face tilt (~4°) at ball impact while having variations in joint rotations across the shoulder, elbow and wrist. This possibly demonstrates the participant’s ability to self-organise compensatory angular rotations across the upper limb to achieve similar impact orientations. Collectively, these data demonstrate the acute responses to modifying grip technique using a grip-constraint tool during single-handed down-the-line forehands

UPPER LIMB KINEMATICS DURING THE TOPSPIN DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND STROKE IN TENNIS

The purpose of this study was to compare non-dominant wrist kinematics during tennis double-handed backhand strokes in players using either an eastern or continental grip position. Trajectory data for two grips (eastern & continental) and depths (deep & short) were captured for sixteen sub-elite right-handed tennis players using a 12-camera Vicon motion capture system (250 Hz). The eastern grip demonstrated significantly faster horizontal racket head velocities compared to the continental grip. However, no differences were observed in accuracy or spin rate between grips (p \u3e 0.05). In the non-dominant upper limb for the continental condition, elbow flexion was smaller while wrist extension was larger throughout the swing. Collectively, these data suggest that the continental grip may place the wrist in a position that is more vulnerable to overuse injury

THE EFFECT OF GRIP POSITION ON UPPER LIMB ANGULAR KINEMATICS DURING TENNIS TOPSPIN DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND STROKES

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of grip on upper limb angular kinematics of sub-elite tennis players during a topspin double-handed backhand while aiming crosscourt. Sixteen sub-elite right-handed tennis players performed double-handed backhand trials using two different non-dominant grips (eastern & continental). Upper limb trajectory data was captured using the Vicon motion capture system (250 Hz). Greater peak angular velocity was observed in the eastern grip at the dominant shoulder (flexion, extension, abduction, adduction) and non-dominant shoulder (extension), elbow (pronation) and wrist (flexion, ulna and radial deviation). Subsequently peak linear velocities for the racket head (horizontal), and upper limb resultant joint centres were greater in the eastern condition. Collectively, these data suggest that using the eastern grip in the non-dominant limb is more optimal for developing racket head speed, and may provide coaches relevant information for athlete development in double-handed backhands

Perspectives and practices of accredited tennis coaches when developing stroke technique

The purpose of this study was to understand current international tennis coaching standards related to the development of specific grip positions in tennis and to explore tennis coaches’ opinions on using physically constraining training tools for effective skill development. Accredited tennis coaches (n = 237) from 33 countries completed an anonymous online survey about their perspectives on the importance of grip positions for effective stroke development, and opinions on using physically constraining training tools for skill development. In the early stages of a player’s technical development, training grip positions was ranked as the second most important aspect of foundational technique. This preliminary research indicates that while it is important for tennis players to develop a variety of grip techniques, the most commonly used are the Semi-Western (forehand), the combination of Continental/Eastern forehand (double-handed backhand), and Continental for the serve. It also demonstrated that 65.2 ± 23.7% of coaches would utilise a physically constraining tool to assist in developing tennis-specific skills. Using this information can guide future evidence-based biomechanical investigations to assess the effects of acute and longitudinal biomechanics of using physically constraining tools for tennis-specific skills

Opportunities for organoids as new models of aging.

The biology of aging is challenging to study, particularly in humans. As a result, model organisms are used to approximate the physiological context of aging in humans. However, the best model organisms remain expensive and time-consuming to use. More importantly, they may not reflect directly on the process of aging in people. Human cell culture provides an alternative, but many functional signs of aging occur at the level of tissues rather than cells and are therefore not readily apparent in traditional cell culture models. Organoids have the potential to effectively balance between the strengths and weaknesses of traditional models of aging. They have sufficient complexity to capture relevant signs of aging at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels, while presenting an experimentally tractable alternative to animal studies. Organoid systems have been developed to model many human tissues and diseases. Here we provide a perspective on the potential for organoids to serve as models for aging and describe how current organoid techniques could be applied to aging research

Interleukin-11 Is the Dominant IL-6 Family Cytokine during Gastrointestinal Tumorigenesis and Can Be Targeted Therapeutically

SummaryAmong the cytokines linked to inflammation-associated cancer, interleukin (IL)-6 drives many of the cancer “hallmarks” through downstream activation of the gp130/STAT3 signaling pathway. However, we show that the related cytokine IL-11 has a stronger correlation with elevated STAT3 activation in human gastrointestinal cancers. Using genetic mouse models, we reveal that IL-11 has a more prominent role compared to IL-6 during the progression of sporadic and inflammation-associated colon and gastric cancers. Accordingly, in these models and in human tumor cell line xenograft models, pharmacologic inhibition of IL-11 signaling alleviated STAT3 activation, suppressed tumor cell proliferation, and reduced the invasive capacity and growth of tumors. Our results identify IL-11 signaling as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers

CyclinPred: A SVM-Based Method for Predicting Cyclin Protein Sequences

Functional annotation of protein sequences with low similarity to well characterized protein sequences is a major challenge of computational biology in the post genomic era. The cyclin protein family is once such important family of proteins which consists of sequences with low sequence similarity making discovery of novel cyclins and establishing orthologous relationships amongst the cyclins, a difficult task. The currently identified cyclin motifs and cyclin associated domains do not represent all of the identified and characterized cyclin sequences. We describe a Support Vector Machine (SVM) based classifier, CyclinPred, which can predict cyclin sequences with high efficiency. The SVM classifier was trained with features of selected cyclin and non cyclin protein sequences. The training features of the protein sequences include amino acid composition, dipeptide composition, secondary structure composition and PSI-BLAST generated Position Specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM) profiles. Results obtained from Leave-One-Out cross validation or jackknife test, self consistency and holdout tests prove that the SVM classifier trained with features of PSSM profile was more accurate than the classifiers based on either of the other features alone or hybrids of these features. A cyclin prediction server- CyclinPred has been setup based on SVM model trained with PSSM profiles. CyclinPred prediction results prove that the method may be used as a cyclin prediction tool, complementing conventional cyclin prediction methods