Effects of Birth Month on Talent Identification Participation and the Identification Process in Sports

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 2: Issue 1, Article 7, 2021. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of the birth month on Talent Identification (TI) participation and the identification process in sports. The subjects were 4th grade elementary school children (mean age, 9±5.8 years) who participated in the Talent Identification Project. The method of identification was two-stage. In the first stage, the 30 m sprint, standing broad jump, and medicine ball front throw (1 kg) were performed, and 99 boys and 97 girls with high overall scores were selected to participate in the second stage. In the second stage, in addition to the results of the first stage, the T-test, 20 m shuttle run, standing triple jump, rebound jump (RJ-index), medicine ball back throw (1 kg), and repeated horizontal jump were performed. In the T-test, subjects run straight to a point 10 m ahead, then, ran 5 m to the right, 10 m to the left, 5 m to the right, and returned 10 m back to the start. A total of 15 boys and 15 girls with high overall scores were selected from the second stage. As in a previous study, the birth month was divided into yearly quarters (1, April to June; 2, July to September; 3, October to December; and 4, January to March). Point of application ＃1: There was a bias in participation rates and final members in the TI project for 4th graders by birth month for both boys and girls. Point of application ＃2: In the case of 4th grade boys of the TI project, the medicine ball front throw, as an index of whole body power, was influenced by the birth month. Point of application ＃3: It was speculated that boys born between January and March had a smaller morphology (height and weight), and were disadvantaged in measurement tests related to morphology, such as the medicine ball front throw

Molecular dynamics simulation on a layer-by-layer homoepitaxial growth process of SrTiO3(001)

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:09355030・基盤研究(A)(2)・H9～H11/研究代表者:宮本, 明/次世代エレクトロニクス材料としての酸化物人口超格子の原子レベル設計と開発

Layer-by-layer heteroepitaxial growth process of a BaO layer on SrTiO3(001) as investigated by molecular dynamics

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:09355030・基盤研究(A)(2)・H9～H11/研究代表者:宮本, 明/次世代エレクトロニクス材料としての酸化物人口超格子の原子レベル設計と開発

Layer-by-layer homoepitaxial growth process of MgO(001)as investigated by molecular dynamics, density functional theory,and computer graphics

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:09355030・基盤研究(A)(2)・H9～H11/研究代表者:宮本, 明/次世代エレクトロニクス材料としての酸化物人口超格子の原子レベル設計と開発

Molecular dynamics simulation of enhanced oxygen ion diffusion in strained yttria-stabilized zirconia

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:09355030・基盤研究(A)(2)・H9～H11/研究代表者:宮本, 明/次世代エレクトロニクス材料としての酸化物人口超格子の原子レベル設計と開発

A pilot study to assess the morphology and progression of non-carious cervical lesions

Objective: This longitudinal pilot study aimed to morphologically and quantitatively investigate the progress of non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) by using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Methods: The samples examined comprised sets of NCCL epoxy resin replicas obtained from 10 lesions in 6 patients who attended annual dental visits over 4 or 5 years. SS-OCT images of the replicas were analyzed in terms of the maximum depth (Dmax) and corresponding vertical width (VW) ? using an image analyzer to estimate progression of the NCCLs over time. Results: It was found that differences between wedge- and saucer-shaped lesions were morphologically distinguished well by the OCT images. There were significant differences in dimensions among Dmax, VW and horizontal width (HW). HW was the largest and Dmax was the smallest. Although no significant differences in absolute values of annual progression rates were found among Dmax, VW and HW, the percentage increase in Dmax was significantly greater compared to VW and HW. The ratios of Dmax to corresponding VW ranged from 0.49 to 1.01 for the wedge-shaped lesions and from 0.13 to 0.44 for saucer-shaped lesions, respectively. Conclusions: The dimensional analysis demonstrated notable progression with large variations. The wedge-shaped lesions appeared to show greater Dmax values compared to the saucer-shaped lesions. Clinical significance: With respect to the depth, the wedge-shaped lesions may progress at a greater rate compared to the saucer-shaped lesions

A comparative method for evaluating ecosystem services from the viewpoint of public works

Nature-based solutions (NbS), such as the implementation of environmental conservation and restoration as public works projects, require accurate and cost-effective assessments of the values related to the projects. The values should represent collective ecosystem services, individual services such as food provision and water purification, and other intangible services. To comprehensively assess such services, we proposed a novel method, which we call the comparative evaluation method. Our method is able to assess the value of each service category of an NbS project from a single questionnaire survey. Survey participants are asked to compare values of multiple services having anchoring prices. Our method determines the permissible economic value of environmental public works (PEP) in response to the quantity of service. The questionnaire results used for analysis are limited to those from respondents who made their PEP evaluation on the basis of their consideration of the appropriate expenditure of taxes. In addition, the method controls for the effect of the satisfaction that a person experiences from doing good deeds to reduce an overestimation of the values of services. Moreover, PEPs are not influenced by the respondent's annual income, age, sex, or educational background, and are based on personal values. Applying this new method, we surveyed residents of the watersheds of Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay and evaluated nine ecosystem services. Overall, our new method is shown to be an effective method for evaluating the ecosystem services of NbS projects from the viewpoint of public works

Green port structures and their ecosystem services in highly urbanized Japanese bays

Green port structures (i.e. green infrastructure in ports and harbors) featuring habitats for marine organisms have been promoted in Japan as part of a comprehensive policy to reduce the environmental impact of ports and carry out habitat conservation, restoration, and creation. In this study, we evaluated the ecosystem services provided by green port structures in two highly urbanized bays (Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay) in Japan. Our results show that the provision of some ecosystem services can be limited by circumstances particular to ports and other areas with restricted access. In the case of green port structures that have strong usage restrictions, for example, cultural services can only be provided if relevant authorities are prepared to conduct public events while ensuring participant safety. On the other hand, green port structures with weak usage restrictions are often equipped with incidental facilities such as parking lots and restrooms; these facilities can enhance the provision of cultural services (e.g. recreation and environmental education). Green port structures in highly urbanized bays often have usage restrictions, but their proximity to large populations means that they can potentially provide numerous ecosystem services. However, our study shows that appropriate management goals, such as protecting species and ensuring healthy habitats, are needed to maintain the value of these services in highly urbanized and eutrophic bays