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This study examined the changes in the medial elbow joint space width and forearm flexor strength due to repetitive pitching and analysed the relationships among these factors. Thirty-one collegiate baseball players pitched seven sets of 15 pitches each. The medial elbow joint space width, grip strength, and forearm flexor strengths were measured before pitching and after each set. These parameters were compared at baseline and after pitching for each set. Additionally, the relationships between changes in the medial elbow joint space and forearm flexor strength were examined for each set. The medial elbow joint space width significantly increased after four sets compared to baseline values. Compared to baseline values, grip strength decreased significantly after one set, wrist flexion and radial deviation after six, and ulnar deviation after five. However, changes in the medial joint space compared to baseline values after each set were not significantly correlated with changes in forearm flexor strength variables. Therefore, repetitive pitching causes an increase in elbow valgus laxity and a decrease in forearm flexor strength. However, the decrease in forearm muscle strength does not explain the increase in elbow valgus laxity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of the trunk position during the single-leg landing on the knee angle and muscle activity. Forty healthy university students (20 men and 20 women) performed right single-leg landings from a 40 cm-high platform with the trunk in neutral, flexion, extension, and right and left lateral flexion. Knee flexion and valgus angles were determined by two-dimensional video analysis, and rectus femoris (RF) and biceps femoris (BF) muscle activities were assessed. The knee flexion angle was significantly higher in the trunk-flexion position than in the other trunk positions. The knee valgus angle was significantly lower in the trunk-neutral and trunk-flexion positions than in the trunk-extension, trunk-right-lateral-flexion, and trunk-left-lateral flexion positions. Muscle activity of the RF was significantly lower in the trunk-flexion position than in the trunk-extension position and that of the BF was significantly higher in the trunk-flexion position than in the trunk-neutral, trunk-extension, and trunk-right-lateral-flexion positions. Single (right)-leg landing with the trunk in flexion may confer a low risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury compared to that with the trunk in extension or right lateral flexion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Airway remodeling is implicated in irreversible airflow limitation of refractory asthma, which includes increased smooth muscle mass and subepithelial fibrosis. Activated fibroblasts acquire contractile phenotype to participate in tissue contraction and structural alteration of extracellular matrices. Histamine is a potent mediator of allergic inflammation, substantially involved in asthmatic pathophysiology. Objective: We hypothesized that histamine might play a role in airway remodeling, and investigated its effect on fibroblast-mediated collagen gel contraction. Methods: Fibroblast-mediated collagen gel contraction was studied. Histamine's regulation of collagen gel contraction was characterized by using specific histamine-receptor antagonists, an IP3 receptor antagonist and a PKC inhibitor. Results: Histamine induced contraction of collagen gels embedded with human lung fibroblasts, in a time-dependent manner, and at the concentration more than 10−6 M, both in four primary cultured adult lung fibroblasts and three fetal lung fibroblast cell lines. This effect was attenuated by H1 receptor antagonist, whereas those for H2 to H4 receptors failed to show an inhibitory effect. Furthermore, IP3 receptor-mediated Ca2+ mobilization was implicated in histamine's action on collagen gel contraction. Conclusions: Our results suggest that histamine is involved in airway remodeling through its action on lung fibroblasts, and antihistamine drugs, especially H1 receptor antagonists, might be potentially beneficial for a subset of asthmatic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To present reference values, clinically significant changes (CSC), and prediction equations of lower-limb muscle strength (LMS) and physical performance (PP) in community-dwelling older adults in a rural area. Quadriceps muscle and toe grip strength were measured as LMS. Maximal gait speed, Timed-Up and Go test, one-legged stand test, and four-square step test were measured as PP. Overall and age-specific reference values for both sexes were presented. CSC was calculated using a distribution-based approach. We conducted multivariate regression analyses to make prediction equations for each variable. The prediction error was checked using 10-fold cross-validation. Three-hundred ninety-two participants (male, n = 116; female, n = 276) were included. LMS was maintained with age, while PS declined linearly. The prediction equations were significant, but the prediction error was high. Reference values and CSC help evaluate the deterioration of LMS and PP and the effectiveness of an intervention on these outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In animal cells the nuclear lamina, which consists of lamins and lamin-associated proteins, serves several functions: it provides a structural scaffold for the nuclear envelope and tethers proteins and heterochromatin to the nuclear periphery. In yeast, proteins and large heterochromatic domains including telomeres are also peripherally localized, but there is no evidence that yeast have lamins or a fibrous nuclear envelope scaffold. Nonetheless, we found that the Lem2 and Man1 proteins of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, evolutionarily distant relatives of the Lap2/Emerin/ Man1 (LEM) sub-family of animal cell lamin-associated proteins, perform fundamental functions of the animal cell lamina. These integral inner nuclear membrane localized proteins, with nuclear localized DNA binding Helix-Extension-Helix (HEH) domains, impact nuclear envelope structure and integrity, are essential for the enrichment of telomeres at the nuclear periphery and by means of their HEH domains anchor chromatin, most likely transcriptionally repressed heterochromatin, to the nuclear periphery. These data indicate that the core functions of the nuclear lamina are conserved between fungi and animal cells and can be performed in fission yeast, without lamins or other intermediate filament proteins [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response to aluminum (Al) application was compared between an Al-tolerant plant, ruzigrass (Brachiaria ruziziensis), and two cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), Al-tolerant ‘Dayton’ and Al-sensitive ‘Kearney’, of Al at 1.0 mM level. The micro content of Al transportation and accumulation in leaf cell organelles (nuclei, mitochondria, and chloroplast) was determined by the 26Al tracer technique with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), which could detect atoms of the order of 107 of 26Al. In a short-time-exposure experiment, plants were immersed into 0.1 mM 27Al (containing 101 dpm/300 mL 26Al) for 5 hours. Then the leaves were separated and 27Al and 26Al were determined. Growth of shoots and roots of ruzigrass was not influenced at 1 mM AlCl3, but the growth of barley cultivars (Dayton and Kearney) was seriously affected. There was only a small difference in Al content in shoot (about 5 g g-1) among plant species or cultivars when total leaf 27Al was determined by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP/AES) method at 0.1 mM level. While large differences in the Al content between plant cultivars in the leaf subcellular organelles were found by using 26Al with the AMS method, the amount was in the order of 1–10 pg per 1 mg of organelle protein. Ruzigrass accumulated about 4 or 5 times higher content (2.8 ng mg-1 of protein) of 27Al in the nuclei and 2 or 3 times higher content (0.2 ng mg-1 of protein) in the mitochondria than the two barley cultivars did. There was no difference in Al accumulation in the chloroplast among these three plant cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeologists study many phenomena that scale beyond even our most geographically expansive field methodologies. The promise of collecting archaeologically relevant data beyond the scale of regional surveys is among the most exciting prospects of the "data revolution." Yet previous efforts have either struggled to generate high-quality data within expansive regions or to use well-edited interregional datasets to address novel research questions. We discuss the development of two collaborative research projects that seek to address these problems— (Geospatial Platform for Andean Culture, History and Archaeology) and (Linked Open Gazetteer of the Andean Region). The former is an online platform facilitating virtual archaeological survey of satellite and historical aerial imagery; the latter collates primary source information on Andean places. We illustrate the potential of both tools through presentation and analysis of a comprehensive basemap of the planned colonial towns built during a mass resettlement program instituted in the viceroyalty of Peru in the 1570s C.E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The objective of this study was to introduce mobile telerehabilitation with tablet computers and to verify its practical effectiveness in improving physical function and health status. Methods: In this study, nine adults aged 76.3 ± 3.3 years old participated in 13 exercise sessions led by a physical therapist each lasting 60 min every 2 weeks for a total of 6 months. A physical therapist performed exercises in front of a digital camera which was connected to a lab computer. In a community center, participants performed the exercises while watching the exercise performance on a screen. Intervention was delivered by video conferencing over high-speed mobile Internet. Results: All participants were satisfied with telerehabilitation. We found that patients experienced significant improvement in physical function following participation. Conclusion: Mobile telerehabilitation provides an alternative option for delivering physical exercise and supervision, especially for those with geographical restrictions and limited local professional resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial office regrets the following errors in this article. • On page 1, left column, the tenth line should read as follows: '... long attracted scientific interest [1–9].' • On page 2, left column, the second line should read as follows: '... (structural color can be found even in fossils [20]).' • On page 10, left column, the 11th line should read as follows: '... LEDs (figure 18(c)) [86].' • On page 10, right column, the 15th line should read as follows: '... with moth-eye structures at low cost (figure 19) [97].' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]