Immediate Effect of Trunk Flexion And Extension Isometric Exercise Using An External Compression Device On Electromyography of The Hip Extensor And Trunk Range of Motion Of Healthy Subjects

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a very common symptom experienced by individuals across all age groups. Previous study established that using a device known as Active Therapeutic Movement version 2 (ATM®2) has been developed to improve pain and joint range of motion (ROM) in patients with LBP. However, no study has examined the physiological change in the muscle through ATM®2-based exercise thus far. This study aimed to determine the immediate effects of ATM®2 exercise on the contraction timing, back extension endurance, muscle fatigue, and trunk ROM of lumbar and lower limb muscles in healthy subjects.Methods: Thirty-six healthy subjects (mean age=23.16±2.3) volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects were instructed to perform ROM test using sit and reach test, back extensor endurance test using Biering-Sorensen test, erector spinae (ES), lumbar multifidus (LM) fatigue and onset time of Gluteus maximus (GM) in prone hip extension using electromyography before and after trunk flexion and extension isometric exercises.Results: The ROM in trunk flexion showed a significant increase by 7.9% after exercise compared to that before exercise (p<0.05). Relative GM contraction onset timing significantly decreased after exercise (p<0.05). The result of the Sorensen test after exercise showed a trend of increase in duration time. Muscle fatigue in the LM, however, showed a significant increase (p<0.05), whereas muscle fatigue in the ES was reduced without statistical significance.Conclusions: The results base on this study showed a significant increase in the trunk ROM after trunk flexion and extension isometric exercise using an external compression device, while the relative contraction onset timing in the GM significantly reduced. Furthermore, the muscle endurance test after exercise showed a trend of increase in the duration time with a decreasing trend in muscle fatigue in the ES. Exercise based on ATM®2 is an effective exercise protocol with an effect on biomechanics of healthy subjects. This exercise may be suitable in clinical practice for patients with LBP, for which long-term effects can be expected.

Determining the timing of pubertal onset via a multicohort analysis of growth

Objective Growth-based determination of pubertal onset timing would be cheap and practical. We aimed to determine this timing based on pubertal growth markers. Secondary aims were to estimate the differences in growth between cohorts and identify the role of overweight in onset timing. Design This multicohort study includes data from three Finnish cohorts—the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP, N = 2,825) Study, the Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP, N = 711), and the Boy cohort (N = 66). Children were monitored for growth and Tanner staging (except in DIPP). Methods The growth data were analyzed using a Super-Imposition by Translation And Rotation growth curve model, and pubertal onset analyses were run using a time-to-pubertal onset model. Results The time-to-pubertal onset model used age at peak height velocity (aPHV), peak height velocity (PHV), and overweight status as covariates, with interaction between aPHV and overweight status for girls, and succeeded in determining the onset timing. Cross-validation showed a good agreement (71.0% for girls, 77.0% for boys) between the observed and predicted onset timings. Children in STRIP were taller overall (girls: 1.7 [95% CI: 0.9, 2.5] cm, boys: 1.0 [0.3, 2.2] cm) and had higher PHV values (girls: 0.13 [0.02, 0.25] cm/year, boys: 0.35 [0.21, 0.49] cm/year) than those in DIPP. Boys in the Boy cohort were taller (2.3 [0.3, 4.2] cm) compared with DIPP. Overweight girls showed pubertal onset at 1.0 [0.7, 1.4] year earlier compared with other girls. In boys, there was no such difference. Conclusions The novel modeling approach provides an opportunity to evaluate the Tanner breast/genital stage–based pubertal onset timing in cohort studies including longitudinal data on growth but lacking pubertal follow-up.

Accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study

Aims Growing evidence suggests that poor sleep health is associated with cardiovascular risk. However, research in this area often relies upon recollection dependent questionnaires or diaries. Accelerometers provide an alternative tool for measuring sleep parameters objectively. This study examines the association between wrist-worn accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods and results We derived sleep onset and waking up time from accelerometer data collected from 103 712 UK Biobank participants over a period of 7 days. From this, we examined the association between sleep onset timing and CVD incidence using a series of Cox proportional hazards models. A total of 3172 cases of CVD were reported during a mean follow-up period of 5.7 (±0.49) years. An age- and sex-controlled base analysis found that sleep onset time of 10:00 p.m.–10:59 p.m. was associated with the lowest CVD incidence. An additional model, controlling for sleep duration, sleep irregularity, and established CVD risk factors, did not attenuate this association, producing hazard ratios of 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.10–1.39; P &lt; 0.005), 1.12 (1.01–1.25; P= 0.04), and 1.25 (1.02–1.52; P= 0.03) for sleep onset &lt;10:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.–11:59 p.m., and ≥12:00 a.m., respectively, compared to 10:00 p.m.–10:59 p.m. Importantly, sensitivity analyses revealed this association with increased CVD risk was stronger in females, with only sleep onset &lt;10:00 p.m. significant for males. Conclusions Our findings suggest the possibility of a relationship between sleep onset timing and risk of developing CVD, particularly for women. We also demonstrate the potential utility of collecting information about sleep parameters via accelerometry-capable wearable devices, which may serve as novel cardiovascular risk indicators.

Inhibitory gating of coincidence-dependent sensory binding in secondary auditory cortex

Integration of multi-frequency sounds into a unified perceptual object is critical for recognizing syllables in speech. This “feature binding” relies on the precise synchrony of each component’s onset timing, but little is known regarding its neural correlates. We find that multi-frequency sounds prevalent in vocalizations, specifically harmonics, preferentially activate the mouse secondary auditory cortex (A2), whose response deteriorates with shifts in component onset timings. The temporal window for harmonics integration in A2 was broadened by inactivation of somatostatin-expressing interneurons (SOM cells), but not parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PV cells). Importantly, A2 has functionally connected subnetworks of neurons preferentially encoding harmonic over inharmonic sounds. These subnetworks are stable across days and exist prior to experimental harmonics exposure, suggesting their formation during development. Furthermore, A2 inactivation impairs performance in a discrimination task for coincident harmonics. Together, we propose A2 as a locus for multi-frequency integration, which may form the circuit basis for vocal processing.

Accelerometer-derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study

Aims Growing evidence suggests that sleep quality is associated with cardiovascular risk. However, research in this area often relies upon recollection dependant questionnaires or diaries. Accelerometers provide an alternative tool for deriving sleep parameters measuring sleep patterns objectively. This study examines the associations between accelerometer derived sleep onset timing and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods and Results We derived sleep onset and waking up time from accelerometer data collected from 103,712 UK Biobank participants over a period of seven days. From this, we examined the association between sleep onset timing and CVD incidence using a series of Cox proportional hazards models. 3172 cases of CVD were reported during a mean follow-up period of 5.7 (±0.49) years. An age- and sex-controlled base analysis found that sleep onset time of 10:00pm-10:59pm was associated with the lowest CVD incidence. A fully adjusted model, additionally controlling for sleep duration, sleep irregularity, and established CVD risk factors, was unable to eliminate this association, producing hazard ratios of 1.24 (95% CI, 1.10-1.39; p<0.005), 1.12 (1.01-1.25; p=0.04), and 1.25 (1.02-1.52; p=0.03) for sleep onset <10:00pm, 11:00pm-11:59pm, and & ≥12:00am, respectively, compared to 10:00pm-10:59pm. Importantly, sensitivity analyses revealed this association was stronger in females, with only sleep onset <10:00pm significant for males. Conclusions Our findings suggest an independent relationship between sleep onset timing and risk of developing CVD, particularly for women. We also demonstrate the potential utility of collecting information about sleep parameters via accelerometry-capable wearable devices, which may serve as novel cardiovascular risk indicators.

The trajectory of psychiatric problems following an adolescent vs. young adult onset of alcohol use disorder

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) most often onsets in young adulthood (YAO), but prospective studies are needed to determine whether an onset in adolescence (AO) confers a more severe trajectory of psychiatric problems (e.g., depression, antisocial behavior, and other substance use) alongside AUD in men and women.METHODS: Using a prospective approach, we compared the trajectories of psychiatric problems for men and women with an AO, a YAO, and no history of AUD from ages 17 to 29 years old. RESULTS: Both gender and AUD onset moderated linear and non-linear changes in problems from adolescence to adulthood. AO conferred the poorest adolescent and young adult adjustment relative to the same-gender control and YAO groups. Critically, onset groups were more distinct among men (i.e., AO &gt; YAO &gt; no AUD) than women (i.e., AO = YAO &gt; no AUD).CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent onset of alcohol problems portends severe, broad spread problems for both men and women into adulthood. Critically, adolescent onset yields the worst psychiatric problems among men (vs. YAO) while women experience severe, persistent problems across domains irrespective of onset timing. For both genders, mitigating the long-term, cascade of problems that accompany AUD will require special attention to heterogeneity in the timing of its onset and acceleration of psychiatric problems thereafter.

Seasonal climate influences on the timing of the Australian monsoon onset

The timing of the first monsoon burst of the season, or the monsoon onset, can be a critical piece of information for agriculture, fire management, water management, and emergency response in monsoon regions. Why do some monsoon seasons start earlier or later than others? Previous research has investigated the impact of climate influences such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on monsoon variability, but most studies have considered only the impact on rainfall and not the timing of the onset. While this question could be applied to any monsoon system, this research presented in this paper has focused on the Australian monsoon. Even with the wealth of research available on the variability of the Australian monsoon season, the timing of the monsoon onset is one aspect of seasonal variability that still lacks skilful seasonal prediction. To help us better understand the influence of large-scale climate drivers on monsoon onset timing, we recreated 11 previously published Australian monsoon onset datasets and extended these to all cover the same period from the 1950/1951 through the 2020/2021 Australian wet seasons. The extended datasets were then tested for correlations with several standard climate indices to identify which climate drivers could be used as predictors for monsoon onset timing. The results show that many of the relationships between monsoon onset dates and ENSO that were previously published are not as strong when considering the extended datasets. Only a strong La Niña pattern usually has an impact on monsoon onset timing, while ENSO-neutral and El Niño patterns lacked a similar relationship. Detrended Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) data showed a weak relationship with monsoon onset dates, but when the trend in the IOD data is retained, the relationship with onset dates diminishes. Other patterns of climate variability showed little relationship with Australian monsoon onset dates. Since ENSO is a tropical climate process with global impacts, it is prudent to further re-examine its influences in other monsoon regions too, with the aim to evaluate and improve previously established prediction methodologies.