Comparison of Distance and Angular Analysis for Measurement of Hamstring Flexibility in Preschoolers

The study aimed to (1) investigate the reliability and usefulness of a proposed angular analysis during a modified sit-and-reach (MSR) test, and (2) compare the proposed MSR angular analysis and the commonly used MSR distance to verify the influence of the anthropometric characteristics in preschoolers. 194 preschoolers participated in the study. Before testing, the anthropometric characteristics were collected. Each participant performed the MSR test twice. The MSR distance score was obtained from the starting point to the reaching point, while the MSR angle score was calculated according to the approximate hip flexion angle. Both the relative and absolute reliability were good for the angular analysis during an MSR test in preschoolers (ICC ranging from 0.82 to 0.91, CV% ranging from 8.21 to 9.40). The angular analysis demonstrated good usefulness, with a lower typical error than the smallest worthwhile change in 3- and 5-year-old groups. The MSR angle scores could eliminate the concern of the influence of anthropometric characteristics, while MSR distance and anthropometric characteristics (i.e., sitting height and arm length) were found to be weakly correlated. In conclusion, the angular analysis when performing the MSR test is reliable and appears to eliminate the concern regarding the limb length bias.

Perceived Versus Objective Change in Walking Ability in Peripheral Artery Disease: Results from 3 Randomized Clinical Trials of Exercise Therapy

Background In people with lower‐extremity peripheral artery disease, the effects of exercise on patient‐reported outcomes remain unclear. Methods and Results Four hundred four people with peripheral artery disease in 3 clinical trials were randomized to exercise (N=205) or a control group (N=199) and completed the 6‐minute walk and the Walking Impairment Questionnaire distance score (score 0–100, 100=best) at baseline and 6‐month follow‐up. Compared with the control group, exercise improved 6‐minute walk distance by +39.8 m (95% CI, 26.8–52.8, P <0.001) and the Walking Impairment Questionnaire distance score by +7.3 (95% CI, 2.4–12.1, P =0.003). In all, 2828 individual Walking Impairment Questionnaire distance score questions were completed at baseline and follow‐up. Among participants who perceived no change in ability to walk 1 or more distances between baseline and follow‐up, 6‐minute walk improved in the exercise group and declined in the control group (+26.8 versus −6.5 m, P <0.001). Among participants who perceived that their walking ability worsened for 1 or more distances between baseline and follow‐up, the 6‐minute walk improved in the exercise group and declined in the control group (+18.4 versus –27.3 m, P <0.001). Among participants who reported worsening calf symptoms at follow‐up, the exercise group improved and the control group declined (+28.9 versus −12.5 m, P <0.01). Conclusions In 3 randomized trials, exercise significantly improved the 6‐minute walk distance in people with peripheral artery disease, but many participants randomized to exercise reported no change or decline in walking ability. These findings suggest a significant discrepancy in objectively measured walking improvement relative to perceived walking improvement in people with peripheral artery disease. Registration Information clinicaltrials.gov. Identifiers: NCT 00106327, NCT 01408901.

Abstract 14421: Association Between Meeting Daily Step Count Goals With Ambulatory Function and Quality of Life in Patients With Claudication

Introduction: The aims were to determine (a) whether patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who walked at least 7,000 and 10,000 steps/day had better ambulatory function and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than patients who walked less than 7,000 steps/day, and (b) whether these group differences persisted after adjusting for covariates. Hypothesis: Patients who walk at least 7,000 steps/day have significantly better ambulatory function, as measured by greater 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), and better HRQoL, as measured by a higher distance score on the Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ), than patients who walked less than 7,000 steps/day, and that patients who walked more than 10,000 steps/day would have the best values. Furthermore, group differences in the primary outcomes would persist after adjustment for covariates. Methods: Two hundred forty-eight patients were assessed on their daily activity for one week with a step activity monitor, and were grouped according to daily step counts as follows: Group 1 (<7,000 steps/day; n=153), Group 2 (7,000-9,999 steps/day; n=57), Group 3 (>10,000 steps/day; n=38). Primary outcomes were 6MWD and WIQ distance score, which is a disease-specific measurement of HRQoL. Results: Groups were different (p<0.05) on ankle/brachial index, and on prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, abdominal obesity, arthritis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Thus, these variables served as covariates in adjusted analyses, along with age, weight, and sex. 6MWD (mean±SD) was significantly different among the groups in unadjusted (p<0.01) and adjusted (p<0.01) analyses (Group 1=313±90 m, Group 2=378±84 m, Group 3=414±77 m), with Groups 2 and 3 having higher 6MWD than Group 1 (p<0.01). Similar results were found for the WIQ distance score (Group 1=30±30%, Group 2=45±35%, Group 3=47±34%; p<0.01). Conclusions: PAD patients who walked more than 7,000 and 10,000 steps/day had greater ambulatory function and HRQoL than patients who walked fewer than 7,000 steps/day, and this finding persisted after adjusting for covariates. The clinical significance is that PAD patients should be encouraged to walk more than 7,000 steps/day because this target is associated with greater ambulatory function and HRQoL

GeneSetCluster: a tool for summarizing and integrating gene-set analysis results

Background Gene-set analysis tools, which make use of curated sets of molecules grouped based on their shared functions, aim to identify which gene-sets are over-represented in the set of features that have been associated with a given trait of interest. Such tools are frequently used in gene-centric approaches derived from RNA-sequencing or microarrays such as Ingenuity or GSEA, but they have also been adapted for interval-based analysis derived from DNA methylation or ChIP/ATAC-sequencing. Gene-set analysis tools return, as a result, a list of significant gene-sets. However, while these results are useful for the researcher in the identification of major biological insights, they may be complex to interpret because many gene-sets have largely overlapping gene contents. Additionally, in many cases the result of gene-set analysis consists of a large number of gene-sets making it complicated to identify the major biological insights. Results We present GeneSetCluster, a novel approach which allows clustering of identified gene-sets, from one or multiple experiments and/or tools, based on shared genes. GeneSetCluster calculates a distance score based on overlapping gene content, which is then used to cluster them together and as a result, GeneSetCluster identifies groups of gene-sets with similar gene-set definitions (i.e. gene content). These groups of gene-sets can aid the researcher to focus on such groups for biological interpretations. Conclusions GeneSetCluster is a novel approach for grouping together post gene-set analysis results based on overlapping gene content. GeneSetCluster is implemented as a package in R. The package and the vignette can be downloaded at https://github.com/TranslationalBioinformaticsUnit

PERBANDINGAN METODE LATIHAN VISUALISASI DAN RELAKSASI TERHADAP PENINGKATAN SKOR JARAK 10 METER PADA ATLET PANAHAN TINGKAT PEMULA

ABSTRAK Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui perbandingan antara metode visualisasi dan relaksasi terhadap peningkatan skor jarak 10 meter pada atlet panahan tingkat pemula. Sejumlah 34 mahasiswa Fakultas Ilmu Olahraga Universitas Negeri Jakarta yang menjadi subjek penelitian. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode eksperimen. Pengukuran hasil penelitian menggunakan instrument menembakan 3 anak panah sebanyak 5 seri dengan total skor tertinggi 150. Analisis data penelitian menggunakan teknik analisis uji T. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian 1) Perbandingan data awal dan akhir pada metode visualisasi diperoleh nilai thitung 5,100 dan ttabel sebesar 2,119, berarti terjadi peningkatan yang signifikan hasil metode visualisasi terhadap kemampuan memanah jarak 10 meter. 2) Perbandingan data awal dan akhir pada metode relaksasi diperoleh nilai thitung 5,442 dan t tabel sebesar 2,119, berarti terjadi peningkatan yang signifikan hasil metode relaksasi terhadap kemampuan memanah jarak 10 meter. 3) Perbandingan data tes akhir antara metode visualisasi dan relaksasi terhadap kemampuan memanah jarak 10 meter, rata-rata metode visualisasi sebesar 32,36 standar deviasi 18,12 dan varian 328,51. Rata-rata metode relaksasi sebesar 28,95, standar deviasi 17,81 dan varian 317,37. Kemudian diperoleh nilai thitung 0,553, sedangkan nilai ttabel sebesar 0,203. Jadi thitung > ttabel. Sehingga dapat disimpulkan, metode visualisasi lebih efektif dibanding metode relaksasi terhadap peningkatan kemampuan memanah jarak 10 meter pada mahasiswa Fakultas Ilmu olahraga Universitas Negeri Jakarta. Kata Kunci : Panahan, Visualisasi, Relaksasi ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine the comparison between visualization and relaxation methods to an increase in the 10 meter distance score for beginner archery athletes. A total of 34 students of the Faculty of Sports Science, State University of Jakarta are the research subjects. This research is using experimental method. Measurement of research results using the instrument shooting 3 arrows as many as 5 series with the highest total score of 150. Analysis of research data using the T test analysis technique. There was a significant increase in the results of the visualization method on the 10 meter distance archery ability. 2) Comparison of the initial and final data on the relaxation method, the t-count value is 5.442 and the t table is 2.119, which means that there is a significant increase in the results of the relaxation method on the ability to shoot at 10 meters distance. 3) Comparison of final test data between visualization and relaxation methods to archery ability at 10 meters distance, the average visualization method is 32.36 standard deviation 18.12 and variant 328.51. The average relaxation method is 28.95, the standard deviation is 17.81 and the variant is 317.37. Then the t-count value was 0.553, while the t-table value was 0.203. So tcount> ttable. So it can be concluded, the visualization method is more effective than the relaxation method in increasing the ability of 10 meters archery in students of the Faculty of Sports Science, State University of Jakarta. Keywords: Archery, Visualization, Relaxation

Feasibility of Using Dynamic Time Warping to Measure Motor States in Parkinson’s Disease

The aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) method to measure motor states in advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD). Data were collected from 19 PD patients who experimented leg agility motor tests with motion sensors on their ankles once before and multiple times after an administration of 150% of their normal daily dose of medication. Experiments of 22 healthy controls were included. Three movement disorder specialists rated the motor states of the patients according to Treatment Response Scale (TRS) using recorded videos of the experiments. A DTW-based motor state distance score (DDS) was constructed using the acceleration and gyroscope signals collected during leg agility motor tests. Mean DDS showed similar trends to mean TRS scores across the test occasions. Mean DDS was able to differentiate between PD patients at Off and On motor states. DDS was able to classify the motor state changes with good accuracy (82%). The PD patients who showed more response to medication were selected using the TRS scale, and the most related DTW-based features to their TRS scores were investigated. There were individual DTW-based features identified for each patient. In conclusion, the DTW method can provide information about motor states of advanced PD patients which can be used in the development of methods for automatic motor scoring of PD.

Possible Method for Customer Segmentation in Bath Center Based on Neural Net

With the coming of data era, even small business has ability to collect and store abundant data, which means doing customer segmentation based on data, instead of experience, is possible. This paper chooses a developing business in Chin—bath center, to make customer segmentation with data. In this research, neural net is used to deal with the distance to fit more with the true psychological distance and create the distance score to get more information from the variables about coming of the customers. Possible formula of distance score is also given as a reference. The distance score turns out to be a better measure of the psychological distance and the neural net has a better graph of the distance data than other methods. This paper gives a possible method for customer segmentation in a completely new business area.