The water deficit index (WDI) derived from Landsat imagery was used to detect temporal and spatial changes in grassland transpiration. The WDI, which estimates relative evapotranspiration rates based on meteorological data and the relation between surface reflectance and temperature, has been successfully applied over heterogeneous terrain with little a priori information. In this study, WDI wa...

As field phenotyping of plant response to water constraints constitutes a bottleneck for breeding programmes, airborne thermal imagery can contribute to assessing the water status of a wide range of individuals simultaneously. However, the presence of mixed soil-plant pixels in heterogeneous plant cover complicates the interpretation of canopy temperature. Moran's Water Deficit Index (WDI = 1-E...

[Purpose] The purpose of the present study was to analyze the correlations of the thicknesses of the transversus abdominis muscle (Tra) and the internal obliquus abdominis muscle (Io) with static lumbar stability (SLS), dynamic lumbar stability (DLS), and balance. [Subjects] The subjects of the present study were 40 female university students who had no physical defects or pain. [Methods] The t...

[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of core muscle stability training on the weight distribution and stability of the elderly. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty elderly persons were randomly divided into an experimental group which performed core strengthening exercises, and a control group which performed standard strengthening exercises for 8 weeks. A Tetrax Interactive Balance System w...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of virtual reality (VR) and a tetra-ataxiometric posturography (Tetrax) program on stroke patients with impaired standing balance. METHODS Thirty acute stroke patients with impaired standing balance were recruited and randomly assigned to a VR, Tetrax, or control group. All patients received conventional balance training as a baseline; and VR and Tetrax pat...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between baseline motor evoked potential (MEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) responses in the lower extremities and balance recovery in subacute hemiparetic stroke patients. METHODS MEPs and SSEPs were evaluated in 20 subacute hemiparetic stroke patients before rehabilitation. Balance (static posturography and Berg Balance Scale [BBS]), moto...

Wechsler's Deterioration Index (WDI) was developed as an indicator of cognitive impairment in adults but has been applied to children, because neuropsychological deficits have often been hypothesized to account for learning difficulties during the development period. Renamed the Wechsler Developmental Index, this measure has been used to discriminate among groups of children with and without le...

Hyperpnea with exercise or hypercapnia causes phasic contraction of abdominal muscles, potentially lengthening the diaphragm at end expiration and unloading it during inspiration. Muscle efficiency in vitro varies with load, fiber length, and precontraction stretch. To examine whether these properties of muscle contractility determine diaphragm efficiency (Eff(di)) in vivo, we measured Eff(di) ...