In recent years brands have come under the spotlight for delivering unique and authentic brand experiences. Consumers find themselves looking for brands that add experiential value to their daily life, from a sensory, behavioral, intellectual and relational perspective (Brakus et al., 2009). Moreover, there is a growing demand for brands that are able to deliver their brand promise authentically (Morhart et al., 2015; Schallehn et al., 2014). On this background, our research was conducted in order to examine the role of brand experience and brand authenticity in generating brand love. In addressing this issue, the present study attempts to perform a test on research hypotheses by empirically validating the proposed conceptual model in a cross-country context (Japan and Portugal) for the brands Apple and Samsung. Additionally, it analyses the moderating effect of self-authenticity in relation to brand experience and brand authenticity. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire to final consumers, who are owners of Apple and Samsung devices. A total of 574 valid questionnaires were collected regarding Apple brand (Japan = 300; Portugal = 274). Following the testing of the structural equation model, results demonstrate the correlation between brand authenticity and brand experience and show that the greater the self-authenticity, the higher is the effect of brand authenticity on brand love. It is worth noting however that the direct and moderating effects are different for Apple and Samsung in Japan and Portugal. This accounts for the cultural differences in how consumers perceive the experiential and authentic brand value propositions and how they relate emotionally to brands. Our study also provides important managerial implications by helping brand managers to understand how to drive passionate and intense feelings towards brands and to target consumers who are looking for compelling, meaningful and authentic brand experiences.

The proportion of collision in the total marine accidents is high. The main causes of collisions are navigation rule violation, safety speed violation, neglected watch-keeping and improper collision avoidance action. There are two main ways of avoiding collision situations during maritime navigation: the method of altering course and reducing ship’s speed. The purpose of this study is to analyze the result of the collision avoidance action of the reserve officer in case of encountering a multiple number of ships using the ship handling simulator. Full-mission ship handling simulator was used to experiment the situation scenarios that encountered multiple ships. After the experiment, the questionnaire about the experiment was investigated. A total of 50 subjects were participated in the experiment. Experimental results showed that the number of the experimenters who used the engine was 11 and the number of the experimenters who did not use the engine was 39. In the case of using the engine, there were 0 collision accident, 1 grounding accident, and 10 no accidents. However, when the engine was not used, there were 28 collision accidents, 2 grounding accidents, and 9 no accidents. The causes of these results can be found in the survey results. 74 % of the non used engine participants said they were hesitate to use the engine. As can be seen from these results, the reserve officer are hesitant to use the engine and need a way to get correct of it. Maritime course subject can emphasize the importance of using ship’s engines and case study also can be it. So, It is considered that various case study scenario will need to developed by various tools in the future.

Focusing on the effectiveness of a glocalization advertising strategy in China, findings suggest that the ethnicity of endorser moderates the effect of bilingual brand naming (use of both foreign and Chinese brand names) on perceptions of a brand’s luxury quality. Introduction Given a long debate between standardization and localization, many corporations, as a solution, prefer to use both (Featherstone 1990, Sklair, 1995; Friedman, 1999). The right balance of standardization and localization is viewed as the key to success of brands being implemented at a global level, especially in countries the cultural values of which completely differ from those of the brand’s country of origin. The degree of standardization or localization in advertising is determined by various advertising elements. Advertising transfers cultural meaning through signs such as language, aesthetics, endorsers, and so forth, with brands hoping that target audiences positively associate the cultural meanings with the advertised brand (Leclerc, Schmitt & Dubé, 1994; Schmitt, Pan & Tavassoli, 1994; Cheng & Schweitzer, 1996). A brand name and the ethnicity of an endorser, out of the advertising signs, have been recognized as significant cues for conveying a brand image to consumers. This suggests that, in such a place as China, a foreign brand name or a foreign endorser in advertising produces more positive advertising-related responses for a product with foreign characteristics, compared with a Chinese brand name or a Chinese endorser (Zhang & Zhang, 2010). However, when taking a combination of the two strategies or considering the extent of localization in China, little is known about the effectiveness of a glocalization strategy in global advertising in China, which is one of the most attractive international markets to global brands, in particular, luxury brands. In reality, consistent with the argument that the combination of standardization and localization is effective, a number of luxury brands (e.g., Chanel ‘香奈儿’, Dior ‘迪奥’, Bottega Veneta ‘葆蝶家’, Estée Lauder ‘雅诗兰黛’, etc.) create their Chinese brand names when entering the Chinese market while retaining their foreign brand names. This is because most foreign brand names are either too complicated or lengthy, making it difficult for Chinese consumers to remember them or pronounce them (Zheng, 2013). Therefore, the current study attempts to examine the effectiveness of bilingual brand names as a means of a glocalization strategy. Specifically, this study investigates how languages of brand name (presentation of brand name: foreign brand name only vs. Chinese brand name only vs. both of the foreign and Chinese brand names) and the ethnicity of an endorser (Western vs. Chinese) affect consumer perception of the brand’s luxuriousness and consequently influence purchase intention. Method A 3 (language of brand name: foreign brand name only vs. Chinese brand name only vs. both foreign and Chinese brand names) x 2 (ethnicity of celebrity endorser: Western vs. Chinese) between-subject experimental study was conducted to test proposed hypotheses. Six versions of a manipulated print advertisement represented the experimental conditions. For the experiment, data were collected from a sample of 150 undergraduate students in Mainland China through a snowballing sampling technique. To increase internal validity, undergraduate students were used as the sample in the current study as it is suggested that university students are relatively a homogeneous group to reduce individual differences. In addition, considering that most of consumers for luxury goods in China are under 45 years old (Atsmon & Dixit, 2009), and the younger generation (25-35 years old) has been growing into the core consumers for luxury goods in China (Bain & Company, 2014), undergraduates are the potential consumers of luxury brands as they will, in the near future, accumulate consumption power. All subjects logged onto the study’s website, where they were randomly assigned to one of the six experimental conditions. LONGINES, a Switzerland luxury watch brand, was selected as the representative of a luxury brand for subjects, as this particular brand embraces a high degree of localization, having both English and Chinese brand names and both foreign and Chinese celebrity endorsers. It also enjoys high awareness among Chinese consumers. To manipulate the language of the brand name, three variations were used: presentation of brand name in a foreign language [LONGINES], presentation of brand name in Chinese [ 浪琴], and presentation of both brand names in a print advertisement. In the history of its advertising, LONGINES has employed 15 celebrity endorsers, 4 being Chinese. To manipulate the ethnicity of the celebrity endorser, out of the 15 endorsers, Simon Baker and Kate Winslet were selected as Western endorsers while Aaron Kwok, and Lin Chi-ling were used as Chinese endorsers. To reduce confounding effects by using a real brand, brand familiarity and brand attitude were included as covariates in the study. Findings Luxurious Perception of the Brand While controlling brand familiarity (p < .05) and brand attitude (p < .001), the language of the brand name, F(2,142) = 5.254, p < .01, had a significant main effect on the perception of a brand’s luxury quality. More specifically, a follow-up post hoc test indicated that subjects who saw the ad presenting the foreign brand name in Latin showed a stronger perception of a brand’s luxury quality than did those exposed to the ads that presented the Chinese brand name or both of the foreign and Chinese brand names. However, we found no significant difference between the presentation of the Chinese brand name and the presentation of both foreign and Chinese brand names. On the other hand, the ethnicity of the endorser was not found to have a significant effect on the perception of a brand’s luxury quality (p > .05). The results further revealed a significant interaction between the language of the brand name and the ethnicity of the endorser on the perception of a brand’s luxury quality, F(2,142) = 5.647, p < .01. Specifically, Figure 1 shows that both brand names produced a weaker perception of a brand’s luxury quality than the foreign brand name only when the Western endorser is presented, however, both brand names produced an equal effect to the foreign brand name only when the Chinese endorser is presented. The language of brand name, while controlling brand familiarity (p < .05) and brand attitude (p < .001), exhibited a significant effect on purchase intention, F(2,142) = 3.472, p < .05. A follow-up post hoc test revealed that the presentation of the foreign brand name or both of the foreign and Chinese brand names in the ad generated higher purchase intention than the presentation of the Chinese brand name. However, there was no significant difference between the conditions of the foreign brand name and the both brand names. With respect to the main effect of the ethnicity of an endorser on purchase intention, the data did not exhibit a significant effect (p > .05). No significant interaction effect between the language of brand name and the ethnicity of an endorser emerged (p > .05). Mediating Role of Luxurious Perception of the Brand To confirm the moderated mediation of the perception of a brand’s luxury quality on purchase intention, the PROCESS macro model 8 was performed. The study found significant effects of the interaction on the perception of a brand’s luxury quality: βBrand name x Endorser = .54, SE = .17, p < .01. Then, when we examined the joint effects of the interaction effect and luxurious perception of the brand on purchase intention, no significant effect was found from the interaction; βBrand name x Endorser = -.02, SE = .24, p > .05, emerged on purchase intention. However, the effect of the perception of a brand’s luxury quality was still significant; βBrand name x Endorser = .33, SE = .12, p < .01. This implies that the interaction effect of the two independent variables had an indirect effect on purchase intention through the perception of a brand’s luxury quality (CI95, 1,000 bootstrapped samples [.0492, .4229]). Specifically, the perception of a brand’s luxury quality mediated the effect of the language of brand name on purchase intention only in the condition of a Western endorser (CI95: [-.3161, -.0429]), but not in the condition of a Chinese endorser (CI95: [-.0298, .1254]). Discussion The study supports the argument that a brand name is a strong cue for consumer judgment (Thakor & Lavack, 2003; De Mooij, 2010; Elena & Segev, 2012) by suggesting that when a brand uses a foreign brand name (Roman Alphabet), consumers are more likely to view the brand as luxurious; also consumers are more likely to be willing to purchase the brand than when it uses a Chinse brand name. Interestingly, bilingual brand naming has been found to be somewhat complicated. The study suggests that using both foreign and Chinese brand names is as ineffective as using a Chinese brand name only for luxurious perception of the brand. This may be because the use of a Chinese brand name along with a foreign brand name dilutes the cultural meanings (e.g., status, social distinction, etc.) that the foreign brand name on its own transfers to consumers. With respect to purchase intention, however, the use of bilingual brand naming produces an effect equal to the use of a foreign brand name only. This finding indicates that a brand name may be more associated with the perception of brand’s luxury quality than intention to purchase the brand. This further implies that the effectiveness of a glocalization strategy of the brand name by adding a Chinese brand name to an original foreign brand name should be considered with caution. In addition, the current study extends prior research on multi-cue models of country-of-origin effects by demonstrating the moderating role of the ethnicity of an endorser in the effectiveness of the language of a brand name. When a brand uses a Western celebrity endorser, the glocalization strategy of bilingual brand naming seems to be less effective; consumers have a weaker perception of a brand’s luxury quality, compared with a foreign brand name. However, bilingual brand naming is just as effective as foreign brand naming when it uses a Chinese celebrity as the endorser. Supporting previous findings about the synergistic effect of multiple foreign cues (Huang, Fan, & Zhou, 2008), this study implies while the foreign brand name still serves as a foreign cue in bilingual brand naming, the Chinese brand name attenuates the positive effect of the foreign brand name and weakens the synergistic effect from the foreign cues of the foreign brand name and the Western endorser. On the other hand, when a Chinese celebrity endorses the brand, there may not be a synergistic effect from the multiple foreign cues of the foreign brand name and the endorser. Therefore, adding a Chinese brand name to a foreign brand name may not significantly moderate the positive effect of the foreign brand name. Finally, this paper suggests that consumer perception of a product having luxury quality seems to be a strong driver in determining the purchase of a luxury brand, especially when a western celebrity endorsers the brand. Managerially, the study provides insights into the selection of an effective brand-naming strategy and an endorser for advertising when luxury brands do business in the Chinese market. Bilingual brand naming is becoming a common practice in China. Given such a trend in China, is the glocalization strategy on brand naming being deemed effective? If viewing advertising effectiveness from the perspective of enhancing luxurious brand image, the strategy of bilingual brand naming seems to work poorly in China compared with standardized foreign brand naming. It may not be that simple, though, because multiple cues are used to infer cultural meanings of luxury brands and, furthermore, the cues would interact with one another. Considering that many luxury brands use celebrities, especially Chinese celebrities in the Chinese market, foreign or bilingual brand naming is critical to the success of luxury brands, yielding equal effectiveness in luxury perception. This implies that if a brand uses a foreign brand name only, a Western endorser would be more desirable. If the brand adopts bilingual brand naming, then utilizing a Chinese endorser would seem advisable. The study further suggests that the localized strategy in brand name–the use of a Chinese brand name only–is not a good idea for luxury brands in China.

This paper introduces a nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (NOMC) derived from glucosamine with hybrid capacitive behaviors, achieved by successfully combining electrical double-layer capacitance with pseudo-capacitance behaviors. The nitrogen doping content of the fabricated NOMC reached 7.4 at% while its specific surface area (SBET) and total pore volume reached 778 m2 g−1 and 1.17 cm3 g−1, respectively. A dual mesoporous structure with small mesopores centered at 3.6 nm and large mesopores centered at 9.9 nm was observed. The specific capacitance of the reported materials reached up to 328 F g−1, which was 2.1 times higher than that of pristine CMK-3. The capacitance retention rate was found to be higher than 87.9% after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. The supplementary pseudocapacitance as well as the enhanced wettability and conductivity due to the incorporation of nitrogen heteroatoms within the carbon matrixes were found to be responsible for the excellent capacitive performance of the reported NOMC materials.

The purpose of this study is to classify the deficient abilities of seafarers into SRK (Skill, Rule, and Knowledge) and analyze and identify the SRK by the type of accident and ship. Experimental data used the SRK cumulative frequency for 1,606 marine accident records and two-way ANOVA and t-test were used for the analysis tools. The results of two-way ANOVA showed that it is possible to identify the deficient abilities by using the cumulative frequency of SRK in both accident and ship types. As a result of the t-test, the adoption of the null hypothesis (H=0) that the mean of two pairs is equal and the rejection of the null hypothesis (H=1) were 29.2 % and 70.8 %, respectively. For the ship type, H=0 is 33.3 % and H=1 is 66.7 %. Through this study, it was found that about 70 % of the deficient abilities of seafarers inherent in maritime accidents can be identified using the proposed method.

We report the use of carrot, a new and inexpensive biomaterial source, for preparing high quality carbon dots (CDs) instead of semi-conductive quantum dots for bioimaging application. The as-derived CDs possessing down and up-conversion photoluminescence features were obtained from carrot juice by commonly used hydrothermal treatment. The corresponding physiochemical and optical properties were investigated by electron microscopy, fluorescent spectrometry, and other spectroscopic methods. The surfaces of obtained CDs were highly covered with hydroxyl groups and nitrogen groups without further modification. The quantum yield of as-obtained CDs was as high as 5.16%. The cell viability of HaCaT cells against a purified CD aqueous solution was higher than 85% even at higher concentration (700 μg mL−1) after 24 h incubation. Finally, CD cultured cells exhibited distinguished blue, green, and red colors, respectively, during in vitro imaging when excited by three wavelength lasers under a confocal microscope. Offering excellent optical properties, biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and good cellular imaging capability, the carrot juice derived CDs are a promising candidate for biomedical applications.

본 연구의 목적은 새로운 사고의 위기가 국내 해양안전에 미치는 영향을 분석하기 위함이다. 새로운 사고 위기는 세계 해상운송에서 새롭거나 드물게 또는 예측하지 못한 사건들로부터 유추한 것으로 사전 연구에서 46명의 전문가를 통해서 식별한 것이다. 새로운 해양사고의 위기를 식별하기 위하여 해양안전심판원(KMST)의 통계 데이터를 계산에 사용하였고, IMO의 공식안정성평가기법인 위기지수(RI) = 빈도지수(FI) + 심각성지수(SI)의 개념을 계산에 적용하였다. 통계적인 사고 데이터로부터 FI와 SI의 가중치를 계산한 후 가장 순위가 높은 시나리오를 식별하고 새로운 사고 위기와 시나리오 사이의 관계를 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 가장 순위가 높은 시나리오의 근본적인 원인은 “첨단기술 개발”이었고, 그 결과 “화물 작업 시간 단축”이 발생하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 사전 연구에서 46명의 전문가에 의해 식별한 “영업 경쟁” 및 “선원 문제” 등과 차이가 있음을 보였다.

On January 16, 2016, AIIB declared its opening for business. Ever since its announcement by Chinese leaders in 2013, AIIB has been warmly embraced by most countries of the world. But still, neither the US nor Japan have become the AIIB members. Both of them take a rather cautious approach, viewing AIIB more as a challenge to the existing international financial order. By comparison, this paper finds that each country casts similar doubts. The US places its focal point more on ‘China-led’ rather than ‘new MDB.’ Japan focuses more on ‘new MDB’ instead of ‘China-led,’ meanwhile considering how to cope with the dilemma between the US and China. Orienting itself towards a more balanced international economic order, this paper attempts to seek a kind of positive cooperation based on the coordination of tri-lateral interests, thus suggesting the US and Japan to join AIIB as an external supervisor and internal member respectively.

본 연구는 서해안에서 상선의 어구 손괴로 인한 추진기 장애를 예방하기 위해 연안자망어선의 월별분포를 제시하였다. 분석 방법은 2014년 1년간의 어선위치발신장치 데이터를 이용하였다. 조업 해구도를 기준으로 경·위도 30′× 30′크기의 해구별 간격으로 격자를 설정하였다. 총 56개 해구를 대상으로 격자를 구성하였다. 연구 결과 밀도지수가 가장 높았던 194해구는 어구 손괴가 없었다. 반면, 밀도지수가 상대적으로 작은 193해구는 상선의 주 통항경로에 어구가 설치되기 때문에 손괴가 발생했다. 이 분석을 바탕으로 어구 손괴는 밀도지수에 비례하지 않고 상선의 주 통항경로에 따라 손괴위험이 존재하는 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 상선의 안전항해를 위해 5월부터 9월까지 위도 34.5° ~ 35.5°, 경도 125.67° ~ 126°를 항행경보구역으로 통보하면 추진기 장애와 어구손괴와 같은 해양사고를 예방할 것이다. 따라서 상선이 193해구와 203해구를 항해할 때는 안전한 항해를 위해 위도 34.5° ~ 35.5°, 경도 125.5° ~ 125.67°을 추천한다.

The key features of maritime accidents are the change of their attributes by new risks from time to time. To prevent maritime accidents in Korea, the impacts by new risks on domestic safety environments should be identified or predicted. The purpose of this paper is to find the hazard factors by new risks on maritime safety in Korea. The meaning of new risks is the elements of accident hazard which is compiled from new or rare or unprecedented events in the worldwide maritime transportations. The problems of new risks are the lacks of optimum countermeasures to mitigate accident risks. Using the questionnaires with 152 event scenarios classified by 20 accident causes, the hazard identification and risk analysis of new risks was performed based on the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) by IMO. A total of 22 Influence Diagrams, which is to depict the transit flows between accident causes to consequences, is used in the construction of 152 event scenarios. A total of 20 accidents causes is the same contents as the causation factors represented in Statistical Year Book for Maritime Accidents of Korean Maritime Safety Tribunals. After defining the evaluation equations to the response results of questionnaires by 46 experts, the work for risk analysis is carried out. As results from the analysis of 152 scenarios, it is known that the root cause to affect on maritime safety in Korea is the pressure of business competition and it led to the lacks of well experienced crews, the overload of vessel operations and crew's fatigue. In addition, as results from the analysis of 20 accident causes, the three accident causes are to be candidate as main issues in Korea such as the inadequate preparedness of departure, the neglecting of watch keeping in bridge and the inadequate management of ship operations. All of the results are thought to be as basic hazard factors to safety impediments. It is thus found that the optimum Risk Control Options to remove the hazard factors and to mitigate consequences required are the following two factors: business competition and crewing problems.

Background: Strengthening the supraspinatus is an important aspect of a rehabilitation program for subacromial impingement and tendinopathy. Many authors recommended empty-can (EC), full-can (FC), and prone full-can (PFC) exercises to strengthen the supraspinatus. However, no ultrasonography study has yet investigated supraspinatus muscle architecture (muscle thickness; MT, pennation angle; PA, fiber bundle length; FBL) in relation to supraspinatus strengthening exercises. Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the architecture (MT, PA, and FBL) of the supraspinatus muscle during three different types of exercises (EC, FC, and PFC) using diagnostic ultrasound. Methods: Participants performed three different exercises: (A) EC; the arm was maintained at 60° abduction with full internal rotation in the sitting position, (B) FC; the arm was maintained at 60° abduction with full external rotation in the sitting position, and (C) PFC; the arm was maintained at 60° abduction with full external rotation in the prone position. Ultrasonography was used to measure the MT, PA and FBL of the supraspinatus. One-way repeated analysis of variance with Bonferroni’s post-hoc test was used to compare between the three exercises and the initial position of each exercise. Results: Compared with each initial position, the FC exercise showed the greatest mean difference in muscle architecture properties and the PFC exercise showed the least mean difference. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the FC exercise position may have an advantage in increasing the amount of contractile tissue or producing muscle power and the PFC exercise position may be useful in a rehabilitation program because it offers the advantage of maintaining the muscle architecture properties.

농진청에서 수행하고 있는 아프리카 국제협력프로그램인KAFACI 사업의 일환으로 우간다 등 8개국에 ‘통일형 다수성벼 품종개발’ 사업을 추진하고 있다. 이를 위해 아프리카에서정상적인 생육과 수량을 나타내는 다수성 통일형 품종인 밀양23호와 아프리카의 재래종인 O. glaberrima를 이용하여 밀양23호의 유전적배경을 보유한 근동질 계통인 BC4F1을 육성하고, 약배양을 통해 유전적 고정계통을 육성하였다. 이 중 50개계통을 우간다에서 생물검정을 실시한 결과, 아프리카에서 문제시되는 Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV), Bacterial LeafStreak(BLS), 흰잎마름병 및 도열병에 복합저항성인 계통으로판명되었다. 특히 RYMV에 대한 저항성은 저항성원이 결여되어 있는 병으로 본 연구를 통해 육성한 계통들은 향후 아프리카에 적응하는 내병성 다수성 품종개발에 유용한 재료를 활용 될 것으로 생각된다.

So far, eight rounds of China-Japan-Korea FTA negotiations have been conducted. From 2015 on, the negotiations are expected to make great progress. Accordingly, CJK FTA has drawn increasing attention of scholars from multidimensionality. Still, there lacks concerns over the possible arrangement of each specific issue under such framework. Building on prior scholarship, this paper attempts to view such fragmented debate from the perspective of building a new international economic order. It suggests a developing track for CJK FTA to consider in designing its details: WTO→CJK FTA→RCEP(OBOR)→TPP→A New Multilateral Order. Only by so viewing can the important trilateral FTA play an appropriate role in future regional and global governance, so as to obtain the Asian voice in restructuring the international rules. Based on that, this paper further exemplifies a possible stepping stone regarding regional antidumping regimes and proposes adopting the WTO ADA Plus in CJK FTA. Such a proposal would become a crucial ‘blueprint’ for restructuring the multilateral ADA mechanism.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of visual electromyography (EMG) biofeedback on the EMG activity of the lower trapezius (LT), serratus anterior (SA), and upper trapezius (UT) muscles, the LT/UT and SA/UT EMG activity ratios, and the scapular upward rotation angle during scapular posterior tilting exercise (SPTE). Twenty-four subjects with round-shoulder posture participated in this study. The EMG activities of the LT, SA, and UT were collected during SPTE both without and with visual EMG biofeedback. The scapular upward rotation angle was measured at the baseline, after SPTE without visual EMG biofeedback, and after SPTE with visual EMG biofeedback. The LT, SA, and UT EMG activities, and the LT/UT and SA/UT EMG activity ratios were analyzed by paired t-test. The scapular upward rotation angle was statistically analyzed using one-way repeated analysis of variance. If a significant difference was found, a Bonferroni correction was performed (p=.05/3=.017). The EMG activities of LT and SA significantly increased, and the EMG activity of UT significantly decreased during SPTE with visual EMG biofeedback compared to SPTE without visual EMG biofeedback (p<.05). In addition, the LT/UT and SA/UT EMG activity ratios significantly increased during SPTE with visual EMG biofeedback compared to SPTE without visual EMG biofeedback (p<.05). Significant increases were found in the scapular upward rotation angle after SPTE without and with visual EMG biofeedback compared to baseline (p<.017), and no significant differences were observed in the scapular upward rotation angle between SPTE without and with visual EMG biofeedback. In conclusion, SPTE using visual EMG biofeedback may be an effective method for increasing LT and SA activities while reducing UT activity.

The Kepler mission has shown that small planets are extremely common. It is likely that nearly every star in the sky hosts at least one rocky planet. We just need to look hard enough - but this requires vast amounts of telescope time. MINERVA (MINiature Exoplanet Radial Velocity Array) is a dedicated exoplanet observatory with the primary goal of discovering rocky, Earth-like planets orbiting in the habitable zone of bright, nearby stars. The MINERVA team is a collaboration among UNSW Australia, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Penn State University, University of Montana, and the California Institute of Technology. The four-telescope MINERVA array will be sited at the F.L. Whipple Observatory on Mt Hopkins in Arizona, USA. Full science operations will begin in mid-2015 with all four telescopes and a stabilised spectrograph capable of high-precision Doppler velocity measurements. We will observe ~100 of the nearest, brightest, Sun-like stars every night for at least five years. Detailed simulations of the target list and survey strategy lead us to expect 154 new low-mass planets.

Hip muscle activation and strengthening exercise programs are often used to prevent and treat various lower extremity injuries. Common exercise programs include squat exercises. The purposes of this study were to investigate gluteus medius (GMED) and tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscle activity, and to assess the GMED/TFL ratio during squat exercises involving different isometric hip contraction conditions. Different types of isometric hip contraction were standard squat without hip contraction, squats with isometric hip adduction, and squats with isometric hip abduction. Twenty (10 males and 10 females) healthy subjects (23.7±2.8 years old) were recruited. Subjects performed the squat exercises with the back supported by a wall and knees flexed to 60°. Surface electromyography (EMG) was used to measure GMED and TFL activity. One-way repeated analysis of variance was used to compare GMED and TFL muscle activity and the GMED/TFL ratio. GMED and TFL EMG activity was significantly higher during squats with isometric hip adduction and abduction compared with the standard squat without hip contraction (p<.05). Between the isometric hip adduction and abduction contraction conditions, only the TFL EMG activity was significantly higher during squats with isometric hip adduction than isometric hip abduction (p<.05). The GMED/TFL ratio was significantly higher during squats with isometric hip adduction than isometric hip abduction (p<.05). Squats with isometric hip adduction and abduction improved GMED and TFL muscle activity. Furthermore, the GMED/TFL ratio was higher during isometric hip adduction than isometric hip abduction. Our data indicate that squat exercises involving isometric hip adduction enhance GMED muscle activity.