Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences (茨城県立医療大学, Ibaraki kenritsu iryō daigaku) is a public university in the town of Ami, Ibaraki, Japan. The school was established in 1995..
Training resources for parasports are limited, reducing opportunities for athletes and coaches to engage with sport-specific movements and tactical coordination. To address this gap, we developed BRIDGE, a system that integrates a reconstruction pipeline, which detects and tracks players from broadcast video to generate 3D play sequences, with an embodiment-aware visualization framework that decomposes head, trunk, and wheelchair base orientations to represent attention, intent, and mobility. We evaluated BRIDGE in two controlled studies with 20 participants (10 national wheelchair basketball team players and 10 amateur players). The results showed that BRIDGE significantly enhanced the perceived naturalness of player postures and made tactical intentions easier to understand. In addition, it supported functional classification by realistically conveying players' capabilities, which in turn improved participants' sense of self-efficacy. This work advances inclusive sports learning and accessible coaching practices, contributing to more equitable access to tactical resources in parasports.
IMPORTANCE:Although the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) is widely used in stroke rehabilitation, the quality and certainty of evidence regarding its measurement properties have been unclear. OBJECTIVE:The objective was to systematically evaluate the measurement properties of the TIS in individuals with stroke, using the COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) methodology. DATA SOURCES:Five electronic databases (PubMed, EBSCOhost, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and ICHUSHI) were searched from their inception dates to January 14, 2025. STUDY SELECTION:Studies assessing the psychometric properties of the TIS in individuals with stroke were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS:The studies' methodological quality was evaluated using the COSMIN Risk of Bias checklist. The certainty of evidence was rated using a modified GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach, and meta-analyses were conducted when appropriate. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES:The measurement properties evaluated were content validity, structural validity, cross-cultural validity, internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, criterion validity, construct validity, and responsiveness. RESULTS:Thirteen studies from 7 countries met the inclusion criteria, with sample sizes of 28 to 201 participants. Based on the modified GRADE approach, internal consistency showed "low" certainty of evidence, whereas all other measurement properties were rated as "very low" certainty due to methodological limitations, including lack of unidimensionality testing, insufficient hypothesis formulation, and poor reporting. A meta-analysis indicated acceptable pooled Cronbach α-values (mean α = .88) and high intra and interrater reliability (mean intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.98), although heterogeneity and risk of bias reduced confidence in these findings. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:Despite its widespread use, the TIS lacks high-quality psychometric evidence. Further validation studies using COSMIN-aligned methodology are needed to establish its reliability and validity in diverse stroke populations.
As pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia remain unclear, the development of reliable biomarkers for the disease is highly anticipated. Electroencephalogram with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS-EEG) is a developing technique for assessing mental condition. Phase-locking factors (PLFs) are a parameter of phase synchronization, which can assess the brain connectivity of specific areas. Both visual processing impairments and aberrant brain connectivity are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Here, we compared motor area PLFs using visual area-targeted TMS-EEG between three groups: 15 patients with schizophrenia (SZ), 15 patients with major depressive disorder (MD), and 15 healthy controls (HC). The PLF of the SZ group showed a significant decrease in the theta band compared to the HC group without confounding effects from TMS click noises or antipsychotic medication. The reduction of PLF in the theta band between the visual and motor area could reflect visual processing impairments in schizophrenia. Further experiments with larger sample size and appropriate cognitive tasks are required to confirm our conclusion.
Introduction:Action Over Inertia (AOI) is a recovery-oriented intervention designed to promote occupational engagement and support personal recovery through changes in everyday activity patterns. While AOI has been examined in Western contexts, its applicability and clinical adaptation in East Asian settings remain underexplored. This study used a mixed-methods approach to examine the feasibility and cultural adaptation of a group-based AOI program in Japan. Methods:A mixed-methods pilot feasibility design was used. The quantitative component was a single-arm repeated-measures pilot study conducted across four psychiatric daycare facilities in Japan. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up in 12 participants with serious mental illness using the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS), Temple University Community Participation Measure-Japanese version (TUCP-J), and Social Functioning Scale (SFS), alongside symptom severity assessed with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). These measures were used as exploratory clinical outcomes to describe preliminary patterns of change and to inform future controlled studies, rather than to determine intervention effectiveness. The qualitative component involved semi-structured interviews with occupational therapists who delivered the intervention, to contextualize the quantitative findings and identify implementation barriers and adaptations. The quantitative intervention study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Japan (2023-0209), and registered with the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000045392). The qualitative interview study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee for Research Involving Human Participants, Nihon Fukushi University, Japan (23-041-03). Results:No significant improvements were observed in the exploratory outcomes of recovery, participation, or social functioning. Although BPRS showed a significant overall time effect, post-hoc comparisons between time points were not significant, and this change cannot be causally attributed to AOI because of the single-arm design. In an exploratory observation, participants with higher symptom severity appeared to show lower community participation. Qualitative findings suggested that the intervention dose, participant-program fit, readiness for activity change, and group-based delivery conditions may need further optimization within Japanese psychiatric daycare settings. Discussion:The findings suggest that group-based AOI may be feasible to implement in Japanese psychiatric daycare settings, but further cultural and clinical adaptation is needed before effectiveness can be evaluated in controlled trials. Adaptation may require preserving AOI's theoretical foundations while making the intervention less exposing, less abstract, and more accessible in group-based settings. Future studies should use controlled designs, longer follow-up periods, and broader outcome indicators to examine the effectiveness and implementation of culturally adapted AOI. Clinical trial registration:UMIN Clinical Trials Registry https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/, identifier UMIN000045392.
