Publications by authors named "Kentaro Natsume"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the impact of a dance exercise class on motor function in elementary school children in Japan who faced restrictions on physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Conducted over two months, the program showed significant improvements in grip strength, lower extremity muscle strength, and dynamic balance, though some metrics like physical activity time and body fat percentage did not change.
  • The findings highlight dance as an effective and enjoyable way for children to enhance their motor skills at a low cost.
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Article Synopsis
  • Regular exercise in childhood not only boosts physical health but also establishes habits that often persist into adulthood.
  • A study involving 239 children ages 9-12 found a significant relationship between exercise habits and improved physical functions like skeletal muscle mass and standing broad jump ability.
  • The research highlights that engaging in exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, twice a week, over a year is crucial for the development of muscle strength in children.
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Article Synopsis
  • Low-back pain is prevalent among elementary school children, with a study in Japan finding 9.6% of 394 participants reported such pain, mainly occurring during movement.
  • The research focused on assessing trunk flexibility, back muscle strength, and pelvic tilt angle, determining that decreased fingertip-to-floor distance was a significant risk factor for low-back pain.
  • The study suggests that improving trunk and lower body flexibility may help reduce the occurrence of low-back pain in children, regardless of their sex or muscle strength.
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One major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's lifestyles is the lack of exercise owing to activity restrictions. However, information regarding the way in which physical functions among children decline under these circumstances remains scarce. In this study, we compared the physical functions and life habits among children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

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A series of cyclopropane-based conformationally restricted analogues of histamine, the "folded" cis-analogues, i.e., (1S,2R)-2-(aminomethyl)-1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)cyclopropane (11), (1S,2S)-2-(2-aminoethyl)-1-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)cyclopropane (13), and their enantiomers ent-11 and ent-13, and the "extended" trans-analogues, i.

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