The authors conducted biomechanical tests with 21 firefighters and found that there is a significant correlation between boot height and lower body mobility and that using a fixed boot height mandated by National Fire Protection Association 1971 standard decreased lower body ranges of motion during various firefighters' job-related tasks. Statistical analysis of large anthropometric data also shows a fixed boot height cannot accommodate a wide range of firefighters' leg length. These findings indicate that shorter firefighters are likely to have limited lower body mobility due to reduced clearance between the knee and top of the boot and thus decreased space causing greater mechanical binding between multiple layers of turnout pants. The authors discovered a greater negative impact of fixed length of self-contained breathing apparatus cylinder on short firefighters on their upper body mobility, evidenced by limited range of motion in neck extension and lumbopelvic flexion while carrying fire gear compared to without any fire gear.

In this study we explore the variation in female breast shape across the younger (age: 18–45), non-obese (BMI < 30) North American Caucasian population, a population that has not previously been well-represented in studies of breast shape. A method of classifying breast shape was developed based on multiple data-mining techniques. Forty-one relative measurements (i.e., ratios and angles) were constructed from 66 raw measurements (circumferences, depths, widths, etc.), extracted from 478 CAESAR (Civilian American and European Surface Anthropometry Resource) scans, using self-developed Matlab® programs. Seventy subjects were regarded as outliers and were removed. The remaining data were transformed and standardized to ensure robust analysis. To judge results, an algorithm was developed to visualize clustering outcomes in the form of side profiles of breasts. The results of three clustering methods, namely hierarchical, K-means, and K-medoids clustering, were compared. Finally, breast shapes were categorized into three and five groups by two different cluster number selection criteria proposed by the study: (1) based on misclassification rate; (2) based on the goodness-of-fit of the model. Several of the relative body measurements were identified to be critical in defining breast shape. The findings and the proposed methods of this study can contribute to the development of improved shape and sizing systems of bra products that work for both manufacturers and consumers. The new methodology developed in this study can also be applied to other types of intimate apparel products where an understanding of body shape plays a key role in body support, comfort, and fit.

The yak (Bos grunniens) is subjected to nutritional deficiency during the whole winter grazing season; deciphering the adipose metabolism and energy homeostasis under cold and nutrients stress conditions could be a novel way to understand the specific mechanism of energy metabolism. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have elucidated that they play a key role in many biological events, but the regulatory function of adipose development remains mostly unknown. Therefore, the expression pattern of circRNAs were identified for the first time during yak adipocyte differentiation to gain insight into their potential functional involvement in bovine adipogenesis. We detected 7203 circRNA candidates, most of them contained at least two exons, and multiple circRNA isoforms could be generated from one parental gene. Analysis of differential expression circRNAs displayed that 136 circRNAs were differentially expressed at day 12 (Ad) after adipocyte differentiation, compared with the control at day 0 (Pread 0), while 7 circRNAs were detected on day 2. Sanger sequencing validated that six circRNAs had head-to-tail junction, and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) results revealed that the expression patterns of ten circRNAs were consistent with their expression levels from RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data. We further predicted the networks of circRNA-miRNA-gene based on miRNAs sponging by circRNAs, in which genes were participated in the adipocyte differentiation-related signaling pathways. After that, we constructed several adipocyte differentiation-related ceRNAs and revealed six circRNAs (novel_circ_0009127, novel_circ_0000628, novel_circ_0011513, novel_circ_0010775, novel_circ_0006981 and novel_circ_0001494) were related to adipogenesis. Furthermore, we analyzed the homology among yak, human and mouse circRNAs and found that 3536 yak circRNAs were homologous to human and mouse circRNAs. In conclusion, these findings provide a solid basis for the investigation of yak adipocyte differentiation-related circRNAs and serve as a great reference to study the energy metabolism of high-altitude animals.

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