THE KINEMATICS OF OVERGROUND SPRINTING IN TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES WITH PREVIOUS HAMSTRING INJURIES

The purpose of this study was to examine the kinematic characteristics of lower extremity and long head of the biceps femoris (BFlh) muscle length during overground sprinting in track and field athletes with previous unilateral hamstring strain injuries. Ten male college sprinters with a history of hamstring injury performed a maximum effort sprint on an athletic track. Three-dimensional kinematic data were recorded during sprinting, and the hip and knee joint angles and musculotendon length of the biceps femoris muscle were calculated. The previously injured limb displayed delayed peak hip flexion and increased knee flexion compared with the uninjured limb, placing the BFlh muscle at decreased length during the terminal swing phase of sprinting

A prospective study exploring the predictors of response to benralizumab in patients with refractory bronchial asthma

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the predictors of response to benralizumab therapy in patients with refractory bronchial asthma. METHODS: After 16 weeks of benralizumab therapy, 32 patients with refractory bronchial asthma were assigned to two groups based on the response to treatment as indicated by changes in the asthma control test score (responders and non-responders) and evaluated for clinical characteristics. RESULTS: Overall, 25 responders and 7 non-responders were identified at week 16. Logistic regression analysis identified a peripheral eosinophil count of >300/μL during benralizumab treatment and a maximal peripheral eosinophil count of >300/μL in the past year as predictors of response. CONCLUSIONS: The predictors of response to benralizumab included a peripheral eosinophil count of >300/μL during treatment and a maximal peripheral eosinophil count of >300/μL in the past year. These findings could improve patient selection and reduce medical costs in the future

Influence of Substrate Modification with Dipole Monolayers on the Electrical Characteristics of Short-Channel Polymer Field-Effect Transistors

This study investigates the influence of self-assembled monolayer treatment of gate insulators on the electrical characteristics of bottom-gate/bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with short channel lengths of 5 μm to 30 nm. The treatment of 3-chloropropyltrichlorosilane (CPTS) with large dipoles produces a high built-in electric field perpendicular to the SiO2 gate insulator surface, which results in a threshold voltage shift and enhanced hole injection compared to the treatment of phenethyltrichlorosilane (PETS) with small dipoles. Pronounced parabolic drain current‒voltage (ID‒VD) characteristics due to a space-charge limited current are observed in short-channel OFETs based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) with CPTS-treated gate insulators. CPTS treatment on short-channel OFETs based on poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bithiophene) (F8T2) suppresses the nonlinear ID increase in the low VD region caused by the voltage drop at the Au/F8T2 contact. The influence of the increase in the net source-drain electric field associated with the reduced voltage drops on the channel-length dependence of the field-effect mobility of short-channel F8T2 FETs is also discussed

Clinical Evaluation of Leukotriene Receptor Antagonists in Preventing Common Cold-like Symptoms in Bronchial Asthma Patients

Background: We investigated the possibility of preventing common cold-like symptoms as a previously unknown benefit of leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs). Methods: A total of 279 adult patients with bronchial asthma referred to our hospital between June and December 2004 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into LTRA treated and untreated groups. Frequency of acute exacerbations and number of visits to emergency rooms and of hospital admissions were analyzed as indicators of frequency of infections and asthma exacerbation over the previous 12 months. Results: Irrespective of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use, frequency of infections was significantly lower in the LTRA treated group (0.3 ± 0.7 times/year) than in the LTRA untreated group (1.6 ± 4.2 times/year) (P < 0.05), suggesting that LTRA therapy prevents common cold-like symptoms. Frequency of acute exacerbations and number of hospital admissions were significantly lower in the LTRA treated versus LTRA untreated group (0.4 ± 0.8 versus 2.7 ± 4.3 times/year and 0.0 ± 0.2 versus 0.4 ± 0.7 times/year, respectively; both P < 0.01). When the patients were divided into ICS treated and untreated groups, none of the parameters analyzed differed significantly between the two groups, although all parameters tended to be lower in the ICS treated group. Conclusions: Adult asthma patients undergoing treatment with LTRAs exhibit lower incidence rates of common cold-like symptoms than those not receiving LTRAs. LTRAs play an important role in reducing the incidence of common cold-like symptoms among asthma patients and in suppressing exacerbation of asthma symptoms possibly associated with these symptoms