Shoulder and elbow pain in elementary school baseball players : The results from a nation-wide survey in Japan

Background: Despite recommendations on how to prevent baseball injuries in youths by the Japanese Society of Clinical Sports Medicine, shoulder and elbow pain still frequently occurs in young baseball players. We conducted a questionnaire survey among baseball players at elementary schools across the country to understand the practice conditions of players, examining the risk factors of shoulder and elbow pain in baseball players. Methods: The questionnaire survey was conducted among elementary school baseball players as members of the Baseball Federation of Japan in September 2015. Results: A total of 8354 players belonging to 412 teams (average age: 8.9) responded to the survey. Among 7894 players who did not have any shoulder and/or elbow pain in September 2014, elbow pain was experienced in 12.3% of them, shoulder pain in 8.0% and shoulder and/or elbow pain in 17.4% during the previous one year. A total of 2835 (39.9% of the total) practiced four days or more per week and 97.6% practiced 3 h or more per day on Saturdays and Sundays. The risk factors associated shoulder and elbow pain included a male sex, older age, pitchers and catchers, and players throwing more than 50 balls per day. Conclusions: It has been revealed that Japanese elementary school baseball players train too much. Coaches should pay attention to older players, male players, pitchers and catchers in order to prevent shoulder and elbow pain. Furthermore, elementary school baseball players should not be allowed to throw more than 50 balls per day. Study design: Retrospective cohort study

Structural determination of vanillin, isovanillin and ethylvanillin by means of gas electron diffraction and theoretical calculations

The molecular structures of vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde), isovanillin (3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde) and ethylvanillin (3-ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) were determined by means of gas electron diffraction. Among them, vanillin and ethylvanillin have a vanilla odor but isovanillin smells differently. The nozzle temperatures were 125, 173 and 146 °C, for vanillin, isovanillin and ethylvanillin, respectively. The results of MP2 and B3LYP calculations with the 6-31G** basis set were used as supporting information. The MP2 calculations predicted that vanillin and isovanillin have two stable conformers and ethylvanillin has four stable conformers. The electron diffraction data were found to be consistent with these conformational compositions. The determined structural parameters (rg and α) of vanillin are as follows: =1.397(4) Å; r(C1–Caldehyde)=1.471(←) Å; r(C3–OMe)=1.374(9) Å; r(C4–OH)=1.361(←) Å; r(O–CMe)=1.428(←) Å; r(CO)=1.214(8) Å; =1.110(11) Å; r(O–H)=0.991(←) Å; C6–C1–C2=120.6(2)°; C1–C2–C3=118.8(←)°; C1–C6–C5=120.1(←)°; C2–C1–Caldehyde=122.7(18)°; C1–CO=119.4(16)°; C4–C3–OMe=112.2(12)°; C3–C4–OH=119.1(←)°; C3–O–C=121.7(29)°. Those of isovanillin are as follows: =1.402(4) Å; r(C1–Caldehyde)=1.479(←) Å; r(C4–OMe)=1.369(9) Å; r(C3–OH)=1.357(←) Å; r(O–CMe)=1.422(←) Å; r(CO)=1.221(9) Å; =1.114(14) Å; r(O–H)=0.995(←) Å; C6–C1–C2=120.2(3)°; C1–C2–C3=119.0(←)°; C1–C6–C5=119.9(←)°; C2–C1–Caldehyde=124.6(25)°; C1–CO=121.3(24)°; C3–C4–OMe=114.4(12)°; C4–C3–OH=121.2(←)°; C4–O–C=123.8(26)°. Those of ethylvanillin are as follows: r(C–C)ring=1.397(6) Å; r(C1–Caldehyde)=1.471(←) Å; r(C3–OEt)=1.365(13) Å; r(C4–OH)=1.352(←) Å; r(O–CEt)=1.427(←) Å; r(C–CEt)=1.494(21) Å; r(CO)=1.206(9) Å; =1.109(10) Å; r(O–H)=0.990(←) Å; C6–C1–C2=120.2(3)°; C1–C2–C3=118.4(←)°; C1–C6–C5=119.7(←)°; C2–C1–Caldehyde=121.7(21)°; C1–CO=128.8(22)°; C4–C3–OEt=112.8(14)°; C3–C4–OH=119.6(←)°; C3–O–C=115.1(27)°; O–C–CEt=102.7(28)°. Angle brackets denote average values; parenthesized values are the estimated limits of error (3σ) referring to the last significant digit; left arrows in the parentheses mean that these parameters are bound to the preceding one

Impact of obesity on surgical outcome after single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Introduction: Single-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILC) is widely used as a treatment option for gallbladder disease. However, obesity has been considered a relative contraindication to this approach due to more advanced technical difficulties. The aim of this report was to review our experience with SILC to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the surgical outcome. Patients and Methods: Between May 2009 and February 2013, 237 patients underwent SILC at our institute. Pre- and post-operative data of the 17 obese patients (O-group) (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and 220 non-obese patients (NO-group) (BMI <29.9 kg/m2) were compared retrospectively. SILC was performed under general anaesthesia, using glove technique. Indications for surgery included benign gallbladder disease, except for emergent surgeries. Results: Mean age of patients was significantly higher in the NO-group than O-group (58.9 ± 13.5 years vs. 50.8 ± 14.0 years, P = 0.025). SILC was successfully completed in 233 patients (98.3%). Four patients (1.7%) in the NO-group required an additional port, and one patient was converted to an open procedure. The median operative time was 70 ± 25 min in the NO-group and 75.2 ± 18.3 min in the O-group. All complications were minor, except for one case in the NO-group that suffered with leakage of the cystic duct stump, for which endoscopic nasobiliary drainage was need. Conclusion: Our findings show that obesity, intended as a BMI ≥30 kg/m2, does not have an adverse impact on the technical difficulty and post-operative outcomes of SILC. Obesity-related comorbidities did not increase the risks for SILC