SPRINT STEP-TYPE SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ANTHROPOMETRIC AND KINEMATIC VARIABLES IN SPRINTING ACCELERATION

The purpose of this study was to compare the anthropometric and the kinematic characteristics during the acceleration phase between stride frequency (SF)-type and stride length (SL)-type sprinters. Seventeen sprinters participated in this study. The maximal 60-m sprints and anthropometric measures were obtained from subjects. Two sprints were recorded by using high-speed cameras. Sprint velocity, SL, SF and their underlying kinematic variables were calculated. Cluster analysis was used to classify the subjects into the SF or SL -type groups (step-type) as indicated by the ratio of the SF and SL at maximum velocity. The SF-type group showed shorter lower limbs length, flight time, lower the height of center of mass at takeoff, smaller swing motion and faster forward rotation of the shank and foot segments than the SL-type group. This study showed the noticeable differences between SFtype and SL-type sprinters were not only in swing motion but also in push-off motion

TYPE-SPECIFIC STEP CHARACTERISTICS OF SPRINTERS DURING ACCELERATION PHASE OF 100-M RACE

The purpose of this study was to show the type-specific step characteristics during acceleration phase (0?30 m) of a 100-m race. Fifty-nine male varsity sprinters (10.68 ± 0.22 s) were recorded running in 100-m races using 10 high-speed cameras, and step variables in 0?30 m and maximum speed phase (MSP, 30?60 m) were calculated. Cluster analysis was used to classify the subjects into the step-frequency (SF) or -length (SL) reliant group (i.e., type-specific) as indicators for the ratio of the SF and SL in the MSP. Then, each group was divided into two sub-groups according to the mean speed in MSP (good and poor sprinters). As a result, the sprinters were classified into SL-, SF-, and Mid-groups. In SL-group, good sprinters showed a longer SL from the 7th step to MSP than the poor sprinters. In SF-group, good sprinters showed a higher SF from the 7th step to MSP than the poor sprinters

Heat-not-burn cigarettes induce fulminant acute eosinophilic pneumonia requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Background Although the cause of acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) has not yet been fully clarified, cigarette smoking is reported to be a risk factor for developing AEP. The heat-not-burn cigarette (HNBC) was developed to reduce the adverse effects of smoke on the user's surroundings. However, the health risks associated with HNBCs have not yet been clarified. We report a successfully treated case of fatal AEP presumably induced by HNBC use. Presentation of case A 16-year-old man commenced HNBC smoking two weeks before admission and subsequently suffered from shortness of breath that gradually worsened. The patient was transferred to emergency department and immediately intubated because of respiratory failure. Computed tomography showed mosaic ground-glass shadows on the distal side of both lungs with a PaO2/FIO2 ratio of 76. The patient required veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe respiratory failure. He was diagnosed with AEP by clinical course and detection of eosinophils in sputum; thus, methylprednisolone was administrated. The patient was weaned off ECMO four days after initiation and extubated the day after. He fully recovered without sequelae. Conclusion As far as we know, our patient is the first case of AEP induced by HNBC use successfully treated with ECMO. Emergency physicians must be aware that HNBCs can induce fatal AEP

Different cortical metabolic activation by visual stimuli possibly due to different time courses of hearing loss in patients with GJB2 and SLC26A4 mutations

Conclusion. We have demonstrated differences in cortical activation with language-related visual stimuli in patients who were profoundly deafened due to genetic mutations in GJB2 and SLC26A4. The differences in cortical processing patterns between these two cases may have been influenced by the differing clinical courses and pathogenesis of hearing loss due to genetic mutations. Our results suggest the importance of hearing during early childhood for the development of a normal cortical language network. Objectives. To investigate the cortical activation with language-related visual stimuli in patients who were profoundly deafened due to genetic mutations in GJB2 and SLC26A4. Methods: The cortical activity of two adult patients with known genetic mutations (GJB2, SLC26A4) was evaluated with fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) with a visual language task and compared with that of normal-hearing controls. Results: A patient with a GJB2 mutation showed activation in the right auditory association area [BA21, BA22], and the left auditory association area [BA42] even with visual language task; in contrast, a patient with an SLC26A4 mutation showed no significant activation in the corresponding area.ArticleACTA OTO-LARYNGOLOGICA. 131(11):1232-1236 (2011)journal articl

Prompt improvement of a pressure ulcer by the administration of high viscosity semi-solid nutrition via a nasogastric tube in a man with tuberculosis: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Semi-solid nutrition with high viscosity has the advantage of reducing gastroesophageal reflux and diarrhea and shortens the duration of administration compared with liquid nutrition. This is the first report describing the administration of semi-solid nutrition with high viscosity via a nasogastric tube, which achieved a remarkable improvement in the patient's nutritional state. CASE PRESENTATION: A 67-year-old man (mongoloid race, Japanese) with tuberculosis, a pressure ulcer and malnutrition was admitted to our hospital. He also had right hemiplegia, dysphagia and aphasia as sequelae of a cerebral hemorrhage. Before his admission, he had been treated at another hospital with 600 kcal/day of liquid nutrition via a nasogastric tube, which was insufficient and induced severe malnutrition. After he was admitted to our hospital, we increased the quantity of his liquid nutrition without success because of complications, specifically diarrhea and gastroesophageal reflux. As it was difficult to confirm whether or not he would accept gastrostomy feeding, we administered semi-solid nutrition with high viscosity (20,000 mPa x s) via a large-bore nasogastric tube (18 French). Soon after he was started on semi-solid nutrition, his pressure ulcer and malnutrition improved without diarrhea or complications accompanying the large-bore nasogastric tube. CONCLUSION: When patients have problems with liquid nutrition, such as diarrhea or gastroesophageal reflux, semi-solid nutrition via a nasogastric tube is a useful method of achieving improvements in nutritional state in a short period of time

National survey of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: The Japanese catheter ablation registry of atrial fibrillation (J-CARAF)

AbstractTo assess the current status of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in Japan, the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society (JHRS) instituted a national registry, the Japanese Catheter Ablation Registry of AF (J-CARAF).MethodsUsing an online questionnaire, the JHRS invited electrophysiology centers in Japan to voluntarily and retrospectively register data regarding the AF ablation procedures performed in September, 2011.ResultsA total of 128 centers submitted data regarding AF ablation procedures in 932 patients (age 62.1±10.4 years; male 76.8%; paroxysmal AF 65.7%, CHADS2 score 1.0±1.0). The majority received oral anticoagulant therapy during and following the procedure (68.9% and 97.5%, respectively). Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was performed in 97.5% of the patients; ipsilateral encircling PVI was the preferred technique (79.7%). Three-dimensional (3D) mapping systems and irrigated-tip catheters were used in 94.8% and 87.7% of the procedures, respectively. Ablation methods other than PVI were performed in 78.8% of all the patients and 73.5% of the patients with paroxysmal AF. Acute complications were reported in 6.2% of the patients, but no early deaths were recorded.ConclusionsIpsilateral encircling PVI, using 3D mapping and irrigated-tip catheters, is the standard AF ablation method in Japan. However, adjunctive ablations were performed frequently, even in patients with paroxysmal AF

Butyrate and bioactive proteolytic form of Wnt-5a regulate colonic epithelial proliferation and spatial development

Proliferation and spatial development of colonic epithelial cells are highly regulated along the crypt vertical axis, which, when perturbed, can result in aberrant growth and carcinogenesis. In this study, two key factors were identified that have important and counterbalancing roles regulating these processes: pericrypt myofibroblast-derived Wnt-5a and the microbial metabolite butyrate. Cultured YAMC cell proliferation and heat shock protein induction were analzyed after butryate, conditioned medium with Wnt5a activity, and FrzB containing conditioned medium. In vivo studies to modulate Hsp25 employed intra-colonic wall Hsp25 encoding lentivirus. To silence Wnt-5a in vivo, intra-colonic wall Wnt-5a silencing RNA was used. Wnt-5a, secreted by stromal myofibroblasts of the lower crypt, promotes proliferation through canonical β-catenin activation. Essential to this are two key requirements: (1) proteolytic conversion of the highly insoluble ~40 kD Wnt-5a protein to a soluble 36 mer amino acid peptide that activates epithelial β-catenin and cellular proliferation, and (2) the simultaneous inhibition of butyrate-induced Hsp25 by Wnt-5a which is necessary to arrest the proliferative process in the upper colonic crypt. The interplay and spatial gradients of these factors insures that crypt epithelial cell proliferation and development proceed in an orderly fashion, but with sufficient plasticity to adapt to physiological perturbations including inflammation

Rare Influenza A (H3N2) Variants with Reduced Sensitivity to Antiviral Drugs

In 2007 and 2008 in Myanmar, we detected influenza viruses A (H3N2) that exhibited reduced sensitivity to both zanamivir and amantadine. These rare and naturally occurring viruses harbored a novel Q136K mutation in neuraminidase and S31N mutation in M2

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article