Assessment of Reference Values for Shoulder Ultrasonography and Effects of Position Change on Shoulder Hemodynamics.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the reference values for shoulder ultrasonography and the effects of positional changes on anterior humeral circumflex artery (AHCA) hemodynamics.

Methods: In this study, shoulder ultrasound was examined in 92 healthy participants (women: 48; men: 44; age 37.8 ± 13.

How to Develop Phenomenology as Psychology: from Description to Elucidation, Exemplified Based on a Study of Dream Analysis.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a methodological concept of phenomenological elucidation to promote the development of phenomenology as psychology. After offering a minimal review of the historical relationship between phenomenology and psychology, the first section gives a brief overview of the descriptive phenomenological approach developed by A. Giorgi and other psychologists.

Studies of the texture, functional components and in vitro starch digestibility of rolled barley.

This study aimed to describe the effects of the cooking condition, including water ratio (WR) and soaking time (ST), on the texture of rolled barley, and to evaluate its β-glucan content, total phenol content and in vitro starch digestibility. Rolled barley (75 g) was soaked in 1.5×, 2.

Quantitative Sonographic Assessment of the Quadriceps Femoris Muscle in Healthy Japanese Adults.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships among aging, muscle strength, and image feature analysis of the quadriceps femoris muscle and to evaluate the relationship between aging, muscle strength, and sonographic findings.

Methods: One hundred forty-five healthy volunteers participated in the study. The participants were classified into 6 groups on the basis of sex and age.

Sonographic Detection of Subcutaneous Foreign Bodies in 3 Cases.

Subcutaneous masses caused by foreign bodies are frequently encountered in daily practice. Although the majority of foreign bodies such as metals can be detected by radiography, substances such as vegetative materials or wood are difficult to detect. To our knowledge, only a few studies have described the sonographic characteristics of foreign bodies.

Structural Comparison between the Right and Left Atrial Appendages Using Multidetector Computed Tomography.

The three-dimensional (3D) structures of the right atrial appendage (RAA) and left atrial appendage (LAA) were compared to clarify why thrombus formation less frequently occurs in RAA than in LAA. Morphological differences between RAA and LAA of 34 formalin-preserved cadaver hearts were investigated. Molds of RAA and LAA specimens were made and the neck areas, volumes of the atrial appendages (AA), and amount of pectinate muscles (PMs) were analyzed using multidetector computed tomography.

[Effects of Aging and Sex Differences on the Median Nerve: Relationship Between Nerve Conduction Study and Ultrasonographic Cross-Sectional Nerve Area].

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nerve conduction and sonographic measurements of the median nerve, and to investigate the effects of aging and sex on nerve structure.

Methods: Measurements from both hands of 82 healthy volunteers were included in this study (45 men and 37 women, 38.9 ?17.

Whole-body vibration training improves the walking ability of a moderately impaired child with cerebral palsy: a case study.

[Purpose] Strength training is recommended for children with cerebral palsy. However, it is difficult for moderately impaired children with cerebral palsy, who require crutches for ambulation, to participate in this type of training. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether whole-body vibration training is an effective method of strengthening in a moderately impaired child with cerebral palsy.

Sonographic Findings of Subcutaneous Sarcoidosis in 3 Cases.

Subcutaneous sarcoidosis occurs infrequently among cases of cutaneous sarcoidosis. To our knowledge, few studies have described the sonographic characteristics of subcutaneous sarcoidosis. Here we report the sonographic characteristics of 3 cases of this condition.

Age-related and obstacle height-related differences in movements while stepping over obstacles.

Background: This study aims to examine age-related and obstacle height-related differences in movements while stepping over obstacles.

Methods: The participants included 16 elderly and nine young women. Obstacles that were either 5 or 20 cm high were positioned at the center of a 4-m walking path.

A pilot study to assess Fatty infiltration of the supraspinatus in patients with rotator cuff tears: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging.

The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the echo intensity of the supraspinatus muscle and compare magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound findings for 27 patients (12 women, 15 men, 65.8 ± 11.5 y).

[Evaluation of peripheral neuropathy in the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by laboratory examination: relationship between albuminuria and ankle-brachial index].

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of peripheral neuropathy on laboratory examinations and to evaluate the relationship between nerve conduction velocity (NCV), albuminuria, and ankle-brachial index (ABI) results in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). One hundred twenty-six patients with type 2 DM who had undertaken the nerve conduction study for an initial screening test of diabetic complications were included in our study. We divided patients to 4 groups according to the stage of microalbuminuria and ABI results.

Increased blood flow in the anterior humeral circumflex artery correlates with night pain in patients with rotator cuff tear.

Background: Night pain is a particularly vexing symptom in patients with rotator cuff tear. It disturbs sleep and decreases quality of life, and there is no consensus regarding its etiology. Based on arthroscopic surgical observations of synovitis around the rotator interval or capsule surface in rotator cuff tear, we hypothesized that blood flow from the artery feeding the capsule increases blood supply to the synovium.

Effect of hypoxic training on inflammatory and metabolic risk factors: a crossover study in healthy subjects.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of hypoxic physical exercise on metabolic syndrome (MS) risk markers and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and to compare its effects on preperitoneal fat, arterial stiffness, and several blood parameters related to MS to those of a control group who trained under normoxic conditions. Fourteen healthy men were examined. Participants performed treadmill exercise 3 days per week for 4 weeks, under either normobaric hypoxic or normobaric normoxic conditions, for 50 min (including a 5-min warm-up and 5-min cool down) after a 30-min rest period.

[Diagnostic ability of ultrasonography for the rotator cuff tear: comparison with ultrasonography and MRI findings].

Ultrasonography (US) is a non-invasive method which can assess not only solid tissue organs but also soft tissues such as tendons and nerves. However, it has not been fully understood that US is a useful tool for the depiction of periarticular structure. We compared the diagnostic accuracies between US and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the patients with rotator cuff tear (RCT).

Clinical significance of brachial flow-mediated dilation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Aim: This study aimed to clarify whether different anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) drugs can improve endothelial function better than conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in a series of Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Method: Twenty-five patients who met the American College of Rheumatology 1987 revised diagnostic criteria for RA were randomly selected for this study. The percentage of brachial flow-mediated dilation (%FMD) and maximum carotid intima-media thickness were examined by ultrasonography.

[Clinical significance of the measurement of serum cytokeratin-18 in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis].

Epidemiologic data suggest that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have an increased tendency to occur in patients who are associated with metabolic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. NAFLD represents a wide spectrum of conditions ranging from fatty liver, which in general follows a benign, no-progressive clinical course, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a more serious form of NAFLD that may progress to cirrhosis and end stage liver disease. However, currently the diagnosis of NASH requires an invasive liver biopsy.

Relationship between the obstacle height cognition and step movement in the elderly.

Background: This study examines the effect of obstacle height cognition (OHC) on single-leg forward step (SFS) and Obstacle-SFS.

Methods: In the SFS test, participants stepped 25 cm forward with one leg and returned it to its original position five times as quickly as possible. The Obstacle-SFS added an obstacle to the above condition in the SFS test.

Adult intussusception of the descending colon due to inflammatory myofibroblastic proliferation.

We present a case of an asymptomatic 70-year-old man with intussusception of the descending colon due to inflammatory myofibroblastic proliferation. Abdominal ultrasound examination showed a hypoechoic mass, 32 × 19 mm in size, accompanied by intussusception in the descending colon, and power Doppler sonography detected blood flow signals in the mass. Computed tomography revealed a hypervascular lesion, which was confirmed by barium enema and colonoscopy.

Quantitative analysis of vascularization in the finger joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using three-dimensional volumetric ultrasonography with power Doppler.

This study aimed to compare the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) and to assess the relationship between 3D PDUS and clinical parameters in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Bilateral second/third metacarpophalangeal joints and second/third proximal interphalangeal joints in 33 patients were examined by both 2D and 3D PDUS. Each joint was given a separate 2D PDUS subjective score (range, 0-3) in a standard manner.

Sonographic evaluation of the peripheral nerve in diabetic patients: the relationship between nerve conduction studies, echo intensity, and cross-sectional area.

Objective: Early detection of nerve dysfunction is important to provide appropriate care for patients with diabetic polyneuropathy. The aim of this study was to assess the echo intensity of the peripheral nerve and to evaluate the relationship between nerve conduction study results and sonographic findings in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Thirty patients with type 2 diabetes (mean +/- SD, 59.

The synthesis under controlled oxygen partial pressure and the characterization of a layered perovskite system Sr(2)V(1-x)Mo(x)O(4).

We have successfully synthesized Sr(2)V(1-x)Mo(x)O(4) from x = 0.3 to 1.0 by an improved process.

Sonographic evaluation of the median nerve in diabetic patients: comparison with nerve conduction studies.

Objective: Diabetes mellitus is becoming a major cause of premature disability in Japan, and peripheral neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the results of nerve conduction studies (NCS) and the size of the nerve determined by sonography in diabetic patients.

Methods: Twenty diabetic patients (mean age +/- SD, 57.

Biodegradation of wood in dual cultures of selected two fungi determined by chopstick method.

Wood was more effectively degraded in dual cultures of Pycnoporus coccineus with either Flammulina velutipes, Pleurotus ostreatus or Polyporus arcularius than in their single cultures based on the weight losses of chopsticks. The similar effects were attained in dual cultures of the selected Basidiomycetes and various soil fungi.