Exploring the role of ankle torque fluctuations and intramuscular coherence in gait function among older adults.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ankle joint function and walking performance in older adults by assessing qualitative ankle functions through torque fluctuation analysis and tibialis anterior (TA) intramuscular coherence during isometric dorsiflexion.

Methods: Thirty-eight community-dwelling older adults participated in this study. Ankle torque fluctuations and intramuscular coherence were evaluated during a dorsiflexion task at 30% of maximum voluntary torque (MVT).

Usefulness of MRI T1 Mapping in Predicting Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula After Distal Pancreatectomy.

Objectives: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is the most significant and potentially lethal complication of pancreatectomy. This study evaluated the association between MRI pancreatic T1 mapping and POPF and developed a new, useful, and noninvasive predictor of distal pancreatectomy (DP).

Methods: The study included 39 patients who underwent preoperative MRI T1 mapping using the Modified Look-Locker Inversion Recovery Sequence (MOLLI) followed by DP between January 2018 and July 2024.

Health literacy and frailty: the mediating role of instrumental activities of daily living.

Introduction: Japan has the fastest ageing population worldwide, with a high prevalence of frailty. This study aimed to investigate the impact of communicative and critical health literacy (CCHL) on the progression of frailty in older adults participating in community-based programs over 1 year, and whether instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) mediate this relationship.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from the Matsumoto City Frailty Prevention Project, involving 373 older adults aged 65 years and over.

Impact of tailored message notifications for frailty prevention in older adults: a quasi-randomized controlled study using a regression discontinuity design.

[Purpose] This study investigated the potential of tailored message notifications based on municipal health check-up results to improve pre-frailty and frailty in older adults. [Participants and Methods] This study was conducted in Iiyama City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, by using the Kihon Checklist to assess the health status of older adults. Since 2019, Iiyama City has sent notifications to individuals with pre-frailty (Kihon Checklist score: 4-7) and frailty (Kihon Checklist score: ≥8).

Safety and Effectiveness of Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation for Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Following Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Despite the potential of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) to reduce atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA), its prescription is not routine. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CR in this setting. Inclusion criteria comprised randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing CR with usual care in patients with AF following RFCA.

Convergent validity of a simplified device and relationship between blood lactate and salivary lactate after a vertical squat jump in healthy non-athletes.

[Purpose] The aims of this study were 1) to examine the convergent validity between Lactate pro 2 and a standard JCA-BM 8000 automatic analyzer using salivary lactate and 2) to investigate the relationship between blood and salivary lactate levels after a vertical squat jump. [Participants and Methods] Healthy non-athletes participated in this observational study. The participants performed a vertical squat jump for 1 min 30 s.

An Incremental Sit-to-Stand Exercise for Evaluating Physical Capacity in Older Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Exercise is recommended for older patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and increased physical activity contributes to better management of their condition. The conventional exercise test with treadmill or cycle ergometer (CE) for assessing physical capacity, such as peak oxygen uptake (VO) and anaerobic threshold (AT), is not always usable for older patients with T2DM. The incremental sit-to-stand (ISTS) exercise is an incremental exercise test using external signals to control the sit-to-stand rate in a given time frame and can be performed in a small space using only a chair.

Cough Strength Is an Indicator of Aspiration Risk When Restarting Food Intake in Elderly Subjects With Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Background: The incidence of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is relatively high in elderly subjects. Cough peak flow (CPF) is an objective indicator of cough strength, and CPF evaluation might be useful to assess whether food intake can be restarted. We aimed to examine whether cough strength assessed with CPF can be used as an indicator of the aspiration risk when restarting food intake in elderly subjects with CAP.

Validity and reproducibility of an incremental sit-to-stand exercise test in healthy middle-aged individuals.

[Purpose] We aimed to evaluate the validity and reproducibility of the incremental sit-to-stand exercise test for aerobic fitness evaluation in healthy middle-aged individuals. [Participants and Methods] Thirteen healthy middle-aged individuals randomly underwent the incremental sit-to-stand exercise and cycle ergometer tests, and the peak oxygen uptake was measured during both tests. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to assess the strength of the association between the peak oxygen uptake measured during the aforementioned tests.

Clinical and Histopathologic Characteristics of Melanocytic Lesions on the Volar Skin Without Typical Dermoscopic Patterns.

Importance: It is challenging to differentiate melanoma from melanocytic nevus on the volar skin in the absence of typical dermoscopic patterns.

Objective: To identify the frequency and clinical and dermoscopic characteristics of melanocytic lesions on the volar skin not displaying a parallel furrow pattern, lattice-like pattern, fibrillar pattern, or parallel ridge pattern on results of dermoscopy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this retrospective cohort study, a total of 504 melanocytic lesions on the volar skin were evaluated in the Shinshu University Hospital department of dermatology between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2012.

Image quantification technology of the heterochromatin and euchromatin region for differential diagnosis in the lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia.

Background: Lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) was first described by Nucci et al. in 1999 and is believed to be a precancerous lesion of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma and gastric-type adenocarcinoma in the uterine cervix. LEGH lesions do not always exhibit apparent cellular and structural atypia, so are difficult to distinguish from normal endocervical cells (EC cells) with cytological examination.

Infant Suffocation Incidents Related to Co-Sleeping or Breastfeeding in the Side-Lying Position in Japan.

Co-sleeping and breastfeeding in the side-lying position have recently been pointed out as risk factors for suffocation in sleeping infants; however, there is no actual report on an "incident." "Incident" is defined as a tense or sobering experience without a consequential fatal suffocation accident. It is important to understand infant suffocation incidents to prevent accidents during co-sleeping and breastfeeding in the side-lying position.

Serum 5-S-cysteinyldopa behavior in the early phase of nivolumab treatment of 12 melanoma patients.

Along with the expansion of therapeutic options for metastatic melanoma, the development of useful biomarkers is urgently required to predict and monitor treatment response. Serum 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5-S-CD) has been identified as a diagnostic marker of malignant melanoma, but its utility as a biomarker for emerging therapeutic agents remains unknown. We assessed serum 5-S-CD in 12 metastatic melanoma patients (median age, 76 years; six men and six women) who had been treated with nivolumab (Nivo) at Shinshu University Hospital between 2014 and 2016.

Development of an Incremental Sit-to-Stand Exercise for Aerobic Fitness Evaluation.

Incremental sit-to-stand exercise (ISTS) is an incremental exercise test using external signals to control the sit-to-stand rate in a given time frame. This study aimed to investigate the concurrent validity and reproducibility of the ISTS in aerobic fitness evaluation among healthy elderly women. Sixteen elderly women performed the ISTS and cycle ergometer test at 3-day to 2-week intervals, and six of the participants performed the ISTS twice.

[Activities of daily living (ADL) of single elderly individuals using social assistive programs in a rural community].

Objectives　The proportion of elderly individuals living alone is increasing in Japan. Matsumoto city office provides social assistive programs such as home help, lunch delivery, life advice, and safety check telephone calls. The purpose of this study was to compare the level of ADL between the elderly using social assistive programs (the use group) and those who did not (the non-use group).

Effect of Different Seat Heights during an Incremental Sit-To-Stand Exercise Test on Peak Oxygen Uptake in Young, Healthy Women.

'Sit-to-stand' exercise uses the repetitive motion of standing up and sitting down in a chair, a common activity of daily living. A new assessment using an incremental sit-to-stand exercise test employs an external sound to control the speed of standing-up and allows increases in work rate. The aims of the study were to examine the effect of different seat heights on peak oxygen uptake (peak VO) during an incremental sit-to-stand exercise and to assess any difference between peak VO values during incremental sit-to-stand exercise compared with a cycle ergometer test.

Validity and Reproducibility of an Incremental Sit-To-Stand Exercise Test for Evaluating Anaerobic Threshold in Young, Healthy Individuals.

Sit-to-stand exercise (STS) is a common activity of daily living. The objectives of the present study were: 1) to assess the validity of aerobic fitness measurements based on anaerobic thresholds (ATs), during incremental sit-to-stand exercise (ISTS) with and without arm support compared with an incremental cycle-ergometer (CE) test; and 2) to examine the reproducibility of the AT measured during the ISTSs. Twenty-six healthy individuals randomly performed the ISTS and CE test.

The Effect of Different Standing up Frequencies in Sit-to-stand Exercise on Oxygen Uptake.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the steady state of oxygen uptake (VO2) at several standing up frequencies to clarify whether workload in the sit-to-stand exercise (STSE) is greater than the anaerobic threshold (AT). [Subjects] Ten healthy young subjects performed the STSE. [Methods] In the STSE, subjects stood up and sat down without using their arms to push-off from the chair at standing up frequencies of 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 times per minutes.

Analysis of pelvic movement in the elderly during walking using a posture monitoring system equipped with a triaxial accelerometer and a gyroscope.

The incidence of falls in the elderly is increasing with the aging of society and is becoming a major public health issue. From the viewpoint of prevention of falls, it is important to evaluate the stability of the gait in the elderly people. The pelvic movement, which is a critical factor for walking stability, was analyzed using a posture monitoring system equipped with a triaxial accelerometer and a gyroscope.

Effects of low-intensity resistance exercise with vascular occlusion on physical function in healthy elderly people.

Some successful fall prevention programs include resistance or balance training, but less is known about the effects of low-intensity resistance exercise with moderate vascular occlusion (LIO) on physical function in healthy elderly people. In LIO, appropriate pressure is applied to the proximal parts of the upper and lower extremities with a specially designed belt. The reduction of muscle blood flow is considered likely to induce the secretion of growth hormone.

Environmental exposure and p53 mutations in esophageal cancer patients in areas of low and high incidence of esophageal cancer in China.

Esophageal cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the world, and genetic factors (p53 mutations) in addition to the environmental factors (food, nutrition, smoking, drinking, etc.) are involved in its development. In this study, the association between the both factors, environmental risk factors for esophageal cancer and p53 mutations, in tumor tissues was investigated in 77 patients living in a high-incidence area and 50 patients living in a low-incidence area in Hebei Province, China.

Influence of self efficacy for health promotion on functional decline of elderly living in a rural community in Japan.

Objective: To clarify whether self efficacy for health promotion is associated with functional ability among elderly inhabitants of a rural community in Japan.

Methods: The research was a longitudinal study of inhabitants aged 65 and over in a community in Nagano, Japan, who completed a questionnaire at the baseline in 1998 and at follow-up in 1999. The questionnaire included 1) Self Efficacy Scale for Health Promotion measuring the belief in task performance on health, 2) health behavior, 3) a functional ability scale consisting of instrumental activities of daily living, effectance, and social role (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence: TMIG Scale), and 4) demographic factors such as age and sex.