This study aimed to estimate in vivo the compliance of tendon structure in human biceps brachii (BB) muscle for eight healthy male subjects. Elongation of the tendon of BB during isometric elbowflexion was directly measured by ultrasonography. Muscle force of BB (F_BB) was calculated from the elbow flexion torque and moment arm of elbow-flexor. When the EBB increased to 80%MVC (maximum voluntary contraction), the tendinous tissue of BB was elongated 10.24±2.52 mm, horizontally. The relationship between tendon length and F_BB was curvilinear and consisted of an initial region characterized by a large increase in tendon length with increasing F_BB under 50%MVC, immediately followed by a linear region. The compliance of tendinous tissues, estimated from the slope of the linear region, was 0.010±0.005 mm N, and did not show a significant correlation with MVC and muscle volume of the elbow flexors, estimated from muscle thickness. The compliance value observed here was lower than those of the medial gastrocnemius muscle and the tibialis anterior muscle, reported previously using the same ultrasonic method as the present study. This may be related to the functional differences among limb muscles in various human movements.

This study was conducted to examine the reliability of three-dimensional photonic image scanning (3DPS) for measuring body surface area (BSA), and formulate equations for predicting BSA based on 3DPS. The surface area (SA) of a cylinder with known SA and BSA of 7 males were repeatedly measured by 3DPS. BSA was determined by 3DPS for 122 subjects (25–76 yrs). BSA prediction equations for both genders were developed for the validation group (16 males and 45 females) using body height and mass as independent variables, and were cross-validated for the cross-validation group (16 males and 45 females). The standard error of measurement was 2.2cm² (0.16%). The coefficients of variation (CV) for repeated measurements of SA were less than 0.2%. The BSA of subjects did not differ significantly on any given day nor between days, with a CV of less than 1%. The coefficient of determination and standard error of estimation of the prediction equations were 0.98 and 183cm² (1.1%), respectively, for males and 0.98 and 204cm² (1.3%), respectively, for females. There was no significant difference between the predicted and measured values. In the cross-validation group, there was no significant difference between the predicted and measured values without systematic errors. These findings indicate that 3DPS is reliable for measuring BSA, and the formulated equations are valid and applicable to individuals within a wide age-range.

In this study, we examined applicability of existing equations to predicting the body surface area (BSA) of children, and newly developed prediction equations for the BSA of children. BSA of 87 children of both genders (7∼12 yr) was determined by the three-dimensional photonic image scanning (3DPS), which was used as reference. BSA predicted using existing equations yielded overestimation or underestimation and/or a systematic error with respect to the reference. BSA prediction equations for boys and girls were developed using height and body mass as independent variables for the validation group and cross-validated for another group. The standard errors of estimation of the prediction equations were 105 cm² (0.9 %) for boys and 158 cm²(1.4 %) for girls. In the cross-validation group, there was no significant difference between the predicted and measured values without systematic errors. These findings indicate that existing equations cannot accurately predict BSA of children, and that the newly developed prediction equations are capable of predicting BSA of children with adequate accuracy.

Objective: In this study, pharmaceutical properties were compared between the original and generic ophthalmic solutions containing betamethasone.Methods: The squeeze force, drop weight, surface tension, pH, kinematic viscosity, and total number of drops were measured. The drop volume was calculated from the drop weight and specific gravity. Information on preservatives contained in each product was collected from package inserts.Results: There was a significant difference in the squeeze force between the original and generic drugs. The pH and kinematic viscosity did not differ between the drugs. The drop volume was in the range of 30.3 to 47.2 μL, and the surface tension ranged between 33.7 and 65.2 mN/N. The total number of drops was approximately 100 in the original drug, being the lowest.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the squeeze forces of all generic products but RINBETA PF, which was contained in a specific container, were smaller than that of the original product. The drop volumes of 2 generic products were ≥ 15-μL smaller than that of the original product, but they were within the permissible range. The maximum difference in the surface tension was approximately 33 mN/N, suggesting that drug solution relatively frequently overflows from the eyes. The total number of drops for all generic products was greater than that for the original product, suggesting that the former can be used at a higher frequency. Based on these results, pharmacists must select products in accordance with individual patients.

Regional cooperation in palliative medicine involves multidisciplinary team care. It is very important for cancer patients to choose an appropriate place of stay during their end-of-life period. As the Nagoya Memorial Hospital does not have a palliative care ward, collaborating with other facilities offering palliative care and home care becomes pivotal. Therefore the Higashi-Nagoya home care social gathering was organized to improve communication and cooperation among regional health care professionals. Through discussions during this social gathering, the communication tools for cooperation in palliative care were outlined in November, 2015. We reviewed the outcome of 35 patients referred from our hospital using the communication tools for cooperation in palliative care: 25 patients were referred to chronic care hospitals including palliative care facilities, and 10 patients received palliative care at home; 23 died in the palliative care ward, 6 died at home, and 4 died at our hospital. A questionnaire survey conducted among the community health care professionals revealed that the introduction of this tool would be useful in providing accurate information on the prognosis of patients, level of understanding between the patients and their family, and patients’ views on life and death. Using the communication tool for communication would contribute to realizing seamless palliative care in the region surrounding our hospital, which would in turn lead to local team work and shared responsibilities to provide optimal palliative care.

BACKGROUND: Plastic resins are complex chemicals that contain toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and/or trimellitic anhydride (TMA), which cause occupational allergies (OA), including respiratory allergies. Serum IgGs against TDI and TMA have been suggested as potential markers of the exposure status and as exploring cause of OA. Although TDI-specific IgG has been examined for suspected OA, TMA-specific IgG is not commonly evaluated in a urethane foam factory. This study therefore investigated both TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs in suspected OA patients and to evaluate the usefulness of the measurement of multiple chemical-specific IgG measurement for practical monitoring. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from two male workers who developed respiratory allergies supposedly caused by occupational exposure to TDI and/or TMA for the presence of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs. In addition, blood samples from 75 male workers from a urethane foam factory, along with 87 male control subjects, were collected in 2014 and tested for the same IgGs in 2014. The presence and levels of TDI- and TMA-specific serum IgGs were measured using dot blot assays. RESULTS: We found that controls had mean concentrations of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs of 0.98 and 2.10 μg/mL, respectively. In the two workers with respiratory allergies, the TDI-specific IgG concentrations were 15.6 and 9.51 μg/mL, and TMA-specific IgG concentrations were 4.56 and 14.4 μg/mL, which are clearly higher than those in controls. Mean concentrations of TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs in the factory workers were 1.89 and 2.41 μg/mL, respectively, and are significantly higher than those of the controls (P < 0.001 and P < 0.026 for TDI- and TMA-specific IgGs, respectively). CONCLUSION The workers suspected of OA showed an evidently high level of TDI- and TMA-specific IgG, and these levels in workers at the urethane foam factory were also significantly higher than those in controls. In conclusion, the measurement of TDI- and TMA-specific IgG among workers using plastic resins is helpful to monitor their exposure status.
Adult ; Air Pollutants, Occupational ; adverse effects ; immunology ; Environmental Monitoring ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; blood ; immunology ; Japan ; Male ; Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities ; statistics & numerical data ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; blood ; chemically induced ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; statistics & numerical data ; Phthalic Anhydrides ; immunology ; toxicity ; Respiratory Hypersensitivity ; blood ; chemically induced ; Toluene 2,4-Diisocyanate ; immunology ; toxicity ; Workforce