We investigated the effects of underwater exercise plus hot-spring bathing on middle aged people.
Twenty-five subjects (mean age: 59.6±8.9 years) were divided into three groups (A, B, and C) and examined. Group A (three males, seven females) was subjected to underwater exercise and hot-spring bathing. Group B (eight females) was subjected to underwater exercise and fresh water bathing. Group C (seven females) was a control group (no exercise and no bathing).
Group A and B performed underwater exercise consisting of underwater walking, basic exercise, and swimming for 70 minutes. Group A was then subjected to hot-spring bathing (sodium bicarbonate spring, PH 8.0, 39°C) for 20min, and while Group B was subjected to fresh-water bathing (30°C).
Blood pressure was measured and blood tests were conducted early in the morning on the day of exercise plus bathing and on the following day. Further, Profile of Mood Status (POMS) tests were also conducted on the day following the exercise with bathing and data were compared.
The findings were as follows.
1) On the day following the exercise plus bathing, group A (underwater exercise plus hot-spring bathing) had significantly lower diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, CD4, red blood cells, hematocrit and total protein when compared with values before treatment (p<0.05).
2) After the exercise plus bathing, group A (underwater exercise plus hot-spring bathing) had significantly lower levels of depression-dejection, anger-hostility and confusion in POMS tests when compared with those of Group C (control group, no exercise and no bathing) (p<0.05).
We concluded that underwater exercise plus hot-spring bathing has good effects on the health of middle aged people.

Decrease in the hip extension range of motion (HE-ROM) can cause lumbar hyperlordosis. Hyperlordosis is one of the mechanisms underlying low back pain. A diagnosis of low back pain from hyperlordosis can be used to detect the area in which hyperlordosis occurs more easily—the upper or lower lumbar spine. Twenty-one men were recruited for this study. HE-ROM was measured manually. Lumbar alignment was measured on a bed in a prone position. We extended the subject's hip by bending the bed at 4 angles (0°, 10°, 15°, 30°) and measured the spinal alignment by using a SpinalMouse. The results showed that lumbar lordosis increased at the bed angles of 15°and 30°. Only when the bed angle was changed from 0° to 30°, the increased angle of the lumbar spine was negatively correlated to the HE-ROM (r=-0.46, p<0.05), particularly that of the lower lumbar spine (r=-0.47, p<0.05). These findings suggested that lower lumbar lordosis tends to increase in individuals with poor HE-ROM. Additionally, increase in lower lumbar lordosis is attributed to the tendency to have low back pain in the lower lumbar spine.

“Intensified TB research and innovation” is one of the three pillars of the End TB Strategy. To assess achievements and gaps in tuberculosis (TB) research productivity in countries and areas of the Western Pacific Region quantitatively, a bibliometric analysis was carried out by examining trends in the numbers of publications on TB indexed in PubMed between 2000 and 2019 and by comparing them with trends in publications on other selected major infectious diseases for the same period. The number of publications on TB in the Region increased by 3.2 times during the period, from 534 in 2000–2004 to 1714 in 2015–2019, as compared with 2.9 times each for HIV, hepatitis and malaria. The number increased by 46% in 2005–2009, 79% in 2010–2014 and 23% in 2015–2019, as compared with each previous 5-year period. The average annual growth rate between 2000 and 2018 was 8.8%. China accounted for 34.8% of the total number of publications on TB in the Region. Increases in TB research were observed in most countries and areas in the Region, particularly in those with a high TB burden. The number of publications on TB remained low, however, in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia and Pacific island countries. Countries are encouraged to implement the set of actions proposed in the Global Strategy for TB Research and Innovation to accelerate progress towards ending TB.

Background: and Purpose To assess the long-term outcomes of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) alone or embolization and SRS (Emb-SRS) and to develop a grading system for predicting DAVF obliteration. Methods: This multi-institutional retrospective study included 200 patients with DAVF treated with SRS or Emb-SRS. We investigated the long-term obliteration rate and obliteration-associated factors. We developed a new grading system to estimate the obliteration rate. Additionally, we compared the outcomes of SRS and Emb-SRS by using propensity score matching. Results: The 3- and 4-year obliteration rates were 66.3% and 78.8%, respectively. The post-SRS hemorrhage rate was 2%. In the matched cohort, the SRS and Emb-SRS groups did not differ in the rates of obliteration (P=0.54) or post-SRS hemorrhage (P=0.50). In multivariable analysis, DAVF location and cortical venous reflux (CVR) were independently associated with obliteration. The new grading system assigned 2, 1, and 0 points to DAVFs in the anterior skull base or middle fossa, DAVFs with CVR or DAVFs in the superior sagittal sinus or tentorium, and DAVFs without these factors, respectively. Using the total points, patients were stratified into the highest (0 points), intermediate (1 point), or lowest (≥2 points) obliteration rate groups that exhibited 4-year obliteration rates of 94.4%, 71.3%, and 60.4%, respectively (P<0.01). Conclusions SRS-based therapy achieved DAVF obliteration in more than three-quarters of the patients at 4 years of age. Our grading system can stratify the obliteration rate and may guide physicians in treatment selection.

Objectives: Physical activity to maintain bone mass and strength is important for hip fracture prevention. We aim to investigate the relationship between physical performance/activity status and bone mineral density (BMD)/hip structural analysis (HSA) parameters among postmenopausal women in Japan. Methods: Sixty-two postmenopausal women diagnosed with osteoporosis (mean age: 72.61 ± 7.43 years) were enrolled in this cross-sectional observational study. They were evaluated for BMD and HSA in the proximal femur by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and underwent several physical performance tests, the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale of 25 questions (GLFS-25). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to summarize data on the BMD/HSA parameters. Partial correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were performed to investigate the relationship between physical performance/activity status and BMD/HSA parameters of the proximal femur. Results: In a partial correlation analysis adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI), GLFS-25 scores were correlated with HSA parameter (|r| = 0.260–0.396, P < 0.05). Principal component 1 (PC1) calculated by PCA was interpreted as more reflective of bone strength based on the value of BMD/HSA parameters. The SEM results showed that the model created by the 3 questions (Q13, brisk walking; Q15, keep walking without rest; Q20, load-bearing tasks and housework) of the GLFS-25 had the best fit and was associated with the PC1 score (β = −0.444, P = 0.001). Conclusions The GLFS-25 score was associated with the BMD/HSA parameter, which may reflect the bone strength of the proximal femur as calculated by PCA.