Objective To explore the optimal pedaling rate in bicycle ergometer exercise. Methods 19 healthy men mean aged 22.8years were instructed to pedal a bicycle ergometer, and their reaction time were measured in pedaling rate of 20 r/min, 40 r/min, 60 r/min, 80r/min, and 100 r/min under the workload of 40 W, 60 W, 80 W, 100 W, and 120 W, respectively. The minimum reaction time was probedwith polynomial regression analysis. Results The minimum probe reaction time was reckoned at 63.5 r/min at 40 W, 58.8 r/min at 60 W,61.3 r/min at 80 W, 63.4 r/min at 100 W, 64.8 r/min at 120 W. Conclusion The optimal pedaling rate was approximately 60 r/min regardlessof workload.

A study was conducted to determine the effect of aging on motor ability and to establish a test battery for physical fitness in the elderly. The subjects were 150 men aged 18 to 83 years. The test items examined were selected, according to Fleishman's list of motor abilities; (1) trunk flexion, (2) grip and isometric knee extension strength, (3) postural sway with eyes open and closed, (4) step test, (5) walking test at preferred and maximum speeds, (6) simple visual reaction time, (7) peg-board test, (8) finger tapping test at maximum rate and in time to metronome sounds. Performances for the test items, except for preferred walking speed and coefficient of variation in finger tapping at 5 Hz, showed significant decreases with aging. The decrease in motor performance at age 80 years relative to the level at age 20 years was less than 30% for finger dexterity and reaction time, 40-60% for muscle strength, maximum walking speed and the step test, and over 70% for trunk flexion and postural sway with eyes closed. A test battery composed of trunk flexion, grip strength, knee extension, step test, walking as fast as possible, postural sway with eyes closed, and finger tapping, is therefore recommended for assessing the effect of aging on physical fitness.

A motor performance test was administered to elderly adults in Koganei City and Nangai Village of Japan as the baseline study of Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Longitudinal Interdisciplinary Study on Aging (TMIG-LISA) . The participants in this study totaled 405 (183 males and 222 females) aged 65 to 84 from Koganei City, and 734 (295 males and 439 females) aged 65 and over from Nangai Village. The test consisted of measurement of grip strength, one-leg stand-ing, walking at preferred and maximum speeds, and finger-tapping. All motor performances examined were higher among males than females, and they all deteriorated with aging. A regional difference was found in terms of motion speed abilities: finger-tapping rate and walking speed were higher among urban residents than rural residents. Individual differences (coefficient of variation) in the motor ability increased with aging, and reached 106% (maximum tapping rate in female) to 290% (maximum walking speed in female) of those in the twenties. Significant correlations between motor abilities were detected indicating that the specificity of the motor ability found in the young may not account for older adults.

Chronic liver disease is a major disorder worldwide. A better understanding of anatomy, blood flow, and pathophysiology may be a key issue for their proper management. Ultrasound (US) is a simple and non-invasive diagnostic tool in the abdominal field. Doppler mode offers real-time hemodynamic evaluation, and the contrast-enhanced US is one of the most frequently used modalities for the detailed assessment. Further development in digital technology enables three-dimensional (3D) visualization of target images with high resolution. This article reviews the wide ranges of application in the abdominal US and describes the recent progress in the diagnosis of chronic liver diseases.
Diagnosis ; Fibrosis ; Hemodynamics ; Hypertension, Portal ; Liver Diseases ; Liver ; Ultrasonography

Introduction: In the rehabilitation period following a stroke, rehabilitation therapists must thoroughly evaluate the condition of patients for the purposes of goal-setting and effective training. Postgraduate education in the medical examination of patients after stroke was provided for rehabilitation therapists, and changes in their autonomy during medical examinations were subsequently assessed.
Method: The education consisted mainly of reading case reports about patients who had strokes and learning neurological examination techniques. A total of 35 once-weekly education sessions were provided to rehabilitation therapists working in a convalescent rehabilitation ward. The rehabilitation therapists evaluated their independence with respect to obtaining patient backgrounds, vital signs, physical findings, neurological findings, laboratory results, and basic knowledge of illness at the beginning and end of the education sessions and 6 months after the sessions ended. Each evaluation item was compared according to the time of evaluation.
Results: Rehabilitation therapists’ autonomy over obtaining patient backgrounds, neurological findings, laboratory results, and basic knowledge of illness was greater at the end of the education sessions than at the start of the sessions. Their autonomy over obtaining information in these 4 areas and obtaining physical findings was greater 6 months after the end of the education sessions than at the start of the sessions.
Discussion: We conclude that workplace postgraduate training in the medical examination of patients who have had strokes improves rehabilitation therapists’ autonomy during medical assessments.

Portal hypertension is a major pathophysiology in patients with cirrhosis. Portal pressure is the gold standard to evaluate the severity of portal hypertension, and radiological intervention is the only procedure for pressure measurement. Ultrasound (US) is a simple and noninvasive imaging modality available worldwide. B-mode imaging allows broad applications for patients to detect and characterize chronic liver diseases and focal hepatic lesions. The Doppler technique offers real-time observation of blood flow with qualitative and quantitative assessments, and the application of microbubble-based contrast agents has improved the detectability of peripheral blood flow. In addition, elastography for the liver and spleen covers a wider field beyond the original purpose of fibrosis assessment. These developments enhance the practical use of US in the evaluation of portal hemodynamic abnormalities. This article reviews the recent progress of US in the assessment of portal hypertension.
Contrast Media ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Fibrosis ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal* ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Portal Pressure ; Spleen ; Ultrasonography* ; Ultrasonography, Doppler

We investigated the muscle energetics using ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (³¹P NMR) spectroscopy, muscle cross-sectional area by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), isokinetic strength, maximal anaerobic power and 40-sec maximal cycling test (40 seconds power) in All Japan soccer players (JPN: n=6), Olympic and Youth representatives (OL: n=6), and Japan Soccer League players (JSL: n=5) . There was no significant difference in muscle energy metabolism measured by ³¹P NMR between the JPN and the OL or JSL players at rest, during exercise, or in the recovery period. The total muscle cross-sectional area was significantly larger in the JPN players than in the OL players at the upper (70%) and the middle (50%) parts of the thigh (p<0.05) and than in the JSL players in the upper (p<0.01), middle (p< 0.05), and lower (30%) parts (p<0.01) . The isokinetic strength in left leg extension at 180 deg/sec was significantly greater in the JPN players than in the OL players (p<0.05) . Muscle strength was also greater in extension of both legs at 450 deg/sec (left p<0.05, right p<0.01) in the JPN players than in the JSL players. The maximum anaerobic power was significantly greater in the JPN players than in the OL players (p<0.05) and the JSL players (p<0.05), and the anaerobic power per kilogram of body weight was significantly higher in the JPN players than in the JSL players (p<0.01) . There was no significant difference in the 40 seconds power among the three groups. These results suggest that the JPN players have greater muscle power than the OL or JSL players because of the differences in the muscle mass.

BACKGROUND: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. Tonsillectomy plus steroid pulse therapy has been able to induce clinical remission in early-stage IgAN. However, its possible effect on systemic and local cytokines and tubular markers has not been fully investigated. METHODS: We obtained serum and urine samples from 38 patients just before renal biopsy and third steroid pulse therapy. Markers of tubular damage such as N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase, and kidney injury molecule-1 and inflammation such as interleukin (IL)-6, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 were measured by immunoassay. RESULTS: Before renal biopsy, only urinary inflammatory markers, except MCP-1, were associated with glomerular (proteinuria) and/or tubular damage markers. Proteinuria, hematuria, and estimated glomerular filtration rate dramatically improved after therapy. In addition, levels of serum IL-6 and ICAM-1 and all urinary markers declined significantly; however, serum MCP-1 and VCAM-1 levels did not. None of the urinary markers correlated with the serum inflammatory markers. CONCLUSION: Tonsillectomy plus steroid pulse therapy for patients with IgAN might be useful for improving not only glomerular damage marker but also tubular damage markers through the improvement of local renal inflammation.
Biopsy ; Cytokines ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Glomerulonephritis ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Inflammation ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukins ; Kidney ; Monocytes ; Proteinuria ; Tonsillectomy* ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1

The first edition of the guidelines for the use of ultrasound contrast agents was published in 2004, dealing with liver applications. The second edition of the guidelines in 2008 reflected changes in the available contrast agents and updated the guidelines for the liver, as well as implementing some nonliver applications. The third edition of the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) guidelines was the joint World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology-European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB-EFSUMB) venture in conjunction with other regional US societies such as Asian Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, resulting in a simultaneous duplicate on liver CEUS in the official journals of both WFUMB and EFSUMB in 2013. However, no guidelines were described mainly for Sonazoid due to limited clinical experience only in Japan and Korea. The new proposed consensus statements and recommendations provide general advice on the use of Sonazoid and are intended to create standard protocols for the use and administration of Sonazoid in hepatic and pancreatobiliary applications in Asian patients and to improve patient management.

BACKGROUND: More than 140 million people drink arsenic-contaminated groundwater. It is unknown how much arsenic exposure is necessary to cause neurological impairment. Here, we evaluate the relationship between neurological impairments and the arsenic concentration in drinking water (ACDW). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed. We performed medical examinations of 1867 residents in seven villages in the Thabaung township in Myanmar. Medical examinations consisted of interviews regarding subjective neurological symptoms and objective neurological examinations of sensory disturbances. For subjective neurological symptoms, we ascertained the presence or absence of defects in smell, vision, taste, and hearing; the feeling of weakness; and chronic numbness or pain. For objective sensory disturbances, we examined defects in pain sensation, vibration sensation, and two-point discrimination. We analyzed the relationship between the subjective symptoms, objective sensory disturbances, and ACDW. RESULTS: Residents with ACDW ≥ 10 parts per billion (ppb) had experienced a "feeling of weakness" and "chronic numbness or pain" significantly more often than those with ACDW < 10 ppb. Residents with ACDW ≥ 50 ppb had three types of sensory disturbances significantly more often than those with ACDW < 50 ppb. In children, there was no significant association between symptoms or signs and ACDW. CONCLUSION Subjective symptoms, probably due to peripheral neuropathy, occurred at very low ACDW (around 10 ppb). Objective peripheral nerve disturbances of both small and large fibers occurred at low ACDW (> 50 ppb). These data suggest a threshold for the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy due to arsenic exposure, and indicate that the arsenic concentration in drinking water should be less than 10 ppb to ensure human health.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Arsenic ; analysis ; toxicity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dietary Exposure ; adverse effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drinking Water ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Female ; Groundwater ; chemistry ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myanmar ; epidemiology ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Sensation Disorders ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; analysis ; toxicity ; Young Adult