This research verified changes in composition in various parts of the body caused by conductive heat and the influence of the body composition on the effect of the contra-lateral thermal reaction in order to clarify factors for improving the effect of local bathing. The body composition was investigated by means of Segmental Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. The percentage of fat was 14.23±2.40% in men and 29.60±7.66% in women, indicating a higher percentage in women than in men (p<0.01). The volume of body fluids in lower limbs was 6.46±0.83l in the right limb and 6.39±0.86l in the left limb of men, and 4.78±0.49l in the right limb and 4.78±0.49l in the left limb of women, indicating a higher value in men than in women (both p<0.01). During each bathing, the volume of body fluids on the surface, in deep part 1 and deep part 2 of men reached a maximum earlier than that of women.
Conclusions: 1) In bathing using external conductive heat, sebaceous is a large factor for changes in temperature both on the surface and in deep parts. 2) In bathing part of the body, there is little movement of total body water (TBW) and fluids inside the body eliminating risk factors of bathing such as the oligohidria, suggesting that bathing is a safe treatment for elderly people. 3) In the contra-lateral thermal reaction using conductive heat, the possibility of increasing the effect of raising the temperature on the surface and in deep parts on the non-bathing side was suggested.

The composition of human body can be divided into five levels (atomic, molecular, cellular, tissue, and body). The objective of this study is to examine the changes with age in total body water (TBW) and fat mass (FM), which are conductive factors in the body, on the tissue level. The subjects of this study consisted of 476 healthy energetic adults living in Aomori Prefecture, Japan (146 males and 330 females). The total and partial body water and fat mass were measured by segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis. The following results were obtained after adding examination of changes in body composition with age.
1. Both males and females in their 30s showed the highest values of fat-free mass (FFM) and TBW; those in their 60s showed the highest values of %FAT and FM.
2. TBW, a thermal-conduction-promoting factor, was higher in males, and FM, thermal-conduction-inhibiting factor, was higher in females.
3. TBW in the extremities, especially in the lower extremities, tended to decrease with age both in males and females.
4. TBW in the extremities associated with the conductivity of a warm bath was higher in the lower extremities, so understanding TBW in the lower extremities can be considered very important when determining the applicability of warm bathing.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the clinical outcomes of transcanalicular laser-assisted dacryocystorhinostomy (TCL-DCR) using a diode laser in patients with nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO). METHODS: A total of 71 patients (76 eyes) who underwent TCL-DCR between May 2004 and April 2010 were analyzed. The functional and anatomic success rates were evaluated and the causes of failure were analyzed. RESULTS: The anatomic and functional success rates in primary TCL-DCR were 73.9% (51 of 69 eyes) and 62.3% (43 of 69), respectively. The causes of failure were membranous obstruction in 50.0% of the cases, granuloma formation in 38.9%, synechia formation in 5.6%, and canalicular stenosis in 5.6%. The anatomic and functional success rates were both 42.9% (3 of 7eyes) after TCL-DCR revision. CONCLUSIONS: The success rate of TCL-DCR is relatively comparable to that of conventional surgery. Additionally, the advantages of the procedure are its minimal invasiveness and convenience in an outpatient setting, suggesting that TCL-DCR may be an effective procedure for primary and secondary NLDO.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Dacryocystorhinostomy ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Lasers, Semiconductor ; Nasolacrimal Duct ; Outpatients

Measuring the bioelectrical impedance (BI) is a simple and non-invasive method for estimating body fat or muscle mass. However, body impedance is affected by variations in the distribution of body fluid without reference to actual body fat or muscle mass. Twenty healthy college students (10 males, 10 females; mean age 21.0±2.3 years) participated in the study. Their mean body mass index was 20.7±2.6 kg/m². Bipolar electrodes were place on all extremities, and InBody 3.0^TM (Biospace Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea) was used to measure bioelectrical impedance. Each subject remained in a supine position on a comfortable bed between 07:00 and 12:00 except for excretion and measurement of BI. BI was measured hourly using frequencies ranging from 5 to 500 kHz. The subjects refrained from eating, drinking and exercising between 07:00 and 12:00 during the first week of measurements, and drank 6.7 ml/kg of water at 07:00 after the first measurement of BI during a subsequent week of measurements. Bioelectrical impedance was higher in female subjects in all body segments and conditions (p<0.01). BI in the right arm was lower than that in the left in all participants (p<0.001). The difference between the highest and lowest BI among six measurements was largest in the upper extremities, followed by the lower extremities. Differences in the coefficient of variation CV values of the right arm of both females and males at 50, 250, and 500 kHz during fasting were significantly smaller than after drinking water. Hydration had no effect on the differences in the CV values of the body trunk and lower extremity BI or BI at lower frequencies. BI indicates the possibility of remarkable decrease in variation in the upper extremity BI at higher frequencies by taking 6.7 ml/kg of water at get up and enables minimizing the estimate error of body fat percentage.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we examined the influence of exercise loading characteristics on bone metabolic responses and bone morphology in the growth phase and adulthood. METHODS: Running exercise (RUN) and jumping exercise (JUM) were used for the exercise loading in 28-day-old male Wistar rats. Bone metabolism was measured by blood osteocalcin (OC) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) levels. For bone morphology, the maximum bone length, bone weight, and bone strength of the femur and tibia were measured. RESULTS: A pre- and post-exercise loading comparison in the growth phase showed significantly increased OC levels in the RUN and JUM groups and significantly decreased TRACP levels in the JUM group. On the other hand, a pre- and post-exercise loading comparison in adulthood showed significantly decreased TRACP levels in the RUN and JUM groups. Femur lengths were significantly shorter in the RUN and JUM groups than in the control (CON) group, while bone weight was significantly greater in the JUM group than in the CON group. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise loading activates OC levels in the growth phase and suppresses TRACP levels in adulthood. On the other hand, these results suggest that excessive exercise loading may suppress bone length.
Acid Phosphatase ; Femur ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolism* ; Osteoblasts ; Osteocalcin ; Osteoclasts ; Osteogenesis* ; Rats, Wistar ; Running ; Tibia

This study evaluated the structure of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) population and suggested a weighted scoring system to balance on objective signs. One hundred sixty-eight consecutive patients were evaluated using the Budapest Research Criteria (BRC). By using multidimensional scaling and logistic regression analysis, we analyzed the degree of importance and relationships between objective findings. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed using a weighted score derived from the risk ratio as a diagnostic test. There were correlations between skin color change and edema, and between decreased range of motion and motor dysfunction when multidimensional scaling was applied. The trophic change was excluded by a logistic regression (95% CI; 0.80-11.850). The cutoff point based on weighted score derived from the risk ratios for determining CRPS was 7.88. At this point, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 75.0%, 95.3%, 96.3%, and 70.1%, respectively. We propose a weighted scoring system for the BRC using risk ratios of objective signs. Although a thorough systematic review would be required in the future, this study can contribute to reduction of the possible distortion of the feature of CRPS populations by the BRC.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Complex Regional Pain Syndromes/*diagnosis/etiology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Predictive Value of Tests ; ROC Curve ; Risk Factors ; *Severity of Illness Index

The intrathecal drug delivery system (ITDDS), an effective treatment tool for intractable spasticity and pain, is associated with various complications but breakage of the catheter is rare. We report the case of a 50-yr-old man with ITDDS, in whom an intrathecal catheter was severed, resulting in a 28.6-cm-long intrathecal fragment. The catheter completely retracted into the intrathecal space from the anchor site. The catheter was severed during spine flexion, and the total distal fragment was repositioned in the intrathecal space. Although the outcome of ITDDS was associated with the length or diameter of the broken catheter, no neurologic complications occurred in our patient. Thus, we inserted another catheter instead of removing the old one. Thereafter, the patient has been regularly followed up, and no neurologic complications have developed during the 28 months.
Brachial Plexus/injuries ; Catheters ; Drug Delivery Systems ; *Equipment Failure ; Fluoroscopy ; Humans ; Infusion Pumps, Implantable/*adverse effects ; Injections, Spinal/instrumentation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Morphine/therapeutic use ; Pain/*drug therapy/etiology

The responses of macrophages to Bacillus anthracis infection are important for the survival of the host, since macrophages are required for the germination of B. anthracis spores in lymph nodes, and macrophage death exacerbates anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx)-induced organ collapse. To elucidate the mechanism of macrophage cell death induced by LeTx, we performed a genetic screen to search for genes associated with LeTx-induced macrophage cell death. RAW264.7 cells, a macrophage-like cell line sensitive to LeTx-induced death, were randomly mutated and LeTx-resistant mutant clones were selected. AMP deaminase 3 (AMPD3), an enzyme that converts AMP to IMP, was identified to be mutated in one of the resistant clones. The requirement of AMPD3 in LeTx-induced cell death of RAW 264.7 cells was confirmed by the restoration of LeTx sensitivity with ectopic reconstitution of AMPD3 expression. AMPD3 deficiency does not affect LeTx entering cells and the cleavage of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MKK) by lethal factor inside cells, but does impair an unknown downstream event that is linked to cell death. Our data provides new information regarding LeTx-induced macrophage death and suggests that there is a key regulatory site downstream of or parallel to MKK cleavage that controls the cell death in LeTx-treated macrophages.
AMP Deaminase ; genetics ; Animals ; Anthrax ; pathology ; Antigens, Bacterial ; toxicity ; Bacterial Toxins ; toxicity ; Base Sequence ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Death ; drug effects ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Exotoxins ; toxicity ; Macrophages ; cytology ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction