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Background: Several studies have suggested that approximately 10 hours of inactivity can reduce motor performance. Specifically, restricted lower limb movement may impair postural stability, subsequently increasing the incidence of falls. However, the relationship between postural sway and its related factors remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between postural sway in the upright standing position and foot sole sensitivity after short-term immobilization., Methods: Healthy young adults were enrolled. Each participant's lower limb was immobilized for 10 hours using a soft bandage and a medical splint made from metal and soft urethane. The sway in the center of the pressure trajectory was measured before and after immobilization. Evaluation parameters included path length, mean velocity, and sway area. Foot sole sensitivity was assessed using an esthesiometer to measure two-point discrimination before cast application and immediately after cast removal., Results: After cast removal, total and anterior-posterior path lengths, mean velocity and sway area increased, whereas big toe sensitivity decreased. However, no significant correlations were observed among these factors., Conclusions: Our results suggest that short-term movement restriction induces acute changes in center of pressure (COP) movement and foot sensitivity. However, the COP movement was not associated with foot sensation, indicating that another factor may contribute to postural sway after cast removal., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. The International University of Health and Welfare's Ethics Committee issued approval 17-Ifh-73. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Ikeda et al.)

Polarization volume gratings (PVGs) based on chiral nematic liquid crystals offer a great potential as polarization-dependent holographic optical elements, but it is not easy to fabricate PVGs with varying pattern periods in the transverse plane. Here, we fabricate a PVG with an in-plane gradient of the pattern period by performing two-beam interference photoalignment on a flexible polyimide substrate. The pattern period varies depending on the local interference angle, which is controlled by the bent shape of the flexible substrate. We demonstrate fabrication of a PVG with a linearly graded sub-micrometer period, showing the potential of the proposed method to fabricate designer PVGs.

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the contribution of hip muscle torque to figure-of-eight walk (F8W) test in healthy young males. [Participants and Methods] Twenty healthy young males (40 limbs; mean age, 21.7 ± 0.6 years) participated. We measured the maximum F8W speed and steps. The hip muscle strengths (MS) of the flexor, extensor, abductor, and adductor muscles as well as the internal and external rotators (ER) were measured using a handheld belt-stabilized dynamometer. The hip muscle torque to weight-bearing index (WBI) is expressed as the measured MS divided by the lower thigh or shin length and body weight. [Results] F8W-time and F8W-rate were relevant to the ER-WBI (F8W time: β=-0.330; F8W rate: β=0.369). [Conclusion] This study's findings suggest that hip ER strength contributes to F8W in healthy young males., Competing Interests: This research was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant numbers 22K17636 (SO). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript., (2023©by the Society of Physical Therapy Science. Published by IPEC Inc.)

A 52-year-old man was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP). He experienced bosutinib-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) recurrence following dasatinib use. Symptoms and examination findings associated with PAH improved after bosutinib cessation. Although nilotinib was started because of the loss of response after bosutinib cessation, a deep molecular response without PAH recurrence was achieved 3 months after the initiation of nilotinib therapy. PAH recurrence after switching to bosutinib due to dasatinib-induced PAH should be closely monitored. In addition, nilotinib therapy might be an effective approach in PAH cases related to dasatinib and/or bosutinib in patients with CML-CP., (© 2022 The Authors.)