Search

This study aimed to evaluate the association between locomotive syndrome (LS) and daily physical activity (PA) in community-dwelling older adults. This cross-sectional study included 80 healthy Japanese older adults (40 men and 40 women; age: 60–79 years). Habitual daily PA was evaluated using a triaxial wrist accelerometer. Participants were divided into two groups based on the results of the two-step test, stand-up test, and 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale. Binomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the statistical relationships between daily PA and category of LS, adjusting for age from adjusted odds ratio (adjusted OR) with the 95 percent confidence intervals (95%CI) and bootstrap 95%CI. The mean step count and time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were significantly higher among non-LS participants than among LS participants in women, but not in men. Logistic regression analyses indicated that spending longer than 28 min/day on MVPA was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of LS relative to short time category under 28 min/day in women (adjusted OR = 0.12, 95%CI = 0.02–0.59, bootstrap 95%CI = 0.01–0.43), but not in men. This study suggests that in community-dwelling older women, those with higher MVPA had lower odds of LS, and daily MVPA was associated with LS, but not in men. Therefore, the associations between LS and daily physical activity were partly dependent on sex differences.

Background: Locomotive syndrome (LS) is associated with weakness and loss of function in the musculoskeletal organs. To evaluate the association between LS and daily physical activities (PA) in community-dwelling older adults using a three-axis accelerometer. Methods: This cross-sectional study included healthy 80 older adults (40 men and 40 women; age: 60-79 years). Three functional tests, the two-step test, the stand-up test, and the 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale (GLFS) were used to assess the risk of LS. Maximal isometric muscle strengths of the knee extensors were examined, and the weight bearing index (knee extension strength/body weight) was calculated. Habitual daily PA was evaluated using a three-axis wrist accelerometer. Results: Of the 80 participants, 41 (51.3%) fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for LS (including a two-step test score < 1.3, difficulty with one-leg standing from 40 cm in the stand-up test, and a 25-question GLFS score ≥ 7) We found that step count and time spent performing moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) were significantly higher in women participants without LS compared to those with LS (p = 0.01); no significant difference was found in men. Logistic regression analyses indicated a longer time spent performing MVPA (> 47.26 min/day) was associated with a lower risk of LS compared to only performing for 21.11 min/day. Conclusions: Our data showed that daily MVPA using a three-axis accelerometer was associated with LS in community-dwelling older adult women, but not in men.

Objective: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common causes for reduction in gait speed. Research into the mechanism of underlying knee OA pain and other symptoms such as the reduction in the gait speed is essential to development of disease-modifying treatments for knee OA. We examined the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected structural alterations in knee joints those were associated with gait speed in knee OA patients. Design: In this cross-sectional study, structural alterations in knee joints of 74 knee OA patients (51 females; mean 72.2 years old) were evaluated by MRI, and subjects’ gait speed was measured. Results: The mean self-selected gait speed of the subjects was 0.73 ​± ​0.21 ​m/s. A simple linear regression analysis revealed that MME was only correlated with the gait speed of the subjects with knee OA, while cartilage lesion, bone marrow lesion, subchondral bone cyst, subchondral cyst, osteophytes and meniscal pathology were not. A multiple regression analysis revealed that only MME was associated with gait speed (R2 ​= ​0.484, p ​

Background We developed the Locomonitor application (app), the world's first iOS app to study locomotive syndrome, using the ResearchKit and examined the prevalence and risk factors for locomotive syndrome in Japanese general individuals 20–69 years old in a nationwide cross-sectional observational study. Methods The participants were recruited from February to August 2016. The outcome measures for the locomotive function were evaluated by locomotive syndrome risk tests (LSRTs) using the Locomonitor app. The chi-squared test, a linear-by-linear association trend analysis, and Spearman's correlation test were performed as statistical analyses. Results A total of 2177 subjects from all prefectures in Japan were included (average 42.2 years old). The Locomo25 and Stand-Up test scores in female participants and the Two-Step test scores in male participants showed age-dependent deterioration. In the overall population, the incidence of Locomo stage 1 and 2, as evaluated by the Locomo25, Stand-Up test or Two-Step test, was 30.2% and 29.2%, respectively. In subjects without locomotive syndrome (40.5%), LSRT scores showed age-dependent deterioration in both sexes. Locomotive syndrome in participants with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 was more frequent than in those with a BMI of Conclusions The Locomonitor app, a newly developed remote platform, revealed that approximately 20%–30% of Japanese individuals 20–69 years old in the general population met the definition of locomotive syndrome. Locomotive syndrome in participants with obesity was more frequent than those without obesity, while locomotive syndrome in participants with an exercise habit was less frequent than those without an exercise habit.

[Purpose] This study aimed to identify the efficacy of a progressive walking program on the risk of developing locomotive syndrome among untrained elderly Japanese people. [Participants and Methods] Twenty-four untrained elderly individuals (68 ± 4 years) completed a 17-week progressive walking program. The stand-up, two-step tests and the 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale were used to assess the risk of locomotive syndrome at baseline, the 8-week midpoint (2 months), and the 17-week endpoint (4 months). Maximal isometric muscle strength of the knee extensors and flexors were measured using a dynamometer with the hip joint angle at 90° of flexion and physical function (the 30-s sit-to-stand, sit-up, 10-meter walk, and grip strength) were evaluated. [Results] The 4-month walking program significantly improved the two-step test and geriatric locomotive function scale scores. This may be attributable to the improvement in knee flexor strength and physical function. [Conclusion] A 4-month program of progressive walking effectively lowered the risk of developing locomotive syndrome in elderly Japanese people by improving knee flexor muscle strength and physical function.

“Locomotive syndrome” is defined as a condition associated with restriction in one’s ability to walk or lead a normal life due to a dysfunction in one or more of the parts of the locomotion system, including the muscles, bones, joints, cartilage or intervertebral discs. This syndrome especially refers to individuals who have come to need nursing care services because of problems with the locomotive organs, or those who have conditions which may require them to need such services in the near future. Recent epidemiological studies revealed that the one-fourth of elderly individuals who require special assistance or nursing care have locomotive disorders in Japan. Osteoarthritis of the knee (knee OA) and hip (hip OA), and osteoporosis and spinal canal stenosis due to spondylosis are three major locomotive disorders that cause elderly individuals require special assistance or nursing care. In this review, we focus on the effects of knee and hip OA on the lives of elderly individuals and the recent advantages in clinical research on the pathophysiology and management of these diseases.

We investigated the effects of a novel oral neutrophil elastase inhibitor (ONO-6818) on acute lung injury and pulmonary emphysema induced by human neutrophil elastase (HNE). Young male Wistar rats were divided into four treatment groups: (1) control group (saline); (2) HNE group (HNE 200 U + 0.5% carboxymethyl-cellulose [solution for ONO-6818]); (3) low-dose ONO-6818 group (HNE 200 U + ONO-6818 10 mg/kg); and (4) high-dose ONO-6818 group (HNE 200 U + ONO-6818 100 mg/kg). Saline and HNE were applied via the trachea using a microsprayer. ONO-6818 was administered orally 1 hour before HNE application. Six hours after HNE application, neutrophil counts and hemoglobin concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue myeloperoxidase activity were determined. Eight weeks after the application, FRC, TLC, lung compliance, and mean linear intercept were estimated. ONO-6818 attenuated dose-dependently HNE-induced increases in lung myeloperoxidase activity, hemoglobin, and neutrophil count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Furthermore, it significantly attenuated HNE-induced increases in FRC, TLC, lung compliance, and mean linear intercept. ONO-6818 inhibited acute lung injury induced by HNE by minimizing lung hemorrhage and accumulation of neutrophils in the lung. ONO-6818 also inhibited the development of HNE-induced emphysematous changes including lung hyperinflation, degradation of elastic recoil, and airspace enlargement.

We report on a simple process for fabricating fine electrodes by using shadow mask evaporation and tip-induced local oxidation. A set of electrodes for four-term resistance measurement has been fabricated. The gap width between the fine electrode was 150 nm and the roughness of the electrode surface was less than 0.5 nm. We were able to use the electrodes to measure the conductivity of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT).

We have formed insulated molecular wires of conducting polymers, polyaniline (PANI), and cyclodextrin (CD) or the molecular nanotubes synthesized from CDs, and observed the structures of the wires by atomic force microscopy (AFM). CD or the molecular nanotube can isolate a single conducting polymer chain by shielding the attractive interaction between polymer chains. In addition, since CD or the nanotube confines the conformation of the polymer chain to a rodlike one owing to the very small cavity, the defects of the π-conjugated system should be suppressed on the polymer chain. Further four-term electrodes with gaps of the order of 100 nm have been made by two different methods using AFM, the tip-induced local oxidation and AFM lithography, in order to measure the conductivity of the insulated molecular wires. With the electrodes fabricated by the tip-induced local oxidation, it was difficult to measure the conductivity because of the native oxide layer on the electrode surface. On the other hand, the AFM lithography provided us with the electrodes appropriate for the conductivity measurements of molecular wires.

Objective: Remote lung injury is induced by ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) of the gastrointestinal tract and the liver following hypovolaemic shock. In the present study, the role of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC), a member of the interleukin (IL)-8 family, in neutrophil-mediated remote lung injury following intestinal I/R was investigated in anaesthetized rats. Methodology: The I/R group was subjected to 60 min of occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery with laparotomy, followed by 240 min of intestinal reperfusion. The sham-operated (sham) group was subjected to the same procedures with the exception of intestinal I/R. Results: In the I/R group, the permeability index of the lung, the neutrophil count in pulmonary vascular lavage fluid and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), lung myeloperoxidase activity and neutrophil oxidative production were all significantly greater than those in the sham group. Cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 levels in blood and BALF were significantly increased at 240 min after intestinal reperfusion. There was a significant relationship between neutrophils in BALF and CINC-1 level in BALF. Conclusion: These findings suggest that intestinal reperfusion was associated with activation and accumulation of neutrophils in the lung and resulted in remote lung injury with increased microvascular permeability. Thus, CINC-1 in BALF may induce neutrophil migration from the pulmonary vessels to the interstitium and alveolar spaces in remote lung injury after intestinal I/R.

By using electron beam lithography, a continuous CoCrPt film with a perpendicular crystal magnetic anisotropy has been patterned into a magnetic nanoparticle array of 29 Gdot/in.2 with a 150 nm period, an 80 nm diameter, and a 44 nm height. Studies of magnetic properties using a magnetic force microscope and a vibrating sample magnetometer show that this patterning increases the remanent-to-saturation magnetization ratio from 0.2 of the continuous film to 1 of the particles, and that each particle has a single magnetic domain with perpendicular anisotropy. The application of this array to future high density magnetic recording media is discussed.

A scanning probe lithography that uses a current-controlled exposure system has been developed. We use a negativetype resist and fabricate line-and-space patterns to demonstrate characteristic parameters necessary for the present tech-nique to be applied in the industrial lithography. We find that the cross-setional shape of the developed resist pattern depends on the amount of the exposure dose. The resolution depends on the resist thickness and a minimum line width of 27nm is obtained for a 15-nm-thick resist. The proximity effect is much smaller than that of electron beam (EB) lithography. Electric-field mapping inside the resist is evaluated and the characteristics of the exposure system was explained based on the proposed exposure mechanism.

A patient suffering from severe symptomatic primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) underwent long-term intravenous prostacyclin therapy; the first time for such treatment in Japan. A 26-year-old male had experienced gradually progressive dyspnea for about one year. Despite conventional therapy he suffered repeated syncopal attacks. However, after receiving a permanent central venous access device and a portable infusion pump, he recovered fully and was discharged. This remedy seems to be promising for PPH as has already been proven in Europe and North Americas, although in Japan it is not as yet commercially available and some problems still need to be resolved.

Using conductive atomic force microscopy, we investigated the electrical properties of patterned Co/Cu/Co sub-micron dots which were aligned at 200 nm intervals. As a result, we observed the I – V character having hysteresis behavior; it was apparently due to a magnetization reversal caused by the spin transfer torque. We demonstrated that the probe technique was able to be one of the candidates of the future high-areal-density magnetic recording devices.

Extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurement was performed using the sample containing only YC82 as a metallofullerene. The spectrum measured on the K-edge of the Y showed that a Y atom has two neighboring carbons at distance of 2.41 A. This suggests that the Y atom is located on the double bond of the carbon cage. This bond structure corresponds to one of the stable candidates predicted by molecular orbital calculation, which accounts for the charge transfer interaction in Y3+C823- as has already been confirmed by ESR measurements.

We have fabricated four-probe Pt electrodes on a sapphire substrate by scanning-probe nanofabrication and reactive ion beam etching. Surface roughness, gap width and height of the fabricated electrodes were 0.3 nm, 150 nm and 4 to 5 nm, respectively. In order to test the quality of the fine electrodes, we evaluated the current through a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) placed on the electrodes. The measured two-probe resistance of the MWNT was 130 kΩ which included the contact resistance, while the leakage resistance was larger than 1 TΩ.

Although lymphatic washout of hyaluronan during lung hydration has been postulated to deplete lung interstitial hyaluronan content and thereby contribute to the decreased interstitial exclusion of albumin observed under these conditions, this hypothesis has not been directly tested. In anesthetized, ventilated mongrel dogs, a prenodal lung lymphatic was cannulated for measurement of lymph flow and hyaluronan concentration. Following baseline measurements, Pla was increased in four steps of 5 cm H2O in Group 1 or set to one pressure ranging between 6 and 32 cm H2O in Group 2. In Group 3, saline (15% body weight) was infused over 30 min and then Pla increased as in Group 2. Invariably, as lymph flow increased in Groups 1 through 3, lymph hyaluronan concentration and hyaluronan flux increased significantly (p0.05). In a separate control group, there were no changes in lymph flow, hyaluronan concentration, or hyaluronan flux. In Group 3, lung hyaluronan content at 5 h (0.76 +/- 0.08 mg/g dry weight) was not significantly less than that during baseline (0.88 +/- 0.05 mg/g dry weight), although total uronic acid content actually increased by 38% over the same time course. In contrast, in the control group, both lung hyaluronan and uronic acid content remained stable over the experimental period. From these data, approximately 2 to 3% of lung hyaluronan is predicted to leave the interstitium via lymphatic flux per day under baseline conditions. The daily turnover of interstitial hyaluronan by this route increased to 15 to 18% of total content when Pla was elevated and to 54% following saline infusion. Thus, lung hyaluronan can be rapidly mobilized with increased lymph flow.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

We have fabricated fine metal electrodes on a smooth insulating substrate for measurement of molecular devices properties. Nanometer-scale four-term electrodes resist patterns were fabricated using a system based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transferred to metal by reactive ion beam etching (RIBE). We obtained Pt, Au, and Ti four-term electrodes having linewidths of less than 100 nm on a smooth surface, whose roughness was less than 1 nm.

肺性心は,肺の機能または構造を障害する種々の呼吸器疾患によって肺高血圧が招来されることに始まる.本症の重要な発症要因である肺高血圧症は,器質的には肺血管の破壊・減少と,機能的には低酸素性肺血管れん縮の両者により生じる肺血管の総断面積の減少によっておこる.肺高血圧による右室後負荷の状態が持続すると,代償性変化として右室拡張・肥大を生じる.さらに右室負荷が持続したり新たに加わると,右室不全に陥る.

We have demonstrated a thermomagnetic writing on a 29 Gbit/in.2 patterned medium with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, by using Joule heat produced by a current flowing between a magnetic dot in the medium and a magnetic force microscope tip. The possible application of this thermomagnetic method to future patterned media is also discussed.

Characteristics of atomic force microscopy lithography using a current-controlled exposure feedback system are investigated by fabricating line-and-space patterns on the negative-type electron beam resist RD2100N. We find that the cross-sectional shape of the developed resist pattern depends on the amount of exposure. The resolution depends on the resist thickness,and a minimum line width of 27 nm is obtained for a 15-nm-thick resist. The proximity effect is evaluated by comparing a resist pattern with a model calculation. Electric-field mapping inside the resist is calculated,and an exposure mechanism is proposed to explain the characteristics.

A simple technique for size-controllable nanostructure array formation has been developed, using self-assembled polystyrene beads whose diameters can be arbitrarily reduced by reactive ion etching. We have produced a hole array of 83 and 157 nm diameter with 200 nm pitch on Si substrate. This technique can find potential applications in many areas of science and technology.

We describe a dot-array patterning method using scanning probe lithography (SPL) with a hybrid current-voltage control system. The system is a combination of the conventional constant-voltage and constant-current control methods. Resist patterning results are presented.

Reports on a hybrid method of AFM lithography and optical lithography that increases the drawing speed and decreases the drawing length. Advanced devices, such as quantum ones, have both nanometer-scale structures and large area structures, such as contact pads. It takes a long time to fabricate all the patterns using AFM lithography alone. It is preferable to combine AFM lithography with optical lithography. In this way, AFM lithography is used for nanometer structures only. When this hybrid process is used, the most significant problem is aligning the patterns produced by optical lithography and AFM lithography. To solve this problem, we use small step structures fabricated by slight development on the resist surface, fabricated by optical-lithography exposure. The positional information of the pattern structure in the resist film, fabricated by using optical lithography, is obtained by observing the steps with AFM. The additional patterning is performed by using AFM lithography. Patterns can be observed without exposure, since the force needed to observe the surface and that for the exposure are different.

The underlying mechanisms of lung endothelial injury after intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury are not fully known. Here we investigated the effects of posttreatment with a neutrophil elastase inhibitor (NEI; ONO-5046) on lung injury after intestinal I/R injury in a rat model. Intestinal I/R was produced by 90 min of ischemia followed by either 60 or 240 min of reperfusion. For all experimental groups, the endothelial permeability index increased, neutrophil H2O2production increased in the pulmonary vasculature blood, neutrophil counts increased in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and the cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)-1 and CINC-3 levels were increased in BALF after 240 min ( P < 0.01). In rats treated with NEI from 60 min after reperfusion, the lung endothelial permeability index was significantly reduced ( P < 0.05), whereas neutrophil H2O2production in pulmonary vasculature blood and neutrophil count in BALF were significantly suppressed by NEI ( P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). In addition, NEI significantly suppressed the increase of CINC-1 and CINC-3 levels in BALF ( P < 0.05). Our study clearly indicates that posttreatment with NEI reduces neutrophil activation in the pulmonary vessels and neutrophil accumulation in the lungs and suggests that ONO-5046, even when administered after the primary intestinal insult, can prevent the progression of lung injury associated with intestinal I/R.

We fabricated a standard sample for a near-field optical microscope using scanning probe lithography. The sample contains a wedged pattern, which allows the measurement of various sizes within one image. The optical resolution of our near-field optical microscope has been evaluated as 40 nm, which was obtained by measuring the narrowest separable gap width of the wedged pattern. Thus a standard sample containing the wedged pattern enables clear evaluation of the resolution.