Relationship between physical activity and neighborhood environment in preschool children during COVID-19.-A cross-sectional study using 24-hour activity records.

Maintaining physical activity and the development of physical and cognitive functions are essential especially in vulnerable populations such as children. Considering the substantial impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on preschool children and the lack of research focusing on this age group, this study examined the duration of physical activity among preschool-aged children on weekend days and its relationship with the environment. This study was conducted between October and November 2021, with the cooperation of 357 parents of preschoolers attending kindergartens, nurseries, and childcare centers.

Glucose loading for heart failure protects the myocardium and improves physical function.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of glucose intake on physical function in a heart failure rat model. [Materials and Methods] Five-week-old male Wistar rats were used for this study. Monocrotalin (40 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to rats to induce heart failure.

Preoperative Factors Affecting Patient-reported Outcome Measures for Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the preoperative factors affecting health-related quality of life (HRQOL) at 3 and 12 months after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods: In total, 156 patients who underwent unilateral TKA for knee osteoarthritis were included in the study. The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was used as a measure of HRQOL before surgery and 3 and 12 months post-TKA.

Association between foot posture and tibiofemoral contact forces during barefoot walking in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that abnormal foot posture are risk factors for knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, the relationship between foot posture and tibiofemoral contact force (CF) during habitual weight-bearing activities remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the association between tibiofemoral CF and foot posture while walking.

The Effects of Branched-Chain Amino Acids on the Akt/mTOR Pathway and Nebulin Protein in Joint Fixation-Induced Muscle Atrophy.

It is well known that branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) promote protein synthesis in skeletal muscle and can cause muscle hypertrophy. However, it has also been reported that they may inhibit muscle atrophy induced by load-bearing and age-related changes. In this study, we investigated the effects of BCAA intake during joint fixation on the levels of protein kinase B (Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and nebulin in a rat model of joint fixation.

Physical Fitness Testing and Screening Reveal a Gateway to Identify Locomotive Disorders: Retrospective Study of a Japanese Elementary School Population.

This retrospective epidemiological study investigated the relationship between physical fitness testing and locomotive disorder screening results among elementary school children in Japan. The test and screening results of 1033 children from a single elementary school between 2016 and 2018 were examined. Multiple regression analysis was performed for each gender of children of grades third and fourth to generate receiver-operating characteristic curves.

Long-term wheel-running prevents reduction of grip strength in type 2 diabetic rats.

Diabetic skeletal muscles show reduced contractile force and increased fatigability. Hands are a target for several diabetes-induced complications. Therefore, reduced handgrip strength often occurs as a consequence of diabetes.

Effects of appropriate-intensity treadmill exercise on skeletal muscle and respiratory functions in a rat model of emphysema.

The number of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a typical respiratory disorder, is rapidly increasing globally. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of appropriate-intensity treadmill exercise on skeletal muscle and respiratory functions in a rat model of emphysema. Twenty-one Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: the sham (SH) group, pulmonary emphysema (PE) group, and emphysema + exercise (EX) group.

Possible effects of whole body vibration on bone properties in growing rats.

Objectives: To examine the effects of whole body vibration (WBV) on bone properties in growing rats, and to explore the optimal conditions for enhancing bone properties.

Methods: Thirty-six 4-week-old male rats were divided into 1 control and 5 experimental groups. Each experimental group underwent WBV at 15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 Hz (0.

Whole body vibration at low-frequency can increase trabecular thickness and width in adult rats.

Objective: This study aimed to examine whether WBV becomes a possible modality for the primary prevention of osteoporosis by exploring WBV frequency that has positive effects on bone properties in adult rats.

Methods: Thirty-six 24-week-old rats were divided into one control and 5 experimental groups, which underwent WBV at various frequencies (15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 Hz), with a magnitude of 0.5 g, for 15 min/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks.

Association between changes in subcutaneous fat mass and heart failure-induced cachexia: a case report.

[Purpose] We investigated whether an increase or decrease in subcutaneous fat mass secondary to cardiac cachexia can be evaluated using diagnostic ultrasonography in patients with heart failure. [Participant and Methods] We report a case of cardiac cachexia in a patient in whom cachexia was confirmed by weight loss, decreased dietary intake, and biochemical indicators measured by blood tests. We measured the subcutaneous fat mass in the patient's thigh using ultrasonic diagnostic equipment during the cachectic state, as well as 1 and 2 months later.

Oxygen therapy may worsen the survival rate in rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Although oxygen therapy rapidly improves arterial oxygen saturation in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, the effects of chronic administration of oxygen are unknown. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of chronic oxygen therapy on the histological changes and survival rate in rats with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension was induced by monocrotaline injection.

Long-Term Intake of Green Tea Extract Causes Mal-Conformation of Trabecular Bone Microarchitecture in Growing Rats.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of green tea extract (GTE) intake on bone structural and physiological properties, such as bone mass, trabecular bone microarchitecture, cortical bone geometry, and bone mechanical strength, in growing rats. Four-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into the following four groups: standard diet feeding for 85 days (S-CON) or 170 days (L-CON), and GTE diet feeding for 85 days (S-GTE) or 170 days (L-GTE). At the end of the experiment, in addition to measurement of circulating bone formation/resorption markers, bone mass, trabecular bone microarchitecture, and cortical bone geometry were analyzed in the left femur, and bone mechanical strength of the right femur was measured.

Relationship Between Muscle Strength Asymmetry and Body Sway in Older Adults.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between muscle strength asymmetry and body sway while walking. We studied 63 older adult women. Strong side and weak side of knee extension strength, toe grip strength, hand grip strength, and body sway while walking were measured.

Femoral bone structure in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats.

Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) increases fracture risk despite normal to high levels of bone mineral density. Bone quality is known to affect bone fragility in T2DM. The aim of this study was to clarify the trabecular bone microstructure and cortical bone geometry of the femur in T2DM model rats.

β-Carotene Increases Muscle Mass and Hypertrophy in the Soleus Muscle in Mice.

Supplements and naturally occurring nutraceuticals effective for maintenance or enhancement of skeletal muscle mass are expected to contribute to prevention of decreased mobility and increased risk of developing metabolic diseases. However, information about available food components remains widely unavailable. In the present study, we investigated the effects of dietary β-carotene on the quantity and quality of skeletal muscle under physiological conditions.

Tidal volume and diaphragm muscle activity in rats with cervical spinal cord injury.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to make an experimental model of cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) using Wistar rats, in order to analyze the influence of CSCI on the respiratory function. [Subjects] Thirty-two male 12-week-old Wistar rats were used. [Methods] The CSCI was made at the levels from C3 to C7, and we performed pneumotachography and electromyography (EMG) on the diaphragm.

The effects of hypoventilation disorder on physiological and biochemical properties of the hindlimb muscles.

The purpose of this study was to determine the physiological and biochemical properties of hindlimb muscles after hypoventilation (HPO) induced by bilateral phrenic nerve denervation. Male Wistar rats (10 weeks-old) underwent HPO by the phrenic nerve denervation at the cervical level or sham surgery. Analyses were performed 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the surgery.

Evaluation of Rhodiola rosea supplementation on skeletal muscle damage and inflammation in runners following a competitive marathon.

Adaptogens modulate intracellular signaling and increase expression of heat shock protein 72 (HSP72). Rhodiola rosea (RR) is a medicinal plant with demonstrated adaptogenic properties. The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of RR supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage, delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS), plasma cytokines, and extracellular HSP72 (eHSP72) in experienced runners completing a marathon.

The relationship between skeletal muscle oxygenation and systemic oxygen uptake during exercise in subjects with COPD: a preliminary study.

Background: Muscle oxygenation correlates with systemic oxygen uptake (V(O₂)) in normal subjects; however, whether this relationship exists in COPD patients remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of skeletal muscle oxygenation on V(O₂) during exercise in patients with COPD.

Methods: Eight subjects performed an incremental cycle ergometer exercise test.

Age-related changes in contraction and relaxation of rat diaphragm.

Age-related changes of physiological and biochemical properties were examined in the diaphragm muscle, which has particularly high activation compared to that of other skeletal muscles. The diaphragm from 10-week-, 50-week- and 100-week-old male Wistar rats were used to measure in vitro isometric contractile properties, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase activity, and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform composition. Although there were no significant differences in specific twitch tension of the diaphragm among the groups, there was significant reduction in specific tetanic tension in the 50-week to 100-week groups.

The progression of bone and muscle atrophy in mice hind limb with immobilization.

This study investigated the time course of changes of bone and muscle atrophy in mice with immobilization by denervation and fixation. The animals were fifty-two male C57 BL/6J mice, aged 10 weeks old. Eight mice were used as the base line, and the remaining ones were cut at the sciatic nerve of the left hind limb and fixed with a plaster cast.