Effect of trunk posture on external and internal oblique muscles' activities during forced expiration.

Introduction: The activities of external oblique (EO) and internal oblique (IO) muscles during forced expiration in a trunk-neutral posture are insufficient for muscle strengthening. Furthermore, these activities during forced expiration may be affected by trunk postures, which can change respiratory muscle activity. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of trunk posture on the EO and IO muscles' activities during forced expiration.

Innovative Surgical Left Atrial Appendage Closure Technique: Early Experience of Inverted Spiral Closure Technique.

Objective: Simultaneous closure of the left atrial appendage (LAA) during cardiac procedures has become a common preventive measure against cardiogenic embolic events associated with atrial fibrillation. However, this strategy encounters limitations during minimally invasive mitral valve surgery through a right minithoracotomy because access to the LAA is limited. The use of endocardial sutures for surgical exclusion of the LAA is also well established but has a notable rate of closure failure.

Acute Respiratory Failure Caused by Lateral Medullary Infarction - An Unknown Condition with Varied Etiology and Requiring Special Vigilance: A Case Series.

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to lateral medullary infarction (LMI) can be a fatal condition, although its details remain unclarified. To clarify clinical aspects of ARF due to LMI, we reviewed eight applicable cases treated in a tertiary hospital. Of them, we focused on the detailed clinical course of one case.

Testing of significant changes in big-five personality factors over time in the presence and absence of memory impairment and life-related stress.

This study tests whether memory impairment and perceived increases in stress due to life changes independently contribute to similar personality changes, such as increased neuroticism and decreased conscientiousness. Longitudinal data from 12,912 participants aged 50+ from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2020) were analyzed using Latent Growth Curve Models (LGCMs). Six LGCMs were simultaneously estimated to examine how changes in personality across three data points spanning 8 years are predicted by both the classification of memory impairment (MI) statuses assessed via the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status and estimated increases in life stress.