Publications by authors named "Kimiko Abe"

Article Synopsis
  • This study examines how chewing movements change in dementia patients, focusing on the relationship between mandibular movement and cognitive function.
  • Sixty-three residents from long-term care facilities chewed rice crackers while their movements were recorded for analysis.
  • Results showed that as cognitive function declined, patients exhibited less circular chewing motions and more linear ones, which may hinder their ability to eat solid foods effectively.
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Providing a normal diet to a care recipient who is unable to form an adequate bolus may cause suffocation or aspiration pneumonia. We investigated whether differences in kinematic data of mandibular movements during mastication can be used as an indicator of the need for a dysphagia diet in the elderly in long-term care facilities. We included 63 participants who were provided with solid food in two long-term care facilities.

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Background: Retention of skilled midwives is crucial to reducing maternal mortality in rural areas; hence, Cambodia has been trying to retain at least one secondary midwife who can provide basic emergency obstetric care at every health centre even in rural areas. The factors influencing the retention of midwives, but not solely secondary midwives, have been identified; however, the security issues that affected female health workers during the conflict and the post-conflict years and gender issues have been unexplored. This study explores these and other potential factors influencing secondary midwife retention and their significance.

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Background: Electrical stimulation therapy is effective for patients with dysphagia. However, because of the pain, strong stimulation cannot be applied. Although magnetic stimulation induces less pain, there are no reports on magnetic stimulation being synchronised with a swallowing reflex.

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Purpose: To examine the relationship between oral intake function and oral health status in convalescent inpatients.

Methods: Subjects were 222 patients admitted to a convalescent hospital between 1 January and 30 June 2018. Investigation items were age, sex, causative disease, body mass index, functional oral intake scale (FOIS), functional independence measure, occlusal contact, assistance with oral cleaning, and oral health assessment tool (OHAT) scores.

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Purpose: Diabetes causes hyperglycemic disorders due to insufficient activity of insulin, and it also increases blood glucose level. Recent studies have reported the relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease. Periodontitis is advanced by inflammatory cytokines stimulated with LPS.

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Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is used for bone healing in orthopedics. In previous in vivo and in vitro studies, LIPUS has been shown to have promising effects on cellular elements in articular cartilage, particularly chondrocytes in patients with osteoarthritis. However, the effects of LIPUS on the cellular mechanisms through which LIPUS alters extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in chondrocytes are unclear.

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Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of clinical symptoms related to abnormal swallowing in a large sample of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients.

Methods: Oropharyngeal symptoms for abnormal swallowing were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire in 507 consecutive patients (females: 65, males: 442; mean age: 49.6 ± 12.

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Yawning is a stereotyped motor behavior characterized by deep inhalation and associated dilation of the respiratory tract, pronounced jaw opening, and facial grimacing. The frequency of spontaneous yawning varies over the diurnal cycle, peaking after waking and before sleep. Yawning can also be elicited by seeing or hearing another yawn, or by thinking about yawning, a phenomenon known as "contagious yawning".

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Mochi is highly cohesive and adhesive, and easy to choke on. Many of the fatal suffocation accidents with mochi occur in the elderly aged 65 years or older. These circumstances prompted us to investigate a special property of waxy wheat which is similar in texture to waxy rice, but is less cohesive and adhesive.

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We previously found that the greatest salivation response in healthy human subjects is produced by facial vibrotactile stimulation of 89 Hz frequency with 1.9 μ m amplitude (89 Hz-S), as reported by Hiraba et al. (2012, 20011, and 2008).

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Swallowing function is deteriorated with age, and swallowing disorders can cause aspiration pneumonia that is the one of main causes of death for elderly. Accordingly, evaluation technique for swallowing function is important. Roughly, these are screening test and instrumental examination.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to identify factors that supported the development of Cambodia's health human resources, particularly for midwifery services, to address high maternal mortality in resource-limited settings.
  • Through qualitative interviews with health officials and stakeholders, researchers evaluated perceptions of contributions to midwifery services and external influences that helped reduce maternal mortality ratios.
  • Findings revealed that focusing on midwife training, effective decision-making, political commitment, and support from development partners were key to improving maternal health services and significantly lowering maternal mortality rates since 2005.
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The aim of the present study was to clarify an involvement of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) in the regeneration of primary afferent trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons following inferior alveolar nerve transection (IANX). A larger number of GAP-43 immunoreactive (GAP-43 IR) TG neurons was observed in rats 3 d after IANX compared with sham rats. Growth-associated protein-43 IR TG neurons were also detected for 30 d after IANX, and the number of GAP-43 IR TG neurons was significantly higher in the IANX model until day 30.

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