Kinematic analysis of preparation for transferring from wheelchair to bed.

This study aimed to clarify the kinematics, particularly of the shoulder and hip joints, during preparation for manual wheelchair-to-bed transfer (i.e. when flipping up the arm and foot supports).

Development and preliminary evaluation of a tele-rehabilitation exercise system using computer-generated animation.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and acceptability of a newly developed tele-rehabilitation exercise system using computer-generated animation.

Methods: The participants comprised a convenience sample of 38 diverse individuals in Experiment 1 (15 healthy young people, 16 healthy older people, 5 patients with stroke, and 2 patients with respiratory disease) and 18 healthy older individuals in Experiment 2. Experiment 1 assessed safety in terms of cardiopulmonary vascular aspects and risk of fall, and Experiment 2 assessed treatment acceptability via a subjective evaluation.

The effect of differences in powered wheelchair joystick shape on subjective and objective operability.

Various-shaped joysticks steer electric-powered wheelchairs (EPWs); however, an operability evaluation has not been fully conducted. This study evaluated the subjective and objective operability of various-shaped joysticks in 22 younger and 22 older adults. Participants operated an EPW on an experimental course using nine different-shaped joysticks, before ranking each joystick by their operability (1 = best, 9 = worst) as a primary outcome.

Shock-absorbing effect of flooring-adopted mechanical metamaterial technology and its influence on the gait and balance of older adults.

Objective: To elucidate the performance of a shock-absorbing floor material with a mechanical metamaterial (MM-flooring) structure and its effect on the gait and balance of older adults.

Methods: The drop-weight impact was applied to evaluate the shock-absorbing performance. The falling weight was adjusted equivalent to the energy exerted on the femur of an older woman when she falls, which was evaluated on the MM-flooring and six other flooring materials.

Overcoming language barriers to provide telerehabilitation for COVID-19 patients: a two-case report.

Purpose: This report presents two cases of successful telerehabilitation delivery for patients quarantined due to COVID-19. One of the patients did not speak the therapists' language, whereas the other presented complete deafness.

Materials And Methods: We assembled a telerehabilitation system using commercial applications, including a remote-control application that minimizes the need for patient's input.

Effect of LSVT® BIG on standing balance in a Parkinson's patient: A case report.

Background And Purpose: There are no reports regarding the effect of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® BIG (LSVT® BIG) on standing balance ability evaluated using quantitative assessment. This case report aimed to describe and evaluate the influence of LSVT® BIG on the center of pressure (COP) trajectory in a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Although this paper focused on one case, quantitative assessment on the effect of LSVT® BIG on standing balance ability was performed.

An Affordable, User-friendly Telerehabilitation System Assembled Using Existing Technologies for Individuals Isolated With COVID-19: Development and Feasibility Study.

Background: Isolation due to a COVID-19 infection can limit activities and cause physical and mental decline, especially in older adults and people with disabilities. However, due to limited contact, adequate rehabilitation is difficult to provide for quarantined patients. Telerehabilitation technology could be a solution; however, issues specific to COVID-19 should be taken into consideration, such as strict quarantine and respiratory symptoms, as well as accessibility to deal with rapid increases in need due to the pandemic.

Novel lateral transfer assist robot decreases the difficulty of transfer in post-stroke hemiparesis patients: a pilot study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify whether the novel lateral transfer assist robot facilitates easier transfers compared with a wheelchair in post-stroke hemiparesis patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 20 post-stroke hemiparesis patients, and the task difficulty of transfers was compared between a wheelchair and lateral transfer assist robot. All participants were asked to transfer from either wheelchair or lateral transfer assist robot to a platform table and back.

Can simple physicochemical studies predict the effects of molecules on epidermal water-impermeable barrier function?

Improvement of the water-impermeable barrier function of skin is clinically important, because barrier abnormality is associated with various skin diseases, such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis. We have shown that topical application of fatty acids, sex hormones, hexoses, polyols and polymers influences barrier homeostasis, but the effects are highly dependent on even small variations of molecular structure. Moreover, the effects appear within one hour after application and thus are likely to be non-genomic (physicochemical) phenomena.

The effects of combined static and dynamic stretching of anti-gravitational muscles on body flexibility and standing balance: A preliminary study of healthy young participants.

Introduction: Falling is a leading cause of injury-related death. Previous studies reported that an impairment of standing balance is one of the causative factors associated with falling. The combined use of static and dynamic stretching has been reported as a treatment method for improving standing balance.

Comparison of two methods of bed-to/from-wheelchair transfer in patients with hemiparetic stroke.

Objectives: The ability to transfer between surfaces is essential for wheelchair users' independence. We hypothesized that transfer of hemiparetic stroke patients would be improved by using surfaces at the same height with no gap or obstacle between them.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to compare the difficulty of two transfer methods as a pilot study.

Lateral Transfer Assist Robot (LTAR): Development of a proof-of-concept prototype.

Background: Falls during transfer to and from a wheelchair are associated with numerous problems. Factors responsible for difficulty in transferring include horizontal/vertical gaps between surfaces; obstacles, such as armrests; and complicated brake/footrests configurations before transferring. Moreover, controlling a wheelchair sufficiently close to the transfer surface within the confined home space is difficult.

Designing a robotic smart home for everyone, especially the elderly and people with disabilities.

We initiated the Robotic Smart Home (RSH) project to develop a comfortable, safe home environment for all people, including the elderly and individuals with disabilities. An important consideration when introducing robots into a home environment is the confined living space, the so-called space problem. The RSH project plans to simultaneously develop robots and an architectural design for living spaces to create an optimal home environment that will help elderly people live independently at home for longer periods.

Characteristic responses of a phospholipid molecular layer to polyols.

Polyols (sugar alcohols) are widely used in foods, pharmaceutical formulations and cosmetics, and therefore it is important to understand their effects on cell membranes and skin. To address this issue, we examined the effect of polyols (1,2-ethanediol (ethylene glycol), 1,3-butanediol, 1,2,3-propanetriol (glycerol), and 1,2,3,4-butanetetraol) on artificial membrane systems (liposomes, monolayers, or dry films) prepared from phospholipid (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC)). 1,2-Ethanediol and 1,3-butanediol had little effect on the size of the DMPC liposomes or the surface pressure (π)-surface area (A) isotherm of DMPC monolayers at an air-water interface, whereas 1,2,3-propanetriol or 1,2,3,4-butanetetraol increased both liposome size and surface pressure.

Novel Concept to Detect an Optimum Thixoforming Condition of Al-Al₃Ni Functionally Graded Material by Wavelet Analysis for Online Operation.

A novel technique to characterize the transition phenomenon from solid to melt of Al-Al₃Ni functionally graded material (FGM) through a wavelet analysis for the development of a thixoforming system is investigated. Identification of an optimum semi-solid condition for thixoforming is necessary not only for the construction of a system but also the fabrication of a near-net-shape product with fine microstructure. An online wavelet analysis system using Haar's wavelet function, which is applied for its simplicity compared with Daubechies' wavelet function, is developed to find the optimum operating condition.

Skin surface electrical potential as an indicator of skin condition: observation of surfactant-induced dry skin and middle-aged skin.

We previously reported that skin surface electrical potential might be a good parameter of skin pathophysiology. To examine the potential availability of skin surface electrical potential measurement for diagnostic purposes, we measured the change of the potential in surfactant-induced dry skin and we compared the values of the potential in volunteers of different age groups. We also measured trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) in the same groups.

Enzymatic preparation of arbutin derivatives: lipase-catalyzed direct acylation without the need of vinyl ester as an acyl donor.

Direct and regioselective acylation of arbutin with aromatic or aliphatic acid using a lipase obtained from Candida antarctica in an organic solvent was investigated. We achieved the enzymatic synthesis of feruloyl arbutin and lipoyl arbutin without the need of vinyl ferulate and vinyl lipoate as acyl donors, respectively.

Effects of metals on skin permeability barrier recovery.

We previously demonstrated that the electrical state of the skin surface influences epidermal permeability barrier homeostasis. At the interface between different materials, electrons are localized heterogeneously and induce electrical potential. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of metals on the barrier recovery.

Distribution of marine birnavirus (MABV) in marine organisms from Okinawa, Japan, and a unique sequence variation of the VP2/NS region.

Distribution of marine type of Aquabirnavirus (MABV) was examined in shellfish and fish from Okinawa and Ishigaki Islands, Japan, where water temperature is higher than 25 degrees C through the year. Genome detection and virus isolation were performed for shellfish and fish samples, and the results revealed the prevalent distribution of MABV in diverse species in the area, although isolation was not frequently. Detection rate of MABV genome in bivalves was higher than gastropods, which was similar result to former report in mainland of Japan.

Tool-use training in a species of rodent: the emergence of an optimal motor strategy and functional understanding.

Background: Tool use is defined as the manipulation of an inanimate object to change the position or form of a separate object. The expansion of cognitive niches and tool-use capabilities probably stimulated each other in hominid evolution. To understand the causes of cognitive expansion in humans, we need to know the behavioral and neural basis of tool use.

Skin surface electric potential as an indicator of skin condition: a new, non-invasive method to evaluate epidermal condition.

We previously demonstrated that the skin surface electric potential, which has been long recognized as a parameter of emotional or physiological state, is generated by epidermal keratinocytes and is strongly associated with the ion concentration gradient in the epidermis. Thus, at temperatures below the threshold of sweating, the potential provides a measure of the epidermal ion concentration gradient, which in turn is related to epidermal homeostasis and pathology. In the present study, we established a new, non-invasive method to measure skin surface electric potential.

Involvement of nectins in the formation of puncta adherentia junctions and the mossy fiber trajectory in the mouse hippocampus.

Synapses are specialized intercellular junctions whose specificity and plasticity are mediated by synaptic cell adhesion molecules. In hippocampus, the mossy fibers form synapses on the apical dendrites of the CA3 pyramidal cells where synaptic and puncta adherentia junctions (PAJs) are highly developed. Synaptic junctions are the sites of neurotransmission, while PAJs are regarded as mechanical adhesion sites.

An estuarine neritid gastropod, Clithon corona, a potential reservoir of thermostable direct hemolysin-producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

An estuarine neritid gastropod, Clithon corona, maintained in UV-irradiated recirculating artificial seawater with a salinity of 15 per mil (%o) was found to retain thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH)-producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the gut at significantly higher levels than TDH-non-producing one for at least 14 days. Another estuarine neritid gastropod, C. sowerbianus, was not able to support the preferential survival of TDH-producing organisms.