Foot pressure distribution in patients with gonarthrosis.

Background: When standing, leg alignment is controlled by supinating or pronating the subtalar joint, corresponding to valgus or varus deformity of the knee joint. However, in the gait cycle, it is not clear whether the abnormal alignment can be compensated.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the control of leg alignment in the latter half of the gait cycle.

Subcutaneous Achilles tendon rupture in an eighty-year-old female with an absence of risk factors.

Achilles tendon ruptures rarely occur in patients over 80 years of age. However, it is unclear what treatment, surgical or conservative, is suitable for such an Achilles tendon rupture in the elderly. In addition, the clinical results of an Achilles tendon rupture in the elderly are disappointing.

Negative capillary-pressure-induced cavitation probability in nanochannels.

The capillarity-induced negative pressure of water flow has been investigated in nanochannels of a rectangular cross section by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. As a consequent effect of negative pressure, the cavitation probability has been analyzed numerically. The numerical relation between the critical radius of cavitation (R(c)) and geometrical characteristics of channels shows that cavitation does not occur in channels of uniform cross section (UCS), since 2R(c) is larger than the smallest dimension of the channel.

Factors influencing the improvement of gait ability after total hip arthroplasty.

We aimed to investigate the factors influencing gait improvement in the patients who had undergone total hip arthroplasty. We performed gait analysis on 43 female patients with unilateral hip osteoarthritis. All the patients were analyzed before and at 2, 6, and 12 months after the surgery.

Epitaxial growth of a low-density framework form of crystalline silicon: a molecular-dynamics study.

Crystal growth processes of low-density framework forms of crystalline silicon, named Si clathrates ( Si34 and Si46), during solid phase epitaxy (SPE) have been successfully observed in molecular-dynamics simulations using the Tersoff potential. The activation energy of SPE for Si34 has been found to correspond with the experimental value ( approximately 2.7 eV) for the cubic diamond phase, while the SPE rates of Si46 are much lower than that of Si34.

A unique case of central diabetes insipidus (DI) associated with transient pituitary stalk enlargement: close observation over several years using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and hypophysial endocrine tests.

We had the opportunity to closely observe a unique case of central diabetes insipidus (DI), in which dramatic changes in both radiological findings and hypophysial functions were seen. A 63-year-old female developed central DI, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mild thickening of the pituitary stalk and lack of hyperintense signal associated with normal neurohypophysis on T1-weighted images. About three months later, the stalk was found to be remarkably expanded like neoplasm; however, anterior pituitary functions were almost normal on that occasion, except for the absence of GH response to an insulin tolerance test.

[Effects of low dose pimobendan in patients with cor-pulmonale].

The acute and chronic efficacy of low dose pimobendan (1.25 mg x 2/day) was evluated in patients with cor-pulmonale. Fifteen patients (12 men, 3 women, mean age 73 +/- 5 yr) with right ventricular dysfunction judged by Tei's Doppler index (> or = 0.

Nephrotic syndrome associated with hyper-high-density lipoproteinemia potentiated by prednisolone therapy.

We describe a case of nephrotic syndrome (idiopathic membranous glomerulonephropathy) with high serum HDL cholesterol (91 mg/100 ml) which increased to 240 mg/100 ml following steroid therapy. The increase in HDL was mainly a result of increased HDL2 and increased plasma apolipoprotein A-I.

Seventeen year follow-up of a patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which progressed to dilated cardiomyopathy.

The progression of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been rarely reported. We report a patient with HCM who had been followed for 17 years and in whom DCM became evident.