Impact of Changes in Rectus Femoris Cross-Sectional Area Measured by Ultrasound on the Prognosis of Patients With Acute Heart Failure.

Background: Low muscle mass in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) is associated with poor prognosis; however, this is based on a single baseline measurement, with little information on changes in muscle mass during hospitalization and their clinical implications. This study investigated the relationship between changes in rectus femoris cross-sectional area (RFCSA) on ultrasound and the prognosis of patients with AHF.

Methods and results: This is a retrospective evaluation of 284 AHF patients (mean [±SD] age 79.

Does elastic taping on soles improve flexibility? A randomized controlled trial with equivalence test design.

Background: Elastic taping that applies shear force affects joint movement. However, it remains uncertain whether elastic taping or stretching is more effective in improving flexibility.

Objective: We investigated whether elastic taping for flexibility improvement is comparable to traditional stretching.

An international validation study of the IL-2 Luc assay for evaluating the potential immunotoxic effects of chemicals on T cells and a proposal for reference data for immunotoxic chemicals.

To evaluate the immunotoxic effects of xenobiotics, we have established the Multi-ImmunoTox assay, in which three stable reporter cell lines are used to evaluate the effects of chemicals on the IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-1β and IL-8 promoters. Here, we report the official validation study of the IL-2 luciferase assay (IL-2 Luc assay). In the Phase I study that evaluated five coded chemicals in three sets of experiments, the average within-laboratory reproducibility was 86.