The acute cross-education effect of foam rolling on the thigh muscles in patients after total knee arthroplasty.

Introduction: In the early postoperative period after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), joint range of motion (ROM) limitation and increased stiffness due to pain are commonly observed. Previous studies have reported that a single bout of foam rolling (FR) can acutely increase ROM and pain threshold on the contralateral (non-intervention) side in healthy participants. In this study, we aimed to expand this knowledge for TKA rehabilitation and investigated the acute effects of FR intervention on the non-operative side on ROM, stiffness, and pain of the operative side in postoperative patients within the first week after TKA.

Efficacy of self-care foam rolling intervention on muscle function and pain conducted by postoperative patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty from the second to the third postoperative week.

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether self-care foam rolling (FR) intervention, in addition to regular physical therapy, effectively improves pain, knee joint range of motion (ROM), muscle function (knee extension strength and gait speed), and balance function in patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) during the second and third postoperative weeks.

Methods: A total of 15 patients admitted to the hospital and who underwent TKA for knee osteoarthritis were enrolled. FR was performed for more than 10 min in the morning and 10 min in the afternoon each day from the second to the third postoperative week.

The acute effect of roller massager on knee joint range of motion and muscle pain in older adults with total knee arthroplasty.

Objectives: Older adults with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have a limited range of knee joint motion due to pain and stiffness. A roller massager (RM) has recently been suggested to decrease pain and increase joint range of motion (ROM). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the acute effect of RM intervention on pain and knee joint ROM in older adults with TKA in the second postoperative week.

A 1-Week Comprehensive Foam Rolling Intervention Program Can Improve Knee Pain but Not Muscle Function and Range of Motion in Patients with Total Knee Arthroplasty.

We investigate the effect of a 1-week comprehensive foam rolling (FR) intervention program on knee pain, range of motion (ROM), and muscle function in patients with TKA.Thirty patients with TKA were randomly allocated to FR (n = 15) or control (n = 15) groups. The control group received only regular physical therapy.

Theoretical concentration limit and maximum annual optical efficiency of static/low-concentration CPV for horizontal integration to vehicle bodies.

This study proposes an extended theoretical formula to characterize the relationship between the geometrical concentration ratio C and arbitrary incidence-angle range to objectively understand the theoretical limit performance of vehicle-integrated concentrator photovoltaics (VICPVs), i.e., static and low-concentration CPVs installed on a horizontal surface.

Large Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma Treated with Hypofractionated Proton Beam Therapy and Local Hyperthermia.

Purpose: Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas. The standard treatment is adequate surgical resection; in addition, radiation therapy plays a major role in perioperative treatment in most cases. Herein, we report the case of a patient with a large MFH who was successfully treated with combined proton beam therapy (PBT) and local hyperthermia (LH).

Optical design and demonstration of microtracking CPV module with bi-convex aspheric lens array.

A microtracking concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) module with a bi-convex aspheric lens array was designed, and its performance was numerically and experimentally verified. The lens shape was optimized considering the yearly incidence characteristics of direct solar radiation. The lens optimized at 127 × was found to converge 68.

Light trapping for photovoltaic cells using polarization-insensitive angle-selective filters under monochromatic illumination.

We have proposed a light-trapping concept for photovoltaic (PV) cells under monochromatic illumination with restricted incident angles. We employed a configuration consisting of a shortpass filter (SPF) on the front surface and a diffuse reflector on the rear surface of the cell. The SPF was designed so that it functioned as a polarization-insensitive angle-selective filter.

Experimental measurements of a prototype high concentration Fresnel lens CPV module for the harvesting of diffuse solar radiation.

A prototype concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module with high solar concentration, an added low-cost solar cell, and an adjoining multi-junction solar cell is fabricated and experimentally demonstrated. In the present CPV module, the low cost solar cell captures diffuse solar radiation penetrating the concentrator lens and the multi-junction cell captures concentrated direct solar radiation. On-sun test results show that the electricity generated by a Fresnel lens-based CPV module with an additional crystalline silicon solar cell is greater than that for a conventional CPV module by a factor of 1.

System of laser pump and synchrotron radiation probe microdiffraction to investigate optical recording process.

We have developed a system of laser-pump and synchrotron radiation probe microdiffraction to investigate the phase-change process on a nanosecond time scale of Ge2Sb2Te5 film embedded in multi-layer structures, which corresponds to real optical recording media. The measurements were achieved by combining (i) the pump-laser system with a pulse width of 300 ps, (ii) a highly brilliant focused microbeam with wide peak-energy width (ΔE∕E ~ 2%) made by focusing helical undulator radiation without monochromatization, and (iii) a precise sample rotation stage to make repetitive measurements. We successfully detected a very weak time-resolved diffraction signal by using this system from 100-nm-thick Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change layers.

Characterization of light absorption in thin-film silicon with periodic nanohole arrays.

Light absorption in thin-film nanostructured monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) in a glass/Ag(0.2 µm)/c-Si(1 µm) stack is characterized using simulations and measurements. Nanohole (NH) arrays designed for a practical thin-film solar cell configuration experimentally exhibit a significant improvement of the light absorption in the 1-µm ultrathin c-Si layer that exceeds the theoretical Yablonovitch limit in the long wavelength range.

Postoperative anemia following posterior decompression surgery for lumbar spinal canal stenosis.

The incidence of lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) is increasing in Japan. Posterior lumbar decompression surgery, wide fenestration and laminectomy, for LSCS is a common treatment modality. Compared with posterior fusion surgery, posterior decompression surgery has been considered as less invasive.

Structural transformation of Sb-based high-speed phase-change material.

The crystal structure of a phase-change recording material (the compound Ag(3.4)In(3.7)Sb(76.

Improvement of hip abductor muscle weakness after lumbar decompressive surgery.

Introduction: Degenerative lumbar spinal disorder is common in Japan, and the L5 nerve root is commonly involved in this disorder. The symptoms of L5 radiculopathy are irradiating lateral leg pain, and numbness and weakness of tibialis anterior and the hip abductor muscle. There has been only one report on the results of surgery for hip abductor muscle weakness caused by degenerative lumbar spinal disorder.

Microorganisms causing pyogenic spondylitis: comparison of community and hospital-acquired types.

Abstract Pyogenic spondylitis is a common infectious disease caused by various microorganisms. It is difficult to predict the infecting microorganism at the time of initiation of treatment. Pneumonia is generally clarified into community or hospital-acquired types based on where the infection was acquired, and the infecting microorganisms are different for each type.

Sacral fracture causing neurogenic bladder: a case report.

A 76-year-old man presented with a Denis Zone III sacral fracture after a traffic accident. He also developed urinary retention and perineal numbness. The patient was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder dysfunction caused by the sacral fracture.

The specific sagittal magnetic resonance imaging of intradural extra-arachnoid lumbar disc herniation.

Intradural extra-arachnoid lumbar disc herniation is a rare disease. Few MRI findings have been reported. We experienced an intradural extra-arachnoid lumbar disc herniation.

Phototropin-dependent biased relocalization of cp-actin filaments can be induced even when chloroplast movement is inhibited.

In a recent publication using an actin-visualized line of Arabidopsis (Ichikawa et al. 2011, ref. 11), we reported a detailed analysis with higher time resolution on the dynamics of chloroplast actin filaments (cp-actin filaments) during chloroplast avoidance movement and demonstrated a good correlation between the biased configuration of cp-actin filaments and chloroplast movement.

Crystallization of the chalcogenide compound Sb8Te3.

The crystallization of a sputtered Sb(8)Te(3) film was examined in an X-ray powder diffraction experiment. An as-sputtered, amorphous Sb(8)Te(3) film crystallized during heating into a structure of Sb-Te homologous series modulated along the stacking direction. During heating the lattice parameters and the modulation period γ were found to change significantly and continuously; this observation suggests a continuous change in the stacking sequence.

Performance of see-through prism CPV module for window integrated photovoltaics.

We have examined the performance of a see-through photovoltaics module that uses a low-concentration prism concentrator by undertaking ray-tracing analysis and an on-site experiment. The incident angle dependency of the prism concentrator makes it possible to concentrate direct solar radiation onto solar cells and transmit diffuse solar radiation. Fewer solar cells can then be used without sacrificing the conversion efficiency or lighting performance.

Design of wavelength selective concentrator for micro PV/TPV systems using evolutionary algorithm.

This paper describes the results of exploring photonic structures that behave as wavelength selective concentrators (WSCs) of solar/thermal radiation. An evolutionary algorithm was combined with the finite-difference time-domain method (EA-FDTD) to determine the optimum photonic structure that can concentrate a designated wavelength range of beam solar radiation and diffusive thermal radiation in such a manner that the range matches the photosensitivity of micro photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic cells. Our EA-FDTD method successfully generated a photonic structure capable of performing wavelength selective concentration close to the theoretical limit.

Red light, Phot1 and JAC1 modulate Phot2-dependent reorganization of chloroplast actin filaments and chloroplast avoidance movement.

The phototropin (phot)-dependent intracellular relocation of chloroplasts is a ubiquitous phenomenon in plants. We have previously revealed the involvement of a short cp-actin (chloroplast actin) filament-based mechanism in this movement. Here, the reorganization of cp-actin filaments during the avoidance movement of chloroplasts was analyzed in higher time resolution under blue GFP (green fluorescent protein) excitation light in an actin filament-visualized line of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Characterization of antireflection moth-eye film on crystalline silicon photovoltaic module.

We have characterized antireflection (AR) moth-eye films placed on top of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules by indoor and outdoor experiments and examined improvements in conversion efficiency. The effects of the ratio of diffuse solar irradiation to total solar irradiation (diffusion index) and incident angle on efficiency have been quantitatively analyzed. Using computer simulations, yearly efficiency improvements under different installation conditions have been projected.

From local structure to nanosecond recrystallization dynamics in AgInSbTe phase-change materials.

Phase-change optical memories are based on the astonishingly rapid nanosecond-scale crystallization of nanosized amorphous 'marks' in a polycrystalline layer. Models of crystallization exist for the commercially used phase-change alloy Ge(2)Sb(2)Te(5) (GST), but not for the equally important class of Sb-Te-based alloys. We have combined X-ray diffraction, extended X-ray absorption fine structure and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments with density functional simulations to determine the crystalline and amorphous structures of Ag(3.

Structural investigation of GeSb6Te10 and GeBi6Te10 intermetallic compounds in the chalcogenide homologous series.

The crystal structures of GeSb(6)Te(10) and GeBi(6)Te(10) were scrutinized using an X-ray powder diffraction method, which revealed that these compounds crystallize in trigonally distorted cubic close-packed structures with a 51-layer period (R3m). Each layer consists of a triangular atomic net; Te atoms occupy their own specific layers, whereas Ge, Sb and Bi atoms are located in the other layers. In these pseudobinary compounds, random atomic occupations of Ge and Sb/Bi are observed and the layers form two kinds of elemental structural blocks by their successive stacking along the c axis.