High-intensity intermittent inspiratory and abdominal muscle combined training in respiratory, swallowing and systemic muscles of healthy adults.

Background: Low-intensity continuous inspiratory muscle training improves its strength. The abdominal muscles are the main expiratory muscles, and their training may improve expiratory muscle strength. Respiratory muscle strength regulates coughing effectiveness, which is critical for pneumonia management.

Effects of ankle-foot orthosis with dorsiflexion resistance on the quasi-joint stiffness of the ankle joint and spatial asymmetry during gait in patients with hemiparesis.

Background: Reduced ankle quasi-joint stiffness affects propulsion in the paretic side of patients with hemiparesis, contributing to gait asymmetry. We investigated whether the use of an ankle-foot orthosis with dorsiflexion resistance to compensate for reduced stiffness would increase quasi-joint stiffness and spatiotemporal symmetry in patients with hemiparesis.

Methods: Seventeen patients walked along a 7-m walkway in both ankle-foot orthosis with dorsiflexion resistance and control (i.

Increased trailing limb angle in hemiplegic patients after training with a knee orthosis: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Stroke often induces gait abnormality, such as buckling knee pattern, compromising walking ability. Previous studies indicated that an adequate trailing limb angle (TLA) is critical for recovering walking ability.

Objective: We hypothesized that correcting gait abnormality by immobilizing the knee joint using a knee orthosis (KO) would improve walking patterns and increase the TLA, and investigated whether walking training using a KO would increase the TLA in post-stroke patients.

Differences in kinematic parameters during gait between the patients with knee osteoarthritis and healthy controls using an insole with a single inertial measurement unit: A case-control study.

Background: An inertial measurement unit is small and lightweight, allowing patient measurements without physical constraints. This study aimed to determine the differences in kinematic parameters during gait using an insole with a single inertial measurement unit in healthy controls and on both sides in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Twenty patients with knee osteoarthritis and 13 age-matched controls were included in this study.

Establishment of a post-disaster healthcare information booklet for the Turkey-Syrian earthquake, based on past disasters.

The scientific evidence based on experiences with past disasters points to the possibility of the occurrence of future mental health issues among those who were affected by the recent Turkey-Syria earthquake. However, post-disaster care information on factors that could give rise to mental health issues among those affected have yet to be provided. In March 2011, Tohoku University compiled and published a booklet with post-disaster healthcare information based on the experiences with the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Alteration of Interhemispheric Inhibition in Patients With Lateral Epicondylalgia.

Patients with lateral epicondylalgia (LE) show alterations in the primary motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the affected side. Cortical alterations have been investigated by measuring intracortical facilitation/inhibition; however, their association with pain remains controversial. Furthermore, no studies have investigated changes in interhemispheric inhibition (IHI).

Effects of body postures on respiratory muscle force and coughing in healthy people.

The respiratory muscle force determines the intensity of cough force. A greater cough force for cleaning the airways is essential for preventing and managing pneumonia. Body posture can affect the onset of aspiration pneumonia.

TMS and neocortical neurons: an integrative review on the micro-macro connection in neuroplasticity.

Tian D, Izumi S. TMS and neocortical neurons: an integrative review on the micro-macro connection in neuroplasticity. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2023; 14: 1-9.

Effects of visual-electrotactile stimulation feedback on brain functional connectivity during motor imagery practice.

The use of neurofeedback is an important aspect of effective motor rehabilitation as it offers real-time sensory information to promote neuroplasticity. However, there is still limited knowledge about how the brain's functional networks reorganize in response to such feedback. To address this gap, this study investigates the reorganization of the brain network during motor imagery tasks when subject to visual stimulation or visual-electrotactile stimulation feedback.

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of CL2020, an allogenic muse cell-based product, in subacute ischemic stroke.

Effective treatments for stroke after the acute phase remain elusive. Muse cells are endogenous, pluripotent, immune-privileged stem cells capable of selectively homing to damaged tissue after intravenous injection and replacing damaged/lost cells via differentiation. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled ischemic stroke patients with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≥3.

Facilitation of imitative movement in patients with chronic hemiplegia triggered by illusory ownership.

The sense of body ownership, the feeling that one's body belongs to oneself, is a crucial subjective conscious experience of one's body. Recent methodological advances regarding crossmodal illusions have provided novel insights into how multisensory interactions shape human perception and cognition, underpinning conscious experience, particularly alteration of body ownership. Moreover, in post-stroke rehabilitation, encouraging the use of the paretic limb in daily life is considered vital, as a settled sense of ownership and attentional engagement toward the paralyzed body part may promote increased frequency of its use and prevent learned nonuse.

Different effects of I-wave periodicity repetitive TMS on motor cortex interhemispheric interaction.

Background: Activity of the neural circuits in the human motor cortex can be probed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Changing TMS-induced current direction recruits different cortical neural circuits. I-wave periodicity repetitive TMS (iTMS) substantially modulates motor cortex excitability through neural plasticity, yet its effect on interhemispheric interaction remains unclear.

Impacts of body positions on the geniohyoid muscle contraction and swallowing difficulty in healthy adults.

Background: Body positions affect swallowing and gastroesophageal reflux. Swallowing impairment is one of the main causes of aspiration pneumonia. To prevent pneumonia, evaluation of body positions on gastroesophageal reflux recommended 30 degrees or higher semi-recumbent positions.

Anatomy and function of the lymphatic vessels in the parietal pleura and their plasticity under inflammation in mice.

Inflammatory pleuritis often causes pleural effusions, which are drained through lymphatic vessels (lymphatics) in the parietal pleura. The distribution of button- and zipper-like endothelial junctions can identify the subtypes of lymphatics, the initial, pre-collecting, and collecting lymphatics. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-3 and its ligands VEGF-C/D are crucial lymphangiogenic factors.

Association between Low Forced Vital Capacity and High Pneumonia Mortality, and Impact of Muscle Power.

Impaired % predicted value forced vital capacity (% FVC) is related to higher all-cause mortality in aged adults, and strong muscle force may improve this relationship. A muscle disease, sarcopenia, causes higher mortality. We aimed to identify the unknown disease that relates impaired % FVC with higher mortality in aged adults among the three major leading causes of death, and the effect of strong leg force on this relationship.

Effects of Wearing Slippers While Obstacle Crossing in Healthy Young Adults: Strategy for Toe Clearance Enhancement and Prevention of Slipper Loss.

Wearing loose footwear, such as slippers, poses a risk factor for tripping. Previous studies have examined obstacle crossing to find strategies to avoid tripping. However, the effect of wearing slippers on the likelihood of tripping remains unclear.

The Relationship between Low Skeletal Muscle Mass and Subsequent Oral Intake Ability among the Aged Population.

This study aimed to determine the relationship between skeletal muscle mass in an aged population with limited oral intake upon admission and functional oral intake at the subsequent 3-month follow-up. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using the Japanese Sarcopenia Dysphagia Database involving older adults (≥60 years) with limited oral intake (Food Intake Level Scale [FILS] level of ≤8). People without skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) data, unknown methods of SMI evaluation, and SMI evaluation by DXA were excluded.

How coaching training transforms nurses' behaviour: The effectiveness of coaching training according to objective measures.

Aim: To evaluate the transition of behavioural changes of participants before and after the training using a scale that can objectively evaluate coaching training for nurses.

Design: After a cross-sectional study, a quasi-experimental study was conducted.

Methods: We examined the reliability and validity of the Coaching Skill Assessment plus (CSAplus), which was developed to measure the effectiveness of coaching training for corporate leaders.

Nurturing Basic Societal Competencies in Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy Training Education: Effects of Coaching Classes.

Introduction: Nurturing "basic societal competencies" is important in the training education of speech-language-hearing therapists (SLHTs) to enable them to respond to fluctuating medical treatment scenarios. However, in the current training education for SLHTs, some students need assistance in terms of basic societal competencies, such as initiative, planning, and communication. In this study, the focus was on coaching theory, a method of interpersonal support through dialog, as a strategy for addressing the issues.

Multibranch convolutional neural network with contrastive representation learning for decoding same limb motor imagery tasks.

Introduction: Emerging deep learning approaches to decode motor imagery (MI) tasks have significantly boosted the performance of brain-computer interfaces. Although recent studies have produced satisfactory results in decoding MI tasks of different body parts, the classification of such tasks within the same limb remains challenging due to the activation of overlapping brain regions. A single deep learning model may be insufficient to effectively learn discriminative features among tasks.