Accelerometer-based gait characteristics and their discrimination of gait independence in inpatients with subacute stroke.

Background: Gait analysis using inertial measurement devices can identify multifaceted gait disorders after a stroke. Although the usefulness of gait assessment using inertial measurement devices has been reported, its accuracy in discriminating gait independence in patients hospitalized for subacute stroke has not yet been validated.

Research Question: Can trunk acceleration indices discriminate between dependent and independent walking in patients with subacute stroke?

Methods: Thirty-five patients with subacute stroke (mean ± standard deviation, 75.

Relationship between ankle-foot-complex mobility during static loading and frontal moment impulses of knee and hip joints during the stance phase.

Background: Ankle-foot-complex mobility impairments, which can be assessed by the difference between the sitting and standing positions, are related to an increase in the load on the knee and hip joints during the stance phase of the gait.

Research Question: What is the relationship between the ankle-foot-complex mobility during static weight bearing and the mechanical stresses on the knee and hip joints throughout the stance phase?

Methods: Ankle-foot-complex mobility and gait data were collected from 26 healthy adults. The complex mobility was established by comparing the foot indices, measured using a three-dimensional foot scanner, in sitting and standing positions.

Effect of forearm positions on scapular movements and trunk rotation angles.

[Purpose] The study investigated the impact of distinct forearm positions on scapular movement and trunk rotation angles. [Participants and Methods] We enrolled 23 healthy young males. Measurements of trunk rotation and relative scapular segment angles were acquired under three conditions employing three-dimensional motion analysis, each executed in a seated posture: (1) both forearms in a neutral position, (2) the forearm on the rotational side adopted supination while the opposite forearm utilized pronation, and (3) the forearm on the rotational side employed pronation while the opposite forearm assumed supination.

Relationship between scapular elevation exercises with different alignments and activity of the trapezius and levator scapulae muscles.

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine whether scapular elevation exercises in sitting positions with different alignments lead to contractions of the trapezius and levator scapulae muscles. [Participants and Methods] The participants were 25 males, measured in four sitting positions with different alignments. Spine alignment was assessed by measuring the head protrusion, upper thoracic spine tilt, and pelvic tilt angles.

Relationship between the bilateral ratios of the thoracic shape and electromyographic activity of the thoracic and lumbar iliocostalis muscles during thoracic lateral translation.

[Purpose] This study aimed to determine the relationship between thoracic lateral deviation, the bilateral ratio of the thoracic shape, and the bilateral ratio of the thoracic and lumbar iliocostalis muscles during resting sitting and thoracic lateral translation. [Participants and Methods] We included 23 healthy adult males in the study. The measurement tasks were resting sitting and thoracic lateral translation relative to the pelvis.

Examination of body static rotation related to step length asymmetry: biomechanics of the thorax and pelvis.

[Purpose] This study determined whether the results of the mobility assessment of pelvic and thoracic rotation (static evaluation), which is often used in clinical settings, are related to step length asymmetry. Moreover, we identified the postural evaluation of rotation that may be related to gait asymmetry. [Participants and Methods] We hypothesize that a certain relationship exists between the static assessments of pelvic rotation and step length asymmetry.

Relationship between the thoracic asymmetry in standing position and the asymmetry of ankle moment in the frontal plane during gait.

[Purpose] We aimed to investigate the relationship of thoracic asymmetry in standing position with asymmetry of the internal ankle moment in the frontal plane during gait. [Participants and Methods] The following measurements were recorded in 22 healthy adult males using a 3D motion analyzer and force plates: thoracic lateral deviation, asymmetrical ratios of the upper and lower thoracic shape, internal ankle moment in the frontal plane, mediolateral deviations of the center of mass and center of pressure. [Results] In the standing position, the thorax was deviated to the left relative to the pelvis, and the upper and lower thoracic shapes were asymmetrical.

Effects of resistance training on baroreflex sensitivity function in healthy males.

[Purpose] This experimental study examined the effects of resistance exercises with three intensities on baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in healthy males. [Participants and Methods] This study enrolled 27 sedentary healthy males with the following demographic characteristics: mean age, 19.9 years; body mass, 63.

Rice farming care as a novel method of green care farm in East Asian context: an implementation research.

Background: Green care farms, which offer care for people with dementia in a farm setting, have been emerging in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to 1) implement green care farms which use rice farming in Japan, 2) explore the positive experiences of rice farming care, and 3) compare the effect of rice farming care to that of usual care on well-being and cognitive ability.

Methods: We developed a new method of green care farm in Japan which uses rice farming, a farming that is practiced all over East Asia.

Effects of the posterior pelvic tilt sitting posture on thoracic morphology and respiratory function.

[Purpose] We investigated how differences in pelvic angle in the posterior pelvic tilt sitting posture simultaneously affect the thoracic morphology and the respiratory function. [Participants and Methods] The participants were 18 healthy young males. We positioned the pelvis at 0°, 10°, 20°, and 30° of posterior tilt, following which the thoracic expansion volume ratio, thoracic spine tilt angle, and respiratory function were measured.

Age-related changes in postural control for wearing shoes using different process of leg-raising processes in the sitting position: a pilot study.

[Purpose] Wearing shoes can be difficult for people who experience movement difficulties. This study aimed to compare young adults and senior adults while wearing shoes in order to quantify kinematic, physiological, and ergonomic points of variance. [Participants and Methods] Nine young adults (mean age, 21 years) and nine senior adults (mean age, 70 years) were included in the study.

Factors that determine kinematic coupling behavior of calcaneal pronation/supination and shank rotation during weight bearing: ananalysis based on foot bone alignment using radiographic images.

[Purpose] This study aimed to identify factors that determine the kinematic coupling behavior of calcaneal pronation/supination and shank rotation in a standing position. [Participants and Methods] Study participants included 15 healthy adults (30 legs). Kinematic coupling behavior was quantified as the linear regression coefficient (kinetic chain ratio [KCR]) of the angle of shank rotation against the angle of calcaneal pronation-to-supination measured using a 3-dimensional motion analysis system during pronation and supination of both feet while standing.

Two Experiments on the Psychological and Physiological Effects of Touching-Effect of Touching on the HPA Axis-Related Parts of the Body on Both Healthy and Traumatized Experiment Participants.

Two experiments were conducted to measure both the psychological and physiological effects of touching on the HPA axis related parts of the body. HPA stands for the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal. One experiment was conducted with a group of healthy experiment participants, and another was with a group of traumatized participants who had Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE).

An Experiment on the Psychological and Physiological Effects of Skin Moisturization on Lower Legs-In Expectation of Application to Nursing Practice at Hospitals.

This study hypothesized that moisturizing treatment of the skin has a positive effect on psychological and physiological aspects. In this experiment, the effect of touch with moisturizer for two minutes on the lower legs was measured in terms of brain activity, heart rate, and center of gravity unrest (X axis) in 10 healthy male and female experiment participants. The Right Laterality Ratio Score decreased after treatment, suggesting a relaxation effect of the treatment.

The free moment is associated with torsion between the pelvis and the foot during gait.

Background: During walking, the friction between the foot and the ground surface causes a free moment (FM), which influences the torsional stress on the lower extremity. However, few studies have investigated the FM during natural walking. The main aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the FM and the absolute and relative rotation angles of the foot and pelvis.

Facilitation of visual target detection by pre-perceptual processing of negative emotion driven by simple geometric shapes.

Emotional processing that occurs partially in advance of perceptual processing is known as pre-perceptual emotional processing. The facilitation of sensory processing due to pre-perceptual emotional processing can be observed in visual search and attentional blink tasks. However, previous event-related potential studies have suggested that pre-perceptual emotional processing affects the lower-order range of sensory processing, which differs from the processing involved in visual search and attentional blink tasks.