Mental Health Status and Related Factors Among Visually Impaired Athletes.

Background: A growing body of pieces of evidence suggests that sport activity is of potential importance both for physical and mental health. To date, there is a lack of information and evidence regarding the mental health of visually impaired people playing some extent of sports and recognized as athletes with renowned career track. The present study aims to clarify the mental health status and its related factors in visually impaired athletes.

Influence of electroacupuncture stimulation on skin temperature, skin blood flow, muscle blood volume and pupil diameter.

Objective: To examine the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation on multiple physiological indices and to evaluate both local and systemic physiological responses induced by the stimulation.

Methods: 15 healthy male college students participated in an experimental crossover study. They received two kinds of interventions: one with EA stimulation and one without EA stimulation on different days.

Software-Based Three-Dimensional Deconvolution Microscopy of Cytoskeletal Proteins in Cultured Fibroblast Using Open-Source Software and Open Hardware.

As conventional fluorescence microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy generally produce images with blurring at the upper and lower planes along the -axis due to non-focal plane image information, the observation of biological images requires "deconvolution." Therefore, a microscope system's individual blur function (point spread function) is determined theoretically or by actual measurement of microbeads and processed mathematically to reduce noise and eliminate blurring as much as possible. Here the author describes the use of open-source software and open hardware design to build a deconvolution microscope at low cost, using readily available software and hardware.

Tensile behavior and extensional viscosity of bile.

Background: Bile, which is secreted by the liver, is essential for digesting fat and maintaining homeostasis. Although the rheology of bile is very important to its flow, its extensional viscosity has not been studied.

Objective: We investigated the stretching of bile and evaluated its extensional viscosity using a filament-breakup device.

Associations between self-reported hearing loss and outdoor activity limitations, psychological distress and self-reported memory loss among older people: Analysis of the 2016 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions in Japan.

Aim: To investigate the associations between self-reported hearing loss and outdoor activity limitations, psychological distress and self-reported memory loss among older people.

Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study using the data from the 2016 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions in Japan. The study population included people aged ≥65 years living at home, without a clinical diagnosis of dementia.

Sound design for auditory biofeedback and motor performance in participants with stroke: a pilot study.

: Although auditory biofeedback (ABF) has proved to be effective in stroke rehabilitation, there are a variety of means by which to present information through sound. : To examine if ABF sound design influences the motor performance of patients with stroke. : A total of four people with chronic stroke participated .

Effect of a leucine-enriched essential amino acids mixture on muscle recovery.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine whether the consumption of a leucine-enriched essential amino acid mixture (LEAA), which is known to increase protein synthesis in muscles, alleviates muscle damage and accelerates recovery by ameliorating muscle damage. [Participants and Methods] A double-blind, randomized crossover trial was conducted over a 5-week period. Ten untrained males (age, 23.

Clinical features of drug-induced Parkinsonism.

Drug-induced Parkinsonism is often reversible after withdrawal of the causative drug. Its clinical course, however, is not well understood, as the majority of cases are caused by drugs prescribed by departments outside of neurology. We reviewed 21 cases of drug-induced parkinsonism for several factors, including age, sex, causative drug and reason for prescription, department by which it was prescribed, and outcome.

Effects of acupuncture on nutritional state of patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): re-analysis of COPD acupuncture trial, a randomized controlled trial.

Background: There are an increasing number of evidences that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a systemic illness and that bodyweight loss is its prominent manifestation. We focused on the nutritional outcomes to find out the effectiveness of acupuncture on nutritional state of COPD patients and on their prognosis in our previous interventional study.

Methods: The present study is re-analysis of our previous interventional study, COPD Acupuncture Trial (CAT) published in 2012.

Effect of Different Dosages of ST36 Indirect Moxibustion on the Skin Temperature of the Lower Legs and Feet.

Indirect moxibustion (IM) has been previously performed between the spinous process while recording skin temperature of the trunk. However, moxibustion is often applied not only to acupuncture points on the back, but also to points located on the limbs. Thus, there is a need to investigate skin temperature (ST) responses following IM applied to the limbs.

The degree of postural automaticity influences the prime movement and the anticipatory postural adjustments during standing in healthy young individuals.

Less attention to a balance task reduces the center of foot pressure (COP) variability by automating the task. However, it is not fully understood how the degree of postural automaticity influences the voluntary movement and anticipatory postural adjustments. Eleven healthy young adults performed a bipedal, eyes closed standing task under the three conditions: Control (C, standing task), Single (S, standing + reaction tasks), and Dual (D, standing  +  reaction + mental tasks).

Comparative Effects of Auditory Electromyographic Biofeedback for Participants Who Are Blind and Sighted.

This study examined differences in auditory electromyographic biofeedback (AEB) effects between participants who were sighted and blind. Past research makes clear that AEB is effective for people who are blind, particularly because of their reported superiority in auditory processing, but no study has directly compared AEB efficacy between participants who are sighted and blind. A total of 11 participants who were sighted and 10 who were blind performed a motor task requiring 20 nonfatiguing muscle contractions at 20% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) with or without AEB.

A new method for visualizing pulmonary artery microvasculature using synchrotron radiation pulmonary microangiography: the measurement of pulmonary arterial blood flow velocity in the high pulmonary blood flow rat model.

Background: Increased pulmonary blood flow (PBF) and shear stress may provoke irreversible vascular remodeling, yet invasive visualization of the microvasculature complicates monitoring. A non-invasive imaging methodology would therefore safely provide mechanistic insights into the progression of high PBF-induced vascular remodeling.

Purpose: To establish a novel microvasculature visualization method using synchrotron radiation pulmonary microangiography (SRPA) that can also calculate PBF velocity in vivo.

Dose-dependent decrease in anti-oxidant capacity of whole blood after irradiation: A novel potential marker for biodosimetry.

Many reports have demonstrated that radiation stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by mitochondria for a few hours to a few days after irradiation. However, these studies were performed using cell lines, and there is a lack of information about redox homeostasis in irradiated animals and humans. Blood redox homeostasis reflects the body condition well and can be used as a diagnostic marker.

Effects of Anma therapy (Japanese massage) on health-related quality of life in gynecologic cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Anma therapy (Japanese massage therapy, AMT) significantly reduces the severity of physical complaints in survivors of gynecologic cancer. However, whether this reduction of severity is accompanied by improvement in health-related quality of life is unknown.

Methods: Forty survivors of gynecologic cancer were randomly allocated to either an AMT group that received one 40-min AMT session per week for 8 weeks or a no-AMT group.

Clinical Effect of C2 Peripheral Nerve Field Stimulation Using Electroacupuncture for Primary Headache.

Objective: We applied C2 peripheral nerve field stimulation using electroacupuncture (EA-C2-PNfS) for primary headache, and investigated its clinical effectiveness.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-four primary headache patients (10 men, 44 women) with a mean age of 48.6 ± 15.

Massage therapy for home care patients using the health insurance system in Japan.

Objectives: To clarify the status of home care massage services provided to patients. This will help in understanding how many patients utilize this service and the circumstances under which treatment is provided.

Design: A retrospective study.

Determination of symptoms associated with hiesho among young females using hie rating surveys.

Objective: Hie (cold sensation) is one of the most well-known health complaints in Japan and elsewhere in East Asia. Those who suffer from severe hie are considered to have hiesho (cold disorder). This study was conducted to determine symptoms associated with hie in young females using a survey consisting of the hie scale and hie diary.

Clinical significance of redox effects of Kampo formulae, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine: comprehensive estimation of multiple antioxidative activities.

To clarify the clinical significance of the redox-controlling effects of Kampo, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, we determined the scavenging activities of various reactive oxygen species in clinically used Kampo formulae using an electron spin resonance-based technique. Formulae containing (i.e.

Cancer cell-specific mitochondrial reactive oxygen species promote non-heme iron uptake and enhance the proliferation of gastric epithelial cancer cell.

Iron is an essential nutrient for life and is involved in many important processes such as oxygen transport and DNA synthesis. However, excess amounts of iron can cause carcinogenesis by producing reactive oxygen species. Thus, the cellular transport of iron must be tightly regulated.

Activation of Rho-kinase and focal adhesion kinase regulates the organization of stress fibers and focal adhesions in the central part of fibroblasts.

Specific regulation and activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) are thought to be important for focal adhesion formation, and activation of Rho-kinase has been suggested to play a role in determining the effects of FAK on the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions. To clarify the role of FAK in stress fiber formation and focal adhesion organization, the author examined the formation of new stress fibers and focal adhesions by activation of Rho-kinase in FAK knockout (FAK) fibroblasts. FAK cells were elliptical in shape, and showed reduced numbers of stress fibers and focal adhesions in the central part of the cells along with large focal adhesions in the peripheral regions.

Electroacupuncture Therapy for Auricular Paresthesia.

The great auricular nerve (GAN) provides sensory innervation to the skin around the auricle. Although disorder of this nerve has been reported, great auricular neuralgia, as reported by Blumenthal in 1992, is uncommon. The authors report a case of auricular paresthesia that responded well to electroacupuncture treatment (EAT).

Distinct transcriptional and metabolic profiles associated with empathy in Buddhist priests: a pilot study.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that spiritual/religious involvement may have beneficial effects on both psychological and physical functions. However, the biological basis for this relationship remains unclear. This study explored the role of spiritual/religious involvement across a wide range of biological markers, including transcripts and metabolites, associated with the psychological aspects of empathy in Buddhist priests.