Search

To conduct empirical research on industry software development, it is necessary to obtain data of real software projects from industry. However, only few such industry data sets are publicly available; and unfortunately, most of them are very old. In addition, most of today's software companies cannot make their data open, because software development involves many stakeholders, and thus, its data confidentiality must be strongly preserved. To that end, this study proposes a method for artificially generating a “mimic” software project data set, whose characteristics (such as average, standard deviation and correlation coefficients) are very similar to a given confidential data set. Instead of using the original (confidential) data set, researchers are expected to use the mimic data set to produce similar results as the original data set. The proposed method uses the Box-Muller transform for generating normally distributed random numbers; and exponential transformation and number reordering for data mimicry. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed method, effort estimation is considered as potential application domain for employing mimic data. Estimation models are built from 8 reference data sets and their concerning mimic data. Our experiments confirmed that models built from mimic data sets show similar effort estimation performance as the models built from original data sets, which indicate the capability of the proposed method in generating representative samples.

[Purpose] This study aimed to determine the effects of two load escalation methods, such as pedal weight increasing method and pedal speed raising method using a supine ergometer, on the cardiorespiratory system and lower limb muscle activity. [Participants and Methods] The study included 20 healthy adult males (age: 21 ± 1 years). Two different parameters were modulated during exercise intervention. Pedal load progression was applied in the load group (28.9 N, 72.3 N, 101.3 N), and pedal rate progression was applied in the speed group (60 rpm, 80 rpm, 100 rpm). Each group performed 5 minutes of exercise at their respective level of progression, for a total duration of 15 minutes. [Results] Oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide output, and minute ventilation were significantly increased as exercise intensity increased in both groups. Significant differences in muscle activity were found between the highest exercise intensities (101.3 N and 100 rpm). The activities of the biceps femoris and gastrocnemius were significantly higher with exercise at 100 rpm than at 101.3 N. [Conclusion] Increasing the number of revolutions per minute may significantly increase the activity of the lower limb muscles at comparable exercise intensities, despite the low work load.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the effective frequency of jack-knife stretching in preadolescent male football players. Methods: We enrolled 47 male preadolescent football players (average age: 12.4 ± 0.6 years old). All participants took surveys at baseline and after intervention for 6 months. The survey items were height, weight, body mass index, anteflexion in sitting, and quadriceps and hamstring tightness. The participants were divided into two groups according to the stretching exercise frequency, where group A performed stretching at least once every 3 days and group B performed stretching less than once every 3 days. After exclusion, 17 participants were enrolled in each group.Results: There was a significant increase in anteflexion in the sitting position in group A but not group B; moreover, straight leg raising was significantly larger in Group AConclusions: Performing jack-knife stretching at least once every 3 days’ intervals could improve hamstring flexibility in preadolescent male football players.Level of Evidence Level Ⅱ

The objective of this study was to investigate whether rotator cuff tear morphology could be visualized using radial MRI. We retrospectively investigated 52 shoulders that underwent preoperative MRI and arthroscopy for a complete rotator cuff tear. The tear length and width were measured using oblique coronal, axial, and radial MRI. Arthroscopic findings were compared with the tear morphology. Tear morphology was visualized using oblique coronal and axial MRI for 24 of the 52 shoulders (46%), and radial MRI for all 52 shoulders. Radial MRI data for 49 of 52 shoulders (94%) were concordant with the arthroscopic findings.

[Purpose] To compare the appearance time of the ventilatory threshold point and the electromyographic threshold in the activity of the vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris long head and gastrocnemius lateral head muscles during ramp cycling exercise in elderly males. [Subjects and Methods] Eleven community dwelling elderly males participated in this study. Subjects performed exercise testing with an expiratory gas analyzer and surface electromyography to evaluate the tested muscle activities during ramp exercise. [Results] The electromyographic threshold for rectus femoris was not valid because the slope after electromyographic threshold was not significant as compared to that before electromyographic threshold. The slope of the regression line for vastus lateralis was significantly decreased after electromyographic threshold while biceps femoris and gastrocnemius were increased. The electromyographic threshold appearance times for vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius were significantly earlier than ventilatory threshold point. There were no difference in electromyographic threshold appearance times among three muscles. [Conclusion] These results suggest that the increase in the slope of the regression line after electromyographic threshold for vastus lateralis was decreased, possibly indicating to postpone muscular fatigue resulting from the activation of biceps femoris and gastrocnemius as biarticular antagonists. This recruitment pattern might be an elderly-specific strategy.

We demonstrate a current timer switch function in a GaAs-based nanowire electrostatically coupled with a polyoxometalate nanoparticle (POM NP) and a conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip. The nanowire current associated with the charge state of the POM NP on the nanowire surface abruptly changed after several ten seconds from biasing the conductive tip. The current switch timing changed depending on the tip voltage. The timer switch function appeared when the tip approached the POM NP where the AFM phase image showed phase lag at high atmospheric humidity condition. We discuss the timer mechanism in terms of the configuration of the electromechanical potential of the cantilever and dynamic potential modulation by mobile ions and polarized molecules in the water-absorbed POM NP surface.

[Purpose] The purpose of our study was to clarify temporal effects on restrictions to range of motion and the histopathological changes of joint components after joint immobilization in a rat knee-contracture model. [Subjects] Fifty-four male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: a fixation group, and a control group. [Methods] In the fixation group, unilateral knee joints were immobilized at full flexion using a plaster cast for 4 weeks. At four weeks the animals were randomly divided into six subgroups, corresponding to the time of examination after cast removal: 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32 weeks. For comparison, control group animals of corresponding age were also examined. [Results] Although movement restrictions of the knee joint had completely recovered 6 weeks after the cast removal, cartilage and synovial membrane structures did not completely recover. [Conclusion] These findings have not previously been reported, and as they form an addition to the fundamental scientific foundations of physical therapy, further research must examine these findings from a variety of perspectives.

[Purpose] This study investigated the effect of neurological symptoms and/or signs after the occurrence of neurogenic intermittent claudication (NC) on postural sway during quiet standing of patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS). [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-two female patients with LSS at the L4/5 level were studied. We measured the path of center of foot pressure (COP) during quiet standing with eyes open for 30 s using a stabilometer before and after the occurrence of NC. [Results] The total path length of COP (LC) and area surrounded by the outline of the path of COP (AC) significantly increased after NC. Body mass index (BMI) correlated with both the NC rate (after NC/before NC) of LC and that of AC. The average lateral COP displacement from the center of the base of support (COPRL) before NC was located on the asymptomatic side from the center of the base of support in 29 of 32 patients. After NC, COPRL moved to the symptomatic side in 31 patients. [Conclusion] These results suggest that patients with LSS are at risk of falling after NC, especially those with high BMI.

We investigate a multiple-gate GaAs-based nanowire field-effect transistor (FET) for detecting spatially distributed molecular charges. Spatial resolution is implemented to the nanowire by arranging narrow metal gate array. In this device the molecule charge position and the metal gate position are correlated through capacitive coupling between the molecule and a metal gate. Then a molecule charge in the gate periphery with appropriate gate biasing selectively reflects in the nanowire current. To demonstrate our concept, we fabricate a GaAs-based nanowire FET having a 50-nm-length Schottky gate array with 50-nm interval and investigate to arrange the charged molecules at arbitrary position using Tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP).

〔目的〕車椅子のリクライニング角度が呼吸機能，および呼吸機能測定中の呼吸筋活動に及ぼす影響を検討することであった．〔対象〕健常男子大学生27名．〔方法〕車椅子のリクライニング条件として，最も快適と感じる角度（BASE），それより10°前傾（FORWARD），10°後傾（BACKWARD）の3条件を設定した．呼吸機能と呼吸筋の筋活動を測定し，条件間で比較した．〔結果〕呼吸機能は，ERVにおいてFORWARD条件が他2条件よりも有意に増大した．スパイロメトリー中の筋活動については，最大呼気相において外腹斜筋の筋活動はリクライニングの角度条件間に差が認められた．〔結語〕搭乗者が快適と感じるリクライニング角度よりもわずかに前傾することで，外腹斜筋の活動が増加し，ERVが増大する可能性が示唆された．

〔目的〕先行研究において，急性期の筋炎患者の筋力評価として有用性を示した3項目総和筋力（sum）が，CK値が正常化した安定期においても有用であるかを検討するため，30週間以上にわたって筋力と病勢を反映するクレアチンキナーゼ（CK）の推移を，プレドニン（PSL）内服量とともに追跡し，それらの関連性を検討することを目的とした。〔対象〕女性5症例（36.2±12.7 歳）であった。〔方法〕筋力測定は徒手筋力計を用い，頸部屈曲筋力（HU），肩関節外転筋力，下肢伸展挙上筋力の3項目の筋力を測定した。同時にCK測定とPSL投与量を評価した。〔結果〕3項目の総和した筋力（sum）は，5例中4例においてCK値と負の相関関係を認めたが，その相関係数は低値であった。単一筋力ではHU筋力が最も多くの症例においてCKと相関を認めた。PSL内服量との関係においても，sumは5例中3例において負の相関を認めたのに対し，HUは4例において有意な負の相関が認められた。〔結語〕安定期においても，PM患者のsumはCKをある程度反映し得るが，急性期ほどの有用性は示されなかった。安定期PM患者を長期に追跡する場合，HU単一筋力の測定でも病勢や投薬の影響を把握し得る可能性が示唆された。

［目的］本研究の目的は，変性による第4腰椎の椎体動揺性（前方並進）が間欠性跛行（NIC）に及ぼす影響について検討することであった。［対象］椎体動揺性（前方並進）を呈する変性腰椎すべり症（DLS）を罹患する女性患者28例（65.9±7.9歳）であった。［方法］NICは，神経症状によってそれ以上歩行が継続できない距離（WC）を測定し，それに反映させた。動揺率は矢状面上レントゲン写真を用い，中間位，体幹後屈位，前屈位の3肢位における第5腰椎に対する第4腰椎の前方並進動揺率を測定した。また，機能評価として，指床間距離（FFD），変法ファンクショナルリーチテスト（FR）を，さらにWC測定前に30秒間の静止立位を施行した後，自覚的疼痛強度（VAS）を追加して計測した。［結果］椎体動揺率はWCと有意な関連性を認めなかった。また，FFD，FR，およびVASについても動揺率と関係性はなかったが，FR（ r = .34, p

〔目的〕生体部分肺移植が施行された一症例に対し，術後約8ヶ月間の継続的理学療法を施行し，術後12ヶ月間までの身体機能の経時的変化を追跡し，理学療法の有用性を明らかにすることを目的とした。〔対象〕対象は原因不明の肺気腫を罹患した女性であった。〔方法〕測定項目は，下肢伸展挙上（SLR）筋力，6分間歩行距離（6MWD），呼吸機能であった。〔結果〕各筋力は術後6-7ヶ月で，6MWDは6ヶ月でピークを迎えた。SLR筋力，6MWD，呼吸機能，各々の推移は相関関係を認めた。また，理学療法が終了して約4ヵ月後の術後12ヶ月時点のSLR筋力と6MWDは術後4-5ヶ月時点の値まで低下していた。〔結語〕術後の集中的理学療法は身体機能の回復に影響を及ぼし，継続的理学療法は身体機能の維持のために有用である可能性が示唆された。

［目的］本研究の目的は，変性による第4腰椎の前方すべり程度と間欠性跛行（NIC）の関連性を明らかにすることであった。［対象］変性による第4腰椎単独の前方すべりを罹患する女性患者36例（66.9 ±7.7歳）であった。［方法］矢状面上レントゲン写真を用い，中間位，体幹後屈位，前屈位の3肢位における第4腰椎の第5腰椎に対する前方すべり率を測定した。NICは，神経症状によってそれ以上歩行が継続できない距離（WC）を測定し，それに反映させた。また，WC測定前に30秒間の静止立位を施行した後，自覚的疼痛強度（VAS）を測定した。［結果］重回帰分析の結果，WCと唯一，関連を認めたのはVAS（r2=0.268, p

〔目的〕原発性肺癌に対する肺葉切除術後の離床に影響を及ぼす因子の抽出を行うことを目的とした。〔対象〕術前，あるいは術後に理学療法が介入した60例（66.9±11.3歳，男性42例，女性18例）であった。〔方法〕離床を約50 mの連続歩行が可能になることとし，それまでに要した日数を記録した。それに影響候補因子として，術前呼吸機能，術前理学療法の有無，手術方法，手術部位，年齢，性別，術前BMIについて測定した。〔結果〕術後の連続歩行獲得までに要した日数に影響を及ぼす因子は認めなかった。しかし，離床までに術後1週間以上を要した患者6例の特徴は，80歳以上の高齢，高度の気流制限，術後の疼痛，BMI低値であった。〔結論〕術後合併症のリスクファクターを持つ患者に対しては，術後早期の離床と術前における耐運動能の増強を図ることが周術期理学療法の主要な役割として考えられた。

We proposed an optical head using two laser diodes, which can control each plane of polarization of the two beams from the laser diode individually. The optical head makes it possible to decrease crosstalk light markedly by spatially isolating two beams during playback. An optical disk apparatus employing the optical head was constructed and the two optical spots were aligned on an optical disk at an interval of approximately 10 µm. Writing and reading in parallel were performed using the two blue-violet beams. We obtained a crosstalk intensity of -48 dB against carrier intensity and demonstrated operation at a bit rate of 200 Mbps.

本研究の目的は，全人工股関節置換術（THA）術後急性期において，深部静脈血栓症（DVT）合併の有無による臨床所見の差異を検討することにある。症例は，当院整形外科にてTHAが施行された変形性股関節症35例であった。臨床所見として，術肢における疼痛（圧痛），浮腫，熱感，表在静脈怒張，ならびにこれらの所見を複数露呈したものを，術後理学療法再開日に評価した。DVT合併の有無は静脈造影検査にて診断され，DVT合併群（P群12例）と非合併群（N群23例）にわけられた。2群間において，統計学的に差を認めた所見は疼痛のみであったが，他の所見においてもP群の方が露呈する率が高い傾向にあった。しかし，P群の中でも肺塞栓症へ移行しやすい浮遊血栓合併例（5例）では，所見の露呈率が低かった。このことから，臨床所見のみに依存せず，静脈造影検査などにより，DVTが否定された上で，理学療法を開始する必要性が示唆された。

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to walking capacity (WC) reflecting neurogenic intermittent claudication (IC). [Subjects and Methods] We selected 56 female patients (69.6 ± 8.0 years) with Lumber Spinal Canal Stenosis (LCS) with IC. We measured WC on a flat floor, and demonstrated that 3 factors predict the relationship with IC as follows: trunk forward bending in the standing position (finger-floor distance), muscle strength during active straight leg raising (ASLR) on the symptomatic side, and the degree of subjective pain soon after standing upright for 30 s. [Results] WC and muscle strength in ASLR were not affected by age. WC was correlated with ASLR strength. [Conclusion] These results suggest that the motion of ASLR leads to canal or foraminal stenosis, and that this test will be useful for patients with LCS.

The purpose of this study was to modulate the pharmacokinetics of irinotecan metabolites, SN-38 and SN-38-glucuronide, by possibly reducing biliary excretion, which in turn could lower irinotecan toxicity. SN-38-glucuronide is associated with severe diarrhoea that occurs after irinotecan therapy as a result of enteric injury caused by SN-38. Sulphobromophthalein is used clinically as a drug for testing liver function and is considered to be a safe drug. We investigated the effect of sulphobromophthalein on the disposition of irinotecan metabolites after CPT-11 (7-ethyl-10-[10-4-(1-piperidino)-1-piperidino]-carbonyloxy-camptothecin) administration. Wistar rats were administered CPT-11 (500 μg/body) in saline as a bolus injection into the femoral vein through a catheter. The volume of drug solution injected into each animal was 1 mL. Rats were either administered CPT-11 alone or simultaneously with sulphobromophthalein (20mg/body). After administration, blood and bile samples were taken at appropriate intervals and analysed by HPLC. Co-administration of sulphobromophthalein partially inhibited the biliary excretion of SN-38-glucuronide with a concomitant increase in its area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) but did not significantly alter the biliary excretion and AUC of the active metabolite SN-38. These results suggested that cotreatment of CPT-11 with sulphobromophthalein might decrease intraluminal SN-38 concentrations without altering the pharmacokinetics of SN-38.

We developed an amorphous polymer of cyclized perfluoropolymer (CPFP) which is highly transparent throughout the visible range and fabricated waveguides of the polymer for visible light. At the wavelength of 405 nm, approximately 60% of lightwaves are propagated through the straight waveguide and over 50% of lightwaves are propagated through the buried waveguides with a radius of more than 30 mm, demonstrating the feasibility of the waveguides as light sources with a low numerical aperture in a single mode. The waveguides are prospective candidates for a multi-beam light source for parallel information processing such as optical recording systems.

We have developed a blue-violet 2-beam optical head that remarkably decreases the leaked light from an adjacent beam, and performed high-speed readout of 200Mbps.

We describe a design of a planar lightwave circuit for parallel information processing using visible light. The circuit serves as a pitch conversion component (PCC) that can align multiple beams close together and easily composes a compact optical system that can project optical spots at a narrow pitch on a certain small plane. From the viewpoint of its application to optical recording, a PCC is designed to have over 50 waveguides according to the fabrication of waveguides for a blue-violet beam. It is analytically confirmed that a PCC contributes to the formation of a multibeam optical recording head with numerous beams.

Heteroepitaxial films of lamellar semiconductor GaSe were grown on MoS 2 cleaved surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy, and its growth mechanism was investigated by atomic force microscope. At the initial stage of the growth, triangular islands of GaSe with a unit layer thickness are formed. There exist two types of domains, which have opposite orientations of the triangles. It is suggested that the difference in the orientation corresponds to the difference in stacking positions of SeGaGaSe four hexagonal atomic sheets in the unit layer. It is also revealed that stacking polytypes of GaSe can be determined by observing the orientation of triangular islands in each unit layer in a multilayer film. Most of GaSe films have the e- and/or γ-type stacking. But some domains really have the β-type one which rarely appear in a bulk single-crystal of GaSe.

A novel method of fabricating organic material nanostructures using selective growth on patterned layered material surfaces has been developed. First, an epitaxial monolayer film of layered semiconductor GaSe was grown on a cleaved face of MoS2. Then, nanosize patterns were drawn by scratching only the grown GaSe film using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Next, C60 molecules were deposited on the surface. It has been found that if a substrate temperature is appropriately chosen, C60 molecules nucleate only on the bare MoS2 surface and fill up the carved nanostructures. This combination of AFM lithography and selective growth enables the formation of C60 nanostructures as small as 10 nm.