Search

Background: Extension of the elbow joint is maintained during shoulder flexion. In contrast, the arm starts from the flexed position of the elbow joint and the joint gradually extends during reaching elevation. Objectives: This study aimed to compare the kinematic elements and electromyographic (EMG) activities of the rotator cuff muscles between flexion and reaching elevation. Methods: The study included 10 healthy young men. (average age, 21.5 ± 3.4 years), and measurements were performed on their dominant arms. A three-dimensional motion analyzer was used to record the following elements during shoulder flexion and reaching elevation: the angles of glenohumeral joint elevation and scapular upward rotation, scapulohumeral rhythm, external rotation of the humerus, and glenohumeral plane shifting from the coronal plane. The EMG activities in the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor were recorded simultaneously. Results: The plane of reaching elevation was retained at 60° from the coronal plane. The glenohumeral planes (P < 0 .01) and the external rotation angles of the humerus below 90° of elevation (P < 0.05) were significantly different between both the motions. The EMG activities in the supraspinatus (P < .01), infraspinatus (P < 0.05), and teres minor (P < 0.01) were significantly lower while reaching elevation than those during flexion. Conclusion: The motion plane at 60° from the coronal plane, movement of the humeral external rotation, and EMG activities of the rotator cuff muscles were different during reaching elevation and shoulder flexion.

Background/Aims Gastric acid secretion is suspected to be a pivotal contributor to the pathogenesis of functional dyspepsia. The present study investigates the potential association of the gastric acid secretion estimated by measuring serum pepsinogen with therapeutic responsiveness to the prokinetic drug acotiamide. Methods Dyspeptic patients consulting participating clinics from October 2017 to March 2019 were prospectively enrolled in the study. The dyspeptic symptoms were classified into postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) and epigastric pain syndrome (EPS). Gastric acid secretion levels were estimated by the Helicobacter pylori infection status and serum pepsinogen using established criteria and classified into hypo-, normo-, and hyper-secretion. Each patient was then administered 100 mg acotiamide thrice daily for 4 weeks, and the response rate to the treatment was evaluated using the overall treatment efficacy scale. Results Of the 86 enrolled patients, 56 (65.1%) and 26 (30.2%) were classified into PDS and EPS, respectively. The estimated gastric acid secretion was not significantly different between PDS and EPS. The response rates were 66.0% for PDS and 73.1% for EPS, showing no significant difference. While the response rates were stable, ranging from 61.0% to 75.0% regardless of the estimated gastric acid secretion level among subjects with PDF, the rates were significantly lower in hyper-secretors than in non-hyper-secretors among subjects with EPS (42.0% vs 83.0%, P = 0.046). Conclusion Although acotiamide is effective for treating EPS as well as PDS overall, the efficacy is somewhat limited in EPS with gastric acid hyper-secretion, with gastric acid suppressants, such as proton pump inhibitors, being more suitable.

Autoignition behavior of spherical clusters of pure droplets was experimentally examined near the ignition limit. The fuel with the melting points little above room temperatures was selected as the test fuel. The three-dimensional droplet clusters having hexagonal closest packing structure were selected as the test clusters, which consisted of a center droplet and surrounding twelve droplets (thirteen droplets in total). The initial diameters of the droplets were much reduced from the authors’ previous studies. The results showed that the ignition delay of the three-dimensional droplet clusters also had a minimum at a certain droplet spacing, which has been predicted by Niioka and coworkers as a result of rate-controlling process transition between reaction and evaporation. Autoignition of the droplet clusters could be achieved for the center fine droplet, which is out of ignition limit when isolated, in combination with finer surrounding droplets.

The burning characteristics of isolated fuel droplets for ethanol, 1-butanol and n -decane were experimentally examined in carbon dioxide-rich or argon-rich environments under microgravity. The ambience consisted of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and argon. The concentration of oxygen was fixed to be 21% in volume percentage, and that of carbon dioxide or argon was varied from 0% to 60% in volume percentage. Detailed measurements of the droplet surface areas were conducted using a high speed video camera and the effective droplet diameter squared were calculated. The instantaneous burning rates were calculated from the evolutions of the droplet diameter squared. When the soot production was limited, the instantaneous burning rate increased with time. Variations of the instantaneous burning rate with the instantaneous droplet diameter squared were obtained. The results indicated that the instantaneous burning rate was correlated with the droplet diameter squared after the initial heating period and that was approximated by the first order linear function. From the function, an indicative burning rate and the dependence of the burning rate on the droplet diameter squared were obtained. The indicative burning rate increased with increase in the argon concentration and decreased with increase in the carbon dioxide concentration. They were well related to the thermal diffusivity of the ambient gas regardless of the gas components. The existence of other factors influencing the burning rate was inferred as well. On the other hand, the dependence of the instantaneous burning rate on the droplet diameter squared was attributed to the fuel properties.

The coronary venous system is an alternate route for drug delivery to the acutely ischemic myocardium when the coronary arterial blood flow is impeded. This study was designed to determine the effect of retrograde infusion of lipid microsphere containing prostaglandin E1 (lipo-PGE1), which is believed to prevent rapid destruction of PGE1, on myocardial infarct size after acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. Twenty-one open-chest porcine models were subjected to 45 minutes of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) occlusion followed by 4 hours of reperfusion. Group A (n=7), the control group, was given, into the great cardiac vein, 4 ml of vehicle dissolved in 36 ml of saline for 5 minutes starting before the onset of reperfusion. In group B (n=7), 20 µg/4ml of lipo-PGE1 was administered into the great cardiac vein in the same manner as in group A. Group C (n=7) was treated the same as group B, but lipo-PGE1 was injected into the inferior vena caval vein. Infarct size, expressed as a percentage of area at risk, was significantly smaller in group B (56.1±12.6%) than groups A (79.4±11.4%) and C (83.0±11.1%) (p

A flame kernel initiation of methane/air combustible mixtures in the spark ignition process was investigated using a two-dimensional theoretical model including a detailed description of gas-phase chemical kinetics, shock capturing scheme and diffusive molecular transport. Interactions of chemical reactions and diffusive transports of radicals in the process of the flame kernel initiation were investigated. Although the model of plasma might be oversimplified, the qualitative behavior of OH for hydrogen/air mixture agreed well with experimental one. The influences of diffusive molecular transport and ignition energy on the flame kernel initiation were discussed. As a result, in the early stage of the flame kernel development for methane/air mixture, the hot gas expansion was dominated by a flow whichwas inducedby the blastwave and the thermal gas at the electrode gapwas self-sustainedwith anapplication of minimum ignition energy. The induction time of the flame kernel initiation strongly depended on the ignition energy and effects of preferential diffusion of lighter molecules in the early phase of the flame kernel development are outstanding especially in the case of low ignition energy near the minimum.

The burning and sooting behaviors of isolated fuel droplets for ethanol and n -decane are examined in high concentration of the ambient carbon dioxide under microgravity. A quartz fiber with the diameter of 50 μm maintains the droplet in the center of the combustion chamber and the range in the initial droplet diameter is from 0.30 to 0.80 mm. The ambience consists of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. The concentration of oxygen is 21% in volume, and that of carbon dioxide is varied from 0% to 60% in volume. Detail measurements of the projected image of the droplet are conducted by using a high speed video camera and the effective droplet diameter squared are calculated from the surface area of the rotating body of the projected object. From evolutions of the droplet diameter squared, the instantaneous burning rates are calculated. Time history of the instantaneous burning rate clearly represents the droplet combustion events, such as the initial thermal expansion, ignition and following combustion. The instantaneous burning rate for n-decane shows an increasing trend during combustion, while that for non-sooting ethanol remains almost constant or shows a decreasing trend. A slight stepwise increase in the instantaneous burning rate is observed for larger n -decane droplets in air, which may be attributed to soot accumulation. However, this behavior of the burning rate disappears in higher concentration of carbon dioxide. Direct observation of the droplet flame indicates suppression of soot production in higher concentration of carbon dioxide and the suppression is enhanced for smaller droplet.

An experimental study has been made of the combustion and evaporation of miscible binary fuels on a heated surface at elevated pressures. Photographic observation was made for elucidating how the binary fuel droplets or films behaved on the heated surface and for obtaining the characteristic lifetime as a function of the surface temperature, the ambient pressure and the initial concentration of highly volatile component of the fuels. The binary fuels tested were mixtures of n-hexane and n-decane. The results showed that the lifetime curve both for the combustion and for the evaporation of n-hexane/n-decane on the heated surface had two peaks at lower pressures, the first peak in the film-type evaporation region and the second peak in the spheroid-type evaporation region. The preferential evaporation of the highly volatile component was responsible for the appearance of the first peak in the film-type evaporation region. The second peak corresponded to Leidenfrost point. The increase in the ambient pressure caused a shift of the lifetime curve toward higher surface temperature and a decrease in the lifetime at two peaks. The lifetime curve decreased monotonically with increasing the surface temperature and the spheroid-type evaporation was not observed at higher pressures. The increase in the initial concentration of highly volatile component caused a shift of the first peak toward higher surface temperature, a decrease in its lifetime and a slight shift of the second peak toward lower surface temperature. The combustion caused a remarkable decrease in the lifetimes around the first peak and in the spheroid-type evaporation region and a slight increase in the surface temperature at the first peak, while the surface temperature at the second peak remained almost unchanged.

A numerical analysis with a detail description of flow dynamics and chemical kinetics on the effect of the equivalence ratio of methane/air mixtures on the minimum ignition energy is carried out. In the early stage, the behavior of the flame kernel is dominated by a flow which is induced by the blast wave. Although a high temperature gas, which spurts out from the electrode gap, quenches, the gas at the electrode gap is self-sustained with an application of small ignition energy near the minimum. After a certain period of time, the flame kernel gradually grows out of the electrode gap. In the case of high-energy application, hot gas region, which spurts out from the electrode gap, doesn't quenches and propagatable flame kernel is formed at the early stage of spark ignition process. The local equivalence ratio at the electrode gap is larger than that in the outer region with an application of small energy although its effect is not so strong in an application of high energy. In addition, calculated profile of the minimum ignition energy as a function of the equivalence ratio for methane-air mixtures shows a minimum value below the equialence ratio of 1.0. An effect of preferential diffusion for lighter molecules is confirmed.

Autoignition and early flame behavior of a spherical cluster of 49 monodispersed droplets in a high-temperature air were examined in microgravity. The monodispersed suspended-droplet cluster (MSDC) model with which both droplet spacing and initial droplet diameter were well-controlled was developed, and the solidified-fuel fiber-suspension technique was utilized for making the MSDC model. The tested 3D MSDC models had the HCP (hexagonal closest packing) structure. Individual flames, which enveloped each droplet, or group flame, which enveloped the whole droplet cluster, were formed immediately after ignition. The flame changed from the group flame to a cluster of the individual flames either with increasing the droplet spacing or decreasing the initial droplet diameter. Each of the individual flames merged into the group flame with the lapse of time. Burning sphere diameter decreased at the beginning, and then increased. The transition from the individual flames to the group flame occurred around the time period at which the burning sphere diameter reached its minimum. The time period at which the burning sphere diameter reached its maximum was delayed and the expansion rate of the burning sphere was enhanced with decreasing the droplet spacing or with increasing the initial droplet diameter.

An experimental study has been made of the microexplosion of an emulsion droplet on a hot surface during Leidenfrost burning. Photographic observation is used to study how the emulsion droplet behaves and what happens inside the droplet and to measure the waiting time for the onset of microexplosion. Weibull analysis was used to obtain the distribution function of the waiting time for the onset of microexplosion and to derive the formula for the rate of microexplosion as a function of water volume and emulsion temperature. The base fuels employed were n-decane, n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, and n-hexadecane. The results show that the increase in emulsion temperature with lapse of time results in the agglomeration and coalescence of microdroplets of base fuel dispersed in the continuous phase of water inside the emulsion droplet, terminated by the complete separation of the two phases. At the end of the phase separation process, an opaque water droplet is formed in the central core and is enveloped by the transparent shell of base fuel. Preferential evaporation of the base fuel occurs after the phase separation. The volume of the base fuel decreases while the water volume remains constant. The onset of the microexplosion of an emulsion droplet burning on the hot surface is classified by the wearout type of the Weibull distribution. The waiting time for the onset of the microexplosion decreases with increases in the normal boiling point of base fuel, initial water content, ambient pressure, and test surface temperature. The rate of microexplosion increases with the lapse of time and with increased normal boiling point of the base fuel. The rate of microexplosion increases linearly with increasing water volume in the emulsion droplet and decreases exponentially with the inverse of emulsion temperature.

A 72-year-old male visited our hospital for further evaluation of esophageal varices. Telangiectasias were present in the stomach. He had recurrent epistaxis, which was also confirmed in his family's medical history. We diagnosed this case as Osler-Weber-Rendu disease. He had concomitant with hepatic nodular change. Abdominal angiography showed arterio-portal (A-P) shunts, superior mesenteric artery (SMA)-superior mesenteric vein (SMV) shunt, extension of SMV, and dilated and meandering portal vein. Esophageal varices were treated by endoscopic variceral ligation (EVL) and argon plasma coagulation (APC) therapy for prophylaxis of bleeding.

Epimorphin, a mesenchymal morphogenic protein expressed by hepatic stellate cells, is considered important to liver morphogenesis in both healthy and pathologic conditions. However, the stellate cell phenotype, quiescent versus activated, that expresses epimorphin is unknown. We studied the relationship between epimorphin expression and stellate cell status in carbon tetrachloride-induced acute and chronic injury to mouse liver and in mouse liver regeneration following 70% partial hepatectomy. Epimorphin-positive cells in sinusoids expressed desmin, indicating that they are stellate cells. Epimorphin-positive cells were more numerous and larger in pericentral than periportal sinusoids in normal liver. In early-phase acute liver injury and liver regeneration, epimorphin expression transiently decreased while alphaSMA-positive stellate cells increased. In the recovery phase of acute and chronic injury as well as the late phase of liver regeneration, epimorphin expression was strikingly enhanced while alphaSMA-positive stellate cells decreased. This expression pattern was seen in both Balb/c and C57BL6 mouse strains irrespective of their differences in response to the hepatotoxin. In conclusion, stellate cells express epimorphin in their quiescent state and in the recovery phase, respectively associated with maintenance and reconstruction of microscopic liver structure.

An experimental study has been carried out to reveal the statistical characteristics for the onset of micro-explosion of an emulsion droplet evaporating on a hot surface under high pressure conditions. The oil-in-water emulsion consisting of base fuel and water doped with small amount of surfactant is tested after degasification. The base fuels employed are n-hexadecane, n-tetradecane and n-dodecane. The water content of emulsions is varied from 0.1 to 0.2 by volume. Experiments are made at various surface temperatures and ambient pressures. The Weibull analysis is applied to obtain the distribution function of the waiting time for the onset of micro-explosion and to derive the empirical formula for the rate of micro-explosion as a function of water volume and emulsion temperature. The results show that the waiting time is correlated well with the Weibull distribution of the wear-out type. The waiting time decreases with an increase in the ambient pressure, saturation temperature of base fuel, water content and surface temperature. An empirical formula is proposed for the rate of micro-explosion as a function of water volume and emulsion temperature.

An experimental study has been performed under microgravity to obtain the detailed information needed for the deep understanding of the combustion phenomena of single fuel droplets which autoignite in supercritical gaseous environment. The microgravity environments both in a capsule of a drop shaft and during the parabolic flight of an aircraft were utilized for the experiments. An octadecanol droplet suspended at the tip of a fine quartz fiber in the cold section of the high-pressure combustion chamber was transferred quickly to be subjected to a hot gaseous medium in an electric furnace, this followed by autoignition and combustion of the fuel droplet in supercritical gaseous environment. High-pressure gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen was used as the ambient gas. Temporal variation of temperature of the fuel droplet in supercritical gaseous environment was examined using an embedded fine thermocouple. Sequential backlighted images of the autoignited fuel droplet or the lump of fuel were acquired in supercritical gaseous environment with reduced oxygen concentration. The observed pressure dependence of the ignition delay and that of the burning time of the droplet with the embedded thermocouple were consistent with the previous results. Simultaneous imaging with thermometry showed that the appearance of the fuel changed remarkably at measured fuel temperatures around the critical temperature of the pure fuel. The interface temperature of the fuel rose well beyond the critical temperature of the pure fuel in supercritical gaseous environment. The fuel was gasified long before the end of combustion in supercritical gaseous environment. The proportion of the gasification time to the burning time decreased monotonically with increasing the ambient pressure.

For bridging between knowledge on droplet combustion and spray combustion, an experimental study was performed on autoignition and combustion of multiple droplet clusters. The monodispersed suspended-droplet cluster (MSDC) model with which arrangement, spacing and initial diameter of the droplet are well controlled has been developed. The effects of spacing and arrangement of droplet on combustion characteristics of the MSDC model in a high-temperature air were examined using microgravity environment in a drop shaft. The ignition delay and the burning time increased with decreasing the droplet spacing, regardless of the droplet number and the model dimensions. Larger droplet number with three-dimensional (3D) hexagonal closest packing (HCP) structure model resulted in longer ignition delay and longer burning time. 3D cubic closest packing (CCP) structure model showed rather longer ignition delay and much shorter burning time than 2D model. For 3D HCP model, an individual flame which enveloped each droplet was formed whole in the combustion duration with larger droplet spacing, while the group flame was formed whole in the combustion duration with smaller droplet spacing. When the droplet spacing was in the intermediate range, each droplet was ignited to form the individual flame, and each flame merged into the group flame. The diameter of the burning sphere decreased at the beginning of combustion, and turned to increase afterward. The transition from the individual flame to the group flame occurred around the time when the burning sphere diameter reached its minimum. The burning sphere diameter relative to the model diameter increased with decreasing the droplet spacing in the middle stage of combustion.

Gabexate mesilate, a synthetic protease inhibitor, is used to treat acute pancreatitis and disseminated intravascular coagulation because it inhibits various serine proteases; however, whether gabexate mesilate prevents acute liver failure has not yet been studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of gabexate mesilate in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced liver injury in rats.Acute hepatic failure was induced by administration of CCl4 intragastrically to male Sprague-Dawley rats. The effects of gabexate mesilate were examined in terms of serum transaminase levels, liver histology, and the prognosis of rats.Gabexate mesilate treatment significantly decreased the elevation of serum transaminase levels and improved liver histology 24 h after the administration of CCl4 (0.2 ml/100 g rat weight). Plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) decreased significantly in the gabexate mesilate-treated rats compared with saline-treated rats. Gabexate mesilate treatment also significantly improved survival rate after a lethal dose of CCl4 (0.5 ml/100 g rat weight) from 0% to 20%.Gabexate mesilate treatment attenuated CCl4-induced liver injury via a suppression of proinflammatory cytokine production. In addition, these investigations suggest that gabexate mesilate treatment may provide therapeutic strategies for human acute liver failure.

An experimental study has been carried out to reveal the statistical characteristics for the onset of micro-explosion of an emulsion droplet burning on a hot surface. Detail measurements of the waiting time for the onset of micro-explosion are made for various properties of base fuel, water contents and surface temperatures. The Weibull analysis is applied to obtain the distribution function of the waiting time for the onset of micro-explosion and to derive the empirical formula for the rate of micro-explosion as a function of water volume and emulsion temperature. The base fuels employed are n-decane, n-dodecane, n-tetradecane and n-hexadecane. The results show that the waiting time is correlated well with the Weibull distribution of the wear-out type. The mean waiting time decreases with an increase in the boiling point of base fuel, water content and surface temperature. An empirical formula is proposed for the rate of micro-explosion as a function of water volume and emulsion temperature.

Background and Aim: A 70-kDa heat shock protein (stress-inducible HSP70, HSP72) has been reported to be a cytoprotectant in a variety of organs. It has been reported that HSP72 protected non-cirrhotic rats against endotoxemia. However, its cytoprotective effect against endotoxemia in cirrhotic rats has not yet been studied. In this study, we investigated the cytoprotective effect of HSP72 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced liver injury in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced cirrhotic rats. Methods: Liver cirrhosis was produced by an 8-week intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 in male Sprague–Dawley rats. Expression of HSP72 was investigated using western blot analysis. Cirrhotic rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of LPS (10 mg/kg) with or without hyperthermia (42.5°C, 15 min) preconditioning. Liver injury was assessed biochemically (aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine) and histologically. The plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α level was determined. Results: Hyperthermia preconditioning induced a 4-fold increase in HSP72 in the cirrhotic rat liver. Pre-induction of HSP72 prevented LPS-induced liver injury, as evaluated using serum biochemical parameters and histology with reduced TNF-α response. Conclusion: These findings suggest that pre-induction of HSP72 may provide therapeutic strategies for Gram-negative sepsis-induced liver injury in liver cirrhosis.

An experimental study has been made of the evaporation of a fuel droplet of miscible binary mixture on a heated wall. Primary attention is toward the phenomena which are characteristic of the evaporation of a binary fuel droplet as distinguished from the phenomena for a pure fuel droplet. Fuels tested are the mixture of various couples of normal paraffine hydrocarbons. The results show that two minima and two maxima appear in the lifetime curve. The preferential evaporation of the highly volatile component of the fuel is responsible for the first maximum in the film evaporation region. The increase in the content of the highly volatile component results in the first minimum and maximum shifted toward higher wall temperature, as well as the second minimum and maximum toward lower wall temperature. Four different modes of the droplet evaporation are observed.

An experimental study has been carried out to reveal the statistical characteristics of the onset of micro-explosion of an emulsion droplet evaporating and burning on a hot surface. The oil-in-water emulsion consisting of base fuel and water doped with small amount of surfactant is tested after degasification. Detail measurements of the waiting time for the onset of micro-explosion are made for various water contents and surface temperatures. Photographic observation and temperature measurements are made to understand the transport processes of liquid phases inside the droplet and the rate of micro-explosion. The results show that the agglomeration and separation of the water and the base fuel layers occurs prior to the micro-explosion. It is also confirmed that the distribution function of the waiting time is correlated with the Weibull distribution of the wear-out type. An empirical formula is proposed for the rate of micro-explosion as a function of droplet temperature and volume of water layer.

An experimental study was performed to clarify the flame structure of a burning fuel droplet. Both OH and soot concentration distributions were measured along diametrical line passing through the center of fuel droplet and the front stagnation point of a fuel droplet flame in steady air stream.The laser induced fluorescence and the laser light scattering techniques were applied for the measurement of OH and soot concentration distributions, respectively. An Nd : YAG laser-pumped pulsed dye laser emitting monochromatic radiation at a wavelength of 283.56 nm was used as the light source for these measurements. Fuel employed were n-heptane, n-hexadecane, benzen, methanol and their mixtures. The results showed that the highly sooting region was located deep inside the flame front, and near the flame front was located the maximum of OH concentration. An increase in the relative humidity in the air stream caused the decrease of OH concentration.