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Purpose This study aims to evaluate a human rights-informed dementia prevention program promoting better health and social care among older adults. In this study, the authors examined whether a dual-task training would improve cognition in healthy older adults. Design/methodology/approach Individuals attending the systematic health education program for older adults based in Japan were recruited for study inclusion, and divided into a dual-task training group (TG) and a control group (CG). The TG underwent 90 min of a weekly dual-task training for 12 weeks. Severity of dementia was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test. Brain function was assessed using a go/no-go task paradigm, during which cerebral blood flow was additionally measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to quantify oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb). Findings MMSE total score, number of errors in the go/no-go tasks and oxy-Hb values showed significant improvements in the TG. Research limitations/implications Owing to the small number of participants allocated to the CG, the results must be interpreted with caution. Replication and further validation based on large-scale, randomized-controlled trials is warranted. Practical implications This study highlights potential benefits of incorporating an early prevention training for dementia into a human rights-friendly health education program. Social implications This study suggests a potential means to reduce costs of social security and health care by introducing a human rights-informed dementia prevention program. Originality/value The results suggest that dual-task training may improve cognitive function in healthy older adults, thereby contributing to better health and improvement of social health care, based on a human rights-informed health education program for the prevention of dementia.

Purpose This study aims to establish a Japanese-style healthcare program customized for Japan and Asia under ISO 9001: 2008 (ISO: International Organization for Standardization) to improve problem areas and to inspect the effectiveness of the program. Furthermore, the authors wanted to create this health program using the ISO widely available in Asian countries and make an international contribution. Design/methodology/approach The authors implemented a 6- to 10-month health program in Minowa Town, Matsumoto City and Nagano City in Japan. This study assessed findings from pedometric, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements and physical fitness, blood chemistry and brain function tests. Findings The comparisons were made by examining the interaction effects between groups of participants. Groups from three regions in Japan showed significant differences on the physical fitness tests; regarding the 10-meter obstacle walk, the results of the Minowa participants showed the greatest improvement and the Matsumoto participants showed the second greatest improvement. In the six-min walk, the time of the Minowa participants significantly improved. Research limitations/implications This health education program, which has been conducted by the Japanese authors since 1998, measures anthropometry, brain function and physical fitness and performs blood tests before and after the program and it measures energy consumption with a pedometer during the program. With the aim of improving exercise via encouragement from friends and a sense of community with fellow participants, participants learn together with hands-on training in tai chi and aerobics about the importance of ongoing exercise and proper nutrition. This health education met the Health Education ISO in 2014. Practical implications Since 2010, Nagano Prefecture, including Minowa Town, Matsumoto City and Nagano City, where our study was carried out, has been the area with the highest life expectancy rates in Japan. Social implications The authors want to make this health promotion through ISO widely available in Asian countries and an international contribution. Originality/value This study aimed to appropriately establish a Japanese-style healthcare program under the ISO 9001:2008 to improve problem areas and inspect its effectiveness.

Article, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research 13(3): 187-192, (2020)

Article, Heliyon. 4:e00985(2018)

The reliability of commercially available pedometers is not known in detail. Therefore, the present study examines the accuracy and reliability of the FS500 (Acos), HJ301 (Omron), EX700 (Yamax), FB727 (Tanita) and TW600 (Citizen) pedometers to count steps and measure energy expenditure at various walking speeds. Twenty individuals (age, 32.5 ± 15.3 years; body mass index, 22.0 ± 1.6 kg/m2) walked at three speeds for 6 min. Step-counts and energy expenditure determined by each pedometer were compared with actual values. All five pedometers accurately measured steps at all speeds, but tended to underestimate expended calories to within 50% of the actual amount of energy expenditure. The correlation coefficients (R) between actual energy expenditure and pedometer values were between 0.74 and 0.87. Thus, feedback about energy expenditure is somewhat inaccurate. In contrast, step counts are very accurate, and thus pedometers are useful tools with which to indicate daily exercise levels., Article, The Open Sports Sciences Journal .6:56-61(2013)

Article, Heliyon. 4:e00961(2018)

Several studies have shown that various types of cognitive processing exist and exert different effects on brain activity. However, when a subject performs the same task, whether the task involves processing or not, such as in mental calculation or with a calculator, the different influences on the brain remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the influence of cortical activation when performing mental calculation and using a calculator have different effects on the brain. Fifteen healthy, right-handed participants (mean age, 26.3 ± 8.5 years; 12 men, 27.7 ± 9.0 years; 3 women, 20.6 ± 1.1 years) were recruited as subjects. We measured oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels while subjects performed subtraction tasks by mental calculation or using a calculator (3 min each). Measurements were made at the frontal lobe and temporal lobe. In both lobes, oxy-Hb level was significantly increased during mental calculation. Locations showing significantly increased oxy-Hb in mental calculation were the prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe and supramarginal gyrus in the temporal lobe. These results suggest that the brain responds differently to tasks in mental calculation and using a calculator. We hypothesized that using the electronic calculator needs fewer neural networks than performing mental calculation. In recent years, thanks to the development of machines, many tasks have been automated, making our lives easier and more convenient. Our results may provide one example that the developments of modern technology influence brain function.

This pilot study compares the effects of static therapeutic trunk stretching using an unstable flex chair, a stretching bench and a stretching stick on physical fitness with those of a general Japanese style of static stretching. The participants underwent physical fitness tests. Before and after warming up using a general Japanese style of stretching and trunk treatment stretching. Twenty-three healthy college students (age, 20.7 ± 1.2 years; height, 165.3 ± 7.6 cm; weight, 59.0 ± 9.7 kg; BMI 21.4 ± 2.3) were enrolled in this study. The physical fitness test assesses grip strength, sit-ups, eyes-closed single-leg stance, sit-and-reach flexibility, six-minute walk, and ten-meter obstacle course. The participants performed vertical jump, forward standing flexion measured using the analog flexion meter, thoracolumbar extension, horizontal flexure, deep forward bow. These results suggest that trunk stretching improves flexibility, walking ability, endurance and explosive power more effectively than the general Japanese style of stretching. Three static trunk stretches can improve flexibility, walking ability, endurance and explosive power. Trunk treatment stretching before physical activity might reduce the incidence of injury and improve the physical performance of individuals who participate in exercise, athletes and injured persons undergoing rehabilitation., Article, BAOJ Medical and nursing.1(1):003(2015)

An alternative analysis method to the conventional analysis of variance is proposed for the problem of identifying the active factors in pk unreplicated fractional factorial experiments (orthogonal arrays). The sums of squares calculated are arranged in ascending order, as S(1)≤S(2)≤S(3) ≤…≤ S(n). Assuming the least sum of squares, S(1) is inactive, i.e. having zero effect, the next candidate of inactive sums of squares, S(2), is tested. The following sums of squares, S(i)’s, i = 3,…, n, are tested by the pooled inactive sums of squares, on the condition that S(2),…, S(i-1) are not significant at the preceding tests, successively. The significance level of each test, as is set the same value and the overall risk of the first kind of the whole procedure, aT, is controlled to be 1%, 5% or 10%. The critical values at each step is numerically obtained for 33 orthogonal designs, and empirically obtained for 24 orthogonal designs by the Monte Carlo method. The proposed method can be applied not only to 2k, 31` orthogonal designs but also to Plackett-Burman designs.