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Robot-assisted therapy can effectively treat upper extremity (UE) paralysis in patients who experience a stroke. Presently, UE, as a training item, is selected according to the severity of the paralysis based on a clinician's experience. The possibility of objectively selecting robot-assisted training items based on the severity of paralysis was simulated using the two-parameter logistic model item response theory (2PLM-IRT). Sample data were generated using the Monte Carlo method with 300 random cases. This simulation analyzed sample data (categorical data with three difficulty values of 0, 1, and 2 [0: too easy, 1: adequate, and 2: too difficult]) with 71 items per case. First, the most appropriate method was selected to ensure the local independence of the sample data necessary to use 2PLM-IRT. The method was to exclude items with low response probability (maximum response probability) within a pair in the Quality of Compensatory Movement Score (QCM) 1-point item difficulty curve, items with low item information content within a pair in the QCM 1-point item difficulty curve, and items with low item discrimination. Second, 300 cases were analyzed to determine the most appropriate model (one-parameter or two-parameter item response therapy) to be used and the most favored method to establish local independence. We also examined whether robotic training items could be selected according to the severity of paralysis based on the ability of a person (θ) in the sample data as calculated by 2PLM-IRT. Excluding items with low response probability (maximum response probability) in a pair in the categorical data 1-point item difficulty curve was effective in ensuring local independence. Additionally, to ensure local independence, the number of items should be reduced to 61 from 71, indicating that the 2PLM-IRT was an appropriate model. The ability of a person (θ) calculated by 2PLM-IRT suggested that seven training items could be estimated from 300 cases according to severity. This simulation made it possible to objectively estimate the training items according to the severity of paralysis in a sample of approximately 300 cases using this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rate force development is associated with performance and muscle composition in whole‐body muscle. Although rate force development on tongue muscle can be examined using tongue pressure waveform, there have been only few investigations on this topic. Objectives: This study's main purpose was to investigate the reliability of tongue pressure waveform analysis and its relationship with articulation and tongue muscle composition. In addition, we also investigated the association between tongue muscle composition and articulation. Methods: Forty‐five community‐dwelling individuals aged >20 years participated. We analysed tongue pressure waveform, including maximum tongue pressure (MTP), time to peak, mean rate of tongue force development and peak rate of tongue force development (PRTFD). We also assessed oral diadochokinesis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the tongue provided data on tongue muscle composition, including tongue volume, fat mass, lean muscle mass and fat percentage. We evaluated the reliability of tongue pressure waveform analysis. Moreover, we examined the coefficients between tongue pressure waveform analysis, oral diadochokinesis and tongue composition. Results: We detected a high reliability of MTP and PRTFD. MTP and PRTFD were significantly correlated with tongue muscle composition. MTP was not significantly correlated with oral diadochokinesis. PRTFD was significantly positively correlated with oral diadochokinesis. Tongue fat mass and fat percentage were negatively correlated with oral diadochokinesis of /ta/ and /ka/. Conclusions: Peak rate of tongue force development is a highly reliable method for tongue pressure analysis and is useful for elucidating the functional importance of tongue muscle function on articulation. We speculated that fatty infiltration of the tongue adversely affects articulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Important properties have been studied using the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) in patients with stroke. However, whether the ARAT subtests constitute a Guttman scale (i.e., items hierarchically ordered according to difficulty) remains unclear. Guttman scales can define decision rules for skipping items in patients with low endurance. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the ARAT when applying decision rules for post-stroke hemiparetic patients. A retrospective, single-institution study was conducted between 2020 and 2021. Datasets of 30 patients with stroke-induced hemiparesis were collected from a previous study which employed the ARAT without decision rules, Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), Box and Block Test (BBT), and Motor Activity Log (MAL). The ARAT was rescored with decision rules for this study, and inter-rater reliability/agreement, parallel forms reliability, and construct validity were assessed. Parallel forms reliability (Spearman's rho) was 0.99 (95% CI, 0.99–0.99) for both raters. The lower 95% CI limits of the sum and individual item scores in the reliability analysis exceeded the planned value (0.8). Construct validity values exceeded the planned value (0.8) for FMA, BBT, and MAL. Decision rules can be used to skip ARAT items when assessing upper extremity motor function in stroke patients. The Action Research Arm Test with decision rules for skipping items was valid and reliable for measuring upper extremity motor function in hemiparetic patients after stroke. The decision rules may reduce the burden of both patients and evaluators by decreasing the number of Action Research Arm Test items to be administrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A rise in tongue pressure coincides with an increase in the suprahyoid muscle activity. Objectives: The aim was to investigate the effects of holding a weighted plastic bottle on tongue pressure and the suprahyoid muscle activity. Methods: Eighteen participants (8 men and 10 women; mean age 42 ± 16 years) participated in this study. All participants had no history of speech, language, hearing or swallowing disorders and no tooth loss, and they did not require dentures. Healthy participants held gauzes connected with a plastic bottle with increasing resistive loads of 0 g, 250 g, 500 g and 750 g, between their palate and tongue. The maximum tongue pressure and average tongue pressure were measured during a 5 s hold. The average tongue pressure was defined as the mean tongue pressure data in each task. The suprahyoid muscle activity was measured using the electromyogram (EMG). The root mean square of the EMG signals measured while lifting different loads and while performing the head lifting exercises was compared. All variables were examined using the Friedman's test and Wilcoxon signed‐rank test. Results: The maximum tongue pressure (p <.05) and average tongue pressure values (p <.05) increased gradually in the anterior‐median region with increasing resistive loads, and the root mean square amplitudes for 250 g, 500 g and 750 g were not significant compared with head lifting exercises. Conclusion: These results indicated that plastic bottle holding could be a potential strength training tool for the tongue and the suprahyoid muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the psychometric properties of the Test d'Evaluation des Membres Suprieurs de Personnes Agres (TEMPA) for the affected upper extremity in a population of Japanese patients with stroke. A prospective, cross-sectional, single-center study involving 30 patients with stroke was conducted. The inter-rater reliability, the validity, and the internal consistency were assessed. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), the Motor Activity Log, and the Box-and-Block Test were employed for assessing the validity. The English TEMPA instructions were successfully translated in accordance with the accepted principles of translation. The weighted Kappa coefficients for the functional rating scores were 0.87, 0.93, and 0.91 for combined total score, unilateral total score, and bilateral total scores. No statistically significant systematic disagreement was seen in the combined scores. The Spearman's rho values were higher than 0.70 regarding the gold standard tools (the FMA-UE motor domain and the ARAT). The Cronbach's alpha was 0.940 in the functional rating scale and 0.998 in the task analysis scale. The most aspects of the Japanese TEMPA showed acceptable levels of inter-rater reliability and validity in patients with affected upper extremities after stroke. The TEMPA is reliable and valid in measuring activity capacity of upper extremity in patients with stroke. The functional rating score of the TEMPA is recommended to assess activities related to daily living, especially when users need to focus on bimanual activities. The TEMPA may help guide intervention that improve bimanual activity as well as the affected arm activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the assessment of skeletal muscle strength, rate of force development (RFD) is clinically identified as a functional index that reflects the effects of aging, but there are few reports on RFD of the tongue. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between RFD of tongue pressure (RFD-TP) and oral and whole-body physical performance in older adults, and to clarify its characteristics. We enrolled adults aged ≥65 years with pathological occlusal contact in premolar and molar regions of teeth in the Tamba-Sasayama area, Japan, from 2017 to 2018. Maximum tongue pressure (MTP) and the speed to reach the maximum tongue pressure (RFD-TP) were evaluated as measures of tongue function. Oral functions related to objective measures of tongue function, such as repetitive saliva swallowing test, oral diadochokinesis, and physical status or performance, such as mini mental state examination, body mass index, skeletal mass index, knee extension force, one-leg standing time, grip strength, walking speed, timed up-and-go test, and five-time chair stand speed was evaluated. No significant correlation was found between MTP and age, but RFD-TP had a significant negative correlation with age. Neither RFD-TP nor MTP showed a significant correlation with oral function. RFD-TP was associated with physical performance, such as knee extension force and one-leg standing time. RFD-TP is more sensitive to aging than MTP. In addition, RFD-TP is related to physical performance and may be useful for the early detection of frailty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) proposed the flow test (FT) as a simple method for measuring the viscosity of thickened liquids. However, the FT specifies the use of a particular syringe type (BD‐Slip), which is unfortunately not easily available in Japan. Therefore, the current study primarily aimed to investigate the effects of the internal syringe shape on IDDSI FT and identify the most suitable syringe available in Japan for xanthan gum‐based thickened liquids. Accordingly, four syringes, namely, Luer slip tip, Luer‐Lok tip, TERUMO, and NIPRO syringes, were used to examine FT value with water and nine different water viscosity levels. The correlation and systematic errors on residual FT values between the BD‐Slip syringe and the other three syringes were analyzed. The two‐dimensional internal shapes of the four syringes were measured using industrial computed tomography (CT) scanning. Based on the results of our FT, TERUMO had the smallest error range among the three syringes, without systematic errors. On a CT scan, three of five tip‐shape parameters showed the smallest difference between BD‐Slip and TERUMO syringe. Therefore, TERUMO had the smallest FT error range compared with that in BD‐Slip tip syringe, indicating that TERUMO could be used as a substitute for BD‐Slip when performing IDDSI FT with xanthan gum‐based thickened water in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between exercise intolerance, muscle oxidative metabolism, and cardiopulmonary function following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in a sterile isolation room setting. Methods: This was a prospective observational cohort study conducted in a single center. Fourteen patients with hematopoietic malignancies who had undergone allo-HSCT were included in this study from June 2015 to April 2020. Patients received donor HSCT after high dose-chemotherapy and total-body irradiation. Physical activity was limited during treatments. Outcome measures included body anthropometric measurements, exercise tolerance tests using the ramp protocol, pulmonary function tests, and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measurements. Data of pre- and posttransplant measurements were compared using the paired t test or nonparametric Wilcoxon U test. Associations were assessed using the Pearson or nonparametric Spearman correlations. Results: NIRS showed reduced muscle consumption and extraction of oxygen in the posttransplant period compared to the pretransplant period (ΔStO2 min pre: −18.6% vs. post: −13.0%, P = 0.04; ΔHHb max pre: 4.21μmol/l vs. post: 3.31μmol/l: P = 0.048). Exercise tolerance had reduced following allo-HSCT (Peak workload pre: 70.3 W vs. post: 58.0 W: P = 0.014). Furthermore, exercise intolerance was associated with pulmonary function, muscle oxygen consumption, and muscle oxygen extraction (all P <0.05). Conclusion: This analysis revealed that exercise intolerance following allo-HSCT was associated with pulmonary dysfunction and muscle oxidative dysfunction. These findings could help identify the physical function associated with impaired tissue oxygen transport leading to exercise intolerance following allo-HSCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although the Gait Exercise Assist Robot (GEAR) has been reported to effectively improve gait of hemiplegic patients, no study has investigated its use in chronic stroke patients. It is possible to facilitate gait reorganization by gait training with less compensation using the GEAR even in chronic stroke patients.Research Question: What are the effects of GEAR training on the abnormal gait patterns of chronic stroke subjects?Methods: Subjects were randomly assigned to either the GEAR group (n = 8) or the treadmill group (n = 11). Each group underwent 20 sessions (40 min/day, 5 days/week). The changes in the 10 types of abnormal gait patterns were evaluated using a three-dimensional motion analysis system and the Global Rating of Change (GRC) scale before and after the intervention, and at 1-month and 3-month follow-up assessment.Results: In the GEAR group, hip hiking at a 1-month follow-up assessment was markedly lesser than that before the intervention, and the excessive hip external rotation at 3-month follow-up assessment was notably lesser than that after the intervention, but the change in excessive hip external rotation was in the normal range. In the treadmill group, knee extensor thrust at a 1-month follow-up assessment was strikingly lesser than that before the intervention, but the difference was in the normal range. In the GEAR group, the GRC scale scores were considerably higher after the intervention, at a 1-month, and 3-month follow-up assessment than those before the intervention. But, in the treadmill group, only the GRC scale score at a 1-month follow-up assessment was visibly higher than that before the intervention.Significance: Gait training using the GEAR may be more effective than treadmill-training in improving the swing phase in chronic stroke subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acetonitrile (CH3CN) is a volatile organic compound (VOC) and a potential tracer of biomass burning. We evaluated the capability of using observations derived from the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station (ISS) to measure CH3CN profiles. The error in a CH3CN vertical profile from the Level-2 research (L2r) product version 3.0.0 was estimated by theoretical error analysis and also compared with other instrumental measurements. We estimated the systematic and random errors to be ∼5.8 ppt (7.8 %) and 25 ppt (60 %), respectively, for a single observation at 15.7 hPa in the tropics, where the CH3CN measurements are enhanced. The major source of systematic error was the pressure-broadening coefficient, and its contribution to the total systematic error was approximately 60 % in the middle stratosphere (15.7–4.8 hPa). The random error decreased to less than 40 % after averaging 10 profiles in the pressure range of 28.8–1.6 hPa. The total error due to uncertainties in other molecular spectroscopic parameters (2.8 ppt) was comparable to that of CH3CN spectroscopic parameters. We compared the SMILES CH3CN profiles with those of the microwave limb sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite (version 4.2). The SMILES CH3CN values were consistent with those from MLS within the standard deviation (1σ) of the MLS observations. The difference between the SMILES and MLS CH3CN profiles increased with altitude and was within 20–35 ppt (20 %–260 %) at 15.7–1.6 hPa. We observed discrepancies of 5–10 ppt (10 %–30 %) between the SMILES CH3CN profiles observed by different spectrometers, and hence, we do not recommend merging SMILES CH3CN profiles derived from different spectrometers. We found that the SMILES CH3CN volume mixing ratio (VMR) in the upper stratosphere has a seasonal maximum in February. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: According to reports, patients with lung cancer have decreased pulmonary function and exercise capacity after surgery. However, to date, physical function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after surgery for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) have not been evaluated in detail in the convalescent phase. This study aimed to assess physical function and HRQOL of MPM patients following pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) in the convalescent phase.Methods: The study included 16 male MPM patients who underwent P/D between September 2014 and August 2016. Physical function was assessed based on handgrip and knee extensor strengths, the six-minute walk distance (6MWD), and pulmonary function, including forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). HRQOL was assessed using the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The assessment was performed preoperatively, postoperatively, and 1-year after surgery.Results: The 6MWD, FVC, and FEV1 values 1-year postoperatively improved significantly compared with baseline (P < 0.05 all). Additionally, the scores of six of the eight SF-36 domains were significantly improved 1 year after P/D: physical functioning, body pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, and mental health (all P < 0.05). 6MWD, FVC, and FEV1 were correlated with vitality, mental health, and physical functioning (P < 0.05 all).Conclusions: Patients with MPM who underwent P/D showed improved physical function and HRQOL compared with postoperative values in the convalescent phase. Physicians, nurses, and rehabilitation staff should note these findings, which may provide insight into the development of customized rehabilitation strategies in the convalescent phase for such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and comparative studies suggest that the striped coats of zebras can prevent biting fly attacks. Biting flies are serious pests of livestock that cause economic losses in animal production. We hypothesized that cows painted with black and white stripes on their body could avoid biting fly attacks and show fewer fly-repelling behaviors. Six Japanese Black cows were assigned to treatments using a 3 × 3 Latin-square design. The treatments were black-and-white painted stripes, black painted stripes, and no stripes (all-black body surface). Recorded fly-repelling behaviors were head throw, ear beat, leg stamp, skin twitch, and tail flick. Photo images of the right side of each cow were taken using a commercial digital camera after every observation and biting flies on the body and each leg were counted from the photo images. Here we show that the numbers of biting flies on Japanese Black cows painted with black-and-white stripes were significantly lower than those on non-painted cows and cows painted only with black stripes. The frequencies of fly-repelling behaviors in cows painted with black-and-white stripes were also lower than those in the non-painted and black-striped cows. These results thus suggest that painting black-and-white stripes on livestock such as cattle can prevent biting fly attacks and provide an alternative method of defending livestock against biting flies without using pesticides in animal production, thereby proposing a solution for the problem of pesticide resistance in the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Increased physical activity (PA) is a crucial factor in the prevention of physical deterioration, and resistance training (RT) is also a common and effective intervention for older adults. However, the effects of PA as an adjunct to RT on frailty status remains unclear; therefore, we clarified the effect of a PA intervention with feedback, as an adjunct to resistance strength training, on the physical and mental outcomes of frail older adults. Materials and methods We employed a randomized controlled trial. Community-dwelling frail older adults in Japan were recruited to participate. Forty-one participants (mean age 81.5) were randomly assigned to engage in a resistance training with PA (RPA group) or RT group for six months. Frailty status and frailty scores, which were measured according to the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria—muscle strength, mobility, instrumental activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life—were assessed. Results Participants in the RPA group exhibited a significant increase in light-intensity PA, the number of steps taken daily (p < 0.05), and lower-limb muscle strength (p < 0.05) and a significant decrease in frailty scores. However, pre- and postintervention frailty status, instrumental activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life did not differ significantly. Conclusions Implementation of a PA intervention as an adjunct to RT is feasible, as it reduced frailty scores and increased lower-limb muscle strength and mobility in older adults with frailty symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlight: [•] We studied the feasibility and the laterality of measurements of chest wall volume variation during tidal breathing in the lateral position in healthy subjects by optoelectronic plethysmography. [•] Chest wall volume measurements during quiet breathing in the lateral position have high measuring accuracy. [•] Chest wall volume changes were lower on the dependent side in the lateral position than on the non-dependent side because of the decrease in abdominal rib cage and abdomen volume changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorrect affiliations 1 and 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]