The effects of deep abdominal muscle strengthening exercises on respiratory function and lumbar stability.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of deep abdominal muscle strengthening exercises on respiratory function and lumbar stability. [Subjects] From among 120 male and female students, 22 whose thoraxes opened no more than 5 cm during inspiration and expiration and whose forced expiratory flow rates were around 300 m/L were recruited. The subjects were randomly divided into an experimental group of eleven, who performed deep abdominal muscle strengthening exercises, and a control group of eleven, who received no particular intervention. [Methods] The subjects were instructed to perform normal breathing in the hook-lying position. They were then directed to hold their breath for ten seconds at the end of inspiration. Ten repetitions of this breathing comprised a set of respiratory training, and a total of five sets were performed by the subjects. [Results] Deep abdominal muscle training was effective at enhancing respiratory function and lumbar stabilization. [Conclusion] The clinical application of deep abdominal muscle strengthening exercises along with lumbar stabilization exercises should be effective for lower back pain patients in need of lumbar stabilization.

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica: radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging features and clinical outcome of complete and incomplete resection.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this communication were to discuss radiographic and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging manifestations and clinical outcome after complete and incomplete resection of the mass of dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (DEH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical records, radiographs, and MR images of eight patients with DEH were retrospectively examined. Six patients were treated by complete excision of the lesional mass, and two patients were treated by incomplete resection at our University Hospitals during the period from 1980 to 2006. RESULTS: We found that, unlike in osteochondroma, DEH was radiographically not clearly separable from the underlying or host bone with preserved cortical bone and marrow continuity. The finding in the talus distinguished DEH from (osteochondroma-like) parosteal osteosarcoma, in which a radiolucent demarcation line clearly separated the tumor from the host bone. The DEH mass had a well-defined low to intermediate signal intensity on T1-weighted images and an intermediate to high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, with irregularity of the articular surface. Simple excision was performed in all patients. The excision was complete in six patients and incomplete in two patients whose lesions was juxta-articular in the ankle and articular in the knee, respectively. The residual mass slowly absorbed and vanished, resulting in mild flaring of the affected portion of the epiphysis. No local recurrence or complication was seen in any of the eight patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although the radiographic signs of DEH are characteristic, (osteochondroma-like) parosteal osteosarcoma should be differentiated from DEH when there is a radiolucent separation line between the mass and host bone in the talus. Simple excision was effective in the management of DEH if the deformity was not complicated. Incompletely excised masses resolved and vanished with time.

Middle Pleistocene handaxes from the Korean Peninsula.

We present four biface assemblages from an archaeologically poorly known region of the Old World: Middle Pleistocene Korea. The handaxes are derived from a series of Middle Pleistocene localities in the Imjin/Hantan River Basins (IHRB) in Korea. The best known of these localities is Chongokni, although a number of equally important sites in the IHRB have been discovered and excavated over the course of the past two decades (e.g., Kumpari, Chuwoli, and Kawoli). Reanalysis of the age of the Chongokni deposits suggests a hominin occupation between 350-300 ka. Comparative study of the IHRB handaxes with the well-known bifacial implements from Olorgesailie (Kenya) and Hunsgi-Baichbal (India) indicates that the often-noted "thick" trait of the East Asian handaxes differs at a statistical level across the various regions of the Old World. The finds from the IHRB sites, and the Chinese sites of Bose and Dingcun that contain handaxes-like implement, question the validity of the Movius Line sensu stricto. However, why East Asian Middle Pleistocene hominins did not consistently produce more refined bifaces across broader regional and/or temporal facies, remains open to question. Thus, the absence of similar sites in wider areas of Early and Middle Pleistocene East Asia suggests that the Movius Line sensu lato is still supportable and warrants additional detailed cross comparative studies of the stone toolkits east and west of the line.