Shoulder kinetic during pitching in baseball players with scapular dyskinesis.

INTRODUCTION: Shoulder injuries in baseball players cause excessive shoulder load during pitching and scapular dyskinesis (SD). However, the characteristics of pitching kinetics in the shoulder joint with SD are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of SD on pitching kinetics in the shoulder joint of baseball players. METHOD: Seventy-two college and independent league baseball players participated in the study. The pitching motion was measured using an 18-camera motion-capture system. SD was classified into four types (I-IV) using the scapular dyskinesis test (SDT). The pitching kinetics data were analyzed. RESULTS: The agreement of SD in this study was 56/72 (77.8%). SD were classified into 31 abnormal group (type I-Ⅲ) and 25 control group (type Ⅳ). Three participants with measurement failure during the pitching motion analysis were excluded from the analysis. The abnormal group showed a larger maximum value of the glenohumeral normalized anterior joint force than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that an increase in GH anterior force during pitching causes an excessive increase in external rotation of the GH with an insufficient posterior tilt of the scapula with SD. Therefore, baseball pitching with SD may involve shoulder injuries owing to excessive shoulder load during pitching.

Scapular dyskinesis type is associated with glenohumeral joint and scapular kinematic alteration during pitching motion in baseball players.

INTRODUCTION: Scapular dyskinesis (SD) is associated with an increased risk of throwing-related shoulder injury onset, resulting in abnormalities in glenohumeral joint (GH) and scapular motions during pitching. The effects of SD on shoulder motion during pitching remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate kinematic alterations in GH and scapular motions during pitching in baseball players with type I SD. METHODS: Sixty-seven university and independent-league baseball players with and without SD were included. Pitching motion was measured using an optical three-dimensional motion capture system, and a SD test was conducted to evaluate SD. SD was classified into types I-IV. The inter-rater reliability of SD assessment was calculated using kappa coefficients. Three-dimensional GH and scapular kinematics during pitching motion were analyzed. RESULTS: The percentage of agreement representing the inter-rater reliability of SD assessment was 77.6% (52/67; kappa coefficient: 0.72). Overall, 24 and 27 participants were categorized into abnormal (type I SD) and normal group (type IV SD), respectively, with normal scapular motion; one individual with type III SD was excluded. The abnormal group exhibited a significantly increased GH external rotation angle (9°) and decreased scapular posterior tilt angle (6°) during the maximum external rotation period compared with the normal group. CONCLUSIONS: Baseball players in the abnormal group showed increased GH motion and decreased scapular motion during pitching. The SD test for the evaluation of type I SD can help predict excessive GH external rotation and decreased scapular posterior tilt during pitching.

Clinical significance of redox effects of Kampo formulae, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine: comprehensive estimation of multiple antioxidative activities.

To clarify the clinical significance of the redox-controlling effects of Kampo, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, we determined the scavenging activities of various reactive oxygen species in clinically used Kampo formulae using an electron spin resonance-based technique. Formulae containing Rhei Rhizoma (i.e., mashiningan and daiobotanpito) showed high scavenging activity against the alkoxyl radical, and crude extract quantity was significantly correlated with scavenging activity. Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was positively correlated with the quantity of Zingiberis Rhizoma. Strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was also found in formulae containing both Bupleuri Radix and Scutellariae Radix, a widely used anti-inflammatory combination. Formulae containing a clinically common combination of Scutellariae Radix, Coptidis Rhizoma, and Phellodendri Cortex induced high superoxide scavenging activity. Singlet oxygen scavenging activity was high in formulae containing Bupleuri Radix and Glycyrrhizae Radix. In contrast, formulae containing Rehmanniae Radix showed generally low reactive oxygen species scavenging activities, and the quantity of Rehmanniae Radix was negatively correlated with hydroxyl radical and singlet oxygen scavenging activities. These results indicate that the antioxidative effects of Kampo formulae are not uniform but complexly varied against multiple reactive oxygen species. Some formulae have almost no antioxidant effects but may act as pro-oxidants.

A comparative study of health-promoting lifestyles in agricultural and non-agricultural workers in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the difference in health-promoting lifestyles between agricultural and non-agricultural workers in Japan, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 627 residents living in a town with a mixed rural-urban population. METHODS: The subjects were divided into 8 groups by job (agricultural and non-agricultural), age (young and old), and gender (male and female). To evaluate the subjects' lifestyles, the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II) was applied. The Bartlett test and the Kendall rank test were performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the overall score of the HPLP-II between the two job groups. However, for the HPLP-II subscales, a significantly higher score for "spiritual growth" and a significantly lower score for "physical activity" were seen in the agricultural group than in the non-agricultural group. In general, the old and female groups showed higher scores than the corresponding groups, regardless of job type. CONCLUSIONS: It was determined that the major countermeasures to maintain a healthy lifestyle in agricultural workers should be associated with how to introduce daily activities that maintain and enhance "spiritual growth" and improve "physical activity".

Discovery of novel antiviral agents directed against the influenza A virus nucleoprotein using photo-cross-linked chemical arrays.

The nucleoprotein (NP) of the influenza virus is expressed in the early stage of infection and plays important roles in numerous steps of viral replication. NP is relatively well conserved compared with viral surface spike proteins. This study experimentally demonstrates that NP is a novel target for the development of new antiviral drugs against the influenza virus. First, artificial analogs of mycalamide A in a chemical array bound specifically with high affinity to NP. Second, the compounds inhibited multiplication of the influenza virus. Furthermore, surface plasmon resonance imaging experiments demonstrated that the binding activity of each compound to NP correlated with its antiviral activity. Finally, it was shown that these compounds bound NP within the N-terminal 110-amino acid region but their binding abilities were dramatically reduced when the N-terminal 13-amino acid tail was deleted, suggesting that the compounds might bind to this region, which mediates the nuclear transport of NP and its binding to viral RNA. These data suggest that compound binding to the N-terminal 13-amino acid tail region may inhibit viral replication by inhibiting the functions of NP. Collectively, these results strongly suggest that chemical arrays are convenient tools for the screening of viral product inhibitors.

In vivo imaging of renal redox status during azelnidipine treatment.

The effect of the calcium channel blocker azelnidipine on the redox status of a murine hypertension model was analyzed and imaged using in vivo low frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). A murine two kidney-one clip (2K1C) hypertension model was produced by a clipping of the right renal artery. The resulting hypertensive mice were treated with low-dose azelnidipine (1 mg/kg/d), with high-dose azelnidipine (3 mg/kg/d) or without azelnidipine (HT group). An EPR system equipped with a loop-gap resonator and an imaging system was employed. Redox status was evaluated as organ reducing activity measured by means of the decay rate (half-lives) of the spin probe 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (Carbamoyl-PROXYL). Four weeks after clipping the mice demonstrated hypertension as expected. After the additional 2 weeks of azelnidipine treatments, the Carbamoyl-PROXYL half-lives of the Low and High azelnidipine groups measured in the upper abdominal area were significantly shorter than those of the HT group, suggesting improvements in the reducing activity. The blood pressures of the three groups showed no significant differences at this time, and there was no correlation between the renal reducing activity and either blood pressure or serum creatinine values. EPR imaging studies revealed that the improvement in abdominal reducing activity was mainly recognized in the kidney but not in the liver. These results indicate that azelnidipine ameliorates renal redox status through an improvement in reducing activity independent of blood pressure control.