Spinopelvic fusion surgery from lower thoracic spine to pelvis increased hip joint moment-motion analysis.

PURPOSE: Spinal fusion surgery is often performed with pelvic fixation to prevent distal junctional kyphosis. The inclusion of spinopelvic fixation has been reported to induce progression of hip joint arthropathy in a radiographic follow-up study. However, its biomechanical mechanism has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to compare the changes in hip joint moment before and after spinal fusion surgery. METHODS: This study was an observational study and included nine patients (eight women and one man) who were scheduled to undergo spinopelvic fusion surgery. We calculated the three-dimensional external joint moments of the hip during gait, standing, and climbing stairs before and 1 year after surgery. RESULTS: During gait, the maximum extension moment was 0.51 ± 0.29 and 0.63 ± 0.40 before and after spinopelvic fusion surgery (p = 0.011), and maximum abduction moment was 0.60 ± 0.33 and 0.83 ± 0.34 before and after surgery (p = 0.004), respectively. During standing, maximum extension moment was 0.76 ± 0.32 and 1.04 ± 0.21 before and after spinopelvic fusion surgery (p = 0.0026), and maximum abduction moment was 0.12 ± 0.20 and 0.36 ± 0.22 before and after surgery (p = 0.0005), respectively. During climbing stairs, maximum extension moment was - 0.31 ± 0.30 and - 0.48 ± 0.15 before and after spinopelvic fusion surgery (p = 0.040), and maximum abduction moment was 0.023 ± 0.18 and - 0.02 ± 0.13 before and after surgery (p = 0.038), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that hip joint flexion-extension and abduction-adduction moments increased after spinopelvic fixation surgery in the postures of standing, walking, and climbing stairs. The mechanism was considered to be adjacent joint disease after spinopelvic fusion surgery including sacroiliac joint fixation.

Analysis of trunk muscle activity in the side medicine-ball throw.

The purpose of this study was to compare the electromyogram (EMG) activity of the trunk musculature for long throwers and short throwers during the side medicine-ball throw. The study consisted of 2 sessions. Thirty athletes performed the side medicine-ball throw (S-MBT) in the first session. The top 5 subjects (long throwers) and the worst 5 subjects (short throwers) in the performance of the S-MBT proceeded to the second session. These subjects performed the fast side medicine-ball throw (FS-MBT) and the isometric maximal trunk rotation torque (IMTRT) test after applying surface electrodes bilaterally to the following muscles: pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, external oblique, and latissimus dorsi. The value of IMTRT in the left turn in long throwers was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than that recorded for short throwers, whereas no difference was observed in the right turn. The velocities of the medicine ball using 2-kg, 4-kg, and 6-kg medicine balls were significantly different (p < 0.01-0.001) between long throwers and short throwers The examination of EMG activity in each muscle group for long throwers and short throwers revealed that the major difference between the 2 groups is EMG activity of the left external oblique. These results suggest that the EMG activity of the external oblique on either side is an important factor for FS-MBT.

Changes in thermal comfort, core temperature, and body weight during simulated parcel home-delivery in summer and winter.

Our aim was to determine differences in thermal comfort during simulated one-day parcel home delivery between summer and winter. Six young healthy males performed experiments in summer (up to 31°C) and winter (up to 8°C). After baseline measurement in a chamber, subjects drove a truck to a prespecified location for outside measurements. They performed 4 sets of 100-m walk with carrying 5-kg plate during the first 50-m walk at 100 m/min, separated by 7-min driving in each of the morning and the afternoon. Subjects could ingest water ad libitum in outside and set the cockpit temperature by themselves during driving. Thermal sensation and comfort were recorded using a subjective scale at the first and the last sets of each morning and afternoon session, while esophageal temperature (Tes) was monitored (thermocouples). Body weight was measured before and the end of experiment. We found that 1) whole-body comfort decreased in summer and the decrease was greater than winter with higher Tes and 2) changes in body weight were 0.7 and 0.3 kg through whole day in summer and winter, respectively. In summary, thermal comfort during working worsened in summer, possibly related with higher core temperature and greater decrease in body weight.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of (E)-3-styrylpyridine derivatives as amyloid imaging agents for Alzheimer's disease.

A new series of (E)-3-styrylpyridine derivatives as potential diagnostic imaging agents targeting amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD) were synthesized and examined. When in vitro binding studies using AD brain homogenates were carried out with a series of styrylpyridine derivatives, (E)-2-Bromo-5-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)pyridine (7) with a dimethylamino group showed the highest binding affinity. Compound 7 intensely stained neuritic and diffused plaques and cerebrovascular amyloids on postmortem AD brain sections. (E)-2-Iodo-5-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)pyridine, the iodo derivative of compound 7, also stained senile plaques in human AD sections. The radioiodinated ligand [125I] was successfully prepared through an iododestannylation reaction from the corresponding tributyltin derivatives using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant in high yields and with high radiochemical purity. A biodistribution study in normal mice after an intravenous injection of [125I] displayed high brain uptake and fast washout. Taken together, the data suggest that the new radio tracer, [125I], may be useful as a radioiodinated imaging agent for mapping A beta plaques in the brains of patients with AD.

A novel presenilin-1 mutation (Leu85Pro) in early-onset Alzheimer disease with spastic paraparesis.

BACKGROUND: Early-onset familial Alzheimer disease is caused by mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin-1 (PSEN1), or presenilin-2 (PSEN2) genes. Phenotypic diversity has been reported to be associated with various mutations in PSEN1. Various mutations of PSEN1 have been reported in cases of early-onset Alzheimer disease with spastic paraparesis. OBJECTIVE: To describe a novel mutation in the PSEN1 gene associated with early-onset Alzheimer disease with spastic paraparesis. PATIENT AND METHODS: The patient was a 27-year-old man who developed early-onset dementia with spastic paraparesis. We examined sequences of the PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP genes from the patient and his family. To detect a possible mutation effect on the production of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta), transfected HEK293 cells were examined for Abeta42 and Abeta40 production. RESULTS: We found a novel mutation (Leu85Pro) in PSEN1. This mutation influenced the production of Abeta, resulting in a 2-fold elevation of Abeta42 production and of the Abeta42/40 ratio. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report of very early-onset Alzheimer disease with spastic paraparesis and with the visual variant form of the disease, which is associated with visuospatial cognitive disorder. The Leu85Pro mutation in PSEN1 was pathogenic.

Relationship between side medicine-ball throw performance and physical ability for male and female athletes.

The purpose of the study was to examine the factors contributing to performance of a side medicine-ball throw (S-MBT) and a fast side medicine-ball throw (FS-MBT) and to analyze some of the factors which account for the difference in side medicine ball throw performance between the sexes. Sixteen males and ten females were evaluated by S-MBT, FS-MBT, isometric maximal trunk rotation torque (IMTRT), One repetition maximum of Parallel Squat (1RM(PS)) and Bench Press (1RM(BP)), Bench Press peak power (BP(PP)), Static Squat Jump peak power (SSJ(PP)) and vertical jump height. Males demonstrated significantly greater scores than females in all measurements. Significant correlations were observed in males, but not in females, between the distances during S-MBT and the IMTRT values (r = 0.596-0.739, P < 0.05-0.01) and the 1RM(PS) values (r = 0.683-0.725, P < 0.01). In FS-MBT performance, significant correlations were observed in males, but not in females, between the ball velocity values during FS-MBT and the IMTRT values (r = 0.611-0.687, P < 0.05-0.01), 1RM(BP) values (r = 0.596-0.655, P < 0.05-0.01) and 1RM(PS) values (r = 0.679-0.718, P < 0.01). These results suggested that the contributing factors of S-MBT and FS-MBT performance were deferent in males and females. Hence, the side medicine-ball throw test would be useful to examine the trunk rotation power of male athletes, but may have a limited potential as a predictor of trunk rotation power for female athletes.

Low temperature requirement for embryonic development of Itasenpara bitterling Acheilognathus longipinnis.

The Itasenpara bitterling has an embryonic period up to 7 months, when the embryo experiences large seasonal temperature changes. We examined the temperature requisites for normal development during the embryonic stage. Fertilized eggs reared under any of the constant temperatures ranging from 5 degrees C to 30 degrees C did not achieve complete embryogenesis, and none reached the swim-up stage. The optimum temperature for normal embryonic development was found to be stage-dependent: 10-30 degrees C for fertilization, 15-25 degrees C for hatching, 5 degrees C for the requisite low temperature, 10-15 degrees C for eye pigmentation, and 20-30 degrees C for swim-up. These temperatures correlated well with the embryo's natural environmental conditions. Embryos raised at these temperatures sequentially grew normally, with 70% of the fertilized eggs achieving complete embryogenesis and, for the first time, developed to the swim-up stage. These results indicate that the low temperature, as required by the bitterling embryo, is an essential factor and correlates well with the embryo's natural ambient temperatures. Since the populations of Itasenpara bitterlings have been declining in Japan, this study is the first to provide additional information for successful artificial breeding of this endangered species.