Subtle temporal delays of mothers' responses affect imitation learning in children: Mother-child interaction study.

The relationship between temporal contiguity of mothers' teaching behaviors and children's imitation learning was investigated. Participants (2-year-old children) observed their mothers' demonstration of using novel toys over a double television system under live and delayed conditions. The dyads normally interacted in the live condition, whereas they interacted with a 1-s time delay inserted between the children's actions and mothers' responses in the delayed condition. Then, the children were tested with identical toys. Results indicated that children's smiling responses and imitation performances were significantly decreased in the delayed condition compared with the live condition, although mothers' teaching approach did not differ between conditions. These results suggest that a subtle temporal delay in mothers' responses could affect young children's imitation learning.

Prospective single-arm observational study of human chymase inhibitor Polygonum hydropiper L in subjects with hypertension.

Background and Purpose: Human chymase (h-chymase) is a serine protease that forms local angiotensin II and has been proven to be related to onset of hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and post myocardial infarction cardiac remodeling. Since no chymase inhibitor was clinically available, an extensive screening for inhibition of h-chymase in three different extracts (water, hot water,  and ethanol) of approximately 800 food ingredients had been performed and we identified Polygonum hydropiper L (Polygonum). Using a dried and powdered Polygonum, we conducted a prospective, single-arm, pilot study to investigate its safety and antihypertensive effect in subjects with normal high blood pressure to moderate hypertension.Methods: First, a single oral dose of Polygonum powder (4000 mg) was administered to assess acute toxicity. Then, a pilot study was conducted in 11 subjects using the sequence of placebo and Polygonum for 2 weeks each. The dose of Polygonum was increased sequentially (200-2000 mg/day). Home blood pressure and pulse rate were monitored.Results: Oral administration of Polygonum (4000 mg) did not cause any adverse events. In the dose-escalation phase, evening systolic blood pressure was significantly decreased at 800 mg, 2000 mg doses post-treatment (p < 0.05, and p < 0.05, respectively). Depressor responders to Polygonum intake had significantly higher salt intake in spot urine (p < 0.05). No adverse events or reactions occurred.Conclusion: This was the first investigation that an h-chymase inhibitory Polygonum intake for safety and tolerability was proven and, in addition, chymase inhibitory Polygonum appeared to have depressor effect especially in a hypertensive subject with excessive salt intake.

Depressor effect of the young leaves of Polygonum hydropiper Linn. in high-salt induced hypertensive mice.

A novel chymase inhibitor has been reported to have depressor effect in salt-induced hypertension. Therefore, we examined the hypothesis that chymase inhibitory dried young leaves of Polygonum hydropiper (PPH) or young leaves extract of Polygonum hydropiper (PHE) could reduce salt-induced hypertension. In this study, 8-wk old wild-type mice were allocated into three experiments and experiment I included groups, I- normal water drinking, II- high salt (2% NaCl) water (HSW) drinking, and III- HSW plus PPH (500 mg kg-1, orally) for 12-wk. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured at baseline and weekly up to wk-12. In experiment II, mice were given HSW for 12-wk followed by 8-wk treatment with PPH plus HSW (62.5, 125, 250 and 500 mg kg-1 for groups I, II, III and IV, respectively). BP and HR were measured at baseline and monthly until wk-12, following weekly for 8-wk. Experiment III comprised of four groups of mice for 12-wk HSW and 8-wk treatment with PHE plus HSW (2.5, 5, 10 and 20 mg kg-1 for groups I-IV, respectively). BP and HR were measured at baseline and monthly up to wk-12, following weekly for 8-wk. Significant reduction in BP and HR were observed in mice treated with PPH (500 mg kg-1) compared to HSW control. PPH reduced BP and HR dose dependently in hypertensive mice and the higher dose showed maximum reduction. PHE at its maximum dose (20 mg kg-1) significantly suppressed BP and HR. Over all, we found that the young leaves of Polygonum hydropiper suppressed salt-induced hypertension.

Diagnosis of bile duct cancer by bile cytology: usefulness of post-brushing biliary lavage fluid.

BACKGROUND: Pathologic evidence of biliary diseases can be obtained from cytology in addition to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP); however, the diagnostic effectiveness is not satisfactory. STUDY AIM: This retrospective, single-center study evaluated the efficacy of various sampling methods for the cytologic diagnosis of bile duct cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Biliary samples included bile that was simply aspirated, brush smear, brush-rinsed saline, and post-brushing biliary lavage fluid. A set of samples was compared for cytologic efficacy in 76 patients with surgically proven bile duct cancer and in 50 patients with benign biliary stricture. RESULTS: The cytologic sensitivity for diagnosing biliary cancer was 34 % with aspirated bile, 32 % with brush smear, 43 % with brush-rinsed saline, and 70 % with post-brushing biliary lavage fluid, in contrast to the null false-positive result in the benign cases. The sensitivity of cytology was significantly higher with post-brushing lavage fluid than with the other three sampling methods (P < 0.0001), and post-brushing lavage fluid improved the cumulative sensitivity by 24 % (P = 0.002). The sensitivity of biliary cytology was also associated with the amount of aspirated bile (P = 0.01) and with the aspiration site (P = 0.03). The rate of cancer positivity in a cytology set differed according to the tumor macroscopic type (85 % in the protruding type vs. 40 % in the flat type; P = 0.003), and according to the size of the cancer (87 % for tumors ≥ 50 mm vs. 66 % for tumors < 50 mm; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Post-brushing biliary lavage fluid cytology provides superior diagnostic efficacy, and its addition to ERCP procedures is recommended for obtaining cytologic evidence of bile duct cancer.

Index finger position fluctuations reflect multi-muscle coordination.

We hypothesized that movement fluctuations in the index finger reflect the integrated result of the coordination of multiple muscles because index finger movements are determined by the cooperation of multiple muscles spanning the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint. To evaluate this hypothesis, the aim of the present study was to examine the fluctuations of the index finger in abduction-adduction and extension-flexion directions during a position-holding task using two laser displacement sensors. Eleven healthy men maintained their index finger position while supporting a load at 5% of the maximal voluntary contraction force. To maintain the position of the index finger, displacement of the index finger in the abduction-adduction and extension-flexion directions was measured from a distance with two laser displacement sensors that were positioned to the lateral side of and above the index finger. The index finger movements fluctuated around the target position in not only the abduction-adduction direction but also the extension-flexion direction. The path length of finger displacement and the standard deviation of finger acceleration were significantly greater in the extension-flexion direction than in the abduction-adduction direction. These results suggest that the index finger movements quantified by two laser displacement sensors reflect the coordination of multiple muscles spanning the MCP joint.

Region specificity of rectus femoris muscle for force vectors in vivo.

To examine the region specificity within the rectus femoris (RF) for knee extension and hip flexion force directions, three force components around the ankle were measured during intramuscular electrical stimulation applied to six parts of the RF: a proximal and medial part, a proximal and lateral part, a middle and medial part, a middle and lateral part, a distal and medial part, and a distal and lateral part. As a result, the exerted force directions in all of the subjects were variable in all regions, and the proximal region of the RF was the dominant contributor to the hip flexion moment. In addition, the force in the lateral region of the RF, rather than that in the medial region, denoted the lateral direction. These results suggest that divergent regions of muscle fibers within the RF are responsible for different functions in determining the force direction.

Synthesis of 3D pore mesostructured silica films by vapor infiltration of tetraethoxysilane.

Nonionic alkyl poly(oxyethylene) surfactants (Brij 56) films on a silicon substrate were treated with a tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) vapor. Mesostructured silica films were formed through a nano-phase transition under the infiltration of TEOS into the surfactant films. It was found that the calcined film had a 3D pore structure from the field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) observations in a different orientation. Grazing angle of incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) measurement results showed that the symmetry of the film was an Fmmm space group oriented with the (010) plane parallel to the surface. The ordered structure of the films showed higher thermal stability than the films prepared by a conventional solvent-evaporation method.

[A case of octreotide acetate-induced acute pancreatitis].

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in July 2000 because of epigastralgia and back pain with past history of repeated upper abdominal pain due to acute pancreatitis since 1995. Abdominal computed tomography on admission showed a swelling in the pancreas head and several large pancreatic pseudocysts. He was diagnosed as acute pancreatitis based on abdominal pain, elevated pancreatic enzymes and computed tomography finding, and given 50 microg octreotide subcutaneously for the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts. Within 3 hours after octreotide injection, he complained of upper abdominal pain and had an elevated serum amylase level. Abdominal pain disappeared after cessation of octreotide injection and the patient was discharged free from abdominal pain. Octreotide might cause acute pancreatitis by inducing spasm of the sphincter of Oddi. Careful check-up of the patients might be needed during treatment with octreotide.

Variable stiffness colonoscopes are associated with less pain during colonoscopy in unsedated patients.

OBJECTIVES: Application of a new variable stiffness colonoscope (VSC) is expected to control loop formation and to lessen patient discomfort. The aim of this prospective study was to compare the efficacy of VSC with a conventional colonoscope (CC) in unsedated colonoscopy, based on the experience of examiners. METHODS: Four-hundred sixty-seven patients were randomly assigned to undergo colonoscopy with either VSC or CC by an endoscopist, including experienced and less-experienced examiners. The percentages of completed procedure and time to cecal intubation were recorded. Patients were asked to rate pain on a 5-point pain score. RESULTS: The percentages of completed procedure with VSC and CC were 98% and 95%, respectively, by less-experienced hands, and 99% and 98%, respectively, by experienced hands. Time for cecal intubation with VSC and CC was 15.7 and 18.5 min, respectively, by less-experienced hands, and 9.8 and 10.6 min, respectively, by experienced hands. A significantly lower mean pain score was noted in VSC patients compared with CC patients, irrespective of experience of the examiner. The percent of patients rating the procedure as moderately or severely painful was significantly lower with VSC than with CC, both in less-experienced (19% vs 40%; p < 0.01) and experienced hands (15% vs 26%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that VSC allows favorable examination compared with CC regarding completeness, time to cecal intubation, and comfort of patients undergoing unsedated colonoscopy, irrespective of the examiner's experience. These features suggest VSC as the preferred colonoscope for patients undergoing unsedated colonoscopy.