Exercise tests were carried out on patients with histories of myocardial infarction under hot, cold, and comfortable environmental temperatures to examine the influence of temperature on work capacity and cardiac function. The subjects were 25 male patients, whose average age was 54.0 years old and whose myocardial infarctions occurred from 2 to 36 months before the study (MI group), and 5 healthy adult males whose average age was 42.6 years old (N group). The environmental temperatures were fixed at 15°C, 25°C, and 35°C in an artificial climate chamber. A bicycle ergometer test was performed until certain signs appeared requiring discontinuation of the test in the artificial climate chamber.
The mean exercise duration tended to be the longest at 25°C for the MI group and at 15°C for the N group. At 15°C, most of the N group discontinued the exercise because of fatigue in the legs, while discontinuation at 35°C was usually because the heart rate reached a target value. In exercise of the MI group at 15°C, discontinuations because of fatigue in the legs were few, but discontinuations because of frequent extrasystoles occurred more often. At 35°C and 15°C, as compared to the situation at 25°C, more patients showed ST changes in the ECG deviating 0.2mV or more from the resting level. In the MI group, the heart rate at rest or at a given exercise level was significantly higher at 35°C than at 25°C and 15°C, and maximum heart rate during exercise showed the same tendency. Systolic blood pressure at rest was significantly highest at 15°C in the MI group as well as in the N group, but maximum systolic blood pressure during exercise tended to be the highest at 25°C in the MI group and at 15°C in the N group. In both groups, maximum oxygen uptake during exercise increased significantly more at 15°C than at 25°C or 35°C. During physical activity of patients with myocardial infarction, heart rate showed greater changes in the hot environment than at the comfortable temperature, while extrasystole appeared in many cases in the cold environment. Thermal factors were thus considered to greatly affect cardiac function in the patients.

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A multivariate analysis of the ADL and other factors affecting the ADL in cerebral palsied children was performed. The subjects were 63 children with cerebral palsy (CP), ranging in age from five to twelve (average age, 7.4±1.8 years). A new ADL test consisting of 17 items was employed in this study. The ADL of the children was evaluated by their own therapists, and the children were classified into three grades, “good”, “poor” and “unable”. “Good” indicated independent action and “poor” partial independence or too much time.
The results of the ADL test, age, sex, the type of motor palsy, I. Q. and the motor age of the upper and lower extremities were analysed. The meaning of the first to the third principal components was discussed. The first principal component was coincident with the upper motor function and explained about 50% of the variation of ADL in CP children. The second principal component had a relationship to trunk balance and cooperative activities. The third principal component signified motor function of the lower extremities. The I. Q. showed a high factor loading of the first principal component and affected eating, dressing and hy giene activities along with the motor age of the upper extremities. Locomotive activities were severely inhibited. The walking and climbing stairs activities had a high correlation with the motor age of both the lower and upper extremities.
These results suggested that the motor age of the upper extremities was the most important factor in the ADL of CP children.

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