This study aimed to examine the performance characteristics of a step test with stipulated tempos, used to evaluate the dynamic balance ability of the elderly, as well as the relationship between this step test and walking ability. Ninety-two healthy older women (age 70.9±6.1 yr) who could walk independently, twice performed a 10 m walk at maximum speed and a step test for 20 sec with varying metronome tempos (40 bpm, 60 bpm, and 120 bpm). Subjects were divided into three groups (G1–G3) based on their 10 m gait time. Group 3 (G3), with the longest gait time, experienced the most falls.
One evaluation parameter was the total time difference between the metronome sound and the time when the subject's foot hit the ground. The gait time was significantly related to the time difference in the 40 bpm and 60 bpm tempos (r=0.22–0.59). In step tests with slower tempos (40 bpm and 60 bpm), group G3 had a significantly larger time difference than the other two groups. In conclusion, a step test with slow tempos has a close relationship with the walking ability of the elderly and may be useful in evaluating their dynamic balance ability related to locomotion.

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Objectives: This study targeted the elderly participating in community exercise classes implemented by the local government, and followed their fall risk and physical function characteristics for three years. This study aimed to compare these changes between low and high fall risk individuals.
Methods: The participants consisted of 34 male and 163 female Japanese elderly people aged 60 years or over who participated in a community exercise class once a week for three years. Physical fitness and activities of daily living (ADL) capability were evaluated by the physical fitness test of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. The fall risk was evaluated using a Fall Assessment Chart (Suzuki, 2000), and if the total score was ≥5, the subject was assessed as a high fall risk. Significant changes in the fall risk characteristics were examined by McNemar's test. Significant changes in physical function characteristics (Physical fitness and ADL tests) were examined by two-way (fall risk group and pre-post) ANOVA.
Results: The fall risk and number of falling incidents decreased only for the high risk group. In addition to the observed decrease in risk and incidents, it was found that the elderly who exercised were able to maintain their physical function (ADL capability level) with regard to muscular strength, walking, and maintaining and changing posture over the course of the three-year study.
Conclusions: Effectiveness of the exercise class implemented by the local government for fall prevention was found for the high fall risk elderly. These findings indicate the possibility that health promotion activities based on exercise classes may be a prevention strategy for falls within the community-dwelling elderly by incorporating more diverse activities adapted to an individual's functional level.

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Previous studies have investigated the relationship between prefrontal cortex activation and perceived exertion during prolonged exercise. However, the effect of perceived exertion on prefrontal cortex activity is confounded by exercise intensity. Therefore, the changes in prefrontal cortex activity in response to perceived exertion remain unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the activation (oxygenation) of the prefrontal cortex and perceived exertion during constant work-rate elbow-flexion exercise with or without muscle-spindle stimulation. Ten healthy, right-handed subjects participated in the study. Near-infrared spectroscopy with probes positioned over the prefrontal cortex measured its activation throughout elbow-flexion exercise. Subjects performed sustained elbow-flexion exercise at 25–35% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) with or without muscle-spindle stimulation (vibration), which can decrease perceived exertion. The ratings of perceived exertion were significantly lower during exercise with vibration (Ex-Vib) than during exercise without vibration (Ex) (p<0.05). The oxygenation of the prefrontal cortex during Ex-Vib did not significantly differ from that during Ex (p>0.05). These results indicated that perceived exertion was not necessarily associated with prefrontal cortex activation during exercise.

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Knowledge of stature is necessary for evaluating nutritional status and for correcting certain functional parameters. Measuring stature is difficult or impossible in bedridden or wheelchair-bound persons and may also be diminished by disorders of the spinal column or extremities. The purpose of this work is to develop estimation equations for young adult athletes for their subsequent application to disabled persons. The main sample comprised 445 male and 401 female sportspersons. Cross validation was also performed on 100 males and 101 females. All were Caucasian, the males being over 21 and the females over 18, and all practiced some kind of sport. The following variables were included: stature, sitting height, arm span, and lengths of upper arm, forearm, hand, thigh, lower leg, and foot. Simple and multiple regression analyses were performed using stature as a dependent variable and the others as predictive variables. The best equation for males (R²=0.978; RMSE=1.41 cm; PE=1.54 cm) was stature: 1.346+1.023 * lower leg+0.957 * sitting height+0.530 * thigh+0.493 * upper arm+0.228 * forearm. For females (R²=0.959; RMSE=1.57 cm; PE=1.25 cm) it was stature: 1.772+0.159 * arm span+0.957 * sitting height+0.424 * thigh+0.966 * lower leg. Alternative equations were developed for when a particular variable cannot be included for reasons of mobility, technical difficulty, or segment loss.

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The relationship of meal habits and alcohol/cigarette consumption to circadian typology and sleep health in Japanese female students was studied from an epidemiological point of view. Questionnaires on Morningness-Eveningness by Torsvall and Åkerstedt (1980), sleep habits, regularity of meal intake and meal amount, and style of alcohol and cigarette consumption were administered to 800 students aged 18–29 years, attending university or training schools for nutrition specialists (Aichi Prefecture, 35°N). Points from ten questions were totaled to provide estimates of sleep habits given as the Unhealthy Sleep Index (UHSI). The average and standard deviation of Morningness-Eveningness scores were 16.07±3.53. Students who had breakfast at regular times showed significantly higher Morningness-Eveningness scores than those who ate at irregular times. Based on an integrated analysis (ANOVA) on the effect of regularity of breakfast intake on sleep health, regular breakfast intake may link to sleep health positively via the shifting to morning-type (i.e., the phase-advance of the circadian clock). However, a similar analysis promoted the hypothesis that alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking relate to sleep health negatively and directly, rather than via the shifting to evening-type (i.e., the phase-delaying of the circadian clock). In the case of young women, getting a good quality and quantity of sleep in normal life seems to be important for promoting their mental health, which may fluctuate throughout the menstruation cycle accompanied by mental symptoms as a part of premenstrual syndrome.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an increase in intramuscular pressure on ventilatory response at the onset of exercise. Seven subjects participated in this study. We measured ventilatory responses to a 20-s single-arm extension-flexion exercise and passive movement. Each subject performed two kinds of exercise and passive movement in random order: in one, the exercising arm was encircled with a deflated cuff placed around the upper arm; in the other, the exercising arm was compressed by a cuff placed around the upper arm, which was inflated to 25 mmHg. We found that neither ventilatory response during exercise nor during passive movement was significantly changed even though the cuff compressed the arm. In conclusion, the increased intramuscular pressure caused by the 25-mmHg pressure of the cuff did not have a significant influence on ventilatory response at the onset of exercise.

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