This study is the first to use salivary α-amylase activity (sAA) to evaluate stress in students with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) before and after medical care in schools for special needs education. Oral suction of sputum is one of the medical cares given in schools. And in this study, sAA, heart rate (HR), and degree of oxygen saturation (SpO₂) were measured for students before and after such suctioning. Results showed a significant rise in sAA and a rising trend in SpO₂ after the care, as well as a negative correlation between SpO₂ and sAA before the care. This indicates that while suctioning stabilizes oxygenation, it can also cause the student stress. Furthermore, sAA reflects the child’s physiological stress level during a low oxygenation state. In general, suctioning is performed only until a rise in SpO₂ and stabilization in HR. However, the findings indicate that sAA can highlight biological changes which cannot be ascertained through other measurements, and also show the significance of measuring sAA before and after medical care to ascertain the physiological and psychological condition of the student.

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Some studies have reported that recumbent position may have advantages in patients with heart disease and in pregnancy. However, it remains controversial whether recumbent position affects autonomic nervous system activity and hemodynamics in healthy adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations in heart rate variability (HRV) and hemodynamics in the supine, left recumbent and right recumbent positions in healthy young adults. A total of 80 participants aged 22.8 ± 3.1 years were enrolled in this observational study. Fifty-eight volunteers (29 men and 29 women) maintained the supine position followed by the left and right recumbent positions, while electrocardiographic data were recorded for spectral analysis of HRV to assess cardiac vagal nerve and sympathetic nerve activities. The heart rate (HR) was significantly lower in the left recumbent position than in the other positions. There were no statistically significant differences in HRV among the three positions. Considering the possibility that the echographic procedure affects autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, the other 22 participants (11 men and 11 women) underwent an echographic evaluation of hemodynamics in the heart and inferior vena cava (IVC) across the three positions. Although a low HR was also observed, there were no statistically significant differences in the IVC or the heart blood volume between the supine and the left recumbent positions. A postural change to the left recumbent position does not affect the cardiac blood circulation or ANS activity, though it does decrease HR in healthy young adults. This finding indicates that the lower HR in the left recumbent position is not attributable to the ANS activity.

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Time management is very important in our lives. In this research, our major goal is to support a human in time management to control the speed of human behavior. In the first stage, the aim is controlling the speed of human walking that is included in the speed of human behavior. As a means of control, sound is used in this research because the people are able to use the sound based system passively and unconsciously. In this paper, stepping experiments using Balance Wii Board and walking experiments using Android device are proposed. The proposed system measured the average ( ) with recent step-timings and sounds are generated based on the average BPM for the subjects. As a result, it was found that it is possible to influence the speed of human walking with sound.

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A case of exercise-induced idiopathic ventricular tachycardia (VT) arose from the left ventricular outflow tract. The QRS morphology of the VT was Rs pattern in V₁ and R pattern in the lateral leads with inferior axis. The pacing at the superior interventricular septum near the mitral anulus produced the best pace mapping. Radiofrequency application to this site suppressed the VT. (Jpn Circ J 1998; 62: 629 - 631)

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Aim: To determine whether there is a significant correlation between optic nerve head circulation determined by pulse wave analysis of laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG), and the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), left ventricular (LV) function, and age.
Methods: Forty-nine men who visited the Vascular Function Section of Toho University Sakura Medical Center, Chiba, Japan were studied. The mean age of the subjects was 60.7±10.6 years (range 29 to 80 years). The CAVI, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) as a function of the systolic LV function, early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (e'), and the ratio of transmitral early peak velocity (E) to e' (E/e' ratio) as the diastolic LV function, and the optic nerve head circulation determined by pulse wave analysis of the LSFG. This parameter was named the blowout time (BOT).
Results: The BOT was significantly correlated with age, heart rate, body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, LVEF, e' velocity, E/e' ratio, and CAVI. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that age was significantly associated with CAVI (r= 0.36, p=0.002), BOT (r=−0.30, p=0.01) and e' velocity (r=−0.21, p=0.04).
Conclusions: The BOT of the optic nerve head circulation determined by LSFG was significantly correlated with age but was independent of cardiac diastolic function and arterial stiffness. This suggests that the damage to different organs increases with age. Our results confirmed that BOT can be helpful in evaluating physiological aging of the microcirculation.

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Introduction: Endurance sports have recently been recognized as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to characterize AF in endurance athletes and to examine the efficacy of pulmonary vein antrum isolation (PVAI) in an attempt to clarify the mechanism.
Methods and results: Twenty-two men (46±8 years old) with AF, who had no risk factors other than participation in long-term endurance sports, were examined; 12 patients had paroxysmal AF, 9 had persistent AF, and 1 had long-standing AF. Twelve patients (55%) were asymptomatic at rest. Nineteen patients (86%) experienced less exercise tolerance during AF than during sinus rhythm; exercise-induced paroxysmal AF was noted in 14 of these patients (64%). Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) were used in 18 patients, but were effective in only 3 patients (16%). Eleven patients underwent PVAI; in these patients, AF was eliminated without AADs in 9 patients (82%) and with AADs in 2 patients over an average follow-up period of 21±9 months.
Conclusion: AF in endurance athletes is frequently asymptomatic at rest, but manifests as reduced exercise tolerance. AF originates from the pulmonary veins; PVAI could be an effective non-pharmacologic therapy.

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[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of musical tempo on physiological, affective, and perceptual responses as well as the performance of self-selected walking pace. [Subjects] The study included 28 adult women between 29 and 51 years old. [Methods] The subjects were divided into three groups: no musical stimulation group (control), and 90 and 140 beats per minute musical tempo groups. Each subject underwent three experimental sessions: involved familiarization with the equipment, an incremental test to exhaustion, and a 30-min walk on a treadmill at a self-selected pace, respectively. During the self-selected walking session, physiological, perceptual, and affective variables were evaluated, and walking performance was evaluated at the end. [Results] There were no significant differences in physiological variables or affective response among groups. However, there were significant differences in perceptual response and walking performance among groups. [Conclusion] Fast music (140 beats per minute) promotes a higher rating of perceived exertion and greater performance in self-selected walking pace without significantly altering physiological variables or affective response.

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Background: Although binge drinking and high resting heart rate independently affect cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk, the combined effect of these two risk factors and their interaction has rarely been studied. This study examined the association between binge drinking and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality and evaluated the potential modifying effect on this association of resting heart rate in Korean men.
Methods: Men aged 55 years or older in 1985 (n = 2600) were followed for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality for 20.8 years, until 2005. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality by binge drinking and resting heart rate using the Cox proportional hazard model.
Results: Heavy binge drinkers (≥12 drinks on one occasion) with elevated resting heart rate (≥80 bpm) had a HR of 2.25 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.47–3.45) for death from cardiovascular disease and 1.37 (95% CI, 0.87–2.14) for all-cause mortality compared to the reference group (non-drinking and resting heart rate 61–79 bpm). The HRs of dying from cardiovascular disease increased linearly from 1.36 to 1.52, 1.71, and 2.25 among individuals with resting heart rate greater than or equal to 80 bpm within the four alcohol consumption categories (non-drinking, non-binge, moderate binge, and heavy binge), respectively.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, among older Korean men, heavy binge drinkers with an elevated resting heart rate are at high risk for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.

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The effects of dual-chamber pacing therapy in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) have been reported in short- and long-term studies. Almost all of these studies have reported that the key factor in pacing therapy is the setting of the atrioventricular (AV) interval. However, studies focusing on the effects of pacing rate on the hemodynamic state are rare. In this study, cardiac catheterization was performed in 2 patients during temporary pacing at various rates and AV intervals. When the pacing rate was increased slightly (to 70-90 /min), AV sequential pacing decreased peak subaortic pressure gradient and increased systolic aortic pressure without increase in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and the time constant of isovolumetric relaxation. In another case, of a patient who became refractory to AV sequential pacing therapy at an optimum AV interval, pacing at a slightly higher rate relieved syncope. Thus, AV sequential pacing therapy performed at a slightly higher rate than normal in a patient with HOCM may lead to a decreased subaortic pressure gradient and relief of symptoms without noticeable deterioration in cardiac function. (Jpn Circ J 1998; 62: 546 - 548)

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Only scarce data are available on chronic copper poisoning in general toxicology literature. This paper reports four patients with chronic copper poisoning and one patient with acute poisoning. The cases with chronic poisoning in our study consisted of four members of a farmer family presenting to the emergency department (ED) with malaise, weakness, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, tightness in the chest, leg and back pain, accompanied by significant anemia (hemoglobin [Hb]: 8.7 - 9.5 g/dl). They were hospitalized and investigated thoroughly, although there were no other findings or clues enlightening the etiology of anemia. The anemia was attributed to chronic copper exposure acquired from vegetables containing copper. The diagnosis was established by ruling out other possible etiologies and history coupled with laboratory findings. The patients were discharged with the recommendation on diet to avoid consumption of pesticide-treated vegetables. Their Hb values were between 10 and 11.4 g/dl on the 15th day, and between 12 and 14 g/dl after two months. Their symptoms had also resolved completely in two months. The patient with acute intoxication (5th case) had ingested copper oxychloride with suicidal intent. He was admitted with anuria and hemolytic anemia. After being hospitalized for fifteen days, he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure and was scheduled for a dialysis program. Acute poisoning is more deliberate, while chronic exposure may result in atypical findings. In conclusion, physicians working in primary care and EDs should consider copper poisoning in patients presenting with anemia, abdominal pain, headache, tightness in the chest, and leg and back pain.

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Background and aims: The yellow laser constitutes a totally new option in the field of laser acupuncture, in addition to the already existing red, near infrared, green and violet lasers. Especially for so called lifestyle-related diseases, this could open up new methods of integrative therapy. The goal of the present study was to investigate among other parameters blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and temperature effects before, during, and after stimulation of different acupoints with yellow laser.
Subject and methods: We recruited 26 healthy volunteers (13 female, 13 male; mean age ± SD 24.1 ± 3.3 years) at the Medical University of Graz. The acupoints Baihui, Neiguan, Taichong and a placebo point were stimulated with a 589 nm (50 mW, 500 μm; 5 min) yellow laser. Blood pressure was measured noninvasively at the wrist; for the registration of the electrocardiogram a medilog AR12 HRV system was used. Effects on temperature were measured with a Flir i7 infrared camera.
Results: There were significant decreases after yellow laser acupuncture in the systolic BP, diastolic BP also decreased (n.s.). HRV in both (men and women) increased. The temperature during the yellow laser stimulation decreased significantly in all measured points. After the stimulation it increased again significantly. Based on a questionnaire volunteers reported a significantly decreased level of stress after yellow laser stimulation.
Conclusions: Significant positive effects on BP and well-being were found after yellow laser stimulation. The results are very promising and can be very important especially for the treatment of lifestyle related diseases.

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This study demonstrates the relation between the rhythm of step and characteristic of leg joint while walking, jogging and running. Kinematic gait analysis of 81 young people (40 male and 41 female) was performed on the treadmill. Three kinematic parameters (hip, knee, ankle flection) were measured when the subjects ran at the speed of 4, 8 and 12 [km/h]. The results showed that the rhythm of step are not depend on the kinematic of leg joint. However, the effect of the length from heel to femoral head is large.

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We propose a simple method that changes impression of musical piece by changing its tempo and investigate psycho-physiological effects of the method with listening experiment. In the experiment, 8 subjects listened same musical pieces with various tempi, and analysis of heartbeat and Semantic-Differential method were used. In 6 out of 10 adjective pairs, inverted-U shapes were observed, and peak tempi of them were different. Moreover, “relaxed” evaluation might be related to listener's heart rate in rest. These results suggest possibility of constructing novel media player that changes impression of musical piece.

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[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of segmental weight of the prosthesis on hemodynamic responses and energy expenditure in lower extremity amputees. [Subjects and Methods] Thirteen patients with a mean age of 44 ± 15.84 years and with unilateral transtibial, transfemoral and Syme’s amputation were included to the study. The difference between the lightest and the heaviest prosthesis, 250 g used as the weight. All the patients completed the measurements first without weight and then with 250 g weight on the ankle joint. The blood pressure and heart rate of the patients were recorded before and after Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and 10 stairs up & down stairs test. Physiological Cost Index was used to calculate the energy expenditure. [Results] Heart rate and energy expenditure increased significantly when without weight and with weight results compared. [Conclusion] We conclude that the segmental weight of the prosthetic limb has a significant effect on the heart rate and energy expenditure but has no effect on the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of lower limb amputees. In order to generalize our results to lower limb amputees, more patients need to be included in future studies.

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脈診は中国医学の四診八綱の内重要な地位を占めているが、脈の取り方、見方については流派により諸説がある。また、見方は経験により定性的な表現で伝承されており、広く誰でもが診断に適用できるわけではない。本研究では、コンデンサマイクロフォンを用いて手首とう骨付近で脈を採る際、マイクロフォンの押下圧力に対する脈像の変化に注目し、伝統的に言われている「浮、中、沈」に対する指針を得た。

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Ventricular tachycardia (VT) originating from the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) has been reported to be induced by exercise or isoproterenol and is considered to be related to catecholamines. This study was designed to examine the role of autonomic tone in spontaneous episodes of VT originating from RVOT. High frequency (HF; peak power of 0.20 - 0.40 Hz) and low frequency (LF; peak power of 0.05 - 0.15 Hz) spectral components of heart rate variability were calculated from RR intervals in a 30-min period before 33 episodes of VT during 24-h Holter monitoring in 8 patients. One VT episode was sustained, 20 were incessant and 12 were nonsustained. The ratio of LF and HF power and heart rate increased significantly from 8 min before the onset of VT, whereas the HF power gradually decreased but this decrease did not reach the statistical significance. In conclusion, an increase of the ratio of LF and HF power preceding VT suggests that activation of sympathetic tone plays an important role in the occurrence of VT originating from the RVOT. (Jpn Circ J 1998; 62: 745 - 749)

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A new method for predominant melody extraction from polyphonic music signals based on harmonic structure is proposed. The proposed method first extracts a set of fundamental frequency candidates by analyzing the distance between spectral peaks. Then, the predominant fundamental frequency is selected by pitch tracking according to the harmonic strength of the selected candidates. Finally, the method runs pitch smoothing on a large temporal scale for eliminating pitch doubling error, and conducts voicing frame detection. The proposed method shows the best overall performance for ADC 2004 DB in the MIREX 2011 audio melody extraction task.

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