Many Japanese women have trouble with and feet. We examined how the skin temperature of the hands and feet are related to the environmental temperature. The subjects were eight otherwise healthy women aged 20-22 years, who complained of and feet. The dorsal and ventral skin temperatures of the hands and feet of a subject were measured using a thermotracer over two menstrual cycles. As the outside temperature and temperature in the bedroom increased from spring to summer, both the basal body and skin temperature of the hands and feet increased. However, the skin temperature of the hands and feet did not change with the basal body temperature, but were influenced more by the increase in bedroom temperature. Therefore, we compared subjects who woke up in a bedroom warmed to about 22℃ with those who woke in a bedroom at a normal winter temperature of about 9.6℃. During the low phase of body temperate, the basal body temperature and skin temperature of the hands of the subjects were significantly higher in the warmed bedroom. In other words, on warming the bedroom temperature in winter, the thermoregulatory center was under the illusion that it was spring or early summer, which played a dominant role in altering the circulation to the hands and feet.

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Many Japanese women have trouble with and feet. We reported how the skin temperature of the hands and feet are related to the environmental temperature in previous paper. As the outside temperature and the temperature in the bedroom increased from spring to summer, both the basal body and skin temperature of the hands and feet increased. However, the skin temperature of the hands and feet did not change with the basal body temperature, but were influenced more by the increase in bedroom temperature. The subjects were two otherwise healthy women aged 21 years, who complained of and feet. The dorsal and ventral skin temperatures of the hands and feet of a subject were measured using a thermotracer. Therefore, we compared subjects who woke up in a bedroom warmed to about 22-24℃ with those who woke in a bedroom at a normal winter temperature of about 9-17℃. During the low phase of body temperature, the basal body temperature and skin temperature of the hands of the subjects were significantly higher in the warmed bedroom. By contrast, during the high phase of body temperature, the skin temperature was relatively low, although the basal body temperature rose when we warmed the bedroom temperature. It was suggested that on warming the bedroom temperature of about 22℃ during high phase of body temperature in winter, skin temperature decreased because the basal body temperature was too high and her palm were sweating.

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We orally administered Goshuyu-to ( ?? ?? ?? ?? ) or Evodia fruit ( ?? ?? ?? ) extract and Ginger ( ?? ?? ) extract to untreated rats, and found a slight but not significant rise in their body temperature. In rats treated with chlorpromazine, the administration of Goshuyu-to prevented decrease in the body temperature. After administration of each extract of component crude drugs (Evodia fruit, Ginger, Ginseng : ?? ??, Jujube : ?? ?? ), such an effect was recognized only by Evodia fruit, and other component crude drugs exhibited no body temperature retaining effect in this experiment system. We further studied the effect of Evodia fruit alkaloid hydroxyevodiamine, evodiamine, rutaecarpine and evocarpine used individually and confirmed that the body temperature retaining effect occurred mainly with evodiamine.

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In order to evaluate ambient temperature for office and house heating, experiments on thermal sensation of bare hands and fingers, and impression of freshness were conducted under the two kinds of clothing condition. Test A: six male subjects selected clothing ensemble to keep thermally neutral sensation. Test B: the subjects wore normal winter clothing. The subjects were exposed for three hours to four ambient temperature conditions of 7°, 10°, 14° and 18℃ for test A and 10°, 14°, 18° and 22℃ for test B. The following results were obtained I the subjects felt their hands and fingers thermally neutral at the ambient temperature of 21℃, which is the lowest ambient temperature for eliminating discomfort due to coolness of bare hands. The subjects felt fresh below the ambient temperture of 20℃, and the authors found that the optimum ambient temperature for freshness was 18℃, accepting slight discomfort of .

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Neck and shoulder stiffness is a typical subjective symptom in developed countries. This stiffness is caused by factors such as muscle tension and poor blood flow, leading to reduce work efficiency and diminish QOL. NKCP^®, a natto-derived dietary food supplement whose main component is bacillopeptidase F, has antithrombotic, fibrinolytic, and blood viscosity-lowering effects. Here, we investigated the effect of NKCP^® on neck and shoulder stiffness in a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized crossover study. Thirty subjects with neck and shoulder stiffness were randomly divided into 2 groups and ingested 250 mg of NKCP^® or placebo daily for 4 weeks. Headache score significantly improved in the NKCP^® group compared to the placebo group. Moreover, NKCP^® significantly improved the score of visual analogue scale for neck and shoulder stiffness and pain, reduced muscle stiffness of the neck, and increased the skin surface temperature of neck and shoulders, compared to before ingestion. No adverse effects were observed during this study. These results suggest that NKCP^® may alleviate headaches and chronic neck and shoulder stiffness and pain.

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This study investigated variations in pregnancy-related discomfort experienced, as well as their relationships with sleep during each trimester. A total of 344 pregnant women (first trimester 98, second trimester 105, third trimester 141) were surveyed using the pregnancy-related discomforts scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The nausea, shoulder discomfort, and

and feet experienced during the first trimester were worse than during the third trimester. The fatigue felt during the first and third trimesters were related to sleep quality and daytime dysfunction. The malaise experienced during the first trimester was related to sleep quality. During the second trimester, the malaise was related to daytime dysfunction and during the third, it was related to both sleep quality and daytime dysfunction. The nausea experienced during the first trimester was related to sleep disturbances. The irritability demonstrated during the second trimester was related to sleep quality. These results suggest that understanding sleep disorders experienced by pregnant women will be helpful in predicting pregnancy-related discomforts.

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This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics of hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) in a group of tree fellers in a tropical environment. We examined all tree fellers and selected control subjects in a logging camp of central Sarawak for vibration exposure and presence of HAVS symptoms utilizing vibrotactile perception threshold test (VPT) and cold water provocation test (CWP). None of the subjects reported white finger. The tree fellers reported significantly higher prevalence of finger coldness as compared to the control subjects (OR=10.32, 95%CI=1.21–87.94). A lower finger skin temperature, longer fingernail capillary return time and higher VPT were observed among the tree fellers as compared to the control subjects in all fingers (effect size >0.5). The VPT following CWP of the tree fellers was significantly higher (repeated measures ANOVA p=0.002, partial η²=0.196) than the control subject. The A (8) level was associated with finger tingling, numbness and dullness (effect size=0.983) and finger coldness (effect size=0.524) among the tree fellers. Finger coldness and finger tingling, numbness and dullness are important symptoms for HAVS in tropical environment that may indicate vascular and neurological damage due to hand-transmitted vibration exposure.

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Vasomotor and Other Menopausal Symptoms Influenced by Menopausal Stage and Psychosocial Factors in Japanese Middle-Aged Women: Kuninori SHIWAKU, et al. Department of Environmental Medicine, Shimane Medical University—The relationship among menopausal symptoms, the menopausal stage and psychosocial factors in climacteric of Japanese women was investigated. Information on menopausal symptoms, the menstrual cycle and psychosocial factors were collected by means of a self-reported questionnaire in six rural communities. A general population sample of 2, 886 women (recovery rate of 75%) aged 40 to 69 yr completed a report on seventeen self-reported health symptoms over the preceding 12 months. The most bothersome complaints were aching/painful joints, weakness and headache that were reported by approximately half the population aged 40 to 69 yr, but less than 4% of the women were affected severely. One-third of the women were bothered by night sweats, and feet, nervousness and anxiety. Approximately one in five of the women complained of hot flushes, numbness, early waking, and sleeplessness. Four factors emerged from a factor analysis: general somatic symptoms, psychological symptoms, vasomotor symptoms and aging symptoms. Hot flushes, night sweats, numbness, early waking and sleeplessness were significantly higher in the perimenopausal and postmenopausal periods than in the premenopausal period of women aged 45 to 54 yr. The menopausal stages were significantly related to the vasomotor symptoms, but had little relationship to the other menopausal symptoms, in a logistic regression model. Japanese women characteristically have a lower incidence of vasomotor and other menopausal symptoms, and a lower utilization of medical treatment for menopausal symptoms. Vasomotor symptoms were clearly associated with menopause, but other menopausal symptoms in Japanese middle-aged women related to self-rated health, social support and occupation. (J Occup Health 2001; 43: 356-364)

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We studied the change of the heart rate variability (HRV) in climacteric women by the external Qi (MOA purifying therapy). MOA purifying therapy was administrated to the therapy group (n=25, 51.8±3.3 years) , while the control group (n=25, 55.5±3.8 years) relaxed on the bed. All subjects were climacteric women. The R-R intervals of subjects' electrocardiogram were measured. The HF component and the LF/HF component were analyzed by the Wavelet transformation. As a result, the HF component during administration in the therapy group increased more than that during the relaxed position in the control group, significantly (p<0.005). There was no difference between the LF/HF component of the therapy group and the control group. It was supposed from this result that the administration of MOA purifying therapy activated parasympathetic nerve in the climacteric women. We expect that the application of external Qi, MOA purifying therapy, improves the health of patients with the climacteric syndrome.

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It has been demonstrated that stress conditions for babies such as a brief mother-infant separation cause the nasal skin temperature to drop. Changes in skin temperature may be taken as a representative sample of bodily reaction correlated with emotional changes. The purpose of this study is to investigate nasal skin temperature changes under loud noise situation. Fifty-two undergraduates were divided into two groups. Each group had 13 male and 13 female subjects. One group was given 100 dB and another was given 45 dB white noise. The Infrared Telethermograph Imager was used to measure nasal skin temperature changes. The results showed that the nasal skin temperature under 100 dB white noise decreased by about 0.5°C. However, under 45 dB no significant change was found. These findings suggest that the facial skin temperature will be one of the promising indices to detect various emotional changes.

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Objectives: The majority of infantile hemangiomas shrink on their own, but when there is a chance of functional impairment, ulceration, or aesthetic issues, an active therapeutic intervention is needed. Propranolol is effective in treating infantile hemangiomas in recent years, although little information is known regarding the consequences of long-term oral administration of propranolol for treating infantile hemangioma or regarding when to stop propranolol treatment. We looked back at the therapeutic effectiveness, sequelae, and side effects of propranolol in actual clinical settings for infantile hemangiomas.

Methods: The study comprised 25 patients under the age of 6 months who had propranolol treatment for infantile hemangiomas in our department between April 2011 and May 2021.

Results: At one month and 6 months following the commencement of treatment, propranolol treatment was successful in 72% and 96% of patients, respectively. In 84% of patients, there were cutaneous sequelae. Only one patient with sequelae of hair loss required early surgery because of a cosmetic problem. There were substantial side effects in one case, but these were not related to the propranolol dose.

Conclusions: This study found that the effect of propranolol did not differ depending on the kind of infantile hemangiomas, although propranolol was expected to be extremely helpful for head lesions regardless of site. A degree of sequelae remained in many cases following propranolol therapy, whereas the subcutaneous type was less likely to develop sequelae with propranolol treatment.

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Fish farming is considered as a physical demanding occupation, including work operations with high workloads and awkward work positions for prolonged periods of time. Combined with potential challenging environmental conditions, these factors may negatively affect work performance, comfort and health. This study aimed to explore work strain and thermophysiological responses in Norwegian fish farming. Fourteen workers (age 35 ± 15 yrs) from four fish farms participated in the field studies, and measurements of heart rate (HR), core- and skin temperatures were registered continuously during a work shift. Questions about subjective thermal sensation and comfort were answered. This study has shown that workers at fish farms are periodically exposed to high or low levels of work strain, where the high workloads are manifested as increased core temperature and HR when working. The results are expected to give a better understanding of work strain and environmental challenges during fish farm operations.

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This study aimed at pointing out the local thermal effects and subjective responses to cold air exposures of gloved hands in conditions of similar hand heat loss rates. Thirteen males and 13 females, lightly clothed (0.6 clo), participated in three separated experimental sessions (once a week), while sitting for 105 min in a climatic chamber at an operative temperature of 19°C. Subjects' hands were exposed in a ventilated cold box (air velocity=2.5 m·s⁻¹) at one of three temperatures (8°C, 10°C or 14°C) depending on the dry heat exchange coefficient of the gloved hands. The temperature of the box was chosen to induce similar heat loss rates across conditions. Main results showed that local skin temperatures can be divided in 3 categories: 4 fingers (coolest), a thumb, back and palm (least cool). Female had lower skin temperatures than males but their local thermal discomfort was found to be similar for the same local skin temperature levels. As a consequence, the durations of the accepted exposures without discomfort were shorter in females. Discrepancies between male and female responses are discussed in terms of different hand skin blood flows. A practical aspect of our results concerns the glove thermal insulations which are obviously too poor at the finger levels, a factor determinant for discomfort occurrence in case of cold hand exposures.

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Biofeedback interventions, based on the psychophysiological principle that thoughts, emotions, and body interact, affecting each other, have been shown to be powerful clinical tools for use in psychosomatic medicine settings and primary care settings where 75% of patients may present with symptoms of unknown causes. This paper describes both overt and covert factors supporting successful biofeedback training. Highlighted biofeedback approaches addressed are: a) dynamic uses of the stress profiling; b) reframing the patients' experiences as a result of normal or even excessive biological reactions; and, c) details of cardiorespiratory feedback practices. The clinical example is illustrated by the description of a two session intervention for a 20 year old woman to reduce symptoms of chronic anxiety and crying. This case illustrates that clinical biofeedback is more than just attaching sensors or having the person mechanically practice some prescribed behavior.

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