Brachiocephalic trunk and left brachiocephalic vein injuries following penetrating right sternoclavicular junction trauma： a case report

A 46-year-old male sustained severe pe- netrating injury by a sharp instrument to his right upper sternoclavicular junction. The wound tract was from su- prasternal notch to mediastinum. Exploratory operation via median sternotomy under general anesthesia found a large mediastinal septum hematoncus, as well as brachiocephalic trunk and left brachiocephalic vein injuries. The perforating vascular wounds were repaired with 5-0 prolene suture. He was recovered uneventfully and discharged 9 days after operation. There was no sequel found during 7 years fol- low-up.     

AIS患者主侧凸及总体侧凸向量对躯干冠状面平衡的影响

目的探究青少年特发性脊柱侧凸（AIS）患者主侧凸向量、总体侧凸向量对手术前后躯干冠状面平衡(CTB)的影响。方法回顾性分析22例采用后路椎弓根钉-棒系统矫形治疗的AIS患者的临床资料。所有患者术前、术后均摄站立位脊柱全长正侧位X片,术前拍摄仰卧位左右Bending像。引入物理中表示大小和方向的向量概念,对术前和术后末次随访时冠状面C7铅垂线（C7PL）相对于骶骨中垂线(CSVL)的偏移情况、冠状面各个侧凸的向量等参数进行统计分析。结果术前C7PL-CSVL向量与术前主侧凸向量相关性有统计学意义（r=0.447,P<0.05）,术前C7PL-CSVL向量与术前所有侧凸向量之和的相关性有统计学意义（r=0.510,P<0.01）。主侧凸校正量与C7PL-CSVL变化量的相关性无统计学意义（P＞0.05）,主侧凸校正率与C7PL-CSVL变化率的相关性无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。C7PL-CSVL大小与主侧凸cobb角大小、所有侧凸cobb角大小之和的相关性无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。结论干预（支具、手术）AIS患者可能出现的躯干冠状面失平衡的重点应该是防止躯干整体向主侧凸和总体侧凸的凸出方向偏移。手术前后AIS患者侧凸cobb角与CTB无直接关系。     

Interactive design of patient-oriented video-games for rehabilitation: concept and application

Purpose: Serious video-games are innovative tools used to train the motor skills of subjects affected by neurological disorders. They are often developed to train a specific type of patients and the rules of the game are standardly defined. A system that allows the therapist to design highly patient-oriented video-games, without specific informatics skills, is proposed.

Method: The system consists of one personal computer, two screens, a Kinect? sensor and a specific software developed here for the design of the video-games. It was tested with the collaboration of three therapists and six patients, and two questionnaires were filled in by each patient to evaluate the appreciation of the rehabilitative sessions.

Results: The therapists learned easily how to use the system, and no serious difficulties were encountered by the patients. The questionnaires showed an overall good satisfaction by the patients and highlighted the key-role of the therapist in involving the patients during the rehabilitative session.

Conclusions: It was found that the proposed system is effective for developing patient-oriented video-games for rehabilitation. The two main advantages are that the therapist is allowed to (i) develop personalized video-games without informatics skills and (ii) adapt the game settings to patients affected by different pathologies.

• Implications for rehabilitation

• Virtual reality and serious video games offer the opportunity to transform the traditional therapy into a more pleasant experience, allowing patients to train their motor and cognitive skills.

• Both the therapists and the patients should be involved in the development of rehabilitative solutions to be highly patient-oriented.

• A system for the design of rehabilitative games by the therapist is described and the feedback of three therapists and six patients is reported.

     

Phosphorylative respiratory activity of mitochondria isolated from the left and right ventricles of rabbit hearts following partial pulmonary trunk occlusion

Right ventricular hypertrophy was produced by placing a spiral Monel metal clip around the pulmonary trunks of rabbits causing a sustained 67% occlusion of the vessel. The operation produced a doubling of right ventricular weight, by 13 days post-surgery, which persisted throughout the post-operative period studied (13 to 84 days); only a slight increase in left ventricular free wall weight was observed. Isolated mitochondria exhibited region-specific changes with time in state 3 Qo₂. Thirteen days after operation, the state 3 Qo₂ of right ventricular mitochondria was depressed to about 85% of controls. Thereafter, respiration increased fairly sharply, peaking at just above control values by 40 days post-operation. Finally, it declined abruptly to about 70% of controls by 84 days. A very different pattern of change was observed when left ventricular mitochondrial respiratory activities were examined. Thirteen days after the operation, state 3 Qo₂ was elevated somewhat above controls. Thereafter, it declined linearly and gradually, dropping to about 85% of controls by 84 days.     

Effect of temporary school closure due to COVID-19 on musculoskeletal function in elementary school children

Objective: In 2020, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) became the cause of a pandemic. In response, the Japan Sports Agency issued warnings about secondary damage to health, such as the threat to physical and mental well-being due to the lack of exercise in this situation. In this study, we report on cross-sectional and longitudinal examinations of standing trunk flexion to evaluate how temporary long-term school closures affected musculoskeletal function in elementary school students.Patients and Methods: All children in one public elementary school in T-city during the school years 2019 and 2020 were included in this study. A digital forward flexion meter was used to measure standing trunk flexion.Results: In this study, 284 (284/289: 98.3%) and 266 (266/274: 97.1%) children in school years 2020 and 2019, respectively, were found to have valid data for cross-sectional analysis. The standing trunk flexion did not show significant differences between grades or sexes. In the longitudinal analysis, the results of the comparison of standing trunk flexion in children for two consecutive years revealed significant differences only between grades 3 and 4 (P<0.05) and between girls in grades 3 and 4 (P<0.01), but no significant differences in other grades or among boys or girls were observed.Conclusion: Initially, we expected that there would be a difference in the results of functional assessment using standing trunk flexion depending on the period of absence from school. However, the results of this study showed no significant changes in standing trunk flexion. Moreover, since children’s musculoskeletal functions may be affected by various factors during the COVID-19 pandemic, they should be carefully monitored in the future.     

Analysis of ECG-trunk muscle signal amplitude and heart rate relationship

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate if bioelectrical signals, generated from trunk muscles identified in an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal presented in this paper as ECG-Trunk Muscles Signals amplitude (Ecg-TMSA) are correlated with Heart rate (HR) during different levels of physical activity and also if Ecg-TMSA is not influenced by mental activity. HR and Ecg-TMSA were derived from ECG in 14 subjects when walking and jogging at different treadmill velocities from 4–10 (km?h^?1). The mean relationship for all 14 subjects was HR?=?(42.3?±?0.2)?+?(45.3?±?2.8) Ecg-TMSA, r^2?=?0.91. The result of one individual data points example for a 21?min experiment was (r^2?=?0.93, p?<?0.0001, n?=?336). The obtained results show a linear relationship between Ecg-TMSA and HR. Moreover, the Ecg-TMSA was not affected by mental activity.     

Prenatal diagnosis of anomalous connection of the inferior caval vein to the left atrium associated with common arterial trunk

Anomalous connection of the inferior caval vein to the left atrium is exceedingly rare, and has even been considered by some authors an anatomic and embryologic impossibility. This study demonstrates for the first time the existence of this rare malformation, diagnosed on prenatal echo, and confirmed on post-mortem examination in a 24 WG fetus, in association with a common arterial trunk.