Incorporation of Locomotive Syndrome Prevention Program / 日本農村医学会雑誌

　　Muscle training is effective for improving motor function, although withdrawal within 3-6 months has been reported in many cases. Thus, we aimed to establish locomotion training recommended by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association and our own locomotive syndrome prevention training (herein after collectively referred to as “locomotive training”) as a daily routine. Subjects were 30 participants of a training course held in 2014. Nine sessions (including 1 follow-up session) were organized to repetitively teach the importance of locomotive training; participants were instructed to record daily training activities during the course. Duration of oneleg standing balance with eyes open was measured each session so that participants were aware of the effects of the training. At the time of the last session of the course and at the follow-up session, 90% and 83% of participants completed home training twice or three times a week, respectively. Participants reported physical changes such as amelioration of knee pain and ability to put on a Wellington boot while standing on one leg. Also, physical fitness tests performed before and after the course showed significant improvement on the Timed Up and Go test, 30-s chair stand test, and one-leg standing with eyes open after the training course. Furthermore, the locomotive syndrome test resulted in a decrease in the number of participants who were judged to have a possibility to suffer from locomotive syndrome. Taken together, introducing a cycle comprising the three components of motivation-building through lectures, increasing awareness by recording performance, and awareness of the training effect by measuring duration of one-leg standing balance contributed to training continuity and consequent improvement in motor function.

Prospects for Analysis and Follow-up Guidance Based on a Combination of Health Checkups and Dietary Habit Evaluations / 日本農村医学会雑誌

　　The impact of health guidance is recently becoming higher quality health services, and the next task is finding ways to establish a system that delivers higher quality services. Institutions that provide health guidance need to improve their services by analyzing the lifestyle habits and health examination results (e.g., BMI and blood pressure) of their clients. This study conducted simultaneous health and dietary habit checkups so that key elements for guidance (e.g., individual dietary habits, population characteristics, and main tasks) could be shared among guidance providers and be utilized for follow-up guidance. Most subjects were in their sixties or seventies, many of whom were diagnosed with obesity and/or dyslipidemia based on health examination results. Dietary habit evaluations revealed high intake of a main dish among both men and women. Intake of a main dish and a sweet snack was particularly high among men. Many subjects who excessively take in both a main dish and sweet snack were obese with a high percentage of saturated fatty acid-derived energy, indicating that this subgroup needs to be prioritized to receive guidance. Those with an appropriate intake of both a main dish and sweet snack might have consumed inadvisable levels of other dietary components, including luxury food items. However, an individual approach is also required to address the risk associated with intake of a low percentage of protein-derived energy. Similar studies in other populations and other communities are needed to assess whether the characteristics revealed in this study are specific to this particular population.

A Trial Calculation of the Costs Incurred by the Absences of Agricultural Co-opEmployees in Aichi Prefecture due to Novel Influenza / 日本農村医学会雑誌

  With the spread of a novel H1N1 strain of influenza A around the world, the World Health Organization declared that the situation had entered the pandemic phase. In Japan, it had a major social impact, causing a great hit to the national economy. And there is every likelihood that the H1N1 influenza is going to break out a lot of people on the staff of the agricultural cooperatives in Aichi Prefecture, seriously affecting the activities of agricultural cooperatives too. Based on the amount of damage from the flu presumed by the Japanese government and various kinds of statistical material, we worked out how much the flu would cost the agricultural co-ops in the prefecture by infecting their employees and involved their family. At an absence rate of 20%, the lowest rate presupposed by the government, our calculation showed that the extra costs would amount to 740 million yen altogether. If the rete of abscense from work was given 40%, the largest estimate by the government, the costs rocketed to highly 1.48 billion yen. A check on the situation of individual co-ops revealed that some of the co-ops would burden an extra cost of well over 100 million yen. From these findings, we concluded that to minimize the effects of the flu appropriate, effective countermeasures have to be taken after sufficient information about the novel influenza virus was collected and analyzed carefully.

Effects of mosapride on motility of the small intestine and caecum in normal horses after jejunocaecostomy

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prokinetic effects of mosapride with non-invasive assessment of myoelectrical activity in the small intestine and caecum of healthy horses after jejunocaecostomy. Six horses underwent celiotomy and jejunocaecostomy, and were treated with mosapride (treated group) at 1.5 mg/kg per osos once daily for 5 days after surgery. The other six horses did not receive treatment and were used as controls (non-treated group). The electrointestinography (EIG) maximum amplitude was used to measure intestinal motility. Motility significantly decreased following surgery. In the treated group, the EIG maximum amplitude of the small intestine was significantly higher than in the controls from day 6~31 after treatment. These findings clearly indicate that mosapride could overcome the decline of intestinal motility after jejunocaecostomy in normal horses.

Practical tips for modified dorsolumbar epidural anesthesia in cattle

Segmental dorsolumbar epidural anesthesia has been considered difficult to perform. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not it is difficult for beginners to learn how to do modified dorsolumbar epidural anesthesia of cattle. Thirty cattle were divided into two groups, young (n = 8) and adult (n = 22), according to their age and body weight, and 0.12% new methylene blue (NMB) was injected into the first interlumbar (L1.L2) epidural space by four fifth-year veterinary school students who had never performed this method. After a 1 hour lecture on the modified dorsolumbar epidural anesthesia procedure which included basic anatomy and skills, each student successfully performed the procedure. In the young group, the NMB solution was distributed between the periosteum and the epidural fat (BPF) in one half and between the epidural fat and the dura mater (BFD) in the other half of the cattle. In about 60% (13/22) of the adult group, the NMB solution distributed as BFD type. This study showed that the modified dorsolumbar epidural anesthesia procedure is easy for beginners to perform if they overcome their fear about the deeper insertion of the epidural needle with basic anatomical knowledge and a little experience.

Analgesic effect of caudal epidural ketamine in cattle

This study was performed to clarify the analgesic effect of ketamine injected into the first intercoccygeal (Co1-Co2) epidural space in standing cattle. Five adult cows were randomly received 3 treatments at least 1 week interval: 5, 10 and 20 mL of 5% ketamine. Sedation, analgesia, ataxia and other effects on cardiopulmonary and rumen functions were assessed before ketamine administration and until 120 min. The analgesia without sedation was shown at tail and perineum about 5 min after all three treatments. The duration of analgesia was significantly increased according to the volume of ketamine (p < 0.01). There was a similar tendency of ataxia with individual variation. There were minimal effects on cardiopulmonary and rumen functions. The present study showed that caudal epidural ketamine administration induced analgesia without sedation in cows, and the duration of analgesia was dose dependent with ataxia. However, the duration of analgesia after 5 and 10 mL ketamine administration is short for common surgical procedures and pain relief of perineum. Further studies are needed to prolong the duration of analgesia without side effects.

Left Paramedian Abomasopexy in Cattle

Aims of surgery of left displacement of the abomasum (LDA) are to return the abomasum to its original position and create a permanent attachment in the position to prevent recurrence. Left paramedian abomasopexy was performed on six Holstein cows with LDA because normal position of the fundus of the abomasum is located in the left of the midline and the displacement initially only involves the fundus of the abomasum. All cows were recovered without recurrence of LDA. It is considered that the left paramedian abomasopexy could be a major alternative as a surgical treatment of LDA.