Shoulder Movement-Centered Measurement and Estimation Scheme for Underarm-Throwing Motions.

Underarm throwing motions are crucial in various sports, including boccia. Unlike healthy players, people with profound weakness, spasticity, athetosis, or deformity in the upper limbs may struggle or find it difficult to control their hands to hold or release a ball using their fingers at the proper timing. To help them, our study aims to understand underarm throwing motions. We start by defining the throwing intention in terms of the launch angle of a ball, which goes hand-in-hand with the timing for releasing the ball. Then, an appropriate part of the body is determined in order to estimate ball-throwing intention based on the swinging motion. Furthermore, the geometric relationship between the movements of the body part and the release angle is investigated by involving multiple subjects. Based on the confirmed correlation, a calibration-and-estimation model that considers individual differences is proposed. The proposed model consists of calibration and estimation modules. To begin, as the calibration module is performed, individual prediction states for each subject are updated online. Then, in the estimation module, the throwing intention is estimated employing the updated prediction. To verify the effectiveness of the model, extensive experiments were conducted with seven subjects. In detail, two evaluation directions were set: (1) how many balls need to be thrown in advance to achieve sufficient accuracy; and (2) whether the model can reach sufficient accuracy despite individual differences. From the evaluation tests, by throwing 20 balls in advance, the model could account for individual differences in the throwing estimation. Consequently, the effectiveness of the model was confirmed when focusing on the movements of the shoulder in the human body during underarm throwing. In the near future, we expect the model to expand the means of supporting disabled people with ball-throwing disabilities.

The Risk Factors of Febrile Urinary Tract Infection After Ureterorenoscopic Lithotripsy.

We aimed to evaluate the risk factors for febrile urinary tract infection (fUTI) following ureterorenoscopic lithotripsy (URSL) for upper urinary tract stones. We retrospectively reviewed the data of 109 patients with upper urinary tract stones who underwent URSL at our hospital from October 2016 to March 2019. We divided the patients into two groups: those who developed fUTI after URSL (fUTI group) and those who did not (non-fUTI group). The retrospectively collected data, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), mobility, diabetes mellitus, operative duration, preoperative ureteral stent placement, number of stones, stone diameter, CT value of stone, stone location, preoperative UTI, preoperative urine culture, preoperative pyelonephritis, and stone-free status were compared between the two groups. Postoperative fUTI occurred in three of the 109 patients (2.8%). Comparing the two groups, a significant risk factor for developing fUTI after URSL was a low BMI. However, in our study, only three cases developed fUTI after URSL; thus, a multivariate analysis could not be performed. One of the three cases in which fUTI occurred was accompanied by anorexia nervosa and an extremely low BMI of 11 kg/m². In summary, even though we had only 3 fUTI patients and did not perform multivariate analysis, our data suggested a significant risk factor for developing fUTI was a low BMI. Increasing the sample size, and further study seem desirable.

Doppler-free spectroscopy of metastable Sr atoms using a hollow cathode lamp.

We report on the demonstration of Doppler-free spectroscopy of metastable Sr atoms using a hollow cathode lamp (HCL). We employed a custom Sr HCL, which is filled with a mixture of 0.5 Torr Ne and 0.5 Torr Xe as a buffer gas to suppress velocity changing collisions and increase the populations in all of the (5s5p)3PJ(J=0,1,2) metastable states. We performed frequency modulation spectroscopy for the (5s5p)3P0-(5s6s)3S1, (5s5p)3P1-(5s6s)3S1, (5s5p)3P2-(5s5d)3D2, and (5s5p)3P2-(5s5d)3D3 transitions with sufficient signal-to-noise ratios for laser frequency stabilization. We also observed the hyperfine transitions of (5s5p)3P2-(5s5d)3D3 of Sr87. This method would greatly facilitate laser cooling of Sr.

Predictive factors of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy in high-risk patients. METHODS: A total of 191 high-risk prostate cancer patients according to the D'Amico classification treated with radical prostatectomy at a single institution between April 2000 and December 2013 were enrolled. The pathological evaluation including intraductal carcinoma of prostate was reassessed, and the clinical and pathological risk factors of biochemical recurrence were analyzed. RESULTS: The median follow up after radical prostatectomy was 49 months. The 5-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rate after radical prostatectomy in high-risk prostate cancer patients was 41.6%. Initial prostate-specific antigen, pathological Gleason score, seminal vesicle invasion, extraprostatic extension and intraductal carcinoma of the prostate were significantly associated with biochemical recurrence-free survival. The 5-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rates in patients with zero, one, two and three of these risk factors were 92.9%, 70.7%, 38.3% and 28.8%, respectively. In patients with four or more factors, the biochemical recurrence-free survival rate was 6.1% after 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: In D'Amico high-risk patients treated with radical prostatectomy, risk factors for biochemical recurrence can be identified. Patients with fewer risk factors have longer biochemical recurrence-free survival, even among these high-risk cases.