A novel technique for label-free imaging of live biological cells in aqueous medium that is insensitive to ambient vibrations is presented. This technique is a spin-off from previously developed immersion Mirau interferometry. Both approaches utilize a modified Mirau interferometric attachment for a microscope objective that can be used both in air and in immersion mode, when the device is subm...

BACKGROUND/AIMS In Japan, it is customary to take a daily bath during which the body is immersed in water to the neck. During full-body immersion, hydrostatic pressure is thought to compress the chest and abdomen, which might influence esophageal motor function and intra-gastric pressure. However, whether water immersion has a significant influence on esophageal motor function or intragastric p...

We previously developed a water immersion (“underwater”) technique for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) to reduce adverse events [1,2]. We herein present a novel method of gel immersion ESD with the advantages of underwater ESD. We used a gel-type oral rehydration solution (OS-1 Jelly; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, Tokushima, Japan) with balanced electrolytes and carbohydrates. Bipolar e...

BACKGROUND Cryotherapy has been associated with a significant decrease in nerve conduction velocity and muscle contraction with possible effects on exercise and physical training. OBJECTIVES To quantify the electromyographic response of the lateral gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, fibularis longus, rectus femoris and gluteus medius to ankle inversion following cold water immersion. METHOD ...

How are people facing a virtual agent affected by the vividness and graphical fidelity of the agent and its environment? A choice blindness (CB) experiment – measuring detection rate of hidden manipulations – was conducted presenting a high versus low immersion virtual environment. The hypothesis was that the lower quality virtual environment (low immersion) would increase the detection rate fo...

We investigated the virulence of three 2009 west Alabama isolates of Aeromonas hydrophila (AL09-71, AL09-72 and AL09-73) to channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus fingerlings (4.6 +/- 1.3 g) in the presence and absence of extracellular products (ECPs) from overnight bacterial culture using both bath immersion and intraperitoneal injection routes. At a concentration of 1.65 x 10(8) colony-forming u...

The effects of autonomic nervous system by head-out water immersion at thermoneutral temperature will also influence the standing posture control. This study aimed to compare variations in posture control ability after standing from the water immersion at thermoneutral temperatures for healthy young Japanese adults. The healthy male college students (n=5) participated in this study. The body co...

The purpose of this experiment was to study the impact of simulated microgravity and of chronic removal of hydrostatic pressure gradients on blood pressure maturation and body growth in rats. A special device was developed in our laboratory to transfer prolonged "dry" water immersion (a technique that has been used for training astronauts under hypogravic conditions) to six Sprague-Dawley test ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the hardness (KHN), color stability (DE), and superficial micromorphology of two categories of composites after immersion in either distilled water or grape juice for up to 45 days. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cylindrical specimens (6 mm diameter x 2 mm thick) were obtained according to the factors: composite [Opallis (FGM) and Filtek Z350XT (3M ESPE)]; immersion solution (dist...