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Volume 198 (2002)
- Issue 4 Pages 207-
- Issue 3 Pages 141-
- Issue 2 Pages 71-
- Issue 1 Pages 1-
Volume 198, Issue 3
November
Displaying 1-8 of 8 articles from this issue
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Regular Contributions
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CHIH-WEN WANG, TSUTOMU IWAYA, HIROAKI KUMANO, YOSHIMI SUZUKAMO, YOSHIK ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 141-149
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSWe examined the relationship of health factors and social support to life satisfaction in older adults dwelling in a rural town. The gender difference in variables related to life satisfaction was also discussed in this study. One hundred and forty-two older adults (86 females and 56 males) who completed a self-administered questionnaire and participated in a health examination in 1998 or 1999 comprised the study participants. The t-test and chi-square test were used to assess the differences between the two genders. Correlation measure and multiple regression analysis were used to assess the relationship between life satisfaction and other health related or socially related factors for each gender. Significant gender differences were observed in living status and several health related factors. According to the results of the multiple regression analyses, life satisfaction was related to mental health and age in females, while it was related to mental health status and social support from others in males. Gender differences in the variables associated with life satisfaction were observed among the community-dwelling older adults. These data suggest the importance of mental health for older adults. When preparing health promotion strategies for older adults, results of gender differences as they related to social support and life satisfaction should be applied in practice.View full abstractDownload PDF (646K) -
KYOKO NAKANO, TERUKO TAKEO, TATSUSUKE SATO, SECHIKO SUGA, KAZUHIRO ETO ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 151-162
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSUsing the mice that lack mitochondrial glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPDH), a rate limiting enzyme of the glycerol-phosphate NADH shuttle, we investigated the role of the NADH shuttle system in amylase secretion in response to acetylcholine (ACh) in pancreatic acinar cells. The pancreatic acinar cells of mGPDH-deficient mice were not different in histology and immunohistochemistry from those of wild-type mice. In both types of pancreatic acinar cells from wild-type and mGPDH-deficient mice, ACh similarly potentiated amylase secretion, measured in 30 minutes after the ACh stimulation. A 30 minutes pre-treatment of wild-type cells with aminooxyacetate (AOA), an inhibitor of aspartate aminotransferases of the malate-aspartate NADH shuttle, did not change the rate of ACh-induced amylase secretion, measured in the following 30 minutes. In also mGPDH-deficient cells treated with AOA, thus in this situation all mitochondrial NADH shuttles being dysfunctioning, ACh induced amylase release in a similar amount to that in AOA-untreated cells. The basal levels of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), the ACh-stimulated levels of [Ca2+]i and Ca2+ oscillation patterns in response to ACh were similar in wild-type and mGPDH-deficient cells, and the AOA-treatment did not affect these [Ca2+]i responses. The levels of intracellular concentration of ATP before and during stimulation with ACh were similar in wild-type and mGPDH-defficient cells. In only AOA-treated mGPDH-deficient cells, the level of ATP decreased after the ACh stimulation. These results suggest that acute response of amylase secretion to ACh from mouse pancreatic acinar cells does not require simultaneous functioning of the mitochondrial NADH shuttle system, although the supply of intracellular ATP decreases during the ACh stimulation.View full abstractDownload PDF (1357K) -
MASAYUKI OJIMA, HIDEKI TONORI, TOSHIHIKO SATO, KOU SAKABE, MIKIO MIYAT ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 163-173
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSSince symptoms typical for multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are induced by exposure to low levels of chemicals, we hypothesize that MCS represents an impaired recognition of odors or an increased emotional reaction to common odors. Twenty-five subjects with MCS, 20 women and 5 men, and 50 gender-and-age matched controls participated in this study. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) and the Cross-Cultural Smell Identification Test (CC-SIT) were administered. In addition to selecting the most probable odor among the four, the subjects were asked their impression of each odor. Odor identifiability evaluated by the scores of two tests, were almost equal in MCS and control groups. The mean CC-SIT odor per person with pleasant feeling was lower in MCS than in controls. The mean odor per person creating an unpleasant sensation was higher in MCS than in the controls. Gingerbread was the only odor making MCS subjects more pleasant than the controls. Nine out of 40 UPSIT odors were felt as unpleasant by MCS subjects more than by controls. This study indicates that MCS subjects are able to identify the odors equally as well as the controls but feel unpleasant to a larger number of odors than the controls. Despite unknown mechanisms of the altered odor perception in MCS, the application of these tests for diagnostic procedure of MCS is proposed.View full abstractDownload PDF (618K) -
DEREK RICHARD SMITH, JAE-WOOK CHOI, DONG-SOO YU, MYUNG KI, CHUN-HWA OH ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 175-180
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSAlthough previous studies have documented reasonably high rates of skin disease among nursing home staff, the prevalence among Korean workers is not well known. For this investigation we selected a large Korean nursing home and distributed a skin disease questionnaire to all staff. Questions included job title, job description, employment history, working hours, patient contact and the occurrence of skin disease over the past 12 months. Workers who reported a dermatological problem then underwent skin examinations conducted by specialist occupational physicians and a dermatologist. Contact dermatitis was the most common skin disease detected, with 4.8% of staff currently suffering from it and 6.0% reporting it in the previous 12-month period. Tinea pedis was another common condition, affecting 3.6% on our examination day. However, only two-thirds of them (2.4%) recounted a past history of tinea pedis. Scabies was diagnosed among 2.4% of staff and reported as a previous infection by 6.0%. Overall, the prevalence of dermatitis and scabies were quite low when compared to previous studies, while fungal infection rates were similar to other investigations. Further research into this growing occupational demographic is indicated.View full abstractDownload PDF (406K) -
AKIHIKO ABE, KAZUNARI SATO, TOMONORI HABUCHI, LIZHONG WANG, ZHENHUA LI ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 181-190
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSWe investigated native Japanese subjects whether C702T, C936T and G1612A polymorphisms in the 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene are associated with the risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Genomic DNAs from 145 RCC patients and 145 healthy controls were examined by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism. Variant allele frequencies of C702T, C936T and G1612A were 0.00, 0.20 and 0.13 in the controls, respectively. The C702T and G1612A allele frequencies were significantly different between the Japanese population and the Caucasian population reported elsewhere. For each of C936T and G1612A polymorphisms, there was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of genotype frequencies between the cases and controls. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals computed by logistic regression analyses were not statistically significant. Stratification for the RCC cases according to pathological cell subtype, grade or stage failed to reveal any significant heterogeneity with respect to the genotype of each VEGF polymorphism. We revealed that there are significant ethnic differences in the C702T and G1612A allele frequencies, but suggested that C702T, C936T and G1612A polymorphisms in the 3′-UTR of VEGF gene are not associated with the risk of RCC, at least in Japanese population.View full abstractDownload PDF (621K) -
YILDIZ DINCER, ZEYNEP ALADEMIR, VEDAT HAMURYUDAN, IZZET FRESKO, TULAY ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 191-195
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn order to clarify whether erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and glutathione system including reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (G-Px), glutathione reductase (G-Red), glutathione S-transferase (GST) are impaired in men with Behchet’s disease (BD) at the first diagnosed time, erythrocyte SOD activity, GSH level, activities of G-Px, G-Red and GST were determined in men with new diagnosed BD. Erythrocyte GSH level, G-Px and G-Red activities were found to be lower, SOD activity was found to be higher in the patients as compared the controls. There was no significant difference between patients and controls for GST activity. Significant positive correlations between GSH and G-Px, GSH and G-Red; significant negative correlations between GSH and SOD, G-Px and SOD, G-Red and SOD were determined. It was concluded that erythrocyte SOD activity and glutathione system are altered in men with new diagnosed BD. It was concluded that these alterations may be a contributory factor for tissue damage associated with BD.View full abstractDownload PDF (349K) -
KOICHI CHIDA, HARUO SAITO, YOSHIHIRO TAKAI, MASAYUKI ZUGUCHI, MASATOSH ...2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 197-201
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSInformation on electron energy is important in planning radiation therapy using electrons. The Geske 3405 electron beam energy monitor (Geske monitor, PTW Nuclear Associates, Carle Place, NY, USA) is a device containing nine ionization chambers for checking the energy of the electron beams produced by radiotherapy accelerators. We wondered whether this might increase the likelihood of ionization chamber trouble. In spite of the importance of the stability of such a quality assurance (QA) device, there are no reports on the stability of values measured with a Geske monitor. The purpose of this paper was therefore to describe the stability of a Geske monitor. It was found that the largest coefficient of variation (CV) of the Geske monitor measurements was approximately 0.96% over a 21-week period. In conclusion, the stability of Geske monitor measurements of the energy of electron beams from a linear accelerator was excellent.View full abstractDownload PDF (251K)
Case Report
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NEJMI KIYMAZ, BAYRAM CIRAK2002 Volume 198 Issue 3 Pages 203-206
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2004
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe lipomas of the central nervous system are rare lesions of congenital origin and are located in the medial line and especially in corpus callosum. Intramedullary spinal lipomas can be seen in the life span of 30 years of age and most frequently coincide with initial puberty period. Magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography together with clinical trials are of crucial importance for diagnosis. The first case: A two-year-aged girl who had lipoma in quadrigeminal cistern and who suffered from encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis has been clinically studied. The fascial lipoma of the patient has been excised subtotally by the Plastic Surgeons; then the patient has underwent supracerebellar infratentorial operation where the intracranial lipoma has been excised by our team. The histopathology has been reported to be consisting of peripheric nerve tissue and calcification. The second case: A twenty-year-aged man with intramedullary lipoma localized between T1-T4 has been given our clinical trials. T1-T5 total laminectomy and subtotal excision were made for this patient. Due to the fact that the lipomas of central nervous system are rarely seen and are involved in nervous and calcific tissues except for fatty tissues they can be mistaken for hamartomatous masses. The total excision of the lipomas of central nervous system and especially the spinal intramedullary lipomas are quite difficult to be excised since they are tightly entangled with the neural tissue. So any attempt for total excision would be dangerous. Operation for decompression and biopsy is of primary concern.View full abstractDownload PDF (715K)
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