Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
Online ISSN : 1347-4715
Print ISSN : 1342-078X
ISSN-L : 1342-078X
Volume 9, Issue 2
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
Originals
  • Tiankui WANG, Ikuharu MORIOKA, Yoshiaki GOWA, Yuko IGARASHI, Nobuyuki ...
    2004 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 41-46
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: March 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objectives: The purposes of this paper were to evaluate the serum leptin levels in healthy adolescents and to establish standard age variation curves.
    Methods: Nine hundred six (414 boys and 492 girls) healthy adolescents were investigated. The maximum increment age in height (MIA) was identified in 124 boys and 130 girls. The menarcheal age (MA) was obtained for 130 girls. Fasting leptin levels were measured by enzyme immunoassay. The MIA was calculated by proportional allotment of yearly height increments.
    Results: Serum leptin levels did not change in boys and girls from the ages of 9 to 11. They decreased after the age of 11 in boys, while they increased in girls. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that serum leptin levels were closely related to pubertal stage. The levels decreased remarkably after MIA in boys and increased remarkably after MA in girls. We drew standard age variation curves of serum leptin levels by calculating the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles for each age in both boys and girls. The percentile curves for boys were divided into pre-MIA and post-MIA curves. Those for girls were divided into pre-MA and post-MA curves.
    Conclusion: We have devised a potentially useful method for evaluating serum leptin levels in adolescents considering the effects of gender and growth.
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  • Akio IUCHI, Yutaka NAKAHORI, Keito BOKI
    2004 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 47-52
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: March 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objectives: The purpose of the present in vitro study was to predict to what extent dietary fiber (DF) takes up heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) and how DF acts to intercept HAAs in vivo.
    Methods: The sorption isotherms of 2-amino-3-methyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ), 2-amino-3,4-dimethyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (MeIQ), 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole acetate (Trp-P-1), and 3-amino-1-methyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole acetate (Trp-P-2) for DF were measured in artificial intestinal juice (AIJ) and artificial gastric juice (AGJ) at 37°C. The desorption of HAA from DF was measured in AGJ and AIJ.
    Results: The sorption isotherms were statistically classified into four types. The percentage of Trp-Ps taken up by carboxymethylated cellulose (CMC) and agar in AGJ (pH, 1.2) was 52-56% and 58-78%, respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of Trp-Ps taken up by CMC and agar in AIJ (pH, 6.8) was 97-98% and 87-89%, respectively. The percentage of IQ and MeIQ sorbed by CMC was 21-27% in AGJ and 100% in AIJ. Collagen and chitin did not remove any HAAs in AGJ, but removed 4-69% in AIJ. In the four-component solution, the percentage of HAA taken up by DF was almost the same or significantly increased, with a few exceptions, as compared with that in the one-component solution.
    Conclusion: The results indicated that MeIQ is mainly held on the surface of CMC in AIJ, and that Trp-P-1 and Trp-P-2 are mainly held in the interior of agar in AGJ and AIJ. The results on sorption-desorption in vitro indicate that sorbed HAAs in the stomach are held more firmly by agar than by CMC while DF passes through the human intestinal tract. CMC and agar would be expected to be more useful than collagen and chitin as agents intercepting HAAs.
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  • Machi SUKA, Katsumi YOSHIDA, Jun TAKEZAWA
    2004 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 53-57
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: March 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objectives: To elucidate factors associated with hospital mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and to evaluate the impact of ICU-acquired infection on hospital mortality in the context of the drug resistance of pathogens.
    Methods: By using the Japanese Nosocomial Infection Surveillance (JANIS) database, 7,374 patients who were admitted to the 34 participating ICUs between July 2000 and May 2002, were aged 16 years or older, and who stayed in the ICU for 48 to 1,000 hours, did not transfer to another ICU, and did not become infected within 2 days after ICU admission, were followed up until hospital discharge or to Day 180 after ICU discharge. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for hospital mortality were calculated using Cox’s proportional hazard model.
    Results: After adjusting for sex, age, and severity-of-illness (APACHE II score), a significantly higher HR for hospital mortality was found in ventilator use, central venous catheter use, and ICU-acquired drug-resistant infection, with a significantly lower HR in elective or urgent operations and urinary catheter use. The impact of ICU-acquired infection on hospital mortality was different between drug-susceptible pathogens (HR 1.11, 95% CI: 0.94-1.31) and drug-resistant pathogens (HR 1.42, 95% CI: 1.15-1.77).
    Conclusions: The use of a ventilator or a central venous catheter, and ICU-acquired drug-resistant infection were associated with a high risk of hospital mortality in ICU patients. The potential impact on hospital mortality emphasizes the importance of preventive measures against ICU-acquired infections, especially those caused by drug-resistant pathogens.
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  • Yumi TOSHINA, Tomotaro DOTE, Kan USUDA, Hiroyasu SHIMIZU, Mika TOMINAG ...
    2004 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 58-62
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: March 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objective: Monochloroacetic acid (MCA) is corrosive to skin, and causes not only chemical injury but also fatal systemic poisoning. Little is known about the cause of death. We studied the acute toxicity of MCA before clinical symptoms appeared in fasting rats. Methods: Blood samples were analyzed 2 h after subcutaneous MCA injection (LD90: 162 mg/ml kg body weight). Control rats were injected with saline. Results: Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were about 1.5-fold higher than in the controls, and mitochondrial AST (mAST) was 2-fold higher. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine were significantly increased, while serum glucose was significantly decreased in the treated group. Lactate was 6-fold higher and pyruvate was 13-fold higher than in the controls. Conclusions: MCA caused injury to the liver and kidneys but these injuries were slight. However, the larger increase in mAST indicated that hepatocellular mitochondria were selectively targeted. Hepatocellular mitochondrial injury decreased gluconeogenesis and caused hypoglycemia and extremely high levels of lactate and pyruvate. Hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis were insidious before the critical symptoms appeared and this combination accelerated to death, affecting other organs such as the heart and brain. Nosotropic therapy of these abnormalities up to the appearance of symptoms may help to establish an early therapy for skin exposure to MCA.
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SC
  • Ichiro NAKAMOTO, Kanehisa MORIMOTO
    2004 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 63-66
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: March 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objectives: To determine the difference in molecular weights of albumin in factory workers caused by non-enzymatic glycation of plasma albumin using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF/MS), and examine the epidemiological validity of this method.
    Methods: Forty-eight male workers were tested by random sampling. The difference in molecular weights (ΔM) between the subjects’ albumin and human serum albumin was determined by MALDI TOF/MS. Correlations between ΔM vs. fructosamine, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and HbA1c were investigated.
    Results: ΔM showed a significant correlation with all of the tested glycation indices (ΔM vs. fructosamine: r=0.487, p<0.001) (ΔM vs. FPG: r=0.482, p<0.01) (ΔM vs. HbA1c: r=0.397, p<0.01).
    Conclusions: Since a significant correlation between ΔM and the glycation indices was found in this investigation, further study with a larger number of subjects is needed for use in clinical applications.
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  • Mineshi SAKAMOTO, Machi KUBOTA
    2004 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 67-69
    Published: 2004
    Released on J-STAGE: March 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Objectives and Methods: In order to study the fatty acid transfer from the mother to fetus, their fatty acid profiles were compared by 37 pairs of maternal and umbilical cord plasma specimens obtained from healthy Japanese women at delivery.
    Results: The fetal/maternal fatty acid concentration ratios differed among individual fatty acids. The ratios were low for linoleic acid (LN, 0.12±0.04) and linolenic acid (LnN, 0.07±0.05) but high for arachidonic acid (AA, 0.66±0.17) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 0.44±0.13). Significant correlations were observed between the maternal and fetal EPA (r=0.74) and DHA (r=0.40) concentrations.
    Conclusions: These results suggest that DHA and AA are preferentially transferred to the fetus. Fetal fatty acid profile reflects the maternal intake of EPA and DHA.
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