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Volume 48 (1993 - 199･･･
- Issue 6 Pages 1017-
- Issue 5 Pages 893-
- Issue 4 Pages 807-
- Issue 3 Pages 677-
- Issue 2 Pages 567-
Volume 48, Issue 3
Displaying 1-10 of 10 articles from this issue
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Osamu KUNII, Kazuo NOMIYAMA1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 677-684
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe number of foreign workers in Japan has rapidly increased during the last several years, because of the nation's insufficient work force. The influx of laborers into Japan has brought various issues to the forefront of society, one of the most serious being their medical care.
To clarify the present status of their medical care, we sent a questionnaire to 1, 004 clinics and hospitals in Tochigi Prefecture. The response rate was 55.6%, and the results are summarized as follows:
1. Clinics were rather reluctant to accept foreign patients because of the language barrier and the consequent time-consuming medical care.
2. Two-thirds of foreign patients did not enroll in any health insurance system. Most clinics and hospitals requested foreign patients with no health insurance to pay 100% of the medical cost set by the national insurance system of Japan. Some hospitals required more than 200% of the set cost, while some clinics reduced the cost.
3. Only a few doctors can communicate with patients in English. It is very difficult for doctors to communicate with foreign patients, who speak only their own native language, but not English. Most doctors felt it necessary to have the assistance of translators or booklets for translation.
4. Foreign patients endured illness, that is, ignored illness, delayed or stopped medical care at clinics and hospitals, because of communication problems and high medical costs. Labor injury cases among foreign workers were more frequent than among Japanese workers.
5. The medical cost for foreign workers per year has been estimated to be 44 billion yen (370 million dollars). It corresponds to 0.2% of the total Japanese medical costs of 1989, while the ratio of foreigners to Japanese is around 1.1%.View full abstractDownload PDF (5552K) -
Osamu KUNII, Kazuo NOMIYAMA1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 685-691
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis study revealed certain health issues and illness behaviors of foreign workers living in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. We collected responses to our questionnaires from 317 foreign workers from 41 factories. The results are summarized as follows:
1. The incidences of signs and symptoms of poor health were high among foreign workers. Most signs and symptoms seemed to be related to physical and psychological stresses in daily life and work. The incidences of work-related injury and disease were also high.
2. A quarter of the foreign workers polled did not visit clinics or hospitals regardless of their suffering from severe illness, mainly because of heavy work duties, language barriers and high medical costs.
3. Foreign workers most often visited clinics, pharmacies and hospitals, when they suffered from illness. They would not pay more than \10, 000 for an outpatient medical visit or \100, 000 for admission or for total medical costs.
4. Sixty percent of foreign workers had difficulty in communicating with doctors, even in English. This situation made foreign workers hesitant to visit clinics and hospitals in Japan.
5. Forty percent of foreign workers did not enroll in a health insurance system, but half of them felt it was necessary to do so.
6. Fifty-four percent of foreign workers were psychologically unstable. Emergency psychological care should be applied in some cases, such as potential suicide cases.View full abstractDownload PDF (4889K) -
Hiroaki ANDO, Hidesuke SHIMIZU, Yoshikazu TAKAHASHI, Masakatsu FUKUMOT ...1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 692-697
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSCriminal cases involving stimulant abuse have increased since 1970 but have now leveled off. Some of the offenders claimed to have used the Vicks Inhaler containing a stimulant (1-methamphetamine) which is used for the treatment of nasal obstruction.
The aim of this experiment was to measure the amount of 1-methamphetamine contained in the Vicks Inhaler by stimulating the human respiratory system. The results are as follows:
1) The data from the stimulation experiment showed that the inhalation level of 1-methamphetamine was estimated to be 320.4ng. From this value, the level of 1-methamphetamine absorbed per one respiration was calculated to be 21ng.
2) The data from quantitative and qualitative analysis by gaschromatography showed that menthol interfered with the methamphetamine.
3) A qualitative test for the stimulant in urine was negative when the subject inhaled the Vicks Inhaler only once. However, this test turned positive when the subject inhaled it more than 17 times.View full abstractDownload PDF (577K) -
Yuko YANAGISAWA, Tatsuo NAGAI1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 698-706
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSLeukotriene B4 (LTB4), an arachidonic acid metabolite released by neutrophils, is involved in the regulation of the host immune response to antigenic stimulation. Furthermore, LTB4 affects the chemokinesis, aggregation, and enzyme release of neutrophils and stimulates activity of cytotoxic T cells, natural killer cells and suppressor T cells.
On the other hand, smoking typically results in inflammatory stimulation of the lung, and long-term smoking can cause chronic stimulation.
In this paper, we report the measurement of LTB4, IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and IgE in sera of cigarette smokers who did not have an allergic reaction (group 1), non-smokers who also had no history of allergy (group 2) and non-smokers who had delicate allergic conditions (group 3). The mean LTB4 concentration in serum of group 1 was nearly 3.3-fold greater than in group 2 and 2-fold greater than in group 3, being 430±55 (Mean±S. D.), 130±22 and 220±14pg/ml, respectively. Concentrations of IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD and IgE of all volunteers were in the normal healthy range. The mean concentration of IgE in the serum of group 1 did not change significantly within one day. It was 35±4IU/ml in the morning, 34±4IU/ml in the afternoon, 31±2IU/ml in the evening and 32±4IU/ml the next morning. But in group 3 the IgE concentration changed significantly within one day, being<25IU/ml in the morning, 97±7IU/ml in the afternoon, 97±7IU/ml in the evening and 25±14IU/ml the next morning. The IgE concentration in the serum of group 2 showed the same tendency as group 3. For all groups the LTB4 concentration in the serum changed during the day, that is LTB4 in the afternoon was higher than LTB4 in the morning. But the LTB4 in the evening was almost the same as in the morning, and remained so until the next morning.
We also measured nicotine and its metabolites in each volunteer's urine. We could detect nicotine and its metabolite, cotinine in urine of group 1, and a slight quantity of nocotine in urine of group 2 and group 3.
Thus, it appears that the production and release of LTB4 are promoted by antigens which are inhaled through smoking and that LTB4 can be increased in serum by passive smoking as can IgE.View full abstractDownload PDF (906K) -
Masamichi WADA1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 707-720
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSTo clarify the relationship between water pollution and bacterial flora in rivers, 132 samples of river water were collected at eleven stations of the Chikuma-Sai river system from April 1985 to March 1986, and 29 biological-physicochemical examinations for indices of water pollution were done using these samples. Species and genus of bacteria in 485 isolates from bacterial flora were identified. Although variations of bacterial flora were seen among sampling stations and sampling seasons, most isolated bacteria were Gram-negative (96.7-100%) with Pseudomonas (25.0-90.0%), Acinetobacter (0-43.8%) and Aeromonas (0-12.5%) occurring predominantly.
The principal-component analysis of the data from water pollution indices indicated that the water pollution could be divided into two groups: One was categorized as organic pollution because of the strong relationship to the total plate count, the Bacillus number, coliforms, yeast and dissolved oxygen; the other as visible pollution because of strong relationship to transparency, chemical oxygen demand and suspended solids. Cluster analysis was applied to 19 indices of water pollution with strong relationships to the river pollution, indicating that five stages of river water pollution could be shown visually.
The studies on the relationship between water pollution and bacterial flora in river showed that Pseudomonas, the coliform group, Pasteurella, Aeromonas, Acinetobacter, Achromobacter and Bacillus were strongly related to the organic pollution, and Flavobacterium, Moraxella and Pseudomonas (non-growth on MacConkey agar) to the visible pollution. It seemed that the more organic substances exceeded the capacity for self-purification of the river, the more the bacterial populations of Aeromonas, Pasteurella, Pseudomonas and the coliform group increased.View full abstractDownload PDF (3510K) -
Mizuko TOKUNAGA, Tetsunojo UEHATA, Takatoshi UJIHIRA1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 721-732
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIt is known that the rate of low birth weight in African developing countries is very high. A birth weight analysis based on their delivery charts is made in this paper for the babies born from 1988 to 1990 at two maternity hospitals, Castor and Boy-Rabe, in Bangui, the capital of the Republic of Central Africa. The total number of births amounted to 27, 188 for Castor and 7, 667 for Boy-Rabe, excluding multiple births.
As a result, it was found that the youngest mother's age was twelve and the oldest fifty three, with the average age at the first delivery seventeen, followed by the another delivery every two years.
Mean birth weight (MBW) values were significantly higher in Castor (males 3, 134×527.5, females 3, 018×511.6 grams) than in Boy-Rabe (males 3, 017×542.6, females 2, 909×507.1 grams). The total rate of low birth weight (LBW) under 2, 500 grams was 10.9 percent. That of Castor maternity was 9.8 percent, while it was 14.7 percent for Boy-Rate, which is significantly higher than the former. In addition, the rate of LBW is the highest in the first delivery for mothers younger than 16, while it is the lowest in the sixth delivery of the group of mothers group aged 25-29.
Looking at the seasonal variation of LBW, we noticed that it became higher in July and August every year, the busiest period for farming, with harvesting followed by planting.
These findings suggest that low birth weight infants are due to the age of delivery being younger than sixteen and also to the mother's heavy labor.View full abstractDownload PDF (2681K) -
Yasuyuki HOSHIKA1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 733-745
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSCharacterization of trace amounts of odorants in air in an ICU room (ca. 257m2) was carried out by gas chromatography and atmospheric pressure ionization-mass spectrometry (API-MS). The concentrations and odor recognition threshold values of the detected odorants, acetaldehyde, ethanol, n-butyric acid, iso-valeric acid and n-valeric acid are as follows: 44.7ppb and 15ppb; 19710ppb and 6100ppb; 0.50ppb and 0.4ppb; 0.45ppb and 0.4ppb; 0.67ppb and 0.5ppb, respectively. The detected concentrations of these odorants were significantly higher than the odor recognition threshold values. The compounds may, therefore, be responsible for perception of such odors as mixed odors, body odor, and faint or recognizable alcoholic odor, disinfectant odor, and sour, pungent, and goaty odors.View full abstractDownload PDF (1277K) -
Masaru MIYAO, Shin'ya ISHIHARA, Masashi FURUTA, Taka-aki KONDO, Hisata ...1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 746-751
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSFlat-panel displays, especially liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are almost universally used today. Do LCDs assure better readability than cathode-ray tubes (CRTs)? Two experiments were carried out to determine which type of display is better using a newly developed device. Four types of displays were tested; negative and positive CRTs, and LCDs with and without backlighting. Variables were the type of display, age, and gender. At first, analyses of readability using eye movements were conducted.
Middle-aged subjects showed slower reading speed than young subjects. Then, experiments of pupillo-accommodative functions were carried out. Non-backlit LCDs reduced focusing speed among young subjects and reading performance in middle-aged subjects. Since middle-aged workers have more difficulties than young workers, they should have their vision properly corrected for VDT viewing, more appropriate displays and a more comfortable illuminance environment than young workers.View full abstractDownload PDF (5080K) -
Shin'ya ISHIHARA, Masaru MIYAO, Minako KASHIWAMATA, Masashi FURUTA, Ta ...1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 752-756
Published: August 15, 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSFlat-panel displays, especially liquid crystal displays (LCDs), are now firmly established as important devices for information displays. But do LCDs assure better readability than cathode-ray tubes (CRTs)? We carried out an experiment using four types of displays: negative and positive CRTs, and LCDs with and without backlighting. A syllable-checking task using the Japanese katakana alphabet was conducted among fifteen healthy workers. They were divided into three groups; Group 1 had five young males aged 25 to 29, Group 2 was made up of five young females aged 18 to 24, and Group 3 consisted of five middle-aged workers who were 40 to 50 years old. We used four ambient light levels: 200lx, 500lx, 1250lx without reflected glare, and 500lx with reflected glare, on the display screens from behind. The illuminance of the glare was approximately 200cd/m2. Multiple regression analysis showed that non-backlit LCDs reduced reading performance in middle-aged subjects significantly. Since middle-aged workers have more difficulties than young workers, they need more appropriate displays and a more comfortable illuminance environment than younger workers.View full abstractDownload PDF (627K) -
1993 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 799
Published: 1993
Released on J-STAGE: February 17, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (58K)
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