Zen Nihon Shinkyu Gakkai zasshi (Journal of the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion)

Effects of external Ca²⁺ depletion and chemical modification of SH groups in membrane protein on gold-induced contraction were studied to compare with those by silver ion with single toe muscle fiber of frog. Membrane potential and twitch tension were also measured after exposure of fibers to gold ion. In Ringer solution, gold produced phasic (P₁) and subsequent tonic (P₂) contractions. When Ca²⁺ was replaced by Mg²⁺, only P₁ was elicited upon gold. Application of 5mM DTT to contracting fibers led to disappear the gold-induced tension rapidly and exponentially. The fiber pretreated with 0.05% H₂O₂ for 10min responded to occur no gold contraction. In such fibers paralyzed by H₂O₂, cleavage of SS bonds by DTT restored the responsiveness of fibers to gold ions. Gold ions depolarized the muscle membrane, dose-dependently. Twitch tension was first potentiated upon gold application, and then disappeared. These results indicate that action of gold ion on skeletal muscle is similar to that of Ag⁺, but the ability of chemical modification of sulfhydryls by gold ion in situ is much lesser than that by Ag⁺.

View full abstract

Show abstractHide abstract

We investigated the relationship between the effects of performance and motivation on intrinsic and extrinsic training methods of moxibustion among the total number of students in our class. The students were assigned to perform moxibustion by two methods; (1) the students were self-taught and learned moxa cone preparation and use by employing an instrument that measures moxa burning temperature and time, and then evaluated their own performance; (2) the students had their performance evaluated by the teacher without the use of the instrument.
The students' motivation for learning moxibustion was estimated by the S. D. (Semantic Differential) method, a rating scale, and by the descriptions of the student's impressions.
Motivation was different according to the performance of the two methods. The comparison of the students subjective self-reports indicates that self-evaluation with the use of the instrument provides stronger self-confidence and motivation, thus method 1 has advantages.
Conclusion:
A comparison of the students' reactions suggests that the stronger motivation of the students regarding their practical training was due to the fact that method 1 was more interesting since the students could monitor the temperature by using the instrument.

View full abstract

Download PDF (2540K)

Register with J-STAGE for free!