[in Japanese]

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ATL (Adult T cell leukemia) causes severe immune deficiency. Furthermore, aggravation of immune deficiency is a major problem in chemotherapy of ATL. In expectation of antiviral, antineoplastic and increasing immunological activity, several clinical trials of Interferons (lFNs) on ATL have been reported. However, as the effects have not been generally established, we investigated the in vitro effects of human recombinant interferon (rlFN) α2, β and γ on both the infection of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type Ⅰ(HTLV-Ⅰ) to normal peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and the growth of ATL cells. The induction of HTLV-Ⅰ specific antigens on the surface of normal PBL cultured with HTLV-Ⅰ in vitro was inhibited by the addition of rlFNs in a dose dependent manner. The rIFNS also had dose dependent suppressive effects on the proliferation of ATL cells and one of the ATL cell lines (MT-2). These suppressive effects of rlFNs were not due to a direct cytocidal activity, because rlFNs did not affect the viability of ATL cells at these concentrations. Such inhibitory concentrations (1 to 1000 U/ml) were within the ranges achievabie in the blood of patients after the injection of rIFNs. This investigation suggests that rIFNS is applicable for the therapy of ATL.

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The effects of recombinant murine interleukin- 4 (rmlL-4) on murine granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells (CFU-GM) were investigated in the presence or absence of recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF), recombinant murine granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (rmGM-CSF) or recombinant murine interleukin-3 (rmlL-3) both in serum-free and serum-containing cultures. IL-4 alone could not support any CFU-GM colony formation in both culture systems. In serum-free cultures, IL-4 inhibited CFU-GM colony formation stimulated by G-CSF, GM-CSF or IL-3 from whole bone marrow cells (whole BM cells), nonadherent, nonphagocytic and T cell-depleted BM cells (fractionated BM cells) or whole BM cells of 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) treated mice. On the other hand, in serum-containing cultures, IL-4 inhibited CFU-GM colony formation stimulated by GM-CSF or IL-3, but IL-4 dose-dependently enhanced G-CSF-stimulated colony formation from both whole and fractionated BM cells. Morphological examinations revealed that IL-4 predominantly inhibited granulocyte-lineage colony formation stimulated by GM-CSF or IL-3 in both culture systems. When combined with G-CSF, IL-4 predominantly inhibited granulocyte-lineage colony formation and relatively increased macrophage-lineage colonies, but in serum-containing culture, IL-4 significantly increased macrophage-lineage colony formation. The results of the present study suggest that IL-4 has an inhibitory effect on the factors (G-CSF, GM-CSF, IL-3)-dependent CFU-GM colony formation in serum-free condition and enhances only G-CSF-stimulated CFU-GM colony formation in serum-containing condition.

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The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the FN concentrations in plasma and in CSF are related to the symptomatic status of EAE induced in guinea pigs by myelin basic protein. Guinea pigs were immunized with myelin basic proteins in Freund's complete adjuvant, and after the appearance of neurological symptoms, the plasmas and CSFs from these animals were individually collected. The FN concentrations in these specimens were determined by a solidphase inhibitory radioimmunoassay using a rabbit antibody specific for guinea pig FN. In plasmas from EAE induced animals, the average value of FN concentrations was lower than that from control animals, but in CSFs from EAE induced animals the average value was slightly higher than that from control animals. The FN concentration in plasma from individual animals with or without EAE was not related to that in the respective CSF, and no direct correlation between the symptomatic severity of EAE and the FN concentration in CSF from the respective animals was observed. These results indicate that the FN concentrations in CSFs probably increase in association with the induction of EAE in guinea pigs, but the levels are highly variable in individual cases, and that the FN concentration in CSF is not available to use as a consistent indicator for EAE in guinea pigs.

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Wistar male and female rats were exposed to ethylene oxide (EO) at a concentration of 250 ppm, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week for 17 weeks simultaneously, and the effects of EO on the glutathione metabolism and lipid peroxidation in the liver in regards to sexual difference were studied. Although the liver weight of the male exposed group did not alter, that of the female exposed group increased when compared with the control group. This increase was not accompanied with the alteration of protein content per gram of liver in the cytosol fraction and total homogenate. Among the glutathione related enzymes in the liver, the glutathione reductase activity of both male and female exposed groups decreased compared with each control group, and there was no difference in the degree of the decrease. The glutathione peroxidase activity increased only in the male exposed group. The glutathione-S-transferase activity of both male and female exposed groups increased significantly. In the male exposed group, the activity increased greater than that in the female exposed group. In the male exposed group, the lipid peroxide level in the liver increased slightly but not significantly.

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Wistar male and female rats were exposed to ethylene oxide (EO) at a concentration of 250 ppm, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week for 17 weeks and the effect of EO on the hepatic monooxygenase system in regards to the sex difference was investigated. Serum GOT of the exposed male rat slightly increased, but that of the female did not change. Contents of microsomal protein and cytochrome P-450 of the male exposed group decreased significantly compared to the male control group, but that of the female exposed group did not change. The change of cytochrome b₅, protoheme and NADH-ferricyanide reductase activity of the female exposed group was the same as that of the male. Although NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity of the male exposed group did not change, that of the female group exposed increased significantly when compared to the female control group. From these observations, we concluded that the effect of EO on the hepatic monooxygenase system was different between male and female.

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The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of urinary enzyme activity in patients with diabetes mellitus. Patients were divided into two groups: group A - 102 outpatients, group B-23 inpatients. Spot urine samples before breakfast from group A and aliquots of 24-hours urine collections at 4℃ from group B were used. Urinary enzyme activities (N-acetyl- β-D-glucosaminidase: NAG, alkaline phosphatase: ALP, Ieucine aminopeptidase: LAP, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase: γ-GTP) were determined by spectrophotometric assay, rate assay, Tuppy method and Orlowski method, respectively. 1) In group A, the percentage of the cases which showed higher than the normal range (NAG: 1.3-8.7, ALP: 4.2- 17.7, LAP: 0- 22.9 U/g. cer.) was 42.2% in NAG, 21.6% in ALP, and 8.8% in LAP. In a multiple regression analysis, the predictor variables which contributed to NAG were HbA₁c, age, urinary protein and the one that contributed to ALP, LAP, y-GTP was urinary β₂-microglobulin. 2) In group B, 87% of NAG was above the normal range (Mean ± 2 SD; 4.8 ± 3.9 U/day). There was no difference in the NAG activity between patients with and without nephropathy. The percent of high activities of ALP, LAP and y-GTP were 17%, 17%, 4%, respectively. Most of them were patients with nephropathy. There were correlations among ALP, LAP and γ-GTP, though no correlation existed between NAG and the other three enzymes. These results suggested: 1) NAG reflects lysosomal dysfunction of both glomerular and proximal tubular epithelial cells which may be caused by poor glycemic control 2) ALP, LAP, and γ-GTP reflect brush border damage of proximal tubules which may be caused by diabetic nephropathy.

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Vibratory and cooling detection thresholds (VDT and CDT) were determined at both the pal-mar aspect of the distal phalanx of the right index finger (upper limb) and the plantar aspect of the distal phalanx of the right great toe (lower limb) in 53 consecutive patients with diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), in order to analyze the frequency of the abnormality of each threshold and the relationship between each threshold and the clinical or laboratory findings. VDT in the lower limb was statistically correlated with age, duration of diabetes mellitus, and blood urea nitrogen value of each patient, but not with fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A_1C levels. VDT in the lower limb was significantly greater in the groups of patients with each of the subjective sensory disturbances, peripheral neuropathy (based on our criteria), retinopathy, and proteinuria. Forty-seven per cent of the patients showed clinically peripheral neuropathy, and the frequencies of the abnormality of VDT, CDT and VDT or CDT were 34, 26 and 45%, respectively. VDT and CDT reflect the abnormality of different populations of the peripheral nerve fibers and seem to be affected separately. The determination of both VDT and CDT is useful for the evaluation of the neuropathic state of diabetic patients.

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The present authors made regression formulas to estimate the stature of Japanese women by the proximal phalangeal length of the hands of 231 Japanese women students. The stature and the proximal phalangeal length produced correlation coefficients ranging from 0.521 to 0.696, and the resulting regression formulas possessed standard errors ranging from 3.59 to 4.27 cm. Our results show that the proximal phalangeal length can be used as a reliable estimator of stature.

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The relationship between work stress estimated by a work stress questionnaire and several psychic symptoms estimated by a psychiatric symptom questionnaire was examined by redundancy analysis, which is a multivariate statistical technique to determine two sets of variables, one set being dependent on the other. Its aim is maximization of the explained variance of the dependent variables by the linear combination of the explanatory variables. The results showed that the depressive items had the largest loading on the work stress variables, when the psychiatric symptom questionnaire was used as dependent variable and that the dullness dimension and the concentration difficulty dimension tended to have high loadings, when the same analysis was done using the subjective fatigue feeling questionnaire and the work stress questionnaire. We ascertained that these two fatigue symptom dimensions, especially the latter, are identical with the depression dimension in the psychiatric questionnaire. We concluded that work stress might induce a depressive state rather than other psychological or psychiatric states.

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This paper presents some of the main differences in the speech patterns of male and female speakers of mainstream American English. General differences, or impressions of differences, are noted, then specific differences in the areas of phonology, grammar, vocabulary and stylistics are investigated and exemplified. The relationship between gender stereotypes of speaking styles and actual linguistic features is explained.

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After his accession to the English throne in 1603, James I placed all major theatrical companies in London under royal patronage. Some scholars believe that censorship and direct royal patronage combined to establish the tight control of drama － much tighter in Jacobean times than under Elizabeth. The present paper calls into question the efficiency of the censorship as exercised by James and his government. Actors' violations of the standards and rules of the Master of the Revels and the Privy Council recurred throughout James's times, though most conspicuously and most flagrantly in the first decade of his reign. The occasional or frequent lax situation of censorship may be partly ascribed to the nonmonolithic structure of James's government (as typified by the existence of "factions" struggling for power at Court) which could render the efficient working of the censorship system impossible, and partly to the "tolerance" and "forgetfulness" of the sovereign. Or, perhaps, James, unable to contain the subversive "lavish and licentious speech" of the actors, chose to forget and forgive their infringement, thereby turning the manifest expression of his own limits as a ruler into a display of the power to issue pardon.

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It is well known that lung cancer develops frequently in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) (9.8－22.8%). We investigated 4 patients who developed lung cancer among the 28 patients with IIP (14.3%) who were admitted to our hospital from June 1981 to March 1989. Many reports have pointed out the clinical features of lung cancer associated with IIP as male sex, old age, heavy smoking, and poor prognosis. Our 4 series were agreed with these clinical features. Lung cancer associated with IIP have been often reported to occur in the lower and peripheral regions of the lung, and honeycomb structures are frequently seen. But we found that lung cancer in IIP could actually occur in both the lower and upper regions of the lung and does not occur only in the honeycomb structures. There was no obvious dominance of any histological type among the tumors. If lung cancer is suspected in a patient with IIP, tumor markers are of some value for diagnosis, but are not sensitive enough to be used alone.

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It is now well established that radon and its daughter products account for nearly half of the average population exposure to ionizing radiations and that radon is the greatest single source of natural radiation to the population. Radon and its daughters are alpha-emitters, which are more biologically damaging than beta- and gamma-radiations. A nationwide survey of radon concentration was conducted by the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in order to estimate the contribution of radon and its daughters to the population dose in Japan. Authors surveyed indoor radon concentrations in Fukuoka and Kagoshima prefectures as part of this project. A passive type radon dosimeter, in which a sheet of polycarbonate film as the alpha-ray detector was mounted, was used to measure indoor radon concentrations. The resulting distribution of the average annual indoor radon concentrations in both prefectures can be characterized by an arithmetic mean of 24.4 Bq/m³ and a standard deviation of 13.1 Bq/m³, by a geometric mean of 22.2 Bq/m³, and by a median of 20 7 Bq/m³. The geometric means of the distributions for Fukuoka and Kagoshima were 25.4, and 18.4 Bq/m³, respectively. Radon concentrations were also generally high in winter and low in summer. Regarding the analysis of correlations between the concentrations and construction materials, radon concentrations were generally high in Japanese houses with earthen walls and in concrete structures. These results showed that seasons, the type of building materials, and regional differences were significant factors in the variation of indoor radon concentration.

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Occupational Health Physician (OHP) has been defined as a title in the Occupational Safety and Health Law since 1972 when the Law was first implemented. The Law stipulates that each manager of an establishment with 50 or more workers is requested to appoint an OHP from among qualified physicians. The small number of applicants to OHP, especially from the younger generation, has continued for more than twenty years causing the average age of OHPs in Japan to rise. The shortage of successors to OHPs in active service is also very serious. A rapid increase in the number of graduates from medical schools is expected in the near future and as a result many untrained physicians in occupational health will flow into this field. It is necessary to establish an educational and training system which is related to an OHP certification system, so that the ability of OHP can be improved and that they will be able to expand their specialty To reach this final goal, analyses and planning on the following issues of OHP must be done comprehensively; responsibilities, specialty, educational methods and course, necessary number to be trained and its allocation, and cooperation with other specialists in the field, It is also crucial to establish an effective relationship between the occupational health service system and the community health service system. Some suggestions are made to promote these issues.

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