This study examines the activities relating to the carcinogenicity of six types of benzophenone derivatives (benzophenone, 2-hydroxy-4-octyloxybenzophenone, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, 2, 4-dihydroxybenzophenone, 2, 2'-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and 2, 2'-dihydroxy-4, 4'-dimethoxybenzophenone) currently used in plastic products as additives to serve as ultraviolet absorbing agents. The evaluation of the initiation activity used a light absorption umu-test, a luminescent umu-test and the Ames test. The promotion activity was examined by a Bhas assay, a method that uses Bhas 42 cells for the formation of transformation foci. The luminescent umu-test indicated positive initiation activity of 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, and pseudo-positive activity of 2, 4-dihydroxybenzophenone and 2, 2'-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone. In the Ames test, 2-hydroxy-4-octyloxybenzophenone showed pseudo-positive initiation activity. Conversely, 2, 4-dihydroxybenzophenone indicated weak promotion activity at 10μg/ml concentration.

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Lead is one of the industrially important heavy metals that causes male reproductive impairment among battery and paint factory workers, but information on the structure-function integrity of human spermatozoa is still limited. Therefore, it was necessary to investigate the effect of lead on sperm structure and functional activity in these workers. Oligozoospermia with concomitant lowering of sperm protein and nucleic acid content and the percentage of sperm DNA hyploidy (P＜0.001) suggested the diminution of sperm cell production after occupational lead exposure. Low sperm vitality and hypoosmotic swelling percentage along with high malondialdehyde content and altered seminal plasma ascorbate level (P＜0.001) indicating damage of sperm cell surface, might be due to high membrane lipid peroxidation and failure of non-enzymatic antioxidant protection after lead exposure. Alteration of sperm membrane surface was also evidenced from scanning electron microscopy and further authenticated by atomic and lateral force microscopy. Lowering of sperm velocity, gross and forward progressive motility with high stationary motile spermatozoa (P＜0.001) suggested retarded sperm activity among the exposed workers, which was supported by high seminal plasma fructose level and reduced activity of sperm ATPase (P＜0.001). Increased incidence of teratozoospermia was also associated with high blood and semen lead level (PbB, PbS)(P＜0.001). Therefore, the results suggested that lead not only affects the sperm count, but also damages the sperm structure and membrane integrity, motility and functional activity among the battery and paint factory workers.

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With respect to benzene, toluene, and o-, m- and p-xylene contained in indoor air, this study determined the amounts of their uptake through the human respiratory system using the difference between concentrations in inhalation and exhalation, and examined their relationship to concentrations in blood and urine measured before and after exposure. At relatively high concentrations, respiratory absorption of these compounds tended to increase rapidly in the early stage of exposure but decrease after several hours. It was also confirmed that concentrations of these compounds in both blood and urine increased during the first 3 hours of exposure. These results suggested that measurements of concentrations in inhalation and exhalation may provide a simple method for estimating the extent of respiratory exposure to these substances.

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Graves' ophthalmopathy is the most frequent extrathyroidal manifestation of Graves' disease. Although glucocorticoids and orbital radiotherapy have been used and are effective for the disease, we often experience cases refractory to either therapy. We report here a case that did not respond satisfactorily to either therapy and was later successfully treated by intravenous cyclophosphamide (Ⅳ-CY) pulse therapy. A 31 year old woman presented with typical Graves' disease and ophthalmopathy. After establishing a euthyroid state, she received intravenous glucocorticoid pulse therapy and orbital radiotherapy. Although this induced the resolution of the ophthalmopathy, it was temporary and thyroid-stimulating antibody (TSAb) increased to high titers, associated with relapse of ophthalmopathy 2 months after the treatment. Four courses of Ⅳ-CY pulse therapy were administered, which resulted in complete improvement of the symptoms and normalization of the TSAb titers. We suggest that Ⅳ-CY pulse therapy might be useful for Graves' ophthalmopathy, especially for patients refractory to glucocorticoid pulse therapy.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the biochemical characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia (E.) coli O157 and verotoxin-producing E. coli isolates from the Northern Kyushu Island and Yamaguchi area of Japan. A total of 54 isolates－50 E. coli O157, 3 verotoxin-producing E. coli O26 and 1 verotoxin-producmg E. coli O111－were used in this study. Regarding H antigen, H7 type in E. coli O157 accounted for 98% (49/50), and residual 1 strain of E. coli O157 was untypable H type. Two of 3 E. coli O26 isolates were H11 type, residual 1 strain of E. coli O26 was untypable H type, and E. coli O111 isolate was non-motile strain. All 54 isolates were susceptible to cephems, fosfomycin, kanamycin, amikacin and co-trimoxazole. Tetracycline-resistant isolates existed in 13 of all 54 isolates, 5 of those 13 isolates had tetA, and the other 7 isolates had tetB. Eight amoxicillin-resistant isolates had TEM-1 β-lactamase. Four of the 5 isolates that had tetA also had TEM-1 β-lactamase. Nalidixic acid and 6 fluoroquinolone used had no insensitive or resistant isolates. Kanamycin-resistant isolates, fosfomycin- and nalidixic acid-insensitive isolates have been reported, so we must notice the antibiogram of such strains. It is important that the surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility of enterohemorragic E. coli should be continued after this.

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In Japan, there are two commonly used regulations on respirable dust concentration: the Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL), recommended by the Japan Society for Occupational Health, and the Administrative Control Level (ACL). Both depend on the crystalline silica content in dust. Until 2004, the ACL for respirable dust conformed to the OEL. However, the ACL was revised in 2005 in light of the OEL and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)'s Threshold Limit Value (TLV), same value as National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)'s Recommended Exposure Limit (REL). In this paper, the author intends to clarify the stringency of the current ACL by comparing it with the OEL and the ACGIH's TLV. In addition, the effect of the analytical error due to the phosphoric acid method in the current and former ACLs is shown.

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Recently, there is a worldwide tendency to decrease medical costs, and a medical insurance revolution, such as a diagnosis procedure combination system, has also been put forward in Japan. It is important to consider medical management healthily by shortening hospital stays and cutting the cost of admission therapies. In this background, outpatients' chemotherapy takes notice because of the improvement in quality of life, discovery of new drugs without severe adverse effects, use-effectiveness of hospital beds and medical cost-effectiveness. Cancer patients surfer from not only a major burden of the diseases such as their physical and mental state, but also an economic impact. In this article, we review the medical cost-benefit for outpatients undergoing cancer chemotherapy.

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The purpose of this research is to clarify the nursing diagnostic processes of nursing students. The study subjects were 20 nursing students who were in bedside learning and took charge of patients suffering from depression. We analyzed their training records and extracted the information on which their nursing diagnoses were made. The information was classified into the categories based on the nursing diagnosis of North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA). As a result, the students were more likely to make their nursing diagnoses based mainly on subjective complaints of the patients, without logical reasoning. The results indicated an insufficient knowledge of the disease and a shortage of opportunity for the students to collect objective information of the patients. In conclusion, our study results suggest that bedside learning students should have the chance to reconfirm their knowledge and the nursing diagnosis procedures; that arrangements have to be made for students and ward staff to confer with each other; and that students should be advised on how to make effective use of the meetings to share their experiences and increase their knowledge. The implications of these findings for nursing students' education are discussed.

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Under the coming amendment of long term care insurance (LTCI), the preventive activities will be more strengthened in order to ameliorate the quality of life (QOL) levels of the slightly frail elderly and then to rationalize the LTCI expenditures. The functional training of the musculoskeletal system is regarded as especially important. In order to validate its effectiveness and availability in a rural setting, we organized a physical fitness program for the slightly frail elderly in an isolated island of Kagoshima prefecture. According to the results of our preliminary study, statistically significant improvement was observed for some items of the physical fitness level, but not for life style, activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) levels or Frenchay Activities Index. In addition to the relatively small number of participants, it is thought that physical fitness training alone cannot increase the elderly activity volume. Further studies are necessary to clarify the usefulness of physical training on the ADL/IADL level of the elderly.

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