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Volume 218 (2009)
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- Issue 3 Pages 161-
- Issue 2 Pages 83-
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Volume 218, Issue 3
July
Displaying 1-12 of 12 articles from this issue
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Shigeki Shibahara2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 161-163
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (771K)
Regular Contributions
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Alejandro Daniel Bermúdez-Aguirre, Luis Padilla-Noriega, Edgar ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 165-175
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSChronic infections by hepatitis C virus (HCV) are a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatic cancer. The replication of HCV involves translation and proteolytic processing of polyproteins. The HCV single-stranded RNA encodes a single polyprotein of C/E1/E2/p7/NS2/NS3/NS4A/NS4B/NS5A/NS5B. The structural proteins, C, E1, E2, and p7, arise from the viral polyprotein by host proteases. Cleavage at the non-structural NS2/NS3 junction is performed by the NS2 protease. NS3 forms a complex with NS4A to cleave the rest of the viral polyprotein. The central 12-amino-acid sequence of NS4A, 21-GSVVIVGRIILS-32 (NS4Awt) is a determinant to enhance the NS3 protease activity at the NS5A/5B junction. We found that, from 13 blood donors infected with HCV, one sample showed five amino acid changes in the NS4A central region at V23I, I25C, I30S, L31T, and S32L, and another sample showed three changes at V23I, I25C, and I30V in this region. The other 11 samples showed the NS4Awt sequence. The effect of such amino acid variations on the NS3 proteolytic activity was evaluated in vitro using the central 12-amino-acid NS4Awt sequence with specific changes joined to NS3, and NS5A/5B as a substrate. Our results indicate that the amino acid changes of NS4A at V23I and I25C do not enhance the protease activity of NS3, whereas the amino acid changes at I30S, L31T, and S32L, as well as the NS4Awt sequence, enhance NS3 activity. Our results confirm that protease cofactor, encoded in NS4A, is of major regulatory relevance for the replication cycles of HCV.View full abstractDownload PDF (539K) -
Ouki Yasui, Makoto Sato, Atsushi Kamada2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 177-183
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDiffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a functional technique based on the ability to depict movement of water molecules. The magnitude of water molecule movement is expressed as apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value. Its usefulness in the diagnosis of malignant tumors has gained interest. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of DWI in detecting lymph node metastases of colorectal cancer. The subjects were 46 consecutive patients (mean age 71.4 ± 8.7 years) with colorectal cancer, treated by radical surgery from 2006 to 2008. The size of metastatic lymph nodes on DWI was significantly larger than non-metastatic lymph nodes (10.3 vs. 7.6 mm). The mean ADC value was significantly lower for metastatic lymph nodes than non-metastatic lymph nodes (1.36 vs. 1.85 × 10-3 mm2/sec). In addition, for evaluation of lymph node metastasis that reflects the primary tumor characteristics, the LN/T ratio (defined as the ratio of lymph node ADC value to the primary tumor ADC value) was calculated. It was significantly lower for metastatic lymph nodes than non-metastatic lymph nodes (1.41 vs. 1.59). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that the best performing cutoffs were 8.5 mm for lymph node size, 1.44 × 10-3 mm2/sec for ADC value, and 1.495 for LN/T ratio. Accuracy was significantly greater for lymph nodes with LN/T ratio (78.5%) than for lymph node size (62.0%) or ADC value (74.8%). In conclusion, preoperative DWI, especially the LN/T ratio, is recommended for evaluation of lymph node metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer.View full abstractDownload PDF (476K) -
Tomasz Sliwinski, Renata Krupa, Maria Wisniewska-Jarosinska, Elzbieta ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 185-191
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSMutations in the DNA repair genes may contribute to the increased risk of cancer, including colorectal cancer. Xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) protein and human homolog of the 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (hOGG1) are involved in nucleotide excision repair and base excision repair, respectively. The XPD and the hOGG1 genes are highly polymorphic, and some of their polymorphisms are associated with several types of cancers. However, there is controversy as to the relationship between their polymorphisms and the risk of colorectal cancer. In the present study, we therefore searched for the association in a Polish population between colorectal cancer and two common polymorphisms: an A → C transversion in the XPD gene that produces a Lys-to-Gln substitution at codon 751 (the Lys751Gln polymorphism; rs28365048) and a C → G transversion in the hOGG1 gene resulting in a Ser-to-Cys change at codon 326 (the Ser326Cys polymorphism; rs1052133). Genotypes were determined using peripheral blood lymphocytes of 100 colorectal cancer patients and 100 age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched cancer-free controls by PCR and restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis. We did not find statistically significant association between each polymorphism and the occurrence of colorectal cancer, and did not observe any relationship between each polymorphism and colorectal cancer progression assessed by node metastasis, tumor size and Duke's stage. Moreover, there was no correlation between combined genotypes of the two polymorphisms and colorectal cancer. Therefore, the Lys751Gln polymorphism of the XPD gene and the Ser326Cys polymorphism of the hOGG1 gene are not associated with colorectal cancer in a Polish population.View full abstractDownload PDF (487K) -
Hiroaki Abe, Akira Michimata, Kazuyoshi Sugawara, Naoki Sugaya, Shin-I ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 193-199
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSStroke is the leading cause of long-term disability, and many stroke patients have hemiparesis. Hemiparesis induces ankle-control disturbances and equinovarus deformity, leading to difficulty in walking and an increased risk for falling. Plastic ankle-foot orthosis (PAFO) is frequently prescribed to correct ankle joint alignment and increase walking speed and stride length during ambulation. While several studies have shown that PAFO improves gait parameters, such as stride length and walking speed, in hemiplegic patients, the effect of PAFO on gait stability remains unclear. We quantitatively assessed the effect of PAFO on gait stability in 16 hemiplegic stroke patients (mean age 55.9 ± 11.8 years; 5 female and 11 male subjects; and 11 hemorrhagic and 5 ischemic stroke) using an ink footprint record. Wearing PAFO significantly improved the stride length, step length on the unaffected and affected sides, step width, walking speed, step frequency and functional ambulation ability. The coefficient of variation (CV), as an index of stability of movement from trial to trial, provides a measure that defines motor skills for a given task. Unaffected-side step-length CV and step-width CV were significantly decreased, when using PAFO. Furthermore, the correlation was found only between unaffected-side step length and its CV. The decrease in CV indicates that PAFO improved gait stability. We concluded that in addition to providing a faster gait, PAFO improves gait stability during walking. Gait stability and gait efficiency need to be considered separately in evaluating the effects of ankle-foot orthosis on gait performance in hemiplegic patients.View full abstractDownload PDF (561K) -
Hiroshi Aonuma, Naohisa Miyakoshi, Michio Hongo, Yuji Kasukawa, Yoichi ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 201-205
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSOsteocalcin, a bone-specific protein synthesized by osteoblasts, undergoes vitamin K-dependent gamma-carboxylation. Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) represents inadequately carboxylated osteocalcin, and this fraction increases with vitamin K insufficiency. Alendronate is a bisphosphonate that inhibits bone resorption, thereby increasing bone mineral density (BMD), while also reducing bone formation closely coupled with bone resorption. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the influence of alendronate on serum levels of ucOC, cross-linked N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen (NTx), a marker of bone resorption, and bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), a marker of bone formation. Forty-six postmenopausal osteoporotic women were divided into three groups: patients receiving alendronate (5 mg/day or 35 mg/week) for ≥ 6 months (n = 29) or < 6 months (n = 7), and patients receiving no medication related to bone metabolism (n = 10). Serum ucOC levels were significantly lower in patients with long-term treatment (p < 0.0001) or short-term treatment (p = 0.0223) than in untreated patients. Serum ucOC levels correlated positively with both BAP (r = 0.695, p < 0.0001) and NTx (r = 0.494, p = 0.0004) in all participants. Since low serum levels of BAP and NTx are associated with decreased levels of bone formation and bone resorption, respectively, these findings suggest that low serum ucOC levels may reflect the suppression of bone turnover. In conclusion, low serum ucOC levels reflect suppressed bone turnover and/or adequate levels of vitamin K in patients receiving an inhibitor of bone resorption.View full abstractDownload PDF (255K) -
Sequence-Based spa Typing as a Rapid Screening Method for the Areal and Nosocomial Outbreaks of MRSAMunetoshi Narukawa, Akira Yasuoka, Ryougo Note, Hisashi Funada2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 207-213
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the leading cause of nosocomial infection and MRSA outbreaks have become a major problem. Therefore, the rapid and accurate typing of MRSA isolates is important for epidemiological surveys and nosocomial infection control. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is considered as the gold standard technique for MRSA typing, because of its high discriminatory power, but its procedure is rather complicated and time-consuming. The spa gene encodes a cell wall component of Staphylococcus aureus protein A, and exhibits polymorphism. Sequencing the spa gene is expected superior to PFGE in speed and data interpretation. In the present study, we evaluated whether spa typing of MRSA is useful for nosocomial outbreak analysis and epidemiological investigations. We analyzed 19 nosocomial outbreak isolates from 4 separate hospitals and 26 isolates from outpatients of Toyama University Hospital. Either PFGE or spa typing revealed a single nosocomial strain that appears unique to each hospital. Indeed, spa typing confirmed the four different strains, but PFGE demonstrated only 3 strains. With the total 45 isolates, PFGE showed 16 different patterns and spa typing showed 12 patterns. Moreover, we were able to analyze the spa gene in about 2 days, from sampling to obtaining the results, whereas it took about 7 days with PFGE. In conclusion, sequence-based spa typing shows comparable sensitivities to PFGE, and is a rapid and easy handling method. The sequence-based spa typing can be used as the rapid screening test when MRSA outbreak is suspected in areas and hospitals.View full abstractDownload PDF (2529K) -
Hitoshi Kagaya, Hitomi Takahashi, Keiyu Sugawara, Chikage Kasai, Norit ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 215-219
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSPatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are commonly referred for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), but the use of PR is not common for patients with restrictive lung disease, neuromuscular diseases, and those who have sustained a severe respiratory illness or undergone thoracic surgery. We investigated the effects of PR in patients with restrictive lung diseases in comparison with COPD patients using a home-based setting. Twenty-six restrictive lung diseases patients and 40 COPD patients who had a Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea score ≥ 2, a clinically stable condition, and who had completed a 6-month PR program, were enrolled in the present study. The definition of restrictive lung disease was a forced vital capacity (FVC) of ≤ 80% of the predicted value with a forced effort volume in one second/FVC of > 70%. Our PR consisted of breathing retraining, exercise training, respiratory muscle stretching calisthenics, level walking, inspiratory and expiratory muscle exercises, and a monthly education program. Patients were strongly instructed to practice this program daily at home, and were supervised by a respiratory therapist every 2 weeks in our hospital. Patients with restrictive lung diseases showed the significant increases in inspiratory and expiratory muscle forces, the 6-minute walking distance, the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire and the Short-Form 36, and decreased MRC scores after 6 months. In conclusion, our home-based PR improves respiratory muscle forces, exercise tolerance, health-related quality of life, and the perception of dyspnea in patients with restrictive lung disease to the same extent as in COPD patients.View full abstractDownload PDF (298K) -
Aysen Kutan Fenercioglu, Ismet Tamer, Guner Karatekin, Asiye Nuhoglu2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 221-228
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSMost of the previous studies have shown a significant inverse relationship between smoking during pregnancy and weight, height and head circumference of infants at birth, but there is limited literature that assesses the head circumference measures of infants of smoker mothers in postnatal follow-up. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of maternal smoking and passive smoking during pregnancy on postnatal anthropometric measures of infants. Infants were divided into 3 groups: infants of smokers (n = 48), passive smokers (n = 57) and nonsmokers (n = 54), and were evaluated for their weight, height and head circumference at birth, 3 months and 6 months of age. Infants of smokers showed significant weight and head circumference deficits at birth compared to nonsmokers' infants (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). At 6 months of age, infants of smokers continued to show significant deficits in all 3 measures compared to nonsmokers' infants (p < 0.001 for each), and infants of passive smokers showed only marginal decreases. Moreover, the weight and height growth velocities of the smokers' infants remained deficient, whereas their growth velocity of the head circumferences increased from birth up to 6 months and reached the growth velocity of the nonsmokers' infants. Infants of passive smokers showed a complete catch-up growth at 6 months. This study indicates that smoking during pregnancy results in serious deficits in infants' growth even after birth. Therefore, it is essential to inform smoker women before pregnancy the possible growth retardation of infants.View full abstractDownload PDF (411K) -
Diah Ayu Maharani2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 229-239
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDental caries is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in Indonesia. More than half of all cases are left untreated. This may be due to inequity in the use of dental care that is caused by economic and geographic barriers. Therefore, the objective of this study was to provide evidence of socioeconomic-related inequality and horizontal inequity in dental care utilization among Indonesian adults who reported having had dental problems and to describe the sources of any identified inequality. We used secondary cross-sectional data from the Indonesian National Socio-Economic Survey 2004 and from the Indonesian Medical Council. Respondents included individuals at least 15 years old who reported having had dental care needs within a one-month recall period (N = 20,718). A concentration curve and a concentration index were employed to describe the extent of inequality. A horizontal inequity index was applied to identify inequity. A decomposition method was used to describe the sources of inequality. The concentration curve indicated a slightly pro-rich inequality in dental care utilization. The concentration index showed a significant concentration of dental care utilization among groups with higher socioeconomic status (SES). The horizontal inequity index illustrated higher unmet dental care needs among lower SES groups. Decomposition revealed that higher SES, urban Java Island residency, and insurance coverage were positively associated with the likelihood of dental care utilization. This study concludes that the expansion of health insurance, especially targeted at low SES groups, and a regionally equitable distribution of dentists may reduce economic and geographic barriers to dental care in the future.View full abstractDownload PDF (560K) -
Takashi Ohi, Motoyuki Sai, Masahiko Kikuchi, Yoshinori Hattori, Akito ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 241-249
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSOral health care is not only an effective strategy for the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of orofacial disease and disorders, but also an essential component of general health promotion programs. The current study aimed to identify the determinants of the utilization of dental services in an elderly population in Japan. A community-based comprehensive geriatric assessment, including the measurements of physical, mental, and social functioning, was conducted among elderly people aged ≥ 70 years residing in a suburban area of Sendai, Japan. Oral health status and functioning, their impact on the quality of life, and dental utilization were also surveyed. Of the 1,170 participants, 418 subjects who had specific treatment needs for dental problems and reported irregular dental attendance were recommended a dental visit, and 1 year later, their compliance with the recommendation was assessed by using questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that a higher number of remaining teeth and the use of removable dentures were significant predictors of dental utilization within 1 year. Regular utilization was associated with a higher number of remaining teeth, younger age, presence of systemic disease, absence of depressive symptoms, and higher educational attainment. Conversely, non-compliance with the treatment recommendations was associated with fewer remaining teeth, smoking, and non-utilization of dental services during the previous year. The differences in the determinants of dental attendance behavior, which may be partially associated with the insurance coverage for dental services, suggest the need for specific strategies for oral health promotion for different behavior of dental utilization.View full abstractDownload PDF (510K) -
Orhan Veli Ozkan, Mehmet Fatih Yuzbasioglu, Harun Ciralik, Ergul Belge ...2009 Volume 218 Issue 3 Pages 251-258
Published: 2009
Released on J-STAGE: June 27, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe intestine is highly susceptible to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Splanchnic ischemia is the initial event that releases injurious factors, leading to systemic disorders with high morbidity and mortality. Oxidative stress mediators are believed to contribute to the intestinal I/R injury. Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in grapes, is shown to be a strong antioxidant in various tissues, with a property of an estrogen-receptor agonist. Therefore, we investigated the effects of resveratrol on oxidative injury in the intestine. Female Wistar rats were randomly allocated into four groups (n = 8, each). The sham group was only subjected to surgical procedures, while other animals were subjected to intestinal ischemia (60 min) and subsequent reperfusion (60 min). One group received resveratrol (15 mg/kg, 0.3 ml/day intraperitoneally) for both 5 days before surgery and 15 min before ischemia, while the other was treated intraperitoneally with 0.5% ethyl alcohol as vehicle (0.3 ml/day). In the I/R rat intestines, we detected severe tissure injuries (p < 0.001), the significant increases in the tissue levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) (p < 0.001), and the decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity (p < 0.001), compared to the sham control. Resveratrol significantly ameliorated the intestinal injury, decreased MDA, NO and MPO levels to the sham control levels, and decreased bacterial translocation in mesentery lymp nodes, liver and spleen (p < 0.001). Resveratrol also restored the SOD activity. These results suggest that resveratrol could protect intestinal tissue against I/R injury with its potent antioxidant properties.View full abstractDownload PDF (1128K)
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