Specific radioactivity of europium-152 in roof tiles exposed to atomic bomb radiation in Nagasaki.
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Specific radioactivities of residual europium (Eu)-152 were measured in six roof tile samples exposed to the Nagasaki atomic bomb at two locations. The ground distances of the two locations from the hypocenter are 1020 m and 1060 m. In order to obtain reliable data, Eu-enriched samples (from 207 to 855 mg) were prepared by separating Eu from each roof tile sample (from 1 to 2 kg). For the major aliquot of the Eu-enriched sample, residual radioactivity of 152Eu was measured using a low-energy photon spectrometer. For the minor aliquot of the Eu-enriched sample, Eu content was determined by neutron activation analysis. Results of the specific radioactivity (152Eu/Eu, Bq mg-1) corrected to the time of bombing were in a range from 0.080 to 0.446. Although the measured values showed some scattering, they are moderately consistent with the calculated values by the DS86 methodology, i.e. the average ratio of the calculated to measured values is 1.3 +/- 0.8. (+info)
Polymorphism in RANTES chemokine promoter affects HIV-1 disease progression.
(42/13041)
RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed and secreted) is one of the natural ligands for the chemokine receptor CCR5 and potently suppresses in vitro replication of the R5 strains of HIV-1, which use CCR5 as a coreceptor. Previous studies showed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells or CD4(+) lymphocytes obtained from different individuals had wide variations in their ability to secrete RANTES. These findings prompted us to analyze the upstream noncoding region of the RANTES gene, which contains cis-acting elements involved in RANTES promoter activity, in 272 HIV-1-infected and 193 non-HIV-1-infected individuals in Japan. Our results showed that there were two polymorphic positions, one of which was associated with reduced CD4(+) lymphocyte depletion rates during untreated periods in HIV-1-infected individuals. This mutation, RANTES-28G, occurred at an allele frequency of approximately 17% in the non-HIV-1-infected Japanese population and exerted no influence on the incidence of HIV-1 infection. Functional analyses of RANTES promoter activity indicated that the RANTES-28G mutation increases transcription of the RANTES gene. Taken together, these data suggest that the RANTES-28G mutation increases RANTES expression in HIV-1-infected individuals and thus delays the progression of the HIV-1 disease. (+info)
Analysis of the treatment of acute myocardial infarction using ambulance records in Japanese cities.
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By means of ambulance records, the current state of medical services for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was investigated in Chiba City and Ichihara City, Japan. From all patients transported by ambulance personnel in 1992 (n=31,191), 388 patients who were admitted within 2 weeks after the onset were studied. Types of admitting institution, diagnoses, medical treatments and prognoses were investigated. According to medical records, 168 patients fulfilled the criteria of definite AMI and were admitted alive. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and recanalization (PTCR) were performed on 54 and 6 patients, respectively. The hospital case-fatality rates were lower in the patients who underwent emergency PTCA or PTCR than in the others. Emergency PTCA or PTCR, and admission to coronary care units (CCU) or institutions equipped with coronary angiography, decreased the fatality risk, even after considering age, sex, and disease severity. These results show the importance of the selection of institutions for AMI patients. Because 40% of definite AMI patients were sent to institutions without CCU, it is essential that enough CCU are available through an improvement in cooperation between the various types of institutions, and in the proper transfer of AMI patients to CCU (+info)
Favorable life-style modification and attenuation of cardiovascular risk factors.
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In order to develop an effective counseling system for prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the association of a favorably changed life-style with improved risk factors was examined. Participants were 7,321 office workers aged 30-69 years from in and around Nagoya city. The age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the likelihood of risk factor improvement by favorable life-style modifications during a 3-year period. Those who began to eat breakfast and increased their vegetable intake normalized their previously abnormal diastolic blood pressure with more than twice the likelihood (adjusted OR [95% CI] 2.89 [1.29-6.46] and 2.60 [1.18-5.75], respectively). 'Began to eat breakfast' was also significantly associated with normalized total cholesterol (TC) (1.84, [1.05-3.21]). 'Stopped eating till full' significantly normalized the body mass index (2.03; [1.25-3.28]), uric acid (1.65; [1.07-2.52]) and TC (1.43; [1.04-1.97]). Those who started regular exercise significantly normalized their high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) abnormality with 1.69-times the likelihood (1.69; [1.24-2.29]) and those who began to walk briskly also improved their TC abnormality (1.85; [1.19-2.89]). HDL-C was normalized with 2.55-times the likelihood in those who quit smoking (2.55; [1.68-3.86]). Because favorable life-style modifications can attenuate abnormal cardiovascular risk factors, then proper advice on specific risk factors should be routinely given at each health check-up in order to prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases in subsequent years. (+info)
Lack of evidence for association between the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene and hypertension.
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Significant association between a Glu298Asp polymorphism of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene and essential hypertension was recently reported in Japanese populations, with the 298Asp variant showing a higher prevalence in hypertensive patients (10.3% to 12.0%) than in normotensive subjects (5.0% to 5.8%). In contrast, another study demonstrated that the 298Glu variant was significantly associated with hypertension in a Caucasian population. We therefore undertook an extensive association study in Japanese to resolve these contradictory claims. A total of 1165 individuals were selected from clinic outpatients and hospital staff in a single institution. The relevance of the Glu298Asp polymorphism to hypertension in this population was tested in 2 ways. First, a case-control study was conducted in 549 hypertensive and 513 normotensive subjects within the study population, with the chi2 statistic used to test the significance of an association between eNOS genotype and the presence of hypertension. Second, an ANOVA was used to test the significance of an association between eNOS genotype and the level of blood pressure within the entire population except for 167 hypertensive subjects who had been under treatment for hypertension. No significant association was observed in either of the statistics tested. Allele frequencies of 298Asp were concordant across the panels: 8.4% in hypertensive subjects, 8. 2% in normotensive subjects, and 7.9% and 9.5% in 2 additional sample populations used as reference panels. Taken together, our results do not support the previous observation that the molecular variant of the eNOS gene may confer principal susceptibility for essential hypertension but rather suggest the existence of sampling variation. (+info)
Clinical economics in clinical trials: the measurement of cost and outcomes in the assessment of clinical services through clinical trials.
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As the population ages and more expensive high-technology services become available, health care costs continue to spiral upward. Because the financial resources for health care are limited, economic analysis can help to evaluate expenditures and set priorities. Economic analysis of medical technology or medical care evaluates a medical service by comparing its dollar cost with its dollar benefit (cost-benefit), by measuring its dollar cost in relation to its outcomes (cost-effectiveness) as well as in relation to its utility or quality-adjusted outcomes (cost-utility), or simply by tabulating the costs involved (cost-identification). Direct costs are generated as services are provided. In addition, patients' productivity is affected, and these costs can be considered, especially in determining the benefit of a service that decreases morbidity or mortality. Intangible costs are those of pain, suffering, and grief. The point of view, or perspective, of the study determines the costs and benefits that will be measured in the analysis. Sensitivity analysis, which can evaluate the stability of the conclusions to the data used, is an important assessment within economic analysis. Economic analysis of new pharmaceutical therapies is increasingly being incorporated into clinical trials. Although there are some limitations of pharmacoeconomic information in clinical studies of drug safety and efficacy, these trials are often the only opportunity for economic data collection before adoption and reimbursement decisions are made. Validation after the drug has been introduced should complement economic information developed from clinical trials. (+info)
Reproductive factors related to the risk of colorectal cancer by subsite: a case-control analysis.
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The authors hypothesized that reproductive factors of colorectal cancer, which are probably mediated by endogenous hormones, would differ according to colonic subsite. Information on reproductive factors was obtained from 372 female colorectal cancer cases (113 proximal colon, 126 distal colon, 133 rectum) and 31,061 cancer-free controls at the Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Japan, between 1988 and 1995. Multiple logistic analysis showed that late age at interview, family history of colorectal cancer among first-degree relatives, menstrual regularity, late age at menopause, late age at first pregnancy and late age at first full-term pregnancy were significantly associated with the risk of colorectal cancer. None of the risk factors were significantly dissociated between colon and rectal cancer. In polytomous logistic regression analysis, particularly noteworthy was the fact that the odds ratios for age at menarche (P-value for heterogeneity of odds ratios = 0.010), age at first pregnancy (P = 0.016) and age at first full-term pregnancy (P = 0.028) were significantly higher for distal than for proximal colon cancer. This study supports the hypotheses that there might be an association between reproductive factors and risk of colon cancer, and that the carcinogenesis of colon cancer, by subsite, might show aetiologic distinctions. (+info)
Sudden death in the working population: a collaborative study in central Japan.
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AIM: Few epidemiological data are available describing the sudden death of persons in their prime. This study aims to elucidate when and how sudden death occurs among employees. METHODS: A total of 196775 employees from 10 workplaces in Central Japan were surveyed for non-traumatic sudden death during 1989-1995. Demographic data and information regarding onset were collected by their workplace healthcare professionals. RESULTS: We identified 251 male and 13 female cases of sudden death. The annual incidence was 21.9 (for men) and 5.7 (for women) per 100000 population. Sudden death occurred more frequently in April when the new business year starts (risk ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.62 [0.94-2.79]) than in other months, without seasonality. Sudden death peaked on Sundays (risk ratio, 1.90 [1.20-2.99]) and Saturdays (risk ratio, 1.36 [0.83-2.21]) as compared with weekdays, and was likely to occur in the small hours (risk ratio, 1.71 [0.94-3.10] at 00-0300 h and 1.47 [0.79-2.72] at 0300-0600 h vs at 0900-1200 h. Only 17% of employees died at work, which was significantly less than expected (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings differed from those of elderly people and suggest that sudden death of persons in their prime is related to occupational stress and its relief. (+info)