[Development of Community Rehabilitation for People with Disability in Kawasaki City].

Since 1996, Kawasaki City has been constructing community rehabilitation programs for persons with disabilities. In 2000, a comprehensive community rehabilitation plan for Kawasaki City was established, including the activities that would realize it. This community rehabilitation plan aims to provide people with disabilities with comprehensive rehabilitation for improving their quality of life in the community through maintaining or rebuilding lifestyles.

[Effects of help-seeker's predictions about helper's emotions and costs of help-seeking intentions].

The present study examined effects of predictions made by a help-seeker about the emotions and costs of a helper on help-seeking behavior. We surveyed undergraduate and graduate students who completed a questionnaire and scenario task. The scenario presented that a person would face the trouble.

How many Assertive Community Treatment Teams are Needed in Japan? Estimate from Need Survey in Sendai City.

Despite the increasing ACT teams in Japan, no research exists on the need of ACT within the Japanese mental health system. The aim of this study was to describe the needs and feasibility of ACT teams. Furthermore, we estimated the number of po-tential ACT users and ACT teams needed in Japan.

[Vulnerability factors for school stress among junior high school students: over-adaptation and evaluation of emotion].

This study investigated the role of over-adaptation and evaluation of emotion as stress vulnerability factors among Japanese junior high school students. Based upon the diathesis-stress model, 720 students (348 boys and 372 girls) completed questionnaires about stress responses, over-adaptation, and evaluation of emotion. Two weeks later, they completed the questionnaire about stress responses along a questionnaire about school stressors.

Health promotion behaviors of residents with hypertension in Iwate, Japan and North Carolina, USA.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the health promotion practises of rural residents in northern Japan (n = 212) to those in south-eastern North Carolina, USA (n = 105), using the Health Promotion Lifestyle II (HPLP) scale.

Methods: A comparative and descriptive design examined the relationships between health-related behaviors and demographic and physiological variables, and compared cross-cultural patterns.

Results: The Japanese participants scored significantly higher on the total HPLP II score, as well as on the subscales of health responsibility, nutrition, interpersonal support, and stress management.

Cadmium sorption to plasma membrane isolated from barley roots is impeded by copper association onto membranes.

The present study was designed to examine the effect of copper (Cu) on sorption of cadmium (Cd) to plasma membrane (PM) preparations as one of the models of competition between metals on root PM. Plasma membrane preparations were obtained from roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv.

Physical and psychological outcome in long-term survivors of childhood malignant solid tumor in Japan.

Purpose: Few studies have assessed physical and psychological status in long-term survivors of childhood solid tumors in Japan. For children with such diseases diagnosed and treated in our hospital, our purpose was to clarify the physical and psychological status of long-term survivors and their parents.

Methods: Subjects were 56 patients who were diagnosed at our institution as having a childhood malignant solid tumor between 1982 and 2005 and had been alive for at least 5 years after treatment.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in mothers of children who have undergone surgery for congenital disease at a pediatric surgery department.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers of children who have undergone surgery for congenital disease at a pediatric surgery department.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was carried out in 145 mothers of children who had undergone surgery and were still alive. For comparison, the mothers were categorized into 3 groups according to the severity of their child's disease.

Use of recombinant activated factor VII to control bleeding in a young child with qualitative platelet disorder: a case report.

Defects of platelet adhesion, aggregation, secretion, or procoagulant activities can lead to bleeding diathesis of variable severity. We used recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in the treatment of uncontrolled epistaxis in a patient with a qualitative platelet disorder. We aimed to assess the efficacy of a single rFVIIa dose (100 microg/kg) in the control of mild and severe refractory epistaxis, and evaluate the influence of rFVIIa on markers of platelet adhesion and aggregation during a period of hematological stability (i.

Prevalence of senile dementia in a rural community in Japan: the Tajiri project.

Knowledge of the prevalence of dementia in different age groups is needed for the planning of a health policy. This study shows the prevalence of dementia and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in elderly people aged 65 years and over, living in the town of Tajiri in the northern part of Japan. They were shown by two cognitive screening tests, the Mini-Mental State examination (MMS) and the Dementia Screening Test (DST) and medical diagnosis.

Critical cysteine residues for regulation of integrin alphaIIbbeta3 are clustered in the epidermal growth factor domains of the beta3 subunit.

Chemical or enzymic reduction/oxidation of integrin cysteine residues (e.g. by reducing agents and protein disulphide isomerase) may be a mechanism for regulating integrin function.

Bernard-soulier syndrome with a homozygous 13 base pair deletion in the signal peptide-coding region of the platelet glycoprotein Ib(beta) gene.

We report a family with Bernard-Soulier syndrome with a homozygous mutation within the GPIb(beta) gene. The proband was a 24-year-old Japanese male who has suffered from life-long bleeding tendency. The patient's sister also had severe bleeding episodes.

Depressive symptoms and associated factors in a cognitively normal elderly population: the Tajiri Project.

Background And Objective: Since depression is one of the main problems of elderly subjects, it is important to examine the prevalence of this condition and to identify associated factors.

Methods: A total of 1525 cognitively normal subjects aged 65 years and over in the town of Tajiri, a typical agricultural town in Japan, were analysed. Their MMSE (mini-mental state examination) scores were 24 or over.

Elderly Japanese emigrants to Brazil before World War II: II. Prevalence of senile dementia.

Background: We previously showed the prevalence of dementia in the town of Tajiri (Miyagi Prefecture, Japan), and found it to be 8.0%. The first population-based study on dementia in Brazil (Catanduva) disclosed the prevalence as being 7.

Elderly Japanese emigrants to Brazil before World War II: I. Clinical profiles based on specific historical background.

Objective: To research the demographic and clinical profiles of elderly Japanese emigrants, who arrived in Brazil before World War II, in order to give them appropriate psychogeriatric care.

Design: Elderly Japanese immigrants aged 65 years and over, belonging to the Miyagi Association in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area, were targeted. They emigrated from Miyagi Prefecture to Brazil and are now living in the area.

A family with hereditary factor X deficiency with a point mutation Gla32 to Gln in the Gla domain (factor X Tokyo).

We report a new family with hereditary factor X deficiency. The propositus had a markedly prolonged prothrombin time, a mild prolongation of activated partial thromboplastin time and a clotting time activated by Russell's viper venom. Factor X activity in plasma was 3 u/dl (normal range 56-138 u/dl).

A Glanzmann thrombasthenia-like phenotype caused by a defect in inside-out signaling through the integrin alpha(IIb)beta3.

Activation of the platelet integrin alpha(IIb)beta3, an essential step in platelet aggregation, is regulated by intracellular signal pathways (inside-out signaling). In this study, we characterize a 35-year-old Japanese female, HM, with a life-long history of mucocutaneous bleeding. HM showed a Glanzmann thrombasthenia-like phenotype with normal expression of alpha(IIb)beta3, and failure of platelet aggregation induced by various agonists.

A normative, community-based study of Mini-Mental State in elderly adults: the effect of age and educational level.

We investigated community-based data of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores of elderly residents along with the effects of age and educational level. MMSE was planned for all residents over 65 years of age in a town in northern Japan. The number of elders who took the MMSE was 2,266 (90%).

Three novel integrin beta3 subunit missense mutations (H280P, C560F, and G579S) in thrombasthenia, including one (H280P) prevalent in Japanese patients.

We analyzed three unrelated Japanese patients with type II Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) for associated mutations. Polymerase chain reaction and subsequent direct sequencing of platelet RNA and genomic DNA revealed three single nucleotide substitutions of the integrin beta3 subunit gene (His (CAT)-280 to Pro (CCT), Cys (TGT)-560 to Phe (TTT), and Gly(GGC)-579 to Ser(AGC)). Interestingly, the three unrelated patients all had the H280P mutation; one was homozygous and the other two heterozygous for this mutation.

Novel point mutations in the alphaIIb subunit (Phe289-->Ser, Glu324-->Lys and Gln747-->Pro) causing thrombasthenic phenotypes in four Japanese patients.

We analysed the molecular basis of Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) in four Japanese patients with type I or type II disease. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequent direct sequencing of platelet RNA and genomic DNA revealed three single nucleotide substitutions of the alphaIIb gene, which were confirmed by allele-specific PCR or restriction analysis. One patient with type I GT had a T to C base substitution in exon 11 resulting in a Phe (TTT)-289 to Ser (TCT) mutation (F289S) of the subunit.

Characterization of cDNA encoding full-length mouse platelet glycoprotein IX.

Glycoprotein (GP) IX is a platelet membrane 20 kD protein, which is associated with GPIbalpha, GPIb beta, and GPV to form GPIb/IX/V complex. GPIb/IX/V complex is a major receptor for von Willebrand factor, which mediates platelet adhesion and aggregation under high shear stress conditions. The relevance of this receptor for hemostasis has been implicated by a congenital bleeding disorder lacking the receptor, Bernard-Soulier syndrome.

Soluble P-selectin is present in normal circulation and its plasma level is elevated in patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and haemolytic uraemic syndrome.

P-selectin is an integral membrane glycoprotein stored in the secretory granules of platelets and endothelial cells. To determine whether soluble P-selectin may be present in the circulation of healthy humans, we used a sandwich immunoassay to assess citrated plasma from 50 subjects. P-selectin was present in concentrations ranging from 19 to 521 ng/ml (mean +/- SD = 121 +/- 84 ng/ml).

A monoclonal antibody-based enzyme immunoassay for human GMP-140/P-selectin.

Two hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibodies WGA-1 and PL7-6, reactive only with thrombin-stimulated human platelet have been established. Both these antibodies were investigated for their specific reactivity against GMP-140, based on the amino acid composition analysis of immunopurified antigen and N terminal amino acid sequencing of its protease fragments. A two-site enzyme immunoassay for quantification of human GMP-140 was developed using WGA-1 monoclonal antibody immobilized on 96-well microplates and horseradish peroxidase-labeled PL7-6 monoclonal antibody as detector.