Factors Associated with Defecation Satisfaction among Japanese Adults with Chronic Constipation.

Constipation causes substantial morbidity worldwide. This survey assessed constipation-related factors in Japan using the Japanese version of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Quality of Life (IBS-QOL-J) instrument. We also examined the relationship among laxative type, Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS) scores, and treatment cost.

Background factors involved in the epidemiology of functional constipation in the Japanese population: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Functional constipation (FC), a functional bowel disorder with symptoms of constipation, has considerable impact on quality of life. As data regarding its prevalence and epidemiology are lacking, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, population composition, lifestyle, quality of life, and clinical characteristics of these individuals by comparing people with and without FC. These parameters were also compared among individuals with strong and weak awareness of constipation.

Oral Litholysis in Patients with Chronic Calcific Pancreatitis Unresponsive to or Ineligible for Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy and Endoscopic Therapy.

Background/aims: Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral litholysis in patients with chronic calcific pancreatitis (CCP) unresponsive to or ineligible for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and endoscopic therapy.

Methods: Trimethadione, an antiepileptic agent, was administered orally at a dose of 0.6-0.

Microbial community structure in deep natural gas-bearing aquifers subjected to sulfate-containing fluid injection.

In the natural gas field located in central Japan, high concentrations of natural gases and iodide ions are dissolved in formation water and commercially produced in deep aquifers. In the iodine recovery process, the produced formation water is amended with sulfate, and this fluid is injected into gas-bearing aquifers, which may lead to infrastructure corrosion by hydrogen sulfide. In this study, we examined the microbial community in aquifers subjected to sulfate-containing fluid injection.

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis and Dermal Perivascular Hemophagocytosis Associated With Adalimumab Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors target TNF-α to effectively treat autoimmune inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. However, many cases of cutaneous and systemic vasculitis related to TNF-α inhibitors have been reported in the literature. Here, the authors report the first case of a 61-year-old Japanese woman who developed leukocytoclastic vasculitis with cutaneous perivascular hemophagocytosis, which was related to elevated cytokines and immune complexes after initiating adalimumab for rheumatoid arthritis without evidence of hemophagocytic syndrome and rarely encountered in the skin.

[The Influence of Tourniquet during Total Knee Arthroplasty on Perioperative Blood Loss and Postoperative Complications].

Background: Previous studies have shown that tourniquet (TQ) during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is associated with nerve injury and deep vein thrombosis. However, it is still not clear whether TQ which is effective in decreasing intraoperative blood loss and creating a bloodless surgical fields, is beneficial in management during and after TKA.

Methods: We compared intra- and postoperative management of patients undergoing TKA with (Group T, n = 41) and that without a TQ (Group N, n = 40) at Toyama Prefectural Central Hospital.

[Anesthetic Management for a Patient with Fibromyalgia].

A 22-year-old female with fibromyalgia (FM) was scheduled for tonsillectomy under general anesthesia. Her medication included pregabalin 300 mg x day(-1) and dantrolene 50 mg x day(-1). Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane-remifentanil-fentanyl.

Physicochemical impacts associated with natural gas development on methanogenesis in deep sand aquifers.

The Minami-Kanto gas field, where gases are dissolved in formation water, is a potential analogue for a marine gas hydrate area because both areas are characterized by the accumulation of microbial methane in marine turbidite sand layers interbedded with mud layers. This study examined the physicochemical impacts associated with natural gas production and well drilling on the methanogenic activity and composition in this gas field. Twenty-four gas-associated formation water samples were collected from confined sand aquifers through production wells.

Methanohalophilus levihalophilus sp. nov., a slightly halophilic, methylotrophic methanogen isolated from natural gas-bearing deep aquifers, and emended description of the genus Methanohalophilus.

A mesophilic, slightly halophilic, obligately methylotrophic, methanogenic archaeon, designated strain GTA13(T), was isolated from natural gas-bearing confined aquifers in the Minami-Kanto gas field, Japan. The cells were non-motile, slightly irregular cocci, 0.7-1.

Solvent extraction of silver picrate by 3m-crown-m ethers (m = 5, 6) and its mono-benzo-derivative from water into benzene or chloroform: elucidation of an extraction equilibrium using component equilibrium constants.

Ion-pair formation constant (K(AgPic) in mol(-1)dm(3)) of silver picrate (AgPic), those (K(AgLPic)) of its ion-pair complexes (AgLPic) with crown ethers (L) and complex formation constants (K(AgL)) of Ag(+) with L (15-crown-5 ether (15C5) and benzo-15C5) in water (w) were determined potentiometrically at 25 degrees C. Compounds used as L were 18-crown-6 ether (18C6), its benzo-derivative (B18C6) and the two 15C5 derivatives. Extraction constants (K(ex) in mol(-1)dm(3)) of AgPic with L (15C5, 18C6, B18C6) from acidic w-phases into either C(6)H(6) or CHCl(3) were recalculated from K(AgPic), K(AgL), K(AgLPic) and data opened in previous papers.

Solvent extraction of permanganates (Na, K) by 18-crown-6 ether from water into 1,2-dichloroethane: elucidation of an extraction equilibrium based on component equilibria.

Ion-pair formation constants (K(MLA) mol(-1) dm(3)) of Na(+)- and K(+)-18-crown-6 ether (18C6) complexes with MnO(4)(-) in water (w) were determined potentiometrically at 25 degrees C. Simultaneously, extraction constants (K(ex) mol(-2) dm(6)) of the permanganates with 18C6 from w into 1,2-dichloroethane at 25 degrees C were obtained from the spectrophotometric determination of distribution ratios of the permanganates. These K(ex) values were divided into K(MLA) and other three component equilibrium constants and thereby extraction-selectivity and -ability were discussed in comparison with corresponding metal picrate-18C6 extraction systems reported before.

Determination of ion-pair formation constants of univalent metal-crown ether complex ions with anions in water using ion-selective electrodes: application of modified determination methods to several salts.

Ion-pair formation constants (mol(-1) dm3 unit), K(MX) for a univalent metal salt (MX) and K(MLX) for its ion-pair complex (ML+X-) with a crown ether (L) in water, were determined at various ionic strengths (I) and 25 degrees C by potentiometry with ion-selective electrodes for MX=NaPic, NaMnO4, NaBPh4, KPic, and KMnO4; and MLX = Na(18C6)Pic, K(18C6)Pic, and Na(18C6)BPh4, where Pic- and 18C6 denote a picrate ion and 18-crown-6 ether, respectively. Equations for analyzing I-dependence of logK(MLX) and logK(MX) were derived and fitted well to the I-dependence using a non-linear regression analysis. The equilibrium constants at I = 0 mol dm(-3), K(MLX) degrees and K(MX) degrees, were simultaneously obtained from the analysis.