Occupational class inequalities in behavioral and biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease among workers in medium- and small-scale enterprises.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine whether occupational class inequalities existed in the behavioral and biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease among workers in medium- and small-scale enterprises. We asked 1,900 enterprises in the Ishikawa prefecture who were users of an external heath check-up facility to supply anonymous individual data in 2009. The 446 enterprises consented to the invitation.

Association of Chr17q25 with cerebral white matter hyperintensities and cognitive impairment: the J-SHIPP study.

Background And Purpose: A recent genome-wide association study has successfully identified several genetic variations in the Chr17q25 locus as susceptible genotypes for white matter hyperintensities. We report the first replication study in subjects of non-European origin. We also investigated possible associations with other asymptomatic cerebrovascular diseases and cognitive function.

Postprandial hypertension, an overlooked risk marker for arteriosclerosis.

Objective: Increased blood pressure (BP) variability is suggested to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Although a postprandial decline in BP is a frequently observed phenomenon in the elderly, little attention has been paid to the clinical and diagnostic significance of postprandial BP change. Here, we aimed to clarify the possible association between postprandial BP dysregulation and arteriosclerosis.

Low-dose rosuvastatin improves the functional and morphological markers of atherosclerosis in asymptomatic postmenopausal women with dyslipidemia.

Objective: Several large-scale studies have shed light on the primary preventive efficacy of statins against atherosclerotic diseases in the course of treatment of dyslipidemia. However, this efficacy in the management of dyslipidemia in relatively low-risk patients, particularly in women, has not been clarified. Here, we investigated the efficacy of dyslipidemia treatment with a statin on three indices that are widely used to assess atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women: carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), arterial stiffness index β of the common carotid artery (carotid stiffness β), and brachial artery pulse wave velocity (baPWV).

Serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and the risk of hyperuricemia: a 6-year prospective study in Japanese men.

We conducted a longitudinal study to investigate whether increased serum gamma-glutamyltransferase independently predicts subsequent development of hyperuricemia. The study participants included 3,310 Japanese men without hyperuricemia, aged 20-54 years. The participants had annual heath examinations for 6 years to assess incident hyperuricemia (defined as serum uric acid>416.

Impact of perinatal dioxin exposure on infant growth: a cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in dioxin-contaminated areas in Vietnam.

Dioxin exposure levels remain elevated in residents living around former US Air Force bases in Vietnam, indicating potential adverse impacts on infant growth. In this study, 210 mother-infant pairs in dioxin-contaminated areas in Vietnam were recruited at the infants' birth and followed up for 4 months. Perinatal dioxin exposure levels were estimated by measurement of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans toxic equivalent (PCDDs/Fs-TEQ) in breast milk.

Liver enzyme and adipocytokine profiles are synergistically associated with insulin resistance: the J-SHIPP study.

Aim: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) are associated with insulin resistance and arteriosclerotic disease. Since adiposity raises liver enzyme levels and causes insulin resistance, adipocytokines are thought to underlie the relationship between liver enzymes and insulin resistance. To clarify this hypothesis, we conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological study in a Japanese general population.

Two cases of primary ciliary dyskinesia with different responses to macrolide treatment.

We herein report two cases of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) with different responses to macrolides. Case 1: a 17-year-old Japanese man with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection and combined defect of both inner and outer dynein arms in the cilia was unsuccessfully treated with long-term macrolides (clarithromycin, erythromycin, and azithromycin). Case 2: a 70-year-old Japanese man with deficiency of only the inner dynein arm was successfully treated with clarithromycin.

A case of Good syndrome with pulmonary lesions similar to diffuse panbronchiolitis.

We herein present a case of Good syndrome complicated by diffuse pulmonary lesions similar to diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB). A 45-year-old Japanese man was referred to our department due to recurrent lower respiratory tract infections that had started and ameliorated nine months after thymectomy for pure red cell aplasia and myasthenia gravis. Diffuse centrilobular opacities on chest computed tomography and positivity for HLA-B54 were consistent with DPB.

Self-reported speed of eating and 7-year risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Japanese men.

Objective: This cohort study investigated the association between eating speed and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged Japanese men.

Materials/methods: Participants were 2,050 male employees of a metal products factory in Japan. We measured self-reported categorical eating speed.

Overtime work and blood pressure in normotensive Japanese male workers.

Background: Epidemiological studies have observed conflicting patterns as to whether overtime work increases blood pressure (BP), probably as a consequence of methodological issues.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study to investigate the relationship between overtime work hours and 1-year changes in BP in 1,235 normotensive Japanese male workers who carried out a variety of jobs in a manufacturing factory. Casual BP measurements were repeated at annual health examinations in 2004-2005, using an automatic manometer.

[Efficacy and safety of sitafloxacin for lower respiratory tract infections].

We investigated the efficacy and safety of sitafloxacin (STFX) in patients with mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia or secondary infections of chronic respiratory tract diseases. The results showed that the efficacy rate was 96.5% (111/115) in patients analyzed for efficacy.

Inhibition of Stabilin-2 elevates circulating hyaluronic acid levels and prevents tumor metastasis.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been implicated in the proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells. However, most previous studies were conducted on extracellular matrix or pericellular HA, and the role of circulating HA in vivo has not been studied. HA is rapidly cleared from the bloodstream.

Relationship between urinary cadmium and mortality in habitants of a cadmium-polluted area: a 22-year follow-up study in Japan.

Background: Several studies have suggested that the exposure to cadmium (Cd) increased mortalities from renal diseases, cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasm, including lung cancer and prostate cancer among inhabitants living in Cd-polluted areas and factory workers. This study aimed to assess the influence of environmental exposure to Cd on long term outcome of inhabitants living in an area polluted by Cd.

Methods: A 22-year follow-up study was conducted with 3119 inhabitants (1403 men and 1716 women) living in the Cd polluted Kakehashi River basin in Japan.

[A case of rapidly progressive metastatic pulmonary amelanotic malignant melanoma 16 years after resection of melanoma].

An 80-year-old Japanese male was admitted to our hospital because of bloody sputum. He had a history of malignant melanoma of the left fourth digit, which was surgically excised 16 years previously. On hospital admission, chest computed tomography revealed several nodules in the lower lobes.

Supravalvular thrombus after pulmonary artery banding and fontan procedure evaluated by multidetector-row computed tomography.

The mechanisms responsible for thromboembolic events in children with congenital heart disease have not yet been fully elucidated. Furthermore, establishment of long-term anticoagulation therapy in Fontan patients remains controversial. Here, we report the case of a 9-year-old boy who presented with hemiparesis due to a thromboembolic stroke; the boy had previously undergone staged pulmonary artery banding and Fontan procedure.

Diesel exhaust inhalation induces heat shock protein 70 expression in vivo.

Exposure to urban air pollution is an independent risk factor for increased cardiovascular diseases. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of vascular dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases. This study has been designed to determine whether inhalation of urban air induces HSP70 expression in the lung and blood as well as the association of HSP70 and air pollution-induced vascular dysfunction.

The X-linked tumor suppressor TSPX interacts and promotes degradation of the hepatitis B viral protein HBx via the proteasome pathway.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and it is a serious global health problem with two billion people exposed to it worldwide. HBx, an essential factor for viral replication and a putative oncoprotein encoded by the HBV genome, has been shown to promote oncogenic properties at multiple sites in HBV-infected liver cells. The expression level of HBx closely associates with the development and progression of HCC, therefore the mechanism(s) regulating the stability of HBx is important in oncogenesis of HBV-infected cells.

Dietary glycemic index and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Japanese men.

This cohort study investigated the association between dietary glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Japanese men, and the effect of insulin resistance and pancreatic B-cell function on the association. Participants were 1995 male employees of a metal products factory in Japan. Dietary GI and GL were assessed using a self-administered diet history questionnaire.

Detection of MALT1 gene rearrangements in BAL fluid cells for the diagnosis of pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.

Background: Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma constitutes approximately 90% of primary pulmonary lymphoma, and the diagnosis of pulmonary MALT lymphoma often requires invasive methods such as surgical lung biopsy. Chromosomal rearrangements involving MALT lymphoma translocation gene 1 (MALT1) have been reported to be specific for MALT lymphoma. The combination of BAL and cytologic approaches with molecular methods is useful for the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders.

Exposure to diesel exhaust up-regulates iNOS expression in ApoE knockout mice.

Unlabelled: Traffic related particulate matter air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular events; however, the biological mechanisms are unclear. We hypothesize that diesel exhaust (DE) inhalation induces up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which is known to contribute to vascular dysfunction, progression of atherosclerosis and ultimately cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Methods: ApoE knockout mice (30-week) were exposed to DE (at 200 μg/m³ of particulate matter) or filtered-air (control) for 7 weeks (6 h/day, 5 days/week).

Dioxin concentrations in breast milk of Vietnamese nursing mothers: a survey four decades after the herbicide spraying.

In an operation by United States Armed Forces during 1961 to 1971, large quantities of herbicides were sprayed in South Vietnam. These herbicides contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetraCDD), the most toxic congener of dioxins. Several decades after the herbicide spraying ceased, dioxin concentrations in the environment and human remained elevated in the sprayed areas.

Transmural perfusion gradient in adenosine triphosphate stress myocardial perfusion computed tomography.

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess semi-quantification of myocardial perfusion using adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-stress myocardial perfusion computed tomography (MPCT) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods And Results: Seventeen patients with CAD underwent ATP-stress MPCT, stress myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) and coronary angiography (CAG). With ATP loading (0.