Effects of sturgeon fillet intake on top-ranked Japanese female long-distance runners.

Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate whether consumption of sturgeon fillets reduces the oxidative stress marker urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) in top-ranked Japanese female long-distance runners.

Methods: In a before-and-after study, nine professional long-distance female athletes ate 100 g/day of sturgeon fillets for 2 weeks. Urinalysis (8OHdG, an oxidative stress marker, and creatinine), blood tests (fatty acids and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25OHD]), exercise intensity, subjective fatigue, muscle elasticity, muscle mass, body fat mass, and nutritional intake using image-based dietary assessment (IBDA) were compared before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention.

A Study on the Gaze Range Calculation Method During an Actual Car Driving Using Eyeball Angle and Head Angle Information.

Car operation requires advanced brain function. Currently, evaluation of the motor vehicle driving ability of people with higher brain dysfunction is medically unknown and there are few evaluation criteria. The increase in accidents by elderly drivers is a social problem in Japan, and a method to evaluate whether elderly people can drive a car is needed.

Gaze Estimation Method Using Analysis of Electrooculogram Signals and Kinect Sensor.

A gaze estimation system is one of the communication methods for severely disabled people who cannot perform gestures and speech. We previously developed an eye tracking method using a compact and light electrooculogram (EOG) signal, but its accuracy is not very high. In the present study, we conducted experiments to investigate the EOG component strongly correlated with the change of eye movements.

Factors affecting prolonged length of stay in psychiatric patients in Japan: A retrospective observational study.

Aim: Hospital length of stay (LOS) is one of the stratified measures of health-care efficiency and is commonly used to assess performance of psychiatric care. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for prolonged LOS of psychiatric patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed adult psychiatric patients (ICD-10; F00-F99) between April 2012 and March 2014 in the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database.

Calibration and evaluation of routine methods by serum certified reference material for aldosterone measurement in blood.

We attempted to study the standardization of aldosterone measurement in blood. The serum certified reference material (serum CRM) was established by spiking healthy human serum with pure aldosterone. ID-LC/MS/MS as a reference measurement procedure was performed by using the serum CRM.

EOG-sEMG Human Interface for Communication.

The aim of this study is to present electrooculogram (EOG) and surface electromyogram (sEMG) signals that can be used as a human-computer interface. Establishing an efficient alternative channel for communication without overt speech and hand movements is important for increasing the quality of life for patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, or other illnesses. In this paper, we propose an EOG-sEMG human-computer interface system for communication using both cross-channels and parallel lines channels on the face with the same electrodes.

Association of subjective and objective socioeconomic status with subjective mental health and mental disorders among Japanese men and women.

Background: An inverse association between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health has been previously well reported, but the evidence is limited in Asian populations.

Purpose: We therefore investigated the association of SES and subjective mental health and prevalence of any mental disorders in the general population of Japan.

Method: We used data from the World Mental Health Japan Survey of 1,496 randomly selected people aged 20 years and older in Japan.

Association of occupation, employment contract, and company size with mental health in a national representative sample of employees in Japan.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association of employment contract, company size, and occupation with psychological distress using a nationally representative sample of the Japanese population.

Methods: From June through July 2007, a total of 9,461 male and 7,717 female employees living in the community were randomly selected and surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire and interview including questions about occupational class variables, psychological distress (K6 scale), treatment for mental disorders, and other covariates.

Results: Among males, part-time workers had a significantly higher prevalence of psychological distress than permanent workers.

The impact of subjective and objective social status on psychological distress among men and women in Japan.

From around 1990s, social disparity issues and their effects on mental health have been gaining increasing attention in Japanese society. Findings from previous studies on socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health in Japan are inconsistent. Subjective Social Status (SSS) has been proposed and tested as a stronger predictor of mental health than measures such as education, income and occupation in the UK and US, but this has not been tested enough in countries with a different social and cultural background such as Japan.

[Management of difficult-to-treat asthma using a flow sheet for systematic evaluation and therapeutic intervention].

Background: Although most patients of asthma can be controlled by inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), some patients remain uncontrolled even after the introduction of ICS treatment. In management of such difficult-to-treat asthma, systematic review including additional differential diagnosis and avoidance of exacerbating factors is very important.

Methods: Here we postulate a flow sheet presenting an algorithm which intends to achieve better asthma control following ATS refractory asthma guidance.