Deep-sea in situ determination of sulfide using a sensitized chemiluminescent terbium complex.

A new chemiluminescence (CL) method based on the chemiluminescent reaction between sulfide and an acidic permanganate solution was used to quantify sulfide in seawater. A terbium-pipemidic acid complex was used as CL enhancer. The method was used to determine sulfide in the concentration range of 1-30 μmol/L in artificial seawater samples.

Case report: Vascular graft infection due to Aspergillus species presenting with recurrent vascular occlusion.

Background: An aortic graft implantation is an effective therapeutic method for various aortic diseases. However, it is known that sometimes these implanted grafts can be the foci of infections. Here we report a rare case of graft infection that presented multiple embolisms of aortic branches and peripheral organs.

A rapidly growing cardiac calcified amorphous tumour diagnosed after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a case report.

Background: A cardiac calcified amorphous tumour (CAT) is a non-neoplastic intracavitary cardiac mass. The most serious complication is systemic embolism. Cardiac CATs tend to be surgically resected immediately after detection; therefore, its progress of growth is rarely reported.

Colorimetric pH measurement for seawater samples using a three light-emitting diodes detector and a calibration method for temperature dependence.

A colorimetric pH measurement of seawater samples using a light source comprising a three light-emitting diodes (TLED) detector and meta-cresol purple (mCP) as an indicator was investigated. The molar absorption ratios (e1, e2, and e3/e2) for mCP using the TLED detector at 25°C were determined to be 0, 1.9994, and 0.

The new school absentees reporting system for pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 infection in Japan.

Objective: To evaluate the new Japanese School Absentees Reporting System for Infectious Disease (SARSID) for pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 infection in comparison with the National epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Disease (NESID).

Methods: We used data of 53,223 students (97.7%) in Takamatsu city Japan.

Evaluation of ventilatory threshold and its relation to exercise habits among Japanese.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate aerobic exercise levels, expressed in terms of ventilatory threshold (VT), in a Japanese population and explore the relationship between VT and exercise habits in this population.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which data collected from 547 men and 524 women aged 20-69 years and not on medications, were used to assess exercise habits and parameters at VT, namely, oxygen uptake, work rate, and heart rate.

Results: Age-related changes in parameters at VT were noted.

Evaluation of health-related quality of life using EQ-5D in Takamatsu, Japan.

Objectives: Healthy Japan 21 (Japanese National Health Promotion in the 21st Century) was started in 2000 to promote extension of healthy life expectancy and improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The present study aims to describe HRQOL of Japanese subjects using the EuroQol questionnaire (EQ-5D) and investigate the influence of social background, health-related behaviors, and chronic conditions on HRQOL using representatives in Takamatsu, Japan.

Methods: Data were obtained from a 2005 Takamatsu City health survey mailed to 2,500 randomly selected Japanese individuals in Takamatsu, a medium-sized city.

Relation between cigarette smoking and ventilatory threshold in the Japanese.

The link between cigarette smoking and ventilatory threshold (VT) was investigated. We used data for 407 men and 418 women not taking medication. Habits of cigarette smoking were obtained through interviews by well-trained staff.

Evaluation of carotid arterial intima-media thickness (IMT) and its relation to clinical parameters in Japanese children.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the carotid arterial intima-media thickness (IMT) and its relation to clinical parameters in Japanese children. Fifty-two healthy children (39 boys and 13 girls), aged 6-14 years, were enrolled in this cross-sectional investigation study. IMT of the common carotid artery was determined using ultrasonography.

Determination of sulfide with acidic permanganate chemiluminescence for development of deep-sea in-situ analyzers.

A new chemiluminescence method is proposed for the determination of sulfide in seawater based on the chemiluminescence reaction between sulfide and an acidic permanganate solution. 3-Cyclohexylaminopropanesulfonic acid was used as a chemiluminescence enhancer. By use of this method, 1-150 µM of sulfide could be determined in artificial seawater.

Comparison of the changes in temperatures among rural, urban and metropolitan areas around the Inland Sea in Japan.

We investigated the changes in temperatures in Takamatsu, Tadotsu and Osaka areas in Japan. Data of temperatures in Takamatsu (urban area: 1942-2009), Tadotsu (rural area: 1893-2009) and Osaka (metropolitan area: 1883-2009) areas around the Inland Sea in Japan was obtained from Japan Meteorological Agency. The changes in temperatures in three areas in Japan were analyzed and compared.

Influence of cigarette smoking on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in Japanese male workers.

The link between changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and cigarette smoking was evaluated in Japanese male workers with a 5-year follow-up. We examined the data of 456 Japanese male workers, aged 22-70 years, who were taking no medications, and from this group, 286 men (43.5±8.

The chemistry of drying an aqueous solution of salts.

The fate of salts in drying aqueous solution was investigated. In the drying of acidic solutions, weak acid ions and chloride ions combine with protons and evaporate, depending on the proton concentration. In the drying of alkaline solutions, weak acid ions evaporate or remain as salts depending on the ratio of the concentrations of excess nonvolatile cations (the difference between concentrations of nonvolatile cation and nonvolatile anion) to volatile anions defined as DeltaCA.

Association between interpersonal relationship among high-school students and mental health.

Objectives: Adolescents have many anxieties, and having someone to consult is important for them to maintain their mental health. This study examines: whether students have someone to consult; if they have, whether there are differences in their depressive state and in their degree of satisfaction with their school lives depending on whom they consult; and how their mental health is affected by their human relations.

Methods: Persons whom high-school students consult about their worries, Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children (DSRS-C), and satisfaction of high-school students with their school lives were surveyed in 2,646 students of public high schools in A Prefecture, and the persons selected for consultation were classified into four groups ("no one," "friends," "adults," and "friends and adults") and analyzed.

Possible sources of urinary benzene among nonoccupationally exposed Japanese subjects.

Unmetabolized benzene in urine (U-benzene) is known to be the best marker among the indices for the biological monitoring of occupational and environmental exposure to benzene. In this study, we determined the levels of U-benzene among Japanese university students exposed to benzene nonoccupationally and analyzed the relation between U-benzene levels and the possible factors responsible for environmental benzene exposure. In urinalysis, U-benzene concentration among 124 students was detected in the range from 18 (minimum detection limit) to 249 ng/l.

Solvent effect on photoisomerisation of 3-methyl-1-phenylbutane-1,2-dione 2-oxime.

Photoisomerisation of (2E)- and (2Z)-3-methyl-1-phenylbutane-1,2-dione 2-oxime (MPBDO) in several solvents was studied. With increasing dielectric constants of solvents, kinetic constants of forward reactions (E-form-->Z-form) did not change appreciably but those of reverse reactions (Z-form-->E-form) decreased. The positive correlation was found between equilibrium constants of photoisomerisation and dielectric constants of solvents.

Highly reproducible spatiotemporal patterns of mammalian embryonic movements at the developmental stage of the earliest spontaneous motility.

The principles underlying the variations in patterns of mammalian embryonic movements have not been established. In an attempt to clarify the mechanism that is responsible for the variations in motor patterns, we carried out a precise quantitative spatiotemporal analysis of movements in mouse embryos, using a transplacental perfusion method for the in vitro maintenance of live mammalian embryos. Episodes of spontaneous movements at the inception of motility, at embryonic day 12.

Movements of mouse fetuses in early stages of neural development studied in vitro.

The transplacental perfusion method enables the in vitro maintenance and close observation of live mouse fetuses under conditions free of maternal influences. In the present study, this method was used to detect spontaneous movements of mouse fetuses in early developmental stages. When mouse fetuses at embryonic day (E) 12.

Collection and transplantation of peripheral blood stem cells in very small children weighting 20 kg or less.

The safety and efficacy of harvesting peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells (PBSC) were evaluated in 38 children weighing 20 kg or less, with the smallest patient weighing 7 kg. The patients had a median age of 42 months and included 26 children with acute leukemias or lymphoma and 12 with various solid tumors. A total of 81 aphereses were performed, mostly in the recovery phase of chemotherapy, with or without granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, using a CS-3000 cell separator and regular procedure no.

Optimal growth of human blood hematopoietic progenitor cells collected by apheresis for autografts.

For safe autografts with peripheral blood hematopoietic cells (PBSCT), better methods for determining the kinetics of stem cell populations and predicting engraftment speed after PBSCT need to be established. Current methods include culture in semi-solid medium and measurement of CD34 cell surface antigen. In this study with only partially purified blood cells obtained from children with cancer in remission, we compared the effects of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocyte-conditioned medium (PHA-LCM) and recombinant human cytokines on the growth of progenitor cells in a methylcellulose culture system.

Synergism of interleukin 12, interleukin 3 and serum factor on primitive human hematopoietic progenitor cells.

Interleukin 12 (IL-12), or natural killer cell stimulatory factor (NKSF), has multiple biologic effects on T lymphocytes and natural killer cells. In this study, we evaluated the effect of IL-12 on human hematopoiesis by analyzing the growth of CD34+33- cells in methylcellulose culture with or without serum. Blood cells were collected by apheresis from an expanded stem cell pool during the rebound phase of hematopoiesis after chemotherapy and purified by combined purification procedures to yield target CD34+33- cells.

Mouse fetuses in late gestation maintained in vitro by a transplacental perfusion method and their physiological activities.

The present study demonstrated that live mouse fetuses in late gestation can be kept in vitro and their physiological activities maintained for over 24 h. Fetuses together with uterus were isolated from pregnant mice at 11.5-17.

Effects of rhG-CSF (filgrastim) on the recovery of hematopoiesis after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in children: a report from the Children's Cancer and Leukemia Study Group of Japan.

In a nonrandomized study, hematopoietic recovery kinetics were evaluated in 98 consecutive patients who underwent high-dose chemotherapy without total body irradiation (TBI) and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Fifty-three patients received recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) (filgrastim) therapy after PBSCT, and the data were compared by actuarial analysis to those of 45 historic controls. The number of days required to achieve a white blood cell count (WBC) of 1 x 10(9)/L, an absolute granulocyte count (AGC) of 5 x 10(8)/L, and a platelet count (PLT) of 5 x 10(10)/L were, respectively, 12.