Work-related aggression and violence committed by patients and its psychological influence on doctors.

Objectives: To determine the incidence rate of work-related aggression and violence (WRAV) against doctors and investigate risk factors and psychological influences of WRAV doctors.

Methods: We sent a self-administered questionnaire on WRAV committed by patients and their associates to 1,148 doctors in Nara Prefecture, Japan. We calculated the incidence rate of WRAV using the number of incidents encountered during the previous 12 mo and the doctor's average weekly working hours.

Blocking synaptic transmission with tetanus toxin light chain reveals modes of neurotransmission in the PDF-positive circadian clock neurons of Drosophila melanogaster.

Circadian locomotor rhythms of Drosophila melanogaster are controlled by a neuronal circuit composed of approximately 150 clock neurons that are roughly classified into seven groups. In the circuit, a group of neurons expressing pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) play an important role in organizing the pacemaking system. Recent studies imply that unknown chemical neurotransmitter(s) (UNT) other than PDF is also expressed in the PDF-positive neurons.

An updated historical cohort mortality study of workers exposed to asbestos in a refitting shipyard, 1947-2007.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term health effects of occupational asbestos exposure, an updated historical cohort mortality study of workers at a refitting shipyard was undertaken.

Methods: The cohort consisted of 249 male ship repair workers (90 laggers, 159 boiler repairers). To determine relative excess mortality, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using mortality rates among the Japanese male population.

Alcohol intake and bone status in elderly Japanese men: baseline data from the Fujiwara-kyo osteoporosis risk in men (FORMEN) study.

There are no data concerning a relationship between alcohol and bone status from a large-scale community-based study of elderly Japanese men. The baseline survey for the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men Study was performed in 2174 male participants during the period from 2007 to 2008 in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Among them 1665 fitted the following inclusion criteria: (a) age ≥65years, (b) no diseases or drug therapy that could affect bone mineral density (BMD).

Serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin levels are inversely associated with glycemic status and insulin resistance in an elderly Japanese male population: Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) Study.

Summary: Recent animal studies have demonstrated that undercarboxylated osteocalcin upregulates insulin secretion via osteoblast-insulin signaling. However, it remains unclear whether such a pathway exists in humans. This study showed that serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin levels were inversely associated with fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A(1c), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels in community-dwelling elderly Japanese men.

Association between vitamin K intake from fermented soybeans, natto, and bone mineral density in elderly Japanese men: the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study.

Summary: A cross-sectional analysis of 1,662 community dwelling elderly Japanese men suggested that habitual natto intake was significantly associated with higher bone mineral density (BMD). When adjustment was made for undercarboxylated osteocalcin levels, this association was insignificant, showing the natto-bone association to be primarily mediated by vitamin K.

Introduction: Low vitamin K intake is associated with an increased risk of hip fracture, but reports have been inconsistent on its effect on BMD.

Working hours, occupational stress and depression among physicians.

Background: Physicians report high prevalence of depression, work long hours and are exposed to many occupational stresses (OSs).

Aims: To investigate the cross-sectional association between working hours, OS and depression among physicians.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 1902 alumni of a medical school.

Novel concentration method for the detection of norovirus and sapovirus from water using minute particles of amorphous calcium phosphate.

A novel concentration method using minute particles of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) was developed for the detection of caliciviruses including norovirus and sapovirus, agents of human gastroenteritis, from water. In seeding experiments with feline calicivirus (FCV), ACP particles were able to adsorb efficiently the viruses in water, and the FCV-concentrated solution was obtained by dissolution of the virus-adsorbing ACP particles with citric acid after centrifugation. By quantitative real-time RT-PCR, the recovery efficiencies from 300 ml ultrapure water seeded with 10³, 10⁴ and >10⁵ copies of FCV were 48, 68 and >100 %, respectively.

Chiral N-heterocyclic carbene-copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric allylic arylation of aliphatic allylic bromides: steric and electronic effects on γ-selectivity.

Chiral N-heterocyclic carbene ligands were electronically and sterically tuned to improve γ-selectivity in copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric allylic arylation of aliphatic allylic bromides with several aryl Grignard reagents. High γ-selectivity was realized when either the aryl group of the Grignard reagent or the aryl group on the N-substituent of the carbene ligand was electron-deficient or when either the carbene ligand or allylic bromide was bulky. The results indicated that electron deficiency and steric hindrance of the initially formed σ-allyl copper intermediate enhance the rate of the reductive elimination to give γ-products as major isomers.

Temperature entrainment of the circadian cuticle deposition rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster.

The cuticle deposition rhythm, which is observed in the apodeme of the furca in the thorax, is controlled by a peripheral circadian clock in the epidermal cells and entrained to light-dark (LD) cycles via CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) in Drosophila melanogaster. In the present study, we examined the effects of temperature (TC) cycles and the combination of LD and TC cycles on entrainment of the cuticle deposition rhythm. The rhythm was entrained to TC cycles, whose period was 28 h.

Pigment-dispersing factor affects nocturnal activity rhythms, photic entrainment, and the free-running period of the circadian clock in the cricket gryllus bimaculatus.

Pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) is a neuropeptide widely distributed in insect brains and plays important roles in the circadian system. In this study, we used RNA interference to study the role of the pigment-dispersing factor (pdf) gene in regulating circadian locomotor rhythms in the cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. Injections of pdf double-stranded RNA (dspdf) effectively knocked down the pdf mRNA and PDF peptide levels.

Serum cytokeratin 18 M30 antigen level and its correlation with nutritional parameters in middle-aged Japanese males with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Cytokeratin (CK) 18 M30 antigen has been proposed as a diagnostic marker of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We studied serum CK18 M30 antigen level and examined the correlations among CK18 and biological data, dietary intake, and plasma fatty acid composition in middle-aged Japanese males with (NAFLD; n=42) and without NAFLD (control; n=35). NAFLD was diagnosed if subjects showed fatty liver on abdominal ultrasonography and their alcohol consumption was <20 g/d.

Relationship of tooth loss to mild memory impairment and cognitive impairment: findings from the Fujiwara-kyo study.

Background: This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between the number of remaining teeth to mild memory impairment (MMI), which is a preclinical stage of dementia, and to cognitive impairment.

Methods: The subjects were aged 65 years or older and were grouped according to their score for the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the three-word delayed recall test in the MMSE, and the Geriatric Depression Scale into the control group (n = 3,696), the MMI group (n = 121), and the low MMSE score (23 or lower) group (n = 214). We collected data on the number of remaining teeth, the length of the edentulous period, health-related lifestyle, medical history, blood pressure, height, and body weight.

Stereoselective formal synthesis of (+)-allokainic acid via thiol-mediated acyl radical cyclization.

Stereoselective formal synthesis of (+)-allokainic acid was accomplished starting from L-glutamate by using a thiol-mediated acyl radical cyclization as a key step. The cyclization of a formylalkenoate proceeded in a highly diastereoselective manner to give trans-4,5-disubstituted pyrrolidin-3-one without the production of the cis-isomer. The pyrrolidinone was then converted into the established synthetic intermediate of (+)-allokainic acid via the iron-catalyzed coupling reaction with an isopropenyl Grignard reagent.

NIASGBdb: NIAS Genebank databases for genetic resources and plant disease information.

The National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS) is implementing the NIAS Genebank Project for conservation and promotion of agrobiological genetic resources to contribute to the development and utilization of agriculture and agricultural products. The project's databases (NIASGBdb; http://www.gene.

Pathogenesis of hepatitis E virus and hepatitis C virus in chimpanzees: similarities and differences.

The chimpanzee is the only animal model for investigating the pathogenesis of viral hepatitis types A through E in humans. Studies of the host response, including microarray analyses, have relied on the close relationship between these two primate species: chimpanzee samples are commonly tested with human-based reagents. In this study, the host responses to two dissimilar viruses, hepatitis E virus (HEV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), were compared in multiple experimentally infected chimpanzees.

RNA interference of timeless gene does not disrupt circadian locomotor rhythms in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus.

Molecular studies revealed that autoregulatory negative feedback loops consisting of so-called "clock genes" constitute the circadian clock in Drosophila. However, this hypothesis is not fully supported in other insects and is thus to be examined. In the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, we have previously shown that period (per) plays an essential role in the rhythm generation.

Tooth loss is associated with mild memory impairment in the elderly: the Fujiwara-kyo study.

It has been reported that tooth loss is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between tooth loss and mild memory impairment (MMI) among the elderly. We examined 3,061 community residents aged 65 years or older who had a score of 24 or more on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

Circadian oscillations outside the optic lobe in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus.

Although circadian rhythms are found in many peripheral tissues in insects, the control mechanism is still to be elucidated. To investigate the central and peripheral relationships in the circadian organization, circadian rhythms outside the optic lobes were examined in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus by measuring mRNA levels of period (per) and timeless (tim) genes in the brain, terminal abdominal ganglion (TAG), anterior stomach, mid-gut, testis, and Malpighian tubules. Except for Malpighian tubules and testis, the tissues showed a daily rhythmic expression in either both per and tim or tim alone in LD.

Molecular cloning and functional analysis of the clock genes, Clock and cycle, in the firebrat Thermobia domestica.

Comparative molecular analysis reveals a wide variation of clock mechanisms among insects. In this study, the clock gene homologues of Clock (Td'Clk) and cycle (Td'cyc) were cloned from an apterygote insect, Thermobia domestica. Structural analysis showed that Td'CLK includes bHLH, PAS-A, PAS-B domains but lacks a polyglutamine repeat in the C terminal region that is implicated for transcriptional activity in Drosophila CLK.

Structural transition in indium phosphide nanowires.

We study the catalyst-free growth of InP nanowires using selective-area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) and show that they undergo transition of crystal structures depending on the growth conditions. InP nanowires were grown on InP substrates where the mask for the template of the growth was defined. The nanowires were grown only in the opening region of the mask.

Impact of smoking on bone mineral density and bone metabolism in elderly men: the Fujiwara-kyo Osteoporosis Risk in Men (FORMEN) study.

Unlabelled: Our cross-sectional analysis of 1,576 men aged ≥65 years examined smoking effects on bone status. Number of smoking years was associated with decreased bone mineral density (BMD), after adjusting for age, height, weight, and number of cigarettes smoked daily. Smoking did not affect biochemical marker serum values for bone turnover.

Stereoselective radical addition of an acetal to sterically tuned enantiomerically pure N-sulfinyl imines.

Enantiomerically enriched sulfonamides were synthesized by the radical addition of an acetal to enantiomerically pure N-sulfinyl imines using dimethylzinc-air and boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. Higher levels of stereocontrol were observed by using a mesitylenesulfinyl group. Furthermore, an amine and an amino alcohol with high enantiomeric purity were obtainable from the sulfonamide product.