The Shimanami Leaf, produced at Innoshima Island in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, is a leafy vegetable that does not require pesticide use and has a high nutritional value. Although the leaf has abundant dietary fiber and other nutrients, reports on its biological regulatory functions are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the effects of Shimanami leaf intake on bowel movement and gut microbiota in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Computed tomography (CT) can accurately measure muscle mass, which is necessary for diagnosing sarcopenia, even in dialysis patients. However, CT-based screening for such patients is challenging, especially considering the availability of equipment within dialysis facilities. We therefore aimed to develop a bedside prediction model for low muscle mass, defined by the psoas muscle mass index (PMI) from CT measurement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe shed light on the specific hydration structure around a zinc ion of nanosolution restricted in a cylindrical micropore of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) by comparison with the structure restricted in a cylindrical mesopore of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) and that of bulk aqueous solution. The average micropore width of open-pore SWNT was 0.87 nm which is equivalent to the size of a hydrated zinc ion having 6-hydrated water molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the detection of pulsed gamma rays from the Crab pulsar at energies above 100 giga-electron volts (GeV) with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) array of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The detection cannot be explained on the basis of current pulsar models. The photon spectrum of pulsed emission between 100 mega-electron volts and 400 GeV is described by a broken power law that is statistically preferred over a power law with an exponential cutoff.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi
April 2008
Purpose: The actual state of the accidental ingestion of tobacco products by children and awareness of guardians against its hazards were investigated through a survey among guardians of kindergartenaged children.
Methods: Self-reporting questionnaires were distributed to the guardians of children enrolled in nurseries and kindergartens in cities located in eastern Hiroshima prefecture. Responses of 417 guardians (response rate, 80.
The objective of this study was to clarify the cause and clinical significance of a large number of ring-down artefact (RA) observed on the dorsal side of the right hepatic lobe on abdominal ultrasound (US). 2000 abdominal US examinations were evaluated to investigate the frequency and number of RA behind the right lobe of the liver. In this study, RA observed by subcostal or intercostal US were described as the "aurora sign" when they were numerous.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 67 year-old male consulted our department for examination a painless left scrotal mass accompanied by a continuously high serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level (CA19-9, 563.2 IU/ml). The patient underwent radical orchiectomy oof the mass.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo clarify the effects of habitual volleyball exercise on bone in women during the menopausal periods, we measured bone mineral densities (BMDs) of the lumbar spine, calcaneus and tibia every 12 months for 2 years and estimated factors related to the baseline values and annual loss rates. Forty Japanese female volleyball players 42-62 years of age, who had belonged to the district non-professional club for more than 10 years on average, were recruited. Twenty women had regular menstruation at the start, but 7 underwent menopause during the study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe usefulness of peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) was investigated in the diagnosis of metabolic bone diseases, including osteoporosis, and especially in the different diagnostic values in trabecular and cortical components. The subjects were 460 Japanese women aged 20-86 years, including 318 healthy volunteers, 58 osteoporotics with fracture and 84 patients with diseases including amenorrhoea, steroid-induced osteoporosis, renal osteodystrophy (ROD) and primary hyperparathyroidism. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured for more than 4 years in 74 of the healthy volunteers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo determine the effects of menopause on bone loss in different parts of the skeleton, bone mineral density (BMD) values were measured longitudinally in 85 healthy women. BMD values included the lumbar spine measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative CT (QCT) and the distal and midradius measured by DXA obtained over 5 years. BMD at the calcaneus was measured using DXA for 3 years, and the BMD values of the distal metaphyses and diaphyses of radius and tibia were measured using peripheral QCT (pQCT) for 4 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTibial bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in 11 patients who had undergone hip joint surgery, including 10 women (22-61 years old; mean +/- SD = 42.6+/-10.3) and 1 man (61 years old).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIliac bone samples were obtained from 50 women with osteoarthrosis of the hip (50-80 years of age) during hip surgery for total hip joint replacement. After determining the resolution and threshold for the binary image, the two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) data of the trabecular structure were obtained in these iliac bone samples using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). Conventional histomorphometry was then performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have a wide range of concentrations of PSA. However, it is not known what factors influence the concentration of serum PSA other than the prostate volume. BPH is composed of an enlarged transition zone (TZ) and other zones (nonTZ).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 43 men who required further examination of erectile function, we analyzed the relationship between the various factors including hormone levels, penile blood pressure index (PBPI), shape of the arterial wave, erection period after prostaglandin E1 injection and dynamic cavernosography/metry, as well as the patterns of nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) with rigidity. Normal, dissociation, short episode, low amplitude and flat trace patterns, which were classified by Kaneko, were observed in 11, 8, 11, 2 and 11 men, respectively. Uncoupling was not observed in any men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Hinyokika Gakkai Zasshi
March 1994
The initial symptom of a testicular tumor is painless enlargement of the testis in most cases, but in some cases can manifest itself with metastatic lesions associated with a small focus. On the other hand, a occult testicular tumor accompanied by a minimal lesion in the testis, may be included in the category of extra gonadal germ-cell tumors. We have seen a 41-year-old male with a chief complaint of swelling of a cervical lymph node, who was found to have a tumor in the testis of normal size.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRed blood cell (RBC) aluminum (Al) in patients with renal failure on different treatments was studied. Nondialyzed renal failure patients had high levels of RBC Al, but low serum Al levels. However, their RBC Al levels were lower than those of patients on hemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn antifungal agent (Flucytosine) was used to treat urinary candidiasis in 9 patients who had an indwelling catheter and developed fungal colony counts greater than 10(4). Among 9 patients with catheter drainage, urologic underlying diseases were benign prostatic hyperplasia in 7 and a neurogenic bladder in one patient all of whom had accompanied diabetes mellitus. Only one patient was supravesically diverted from the upper urinary tract through an indwelling catheter of bilateral ureterocutaneostomy after the removal of a tumorous bladder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors investigated the effect of desferrioxamine (DFO) on red blood cell aluminum (RBC-AI) and the effect of DFO on anemia. To do this, serum AI (s-AI), RBC-AI, and blood hemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured periodically for 4 months after the administration of 1,000 mg of DFO (DFO infusion test) in 10 patients treated by hemodialysis (HD). The s-AI levels increased by 2 days after the administration of DFO and then decreased by day 7 to almost baseline levels.
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