Effects of Repeated I-Iodobenzylguanidine Radiotherapy on Tumor Size and Tumor Metabolic Activity in Patients with Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumors.

I-iodobenzylguanidine (I-MIBG) radiotherapy has shown some survival benefits in metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). European Association of Nuclear Medicine clinical guidelines for I-MIBG radiotherapy suggest a repeated treatment protocol, although none currently exists. The existing single-high-dose I-MIBG radiotherapy (444 MBq/kg) has been shown to have some benefits for patients with metastatic NETs.

Normal viscous force of pendular liquid bridge between two relatively moving particles.

In this work, Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of a pendular liquid bridge formed between two relatively moving particles are performed to evaluate the normal component of the viscous force exerted on the particles. The viscous force obtained are non-dimensionalised in order to clarify the parameters which can affect the dimensionless force. The DNS results are compared with the viscous force models in literature which are commonly used in DEM simulations.

Multidirectional lip-closing force in adults with mandibular deviation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between multidi-rectional lip-closing force and facial soft tissue morphology in adults with mandibular deviation. Fifteen Japanese adults with mandibular deviation participated in this study. The deviation value was defined as the horizontal distance between soft tissue menton and the facial midline.

First Isolation of carbon dioxide-dependent Proteus mirabilis from an uncomplicated cystitis patient with Sjögren's syndrome.

An uncomplicated cystitis caused by CO2-dependent Proteus mirabilis was observed in a 64-year-old Japanese female patient with Sjögren's syndrome in the Aomori Kyoritsu Hospital, Aomori, Japan. The initial P. mirabilis isolate came from a midstream urine specimen containing large numbers of Gram-negative, rod-shaped organisms that failed to grow on both Drigalski agar and sheep blood agar incubated in ambient air.

Measurement accuracy with a new dental panoramic radiographic technique based on tomosynthesis.

Objective: To investigate measurement errors and head positioning effects on radiographs made with new dental panoramic radiograph equipment that uses tomosynthesis.

Materials And Methods: Radiographic images of a simulated human head or phantom were made at standard head positions using the new dental panoramic radiograph equipment. Measurement errors were evaluated by comparing with the true values.

Nasal obstruction causes a decrease in lip-closing force.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between nasal obstruction and lip-closing force.

Materials And Methods: Nasal airway resistance and lip-closing force measures were recorded for 54 Japanese females. The subjects were classified into normal and nasal obstruction groups according to nasal airway resistance values.

Obesity and cholesterol in Japanese, French, and U.S. children.

The number of children at risk for overweight/obesity has increased dramatically in the last decade worldwide. This study compares measures of obesity (body mass index [BMI] and body fat percentage) and total cholesterol in 4,013 fourth-grade students from three countries, France, Japan, and the United States. Data were analyzed using t test, chi-square, and analysis of variance to determine differences between groups and by multiple linear regression.

Prevalence of typus melancholicus in healthy germans.

Background: There have been few studies concerning the prevalence of Typus melancholicus (TM) in healthy volunteers based on age or sex. To our knowledge, no such studies have been performed in healthy Germans, but several in healthy Japanese people. Therefore, it is necessary to also determine the prevalence of TM in healthy Germans, in order to know whether the prevalence of TM is cross-culturally constant.

Dimension of Typus melancholicus on Kasahara's Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality.

Background: Traditionally, Typus melancholicus (TM) was considered, a priori, to represent unidimensionality. Recent studies have suggested that TM is not a personality trait, but rather a constellation of personality traits. The purpose of this study was to examine whether TM on Kasahara's Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality (KIMTP), considered to represent one of the valid TM questionnaires, is comprised of personality dimensions, and if so, which dimension is essential for distinguishing depressive subjects from control subjects.

Concordance between self- and observer-ratings on Kasahara's Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality.

The concordance between self- and observer-ratings was investigated for items on Kasahara's Inventory for the Melancholic Type Personality (KIMTP). Subjects consisted of 44 patients diagnosed with an ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for research (DCR) depressive episode (F32) or recurrent depressive disorder (F33) unipolar affective disorder, and 44 observers. Thirty-one of the 44 patients were diagnosed with endogenous depression.

Reliability and validity of Kasahara's scale of melancholic type of personality (Typus melancholicus) in a German sample population.

We explored the reliability and validity of Kasahara's scale of melancholic type of personality (KMT) in a German sample population. Subjects comprised 66 patients diagnosed with an affective disorder (F3, ICD-10) and 94 controls. Concerning reliability, KMT scores showed internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.

Mental health problems after stroke.

We investigated the mental health of 47 subjects (30 men, mean age 63.8+/-7.7; 17 women, mean age 68.

Significance of the atherosclerogenic index and body fat in children as markers for future, potential coronary heart disease.

Background: The purpose of this study is to establish a simple marker in children for future, potential risks of coronary heart disease.

Methods: We measured serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) by enzymatic methods, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) by the dextran sulfate-magnesium method and estimated body fat by the new impedance method in 1289 children (651 boys and 638 girls) in the fourth grade (9 or 10 years old) to obtain the atherosclerogenic index (AI). We also investigated the children's lifestyle.

The accelerated increase in lean body mass of pre-pubescent Japanese boys at 10 to 11 years of age.

The present study investigated changes in body composition in relation to growth to evaluate at what age Japanese children begin their pre-pubescent growth spurt. Children aged 9 were followed to age 10 (The age 9 group), and those aged 10 were followed to age 11 (The age 10 group). The increase in lean body mass per one-year increment of body height (Δ LBM/ ΔBH) in the age 10 boys group was significantly higher than that in the age 9 boys group.

How do the Japanese medical students evaluate the effectiveness of anti-smoking strategies?- an application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process.

In order to establish the effective strategies to reduce the smoking prevalence among teenagers in Japan, the author evaluated opinions of the 30 male medical students with smoking habit by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. In the AHP model, the six factors are considered to be important for the onset of teenagers smoking; smoking habit of peers, smoking habit of family members, tobacco advertising, convenience to buy cigarettes, social acceptance of smoking and knowledge of harmful effects of smoking, and the five strategies are proposed; tobacco advertising ban, higher pricing of tobacco, promotion of antismoking education, regulation on tobacco sales, and regulation on smoking area. According to the medical students' perspective, the strategy of "higher pricing of tobacco" was considered to be the most effective strategy to reduce the smoking incidence of the teenagers, followed by "regulation on tobacco sales", "promotion of anti-smoking education", "regulation on smoking area", and "tobacco advertising ban"

Eating habits, activity, lipids and body mass index in Japanese children: the Shiratori Children Study.

Objective: To describe the eating habits and physical activity of Japanese children aged 10 y, and to investigate their relationship to lipids and body mass index (BMI); also to study the relationship between BMI and lipids in these children.

Design: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at six schools in Shiratori, Japan during 1992-1994. Physical examinations and questionnaires were used to collect data from 457 fifth grade children, aged 10 y.

Response of parathyroid hormone to anaerobic exercise in adolescent female athletes.

It has been shown that moderate exercise suppresses parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion, while strenuous exercise is apt to induce continuous secretion, which has a negative effect on bone mineral densities (BMD). The present study investigated a typical response of PTH to brief exercise. The study group comprised six adolescent female basketball players whose BMD were within normal limits.

[An evaluation of the biting force, the body composition and the amount of masticatory action in young females].

Unlabelled: The purposes of this study were to investigate factors related to maximum biting force and to understand the characteristics of physical properties of daily ingested foods in young females. One hundred and forty subjects aged 18-23, with Angle 1 class occlusion, had not suffered from periodontitis, and had not been treated for preparation of tooth crown of first molars. Body height and weight were measured, and percentage of body fat, fat mass (FM) and lean body mass (LBM) were estimated, using the impedance analyzer.

Response of parathyroid hormone to exercise and bone mineral density in adolescent female athletes.

Background: This study investigates 1) the effects of amount of exercise on levels of serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium, and 2) the relationship between PTH response and bone mineral density in adolescent female athletes.

Subjects: Twenty-one female athletes on a top-ranked high school basketball team in Japan participated in a one-month intensive basketball program. Subjects were divided into moderate-exercise and strenuous-exercise groups.

Risk factors for low bone mineral density among females: the effect of lean body mass.

Background: This study determines if body composition and lifestyle are risk factors for low radius-bone mineral density (R-BMD) and evaluates the role of body composition in the age-related decline of R-BMD.

Methods: Data on age, menopausal status, fat mass, lean body mass (LBM), drinking, smoking, and occupation were collected from 3,867 females ages 37-69, whose R-BMD was also measured. Multiple logistic regression analyses examined the predictive accuracy of these factors for low (20th percentile) R-BMD.

Acceleration plethysmography to evaluate aging effect in cardiovascular system. Using new criteria of four wave patterns.

Unlabelled: Acceleration plethysmography (APG) uses the second derivative of the waveform of the digital photoplethysmography to stabilize the baseline and to separate components of the waveform more clearly than the first derivative. The purposes of this study were 1) to investigate the association between APG and aging, using our new criteria of four patterns and 2) to test the clinical usefulness of APG for the prediction of the level of atherosclerosis. The examined subjects were 82 males and 308 females aged 30-69 years.

[Effects of exercise on immune functions in mice].

This study was carried out to examine the effects of forced running exercise on the immune functions of male ICR mice. Mice aged 4 weeks were divided into two groups: a non-exercise group (control) and a group given forced running exercise (exercise group). The exercise applied was forced running at 15m/min on a flat floor without any slope for 60 min a day.