The strength of single crystals of inorganic salts under high pressure, III

Based on the results of the plastic deformation of five alkali halide single crystals shown in Part II of this series the values of the distance L over which a dislocation can be propagated in the crystal given in Taylor's equation were calculated. The obtained values of L are about 2×10^-4cm for lithium fluoride and sodium chloride, 5×10^-4cm for potassium chloride and potassium bromide, and 16×10^-4cm for potassium iodide. Also, the pressure effects on the various factors in Taylor's equation were investigated, and the values of L under high pressure were calculated. 1.4×10^-4cm for lithium fluoride and sodium chloride, and 2.8×10^-4cm for potassium chloride were obtained under hydrostatic pressures up to 1000kg/cm^2

Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu, Japan

Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu, Japa

Impaired fasting glucose as an independent risk factor for hypertension among healthy middle-aged Japanese subjects with optimal blood pressure: the Yuport Medical Checkup Centre retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: This study aimed at investigating whether impaired fasting glucose (IFG) is an independent risk factor for incident hypertension among middle-aged Japanese subjects with optimal blood pressure (OBP). FINDINGS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in 2943 non-diabetic and non-hypertensive subjects aged 40–64 years, who participated in a voluntary health check-up program during the baseline (1998–2002) and follow-up periods (2002–2006). A multiple logistic regression model was utilized to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of incident hypertension among men and women with IFG and OBP. OBP was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) <120 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) <80 mmHg, with no known history of hypertension. In this study, hypertension was defined as SBP ≥140 mmHg and DBP ≥90 mmHg or by a self-reported clinical diagnosis of hypertension. After the mean follow-up period of 5.6 years, the incidence of hypertension in men and women was 5.7% (73/1270) and 3.8% (62/1673), respectively. The age-adjusted ORs for incident hypertension in men and women with IFG were 1.95 (95% CI, 1.21–3.15) and 3.54 (95% CI, 2.00–6.27), respectively. After adjusting for age, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and uric acid, the ORs for hypertension were 1.66 (95% CI; 1.02–2.70) for men and 2.62 (95% CI, 1.45–4.73) for women. CONCLUSION: The study results show that IFG may act as an independent risk factor for developing hypertension in individuals with OBP

Have the tsunami and nuclear accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake affected the local distribution of hospital physicians?

Objective: The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on 11 March 2011 near the northeast coast of the main island, ‘Honshu’, of Japan. It wreaked enormous damage in two main ways: a giant tsunami and an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). This disaster may have affected the distribution of physicians in the region. Here, we evaluate the effect of the disaster on the distribution of hospital physicians in the three most severely affected prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima). Methods: We obtained individual information about physicians from the Physician Census in 2010 (pre-disaster) and 2012 (post-disaster). We examined geographical distributions of physicians in two ways: (1) municipality-based analysis for demographic evaluation; and (2) hospital-based analysis for geographic evaluation. In each analysis, we calculated the rate of change in physician distributions between pre- and post-disaster years at various distances from the tsunami-affected coast, and from the restricted area due to the FDNPP accident. Results: The change in all, hospital, and clinic physicians were 0.2%, 0.7%, and −0.7%, respectively. In the municipality-based analysis, after taking account of the decreased population, physician numbers only decreased within the restricted area. In the hospital-based analysis, hospital physician numbers did not decrease at any distance from the tsunami-affected coast. In contrast, there was a 3.3% and 2.3% decrease in hospital physicians 0–25 km and 25–50 km from the restricted area surrounding the FDNPP, respectively. Additionally, decreases were larger and increases were smaller in areas close to the FDNPP than in areas further away. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the tsunami did not affect the distribution of physicians in the affected regions. However, the FDNPP accident changed physician distribution in areas close to the power plant.This research was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant Number JP25516015 (http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/index.html). The founder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

After-service effects of a financial incentive programme for return of service in underserved areas: implications for policies to retain a physician workforce in rural areas

Existing evidence supports the effectiveness of financial incentive policy for medical students and early-career physicians in return for obligatory rural service. But whether the experience of contractual rural service affects the physician’s choice of practice location after the service is completed is unknown. This study analysed practice location of Jichi Medical University (JMU) graduates. JMU is a Japanese medical education programme with a contract system under which all the graduates have the obligation to serve in underserved areas for about six years in exchange for having 6-year undergraduate tuition waived. 484 JMU graduates who were under rural service in 2000 and had completed the service by 2006 were enrolled. Rurality of communities was determined by population density quintiles. The proportion of those practicing in the communities of highest rurality quintile in 2000 (30.8%) decreased dramatically (8.7%) in 2006, but the geographic distribution of the participants after contract was still biased toward rural areas compared with the distribution pattern of all Japanese physicians. The flow of participants from rural to urban was almost unidirectional. 452 (93.4%) in 2006 practiced in places with the same or lower rurality, while only 32 (6.6%) practiced in places with higher rurality as compared to the placements of 2000. Multivariate analysis showed that service experience in the communities of the first and second highest quintiles of rurality was associated with choosing such places even after contract (odds ratio 4.65; 95% confidence interval 2.37-9.13), independently of known predictors of rural practice, such as having rural background (2.85; 1.58-5.17) and primary care specialty choice (3.13; 1.43-6.87). Although the effect of contractual rural service substantially decreased after finishing the service, the experience of rural service early in the physician’s career has a positive impact on the later choice of rural practice, supporting a policy that attracts early-career physicians to rural areas.アクセプト後にタイトル・アブストラクト・キーワード等変更あり、著者最終稿は変更前のタイトル"After-service effects of a financial incentive programme for return of service in underserved areas: implications for policies to retain a physician workforce in rural areas

Overview of current fish consumption and fish processing in Southeast Asia

Following a brief account of the food fish supply in the Southeast Asian region, details are given of per capita fish consumption in the following countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The disposition of the marine fish landed and fish quality improvement are also discussed

Molecular cloning and bacterial expression of a cDNA encoding furostanol glycoside 26-O-β-glucosidase of Costus speciosus

AbstractFurostanol glycoside 26-O-β-glucosidase (F26G) purified from Costus speciosus rhizomes was digested with endoproteinase, and several internal peptide fragments were obtained. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers based on amino acid sequences of the peptides were used for amplification of F26G cDNA fragments by applying nested polymerase chain reactions to cDNAs from in vitro cultured plantlets of C. speciosus. Using primers based on sequences of the cDNA fragments, the 5′- and 3′-end clones were isolated by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods. Finally, the entire coding portion of F26G cDNA was cloned by using primers designed from sequences of the RACE products. The deduced amino acid sequence of CSF26G1, the protein encoded by the cloned cDNA, consists of 562 amino acids and shows high homology to a widely distributed family of β-glucosidases (BGA family). Cell-free homogenate of Escherichia coli expressing CSF26G1 cDNA showed β-glucosidase activity specific for cleavage of the C-26 glucosidic bond of furostanol glycosides