Letters of Credit in Japanese-United States Trade

In the long history of international trade the main points of friction have been assurance of payment for the seller and assurance of delivery for the buyer. Where there is business to be done, traders have, over the centuries, usually found ways and means. From their practices have evolved the familiar modern lubricants for these friction points, letters of credit (which will be referred to hereafter as credits ), insurance contracts, bills of lading, and the inspection services offered by various private and governmental agencies. The credit in the form we now know it developed during the nineteenth century and is a most efficient solution for the seller\u27s problem. Its practical importance in international commerce can hardly be overstated. It is both the servant of such trade, and a stimulus to it. No better example of its use and value in the movement of goods across international boundaries is to be found than in the commerce between Japan and the United States. Japan imported American goods worth one billion seven hundred million dollars during 1962. In the same period the United States imported Japanese goods worth one billion dollars. It is estimated that ninety-five per cent of this tremendous flow of goods moved under credits. The volume of the import-export business varies from year to year. The percentage affected by credits remains fairly constant

Revision of the Commercial Code relating to Accounts

福島四郎教授還暦記念特

Researches into the strict Formalism ruling over the Law of Bills and Notes and the Tendency of the Case Law

創立八十周年記念特

Mineralization of hydroxyapatite upon a unique xanthan gum hydrogel by an alternate soaking process

We previously reported a xanthan gum (Xan) hydrogel showing excellent mechanical properties. Mineralization of hydroxyapatite (Hap) upon the Xan hydrogel would provide a unique biomaterial applicable for bone tissue engineering. Here, we show the mineralization of Hap upon the Xan hydrogel by means of an alternate soaking process. Hap was gradually grown upon the Xan-matrix surface with increasing number of soaking cycles due to the ionic interactions between calcium cations and carboxyl groups. Interestingly, the mineralization induced a microstructure change in the gel-matrix from a layered structure to a porous structure. The mechanical properties of the resulting Hap–Xan composite hydrogels were further investigated by a tensile test, where the Hap–Xan composite hydrogel with an appropriate amount of Hap (Xan/Hap = 2.7) was capable of approximately 370% elongation

Application of Bio-Based Wrinkled Surfaces as Cell Culture Scaffolds

Microscopic surface architectures that can be easily manufactured have been in demand as mechano-structural cues for tissue engineering. Microscopic surface reliefs synthesized by wrinkling were expected as cell culture scaffolds for cell proliferation, control of cellular alignment and differentiation, and spheroid generation. We previously developed bio-based wrinkled films prepared via lignification-mimetic reactions and drying. Although these films are expected as a candidate for cell culture scaffolds, stability and morphology of the wrinkled surfaces in aqueous buffer solutions were not explored. Here, we investigate the surface morphologies of the wrinkled films in phosphate-buffered saline, and their application to 3T3 cell culture. The wrinkled film prepared with the immersion treatment at 40 °C maintained its wrinkled structure in phosphate-buffered saline even after five days, although the wrinkles were broadened by hydration of the skin layer. Interestingly, higher cell numbers were observed in the 3T3 cell culture using the wrinkled film than using flat film with the same surface composition. In addition, the high biocompatibility of the wrinkled film was confirmed by in vivo experiments. These results strongly encourage application of the wrinkled film as a mechano-structural cue. Studies of the advanced applications for the wrinkled films are now in progress

Diabetes mellitus itself increases cardio- cerebrovascular risk and renal complications in primary aldosteronism

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism following peer review. The version of record Aya Saiki, Michio Otsuki, Daisuke Tamada, Tetsuhiro Kitamura, Iichiro Shimomura, Isao Kurihara, Takamasa Ichijo, Yoshiyu Takeda, Takuyuki Katabami, Mika Tsuiki, Norio Wada, Toshihiko Yanase, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Junji Kawashima, Masakatsu Sone, Nobuya Inagaki, Takanobu Yoshimoto, Ryuji Okamoto, Katsutoshi Takahashi, Hiroki Kobayashi, Kouichi Tamura, Kohei Kamemura, Koichi Yamamoto, Shoichiro Izawa, Miki Kakutani, Masanobu Yamada, Akiyo Tanabe, Mitsuhide Naruse, Diabetes Mellitus Itself Increases Cardio-Cerebrovascular Risk and Renal Complications in Primary Aldosteronism, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 105, Issue 7, July 2020, Pages e2531–e2537 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgaa177

Factor of increased propofol dosage during dental treatment under intravenous anesthesia.

Introduction　Dental treatment using propofol (trade name Diprivan) was carried out for people with disabilities who have difficulties with dental treatment so that dental treatment could be carried out safely and smoothly. This time, we investigated for the purpose of clarifying the factors of those who need 3.5 µg/ml or more when sedated with propofol.　Object and method　Methods　　The subjects were 34 persons, who required the intravenous anesthesia method at the time of dental treatment, among patients who visited Matsumoto Dental University Hos-pital special specialist department from May 1st to September 30 th , 2015. Gender, age, presence or absence of regular medications were noted, weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated. Disease, treatment, type of disability, and intellectual level from the　medical record were entered on the survey form. As an evaluation of adaptability to dental treatment, they were classified into 4 stages: “Can sit on the medical table”; “Can sleep the 　treatment table”; “Can do an oral examination”; and “Can do PTC”.　The diffuser TCI function was used to initiate intravenous administration at the target 　blood concentration of 3.0 µg/ml. Dental treatment was started with blood concentration in the brain when the opening device was smoothly inserted. If this target was not possible,　0.2 µg/ml each was listed. Blood concentrations and intracerebral concentrations of propofol during treatment were recorded. The intracerebral concentration where the opening device was smoothly inserted, the lowest brain concentration and the maximum brain concentration at the time of treatment were also recorded.Result　34 subjects (28 males, 6 females) had an average age of 37.6±12.4 years. The items asso-　ciated with brain concentration of propofol were subjects aged 50 years or older (P = 0.01), 　BMI (P = 0.15), dental phobia (P = 0.001), and autistic spectrum disease (P = 0.07). The factor that required propofol brain concentration of over 3.5 µg/ml was dental phobia (odds ratio: 28.5: confidence interval 1.₉–421) by the logistic regression analysis.　Conclusion　A factor that requires propofol of 3.5 µg/ml or more at the time of dental treatment, for those who can assume a supine position without making refusing actions at the medical table, was dental phobia. There was no relevance to the content of treatment or to the adaptability to dental treatment.

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe