Effects of monthly feedback of VFA measured by dual BIA method in Japanese patients with obesity: a randomized controlled study

Objective: To investigate the effects of monthly feedback of changes in visceral fat area (VFA) as measured by dual bioelectrical impedance analysis method and the importance of VFA in individuals with obesity. Methods: Thirty‐eight Japanese patients with obesity underwent VFA measurements. The feedback group was given feedback on VFA measurements each month for 4 months. The control group underwent VFA measurements at the beginning and end of the study but was not informed of the results. All the study participants completed eating behaviour and weight efficacy lifestyle questionnaires. Results: Mean age was 53.9 (14.3) years; mean body mass index was 30.6 (4.3) kg m⁻². At the 4‐month follow‐up, there was no significant difference in VFA reduction between the control and feedback groups (−4.4% vs. −3.0%; 95% CI, −3.8 to 5.5). In post‐hoc analysis using the overall group irrespective of allocation, changes of eating style were significantly associated with a reduction in VFA at 4 months (p = 0.034). Conclusions: Monthly feedback on changes in VFA does not reduce VFA. More frequent feedback may be required. In post‐hoc analysis, changes of eating style were associated with a reduction in VFA

Comment on ``Lyapunov Exponent of a Many Body System and Its Transport Coefficients''

In a recent Letter, Barnett, Tajima, Nishihara, Ueshima and Furukawa obtained a theoretical expression for the maximum Lyapunov exponent $\lambda_1$ of a dilute gas. They conclude that $\lambda_1$ is proportional to the cube root of the self-diffusion coefficient $D$, independent of the range of the interaction potential. They validate their conjecture with numerical data for a dense one-component plasma, a system with long-range forces. We claim that their result is highly non-generic. We show in the following that it does not apply to a gas of hard spheres, neither in the dilute nor in the dense phase.Comment: 1 page, Revtex - 1 PS Figs - Submitted to Physical Review Letter

粘土鉱物のバイオミネラリゼーション -層状珪酸塩鉱物形成時における微生物の役割

取得学位：博士(理学)，学位授与番号：博甲第326号，学位授与年月日：平成11年9月30日,学位授与年：199

Ectopic cardiovascular fat in middle-aged men: effects of race/ethnicity, overall and central adiposity. The ERA JUMP study.

Background/objectivesHigher volumes of ectopic cardiovascular fat (ECF) are associated with greater risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Identifying factors that are associated with ECF volumes may lead to new preventive efforts to reduce risk of CHD. Significant racial/ethnic differences exist for overall and central adiposity measures, which are known to be associated with ECF volumes. Whether racial/ethnic differences also exist for ECF volumes and their associations with these adiposity measures remain unclear.Subjects/methodsBody mass index (BMI), computerized tomography-measured ECF volumes (epicardial, pericardial and their summation) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were examined in a community-based sample of 1199 middle-aged men (24.2% Caucasians, 7.0% African-Americans, 23.6% Japanese-Americans, 22.0% Japanese, 23.2% Koreans).ResultsSignificant racial/ethnic differences existed in ECF volumes and their relationships with BMI and VAT. ECF volumes were the highest among Japanese-Americans and the lowest among African-Americans. The associations of BMI and VAT with ECF differed by racial/ethnic groups. Compared with Caucasians, for each 1-unit increase in BMI, African-Americans had lower, whereas Koreans had higher increases in ECF volumes (P-values<0.05 for both). Meanwhile, compared with Caucasians, for each 1-unit increase in log-transformed VAT, African-Americans, Japanese-Americans and Japanese had similar increases, whereas Koreans had a lower increase in ECF volumes (P-value<0.05).ConclusionsRacial/ethnic groups differed in their propensity to accumulate ECF at increasing level of overall and central adiposity. Future studies should evaluate whether reducing central adiposity or overall weight will decrease ECF volumes more in certain racial/ethnic groups. Evaluating these questions might help in designing race-specific prevention strategy of CHD risk associated with higher ECF

A Case of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy after Surgery for Common Bile Duct Stones

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) is a rare reversible circulatory syndrome often detected in elderly patients after general surgery. We report the case of an 85-year-old woman who was admitted for obstructive jaundice and underwent ERCP and ENBD before operation. She finally underwent cholecystectomy and choledocholithotomy with the diagnosis of gallbladder and common bile duct stones. In the evening just after the operation, without symptoms of cardiac failure, her ECG suddenly exhibited abnormal ST-T elevation in leads II, III, and V2-V6, though neither CPK(MB) nor troponin T was elevated. Echocardiogram demonstrated basal hyperkinesis and apical dyskinesis, suggesting TC. Conservative treatment enabled recovery, ECG was normalized in a month, and the postoperative course was satisfactory. The stress on her during treatment might have been a cause of this unique cardiomyopathy, and it should be recalled that TC is a potential complication of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery

Multiphoton radiative recombination of electron assisted by laser field

In the presence of an intensive laser field the radiative recombination of the continuum electron into an atomic bound state generally is accompanied by absorption or emission of several laser quanta. The spectrum of emitted photons represents an equidistant pattern with the spacing equal to the laser frequency. The distribution of intensities in this spectrum is studied employing the Keldysh-type approximation, i.e. neglecting interaction of the impact electron with the atomic core in the initial continuum state. Within the adiabatic approximation the scale of emitted photon frequencies is subdivided into classically allowed and classically forbidden domains. The highest intensities correspond to emission frequencies close to the edges of classically allowed domain. The total cross section of electron recombination summed over all emitted photon channels exhibits negligible dependence on the laser field intensity.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures (Figs.2-5 have "a" and "b" parts), Phys.Rev.A accepted for publication. Fig.2b is presented correctl

Distillation of Liquid Xenon to Remove Krypton

A high performance distillation system to remove krypton from xenon was constructed, and a purity level of Kr/Xe = $\sim 3 \times 10^{-12}$ was achieved. This development is crucial in facilitating high sensitivity low background experiments such as the search for dark matter in the universe.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

Measurement of the double-\beta decay half-life of ^{136}Xe with the KamLAND-Zen experiment

We present results from the KamLAND-Zen double-beta decay experiment based on an exposure of 77.6 days with 129 kg of $^{136}$Xe. The measured two-neutrino double-beta decay half-life of $^{136}$Xe is $T_{1/2}^{2\nu} = 2.38 \pm 0.02(stat) \pm 0.14(syst) \times 10^{21}$ yr, consistent with a recent measurement by EXO-200. We also obtain a lower limit for the neutrinoless double-beta decay half-life, $T_{1/2}^{0\nu} > 5.7 \times 10^{24}$ yr at 90% confidence level (C.L.), which corresponds to almost a five-fold improvement over previous limits.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Version as published in PR

Surveillance of trend and distribution of stroke mortality by subtype, age, gender, and geographic areas in Tianjin, China, 1999–2006

The purpose of this study was to analyze the epidemiological trend and distribution of stroke mortality in the city of Tianjin, China, in order to provide evidence for the prevention and control of stroke. Methods The study was based on 102 718 cases of stroke mortality in Tianjin between 1999 and 2006. The cause of death was coded according to the International Classification of Diseases into stroke subtypes. Standardized mortality rates were calculated for stroke and its subtypes, adjusted for age and gender using the year 2000 world standard population. The age, gender, and geographic distribution of stroke and subtype mortality were analyzed. Χ 2 -tests were used to determine the statistical significance of differences in mortality trends. Results The stroke mortality rate in Tianjin declined from 133·52/100 000/year in 1999 to 102·52/100 000/year in 2006. The stroke mortality rate for males was higher than that for females. Stroke mortality rates increased with increasing age. The subtypes of stroke have changed considerably in Tianjin. Hemorrhagic was major in 1999–2001, while cerebral infarction attained the first rank and accounted for more than 50% of stroke mortality in 2002–2006. The most pronounced finding was that the proportion of ischemic stroke was 66·65% in the urban population and over 20% higher than that in the rural area. Stroke in the suburban area was mainly hemorrhagic stroke, up to 62·67%. Conclusions There are significant differences in the distribution of stroke mortality by subtype, age, gender, and geographic areas in Tianjin, China. Various subtypes of stroke are associated with different risk factors and therefore require different public health prevention and control measures. This study provides pertinent information for formulation of measures for the prevention and control of stroke.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72496/1/j.1747-4949.2009.00272.x.pd