Differences in perception of the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes between pediatricians and obstetricians in Japan

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes (WHO Code) aims to protect and promote breastfeeding. Japan ratified the WHO Code in 1994, but most hospitals in Japan continue to receive free supplies of infant formula and distribute discharge packs to new mothers provided by infant formula companies. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge and attitudes of pediatricians and obstetricians in Japan to the WHO Code. METHODS: A self-completion questionnaire was sent to 132 pediatricians in the 131 NICUs which belonged to the Neonatal Network of Japan, and to 96 chief obstetricians in the general hospitals in the Kanto area of Japan, in 2004. RESULTS: Responses were received from 68% of pediatricians and 64% of obstetricians. Sixty-six percent of pediatricians agreed that "Breastmilk is the best", compared to only 13% of obstetricians. Likewise, pediatricians were more likely to be familiar with the WHO Code (51%) than obstetricians (18%). CONCLUSION: In Japan, pediatricians and obstetricians, in general, have low levels of support for breastfeeding and low levels of familiarity with the WHO Code. To increase the breastfeeding rates in Japan, both pediatricians and obstetricians need increased knowledge about current infant feeding practices and increased awareness of international policies to promote breastfeeding

Mizoribine provides effective treatment of sequential histological change of arteritis and reduction of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in an animal model of Kawasaki disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment results in an effective response from patients with acute-phase Kawasaki disease (KD), but 16.5% of them remain nonresponsive to IVIg. To address this therapeutic challenge, we tried a new therapeutic drug, mizoribine (MZR), in a mouse model of KD, which we have established using injections of <it>Candida albicans </it>water-soluble fractions (CAWS).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>CAWS (4 mg/mouse) were injected intraperitoneally into C57BL/6N mice for 5 consecutive days. MZR or IgG was administered for 5 days. After 4 weeks, the mice were sacrificed and autopsied, the hearts were fixed in 10% neutral formalin, and plasma was taken to measure cytokines and chemokines using the Bio-Plex system.</p> <p>The incidence of panvasculitis in the coronary arteries and aortic root was 100% in the control group. The incidence of panvasculitis in the MZR group decreased to 50%. Moreover, the scope and severity of the inflammation of those sites were significantly reduced in the MZR group as well as the IgG group. On the other hand, increased cytokines and chemokines, such as IL-1α, TNF-α, KC, MIP-1α, GM-CSF, and IL-13, in the nontreatment group were significantly suppressed by treatment with MZR, but the MCP-1 level increased. In addition, IL-1α, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-13, and MIP-1α were suppressed by treatment in the IgG group.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The incidence of panvasculitis in the coronary arteries and aortic root was 100% in the control group. The incidence of panvasculitis in the MZR group decreased to 50%. Moreover, the scope and severity of the inflammation of those sites were significantly reduced in the MZR group as well as the IgG group. On the other hand, increased cytokines and chemokines, such as IL-1α TNF-α, KC, MIP-1α, GM-CSF, and IL-13, in the nontreatment group were significantly suppressed by treatment with MZR, but the MCP-1 level increased. In addition, IL-1α, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-13, and MIP-1α were suppressed by treatment in the IgG group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MZR treatment suppressed not only the incidence, range, and degree of vasculitis, but also inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the plasma of the KD vasculitis model mice, suggesting that MZR may be useful for treatment of KD.</p

The involvement of the vasa vasorum in the development of vasculitis in animal model of Kawasaki disease

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki Disease (KD) involves a diffuse and systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that mainly affects infants and children. Although a considerable number of analyses of the clinical, histopathological and molecular biological details underlying the mechanism responsible for the development of coronary arterial lesions, it is still poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to analyze the state of angiogenesis, vasculogenesis and the distribution of blood vessels using an animal model of KD like vasculitis. We investigated the involvement of the vasa vasorum from the adventitia in the vascular involvement and the development of the disease state by performing sequential histopathology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro computed tomography (CT) studies using a murine model of vasculitis induced by the Candida albicans water-soluble fraction (CAWS). METHODS: To prepare the animal model of KD like vasculitis, CAWS was intraperitoneally injected into C57BL/6N mice for five consecutive days as reported by Ohno et al. We observed the changes of the vasa vasorum at the aorta and the orifices of the coronary arteries by SEM and micro CT, and also compared the neovascularization at the media and adventitia of the aorta by an immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: As previously reported, obvious inflammation was detected two weeks after the injection of CAWS, and also intimal thickening was observed three weeks after the injection. We found that the vasa vasorum in the adventitia of the aorta was increased in the model mice. The vasa vasorum started increasing one week after the injection of CAWS, before any obvious vasculitis was microscopically detected. CONCLUSION: The present results indicate that the vasculitis in Kawasaki disease starts as a disorder of the vasa vasorum

Thermostabilization by the Improvement of Intertrimeric Residues in Thermus thermophilus Inorganic Pyrophosphatase.

Inorganic pyrophosphatase (EC. 3.6.1.1) from Thermus thermophilus (Tth PPase)is a thermostable homohexamer of 174 amino acids，and its intertrimer interface is formed mainly by the symmetric α-helix A between subunits. Amino acids and their interactions composing intertrimer interface are different in hexameric Family I PPases，and then it was deduced that Tth PPase showed high thermostability because of stabilizing this interface by interactions of these residues. In this study，we focused on Thr138 and Ala141 residues in intertrimer interface of Tth PPase to confirm the relationship between intertrimeric residues and thermostability， and then improved their combination to His and Asp/Glu (HD or HE variant). As results，the HD variant showed the highest thermostability of enzyme activity，fluorescence spectra, and quaternary structure in the wild type Tth PPase and all variants. Especially，about 38% of hexamer and almost 40% of enzyme activity were observed in HD variant after heating even at 85℃. Therefore，we suggested that the conversion to a set of ionic His138 and Asp141 at intertrimer interface had increased the thermostability of Tth PPase，and then suppressed its thermal aggregation

セイカツ ノ QOL オ タカメル コト オ メザシタ ウォーキング ランニング ノ アリカタ ニ カンスル ソウゴウテキ ケンキュウ

A walking and/or running for raising quality of life (QOL) was studied from the face of exercise physiology，exercise biochemistry，sport sociology. Three experiments and a survey were carried out to achieve the purpose. The results were summarized as follows: 1) The running program in the long time was effective in the decrease of body fat percentage， the decrease of body weight as overweight person， and also in the increase of muscular endurance. 2) Appropriate BMI and muscular endurance are important for the marathon race. 3) Accelerometer steps per day did not significantly for correlate to body composition， health-related parameters in blood or serum adipocytokine levels. 4) Each subject ofthe walk exercise must be examined from the coordination ability. 5) A exercise class rises the Self-efficacy(SE)，and the individual group activity is effective to maintain the SE

Postprandial Hyperglycemia Is Associated With White Matter Hyperintensity and Brain Atrophy in Older Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with neurodegeneration and cerebrovascular disease. However, the precise mechanism underlying the effects of glucose management on brain abnormalities is not fully understood. The differential impacts of glucose alteration on brain changes in patients with and without cognitive impairment are also unclear. This cross-sectional study included 57 older type 2 diabetes patients with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or normal cognition (NC). We examined the effects of hypoglycemia, postprandial hyperglycemia and glucose fluctuations on regional white matter hyperintensity (WMH) and brain atrophy among these patients. In a multiple regression analysis, postprandial hyperglycemia was independently associated with frontal WMH in the AD patients. In addition, postprandial hyperglycemia was significantly associated with brain atrophy, regardless of the presence of cognitive decline. Altogether, our findings indicate that postprandial hyperglycemia is associated with WMH in AD patients but not NC patients, which suggests that AD patients are more susceptible to postprandial hyperglycemia associated with WMH

A series of ENU-induced single-base substitutions in a long-range cis-element altering Sonic hedgehog expression in the developing mouse limb bud

AbstractMammal–fish-conserved-sequence 1 (MFCS1) is a highly conserved sequence that acts as a limb-specific cis-acting regulator of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) expression, residing 1 Mb away from the Shh coding sequence in mouse. Using gene-driven screening of an ENU-mutagenized mouse archive, we obtained mice with three new point mutations in MFCS1: M101116, M101117, and M101192. Phenotype analysis revealed that M101116 mice exhibit preaxial polydactyly and ectopic Shh expression at the anterior margin of the limb buds like a previously identified mutant, M100081. In contrast, M101117 and M101192 show no marked abnormalities in limb morphology. Furthermore, transgenic analysis revealed that the M101116 and M100081 sequences drive ectopic reporter gene expression at the anterior margin of the limb bud, in addition to the normal posterior expression. Such ectopic expression was not observed in the embryos carrying a reporter transgene driven by M101117. These results suggest that M101116 and M100081 affect the negative regulatory activity of MFCS1, which suppresses anterior Shh expression in developing limb buds. Thus, this study shows that gene-driven screening for ENU-induced mutations is an effective approach for exploring the function of conserved, noncoding sequences and potential cis-regulatory elements