A New Counter-Etch Solution for Corrections on Zinc Printing Plates

Nautical charts must be kept up-to-date in order to provide navigators with the latest information. Both chart printing plates and film negatives have therefore to be continually updated by means of corrections. Before making a correction the zinc plates used by the Hydrographic Department of Japan are treated with a counter-etch solution and a polishing stick to remove the obsolete images and clean the plate. New printing images are then drawn in by hand or printed by photomechanical process. The result obtained depends on the quality of the counter-etch solution; the new image must be sufficiently bold and distinct. The solution hitherto used was somewhat ineffective, in that the corrected images on the plate were often insufficiently clear, and the oil-sensitivity of the plate deteriorated during printing, causing the printing ink to lose adhesion so that sometimes breaks or omissions in reproduction occurred. In order to remedy this deficiency, a counter-etch solution with better properties was sought and finally devised

Renal effects of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors in Japanese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with home blood pressure monitoring

Decrease in blood pressure contributes to the reno-protective effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors; however, its relationship with home monitoring of blood pressure is unclear. We retrospectively analyzed 101 visiting members of the Kanagawa Physicians Association with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease who were taking sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and who monitored blood pressure at home for a median treatment period of 14 months. At baseline, the mean value of HbA1c was 59.3 mmol/mol (7.6%) and the median value of albumin-creatinine ratio was 30.9 mg/gCr that was evaluated in 88 patients. The mean blood pressure both at office and home significantly decreased, and there was a significant positive correlation between the change in albumin–creatinine ratio and both blood pressures. Controlled hypertension, masked hypertension, white coat hypertension, and sustained hypertension were observed in 10.9%, 13.9%, 12.9%, and 62.4% of patients at the initiation of therapy, which changed to 10.9%, 16.8%, 17.8%, and 54.5% at the time of the survey, respectively. In conclusion, management of blood pressure both at office and home was found to be important for the reno-protective effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors along with strict blood pressure management