The United States-Japan Relationship in the Rapidly Changing World Environment

Before going back to Japan for good last August, I worked in New York for six years as the president of Nippon Steel U.S.A, Inc. and made many good friends -- American as well as Japanese. Before my departure I met several of my American friends to say goodbye to them. I told them that when I go back to Japan, I would assume the position of President Director General of the Japan-U.S. Business Council, which functions as the secretariat of the U.S.-Japan Businessmen's Conference. All of my friends, without exception, shook their heads and told me that they wanted to congratulate me on my new assignment but considering the gravity of the attitude towards Japan prevailing in Washington at the moment -- that was last July -- they all said, "I pity you, Eiji, in your new job." Then they added two more words, "Good luck." I now see signs of a further deterioration of our bilateral relationship, which is indeed very alarming

Inhibitory effect of spleen X-ray irradiation on dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in the mouse

Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution was orally administered to mice to experimentally induce colitis, and the effects of X-ray irradiation of the spleen on healing or prolongation of inflammation was investigated. Peripheral, splenic and thymic T lymphocyte subsets were also analyzed to assess the underlying morbid conditions. Colitis with inflammatory changes consisting mainly of hemorrhagic erosions at the distal large intestine was induced by the administration of a 2 % DSS solution for 14 consecutive days. The DSS-induced colitis was inhibited by pre-irradiation of the spleen with 20 Gy prior to the development of DSSinduced colitis. Healing of inflammed lesion was accelerated by irradiation with 20 Gy during the induction of colitis with DSS. The proportion of peripheral Thy-1^+ and L3T4^+ cells was higher while the proportion of splenic L3T4^+ cells was significantly lower compared with the control group during the preparation of DSS-induced colitis. At 2 and 7 days after pre-irradiation, peripheral and splenic Thy-1^+ and L3T4^+ cells increased and thymic Lyt-2^- . L3T4^+ cells increased, whereas thymic Lyt-2^+ . L3T4^+ cell decreased. Our results suggest that the effect of splenic irradiation on DSS-induced colitis is due to a stimulation of T cell function, and activation of the immune system

Continuous decrease in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in a neuropsychiatric syndrome of systemic lupus erythematosus patient with organic brain changes

In the present study, the authors reported on a case in neuropsychiatric syndromes of systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) with irreversible organic brain changes. The authors also longitudinally investigated serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the patient. We found that serum BDNF levels in the NPSLE patient with irreversible organic brain change were consistently low, independent of the severity of psychiatric symptoms. Thus, the longitudinal measurement of serum BDNF levels might be useful in predicting the prognosis of NPSLE

Serum Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor at 4 Weeks and Response to Treatment with SSRIs

Objective It is important to predict a response to an antidepressant in early time after starting the antidepressant. We previously reported that serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in responders to treatment with antidepressants were increased, whereas, those in nonresponders were not. Therefore, we hypothesized that the changes in serum levels of BDNF from baseline (TO) to 4 weeks (T4) after treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) predict the response to the treatment at 8 weeks (T8) in depressed patients. To confirm the hypothesis, we measured serum BDNF at TO, T4, and T8 during the treatment with SSRIs (paroxetine, sertraline, and fluvoxamine). Methods One hundred fifty patients (M/F; 51/99, age; 50.4 +/- 15.1 years) met major depressive disorder (MDD) using by DSM-IV-TR enrolled in the present study. We measured serum BDNF concentrations at TO, T4, and T8 in patients with MDD treated with SSRIs. Results The changes in serum BDNF, age, sex, dose of SSRIs, and HAMD-17 score did not predict the response to SSRIs at T8. Conclusion These results suggest that the changes in serum BDNF levels from TO to T4 could not predict the subsequent responses to SSRIs at T8

Helminth Parasites of Fruits and Vegetables Planted in Crop and Landscape Managent Garden College of Agricultural Sciences, Ebonyi State Universityabakaliki, Implication for Public Health.

The parasitological examination of soil samples extracted from the roots of pre-nursery crops of fruits and vegetables for the prevalence of soil transmitted helminths was conducted using Zinc-Sulphate floatation, centrifugation methods and microscopy respectively. Out of 1,400 soil samples and 1000 fruits examined 58% and 42% respectively were positive. The study revealed that soil transmitted parasites where implicated in their full developmental stage of adultworms, larvea and eggs respectively. These include Capillaria, Strongyloides stercoralis, Trichuris trichuria, Hookworms, and Ascaris lumbricoides. Their presence could be as a result of using animal dungs/feaces as organic fertilizer, direct urination and open defeacation on the farmland by students, staff, and other student farmers in the nursery. Thus contaminating the nursery and posing health problems to students, farm workers in the campus and consumers of the contaminated fruits and vegetables. However, infected students could be treated with antihelminthics while avoidance of the use of animal dungs/feaces, open defeacation and urination on the farmland will reduce the parasite presence. Students treatment on infection, can be achieved through public health awareness scheme and provision of toilet facilities and finally teach them how to wash their fruits and vegetables with salt or potassium iodide which are predisposing factors for infection. Keywards: Helminths, Parasites, Soil, Fruits, Vegetables, EBSU

Steroid psychosis in a polyarteritis nodosa patient successfully treated with risperidone: tracking serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels longitudinally

We previously reported a case in which steroid-induced psychosis was eliminated with risperidone treatment in a patient with polyarteritis nodosa (PN). In the present report, we longitudinally tracked the serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We found that corticosteroid lowered serum BDNF levels, and improvement of psychiatric symptoms was intact with the serum BDNF levels seen in the patients

Possible association of CUX1 gene polymorphisms with antidepressant response in major depressive disorder

Association between response to antidepressant treatment and genetic polymorphisms was examined in two independent Japanese samples of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Genome-wide approach using the Illumina Human CNV370-quad Bead Chip was utilized in the analysis of the 92 MDD patients in the first sample. In all, 11 non-intergenic single-nucleotide polymorphisms with uncorrected allelic P-value <0.0001 were selected for the subsequent association analyses in the second sample of 136 MDD patients. Difference in allele distribution between responders and nonresponders were found in the second-stage sample for rs365836 and rs201522 of the CUX1 gene (P=0.005 and 0.004, respectively). The allelic P-values for rs365836 and rs201522 in both samples combined were 0.0000023 and 0.0000040, respectively. Our results provide the first evidence that polymorphisms of the CUX1 gene may be associated with response to antidepressant treatment in Japanese patients with MDD.ArticlePHARMACOGENOMICS JOURNAL. 13(4):354-358 (2013)journal articl