Auricular Acupuncture at the “Shenmen” and “Point Zero” Points Induced Parasympathetic Activation

Purpose. Since auricular acupuncture is a diagnostic and treatment system based on normalizing the body’s dysfunction, auricular acupuncture has been applied for pain relief, relaxation, and so on. These techniques would modulate the autonomic nerve system, thereby inducing the above-mentioned effects. The aim was to see the effect of auricular acupuncture applied to the “Shenmen” and “Point Zero” points on the postoperative heart rate variability (HRV). Methods. Twenty-six patients who underwent hemicolectomy under general anesthesia were randomized into the control or the acupuncture group. After the operation and before emergence, the acupuncture group received auricular acupuncture. An electrocardiographic unit was placed for recording the autonomic nervous activities. Results. The low frequency (LF)/high frequency (HF) ratio of HRV increased () in the control, but the ratio in the acupuncture did not change. There were significant differences between the ratios of the two groups at 3 : 00, 4 : 00, and 5 : 00. HF of the acupuncture group tended to be higher. HFs of the acupuncture group were significantly higher than those of the control group at 3 : 00, 4 : 00, and 5 : 00. Conclusion. Auricular acupuncture kept the LF/HF ratio at lower levels and HF at higher levels during postoperative period in the patients who had undergone hemicolectomy

Epigenetic-scale comparison of human iPSCs generated by retrovirus, Sendai virus or episomal vectors

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are established by introducing several reprogramming factors, such as OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, c-MYC. Because of their pluripotency and immortality, iPSCs are considered to be a powerful tool for regenerative medicine. To date, iPSCs have been established all over the world by various gene delivery methods. All methods induced high-quality iPSCs, but epigenetic analysis of abnormalities derived from differences in the gene delivery methods has not yet been performed. Here, we generated genetically matched human iPSCs from menstrual blood cells by using three kinds of vectors, i.e., retrovirus, Sendai virus, and episomal vectors, and compared genome-wide DNA methylation profiles among them. Although comparison of aberrant methylation revealed that iPSCs generated by Sendai virus vector have lowest number of aberrant methylation sites among the three vectors, the iPSCs generated by non-integrating methods did not show vector-specific aberrant methylation. However, the differences between the iPSC lines were determined to be the number of random aberrant hypermethylated regions compared with embryonic stem cells. These random aberrant hypermethylations might be a cause of the differences in the properties of each of the iPSC lines

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on the PC-5 and PC-6 Points Alleviated Hypotension after Epidural Anaesthesia, Depending on the Stimulus Frequency

Neuraxial blockade causes arterial hypotension. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at the Neiguan (PC-6) and Jianshi (PC-5) reduces the severity of hypotension after spinal anaesthesia, but did not clarify the optimal stimulus frequency. We hypothesized that the stimulus frequency of TENS at the PC-6 and PC-5 points would influence the severity of hypotension after epidural anaesthesia. 65 ASA I or II male patients presenting for inguinal hernia repair were randomized to five groups: the control group received no treatment; the 2 Hz, 10 Hz, 20 Hz, and 40 Hz groups received TENS at a frequency of 2 Hz, 10 Hz, 20 Hz, and 40 Hz, respectively. The lowest SBP was significantly higher in the 40 Hz group [the control, 84 (74–110) mmHg; the 2 Hz, 96 (62–116) mmHg; the 10 Hz, 100 (68–110) mmHg; the 20 Hz, 96 (64–115) mmHg; the 40 Hz, 104 (75–140) mmHg: P = 0.004]. Significantly less patients experienced hypotension in the 40 Hz group [the control, 78%; the 2 Hz, 43%; the 10 Hz, 38%; the 20 Hz, 38%; the 40 Hz, 8%: P = 0.008]. TENS on the PC-6 and PC-5 points reduced the severity and incidence of hypotension after epidural anaesthesia, depending on the stimulus frequency

The Effect of the Kampo

Background. Preoperative anxiety can lead to unfavorable physiological response such as tachycardia and hypertension. Prevention of preoperative anxiety improves surgical outcome and decreases inpatient stay. Yokukansan is one of prescriptions in Kampo, traditional Japanese herbal medicine, and is known to exert anxiolytic effects. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of diazepam and Yokukansan on preoperative anxiety, salivary amylase activity, and sedation levels. Methods. Seventy American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I or II patients presenting for hemicolectomy under general anesthesia combined with epidural anesthesia were enrolled. The Diazepam group received diazepam 5 mg orally and the Yokukansan group received Yokukansan 2.5 g orally. Results. Although levels of anxiety and salivary amylase activity were not different between the two groups, the modified Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation Scale of the Yokukansan group was significantly higher compared to that of the Diazepam group. Conclusion. Yokukansan alleviated preoperative anxiety without undesirable sedation, when compared with diazepam

Carcinoma Arising from Brunner's Gland in the Duodenum after 17 Years of Observation – A Case Report and Literature Review

A 60-year-old man presented with melena and hematemesis in 1984. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) detected a small protruding lesion in the duodenal bulb, which was diagnosed as Brunner's adenoma. No significant change was detected in subsequent annual EGD and biopsies for 10 years, after which the patient was not observed for 7 years. The patient presented with melena again in 2001. The lesion had changed shape to become a 10 mm sessile tumor with a central depression, and following a biopsy was diagnosed as an adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent partial resection of the duodenum. Histopathological assessment showed acidophilic cells with swollen nuclei, and clear cells forming a tubular or papillary tubule in the mucosal lamina propria and submucosal layer. The tumor cells stained positive for lysozyme, indicating that they arose from Brunner's gland. The patient showed no sign of recurrence and was disease-free for more than 34 months after surgery. The patient died of pneumonia. This is an extremely rare case of primary duodenal carcinoma arising from Brunner's gland in a patient observed for 17 years

Results of the search for inspiraling compact star binaries from TAMA300's observation in 2000-2004

We analyze the data of TAMA300 detector to search for gravitational waves from inspiraling compact star binaries with masses of the component stars in the range 1-3Msolar. In this analysis, 2705 hours of data, taken during the years 2000-2004, are used for the event search. We combine the results of different observation runs, and obtained a single upper limit on the rate of the coalescence of compact binaries in our Galaxy of 20 per year at a 90% confidence level. In this upper limit, the effect of various systematic errors such like the uncertainty of the background estimation and the calibration of the detector's sensitivity are included.Comment: 8 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses revtex4.sty The author list was correcte

Observation results by the TAMA300 detector on gravitational wave bursts from stellar-core collapses

We present data-analysis schemes and results of observations with the TAMA300 gravitational-wave detector, targeting burst signals from stellar-core collapse events. In analyses for burst gravitational waves, the detection and fake-reduction schemes are different from well-investigated ones for a chirp-wave analysis, because precise waveform templates are not available. We used an excess-power filter for the extraction of gravitational-wave candidates, and developed two methods for the reduction of fake events caused by non-stationary noises of the detector. These analysis schemes were applied to real data from the TAMA300 interferometric gravitational wave detector. As a result, fake events were reduced by a factor of about 1000 in the best cases. The resultant event candidates were interpreted from an astronomical viewpoint. We set an upper limit of 2.2x10^3 events/sec on the burst gravitational-wave event rate in our Galaxy with a confidence level of 90%. This work sets a milestone and prospects on the search for burst gravitational waves, by establishing an analysis scheme for the observation data from an interferometric gravitational wave detector