How Do Agricultural Markets Respond to Radiation Risk?: Evidence from the 2011 Disaster in Japan

Since the explosion of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, public anxiety surrounding the radioactive contamination of food and the environment has become widespread. This article examines how the price of vegetables in the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market was impacted in the wake of the nuclear accident. This study exploits the quasi-experimental condition generated by this accident to test the market price change using monthly panel data on the price of six types of fresh vegetable from each of the 47 prefectures in Japan. Our estimation results show that the price of vegetables grown in Fukushima Prefecture was discounted by 10 - 38 % after the disaster compared to the counter-factual estimates in the absence of a perceived radiation risk. This effect has persisted even after radioactive detection tests showed negative results in subsequent years. Consumer behavior of avoiding purchasing vegetables from Fukushima and instead buying vegetables grown in other areas may explain the price gap

Pemphigus Vulgaris Confined to the Gingiva: A Case Report

Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune intraepithelial blistering disease involving the skin and mucous membranes. Oral mucosa is frequently affected in patients with PV, and oral lesions may be the first sign of the disease in majority of patients. In some patients, oral lesions may also be followed by skin involvement. Therefore, timely recognition and therapy of oral lesions is critical as it may prevent skin involvement. Early oral lesions of PV are, however, often regarded as difficult to diagnose, since the initial oral lesions may be relatively nonspecific, manifesting as superficial erosions or ulcerations, and rarely presenting with the formation of intact bullae. Lesions may occur anywhere on the oral mucosa including gingiva; however; desquamtive gingivitis is less common with PV than other mucocutaneous conditions such as pemphigoid or lichen planus. This paper describes the case of a patient presenting with a one-year history of painful gingival, who is finally diagnosed as having PV

Rare Lipomatous Tumors with Osseous and/or Chondroid Differentiation in the Oral Cavity Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

The purpose of this study was to determine the clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features of lipoma/fibrolipoma with rare occasions as osseous and/or chondroid differentiation in the oral cavity. Two cases of the tumors, who presented with a painless, relatively hard mass on the oral mucosa, were studied. These were consisted of a well-circumscribed mass of fatty tissue with chondroid and significant fibrous component intermixed with the lobules of fat cells with chondroid and woven bone component, respectively. Immunohistochemical study revealed that peripheral spindle cells around chondroid tissue stained diffusely for S-100 α & β and Sox-9, though peripheral spindle cells around osteoid tissue only stained for RUNX-2. According to review of the literature, lipoma/fibrolipoma with osseous and/or chondroid differentiation was 18 cases. Also fibrolipoma with osseous and chondroid differentiation is the first to be reported here. These results indicated that the cartilage/bone is produced by differentiation of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells of stroma

IRF- 1 and IRF-4 Regulate Target Gene Expression via Interaction with DMP 1

Interferon regulatory factor-4 (IRF-4), a member of the IRF gene family, is a lymphoid-specific transcription factor. IRF-4 deficient mice showed severe immunodeficiencies. Both B- and T-cell activation were profoundly affected: serum immunoglobulin concentrations and antibody responses were decreased, and cytotoxic and antitumor responses were absent in IRF-4 knockout mice. Thus, IRF-4 is essential for the functions of mature B- and T-lymphocytes. To analyze IRF-4 function, we searched for IRF-4- interacting factors. A plasmid was constructed to express a LexA-IRF-4 fusion protein from the inducible GAL1 promoter in yeast cells. When this low copy plasmid (pGilda/IRF-4) was introduced into the yeast strain NOY397, cell growth was significantly inhibited. We supposed that this growth inhibition arose from interference with cellular factors essential for cell viability. We isolated several genes that could rescue the growth inhibition phenotype by screening a yeast genomic library. One of the clones, encoding the REB1 protein, interacted with IRF-4 in vitro. The yeast REB1 protein shares homology with the human transcription factor DMP1. IRF-4 was shown to interact in vitro with DMP1, via its DNA binding domain. IRF-1 also interacted with DMP1. These results suggest that IRF-1 and IRF-4 might regulate target gene expression, via interactions with DMP1

Clincal evaluation of spa effects for patients with respiratory disease and chronic pain disease

1998年1月より12月までの1年間に,温泉療法-主として温泉プール水泳ないし歩行訓練及び鉱泥湿布治療-を受けた158例の入院症例(呼吸器疾患78例,疼痛性疾患64例,その他16例)について退院時に臨床効果を5段階で評価してもらいそれぞれの入院期間との比較検討を行った｡対象症例の年齢は70才代が最も多く,次いで60才代,50才代,80才代であった｡地域分布では,鳥取県外の入院症例が72.2%を占め,県外である遠隔地としては,岡山県,兵庫県,広島県,大阪府,東京都,神奈川県からの入院が多く見られた｡臨床効果は,"非常に良くなった"と,"かなり良くなった"を有効と判定し,その有効率は呼 吸器疾患では78.2%であった｡一方,疼痛性疾患では,その有効率は50.0%であったが,"少し良くなった"症例を含めると,95.3%,その他の症例は68.8%であった｡入院期間別に検討すると,呼吸器疾患では入院1ケ月で72.7%,2ケ月では81.8%,3ケ月以上では76.5%であった｡一方,疼痛性疾患では,入院1ケ月で21.1%,2ケ月で60.0%,3ケ月で64.0%であり,呼吸器疾患と比べ,効果出現までの期間がやヽ長く,入院期間が長くなるほど,その効果は高くなる傾向が見られた｡Clinical evaluation of spatherapy, mainly swimming and walk training in a hot spring pool and fango therapy, was performed in 158 patients (78 with respiratory disease, 64 with chronic pain disease, and 16 with other diseases) who were admitted at our hospital to receive spa therapy from January to December in 1998. The number of patients over the age of 70 was largest, and the number of patients outside Tottori prefecture (72.2%) was larger than the number inside Tottori prefecture. Spa efficacy was assessed by 5 steps according to improvement of clinical symptoms; efficacy-marked, moderate,and slight, no efficacy, and worse. Spa therapy was evaluated as effective when their symptoms were markedly or moderately improved. The spa efficacy was 72.2% at 1 month, 81.8% at 2 months, and 76.5% at 3 months after spa therapy in patients with respiratory disease. In contrast, the, efficacy was 21.1% at 1 month, 60.0% at 2 months,and 64.0% at 3 months after the therapy in patients with chronic pain disease. The efficacy was higher as the term of admission was longer in patients with chronic pain disease

GPR52 accelerates fatty acid biosynthesis in a ligand-dependent manner in hepatocytes and in response to excessive fat intake in mice

Gpr52 is an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor of unknown physiological function. We found that Gpr52-deficient (Gpr52−/−) mice exhibit leanness associated with reduced liver weight, decreased hepatic de novo lipogenesis, and enhanced insulin sensitivity. Treatment of the hepatoma cell line HepG2 cells with c11, the synthetic GPR52 agonist, increased fatty acid biosynthesis, and GPR52 knockdown (KD) abolished the lipogenic action of c11. In addition, c11 induced the expressions of lipogenic enzymes (SCD1 and ELOVL6), whereas these inductions were attenuated by GPR52-KD. In contrast, cholesterol biosynthesis was not increased by c11, but its basal level was significantly suppressed by GPR52-KD. High-fat diet (HFD)-induced increase in hepatic expression of Pparg2 and its targets (Scd1 and Elovl6) was absent in Gpr52−/− mice with alleviated hepatosteatosis. Our present study showed that hepatic GPR52 promotes the biosynthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol in a ligand-dependent and a constitutive manner, respectively, and Gpr52 participates in HFD-induced fatty acid synthesis in liver

Desquamative Gingivitis

Desquamative gingivitis (DG) is characterized by erythematous, epithelial desquamation, erosion of the gingival epithelium, and blister formation on the gingiva. DG is a clinical feature of a variety of diseases or disorders. Most cases of DG are associated with mucocutaneous diseases, the most common ones being lichen planus, mucous membrane pemphigoid, and pemphigus vulgaris. Proper diagnosis of the underlying cause is important because the prognosis varies, depending on the disease. This chapter presents the underlying etiology that is most commonly associated with DG. The current literature on the diagnostic and management modalities of patients with DG is reviewed

Evaiuation of spa therapy by questionnaire. Characteristics of patients from distant areas.

1999年4月～12月の9ケ月間の遠隔地からの入院患者80名（痔痛性疾患47例，呼吸器疾患33例）を対象に，岡大三朝分院に来院した動機，入院前の状態，温泉療法の効果，薬剤の変化，退院決定の動機等について退院前にアンケート調査を行い検討を加えた。対象症例の年齢は60才以上の高齢者力て多く，入院期間は1ケ月～2ケ月末満が多い傾向であった。入院前の状態では，今までの治療に不満，限界を感じて来院している症例が71例（88．7％）を占めていた。地域別では広島，大阪，京都，兵庫からの来院か多く，その他18都府県に及んでいた。アンケート結果では，疾患別による若干の傾向と，温泉療法に対する評価として症状の改善が見られ，また，使用薬剤の減量の可能性が示唆された。Clinical evaluation of spa therapy was examined in 80 patients with respiratory disease and with joint pain including lumber pain, who came from distant areas (outside Tottori prefecture) and were admitted at Misasa Hospital by questionnaire in relation to a motive of admission, effects of spa therapy, dose of medication, a motive of discharge. In many of these patients, the age was over 60 years and duration of their admission was from two to three months. Seventy-one- (88.7%) of the 80 patients were admitted at our hospital because they were not satisfactory for the treatment of asthma which they had before. The number of patients from Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo, prefectures was larger than the number from other distant areas. The results of the questionnaire suggest that improvement of symptoms and reduction of drugs used are ecpected by spa therapy

Association of MUTYH Gln324His and APEX1 Asp148Glu with colorectal cancer and smoking in a Japanese population

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