Evaluation of domestic wild populations of Artemisia princeps and Artemisia montana suitable for progressing to Mogusa used for moxibustion therapy / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The domestic production of moxa used in Japanese moxibustion therapy has decreased. Therefore, it is assumed that improved productivity of moxa and cultivation of Artemisa princeps Pamp. (Yomogi) is necessary for stable production of moxa. In this study, the production rate of moxa processed from green leaves, its chlorophyll content, maximum temperature of combustion, morphology, and yield of families collected from 127 domestic spots were investigated. They were evaluated to determine which family was suitable for use in moxibustion. As a result of principal component analysis on the morphological evaluation, 22 families were extracted as they were easily harvestable and were produced over a large area. They had a high productivity rate for moxa, and contained more than the standard weight in dry leaves among all the families. It was confirmed that these extracted families included families that have not been used so far in addition to families collected in conventional areas. These results suggest that production using extracted families can improve the domestic production of Artemisa princeps of moxa.

HCV Antibody Positive Rates of Blood Donors in Yamaguchi Prefecture / 日本農村医学会雑誌

The HCV antibody positive rates of blood donors were studied in Yamaguchi Prefecture. C100-3 antibody was examined by the method of the 1st generation. The subjects were 146, 792 people who donated blood from Nov. 1989 to Dec. 1990. The average positive rate was 1.01% in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The positive rates of more than 3% were registered in four towns. In one town out of these four, the average positive rate was 22.0% It was extremely higher than the other three towns. Further study will be required to elucidate such regional differences in the HCV positive rate in the prefecture.

The Study on the Serum Lipid in Cases of Thorough Physical Examinations / 日本農村医学会雑誌

To find a link between lifestyle and arteriosclerosis, the serum lipid values were studied in those who had entered our hospital for a thorough physical examination. The subjects were 136 men and 31 women. They were divided into six groups. 1st: neither drinking nor smoking habits (24 cases). 2nd: 20 or 40 grams of ethyl alcohol daily and no smoking habit (45 cases). 3rd: more than 40 grams daily and more than 10 cigarettes (21 cases). 4th: 20 grams daily and more than 10 cigarettes (25 cases). 5th: no drinking habit and more than 10 cigarettes daily (21 cases). 6th: women who had neither drinking nor smoking habits (31 cases).<BR>The 2nd group was a control group, and was compared with each group. It was found that only TG values were significantly high in the 3rd group. HDL-C values were significantly low in the 5th group. There were no significant differences in the 1st and 4th groups. T-CHO and LDL-C values were significantly high in the 6th group. These facts suggest that it is difficult to correlate both drinking and smoking habits with the incidence of arteriosclerosis. And perhaps it is the same in women, because LDL-C values were high in women, but at the same time HDL-C values were high.