Improvement of efficiency and temperature control of induction heating vapor source on electron cyclotron resonance ion source.

An electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) is used to generate multicharged ions for many kinds of the fields. We have developed an evaporator by using induction heating method that can generate pure vapor from solid state materials in ECRIS. We develop the new matching and protecting circuit by which we can precisely control the temperature of the induction heating evaporator. We can control the temperature within ±15 °C around 1400 °C under the operation pressure about 10(-4) Pa. We are able to use this evaporator for experiment of synthesizing process to need pure vapor under enough low pressure, e.g., experiment of generation of endohedral Fe-fullerene at the ECRIS.

Analysis of pathological risk factors for lymph node metastasis of submucosal invasive colon cancer.

There are currently no universally accepted indications and criteria for additional surgical resection of the colorectum after endoscopic resection of the submucosal invasive cancer. The purpose of the present study is to establish accurate indications and criteria for additional surgical resection of the colorectum, based on the prediction of lymph node metastasis, after endoscopic resection of the submucosal invasive cancer. We investigated 140 submucosal invasive colorectal cancers and analyzed the pathologic factors of lymph node metastasis. The tumors were evaluated for pathologic factors in the invasive area of the submucosal carcinoma and were compared between the cases with lymph node metastasis and those without lymph node metastasis. Lymph node metastasis was observed in 13 cases (9%). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the depth of invasion, cribriform-type structural atypia, absence of lymphoid infiltration, lymphatic permeation, and venous permeation were statistically significant as risk factors for lymph node metastasis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the important risk factors included, in decreasing order, lymphatic permeation, absence of lymphoid infiltration, cribriform-type structural atypia, venous permeation, and depth of invasion. Submucosal invasion of 2 mm or more, and/or, depth of lymphatic permeation of 2 mm or more are risk factors for lymph node metastasis. The pathologic criteria based on our results for additional colectomy enables greater accuracy selection of patients who will undergo further surgical treatment after endoscopic resection.

[Differences in intake of food and nutrients between manual and desk workers].

AIM: To compare intake of food and nutrients between manual and desk workers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Subjects were 28,603 residents (13,432 were male and 15,171 were female) in a city. Using a questionnaire, information on frequencies of consumption of different foodstuffs for one year and the type of employment was collected. Intake of nutrients was calculated from the frequencies and compared between manual and desk workers. The comparison was carried out with stratification by gender and adjustment for age and smoking habits. RESULTS: Desk workers took larger amounts of protein and lipids, and smaller amounts of carbohydrates than manual workers. Predominant foodstuffs in the latter was rice wheat products, potatoes and soybean products, while desk workers consumed more meat, processed meat, milk products, fish, vegetables and fruits. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in intake of nutrients and food depending on occupation should be considered, when the relationship between health status and employment is evaluated.

Hypocholesterolemic effect of soymilk supplementation with usual diet in premenopausal normolipidemic Japanese women.

BACKGROUND: The hypocholesterolemic effect of soy protein concentrates on normolipidemic subjects still remains unclear. Our objective is to assess the effect of soymilk supplementation, a whole soy product, with usual diet on serum lipids in normolipidemic subjects. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial on 60 premenopausal normolipidemic Japanese women. After excluding 8 subjects whose initial serum concentration of total cholesterol or triacylglycerol was higher than 220 mg/dL (5.69 mmol/L) or 160 mg/dL (1.81 mmol/L), respectively, we encouraged the subjects in the soymilk-supplemented group (n = 27) to consume 400 mL (408 g) of commercial regular soymilk daily during two menstrual cycles. There were no significant differences in variables, including nutrient intake, between the soymilk-supplemented and control (n = 25) groups before the intervention. RESULTS: After the trial, we observed a significant decrease of 10.9 mg/dL, or 5.3%, in serum concentration of total cholesterol in the soymilk-supplemented group. During the intervention, nutrient intake assessment showed significant increases in nutrient densities of vitamin E, polyunsaturated fatty acids, isoflavones, and P/S ratio and decreases in total energy and nutrient densities of vitamin C and green tea in this group. A statistically significant decrease in serum total cholesterol could still be observed even after excluding the estimated hypocholesterolemic effects of soymilk's polyunsaturated fatty acids. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the hypocholesterolemic effect of soymilk, a traditional whole soy product, in Asian countries in normolipidemic subjects.

Histologic and immunohistochemical analysis of early submucosal invasive carcinoma of the colon and rectum.

To investigate the development and progression of colorectal carcinoma, submucosal invasive carcinoma (SMC) with residual intramucosal neoplasm was studied histopathologically. Intramucosal neoplasm was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining against anti-alpha-smooth muscle actin antibody. Submucosal invasive carcinoma was classified into polypoid growth-type carcinoma (PGC) and non-polypoid growth-type carcinoma (NPGC), depending on the presence of intramucosal tumor proliferation. Tumors were > 15 mm in size in 78.2% of the PGC lesions studied, but the degree of submucosal invasion was minimal (invasion of the upper 500 microm of the submucosal layer) in 52.9% of the PGC lesions. Conversely, 64.4% of NPGC lesions were 15 mm in size and the degree of submucosal invasion was moderate or severe (involving the middle and deeper layer of the submucosa) for 72.9% of NPGC. In other words, lesions of NPGC were significantly smaller in size but showed deeper infiltration than PGC lesions. Furthermore, PGC was derived from intramucosal polypoid carcinoma (including carcinoma with adenoma) and was morphologically identical to polyp cancer as reported previously. However, NPGC was derived from the flat and/or depressed type of intramucosal carcinoma classified not as polyp type, but as the superficial type. Typical NPGC was, therefore, also of the superficial type. In addition, approximately 25% of PGC lesions were identified as having an adenoma-carcinoma sequence. There was no coexistence with adenoma in the NPGC lesions, suggesting de novo development. When the degree of histologic atypia in the two types of intramucosal carcinoma was compared, 74.7% of PGC lesions showed low-grade carcinoma, regardless of tumor size, while 62.7% of NPGC lesions showed high-grade carcinoma in the intramucosal lesion. Approximately 25% of carcinomas with low-grade atypia were positive for p53 (as were the high-grade lesions), but it was not expressed in the adenoma. Therefore, tumor development and the degree of invasion differed significantly between the two types of carcinoma.

Evaluation of a screening program on reduction of gastric cancer mortality in Japan: preliminary results from a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Systematic population-based screening for gastric cancer is widely spread in Japan. However, the case-control study method has been the main method used to evaluate the effectiveness of the screen ing to reduce gastric cancer mortality in Japan. METHODS: This article presents a population-based cohort study. A questionnaire about lifestyles and dietary habits was distributed to 36,990 residents in a city of Japan. The response rate to the questionnaire was 92.0%. After ineligible responders had been excluded, 24,134 subjects were classified into screened and un screened groups according to their self-reports of participation in the screening the previous year. We followed them up for 40 months and linked resident death records in the city. We compared mortality from gastric cancer and all other causes between the groups by us ing the Cox proportional hazard model. RESULTS: The follow-up period was 78,156.6 person-years from September 1992 to December 1995. The multivariate relative risks for gastric cancer death of the screened group in comparison with the unscreened group were 0.72 (95% CI 0.31-1.66) among males and 1.46 (95% CI 0.43-4.90) among females. CONCLUSION: Although our data are preliminary, we were unable to demonstrate a large contribution of the present screening program to decreasing gastric cancer mortality. Further follow-up is needed to in crease the precision.

[A case of gastric carcinoma treated effectively with 5'-DFUR].

A 79-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for further examination on gastric carcinoma (1' type) in the cardia. The histology of biopsied tissue was moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (tub2). The patient refused a gastrectomy and received three cycles of local injection therapy with OK-432 + Beriplast into the tumor. However, the tumor showed no decrease in size. Considering the quality of life, the patient was given out patient treatment with 5'-DFUR (Furtulon, 800 mg/day). Three months later, the patient showed a partial response (PR) on the basis of gastric X-ray and endoscopic findings. No adverse reactions to the drug were seen. The patient has been receiving the same drug since then, and has continued to show PR for 15 months. Biopsied tissues were checked immunohistochemically for expression of thymidine phosphorylase (TdRPase), and changes in tissue TdRPase level were examined by ELISA. The TdRPase level decreased with shrinking of the tumor. These results suggest that the shrinking of tumor following 5'-DFUR therapy is closely related to TdRPase.

Validity and reproducibility of a quantitative food frequency questionnaire for a cohort study in Japan.

BACKGROUND: A self-administered quantitative food frequency questionnaire (Qx) was developed for a population-based cohort study on cancer in Takayama, Japan. METHODS: The Qx was tested among 58 male and 59 female volunteers. Average daily nutrient intakes for the previous year calculated from the Qx were compared with those from 3-day food records and four 24-h recalls. The Qx was also validated among 37 volunteers by comparing the nutrient intakes calculated from the Qx with 12 1-day food records during a year. We also calculated the intra-class correlation coefficients for various nutrients between the Qx and the second Qx administered by the same volunteers 1 year after the first survey. RESULTS: Pearson correlation coefficients between total energy from the Qx and 3-day records were 0.38 for men and 0.25 for women and those between the Qx and 24-h recalls were 0.19 and -0.02 for men and women, respectively. Correlations between the several nutrients from the Qx and 3-day records ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 for both men and women. These correlations after energy adjustment ranged from 0.2 to 0.6 for men and from 0.1 to 0.7 for women. In general, the correlations for various nutrients between the Qx and 12 1-day records were higher than those described above. The intra-class correlation coefficients ranged from 0.46 to 0.78 in men and from 0.36 to 0.67, except for vitamin C in women. When the information on portion size was excluded, almost all of the above indices showed somewhat lower figures. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that our food frequency questionnaire with portion size information can be used to estimate nutrient intakes of each individual.

Left hepatic trisegmentectomy for intraductal papillary cholangiocarcinoma: report of a case.

We present a rare case of intraductal papillary cholangiocarcinoma in a 69 year-old man which was treated with left hepatic trisegmentectomy. The hepatic bile ducts were dilated by intraductal masses, which had extended into the intrahepatic bile ducts without involvement of the posterior inferior segmental duct (B6). The patient underwent left hepatic trisegmentectomy with hilar duct resection. The tumors in the posterior superior segmental duct (B7) were resected and biliary reconstruction was performed with a jejunal loop. Post-operative recovery was good, and the patient survived for 7 months after surgery.

Associations of individuals' health-related behavior with their own or their spouses' smoking status.

BACKGROUND: Many studies indicated that smokers have poor health habits such as high alcohol consumption and imbalanced nutrient intakes. These habits could affect the health-related behavior of smokers' families. METHODS: To investigate the relationship between an individual's health-related behavior (nutrient intakes and participation in cancer screening) and their spouses' smoking status, we analyzed data collected using a self-administered questionnaire during a cohort study. We compared nutrient intakes and cancer screening participation rates between subjects grouped according to their spouses' smoking status, using a multivariate linear regression model to adjust for each subject's age and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: There was an association between husbands' and wives' smoking status (never and current only). Poor micronutrient intakes and cancer screening participation rates were associated with both the subjects' and their spouses' smoking habits. This tendency was most apparent among male smokers and nonsmoking women. However, among nonsmoking men and female smokers, there were no statistically significant differences between groups classified according to their spouses' smoking status. CONCLUSION: Spouses' smoking habits were associated with poor health-related behavior in their partners.

Decreased serum total cholesterol concentration is associated with high intake of soy products in Japanese men and women.

The relationship between soy product intake and serum total cholesterol concentration was examined in 1242 men and 3596 women who participated in an annual health check-up program in Takayama City, Japan, provided by the municipality in 1992. The intake of soy products and various foods and nutrients was assessed by a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from fasting subjects to measure the serum total cholesterol concentration. A significant trend (P for trend = 0. 0001) was observed for decreasing total cholesterol concentration with an increasing intake of soy products in men after controlling for age, smoking status and intake of total energy, total protein and total fat. This negative trend (P for trend = 0.0001) was also noted in women after controlling for age, menopausal status, body mass index and intake of total energy and vitamin C. An additional adjustment for physical activity, coffee and tea consumption, and intake of cholesterol, carbohydrates, fiber and vitamin E did not change the results. These data suggest a role for soy products in human cholesterol homeostasis.

Food diversity and validity of semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire.

We hypothesized that validity of semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire would be affected by food diversity (variety of foods consumed), because greater food diversity may be related to greater within-individual variation of nutrient intake, which can attenuate the correlation coefficient measuring validity of the questionnaire. We obtained 12 one-day diet records over one year and responses to a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire from 37 subjects. The food diversity score for each subject was determined by the total number of different foods consumed during the 12 days for the diet records, and the subjects were divided into two groups according to the score. The within-individual variances were similar in those with higher and lower food diversity scores. We never observed a significantly lower correlation coefficient for any nutrient in those with higher food diversity scores. The observed and corrected correlations for most of the micronutrients were higher in those with higher food diversity scores, and the differences were statistically significant for crude fiber, vitamin C, iron, and potassium. The validity of the semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire did not appear to be lowered greatly by greater food diversity.

[T2*-contrast perfusion study--principles, theory and clinical utility in evaluating cerebral hemodynamics].

Contrast-enhanced dynamic study is easily feasible with a clinical MR system, for evaluating cerebral perfusion. A bolus of the paramagnetic contrast agents such as Gd-DTPA produces inhomogenity of the regional magnetic field between the capillaries and extravascular proton, and causes a decrease of signal intensity in the perfused region with T2*-weighted sequences. Echo planar imaging (EPI) is suitable for contrast-enhanced dynamic study, because it is markedly susceptible and provides high temporal-resolution. Tracer kinetic approaches are used for analysis of the dynamic data to acquire various perfusion parameters such as time delta R2* curve, rCBF, rCBV and MTT. T2*-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion imaging is useful, especially, for detecting hyperacute ischemia and its therapeutic window, and depicting vasculature and ability of the brain tumors.

MR angiography of ruptured aneurysms in acute subarachnoid hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of high-resolution MR angiography for the prospective diagnosis of ruptured aneurysms in acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. METHODS: We used 3-D time-of-flight MR angiography with a large image matrix (193 x 512 frequency-encoding steps), magnetization transfer saturation, and a variable flip-angle excitation (tilted optimized nonsaturating excitation [TONE]) to study 28 patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. The MR angiograms were compared with intraarterial digital subtraction angiographic (IA-DSA) images. RESULTS: Thirty-five (90%) of 39 aneurysms were detected prospectively with MR angiography. At least one aneurysm was identified with MR angiography in 25 (96%) of 26 patients with aneurysms proved by IA-DSA. Although four aneurysms were missed prospectively, three of these were detected retrospectively with MR angiography. Six aneurysms (18%) of those evident on MR angiograms were 3 mm or less in diameter. In one patient, additional targeted maximum intensity projections were greatly helpful for the ensuing IA-DSA by determining the optimial projection angle by which to depict a ruptured aneurysm that neither routine MR angiography nor routine IA-DSA detected. CONCLUSION: High-resolution MR angiography may be a useful diagnostic technique for detecting ruptured aneurysms, even in patients with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. Initial MR angiography offers valuable and reliable information on ruptured aneurysms in acute subarachnoid hemorrhage, allowing the optimization of projection angles at conventional angiography.

Protective effect of beraprost sodium, a stable prostacyclin analogue, on cardiac allograft vasculopathy in rats.

Intimal thickening and luminal narrowing of the coronary arteries are insidious complications of cardiac allograft. However, the pathogenesis of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains to be clarified. In this study, the protective effect of a prostacyclin analogue (beraprost sodium; BPS) on CAV was evaluated after heterotopic cardiac transplantation in rat. All recipients were treated with cyclosporine A (10 mg/kg/day intramuscularly). Eight rats received oral therapy with BPS of 50 micrograms/kg/day (BPS group) and another 8 rats received vehicle only (control group). All surviving cardiac grafts were removed on the 60th postoperative day and were examined to determine the severities of cellular rejection and CAV (> 50 microns in diameter). Additionally, 6-keto-prostagrandin F1 alpha and thromboxane B2 were compared between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the grading score for cellular rejection based on the ISHLT grading system (2.31 +/- 0.75 vs 2.47 +/- 0.65, p = 0.81). Although the endothelial cells were preserved in both groups, a deposition of fibrin-like dense materials was recognized in the subendothelial layers of the control group, but not in the BPS group. Intimal thickening was inhibited significantly in the BPS group. The intimal ratio (intimal area/sectional area of artery) was significantly lower in the BPS group than in the control group (0.134 +/- 0.03 vs 0.205 +/- 0.047; p < 0.01), without any difference in the medial ratio (medial area/sectional area of artery). alpha-actin positive smooth muscle cells (SMC) in intima were fewer in number in the BPS group than in the control group. The plasma thromboxane B2 level was significantly lower in the BPS group than in the control group (270 +/- 116 pg/ml vs 585 +/- 258 pg/mg; p < 0.01). It was concluded that BPS suppressed CAV development after heterotopic allogenic cardiac transplantation in rats.

Validation of simplified diet history questionnaire.

Simplified methods to estimate long term nutrient intakes would be needed for not only nutritional epidemiologic studies but also other ones. Based on data of diet history questionnaires (DHQ) which ask frequency and portion size for 169 items from 2,371 participants randomly selected from our cohort study in a rural city of Japan, we simplified the DHQ by eliminating some items using stepwise regression method. To examine the validity of the simplified DHQ (SDHQ), we obtained the SDHQs from 31 volunteers who had finished to complete one-day records once a month during the previous year, we calculated Pearson's correlation coefficient and calorie-adjusted correlation coefficient between the SDHQ and twelve one-day records for each nutrient intake value. Thirty one items were selected for our SDHQ. The mean values of most nutrient intakes from the SDHQ were more than those from twelve one-day records. The correlation coefficients between the SDHQ and twelve one-day records were more than 0.30 except for fat and monounsaturated fat. Calorie adjustment increased in the correlation coefficients for some nutrients. Our results suggest that the SDHQ is a validated and easy-to-use method for assessing long term 17 selected nutrient intakes.