Investigating the impact of psychosocial risks and occupational stress on psychiatric hospital nurses' mental well-being in Japan.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted, with the aim to examine what stressors in the workplace and demographic factors were associated with signs and symptoms of poor well-being among psychiatric nurses. A structured questionnaire was distributed to nurses within six psychiatric hospitals in Japan. Information was collected on demographic information, work characteristics and two dimensions of well-being: feeling uptight and emotional exhaustion. Three hundred and sixty-one questionnaires were completed by participants. High rates of emotional exhaustion in psychiatric nurses were found to be predicted by young age, high psychological demands paired with low social support in the workplace, job strain (a proxy to occupational stress) and job strain paired with low social support. In addition, high rates of being tense/uptight were associated with high psychological job demand, low psychological job control, low social support in the workplace, high job strain and high job strain paired with low social support. The current study has found evidence of significant relationships between demographic factors and several work and organizational stressors and poor mental health among Japanese psychiatric nurses.

Separation of apple procyanidins into different degrees of polymerization by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

Apple procyanidins were fractionated by high-speed counter-current chromatography in a one-step operation from apple condensed tannins using a type-J multilayer coil planet centrifuge. The separation of procyanidins was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of methyl acetate-water (1:1) by eluting the upper phase at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. Each fraction was examined by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Procyanidins were separated according to their degrees of polymerization.

Antiallergic effect of apple polyphenols on the allergic model mouse.

We studied here the antiallergic effect of apple condensed tannins (ACT) administered orally to a type I allergy model mouse transplanted with an IgEL a2 hybridoma secreting anti-2,4,6-trinitrophenyl (TNP) immunoglobulin E (IgE). The oral administration of ACT significantly inhibited the ear swelling responses at 1 h after antigen-stimulation with picryl chloride. The response was dose dependent within 0.1 to 10 mg/mouse. The inhibition of the ear swelling response reached the maximal level (90% inhibition) when ACT was administered 2 h before the antigen challenge. These findings suggest that ACT has an antiallergic effect on type I allergic symptoms.

Inhibitory effects of apple polyphenols and related compounds on cariogenic factors of mutans streptococci.

The inhibitory effects of apple polyphenols (APP) on the synthesis of water-insoluble glucans by glucosyltransferases (GTF) of streptococci of the mutans group and on the sucrose-dependent adherence of the bacterial cells were examined in vitro. APP markedly inhibited the activity of GTF purified from the cariogenic bacterial cells. However, APP showed no significant effect on the growth of the cariogenic bacteria. The strongest GTF inhibitors in APP were apple condensed tannins (ACT), a mixture of procyanidins. The 50% inhibitory doses of ACT against the GTF of S. sobrinus and that of S. mutans were 1.5 microgram/mL and 5 microgram/mL, respectively. The ACT efficacy largely depended upon the degree of polymerization. Interestingly, while the other polyphenols known to inhibit GTF such as tannic acid markedly inhibited salivary alpha-amylase activity, APP and ACT only scarcely inhibited that enzyme activity. This means that APP and ACT might selectively inhibit the bacterial GTF activity under oral conditions.

Fractionation of apple procyanidins according to their degree of polymerization by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

A new method was developed for the fractionation of procyanidin oligomers according to their degree of polymerization. Monomeric flavan-3-ols and low molecular mass procyanidins were selectively extracted from the lyophilized powder of apple condensed tannins (ACTs) by methyl acetate extraction. Sequentially, the separation of each oligomer from dimer to pentamer in this extract was carried out by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using a silica-beads packed column. The best separation was achieved with a mobile phase system containing hexane; (1) hexane-methanol-ethyl acetate, (2) hexane-acetone. These sequential treatments can be easily adapted to large-scale fractionation.

High-speed counter-current chromatography of apple procyanidins.

Apple procyanidins were separated by high-speed counter-current chromatography using a type-J multilayer coil planet centrifuge. Several two-phase solvent systems with a wide range of hydrophobicities from a non-polar hexane system to polar n-butanol systems were evaluated their performance in terms of the partition coefficient and the retention of the phase. The best separation of procyanidins B and C was achieved with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-butanol-methyl tert.-butyl ether-acetonitrile-0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (2:4:3:8) using the lower phase as a mobile at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min.

Gel permeation chromatography of anthocyanin pigments from Rosé cider and red wine.

Anthocyanin pigments from rosé cider and red wine, which is a sparkling wine made from apples, were separated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) using a TSK-GEL Toyopearl HW-40 (F) column with a 6:4 mixture of acetone and 8 M urea (pH 2.0) as the eluent. Under this condition, all phenolic compounds containing monomeric anthocyanins (mainly, cyanidin-3-galactoside; Cyn-3-gal), oligomeric and polymeric anthocyanins, chlorogenic acid, catechin, epicatechin, procyanidin B2 (PB2), and procyanidin C1 (PC1) in the apples and rosé cider were found to elute according to molecular weight. Bleaching of the anthocyanin pigments by SO(2) was gradually effective in the fractions separated by GPC according to elution volume. In the case of rosé cider, the levels of Cyn-3-gal decreased markedly during fermentation and then decreased gradually during maturation. We confirmed that anthocyanin polymers are not detectable in apple juice; these polymers are produced during fermentation and maturation as determined by GPC. The polymeric anthocyanins from red wine could be separated by this method, too.

Fractionation of apple procyanidins by size-exclusion chromatography.

Oligomeric constituents of apple procyanidins were fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography using a TSKgel Toyopearl HW-40F column. The best separation was obtained using a mobile phase of acetone-8 M urea (6:4; adjusted to pH 2) at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. In this chromatographic system, the use of 8 M urea in the mobile phase resulted in a molecular sieve effect without any surface affinity interaction between the gel beads and the procyanidin molecules. Each fraction obtained was examined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The order of elution of the procyanidins from the column was coincident with their degree of polymerization.

Inhibitory effects of apple polyphenol on induced histamine release from RBL-2H3 cells and rat mast cells.

The anti-allergic activities of polyphenol fractions extracted from immature fruits of apple (Rosaceae, Malus sp.) were evaluated by in vitro assays. A crude apple polyphenol (CAP) fraction, which had been obtained from the juice of immature apples by reverse-phase column chromatography, was further purified by LH-20 column chromatography to obtain an apple condensed tannin (ACT) fraction consisting of linear oligomeric epicatechins from the dimer to pentadecamer. ACT strongly inhibited the release of histamine from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells stimulated by the antigen-stimulation and from rat peritoneal mast cells stimulated by compound 48/80. The IC50 values for histamine release were 30 micrograms/ml and 25 micrograms/ml, respectively. ACT also inhibited hyaluronidase activity and the increase in intracellular free calcium concentration in RBL-2H3 cells stimulated with the antigen. These results suggest that ACT affected early signal transduction including the calcium influx.

Identification of catechin oligomers from apple (Malus pumila cv. Fuji) in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry.

Molecular size information for polymerized catechin larger than the decamer in unripe apple was obtained by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and by fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry provided evidence for the pentadecamer using trans-3-indoleacrylic acid as the matrix in the presence of silver ion. Even in the absence of silver ion, the dodecamer and undecamer were observed in the positive- and negative-ion modes, respectively. Fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry also afforded evidence for the undecamer in both positive- and negative-ion modes.

The gonial angle stripper: an instrument for the treatment of prominent gonial angle.

In the Orient, a prominent gonial angle, so-called benign masseteric hypertrophy, is rather common and considered unattractive. Therefore, its surgical correction is one of the most popular forms of facial skeletal contouring. For accurate and safe osteotomy of the mandibular angle region, a gonial angle stripper was specially invented. It has a small projection that will ease identification of the osteotomy line in a narrow operative field. The tool has been clinically used in eight patients to prove its usefulness, especially for a posteriorly developed mandibular angle.

Proton NMR study on a histone-like protein, HU alpha, from Escherichia coli and its complex with oligo DNAs.

It was confirmed that the flexible arm region of HU alpha forms an antiparallel beta-sheet and that all of the residues of phenylalanines, together with some of leucines and/or valines, form a hydrophobic core within the dimer of HU alpha. HU alpha protein alone is thermally labile and melts at 38 degrees C, but it becomes remarkably stabilized and melts at 59 degrees C in the presence of DNA. Several resonances from both HU alpha and DNA perturbed by their complex formation, notably those of His C-2 and C-4 protons, downfield shifted C alpha protons in the antiparallel beta-sheet, as well as Arg C delta and Lys C epsilon protons. The results indicated that a beta-sheet region of HU alpha binds to DNA, and also showed that rapid equilibrium occurs on the NMR time scale between bound and unbound states of HU alpha. A few intermolecular nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) were also observed between the protein and H1' protons of DNA in the complex, suggesting that HU alpha binds primarily to the minor groove of DNA.

A novel cis-acting DNA element required for a high level of inducible expression of the rat P-450c gene.

A novel cis-acting regulatory element (designated BTE for basic transcription element) was found in the region proximal to the TATA sequence of the P-450c gene by the use of deletion mutations. This DNA element is considered to be involved in the basic transcription of the gene and does not show distinct enhancer activity in itself. Together with the XRE sequence (A. Fujisawa-Sehara, K. Sogawa, M. Yamane, and Y. Fujii-Kuriyama, Nucleic Acids Res. 15:4179-4191, 1987), however, this sequence is required for a high inducible expression of the P-450c gene in response to xenobiotic inducers. The BTE sequence contained the GC box consensus sequence and half of the NF-1-binding consensus or CAT box sequence, but their synthetic oligonucleotides, used as competitors in the gel mobility shift assays, did not compete with the BTE sequence for the binding protein, suggesting that the BTE sequence functions as a different recognition sequence from that for Sp1 or NF-1. Analogous sequences to BTE are found in the region proximal to the TATA sequence of other genes, especially other P-450 genes with different modes of regulation, suggesting that the BTE sequence plays a common regulatory role in basic transcription of genes including a group of the P-450 superfamily. The ubiquitous distribution of nuclear factor(s) binding to this element supports this suggestion.

Computer assisted medical record retrieval system.

A medical record retrieval system for access to patients' records has been developed as the first step toward constructing a medical record data base. Since retrieval is a logical process, a logical system was used to describe the retrieval conditions. For access to a patient set having a number of medical data of interest, the patients concerned are taken as one set for each data item. and a logical computation is carried out between several selected sets to obtain the required set. The retrieval conditions can be designated in two categories, admission and history, thus enabling quite flexible retrieval condition to be described. Since retrieval is one-line, the major file key was introduced to reduce response time and file access frequency.

[Derivatives of 2,3,4,5,-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido-(3,2-b)azepine and 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido(2,3-b)azepine and their corresponding lactams. II. Synthesis and pharmacologic study of their psychotropic activity]. / Derivés de la tétrahydro-2,3,4,5 1H-pyrido[3,2-b]azépine, de la tétrahydro-2,3,4,5 1H-pyrido[2,3-b]azépine et de leurs lactames correspondants. II. Synthèse et étude pharmacologique de leur activité psychotrope.

Preparation of the N-(2-diethylaminoethyl) derivatives of lactam (II) and of the N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) derivative of lactam (XI) is described. Synthesis of the N-[4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazinylacetyl]- and 1-carbothiamide derivatives of azepine (I) and of the n-(chloroformyl)- and N-(carbamoyl) derivatives of azepine (XII) are also described. Some pharmacological results indicate a partial tranquilizing activity.

[Tetrahydropyridoazepine and tetrahydropyridoazepinone derivatives. I. Derivatives of 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,2b]azepine and of the corresponding lactam]. / Dérivés de tétrahydropyridoazépines et de tétrahydropyridoazépinones. I - Dérivés de la tétrahydro-2,3,4,5 1H-pyrido[3,2-b]azépine et du lactame correspondant.

Preparation of N-derivatives of 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,2-b]azepine and, in one case, of 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,2-b]azepine-2-one was achieved by introducing the substituents COCl, CONH2, CO2(CH2)3N(CH3)2, COCH2Br and (CH2)3N(CH3)2. The pharmacological results indicate some effect on the ANS.