The eight subjective symptoms (shoulder stiffness, lumbago, urinary frequency at night, numbness of extremities, shortness of breath, sleep disturbance, dizziness and abdominal distension) were checked at the screening of circulatory diseases performed in a rural district in Ehime prefecture.
1. The complaint rates of the eight subjective symptoms were higher in female than those in male. The influence of aging was observed in urinary frequency at night and sleep disturbance. The higher complaint rates in the agricultural workers were not evident in the subjective symptoms except lumbago.
2. Factor analysis indicated that the eight subjective symptoms were constituted by (1) fatigue of circulatory system, (2) fatigue of musculoskeletal system and (3) aging effect.
3. The higher complaint rates were observed in these diagnosed as circulatory diseases, musculoskeletal diseases or gynecological diseases. The correlations between the eight subjective symptoms and the laboratory findings were not apparent. The result of path analysis indicated that the eight subjective symptoms were independently referable to the presence of illness.
4. The eight subjective symtoms were considered considered to be to evaluate health status of inhabitants in rural district.

In order to examine the personal space perception, measurements were conducted on both elbows in 14 men and 46 women. Each subject, with his (or her) eyes closed and with his upper arm fixed horizontally, was instructed to stop the vertical and horizontal swing motion of his lower arm at the point he considered to be the middle of the range of possible motion on the front and side of plane at his shoulder, and this was repeated ten times. In various conditions, similar measurements were also done to study factors affecting the personal space perception in 14 men.
Mean values of bisected angles in percentage against range of motion were deviated from the middle points in the direction of the elbow extension, although there were large differences between the individuals. The deviation was smallest in the vertical. side of plane, and was larger in the horizontal plane than that in the vertical plane. The deviation was not so much affected by the various conditions.
It was suggested that the gain of the personal space perception is higher in the elbow extension than in the elbow flexion and its difference is larger in the horizontal plane than in vertical plane of the human elbow joint.

To examine the variation in the knee extension force and the integrated electromyogram from rectus femoris, medial vastus and lateral vastus muscles with the knee joint angle in growing children, measurements were conducted in 61 school boys aged from 7 to 12 years old. Anthropometric measurements were also done on the body height, the lower limb length, and so on. Results obtained were as follows.
1) Ratio of the lower limb length comparing with the body height increased with the grade.
2) Maximal force at each joint angle in each grade was shifted peak from 70°to 90°with the grade.
3) The pattern of the integrated surface electromyogram from rectus femoris, medial vastus or lateral vastus muscle at each joint angle was the same in all of the grade. The integrated electromyogram at the maximal voluntary contraction was maximal at 45°of the knee joint angle in the rectus femoris muscle, at 110°in the medial vastus and at 90°in the lateral vastus muscle.

Objective To evaluate the impact of the hypoxia induced by bevacizumab on the antitumor effect in combining with irradiation in CNI-H441 xenografts in mice. Methods Bevacizumab of 5 mg/kg mouse for groups of control, bevacizumab alone, irradiation alone, earlier combination (EC), and later combination (LC) were initially injected peritoneally. Single irradiation of 14 Gy (122Sc γ-ray) was given at the 4th hour for the group of irradiation alone, 24th hour for EC group, and 72nd hour for LC group after the initial injection. Tumor hypoxia, micro vessels density and permeability of tumor vasculature,pathological responses, apoptosis, and tumor growth delay curve were evaluated after using bevacizumab and/or irradiation. Results Although it was lower than the control at the 24 hr after using bevacizumab (3. 1 × 106: 6.1 × 106 ;t = - 1.73 ,P > 0. 05), the HIF-1α rapidly increased to 3 - 4 times and 2 - 3 times of the control at day 3 (7.4 × 106: 20. 4 × 106; t = 2. 36, P < 0. 05) and lasted until day 10, which was consistent with the changes of tumor function vessels count. The count of residual micro vessel density count in LC group was higher than that in groups of EC and irradiation at day 3 after irradiation (9. 33: 3. 17;t =- 2. 43, P < 0. 05). The apoptotic count of tumor cells was lower in LC group than that in EC group (23.33: 43.83; t= 2.54, P< 0.05, at day 3 after radiation). Tumor growth delay time of LC groupwas shorter than that of EC groups (10. 5 days vs. 23. 0 days , t = 2. 67 , P < 0. 05) . Conclusions Hypoxia level induced by bevacizumab decreases the antitumor effect in later combination of bevacizumab and irradiaion. It shows a time window that determines whether the combination of bevacizumab and irradiation will be benefit or diverse.

Bischofia javanica leaf extract exhibited inhibitory activities against hyaluronidase, collagenase, tyrosinase and urease, suggesting that it is useful as an active ingredient for functional foods and cosmeceutical products. In particular, its 50% inhibitory concentration for hyaluronidase was comparable to that of disodium cromoglycate, which is a well-known hyaluronidase inhibitor used as an anti-inflammation and anti-allergy agent. In addition, the extract also inhibited urease with the almost the same potential as acetohydroxamic acid, which is reported to suppress Helicobacter pylori-induced gastritis by inhibiting urease.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) poses a major complicating factor for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair. To identify patients with IHD, we evaluated patients scheduled to undergo AAA repair with dipyridamole-thallium scintigraphy (DTS) and coronary angiography (CAG). If indicated, coronary revascularization was performed. Finally, an assessment of the effectiveness of these preventive measures was made. One hundred and ten patients scheduled to undergo AAA repair were identified and treated accordingly over a 20-year period. As the pre-operative evaluation and prophylactic surgical revascularization strategies were instituted in 1983, the patients were divided into 2 groups: 25 patients between 1973-1982 (group A) and 85 patients between 1983-1992 (group B). The mean age of patients in group A was 65.3 years. The male/female ratio within this group was 21:4. One patient in the group had a history of IHD and 9 had hypertention. The mean age of patients in group B was 67.7 years. The male/female ratio within this group was 77:8. Fourteen patients in this group had a history of IHD and 27 had hypertension. Screening and treatment of IHD in group B was as follows. All patients with a history of IHD underwent CAG. Of the 32 patients with cardiac risk factors, including hypertension and hyperlipidemia, or ECG abnormalities who underwent DTS, 8 were referred for CAG. Thirty-nine patients with no risk factors and a normal ECG proceeded to AAA repair without further workup. Perioperative myocardial infarction occurred in 2 patients in grouzp A, leading to death in 1 patient. Coronary revascularization was performed in 5 patients in group B. No perioperative myocardial infarction occurred in this group. Pre-operative identification of high-risk cases with DTS, CAG, and coronary revascularization in patients with IHD may prevent cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing AAA repair.

PURPOSE: The International Organization for Standardization-5fluorouracil (FU) 10 trial found that bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin was not inferior to S-1 in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC). Continuous 5-FU and the rapid injection of 5-FU have different anti-cancer effects. Thus, bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin treatment might be useful for oral FU-resistant GC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of all patients with S-1 or capecitabine-resistant, unresectable, or recurrent GC treated with bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin between January 2010 and December 2015 at Hokkaido University Hospital. The bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin regimen consisted of intravenous l-leucovorin (250 mg/m²/2 h) and bolus 5-FU (600 mg/m²) administered once weekly followed by a 2-week rest period; each cycle was repeated every 8 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 14 patients were identified. The disease control rate was 35.7%. The median progression-free survival was 1.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3~2.0 months), and the median overall survival was 6.3 months (95% CI, 4.7~7.9 months). No patient died from treatment-related causes. The most common severe adverse event associated with bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin was neutropenia, which occurred in 21.4% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: Bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin treatment might be useful for oral FU-resistant GC. We are planning a multi-center prospective phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bolus 5-FU and l-leucovorin treatment for pre-treated unresectable or recurrent GC to confirm the results of this limited, retrospective study.
Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Fluorouracil* ; Humans ; Leucovorin ; Medical Records ; Neutropenia ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Headaches caused by metastatic brain tumors result from dural tension and traction of the sites of nociceptive nerves that originates from displacement of cerebral vessels and intracranial hypertension caused by the tumor. Causes of such headaches also include meningeal irritation resulting from intrathecal dissemination of tumor and carcinomatous meningitis.Treatment of headaches resulting from intracranial hypertension involves alleviation of cerebral edema and reduction of intracranial pressure using hyperosmolar therapy and steroid administration, but treatment is often complicated by a lack of pressure reduction. We encountered 2 cases of headaches with intracranial hypertension that did not improve following hyperosmolar therapy and steroid administration, but resolved with increased opioid dose.In cases where intracranial pressure does not decrease, or for headaches attributed to direct stimulus of intracranial nociceptive nerves rather than intracranial hypertension, attempts to treat the patient with initiation or increased dosage of opioids may prove effective from a clinical standpoint.