To investigate medical student interest in medical ethics and associated factors, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 187 5th-year medical students who attended a 2-hour small-group class, “ Introduction to Biomedical Ethics, ” which is held as part of bedside teaching at the University of Tokyo. This study was performed from April 1995 through March 1998. All 187 questionnaires were returned. The degree of student interest in biomedical ethics was significantly associated with student perceptions of the importance of the medical ethics class relative to other classes and with the strength of the connection between medical ethics and 1) clinical practice, 2) law and the courts, e. g., malpractice suits, and 3) health policy. Students who perceived medical ethics as having greater importance or a stronger connection to these issues had more interest. Students were also asked what topics related to medical ethics they were interested in and what type of class was best. Finally, factors that should be taken into account when developing a medical ethics curriculum were discussed.

Video recordings of two styles of consultation were created to assess how a physician's nonverbal communication behavior affects patients. A physician spoke the same lines for both recordings but demonstrated different nonverbal behavior: “immediacy” in one recording and “psychological distance” in the other. The frequency and length of the physician's nonverbal communication behavior were measured. Then two groups of subjects were asked to watch one of the recordings ( “immediacy” recording, n=32, and “psychological distance” recording, n=34) and rate the nonverbal behavior on a scale of 1 to 5. Subjects recognized that the physician was warmer, smiled and nodded more often, and made more eye contact with the patient in the “immediacy” recording than in the “psychological distance” recording. These video recordings could be used in patient-satisfaction surveys and medical education.

To investigate the status of ethics education in Japanese medical schools, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to all 80 medical schools in 1995. Sixty-four (80.0%) medical schools responded, of which 60 answered they offer or will offer courses in which medical ethics topics are taught. Most classes are compulsory and are held before bedside teaching begins. Nineteen medical schools have separete medical ethics courses, and the others have medical humanities courses in which medical ethics are taught as part of the course. The respondents rated “the physician's duty, ” “informed consent, ” and “patients' rights” as the three most important topics that should be taught to medical students.

The effect of daily physical activity on oxidative stress is still an unknown issue, especially in middle-aged and elderly individuals. In this study, we examined the relationships of oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity with daily physical activity, taking into consideration the dietary antioxidant vitamin intake (vitamin B₂, C and E) of middle-aged and elderly people (66.0±7.0 years, n= 21; 10 males and 11 females, including 5 male trained runners) . Daily physical activity was measured using both a calorie counter and a questionnaire over a period of two weeks. The plasma concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance ( [TBARS] ) and both oxidized and reduced glutathione concentrations ( [GSSG] and [GSH] ) in whole blood were determined in blood samples obtained at rest and immediately after two periods of acute exercise: maximal cycle ergometric exercise and steady state cycle exercise at 80% of ventilatory threshold (VT) for 30 minutes. At a given statistically controlled dietary antioxidant vitamin intake level (vitamin B₂, C and E), the amount of daily physical activity was associated with neither [TBARS], [GSH] and the ratio of [GSSG] / [GSH] at rest, nor changes in levels of these substances after both exercise tests. These data suggest that the amount of daily physical activity may have little influence on oxidative stress or antioxidant capacity at rest and after acute cycle ergometric exercise. Further investigation would be necessary to clarify how much volume or intensity of physical activity induces increased oxidative stress, from the aspect of habitual physical training and nutrition.