Cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) and heat-induced vasoconstriction (HIVC) were examined in 8 Germans who were living in the suburban areas of the central Germany and 7 Japanese who were staying in the suburban areas of central Germany for the mean length of 2.7±0.6 years. CIVD were measured during the middle finger immersion in cold water at 0.2°C for 30 minutes. The finger blood flow for HIVC was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) in water from 35°C to 43°C every 10 minutes. HIVC represented as the percentage of the LDF volts after immersing as compared with the values before immersing (finger blood flow %, FBF%) . The daily energy intake of the subjects were also investigated.
The mean skin temperature and the resistance index as a value of CIVD were significantly higher in the Germans than Japanese, but the values of the Japanese living in Germany were higher than those of the Japanese living in Japan. The HIVC appeared at 35°C and 38°C and FBF% was the lowest at 40t both in the Germans and the Japanese. The finger skin temperature increased during jmmersion in both groups but was significantly higher in the Germans at 43°C. The decrease in FBF% per minute and the increase in the finger skin temperature per minute at 38°C and 40°C were greater in the Germans. The increase in FBF% per minute was greater in Japanese but the increase in finger temperature per minute were smaller in Japanese at 43°C. The daily protein intake of the Japanese living in Germany was higher than the average intake of the Japanese living in Japan, and their daily protein intake per body weight was approximately equal to that of the Germans.
It is inferred that CIVD is affected by the living circumstances and the state of nutritional intake, and HIVC by the thermal sensation and also by the living circumstances.

The effects of exercise on cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) as an index of local cold tolerance caused by a shift in the core body temperature in the follicular and luteal phases to a lower level were evaluated in athletes and non-athletes. The subjects were healthy female students with a normal menstrual cycle, who consisted of 15 athletes and 9 non-athletes. The percent body fat was lower, and the maximal oxygen intake was significantly higher in the athletes than in the non-athletes. The difference in the basal body temperature between the follicular and luteal phases differed significantly (P<0.01) between the athletes (0.53±0.221) and the non-athletes (0.88± 0.26t) . CIVD was measured once in the late follicular phase and once in the midluteal phase in the spring of 2002. Finger skin temperature before ice water immersion did not differ between the follicular and luteal phases in the athletes or non-athletes. The mean finger skin temperature was higher in the luteal phase in both the athletes and non-athletes. Similarly, the temperature of the first rise was higher, and the time of temperature rise was shorter, in the luteal phase. The resistance index was 11.47±2.36 in the follicular phase and 13.40±1.45 in the luteal phase in the athletes, and 10.44±3.21 and 11.89±2.09, respectively, in the non-athletes. It was significantly higher in the luteal phase in the athletes but showed no significant difference in the non-athletes. In addition, it was significantly higher in the athletes than in the non-athletes in the luteal phase, but no difference was observed between the two groups in the follicular phase. These results suggest that the finger skin temperature during ice water immersion was maintained at a higher level in the athletes than in the non-athletes despite the greater reductions in the basal body temperature in the luteal phases in the athletes ; this is because of suppression of cutaneous vasoconstriction and an increase in collateral blood flow. Moreover, cutaneous vasodilation induced by the axon reflex of sensory nerves, release of histamine substances, reduction of vascular sensitivity to catecholamines, or release of vasodilators is considered to be a mechanism of the higher resistance index in the athletes.

Investigation on the working time, energy expenditure and fatigue were carried out for members of three families engaged principally in raising silk worms.
Group examinations of physical conditions and blood constituents and survey of nutritional intake were performed on the residents, including the above families, in a community in Fukueisland, Nagasaki-prefecture.
The results were as follows;
1) The average values of energy expenditure on a most busy day in a raising period of silk worm calculated to be 3150 kcal (max. 3500 kcal) for males, 2340 kcal (max. 2890 kcal) for females of the above three families. Their working times on this day were about 14 hours.
2) The physical fatigue of the subjects was estimated by means of Fliker frequency, near point and threshold of patellar reflex. Remarkable changes of these values were found, suggesting the heavy physical load of the raising works, and the changes were more remarkable in olders and females than in youngers and males.
3) Donaggio's reaction and Na/K in the first urine of morning were investigated at an interval of five days during one period of silk worm raising.
The Donaggio's reaction values were increased about two times higher in the latter term, on the other hand Na/K dropped in the former term of the period.
4) The group examinations of the inhabitants in the community showed that the body fat of silk raising farmers were fewer than that of the farmers engaged in other kinds of farming reported by the present authors.
Blood values (Ht, Hb and TP) of them in 1975 were lower than in 1974, because one more raising period was added and so the physical load of them might be greater in '75 than in '74.
5) The nutritional intakes of silk raising farmers were almost as same as these of the farmers in other districts.

Thirty-four patients with congenital cardiac disease were studied to evaluated the role of ultrafiltration after cardiopulmonary bypass without homologous blood transfusion. We used either polypropylene microporous hollow fiber hemoconcentrator (HC-30M or 100M) or polyacrylonitrile microporous hollow fiber hemoconcentrator (PHC-500). Ultrafiltration was useful in the reduction of fluid overloading after cardiopulmonary bypass with extreme hemodilution. Thirty-two patients tolerated the procedure uneventfully without donor blood transfusion and were discharged from the hospital. The values of hematocrit, serum protein and free hemoglobin increased significantly after ultrafiltration with either type of hemoconcentrator. However the degree of concentration of blood components was significantly higher with polyacrylonitrile hemoconcentrator than those with polypropylene hemoconcentrator. These results indicated that ultrafiltration was useful for maintaining water balance after cardiopulmonary bypass without homologous blood transfusion in pediatric cardiac surgery and that polyacrylonitrile microporous hollow fiber hemoconcentrator should be employed in patients with shorter bypass time and less hemolysis.

Transcatheter embolization of 25 aortopulmonary collateral arteries (7 bronchial arteries and 18 intercostal arteries) was attempted prior to intracardiac repair in 7 patients. The underlying disease was tetralogy of Fallot in 3 patients, pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect in 2, double-outlet right ventricle with ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis in 1 and tricuspid stenosis with pulmonary atresia in 1. The intervals between embolization and intracardiac repair ranged from 0 to 17 days (mean 4.5 days). Embolization resulted in total occlusion in 7 bronchial arteries and 17 intercostal arteries, with an overall success rate of 96%. Complications included a coil dislodgement from a collateral artery into the aorta in one patient, necessitating surgical removal of the dislodged coil from the femoral artery, an exacerbation of cyanosis and dyspnea on exercise in 5, and slight fever in 2. In one patient with tetralogy of Fallot, who had 5 collateral vessels, transcatheter embolization caused hypoxemia, bradycardia and hypotension and therefore intracardiac repair was performed immediately after embolization. Aortopulmonary collateral arteries in patients with congenital heart disease can be effectively treated by transcatheter embolization. Embolization should be performed just before intracardiac repair because an excessive decrease in arterial oxygen saturation after embolization may require an emergency operation.