Purpose : Rhythmic gymnasts sometimes develop severe iron-deficiency anemia. Preventing such anemia could thus enhance both their performance and health. We compared the relationship between a dietary intervention and RBC metabolism.Methods : Ten female rhythmic gymnasts were recruited for this study. Changes in the RBC delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase (δ-ALAD) activity were used as an index of biosynthesis, and changes in the haptoglobin (hp) were used to assess degradation.Results : During the one month intervention period, the athletes consumed traditional Japanese foods which provide 1500 kcal energy, 2 g/kg body weight protein, 200 g carbohydrate and 15 mg iron. No main effect of this intervention on the hematological indexes was observed. The δ-ALAD activity was significantly greater in August than in July or September. Hp concentration was significantly lower in August in comparison to the other periods.Conclusion : Dietary intervention might enhance the RBC turnover by increasing the capacity for erythrocyte biosynthesis and degradation.

Purpose : This study was undertaken to clarify the effect of heme-iron supplementation on the prevention of iron-deficiency anemia in male collegiate distance runners.Methods : Forty-one male collegiate runners were divided into three groups, consisting of a heme-iron group (HI), a citrate-iron group (CI), and a non-iron group (NI). Iron tablets (heme-iron or citrate-iron) were administered at a dose of 7 mg per day for two months. The blood components and nutritional intakes were estimated before and after the intervention.Results : The nutritional intakes did not differ among the three groups. The red blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, Glutamic-Pyruvate Transferase and γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase levels were unchanged throughout the experimental periods. After the intervention, the serum iron levels significantly decreased in the NI group but not in the iron-supplemented groups, while the reticulocytes counts increased among the three groups.Conclusion : The small amount of heme-iron supplementation was thus found to have a preventive effect on iron deficiency anemia without causing any negative side affects.

 Our hospital comprises nine departments of internal medicine that specialize in different organs, and the Department of General Internal Medicine is one of these departments. The inpatient department has 30 beds for providing medical care, and education is provided for junior and senior residents. We examined the diagnoses in 593 cases (289 men, 304 women ; mean age, 64.2±21.2 years old) who were hospitalized in the Department of General Internal Medicine at this hospital between April 2007 and March 2008. The major diseases included pneumonia, 111 cases ; urinary tract infections, 44 cases ; infectious enteritis, 34 cases ; bronchial asthma, 24 cases ; fever of unknown origin, 12 cases ; heart failure, 11 cases ; viral infections 9 cases, diverticulitis, 8 cases ; malignant lymphoma, 7 cases ; infectious mononucleosis, 7 cases ; polymyalgia rheumatica, 6 cases ; and others. In order to provide diagnoses and treatments for cases in which no diagnosis could not be obtained on the first outpatient visit, for example, it is necessary to have a ward for general internal medicine as a location for providing medical care that is not limited to any specialized field.

Purpose : This study was undertaken to examine the relationship between pedometer counts and food intake in Japanese elderly people.Methods : One-hundred-eighty healthy, community-dwelling elderly people were divided into three groups according to age. The number of steps taken by each subject was recorded with a pedometer over a 30-day period in August. The dietary and nutritional intakes were estimated using a food frequency questionnaire.Results : There was no significant difference in the pedometer counts between men and women. The number of steps significantly decreased with age (p<0.01). The intake of energy, protein and carbohydrate were significantly higher in men than in women (p<0.05), and they were nearly the same among the three aged groups. The calcium and vitamin C intakes after adjusting for sex and age increased with the number of daily steps, except for the intakes of energy, protein and carbohydrates.Conclusion : A higher number of daily steps was found to be associated with the calcium and vitamin C intakes.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the performance of 2-dimensional (2D) imaging with microscopy coils in delineating teeth and periodontal tissues compared with conventional 3-dimensional (3D) imaging on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. Materials and Methods: Twelve healthy participants (4 men and 8 women; mean age: 25.6 years; range: 20-52years) with no dental symptoms were included. The left mandibular first molars and surrounding periodontal tissueswere examined using the following 2 sequences: 2D proton density-weighted (PDw) images and 3D enhanced T1 high-resolution isotropic volume excitation (eTHRIVE) images. Two-dimensional MRI images were taken using a 3 T MRI unit and a 47 mm microscopy coil, while 3D MRI imaging used a 3 T MRI unit and head-neck coil.Oral radiologists assessed dental and periodontal structures using a 4-point Likert scale. Inter- and intra-observer agreement was determined using the weighted kappa coefficient. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare 2D-PDw and 3D-eTHRIVE images. Results: Qualitative analysis showed significantly better visualization scores for 2D-PDw imaging than for 3D-eTHRIVE imaging (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). 2D-PDw images provided improved visibility of the tooth, root dental pulp, periodontal ligament, lamina dura, coronal dental pulp, gingiva, and nutrient tract. Inter-observer reliability ranged from moderate agreement to almost perfect agreement, and intra-observer agreement was in a similar range. Conclusion Two-dimensional-PDw images acquired using a 3 T MRI unit and microscopy coil effectively visualized nearly all aspects of teeth and periodontal tissues.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the performance of 2-dimensional (2D) imaging with microscopy coils in delineating teeth and periodontal tissues compared with conventional 3-dimensional (3D) imaging on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. Materials and Methods: Twelve healthy participants (4 men and 8 women; mean age: 25.6 years; range: 20-52years) with no dental symptoms were included. The left mandibular first molars and surrounding periodontal tissueswere examined using the following 2 sequences: 2D proton density-weighted (PDw) images and 3D enhanced T1 high-resolution isotropic volume excitation (eTHRIVE) images. Two-dimensional MRI images were taken using a 3 T MRI unit and a 47 mm microscopy coil, while 3D MRI imaging used a 3 T MRI unit and head-neck coil.Oral radiologists assessed dental and periodontal structures using a 4-point Likert scale. Inter- and intra-observer agreement was determined using the weighted kappa coefficient. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare 2D-PDw and 3D-eTHRIVE images. Results: Qualitative analysis showed significantly better visualization scores for 2D-PDw imaging than for 3D-eTHRIVE imaging (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). 2D-PDw images provided improved visibility of the tooth, root dental pulp, periodontal ligament, lamina dura, coronal dental pulp, gingiva, and nutrient tract. Inter-observer reliability ranged from moderate agreement to almost perfect agreement, and intra-observer agreement was in a similar range. Conclusion Two-dimensional-PDw images acquired using a 3 T MRI unit and microscopy coil effectively visualized nearly all aspects of teeth and periodontal tissues.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the performance of 2-dimensional (2D) imaging with microscopy coils in delineating teeth and periodontal tissues compared with conventional 3-dimensional (3D) imaging on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. Materials and Methods: Twelve healthy participants (4 men and 8 women; mean age: 25.6 years; range: 20-52years) with no dental symptoms were included. The left mandibular first molars and surrounding periodontal tissueswere examined using the following 2 sequences: 2D proton density-weighted (PDw) images and 3D enhanced T1 high-resolution isotropic volume excitation (eTHRIVE) images. Two-dimensional MRI images were taken using a 3 T MRI unit and a 47 mm microscopy coil, while 3D MRI imaging used a 3 T MRI unit and head-neck coil.Oral radiologists assessed dental and periodontal structures using a 4-point Likert scale. Inter- and intra-observer agreement was determined using the weighted kappa coefficient. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare 2D-PDw and 3D-eTHRIVE images. Results: Qualitative analysis showed significantly better visualization scores for 2D-PDw imaging than for 3D-eTHRIVE imaging (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). 2D-PDw images provided improved visibility of the tooth, root dental pulp, periodontal ligament, lamina dura, coronal dental pulp, gingiva, and nutrient tract. Inter-observer reliability ranged from moderate agreement to almost perfect agreement, and intra-observer agreement was in a similar range. Conclusion Two-dimensional-PDw images acquired using a 3 T MRI unit and microscopy coil effectively visualized nearly all aspects of teeth and periodontal tissues.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the performance of 2-dimensional (2D) imaging with microscopy coils in delineating teeth and periodontal tissues compared with conventional 3-dimensional (3D) imaging on a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. Materials and Methods: Twelve healthy participants (4 men and 8 women; mean age: 25.6 years; range: 20-52years) with no dental symptoms were included. The left mandibular first molars and surrounding periodontal tissueswere examined using the following 2 sequences: 2D proton density-weighted (PDw) images and 3D enhanced T1 high-resolution isotropic volume excitation (eTHRIVE) images. Two-dimensional MRI images were taken using a 3 T MRI unit and a 47 mm microscopy coil, while 3D MRI imaging used a 3 T MRI unit and head-neck coil.Oral radiologists assessed dental and periodontal structures using a 4-point Likert scale. Inter- and intra-observer agreement was determined using the weighted kappa coefficient. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare 2D-PDw and 3D-eTHRIVE images. Results: Qualitative analysis showed significantly better visualization scores for 2D-PDw imaging than for 3D-eTHRIVE imaging (Wilcoxon signed-rank test). 2D-PDw images provided improved visibility of the tooth, root dental pulp, periodontal ligament, lamina dura, coronal dental pulp, gingiva, and nutrient tract. Inter-observer reliability ranged from moderate agreement to almost perfect agreement, and intra-observer agreement was in a similar range. Conclusion Two-dimensional-PDw images acquired using a 3 T MRI unit and microscopy coil effectively visualized nearly all aspects of teeth and periodontal tissues.

The dawn of Japan’s super-aged society is accompanied by various problems, including increased social security expenditures and greater nursing care burden as well as reduced labor force. Targeting 2025, when Japan’s baby-boomer generation will be aged ≥75 years, the government’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is promoting the establishment of local comprehensive support and service provision systems (Comprehensive Community Care Systems). Although such comprehensive community care systems will require medical professionals to provide treatment through collaborative interprofessional cooperation with colleagues in other fields, effective cooperation has currently not been established because of a lack of understanding regarding the roles and functions of other occupations. Considering that the promotion of interprofessional-based collaborative learning prior to university graduation will be important for resolving this problem, we organized a workshop for medical students based in Ehime Prefecture and evaluated its usefulness based on questionnaire surveys administered before and after the workshop. Consequently, it was ascertained that pharmacy, medical, and nursing students had a heightened awareness of “the importance of interprofessional collaboration” after the workshop as against before the workshop. Students’ degree of comprehension of the nature of the work in each category increased significantly. These results demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of students familiarizing themselves with the learning and work content of other fields by working with colleagues in different medical fields as observed in this workshop. They also expect that student-led study groups will contribute to promote the comprehensive community care systems.