Objective To determine the effects of sevoflurane (SEV) on angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ)-induced contraction of isolated rat aorta with or without endothelium. Methods Sixty 4-10 week-old Wistar rats weighing 250-350 g were used. The animals were anesthetized with halothane and killed by exsanguination from carotid artery. The thoracic descending aortas were dissected. The adipose and connective tissue adherent to the aorta were carefully removed. The isolated aortas were cut into segments of 4 mm in length and mounted on isometric force transducer and bathed in Krebs bicarbonate solution (KBS) which was aerated with 95% O2/5% CO2. Aortic rings were stretched to a resting tension of 3.0 g. The viability of vascular smooth muscle cells was tested by contraction of aortic ring in response to KCl (3 ? 10-2 mol ? L-1) and the endothelial function was examined by phenylephedrine-induced vasoconstriction and acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation. The aortic segments were divided into 2 groups: (1) endothelium-intact group ( + ET) and (2) endothelium-denuded group (- ET). The experiment was performed in 3 parts in both groups:(1) aortic segments were exposed to increasing concentrations of AngⅡ(10-9, 3 ? 10-9, 10-8, 3 ? 10-8, 10-7, 3 ? 10-7, 10-6 mol?L-1) with or without 15 min SEV (5.1%) pretreatment to determine the effect of 5.1 % SEV pretreatment on Ang Ⅱ-induced contraction; (2) aortic rings were bathed in KBS containing 10-4 mol?L-1 L-NAME, a NOS inhibitor, for 15 min then exposed to Ang Ⅱ 10-7 mol?L-1 to determine if NO released from endothelium is involved in Ang Ⅱ-induced contraction; (3) aortic rings were first exposed to 1.7% , 3.4% or 5.1% SEV for 15 min then stimulated with Ang Ⅱ 10-7 mol?L-1 to determine if the inhibitory effect of SEV is dose-dependent.Results Ang Ⅱ elicited transient contraction in + ET aortic rings in a dose-dependent manner, reaching the maximal response at concentration of 10-7mol?L-1. Removal of endothelium significantly augmented Ang Ⅱ-induced contraction. The presence of L-NAME significantly enhanced Ang Ⅱ -yielded contraction in + ET rings comparable to the level of contraction in - ET rings, but did not potentiate the contraction in - ET rings. SEV inhibited Ang Ⅱ-induced contractile response of aortic + ET rings in a concentration-dependent manner. Removal of endothelium enhanced the inhibitory effect of SEV on Ang Ⅱ -induced contraction. Conclusion This study demonstrated that Ang Ⅱ elicites vascular smooth muscle contraction, but on the other hand, it also induces NO release from endothelium and vascular relaxation. Sevoflurane inhibits the dual actions of Ang Ⅱ in a dose-dependent manner.

The aged above 40 to 76 years old ran 25 kirometers. We measured the systolic and diastolic blood pressure all of them before start and immediately after goal. The urine had been tested too. The results were as follows.
1) The systolic and diastolic blood pressures measured at the point of immediately after goal were lower than that of before running in all aged groups markedly.
Beside decreasing tendency of blood pressure, especially of systolic phase, due to running was higher in older people than younger.
2) The excretion of albumin in urine was increased by the running in all age groups, but the degree of it was larger in younger group than older people.
3) The number of people whose urine pH moved to acidity caused by running was much in the youngest group, and no one had been found in the oldest group.

1) In addition to developing medical knowledge and skills, medical education should include training in the understanding and compassionate consideration of patients' feelings, such as anxiety.2) Fifth-year medical students at Wakayama Medical University engaged in role-play on medical care issues they raise themselves before being involved in clinical practice. This role-play has been incorporated in the curriculum to promote compassionate care.3) By performing all of the processes up to the presentation themselves, the students can enhance their knowledge of the topics. Thus, role-play on medical care issues is an effective means for understanding the importance of compassionate care and team communication.

1) As part of a training program for compassionate care and community-based medicine, Wakayama Medical University began experiential training for first-year students at local welfare facilities for the elderly in 2006.2) Students were divided into groups of 2 or 3 and sent to welfare facilities for the elderly throughout Wakayama prefecture for 5 days of "on-the-job" training. After the training period, the students completed a questionnaire survey. Survey results from 2006 and 2007 were compared.3) The surveys showed that many students considered the training to be valuable because they could start communicating with the elderly residents of the facility by around the middle of the training period. On the basis of this result, we concluded that the 5 consecutive days of the program enhance the effectiveness of training.