Analysis of air pollution and prevalence rate of allergic diseases among elementary school children in Kawaguchi and Hatogaya city

Kawaguchi and Hatogaya City are located on the northern edge of Tokyo. We analysed between air pollution and prevalence rate of allergic diseases among elementary school children in this area. A prevalence rate of allergic diseases in 1996 May and June was as follows; bronchial asthma 13.5%, atopic dermatitis 24.5%, allergic rhinitis and/or conjunctivitis 22.8%, urticaria 12.4%, food allergy 7.8% and drug allergy 2.2%, respectively. Air pollution of this area was analysed to check the levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and suspended particulate matters (SPM). NO2 pollution was relatively high in urban area, and SPM pollution was especially high around the highways. SO2 pollution was lower than the environmental standard. No relationship was found between the prevalence rate of bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and/or conjunctivitis and air pollution, but it was found that these diseases are slightly related to population density (p < 0.1, p < 0.01, p < 0.1, respectively).     

Inhibitory effect of Perilla frutescens and its phenolic constituents on cultured murine mesangial cell proliferation

BACKGROUND: Short-stay obstetric stays have been the recent focus of many social and medical debates. We did a retrospective study of a large community teaching hospital's experience in making a safe transition to short-stay obstetrics. METHODS: Over a 10-month period, a multidisciplinary committee developed an intrapartum and postpartum education program to allow short hospital stays after uncomplicated vaginal deliveries. Computerized data were then retrieved on all uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal deliveries (DRG 373) from January 1994 to March 1995. RESULTS: During the study period, 554 women were discharged on the first postpartum day, resulting in three maternal readmissions and nine pediatric readmissions (combined readmission rate of 2.2%). This low readmission rate compared favorably with our experience with 2,563 uncomplicated vaginal deliveries from January 1991 to December 1993, immediately before the institution of the short-stay obstetrics program (combined readmission rate of 3.9%). The average hospital cost for a 1-day stay was $1,714 compared with $2,477 for a 2- to 3-day stay, representing a saving of only 31%. CONCLUSIONS: Early obstetric discharges after an uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery can be safe and effective with appropriate patient selection and support.     

Electrochemical examination of the ascorbic acid radical anion in non-aqueous electrolytes

A quasi-reversible redox reaction involving ascorbic acid was observed in non-aqueous electrolytes at conductive diamond electrode. The chemical reversibility of these reactions is consistent with ascorbic acid being reduced to the ascorbic acid radical anion in a one-electron process, with subsequent reoxidation to ascorbic acid. This is the first report on the electrochemical production of the ascorbic acid radical anion in non-aqueous electrolytes. Ascorbyl 6-stearate and 4-hydroxy 2(5H)-furanone, which have somewhat similar structures as ascorbic acid, also showed one-electron transfer reduction reaction producing radicals with a single negative charge, suggesting that these compounds follow the same electrochemical behavior as ascorbic acid. The double bond and hydroxyl substituent on the five-membered ring are shown to be necessary for the stabilization of the radical anions. It was confirmed by the calculation of the total energy using molecular orbital methods that resonance structures involving the double-bond and hydroxyl group provide significant stabilization of the radical anions. Electrochemical preparation may be a useful method for the detailed study of radicals, their molecular structure and reactivity.     

Ignition and flame propagation of electric cables in a laboratory-scale gallery fire test

The authors have conducted a laboratory-scale gallery fire test on eight different samples of electric cable in a horizontal airflow. The number of speciments and the distances between them on the trestle were varied for each test. As a result, it was found that both ignitability and flame-propagation properties depended on the distance between the specimens as well as on their number. Such flammability properties obtained for each cable sample were also found to be considerably consistent with the critical oxygen index. In addition, it is proposed that the flammability should be classified largely into five categories in this laboratory-scale gallery fire test for fire-retardance evaluation of solid combustible materials such as electric cables.     

Predictive factors for in-hospital mortality and delayed mortality following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

It is important to detect predictive factors for in-hospital and delayed mortality of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to ruptured aneurysm. Forty-eight patients with initial bleeding of aneurysmal SAH were referred to our hospital from January 1982 to December 1985. In-hospital mortality was 16.7% (8 to 48), and 15% (6) of forty patients died later during the follow-up period. Using the Kaplan-Meier method we were able to conclude that, cumulatively, there was 70.8% probability that much patients would survive for 10 years. We analysed predictive factors of in-hospital and delayed mortality retrospectively. The most significant predictive factor for in-hospital mortality was SAH grading on admission, and for delayed mortality (29.2%) age on admission was the best predictive factor. In fact, two patients died with cardiac event during the follow-up period. This result suggests that, although the SAH grading on admission was the second most significant factor for delayed mortality, patients who survived in the acute phase had a survival probability similar to those in a normal control group.     

Elevated levels of lung surfactant protein A in sera from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using monoclonal antibodies to human lung surfactant protein A (SP-A) was applied to sera from patients with lung diseases. We examined whether SP-A appears in the sera of patients with diseases that are known to cause alterations in surfactant composition in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids, and we characterized the SP-A that was found. The level of SP-A in sera from 57 healthy volunteers was 45 +/- 3 ng/ml (mean +/- SEM). The levels in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) (205 +/- 23 ng/ml, n = 32) and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) (285 +/- 23 ng/ml, n = 6) were significantly higher than those in healthy control subjects (p < 0.01), whereas those of sarcoidosis (n = 16), pneumonia (n = 14), and tuberculosis (n = 14) were 52 +/- 27 ng/ml, 65 +/- 11 ng/ml, and 49 +/- 23 ng/ml, respectively. Electrophoresis and immunoblotting analysis demonstrated that the fraction isolated from serum of a patient with PAP or IPF by anti-SP-A immunoaffinity column chromatography consisted chiefly of human IgG and IgM, and that it also contained SP-A. Furthermore, IgG was found in preparation of purified human SP-A. SP-A was demonstrated to bind to nonimmune IgG coated onto microtiter wells. Gel filtration analysis revealed that serum SP-A was eluted at fractions of larger molecular size than was the purified SP-A. These findings suggest that SP-A appears in the bloodstream as a complex with immunoglobulin in IPF and in PAP.     

Nanoimprinting using release-agent-coated resins

A fluorinated self-assembled monolayer (F-SAM) is mainly used as the antisticking layer. To prevent the F-SAM coated on the nanoimprint lithography (NIL) mold from deteriorating, we propose a new form of nanoimprinting using a release-agent-coated resin. The results from measuring the surface free energy and observations by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) confirmed that the surface free energy, frictional force, and adhesion force of the release-agent spray-coated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were lower than those of PMMA. To prove the release-agent spray-coated PMMA had a releasing effect, we tried to undertake thermal nanoimprinting on it using a mold without F-SAM. The pattern was clearly imprinted on the resin without any signs of adhesion.     

Mechanical properties of silane‐treated,silica‐particle‐filled polyisoprene rubber composites: Effects of the loading amount and alkoxy group numbers of a silane coupling agent containing mercapto groups

The surface treatment of spherical silica particles with a silane coupling agent with mercapto groups was carried out. The treated silica particles were incorporated within polyisoprene and then vulcanized. The effects of the loading amount and alkoxy group number of silane on the stress–strain curve of the filled composite were investigated. For this purpose, silanes with dialkoxy and trialkoxy structures were used. The loading amount of silane on the silica surface was varied from 1 to 8 times the amount required for monolayer coverage. The stress at the same strain increased with the silane treatment, and it was higher in the dialkoxy structure than in the trialkoxy structure above 300% strain. There was no significant influence of the loading amount on the stress for the trialkoxy silane structure. However, the stress was influenced by the loading amount, and the maximum stress was observed at 4 times the silane amount required for monolayer coverage for the dialkoxy structure. The stress had a good relationship with the crosslinking density of silica‐filled polyisoprene rubber (measured with a swelling test). The reinforcement effect by the silane treatment of silica was found to be affected strongly both by the entanglement of the silane chain and polyisoprene rubber matrix and by the crosslinking reaction between the mercapto group of silane and polyisoprene rubber in the interfacial region. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009