This study aimed to evaluate the predictive performance of the AFHCHDC7 risk score, developed for post-disaster cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk management, for 6-year CVD risk in Fukushima Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake compared to the Suita CVD risk score and to modify the AFHCHDC7 risk score. The present study comprised 14,779 individuals aged 30–79 years with no history of CVD at baseline who underwent the comprehensive health checkup and completed the mental health and lifestyle survey in 2011. Its primary outcome was CVD onset (myocardial infarction, stroke). Logistic regression analyses were used to construct a prediction model. The calibration performance and discrimination performance according to area under the curve (AUC) values were evaluated for each model. The AFHCHDC7 risk score had lower AUC values than the Suita CVD risk score from baseline for 6 years (AUC: 0.65). The modified AFHCHDC7 risk score (age-stratified, adding sex and smoking) had higher predictive performance than the Suita CVD risk score from baseline for 6 years (AUC: 0.74 vs. 0.73). The modified AFHCHDC7 score may be useful as a simple tool for identifying individuals' long-term CVD risk in disaster evacuees. The utility of this score needs to be carefully evaluated in future studies.
Abstract This study determined the insertion angle at the porcine anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) enthesis under joint loading to provide information on the structure and mechanical function of the enthesis. Ten intact porcine knee joints were harvested, and an anterior tibial load was applied using a robotic testing system. After dissecting a portion of the ACL enthesis along ligament fibers, the remaining enthesis was imaged using a digital microscope while reproducing the three-dimensional intact knee motion. Fiber orientation angles (FOAs) in the enthesis region (0–300 µm from the ligament-bone boundary) and the ligament region (500–2000 µm from the ligament-bone boundary) were analyzed in the femoral and tibial entheses of the anteromedial bundle (AMB) of the ACL under loading. On the femoral side, the FOA in the enthesis region was significantly higher than that in the ligament region by approximately 10 degrees under loading ( n = 5, p < 0.05 in paired t -test). In contrast, the FOAs in the enthesis and ligament regions on the tibial side were nearly equal under loading, with no significant difference ( n = 5, p > 0.15 in paired t -test). Histological examination indicated that uncalcified fibrocartilage (UF) was abundant in the enthesis region of the AMB femoral enthesis while the UF was not observed in the enthesis region of the AMB tibial enthesis. Thus, the current data suggest that the regional dependence and independence in FOA are caused by the presence or absence of UF and contributes to a moderate and subtle load-transduction in the ACL enthesis.
"A pregnant woman with genetic variants of butyrylcholinesterase and inflammatory bowel disease." Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 26(6), pp. 562–563
We have developed a new technique to directly measure airway resistance (Raw) in small animals with a pressure-type body plethysmograph equipped with a hot-wire microflow sensor. Seventeen male golden hamsters weighing 70-84 g were studied. Change in alveolar pressure (delta PA) was calculated from total gas volume and the respired volume difference through the flow sensor between the midpoints of the tidal excursion curve, reflecting the thorax movement. The ratio of delta PA to the flow difference between those two midpoints gave Raw. Raw was compared with pulmonary resistance, and inspiratory and expiratory resistances were also compared. Raw was 0.44 +/- 0.06 (SE) cmH2O.ml-1.s. Mean of the coefficients of variation of Raw was 19.6 +/- 3.2% (SE). Raw was well correlated with pulmonary resistance (r = 0.93). We demonstrated that Raw could be directly measured in small animals with a hot-wire flow sensor and a plethysmographic technique, and the values were well correlated with previously reported pulmonary resistance.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident caused lifestyle changes and psychological distress in residents living near the plant. This study clarified the associations between changes in residents' lifestyles and psychological factors with the onset of metabolic syndrome (METs) after the accident.
A nerve agent sarin (isopropyl methyl phosphonofluoridate) was released in Matsumoto city, Japan, on 27 June 1994. About 600 people were affected by the sarin, including seven who died. Fifty two rescuers engaged in helping the victims and 18 were affected. The aim was to investigate how the rescuers were affected by sarin.Health examinations and a questionnaire survey were conducted with all rescuers.A rescuer who was one of the first engaged and who worked for about five hours in areas contaminated with sarin was admitted to hospital after poisoning; the others did not consult doctors although they showed slight muscarinic symptoms. The later the rescuers started their work, the less likely they were to experience symptoms of sarin exposure, and no one starting work 270 minutes after the original release of sarin was affected. The symptoms of exposure included ocular pain, darkness of visual field, nausea, vomiting, headache, rhinorrhea, narrowing of visual field, sore throat, fatigue, and dyspnoea, which were similar to those reported by the citizens who were sarin victims. There were no rescuers who had abnormal physical or neurological signs associated with sarin at the time of the physical examination conducted three weeks after the sarin release. A year after the sarin incident, the symptoms of all the rescuers had resolved.Rescuers should protect themselves with appropriate clothing, gloves, and a mask to prevent a secondary disaster for at least 24 hours after a similar accident.
