Relationship between the behavior change model and salt intake in hypertensive patients: a single non-specialized hypertension clinic prospective observational study.

We investigated whether changes in salt reduction readiness are associated with changes in estimated daily salt intake and blood pressure (BP). We divided 86 hypertensive patients into groups with high and low readiness for salt-reducing behavior [an up (UP) and a down (DN) groups, respectively] based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) over a 12-month observation period. We then investigated the relationships between changes in the TTM stage and changes in daily salt intake and BP over 12 months. The patients in the UP group had significantly increased urine potassium concentrations (from 51.2 ±â€…23.3 mEq/L at baseline to 56.9 ±â€…25.5 mEq/L at 12 months; P  = 0.048) and significantly decreased estimated 24-h urinary salt excretion (from 9.7 ±â€…2.9 g/day at baseline to 8.4 ±â€…2.8 g/day at 12 months; P  = 0.045). In addition, they also had significantly lower changes in urine sodium concentration (-13.1 ±â€…46.1 vs. -6.6 ±â€…59.7 mEq/L; P  = 0.048), significantly increased changes in urine potassium concentration (5.7 ±â€…20.1 vs. -4.8 ±â€…28.6 mEq/L; P  = 0.030), and significantly decreased changes in estimated 24-h urinary salt excretion (-1.3 ±â€…2.6 vs. -0.1 ±â€…2.6 g/day; P  = 0.045) compared with patients in the DN group. However, their home BP did not improve over 12 months. The hypertensive patients who increased their readiness or maintained a high readiness for salt reduction over 12 months showed a significant increase in daily potassium intake and significant decrease in daily salt intake.

Overtime work is related to nonrestorative sleep independently of short sleep time among a Japanese occupational population.

OBJECTIVE: The symptoms of insomnia are defined as difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, and early awakening. Although also a symptom of insomnia, nonrestorative sleep (NRS) is clearly more associated with objective indices than other insomnia symptoms. However, the link between NRS and overtime work duration is poorly understood. METHODS: The results of a single year's medical examinations were investigated for 26,144 Japanese office workers who were 30 to 59 years old. NRS status and lifestyle were collected through a computer-assisted medical interview. The subjects were asked about the presence or absence of NRS and their lifestyles in the most recent two to three months. The subjects were asked about their sleep times and average overtime durations per month (< 20 h/month, ≥ 20 but < 40 h/month, ≥ 40 but < 60 h/month, and ≥ 60 h/month). The relationships between NRS and overtime work duration adjusted for sleep time were also analyzed. RESULTS: The proportion of subjects with NRS showed a stepwise increase as overtime work hours increased. A logistic regression analysis was performed using NRS as an objective variable. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that overtime work duration (OR, 1.13; 95% CI 1.10-1.17; P < 0.001; per one-category increase) was an independent determinant of NRS. CONCLUSION: For office workers, long hours of overtime work increased the NRS prevalence at any sleep duration.

Relationship between nonrestorative sleep and heartburn among a Japanese occupational population.

BACKGROUND: Nonrestorative sleep (NRS) is a symptom of insomnia and is clearly more associated with objective indices than other insomnia symptoms. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and insomnia are known to be strongly related. However, the link between NRS and heartburn, a main symptom of GERD, is poorly understood. Therefore, the relationships between them were investigated in addition to sleep duration. METHODS: The results of a single year's medical examinations were investigated for 29,475 Japanese active office workers who were 20 to 59 years old. NRS and heartburn were investigated in a medical interview using a personal computer. The relationships between NRS and heartburn in addition to sleep duration were also analyzed. RESULTS: The subjects were 46.6 ± 8.7 years old (mean ± SD) and 27% and 13% of them had NRS and heartburn, respectively. The presence of NRS together with a sleep duration of ≤ 5, 6, 7 or ≥ 8 hours was an independent comorbid factor for heartburn compared with the absence of NRS together with a sleep duration of seven hours (reference; odds ratio [OR], 2.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.11-2.69, OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 2.16-2.76, OR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.94-2.79; and OR, 1.72; 95% CI, 1.14-2.52). The absence of NRS together with a sleep duration of ≤ 5 hours was also an independent comorbid factor for heartburn compared with the reference (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.05-1.37). CONCLUSIONS: NRS in active workers may contribute to heartburn comorbidity despite the sleep duration as in other workers without NRS.

Relationship between nonrestorative sleep with short sleep duration and diabetes mellitus comorbid among a Japanese occupational population.

Objective: Nonrestorative sleep (NRS) is one of the symptoms of insomnia and is clearly more associated with objective indices, such as sleep stability, sleep fragmentation, and inflammatory responses, than other insomnia symptoms. However, the link between NRS and diabetes mellitus is poorly understood. Therefore, the prevalence of NRS in workers and the relationships between NRS and diabetes were investigated. Methods: The results of a single year's medical examinations were investigated for 26,144 Japanese active office workers who were 30 to 59 years old. NRS was investigated using a personal computer in a medical interview. Furthermore, the relationships between NRS and diabetes comorbidity in addition to sleep duration were also analyzed. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 47.9 ± 7.3 years old, and the proportion of subjects with NRS was 26%. The presence of NRS together with a sleep duration ≤ 5 h or a sleep duration of 6 h was an independent comorbid factor for diabetes compared with the absence of NRS together with a sleep duration of 7 h (odds ratio [OR] 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-1.58; P < 0.001; and OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.04-1.48; P = 0.015). Conclusion: NRS in active workers may contribute to the development of diabetes even if the workers have the same short sleep durations as other workers without NRS.

Diagnosis, knowledge, perception, and productivity impact of headache education and clinical evaluation program in the workplace at an information technology company of more than 70,000 employees.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a highly prevalent, disabling, misunderstood, underdiagnosed, and undertreated neurological disease. It is a leading cause of productivity loss in the workplace. METHODS: This is the first large-scale company-wide headache education and evaluation program in the workplace. RESULTS: 73,432 (90.5%) Fujitsu employees participated. The prevalence of migraine was 16.7%, tension-type headache 40.7%, and cluster headache 0.5%. After completing the training, 82.9% of participants without headache said they would change their attitude towards colleagues with headache disorders and 72.5% of total participants said their understanding of headache changed. The proportion of employees who thought that headache had a significant impact on people's lives increased from 46.8% to 70.6%; 2971 (4.1%) of all participants were interested in a virtual consultation with a headache specialist as part of the program, more than half of whom had not previously consulted for headache. Approximately 14.7 days per year of full productivity per employee with headache were gained resulting in an annual productivity saving per employee of US$4531. CONCLUSION: This unique headache workplace program was associated with a high level of participation, an improvement in the understanding of migraine and attitude towards colleagues with migraine, reduction in disability and increased employee productivity, and decreased costs of lost productivity due to migraine. Workplace programs for migraine should be considered for all industry sectors.

Relationship between salt reduction readiness and salt intake in hypertensive patients: a single nonspecialized hypertension clinic case study.

This is the first report about the association of readiness for salt reduction with daily salt intake or the salt check sheet score in hypertensive patients at a nonspecialized hypertension clinic. We investigated whether salt reduction readiness as evaluated based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) is associated with estimated daily salt intake or the salt check sheet score. The TTM allows evaluators to easily assess a subject's level of readiness for health-related according to five stages. There was no significant relationship between the TTM stages and estimated daily salt intake. A significant correlation was found between the TTM stages and salt check sheet scores (ρ = -0.409; P < 0.001). When providing salt reduction guidance to hypertensive patients, it is effective for healthcare professionals to use repeated urine tests and salt check sheets to take a salt reduction approach according to the level of readiness of the patients.

Disability, quality of life, productivity impairment and employer costs of migraine in the workplace.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is the leading cause of days lost due to disability in the world among people less than 50 years of age. There is a paucity of evidence on the impact of migraine and other headache disorders and the cost and productivity losses in the workplace. METHODS: Employee population survey assessed prevalence, characteristics, and disability of headache disorders at a Japanese information technology company. This study was supported by the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region Office and International Headache Society. RESULTS: 2458 (1963men, 495 women) out of 2494 responded to the survey that utilized ICHD-3 beta criteria. Among these, 13% (205 male/123 female) had migraine (M), 53% (1093 male/207 female) had tension-type headache (TTH) and 4% (61 male/27 female) had migraine and TTH (M/TTH). The number of days when productivity at work was reduced by half or more because of headache was significantly higher in migraine compared to TTH. The norm-based scoring of SF-12v2 was significantly lower in M/TTH and M than TTH. The economic loss due to absenteeism for migraine was calculated to be $ 238.3US$/year/person for day-off and 90.2US$/year/person for half-day off using migraine disability assessment score (MIDAS). The economic loss due to presenteeism for migraine was calculated to be $ 375.4US$/year/person using MIDAS and 2217US$/year/person using work productivity and activity impairment questionnaire (WPAI). Furthermore, estimated cost of productivity loss associated with presenteeism using WPAI was calculated at 21.3 billion US$/year in Japan as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a high prevalence and disease burden among employees with migraine that is associated with substantial losses in productivity and employer cost. These results support the development and implementation of workplace programs to improve migraine management in the workplace and reduce the burden and costs associated with lost workplace productivity.

Relationship between Snoring and Lifestyle-related Diseases among a Japanese Occupational Population.

Objective Snoring is a common physical condition in active workers. However, the link between snoring and health problems is poorly understood. Therefore, the prevalence of snoring in Japanese workers and the relationships between snoring and lifestyle-related diseases were investigated. Methods This was a retrospective, single-center, cross-sectional study. The results of a single year's medical examinations were investigated for 25,141 Japanese active office workers 20 to 59 years old. The presence and duration of snoring were investigated using a personal computer at a medical interview before the medical checkup. The snoring frequency was investigated for each gender. In addition, the relationships between snoring and hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia were also analyzed. Results Men (21,774) were a mean 46±6 years old with a snoring prevalence of 43%. Women (3,367) were a mean 46±6 years old with a snoring prevalence of 20%. In men, snoring was an independent comorbid factor of hypertension and dyslipidemia. In particular, a long snoring vintage (multiple years) was an independent comorbid factor for hypertension [odds ratio (OR), 1.14; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05-1.24; p=0.002; and OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.07-1.34; p=0.001]. In women, snoring was not an independent comorbid factor for lifestyle-related diseases when adjusted for the age and body mass index. Conclusion Snoring was shown to be a frequent pathophysiology in active workers. It was a health indicator for active workers, and especially in men, intervention for snoring may reduce the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases.

Vancouver Declaration II on Global Headache Patient Advocacy 2019.

In 2017, the International Headache Society convened a Global Patient Advocacy Summit (GPAS-1) to begin a collaborative effort involving patients, patient advocates, patient advocacy organizations, healthcare professionals, scientists, professional pain, neurology, and headache societies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and regulatory agencies to advance issues of importance to patients affected by headache worldwide. In September 2019, the second Global Patient Advocacy Summit (GPAS-2) was convened to revisit issues from the inaugural meeting, assess the progress of the International Headache Society Global Patient Advocacy Coalition (IHS-GPAC) in meeting the goals set forth therein, and discuss strategies for achieving established goals and supporting future development. Short- and long-term mandates from the first Summit were realized, including publishing the Vancouver Declaration on Global Headache Patient Advocacy 2018, determining the governing and operational structures of the IHS-GPAC, and helping to facilitate the first World Federation of Neurology World Brain Day dedicated to migraine. Another short-term mandate, creating a unified advocacy strategy, was fulfilled by the Coalition's decision to focus on encouraging support from employers and implementing employee support programs for people with migraine. To help execute the strategy, the Coalition is developing an employer engagement toolkit that will educate employers and employees about the impact of migraine in the workplace, reduce stigma directed toward employees with migraine, and facilitate the care of employees with migraine to reduce the burden of illness and improve workplace productivity. Coalition members will disseminate the toolkit and encourage the adoption of migraine workplace programs by employers worldwide. The Coalition has established an alliance with two global, multinational employers to expand migraine awareness and support among policy makers and other stakeholders around the world. The IHS-GPAC met many of the goals established at GPAS-1, and it has initiated a global strategy focused on the psychosocial and economic toll of headache disorders, especially migraine, in the workplace. Ongoing and future activities will explore a range of opportunities with employers and across the full spectrum of advocacy goals.

Relationship Between Asymptomatic Intracranial Stenosis and Extracranial Arteriosclerotic Findings in Workplace Health Checkups: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Intracranial arteriosclerotic disease (ICAD) is common in Asians and has been presumed to be largely associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), but the risks for asymptomatic ICAD detectable in examinations of the brain, among other tests, are not well known. The present study is aimed at identifying the risks for asymptomatic ICAD using data on risk factors obtained in health checkups, including data from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), chest computed tomography (CT), and neck echography. METHODS: Subjects comprised 103 examinees more than equal to 40 years old (56.9 ± 4.7 years, 93 men) who underwent head MRI, chest CT, and carotid echography in the same period in a workplace health checkup between April and September 2014. Subjects were evaluated for ICAD based on stenosis of bilateral middle cerebral arteries and the basilar artery on previously reported scores from magnetic resonance angiography. Evaluations for extracranial arteriosclerotic disease (ECAD) were based on findings from carotid echography, and total calcium scores were calculated based on the number, areas, and peak Hounsfield computed tomographic numbers of the aortic arch calcified lesion detected. RESULTS: ICAD, including mild cases with stenosis less than 50%, was seen in 21 subjects (20.3%); and MetS was evident in 12 subjects (11.7%). Logistic regression analysis with multivariate adjustment for major vascular risk factor demonstrated that echogenic of plaque was significantly associated with the ICAD (OR 3.69, 95%CI 1.02-13.3), however age was significant predictor of the risk profile in patients with ECAD. CONCLUSIONS: Carotid atherosclerosis could predict intracranial atherosclerosis in middle-aged people. However, further study with large sample size is warranted.

The Relationship Between Premature Ventricular Contractions and Lifestyle-Related Habits among the Japanese Working Population (FUJITSU Cardiovascular and Respiratory Observational Study-1; FACT-1).

BACKGROUND: Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) are often found in healthy workers at medical checkups. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of PVCs recorded during medical checkups in Japanese office workers without heart disease or other known contributing factors. METHODS: Participants in this study were 17,641 office workers, who underwent an electrocardiogram examination during a regular medical checkup between April 1 2015 and March 31 2016 and had no known heart disease. The frequency of PVCs was recorded. Participants with PVCs were included in the PVC group and a control group of participants without PVCs was set in a nested case-control study to calculate the rate of complications for lifestyle-related diseases and the risk rate of PVCs for lifestyle-related habits. RESULTS: Within the participant group, PVCs were observed in 303 individuals (1.7%). When compared with the control group, the occurrence of regularly drinking alcohol (P=0.009) and insomnia (P=0.006) were significantly higher in the PVC group. Factors related to the onset of PVCs were examined using univariate analysis. The odds ratio (OR) was 1.731 in participants who regularly drank alcohol (95% CI: 1.146-2.633, P=0.009) when compared with participants who did not regularly drink alcohol, and 1.569 in participants with insomnia (95% CI: 1.023-2.422, P=0.040) when compared with participants without insomnia. CONCLUSION: The frequency of PVCs recorded at regular medical checkups in Japanese office workers without heart disease was 1.7%. Within our group of participants, the factors related to the onset of PVCs were a history of regularly drinking alcohol and sleep disorders.

Visualization of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Dynamics during Cortical Venous Occlusion using Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging in a Rat Model.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral venous ischemia (CVI) is a rare but potentially significant complication of neurosurgical procedures. However, it is still unclear how cerebral venous occlusion (VO) affects regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) dynamics. To elucidate its pathophysiology in detail, we examined the real-time perfusion dynamics during adjacent vein occlusions using laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) in a rat 2-vein occlusion model. METHODS: Two cortical veins were occluded photochemically using rose Bengal dye in 6 male Wistar rats; rCBF was measured in real time with an LSCI before and after VO. Regions of interest were defined between the 2 veins (A) and on the opposite side of the first occluded vein (B) on semi-quantitative pseudocolor images for off-line analysis. Histopathologic evaluation was performed 3 days after the procedure to assess the extent of infarction. RESULTS: LSCI revealed a stepwise reduction in CBF, with a sudden decrease just after the first vein occlusion (~20%) and a further decrease after the second (~30%). Significant differences were observed between rCBF dynamics within regions of interest A and B (P = .0004). All rats exhibited infarcts in the superficial cerebral cortex histopathologically. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of LSCI specifically applied to the study of CVI. The extensive real-time measurement with high temporal and spatial resolution revealed the stepwise reduction in rCBF during sequential VO and the ensuing infarcts.

Prevalence and characteristics of headaches in a socially active population working in the Tokyo metropolitan area -surveillance by an industrial health consortium.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of headaches among socially active people working in the Tokyo metropolitan area. METHODS: We cross-sectionally surveyed 7,917 individuals. The survey assessed demographic characteristics, the prevalence and characteristics of headaches and physician attendance. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of migraines was 8.9%, while that of tension-type headaches was 14.7%. Women exhibited a higher prevalence of migraines than men (15% vs. 3.7%; p<0.001). The prevalence of migraines and tension-type headaches differed among occupations. Susceptibility to migraines and tension-type headaches related to working overtime was observed. With respect to the influence of migraines on social activities, 22.4% of the migraineurs had been obliged to miss work due to headaches several times a year. As many as 59.4% of the sufferers had never consulted a physician about their headaches. Moreover, 24.6% of the migraineurs were not in touch with any physician at the time of the survey. The most common reason why they had stopped visiting their physician was that they had been told their headaches were not fatal. CONCLUSION: Migraines adversely affect social activities. These data provide important information for understanding the features of migraines and tension-type headaches in socially active people working in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Courtship patterns in the Drosophila montium species subgroup: repeated loss of precopulatory courtship?

During precopulatory courtship, male Drosophila typically produce wing vibration to generate species-specific songs before mounting females. Three species in the lini clade of the montium species subgroup have been found to produce species-specific sine song only after mounting and during copulation. Here we investigated and analyzed the courtship behavior of 29 species in the montium subgroup from video and song recordings and measured the duration of wing vibration. We describe a great diversity of courtship behavior in the montium subgroup. The courtship patterns can be categorized into four types in the montium subgroup: 1) type P/C, species with both precopulatory and copulatory courtship, such as D. parvula and D. nikananu, 2) type P-/C, species with sporadic precopulatory and mainly copulatory courtship, such as D. auraria and D. triauraria. 3) type C, species with only copulatory courtship, such as D. tani and D. pectinifera, 4) type C-, species with only very brief copulatory courtship, such as D. rufa and D. asahinai. According to a phylogenetic tree based on sequences of mitochondrial COI and COII, and the nuclear Adh, both precopulatory courtship and copulatory courtship were present in the most basal species D. parvula. Each of two branches in the montium subgroup contains four types of courtship behavior. Type C is present in each sub-branch. These results suggest that the courtship behavior initially involved both precopulatory and copulatory courtship, but that subsequently precopulatory courtship has gradually been lost in the montium subgroup. We suggest reasons why precopulatory behavior might come to be lost in the montium subgroup.

Post-ischemic administration of vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor in a rat model of cerebral venous infarction.

Cerebral venous ischemia can result in severe brain edema. Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activity by a neutralizing antibody can completely block the hypoxia-induced increase in vascular permeability. VEGF, which induces angiogenesis, also acts as a vascular permeability (VP) factor. We previously showed that inhibition of VEGF attenuates VP and reduces cerebral venous infarction (CVI) in the acute stage. The present study investigated the therapeutic time window during which inhibition of VEGF can reduce CVI in a rat two-vein occlusion (2-VO) model. A 2-VO model was created by photochemically occluding two adjacent cortical veins. Male Wistar rats (n = 42) were assigned to one of four groups: Group 1 was treated with a VEGF antagonist at 24 hours after 2-VO (n = 11); Group 2 was treated with phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) at 24 hours after 2-VO (n = 11); Group 3 was treated with a VEGF antagonist at 48 hours after 2-VO (n = 10); and Group 4 was treated with PBS at 48 hours after 2-VO (n = 10). The developing ischemic infarct was evaluated histologically at 7 days after 2-VO. CVI areas were significantly smaller in Group 1 than in Groups 2, 3, and 4 (p <0.05) but were similar when comparing Groups 3 and 4. Anti-VEGF therapy was effective in reducing CVI in rats if started within 24 hours after 2-VO.

Neuroprotection with intraventricular brain-derived neurotrophic factor in rat venous occlusion model.

BACKGROUND: The increasing number of neurosurgical procedures for elderly patients and the development of skull base neurosurgery have increased interest in cerebral venous injury that might occur in a neurosurgical setting. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may have neuroprotective effects against cerebral venous ischemia. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the intraventricular effects of BDNF infusion on infarct size, suppression of apoptosis, and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in cerebral venous ischemic lesions in a rat 2-vein occlusion model. METHODS: Thirty-three male Wistar rats were randomly divided into BDNF-treated and vehicle control groups; each group was further randomly divided into 2-day and 7-day postocclusion groups. BDNF (2.1 µg/day) or vehicle was delivered continuously via intraventricular infusion pumps. Two adjacent contralateral cortical veins were then photochemically occluded. Two and 7 days after occlusion, we histologically measured ratios of infarct volume to contralateral hemisphere volume and counted (2-day group) terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-positive apoptotic cells in the penumbra. rCBF was measured via full-field laser perfusion imaging. RESULTS: The mean infarct volume after venous occlusion was significantly smaller in BDNF-treated rats than in controls at 2 days (1.49 ± 1.44% vs 3.66 ± 1.51%; P < .05) and 7 days (0.93 ± 0.47% vs 1.69 ± 0.58%; P < .05). Two days after occlusion, there were significantly fewer TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells in the BDNF-treated rats (17.0 ± 15.1) than in the controls (39.0 ± 19.6; P < .05). There were no differences in rCBF. CONCLUSION: After 2-vein occlusion, continuous intraventricular administration of BDNF protected the cerebral cortex against apoptosis and reduced infarct size without affecting rCBF.

Enhanced cerebral ischemic lesions after two-vein occlusion in diabetic rats.

The two-vein occlusion (2VO) model is known to be useful for ischemic penumbra studies in vivo. It was applied here to examine sequential changes of regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral venous infarction in normal (Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka, LETO) and diabetic (Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty, OLETF) rats. The aim of our study was to examine and compare the ischemic pathogenesis related to regional changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) induced with 2VO in diabetic OLETF and non-diabetic LETO rats. Two cortical veins were occluded photochemically by using rose bengal dye in 10 OLETF and 10 LETO rats. All animals were killed with perfusion fixation at 48 h after 2VO. Bax and Bcl-2 staining was performed along with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transderase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to examine the relationship to single-cell death. Smooth muscle actin and Van Gieson's elastic staining were done for assessment of thickening of the vessel walls. Not only the volume of cerebral cortex affected by 2VO-induced venous infarction was increased in diabetic OLETF rats, but we also observed significantly reduced CBF at 90 min after 2VO, coupled with increased apoptosis in and around ischemic lesions. Morphologically, OLETF rats demonstrated marked thickening of the walls in the small cerebral vessels with perivascular fibrosis, indicating more severe cerebral microvascular atherosclerotic changes as compared to their non-diabetic LETO counterparts. The OLETF rat thus appears to be an excellent animal model for studying the diabetic enhancement of venous ischemia induced by 2VO.

Overtime work and stress response in a group of Japanese workers.

BACKGROUND: Working long overtime hours is considered a cause of mental health problems among workers but such a relationship has yet to be empirically confirmed. AIM: To clarify the influence of overtime work on response to stress and to assess the role of other stress-related factors on this relationship. METHODS: The study was conducted among 24 685 employees of a company in Japan. Stress response, job stressors and social supports were assessed by the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire. Participants were divided into five categories of overtime (0-19, 20-39, 40-59, >or=60 h of overtime per month and exempted employees). RESULTS: The nonadjusted odds ratios for stress response for 40-59 and >or=60 overtime hours per month in reference to 0-19 overtime hours were 1.11 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.19] and 1.62 (95% CI 1.50-1.76), respectively. After adjustment for self-assessed amount of work, mental workload and sleeping time, the association between overtime work and stress response disappeared. CONCLUSIONS: This large cross-sectional study shows that overtime work appears to influence stress response indirectly through other stress factors such as self-assessed amount of work, mental workload and sleeping time.

Molecular phylogeny of the Drosophila auraria species complex and allied species of Japan based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences.

We studied the phylogenetic relationships among the six species of the Drosophila auraria species complex and three species of the montium species subgroup endemic to Japan. To do this, we examined the DNA sequences of the nuclear ITS1 and the mitochondrial COII of these species. Intraspecific variation in ITS1 was observed for most of the species studied. However, interspecific variation was small and of the same magnitude as intraspecific variation among D. auraria, D. triauraria, and D. quadraria. In addition, the amount of intraspecific variation between COII sequences from D. auraria and D. triauraria was almost the same as that of the interspecific variation between these species. Phylogenetic trees based on ITS1 or COII data reveal that, with the exception of D. pectinifera, these species can be separated into two taxonomic groups. D. rufa formed a taxonomic lineage with two Japanese endemic species, D. asahinai and D. lacteicornis. Physiological and behavioral differences between D. auraria and D. triauraria have been reported, but our results differed from those previously reported. Such differences may be better explained by hybridization between D. auraria and D. triauraria than by similarity due to recent common ancestry. Both the ITS1- and COII-based phylogenetic trees placed D. pectinifera outside the auraria complex. However, D. pectinifera sequences were more similar to those of the auraria complex than those of D. punjabiensis, another species thought to be closely related to members of the auraria complex.

Relationship between chest X-ray findings and pulmonary function tests in dust workers.

Occupational injuries are decreasing due to the improvement in occupational management in the workplace in recent years. However, pneumoconiosis and its complications remain important occupational diseases. Based on the report 'survey on classification for supervision of pneumoconiosis in Japan' performed in 1994, this study compared age, number of years at the job and pulmonary function tests among work types, and examined the characteristics of cases in which pulmonary function results were worse than expected from the chest X-ray findings. In the comparison among work types, mean age was higher and %VC was lower among workers exposed to silica or asbestos, and FEV1.0% appeared to be lower among silica-exposed workers. Multiple regression analysis showed that silica or asbestos-exposed work environments strongly affected %VC. Some cases showed dissociation between the X-ray findings and pulmonary function tests, which appeared to be caused by certain types of work environments. In this study, all the subjects had findings of pneumoconiosis in their chest X-ray. It is necessary to perform a longitudinal survey on pneumoconiosis-free subjects to clarify the precise association of lung function tests with chest X-ray.