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To determine whether maximum bite force ( MBF), an objective measure of oral function, is associated with development of frailty in community-dwelling older adults. This prospective cohort study included community-dwelling Japanese adults aged 75 years at baseline (n = 322). Baseline MBF was measured using an electronic recording device (Occlusal Force-Meter GM10). Follow-up examinations, including physical fitness and anthropometric evaluation and structured questionnaires, were administered annually over a 5-year period to determine the incidence of frailty, which was defined by the presence of 3 or more of the following 5 components derived from the Cardiovascular Health Study: low level of mobility, low physical activity level, weakness, shrinking and poor endurance and energy. Adjusted hazard ratios ( HRs) of incidence of frailty according to sex-stratified tertiles of baseline MBF were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. During the follow-up, 49 participants (15.2%) developed frailty. Participants in the lower tertile of MBF exhibited a significantly greater risk of frailty than those in the upper tertile. After adjustment for sex, depression, diabetes and Eichner index, the adjusted HRs for frailty in the upper through lower tertiles of MBF were 1.00 (reference), 1.27 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: 0.50-3.20) and 2.78 (95% CI: 1.15-6.72), respectively ( P for trend = .01). Poor oral function, as indicated by low MBF, increases the risk of development of frailty among elderly men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four powder mixtures of titanium and aluminum with 50:50, 40:60, 30:70, and 20:80 atomic ratios were used as feedstock for Warm Spray process to produce composite coatings. A two-stage heat treatment at 600 and 1000 °C was applied to the deposits in order to obtain titanium aluminide intermetallic phases. The microstructure, chemical, and phase composition of the as-deposited and heat-treated coatings were investigated using SEM, EDS, and XRD. It was found that the Al content affects on the thickness expansion of the heat-treated Ti-Al coatings significantly and also has a major influence on the porosity development, which is caused by the Kirkendall effect. The effects of adding a third element Si and heat treatment with pressure to produce denser Ti-Al intermetallic coating were also examined. The investigated hot-pressed coatings with addition of Si exhibited much denser microstructure and contained Ti-Al intermetallic phases with titanium silicide precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective Potentially significant associations between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and periodontitis have been reported in recent studies; however, there are limited data on their association in the very old. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between MetS and periodontitis among 80-year-old Japanese subjects. Material and Methods The subjects were 234 Japanese aged 80 years old who participated in a health and periodontal examination in June 2008 in Niigata city, Japan, and were classified into three groups: (i) severe periodontitis: having six or more interproximal sites with clinical attachment level ≥ 6 mm and three or more interproximal sites with probing pocket depth ( PPD) ≥ 5 mm (not on the same tooth) ( n = 19); (ii) moderate periodontitis: having six or more interproximal sites with clinical attachment level ≥ 4 mm or six or more interproximal sites with PPD ≥ 5 mm (not on the same tooth) ( n = 162); and (iii) no or mild periodontitis: neither 'moderate' nor 'severe' periodontitis ( n = 53). MetS was defined using the modified criteria of the guidelines for the diagnosis of MetS in Japan. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association between MetS and periodontitis. Adjustments for gender, income, education, smoking status, dental visiting patterns, brushing frequency, exercise habits and dietary energy and food intake were considered. Results Overall, 57 individuals (24.4%) were diagnosed as having MetS. MetS was associated with the presence and severity of periodontitis (crude odds ratio = 2.24, 95% confidence interval = 1.14-4.41). This association remained statistically significant after multivariate adjustments (adjusted odds ratio = 2.10, 95% confidence interval = 1.03-4.28). Conclusion Our findings provide evidence of an association between MetS and periodontitis in elderly Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We retrospectively assessed the outcome and pretransplantation predictors of the outcome in 118 patients aged 50 years who received fludarabine-containing reduced-intensity allo-SCT (RIST) for B-cell ALL in the first or second CR. Eighty patients received transplants from unrelated donors. Seventy-eight patients were positive for the Ph chromosome. The median follow-up period was 18 months and the 2-year OS rate was 56%. The 2-year cumulative incidence of relapse and non-relapse mortality was 28% and 26%, respectively. The incidence of grades II-IV and III-IV acute GVHD was 46% and 24%, respectively. After 2 years, the incidence of chronic GVHD was 37%. Multivariate analysis of pretransplant factors showed that a higher white blood cell count (30 × 109/L) at diagnosis (hazard ratio (HR)=2.19, P=0.007) and second CR (HR=2.02, P=0.036) were significantly associated with worse OS, whereas second CR (HR=3.83, P<0.001) and related donor (HR=2.34, P=0.039) were associated with a higher incidence of relapse. Fludarabine-containing RIST may be a promising strategy for older patients with B-cell ALL in their first remission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, outcomes for 575 adult ALL patients aged 45 years who underwent first allo-SCT in CR were analyzed according to the type of conditioning regimen (myeloablative conditioning (MAC) for 369 patients vs reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) for 206 patients). Patients in the RIC group were older (median age, 58 vs 51 years, P<0.0001). There were no statistically significant differences in 3-year OS, disease-free survival (DFS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM): 51% vs 53%, 47% vs 39% and 38% vs 36%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that CR2 and HLA mismatching were associated with poor OS (P=0.002 and P=0.019, respectively). HLA mismatching was associated with lower rate of relapse (P=0.016), but was associated with higher rate of NRM (P=0.001). RIC was associated with good OS and DFS in patients who received HLA-mismatch transplantation and were aged 55 years compared with MAC by multivariate analysis for each event with interaction (hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval 0.35 and 0.15-0.81, P=0.014 for OS and 0.36 and 0.16-0.81, P=0.013 for DFS). Therefore, patients 55 years of age with HLA-mismatch transplantation should be candidates for RIC rather than MAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strengthening mechanism of Fe-Cu alloy manufactured from rapidly solidified powder was investigated. Powders of Fe-Cu with copper content ranging from 0.5 to 5 wt-% were prepared by high pressure water atomisation and consolidated by groove rolling at 973, 1073 or 1273 K. Analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) were carried out to evaluate the resulting structures. The microstructures were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Yield stress under tensile loading and hardness after aging were measured. The copper states in consolidated specimens were determined based on the results, and the states were correlated to the mechanical properties of the specimens. At each of the consolidating temperatures, the yield stress increased with an increase in copper content. However, the strengthening mechanism differed according to the temperature. Specimens consolidated at 973 and 1073 K were strengthened by microstructure refinement,whereas precipitation hardening was the main strengthening mechanism in specimens consolidated at 1273 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various ER fluids were prepared based on polyethers such as polypropylene glycol and polytetramethylene glycol. The polyethers were modified with isocyanates to give homogeneous liquids which show a positive or a negative ER effect depending on the molecular structure. The molecular motion of an urea-derivative of the polyether was analyzed with the NMR relaxation method. The modified polyethers were also used as a component of immiscible blends with silicones and suspensions. The immiscible blends showed a positive ER effects even when the polyether showed a negative ER effect. The suspensions tended to show a positive ER effect, which is similar to usual ER suspensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses two case studies of patients with graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) which is a common complication following an allogeneic tissue transplant. It includes the 46-year-old man who underwent peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation after a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen. It adds the 40-year-old man who underwent a PBSC transplantation after cyclophosphamide and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

High pressure crystallization of polypropylene was studied by means of PVT measurements and computer simulations. The isothermal crystallization behaviour were described by using a model which takes into account the effect of pressure on the temperature dependence of nucleation rate and linear growth rate. The agreement between the simulation and the experiments was seen in the tendency that the crystallization was accelerated by the high pressure. The non-isothermal crystallization behavior was also simulated by applying a generalized Avrami equation. The simulation curves well reproduced the experimental values below relative crystallinity 0.5 and below 100 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behaviour of thermal dehydrations of isomorphous complexes of calcium copper acetate hexahydrate, CaCu(CH3CO2)4·6H2O and calcium cadmium acetate hexahydrate, CaCd(CH3CO2)4· 6H2O was studied by means of thermal analyses and X-ray structural analysis. The enthalpy changes for the dehydration of CaCu(CH3CO2)4·6H2O and CaCd(CH3CO2)4·6H2O were 315±9.7 and 295±8.0 kJ mol−1, respectively. The DSC curves of the dehydrations indicated that the seemingly simple dehydrations are more complex than they appear at first sight. Apparent activation energies for the dehydrations of CaCu(CH3CO2)4·6H2O and CaCd(CH3CO2)4·6H2O were 85.7±7.4 and 87.9±12.5 kJ mol−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a girl with oral, facial, and digital anomalies including multiple alveolar frenula, lobulated tongue with nodules, a posterior cleft palate, hypertelorism, a prominent forehead with a large anterior fontanelle, and postaxial polydactyly in both hands and the right foot, features compatible with the oral-facial-digital syndrome (OFDS). In addition, she had bilateral microphthalmia, optic disc coloboma, and retinal degeneration with partial detachment, thus establishing a diagnosis of OFDS type IX. Dandy-Walker malformation and retrobulbar cysts were observed on MRI. These additional malformations have not been reported in OFDS type IX. The frequent apnoeic spells which occurred immediately after birth were relieved after cystoperitoneal shunt implantation for hydrocephalus. Considering our case and previous reports of OFDS type IX, including two male sibs, a boy born to consanguineous parents, and three females, inheritance is probably autosomal recessive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article on the efficacy of neutrophil engraftment of cord blood transplantation in treating mycophenolate mofetil in graft versus host disease (GVHD) phropylaxis.

A correction to the article "Reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation for patients aged 50 years or older with B-cell ALL in remission: a retrospective study by the Adult ALL Working Group of the Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation" is presented.