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The Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease Control Act was enacted in Japan in December 2018. This law has become the first ever legislative countermeasure against stroke and cardiovascular disease in Japan. The government shall make a “Basic Plan to Promote Stroke and Cardiovascular Disease Control Programs” with input from a council consisted of stakeholders. In accordance with the government plan, each prefecture shall make a prefectural plan. Both government and prefectural plans will be reviewed at least every six years. A nationwide approach is expected to contribute to reducing the burden of disease and to prolong healthy life expectancy.

Three pilot-scale simulators with different aeration systems were constructed to explore the effects of aeration position on the reduction of pollutants. The simulator with a bottom aeration system successfully distributed oxygen and efficiently inhibited methane production. A close relationship was found between the oxygen distribution and the removal of pollutants, especially that of nitrogen. The transition between nitrification and denitrification in the longitude direction of the simulator with a bottom aeration system contributed to nitrogen removal in aerobic conditions. This process can be defined as a new path for nitrogen removal in addition to simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. The concentration of [Formula: see text]-N, total nitrogen and total organic carbon dropped to 3, 78 and 204 mg L−1, respectively, after 312 days of bottom aeration and to 514, 659 and 828 mg L−1, respectively, after 312 days of top aeration. These results indicate that the bottom aeration system was more efficient for reducing pollutants than the top aeration system.

This study estimates the overall cost savings that have been realized due to disposal of inert wastes in Japan because this material has been deposited in inert waste landfills (IWLs) that are designed exclusively for this purpose, instead of being co-dipsosed with organic wastes in more costly in sanitary landfills (SLs). The total realized cost savings were based on the disposed volume of inert waste and the actual disposal fees for IWLs and SLs for the period 1977–2006. The estimated reduction in expense is 4748 billion JPY for the period. On the other hand, if organic wastes had been deposited in IWLs along with inert wastes, costs would be incurred to clean up the sites because the surrounding environment may be polluted by the decomposition of the non-inert wastes and considerable efforts probably would be required to restore the polluted environment to its normal condition (this is because IWLs typically do not have a barrier system.) The potential cleanup cost was estimated to be 616 to 1226 billion JPY. These estimated costs were compared and it was found that the net reduction in expense was 3522 billion to 4122 billion JPY. Although the expense was reduced substantially, it was noted that a considerable cleanup cost would be generated. In particular, it was found that the increase in cleanup costs becomes most significant after the late 1990s

Gastric carcinogenesis is a multistep process, during which numerous genetic and epigenetic alterations accumulate: there are abnormalities of growth factors/receptors, angiogenic factors, cell cycle regulators, DNA mismatch repair genes etc. These abnormalities define, at the same time, the biological character of the cancer cell and may thus serve as therapeutic targets. Genetic instability may cause accumulation of genetic abnormalities. The most important epigenetic alterations are DNA methylation, histone modification and chromatin remodeling. Some of these changes are common in gastric cancer, regardless of subtype, and some differ by histological type or (gastric or intestinal) mucin phenotype. Genetic polymorphism is a crucial endogenous cause and fundamental aspect of cancer risk. Importantly, genetic polymorphisms are also associated with the therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of anti-cancer drugs. Genomic science and technology such as Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) allows the identification of novel genes and molecules specifically up-regulated or down-regulated in gastric cancer, e.g., RegIV and claudin-18 can be identified. Advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular bases lead to improved diagnosis, personalised medicine and prevention of gastric cancer.

Anosognosia is a well-known symptom after stroke but its frequency following acute stroke is not known and knowledge of its impact on functional outcome is limited. This prospective study included 566 consecutive, unselected, acute stroke patients. Anoso gnosia was evaluated on acute admission using the test of Bisiach et al. (1986), stroke severity with the Scandinavian Neurological Stroke Scale (SNSS), and activities of daily living (ADLs) with the Barthel Index (BI). Multiple linear and logistic regres sion analyses were done to find the influence of anosognosia on the outcome of stroke per se. The frequency of anosognosia was 21% on acute admission. The lesion was located in the right hemisphere in 81% of the patients. Anosognosia was seen more frequently following cortical vs. subcortical lesions but showed no significant rela tionship to any of the four cortical lobes. The presence of anosognosia per se predicted 11.5 points less in discharge BI, increased the likelihood of death during the hospital...

We conducted this study to determine whether the presence of aphasia at the time of acute admission impedes functional improvement of stroke patients and if chronic aphasia aggravates the detriment...

Specific neuropsychological symptoms like aphasia and neglect are well-known in stroke. General cognitive function in stroke patients has been given less attention. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is widely used in different neurologic and psychiatric conditions. It has also been used in studies of depression with stroke and for validation of other instruments, but few studies have reported basic data con cerning MMSE in stroke. We assessed 541 unselected acute stroke patients prospec tively and consecutively with the MMSE. Its utility for functional prognosis was deter mined by multiple linear regression analyses of ADL function at discharge measured with the Barthel Index (BI), of length of rehabilitation, and by a logistic regression analysis of the rate of discharge to independent living. A considerable number of patients could not cooperate for the MMSE in the acute stage (42%, including uncon scious and aphasic patients). Reduced cognitive function was found to be common in stroke: a score ...

We report a case of multiple benign metastasizing leiomyoma (BML) lung nodules showing faint or non-avid uptake of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) (respective 1-hour early and 2-hour delayed maximum standardized uptake values; 1.3 or less and 1.2 or less) in a 50-year-old woman with a history of hysterectomy for uterine leiomyoma at the age of 38 years. When multiple lung nodules show faint or non-avid FDG uptake in a patient with a history of hysterectomy for uterine leiomyoma, BML should be included in the differential diagnosi.