SummaryIn the present study, we tried to establish an efficient assay for total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in human plasma using a 96-well microplate. TAC was assessed using lag time by antioxidants against the myoglobin-induced oxidation of 2,2'-azino-di(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) with hydrogen peroxide, and expressed as Trolox equivalent. The linearity of the calibration curve with Trolox was maintained with the Trolox concentration range from 2.5 µM to 25 µM (R 2 = 0.997). The assay was applied to the measurement of TAC in healthy human plasma. Coefficient of variation in intraday assay was 2.4%. Difference was not observed in interday assay. Plasma TAC of men ((569 ± 41) µM Trolox equivalent; n = 6) was higher than that of women ((430 ± 28) µM Trolox equivalent; n = 4). After the vegetable juice was drunk for 1 week, the increase in plasma TAC was observed in almost all the volunteers. In summary, we developed the efficient assay for plasma TAC using a 96-well microplate.

The role of c-Kit in the development of melanoma was studied in line 304/B6 of RET-transgenic mice, in which melanoma spontaneously develops. In Wv/Wv-RET (304/B6)-transgenic mice, in which c-Kit function was severely impaired, development of melanoma was strongly suppressed. Although 31 of the 44 original RET-transgenic mice died of rapidly growing melanoma within 12 months after birth, only 8 of the 44 Wv/Wv-RET-transgenic mice developed slowly growing melanocytic tumors with a greatly prolonged mean tumor-free period, 2 of which died of melanoma at a late stage. Even Wv/؉-RET-transgenic mice had a clearly prolonged tumor-free period and definitely reduced frequency (6 of 61) of tumor death within 12 months after birth. Melanin production in the skin of these mice was not strongly impaired, suggesting that c-Kit affects the development of melanomas in these mice with only minor effects in melanin production. c-Kit expression in skin soon after birth was promoted in RET-transgenic mice, and c-Kit was expressed at high levels at the benign but not malignant stage of the tumor. A single injection of anti-c-Kit antibody (ACK2) into RET-transgenic mice soon after birth caused a surprisingly long-lasting suppression of development of melanoma, greatly prolonging the tumor-free period, and none of the 28 ACK2-treated RET-transgenic mice died from tumors at 12 months of age. The c-Kit function needed for melanin production was also suppressed for an unusually long time in ACK2-treated, RET-transgenic mice. These results suggest that c-Kit can be a unique target molecule for melanoma treatment.

Only a few studies have focused on the relationship between vitamin intake and depressive symptoms in Japanese individuals. This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between vitamin intake and depressive symptoms in 1634 elderly Japanese individuals (65 years and older). The consumption of fifteen vitamins including retinol, a retinol equivalent, beta-carotene equivalent, vitamin D, alpha-tocopherol, vitamin K, vitamin group B, vitamin C, and cryptoxanthine was analyzed using a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ). The short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to assess depressive symptoms. The prevalence of participants with depressive symptoms was 26.7%. The consumption of all vitamins, except for retinol and vitamin D, was lower among depressed than non-depressed participants. The consumption of vitamins was significantly less in female and overweight participants with depressive symptoms than in elderly participants without depressive symptoms. After adjustments for potential confounders, none of the fifteen vitamins were correlated with depressive symptoms in male or underweight participants. Associations between vitamin deficiencies and depressive symptoms were observed in female and overweight elderly participants. Our findings demonstrated a relationship between vitamin intake and depressive symptoms.

Aims:The present study assessed the health impact of stress on women who were pregnant during, or immediately after, a major earthquake and were living in the disaster area. Inherent resistance against the stress induced by the earthquake was also assessed. Methods:The panel study consisted of 99 women who provided responses before and after delivery (response rate, 77.9%). Psychological impact was assessed on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and stress resistance was assessed on the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC). Results:In adjusted multivariate models, the significant earthquake factor that predicted postnatal depression (EPDS) was 'existing anxiety about an earthquake' (b = 0.27, P = 0.01) and 'parity' (b = -0.26, P = 0.02). The SOC during pregnancy significantly moderated between 'existing anxiety about an earthquake' and 'EPDS' (b = -0.21, P = 0.02). During pregnancy the EDPS was a significant predictor of a physical abnormality during pregnancy or childbirth (odds ratio, 1.21; 95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.41). The SOC during pregnancy did not moderate between a physical abnormality and earthquake-related stress. Conclusions:Provision of an adequate support system and improvement of the SOC of young women affected by a disaster may be two ways of reducing the deleterious effects of disaster-related stress on maternal well-being.Key words: earthquake, depression, natural disaster.A N EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 6.9 on the Richter scale struck the Noto Peninsula of Japan at 09.42 hours on 25 March 2007. The earthquake was followed by the sustained occurrence of >500 aftershocks. The Noto Peninsula earthquake severely damaged the region and completely destroyed 684 houses. More than 2500 people escaped to 47 temporary shelters. Many residents still live in temporary housing.The disaster area is located in northern Japan, a relatively depopulated area with a large elderly population. Therefore, most of the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake were elderly; pregnant women are a minority group in this area. Nevertheless, 1000 neonates on average are born annually in the area most devastated by the earthquake. Several studies have documented maternal vulnerability in earthquakes. Antenatal stress is associated with a wide range of adverse birth outcomes in humans and other *Correspondence: Yuri Hibino, PhD, Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa, Japan. Email: hibino@pub.m.kanazawa-u.ac.jp Received 28 July 2008; revised 13 September 2008; accepted 23 October 2008. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences 2009; 63: 107-115 doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819 1-3 Therefore, the effect of disaster-induced stress on pregnant women cannot be ignored.Although several publications have addressed health problems, including psychological distress, in non-pregnant survivors of devastating earthquakes, [4][5][6] few studies have examined the effects of disasterrelated stress on pregnant women. [7][8][9][10] Several prio...

Establishing a safer working environment could enable nurses to provide better care for patients and thereby promote the development of good relationships between nurses and patients.

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Objective The aim of this study was to use a multilevel analysis to examine whether cognitive and structural dimensions of regional social capital were associated with individual health outcomes after adjusting for compositional factors. Methods Data from the Japanese General Social Surveys project, a nationwide study with a two-stage stratified random sampling method conducted in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2006, were aggregated and used for the multilevel analysis (n = 11,702). We examined whether both cognitive and structural aspects of social capital (social trust, neighborhood safety, and social participation) were associated with the self-rated health (SRH) of residents from 118 regions after adjustment for compositional factors. Results Social trust and existing neighborhood safety were negatively associated with poor SRH, whereas the effect of social participation was not significant. Social trust was still negatively associated with poor SRH after adjusting for individual demographic factors and socioeconomic status (p = 0.001). In contrast, neighborhood safety and social participation did not reach significance after adjusting for compositional factors.Conclusion Based on the results of this study, social trust was associated with health outcomes. Further study is needed to clarify the path linking regional trust in others to individual health outcomes in the Japanese population.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship of mineral intake, including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, copper and manganese, with depressive symptoms in both genders in the Japanese elderly population. A total of 1423 participants who were older than 65 years old were recruited in this study. Mineral intake was analyzed using a validated and brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed with a short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale. A logistic regression model was applied to determine the relationship between mineral intake and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 20%. Except for sodium and manganese, mineral intake was significantly lower in the depressive symptoms group. There was no difference of mineral intake between male participants with depressive symptoms and those without such symptoms. However, in female participants, mineral intake was significantly lower in participants with depressive symptoms compared to those without such symptoms. Potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and copper were significantly and negatively correlated with depressive symptoms among female participants, but not male participants. Our results suggest that the deficiencies in mineral intake may be related to depressive symptoms, especially in women.