Hokkaido University

About: Hokkaido University is a education organization based out in Sapporo, Hokkaidô, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Population. The organization has 53925 authors who have published 115403 publications receiving 2651647 citations. The organization is also known as: Hokudai & Hokkaidō daigaku.

Association between body mass index and cardiovascular disease mortality in east Asians and south Asians: pooled analysis of prospective data from the Asia Cohort Consortium

Abstract: Objective To evaluate the association between body mass index and mortality from overall cardiovascular disease and specific subtypes of cardiovascular disease in east and south Asians. Design Pooled analyses of 20 prospective cohorts in Asia, including data from 835 082 east Asians and 289 815 south Asians. Cohorts were identified through a systematic search of the literature in early 2008, followed by a survey that was sent to each cohort to assess data availability. Setting General populations in east Asia (China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, and Korea) and south Asia (India and Bangladesh). Participants 1 124 897 men and women (mean age 53.4 years at baseline). Main outcome measures Risk of death from overall cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, and (in east Asians only) stroke subtypes. Results 49 184 cardiovascular deaths (40 791 in east Asians and 8393 in south Asians) were identified during a mean follow-up of 9.7 years. East Asians with a body mass index of 25 or above had a raised risk of death from overall cardiovascular disease, compared with the reference range of body mass index (values 22.5-24.9; hazard ratio 1.09 (95% confidence interval 1.03 to 1.15), 1.27 (1.20 to 1.35), 1.59 (1.43 to 1.76), 1.74 (1.47 to 2.06), and 1.97 (1.44 to 2.71) for body mass index ranges 25.0-27.4, 27.5-29.9, 30.0-32.4, 32.5-34.9, and 35.0-50.0, respectively). This association was similar for risk of death from coronary heart disease and ischaemic stroke; for haemorrhagic stroke, the risk of death was higher at body mass index values of 27.5 and above. Elevated risk of death from cardiovascular disease was also observed at lower categories of body mass index (hazard ratio 1.19 (95% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.39) and 2.16 (1.37 to 3.40) for body mass index ranges 15.0-17.4 and Conclusions Body mass index shows a U shaped association with death from overall cardiovascular disease among east Asians: increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease is observed at lower and higher ranges of body mass index. A high body mass index is a risk factor for mortality from overall cardiovascular disease and for specific diseases, including coronary heart disease, ischaemic stroke, and haemorrhagic stroke in east Asians. Higher body mass index is a weak risk factor for mortality from cardiovascular disease in south Asians.

Carbon electrodes for capacitive deionization

Abstract: Carbon materials for electrodes of capacitive deionization (CDI) process are reviewed. Electrochemical cells are briefly explained by classifying into conventional, membrane and flow-electrode CDI cells. CDI performance of carbon materials, porous carbons, including activated carbons (ACs), activated carbon fibers (ACFs), templated nanoporous carbons, carbon aerogels, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and graphenes, have been reviewed in detail. The feasibility of CDI techniques is then discussed on the basis of the experimental results reported.

Correlations between Prenatal Exposure to Perfluorinated Chemicals and Reduced Fetal Growth

Abstract: Perfluorinated chemicals, which have been manufactured for > 50 years, have been used in a wide range of industrial and consumer products. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), which are representative of perfluorinated chemicals, have recently been found to be widespread contaminants in the environment, wildlife, and humans (Butenhoff et al. 2006; Key et al. 1997; Lau et al. 2007; Renner 2001). The worldwide distribution of PFOS and PFOA is recognized as a severe problem because of their resistance to further degradation in the environment. PFOS and PFOA contamination in human blood has been reported in various countries (Butenhoff et al. 2006; Calafat et al. 2007; Harada et al. 2007; Kannan et al. 2004; Lau et al. 2007; Midasch et al. 2006). Maternal serum PFOS and PFOA levels measured in our previous study (Inoue et al. 2004a) were relatively low compared with most levels in previous reports (Butenhoff et al. 2006; Calafat et al. 2007; Harada et al. 2007; Kannan et al. 2004; Lau et al. 2007; Midasch et al. 2006). Exposure of pregnant rats and mice to PFOS led to a reduction in birth weight (Grasty et al. 2003, 2005; Lau et al. 2003; Luebker et al. 2005a, 2005b; Thibodeaux et al. 2003), and a similar result was obtained when pregnant rats and mice were exposed to PFOA (Abbott et al. 2007; Butenhoff et al. 2004; Lau et al. 2006; Wolf et al. 2007). Interference of lipid metabolism (Kennedy et al. 2004; Loveless et al. 2006; Xie et al. 2003) and alterations in thyroid hormone homeostasis (Lau et al. 2003; Luebker et al. 2005b; Martin et al. 2007; Thibodeaux et al. 2003) have been suggested as possible mechanisms of fetal growth restriction. Currently, however, the mechanism behind any correlation between PFOS and PFOA and fetal growth restriction is not clearly understood. Human studies have shown no substantial changes in hematologic, lipid, hepatic, thyroid, or urinary characteristics in populations exposed occupationally to perfluorinated chemicals (Olsen et al. 1999, 2003). PFOS and PFOA were detected in nearly 100% of umbilical cord sera in 299 samples (Apelberg et al. 2007a), indicating that human fetuses are exposed to these chemicals. Our previous study and another study have shown the placental permeability of PFOS and PFOA (Inoue et al. 2004a; Midasch et al. 2007). Because fetuses might be more vulnerable than adults to the potential harmful effects of chemicals, exposure assessment studies for perfluorinated chemicals in human fetuses are urgently needed. One occupational study found no correlation between high occupational exposure to PFOS before the end of pregnancy and maternally reported birth weight among 439 singleton live births (Grice et al. 2007). Meanwhile, two reports investigated the correlations between prenatal nonoccupational PFOS and PFOA exposure and reduced fetal growth. One study showed a correlation between PFOS and PFOA levels in cord serum and reduced values for birth weight, ponderal index, and head circumference among 293 women and their infants. The median concentration for PFOA was 1.6 ng/mL and for PFOS was 5 ng/mL (Apelberg et al. 2007b). Another study showed that maternal plasma PFOA levels correlated with reduced birth weight among 1,400 women and their infants. PFOS and PFOA levels in maternal plasma were, on average, 35.3 and 5.6 ng/mL, respectively (Fei et al. 2007). Given that few reports have actually suggested a correlation between prenatal non-occupational PFOS and PFOA exposure and reduced fetal growth, further research is needed to clarify this potential relationship. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between relatively low levels of PFOS and PFOA in maternal serum and birth weight and birth size, including length, chest circumference, and head circumference.

Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome are induced by soluble Fas ligand

Abstract: The pathogeneses of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), both severe blistering diseases usually associated with drug intake, are not fully elucidated. Histologically, both TEN and SJS are characterized by extensive keratinocyte apoptosis. Previous studies have shown that keratinocyte apoptosis in TEN and SJS was induced by a suicidal interaction between Fas and Fas ligand (FasL), which are both expressed by keratinocytes. However, our preliminary examinations demonstrated that FasL is hardly detected on keratinocytes. We hypothesized that soluble FasL (sFasL) is secreted by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and this interacts with the Fas expressed on keratinocytes in TEN and SJS. To justify this hypothesis, we investigated whether sFasL secreted by PBMCs could induce the keratinocyte apoptosis in TEN and SJS. Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay analysis demonstrated that there was no significant sFasL increase in any samples of healthy controls (<40 pg/ml, n 14) and patients with an ordinary erythema multiforme-type drug eruption (41.5 3.1 pg/ml, n 14), whereas high concentrations are detected in all samples of TEN and SJS patients (TEN: 131.5 57.4 pg/ml, n 8; SJS: 119.1 41.0 pg/ml, n 14) (P < 0.0001). In vitro analysis using cultured keratinocytes revealed that the sera of TEN and SJS patients induced abundant keratinocyte apoptosis compared to erythema multiforme-type drug eruption sera. Furthermore, on stimulation with the causal drug, PBMCs obtained from TEN and SJS patients secreted high levels of sFasL. Taken together, these results indicate that sFasL secreted by PBMCs, not keratinocytes, plays a crucial role in the apoptosis and pathomechanism of TEN and SJS, and that the serum sFasL level may be a good indicator for the early diagnosis of TEN and SJS. (Am J Pathol 2003, 162:1515–1520)

Estimation of the asymptomatic ratio of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infections among passengers on evacuation flights

Abstract: A total of 565 Japanese citizens were evacuated from Wuhan, China to Japan. All passengers were screened for symptoms and also undertook reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing, identifying 5 asymptomatic and 7 symptomatic passengers testing positive for 2019-nCoV. We show that the screening result is suggestive of the asymptomatic ratio at 41.6%.