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Biomedical subjects

Koji Kobayashi

Publications and source records attributed to Koji Kobayashi.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Effectiveness of lifestyle counseling by certified expert nurse of Japan for non-insulin-treated diabetic outpatients: a 1-year randomized controlled trial.

We examine whether one-to-one lifestyle counseling for non-insulin-treated diabetic outpatients by a Certified Expert Nurse (CEN) can improve patients' health outcomes. Participants were randomly assigned to a 1-year lifestyle intervention (n=67) or to a usual care group (n=67). Main outcome measures were changes from baseline in: HbA(1C) and score of health related quality of life scales (SF-36 and Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale). Cognitive/behavioral modification for 1 year and satisfaction in CEN counseling was also measured by self-produced items. We found no significant differences in HbA(1C), BMI, blood pressure, serum lipids, or health related quality of life over 1 year between the two groups. Patients in the intervention group, however, showed modest but more favorable modification of cognition (p=0.004) and behavior (p<0.001) than subjects in usual care group. The low attrition rate (9%), more frequent hospital visit (12+/-2 times versus 11+/-3 times; p=0.03) and high degree of satisfaction (95%) in the intervention group indicate feasibility of the monthly CEN counseling in the outpatient settings of Japanese hospitals. Future research should confirm the long-term effectiveness of the CEN counseling on clinical outcomes and the cost effectiveness of a possibly time-consuming intervention.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Cleavage of hydrazine N-N bonds by RuMo3S4 cubane-type clusters.

The mixed-metal cubane-type clusters [(Cp*Mo)3(mu3-S)4RuH2(PR3)][PF(6)] [Cp* = eta5-C5Me5; R = Ph (2), Cy (5)] were effective for the N-N bond cleavage of hydrazine and phenylhydrazine via a disproportionation reaction. The ammonia cluster [(C*Mo)3(mu3-S)4Ru(NH3)(PPh3)][PF6] (3) and/or the unprecedented double-cubane-type cluster with bridging nitrogenous ligands [{(Cp*Mo)3(mu3-S)4Ru}2(mu2-NH2)(mu2-NHNH2)][PF6]2 (4) were isolated from the reaction mixtures, and their structures were determined by X-ray diffraction studies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Effect of Coriolis force on counter-current chromatographic separation by centrifugal partition chromatography.

The effect of Coriolis force on the counter-current chromatographic separation was studied using centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) with four different two-phase solvent systems including n-hexane-acetonitrile (ACN); tert-butyl methyl ether (MtBE)-aqueous 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) (1:1); MtBE-ACN-aqueous 0.1% TFA (2:2:3); and 12.5% (w/w) polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1000-12.5% (w/w) dibasic potassium phosphate. Each separation was performed by eluting either the upper phase in the ascending mode or the lower phase in the descending mode, each in clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise column rotation. Better partition efficiencies were attained by the CW rotation in both mobile phases in all the two-phase solvent systems examined. The mathematical analysis also revealed the Coriolis force works favorably under the CW column rotation for both mobile phases. The overall results demonstrated that the Coriolis force produces substantial effects on CPC separation in both organic-aqueous and aqueous-aqueous two-phase systems.

Centrifugation↗
PubMed2004

Microstructures of galvannealing coats plated on an iron substrate deformed by indentation.

Two different galvannealed (GA) steels with different formability performances were deformed at room temperature with a micro-Vickers indenter. Cross-sectional specimens for transmission electron microscopy were prepared from the indented areas using a focused ion beam technique. Direct evidence of plastic deformation of the GA coats was obtained. Cracks were observed to nucleate at triple points of two neighbouring Gamma and substrate Fe. The GA coat with better formability has finer grains than the GA coat, with worse formability.

Equipment Failure Analysis↗
PubMed2004

cDNA cloning and characterization of a secreted luciferase from the luminous Japanese ostracod, Cypridina noctiluca.

A secreted luciferase from the marine ostracod, Vargula hilgendorfii, is a useful tool for gene expression assays in living mammalian cells. We have cloned the cDNA of a new secreted luciferase from the ostracod Cypridina noctiluca, which inhabits the coast of Japan. C. noctiluca luciferase consists of 553 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 61,415 Da, as deduced from the nucleotide sequence. The homologies of nucleotide and amino acid sequences with V. hilgendorfii luciferase are 79.2% and 83.1%, respectively. C. noctiluca luciferase can expressed in and secreted from cultured mammalian cells. The characteristic properties of expressed C. noctiluca luciferase are similar to those of V. hilgendorfii luciferase. However, the activity of C. noctiluca luciferase in culture medium is much higher than that of V. hilgendorfii luciferase, suggesting that C. noctiluca luciferase is a highly potent reporter enzyme for real-time and continuous monitoring of gene expression in living cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Association of the CTLA-4 gene 49 A/G polymorphism with type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroid disease in Japanese children.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of the T-lymphocyte-associated-4 (CTLA-4) polymorphism in the susceptibility to child-onset type 1 diabetes with regard to its clinical characteristics and complications with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in the Japanese population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The CTLA-4 49 A/G polymorphism was detected by the PCR-restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) method in 97 type 1 diabetic subjects and 20 patients with Graves' disease, a cohort which included 4 patients who also had type 1 diabetes. RESULTS: The genotypes and allele frequencies of this polymorphism did not differ between the type 1 diabetic subjects and the control subjects. The G allele frequency was 63.9% in the type 1 diabetic subjects. The G allele frequency in the subgroup of patients with a high titer of autoantibodies to the GAD antibody (Ab) was 72.9% (P = 0.0499 vs. control subjects); in the subgroup of patients without HLA DRB1*0405, it was 72.6% (P = 0.0271 vs. control subjects); and in the subgroup of patients with a residual beta-cell function, it was 78.6% (P = 0.0391 vs. control subjects). The G allele frequency in the patients with Graves' disease was also significantly higher at 78.1% (P = 0.0405 vs. control subjects). Furthermore, the frequency in our diabetic subjects complicated with Graves' disease was even higher (87.5%). CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that a distinct association exists between the G allele of CTLA-4 and high values of GAD Ab, residual beta-cell function, and the absence of HLA-DRB1*0405.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Procedural memory in schizophrenia assessed using a mirror reading task.

The preservation of procedural memory in individuals with schizophrenia has been confirmed by methods such as the Tower of Hanoi, pursuit rotor and mirror reading tests. However, the cognitive procedural memory of Japanese subjects with schizophrenia has never been assessed using mirror reading. To better determine the characteristics of cognitive procedural memory in schizophrenia, a Japanese version of the mirror reading task, consisting of cards with words written in Japanese katakana characters in mirror image, was administered to 18 Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 21 normal controls. The results indicated that the patients indeed learned the skill despite exhibiting lower overall performances in reading time than the controls, their scores displaying correlation with the severity of schizophrenic negative symptoms. This suggests that procedural memory for this task is retained in individuals with schizophrenia. It is important for them to use their preserved procedural memory for efficient rehabilitative efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Novel method for detection of ex vivo tumor necrosis factor alpha production by monocytes.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) has come into recent focus as a proinflammatory cytokine derived from monocytes/macrophages. We developed a novel system (the SEK-5001 system) for measurement of ex vivo production of TNF-alpha stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a marker of immune function. In the present study, we evaluated the performance of this system as a diagnostic tool. Furthermore, we compared TNF-alpha levels with data from other immune function tests, including lymphocyte blast formation test and differential leukocyte counts. Incubation of whole blood with a stimulation of low-dose LPS (100 EU/mL blood) for 4 hr at 37 degrees C gave acceptable results. After incubation, plasma TNF-alpha levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The specificity, reproducibility, and recovery of the SEK-5001 system were excellent. No correlation between TNF-alpha levels and total leukocyte counts was found. Lymphocyte blast formation test and monocyte counts, however, were correlated with TNF-alpha levels in blood from patients with hematological malignancy and aplastic anemia before treatment. This assay system may potentially be clinically applicable to assess in vivo immune function.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The association of Ala45Thr polymorphism in NeuroD with child-onset Type 1a diabetes in Japanese.

Recently Iwata et al. reported that the polymorphism in NeuroD exon 2(Ala45Thr) was associated with adult-onset Type 1 diabetes in Japanese. Furthermore, the mutations in the NeuroD as a regulator of insulin transcription have been reported to result in Type 2 diabetes. We, therefore, aimed to clarify the role of this Ala45Thr polymorphism in the susceptibility to Type 1a, immune-mediated, diabetes of child-onset Japanese patients. Eighty patients with child-onset Type 1 diabetes were examined along with 121 non-diabetic subjects as the controls. The polymorphism in Ala45Thr was defined using the PCR-RFLP method. The GAD Ab, IA-2 Ab, HLA-DRB1 genotypes and residual beta-cell function at 3 years from onset were evaluated in relation to the difference in this polymorphism. The frequency of the Ala45Thr heterozygotes was significantly higher in the Type 1 diabetic patients than in the controls (21.3 versus 9.9%, P=0.0252). The frequency of loss of beta-cell function was higher in heterozygotes patients than in wild type homozygotes patients (P=0.0112). Type 1 diabetic patients with DRB1*0901 allele showed a significantly higher frequency, 27.9%, of the Ala45Thr variant than the controls (P=0.0041). In conclusion, the Ala45Thr polymorphism contributes to the risk of development of, and to the early deterioration of beta-cell function, in Type 1a diabetes among the Japanese population.

Adolescent↗