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Biomedical subjects

N Kijima

Publications and source records attributed to N Kijima.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) as predictors of depression among Japanese college students.

To examine the predictive power of Cloninger's psychobiology model of depression, 167 Japanese college students were studied on two occasions, with an interval of approximately three months. At Time 1 (T1), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were distributed. At Time 2 (T2), the SDS was distributed again. The T2 SDS score was positively correlated with Harm Avoidance and negatively correlated with Reward Dependence and Self-directedness at T1. However, after controlling for the T1 SDS score, the T2 SDS score was predicted only by T1 Self-directedness. These data suggest that lower Self-directedness can be predictive of depression, whereas higher Harm Avoidance and lower Reward Dependence are state-dependent.

Adult↗

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Temperament and Character Inventory.

The Temperament and Character Inventory was translated into Japanese, and, to confirm the psychometric properties of the inventory, three samples were recruited from a nonpatient population. In nonpatient population A (N = 555), the full version (240 items) of the inventory with dichotomous measuring, along with the General Health Questionnaire and the Social Desirability Scale, were distributed to the subjects. Factor analyses of the subscales showed that the factor structure of the inventory was consistent with Cloninger's theory. Correlations of the scale scores with the General Health Questionnaire and the Social Desirability Scale scores were almost negligible, indicating that the scale is resistant to the current psychopathology and response bias. In this and the other two university student samples (ns = 395 and 377), Cronbach coefficients alpha of the scale scores were substantially high except for the short version (125 items) of the inventory with dichotomous measures. The Japanese version of the inventory appears to have internal reliability and content and construct validity in a Japanese population.

Adolescent↗

Precedents of perceived social support: personality and early life experiences.

In order to examine the effects of personality and early life experiences on perceived social support, a total of 97 young Japanese women were investigated. Current interpersonal relationships were measured by an interview modified from Henderson et al.'s Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI). Personality was measured by Cloninger et al.'s Temperament and Character Inventory. Early life experiences at home and outside of home were also identified in the interview. The number of sources of perceived support was correlated with self-directness, while satisfaction with perceived support was correlated with novelty seeking and with low harm avoidance. No early life experiences--early loss of a parent, perceived parenting, childhood abuse experiences, experiences of being bullied and/or other life events--showed significant correlations with the number or satisfaction of supportive people. The quantity and quality of perception of social support differ in their link to personality, and perceived social support may, to some extent, be explainable in terms of personality.

Adult↗

Factor structures of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) for undergraduates.

In order to categorize the items of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) so as to allow the construction of subscales, the Japanese version of the SDS was administered to a total of 2,258 undergraduates. Principal-component analyses of the SDS extracted three factors interpretable as cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms. The SDS was then administered to 597 undergraduates in order to cross-validate the factor structures. The coefficient of congruence and the goodness-of-fitness index generated by a confirmatory factor analysis showed good cross-validity of the factor structures.

Adolescent↗

Different personalities between depression and anxiety.

We examined the different personality dimensions between depression and anxiety with Cloninger's seven-factor model of temperament and character. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which measures four temperament and three character dimensions of Cloninger's personality theory (125-item short version), the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to 223 Japanese students. With hierarchical regression analysis, the SDS score was predicted by scores of Harm-Avoidance, Self-Directedness, and Self-Transcendence, even after controlling for the STAI score. The STAI score was predicted by scores of Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness, even after controlling for the SDS score. More importance should be attached to these dimensions of character because they might contribute to both depression and anxiety.

Adolescent↗

Cloning, sequencing, and characterization of the ftsZ gene from coryneform bacteria.

Taking advantage of highly conserved domains present in the ftsZ genes from Escherichia coli, Rhizobium meliloti, and Bacillus subtilis, we designed degenerate oligonucleotides (oligos) corresponding to these regions. These oligos were used as primers in PCR in order to amplify DNA sequences from Brevibacterium flavum MJ233 chromosomal DNA. The PCR product was used as a probe to recover genomic fragments from a lambda library of Br. flavum MJ233. The complete nucleotide sequence (nt) of the cloned 4.2-kb EcoRI fragment containing the ftsZ homolog from Br. flavum MJ233 indicated that the deduced gene product of the Br. flavum ftsZ homolog is composed of 438 amino acids (aa) with a deduced molecular weight of 46.9 kDa. This size of molecular weight was also confirmed by the in vitro protein synthesis assay. Comparison of this aa sequence to the corresponding sequences from E. coli, Rh. meliloti, B. subtilis, and Streptomyces coelicolor revealed a high degree of conservation and suggested that the Br. flavum ftsZ homolog has a putative GTP binding motif and a GTP hydrolizing region. Expression of Br. flavum ftsZ gene in E. coli, JM109 inhibited its cell division, leading to filamentation. This suggested that the Br. flavum ftsZ product competed with the E. coli ftsZ product.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Correlations between the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Self-rating Depression Scale among Japanese Students.

The Temperament and Character Inventory measures four dimensions of temperament and three of character. The 125-item short version and the Self-rating Depression Scale were administered to 306 Japanese students. Their scores on the latter were significantly highly correlated with the scores on both temperament and character scales, positively correlated with Harm-Avoidance score, and negatively correlated with Self-directedness and Cooperativeness scores. It is suggested that scores on depression were related to Harm-Avoidance, particularly to fatigability, and immaturity of the autonomous self and cooperative interpersonal relationship.

Adolescent↗

A cryptic plasmid pBL1 from Brevibacterium lactofermentum causes growth inhibition and filamentation in Escherichia coli.

A shuttle vector composed of pBL1, a 4.46-kb cryptic plasmid from coryneform bacterium Brevibacterium lactofermentum, and Escherichia coli vector pHSG298 was found to inhibit growth and cause cell filamentation in E coli. After construction of several deletions of pBL1, a 1.23-kb AccI-HindIII fragment was found responsible. DNA sequence analysis showed that this fragment contained a 726-bp-long open reading frame (ORF3), encoding a protein with 242 amino acid residues. Corresponding to ORF3, a 28-kDa protein was detected in an in vitro protein synthesis system. ORF3 was dispensable for the stable maintenance of pBL1 in coryneform bacteria.

Brevibacterium↗

Relationship between adenylate cytokinin production and Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

To know whether the tumor-inducing plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens carries genetic information of the biosynthesis of cytokinins, the levels of 6-(3-methyl-2-butenyl-amino)purine (iPAde) and its 4-hydroxy derivative trans-zeatin (trans-Z) and its p-beta-D-ribofuranoside (trans-ZR) produced in media by wild-type virulent strain, plasmid-cured avirulent strain and the deletion mutant were compared. The highest levels of iPAde and trans-Z were found in the culture filtrate of late-log phase growth of plasmid-containing virulent strain, then the levels of iPAde and trans-Z were reduced rapidly at stationary phase. The plasmid-cured avirulent strain and deletion mutant had low levels of iPAde and trans-Z throughout the growth. Results obtained here showed Ti plasmid plays an important role in cytokinin biosynthesis.

Adenine↗

[The treatment of carcinoma of the tongue (author's transl)].

In the past 18 years 34 patients (21 males and 13 females) with carcinoma of the tongue were treated in the author's clinic. Patients with T1N0 lesions were treated satisfactorily only with irradiation. Patients with advanced disease, such as T2-T4 with metastases, were classified into 2 groups. One group was treated surgically (hemiglosectomy and radical neck dissection) and postoperative irradiation (about 6000 rads). The other group was treated with preoperative irradiation (about 4000 rads) and the same operation as the first groups. The results are significantly different. In the first group, 15 patients out of 17 died from local or cervical recurrences, whilst in the latter group 12 patients of 14 are in good health. As two patients died from unknown disease the 5 year survival of this group is 100%.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

Correlates of problem drinking among young Japanese women: personality and early experiences.

Problem drinking patterns were measured by the CAGE questionnaire among 90 currently drinking young Japanese women who were recently recruited by a Japanese company. Problem drinking was examined in terms of personality (temperament and character as defined by Cloninger) and early life experiences (perceived parental behavior, parental abusive behavior, being bullied at school, and positive and negative life events experienced before the age of 16). Multiple regression analysis revealed that problem drinking could be predicted by a set of personality scores, early death of a close friend, and the interaction of the death of a close friend and low explorative excitability (novelty-seeking component 1). This suggests that problem drinking in young women is partly determined by both personality and negative life events during childhood.

Adult↗