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AIMS: To identify profiles associated with treatment retention in Japanese patients with methamphetamine use disorder. METHODS: The study used a retrospective design based on clinical records. The subjects were 101 patients at the Kanagawa Psychiatric Center, Serigaya Hospital, who were diagnosed as having methamphetamine use disorder. They were divided in two groups, namely those who remained in treatment 3 months after the initial assessment, and those who did not. The primary analysis compared patient profiles between the two groups to detect discriminating variables, which were then submitted for secondary analysis using logistic regression to determine the most relevant predictor of retention. RESULTS: Primary analysis indicated that older age, having psychotic symptoms, receiving public assistance, and history of incarceration were associated with treatment retention after 3 months. Secondary analysis showed that positive history of incarceration was the most significant predictor of the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: History of incarceration had the most significant treatment-retention effect on Japanese patients with methamphetamine use disorder. The development and introduction of integrated programs that link methamphetamine-dependent offenders to drug treatment is recommended in outpatient treatment for Japanese patients with methamphetamine user disorder. Language: en

This study investigated the effects of anger evoked by earlier provocation on cognition, emotion, and aggressive behavior after being exposed to media violence. Sixty male undergraduates participated in the experiment. Before viewing one of three videos (either highly violent, violent with high entertainment, or nonviolent), half of the subjects were provoked by a confederate posing as another subject. Subjects' heart rates and eyeblink rates were recorded while viewing the video. After viewing the video, subjects described their thoughts that occurred while watching the video and rated their affective reactions toward the video. Finally, subjects' aggressive behavior toward the confederate was measured. Results of covariance structure analysis suggested that (a) anger evoked by provocation and high level of violence in videos additively elicited negative cognition and affect, which further facilitated aggressive behavior, and (b) high level of entertainment in videos elicited positive cognition and affect, which alleviated negative cognition and affect.

薄壁空洞を有し経過中に気胸を合併した低分化型扁平上皮癌の1例を経験した.症例は71歳の男性, 他疾患経過観察中の胸部X線写真で左肺中肺野に約2cmの円形の薄壁空洞病変を発見され, 2ヵ月後左気胸を併発した.空洞病変の増大と気胸による肺の再膨脹不全のため当科紹介となった.開胸すると, 約1cmの穿孔を伴った約3cmの腫瘍を認めた.胸膜播種は認めなかった.迅速診断で悪性腫瘍の診断を得て, 左肺上葉切除, 左肺下葉剥皮術を施行した.術後経過は順調であった.臨床所見ならびに病理組織学的検討より本症例の薄壁空洞のメカニズムとしていわゆるchecvalve 機構の関与が, 空洞の破裂・穿孔の原因として臓側胸膜への腫瘍浸潤1高度な脈管侵襲による空洞壁の脆弱化と check-valve機構が示唆された.

A 59-year-old man suffered blunt injury to the left chest during a fall in August 2004. He had 5 repeated episodes of back and left chest pain in three years since August 2005. Since these symptoms were accompanied by left pleural effusion and serum inflammatory reaction, the tentative diagnosis was pleuritis. Although examinations of pleural effusion showed exudation with marked augmentation of inflammatory cells, there were no findings that suggested the cause of repetitive pleuritis. All symptoms were relieved within one or two weeks following administration of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Surgical thoracoscopy was carried out to investigate the cause of repeated pleuritis, and an acquired deficit of the left pericardium was noted. We considered this case to be postcardiac injury syndrome causing repeated pleuritis following blunt chest injury.

Cross-sectional study of whiplash injury patients with vertigo and healthy volunteers consciously pretending to have postural sway as in malingering.The aim of this study was to evaluate the postural sway in malingerers by posturography.Malingering is not a problem in the majority of cases with whiplash injury and diagnosis should be made carefully. However, some patients with whiplash injury might exaggerate their symptoms or be malingerers because of the potential gain associated with insurance claims. We designed a diagnostic study to screen putative malingerers.Subjects were 20 healthy volunteers who were tested under standing condition (normal group), consciously swaying the body under standing condition like malingerers (pseudomalingering group) and 32 patients who complained of neck pain with vertigo or dizziness after whiplash injury with WAD (whiplash-associated disorders) grade I and II (WAD group). The movement of the center of pressure (COP) was measured using a force platform to quantify postural sway. Static posturography was performed under open and closed eyes. We analyzed (1) total envelop area per unit of time (EAREA), (2) shifting length per second (LNG/TIME), (3) sway pattern, and (4) Romberg rate representing total shifting length under eyes-closed/eyes-open.In open eyes condition, the values of EAREA and LNG/TIME were significant higher under pseudomalingering than both of the control and WAD groups (P0.05). The Romberg rate was 1.30 +/- 0.17, 1.13 +/- 0.19, and 1.83 +/- 0.94 in control, pseudo-malingering, and WAD group, respectively, and was less than 1.0 in 45% of pseudomalingering. There were significant differences in the EAREA, LEN/TIME, and Romberg rate between pseudomalingering and the other 2 groups (P0.05).Our results suggest that compared with normal subjects and WAD patients, malingerers are more likely to exhibit a wide EAREA, a long sway length per second, and a low Romberg rate. Malingering must be diagnosed carefully and posturography could be a helpful supplementary tool for differentiating whiplash-associated vertigo from malingering.

Two types of aluminum-titanium-vanadium ternary intermetallic compounds have been prepared by arc melting under argon atmosphere. Their compositions were nominally Al65Ti25V10 and Al57Ti22V21; the numbers represent the molar fractions in mol%. These two alloys stand within the gamma-phase field where the L10 face-centered tetragonal structure is produced. Metallographic structure and mechanical properties have been investigated. It is suggested that vanadium addition to titanium aluminides and titanium trialuminides can enhance their strength.

気管支の典型的および非典型的扁平上皮化生部を擦過細胞診, 組織学的, 電顕的に観察した.典型的扁平上皮化生と線毛上皮細胞の移行部には少数ながらMcDowellやTrumpのいっsmall mucous granule cellに相当すると思われる小型化生細胞が存在した.非典型的扁平上皮化生部ではこの小型化生細胞が多く認められ, さらにこの症例の擦過細胞診で腺癌系異常細胞が多量に見出された.従って細胞診でしばしば認められる腺癌系異常細胞がsmall mucous granule cellに密接に関連するであろうと予想される.