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Biomedical subjects

N Ikegami

Publications and source records attributed to N Ikegami.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

The economics of health care in Japan.

Japan's health care system balances universal coverage at reasonable cost. The government has taken on the responsibility of acting as insurer and subsidizing health care spending for the employees of small enterprises and the self-employed. Despite the fee-for-service form of payment, costs have been contained by the use of a nationally uniform fee schedule that is mandatory for all providers. However, the increasingly affluent and aging population is making new demands on the system that can only be met by a major restructuring.

Cost Control↗
PubMed1992

Japan: maintaining equity through regulated fees.

Japan was the first non-Western country to introduce social insurance and the first to achieve universal coverage. It has been very successful in helping to bring about high health levels among its citizens at reasonable cost. Consequently, it provides a unique model for the newly industrialized countries of how to adapt modern technologies in structuring their own health care systems. Japan's financing system is organized by the government. Coverage is mandated for all citizens and is supplied by a number of insurance plans, whose variety reflects the differences in their development. The country relies mainly on the private provision of health care, delivered from physician-owned clinics and hospitals. The most prestigious facilities, however, are the public hospitals. Services are fragmented between clinics and hospitals, which compete for a share of the patients in their area. Patients can choose where to seek medical services. Providers are paid by a nationally uniform method and rate, which are decided by one central agency. Increases in payment rates are tied to the ceiling set by the government's general expenditure limitations. A uniform fee schedule has helped to control costs and to ensure equitable access. Challenges remaining for Japan's health care system are caring for an increasingly elderly population and ensuring quality of care.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1991

Purification and characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nef gene product expressed by a recombinant baculovirus.

We have constructed the recombinant baculovirus which expresses the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 negative factor (nef) gene. Spodoptera frugiperda cells infected with the recombinant virus produced a 27-kDa protein which reacted with rabbit antisera raised against a carboxy-terminal synthetic peptide of the Nef protein by immunoblot analysis. Labeling experiment showed that the recombinant Nef protein was myristoylated. The recombinant Nef protein was purified to near homogeneity by DEAE-Sephacel, phenyl-Sepharose 4B, blue-Sepharose, and Sephadex G-150 column chromatography. No detectable GTP binding activity was observed in the purified recombinant Nef product.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Molecular epidemiology of rotaviruses associated with pediatric diarrhea in Bangkok, Thailand.

Rotavirus diarrhea in 453 pediatric patients (29.8% of 1,518) was studied in greater Bangkok during 1985 to 1987. The disease persisted all year, increasing in incidence from August to January (30 to 50%). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of rotavirus RNA from these patients and from an additional 46 patients of a 1982 to 1983 epidemic revealed 26 electropherotypes, 4 with short (S) and 22 with long (L) RNA profiles. Of the analyzed specimens, 85.5% were L forms. Only one or a few electropherotypes predominated in each epidemic, whereas others appeared sporadically at low frequencies. Shifts in the predominant electropherotypes were observed in every epidemic. Of these, 126 strains were tested for subgroup and serotype by monoclonal antibody enzyme immunoassay. Serotype 4 prevailed from 1982 to 1983, while serotype 1 was encountered more frequently than serotypes 2 and 4 from 1985 to 1987. A complete correlation was found between the electrophoretic migration of segments 10 and 11 and the serologically defined subgroup specificity. Distinct electropherotypes occurred within the same serotype, and strains with the identical electropherotype always showed the same serotype specificity. No specific electropherotype or serotype correlated with patient age. In this study, atypical rotaviruses and mixed infections with different rotaviruses were identified.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Antibody response against the Epstein-Barr virus-coded nuclear antigen2 (EBNA2) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Specific antibody responses against the Epstein-Barr virus-coded nuclear antigen2 (EBNA2) were evaluated. Thirty-five sera from pretreatment patients of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and 12 from healthy adults were tested. Although the anti-EBNA2 response did not show any correlation with T stage, overall stage, or histopathology, it showed a correlation with the N stage of the disease. In a serological follow-up study, 17 (85%) of 20 patients showed a correlation on the change of antibody levels to EBNA2 and clinical progression. This suggests that EBNA2 serology might represent a useful marker relative to tumor status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Pentamer arrangements in fragments of human rotavirus inner capsids observed by low dose electron microscopy.

Fragments of disrupted capsids were frequently seen in purified preparations of human rotavirus inner capsids by negative staining method in electron microscopy. The ultrastructures of these fragments were analyzed in comparison with the T = 13L model. Well-resolved pentamers were rarely seen in the fragments on observation at the standard electron doses, but were frequently seen at low electron doses, which meant a better preservation of the steric structure of capsid fragments in the latter case. Thus advantages of low dose electron microscopy have been shown in observation of capsid fragments.

Capsid↗
PubMed1990

Isolation and molecular characterization of a serotype 9 human rotavirus strain.

A human rotavirus strain, designated AU32, that belongs to serotype 9 was isolated and was compared by RNA-RNA hybridization with recently established two serotype 9 strains (WI61 and F45) as well as other prototype human strains. These three strains exhibited a very high degree of homology with one another and shared a high degree of homology with strains belonging to the Wa genogroup but not with strains belonging to either the DS-1 or AU-1 genogroup. These results suggest that genetic constellation of the serotype 9 strains is similar to that of the commonest human rotavirus despite the recent recognition of this serotype.

Child↗
PubMed1990

The finest ultrastructural details of the inner layer of rotavirus revealed by minimal electron doses.

The inner layer of human and calf rotavirus ultrastructure was analyzed using minimal doses in transmission electron microscopy. The morphological unit of spontaneously disrupted virions has the aspect of a flower-like structure, and its petals are hexagonally arranged and have a central pin hole. The similar flower appearance can be observed in complete virions and in rotavirus tube structures produced in aged samples of rotavirus kept for more than a year.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Sequence analysis of the gene encoding the serotype-specific glycoprotein (VP7) of two new human rotavirus serotypes.

Human rotavirus strains 69M and WI61 are distinct from human rotavirus serotypes 1, 2, 3, and 4 and from each other by plaque reduction neutralization and have been proposed as new human rotavirus serotypes (serotype 8 and serotype 9, respectively). The nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the serotype-specific capsid glycoprotein, VP7, of strains 69M and WI61 was determined. In addition, the sequence of the VP7 gene of strain F45 (serotypically indistinguishable from WI61) was determined. Comparative analyses of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences with those of reference strains from serotypes 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 demonstrated that WI61 and F45 share a high degree of sequence similarity with each other and that strains 69M, WI61, and F45 are distinct from established serotypes 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 in nine defined regions of the VP7 which are variable across rotavirus serotypes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Differential effects of cefmetazole sodium on the reproductive system of infant and pubertal male rats.

The effects of cefmetazole (CMZ), a cephem antibiotic which contains the N-methyltetrazolethiol (NMTT) side-chain moiety, were compared in infant (6-42 days of age) and pubertal (6-10 weeks of age) male Sprague-Dawley rats. High doses of either CMZ or free NMTT caused reductions in testicular weight and delayed maturation of spermatogenic germ cells in the testes of infant rats, implicating NMTT as the active component in causing these effects. Pubertal rats expressed neither of these effects, even when treated with doses of CMZ far in excess of those used in infant rats. The effects of CMZ and NMTT on testicular weights and histologic features of testes of rats treated as infants were mainly reversed when these animals were examined 35 and 70 days after cessation of treatment. All reproductive functional parameters were normal in mating studies using male rats which had been treated with CMZ or NMTT as infants and allowed to recover. Because of the species differences in rates of sexual maturation and the greater rate at which rats metabolize CMZ to NMTT, the relevance to humans of the testicular effects of CMZ in infant rats is unknown.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Identification of rotavirus genogroups by RNA-RNA hybridization.

The genetic relatedness of various human rotavirus strains was examined by RNA-RNA hybridization in which 32P-labelled single stranded RNAs produced by in vitro transcription from viral RNAs were used as probes. Denatured genomic double stranded RNAs were hybridized to the probes under highly stringent conditions and the resulting hybrids were fractionated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Based on the hybridization patterns obtained with probes made from prototype strains Wa (subgroup II, long RNA electropherotype), DS-1 (subgroup I, short RNA electropherotype) and AU-1 (subgroup I, long RNA electropherotype), we have observed that human rotaviruses fall into three distinct gene groups which we have termed 'genogroups'. Identification of genogroups among rotavirus isolates will prove to be a valuable asset for the analysis of naturally occurring reassortants, to trace interspecies transmission of animal rotaviruses to man or vice versa and to identify rotaviruses from environmental sources with regard to their original host species. Furthermore, such an approach will contribute to our understanding of the evolution of rotavirus genes.

Genes, Viral↗
PubMed1989

Rearranged Epstein-Barr virus genomes and clonal origin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is known to be associated with two malignant diseases, nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and endemic Burkitt's lymphoma. In this study, the genomes of EBV in biopsy specimens from 4 NPC patients in Japan were analyzed using Southern blot hybridization. The NPC tissues of all examined cases contained rearranged EBV genomes whose BamHI H fragments were larger than those of prototype EBV genomes. One of them had a BamHI fragment containing contiguous sequences of BamHI Y and H. A single-sized EBV DNA terminus was observed in these NPC tissues, implying the evolution of the carcinoma from a single EBV-infected cell.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1989

[Malignant lymphoma which contained EBV DNA and lacked EBNA2 antibody].

A case of non-Hodgkin malignant lymphoma which contained EBV DNA and EBNA was reported. The serum of this patient showed high titer of VCA, EA, and EBNA1 antibody but lacked EBNA2 antibody. The relation with EBV originated malignancy and defect of EBV specific antibody suggests a process of oncogenicity of this virus.

Antibodies, Viral↗