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Biomedical subjects

T Kono

Publications and source records attributed to T Kono.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Japanese management philosophy: can it be exported?

Japanese companies have many characteristics common to innovative organizations. Missions and goals are clearly stated. These motivate the employee and make it easier to introduce innovation. They also encourage more of a sense of involvement with the organization. Japanese corporations have growth oriented and long-range goals. This derives from the expectation of life-time employment. And pressure from shareholders is not as strong as in the U.K. The separation of management from ownership is well advanced with a management committee being in effective control. Group decisions tend to be innovative, in part due to the high number of university graduates. Japanese management thus remains sensitive to new technology and new ideas. Many characteristics of Japanese management do not originate in the uniqueness of their culture but rather in the positive introduction of new theory. Strategic decisions are made by top management. Formal long-range planning has a very high diffusion among large Japanese companies. Strategies are competition oriented. There is a long-term co-operative relation between the final products manufacturer and the parts manufacturers. There is also more use of internal growth and less use of acquisition.

Japan↗
PubMed1982

Effects of a new angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, MK 421, in normal men and patients.

Effects of MK 421, a new angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, were studied in normal men and patients. MK 421 was given at 0900 h as a single oral dose of 20 mg, to 5 normal men and 2 patients with essential hypertension and 10 mg to a patient with Bartter's syndrome, in the recumbent position. In all of them blood pressure (BP) fell, plasma angiotensin I (Pl AI) and plasma renin activity (PRA) increased, and plasma aldosterone (PA) decreased from 2 h to 6 h. Maximum effects were observed at 4 or 6 h. Then the effects attenuated gradually but still remained at 24 h. In the same 5 normal men angiotensin I (AI) was infused iv at a rate of 20 ng/kg . min from 0900 h to 1500 h, from 2030 h to 2100 h, and the next morning from 0830 to 0900 h. At first the BP rose and PA increased. The onset of the BP fall was at 35, 55, 60, 70 and 85 min in each subject, respectively. Then the BP and PA began to decrease and the Pl AI and PRA began to increase. The maximum effects were observed at 4 or 6 h. Then these inhibitory effects on the AI were attenuated but still remained at 24 h. The 2 patients with essential hypertension and a patient with malignant hypertension was treated with MK 421 at a daily doses of 5 to 40 mg for 2 to 6 months. They all showed a fall in BP and no side-effects were noted. From these results it is concluded that MK 421 is a strong and long-acting antihypertensive drug and its clinical application seems very useful for the treatment of hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Biological activity of des-asp1-des-arg2-angiotensin II in man.

The biological activity of des-asp1-des-arg2-angiotensin II (3-8AII) was studied in man. When 3-8AII was infused iv at rates of 22 and 308 pmol (17.5 and 250 ng)/kg . min separately into 5 normal men each for 120 min, blood pressure showed no change, plasma renin activity (PRA) decreased gradually and plasma aldosterone showed a gradual slight increase. The lower dose of 3-8AII partially inhibited captopril-induced PRA increase and plasma aldosterone decrease in the same 5 normal men and the higher dose of the hexapeptide completely abolished them. In one of the 5 normal men blood pressure rose in response to doses of 3-8AII greater than 2220 pmol (1750 ng)/kg . min. When 3-8AII was infused iv at 308 pmol/kg . min into 2 patients with Bartter's syndrome for 60 min, it caused marked decrease in PRA and plasma aldosterone but no change in blood pressure. This decrease in plasma aldosterone is thought to be secondary to the decrease in PRA. From these results it is evident that 3-8AII has a minimal pressor action, a weak aldosterone-stimulating action and a significant renin-suppressing action in man and this PRA-lowering action is thought to be due to direct inhibition of renin release by its whole molecule or a smaller part of the molecule.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Energy-dependent and protein synthesis-independent recycling of the insulin-sensitive glucose transport mechanism in fat cells.

The glucose transport mechanism of rat epididymal fat cells was reconstituted into egg lecithin liposomes, and their carrier-mediated transport activity ws estimated from the difference in the rates of uptake of D-[3H]glucose and L-[14C]glucose. Insulin increased the glucose transport activity in the plasma membrane-rich fraction while decreasing the activity in the Golgi-rich fraction in agreement with our previous data (Suzuki, K., and Kono, T. (1980) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 77, 2542-2545). The development of the insulin effects was inhibited when cells were exposed to 2,4-dinitrophenol or KCN before the insulin treatment. In addition, the reversal of the insulin effects was blocked upon exposure of insulin-treated cells to 2,4-dinitrophenol or KCN prior to the elimination of the hormone. In contrast, neither development nor reversal of the insulin effects was affected by cycloheximide or puromycin. The temperature coefficients of the transport activities reconstituted from the basal or insulin-treated forms of the plasma membrane-rich or Golgi-rich fractions were all identical. The recoveries of protein, 5'-nucleotidase, UDP-galactose:N-acetylglucosamine galactosyltransferase, and NADH dehydrogenase into subcellular fractions were determined. However, net effects of insulin on the glucose transport activities have remained unknown for lack of an appropriate marker enzyme of the Golgi-like vesicles associated with the transport activity. It is suggested that the glucose transport mechanism is recycled between the plasma membrane-rich and Golgi-rich fractions by an energy-dependent reaction.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗
PubMed1981

Suppression of captopril-induced increase in plasma renin activity by des-Asp1-,Ileu8-angiotensin II in man.

One hundred milligrams of oral captopril (SQ 14225) caused a significant increase in PRA and a significant decrease in plasma aldosterone (PA) in five normal men and five hypertensive patients. Blood pressure (BP) showed no change in the normal men, but it fell significantly in the patients. An iv infusion of 200 ng/kg.min des-Asp1-,Ileu8-angiotensin II (AIIIA) for 2 h caused a significant decrease in PRA and a slight but significant increase in PA, but caused no change in BP in the normal men. When 100 mg captopril were given orally immediately before the start of the AIIIA infusion, BP showed no change in the normal men, but fell in the patients. However, PRA showed a significant decrease and PA showed a slight but significant increase in both the normal men and the patients, except for one patient with renovascular hypertension who showed a decrease in PA. Thus, this suppression of captopril-induced PRA increase by AIIIA, a derivative of angiotensin II, is not related to BP change, and it suggests that the principal cause of the PRA increase after captopril is a disappearance of endogenous angiotensin II.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Normotensive primary aldosteronism: report of a case.

A 23-yr-old male patient with normotensive primary aldosteronism is reported. He complained of muscle weakness, polydipsia, and polyuria. His blood pressure was generally 118/60 to 124/70 mm Hg. Serum sodium, potassium and chloride were 152.2.2, and 108 meq/liter, respectively. Arterial blood pH, glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow and circulating plasma and blood volumes were normal, and plasma bicarbonate was normal or elevated. PRA was 0.16 ng/ml.h and did not increase significantly after sodium deprivation, ambulation, and iv furosemide injection. Plasma aldosterone was 64.1 ng/100 ml. He showed pressor responses to infused angiotensin II and norepinephrine which were similar to those in normal men. Adrenal scintiscanning after iv injection of [131I]6 beta-iodomethyl-19-nor-cholesterol during dexamethasone administration showed dense uptake on the right adrenal and minimal uptake on the left. Intravenous infusion of angiotensin III at a rate of 20 ng/kg. min for 30 min did not cause an increase in plasma aldosterone. Serum electrolytes became normal after spironolactone but not after dexamethasone. At surgery, the right adrenal, bearing a benign adenoma, was removed. After surgery, blood pressure was unchanged, but all biochemical abnormalities disappeared. The cause of this normotension remains to be elucidated, but the diagnosis criteria of primary aldosteronism should now be partly modified.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1980

["Hormone receptor diseases" in Japan: A nation-wide survey for testicular feminization syndrome, pseudohypoparathyroidism, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, Bartter's syndrome and congenital adrenocortical unresponsiveness to ACTH (author's transl)].

A nation-wide survey for five "hormone receptor diseases" was carried out. For the first survey, an inquiry was sent to all hospitals in Japan having more than 200 beds, in order to determine how many patients there were between 1968-1977. A further detailed survey was carried out on patients who were reported in the first survey. The approximate numbers of patients in Japan estimated from these surveys are the following: testicular feminization syndrome (TFS), 390; pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP), 220, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), 280; Bartter's syndrome, 90; congenital adrenocortical unresponsiveness to ACTH (CAUA), 18. In 73 cases of TFS, partial virilization was observed in 23% (the incomplete form). Testes were found in all cases and the epididymis in 84%, whereas none of the patients had seminal vesicles. PHP consisted of 38 Type-I cases, 6 Type-II cases and 25 unclassified cases. There were 27 males and 42 females. Skeletal anomalies were found in two-thirds of the patients. Grades of hypocalcemia and soft tissue calcification were more prominent in Type I. After treatment, none of the Type-I patients showed normal urinary cyclic AMP response to parathormone, although urinary phosphate response was normalized in one and markedly improved in 4. In 78 patients with NDI, there were 67 males and 11 females. The age of the onset of NDI ranged from 0 to over 50, but 22 out of 29 cases of hereditary NDI had the onset at age 0. There seemed to be at least two subtypes; one beginning in the neonatal period or early childhood, and the other having the onset in late childhood or adult. The important initial symptoms were fever and anorexia in the early onset type. Growth retardation was remarkable in early childhood. Diuretics were effective in most of the cases. There were 22 male and 12 female patients with Bartter's syndrome. Indomethacin was effective in 9 out of 10 patients studied.

Adolescent↗