What inhibits working women with mental disorders from returning to their workplace?-A study of systematic re-employment support in a medical institution

Background

It has been customary for working women in Japan to retire when they marry and to devote themselves to household work as well as having children. However, according to a report published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2013, the number of working women has increased consistently. As more women are advancing into society, they have more options with respect to lifestyle but may encounter new psychological burdens. Therefore, we reviewed trends among participants in a re-work day care program (hereinafter referred to as “re-work program”) to clarify various problems encountered by working women and the prevalence of mental disorders.

Methods

A total of 454 participants (352 males, mean age 46.5?±?9.4 years; 102 females, mean age 39.8?±?9.4 years) who participated in our re-work program were included in this study. We reviewed their basic characteristics: life background, clinical diagnoses, outcomes after use of the re-work program, and reasons for failing to return to the workplace or start working where applicable.

Results

The number of female participants was small and accounted for less than one fourth of all participants. As many as 67.3 % of the males succeeded in returning to the workplace, but only 48.0 % of the females were successful. The most common reason for failing to return to the workplace in both sexes was the exacerbation of symptoms; among females, other reasons, such as pregnancy, marriage, and family circumstances, were observed occasionally, but these reasons were not reported by the males.

Conclusions

We found that female-specific problems were not the only issue, but rather work-life balance, relationships in the workplace, and gender differences in work roles could also trigger psychiatric disorders. A deeper understanding of the problems encountered by women in the workforce is important for the treatment of their psychiatric disorders. Therefore, it is considered essential for family members, co-workers, medical staff, and others to understand the various problems encountered by working women. Coping with these problems appropriately will aid in treating mental disorders and creating an environment suitable to prevent their development among women.

     

Alteration of cellular ionic constituents by external ionic conditions,and its significance in the development ofDictyostelium discoideum

Effects of external ionic conditions ofD. discoideum cells were examined in relation to intracellular ionic concentrations, the activity of pyruvate kinase and the amount of ATP. Main components of metal cations in heat extracts of vegetative cells were K⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ whose concentrations in a cell were about 35.0, 3.6, 10.6 and 2.3 mM, respectively. External Na⁺ at the concentration more than 50 mM inhibited the formation of cell aggregates in the presence of 10^?4M Ca²⁺. Such an inhibitory effect of Na⁺ was completely nullified by the addition of more than 10 mM K⁺. External Na⁺ caused a rapid decrease in intracellular K⁺, but an increase in intracellular Na⁺. Furthermore, it was found that the cells containing a high concentration of Na⁺ can develop normally in the presence of exogenous 10 mM K⁺, where intracellular K⁺ was maintaned at about 30 mM, irrespective of a high concentration of intracellular Na⁺ (about 30 mM). These suggest that the Na⁺-inhibition of the development is caused by a decrease in intracellular K⁺, but not by an increase in intracellular Na⁺. Pyruvate kinase extracted from the organism required K⁺ for its activation. The vegetative cells incubated in 50 mM Na⁺ contained only about 10 mM K⁺ which is insufficient for the enzyme activation. However, the amount of ATP in the cells containing less K⁺ was similar to that in those with much K⁺. These results are discussed in relation to the activity of glycolysis.     

Callus formation from protoplasts of cultured Lithospermum erythrorhizon cells

Protoplasts isolated from cell cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon divided repeatedly and formed callus colonies. Factors that affect protoplast division are the use of glucose as osmoticum, a new plating method with twin layers of agar-liquid medium, and the culture of protoplasts under the osmolarity lower than that in the isolation solution. When the sucrose in the protoplast-culture medium was replaced with glucose, and coconut milk was added to the medium, the frequency of colony formation markedly increased. The culture period required for colony formation also was shortened.     

Production of shikonin derivatives by cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon. III. Comparison of shikonin derivatives of cultured cells and ko-shikon

A method for quantitative analysis of shikonin derivatives using high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was established. With this method the composition of shikonin derivatives in cultured cells and roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon (ko-shikon) was compared. The composition of shikonin derivatives produced by cell suspension cultures was similar to that of the ko-shikon, and the composition in cultured cells was found to fluctuate less than that of the ko-shikon.     

Preparation of immobilized enzymes from acrylic monomers under γ-ray irradiation

Immobilized glucoamylase, invertase, and β-galactosidase were prepared by using 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate and dimethylacrylamide under γ-ray irradiation. In the case of 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, the monomer-enzyme solution was changed to the gel by irradiation of less than 1.0 Mrad, but it was difficult to eliminate enzyme leakage from the gel. When leakage was eliminated by increased irradiation, the activities of the gels were very low. In the case of dimethylacrylamide, the monomer–enzyme solution was changed to a gel by irradiation of 1.0 Mrad; leakage could be eliminated by irradiation of 2.0 Mrad. This gel possessed very high activity. In the case of acrylic acid-sodium acrylate, the monomer–enzyme solution could not be changed to a gel. In preparing gels, high concentrations of enzyme protein had a tendency to obstruct gelation.     

Selective inhibition of erythropoiesis by sera from patients with chronic renal failure

The pathogenesis of anemia in patients with chronic renal failure was studied by analyzing the effect of uremic sera on the in vitro colony growth of erythroid (CFU-E) and granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) progenitor cells. Uremic sera from 20 of 30 patients inhibited erythroid colony growth below 70% of control even when cultured with normal human bone marrow of the same blood type. On the other hand, only one of the sera inhibited colony growth of CFU-GM as compared with normal sera. On Sephadex G-15 gel filtration, the CFU-E-inhibiting activity appeared in two different fractions: the void volume peak and the delayed eluant before the second peak. The inhibiting activity in the former fraction was noted only in uremic sera. The results of this study suggest the existence of a serum inhibitor(s) of erythropoiesis with a relative molecular mass of more than 1500 Da which are virtually impossible to dialyze by conventional membranes.     

Development of heart and aortic lesions in DBA/2NCrj mice

The development of heart and aortic lesions was investigated in 3- to 8-week-old DBA/2NCrj mice. In the heart, small foci of myocardial calcification and severe calcification with subsequent inflammation were observed. Severe lesions were restricted to the myocardium below the right ventricular epicardium. Small foci of myocardial calcification were found from 4 to 8 weeks of age with almost the same frequency. The incidence of severe calcification showed a drastic increase between 6 and 7 weeks of age. Aortic lesions were observed from 3 weeks of age and characterized by focal calcification of the smooth muscle cells and elastic laminae. The frequency of aortic calcification was about 50% and not age-related.     

The anatomy and physiology of the stomatogastric nervous system ofSquilla

Summary The stomatogastric nervous system of a mantis shrimp,Squilla oratoria, is described. The motor nerves of the stomatogastric ganglion (STG) and their innervation of muscles of the posterior cardiac plate (pcp) and pyloric systems are detailed.The STG contains more than 25 neurons. It sends out one pair of major output nerves. The pcp-pyloric cycle recorded from the motor axons in this nerve consists of rhythmic bursts of several units which fire with a characteristic phase relationship to each other. The rhythm is intrinsic to the STG itself, but it is modifiable.Recordings from the peripheral nerves reveal that identifiable cardiac plate, pyloric dilator and pyloric neurons control sequential contractions of the pcp and pyloric muscles to constrict or dilate a number of their attached ossicles.Several modulatory input fibres in the stomatogastric nerve, activated via stimulation of the superior or inferior oesophageal nerve (son, ion), prime or trigger the cyclic motor outputs. The son inputs induce distinct effects on the cardiac and pcp-pyloric pattern generators, while the ion inputs, via the oesophageal ganglion, excite only the pcp-pyloric generator.On the basis of anatomical and physiological observations, the possible functions of motor neurons involved in the pcp-pyloric cycle are described with reference to opening of the pcp and pyloric channels.This stomatogastric nervous system inSquilla is compared to that in decapods which has been well analyzed.Abbreviations CG commissural ganglion - ion inferior oesophageal nerve - lvn lateral ventricular nerve - OG oesophageal ganglion - pep posterior cardiac plate - son superior oesophageal nerve - STG stomatogastric ganglion - stn stomatogastric nerve - ivn inferior ventricular nerve     

Escherichia coli H+-ATPase: loss of the carboxyl terminal region of the gamma subunit causes defective assembly of the F1 portion

Mutant genes for the gamma subunit of H+-translocating ATPase (H+-ATPase) were cloned from eight different strains of Escherichia coli isolated in this laboratory. Determination of their nucleotide sequences revealed that they are amber nonsense mutations: a Gln codon at position 15, 158, 227, 262, and 270, respectively, was replaced by a termination codon in these strains. As terminal Met is missing in the gamma subunit, these results indicate that these strains are capable of synthesizing fragments of gamma subunits of 13, 156, 225, 260, and 268 amino acid residues, respectively. Studies on the properties of membranes of these strains suggested the importance of the region between Gln 269 and the carboxyl terminus (residue 286) for forming a stable F1 complex with ATPase activity and the region between Gln 226 and Gln 261 for normal interaction of F1 with F0. The sequence from Gln 261 to Gln 269 also seemed to be important for stability of F1 assembly on the membranes. The high frequency of the nonsense mutations suggested that the number of essential residues is limited in this subunit. Comparison of the homologies of the amino acid sequences of the gamma subunits from four different sources confirmed this notion: 19% of amino acid residues are identically conserved in these four strains, and the conserved regions are the amino terminal and carboxyl terminal regions.     

Coimmobilization of malate dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase in polyethyleneglycol(#4000)diacrylate gel by droplet gel-entrapping method

A new immobilization technique suitable for coupled enzymes requiring cofactors was established. This is a droplet gel-entrapping method in which many small droplets including the enzymes are fixed in the gel. The first emulsion was prepared by mixing of a solution containing thermostable malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) with benzene containing a surfactant. The first emulsion was added to a solution containing polyethyleneglycol(#4000)diacrylate and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide to prepare the second emulsion (w/o/w). After the second emulsion was gelled by addition of potassium persulfate and 3-dimethylaminopropionitrile, the benzene was removed. The expressed MDH and FDH activities of the MDH-FDH immobilized gel were 7.1 and 13.9% of the initial activities, respectively. The K(m) values of the gel were 0.60mM for formate and 1.5muM for NAD, respectively. The K(m) for formate and NAD were found to be extremely low. By using the column packed with 30 g gel having the MDH activity of 41.7 units and the FDH activity of 11.1 units, 13.8mM oxalacetate was completely converted to malate at 30 degrees C. The malate production rate was not affected by the concentration of more than 50mM formate, more than 2mM oxalacetate, and more than 0.1 mM NAD, respectively. Long-term malate production was demonstrated at 30 degrees C by passing the substrate solution containing the two substrates and NAD through the column. The maximum conversion ratio (7.8%) was obtained at the fifth day, and 83% of maximum productivity was maintained even after 3 weeks. The expressed FDH activity at the fifth day was calculated to be 20.5% of the initial activity.