In order to investigate an effect of exercise on physical growth and maturation, physical characteristics (height, weight, chest girth, bi-acromial diameter, bi-iliac diameter and span) and skeletal age were measured for 34 boys of control group and 37 boys of soccer group. Skeletal age was evaluated from hand wrist radiographs by TW II method.
Result showed that the values of physical characteristics in the control group were larger than those in the soccer group, but the differences were not statistically significant. Mean skeletal age in each age group of the soccer group closely approximated the chronological age, but that in the control group was inclined to proceed earlier than the chronological age. The correlations of all the physical characteristics with skeletal age were higher than with chronological age in both groups. Those correlations with chrono-logical age in the soccer group were lower than those in the control group.
Based on the values of the subjects in this study, this fact leads to the conclusion that skeletal age is in fact a better predictor of physical characteristics than chronological age is. Physical characteristics of the boys in the soccer group correlate higher with skeletal age than with chronological age. In relation to the skeletal maturation, each physical characteristics in the control group shows a similar growth. In the soccer group, weight and chest girth show differences of growth from other physical characteristics.

OBJECTIVESGlutathione S-transferase (GST) A1 catalyses the activated heterocyclic aromatic a mine carcinogenN-acetoxy-2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (N-OAc-PhIP). This case-control study was carried out to examine whether the genetic polymorphism of GSTA1 is associated with the risk oforal squamous cell carcinoma among Japanese people in relation to their smoking status.

METHODSIn this study, 97 Japanese oral squamous cell carcinoma patients and 457 healthy controls were compared for the frequencies of theGSTA1 genotypes ((*) A:-567T,-69C,-52G,(*) B:-567G,-69T,-52A).

RESULTSThe frequencies ofGSTA1 (*)A/(*)B+(*)B/(*) B genotypes were 32.3% in male cancer patients and 11.4% in female cancer patients, compared with 20.1% in the male control group (Odds ratio (OR)=1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.99-3.46) and 23.1% in the female control group (OR=0.58; 95% CI 0.18-1.81). TheGSTA1 (*)A/(*)B+(*)B/(*) B genotypes were associated with an 86% increased risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma among males, albeit without statistical significance. Also, among male smokers, the frequency ofGSTA1 (*)A/(*)B+(*)B/(*) B genotypes was significantly higher among the oral squamous cell carcinoma patients (33.3%) than among the controls (19.6%). The OR of the male smokers with theGSTA1 (*)A/(*)B+(*)B/(*) B genotypes for oral squamous cell carcinoma was 1.97 (95% CI 1.02-3.79).

CONCLUSIONSWe present the first evidence of an association betweenGSTA1 (*) B and oral squamous cell carcinoma among smokers. This study suggests that the GSTA1 polymorphism and tobacco smoke-derived PhIP are associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma susceptibility among male smokers.

OBJECTIVESTo elucidate the association between genetic polymorphisms ofCYP2a6 andCYP2E1 and urothelial cancer susceptibility.

METHODSA total of 137 Japanese patients with urothelial cancer and 217 Japanese healthy controls, frequency-matched for age and gender, were selected. The polymorphisms ofCYP2A6 andCYP2E1 were analyzed by PCR-RFLP, and cigarette smoking histories were obtained through interviews

RESULTSThe frequency ofCYP2A6 homozygote deletion genotype was 2.9% in the patients, compared with 3.2% in the controls (OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.24-2.96). The frequencies ofCYP2E1 C1/c2 andC2/c2 were 27.7% and 4.4% in the patients, compared with 35.5% and 6.0% in the controls (OR=0.68, 95% CI 0.42-1.09, OR=0.67, 95% CI 0.24-1.84, respectively). No statistically significant differences were observed when theCYP2A6 homozygote deletion genotype and theCYP2E1 genotypes were examined relative to smoking status.

CONCLUSIONSOur data indicate that neither a relationship between genetically impaired nitrosamine metabolism and tobacco-smoking consumption, nor urothelial cancer risk related to theCYP2A6 deletion genotype andCYP2E1 Rsa I genotype was found in Japanese population.

There has been significant progress in the understanding of the pathology and molecular biology of rare ovarian cancers, which has helped both diagnosis and treatment. This paper provides an update on recent advances in the knowledge and treatment of rare ovarian cancers and identifies gaps that need to be addressed by further clinical research. The topics covered include: low-grade serous, mucinous, and clear cell carcinomas of the ovary. Given the molecular heterogeneity and the histopathological rarity of these ovarian cancers, the importance of designing adequately powered trials or finding statistically innovative ways to approach the treatment of these rare tumors has been emphasized. This paper is based on the Rare Ovarian Tumors Conference for Young Investigators which was presented in Tokyo 2015 prior to the 5th Ovarian Cancer Consensus Conference of the Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG).
Consensus ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Molecular Biology ; Mucins ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Ovary ; Pathology ; Population Characteristics ; Rare Diseases ; Research Personnel*

BACKGROUND: Most studies have reported that suicide mortality rates are negatively associated with lithium levels in tap water; however, a few studies showed either no association or a positive association. Thus, the association between suicide mortality and lithium levels in tap water remains controversial. To clarify the association, our study evaluated the association between lithium levels in tap water and suicide mortality rates in Miyazaki Prefecture of Japan, after adjusting for confounding factors. METHODS: We measured lithium levels in tap water across the 26 municipalities of Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. We examined the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) for suicide in each municipality and used the data as the average suicide SMRs over 5 years (2009-2013). Weighted least-squares regression analysis, adjusted for the size of each municipality's population, was used to investigate the association between lithium levels in tap water and suicide SMRs. In addition to a crude model, in an adjusted model, potential confounding factors (proportion of elderly people, proportion of one-person households, annual marriage rate, annual mean income, unemployment rate, the density of medical doctors per 100,000 people, annual total rainfall, and proportion of people with a college education or higher) were added as covariates. RESULTS: We showed that male and female suicide SMRs were not associated with lithium levels in tap water in Miyazaki Prefecture. After adjusting for confounders, male suicide SMRs were significantly and positively associated with the proportion of elderly people in the population and annual total rainfall, and female suicide SMRs were associated with the proportion of elderly people in the population. CONCLUSIONS No association between lithium levels in tap water and suicide mortality rates was found in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Drinking Water ; analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Japan ; Lithium ; analysis ; Male ; Suicide ; statistics & numerical data

BACKGROUND: More than 140 million people drink arsenic-contaminated groundwater. It is unknown how much arsenic exposure is necessary to cause neurological impairment. Here, we evaluate the relationship between neurological impairments and the arsenic concentration in drinking water (ACDW). PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was employed. We performed medical examinations of 1867 residents in seven villages in the Thabaung township in Myanmar. Medical examinations consisted of interviews regarding subjective neurological symptoms and objective neurological examinations of sensory disturbances. For subjective neurological symptoms, we ascertained the presence or absence of defects in smell, vision, taste, and hearing; the feeling of weakness; and chronic numbness or pain. For objective sensory disturbances, we examined defects in pain sensation, vibration sensation, and two-point discrimination. We analyzed the relationship between the subjective symptoms, objective sensory disturbances, and ACDW. RESULTS: Residents with ACDW ≥ 10 parts per billion (ppb) had experienced a "feeling of weakness" and "chronic numbness or pain" significantly more often than those with ACDW < 10 ppb. Residents with ACDW ≥ 50 ppb had three types of sensory disturbances significantly more often than those with ACDW < 50 ppb. In children, there was no significant association between symptoms or signs and ACDW. CONCLUSION Subjective symptoms, probably due to peripheral neuropathy, occurred at very low ACDW (around 10 ppb). Objective peripheral nerve disturbances of both small and large fibers occurred at low ACDW (> 50 ppb). These data suggest a threshold for the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy due to arsenic exposure, and indicate that the arsenic concentration in drinking water should be less than 10 ppb to ensure human health.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Arsenic ; analysis ; toxicity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dietary Exposure ; adverse effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drinking Water ; adverse effects ; chemistry ; Female ; Groundwater ; chemistry ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myanmar ; epidemiology ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Sensation Disorders ; chemically induced ; epidemiology ; physiopathology ; Water Pollutants, Chemical ; analysis ; toxicity ; Young Adult