Objective: To investigate an association between the gut microbiome and efficacy of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) in ovarian cancer. Methods: This study conducted fecal microbiome analysis (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) profiling for ovarian cancer patients who underwent PARPi maintenance therapy. Fecal and blood samples were collected at the baseline and the progressive disease (PD) or last follow-up. The relative abundance of gut microbes and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed using linear discriminant analysis of effect size and the Cox proportional hazard model according to BRCA1/2 mutation (BRCA1/2mut) status detected by ctDNA sequencing. Results: Baseline samples were available from 23 BRCA1/2mut-positive patients and 33 BRCA1/2mut-negative patients. The microbes enriched in the baseline samples with long PFS were Bifidobacterium, Roseburia, Dialister, Butyricicoccus, and Bilophila for BRCA1/2mut-positive patients and Phascolarctobacterium for BRCA1/2mut-negative patients. In multivariate analyses dividing patients by the median values of relative abundances, no bacteria were associated with PFS in BRCA1/2mut-positive patients, whereas high Phascolarctobacterium abundances (≥1.11%) was significantly associated with longer PFS in BRCA1/2mut-negative patients (median 14.0 vs. 5.9 months, hazard ratio=0.28; 95% confidence interval=0.11–0.69; p=0.014). In the last samples, the relative abundances of Phascolarctobacterium were significantly higher in patients without PD (n=5) than those with PD (n=15) (median 1.25% vs. 0.06%; p=0.016). Conclusion High fecal composition of Phascolarctobacterium was associated with prolonged PFS in patients with BRCA1/2mut-negative ovarian cancer receiving PARPi therapy. Our results would provide new insights for future research.

A survey was carried out in a rural area in Thailand as a part of the study on the physical development and nutritional status of children of developing countries in Asia. Four hundred and sixty-three school children of both sexes, from 6 to 14 years of age, had anthropometric measurements and examinations of clinical signs related to nutritional deficiencies. Blood, urine and feces were also exaimined.
1) Thai children were remarkably smaller than Japanese and growth retardation was observed at 21.4% and 37.3% of those in age groups 6-9 and 10-14 years, respectively. And judging from the weight-for-height, about one-fourth of them were considered malnourished in varying degrees
2) Upper arm muscle circumference, calculated with upper arm circumference and subcutaneous skinfold of the same place, revealed that the development of muscle was obviously retarded.
3) Signs of hypovitaminoses such as xerosis of the skin, decreased patellar reflex, cheilosis, angular lesion were frequently observed.
4) Mean values of hemoglobin and serum iron concentrations were low in general and about 20% of the children were judged anemic according to the WHO criteria for nutritional anemias. Cholesterol values were also lower than those of Japanese and American children
5) The overall positive rate of intestinal parasites' eggs was 43.2% and hookworm eggs were most frequently observed, follwed by Giardia lambria
For the improvement of growth and nutritional status of Thai children, the preventive measures against parasitic and infectious diseases through improvement of environmental hygiene are essential as well as food supply.

A comprehensive health survey of 618 inhabitants from 1 to 90 years old was conducted in Kathmandu City and in a neighboring village. It included the measurements of height and weight, examinations of blood, feces, urine as well as clinical findings. It also covered the examinations of drinking water and the inquiries of the living conditions.
The anthropometric measurements revealed that Nepalese children are generally small in height for age and 4.2 per cent of them were malnourished. The symptoms relating to avitaminoses, such as xerosis of the skin, angular lesions of the lips, hypotrophic papillae of the tongue were not seldom seen.
Thyroid enlargements over the grade II of Shichijo's classification or grade I of Perez's were found in 9.2 per cent of males and 18.6 per cent of females.
Among clinical abnormal findings, infective eye diseases were most frequent, followed by skin and respiratory diseases. Anemia and iron deficiency were found in high rates among children under 10 years, the aged over 50 years and the females in child-bearing ages.
Parasite infestation rate was 92.8 per cent as a whole, trichuris trichiura (81.6 per cent) was the most prevalent, followed by ascaris lumbricoides (61.8 per cent) and hookworm (29.3 per cent). Cystes of entamoeba histolytica (5.5 per cent) and giardia lambria (12.8 per cent) were also found in apparently healthy persons.
No available residual chlorine was found in the city water of Kathmandu, though chlorination was carried out in the treatment plant, suggesting some defects in transmission system. In the village, water is supplied without treatment and was found contaminated by E. coli.