Thymidine phosphorylase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase are predictive factors of therapeutic efficacy of capecitabine monotherapy for breast cancerpreliminary results

Capecitabine monotherapy was administered for 25 patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer, and the clinical therapeutic efficacy and its relationship to expression of 5-fluorouracil-related enzymes (i.e., thymidine phosphorylase (TP), thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD)) were investigated. The expressions of TP, TS and DPD were determined by immunohistochemical staining techniques and rated using a scoring system of 1～4. The expression score for TP/DPD showed a statistically significant correlation with the clinical response, whereas the expression score for TP/TS also showed a correlation but it was not statistically significant. The number of patients was small, but the results revealed the potential of application of the TP/DPD expression score as a factor for predicting the efficacy of the drug in individual patients

Plasma intact fibroblast growth factor 23 levels in women with anorexia nervosa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)23 is a novel phosphaturic factor associated with inorganic phosphate homeostasis. Previous human studies have shown that serum FGF23 levels increase in response to a high phosphate diet. For anorexia nervosa (AN) patients, inorganic phosphate homeostasis is important in the clinical course, such as in refeeding syndrome. The purpose of this study was to determine plasma levels of intact FGF23 (iFGF23) in restricting-type AN (AN-R) patients, binge-eating/purging-type AN (AN-BP) patients, and healthy controls.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects consisted of 6 female AN-R patients, 6 female AN-BP patients, and 11 healthy female controls; both inpatients and outpatients were included. Plasma iFGF23, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH)₂D), and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels were measured. Data are presented as the median and the range. A two-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test with Bonferroni correction was used to assess differences among the three groups, and a value of p < 0.017 was considered statistically significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no differences between AN-R patients and controls in the iFGF23 and 1,25-(OH)₂D levels. In AN-BP patients, the iFGF23 level (41.3 pg/ml; range, 6.1–155.5 pg/ml) was significantly higher than in controls (3.8 pg/ml; range, not detected-21.3 pg/ml; p = 0.001), and the 1,25-(OH)₂D was significantly lower in AN-BP patients (7.0 pg/ml; range, 4.2–33.7 pg/ml) than in controls (39.7 pg/ml; range, 6.3–58.5 pg/ml; p = 0.015). No differences in plasma 25-OHD levels were observed among the groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This preliminary study is the first to show that plasma iFGF23 levels are increased in AN-BP patients, and that these elevated plasma FGF23 levels might be related to the decrease in plasma 1,25-(OH)₂D levels.</p

Thirty percent of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast in Japan is extremely low-grade ER(+)/HER2(-) type without comedo necrosis

Background Overdiagnosis in mammography (MMG) is a problem. Combination of MMG and ultrasonography for breast cancer screening may increase overdiagnosis. Most cases of overdiagnosis are low-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (LGD), but no reports have focused on them. Materials and methods We immunostained 169 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cases for ER, PgR, HER2 and Ki67 and classified them into 4 subtypes : ER(+)/ HER2(-), ER(+)/HER2(+), ER(-)/HER2(-) and ER(-)/HER2(+). The Ki67 index was used to evaluate the grade of malignancy and examined for correlations with each ER/HER2 subtype and the nuclear grade (NG), with/without comedo necrosis. Results The Ki67 index correlated significantly with NG, both with/without comedo necrosis, and reliably evaluated the grade of malignancy. The index for ER(+)/HER2(-) (n=117, 69.2%) was 7.45±7.10, which was significantly lower than for each of the other types. The index was 5.71±6.94 for ER(+)/HER2(-) without comedo necrosis (n=52, 30.8%), which was significantly lower than with comedo necrosis. This was considered LGD, characterized by absence of microcalcification in MMG and either presence of a solid mass or cystic lesion or absence of hypoechoic areas in ultrasound. Conclusion In Japan, ER(+)/HER2(-) without comedo necrosis accounts for about 30% of DCIS and is LGD. This may be being overdiagnosed

Fundamental study to development of obsessive-compulsive tendency scale : for elementary school student

強迫性障害は小児期・児童期にも発症する精神疾患であり,効果的な治療のためには強迫性の程度を測定するアセスメントツ-ルが求められる.しかし,CY-BOCSやLOI-CVなど,海外の多様なアセスメントツ-ルと比較して,日本では児童期のアセスメントツ-ルが乏しい.そこで本研究では,児童期の強迫性傾向アセスメントの開発の必要性から,小学生5,6年生を対象とした強迫性傾向尺度の作成を行った(n=256).因子分析の結果,2因子18項目の小学生版強迫性傾向尺度が作成された.第一因子は「強迫的儀礼傾向」,第二因子は「強迫観念傾向」と命名された.全体的な信頼性はα=.80 であり,確認的因子分析により一定の妥当性が示された

キュウショク シセツ ジュウジシャ ノ シシツ セッシュ ニ カンスル イシキ チョウサ

　公衆栄養学分野の臨地実習の課題として健康教育を実施するにあたり、対象者である給食施設従事者の食生活の現状把握と、課題を見出すことを目的に調査を行った。給食施設従事者428 人を対象に自記式質問紙による調査を行った結果、体型の自己認識で「太っている」「やや太っている」と評価した者は、40 歳代が最も多く、国民健康・栄養調査の結果と比べても高い割合を示した。また、主菜の食材は、誰を主な対象として献立を立てるかにより差異がみられた。特に、「子供」中心の献立である者で「脂質の多い肉」「ハム・ソーセージなどの加工品」の使用が有意に高かった。40 歳代では、献立の中心者が「子ども」の者が多いことから、子どもと同様の食事を食べることが、脂質の過剰摂取につながっていると思われる。嗜好品の摂取状況では、飲酒者の割合、間食を摂る者の割合がともに、国民健康・栄養調査の結果よりも高かった。また、飲酒時のつまみや間食の内容で、脂肪の多い食品の利用があり、食事以外での脂質摂取についても注意が必要であることが示唆された。　As a public health nutrition on-site training project, we conducted a survey of canteen employees in order to better understand their diet and to identify any related problems, as well as to provide employees with health education. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to 428 canteen employees. Employees in their 40s included the highest percentage of respondents who perceived their body shape to be“ plump” or“ a little plump”, and this percentage was higher than that obtained in the National Health and Nutrition ExaminationSurvey. The ingredients in the main dishes eaten by respondents varied according to the main target of the meal. In particular, respondents who prepared meals mainly for children used significantly more “fatty meats” and “processed foods such as ham and sausage”. Since many respondents in their 40s prepared meals mainly for children, eating the same food as children is likely to result in excessive fat intake. The percentage of respondents who regularly drank alcohol and the percentage of those who regularly ate between meals were both found to be higher than those obtained in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Many respondents alsofrequently ate fatty foods with alcohol or between meals, suggesting that it is necessary to monitor fat intake between meals as well as at mealtimes

食行動変容とメタボリックシンドロームの病態改善がQuality of lifeに及ぼす影響

健康づくりの目的は、健康増進のみならず生活の質(Qualify of life: QOL)の向上にある。メタボリックシンドローム (metabolic syndrome: MetS)は生活習慣と密接に関連しており、健康習慣の変容によって改善が可能である一方、病態が進行すると日常生活活動の制限につながりQOL は低下する。本研究では、食行動変容によるMetS の病態改善がQOL の変化にどのように影響しているかを示す構造を明らかにすることを目的とした。「天使健康・栄養クリニック」を受講した平均年齢60.8 歳の87 名(男性35 名、女性52 名)を対象に、トランスセオレティカルモデル(Transtheoretical Model: TTM)に基づいて、3ヶ月間教育的に指導・支援を行った。その結果、食行動変容段階得点やその他の健康関連指標値が高まり、食物エネルギー摂取量が低下し、MetS 診断指標値が改善するとともにQOL 得点が上昇した。QOL の向上には、指導・支援後の食行動社会的支援 (食行動social support: 食行動SS) 得点、腹囲変化率、拡張期血圧変化率が回帰された。さらに、QOL の向上には、食行動SS を介した食行動変容段階の向上によって改善した健康習慣指数(Health practice index: HPI)や腹囲の変化が関連している構造モデルが得られた。MetS の改善がQOL の向上に関連するとともにその向上に至る構造が明らかになった。The purpose of health promotion is not only to enhance health but also to improve the quality of life (QOL). Metabolic syndrome (MetS) can be alleviated through a change in health habits as it is closely linked to lifestyle. However, when left untreated, MetS will limit the daily activities of the affected individual and reduce his/her QOL. This study aims to analyze the structural equation modeling of relationships between QOL, eating behavior change, and MetS. We recruited 87 individuals (35 males, 52 females; mean age 60.8 years) who attended a program conducted by Tenshi Health and Nutrition Clinic. The participants received educational intervention for 3 months; the intervention was based on the transtheoretical model of behavior change. The intervention resulted in improved QOL scores, along with an improvement in the stage of eating behavior change, increased health-related indicator levels, decreased dietary energy intake, and improved MetS index level. After intervention, improvement in QOL was correlated with the scores of social support (SS) for eating behavior change (eating behavior SS) as well as with the changing rates of abdominal circumference and diastolic blood pressure. These results indicated a structural equation modeling that QOL improvement was related to changes in health practice index and abdominal circumference. Both changes resulted from improvement in the stage of eating behavior facilitated by improved eating behavior SS. Further research is required to elucidate the structural modeling involved in the enhancement of QOL associated with the alleviation of MetS

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP survey: Overview and survey design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey

Forest restoration following a windthrow : how legacy retention versus plantation after salvaging alters the trajectory of initial recovery

Recently, the conversion of plantations into natural forests has attracted increasing attention, but little is known about how to convert a windthrown plantation into a natural forest. We examined the initial 3-year effects of salvage logging, site preparation, planting, and weeding in comparison with the effects of legacy retention after a typhoon blowdown on the changes in terrestrial environments and plant compositions and the similarity of the species composition to that of the intact natural forest. Our major findings are as follows: (1) A homogeneous, sunny, and flat environment continued for 3 years in the planted and weeded plot, whereas a heterogeneous environment was observed in the legacy retention plot; however, the light environment changed slightly in the planted plot. (2) The species composition in the planted plots changed greatly due to invasion by annual, biennial, and perennial herbs and early successional trees. Alien species also invaded the planted row. Conversely, the species composition changed little in the legacy retention, which was likely due to the presence of residual plants that prevented shade-intolerant species from being established. (3) The legacy retention, followed by the residual row, was the closest to the natural forest with respect to species composition, whereas the planted row was the most dissimilar from the natural forest. Legacy retention appears to be the most appropriate way to restore a natural forest immediately after a windthrow, yet supplemental planting may be necessary to restore the desired broadleaved species