Lunar Cycle Influences Spontaneous Delivery in Cows

There is a popular belief that the lunar cycle influences spontaneous delivery in both humans and cattle. To assess this relationship, we investigated the synodic distribution of spontaneous deliveries in domestic Holstein cows. We used retrospective data from 428 spontaneous, full-term deliveries within a three-year period derived from the calving records of a private farm in Hokkaido, Japan. Spontaneous birth frequency increased uniformly from the new moon to the full moon phase and decreased until the waning crescent phase. There was a statistically significant peak between the waxing gibbous and full moon phases compared with those between the last quarter and the waning crescent. These changes were clearly observed in deliveries among multiparous cows, whereas they were not evident in deliveries among nulliparous cows. These data suggest the utility of dairy cows as models for bio-meteorological studies, and indicate that monitoring lunar phases may facilitate comprehensive understanding of parturition.UTokyo Research掲載「月の満ち欠けがウシの出産に影響を与える」 URI: http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/utokyo-research/research-news/lunar-cycle-affects-timing-of-birth-in-cows.htmlUTokyo Research "Lunar cycle affects timing of birth in cows" URI: http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/utokyo-research/research-news/lunar-cycle-affects-timing-of-birth-in-cows.htm

The Existence of Symptomatic Localized Lesion(s) and ≤4 Lesions Are Indications for Radiotherapy: Screening Computed Tomography Images of Patients with Metastatic/Recurrent/Inoperable Cancer in a Single Japanese Institution Observational Study

Abstract Background: To investigate the prevalence of indications for radiotherapy (RT) in patients with metastatic/recurrent/inoperable cancer. We also sought to analyze such patients' clinical and radiological characteristics for indications of radiotherapy in those patients who had either surveillance or an initial assessment done by computed tomography (CT). Methods: Two diagnostic radiologists and a radiation oncologist evaluated a total of 13,225 consecutive patients from January 2012 to December 2012 at a single Japanese institution. Patients with metastatic/recurrent/ inoperable cancer were selected for further study. After two diagnostic radiologists identified patients with a detectable cancerous lesion, a radiation oncologist subsequently investigated whether there was any indication for RT. The oncologist also evaluated the relationship between patients' clinical/radiological factors, and patients with or without indications for RT. Results: Two diagnostic radiologists selected 329 patients showing a detectable gross cancerous lesion. In this * Corresponding author. S. Yamaguchi et al. 111 patient group, a radiation oncologist identified 196 patients with metastatic/recurrent/inoperable cancer, of which 96 patients (49%) showed an indication for RT. According to both univariate and multivariate analyses, ≤4 lesions were significantly associated with patients who showed an indication for RT (P = 0.0002 and P < 0.0001, respectively). The existence of symptomatic, localized lesion(s) was also significantly associated with those who showed an indication for RT (P < 0.001 and P > 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: In screening CT images, approximately half of all patients with metastatic/recurrent/inoperable cancer showed an indication for RT. Moreover, ≤4 lesions and/or the existence of a symptomatic, localized lesion were highly suggestive of an indication for RT. These findings would be of considerable interest to radiation oncologists planning appropriate treatments for cancer patients