Prophylaxis and Early Detection for Breast Cancer

Abstract: Breast cancer is steadily increasing in number in Japan due to less child bearing, less breast-feeding, and more westernization of life style than ever. Cancer registration in Osaka reported the incidence of breast cancer in 1996 to 1998 to be 41.1/100,000, four-times higher than the value in 1966-1968. Avoiding overweight, animal fat intake and mental stresses is a basic and easy measure for prevention of breast cancer. A unique study performed in Japan shows that daily intake of 10 or more cups of green tea inhibits development of breast cancer. A large-scale study by National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) revealed that 5-year tamoxifen administration to high-risk women decreased the incidence of breast cancer to 1/2 of the value for control women. Early diagnosis of breast cancer is most effectively achieved by fine needle aspiration cytology if the tumor is palpable with joint work with capable cytologists. More recently, stereo-tactic biopsy devices are available for non-palpable lesions. Mammography is more frequently used in mass screening system though its essential merit is yet to be investigated

Role of Nitrogen on Growth and Seed Yield of Soybean and a New Fertilization Technique to Promote Nitrogen Fixation and Seed Yield

Soybean is an important crop for human food and feed for livestock. World soybean production is increasing especially in North and South America. Soybean seeds contain a high percentage of protein about 35–40%, and they require a large amount of nitrogen compared with other crops. Soybean plants make root nodules with rhizobia, and rhizobia can fix atmospheric N2 and give the fixed N to the host soybean plants. Also, soybean can absorb nitrogen usually nitrate from soil or fertilizers. The amount of total assimilated nitrogen in shoot is proportional to the soybean seed yield either from nitrogen fixation or from nitrogen absorption, and the nitrogen availability is very important for soybean cultivation. Maintenance of a high and long-term nitrogen fixation activity is very important for a high production of soybean. However, application of chemical nitrogen fertilizers usually depresses nodule formation and nitrogen fixation. Nitrate in direct contact with a nodulated part of roots causes severe inhibition of nodule growth and nitrogen fixation, although a distant part of nodules from nitrate application gives no or little effect. Deep placement of slow-release nitrogen fertilizers, coated urea, or lime nitrogen promoted the growth and seed yield and quality of soybean without depressing nitrogen fixation

Effect of the Nitrification Inhibitor 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole Phosphate on the Deep Placement of Nitrogen Fertilizers for Soybean Cultivation

The deep placement of urea fertilizer (DMU) containing 1% (W/W) of the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) on soybean growth and seed yield was as effective as those of the coated urea (CU) and lime nitrogen (LN) in a field research. The average seed yields were high in LN (464 g·m−2) and DMU (461 g·m−2) and relatively low in CU (405 g·m−2), U (396 g·m−2), and Cont (373 g·m−2) treatments. The accumulations of dry matter and nitrogen in soybean shoots were higher in the plants with deep placement of CU, LN, and DMU than U and Cont. The daily nitrogen fixation activity and daily nitrogen absorption rate were calculated based on the relative ureide method. Both nitrogen fixation activity and nitrogen absorption rate were higher in DMU, CU, and LN compared with control treatment, suggesting that the deep placement of DMU did not repress nitrogen fixation. Soil incubation test was performed using the same field soil with DMU, U, LN, and urea with DMPP 1%, 2%, and 4%. DMU inhibits nitrification similar to the pattern of LN until 8 weeks. The increasing DMPP concentration did not markedly increase the nitrification inhibition. From these results, it was concluded that urea fertilizer with 1% DMPP is efficient for deep placement of N fertilizer for soybean cultivation due to its lower price compared with CU and LN