Eating Behavior and Childhood Overweight Among Population-Based Elementary Schoolchildren in Japan

This study investigated the relationship between eating behavior and childhood overweight among population-based elementary schoolchildren in Japan. Data was collected from fourth graders (9 or 10 years of age) from Ina Town, Saitama Prefecture, Japan from 1999 to 2009. Information about subjects’ sex, age, and lifestyle, including eating behaviors (eating until full and chewing thoroughly), was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire, and height and weight were measured directly. Overweight was determined according to the definition established by the International Obesity Task Force. Data from 4027 subjects (2079 boys and 1948 girls) were analyzed. Chewing thoroughly was associated with a significantly decreased odds ratio (OR) for being overweight, whereas eating until full significantly increased the OR for being overweight (OR: 1.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.16–1.94) among boys. However, eating until full was not associated with a significantly increased OR for being overweight among the group that reported chewing thoroughly, whereas it was associated with a significantly increased OR for being overweight (2.02, 1.38–2.94) among boys who did not chew thoroughly. In conclusion, eating until full or not chewing thoroughly was associated with being overweight among elementary schoolchildren. Results of this study suggest that chewing thoroughly may be an avenue to explore childhood overweight prevention efforts

Late-diagnosed cesarean scar pregnancy resulting in unexpected placenta accreta spectrum necessitating hysterectomy

Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) is a rare complication involving the implantation of the gestational sac in a cesarean delivery scar. The authors report a case of unexpected placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) caused by late diagnosed CSP, necessitating emergent hysterectomy. A 28-year-old Japanese woman with two previous cesarean deliveries presented to our hospital at 11 weeks of gestation with abnormal transvaginal ultrasound findings obtained at another hospital;however, transabdominal ultrasound revealed that the fetus was already present in the uterine cavity at this time. At 28 weeks, there was no evidence of placenta previa. The woman developed preeclampsia at 29 weeks, and a cesarean section was conducted. Intraoperative findings confirmed PAS, and hysterectomy was conducted immediately

ウンドウザイ ウンドウカク ガ ワザノ デキバエ ニアタエル エイキョウ ニツイテ ゼンポウ トウリツ カイテン トビ オ ウンドウ カダイ トシテ

This research clarifies how much exercise performers hold kinesthesia-like movement analogies, individually sensitive kinesthesia, and exercise materials as movement analogies in a forward handspring. Moreover, this study examines the relationship between exercise materials togethr with kinesthesia held by exercise performers and their performance. The result of this study indicates that each exercise performer has a variety of exercise materials and that the performer recognizes movements by his/her sense from among these exercise materials. Furthermore, according to the result, if an exercise performer does not have any exercise material that is regarded as a movement analogy, the exercise performer does not exhibit a high-skill performance. From these results, it is indicated that there is a risk that exercise materials may include unsuitable movement analogies for learning a movement. In relation to the kinesthesia, it is indicated that exercise performers recognize their movements as kinesthesia, but that some of them recognize their movements improperly

Powder Structure Analysis of Vapochromic Quinolone Antibacterial Agent Crystals

Vapochromic materials, or those that show a reversible color change induced by vapor, are expected to serve as valuable sensors for volatile organic compounds or humidity. Crystals of pipemidic acid (PPA), a quinolone antibacterial agent, were found to exhibit vapochromism, as they undergo a reversible color change in the presence of acetonitrile vapor. The colorless trihydrate phase transformed into a yellow anhydrous phase upon exposure to acetonitrile vapor and returned to the trihydrate phase under high humidity. <i>Ab initio</i> structure determination from powder diffraction and solid state ¹³C NMR measurements revealed that the molecule exists in its zwitterionic form in the colorless trihydrate phase, whereas it is non-zwitterionic in the anhydrous phase because of the rearrangement of hydrogen bonds, due to dehydration in the crystal state. Theoretical calculations revealed that the color change in PPA is due to the change in the molecular electronic state upon taking the non-zwitterionic form, which generates a new highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) state, thus leading to a HOMO–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) transition with a lower energy

All-in-one Raman spectroscopy approach to diagnosis of colorectal cancer: analysis of spectra in the fingerprint regions

Objectives: Raman spectroscopy yields precise information, not only regarding the secondary structure of proteins but also regarding the discrimination between normal and malignant tissues. There is, however, no standard measurement method. We evaluated the use of a miniaturized, handheld, all-in-one Raman spectrometer with a 1064-nm laser excitation source for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The ultimate goal is real-time, in vivo diagnosis. Methods: Tissue samples were obtained from 20 patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer. The samples were irradiated with the portable Progeny™ Raman spectrometer, with which the Raman spectra were also obtained. We searched for characteristic Raman shifts and examined whether these shifts could distinguish the cancer tissues. To improve accuracy, we divided the spectra into 100 cm−1 bands and applied principal component analysis (PCA) to each range. We evaluated the contribution of each range for cancer discrimination. Results: Intensities at 1261 and 1427 cm−1 differed significantly between the normal tissues and cancer tissues, but these did not efficiently discriminate the cancer tissues. However, we were able to identify the characteristic spectral range in fingerprint regions; accuracy was 85.1%. Conclusions: Use of the all-in-one type Raman spectrometer can efficiently discriminate colorectal cancer, not on the basis of the intensities at 1261 and 1427 cm−1 but rather on the basis of PCA. Thus, Raman spectroscopy performed using a handheld device has potential to become a clinically powerful tool for producing high-quality data, obtaining highly reproducible measurements, and thus accurately diagnosing colorectal cancer

Genome-wide scan revealed that polymorphisms in the PNPLA3, SAMM50, and PARVB genes are associated with development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Japan.

We examined the genetic background of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the Japanese population, by performing a genome-wide association study (GWAS). For GWAS, 392 Japanese NAFLD subjects and 934 control individuals were analyzed. For replication studies, 172 NAFLD and 1, 012 control subjects were monitored. After quality control, 261, 540 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in autosomal chromosomes were analyzed using a trend test. Association analysis was also performed using multiple logistic regression analysis using genotypes, age, gender and body mass index (BMI) as independent variables. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate allelic effect of significant SNPs on biochemical traits and histological parameters adjusted by age, gender, and BMI. Rs738409 in the PNPLA3 gene was most strongly associated with NAFLD after adjustment (P = 6.8 × 10(-14), OR = 2.05). Rs2896019, and rs381062 in the PNPLA3 gene, rs738491, rs3761472, and rs2143571 in the SAMM50 gene, rs6006473, rs5764455, and rs6006611 in the PARVB gene had also significant P values (<2.0 × 10(-10)) and high odds ratios (1.84-2.02). These SNPs were found to be in the same linkage disequilibrium block and were associated with decreased serum triglycerides and increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in NAFLD patients. These SNPs were associated with steatosis grade and NAFLD activity score (NAS). Rs738409, rs2896019, rs738491, rs6006473, rs5764455, and rs6006611 were associated with fibrosis. Polymorphisms in the SAMM50 and PARVB genes in addition to those in the PNPLA3 gene were observed to be associated with the development and progression of NAFLD