Dietary diversity and healthy lifestyle

The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of lifestyle and health awareness according to dietary diversity in a Japanese worksite population. The participants were 1,312 men and women aged 20 to 63 years who were living in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan during the period 2012-2013. We obtained anthropometric data and information on lifestyle characteristics using a self-administered questionnaire. Dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and dietary diversity was determined using the Quantitative Index for Dietary Diversity (QUANTIDD). The characteristics of lifestyle and health awareness according to quartiles of the QUANTIDD score were assessed using the chi-square test and a general linear model. The higher the QUANTIDD score was, the larger were the proportions of participants who knew the appropriate amount of dietary intake and participants who referred to nutritional component information when choosing and / or buying food. Among participants with higher QUANTIDD scores, the proportion of participants who considered their current diet was good was high in women, whereas the proportion of participants who wanted to improve their diet in the future was high in men. Those results indicate that higher dietary diversity was related to better characteristics of lifestyle and awareness of health

High-density Integrated Linkage Map Based on SSR Markers in Soybean

A well-saturated molecular linkage map is a prerequisite for modern plant breeding. Several genetic maps have been developed for soybean with various types of molecular markers. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are single-locus markers with high allelic variation and are widely applicable to different genotypes. We have now mapped 1810 SSR or sequence-tagged site markers in one or more of three recombinant inbred populations of soybean (the US cultivar ‘Jack’ × the Japanese cultivar ‘Fukuyutaka’, the Chinese cultivar ‘Peking’ × the Japanese cultivar ‘Akita’, and the Japanese cultivar ‘Misuzudaizu’ × the Chinese breeding line ‘Moshidou Gong 503’) and have aligned these markers with the 20 consensus linkage groups (LGs). The total length of the integrated linkage map was 2442.9 cM, and the average number of molecular markers was 90.5 (range of 70–114) for the 20 LGs. We examined allelic diversity for 1238 of the SSR markers among 23 soybean cultivars or lines and a wild accession. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 7, with an average of 2.8. Our high-density linkage map should facilitate ongoing and future genomic research such as analysis of quantitative trait loci and positional cloning in addition to marker-assisted selection in soybean breeding

Fermented soy food and inflammatory makers

Epidemiological investigations have shown that consumption of soybeans or soy foods reduces the risk of the development of cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to determine the associations between different soy foods and inflammatory markers, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-18, in Japanese workers. The cross-sectional study included 1,426 Japanese workers (1,053 men and 373 women) aged 20 to 64 years. Intake of 12 soy foods was estimated by a validated food frequency questionnaire. Associations of total soy foods, fermented soy food, non-fermented soy food, soy isoflavone with hs-CRP, IL-6, and IL-18 levels were examined by general linear model regression analysis. We found that total fermented soy food intake was inversely associated with multivariable-adjusted geometric concentration of IL-6 in men (Q1 : 1.03 pg/mL, Q5 : 0.94 pg/mL ; P for trend = 0.031). Furthermore, it was shown that IL-6 concentrations were inversely associated with miso intake (β= -0.068 ; p = 0.034) and soy sauce intake in men (β= -0.074 ; p = 0.018). This study suggests that intake of total fermented soy food, miso and soy sauce be associated with IL-6 concentrations in Japanese men

C 型肝炎患者に対するインターフェロン療法後の肝発癌についての検討

目的：C型慢性肝炎患者に対するインターフェロン(IFN)療法後の肝発癌について検討した．方法：C型慢性肝炎に対してIFN療法が施行された180例を対象とした．非発癌群と発癌群の間で，治療前の背景因子と半年後のウイルス学的著効(SVR24)の有無，治療後のALT，AFPについて比較した．また，それぞれの因子別に発癌曲線を作成して発癌率を比較した．結果：IFN治療によるSVR24の達成率は68.9％(124/180)であり，36.3ヶ月の観察期間で全体の発癌率は2.3％(5/180)であった．発癌群では非発癌群に比べ，高齢者，男性，SVR24非達成例，ALT高値例が多い傾向にあった．治療後のALT高値，AFP高値例は発癌が多かったが，特にAFPでは統計学的な有意差を認めた．結論：IFN治療前の線維化進展例と高齢者，男性，治療後ALT高値，AFP高値は肝発癌率が高い傾向にある．特に治療後AFP高値は肝発癌予測因子になる

A Case of Hemangiosarcoma of the Liver which led to a Diagnosis with Hemoptysis

Angiosarcoma is a vascular endothelium-derived malignant tumor that arises in blood vessel walls, accounting for only 2.3% of soft tissue sarcomas in adults. Primary hepatic angiosarcoma(PHA)is rare, comprising< 5% of all angiosarcomas. We report a case of PHA in a 61-year-old man evaluated by another clinic around our hospital for a chief complaint of hemoptysis in May 2012. Chest computed tomography(CT) showed abnormal shadows in bilateral lung fields, so he was referred to Department of Respiratory Medicine at our hospital in late July. However, no definitive diagnosis was not made, even after bronchoscopy. In mid-August, he presented to the outpatient clinic of the respiratory department with a chief complaint of right-sided abdominal pain. Abdominal CT showed a liver lesion, and he was urgently admitted to our department. Initial physical examination was unremarkable except for palpable liver in the right hypochondrium. Tumor markers for liver and biliary cancers were all within normal limits, and negative results were obtained for hepatitis B and C virus. CT, ultrasonography, and(MRI)identified a large lesion replacing the right hepatic lobe and medial segment of the left hepatic lobe. Hemangioma or hepatic angiosarcoma was suspected, accompanied by intraperitoneal rupture. Transcatheter arterial embolization was attempted, but had to be discontinued, and the patient died from hemorrhagic shock due to tumor rupture after onset of abdominal pain. The PHA which assumes hemoptysis primary symptom is extremely rare, and by reports for the past ten years searched using PubMed, this is the second report in the world

ショハツ カンサイボウ ガン ノ ビョウイン ト ヨゴ キテイ インシ ニ カン スル リンショウ テキ ケントウ

目的:初発肝細胞癌の病因と予後規定因子について検討し,2000年の我々の獨協医科大学病院症例を対象とした報告と比較することを目的とした.方法:初発肝細胞癌102例を対象とした.病因はB型肝炎 (HBV),C型肝炎 (HCV),NBNC,アルコールの4つに分類した.Kaplan-Meier法を用いて生存率を求め,Coxの比例ハザードモデルを用いて予後因子の検討を行った.得られた結果を2000年の報告と比較した.結果:病因はHBV 12.8%,HCV 60.7%,NBNC 15.7%,アルコール10.8%であり,HCVは減少し,NBNCとアルコールは増加傾向にあった.治療例の生存率は1年87.5%,2年78.0%,3年71.5%であり,近年の診断と治療の進歩による予後改善が確認された.腫瘍ステージがIII以上であること,およびPIVKA-II 40 mAU/ml以上の2つが独立した予後規定因子であった.結論:肝細胞癌の病因ではHCVが減少し,NBNCとアルコールが増加していた.腫瘍ステージ,PIVKA-IIが独立した生命予後規定因子であった.Purpose:The purpose of this study was to investigate the causes of initial hepatocellular carcinoma and the factors determining prognosis, and to compare the findings with those of our year 2000 report.Method:Subjects comprised 102 patients with initial hepatocellular carcinoma. Causes were divided into four categories: hepatitis B virus (HBV);hepatitis C virus (HCV);non-B, non-C hepatitis (NBNC);and alcohol. Survival rates were obtained using the Kaplan-Meier method and prognostic factors were investigated using Cox\u27s proportional hazards model. The results were compared with the findings of the year 2000 report.Results:The cause was HBV in 12.8 % of cases, HCV in 60.7%, NBNC in 15.7%, and alcohol in 10.8%. Frequency of HCV was decreased and frequencies of NBNC and alcohol showed increasing tendencies. The survival rate of treated patients was 87.5 % at 1 year, 78.0 % at 2 years, and 71.5 % at 3 years. Improved prognosis was confirmed with diagnosis in recent years and treatment advances. Two factors were independently associated with poor prognosis:tumor stage III or IV; and PIVKA-II level>40 mAU/ml.Conclusion:HCV decreased and NBNC and alcohol increased as causes of hepatocellular carcinoma. Factors independently associated with life prognosis were tumor stage and PIVKA-II level

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Fast model–image registration using a two-dimensional distance map for surgical navigation syste