Pyrethroid insecticide exposure and semen quality of young Japanese men.

The present study aimed at assessing the relationship between exposure to pyrethroid insecticides and semen quality in 323 university students recruited in a population-based manner in Metropolitan Tokyo. Urinary concentrations of pyrethroid insecticide metabolite, 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), were measured by LC/MS/MS and semen parameters were measured by following internationally harmonized protocols. Median urinary 3-PBA concentration was 0.

Noninvasive cross-sectional visualization of enamel cracks by optical coherence tomography in vitro.

Introduction: Current methods for the detection of enamel cracks are not very sensitive. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising diagnostic method for creating cross-sectional imaging of internal biological structures by measuring echoes of backscattered light. In this study, swept-source OCT (SS-OCT), a variant of OCT that sweeps the near-infrared wavelength at a rate of 30 kHz over a span of 110 nm centered at 1,330 nm, was examined as a diagnostic tool for enamel cracks.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in urine of Japanese male partners of subfertile couples: a pilot study on exposure and semen quality.

The concentrations of chemicals with suspected endocrine disrupting effect were measured in urine samples collected from 42 Japanese male partners of couples who had infertility consultation at a gynecology clinic in Tokyo. The urinary analytes included metabolites of 5 phthalate diesters, pyrethroid insecticide (3-phenoxybenzoic acid, 3-PBA) and soy isoflavones (daidzein and equol), and cadmium. The semen parameters (semen volume, concentration and motility) of the male subjects were examined at the clinic as a diagnostic screening.