Plasma phytoestrogens concentration and risk of colorectal cancer in two different Asian populations.

Background & Aims: To evaluate the relationship between phytoestrogen and colon cancer risk, we quantified plasma isoflavones (Genistein and Daidzein) and lignan (enterolactone) in a Korean nested case-control study and conducted replication study in a Vietnamese case-control study.

Methods: Study populations of 101 cases and 391 controls were selected from the Korean Multicenter Cancer Cohort which was constructed from 1993 to 2004. For replication study, Vietnamese hospital-based case-control subjects of 222 cases and 206 controls were selected from 2003 to 2007.

Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking and Gastric Cancer Risk among Vietnamese Men.

Background: The association of waterpipe tobacco (WPT) smoking with gastric cancer (GC) risk was suggested.

Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted to examine the association of WPT with GC risk among Vietnamese men, in Hanoi city, during the period of 2003-2011. Newly-diagnosed GC cases (n = 454) and control patients (n = 628) were matched by age (+/- 5 years) and the year of hospitalization.

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy of Japan: the fastest graying society in the world.

Background: We appraised time trends of Japanese life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HALE) by gender, LE-HALE and (LE-HALE)/LE figures, along with the women-men's differences.

Methods: Using the Japanese LE and HALE values from 1990 through 2013 by gender in the article by the GBD 2013 DALYs and HALE Collaborators, we examined trends of LE and HALE, and their 5- or 3-year changes. We also probed LE-HALE and (LE-HALE)/LE values, and the women-men's differences.

Discoveries and application of prostate-specific antigen, and some proposals to optimize prostate cancer screening.

The discoveries and application of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) have been much appreciated because PSA-based screening has saved millions of lives of prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Historically speaking, Flocks et al first identified antigenic properties in prostate tissue in 1960. Then, Barnes et al detected immunologic characteristics in prostatic fluid in 1963.

Changes in blood biochemical markers before, during, and after a 2-day ultramarathon.

We studied changes in blood markers of 18 nonprofessional, middle-aged runners of a 2-day, 130 km ultramarathon. Blood was sampled at baseline, after the goals on the first and second day, and at three time points (1, 3, and 5/6 days) after the race. Blood indices showed three patterns.

Rare Helicobacter pylori Infection May Explain Low Stomach Cancer Incidence: Ecological Observations in Bali, Indonesia.

The incidence rate of stomach cancer in Bali, Indonesia, is estimated to be strikingly lower than that in Japan. We conducted an on-site ecological study to investigate the association between the stomach cancer incidence and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

Dietary n-3/long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for prevention of sporadic colorectal tumors: a randomized controlled trial in polypectomized participants.

To address preventive effects of n-3 PUFAs/LC n-3 PUFAs on CRTs, a randomized controlled trial was conducted. One-hundred four experimental group participants were advised to increase intake of n-3 PUFAs, including fish/shell fish, fish oil supplements and perilla oils, and to decrease consumption of n-6 PUFAs and fats/oils as a whole for 24 months. One-hundred one control group participants were only cautioned to reduce consumption of fats/oils as a whole.

The preventive effects of low-dose enteric-coated aspirin tablets on the development of colorectal tumours in Asian patients: a randomised trial.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of low-dose, enteric-coated aspirin tablets (100 mg/day for 2 years) on colorectal tumour recurrence in Asian patients with single/multiple colorectal tumours excised by endoscopy.

Design: A double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled multicentre clinical trial was conducted.

Participants: 311 subjects with single/multiple colorectal adenomas and adenocarcinomas excised by endoscopy were enrolled in the study (152 patients in the aspirin group and 159 patients in the placebo group).

Association between TNF-α and IL-1β genotypes vs Helicobacter pylori infection in Indonesia.

Aim: To investigate the correlation between the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and host genetic background of healthy populations in Indonesia.

Methods: In March 2007, epidemiological studies were undertaken on the general population of a city in Indonesia (Mataram, Lombok).

Preventive effects of low-dose aspirin on colorectal adenoma growth in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis: double-blind, randomized clinical trial.

There are several reports of clinical trials of aspirin in sporadic colon cancer. However, only one double-blind trial of aspirin in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) has been reported to date. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was therefore performed to evaluate the influence of low-dose aspirin enteric-coated tablets (100 mg/day for 6-10 months) in 34 subjects with FAP (17 each in the aspirin and placebo groups).

Usual dietary intakes of selected trace elements (Zn, Cu, Mn, I, Se, Cr, and Mo) and biotin revealed by a survey of four-season 7-consecutive day weighed dietary records in middle-aged Japanese dietitians.

We aimed to identify food sources of selected trace elements (Zn, Cu, Mn, I, Se, Cr, Mo) and biotin in the Japanese diet and to assess usual dietary intakes based on the ratios of within-person to between-person variance. Subjects were 98 middle-aged dietitians living in central Japan who participated in a survey of four-season 7 consecutive day weighed diet records. Based on the latest Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan published in 2010, food sources of selected nutrients were located according to a contribution analysis, and computed usual dietary intakes.

Assessing injury severity in bicyclists involved in traffic accidents to more effectively prevent fatal bicycle injuries in Japan.

The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between injury severity in bicyclists involved in traffic accidents and patient outcome or type of vehicle involved in order to propose effective measures to prevent fatal bicycle injuries. Hospital records were reviewed for all patients from 2007 to 2010 who had been involved in a traffic accident while riding a bicycle and were subsequently transferred to the Shock Trauma Center of Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital. Patient outcomes and type of vehicle that caused the injury were examined.

NFκB attenuates IL-5 production and upregulates T-box transcription factors in Th2-like T cells.

IL-5 plays important roles in eosinophil differentiation, expansion, and recruitment. The regulation of IL-5 seems critical for the treatment of eosinophil-mediated allergic reactions. However, the precise mechanisms for IL-5 regulation remain unknown.

Relationship of living conditions with dietary patterns among survivors of the great East Japan earthquake.

Background: During the year after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the health conditions and lifestyles of survivors were extensively surveyed. We examined the relationship between living conditions and dietary pattern among survivors.

Methods: A total of 10 466 survivors aged 18 years or older (25% of the population of that age in the area) participated in a survey of Iwate Prefecture.

[Validity and reproducibility of a physical activity questionnaire used for health surveying among victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake].

Objectives: This study was performed to assess the validity and reproducibility of a questionnaire on physical activity status used for health surveying among victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods: Seventy-four residents (21 men and 53 women) living in temporary housing in Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, participated in this study. The physical activity status questionnaire was composed of 4 questions regarding the frequency of performing domestic and occupational physical activities, the frequency of leaving their residence, walking duration per day, and sedentary time.

Analysis of child-vehicle collision injuries by vehicle type.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the severity of injuries to each body region of child pedestrians struck by different types of vehicles.

Methods: We collected in-depth data from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis on pedestrians younger than 13 years with any bodily injuries from collisions with vehicles between 1993 and 2004.

Results: Sixty-eight patients with a mean age of 6.

Ovarian cancer mortality among women aged 40-79 years in relation to reproductive factors and body mass index: latest evidence from the Japan Collaborative Cohort study.

Objective: This study mainly aimed to investigate the association of ovarian cancer mortality with reproductive factors and body mass index among Japanese women aged 40-79 years.

Methods: The source of the data was the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) study which covered the period of 1988 to 2009. A representative sample of 64,185 women was used.

Severity of child pedestrian injuries due to bonnet-type-vehicle collision.

Background: The aim of this study was to clarify the pattern of child pedestrian injury, injury severity, and its relation to collision velocity in bonnet-type-vehicle collision.

Methods: In-depth data were retrospectively collected from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis on pedestrians younger than 13 years old with any bodily injuries from collisions with bonnet-type vehicles between 1993 and 2004.

Results: Forty-seven patients from 43 collisions with a mean age of 6.

A novel application of infrared imaging for the diagnosis of death by fire.

This paper demonstrates a novel and simple technique for the diagnosis of death by fire using a digital infrared (IR) camera system. At autopsy, the inhalation of soot by a fire victim is a definite indicator proving a vital reaction during the fire. However, there can be difficulties in confirming the presence of soot because of the relative lack of soot or the similarity in color between soot and surrounding tissues.

Body mass index and weight change during adulthood are associated with increased mortality from liver cancer: the JACC Study.

Background: We investigated the association of baseline body mass index (BMI) and weight change since age 20 years with liver cancer mortality among Japanese.

Methods: The data were obtained from the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC Study). A total of 31 018 Japanese men and 41 455 Japanese women aged 40 to 79 years who had no history of cancer were followed from 1988 through 2009.