Vitamin D levels and bone mineral density of middle-aged premenopausal female football and volleyball players in Japan: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The number of football teams in senior categories has increased. As outdoor sports entail players being exposed to sunlight, playing football may contribute to maintaining vitamin D stores and body mineral density while preventing osteoporosis. This study aimed to determine the bone mineral density and vitamin D levels in middle-aged premenopausal female football players. METHODS: Participants were premenopausal females in their 40s. We evaluated bone mineral density of the second to the fourth lumbar vertebrae and femoral neck, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) levels, which is an indicator of vitamin D stores, and body composition. In addition, we administered a questionnaire survey on exercise habits and lifestyle. Ninety-two participants were categorised into three groups: the football group (n = 27), volleyball group (n = 40), and non-exercise group (n = 25). RESULTS: Bone mineral density was higher in the football and volleyball groups than in the non-exercise group (P < 0.01). The volleyball group had a significantly higher bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and femoral neck than the non-exercise group (P < 0.01). The football group had a significantly higher bone mineral density of the femoral neck than the non-exercise group (P < 0.01). Although the football group had played fewer years than the volleyball group (P < 0.01), serum 25-OHD levels were the highest in the football group and were significantly higher than those in the volleyball and non-exercise groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Middle-aged premenopausal football players had higher body vitamin D levels and bone mineral densities than non-active females. These results suggest that playing football may contribute to the prevention of osteoporosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000054235. 2024/04/23. Retrospectively registered.

Hyperactive/impulsive symptoms and autistic trait in institutionalized children with maltreatment experience.

The present study examined how maltreatment experience was associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children under institutional care. The key caregivers of children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years who were under institutional care in Nagano prefecture, Japan were asked to answer the background questionnaire, ADHD-Rating Scale, and the Japanese children's version of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. A total of 378 valid responses were obtained, of which 222 reported maltreatment experience prior to institutionalization. Both hyperactive/impulsive and inattentive scores were significantly higher in the maltreated group. Maltreatment experience was significantly associated with the presence of hyperactive/impulsive symptoms (p = 0.003) and inattentive symptoms (p = 0.027). Particularly, those who had experienced physical abuse were significantly more likely to have hyperactive/impulsive symptoms (p = 0.012) and autistic trait (p = 0.002). Thorough assessment of neurodevelopmental symptoms should be performed when placing children with maltreatment experience into institutional care.

Natural Escherichia coli strains undergo cell-to-cell plasmid transformation.

Horizontal gene transfer is a strong tool that allows bacteria to adapt to various environments. Although three conventional mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer (transformation, transduction, and conjugation) are well known, new variations of these mechanisms have also been observed. We recently reported that DNase-sensitive cell-to-cell transfer of nonconjugative plasmids occurs between laboratory strains of Escherichia coli in co-culture. We termed this phenomenon "cell-to-cell transformation." In this report, we found that several combinations of Escherichia coli collection of reference (ECOR) strains, which were co-cultured in liquid media, resulted in DNase-sensitive cell-to-cell transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. Plasmid isolation of these new transformants demonstrated cell-to-cell plasmid transfer between the ECOR strains. Natural transformation experiments, using a combination of purified plasmid DNA and the same ECOR strains, revealed that cell-to-cell transformation occurs much more frequently than natural transformation under the same culture conditions. Thus, cell-to-cell transformation is both unique and effective. In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate cell-to-cell plasmid transformation in natural E. coli strains.

Validation of the equations for estimating daily sodium excretion from spot urine in patients with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Measuring sodium excretion in a 24-h urine collection is the most reliable method of estimating salt intake, but it is not applicable to all patients. As an alternative, equations for estimating Na excretion from Japanese by a spot urine sample were created, but they have not been validated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which are frequently associated with nocturia and medication. METHODS: We enrolled 136 patients with CKD and collected both 24-h urine and the first morning urine. Na excretion was estimated from the first morning urine by Kawasaki's equation, which was originally used for the second morning urine, and Tanaka's equation, which is applied for spot urine samples taken at any time from 9 am to 7 pm. We evaluated the two equations for bias, RMSE and accuracy within 30 and 50% of the measured Na excretion. RESULTS: Bias, RMSE and accuracy within 30% of the estimated Na excretion were 48 ± 69 and 2 ± 69 mmol/day, 84 and 69 mmol/day, and 35 and 49% using Kawasaki's equation and Tanaka's equation, respectively. Na excretion in the first morning urine was accurately estimated by Tanaka's equation, but it was overestimated by Kawasaki's equation. Nocturia and medication such as diuretics and ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker did not affect the accuracy with which Na excretion was estimated by Tanaka's equation substantially. CONCLUSION: Tanaka's equation for estimating Na excretion from the first morning urine in patients with CKD is accurate enough for use in clinical practice.

Impact of behavioral/developmental disorders comorbid with conduct disorder.

AIMS: The aim of the present study was to verify the comorbidity of conduct disorder (CD) and behavioral/developmental disorders in children and adolescents, and to examine the traits of CD comorbid with them. METHODS: Subjects were 64 children (60 boys, four girls) who were resident at three institutions for delinquent children or who were conduct-disordered outpatients of a university hospital aged under 18 years. A diagnostic interview was carried out by experienced child psychiatrists and the intelligence score and the Adverse Childhood Experiences score were measured by a licensed psychologist. RESULTS: A total of 57 children were diagnosed as having CD, of whom 26 (45.6%) were diagnosed with comorbid attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 12 were diagnosed with comorbid pervasive developmental disorder (PDD, 21,1%), and 19 (33.3%) had no comorbidity of either disorder. Six children (18.8% of CD comorbid with ADHD) met the criteria for both ADHD and PDD. The group with comorbid PDD was significantly younger at onset (F = 6.51, P = 0.003) and included unsocialized type more frequently (chi(2) = 6.66, P = 0.036) compared with the other two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should be aware that not only ADHD but also PDD may be comorbid with CD. Establishment of the correct diagnosis is important because recognizing the presence of PDD will enable us to provide appropriate treatment and guidance, which may improve prognosis.

Usefulness of immature platelet fraction for the clinical evaluation of myelodysplastic syndromes.

Ratios of young platelets or reticulated platelets can be routinely obtained as an immature platelet fraction (IPF) with the XE-2100 automated hematology analyzer (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan). We combined IPF analysis of 31 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with a complete blood count, a bone marrow examination, and a chromosome analysis. The patients with >40 x 10(9)/L platelets were classified as group A, and those with > or =40 x 10(9)/L were placed in group B. The 2 groups were subclassified as A1 or B1 for patients with an IPF of <10% and as A2 or B2 for those with an IPF > or =10%. Categories A1, A2, B1, and B2 comprised 12 patients, 6 patients, 7 patients, and 6 patients, respectively. Patients with a relatively high IPF (>10%) (category A2 or B2) showed distinctive characteristics. Group B2 showed a higher frequency of chromosomal abnormalities than B1 (P = .029), and group A2 tended to show a higher incidence of clinical improvement than A1 (P = .08). IPF determination may be clinically useful for the assessment of prognosis for MDS patients.

Establishing the cut-off point for the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory.

The purpose of the present paper was to make a detailed examination of the cut-off point for the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI). The subjects were 56 untreated boys (age 6-15 years), who were diagnosed to have oppositional defiant disorder and who presented between December 2001 and March 2008. Controls were 690 boys with no history of contacting hospitals and no developmental or behavioral disorders at two elementary schools and two junior high schools in a city and its suburbs. It was shown that the level of opposition in boys could be evaluated regardless of the age groups by the ODBI, because there was no significant difference in the ODBI score for the one-way analysis of variance. Based on the sensitivity (88.2%), specificity (90.0%), positive predictive value (75.0%) and negative predictive value (95.7%), a score of 20 points was thus established as a suitable cut-off point to distinguish the children who are eligible for ODD diagnosis from those who are not.

The reliability and validity of the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop an evaluation scale for use as a supplementary tool for the diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). METHOD: The subjects were 98 Japanese children (91 males and 7 females), aged 6-15 years, diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or ODD. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity and divergent validity of the oppositional defiant behavior inventory (ODBI), an evaluation scale of oppositional defiant tendency, were examined. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the ODBI was 0.925. The correlation coefficient between the test and the retest was 0.820 (p < 0.0001). Both the ODBI scores (test and retest) were correlated with the number of items that matched the ODD diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV (r = 0.660, 0.659, p < 0.001), and with the ODD-scale of Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale (r = 0.725, 0.654, p < 0.001). Compared with the ADHD group or controls, the ADHD and ODD group showed a significantly higher ODBI score at p < 0.0001. CONCLUSION: The concurrent use of this scale with clinical examination is expected to increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of ODD.

Behavioral and developmental disorders among conduct disorder.

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the percentage of children with conduct disorder (CD) who also have behavioral and developmental disorders. A survey of comorbidity observed in children with CD, was carried out on 33 subjects from a disciplinary facility for children. Female teachers as the mother were interviewed as regards the subjects' condition using the semistructured interview, and male teachers as the father were interviewed for their psychosocial problems. The subjects underwent the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)-III and their conditions were diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn; DSM-IV). Of the 33 children, 27 were diagnosed as having CD. Of the 27 CD children, 18 (67%) were diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 19 (70%) had oppositional defiant feature (ODF). Eight children (30%) were diagnosed as having mental retardation and in seven children (26%), the verbal IQ was significantly lower than the performance IQ. Two (7%) were diagnosed as having pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). Of 27 children diagnosed with CD, 23 (85%) had some behavioral and developmental disorders. The classification of these behavioral and developmental disorders into the following three types appeared to be clinically useful: type 1, ADHD and ODF; type 2, low intelligence, especially low verbal intelligence; and type 3, PDD. To understand and treat children with CD, the accurate diagnosis of these underlying behavioral and developmental disorders is indispensable.