Radiation Risks for the Incidence of Kidney, Bladder and Other Urinary Tract Cancers: 1958-2009.

As part of the recent series of articles to create a comprehensive description of the radiation risks of solid cancer incidence after ionizing radiation exposure, based on the atomic bomb survivors' Life Span Study (LSS), this work focuses on the risks of urinary tract cancer (UTC) and kidney cancer. Analyses covered a 52-year period of follow-up, through 2009, among 105,444 eligible survivors who were alive and cancer free in 1958. This represents an additional 11 years of follow-up since the last comprehensive report, with a total of 3,079,502 person-years. We observed 790 UTC and 218 kidney cancer cases. Adjusted for smoking, there was a strong linear radiation dose response for UTC. The sex-averaged excess relative risk per 1 Gy (ERR/Gy) was 1.4 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.82 to 2.1). Both males and females showed significantly increased ERRs/Gy with female point estimates at a factor of 3.4 (95% CI: 1.4 to 8.6) greater than male estimates. UTC radiation risks were largely unmodified by age at exposure or attained age. The attributable fraction of UTC to radiation exposure was approximately 18% while that attributed to smoking was 48%. Kidney cancer showed an increased ERR due to smoking (0.56 per 50 pack-years; 95% CI -0.007 to 1.6; P = 0.054), but we did not observe any strong associations of kidney cancer with radiation exposure, although sex-specific dose responses were found to be statistically different.

In vitro and in vivo anti-plasmodial activity of essential oils, including hinokitiol.

Abstract. The anti-plasmodial activity of 47 essential oils and 10 of their constituents were screened for in vitro activity against Plasmodium falciparum. Five of these essential oils (sandalwood, caraway, monarda, nutmeg, and Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai) and 2 constituents (thymoquinone and hinokitiol) were found to be active against P. falciparum in vitro, with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values equal to or less than 1.0 microg/ml. Furthermore, in vivo analysis using a rodent model confirmed the anti-plasmodial potential of subcutaneously administered sandalwood oil, and percutaneously administered hinokitiol and caraway oil against rodent P. berghei. Notably, these oils showed no efficacy when administered orally, intraperitoneally or intravenously. Caraway oil and hinokitiol dissolved in carrier oil, applied to the skin of hairless mice caused high levels in the blood, with concentrations exceeding their IC50 values.

Demand for pneumococcal vaccination under subsidy program for the elderly in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination programs often organize subsidies and public relations in order to obtain high uptake rates and coverage. However, effects of subsidies and public relations have not been studied well in the literature. In this study, the demand function of pneumococcal vaccination among the elderly in Japan is estimated, incorporating effects of public relations and subsidy. METHODS: Using a data from a questionnaire survey sent to municipalities, the varying and constant elasticity models were applied to estimate the demand function. The response variable is the uptake rate. Explanatory variables are: subsidy supported shot price, operating years of the program, target population size for vaccination, shot location intensity, income and various public relations tools. The best model is selected by c-AIC, and varying and constant price elasticities are calculated from estimation results. RESULTS: The vaccine uptake rate and the shot price have a negative relation. From the results of varying price elasticity, the demand for vaccination is elastic at municipalities with a shot price higher than 3,708 JPY (35.7 USD). Effects of public relations on the uptake rate are not found. CONCLUSIONS: It can be suggested that municipalities with a shot price higher than 3,708 JPY (35.7 USD) could subsidize more and reduce price to increase the demand for vaccination. Effects of public relations are not confirmed in this study, probably due to measurement errors of variables used for public relations, and studies at micro level exploring individual's response to public relations would be required.

A case study of measles vaccination for university students during the measles outbreak in Tokyo, Japan, 2007.

In April 2007, seven students belonging to the same class at Teikyo University developed measles. To prevent the spread of infection, 27 of 106 students in the same class who had low anti-measles antibody titers as measured by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay were vaccinated. After the outbreak had subsided, the HI values were investigated in 103 students, and they answered questionnaires about their health condition during the period of the outbreak and their previous clinical histories of measles, including vaccination records. There was no new case of measles after introduction of the vaccination program. However, the HI titers of 42% of the students who were not vaccinated in this program were significantly elevated. Fever and catarrhal signs occurred in 7 of these students with pre-exposure titers of 8 or less. The post-exposure HI titers of 71% of students who were unaffected by measles and had high HI titers (>8) before the epidemic did not increase. These results suggested that people with low HI titers may become potential carriers of measles and that measurement of pre-exposure HI anti-measles antibody titer is a useful method for selection of candidates to undergo vaccination.

Polymerase chain reaction assay for specific identification of Candida guilliermondii (Pichia guilliermondii).

The incidence rates of fungemia caused by Candida guilliermondii have been increasing over the past several years. Although still relatively rare (1.3% of all cases of fungemia in Japan), most cases of C. guilliermondii fungemia occur in patients with cancer or hematological malignancy and their mortality rate is high. As C. guilliermondii tends to be resistant to various antifungal agents, early identification of this pathogen and treatment with an appropriate antifungal agent are required to improve survival rates in these patients. However, it is extremely difficult to differentiate C. guilliermondii (Pichia guilliermondii) from members of the C. famata complex. To date, identification based on DNA sequencing has been the only reliable method for the identification of fungal groups. Here, we used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method that we developed for the simple and reliable identification of C. guilliermondii (P. guilliermondii). A pair of specific primers was designed corresponding to the 18S rDNA sequence. The PCR system was applied to isolates from fungemia patients. These yeasts could not be identified with CHROMagar Candida, but were successfully identified using this PCR-based system.

Evaluation of a new rapid molecular diagnostic system for Plasmodium falciparum combined with DNA filter paper, loop-mediated isothermal amplification, and melting curve analysis.

Falciparum malaria is a fatal infection without immediate diagnosability or treatment. There are shortages of clinicians and examiners skilled in the treatment of malaria in non-endemic countries, including Japan. This study was performed to evaluate a novel rapid molecular diagnostic system consisting of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with DNA filter paper (FTA card) and melting curve analysis. Combining LAMP with melting curve analysis enabled diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum more accurately with relative ease. FTA cards could be used to clarify problems regarding storage, infectivity, and transportation. The LAMP assay was carried out at a constant temperature of 63 degrees C for 90 min. The diagnostic system (malaria-LAMP) accurately diagnosed malaria (47 samples from Thailand and 50 from Zimbabwe) with 97.8% sensitivity and 85.7% specificity as compared with microscopic methods, indicating the usefulness of this combined system.

Exotic myiasis caused by 19 larvae of Cordylobia anthropophaga in Namibia and identified using molecular methods in Japan.

A case of exotic myiasis caused by tumbu fly (Cordylobia anthropophaga) parasitism acquired while travelling in the Republic of Namibia is reported. This is the fifth case reported in Japan, and is very unusual in that the patient was infected with 19 larvae. This is also the first case diagnosed using molecular methods in Japan. We cultured the extracted larvae in vitro and successfully obtained pupae.