This study was designed to determine the basal metabolic rates (BMR) of six groups of male athletes (baseball, wrestling, boxing, table-tennis, sumo and rugby). The BMR of athletes were investigated considering the body composition.
The male subjects were 106 physical education students (17 baseball, 9 wrestling, 12 boxing, 14 table-tennis, 20 sumo and 34 rugby players), aged 18 to 21 years.
The results were as follows:
1) The maximum value of the BMR per of unit body weight was shown in the rugby group and the minimum value in the sumo.
2) The experimental BMR values of the baseball, wrestling, boxing, table-tennis and rugby groups were higher than those of the standard BMR in the normal Japanese men with the same body weight, while the relation was the reverse in the sumo group.
3) The maximum value of the BMR per unit of lean body mass was in the boxing group and the minimum value in the sumo group.
4) From these results, the multiple correlation between experimental BMR and body weight or fat percent was shown to be significant in the total group.

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Many college students drink infrequently and their drinking is restricted to group occasions such as at welcome parties, farewell parties, and so on. Therefore, drinking at parties is the most common type of drinking among students. At a private college of science in the surburbs of Tokyo, 844 students (480 males and 364 females) were investigated for alcohol consumption at parties. In this study, we discuss whether the distribution of per capita annual alcohol consumption at parties indicates the lognormal distribution, and estimate the percentage of heavy drinkers who consume more than 150ml ethanol per party.
The mean frequency of students taking part in parties during the last 6 months (mean party frequency) was 5.0 times for males and 3.6 times for females. The mean quantity of student drinking per party (mean party quantity) was 75.7ml of ethanol for males and 31.8ml for females. As the student drinking frequency increased, the mean party frequency and the mean party quantity increased. Per capita annual consumption of alcohol by students at parties had a lognormal distribution ln (x+3). For students, the percentages of heavy drinkers who consumed more than 150ml of ethanol per party were estimated to be 15.0% of male drinkers and 5.5% of female drinkers.

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The present study was proposed to investigate the possible involvement of brain monoamines in the manifestations of the central nervous system (CNS) toxicity of methylmercury chloride (MMC) in rats.
Therefore, after 3 or 6 successive subcutaneous injections of 10mgMMC/kg body weight, the accumulation of MMC and the simultaneous changes of monoamines in the various brain regions were observed. The results can be summarized as follows:
1) Mercury was shown to accumulate most rapidly in the substantia nigra but, at the time when paralysis was observed as hind leg crossing, appeared to be highest in the cerebral cortex and the striatum.
2) Norepinephirine levels decreased in all the regions; however, the decreases were more marked in the cerebral cortex and pons+medulla.
3) Dopamine levels decreased only in the substantia nigra. No changes were shown in other regions.
4) Serotonin levels increased in the hypothalamus, striatum, hippocampus and olfactory bulb. Thus, it may be suggested that regional and temporal differences in accumulation could explain the changes of biogenic monoamine levels in MMC administered rats.

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Creatinine clearance (CCr) and relative clearance of β₂-microglobulin (β₂-m) to CCr (Cβ₂-m(%CCr)) were measured among 106 residents, 51 males and 55 females (including 8 patients with, or suspected of having "Itai-itai disease"), aged 13-87 years in a Cadmium (Cd)-polluted area in the Jinzu River basin. The control consisted of 105 residents, 38 males and 67 females, aged 12-84 years in a non-polluted area. Relations of Cβ₂-m (% CCr) to the urinary excretion rate of β₂-m (μg/min) and the urinary β₂-m/creatinine ratio (μg/mg·creatinine) were studied. Residents in a Cd-polluted area aged 50-69 years and over 70 years showed lower CCr and higher Cβ₂-m (% CCr) than those of residents in the same age groups in a non-polluted area. CCr showed a tendency to decrease with increasing Cβ₂-m(% CCr).Cβ₂-m (% CCr) could be predicted by the urinary excretion rate of β₂-m. Prediction error was due to interindvidual variations in the product of serum β₂-m concentration and CCr, which was considered to depend on the production rate of β₂-m. Cβ₂-m (% CCr) could also be predicted by the urinary β₂-m/creatinine ratio. Prediction error was due to interindividual variations in the serum β₂-m/creatinine ratio, which was considered to depend on the ratio of the production rate of β₂-m to that of creatinine. However, prediction errors were so small as to be negligible compared with the wide distribution of the urinary β₂-m/creatinine ratio (10^-2-10³μg/mg·creatinine). In most residents of the Cd-polluted area, serum concentrations of β₂-m were below the serum threshold value for renal tubular reabsorption (4.0-4.5μg/ml), and raised Cβ₂-m (% CCr) could be ascribed to defective renal tubular reabsorption.

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Sodium nitrite (NaNO₂) was administered to pregnant mice during the critical period (from 6th the day to the 15th day of gestation) of the organogenesis in fetuses to examine the teratogenic effects of the food additive (color fixative) NaNO₂. The dosages of NaNO₂ employed in this experiment were 20, 40, 80 and 120mg/kg/day.
On the 17th day of gestation, fetuses were removed by Caesarean section in order to examine their body weights, external malformations and skeletal.
The results obtained can be summarized as follows;
1) Significant suppression of the body weight of pregnant mice was observed in the 80-and 120mg/ kg/day exposed-groups.
2) In the group of pregnant mice exposed to 120mg/kg, the numbers of implantations and living fetuses, along with the litter size, were significantly decresed as compared with those of the control group.
3) Cleft palate was observed sporadically in the exposed NaNO₂ groups. However, the incidence was not significant as compared with the frequency observed in the control group.
4) Fetuses with a 14th rib were observed in exposed groups. However, this was considered to be within the spontaneous incidence of ICR mice.
5) Suppression of body weight gain was observed in the offspring of the group exposed to 120mg/kg/ day for the first 14 days. However, retardation was recovered from at 7 weeks of age.

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The time trend of plasma Creatine Kinase (CK) activity in hens after a single intravenous injection (iv) of orgaonphosphorus compounds (OP^s), such as leptophos, TOCP (tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate) or parathion were measured. CK activities in muscles and nervous tissues of hens on day 21 after iv injection of OP^s were also measured.
In all hens injected with 30mg/kg body weight of leptophos or 40mg/kg body weight of TOCP, the onset of neurotoxic signs was delayed 8 to 10 days after each treatment, while hens injected with 15mg/ kg body weight of leptophos showed no neurotoxic signs. Hens which were injected intravenously with sublethal doses (2mg/kg body weight) or lethal doses (3mg/kg body weight, saved by atropine) of parathion did not show any abnormalities after recovering from acute toxicity.
Plasma CK activity in all hens except hens injected with 2mg/kg body weight of parathion rose significantly on the 1st day after OPs injection. A few days later, plasma CK activity recovered to normal levels in hens injected with 15mg/kg body weight of leptophos or 3mg/kg body weight of parathion. However, the high activity levels were prolonged until the 9th to 11th day in hens injected with 30mg/ kg body weight of leptophos or 40mg/kg body weight of TOCP. After developing delayed neurotoxic signs, plasma CK activities rose again in paralitic hens, though ataxic hens maintamed a normal CK level.
On the 21st day after OP^s injection, CK activities in some parts of the leg muscles and nervous tissues of hens were relatively higher than those of control hens. It is assumed that there was some correlation between the changes of CK activity in muscles and the severity of delayed neurotoxicity in those hens.
It is suggested that plasma CK activity is useful for evaluating the severity of delayed neurotoxic damage, and that there are associations between the prolonging of high plasma CK activity in the several days after OP^s exposure and the development of delayed neurotoxic symptoms.

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The waste water from the dyeing process is considered to be a water pollutant because of the coloring caused by the dye and the BOD and COD components coming from the fibrous materials and the dyeing auxiliaries.
Many chemical dyes have been shown to be toxic¹⁾. Indigo carmine is also a carcinogenic chemical²⁾. Activated carbon adsorption appears to be the most effective and economical tertiary treatment method for the removal of organics, including dyes³⁾. However, acidic dye is more difficult to remove than either basic or direct dye³⁾. In our previous paper⁴⁾, the adsorption characteristics of indigo carmine, an acidic dye, onto activated carbon were reported. High molecular weight dyes are adsorbed in the transitional pores of an activated carbon and low molecular weight dyes, in the micropores⁵⁾. However, the relation between the adsorption rate and the adsorption process of indigo carmine into the micropores has not yet been reported.
In this study, the adsorption behavior of indigo carmine onto activated carbon according to its different particle sizes was investigated on the basis of the results of adsorption isotherm, intraparticle diffusivity, and the pore size distribution of activated carbon adsorbed by indigo carmine with different adsorption ratios.

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In the United States and some European countries, many researches on psychiatric epidemiology or community psychology based on population surveys have been carried out to obtain basic data on community mental health. These researches have been based on self-rating questionnaires or semistructured interview schedules. Psychiatric epidemiology has been advanced through the introduction of these research instruments, operational classificatory schemes, and population prevalence surveys^1-8).
In Japan, however, epidemiologic studies in these areas are sparse. One of the reasons may be due to the fact that there have been few conventional questionnaires applicable to such epidemiologic surveys. Recently, however, the validity and reliability of the Zung self-rating depression scale⁹⁾ have been tested by Kawakami and Koizumi¹⁰⁾. Several investigations of subjective health status have been performed according to the Cornell Medical Index (CMI), while a few others used the Todai Health Index (THI). Although both the CMI and the THI have been recognized as useful questionnaires for such surveys¹¹⁾, they consist of too many items, 195 and 130, respectively. Therefore, research based on these questionnaires is attended with some difficulties.
As self-rating questionnaires, the General Health Questionnaire^{12, 13)} (GHQ) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale¹⁴⁾ (CES-D) have been widely applied to such researches in the United States and in European countries. Each of the questionnaires is so brief that it takes only a short time to be completed; thus, they have been easily applicable to many types of surveys. In Japan, neither the validity nor the reliability of either questionnaire has been recognized in samples of adult workers, though Nakagawa and Daibo¹⁵⁾ reported that the sensitivity, specificity and overall misclassification rate of the GHQ were 94.2%, 76.4% and 13.7%, respectively, in a comparison between neurotic patients and normal controls.
In the present study the authors examine the relationships between these questionnaires and the THI as a test battery. This paper presents basic data about the nature and the criterion-related validities and reliabilities of the Japanese versions of the GHQ and the CES-D in epidemiologic surveys.

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The effects of intravenous administration of cadmium (Cd) on arterial blood pressure were investigated in anesthetized, artificially ventilated rabbits. In addition, cadmium's effects on renal sympathetic nerve discharges, ECG, and phrenic nerve efferent discharges were studied to elucidate the mechanisms of blood pressure change. Blood Cd levels were also determined in some animals.
The follwed results were obtained:
1) Intravenous injection of CdCl₂ at doses of between 5 and 500μg/kg produced a biphasic fall in blood pressure. The first fall was sharp and transient, and recovered in about 5 minutes (min.). After this, the second fall slowly developed, and returned to the control value 30-60min. after injection. However, at doses of 200-500μg/kg, the first fall was not reversible and lasted for 30-60min.
2) The heart rate was slightly decreased within 30 seconds. after injection. Then it increased during the next 1min., and the increase lasted about 30min.
3) Renal nerve sympathetic discharges increased during the initial rapid fall of blood pressure at doses between 5 and 100μg/kg. These changes were reversible when the blood pressure recovered to normal. However, at higher doses of 200-500μg/kg, renal nerve discharges were reduced during the second blood pressure fall, and did not recover to the control levels.
4) Cd had no discernible effect on the phrenic nerve discharges or end tidal CO₂ concentration.
5) The blood concentration of Cd was increased rapidly to the maximal value within about 1min. after injection. Then it decreased rapidly and became stable 30min. after the injection. The blood levels of Cd after doses of 10 and 50μg/kg were 1 and 2μM, respectively.

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A highly sensitive tin determination method for urine samples is presented. Tin reduced to gaseous hydride by sodium tetrahydroborate solution and trichloroacetic acid solution is atomized through an electrically heated silica tube and measured by atomic absorption spectrometry at 286.3nm. The relative detection limit is 0.3ng/ml and the coefficient of variation is 2.3% at 5ng/ml. The method can be applied to determine tin concentration in biological samples.

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Extrapyramidal signs such as tremor, chorea or athetosis^{1, 2)} indicating the possible involvement of dopaminergic impairment by MM in the nigrostriatal system are often detectable in cases of methylmercury (MM) intoxication. Various biochemical changes of enzymes relevant to neurotransmitters in the brain have been reported in the toxic phase of MM exposure in vivo^{3, 4)}. However, they seem to appear only after other symptoms have become detectable. In vitro treatment of methylmercury chloride (MMC) impaired the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase and DOPA decarboxylase⁵⁾, the high affinity uptake of dopamine (DA)⁶⁾ and the binding of D₂ dopaminergic receptors^{7, 8)}. However, the concentrations necessary to produce significant inhibition were considerably higher than those seen in cases of MM intoxication. The acute response of the central dopaminergic nervous system to MM is poorly understood, because even the clinical symptoms, if any, of small doses and short term exposure to MM are unknown. On the other hand, it is known that DA release is evoked by electrical stimulation from dopaminergic terminals and that the released DA is quickly taken up into the terminals^{9, 10)}. To elucidate the sensitivity of the release mechanism of DA to acute MM exposure, we examined the effects of MMC and mercury chloride (II) (HgCl₂) on the evoked release and uptake of ³H-DA in guinea pig striatal slices.

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The mean birth weights (MBW) of single births in the 10 largest cities (LC) in Japan; Tokyo, Sapporo, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Kitakyushu and Fukuoka, and in remaining areas in the same prefectures (RA); Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kanagawa, Aichi, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo an Fukuoka Prefectures, were calculated by sex in 1969-1980, using vital statistics of the Japanese government as a source.
1) Excluding RA in Kyoto Prefecture, MBW in both LC and RA have shown a decrease in recent years. Though MBW in LC were higher than those in RA in the beginning of the observed period, the former decreased later and were lower than the latter, excluding the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kawasaki and Fukuoka. MBW in RA reached a maximum later than MBW in LC in the same prefectures and decreased later in the same manner as MBW in LC. MBW in LC in the metropolises of Tokyo and Osaka, which are the two largest cities in Japan, were lower than those in RA in the same metropolises throughout the observed period (Fig. 1).
2) In almost all LC the secular changes in MBW had significant negative correlations with the secular changes in the mean age of the mothers, but such secular changes were not seen in the rate of the low-birth-weight infants (LBW) or in the mean birth order (Table 4).
3) Areal differences of MBW among LC and among RA were recognized in the observed period (Table 2). The magnitude of these differences has decreased since 1973 (Table 3). This phenomenon (Fig. 2) was contrary to both prefectural and regional levels in Japan in our previous report (Ref. 2). This fact suggests that MBW in the different LC are gradually coming to resemble one another because of the similarities of social backgrounds.
4) Investigating the areal differences of MBW among the LC group regarding LBW, there was significant negative correlation between MBW and LBW in LC in each year from 1973 to 1977, but there was no significant correlation after 1977 (Table 5, Fig. 3). This result suggests that the decrease of MBW in LC in recent years was due to something other than the factors following the increase of LBW.

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