Fifteen young male Japanese athletes and 15 young male Japanese non-athletes in the sitting-resting position were exposed to a hot environment in winter and summer. Sweating was induced in a climatic chamber of DBT 30 C with 70% relative humidity by immersion of both legs just below the knees in the stirring water bath of 42 C for 90 min after sitting in a chair at rest for 30 min in the chamber. The maximal oxygen uptake, record of 100 m dash and back strength were measured on 16 subjects in summer. Both athletes and non-athletes showed a similar and clear seasonal variation of sweating reaction. Sweating reaction in summer was characterized by a lower salt concentration in sweat in spite of a larger sweat volume. The rise in rectal temperature for both athletes and non-athletes in summer was smaller than that in winter. Athletes showed a smaller sweat volume, lower salt concentration in sweat and smaller rise in rectal temperature than non-athletes both in summer and winter. Heat tolerance of athletes was superior to that of non-athletes in both summer and winter when the heat tolerance was assessed by our index I for the assessment of heat tolerance. A definite tendency towards a small rise in rectal temperature and superior heat tolerance for subjects with lower salt concentration in sweat at a given sweat loss was observed. Positive correlations of heat tolerance to maximal oxygen uptake, the speed of 100 m dash and muscular strength were observed and heat tolerance was more closely correlated to maximal oxygen uptake than the speed of 100 m dash and muscular strength. The reasons for superior heat tolerance of athletes and the subjects with lower salt concentration in sweat were discussed.

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Eight male subjects, ages 19 to 21, were exposed to a combination of exercise and environmental heat for 15 successive days in autumn. Muscular exercise was performed on a bicycle ergometer at constant work load of 600 kg.m/min at the cycling rate of 50 rpm for 60 min in the room of 30 C 70% relative humidity. Sweat test was done on the first, 5th, 10th and 15th days. Sweating was induced by immersing both legs just up to the knees into a water bath of 42 C in the climatic chamber of 30 C with 70% R.H. for 90 min. Rise in rectal temperature and increase in heart rate induced by a given heat stress decreased progressively throughout heat exposure. Body weight loss increased during the first 5 days, thereafter showed a trend to be smaller. Sodium concentration in sweat at a given sweat rate decreased during heat acclimatization. The mean value of heat tolerance index I, the magnitude of disturbance induced in the body concerning thermal regulation and water-electrolyte metabolism, continued to decrease during heat acclimatization. The mean value of heat tolerance index S, effectiveness of sweating, increased during the first 5 days, thereafter decreased.
In conclusion, improvement of heat tolerance accompanied by reduction of disturbance of thermal regulation was induced at the cost of increase of disturbance of water-electrolyte metabolism during the early period of heat acclimatization and disturbance of thermal regulation as well as water-electrolyte metabolism decreased progressively during the late period of heat acclimatization.

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The annual of pathological autopsy cases in Japan indicate that out of 4, 760 autopsy cases at Nagasaki University during the period 1964 to 1973, 445 (9.3%) are cirrhosis of the liver and 240 (5.0%) are primary liver carcinoma (PLC), and that 392 (88.1%) of 445 cirrhosis are atrophic liver cirrhosis and 180 (45.9%) of 392 atrophic liver cirrhosis are accompanied with hepatocellular carcinoma and 218 (90.8%) of 240 PLC are hepatocellular carcinoma. The data show that atrophic liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are relatively higher in incidence in Nagasaki area than other parts of Japan as has been suggested before.
Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBs-Ag) of 353 autopsy cases of liver diseases during the same period, especially cirrhosis, PLC, and acute, subacute liver atrophy and chronic hepatitis was investigated by Shikata's staining method of HBs-Ag using orcein after formalin fixation and routine paraffin processing sections of liver tissues. HBs-Ag were detected in liver diseases as follows : 110 (52.9%) of 208 casesof atrophic liver cirrhosis, none of 10 cases of micronodular cirrhosis, none of 29 cases of specific types ofliver cirrhosis such as biliary, cardiac, parasitic cirrhosis and Wilson's disease, 82 (63.6%) of 129 casesof hepatocellular carcinoma, two (9.5%) of 21 cases of cholangiocellular carcinoma, one (20%) of five cases of combined type of PLC, none of 10 cases of acute liver atrophy, four (22.2%) of 18 cases of subacute liver atrophy, three (15.8%) of 19 cases of chronic hepatitis, active type, and one (14.3%) of seven cases of chronic hepatitis, inactive type.
The incidence of HBs-Ag in atrophic liver cirrhosis without hepatocellular carcinoma showeda decrease over fifth decade and also decreased over seventh decade in atrophic liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma. HBs-Ag was found over two times more in frequency in atrophic liver cirrhosis accompanied with hepatocellular carcinoma (74 of 104 cases; 71.2%) than those without hepatocellular carcinoma. HBs-Ag was demonstrated in eight (32%) of 25 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma without atrophic liver cirrhosis and not in any cases of cholangiocellular carcinoma without atrophic liver cirrhosis and combined type of PLC without atrophic liver cirrhosis. There was no difference in the presence of HBs-Ag between atrophic liver cirrhosis showing active pattern of stromalinflammatory reaction and those with inactive pattern, regardless of having PLC or not. Liver cell dysplasia was found more frequently in atrophic liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (39 of 104 cases ; 37.5%) than those without hepatocellular carcinoma (13 of 100 cases; 13%). There was significant relationship between the presence of HBs-Ag and the appearance of dysplasia in atrophic liver cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma (32 of 39 cases ; 82.1 %) and without hepatocellular carcinoma (11 of 13 cases ; 84.6%). HBs-Ag was stained in nodular hyperplasia in several cases of atrophic liver cirrhosis. HBs-Ag was demonstrated as “inclusion body type” in tumor cells in two cases of well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma.
These results showed that atrophic liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which predominate in Nagasaki area, were associated with the presence of HBs-Ag histopathologically and that HBs-Ag may play a etiological role in most cases of atrophic liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

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For the clinical evaluation of rectal biopsy, 217 patients with a variety of complaints, who were treated in the Koma-Kyoritsu Hospital during 1967 to 1973, were tested by rectal biopsy, the threshold value of skin test, the COP test and feces examination under the suspicion of chronic schistosomiasis japonica.
1) The detection rate of fresh eggs by rectal biopsy was markedly higher in the younger age-group below 30 years. This rate became also significantly higher in parallel with the increase of egg-number in the rectal specimen.
2) The incidence of hemorrhoids was significantly higher in the group with old eggs only than that containing fresh eggs.
3) After the treatment with Niridazole, the eggs detected by rectal biopsy decreased in number and they were degenerated or destroyed as compared with the pretreatment status.
4) Histological examination of the stained specimen obtained by rectal biopsy showed such reaction as eosinophilia of slight degree or edema around the fresh eggs, suggesting an antigenicity of the fresh eggs. However, it was of less importance from the diagnostic point of view, comparing with the press examination of the raw material, because of difficulty to discover the egg and to observe it au naturel.
5) In accordance with the increase of the threshold diluting grade of positive skin test, the number of the egg became larger, moreover, the incidence of fresh eggs became higher by rectal biopsy, that is, the number and quality of the egg had a correlation with the threshold value of skin test.
6) Even in the egg-negative cases in feces, the possibility of finding the egg was 56% by rectal biopsy. The incidence of the case containing fresh eggs in the biopsy was significantly higher in the egg-positive cases than the egg-negative ones in feces.
7) The incidence of relatively fresh eggs in rectal biopsy was significantly higher in the COP-positive group in comparison with the COP-negative group.
8) Though the technic was rather difficult, more eggs were found statistically in the posterior wall of the rectum than in the anterior. However, even though in small number, the probability of finding the egg was larger from the anterior wall than the posterior in woman.
Thus, rectal biopsy was of great value in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in Japan.

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The paper deals with the description of one species of nematode, Tanqua ophidis Johnston and Mawson, 1948, all collected from water snakes in Samarinda, Indonesia by Shogaki.

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