Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a rare disease in most parts of the world, except for Southeast Asia, some parts of North Africa and the Arctic. It is mostly seen in people of Chinese origin. In India, NPC is also rare, except for the Hill States of Northeast India, particularly Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram. The striking feature of NPC in Northeast India is that the incidence ranges over the complete spectrum from the lowest (as 0.5/100 000 to 2.0/100 000 among Caucasoid) to the highest (as ∼20/100 000 among Cantonese/Zhongshan dialect Chinese). The age-adjusted rate of NPC in Kohima district of Nagaland State is 19.4/100 000, which is among the highest recorded rates. By contrast, in Assam, one of the so-called Hill States but not itself a hilly state, NPC is much less common. The Northeastern region is distinguished by a preponderance of the Tibeto-Burman languages and by variable mongoloid features among peoples of the region. The nature of the migratory populations who are presumed to be bearers of the mongoloid risk is unknown, but these NPC occurrence features provide an outstanding opportunity for NPC risk investigation, such as that of the hypothesis of Wee et al. for westward displacement of Chinese aborigines following the last glacial maximum.

Background

Background The carrying angle is defined as the acute angle made by the median axis of arm and median axis of forearm in full extension and supination. This angle permits the forearms to clear the hips in swinging movements during walking and is important when carrying objects.Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the values of carrying angle in both the sexes according to the age group in relation with height and special reference to side.Methods To evaluate the elbow carrying angle in normal children between 5-15 years by a manual goniometer, measurements were performed in 532 children (Male- 335, Female- 197), with the elbow in full extension and forearm in supination. Carrying angle was measured on right and left upper limbs to find out the difference on both the limbs. Their height, ages and sexes are also recorded. Bicipital groove, biceps brachii tendon at its insertion and palmaris longus tendon at the wrist were palpated and marked as anatomical landmarks to demarcate the median axes of arm and forearm respectively.Results The mean carrying angle of male on the left limb was 7.0359O and the female was 7.8030O and the mean carrying angle of male on the right limb was 4.5509O and the female was 4.9545O. We observed the greater carrying angle in non-dominant limb than the dominant limbs. There was significant positive correlation between height of students and carrying angle left (r =0.0866, p= 0.048<0.05), negative correlation between height and carrying angle right (r= -0.082, p= 0.058 >0.05).Conclusion The present study showed that the carrying angle was greater in female than in male and was greater in non-dominant arm than in dominant arm and the carrying angle was not inversely related to the height of the person.Kathmandu Univ Med J 2013; 11(4): 315-318

Background Establishing personal identity is one of the main concerns in forensic investigations. In forensic anthropology, estimation of height from head circumference has a significant role in establishing personal identity.Objective The objective of the present study was an attempt to understand the relationship between height and head circumference of an individual and to derive regression formulae to estimate the height from the head circumference.Method The present study consisted of 440 (258 male and 182 female) students of age group 17 to 25 years studying in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Nepal during the period from November 2012 to October 2013. Height and head circumference of an individual were measured in centimeter. Data were analyzed by using statistical software SPSS-16Result The findings of the present study were significant correlation between height and head circumference (r = 0.443, p < 0.01 for male, r = 0.302, p<0.01 for female, and r = 0. 398, p < 0.01 for combined (male and female). The regression equation for height and head circumference was found to be Y = 1.734X + 70.36 (R2 = 0.196) for male, Y = 0.916X + 106.8 (R2 = 0.091) for female, and Y = 1.648 X + 71.69 (R2 = 0.158) for combined (male and female), where Y is the height of Individual and X is the Head Circumference.Conclusion Head circumference showed highly significant positive correlation with individual’s height. Therefore, the present study will help in medico-legal cases in establishing the identity of an individual and this would also be useful for Anatomists and Anthropologists.Kathmandu University Medical Journal Vol.12(2) 2014: 89-92