CORPORATE WORKERS’ IMAGES OF FARMING AND STRESS ALLEVIATION THROUGH GARDENING ACTIVITIES: A CASE STUDY OF ONE-DAY GARDENING TOUR IN A SUBURB OF TOKYO

This study explores the potential of one-off gardening experience tours for the reduction of mental stress of urban corporate workers. By using both medical and sociological data, it examines how the participants’ preconceived images of farming and other factors may influence the stress-reducing effects of gardening activities. The examination of several salivary substances and a medical questionnaire (POMS2®) suggest that the gardening activity had a clear stress-reducing effect for most participants. It was also revealed that the stress-reducing effect was greater for those who have positive images of farming than those with negative images. This suggests that gardening activities may not necessarily be beneficial for all walks of life, depending on one’s preconceived image of farming. At the same time, in order to evaluate the stress-reducing effect of the entire tour, there is a need to pay attention to aspects other than the gardening activity itself, in particular communication with the other participants as well as travel distances

A novel quadripartite dsRNA virus isolated from a phytopathogenic filamentous fungus, Rosellinia necatrix

AbstractHere we report the biological and molecular attributes of a novel dsRNA virus isolated from Rosellinia necatrix, a filamentous phytopathogenic fungus. The virus, termed Rosellinia necatrix quadrivirus 1 (RnQV1), forms rigid spherical particles approximately 45nm in diameter in infected mycelia. The particles contain 4 dsRNA segments, dsRNA1 to dsRNA4, with a size range of 4.9 to 3.7kbp, each possessing a single large ORF. A comparison of the virus-infected and -cured isogenic fungal strains suggested that RnQV1 infection has no appreciable phenotypic effects. Phylogenetic analysis using the dsRNA3-encoded RdRp sequence revealed that RnQV1 is more distantly related to quadripartite chrysoviruses than to monopartite totiviruses, and is placed in a distinct group from other mycoviruses. No significant sequence similarities were evident between known proteins and RnQV1 structural proteins shown to be encoded by dsRNA2 or dsRNA4. These suggest that RnQV1 is a novel latent virus, belonging to a new family

Prolongation of total permissible circulatory arrest duration by deep hypothermic intermittent circulatory arrest

AbstractObjective: We determined whether the duration of permissible circulatory arrest could be prolonged by deep hypothermic intermittent circulatory arrest. Methods: Twenty-five beagles were cooled on bypass to 18° C to initiate deep hypothermia that was maintained for 3 hours. Five protocols were then studied: group 1, uninterrupted bypass during hypothermia; group 2, arrest for 40 minutes during hypothermia; group 3, arrest for 60 minutes during hypothermia; group 4, arrest for 80 minutes during hypothermia; and group 5, intermittent circulatory arrest, consisting of six cycles of 20 minutes of arrest followed by 10 minutes of systemic recirculation during hypothermia (total, 120 minutes of arrest). The oxyhemoglobin concentration in the brain was measured with near infrared spectrophotometry. Results: In groups 2, 3, and 4, the oxyhemoglobin concentration in the brain decreased continuously after arrest, finally reaching a plateau after 24.9 ± 1.2 minutes. This finding suggested that the available cerebral oxyhemoglobin was depleted. In contrast, the available cerebral oxyhemoglobin was not depleted during hypothermic intermittent arrest in group 5. The mitochondrial respiratory control index was significantly lower in group 4 than in the other groups (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the respiratory control index for groups 1, 2, 3, and 5. Moreover, the formation of brain edema was significantly lower in group 5 than in the other groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that deep hypothermic intermittent arrest can increase the duration of total permissible circulatory arrest and will be a useful modality when prolonged arrest is anticipated. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1998;116:163-70

Fusion partner–specific mutation profiles and KRAS mutations as adverse prognostic factors in MLL-rearranged AML

急性骨髄性白血病の予後を予測する新規マーカーを発見 --リスクに応じた適切な治療につながる可能性--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-10-02.Mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangements are among the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MLL fusion patterns are associated with the patient’s prognosis; however, their relationship with driver mutations is unclear. We conducted sequence analyses of 338 genes in pediatric patients with MLL-rearranged (MLL-r) AML (n = 56; JPLSG AML-05 study) alongside data from the TARGET study’s pediatric cohorts with MLL-r AML (n = 104), non–MLL-r AML (n = 581), and adult MLL-r AML (n = 81). KRAS mutations were most frequent in pediatric patients with high-risk MLL fusions (MLL-MLLLT10, MLL-MLLT4, and MLL-MLLT1). Pediatric patients with MLL-r AML (n = 160) and a KRAS mutation (KRAS-MT) had a significantly worse prognosis than those without a KRAS mutation (KRAS-WT) (5-year event-free survival [EFS]: 51.8% vs 18.3%, P < .0001; 5-year overall survival [OS]: 67.3% vs 44.3%, P = .003). The adverse prognostic impact of KRAS mutations was confirmed in adult MLL-r AML. KRAS mutations were associated with adverse prognoses in pediatric patients with both high-risk (MLLT10+MLLT4+MLLT1; n = 60) and intermediate-to-low–risk (MLLT3+ELL+others; n = 100) MLL fusions. The prognosis did not differ significantly between patients with non–MLL-r AML with KRAS-WT or KRAS-MT. Multivariate analysis showed the presence of a KRAS mutation to be an independent prognostic factor for EFS (hazard ratio [HR], 2.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.35-3.59; P = .002) and OS (HR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.01-3.31; P = .045) in MLL-r AML. The mutation is a distinct adverse prognostic factor in MLL-r AML, regardless of risk subgroup, and is potentially useful for accurate treatment stratification. This trial was registered at the UMIN (University Hospital Medical Information Network) Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm) as #UMIN000000511