Nutrient Profiling of Japanese Dishes: The Development of a Novel Ajinomoto Group Nutrient Profiling System

Government agencies and private companies have supported the development of nutrient profiling (NP) systems to facilitate the selection of nutrient-dense foods by consumers, promote nutritious food development, and limit excessive advertising of products with low nutritional value. While most NP models were developed to assess individual foods, the Ajinomoto Group Nutrient Profiling System (ANPS) was developed to assess the overall nutritional value of cooked dishes that are culturally specific to Japan. Based on the national dietary recommendations and nutritional surveys, target values were created for 13 dish categories, while considering the combinations of meal units. For the ANPS, the four evaluating elements were protein and vegetables, which should be encouraged, and sodium and saturated fatty acids, which should be limited. The ANPS algorithm for dishes was the sum of the scores of individual elements, with a maximum of 10 points per serving. The sum of scores was then multiplied by 2.5 to convert to the 100-point scale. Convergent validity was tested using the nutrient-rich food index (NRF) score of 6.3. In total, 1,089 popular Japanese dishes were evaluated using the ANPS, and the median score of ANPS was 70.0 points (interquartile range, 55–78.8), and the average score was 67.7 (standard deviation, 16.5) points. Since salt intake is a major health risk in Japan, this tool was designed to evaluate sodium content with high sensitivity, and low-salt dishes significantly improved sodium and ANPS scores compared with regular dishes. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the total score of NRF 6.3 and ANPS in 1,089 dishes was r = 0.452 (p < 0.0001). This newly developed ANPS could be used to evaluate culture-specific cooked dishes per serving size. It can determine the nutritional values of dishes, with a high sensitivity to sodium content, a major Japanese nutritional issue. Further research is needed to determine the accuracy and usefulness of the ANPS as a system that would lead to changes in eating behavior nationwide

Endomucin, a CD34-like sialomucin, marks hematopoietic stem cells throughout development

To detect as yet unidentified cell-surface molecules specific to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), a modified signal sequence trap was successfully applied to mouse bone marrow (BM) CD34−c-Kit+Sca-1+Lin− (CD34−KSL) HSCs. One of the identified molecules, Endomucin, is an endothelial sialomucin closely related to CD34. High-level expression of Endomucin was confined to the BM KSL HSCs and progenitor cells, and, importantly, long-term repopulating (LTR)–HSCs were exclusively present in the Endomucin+CD34−KSL population. Notably, in the yolk sac, Endomucin expression separated multipotential hematopoietic cells from committed erythroid progenitors in the cell fraction positive for CD41, an early embryonic hematopoietic marker. Furthermore, developing HSCs in the intraembryonic aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region were highly enriched in the CD45−CD41+Endomucin+ fraction at day 10.5 of gestation (E10.5) and in the CD45+CD41+Endomucin+ fraction at E11.5. Detailed analyses of these fractions uncovered drastic changes in their BM repopulating capacities as well as in vitro cytokine responsiveness within this narrow time frame. Our findings establish Endomucin as a novel cell-surface marker for LTR-HSCs throughout development and provide a powerful tool in understanding HSC ontogeny

Direct measurements of employees involved in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident for internal dose estimates: JAEA\u27s experiences

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) performed internal dose measurements of employees involved in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident. Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories (NFCEL), one of the JAEA\u27s core centers, examined 560 of these employees by direct (in vivo) measurements during the period from April 20 to August 5 in 2011. These measurements consisted of whole-body counting for radiocesium and thyroid counting for radioiodine. The whole-body counting was conducted with two types of whole-body counters (WBCs): a standing-type WBC with two large NaI(Tl) detectors (FastscanTM, Canberra Inc.) and a chair-type WBC with HPGe detectors (GC5021, Canberra Inc.) installed in a shielded chamber made of 20-cm-thick steel. The thyroid counting was mainly performed using one of the two HPGe detectors equipped with the chair-type WBC. The subjects examined in this work were divided into two groups: Group 1 was the first 39 subjects who were measured up to June 17, 2011 and Group 2 was the remaining 521 subjects who were measured on and after June 18, 2011. We validated the performance of our direct measurements by comparing measurement results of the Group 1 subjects using two different methods (e.g., the standing-type WBC vs. the chair-type WBC). Tentative internal dose estimates of the subjects of Group 1 were also performed based on the assumption of a single intake scenario on either March 12, when the first hydrogen explosion occurred at the station or the first day of work after the accident. It was found that the contribution of 131I to the total internal dose greatly exceeded those of 134Cs and 137Cs, the other major nuclides detected in the measurements. The maximum committed effective dose (CED) was found in a male subject whose thyroid content of 131I was 9760 Bq on May 23, 2011; the CED of this subject was estimated to be 600 mSv including a small contribution of 134Cs and 137Cs. The typical minimum detectable activity for 131I in the present thyroid counting was 10 Bq for a counting time of 10 min, making it difficult to identify a residual thyroid content corresponding to a CED of 20 mSv for the subjects of Group 2

Japanese health and physical education teachers’ experiences teaching sexuality education at the high school level

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to describe and explain Japanese health and physical education teachers’ experiences teaching sexuality education at the high school level. This qualitative study used the interview method, with an in-depth, semi-structured approach. The research sites were Japanese high schools located in the Kanto region of Japan. Participants included eight health and physical education teachers who taught sexuality education at the time of this study. A constant comparative analysis method was used to interpret the data, with three themes emerging from the data: (a) teaching how to avoid unwanted and unexpected pregnancy, (b) be careful about sexual comments and terms that could turn to harassment, and (c) use instructional resources that help students’ transformative learning. Findings suggest that health and physical education teachers must be highly ethical professionals, whose attitudes and actions are focused on what is best for their students while teaching sexuality education. To advance the quality of sexuality education instruction, teachers, administrators, and researchers need clear and focused goals related to the status, quality, and relevance of sexuality education programs and curricula

Measurements of 131I in the thyroids of employees involved in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident

The Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster on 11 March 2011 caused an unprecedented accident at theFukushima Daiichi nuclear power station operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories of Japan Atomic Energy Agency performed internal dosemeasurements of 560 employees involved in the accident during the period from 20 April to 5 August in2011 at the request of TEPCO. The present paper describes our measurements of 131I in the thyroid thatis the predominant contributor to the internal dose. These measurements were carried out using anHPGe detector installed in a low-background shielded chamber made of 20-cm-thick steel and thedetector was placed adjacent to the subject\u27s neck. The typical minimum detectable activity of thistechnique was 10 Bq for a counting time of 10 min; however, this sensitivity made it difficult to identify aresidual thyroid content of 131I corresponding to a committed effective dose of 20 mSv for late subjects.This paper discussed technical issues experienced through the measurements such as the influence of 131Iin the rest of the body, the calibration phantom of use, and so on