Maternal dietary intake of fish and child neurodevelopment at 3 years: a nationwide birth cohort—The Japan Environment and Children's Study

BackgroundResults on the association between fish intake during pregnancy and a reduction in neurodevelopmental delays in children have been inconsistent, with some reports finding an association and others finding none. Because neurodevelopmental delays are more pronounced at the age of 3 years, their association needs to be examined at this age.MethodsAfter exclusion and multiple imputation from a dataset comprising 104,057 records from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, logistic regression analysis was conducted in quintiles to evaluate the association between maternal fish intake during pregnancy and child neurodevelopment at age 3 years in 91,909 mother–child pairs. The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), validated in the Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study for the Next Generation, was used to assess maternal fish intake during pregnancy. The Ages and Stages Questionnaires-3 was used to assess children's neurodevelopment in five domains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social.ResultsConsistently lower odds were found for the highest vs. lowest quintile for the domains of communication, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social but not gross motor skills, with adjusted odd ratios (95% confidence intervals) of 0.89 (0.80–0.998), 0.90 (0.83–0.97), 0.86 (0.80–0.94), 0.87 (0.77–0.98), and 1.04 (0.94–1.16), respectively. The trend for lower odds of symptoms of neurodevelopmental delays across quintiles of higher maternal fish intake were significant for fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social but not communication or gross motor.ConclusionsFish consumption during pregnancy may be associated with a reduced risk of neurodevelopmental delay in 3-year-olds, particularly in the fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social domains. Continued investigation after the age of 3 could further clarify the association

Impact of longer working hours on fathers’ parenting behavior when their infants are 6 months old: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

ObjectiveLong working hours have been suggested to affect fathers’ parenting behavior, but previously reported findings have been inconsistent. This study examined the association between the working hours and parenting behavior of fathers while accounting for other factors related to their parenting behavior, using data from the Japan Environment and Children Study (JECS), a large cohort study in Japan.MethodsData from 43,159 father–mother pairs were analyzed. The mother assessed the father’s frequency of seven parenting behaviors at 6 months after delivery. Then, each behavior was classified into a high-engagement group (always and sometimes) or a low-engagement group (rarely and never). The father’s weekly working hours was obtained from his responses and was classified into six levels.ResultsLogistic regression analysis showed that after adjustment for covariates, fathers’ weekly working hours was inversely associated with the frequency of all parenting behaviors examined in this study (p for trend <0.0001). Compared with fathers working ≥0 to ≤40 h per week, those working >65 h per week showed the following adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for low engagement in parenting behaviors: playing at home, 2.38 (2.08–2.72); changing diapers, 2.04 (1.89–2.20); and bathing the child, 2.01 (1.84–2.18).ConclusionThis study suggests that the greater time constraints imposed by longer working hours constitute a major factor that discourages fathers from engaging in childrearing behavior. Intervention targeting long working hours could contribute to measures aimed at promoting high-engagement parenting behaviors among fathers

保育者の保有する教員免許と研修に関する一考察 : 幼稚園教諭・認定こども園保育教諭の教員免許上進を中心に

本稿は，日本における保育者（幼稚園教員・保育所保育士，認定こども園保育教諭）の教員免許と研修に関して検討を行うことを目的としている。多くの保育者は，短期大学で養成されており，幼稚園2種免許を保有している。文部科学省は現在，2種から1種への教員免許の上進を進めている。また，専門職である保育者は，継続的に研修を受けて彼らの持つ専門性を向上しなければならない。本稿においては，幼稚園教員と認定こども園保育教諭に焦点化し，彼ら自身が教員免許の上進や研修についてどのように考えているのか，アンケート調査によって明らかにした。彼らはこれまで，生活・仕事の多忙や上進方法が分からなかったこと，上進の必要性を感じないことなどによって，教員免許を上進してこなかった。今回の研修によって彼らが上進しようと考えた理由は，管理職になるために1種免許が必要になったこと，近隣で研修が開催されたこと，専門性を向上させるため，といったことである。私たちは今後も，教員免許上進と研修を結び付けた有効なシステムを考えていかなければならない。This paper aims to study early childhood education (ECE) teacher certification and in-service teacher training in Japan. In Japan, most ECE teachers are trained in junior college and hold second class teachersʼ licenses. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) recommends that ECE teachers hold upgraded licenses. ECE teachers continuously take training and certificate their professional abilities. We study how ECE teachers who took license upgrade training consider their own license upgrade and teacher training. The questionnaire survey shows that teachers who have not upgraded their licenses until now were motivated by being busy at work and in life, not knowing how to upgrade, seeing no necessity in upgrading, and so on. Moreover, teachersʼ reasons for taking upgrade training include improving their professional ability, the necessity of having an upgraded license to become an ECE administrator, the fact that a training course was held near their home, and so on. We must consider expanding the useful system of teacher training and the related license upgrading process

The Big Yes and the Little No

Program for the sixth annual RISD Cabaret held in the cellar at the top of the Waterman Building. Design and layout by Nonie Close.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_cabaret_programs/1005/thumbnail.jp

CD153/CD30 signaling promotes age-dependent tertiary lymphoid tissue expansion and kidney injury

高齢者腎臓病を悪化させる原因細胞・分子の同定に成功. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-11-30.A new drug target for kidney disease. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-11-30.Tertiary lymphoid tissues (TLTs) facilitate local T- and B-cell interactions in chronically inflamed organs. However, the cells and molecular pathways that govern TLT formation are poorly defined. Here we identify TNF superfamily CD153-CD30 signaling between two unique age-dependent lymphocyte subpopulations, CD153⁺PD-1⁺CD4⁺ senescence-associated T (SAT) cells and CD30+T-bet+ age-associated B cells (ABCs), as a driver for TLT expansion. SAT cells, which produced ABC-inducing factors IL21 and IFNγ, and ABCs progressively accumulated within TLTs in aged kidneys after injury. Notably, in kidney injury models, CD153 or CD30 deficiency impaired functional SAT cell induction, which resulted in reduced ABC numbers and attenuated TLT formation with improved inflammation, fibrosis and renal function. Attenuated TLT formation after transplantation of CD153-deficient bone marrow further supported the importance of CD153 in immune cells. Clonal analysis revealed that SAT cells and ABCs in the kidneys arose from both local differentiation and recruitment from the spleen. In the synovium of aged rheumatoid arthritis patients, T peripheral helper/T follicular helper cells and ABCs also expressed CD153 and CD30, respectively. Together, our data reveal a previously unappreciated function of CD153-CD30 signaling in TLT formation and propose targeting CD153-CD30 signaling pathway as a therapeutic target for slowing kidney disease progression

Teachers in Early Childhood Education and Care in Japan and South Africa : Current Circumstances with a Focus on Professional Teacher Identity

This research aims to clarify current ECEC circumstances in Japan and South Africa. And we also analyzed the data of interviews to Japanese new preschool teachers by GTA (Grounded Theory Approach). We study Japanese new preschool teachers’ identity from viewpoints of Japan and South Africa. When we discuss from Japan, we want to refer South African circumstance. In the Japanese system of early childhood education, there are three main but different types of facilities: nursery school, kindergarten, and center for early childhood education and care. And there are alternative types of ECEC services with publicfinancial aid, such as taking care of infants at her home. Preschool teachers are trained at four-year colleges and universities, and at two year colleges. Since South Africa has just launched the Policy on Minimum Requirements for Programmes Leading to Qualifications in Higher Education for ECEC Educators- PLMRP (2017), the findings in the study has enhanced the programme development for the new BEd (Bachelor of Education) (ECEC). As conclusion of analyzing of GTA, we made it clear that forging the identity of new teachers of early childhood education in Japan happens through cooperation with other teachers on actual jobs. They hold a positive image of preschool teachers and the motivation behind developing young children, but view the role of teacher as difficult. Forearmed is forewarned, and if these four competencies which were noted as gaps in the professional identity of Japanese ECEC teachers are used to scaffold the ITE programmes in South Africa, quality will be enhanced in not only the professional identity but the personal identity of young teachers. There are significant differences between the contexts of preschools in South Africa and Japan. However, we believe that analyzing different situations clarifies the essentiality of ECEC professional identity development

Heterogeneous fibroblasts underlie age-dependent tertiary lymphoid tissues in the kidney

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical condition defined as a rapid decline in kidney function. AKI is a global health burden, estimated to cause 2 million deaths annually worldwide. Unlike AKI in the young, which is reversible, AKI in the elderly often leads to end-stage renal disease, and the mechanism that prevents kidney repair in the elderly is unclear. Here we demonstrate that aged but not young mice developed multiple tertiary lymphoid tissues (TLTs) in the kidney after AKI. TLT size was associated with impaired renal function and increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines and homeostatic chemokines, indicating a possible contribution of TLTs to sustained inflammation after injury. Notably, resident fibroblasts from a single lineage diversified into p75 neurotrophin receptor(+) (p75NTR(+)) fibroblasts and homeostatic chemokine-producing fibroblasts inside TLTs, and retinoic acid-producing fibroblasts around TLTs. Deletion of CD4(+) cells as well as late administration of dexamethasone abolished TLTs and improved renal outcomes. Importantly, aged but not young human kidneys also formed TLTs that had cellular and molecular components similar to those of mouse TLTs. Therefore, the inhibition of TLT formation may offer a novel therapeutic strategy for AKI in the elderly.</p

A human PSMB11 variant affects thymoproteasome processing and CD8+ T cell production

The Psmb11-encoded β5t subunit of the thymoproteasome, which is specifically expressed in cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTECs), is essential for the optimal positive selection of functionally competent CD8+ T cells in mice. Here, we report that a human genomic PSMB11 variation, which is detectable at an appreciable allele frequency in human populations, alters the β5t amino acid sequence that affects the processing of catalytically active β5t proteins. The introduction of this variation in the mouse genome revealed that the heterozygotes showed reduced β5t expression in cTECs and the homozygotes further exhibited reduction in the cellularity of CD8+ T cells. No severe health problems were noticed in many heterozygous and 5 homozygous human individuals. Long-term analysis of health status, particularly in the homozygotes, is expected to improve our understanding of the role of the thymoproteasome-dependent positive selection of CD8+ T cells in humans

産後うつとボンディングの関連の経産による変化: 子どもの健康と環境に関する全国調査からの経時的な結果より

富山大学・富医薬博乙77号・土田 暁子・2020/11/25関連論文Tsuchida A, Hamazaki K, Matsumura K, Miura K, Kasamatsu H, Inadera H; Japan Environment and Children\u27s Study (JECS) Group. Changes in the association between postpartum depression and mother-infant bonding by parity: Longitudinal results from the Japan Environment and Children\u27s Study. J Psychiatr Res. 2019 Mar;110:110-116. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.11.022. Epub 2018 Nov 28. PMID: 30616158.富山大