職域における飲酒量減少を検証した健康教育のレビュー

【要旨】職域における飲酒量減少に効果的な介入内容と評価指標を明らかにすることを目的とした。データベースを使用し，検索式は“飲酒”，“職域”，“介入”を示す語句を組み合わせた。採択基準は1）ランダム化比較試験，2）介入は栄養・健康教育・ヘルスプロモーションの領域，3）飲酒量減少効果の検証，4）対象集団が勤労者，5）断酒の対象にならない飲酒者，6）英語または日本語の記載とした。論文54件を精査し，表題と要旨より33件を除外し，全文の精読により12件を採択した。12件のうち，飲酒量減少効果が認められたのは2件で，介入内容に飲酒に関する情報提供だけでなく，職場環境への働きかけが含まれていた。飲酒量減少効果の評価指標は自己申告によるものが多かった。職域での栄養・健康教育には，職場環境へ働きかける介入やＷｅｂの使用に焦点があてられるようになってきていること，また飲酒量把握の評価指標については自己申告以外の方法の検討の必要性が示唆された。Abstract: This study examined the existing literature to clarify the strategies and evaluation indices effective in reducing alcohol consumption in the workplace. Using a database, the search formula was a combination of the terms “drinking,” “occupation,” and “intervention.” The acceptance criteria were 1) randomized controlled trials, 2) interventions in the areas of nutrition or health education, health promotion, 3) verified effect of reduced alcohol consumption, 4) workers as the target population, 5) drinkers who had not been diagnosed as alcoholic, and 6) articles in English or Japanese. We reviewed 54 papers: 33 were excluded based on their title and abstract and the full texts of 12 selected articles were read. Of the 12 articles, 2 showed a reduction in drinking, and the intervention content included not only providing information on drinking but also making changes in the work environment. In many cases, self-reports were used to evaluate reduced alcohol consumption. Nutrition and health education in occupational areas focused on workplace and web-based interventions. Furthermore, the need for employing other methods in addition to self-reports was suggested

Protective Role of HLA-DRB1*13:02 against Microscopic Polyangiitis and MPO-ANCA-Positive Vasculitides in a Japanese Population: A Case-Control Study

Among antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV), granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and proteinase 3-ANCA-positive AAV (PR3-AAV) are prevalent in European populations, while microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and myeloperoxidase-ANCA-positive AAV (MPO-AAV) are predominant in the Japanese. We previously demonstrated association of DRB1*09:01-DQB1*03:03 haplotype, a haplotype common in East Asians but rare in the European populations, with MPA/MPO-AAV, suggesting that a population difference in HLA-class II plays a role in the epidemiology of this disease. To gain further insights, we increased the sample size and performed an extended association study of DRB1 and DPB1 with AAV subsets in 468 Japanese patients with AAV classified according to the European Medicines Agency algorithm (MPA: 285, GPA: 92, eosinophilic GPA [EGPA]: 56, unclassifiable: 35) and 596 healthy controls. Among these patients, 377 were positive for MPO-ANCA and 62 for PR3-ANCA. The significance level was set at α = 3.3x10-4 by applying Bonferroni correction. The association of DRB1*09:01 with MPO-AAV was confirmed (allele model, P = 2.1x10-4, odds ratio [OR] = 1.57). Protective association of DRB1*13:02 was detected against MPO-AAV (allele model, P = 2.3x10-5, OR = 0.42) and MPA (dominant model, P = 2.7x10-4, OR = 0.43). A trend toward increased frequency of DPB1*04:01, the risk allele for GPA in European populations, was observed among Japanese patients with PR3-AAV when conditioned on DRB1*13:02 (Padjusted = 0.0021, ORadjusted = 3.48). In contrast, the frequency of DPB1*04:01 was decreased among Japanese patients with MPO-AAV, and this effect lost significance when conditioned on DRB1*13:02 (Padjusted = 0.16), suggesting that DRB1*13:02 or other allele(s) in linkage disequilibrium may be responsible for the protection. The differential association of DPB1*04:01 with PR3-AAV and MPO-AAV and difference in DPB1*04:01 allele frequencies between populations supported the hypothesis that the HLA-class II population difference may account in part for these epidemiologic characteristics. Furthermore, taken together with our previous observations, the haplotype carrying DRB1*13:02 was suggested to be a shared protective factor against multiple autoimmune diseases

BrainTranscending: A Hybrid Divergent Thinking Method that Exploits Creator Blind Spots

Divergent thinking methods play a very important role in creating new ideas for planning and/or development activities based on specific themes or existing objects. However, even when using existing divergent thinking methods, it remains difficult to conceptualize truly novel ideas because creators are typically constrained by their fixed ideas. Therefore, we propose a novel divergent thinking method named “BrainTranscending (BT)” that exploits Brainstorming (BS), a typical divergent thinking method, as a way to identify the creator’s fixed ideas, rather than generate ideas, and thus support the further expansion of those ideas. We conducted user studies and confirmed that the number of idea groups that were created by BT significantly increased compared to typical brainstorming. Furthermore, the subjects evaluated the final ideas created with BT and determined that the quality was better than that of BS. We also propose the “Reduced BrainTranscending (RBT)” method for alleviating the heavy cognitive load that BT imposes on creators. We conducted user studies of RBT to investigate its usefulness and, consequently, concluded that BT and RBT are effective methods for supporting divergent thinking aimed at improving existing products

The feasibility of white matter volume reduction analysis using SPM8 plus DARTEL for the diagnosis of patients with clinically diagnosed corticobasal syndrome and Richardson’s syndrome

Purpose: Diagnosing corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is often difficult due to the wide variety of symptoms and overlaps in the similar clinical courses and neurological findings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of white matter (WM) atrophy for the diagnosis of patients with clinically diagnosed CBD (corticobasal syndrome, CBS) and PSP (Richardson’s syndrome, RS). Methods: We randomly divided the 3D T1-weighted MR images of 18 CBS patients, 33 RS patients, and 32 age-matched controls into two groups. We obtained segmented WM images in the first group using Voxel-based specific regional analysis system for Alzheimer’s disease (VSRAD) based on statistical parametric mapping (SPM) 8 plus diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated Lie algebra. A target volume of interest (VOI) for disease-specific atrophy was subsequently determined in this group using SPM8 group analyses of WM atrophy between patients groups and controls. We then evaluated the utility of these VOIs for diagnosing CBS and RS patients in the second group. Z score values in these VOIs were used as the determinant in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. Results: Specific target VOIs were determined in the bilateral frontal subcortical WM for CBS and in the midbrain tegmentum for RS. In ROC analyses, the target VOIs of CBS and RS compared to those of controls exhibited an area under curve (AUC) of 0.99 and 0.84, respectively, which indicated an adequate diagnostic power. The VOI of CBS revealed a higher AUC than that of RS for differentiating between CBS and RS (AUC, 0.75 vs 0.53). Conclusions: Bilateral frontal WM volume reduction demonstrated a higher power for differentiating CBS from RS. This VOI analysis is useful for clinically diagnosing CBS and RS

Correction to: Intracellular hypoxia measured by F-18 fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography has prognostic impact in patients with estrogen-receptor positive breast (BRCR-D17-00693)

After the publication of this article [1], we noticed that in Fig. 2, the survival curve images (C and D, lower panel) were incorrect. The corrected Fig. 2 is presented below. The correction does not affect in any our results and conclusions

The oral bacterium Streptococcus mutans promotes tumor metastasis by inducing vascular inflammation

Recent studies have demonstrated a relationship between oral bacteria and systemic inflammation. Endothelial cells (ECs), which line blood vessels, control the opening and closing of the vascular barrier and contribute to hematogenous metastasis; however, the role of oral bacteria-induced vascular inflammation in tumor metastasis remains unclear. In this study, we examined the phenotypic changes in vascular ECs following Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) stimulation in vitro and in vivo. The expression of molecules associated with vascular inflammation and barrier-associated adhesion was analyzed. Tumor metastasis was evaluated after intravenous injection of S. mutans in murine breast cancer hematogenous metastasis model. The results indicated that S. mutans invaded the ECs accompanied by inflammation and NF-kappa B activation. S. mutans exposure potentially disrupts endothelial integrity by decreasing vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin expression. The migration and adhesion of tumor cells were enhanced in S. mutans-stimulated ECs. Furthermore, S. mutans-induced lung vascular inflammation promoted breast cancer cell metastasis to the lungs in vivo. The results indicate that oral bacteria promote tumor metastasis through vascular inflammation and the disruption of vascular barrier function. Improving oral hygiene in patients with cancer is of great significance in preventing postoperative pneumonia and tumor metastasis