Factors Related to Positive Feelings of Caregivers Who Provide Home-Based Long-Term Care for Their Family Members in Japan

Background. The objective is to elucidate the factors related to the positive feelings of family caregivers who are engaged in home-based elderly care. Methods. The study utilized the data of a cross-sectional citywide survey in Japan. The survey was conducted with 1,821 subjects and the final analysis was performed on 435 subjects. Questions for recipients such as those on their care levels, causes of care, whereas the primary caregivers were asked about whether they had positive feelings toward caregiving, and whether their opinion was reflected in care policies. Results. The factors s that showed a positive association with positive feelings were “the caregiver’s opinion is reflected in care policies” (OR: 5.05, 95% CI: 2.60–9.87) and “the caregiver is in good health condition” (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.02–3.93). The factors that showed a negative association were “the caregiver is a daughter-in-law of the care recipient” (OR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.21–0.82) and “the care recipient is an elderly person with cognitive impairment” (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.18–0.70). Conclusions. The study suggests the necessity of providing support for caregivers in terms of empowerment and health management. Furthermore, they suggest that special attention should be paid to caregivers at risk of being unable to sustain positive feelings toward caregiving

Predictors of volunteerism: A study of older adults in Japan

Volunteerism has risen steadily as a viable activity at old age in Japan for it gives older adults ways to contribute to society as well as enhancing their quality of life. It has also been addressed by the national government and adopted by many local municipalities under the long-term care insurance program as a health promotion and preventive care activity. However, studies examining why older adults volunteer and why some don’t are limited. Using a modified version of Baltes and colleagues’ model of competence, this study examines the predictors of volunteerism among older adults in Japan. Data from a city located northeast of Tokyo was used (n=703). Results indicated that basic competence does not predict volunteerism, but rather competence gained from experiences. To increase the number of older volunteers, the study suggests that civic engagement must start at an earlier age coupled with financial stability. Keywords: volunteerism, older adults, Japan, competence, long-term care insuranc

Structural basis of enzyme activity regulation by the propeptide of l-lysine α-oxidase precursor from Trichoderma viride

Harmuful proteins are usually synthesized as inactive precursors and are activated by proteolytic processing. l-Amino acid oxidase (LAAO) is a flavoenzyme that catalyzes the oxidative deamination of l-amino acid to produce a 2-oxo acid with ammonia and highly toxic hydrogen peroxide and, therefore, is expressed as a precursor. The LAAO precursor shows significant variation in size and the cleavage pattern for activation. However, the molecular mechanism of how the propeptide suppresses the enzyme activity remains unclear except for deaminating/decarboxylating Pseudomonasl-phenylalanine oxidase (PAO), which has a short N-terminal propeptide composed of 14 residues. Here we show the inactivation mechanism of the l-lysine oxidase (LysOX) precursor (prLysOX), which has a long N-terminal propeptide composed of 77 residues, based on the crystal structure at 1.97 Å resolution. The propeptide of prLysOX indirectly changes the active site structure to inhibit the enzyme activity. prLysOX retains weak enzymatic activity with strict specificity for l-lysine and shows raised activity in acidic conditions. The structures of prLysOX crystals that soaked in a solution with various concentrations of l-lysine have revealed that prLysOX can adopt two conformations; one is the inhibitory form, and the other is very similar to mature LysOX. The propeptide region of the latter form is disordered, and l-lysine is bound to the latter form. These results indicate that prLysOX uses a different strategy from PAO to suppress the enzyme activity and suggest that prLysOX can be activated quickly in response to the environmental change without proteolytic processing

大学におけるワークライフバランスの実現と子育て支援体制構築の過程― 山形大学男女共同参画推進室への訪問調査から ―

　『大学におけるワークライフバランスの現状と課題』研究プロジェクトでは、岩手県立大学における子育て支援体制の充実を図るために、「調査」、「視察」、「実践」の3 つを柱に、公立大学を対象とした男女共同参画推進状況調査、先駆事例である国立大学法人山形大学男女共同参画推進室の視察、本学の日曜勤務における託児設置を行った。本稿では、2 つめの「視察」について、国立大学法人山形大学男女共同参画推進室への訪問調査の結果に基づき、大学における子育て支援体制の現状と課題について、ニーズ把握、組織体制、教職員のコミットメント、実務課題などを柱に報告をする。　In an effort to improve childcare support systems at Iwate Prefectural University, this research project, entitled ‘The current situation and challenges of work-life balance in Universities,’ consists of three parts. They are 1） a survey on the progress of implementing gender equality in public universities, 2） a visit and observation of the Office for Gender Equality of Yamagata University, a pioneer in this area, and 3） the implementation of childcare services for Sunday shifts in this university. This paper outlines the current situation and challenges of childcare support systems at national universities through interviews with the Office of Gender Equality of Yamagata University, with a focus on assessing needs, organizational structure, commitment of staff and practical challenges

Disability, poverty, and role of the basic livelihood security system on health services utilization among the elderly in South Korea

With rapid aging, many of the elderly suffer from poverty and high healthcare needs. In Korea, there is a means-tested and non-contributory public assistance, the National Basic Livelihood Security System (NBLSS). The purpose of this study is to show older population\u27s condition of disability and poverty, to evaluate the impact of NBLSS on health services utilization, and to examine the differential effect of the NBLSS by disability status among the elderly. This study used the Korea Welfare Panel Study data 2005–2014 with the final sample of 40,365, who were 65 years and older. The participants were divided into people with mild disability, severe disability, and without disability according to the Korean disability registration system. The income-level was defined to the low-income with NBLSS, the low-income without NBLSS, and the middle and high income, using the relative poverty line as a proxy of the low-income. The dependent variables were the number of outpatient visits and inpatient days, experience of home care services, total healthcare expenditure, and financial burden of healthcare expenditure. We performed Generalized Estimating Equations population-averaged model using the ten years of panel data. The result showed that within the same disability status, the low-income without NBLSS group used the least amount of inpatient care, but their financial burden of health expenditure was the highest among the three income groups. The regression model showed that if the elderly with severe disability were in the low-income without NBLSS, they reduced the outpatient and inpatient days; but their financial burden of healthcare became intensified. This study shows that the low-income elderly with disability but without adequate social protection are the most disadvantaged group. Policy is called for to mitigate the difficulties of this vulnerable population

Synthesis of Sterically Protected Isoindoles from ortho-Phthalaldehyde

o-Phthalaldehyde (OPA) reacts with O-protected tris(hydroxyalkyl) aminomethanes in the presence of 1-propanethiol to afford a novel class of stable isoindoles. Steric protection provided by the bulkiness of C3-symmetric primary amines derived from tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane could be significant for the stabilization of 1-alkylthio-2-alkyl-substituted isoindoles derived from OPA. A plausible reaction mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of the isoindole and an isoindolin-1-one by-product

A prospective compound screening contest identified broader inhibitors for Sirtuin 1

Potential inhibitors of a target biomolecule, NAD-dependent deacetylase Sirtuin 1, were identified by a contest-based approach, in which participants were asked to propose a prioritized list of 400 compounds from a designated compound library containing 2.5 million compounds using in silico methods and scoring. Our aim was to identify target enzyme inhibitors and to benchmark computer-aided drug discovery methods under the same experimental conditions. Collecting compound lists derived from various methods is advantageous for aggregating compounds with structurally diversified properties compared with the use of a single method. The inhibitory action on Sirtuin 1 of approximately half of the proposed compounds was experimentally accessed. Ultimately, seven structurally diverse compounds were identified