The relationship between life expectancy and indexes of socioeconomy and nutrition at the prefectural level

日本は世界一の長寿国として知られている.その関連因子を探るため,さまざまな視点から研究されている.本研究は2000年における都道府県別の平均寿命,世帯における夫婦の就業状況,医療資源,医療費,栄養素摂取量などの指標を用い,日本人の平均寿命と関連する因子を明確にすることを目的にした.その結果,就業状況は男女の平均寿命と関連していることが示唆された.特に,男性の関連因子のなか,就業状況との関連性が最も強かった.医療指標に関しては,女性において,医療資源の充実は長寿につながることが示唆された.その他,男性において,生活習慣の一部を反映する指標は関連因子になった.女性では,栄養に関する指標は重要な関連因子の一つと考えられた.さらに,喫煙は男女の平均寿命と負の関連があったことも示唆された.It is well known that Japanese people have the longest life expectancy in the world at present. Variouspoints of view which focus on causal contexts are reported. The present study used a database at theprefectural level in Japan, which included Japanese life expectancy at birth, employment types of thehousehold, medical resources, medical expenses, and nutrition indexes in 2000. The purpose of the studywas to clarify the major related factors on Japanese life expectancy. The results suggest that theemployment types of the household had an effect on both men and women; however, the strongest effectwas seen among the related factors for men. Medical resources were also linked with longevity for womendue to the presence of substantial medical services. The indexes related to lifestyle habits appeared to beassociated more with life expectancy for men, while nutrition indexes contributed strongly for women. Itwas also suggested that smoking had a negative effect on life expectancy for both men and women

Fractal Behavior in the Clarification Process of Cane Sugar Production

Cane sugar production is an important industrial process. One of the most important steps in cane sugar production is the clarification process, which provides high-quality, concentrated sugar syrup crystal for further processing. To gain fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical processes associated with the clarification process and help design better approaches to improve the clarification of the mixed juice, we explore the fractal behavior of the variables pertinent to the clarification process. We show that the major variables in this key process all show persistent long-range correlations, for time scales up to at least a few days. Persistent long-range correlations amount to unilateral deviations from a preset target. This means that when the process is in a desired mode such that the target variables, color of the produced sugar and its clarity degree, both satisfy preset conditions, they will remain so for a long period of time. However, adversity could happen, in the sense that when they do not satisfy the requirements, the adverse situation may last quite long. These findings have to be explicitly accounted for when designing active controlling strategies to improve the quality of the produced sugar

Experimental study of aerospace solid propellant fracturing in simulated coal sample

Coal reservoirs with high gas content and low permeability seriously restrict the efficient production of coal and coalbed methane. It is necessary to fracture and enhance the permeability of coal reservoirs. Aerospace solid propellant deflagration can generate a large amount of high-energy gas to impact coal reservoirs, which can achieve the purpose of fracturing and enhancing permeability of coal reservoirs. To study the characteristics of aerospace solid propellant for fracturing coal, a solid propellant for fracturing and permeability enhancement of coal reservoir was firstly researched and developed based on the formula of civil aerospace solid propellant, was, and its performance, sensitivity, pressure and temperature resistance were tested. The aerospace solid propellant fracturing test was then carried out using simulated coal samples, and the borehole wall pressure and strain within the simulated coal samples were monitored during the test. Finally, the destruction characteristics of simulated coal samples were analyzed according to the test results. The results shown that the aerospace solid propellant had good performance, with the advantages of waterproof, pressure resistant, and no CO generation, which could be adapted to the underground environment of coal mine. During the test, the time curve of the borehole wall pressure shown the stages of rapid pressure rise, slow pressure rise, and nonlinear pressure drop, in which the rise time of the borehole wall pressure was about 18 ms. The peak pressure in the borehole was low and unevenly distributed. The peak pressure in the middle of the borehole was 118.1 MPa, and the peak pressure at the bottom of the borehole was 85.3 MPa. Stress wave generated in simulated coal sample during aerospace solid propellant fracturing was composed of compressive and tensile phases with low intensity, long duration and slow decay with distance. The aerospace solid propellant fracturing technology was dominated by the quasi-static action of high-energy gas, with high utilization of stress wave energy. The research results provide a reference for the application of aerospace solid propellant in the field of coalbed methane mining

Congenital bone marrow failure in DNA-PKcs mutant mice associated with deficiencies in DNA repair

The nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway is essential for radioresistance and lymphocyte-specific V(D)J (variable [diversity] joining) recombination. Defects in NHEJ also impair hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) activity with age but do not affect the initial establishment of HSC reserves. In this paper, we report that, in contrast to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)–dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs)–null mice, knockin mice with the DNA-PKcs(3A/3A) allele, which codes for three alanine substitutions at the mouse Thr2605 phosphorylation cluster, die prematurely because of congenital bone marrow failure. Impaired proliferation of DNA-PKcs(3A/3A) HSCs is caused by excessive DNA damage and p53-dependent apoptosis. In addition, increased apoptosis in the intestinal crypt and epidermal hyperpigmentation indicate the presence of elevated genotoxic stress and p53 activation. Analysis of embryonic fibroblasts further reveals that DNA-PKcs(3A/3A) cells are hypersensitive to DNA cross-linking agents and are defective in both homologous recombination and the Fanconi anemia DNA damage response pathways. We conclude that phosphorylation of DNA-PKcs is essential for the normal activation of multiple DNA repair pathways, which in turn is critical for the maintenance of diverse populations of tissue stem cells in mice

Experimental Study on High-Energy Gas Fracturing Artificial Coal

The low permeability of coal seams has always been the main bottleneck restricting coalbed gas drainage. To improve the permeability of a coal seam, a high-energy gas fracturing technology is proposed. Firstly, based on the high-energy gas fracturing mechanism and gas production principle of fracturing agent, a fracturing agent applicable to coal reservoirs was developed, and its performance and sensitivity were tested. Then, a high-energy gas-fracturing simulated coal sample test was conducted, and the drilling wall pressure and strain of the simulated coal sample were tested. The results show that high-energy gas fracturing technology is a safe and efficient technical means for improving the permeability of coal reservoirs. The pressure–time curve of the borehole wall under the action of high-energy gas can be divided into three stages, namely, the rapid pressure-rising stage, steady pressure stage, and falling stage; the maximum pressure in the borehole is about several hundred MPa, and the pressure distribution in the borehole is not uniform. Compared with explosives blasting, the stress wave intensity in coal caused by the action of high-energy gases is low, the duration is short, and the peak stress attenuates slowly with increasing distance. Under the action of high-energy gas, no crush zone is generated near the borehole; the number of radial cracks produced is small but long. The extent of the fracture zone depends mainly on the quasi-static splitting wedge effect of the high-energy gas

Experimental Study on High-Energy Gas Fracturing Artificial Coal

The low permeability of coal seams has always been the main bottleneck restricting coalbed gas drainage. To improve the permeability of a coal seam, a high-energy gas fracturing technology is proposed. Firstly, based on the high-energy gas fracturing mechanism and gas production principle of fracturing agent, a fracturing agent applicable to coal reservoirs was developed, and its performance and sensitivity were tested. Then, a high-energy gas-fracturing simulated coal sample test was conducted, and the drilling wall pressure and strain of the simulated coal sample were tested. The results show that high-energy gas fracturing technology is a safe and efficient technical means for improving the permeability of coal reservoirs. The pressure–time curve of the borehole wall under the action of high-energy gas can be divided into three stages, namely, the rapid pressure-rising stage, steady pressure stage, and falling stage; the maximum pressure in the borehole is about several hundred MPa, and the pressure distribution in the borehole is not uniform. Compared with explosives blasting, the stress wave intensity in coal caused by the action of high-energy gases is low, the duration is short, and the peak stress attenuates slowly with increasing distance. Under the action of high-energy gas, no crush zone is generated near the borehole; the number of radial cracks produced is small but long. The extent of the fracture zone depends mainly on the quasi-static splitting wedge effect of the high-energy gas

Effects of Yoga Intervention on Functional Movement Patterns and Mindfulness in Collegiate Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Study

High-quality movement patterns and high levels of mindfulness are thought to be beneficial in preventing sports injuries. Yoga is recommended in the field of athlete rehabilitation. This study investigated the effects of yoga intervention on functional movement patterns and mindfulness in collegiate athletes. It is a quasi-experimental study with a pre/post-test control design. The participants were divided into a yoga group and a control group. A Functional Movement Screen and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale were used to assess participants’ basic movement patterns and mindfulness before and after 12 weeks of yoga intervention (two classes per week, 90 min per class). The results show that the yoga group’s FMS scores improved more compared to the control group [F(1,78) = 29.08, p < 0.001, ŋp2 = 0.27], and that the scores for the deep squat (ŋp2 = 0.4), shoulder mobility (ŋp2 = 0.17), and trunk stability pushup (ŋp2 = 0.36) improved substantially. The dysfunctional score ratio for deep squats (χ2 = 18.57, p < 0.001), shoulder mobility (χ2 = 26.90, p < 0.001), trunk stability pushup (χ2 = 17.07, p < 0.001), and rotatory stability (χ2= 38.29, p <0.001) decreased significantly compared with the control group, but there was no significant improvement in asymmetric movement patterns (χ2 = 0.75, p = 0.39). The mindfulness scores in the yoga group significantly exceeded those of the control group [F(1,78) = 13.56, p < 0.001, ŋp2 = 0.15]. These results suggest that yoga intervention can improve functional movement patterns and mindfulness levels, but further evidence is needed to determine whether yoga could positively influence sports injuries

CAC1 knockdown reverses drug resistance through the downregulation of P-gp and MRP-1 expression in colorectal cancer.

CDK2-associated cullin domain 1 (CAC1) is as a novel cell cycle regulator widely expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its expression and function in drug resistant CRC cells remains elusive. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the biochemical function and relevance of CAC1 in drug resistant CRC cells, and detect the potential mechanism. For this purpose, a total of 83 CRC cases were collected for the immunohistochemical analysis of CAC1 expression. Functional studies (stable transfection, flow cytometry, colony formation, and invasion and migration assays) were performed in SW480, LoVo and their corresponding 5-FU resistant cells. In addition, a nude mice xenograft model was established for further observation in vivo. In the present study, CAC1 protein expression was higher in CRC tissues than that in normal tissues (P<0.05). Furthermore, CAC1 protein expression was higher in SW480/5-FU cells than in SW480 cells. CAC1 knockdown arrested 5-FU resistant cells at the G1/S phase and increased the sensitivity of 5-FU resistant cells to 5-FU by inducing apoptosis. In addition, CAC1 reduced the invasive and migration ability of SW480/5-FU and LoVo/5-FU cells in vitro, and reduced their tumorigenicity and metastatic ability in vivo. Finally, CAC1 knockdown resulted in decreased P-glycoprotein and MRP-1 protein expression. Based on these results, it can be concluded that CAC1 plays an important role in the occurrence and promotion of drug resistance in CRC. Therefore, the knockdown of CAC1 may be considered as a new strategy for the development of CRC drug resistance treatments in the future

The correlation between dietary habits and the knowledge of nutrition among elementary school children

本研究は, 小学生における食習慣と栄養知識との関連を明確にすることを目的とした. 2004年に二つの小学校で, 3年生から6年生の男児458名と女児443名, 合計901名を対象にアンケート調査を行った. 分析方法では, 累積ロジスティック回帰分析を行い, オッズ比と95%信頼区間を求めた. その結果, 好ましい食習慣がある児童は, 規則正しくない食習慣がある児童より栄養知識得点が高くなる傾向がみられた. さらに, 朝食を毎日摂取する児童は, 欠食する児童と比べ, 栄養知識得点が高くなることがオッズ比で示された. 今回の調査を通して, 朝食の摂取と栄養知識得点との関連をオッズ比で量的に明確にすることができた. 食習慣は児童の生活において大切な位置を占めている. 栄養知識の教育を通して, 食習慣を改善することが可能であることが示唆された