The Fragility of Statistically Significant Results in Randomized Clinical Trials for COVID-19

[Importance] Interpreting results from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for COVID-19, which have been published rapidly and in vast numbers, is challenging during a pandemic. [Objective] To evaluate the robustness of statistically significant findings from RCTs for COVID-19 using the fragility index. [Design, Setting, and Participants] This cross-sectional study included COVID-19 trial articles that randomly assigned patients 1:1 into 2 parallel groups and reported at least 1 binary outcome as significant in the abstract. A systematic search was conducted using PubMed to identify RCTs on COVID-19 published until August 7, 2021. [Exposures] Trial characteristics, such as type of intervention (treatment drug, vaccine, or others), number of outcome events, and sample size. [Main Outcomes and Measures] Fragility index. [Results] Of the 47 RCTs for COVID-19 included, 36 (77%) were studies of the effects of treatment drugs, 5 (11%) were studies of vaccines, and 6 (13%) were of other interventions. A total of 138 235 participants were included in these trials. The median (IQR) fragility index of the included trials was 4 (1-11). The medians (IQRs) of the fragility indexes of RCTs of treatment drugs, vaccines, and other interventions were 2.5 (1-6), 119 (61-139), and 4.5 (1-18), respectively. The fragility index among more than half of the studies was less than 1% of each sample size, although the fragility index as a proportion of events needing to change would be much higher. [Conclusions and Relevance] This cross-sectional study found a relatively small number of events (a median of 4) would be required to change the results of COVID-19 RCTs from statistically significant to not significant. These findings suggest that health care professionals and policy makers should not rely heavily on individual results of RCTs for COVID-19

Studies of the role of steroid hormone in the regulation of oocyte maturation in cattle

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the steroid hormone(s) secreted from cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) is a prerequisite for bovine oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion using aminoglutethimide (AGT), a P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage inhibitor. METHODS: In experiment 1, COCs were cultured in maturation medium with various concentrations of AGT for 22 h to determine the effective concentration of AGT to inhibit steroid hormone secretion, meiotic maturation and cumulus expansion. In experiment 2, COCs were cultured in conditioned medium (CM) and TCM-199 medium with or without 10 mM AGT to check whether steroid hormones secreted from COCs were responsible for oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion. Experiments 3 and 4 were carried out to determine whether exogenous progesterone or estradiol-17beta was able to overcome the inhibitory effects of AGT on oocytes maturation and cumulus expansion. COCs cultured in 10 mM AGT-containing medium supplemented with various concentrations of progesterone or estradiol-17beta for 22 h were examined for oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion. RESULTS: Experiment 1 showed that a concentration of 10 mM AGT in medium was sufficient to block steroid hormone secretion, oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion, and that these inhibitory effects were fully reversible. In experiment 2, the addition of 10 mM AGT to CM did not significantly prevent oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion, implying that CM contains the steroid hormone(s) secreted from COCs, which are closely associated with oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion. The results in experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that the addition of any concentration of progesterone or estradiol-17beta in the medium did not reduce the inhibitory effects of AGT on oocyte maturation and cumulus expansion. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that bovine oocytes surrounded by cumulus cells are prevented from maturation and cumulus expansion through the inhibition of steroid secretion due to AGT, and that these inhibitory effects of AGT on oocyte maturation and cumulus expansions can not be overcome by the addition of either progesterone or estradiol-17beta in the medium. These observations suggest that some steroid hormone(s) other than P(4 )and E(2 )secreted from bovine COCs is essential for their meiotic maturation and cumulus expansion

EMPRESS. XI. SDSS and JWST Search for Local and z~4-5 Extremely Metal-Poor Galaxies (EMPGs): Clustering and Chemical Properties of Local EMPGs

We search for local extremely metal-poor galaxies (EMPGs), selecting photometric candidates by broadband color excess and machine-learning techniques with the SDSS photometric data. After removing stellar contaminants by shallow spectroscopy with Seimei and Nayuta telescopes, we confirm that three candidates are EMPGs with 0.05--0.1 $Z_\odot$ by deep Magellan/MagE spectroscopy for faint {\sc[Oiii]}$\lambda$4363 lines. Using a statistical sample consisting of 105 spectroscopically-confirmed EMPGs taken from our study and the literature, we calculate cross-correlation function (CCF) of the EMPGs and all SDSS galaxies to quantify environments of EMPGs. Comparing another CCF of all SDSS galaxies and comparison SDSS galaxies in the same stellar mass range ($10^{7.0}-10^{8.4} M_\odot$), we find no significant ($>1\sigma$) difference between these two CCFs. We also compare mass-metallicity relations (MZRs) of the EMPGs and those of galaxies at $z\sim$ 0--4 with a steady chemical evolution model and find that the EMPG MZR is comparable with the model prediction on average. These clustering and chemical properties of EMPGs are explained by a scenario of stochastic metal-poor gas accretion on metal-rich galaxies showing metal-poor star formation. Extending the broadband color-excess technique to a high-$z$ EMPG search, we select 17 candidates of $z\sim$ 4--5 EMPGs with the deep ($\simeq30$ mag) near-infrared JWST/NIRCam images obtained by ERO and ERS programs. We find galaxy candidates with negligible {\sc[Oiii]}$\lambda\lambda$4959,5007 emission weaker than the local EMPGs and known high-$z$ galaxies, suggesting that some of these candidates may fall in 0--0.01 $Z_\odot$, which potentially break the lowest metallicity limit known to date

家事・育児における性別役割分業とサポートネットワーク : 名古屋・ハルビン・コペンハーゲンの比較考察

　本稿の目的は、日本（名古屋）、中国（ハルビン）とデンマーク（コペンハーゲン）を対象に家事や育児の遂行のあり方を性別役割分業とサポートネットワークの視点から明らかにし、各地域の特徴を考察すること、および、名古屋における問題と課題を明らかにすることである。　本調査から、第1 に、育児に対するポジティブな主観的評価は、コペンハーゲン、ハルビン、名古屋の順に高いこと、第2 に、性別役割分業意識は、名古屋、ハルビン、コペンハーゲンの順に強固であることがわかった。そして第3 に、育児・家事に対するサポートは、コペンハーゲン、名古屋で比較的多く、ハルビンにおいて少なかった。　　名古屋においては、育児に対するネガティブな主観的評価が高くなっていた。夫・親族・友人らによるインフォーマルな育児サポートネットワークは存在してるものの、日常の家事・育児は夫婦をその担い手とし８割近くが妻の負担となっていた。夫はサポートネットワークの主たるエージェントであるが、日常的に役割を共有できる存在とはなっていない。名古屋には依然として性別役割分業規範が根強く存続していることが明らかになった。「孤育て」問題を解消するためには、夫婦間の家事・育児の役割共有に向けジェンダーの変容を促進するための政策を継続して推進することが必要である

Enhanced yet Inverted Effects of π‑Extension in Self-Assembly of Curved π‑Systems with Helicity

A sextuple helix molecule possessing four cove regions of helicene and two axes of biaryls was synthesized. The entropy-driven self-assembly in solution was determined by concentration- and temperature-dependent NMR spectra, which also revealed unique dynamics of isomerization involving structural changes at the cove regions. Unexpectedly, the assembly retarded the isomerization in solution, and the sextuple helix structure was rigidified

Survey of Dietary Habits and Physical Activity in Japanese Patients with Non-Obese Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The incidence of non-obese non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by the presence of a fatty liver in individuals with a normal body mass index, is on the rise globally. Effective management strategies, including lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise therapy, are urgently needed to address this growing public health concern. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between non-obese NAFLD, dietary habits, and physical activity levels. By elucidating these relationships, this research may contribute to the development of evidence-based recommendations for the management of non-obese NAFLD. The study had a single-center retrospective cross-sectional design and compared clinical data and dietary and physical activity habits between patients with and without non-obese NAFLD. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to investigate the relationship between food intake frequency and the development of NAFLD. Among the 455 patients who visited the clinic during the study period, 169 were selected for analysis, including 74 with non-obese NAFLD and 95 without NAFLD. The non-obese NAFLD group showed a less-frequent consumption of fish and fish products as well as olive oil and canola/rapeseed oil, while they showed more frequent consumption of pastries and cake, snack foods and fried sweets, candy and caramels, salty foods, and pickles compared to the non-NAFLD group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that NAFLD was significantly associated with the consumption of fish, fish products, and pickles at least four times a week. The physical activity level was lower and the exercise frequency was lower in patients with non-obese NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD. The results of this study suggest that a low consumption of fish and fish products and high consumption of pickles may be associated with a higher risk of non-obese NAFLD. Moreover, dietary habits and physical activity status should be taken into consideration for the management of patients with non-obese NAFLD. It is important to develop effective management strategies, such as dietary and exercise interventions, to prevent and treat NAFLD in this patient population