Effects of expression style of persuasive messages on attitudes: Studies using TV shopping program and blog

Effects of expression style of persuasive messages were investigated in two studies. Study 1 took up TV shopping and the effect of conscious processing style was manipulated in the experiment. participants were presented TV shopping program either in conscious way or nonconscious way. The merchandise and the message were either image-based advertisement or logical persuasive advertisement. When paticipants heard the message in nonconscious way, they were impressed by image ad more strongly than by logical ad. And the effect of logical ad was more remarkable in conscious mode than in nonconscious mode. Study 2 tested the effect of expression style of one-side communication and two-side communication of persuasive messages. The advocators of blog messages were experts or university students. And they described messages either in polite style or in assertive style. As the results, two-way communication was totally more effective than one-way communication. While the polite message of experts was more effective, the message of university students was more effective when in assertive style than in polite style. The results were consistent with the politeness theory, however an interesting interaction effect was found in the expression style. The interaction of advocator and expression style was discussed

Effects of Affect, Multi-Facet Thinking Style, and Need for Cognition on Persuasion by Movie Ad. : Testing by Using Rapid and Slow Movie

In this study, I investigated the effects of affect and multi-facet thinking style (MFTS) on the processing of persuasive messages in ads. First, the MFTS scale was constructed and its validity was tested. When MFTS was high, participants did not rely on and attribute the cause of an event to powerful others. And under the hypothesis that negative mood would facilitate a deliberative thinking style and rejection of a groundless message, an experimental study using TV shopping movie was executed. The results showed that those with higher MFTS scores were especially rejecting of rapid, groundless movie ads, although affective influence on thinking style was not observed. The validity of an effective MFTS scale was confirmed and affective influences were discussed.本研究ではメッセージ処理の自動的／熟慮的処理の2つの処理様式を取り上げ，これを規定するメッセージの受け手の感情状態および個人差変数である多面的思考傾向，認知欲求を取り上げた。研究1では多面的思考尺度を構成し，多面的に考えない者が事象の原因を権威ある他者のせいだと帰属しがちであることが確認された。研究2では，認知欲求が熟慮的思考様式の現れである複雑な刺激の中の矛盾する情報への着目の程度に影響を与え，不一致情報の再生を高めることが確認された。研究3において動画による説得的コミュニケーションである広告を刺激として速い動画，ゆっくりとした動画の2種類と文章広告を比べ，感情状態と個人差変数との関わりを調べた。その結果，多面的思考傾向は信憑性に欠ける速い動画メッセージへの評価を低下させることが示された。感情の効果は十分見られなかったが，今後刺激の感情価を勘案した研究計画の必要性が示された。本研究はJSPS科研費助成，基盤研究（C）13610167「画像による説得的コミュニケーションの処理様式を規定する要因についての研究」（研究代表者：北村英哉）に基づいたものである

Safety and efficacy of pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in clinical practice

SummaryBackgroudPrevious pirfenidone trials have only involved patients with mild-to-moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of pirfenidone in patients with mild-to-severe IPF in clinical practice.MethodsThe clinical records of 76 patients who were diagnosed with IPF and received pirfenidone were reviewed.ResultsThe most frequent adverse event was anorexia, although the grade of anorexia in most patients was mild. Dose reduction of pirfenidone improved anorexia in 84% affected patients, which resulted in a high medication compliance rate. The mean forced vital capacity (FVC) at the initiation of pirfenidone therapy in this study was approximately 10% lower than that in previous clinical trials. The mean change in FVC during the 6-month period prior to the therapy initiation was −188 mL, which improved to −19 mL during the 6-month period after therapy. Significant attenuation in percentage predicted diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide decline was also achieved after pirfenidone therapy initiation. The efficacy of pirfenidone in attenuating the degree of FVC decline was higher in the group with FVC decline of ≥150 mL during the 6-month period prior to therapy initiation. The levels of serum markers, such as KL-6 and SP-D, were also lowered by the therapy.ConclusionsThese results showed that pirfenidone was well-tolerated and had beneficial effects in patients with mild-to-severe and/or progressive IPF. The degree of disease progression prior to the initiation of pirfenidone therapy had an impact on the response to the therapy

Safety and tolerability of nintedanib in patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases: data from the randomized controlled INBUILD trial

Background: In the INBUILD trial in patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), nintedanib reduced the rate of decline in forced vital capacity compared with placebo, with side-effects that were manageable for most patients. We used data from the INBUILD trial to characterize further the safety and tolerability of nintedanib. Methods: Patients with fibrosing ILDs other than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), who had experienced progression of ILD within the 24 months before screening despite management deemed appropriate in clinical practice, were randomized to receive nintedanib 150 mg twice daily or placebo. To manage adverse events, treatment could be interrupted or the dose reduced to 100 mg twice daily. We assessed adverse events and dose adjustments over the whole trial. Results: A total of 332 patients received nintedanib and 331 received placebo. Median exposure to trial drug was 17.4 months in both treatment groups. Adverse events led to treatment discontinuation in 22.0% of patients treated with nintedanib and 14.5% of patients who received placebo. The most frequent adverse event was diarrhea, reported in 72.3% of patients in the nintedanib group and 25.7% of patients in the placebo group. Diarrhea led to treatment discontinuation in 6.3% of patients in the nintedanib group and 0.3% of the placebo group. In the nintedanib and placebo groups, respectively, 48.2% and 15.7% of patients had >= 1 dose reduction and/or treatment interruption. Serious adverse events were reported in 44.3% of patients in the nintedanib group and 49.5% of patients in the placebo group. The adverse event profile of nintedanib was generally consistent across subgroups based on age, sex, race and weight, but nausea, vomiting and dose reductions were more common among female than male patients. Conclusions: The adverse event profile of nintedanib in patients with progressive fibrosing ILDs other than IPF is consistent with its established safety and tolerability profile in patients with IPF and characterized mainly by gastrointestinal events, particularly diarrhea. Management of adverse events using symptomatic therapies and dose adjustment is important to minimize the impact of adverse events and help patients remain on therapy

Efficacy and safety of nintedanib in Japanese patients with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases : Subgroup analysis of the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 INBUILD trial

Background: The efficacy of nintedanib in progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) was demonstrated in the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled INBUILD trial. This subgroup analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of nintedanib in the Japanese population. Methods: Patients with progressive fibrosing ILDs (evaluated by physicians within 24 months of screening) were randomised (1:1) to twice-daily 150-mg nintedanib or placebo; treatment continued until the last patient completed 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was the annual rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) over 52 weeks. Time-to-first acute ILD exacerbation or death and time-to-death up until the last patient had completed the week 52 visit were evaluated. This subgroup analysis included 108 Japanese patients. Results: The adjusted annual rates of FVC decline (mL/year) over 52 weeks for Japanese patients were −148.31 (nintedanib) and −240.36 (placebo), adjusted difference: 92.05 (95% CI: −10.69–194.80) and for non-Japanese patients were −67.41 (nintedanib) and −177.65 (placebo), adjusted difference: 110.24 (95% CI: 64.97–155.52). No heterogeneity in treatment effect between Japanese and non-Japanese subgroups was observed (treatment-by-subgroup interaction, p = 0.75). The risks of “acute exacerbation or death” (hazard ratio, 0.30 [95% CI: 0.10–0.91]) and mortality (hazard ratio, 0.54 [95% CI: 0.14–2.11]) in Japanese patients were numerically lower for nintedanib than placebo. There were no new or unexpected safety findings. Conclusions: In Japanese patients, nintedanib slowed ILD progression, evidenced by a reduction in the annual rate of decline in FVC vs placebo. The efficacy and safety of nintedanib in Japanese patients were consistent with the overall INBUILD population

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Perception of Hidden Confidence in Neutral Expressions: Interactions of Facial Attractiveness, Self-Esteem, and Names to Be Addressed by

Even when a person is portraying a neutral expression, their internal feelings can be reflected subtly on their face, and observers can perceive them. A previous study took facial photographs of female models while wearing attractive and unattractive clothing. Although the models displayed neutral expressions for both cases, their faces while wearing attractive clothing were perceived as more attractive because, it was argued, the attractive clothing raised their confidence, which was observable on the neutral faces. The present study aimed to replicate this. Envisaging being addressed by a specific name (given name, nickname, and formal title) are used to alter the models’ internal states instead of clothing. Twenty-one Japanese models took three photographs of their faces while imagining (1) being addressed by names they like, (2) being addressed by names they dislike, and (3) being addressed by their surnames with titles. A number of Japanese observers viewed three images of the same model at once and ordered them according to their attractiveness (Study 1) and confidence (Study 2). The images in condition (1) were perceived as more attractive/confident than other images. This suggests that being addressed by the name we like can raise our confidence momentarily, and it reflects subtly in neutral expressions

COVID-19 and System Justification in Japan

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of external criticism of the healthcare system regarding management on COVID-19 pandemic on perceived both micro and macro-system justification in Japan