Identification of Genes Required for Neural-Specific Glycosylation Using Functional Genomics

Glycosylation plays crucial regulatory roles in various biological processes such as development, immunity, and neural functions. For example, α1,3-fucosylation, the addition of a fucose moiety abundant in Drosophila neural cells, is essential for neural development, function, and behavior. However, it remains largely unknown how neural-specific α1,3-fucosylation is regulated. In the present study, we searched for genes involved in the glycosylation of a neural-specific protein using a Drosophila RNAi library. We obtained 109 genes affecting glycosylation that clustered into nine functional groups. Among them, members of the RNA regulation group were enriched by a secondary screen that identified genes specifically regulating α1,3-fucosylation. Further analyses revealed that an RNA–binding protein, second mitotic wave missing (Swm), upregulates expression of the neural-specific glycosyltransferase FucTA and facilitates its mRNA export from the nucleus. This first large-scale genetic screen for glycosylation-related genes has revealed novel regulation of fucTA mRNA in neural cells

Web-based Education for Preventing Sexual Violence among Junior High School Students in Japan

Background: The World Health Organization has recognized intimate partner violence and sexual violence as significant international health and human rights issues, and has recommended strengthening preventive measures. These are serious human rights problems that need to be addressed as soon as possible. In Japan, there has been an increase in sexual violence that involves people who meet each other via the Internet.Objective: This study was performed to investigate the influence of web-based education for preventing sexual violence among junior high school students in Japan.Methods: From September 2015 to February 2016, we surveyed a total of 788 students aged 13 to 14 years at 10 junior high schools where the principals gave approval for this research. Group education concerning domestic violence was provided to all students. We investigated the usefulness of education for preventing sexual violence by web-based education. The attitude of participants to perpetration of physical and emotional violence was assessed, as well as utilization of healthy conflict resolution skills in peer and dating relationships of participants.Results: A total of 730 students consented to participate in this study (valid response rate, 92.6%) before receiving group education, and 671 consented to the follow-up survey (valid response rate, 85.2%). Students who completed internet learning after group education (intervention group, n=305) were compared with those who did not participate in internet learning (control group, n=366). In boys, webbased education achieved improvement of attitudes to physical violence, other-oriented emotional reactivity (empathy), assertiveness, discussion with other individuals, and attack avoidance, while girls showed improvement of discussion with other individuals.Conclusion: This study suggested that web-based education on prevention of sexual violence is effective for decreasing the occurrence of violence and increasing healthy conflict resolution.原著論文 = original articl

Evaluation of Sugi Finger-jointed Laminae with a Knot and Starved Joints by Acoustic Emission

In the manufacture of glulam timbers, the laminae that have knots near the finger-joint and starved part in the finger-joint are often found, and it will greatly influence the decrease in strength of products. Therefore, the detection of knots and starved joints is important for preparation of laminae, and the method is hoped to be simple and non.destructive. In this study, sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) finger-jointed laminae with an intergrown knot near the finger-joint and starved joints in the finger-joint were prepared, and the evaluation of finger-joint performance was conducted by acoustic emission (AE) as the non-destructive method. That is, bending tests for these laminae were performed, and AE generated during bending test was measured along with load. Then, the correspondence between AE characteristics and the strength properties was examined. The main results are summarized as follows: for the laminae with a knot parallel to the finger-joint and starved joints in the finger-joints, AE signals were measured at the early stage of the bending test and the accumulated AE count was large as compared with the laminae without knots and starved joints/controls. Therefore, the AE technique is promising for the monitoring of knots and starved joints during bending test. In this experiment, for the laminae with a knot, the difference of the bending strength was not admitted. From this result, the bending strength was almost unaffected by the difference of the knot position near finger-joint. For the laminae with starved-joints, the MOE was almost unaffected by the presence of the starved joints, while the MOR decreased slightly as compared with the controls. It follows from the above results that the AE technique is promising for the detection of knot parallel to the finger-joint and starved joints in the finger-joint at the early stage of the bending test, even if the knot and starved joints do not cause much reduction in the bending strength

Evaluation of Sugi Finger-jointed Laminae with a Knot and Starved Joints by Acoustic Emission

In the manufacture of glulam timbers, the laminae that have knots near the finger-joint and starved part in the finger-joint are often found, and it will greatly influence the decrease in strength of products. Therefore, the detection of knots and starved joints is important for preparation of laminae, and the method is hoped to be simple and non.destructive. In this study, sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) finger-jointed laminae with an intergrown knot near the finger-joint and starved joints in the finger-joint were prepared, and the evaluation of finger-joint performance was conducted by acoustic emission (AE) as the non-destructive method. That is, bending tests for these laminae were performed, and AE generated during bending test was measured along with load. Then, the correspondence between AE characteristics and the strength properties was examined. The main results are summarized as follows: for the laminae with a knot parallel to the finger-joint and starved joints in the finger-joints, AE signals were measured at the early stage of the bending test and the accumulated AE count was large as compared with the laminae without knots and starved joints/controls. Therefore, the AE technique is promising for the monitoring of knots and starved joints during bending test. In this experiment, for the laminae with a knot, the difference of the bending strength was not admitted. From this result, the bending strength was almost unaffected by the difference of the knot position near finger-joint. For the laminae with starved-joints, the MOE was almost unaffected by the presence of the starved joints, while the MOR decreased slightly as compared with the controls. It follows from the above results that the AE technique is promising for the detection of knot parallel to the finger-joint and starved joints in the finger-joint at the early stage of the bending test, even if the knot and starved joints do not cause much reduction in the bending strength

Web-based Education for Preventing Sexual Violence among Junior High School Students in Japan

http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/130007683255application/pdfBackground: The World Health Organization has recognized intimate partner violence and sexual violence as significant international health and human rights issues, and has recommended strengthening preventive measures. These are serious human rights problems that need to be addressed as soon as possible. In Japan, there has been an increase in sexual violence that involves people who meet each other via the Internet. Objective: This study was performed to investigate the influence of web-based education for preventing sexual violence among junior high school students in Japan. Methods: From September 2015 to February 2016, we surveyed a total of 788 students aged 13 to 14 years at 10 junior high schools where the principals gave approval for this research. Group education concerning domestic violence was provided to all students. We investigated the usefulness of education for preventing sexual violence by web-based education. The attitude of participants to perpetration of physical and emotional violence was assessed, as well as utilization of healthy conflict resolution skills in peer and dating relationships of participants. Results: A total of 730 students consented to participate in this study (valid response rate, 92.6%) before receiving group education, and 671 consented to the follow-up survey (valid response rate, 85.2%). Students who completed internet learning after group education (intervention group, n=305) were compared with those who did not participate in internet learning (control group, n=366). In boys, webbased education achieved improvement of attitudes to physical violence, other-oriented emotional reactivity (empathy), assertiveness, discussion with other individuals, and attack avoidance, while girls showed improvement of discussion with other individuals. Conclusion: This study suggested that web-based education on prevention of sexual violence is effective for decreasing the occurrence of violence and increasing healthy conflict resolution.原著論文 = original articl