A Study of Lecture Meetings and Childcare Activities in The Kindergarten

本研究の目的は、子育て支援の一環として試みた講演会や親子での活動が保護者にどのように受け止められ活動の後で変化をもたらしたかをアンケート調査し、今後の講演会や親子活動のあり方を考える上での基礎資料を得ることである。その結果、親子が一緒に活動するものや内容が具体的で保護者のニーズに対応したものの方が、参加率が高く、男女共7割以上の保護者が参加する前より考え方を変化させている。そして、親子参加型の子育て支援が望まれていることが明らかになった。The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of our support of childcare activities: lecture meetings and activities with parents and children. Parents were asked how they accepted these activities and what changes were brought by them. The results should that many parents took part in activities with children, and lecture meetings which had practical and concrete contents. And more than 70% of parents have changed their way of thinking

Odontogenic stem cells

Epithelial cell rests of Malassez (ERM) are quiescent epithelial remnants of the Hertwig’s epithelial root sheath (HERS) that are involved in the formation of tooth roots. ERM cells are unique epithelial cells that remain in periodontal tissues throughout adult life. They have a functional role in the repair/regeneration of cement or enamel. Here, we isolated odontogenic epithelial cells from ERM in the periodontal ligament, and the cells were spontaneously immortalized. Immortalized odontogenic epithelial (iOdE) cells had the ability to form spheroids and expressed stem cell-related genes. Interestingly, iOdE cells underwent osteogenic differentiation, as demonstrated by the mineralization activity in vitro in mineralization-inducing media and formation of calcification foci in iOdE cells transplanted into immunocompromised mice. These findings suggest that a cell population with features similar to stem cells exists in ERM and that this cell population has a differentiation capacity for producing calcifications in a particular microenvironment. In summary, iOdE cells will provide a convenient cell source for tissue engineering and experimental models to investigate tooth growth, differentiation, and tumorigenesis

Transformations in Oral Japanese

In Japanese, written form and oral form are historically different. In this research I tried to find some regularity in transformations of oral form in written media. They are, for example, OMBIN-KA, curtailed vowel, shortcut form, and so on

Insertion of Calcium Ion into Prussian Blue Analogue in Nonaqueous Solutions and Its Application to a Rechargeable Battery with Dual Carriers

We observed the first electrochemical insertion of Ca²⁺ into Prussian blue analogue, MnFe­(CN)₆, in nonaqueous solutions of Ca­(CF₃SO₃)₂ and various solvents including ionic liquid at 60 °C. The kinetics for the Ca²⁺ insertion reaction were studied by cyclic voltammetry, and were compared to those of Na⁺ intercalation. By coupling this phenomenon with metallic anodes, two energy storage devices were made. Ca anode produced a primary cell that operated at a voltage of around 2.0 V. When Mg plate was used as an anode, the negative active material associated with CF₃SO₃^–, which we have already reported was newly formed at the surface of Mg plate. By combining the negative active material, we have fabricated a novel rechargeable battery using dual ion transport species of Ca²⁺ for the cathode and CF₃SO₃^– for the anode, and demonstrated that the battery showed repeated discharge/charge performance

UV-B Radiation Induces Epithelial Tumors in Mice Lacking DNA Polymerase η and Mesenchymal Tumors in Mice Deficient for DNA Polymerase ι

DNA polymerase η (Pol η) is the product of the Polh gene, which is responsible for the group variant of xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare inherited recessive disease which is characterized by susceptibility to sunlight-induced skin cancer. We recently reported in a study of Polh mutant mice that Pol η is involved in the somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin genes, but the cancer predisposition of Polh(−/−) mice has not been examined until very recently. Another translesion synthesis polymerase, Pol ι, a Pol η paralog encoded by the Poli gene, is naturally deficient in the 129 mouse strain, and the function of Pol ι is enigmatic. Here, we generated Polh Poli double-deficient mice and compared the tumor susceptibility of them with Polh- or Poli-deficient animals under the same genetic background. While Pol ι deficiency does not influence the UV sensitivity of mouse fibroblasts irrespective of Polh genotype, Polh Poli double-deficient mice show slightly earlier onset of skin tumor formation. Intriguingly, histological diagnosis after chronic treatment with UV light reveals that Pol ι deficiency leads to the formation of mesenchymal tumors, such as sarcomas, that are not observed in Polh(−/−) mice. These results suggest the involvement of the Pol η and Pol ι proteins in UV-induced skin carcinogenesis

Subtyping of Type 1 Diabetes as Classified by Anti-GAD Antibody, IgE Levels, and Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) Promoter Variant in the Japanese

Objective: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is known to be caused by Th1 cell-dependent autoimmunity. Recently, we reported that TYK2 promoter variant serves as a putative virus-induced diabetes susceptibility gene associated with deteriorated interferon-dependent antiviral response. TYK2 is also related to HIES, that is, Th2 cell-dependent. Therefore, TYK2 promoter variant may be also associated with the pathogenesis of T1D, modulating Th1/Th2 balance. Research Design and Methods: We assessed the association between anti- GAD Ab, IgE levels, and TYK2 promoter variant among 313 T1D patients, 184 T2D patients, and 264 YH controls in the Japanese. Results: T1D patients had elevated IgE (median, 56.7 U/ml; p < 0.0001) compared with T2D patients (22.5 U/ml) and controls (43.3 U/ml). Contrary to our expectations, there was no correlation between TYK2 promoter variant and IgE levels. We found that T1D could be subtyped as four groups based on anti-GAD Ab and IgE profile: Subtype 1, anti-GAD Ab positive and non-elevated IgE (47.0%); Subtype 2, anti-GAD Ab negative and non-elevated IgE (35.1%); Subtype 3, anti-GAD Ab positive and elevated IgE (10.9%); and Subtype 4, anti-GAD Ab negative and elevated IgE (7.0%). In Subtype 2, a significantly higher incidence was observed in T1D cases carrying the TYK2 promoter variant (OR, 2.60; 95%CI, 1.03–6.97; p = 0.032), and also showing a flu-like syndrome at diabetes onset (OR, 2.34; 95%CI, 1.27–4.35; p = 0.003). Interpretation: Anti-GAD Ab and IgE profiling helps classifying T1D into four groups that recognize variable pathogenic bases of T1D