Young Japanese People\u27s Views On Civic (Dis)Engagement

本稿は社会参加に関する意識調査を目的とする記述式アンケートに回答した日本の青年151名の意見を報告し、その社会参加に消極的な理由を解明すると共に、状況是正への提言を行うものである。In this article, we report on opinions held by 151 Japanese youth who responded to open-ended questions about civic engagement. The study sheds light on some reasons for Japanese youths\u27 civic disengagement and concludes with suggestions to remedy the situation

Vision outcome with antiglaucoma therapy and prognostic factors in canine glaucoma: A 6-years retrospective study in Japan

Vision outcome provides invaluable information in clinical decision making in the management of canine glaucoma. In the present study, data of glaucoma dogs were retrospectively evaluated for vision outcome by treatment modality (with or without surgical implantation of the Ahmed glaucoma valve, AGV) and by type of glaucoma, sex and breed in cases of medically treated glaucoma. Among 1990 dogs presented with eye diseases between 2011 and 2017, 224 dogs (11.3%) were diagnosed with glaucoma at initial presentation and 228 eyes of 207 dogs have follow-up records of at least 30 days were included in the analysis. At the time of first presentation, 62/228 eyes (27.2%) were visual. Visual preservation rates were constantly significantly higher in dogs that received AGV placement with a median time to vision loss of 76.4 weeks vs. 9.6 weeks in dogs that received medical treatment alone. Among dogs treated medically, vision outcome was comparable between two types of glaucoma (i.e., primary and secondary) and between sexes. Medically treated Shiba dogs showed significantly lower vision preservation rates and a shorter median time to vision loss compared to other breeds. These results suggest that AGV implants result in better vision outcome compared to medical therapy alone and should be considered in dogs that are visual at the time of presentation and suitable for surgery. And Shiba dogs are considered as the factor that indicate poor vision outcome of medical treatment alone in the present study

Aqueous humor SPARC concentration in canine glaucomas

This study was conducted to identify new objective parameters to diagnose and etiologically differentiate canine glaucomas. In the first phase, proteomic analysis was performed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) on the aqueous humor of each single eye of five healthy dogs, three dogs with primary glaucoma, and three dogs with secondary glaucoma. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) was identified as a protein that was expressed in all healthy dogs but not in any of glaucomatous dogs. In the second part of the study, we examined SPARC concentrations in the aqueous humor of each single eye of 13 healthy dogs, 14 dogs with primary glaucoma and 13 dogs with secondary glaucoma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The SPARC concentration was numerically lower with primary glaucoma (0.486 ± 0.047 ng/ml, mean ± standard error) and numerically higher with secondary glaucoma (0.738 ± 0.089 ng/ml) compared to the control eyes (0.637 ± 0.081 ng/ml). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis confirmed the ability of the aqueous humor SPARC concentration to differentiate between primary and secondary glaucomas (AUC = 0.72). Thus, 2D-PAGE and MS might be valuable tools for screening of the aqueous humor proteins in canine glaucoma, and the SPARC concentration has a clinical potential in the etiological classification of canine glaucomas

Beneficial Effects of the Genus Aloe on Wound Healing, Cell Proliferation, and Differentiation of Epidermal Keratinocytes.

Aloe has been used as a folk medicine because it has several important therapeutic properties. These include wound and burn healing, and Aloe is now used in a variety of commercially available topical medications for wound healing and skin care. However, its effects on epidermal keratinocytes remain largely unclear. Our data indicated that both Aloe vera gel (AVG) and Cape aloe extract (CAE) significantly improved wound healing in human primary epidermal keratinocytes (HPEKs) and a human skin equivalent model. In addition, flow cytometry analysis revealed that cell surface expressions of β1-, α6-, β4-integrin, and E-cadherin increased in HPEKs treated with AVG and CAE. These increases may contribute to cell migration and wound healing. Treatment with Aloe also resulted in significant changes in cell-cycle progression and in increases in cell number. Aloe increased gene expression of differentiation markers in HPEKs, suggesting roles for AVG and CAE in the improvement of keratinocyte function. Furthermore, human skin epidermal equivalents developed from HPEKs with medium containing Aloe were thicker than control equivalents, indicating the effectiveness of Aloe on enhancing epidermal development. Based on these results, both AVG and CAE have benefits in wound healing and in treatment of rough skin