Introduction to Special Feature

This special feature is based on the symposium ,"Feelings of "Meiwaku/Burden" in Modern Japan’s Super-aging Society,” which was held on Monday, September 19, 2022. This symposium was sponsored by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20A00007. This project focuses on the fact that when people think about aging, end-of-life care, and death in modern Japan, many feel that “they do not want to be a burden to others.” The project is divided into three research groups: historic studies, studies of contemporary Japan, and field research. The symposium reported the results of the contemporary Japan research group, which is halfway through its research. The symposium consisted of two sessions, and this special feature is based on the three participants in the session titled “Feelings of"Meiwaku/Burden" : A Comparison with Other Countries.” Ryozo Suzuki’s study focuses on “the giving of gifts as being mutual actions of giving and receiving” to understand the elderly’s feelings of meiwaku and analyzes the significance and complex structures of the feeling of “being a burden to others” at the end of one’s life. Haruka Hikasa’s study considers the feelings of meiwaku in relation to the subject’s autonomy in the context of medical care provided to people with terminal or chronic illnesses. Natsumi Tanaka’s study examines the feelings of meiwaku among the elderly in France and is based on the work of Simone de Beauvoir. She determines the motivations behind the elderly’s feelings of meiwaku and categorizes them. The abovementioned studies present important research results and facilitate future comparative research on the feelings of meiwaku between Japan and other countries

The Uteroglobin Gene G38A Polymorphism Is Not Associated with Kawasaki Disease

This study analyzed the genomic DNA extracted from 170 patients with Kawasaki disease as well as their clinical and laboratory parametersto determine whether uteroglobin gene polymorphism, which may be associated with the morbidity rate and severity of IgA nephropathy, is involvedin the pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease, which is another type of vasculitic syndrome in childhood. The uteroglobin genotype at position38 was determined by Sau96I digestion of PCR products. The uteroglobin genotype and allele frequency in Kawasaki disease patientswere compared with those of published control data reported by three independent studies on Japanese individuals. The clinical parametersinvestigated were age at onset, gender, duration of fever, white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, aspartate aminotransferase, alanineaminotransferase and total protein. No significant difference associated with the uteroglobin genotype was observed in the clinical parameters.The genotypic and allele frequencies at position 38 of the uteroglobin gene did not differ significantly in the three studies of Japanese healthycontrols and the present study. The logistic regression analysis demonstrated that no clinical parameter was associated with the progressionto coronary artery lesions except for the duration of fever (odds ratio = 1.7; 95% confidential interval = 1.42-2.05). In conclusion, the presentstudy failed to prove an association of uteroglobin gene polymorphism with the morbidity rate or the severity of Kawasaki disease, but suggestedthe existence of a factor contributing to the onset of Kawasaki disease and progression to coronary artery lesions in Kawasaki diseasepatients