Does Clear Cornea Cataract Surgery Influence Conjunctivochalasis?

This is a Letter to the Editor and does not have an abstract

Population health and regional variations of disease burden in Japan, 1990–2015:a systematic subnational analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

BackgroundJapan has entered the era of super-ageing and advanced health transition, which is increasingly putting pressure on the sustainability of its health system. The level and pace of this health transition might vary across regions within Japan and concern is growing about increasing regional variations in disease burden. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015) provides a comprehensive, comparable framework. We used data from GBD 2015 with the aim to quantify the burden of disease and injuries, and to attribute risk factors in Japan at a subnational, prefecture-level.MethodsWe used data from GBD 2015 for 315 causes and 79 risk factors of death, disease, and injury incidence and prevalence to measure the burden of diseases and injuries in Japan and in the 47 Japanese prefectures from 1990 to 2015. We extracted data from GBD 2015 to assess mortality, causes of death, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), life expectancy, and healthy life expectancy (HALE) in Japan and its 47 prefectures. We split extracted data by prefecture and applied GBD methods to generate estimates of burden, and attributable burden due to known risk factors. We examined the prefecture-level relationships of common health system inputs (eg, health expenditure and workforces) to the GBD outputs in 2015 to address underlying determinants of regional health variations.FindingsLife expectancy at birth in Japan increased by 4·2 years from 79·0 years (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 79·0 to 79·0) to 83·2 years (83·1 to 83·2) between 1990 and 2015. However, the gaps between prefectures with the lowest and highest life expectancies and HALE have widened, from 2·5 to 3·1 years and from 2·3 to 2·7 years, respectively, from 1990 to 2015. Although overall age-standardised death rates decreased by 29·0% (28·7 to 29·3) from 1990 to 2015, the rates of mortality decline in this period substantially varied across the prefectures, ranging from -32·4% (-34·8 to -30·0) to -22·0% (-20·4 to -20·1). During the same time period, the rate of age-standardised DALYs was reduced overall by 19·8% (17·9 to 22·0). The reduction in rates of age-standardised YLDs was very small by 3·5% (2·6 to 4·3). The pace of reduction in mortality and DALYs in many leading causes has largely levelled off since 2005. Known risk factors accounted for 34·5% (32·4 to 36·9) of DALYs; the two leading behavioural risk factors were unhealthy diets and tobacco smoking in 2015. The common health system inputs were not associated with age-standardised death and DALY rates in 2015.InterpretationJapan has been successful overall in reducing mortality and disability from most major diseases. However, progress has slowed down and health variations between prefectures is growing. In view of the limited association between the prefecture-level health system inputs and health outcomes, the potential sources of regional variations, including subnational health system performance, urgently need assessment.FundingBill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Japan Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, AXA CR Fixed Income Fund and AXA Research Fund

自発的高運動ラットの安静時遺伝子発現パターンと野生型ラット運動時遺伝子発現パターンの違い

The Spontaneously-Running Tokushima Shikoku (SPORTS) strain is an original line derived from Wistar rats, which spontaneously runs >6 km/day on wheels, and has better glucose tolerance and less fat than Wistar rats. However, the molecular mechanism that contributes to the increased metabolic activity in SPORTS rats is unknown. The present study aimed to characterize the gene expression profiles of skeletal muscles in SPORTS rats housed under sedentary (SED) conditions. We found that the expression levels of genes encoding mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes such as ATP synthase 6 (mt-Atp6) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 6c (Cox 6c), were higher in the soleus (SOL) muscles of SED SPORTS than in SED Wistar rats. The ratio of type IIa myofibers was higher and glucose tolerance was better in SED SPORTS than in Wistar rats that were sedentary and trained daily on treadmills, respectively. We then investigated candidate genes that might contribute to the better glucose tolerance of SED SPORTS rats using DNA microarray analysis. Among 116 upregulated genes in the SOL muscles of SED SPORTS rats, only 19 were also increased in trained Wistar rats. We focused on v-erb-b2 erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog 3 (Erbb3), which was associated with glucose transport in myocytes, and found higher expression levels in the SOL muscles of SED SPORTS than in SED Wistar rats. The SOL muscles of SED SPORTS rats also contained more activity of β-hydroxy-acylCoA dehydrogenase, a key enzyme of β-oxidation, indicating enhanced lipid oxidation. These findings suggest that increased metabolic activity in skeletal muscle (especially the SOL muscle) of SPORTS rats is congenital and that gene expression profiles of SPORTS rats and Trained Wistar rats are different

Seismicity controlled by resistivity structure : the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, Kyushu Island, Japan

The M JMA 7.3 Kumamoto earthquake that occurred at 1:25 JST on April 16, 2016, not only triggered aftershocks in the vicinity of the epicenter, but also triggered earthquakes that were 50–100 km away from the epicenter of the main shock. The active seismicity can be divided into three regions: (1) the vicinity of the main faults, (2) the northern region of Aso volcano (50 km northeast of the mainshock epicenter), and (3) the regions around three volcanoes, Yufu, Tsurumi, and Garan (100 km northeast of the mainshock epicenter). Notably, the zones between these regions are distinctively seismically inactive. The electric resistivity structure estimated from one-dimensional analysis of the 247 broadband (0.005–3000 s) magnetotelluric and telluric observation sites clearly shows that the earthquakes occurred in resistive regions adjacent to conductive zones or resistive-conductive transition zones. In contrast, seismicity is quite low in electrically conductive zones, which are interpreted as regions of connected fluids. We suggest that the series of the earthquakes was induced by a local accumulated stress and/or fluid supply from conductive zones. Because the relationship between the earthquakes and the resistivity structure is consistent with previous studies, seismic hazard assessment generally can be improved by taking into account the resistivity structure. Following on from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake series, we suggest that there are two zones that have a relatively high potential of earthquake generation along the western extension of the MTL

Promotion of Intestinal Peristalsis by Bifidobacterium spp. Capable of Hydrolysing Sennosides in Mice

BACKGROUND:While there are a variety of identifiable causes of constipation, even idiopathic constipation has different possible mechanisms. Sennosides, the main laxative constituents of Daio, an ancient Kampo medicine, are prodrugs that are converted to an active principle, rheinanthrone, by intestinal microbiota. In this study, we aimed to determine the sennoside hydrolysis ability of lactic acid bacterial strains and bifidobacteria in the intestine and to investigate their effect on intestinal peristalsis in mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:A total of 88 lactic acid bacterial strains and 47 bifidobacterial strains were evaluated for their ability to hydrolyze sennosides. Our results revealed that 4 strains, all belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium, had strong sennoside hydrolysis ability, exhibiting a decrease of >70% of sennoside content. By thin-layer chromatography analysis, rheinanthrone was detected in the medium cultured with B. pseudocatenulatum LKM10070 and B. animalis subsp. lactis LKM512. The fecal sennoside contents significantly (P<0.001) decreased upon oral administration of these strains as compared with the control. Intestinal peristalsis activity was measured by the moved distance of the charcoal powder administered orally. The distance travelled by the charcoal powder in LKM512-treated mice was significantly longer than that of control (P<0.05). Intestinal microbiota were analysed by real-time PCR and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The diversity of the intestinal microbiota was reduced by kanamycin treatment and the diversity was not recovered by LKM512 treatment. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE:We demonstrated that intestinal peristalsis was promoted by rheinanthrone produced by hydrolysis of sennoside by strain LKM512 and LKM10070

Background Factors Affecting Visual Acuity at Initial Visit in Eyes with Central Retinal Vein Occlusion : Multicenter Study in Japan

Purpose: To determine the baseline characteristics of patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) that were significantly associated with the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at the initial examination. Methods: This was a retrospective multicenter study using the medical records registered in 17 ophthalmological institutions in Japan. Patients with untreated CRVO (≥20-years-of-age) who were initially examined between January 2013 and December 2017 were studied. The patients’ baseline factors that were significantly associated with the BCVA at the initial examination were determined by univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses. Results: Data from 517 eyes of 517 patients were analyzed. Univariate analyses showed that an older age (r = 0.194, p < 0.001) and the right eye (r = −0.103, p < 0.019) were significantly associated with poorer BCVA at the initial visit. Multivariate analyses also showed that an older age (β = 0.191, p < 0.001) and the right eye (β = −0.089, p = 0.041) were significantly associated with poorer BCVA at the initial visit. Conclusions: The results indicate that an older age, a known strong factor, and the right eye were significantly associated with poorer BCVA at the initial visit to the hospital. These results suggest that functional and/or anatomical differences between the right and left eyes may be involved in these results