〔研究ノート〕リンゴの丸むき操作における巧拙と包丁操作の関係

　　The aim of this study is to investigate the biomechanical features of the movement of peeling a whole apple with a kitchen knife. We assessed the movements of 70 female university students and selected 3 skilled and 3 unskilled students for our main experiment. In the main experiment, we recorded kinematic data using a 3D motion capture （VICON） while the 6 students peeled a whole apple with a kitchen knife, and compared the biomechanical features of the movements of the participants. We found three differences in knife manipulation between the two groups: 1） Skilled students held the knife at about 45 degrees from the horizontal plane while unskilled students held it more horizontally. 2） Skilled students moved their right thumb in advance to lead the knife while unskilled students moved their right thumbs synchronously with the knife. 3） Skilled students held a space between their right thumb and knife while unskilled students put their right thumbs on the knife blade. In addition, skilled students and unskilled but relatively efficient students held the knife blade between their thumbs and index fingers while unskilled but relatively inefficient students held the knife with their index fingers extended on the dull edge. We suggest that analysis of these biomechanical features is important for teaching the proper way to peel a whole apple with a kitchen knife

Intracellular Trafficking of the Amyloid β-Protein Precursor (APP) Regulated by Novel Function of X11-Like

Background: Amyloid beta (A beta), a causative peptide of Alzheimer's disease, is generated by intracellular metabolism of amyloid beta-protein precursor (APP). In general, mature APP (mAPP, N- and O-glycosylated form) is subject to successive cleavages by alpha- or beta-, and gamma-secretases in the late protein secretory pathway and/or at plasma membrane, while immature APP (imAPP, N-glycosylated form) locates in the early secretory pathway such as endoplasmic reticulum or cis-Golgi, in which imAPP is not subject to metabolic cleavages. X11-like (X11L) is a neural adaptor protein composed of a phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) and two C-terminal PDZ domains. X11L suppresses amyloidogenic cleavage of mAPP by direct binding of X11L through its PTB domain, thereby generation of A beta lowers. X11L expresses another function in the regulation of intracellular APP trafficking. Methodology: In order to analyze novel function of X11L in intracellular trafficking of APP, we performed a functional dissection of X11L. Using cells expressing various domain-deleted X11L mutants, intracellular APP trafficking was examined along with analysis of APP metabolism including maturation (O-glycosylation), processing and localization of APP. Conclusions: X11L accumulates imAPP into the early secretory pathway by mediation of its C-terminal PDZ domains, without being bound to imAPP directly. With this novel function, X11L suppresses overall APP metabolism and results in further suppression of Ab generation. Interestingly some of the accumulated imAPP in the early secretory pathway are likely to appear on plasma membrane by unidentified mechanism. Trafficking of imAPP to plasma membrane is observed in other X11 family proteins, X11 and X11L2, but not in other APP-binding partners such as FE65 and JIP1. It is herein clear that respective functional domains of X11L regulate APP metabolism at multiple steps in intracellular protein secretory pathways

Up-regulation of Gr1 + CD11b + cell population in the spleen of NaClO-administered mice works to repair skin wounds

In wound healing, early infiltration of neutrophils followed by macrophage infiltration are important defense mechanisms for repair of tissue damage.　Here we examined the effects of neutrophils on wound healing. Administration of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) to mouse skin induces neutrophil recruitment to the wound site and repeated administration of NaClO was shown to prolong wound healing. Examination of the spleens of mice whose wounds were repeatedly treated with NaClO, showed that GR-1<sup>+</sup>CD11b<sup>+</sup> cells were up regulated in the recovery phase of wounding. Many of the GR-1<sup>+</sup>CD11b <sup>+</sup> cells in the mouse bone marrow were neutrophils, as indicated by a ring-shaped nucleus, and some of the cells were immature myeloid-lineage cells. GR-1<sup>+</sup>CD11b<sup>+</sup> cells from bone marrow were sorted and injected intravenously to syngeneic Imprinting Control Region (ICR) mice. The mice that received GR-1<sup>+</sup>CD11b<sup>+</sup> cells recovered faster than the mice injected with the control, phosphate buffer saline (PBS)

Protocol to establish cancer-associated fibroblasts from surgically resected tissues and generate senescent fibroblasts

Summary: Accumulating evidence suggests that the malignant behavior of cancer is influenced by stromal activity in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are the main component of the cancerous stroma, play an important role in cancer development. Here, we describe a protocol to establish CAFs from surgically resected tissues. CAFs could be a vital tool for understanding the microenvironment and its impact on tumor progression and metastasis. Moreover, we generated inflammation-induced senescent fibroblasts that more closely mimic the tumor microenvironment.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Yasuda et al. (2021)

Gap between the concerns of healthcare professionals and parents’ perceptions regarding dietary habits for 18-month- and 3-year-old children in Japan

Abstract Background A gap has been reported between healthcare professionals’ (hereafter “professionals”) recognition of preschool children’s diets and parents’ perception of concern. This study investigated the gap between the concerns reported by professionals and parents’ perceptions regarding health and dietary habits by age (18 months and 3 years) and gender in Japan. Methods The study design consisted of a cross-sectional, multilevel survey. The request letters were sent to all households with target children with the cooperation of local governments. After obtaining written informed consent from parents, questionnaires were distributed to them. The survey included 30 items on children's concerns about health and dietary habits. At the health checkup, parents indicated whether they were concerned in response to each item, and responded child’s height and weight and birth height and weight. Next, the professionals provided counseling to the parents at a health checkup. After that, the professionals noted their concerns in response to the same 30 items as those given to parents. The participation rates were 82.9% (18 months) and 82.8% (3 years). Data of 239 persons for 18 months and 223 persons for 3 years old were analyzed. In the statistical analysis, the items that were judged as concerning by professionals but not by parents were identified; likewise, the items that were of concern to parents but not to professionals were identified. Sensitivity, false negative rate, specificity, false positive rate, and Youden index were calculated to analyze the discordance rate for each item. Results Many parents in this study were concerned about the issues that professionals did not consider to be concerning. Moreover, the parents worried about more issues for 3-year-olds than for 18-month-olds. The items for which ≥ 10 professionals indicated concerns and with higher discordance between the professionals and parents for both boys and girls were “picky eating” for 18-month-olds and “inconsistent amount of food” for 3-year-olds. Conclusions The concerns that professionals have with respect to children's diets and the things that parents worry about show gaps. It might be necessary to provide professional counseling for parents to develop a correct understanding of their children’s dietary habits