Association between perceived chewing ability and oral health-related quality of life in partially dentate patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>One of the most immediate and important functional consequences of many oral disorders is a reduction in chewing ability. The ability to chew is not only an important dimension of oral health, but is increasingly recognized as being associated with general health status. Whether perceived chewing ability and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) are correlated to a similar degree in patient populations has been less investigated. The aim of this study was to examine whether perceived chewing ability was related to OHRQoL in partially dentate patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Consecutive partially dentate patients (N = 489) without signs or symptoms of acute oral disease at Tokyo Medical and Dental University's Prosthodontic Clinic participated in the study (mean age 63.0 ± 11.5, 71.2% female). A 20-item chewing function questionnaire (score range 0 to 20) was used to assess perceived chewing ability, with higher scores indicating better chewing ability. The 14-item Oral Health Impact Profile-Japanese version (OHIP-J14, score range 0 to 56) was used to measure OHRQoL, with higher scores indicating poorer OHRQoL. A Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the correlation between the two questionnaire summary scores. A linear regression analysis was used to describe how perceived chewing ability scores were related to OHRQoL scores.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean chewing function score was 12.1 ± 4.8 units. The mean OHIP-J14 summary score was 13.0 ± 9.1 units. Perceived chewing ability and OHRQoL were significantly correlated (Pearson correlation coefficient: -0.46, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.52 to -0.38), indicating that higher chewing ability was correlated with lower OHIP-J14 summary scores (p < 0.001), which indicate better OHRQoL. A 1.0-unit increase in chewing function scores was related to a decrease of 0.87 OHIP-J14 units (95% CI: -1.0 to -0.72, p < 0.001). The correlation between perceived chewing ability and OHRQoL was not substantially influenced by age and number of teeth, but by gender, years of schooling, treatment demand and denture status.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients' perception of their chewing ability was substantially related to their OHRQoL.</p

Relationship between the Experience of Identity Swaying in Childcare Practice and Childcare Workers’ Efficacy

　This study aims to examine the relationship between childcare workers’ “experience of identity swaying” as described in their autobiographical memory and their occupation efficacy. First, the influence that stemmed from the experience of childcare workers’ swaying on their sense of efficacy is examined. The results showed that those who experienced identity swaying in their autobiographical memory had a remarkably higher sense of efficacy as childcare workers than those who didn’t. On the other hand, no difference was found in their sense of efficacy depending on the trigger of the identity swaying. The differences in childcare workers’ descriptions depending on the level of their sense of efficacy were then investigated the records of childcare workers with a high sense of occupation efficacy showed a higher level of ego involvement stays as a memory that can be utilized in the future. Closing the article, the authors examine future issues

A Study for Professional Matters of Area Related to“ Language” in Kindergarten Teacher-Training Course

　2019 年度に改訂された幼稚園教諭養成の教職課程に設置される「領域及び保育内容の指導法に関する科目」は，「領域に関する専門的事項」と「保育内容の指導法（情報機器及び教材の活用を含む。）」より構成される。本研究では，従来の「教科に関する科目」が撤廃されたことにより新設された「領域に関する専門的事項」の科目において，具体的にどのような専門知識の学修を要するかについて，「保育内容の指導法」のモデルカリキュラム，及び新幼稚園教育要領の記載内容に照らして検討した。その結果，養成課程の学生自身が領域「言葉」のねらいや内容等を専門的見地から理解して保育実践のための知識や技能を修得することに加え，感じたり，考えたり等の体験的な学びから幼児の視点で言葉の世界をイメージする内容を授業に取り入れる必要性を見出した

Selective inhibition of hepatitis C virus replication by alpha-zam, a Nigella sativa seed formulation

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection became curable because of the development of direct acting antivirals (DAAs). However, the high cost of DAAs has greatly impeded their potential impact on the treatment of HCV infection. As a result, hepatitis C will continue to cause substantial morbidity, and mortality among chronically infected individuals in low and middle income countries. Thus, urgent need exists for developing cheaper drugs available to hepatitis C patients in these countries.Materials and Methods: Alpha-zam, an indigenous herbal formulation from Nigella sativa seed, was examined for its anti-HCV activity and cytotoxicity in genotype 1b HCV replicon cells. The antiviral activity was determined by luciferase expression and viral RNA synthesis, while the cytotoxicity was assessed by viable cell number and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase RNA synthesis in the replicon cells.Results: Alpha-zam was found to be a selective inhibitor of HCV replication. The 50% effective dilution and 50% cytotoxic dilution of Alpha-zam were 761- and &lt; 100-fold, respectively, in the subgenomic replicon cells LucNeo#2. Its selective inhibition of HCV was also confirmed by HCV RNA levels in LucNeo#2 and in the full-genome HCV replicon cells NNC#2 using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, the anti-HCV activity of Alpha-zam was not due to the induction of interferon.Conclusion: Alpha-zam selectively inhibits HCV replication and therefore has potential for a novel antiviral agent against HCV infection.Keywords: Alpha-zam, chronic hepatitis, hepatitis C virus, antiviral assay, Nigella sativ

Educational Effects of Various Team Childcare Styles in Preschool Education

本論は，幼稚園で実践されているティーム保育について，その多様な形態を分類することを目的に，１県内全域の幼稚園に対する質問紙調査を行い，実証的に明らかにしたものである。ティーム保育の形態の分類は，保育経験豊富な研究協力者によって，質問紙調査の結果を基にしたグループディスカッションで検討され，各形態に見る教育効果や特性，運営上の課題が精査された。その結果，園内の全教師が１つのティームとなり，全園児を全教師で保育するという意識を強く持っていることが明らかになった。そのことを前提に，ティーム保育の形態について，次に示す３つの分類が見出された：①「教師の配置に注目したティーム保育の形態」，②「保育内容や生活を重視したティーム保育の形態」，③「幼児理解や保育等に関する保育時間外のティーム保育の形態」。The purpose of this study is to classify various styles of team childcare practicing in preschools. We adopted a questionnaire method to preschool teachers in a prefecture to research it empirically. The classification of team childcare styles was discussed based on the results of our questionnaire by co-researchers who has enough experiences of childcare, and we could examine educational effect, characteristics, and some problems of each team childcare style. As a result, it is clear that all teachers in the same preschool become members of team, and they are strongly conscious of “all teachers for all children.” Based on the premise mentioned, three categories of team childcare styles are found; 1) A team childcare style to focus on teachers’ arrangement, 2) A team childcare style to put emphasis on contents of childcare and life, and 3) A team childcare style after a childcare time on child understanding, childcare and so on

SELECTIVE INHIBITION OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS REPLICATION BY ALPHA-ZAM, A NIGELLA SATIVA SEED FORMULATION

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection became curable because of the development of direct acting antivirals (DAAs). However, the high cost of DAAs has greatly impeded their potential impact on the treatment of HCV infection. As a result, hepatitis C will continue to cause substantial morbidity, and mortality among chronically infected individuals in low and middle income countries. Thus, urgent need exists for developing cheaper drugs available to hepatitis C patients in these countries. Materials and Methods: Alpha-zam, an indigenous herbal formulation from Nigella sativa seed, was examined for its anti-HCV activity and cytotoxicity in genotype 1b HCV replicon cells. The antiviral activity was determined by luciferase expression and viral RNA synthesis, while the cytotoxicity was assessed by viable cell number and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase RNA synthesis in the replicon cells. Results: Alpha-zam was found to be a selective inhibitor of HCV replication. The 50% effective dilution and 50% cytotoxic dilution of Alpha-zam were 761- and < 100-fold, respectively, in the subgenomic replicon cells LucNeo#2. Its selective inhibition of HCV was also confirmed by HCV RNA levels in LucNeo#2 and in the full-genome HCV replicon cells NNC#2 using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Furthermore, the anti-HCV activity of Alpha-zam was not due to the induction of interferon. Conclusion: Alpha-zam selectively inhibits HCV replication and therefore has potential for a novel antiviral agent against HCV infection

Liquid biopsy can cure early colorectal cancer recurrence – Case Report

In the context of colorectal cancer (CRC), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is frequently used to monitor the minimal residual disease (MRD). ctDNA has become an excellent biomarker to predict which patients with CRC are likely to relapse due to the persistence of micrometastases. MRD diagnosis via analysis of ctDNA may allow much earlier detection of relapse compared with conventional diagnosis during follow-up. It should lead to an increased rate of curative-intended complete resection of an asymptomatic relapse. Besides, ctDNA can provide crucial information on whether and how intensively adjuvant or additive therapy should be administered. In the present case, analysis of ctDNA gave us a crucial hint to the use of more intensive diagnostics (MRI and Positron emission tomography–computed tomography PET-CT) which led to earlier detection of CRC relapse. Metastasis detected early are more likely to be completely resectable with curative intent

Supranormal orientation selectivity of visual neurons in orientation-restricted animals

Altered sensory experience in early life often leads to remarkable adaptations so that humans and animals can make the best use of the available information in a particular environment. By restricting visual input to a limited range of orientations in young animals, this investigation shows that stimulus selectivity, e.g., the sharpness of tuning of single neurons in the primary visual cortex, is modified to match a particular environment. Specifically, neurons tuned to an experienced orientation in orientation-restricted animals show sharper orientation tuning than neurons in normal animals, whereas the opposite was true for neurons tuned to non-experienced orientations. This sharpened tuning appears to be due to elongated receptive fields. Our results demonstrate that restricted sensory experiences can sculpt the supranormal functions of single neurons tailored for a particular environment. The above findings, in addition to the minimal population response to orientations close to the experienced one, agree with the predictions of a sparse coding hypothesis in which information is represented efficiently by a small number of activated neurons. This suggests that early brain areas adopt an efficient strategy for coding information even when animals are raised in a severely limited visual environment where sensory inputs have an unnatural statistical structure

A combination of routine laboratory findings and vital signs can predict survival of advanced cancer patients without physician evaluation: a fractional polynomial model

IntroductionThere have been no reports about predicting survival of patients with advanced cancer constructed entirely with objective variables. We aimed to develop a prognostic model based on laboratory findings and vital signs using a fractional polynomial (FP) model.MethodsA multicentre prospective cohort study was conducted at 58 specialist palliative care services in Japan from September 2012 to April 2014. Eligible patients were older than 20 years and had advanced cancer. We developed models for predicting 7-day, 14-day, 30-day, 56-day and 90-day survival by using the FP modelling method.ResultsData from 1039 patients were analysed to develop each prognostic model (Objective Prognostic Index for advanced cancer [OPI-AC]). All models included the heart rate, urea and albumin, while some models included the respiratory rate, creatinine, C-reactive protein, lymphocyte count, neutrophil count, total bilirubin, lactate dehydrogenase and platelet/lymphocyte ratio. The area under the curve was 0.77, 0.81, 0.90, 0.90 and 0.92 for the 7-day, 14-day, 30-day, 56-day and 90-day model, respectively. The accuracy of the OPI-AC predicting 30-day, 56-day and 90-day survival was significantly higher than that of the Palliative Prognostic Score or the Prognosis in Palliative Care Study model, which are based on a combination of symptoms and physician estimation.ConclusionWe developed highly accurate prognostic indexes for predicting the survival of patients with advanced cancer from objective variables alone, which may be useful for end-of-life management. The FP modelling method could be promising for developing other prognostic models in future research