Age Scale for Assessing Activities of Daily Living

The purpose of this study was to develop an age scale for assessing activities of daily living (ADL) among community-dwelling adults aged 75 years or older. Participants were 1006 older Japanese: 312 men (79.6 ± 4.3 years) and 694 women, (79.9 ± 5.5 years). Participants completed a battery of 8 performance tests related to ADL and the Barthel index (BI) questionnaire. Spearman rank-order correlation analysis was applied to obtain the correlation of the 8 ADL performance tests with the total BI score. Three variables were high rank-order correlated with BI, secondly those items were subjected to the principal component analysis. The weighted combination of the principal component scores was summed. Resulting in an ADL score (ADLS), women = 0.075 X1 - 0.082 X2 - 0.063 X3 + 0.124, men = 0.051 X1 - 0.105 X2 - 0.099 X3 + 0.249, where X1 = hand-grip strength, X2 = timed up and go, X3 = five-chair sit to stand. Individual ADLS was transformed to an ADL age scale (ADLA). The estimation was - 5.493 ADLS + 79.90 for women, and - 4.272 ADLS + 79.57 for men. Due to the distortion at the regression edges, the equation was corrected as suggested by Dubina et al. ADLA women after correction was = 0.447 (chronological age: CA) - 5.49ADLS + 44.17, men = 0.519CA - 4.27ADLS + 38.26. ADLA can be used to identify or monitor the characteristics of the ADL levels of physical abilities in older Japanese aged 75 years or older

Acetaldehyde Removal from Indoor Air through Chemical Absorption Using L-Cysteine

The irreversible removal of acetaldehyde from indoor air via a chemical reaction with amino acids was investigated. To compare effectiveness, five types of amino acid (glycine, l-lysine, l-methionine, l-cysteine, and l-cystine) were used as the reactants. First, acetaldehyde-laden air was introduced into aqueous solutions of each amino acid and the removal abilities were compared. Among the five amino acids, l-cysteine solution showed much higher removal efficiency, while the other amino acids solutions didn’t show any significant differences from the removal efficiency of water used as a control. Next, as a test of the removal abilities of acetaldehyde by semi-solid l-cysteine, a gel containing l-cysteine solution was put in a fluororesin bag filled with acetaldehyde gas, and the change of acetaldehyde concentration was measured. The l-cysteine-containing gel removed 80% of the acetaldehyde in the air within 24 hours. The removal ability likely depended on the unique reaction whereby acetaldehyde and l-cysteine rapidly produce 2-methylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid. These results suggested that the reaction between acetaldehyde and l-cysteine has possibilities for irreversibly removing toxic acetaldehyde from indoor air

ヤマガタシ ホウゲン ノ ブンマツシ シタ ベシタ ガシタ ノイミ ニ モトヅイテ

本稿では､山形市方言において､確認要求の｢ベ｣および納得のガにのみ下接して用いられる文末詞シタの担う意味を､｢ベ｣(3節)とガ(4節)が単独で使用された場合と対比することによって明らかにすることを試みる｡分析の結果､シタは､｢ベ｣やガなどの形式が表す､知識や認識の確認(確認要求)や受容(納得)といった広範な意味のなかから､とくに｢話し手に発話時以前に既存の知識や認識､想定がある｣場合を取り出して､その書き換えを聞き手(確認要求)や話し手(納得)に求めることを積極的にマークする形式だということが明らかになる

Assessment of Macrovascular Invasion in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Clinical Implications and Treatment Outcomes with Systemic Therapy

Introduction: Macrovascular invasion (MVI) is a strong prognostic factor for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The current criteria for radiological assessment are unclear in evaluating the impact of MVI on systemic therapy. In this study, we standardized the assessment of MVI and validated its clinical relevance. Methods: Clinical data were collected from patients with advanced HCC and MVI who received first-line systemic therapy at four medical centers in Japan. First, we used macrovascular invasion progression disease (MVI-PD) to track MVI progression, and Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours version 1.1 progression disease (RECIST v1.1-PD) to evaluate tumor enlargement other than MVI and the appearance of new lesions. Next, we assessed the prognostic value of MVI-PD and RECIST v1.1-PD. Results: Of the 207 advanced HCC patients with MVI, 189 received appropriate imaging evaluation. 40 (21.2%) patients had MVI-PD and RECIST v1.1-PD, 51 (27.0%) had prior MVI-PD, and 61 (32.3%) had prior RECIST v1.1-PD. In a landmark analysis, the prognosis of 163 patients who survived more than three months was analyzed based on the assessment of imaging response during the first three months. The median overall survival (OS) was 5.4 months in those who had MVI-PD and RECIST v1.1-PD, 7.4 months in those who had RECIST v1.1-PD only, 7.2 months in those who had MVI-PD only, and 19.7 months in patients who had neither (p<0.001). The correlation coefficients between progression-free survival and OS in patients with appropriate imaging assessments were similar for MVI-PD (0.515) and RECIST v1.1-PD (0.498). Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the link between MVI progression and poor OS in systemic therapy for advanced HCC, emphasizing the importance of an accurate method for assessing MVI progression

Data from: Organic farming and associated management practices benefit multiple wildlife taxa: A large-scale field study in rice paddy landscapes

Data on biodiversity and environmental factors in rice fields surveyed during 2013–2015 across Japan