Pericardial Effusion in Association With Periodontitis: Case Report and Review of 8 Patients in Literature

Periodontal diseases are well-known background for infective endocarditis. Here, we show that pericardial effusion or pericarditis might have origin also in periodontal diseases. An 86-year-old man with well-controlled hypertension and diabetes mellitus developed asymptomatic increase in pericardial effusion. Two weeks previously, he took oral new quinolone antibiotics for a week because he had painful periodontitis along a dental bridge in the mandibular teeth on the right side and presented cheek swelling. The sputum was positive for Streptococcus species. He was healthy and had a small volume of pericardial effusion for the previous 5 years after drug-eluting coronary stents were inserted at the left anterior descending branch 10 years previously. The differential diagnoses listed for pericardial effusion were infection including tuberculosis, autoimmune diseases, and metastatic malignancy. Thoracic to pelvic computed tomographic scan demonstrated no mass lesions, except for pericardial effusion and a small volume of pleural effusion on the left side. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography disclosed many spotty uptakes in the pericardial effusion. The patient denied pericardiocentesis, based on his evaluation of the risk of the procedure. He was thus discharged in several days and followed at outpatient clinic. He underwent dental treatment and pericardial effusion resolved completely in a month. He was healthy in 6 years until the last follow-up at the age of 92 years. We also reviewed 8 patients with pericarditis in association with periodontal diseases in the literature to reveal that periodontal diseases would be the background for developing infective pericarditis and also mediastinitis on some occasions

Parents Involvement in Their Child with Pervasive Developmental Disabilities

本研究の目的は、特別な支援を必要とする子どもを育てる親が、成長にともなって変化する子どもの行動や様子をどのように認識しているのかについて、認識変容モデルを生成することとした。特別な支援を必要とする子どもを育てる父母１組を対象に面接を実施し、出生から現在までの子どもの育ちと、育ちに対する思いについての語りを得た。修正版グラウンデッド・セオリー・アプローチを用いて語りを分析した結果、23個の概念から10個のカテゴリーを生成し、最終的に５個のカテゴリーグループを編成した。結果、認識は子どもの成長にともなって変容していくものの、なぜそのような行動をとるのだろうかと子どもの行動を解釈したり、課題を発見したり、子どもの成長や変化を感じたりすることについては、断続的に続けられていた。不安や子育てに対する徒労感は継続的に一定程度見られるものの、社会資源とのつながりにより、保護者の認識に変容が見られたことで、不安や徒労感が減少し、家族を含めた将来への展望が語られた。The purpose of this study was to create a model of recognition change to show how parents understands the behavior of children with pervasive developmental disabilities. Interviews were conducted with a parents of child with pervasive developmental disabilities, having them recount the state of their child from birth to the present day and their feelings about their child’s growth. After analyzing the content of the interview using the Modified grounded theory approach, 10 categories were generated from 23 concepts, which were ultimately compiled into 5 category groups. The results showed that the parents’ recognitions changed in accordance with the child’s growth. However, interpreting their child’s behavior （i.e., Why do the children take such a behavior?）, discovering issues, and realizing the growth of and changes in their child were continuously experienced. Although the parent has anxiety and psychological fatigue for the child care continuously, such feelings were seen to decrease as their connections with social resources changed the parents’ recognitions. Consequently, they recounted future prospects regarding their family

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

<所内学術研究成果報告>H. 「環境保全・地球環境温暖化防止をターゲットとする新パルプ資源ケナフの栽培と利用に関する研究」

本研究は, エコマテリアルとしての非木材繊維資源に最も適切である一年生植物ケナフ(Hibiscus cannabinus L.)の栽培とその利用を目的に, 1993年より開始した研究である。従来の成果は, すでに本年報1992,\u2794,\u2795,\u2796,\u2797,\u2798,および\u2799年に報告した。特に従来のケナフ栽培の成果の総決算として, 1998年より平塚市および平塚ケナフ普及協会との共同研究が行われてきた。特に, 平塚市では休耕田対策としてケナフの栽培を推奨し, 現在, 栽培したケナフのパルプ化と紙製造を行って市政に還元している。この現状はさらに展開し, 平塚市のみならず日本全国にその輪が広がり大きな活動となっている。これらの栽培や利用は最も基礎的な指導と, より学術的な研究成果の提供が常に必要であり, この点を最も重要な課題としている。さらに, 環境教育に対する展開を学校, 公民館などを中心に行い, 2000年度は, 平塚キャンパスで市内6小学校の生徒28名のケナフ教育を行った。まお, 研究室内では, 栽培研究の他に, a)種子の発芽阻害実験, b)海水による阻害実験, c)生長に伴うクロロフィル量および水分量の測定実験, d)光合成測定実験, e)花の成分(色素)研究, f)葉など各器官の成分研究などを行っている。取り扱った種類も, ローゼル(H. sabdariffa L.)類も加えると30種に近い

Uprighting of impacted lower third molars using brass ligature wire

As the orthodontic stage at the time of the eruption of the third molar is usually the retention period, it is desirable for both the patient and the clinician that impacted or inclined third molars be uprighted without an appliance. Impacted lower third molars can be successfully uprighted using only brass ligature wire. This paper suggests that brass ligature-wire therapy can be used to upright impacted molars that show considerable inclination