Optimal waist circumference cut-off points and ability of different metabolic syndrome criteria for predicting diabetes in Japanese men and women: Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study

Abstract Background We sought to establish the optimal waist circumference (WC) cut-off point for predicting diabetes mellitus (DM) and to compare the predictive ability of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) criteria of the Joint Interim Statement (JIS) and the Japanese Committee of the Criteria for MetS (JCCMS) for DM in Japanese. Methods Participants of the Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study, who were aged 20–69 years and free of DM at baseline (n = 54,980), were followed-up for a maximum of 6 years. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to determine the optimal cut-off points of WC for predicting DM. Time-dependent sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the prediction of DM were compared between the JIS and JCCMS MetS criteria. Results During 234,926 person-years of follow-up, 3180 individuals developed DM. Receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested that the most suitable cut-off point of WC for predicting incident DM was 85 cm for men and 80 cm for women. MetS was associated with 3–4 times increased hazard for developing DM in men and 7–9 times in women. Of the MetS criteria tested, the JIS criteria using our proposed WC cut-off points (85 cm for men and 80 cm for women) had the highest sensitivity (54.5 % for men and 43.5 % for women) for predicting DM. The sensitivity and specificity of the JCCMS MetS criteria were ~37.7 and 98.9 %, respectively. Conclusion Data from the present large cohort of workers suggest that WC cut-offs of 85 cm for men and 80 cm for women may be appropriate for predicting DM for Japanese. The JIS criteria can detect more people who later develop DM than does the JCCMS criteria

Induction of Spermatogenesis in Male Japanese Eel, Anguilla japonica, by a Single Injection of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin(Endocrinology)

Volume: 8Start Page: 63End Page: 7

Practical Study on STEM Education for School Teacher Training Course Students

<p>本研究では,教員養成系大学生を対象として,STEM教育を教員としてどう指導するか考えさせることを目指し,授業の実践を試みた.<br>教員養成系大学生11名を対象として,STEM教育に関連した活動を体験させるとともに,探究のプロセスを記録させた.<br>この授業の前後でSTEM教育に対する学生の考えを,15の質問項目を用いて調査した.<br>その結果,「STEM関連のコースを履修することが楽しい」,「STEMに関連した授業の指導案を作成できる」,「STEMを児童・生徒に教える教員になる自信がある」,「STEMの担当教員として一人前にやっていける自信がない(逆転項目)」の4項目において有意な差が見られ,事後調査で評価が向上したことが明らかとなった.<br>レポートの記述内容から,楽しいと感じた理由として,グループによる活動が取り入れられていたことが挙げられた.<br>また,授業を通して,学校教員となった際に,STEM教育に関する授業をデザインする志向を持った学生がいた.</p&gt

Chlorine partitioning near the polar vortex edge observed with ground-based FTIR and satellites at Syowa Station, Antarctica, in 2007 and 2011

2020 Author(s). We retrieved lower stratospheric vertical profiles of O3, HNO3, and HCl from solar spectra taken with a ground-based Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) installed at Syowa Station, Antarctica (69.0°S, 39.6°E), from March to December 2007 and September to November 2011. This was the first continuous measurement of chlorine species throughout the ozone hole period from the ground in Antarctica. We analyzed temporal variation of these species combined with ClO, HCl, and HNO3 data taken with the Aura MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) satellite sensor and ClONO2 data taken with the Envisat MIPAS (the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) satellite sensor at 18 and 22 km over Syowa Station. An HCl and ClONO2 decrease occurred from the end of May at both 18 and 22 km, and eventually, in early winter, both HCl and ClONO2 were almost depleted. When the sun returned to Antarctica in spring, enhancement of ClO and gradual O3 destruction were observed. During the ClO-enhanced period, a negative correlation between ClO and ClONO2 was observed in the time series of the data at Syowa Station. This negative correlation was associated with the relative distance between Syowa Station and the edge of the polar vortex. We used MIROC3.2 chemistry-climate model (CCM) results to investigate the behavior of whole chlorine and related species inside the polar vortex and the boundary region in more detail. From CCM model results, the rapid conversion of chlorine reservoir species (HCl and ClONO2) into Cl2, gradual conversion of Cl2 into Cl2O2, increase in HOCl in the winter period, increase in ClO when sunlight became available, and conversion of ClO into HCl were successfully reproduced. The HCl decrease in the winter polar vortex core continued to occur due to both transport of ClONO2 from the subpolar region to higher latitudes, providing a flux of ClONO2 from more sunlit latitudes into the polar vortex, and the heterogeneous reaction of HCl with HOCl. The temporal variation of chlorine species over Syowa Station was affected by both heterogeneous chemistries related to polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) occurrence inside the polar vortex and transport of a NOx-rich air mass from the polar vortex boundary region, which can produce additional ClONO2 by reaction of ClO with NO2. The deactivation pathways from active chlorine into reservoir species (HCl and/or ClONO2) were confirmed to be highly dependent on the availability of ambient O3. At 18 km, where most ozone was depleted, most ClO was converted to HCl. At 22 km where some O3 was available, an additional increase in ClONO2 from the prewinter value occurred, similar to the Arctic