Development of an energy and environmental education program dealing with social issues

In the 3rd grader of junior high school, we propose a new subject "resources and energy" dealing with social issues. Through this subject, we aim to foster the ability to think from a multifaceted and integrated viewpoint. We conducted a questionnaire survey whether students understand about scientific or social terms related to energy in the next year. The degree of understanding of the students who learned the program was high. And there were many students who thought that social issues could be solved by science and technology in future in comparison with groups that did not study this program

Severity of Tinnitus Distress Negatively Impacts Quality of Life in Patients With Vestibular Schwannoma and Mimics Primary Tinnitus

Objective: Quality of life (QoL) and subjective symptoms are predominantly used to evaluate treatment outcome of patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS). However, for patients undergoing conservative treatment—the most frequently used intervention—the association between QoL and subjective symptoms is unclear. Moreover, it is unknown whether VS-related tinnitus could be associated with the audiological and psychological status of the patient. Our overall aim is to provide objective evidence of this association to better guide treatment of VS.Methods: In a prospective study, we analyzed factors that influence VS-related tinnitus and QoL in 72 patients receiving conservative management of unilateral sporadic VS. This was done through questionnaires that assessed QoL, anxiety, depression, and audiological examinations. We used the SF-36 Short Form to assess QoL; the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Dizziness Handicap Inventory, Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale, Visual Analog Scale for hearing impairment to assess symptoms subjectively; and pure tone audiometry, the speech discrimination for hearing measurements. For psychological status, we used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. For analyses, we used Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression between variables and QoL.Results: Correlation and regression analyses revealed that the severity of tinnitus distress had the largest negative impact on QoL in all domains of SF-36. The severity of tinnitus was significantly associated with subjective hearing impairment and the degree of depression and anxiety. Hearing thresholds had no statistical association with severity of tinnitus.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate VS-related tinnitus with respect to both patients' hearing status and psychological condition. Our results suggest that tinnitus distress strongly affects VS patients' QoL and that its characteristics are similar to primary tinnitus. An intervention for VS-related tinnitus, therefore, should assess to what extent tinnitus bothers patients, and it should reduce any unpleasant emotions that may exacerbate symptoms. This approach should improve their QoL

Current status of ground-based optical observations for short-wavelength infrared aurora and airglow emissions in Northern Europe

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OS] Space and upper atmospheric sciences, Wed. 4 Dec. /Entrance Hall (1st floor) at National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR

Temporal and spatial variations of pulsating auroras in fine-scale obtained from ground-based observations

第2回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回極域宙空圏シンポジウム 11月16日（水） 統計数理研究所 3階リフレッシュフロ

Aurora and Airglow Observations with an All-Sky Imager on Shirase to Fill the Observation Gap over the Southern Ocean

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Special session: [S] Future plan of Antarctic research: Towards phase X of the Japanese Antarctic Research Project (2022-2028) and beyond, Tue. 3 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor) at National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR

Evaluation method of drinking ease for aluminum beverage bottles

金沢大学理工研究域機械工学系This paper has investigated effects of the bottle opening size on drinking feelings in order to improve the comfort level of consumers when drinking directly from the opening of aluminum bottle. A survey over 120 subjects has been performed based on a drinking test using three kinds of bottles with opening diameters of 28, 33 and 38 mm, respectively. Two questionnaires have been conducted. Statistical analysis results of Questionnaire 1 have shown that 33-mm opening is best for adult consumers with no matter the type of contents, gender and the mouth size. The factor analysis results of Questionnaire 2 based on Kansei Engineering have shown that drinking feeling is affected by two common factors, which considered as the flow from the bottle to the mouth and the flow adjustability. Moreover, the fluid-dynamics analysis model has been developed to simulate the bottled liquid in a drinking action consisting of survey results and experimental observations of consumers\u27 drinking actions. Numerical simulations have been performed to understand how consumers control the flow during the drinking actions. It is found that the consumers usually try to realize the ideal and preferable condition by adjusting the inclination angle of the bottle. Copyright © 2007 by ASME

Involvement of TRPV3 and TRPM8 ion channel proteins in induction of mammalian cold-inducible proteins

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP), RNA-binding motif protein 3 (RBM3) and serine and arginine rich splicing factor 5 (SRSF5) are RNA-binding proteins that are transcriptionally upregulated in response to moderately low temperatures and a variety of cellular stresses in mammalian cells. Induction of these cold-inducible proteins (CIPs) is dependent on transient receptor potential (TRP) V4 channel protein, but seems independent of its ion channel activity. We herein report that in addition to TRPV4, TRPV3 and TRPM8 are necessary for the induction of CIPs. We established cell lines from the lung of TRPV4-knockout (KO) mouse, and observed induction of CIPs in them by western blot analysis. A TRPV4 antagonist RN1734 suppressed the induction in wild-type mouse cells, but not in TRPV4-KO cells. A TRPV3 channel blocker S408271 and a TRPM8 channel blocker AMTB as well as siRNAs against TRPV3 and TRPM8 suppressed the CIP induction in mouse TRPV4-KO cells and human U-2 OS cells. A TRPV3 channel agonist 2-APB induced CIP expression, but camphor did not. Neither did a TRPM8 channel agonist WS-12. These results suggest that TRPV4, TRPV3 and TRPM8 proteins, but not their ion channel activities are necessary for the induction of CIPs at 32 °C. Identification of proteins that differentially interact with these TRP channels at 37 °C and 32 °C would help elucidate the underlying mechanisms of CIP induction by hypothermia

Radioprotection by p53 Regulatory Agents

Radiation damage to normal tissues is one of the most serious concerns in radiation therapy, and the tolerance dose of the normal tissues limits the therapeutic dose to the patients. p53 is well known as a transcription factor closely associated with radiation-induced cell death. We recently demonstrated the protective effects of several p53 regulatory agents against low-LET X- or γ-ray-induced damage. Although it was reported that high-LET heavy ion radiation (>85 keV/μm) could cause p53-independent cell death in some cancer cell lines, whether there is any radioprotective effect of the p53 regulatory agents against the high-LET radiation injury in vivo is still unclear. In the present study, we verified the efficacy of these agents on bone marrow and intestinal damages induced by high-LET heavy-ion irradiation in mice. We used a carbon-beam (14 keV/μm) that was shown to induce a p53-dependent effect and an iron-beam (189 keV/μm) that was shown to induce a p53-independent effect in a previous study. Vanadate significantly improved 60-day survival rate in mice treated with total-body carbon-ion (p < 0.0001) or iron-ion (p < 0.05) irradiation, indicating its effective protection of the hematopoietic system from radiation injury after high-LET irradiation over 85 keV/μm. 5CHQ also significantly increased the survival rate after abdominal carbon-ion (p < 0.02), but not iron-ion irradiation, suggesting the moderate relief of the intestinal damage. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of p53 regulators on acute radiation syndrome induced by high-LET radiation

Association of plasma thioredoxin-1 with renal tubular damage and cardiac prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure

AbstractBackgroundThioredoxin-1 (Trx-1) is an abundant 12.5kDa redox protein expressed in almost all eukaryotic cells that protect against the development of heart failure and kidney dysfunction. Plasma Trx-1 levels are considered as a reliable marker for oxidative stress. However, it remains to be determined whether plasma Trx-1 levels can predict cardiac prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).Methods and resultsWe measured plasma Trx-1 levels and urinary β2-microglobulin–creatinine ratio (UBCR), a marker for renal tubular damage, in 156 consecutive patients with CHF and 17 control subjects. The patients were prospectively followed for a median follow-up period of 627 days and 46 cardiac events were observed. The patients with cardiac events had significantly higher plasma Trx-1 levels and UBCR levels than the cardiac event-free patients. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that an elevated Trx-1 level was independently associated with poor outcome in patients with CHF after adjustment for confounding factors (hazard ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–2.29; p<0.0001). UBCR was increased with higher plasma Trx-1 levels. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the highest Trx-1 tertile was associated with the highest risk of cardiac events.ConclusionPlasma Trx-1 level was associated with renal tubular damage and cardiac prognosis, suggesting that it could be a useful marker to identify patients at high risk for comorbid heart failure and renal tubular damage