A Practice of “Fushizukuri Education”: Focusing on Rhythm Learning at Hiroshima Municipal Hesaka Elementary School

“Fushizukuri Education” is the most successful music education method in Japan, started in 1966 at Furukawa Elementary School in Hida area, Gifu Prefecture. This method was developed by a group of teachers who were not specialized in music. The characteristics of this method are as follows: (1) the curriculum consists of 30 phases, 102 steps; (2) adopting dual approach comprised of performance and music basics; (3) the learners themselves progress the class with minimum intervention by the teacher; (4) special emphasize is placed on hearing; (5) sufficient opportunities for solo singings and remarks are guaranteed for all learners, (6) the teacher’s remarks are minimized, and (7) the learners eventually demonstrate excellent musical and performance ability. This study aims to find how to install “Fushizukuri Education” effectively into current school music curricula in Japan. Both practical and experimental approaches are employed. Children participated in this study were the third graders at Hesaka Elementary School. The four classes were randomly divided into two groups comprised of two classes each. Children in one group learned using conventional staff notation system, whereas children in the other group learned using the “maru-fu” (circle notes) notation system. Rhythm learning activities were organized for both groups based on the “Fushizukuri Education” method. A pretest and a posttest were carried out in July and late September 2017, respectively. Both tests measured each child’s abilities of rhythm reproduction and rhythm reading. In the rhythm reading pretest, both groups were tested with one-line staff materials. In the rhythm reading posttest, the “maru-fu” group was tested with “maru-fu” materials, whereas the staff group was tested with one-line staff materials. Following results were obtained. (1) Both groups have developed abilities of rhythm reproduction and rhythm reading through rhythm learning activities, although the number of activities was not so many. (2) In the pretest, the staff group outperformed the “maru-fu” group on both reproduction task and reading task. (3) It is presumed that the learners have been familiarized with five-line or one-line staff notation system up to the third grade, whereas they might feel novelty in the “maru-fu” notation system. (4) Therefore, the “maru-fu” notation system should be used in the first grade.三村真弓教授退職記念号 Special Number Commemorating the Retirement of Professor Mayumi Mimur

Eficácia de três condições de interpretação radiográfica em odontometria

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of three conditions of image interpretation for radiographic root measurements and calculating the intra-observer reproducibility of the measurements. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty intra-operative periapical radiographs of maxillary central and lateral incisors were measured, in mm, from the tip of the file to the radiographic apex, using a caliper. Three separate measurements were made of the 30 radiographs. The three measurements for each tooth were averaged and the mean used for further calculations. After a 12-day period, the measurements were repeated. The three experimental viewing conditions used: 1) standard viewbox without masking of background light around the radiograph and without magnification (Visual); 2) standard viewbox with use of a magnifying lens of 2.5x and with background light masked (Magnification); and 3) viewer device that restricts room lighting and enlarges the image by a magnifying lens of 1.75x (Viewer). The mean and standard deviation of the measurements were calculated and used for descriptive analysis. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate intra-observer and inter-method agreement of the measurements. The measurement error was estimated by Dalhberg's formula. RESULTS: The ANOVA showed no significant differences between measurement sessions, viewing methods, or interaction between observation session and method (p>;0.05). The intra-observer measurement error was 0.02 mm for Visual and the Magnification methods and 0.01 mm for the Viewer. CONCLUSION: There does not seem to be any advantage in using viewbox masking or magnification for measuring the distance between the end of the endodontic file and the root apex in maxillary incisors.OBJETIVO: Comparar a eficácia de três condições de interpretação radiográfica em odontometria e avaliar a concordância intra-observador. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Trinta radiografias periapicais de incisivos central e lateral superiores, de arquivos foram medidas, em mm, da extremidade da lima ao ápice radiográfico, com a utilização de um paquímetro digital. Foram feitas três medidas em cada radiografia e em seguida foi calculada a média. Após um período de 12 dias, as medidas foram repetidas. As três condições experimentais de interpretação radiográfica foram: negatoscópio sem máscara e sem magnificação (Visual); 2) negatoscópio com lente de aumento de 2,5 X e com máscara (Magnificação) e 3) bloqueador de luz e lente de aumento de 1,75 X (Bloqueador). As médias e os desvios-padrão das medidas foram calculados e realizada uma análise descritiva. Foi utilizada a análise de variância a dois critérios (ANOVA) para avaliar a concordância intra-observador e intramétodo. O erro das medidas foi calculado pela fórmula de Dalhberg. RESULTADOS: O teste ANOVA não mostrou diferenças significantes entre as duas sessões de observação, métodos de interpretação ou interação entre as sessões de interpretação e método (p>;0,05). A medida intra-observador foi 0,02 mm para os métodos Visual e Magnificação e 0,01 mm para o Bloqueador. CONCLUSÃO: Parece não haver qualquer vantagem realizar medidas da distância entre o ápice radicular e o extremo da lima endodôntica em dentes incisivos superiores utilizando máscara ou magnificação da imagem

Post-operative breast cancer patients diagnosed with skeletal metastasis without bone pain had fewer skeletal-related events and deaths than those with bone pain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Skeletal metastases are often accompanied by bone pain. To investigate the clinical meaning of bone pain associated with skeletal metastasis in breast cancer patients after surgery, we explored whether the presence of bone pain was due to skeletal-related events (SREs) or survival (cause specific death, CSD), retrospectively.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Consecutive breast cancer patients undergoing surgery between 1988 and 1998 were examined for signs of skeletal metastasis until December 2006. Patients who were diagnosed as having skeletal metastasis were the subjects of this study. Bone scans were performed annually for 5, 7 or 10 years; they were also conducted if skeletal metastasis was suspected. Data concerning bone pain and tumor markers at the time of skeletal metastasis diagnosis, and data relating to various factors including tumors, lymph nodes and hormone receptors at the time of surgery, were investigated. The relationships between factors such as bone pain, SRE and CSD were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Skeletal metastasis occurred in 668 patients but the pain status of two patients was unknown, therefore 666 patients were included in the study. At the time of skeletal metastasis diagnosis 270 patients complained of pain; however, 396 patients did not. Analysis of data using Cox's and Kaplan-Meier methods demonstrated that patients without pain had fewer SREs and better survival rates than those with pain. Hazard ratios regarding SRE (base = patients without pain) were 2.331 in univariate analysis and 2.243 in multivariate analysis. Hazard ratios regarding CSD (base = patients without pain) were 1.441 in univariate analysis and 1.535 in multivariate analysis. Similar results were obtained when analyses were carried out using the date of surgery as the starting point.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Bone pain at diagnosis of skeletal metastasis was an indicator of increased SRE and CSD. However, these data did not support recommendations of follow-up bone surveys in breast cancer patients.</p

A Cross-Species Analysis of a Mouse Model of Breast Cancer-Specific Osteolysis and Human Bone Metastases Using Gene Expression Profiling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in women in the United States. During the advanced stages of disease, many breast cancer patients suffer from bone metastasis. These metastases are predominantly osteolytic and develop when tumor cells interact with bone. <it>In vivo </it>models that mimic the breast cancer-specific osteolytic bone microenvironment are limited. Previously, we developed a mouse model of tumor-bone interaction in which three mouse breast cancer cell lines were implanted onto the calvaria. Analysis of tumors from this model revealed that they exhibited strong bone resorption, induction of osteoclasts and intracranial penetration at the tumor bone (TB)-interface.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, we identified and used a TB microenvironment-specific gene expression signature from this model to extend our understanding of the metastatic bone microenvironment in human disease and to predict potential therapeutic targets.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified a TB signature consisting of 934 genes that were commonly (among our 3 cell lines) and specifically (as compared to tumor-alone area within the bone microenvironment) up- and down-regulated >2-fold at the TB interface in our mouse osteolytic model. By comparing the TB signature with gene expression profiles from human breast metastases and an <it>in vitro </it>osteoclast model, we demonstrate that our model mimics both the human breast cancer bone microenvironment and osteoclastogenesis. Furthermore, we observed enrichment in various signaling pathways specific to the TB interface; that is, TGF-β and myeloid self-renewal pathways were activated and the Wnt pathway was inactivated. Lastly, we used the TB-signature to predict cyclopenthiazide as a potential inhibitor of the TB interface.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our mouse breast cancer model morphologically and genetically resembles the osteoclastic bone microenvironment observed in human disease. Characterization of the gene expression signature specific to the TB interface in our model revealed signaling mechanisms operative in human breast cancer metastases and predicted a therapeutic inhibitor of cancer-mediated osteolysis.</p

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

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

Dark radiation in spectator axion-gauge models

In the framework of axion-gauge field models, primordial gravitational wave perturbations could be generated during the inflationary epoch from not only the quantum fluctuation of gravitons but also the dynamics of hidden gauge fields coupled with an axion field. We investigate the evolution of the axion and the gauge field of an additional hidden SU(2) gauge group and those energy densities during and after the inflation. We show that the extra radiation component of the hidden gauge bosons produced by the axion decay can be sizable in the cases where the gauge-field-sourced additional gravitational waves is subdominant. We point out that future measurements of the dark radiation energy, such as CMB-S4, can impose significant constraints on this cosmological scenario