ポルトガル ノ タイシュウシ CIVILIZAÇÃO ガ 1930ネン 1ガツゴウ デ ツタエタ モラエス ノ ハカ コクベツシキ カレ ノ ヘヤ ニ カンスル キジ ニツイテ

Portuguese popular magazine “CIVILIZAÇÃO” published an article of the tomb, funeral, and rooms of Wenceslau de Moraes in the January 1930 issue after about half a year when he died at his house in Tokushima on July 1, 1929. This article has not been introduced to Japan. Even though it is short, we can understand high evaluation of him in Portugal. Furthermore, it contains seven photos; four of them have not been published in any Japanese documents. These photos, three are of his rooms and one is taken at the funeral, tell us Moraes’s life vividly with new findings about his belongings and acquaintanceship

ALSET - Japanese Air Launch System Ground Tests and Applications

The Air Launch System Enabling Technology (ALSET) project is a Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) funded project whose purpose is to study air launch orbital payload delivery systems and related technologies. The project is a first step toward an operational commercial air launch system that will use a multistage solid rocket to deliver small payloads on the order of 100 to 200 kilograms into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). An air drop type launch approach to space transportation provides high reliability, flexibility, and responsiveness to meet the future needs of small satellite operators. ALSET culminates in a series of drop tests of an inert launch vehicle (a mass simulator) to demonstrate the technologies necessary for the operational system. The baseline system design uses a carriage extraction system method whereby the rocket is extracted from a C-130 aircraft on a TYPE-V platform. Two 28-foot extraction parachutes are used to pull the platform from the aircraft. Three 100-foot cargo parachutes are then deployed for deceleration prior to release of the rocket from the platform for launch. The baseline test site selected for the drop test is the Yuma Test Center (YTC) in Arizona, USA. The large drop zones available at the YTC are ideal for ALSET testing. Additionally, the YTC’s considerable experience with similar test activities, including the NASA Ares Jumbo Drop Test Vehicle drop tests, minimizes technical risks. The authors’ efforts to date completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the ALSET Drop Test in February and March 2015. The ALSET program is now ready for manufacturing for the ALSET Drop Test. As the prospective applications of ALSET to C4ISR missions, two case studies were conducted. The studies demonstrated the effectiveness of the air launch system. The responsiveness and flexibility of the air launch system enables small satellites to collect the ground information desired in short time, and to observe the target highfrequently by sequential satellite launches and forming a constellation

Promoting effect of basic fibroblast growth factor in synovial mesenchymal stem cell-based cartilage regeneration

Synovial mesenchymal stem cell (SMSC) is the promising cell source of cartilage regeneration but has several issues to overcome such as limited cell proliferation and heterogeneity of cartilage regeneration ability. Previous reports demonstrated that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) can promote proliferation and cartilage differentiation potential of MSCs in vitro, although no reports show its beneficial effect in vivo. The purpose of this study is to investigate the promoting effect of bFGF on cartilage regeneration using human SMSC in vivo. SMSCs were cultured with or without bFGF in a growth medium, and 2 × 105 cells were aggregated to form a synovial pellet. Synovial pellets were implanted into osteochondral defects induced in the femoral trochlea of severe combined immunodeficient mice, and histological evaluation was performed after eight weeks. The presence of implanted SMSCs was confirmed by the observation of human vimentin immunostaining-positive cells. Interestingly, broad lacunae structures and cartilage substrate stained by Safranin-O were observed only in the bFGF (+) group. The bFGF (+) group had significantly higher O’Driscoll scores in the cartilage repair than the bFGF (−) group. The addition of bFGF to SMSC growth culture may be a useful treatment option to promote cartilage regeneration in vivo.Okamura G., Ebina K., Hirao M., et al. Promoting effect of basic fibroblast growth factor in synovial mesenchymal stem cell-based cartilage regeneration. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22, 1, 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22010300

A cross-sectional association of obesity with coronary calcium among Japanese, Koreans, Japanese-Americans, and US-Whites

[Aims] Conflicting evidence exists regarding whether obesity is independently associated with coronary artery calcium (CAC), a measure of coronary atherosclerosis. We examined an independent association of obesity with prevalent CAC among samples of multi-ethnic groups whose background populations have varying levels of obesity and coronary heart disease (CHD). [Methods and results] We analysed a population-based sample of 1212 men, aged 40–49 years free of clinical cardiovascular disease recruited in 2002–06; 310 Japanese in Japan (JJ), 294 Koreans in South Korea (KN), 300 Japanese Americans (JA), and 308 Whites in the USA (UW). We defined prevalent CAC as an Agatston score of ≥10. Prevalent CAC was calculated by tertile of the body mass index (BMI) in each ethnic group and was plotted against the corresponding median of tertile BMI. Additionally, logistic regression was conducted to examine whether an association of the BMI was independent of conventional risk factors. The median BMI and crude prevalence of CAC for JJ, KN, JA, and UW were 23.4, 24.4, 27.4, and 27.1 (kg/m2); 12, 11, 32, and 26 (%), respectively. Despite the absolute difference in levels of BMI and CAC across groups, higher BMI was generally associated with higher prevalent CAC in each group. After adjusting for age, smoking, alcohol, hypertension, lipids, and diabetes mellitus, the BMI was positively and independently associated with prevalent CAC in JJ, KN, UW, but not in JA. [Conclusion] In this multi-ethnic study, obesity was independently associated with subclinical stage of coronary atherosclerosis among men aged 40–49 years regardless of the BMI level

Associations of Overweight, Obesity, and Underweight With High Serum Total Cholesterol Level Over 30 Years Among the Japanese Elderly: NIPPON DATA 80, 90, and 2010.

BACKGROUND:The trend of association between overweight and high serum total cholesterol (TC)among the elderly is unclear. In addition, there is little evidence of risk of underweightfor high TC. Therefore, we examined the trend of association of overweight or underweight with high TC among Japanese elderly people using nationwide population-based data.METHODS:Data of the National Survey on Circulatory Disorders and National Health and NutritionSurvey for 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 were used in the analysis. High TC was definedas 220 mg/dL and above. For participants aged ≥50 years, sex-specific odds ratios (ORs)of overweight or underweight compared with normal body mass index participants forhigh TC were calculated using a logistic regression model adjusted for age, smoking, drinking, exercise, food, and treatment of hyperlipidemia.RESULTS:A total of 5,014, 4,673, 5,059, and 2,105 participants enrolled in these surveys in 1980,1990, 2000, and 2010, respectively. Although overweight was positively and significantlyassociated with high TC in 1980, the association has gradually weakened since (ORs in 1980 and 2010 were 2.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83-3.24 and 0.92; 95% CI, 0.66-1.27 among men and 1.43; 95% CI, 1.18-1.72 and 1.08; 95% CI, 0.81-1.44 among women, respectively). While underweight was inversely and significantlyassociated with high TC in 1980, the association also gradually weakened among women(ORs in 1980 and 2010 were 0.28; 95% CI, 0.12-0.60 and 0.37; 95% CI, 0.10-1.28 among men and 0.39; 95% CI, 0.26-0.57 and 0.96; 95% CI, 0.58-1.57 among women,respectively).CONCLUSIONS:These findings provide evidence that high TC prevention efforts must expand the target to not only overweight but also to normal and underweight people

Long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids intake and cardiovascular disease mortality risk in Japanese: a 24-year follow-up of NIPPON DATA80

Background:Dietary intake of long-chain n-3 PUFA (LCn3FA) among Japanese is generally higher than that in Western populations. However, little is known whether an inverse association of LCn3FA with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk exists in a population with higher LCn3FA intake.Objective:To investigate the association between LCn3FA intake and the long-term risk of CVDs in a Japanese general population.Methods:We followed-up a total of 9190 individuals (56.2% women, mean age 50.0 years) randomly selected from 300 areas across Japan and free from CVDs at baseline. Dietary LCn3FA intake was estimated using household weighed food records. Cox models were used to calculate multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and confidence intervals (CI) according to sex specific quartiles of LCn3FA intake.Results:During 24-year follow-up (192,897 person-years), 879 cardiovascular deaths were observed. The median daily intake of LCn3FA was 0.37% kcal (0.86 g/day). Adjusted HR for CVD mortality was lower in the highest quartile of LCn3FA intake (HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.66-0.96) compared with the lowest quartile, and the trend was statistically significant (P = 0.038). The similar but statistically non-significant trends were observed for coronary heart disease death and stroke death. In analyses by age groups, the inverse associations of LCn3FA intake with the risk of total CVD death and stroke death were significant in younger individuals (30-59 years at baseline).Conclusion:LCn3FA intake was inversely and independently associated the long-term risk of total CVD mortality in a representative sample of Japanese with high LCn3FA intake

Association between socioeconomic status and physical inactivity in a general Japanese population: NIPPON DATA2010.

Background:Lower socioeconomic status (SES) may be related to inactivity lifestyle; however, the association between SES and physical inactivity has not been sufficiently investigated in Japan.Methods:The study population is the participants of NIPPON DATA2010, which is a prospective cohort study of the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2010 in Japan. They were residents in 300 randomly selected areas across Japan. This study included 2,609 adults. Physical activity was assessed by physical activity index (PAI) calculated from activity intensity and time. The lowest tertile of PAI for each 10-year age class and sex was defined as physical inactivity. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of SES (employment status, educational attainment, living status, and equivalent household expenditure (EHE)) with physical inactivity.Results:In the distribution of PAI by age classes and sex, the highest median PAI was aged 30-39 years among men (median 38.6), aged 40-49 years among women (38.0), and median PAI was decreased with increasing age. Multivariable-adjusted model shows that not working was significantly associated with physical inactivity after adjustment for age in all age groups and sexes. Not living with spouse for adult women and elderly men was significantly associated with physical inactivity compared to those who living with spouse. However, neither educational attainment nor EHE had any significant associations with physical inactivity.Conclusions:The result indicated that physical inactivity was associated with SES in a general Japanese population. SES of individuals need to be considered in order to prevent inactivity lifestyle

Association of genetic variation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource study

The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10−8) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10−8). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10−6) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10−6) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexit

Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk.

Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (≥140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or  ≥90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention

Association of genetic variation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource study.

The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10(-8)) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10(-8)). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10(-6)) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10(-6)) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexity