Welfare needs and producing a support system in public housing

本研究では、公営団地に居住する住民の福祉ニーズを通して、お互いが助け合える関係づくりに向けた提言を行うことを目的としている。研究対象は、A県B市C区の公営団地に居住する住民とし、自治会を通して調査を行った。「近所づきあいの程度」、「困りごとの有無、内容」、「手伝いができるかどうか」等の項目から分析を行った。住民の困りごとは多岐に渡っていた。公営団地という特殊性のもと、高齢化率が必ずしも高い団地ばかりではなかった。そのため若年層の増加は、支援者として期待される面もあるが、若年層において地域における支えあい、近所づきあいに対して消極的な回答がみられた。特に、40～50代の女性は、困りごととして「仕事」と「将来の不安」が高く、日常生活における地域の支えあいでは対応が困難のものもあった。その一方で、相談相手もなく地域の中で、孤立している状況がみられた。地域の支えあいに向けたマッチングのしくみづくりだけでなく、公的な支援が求められていた。あわせて地域で顔がみえる関係づくりにつながる日常的なしかけづくりが、重要である。In this research, through the welfare needs of residents living in public housing, the aim is to make recommendations for creating relationships that can mutually help each other. Analysis was conducted from items such as "degree of neighborhood association", "content of problems related to daily life", "whether or not to help". The problems of the residents were diverse. Under the special nature of public housing, it was not only housing districts where the aging rate was necessarily high. As a result, the increase in the number of young people is expected as a supporter, but young people responded negatively to regional support and neighbors' association. In particular, women in 40s to 50s had "work" and "anxiety in the future" as problems, and there were also cases where it was difficult to deal with regional support in daily life. On the other hand, there were no consultation partners, and isolated situations were seen in the area. In addition to creating a mechanism of matching towards regional support, role of administration is sought. It is important to lead to the creation of relationships where faces can be seen in the area

Quality of life of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic : a 1-year follow-up study

This study aimed to reveal changes in the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents, and the interaction between their QOL and parental mental state during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Eighty-nine school-aged children and parents participated in surveys in May 2020 (T1) and May 2021 (T2). The parents completed questionnaires that assessed their QOL, depression, parenting stress, and living conditions. Children's temporary mood status was evaluated using the self-reported visual analog scale (VAS). Children's QOL and VAS at T2 were higher than their QOL at T1. Parents' QOL at T2 was lower than their QOL at T1. Severe parental depression at T1 had a synergistic effect on severe parenting stress and severe depressive state at T2. Additionally, children's high QOL at T1 had a synergistic effect on low parenting stress and children's high QOL at T2. Furthermore, children's low VAS scores and parents' low QOL at T2 were associated with deterioration of family economic status. Children and parents' QOL changed during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Improvement in children's QOL was influenced by reduced maternal depressive symptoms. Public support for parental mental health is important to avoid decreasing QOL.Peer reviewe

Visualization of nerve fibers around the carotid bifurcation with use of a 9.4 Tesla microscopic magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging with tractography

BACKGROUND: Precise imaging of nerves have been challenging in the head and neck region, mainly due to low spatial resolution. Here, we investigated how nerves in the head and neck region could be visualized using an ultra-high magnetic field MR system. METHODS: We used formol-carbol-fixed human cadaveric necks and obtained MR diffusion tensor images (DTIs) using a 9.4 Tesla (T) ultra-high magnetic field MR system. Afterward, we prepared tissue sections and checked the anatomic relationships between the neurons and the carotid artery in order to confirm that the visualized fibers are indeed neuron fibers. RESULTS: We were able to identify nerves, including the vagus nerve, the hypoglossal nerve, and the spinal-accessory nerve. Hematoxylin-eosin stained histological sections confirmed neuron fibers in the same anatomic position. CONCLUSION: This technique has the feasibility to be applied for a more accurate anatomic understanding, maybe even close to a histological level

Restoration of E-cadherin expression by selective Cox-2 inhibition and the clinical relevance of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) accompanied by the downregulation of E-cadherin has been thought to promote metastasis. Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) is presumed to contribute to cancer progression through its multifaceted function, and recently its inverse relationship with E-cadherin was suggested. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether selective Cox-2 inhibitors restore the expression of E-cadherin in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells, and to examine the possible correlations of the expression levels of EMT-related molecules with clinicopathological factors in HNSCC. METHODS: We used quantitative real-time PCR to examine the effects of three selective Cox-2 inhibitors, i.e., celecoxib, NS-398, and SC-791 on the gene expressions of E-cadherin (CDH-1) and its transcriptional repressors (SIP1, Snail, Twist) in the human HNSCC cell lines HSC-2 and HSC-4. To evaluate the changes in E-cadherin expression on the cell surface, we used a flowcytometer and immunofluorescent staining in addition to Western blotting. We evaluated and statistically analyzed the clinicopathological factors and mRNA expressions of Cox-2, CDH-1 and its repressors in surgical specimens of 40 patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). RESULTS: The selective Cox-2 inhibitors upregulated the E-cadherin expression on the cell surface of the HNSCC cells through the downregulation of its transcriptional repressors. The extent of this effect depended on the baseline expression levels of both E-cadherin and Cox-2 in each cell line. A univariate analysis showed that higher Cox-2 mRNA expression (p = 0.037), lower CDH-1 mRNA expression (p = 0.020), and advanced T-classification (p = 0.036) were significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis in TSCC. A multivariate logistic regression revealed that lower CDH-1 mRNA expression was the independent risk factor affecting lymph node metastasis (p = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the appropriately selective administration of certain Cox-2 inhibitors may have an anti-metastatic effect through suppression of the EMT by restoring E-cadherin expression. In addition, the downregulation of CDH-1 resulting from the EMT may be closely involved in lymph node metastasis in TSCC

Relationship between nerve fiber layer defect and the presence of epiretinal membrane in a Japanese population: The JPHC-NEXT Eye Study

The study subjects were residents of Chikusei city, Japan, aged 40 years or older who attended annual health check-up programs and participated in the JPHC-NEXT Eye Study which performed non-mydriatic fundus photography of both eyes. The relationship of glaucomatous fundus changes such as optic disc cupping (cup to disc ratio ≥ 0.7) and retinal nerve fiber layer defect (NFLD) with the presence of epiretinal membrane (ERM) were examined cross-sectionally. A total of 1990 persons gave consent to participate in this study in 2013. The overall prevalence of ERM was 12.9%. Of these, 1755 had fundus photographs of sufficient quality and no history of intraocular surgery (mean age: 62.3 ± 10.0 years). After adjusting for age, sex and refractive error, NFLD was positively associated with the presence of ERM (odds ratio [OR]: 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24, 4.96; P = 0.010), but optic disc cupping was not (OR: 1.33; CI: 0.71, 2.48; P = 0.37). The results did not necessarily suggest an association between glaucoma and ERM, but indicated an association between NFLD and ERM

Influence of Diabetes Mellitus on Left Ventricular Function in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Objectives. Left ventricular function was assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography before and one year after coronary artery bypass grafting CABG in a series of patients with severe coronary artery disease with diabetes mellitus DM and without DM non-DM . Methods. Twenty-three patients with DM and 50 patients without DM, all with no previous myocardial infarction, underwent two-dimensional echocardiography before CABG and one year after CABG, in a non-matched study. For a matched study, 31 patients without DM who had almost the same left ventricular function as DM patients at the baseline were selected to and compare the rate of improvement in left ventricular function between the DM group and the matched non-DM group. Results. In the non-matched study, patient characteristics were not significantly different between the 2 groups except for the incidence of congestive heart failure within one year before CABG, which was significantly higher in the DM group. Fractional shortening was significantly lower in the DM group at the baseline p 0.05 and also one year after CABG p 0.0001 . Significant improvement in fractional shortening was seen in the non-DM group p 0.001 , but not in the DM group. The left ventricular enddiastolic diameter LVDd was significantly larger in the DM group at the baseline p 0.01 , and was still significantly larger in the DM group at one year after CABG p 0.01 . No improvement in LVDd was seen in the DM group. In the matched study, fractional shortening of the non-DM group also showed significant improvement after CABG p 0.001 . Moreover, the rate of improvement in fractional shortening was higher in the non-DM group than in the DM group p 0.05 . LVDd tended to be larger in the DM group p NS . Conclusions. Left ventricular dysfunction and left ventricular impaired improvement were seen in the patients with DM, and CABG improved left ventricular function in the patients without DM with poor left ventricular function. These findings indicate that CABG therapy may be inadequate for improving left ventricular function in patients with DM and severe left ventricular dysfunction at the baseline.