School teachers' awareness of internet addiction in elementary school students: a regional survey in Japan

In recent years, concerns about internet addiction (IA) among children have been increasing. This study focused on the awareness of IA in elementary school teachers. A web-based anonymous survey was conducted in November 2021. The participants completed an original questionnaire about their awareness of IA. The participants were divided into three groups based on their positions in the classroom: class teachers, support teachers, and administrative teachers. Out of 283 participants, over 70% had not approached students with IA and had little practical knowledge about the disorder. Support and administrative teachers had more opportunities to interact with students with IA than class teachers (p < 0.001 in both cases). Support teachers had more opportunities to ask their colleagues about IA than class teachers (p < 0.01); similarly, administrative teachers also had more opportunities to discuss IA with colleagues than class teachers (p = 0.04). Preventive interventions are recommended for people who communicate with children with IA. Students with IA might cause anxiety among teachers; therefore, preventive education strategies should be implemented with the cooperation of psychiatrists, psychologists, and public health nurses

Structural basis for dimer formation of human condensin structural maintenance of chromosome proteins and its implications for single-stranded DNA recognition

Eukaryotic structural maintenance of chromosome proteins (SMC) are major components of cohesin and condensins that regulate chromosome structure and dynamics during cell cycle. We here determine the crystal structure of human condensin SMC hinge heterodimer with ∼30 residues of coiled coils. The structure, in conjunction with the hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry analyses, revealed the structural basis for the specific heterodimer formation of eukaryotic SMC and that the coiled coils from two different hinges protrude in the same direction, providing a unique binding surface conducive for binding to single-stranded DNA. The characteristic hydrogen exchange profiles of peptides constituted regions especially across the hinge-hinge dimerization interface, further suggesting the structural alterations upon single-stranded DNA binding and the presence of a half-opened state of hinge heterodimer. This structural change potentially relates to the DNA loading mechanism of SMC, in which the hinge domain functions as an entrance gate as previously proposed for cohesin. Our results, however, indicated that this is not the case for condensins based on the fact that the coiled coils are still interacting with each other, even when DNA binding induces structural changes in the hinge region, suggesting the functional differences of SMC hinge domain between condensins and cohesin in DNA recognition.Susumu Uchiyama, Kazuki Kawahara, Yuki Hosokawa, Shunsuke Fukakusa, Hiroya Oki, Shota Nakamura, Yukiko Kojima, Masanori Noda, Rie Takino, Yuya Miyahara, Takahiro Maruno, Yuji Kobayashi, Tadayasu Ohkubo, Kiichi Fukui. Structural Basis for Dimer Formation of Human Condensin Structural Maintenance of Chromosome Proteins and Its Implications for Single-stranded DNA Recognition. Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 290, Issue 49, 2015, Pages 29461-29477. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M115.670794

Association between Internet Addiction and Application Usage among Junior High School Students: A Field Survey

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between the severity of Internet addiction and various media-related applications. The participants were junior high school students between 12 and 15 years old. A total of 529 students (283 males, 246 females) were included. The participants answered Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and a structural questionnaire about their access to electronic devices and applications. An Internet addiction prevalence of 4.3% (95% CI: 2.8–6.5%) was reported in this study, with an additional 26.3% (95% CI: 22.6–30.2%) of participants possibly addicted. The accessibility of gaming devices was significantly higher in male students than in female students. The use of applications for SNSs was significantly higher in female students than in male students. Twitter accessibility was a factor that contributed to Internet addiction in both genders. The prevalence of severe Internet addiction among school students in Japan was 4.3%, and Twitter was the most important factor associated with this addiction. Media literacy must be increased in adolescents and their friends, teachers, and families

Influence of an Esports Program on Problematic Gaming in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

Esports (electronic sports) programs are a variant of competitive gaming and have expanded worldwide in recent years. The prevalence of problematic gaming and gaming disorders (GD) is predicted to increase in adolescents. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a high rate of digital gaming use, and their characteristics, such as social communication deficits and restricted interests, might contribute to problematic gaming. In this study, we aimed to examine whether participation in an Esports program would lead to problematic gaming or GD in children with ASD. The Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD-20) scores, Kid-KINDL scores, and gaming time at home were assessed in eight children with ASD before beginning the Esports program and at the three-month follow-up timepoint. The program was held once a week at the welfare service center, where the participants played a set game for 60 min. The results indicated there was no significant worsening in any of the scores after the program. Our program provided the participation time and frequency of Esports, type of game, and motivation of the participants are adequately considered. Even though this pilot study is limited by the small sample size, we concluded that the risk of these activities leading to problematic gaming might be low

MiR-15b-5p Expression in the Peripheral Blood: A Potential Diagnostic Biomarker of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is known to have a high degree of heritability. Diagnosis of ASD is difficult because of the high heterogeneity of the clinical symptoms. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can potentially be diagnostic biomarkers for ASD, and several studies have shown the relationship between miRNAs and ASD pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated ten miRNA and mRNA expression of target genes in peripheral blood to explore a diagnostic biomarker for ASD. Methods: We recruited control and ASD subjects for the discovery cohort (n = 6, each) and replication cohort (n = 20, each). Using qPCR, miRNA and mRNA expression was measured using the SYBR green and probe methods, respectively. In-silico prediction was used for identifying target genes of miRNAs. An in vitro experiment using HEK293 cells was conducted to investigate whether miR-15b-5p modulates the predicted target genes (TGFBR3 and MYBL1). Results: miR-15b-5p expression indicated an increased trend in the discovery cohort (p = 0.052) and a significant upregulation in the replication cohort (p = 0.021). In-silico analysis revealed that miR-15b-5p is relevant to cell development and Wnt signaling. The decreased trends of TGFBR3 and MYBL expression were the same as in previous RNA-seq data. MiR-15b-5p positively regulated TGFBR3 expression in in vitro experiments. Conclusions: Upregulated miR-15b-5p expression may represent a useful diagnostic marker of ASD subjects, and it may regulate TGFBR3 mRNA expression. These findings indicate a new perspective in the understanding of the pathogenesis of ASD

Copper-Induced Interactions of Caffeic Acid and Sinapic Acid to Generate New Compounds in Artificial Biological Fluid Conditions

Active ingredients may be ingested through foods, and they can cause several interactions in the human body. Although drug–drug or drug–food interactions are evaluated before the approval of medicines, several functional food interactions are not well-documented because of the wide range of possible combinations of interactions. In this study, we examined the chemical reactions between hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs), a group of polyphenols, and metal ions in artificial gastric juice or artificial intestinal fluid. Caffeic acid (CaA) and sinapic acid (SA) reacted with copper ions under artificial intestinal fluid conditions and produced new compounds. The triple interactions of CaA or SA with iron and copper ions were also examined. Relative to the initial compounds, CaA and SA derivatives produced by condensation exhibited an increased antioxidant and a decreased prooxidant activity. This study revealed a new food ingredient interaction pattern in which new compounds are produced under biological conditions