看護基礎教育に求められる政策コンピテンシー ―「学士課程教育における公共政策学分野の参照基準」との比較から―

【要旨】超高齢社会に対応するための制度改革が頻回に行われ，制度設計にアドボケーターとして看護職の関わりが求められていることから，看護基礎教育において政策の基本を体系的に学ぶことが必要と考え，政策教育プログラム開発に関する研究を行った。 1 年目の研究では看護に関連した政策に現に取り組んでいる 政策企画者等を対象に面接調査を行い，政策教育において獲得すべきコンピテンシー77 項目を抽出し，これを日本公共政策学会の参照基準をもとに 8 つのカテゴリーに分類した。この結果を参照基準と比較すると，参照基準の「政策の働きに関する基本的理解」などの項目は少なかったが，「政策問題を主体的に考える力」の項目は非常に豊富であった。このことは対象者が政策の実践者であったことが影響しており，また，看護教育に対して政策決定に関する“知識”に力点を置くよりも，看護現場の課題を解決するための能力獲得に期待がされていることが明らかとなった。Abstract: With frequent revisions in the medical-care system in response to the aging society, nurses are required to be involved in system design as advocators. This suggests the necessity for nursing students to systematically learn the basics of policy studies in basic nursing education. Given this background, we conducted research into the development of a nursing education program related to policy studies. In the first year of the research, we conducted an interview survey with policy planners who worked on policies related to nursing. From the interview data, we extracted 77 items of competencies to be acquired through the education program, and classified the items into 8 categories based on the academic standards of the Public Policy Studies Association, Japan (PPSAJ). Comparing the results in this study with the items of the academic standards, there were fewer items related to the “Basic understanding of the functions of policy” than those in the standards, but there were many items related to the “Competencies to think independently about policy issues”. These results may be because the participants in the interviews were policy practitioners. The findings suggest that it is important for nursing education to place more emphasis on competencies needed to solve problems in nursing settings than on knowledge about policy making

在宅高齢者支援に関する短期大学の地域貢献 : 阿新キャンパスシティ構想の実現(創刊二十五周年記念号)

Ashin district, which is aging and becoming depopulated, is in the mountain area. The college in this district is expected not only to foster specialists but also to contribute to the community. In this report, we showed the activities for the community which faculty of nursing department and some voluntary students have been doing since 2000. We also reviewed our activities for our future plan, and considered the way the college is helpful to the community

Human Recombinant Lactoferrin Promotes Differentiation and Calcification on MC3T3-E1 Cells

Lactoferrin (LF), known to be present in mammalian milk, has been reported to promote the proliferation of osteoblasts and suppress bone resorption by affecting osteoclasts. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of human sources LF on osteoblast differentiation have not yet been elucidated, and almost studies have used LF from bovine sources. The presented study aimed to characterize the molecular mechanisms of bovine lactoferrin (IF-I) and human recombinant lactoferrin (LF-II) on MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast cells. MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with LF, ascorbic acid, and β-glycerophosphate (β-GP). Cell proliferation was analyzed using the MTT assay. Alkaline phosphatase activation and osteopontin expression levels were evaluated via cell staining and immunocytochemistry. The differentiation markers were examined using quantitative real-time PCR. The cell viability assay showed the treatment of 100 μg/mL LF significantly increased; however, it was suppressed by the simultaneous treatment of ascorbic acid and β-GP. Alizarin red staining showed that the 100 μg/mL treatment of LF enhanced calcification. Quantitative real-time PCR showed a significant increase in osterix expression. The results suggest that treatment with both LFs enhanced MC3T3-E1 cell differentiation and promoted calcification. The mechanisms of calcification suggest that LFs are affected by an increase in osterix and osteocalcin mRNA levels

CRISPR screening identifies M1AP as a new MYC regulator with a promoter-reporter system

Background MYC is one of the proto-oncogenes contributing to tumorigenesis in many human cancers. Although the mechanism of MYC regulation is still not fully understood, learning about the comprehensive mechanism controlling the transcriptional activity of MYC will lead to therapeutic targets. The CRISPR/Cas9 library system is a simple and powerful screening technique. This study aims to identify new transcriptional upstream activators of MYC using the CRISPR activation library with new promoter-reporter systems. Methods and Results The MYC promoter-reporter system was developed with a photoconvertible fluorescent protein, Dendra2, and named “pMYC-promoter-Dendra2.” This MYC promoter-reporter system was designed to harbor a proximal MYC promoter at (3.1 kb). Both the CRISPR activation library and pMYC-promoter-Dendra2 were induced to HEK 293T cells, and Dendra2-positive cells, that are supposed that MYC should be upregulated, were collected individually by a cell sorter. Among the 169 cells collected, 12 clones were successfully established. Then, pMYC-promoter-Dendra2 was transfected again into these 12 clones, and two of 12 clones showed Dendra2 positivity. In this procedure, the cells with non-specific autofluorescence were correctly distinguished by utilizing the photoswitchable character of Dendra2. Using extracted genomic DNA of these two Dendra2 positive clones, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to amplify the guide RNA (gRNA) containing region, which was introduced by the CRISPR activation library. Eventually, PLEKHO2, MICU, MBTPS1, and M1AP were identified, and these gRNAs were transfected individually into HEK 293T cells again using the CRISPR activation system. Only M1AP gRNA transfected cells showed Dendra2-positive fluorescence. Then, the overexpression vector for M1AP with a doxycycline-inducible vector confirmed that M1AP induced high MYC expression by real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. Furthermore, the dual-luciferase assay showed a significant increase of promoter activity, and MYC mRNA was higher in M1AP- overexpressing cells. M1AP is highly expressed in several cancers, though, a positive correlation between M1AP and MYC was observed only in human acute myeloid leukemia. Conclusion The present study confirmed that the experimental method using the CRISPR library technology functions effectively for the identification of molecules that activate endogenous MYC. This method will help elucidate the regulatory mechanism of MYC expression, as well as supporting further drug research against malignant tumors

Synergistic antioxidative effect of astaxanthin and tocotrienol by co-encapsulated in liposomes

Astaxanthin and vitamin E are both effective antioxidants that are frequently used in cosmetics, as food additives, and in to prevent oxidative damage. A combination of astaxanthin and vitamin E would be expected to show an additive anntioxidative effect. In this study, liposomes co-encapsulating astaxanthin and the vitamin E derivatives α-tocopherol (α-T) or tocotrienols (T3) were prepared, and the antioxidative activity of these liposomes toward singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical was evaluated in vitro. Liposomes co-encapsulating astaxanthin and α-T showed no additive anntioxidative effect, while the actual scavenging activity of liposomes co-encapsulating astaxanthin and T3 was higher than the calculated additive activity. To clarify why this synergistic effect occurs, the most stable structure of astaxanthin in the presence of α-T or α-T3 was calculated. Only α-T3 was predicted to form hydrogen bonding with astaxanthin, and the astaxanthin polyene chain would partially interact with the α-T3 triene chain, which could explain why there was a synergistic effect between astaxanthin and T3 but not α-T. In conclusion, co-encapsulation of astaxanthin and T3 induces synergistic scavenging activity by intermolecular interactions between the two antioxidants

Efficient Identification of the MYC Regulator with the Use of the CRISPR Library and Context-Matched Database Screenings

MYC is a major oncogene that plays an important role in cell proliferation in human cancers. Therefore, the mechanism behind MYC regulation is a viable therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer. Comprehensive and efficient screening of MYC regulators is needed, and we had previously established a promoter screening system using fluorescent proteins and the CRISPR library. For the efficient identification of candidate genes, a database was used, for which mRNA expression was correlated with MYC using datasets featuring “Similar” and “Not exactly similar” contexts. INTS14 and ERI2 were identified using datasets featuring the “Similar” context group, and INTS14 and ERI2 were capable of enhancing MYC promoter activity. In further database analysis of human cancers, a higher expression of MYC mRNA was observed in the INTS14 mRNA high-expressing prostate and liver cancers. The knockdown of INTS14 in prostate cell lines resulted in decreased MYC mRNA and protein expression and also induced G0/1 arrest. This study confirmed that CRISPR screening combined with context-matched database screening is effective in identifying genes that regulate the MYC promoter. This method can be applied to other genes and is expected to be useful in identifying the regulators of other proto-oncogenes