An effect of left ventricular hypertrophy on mild-to-moderate left ventricular diastolic dysfunction

AbstractObjectivesLeft ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is associated with a variety of medical conditions. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is one of the most common abnormalities that induce LVDD. However, it is unclear whether LVH is a predictor of future LVDD deterioration that leads to diastolic heart failure in patients who already have mild-to-moderate LVDD. In this study, we investigated the effect of LVH on LV diastolic function in mild-to-moderate LVDD patients.MethodsOf the patients with mild-to-moderate LVDD (Grade I and II) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), 225 with LVH (LVH group) and 225 without LVH (non-LVH group) were consecutively selected. LVDD was defined by the abnormal patterns of Doppler mitral inflow and tissue Doppler. Left ventricular filling pressure (FP) was estimated by the following formula: 1.9 +1.24× [early mitral inflow velocity (E)/early mitral annular velocity (e')]. The Tei index was implemented to assess global (both systolic and diastolic) left ventricular function. Echocardiographic parameters for LVDD, such as isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT), were compared between the two groups.ResultsFP and Tei index were significantly higher in the LVH group compared to the non-LVH group [15.68 mmHg vs. 14.07 mmHg, P < 0.0001, and 0.58 vs. 0.53, P < 0.003, respectively]. IVRT was significantly longer in the LVH group than in the non-LVH group [103.93 ± 23.93 vs. 95.94 ± 20.16, P < 0.0001].ConclusionsIn mild-to-moderate LVDD patients, both FP and the Tei index were significantly higher when LVH was present. This may suggest LVH as a possible predictor for the future development of severe LVDD and diastolic heart failure

Plasma lipid profiling of different types of hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride and lomustine in rats

Supplementary tables. Table S1. Class, m/z, retention time, ion of detected and identified lipid molecules, and determined their fatty side chains. Table S2. Normalized levels of lipid molecules in individual samples. Table S3. Fold change and p-value of the levels of lipid molecules. (XLSX 317 kb

Non-financial social determinants of diabetes among public assistance recipients in Japan: A cohort study

Aims/Introduction: Poverty is an important social determinant of diabetes. Poverty is a multidimensional concept including non-financial difficulties, such as social isolation and exclusion from communities. Many countries provide financial social assistance programs for those in need. This study aimed to explore non-financial social determinants of diabetes among public assistance recipients in Japan, by using linkage data of two municipal public assistance databases and medical assistance claim data. Materials and Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study. Public assistance is provided to households below the poverty line to ensure their income security. We extracted recipients’ sociodemographic factors of January 2016 (household number and employment status as non-financial social determinants of diabetes) and identified the incidence of diabetes diagnosis until December 2016 as the outcome. Results: We included the data of 2, 698 younger individuals (aged 65 years). A multivariable Poisson regression, with a robust standard error estimator, showed that among 2, 144 younger recipients at risk, unemployment and living alone were slightly associated with 1-year cumulative incidence of diabetes diagnosis (adjusted incidence ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval 0.93–1.54 and adjusted incidence ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.89–1.48, respectively). Among 2, 181 older recipients at risk, there was no strong association between their sociodemographic factors and incidence of diabetes diagnosis. Conclusions: Unemployment and living alone might be additional risk factors for diabetes among younger public assistance recipients. Multidimensional supports assuring financial and non-financial securities are required to prevent diabetes among people living in poverty

A memória da imigração japonesa nos filmes Gaijin: Caminhos da Liberdade e Gaijin: Ama-me Como Sou

Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar a representação da memória da imigração japonesa no Brasil com base nos filmes Gaijin: Caminhos da Liberdade e Gaijin: Ama-me Como Sou, ambos dirigidos por Tizuka Yamasaki. Iniciada em 1908, a imigração japonesa para o Brasil se deu por grande parte do século XX, quando as regiões sul e sudeste, nas quais se estabeleceram, eram colonizadas. Hoje, após mais de 100 anos do início desse processo, ainda é possível identificar os impactos desse evento na identidade dos nipo-brasileiros. Nesse sentido, compreendemos o cinema como um repositório de memória influente nessas questões, por representar a memória e alimentá-la com sua produção. Sendo assim, para este trabalho, recorremos aos métodos estabelecidos pelos estudos de memória transcultural no cinema, e buscamos analisar os filmes com base nesses conceitos. Para isso, também buscamos registros de historiadores e antropólogos, em sua maioria, nipo-brasileiros, para compreender a forma como essas memórias foram representadas nos filmes. Dessa forma, a análise cena por cena consiste em diálogos entre a metodologia teórica e a contextualização histórica. Por fim, foi possível compreender os filmes Gaijin como parte do repositório de memória da imigração japonesa, uma vez que representações como essa são importantes para a construção de identidade dos descendentes e a constituição de um arquivo mnemônico.This research aims to analyze how the Japanese immigration to Brazil is represented in the movies Gaijin: Caminhos da Liberdade and Gaijin: Ama-me Como Sou, both directed by Tizuka Yamasaki. From 1908 through most of the 20th century, Japanese immigrants settled in both south and southeastern regions in Brazil, where they took part in the colonization process. Nowadays, over 100 years after the immigration began, it is still possible to identify this event’s impacts on nipo-brazilians’ identities. In that sense, we take cinema as an influent memory repository for that matter, as it not only represents memory, but also feeds it with its products. Hence this dissertation’s methods focus on transcultural memory studies on cinema to analyze said movies. We also recured to data on history and anthropology, mostly researched by nipo brazilians, in order to understand how these memories were represented in both films. Based on these sources, the scene-by-scene analysis is based on dialogues between the theoretical methodology and historical context. At last, it was possible to consider both Gaijin movies as parts of Japanese immigration to Brazil’s memory repository, since representations such as these are extremely relevant for the constitution of its descendants’ identity, as well as in the building of a mnemonic archive

Software Defined Media: Virtualization of Audio-Visual Services

Internet-native audio-visual services are witnessing rapid development. Among these services, object-based audio-visual services are gaining importance. In 2014, we established the Software Defined Media (SDM) consortium to target new research areas and markets involving object-based digital media and Internet-by-design audio-visual environments. In this paper, we introduce the SDM architecture that virtualizes networked audio-visual services along with the development of smart buildings and smart cities using Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart building facilities. Moreover, we design the SDM architecture as a layered architecture to promote the development of innovative applications on the basis of rapid advancements in software-defined networking (SDN). Then, we implement a prototype system based on the architecture, present the system at an exhibition, and provide it as an SDM API to application developers at hackathons. Various types of applications are developed using the API at these events. An evaluation of SDM API access shows that the prototype SDM platform effectively provides 3D audio reproducibility and interactiveness for SDM applications.Comment: IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC2017), Paris, France, 21-25 May 201

Prevalence of virulence factors in Staphylococcus intermedius isolates from dogs and pigeons

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus intermedius has been isolated from healthy dogs and pigeons as well as diseased dogs. Similar to Staphylococcus aureus, S. intermedius is known to carry many virulence factors but most of these factors remain to be studied. In this study, we examined 106 S. intermedius isolates (44 dog isolates and 62 pigeon isolates) for their hemolytic activity, biofilm formation, protease activity, and clumping factor and protein A production. RESULTS: Forty-three dog isolates (97.7%) and all pigeon isolates were hemolytic on sheep RBCs with a mean hemolytic titer of 336.7 and 47.32, respectively, whereas 43 dog isolates (97.7%) and 11 pigeon isolates (17.7%) exhibited a significant difference in their hemolytic activity on rabbit RBCs with a mean hemolytic titer of 11.04 and 3.76, respectively (p < 0.0005). The mean biofilm formation activity for dog isolates was 0.49, which was significantly higher than that (0.33) for pigeon isolates (p < 0.0005). Twenty-four dog isolates (54.5%) and 11 pigeon isolates (17.7%) were protease positive. Twenty-four dog isolates (54.5%) were clumping factor- and protein A- positive. CONCLUSION: S. intermedius strains carrying the virulence factors examined in this study were more prevalent in dogs than pigeons

Changes in social relationships by the initiation and termination of public assistance in the older Japanese population: A JAGES panel study

Public assistance recipients in Japan are financially empowered by social welfare but are also exposed to social stigma. Therefore, when their status of receiving public assistance changes, the conditions of their social life likely change. We examined whether the social relationships of older adults receiving public welfare are influenced by either starting or terminating their use of public assistance. This study used the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study panel data from 2013 to 2016. To measure social relationships, we used four indicators: the frequency of meeting with friends, the number of friends whom the participants had met with in the past month, their frequency of participating in sports clubs, and their frequency of participating in hobby clubs. In the analyses, changes in social relationships between 2013 and 2016 were used as the study outcomes. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine if their social relationships changed before and after starting or terminating public assistance while adjusting for confounders. We found that people who stopped receiving public assistance experienced an increase in their frequency of meeting with friends (coefficient: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.06, 1.07), the number of friends (coefficient: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.99), participation in sports clubs (coefficient: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.46, 1.39), and participation in hobby clubs (coefficient: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.26, 1.13) compared to those who continued to receive public assistance. Contrarily, the measured social relationships did not change after the participants started receiving public assistance. Our main findings were that terminating one's reception of public assistance increases informal socializing and social participation while starting public assistance does not interrupt pre-existing relationships. These findings contribute to the literature by adding that social relationships are not negatively influenced by either terminating or starting public assistance. Targeted promotions of social connections would effectively maintain the health statuses of low-income older adults

Serum levels of retinol and other antioxidants for hearing impairment among Japanese older adults.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to assess the relation between serum levels of retinol and other antioxidants and hearing impairment in Japanese older adults. METHODS: This is a community-based cross-sectional study comprising 762 residents aged 65 years or older in Kurabuchi, Gumma, Japan. We measured serum retinol and other antioxidants (alpha- and gamma-tocopherols, and carotenoids including beta-cryptoxanthin, alpha- and beta-carotenes, lycopene, and lutein plus zeaxanthin) by high-performance liquid chromatography and divided each measurement into quartiles. Hearing impairment was defined as a failure to hear a 30-dB hearing level (HL) signal at 1 kHz and a 40-dB HL signal at 4 kHz in the better ear in pure-tone audiometric tests. The odds ratios (OR) for hearing impairment were calculated for each of the upper three quartiles of retinol and other antioxidant levels relative to the lowest quartile. RESULTS: Crude analysis showed that serum levels of retinol and provitamin A carotenoids (beta-cryptoxanthin, and alpha- and beta-carotenes) were inversely related to the prevalence of hearing impairment. The multiadjusted ORs (95% confidence intervals) for the highest quartile of retinol and the provitamin A family (combinations of provitamin A carotenoids) compared with the lowest were 0.51 (0.26-1.00) and 0.53 (0.27-1.02), respectively. A dose-response relationship was observed for retinol (p = .03) and provitamin A (p = .09). CONCLUSION: Increased serum levels of retinol and provitamin A carotenoids were clearly associated with a decreased prevalence of hearing impairment

Incidental and Multimodal High Variability Phonetic Training: Potential, Limits, and Future Directions

Scholars have extensively investigated the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), that is, identification and discrimination of second language speech sounds produced by multiple speakers followed by trial-by-trial feedback. Building on the notion of incidental and multimodal learning in cognitive psychology (e.g., Lim & Holt, 2011), we developed a new, HVPT-based videogame paradigm in which participants aimed to shoot clay targets as fast as possible while being guided to learn sound cues as a by-product of planned learning. Focusing on the speech acquisition of 58 Japanese English-as-a-foreign-language learners, the current study set out to test the pedagogical potential and limits of the incidental HVPT approach. According to the results of statistical analyses, the effectiveness of incidental HVPT can be more clearly observed if it focuses on more learnable targets (e.g., acquisition of English [æ]–[ʌ] rather than [r]–[l] contrasts) with gains being more generalizable from trained to new speakers’ voices and from perception to production dimensions