Suicidal ideation and burnout among psychiatric trainees in Japan

AIM: Burnout is a psychological condition that may occur in all workers after being exposed to excessive work-related stresses. We investigated suicidal ideation and burnout among Japanese psychiatric trainees as a part of the Burnout Syndrome Study (BoSS) International.  METHODS: In the Japanese branch, 91 trainees fully completed suicide ideation and behaviour questionnaire (SIBQ) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS).  RESULTS: Passive suicidal ideation was reported by 38.5% of Japanese trainees and 22.0% of them had experienced active suicidal ideation. The burnout rate among Japanese subjects was 40.0%. These results were worse compared to the all 1980 trainees who fully completed the main outcome measure in BoSS International, 25.9%, 20.4% and 36.7%, respectively.  CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a higher risk of suicide among Japanese residents. Japan has a higher suicide rate than other countries. Early detection of, and appropriate intervention for, suicidal ideation is important in preventing suicide in psychiatry residents

Amino acid polymorphisms in human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen class II and proinsulin epitope have impacts on type 1 diabetes mellitus induced by immune-checkpoint inhibitors

IntroductionImmune-checkpoint inhibitors are effective in various advanced cancers. Type 1 diabetes mellitus induced by them (ICI-T1DM) is a serious complication requiring prompt insulin treatment, but the immunological mechanism behind it is unclear.MethodsWe examined amino acid polymorphisms in human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules and investigated proinsulin epitope binding affinities to HLA molecules.Results and DiscussionTwelve patients with ICI-T1DM and 35 patients in a control group without ICI-T1DM were enrolled in the study. Allele and haplotype frequencies of HLA-DRB1*04:05, DQB1*04:01, and most importantly DPB1*05:01 were significantly increased in patients with ICI-T1DM. In addition, novel amino acid polymorphisms in HLA-DR (4 polymorphisms), in DQ (12 polymorphisms), and in DP molecules (9 polymorphisms) were identified. These amino acid polymorphisms might be associated with the development of ICI-T1DM. Moreover, novel human proinsulin epitope clusters in insulin A and B chains were discovered in silico and in vitro peptide binding assays to HLA-DP5. In conclusion, significant amino acid polymorphisms in HLA-class II molecules, and conformational alterations in the peptide-binding groove of the HLA-DP molecules were considered likely to influence the immunogenicity of proinsulin epitopes in ICI-T1DM. These amino acid polymorphisms and HLA-DP5 may be predictive genetic factors for ICI-T1DM

RNA-Binding Protein Musashi1 Modulates Glioma Cell Growth through the Post-Transcriptional Regulation of Notch and PI3 Kinase/Akt Signaling Pathways

Musashi1 (MSI1) is an RNA-binding protein that plays critical roles in nervous-system development and stem-cell self-renewal. Here, we examined its role in the progression of glioma. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-based MSI1-knock down (KD) in glioblastoma and medulloblastoma cells resulted in a significantly lower number of self renewing colony on day 30 (a 65% reduction), compared with non-silencing shRNA-treated control cells, indicative of an inhibitory effect of MSI1-KD on tumor cell growth and survival. Immunocytochemical staining of the MSI1-KD glioblastoma cells indicated that they ectopically expressed metaphase markers. In addition, a 2.2-fold increase in the number of MSI1-KD cells in the G2/M phase was observed. Thus, MSI1-KD caused the prolongation of mitosis and reduced the cell survival, although the expression of activated Caspase-3 was unaltered. We further showed that MSI1-KD glioblastoma cells xenografted into the brains of NOD/SCID mice formed tumors that were 96.6% smaller, as measured by a bioluminescence imaging system (BLI), than non-KD cells, and the host survival was longer (49.3±6.1 days vs. 33.6±3.6 days; P<0.01). These findings and other cell biological analyses suggested that the reduction of MSI1 in glioma cells prolonged the cell cycle by inducing the accumulation of Cyclin B1. Furthermore, MSI1-KD reduced the activities of the Notch and PI3 kinase-Akt signaling pathways, through the up-regulation of Numb and PTEN, respectively. Exposure of glioma cells to chemical inhibitors of these pathways reduced the number of spheres and living cells, as did MSI1-KD. These results suggest that MSI1 increases the growth and/or survival of certain types of glioma cells by promoting the activation of both Notch and PI3 kinase/Akt signaling

研究解説 : SEM-AFM for 3D Nano-Structure Measurement

マイクロマシン特集

Hydrogen isotopes in volcanic plumes: Tracers for remote temperature sensing of fumaroles

In high-temperature volcanic fumaroles (>400℃), the isotopic composition of molecular hydrogen (H2) reaches equilibrium with that of the fumarolic H2O. In this study, we used this hydrogen isotope exchange equilibrium of fumarolic H2 as a tracer for the remote temperature at volcanic fumaroles. In this remote sensing, we deduced the hydrogen isotopic composition (δD value) of fumarolic H2 from those in the volcanic plume. To ascertain that we can estimate the δD value of fumarolic H2 from those in a volcanic plume, we estimated the values in three fumaroles with outlet temperatures of 630℃ (Tarumae), 203℃ (Kuju), and 107℃ (E-san). For this we measured the concentration and δD value of H2 in each volcanic plume, along with those determined directly at each fumarole. The average and maximum mixing ratios of fumarolic H2 within a plume's total H2 were 97% and 99% (at Tarumae), 89% and 96% (at Kuju), and 97% and 99% (at E-san). We found a linear relationship between the depletion in the δD values of H2, with the reciprocal of H2 concentration. Furthermore, the estimated end-member δD value for each H2-enriched component (-260±3‰ vs. VSMOW in Tarumae, -509±23‰ in Kuju, and -437±14‰ in E-san) coincided well with those observed at each fumarole (-247.0±0.6‰ in Tarumae, -527.7±10.1‰ in Kuju, and -432.1±2.5‰ in E-san). Moreover, the calculated isotopic temperatures at the fumaroles agreed to within 20℃ with the observed outlet temperature at Tarumae and Kuju. We deduced that the δD value of the fumarolic H2 was quenched within the volcanic plume. This enabled us to remotely estimate these in the fumarole, and thus the outlet temperature of fumaroles, at least for those having the outlet temperatures more than 400℃. By applying this methodology to the volcanic plume emitted from the Crater 1 of Mt. Naka-dake (the volcano Aso) where direct measurement on fumaroles was impractical, we estimated that the δD value of the fumarolic H2 to be -172±16‰ and the outlet temperature to be 868±97℃. The remote temperature sensing using hydrogen isotopes developed in this study is widely applicable to many volcanic systems

特集5 : 研究速報 : A Positionner for Local Probing of Three Dimensional Nanometric Features in a Scanning Electron Microscope

小特集 マイクロマシ

特集7 : 研究速報 : Morphological Changes and Mechanical Properties of Thermally Fabricated Nanometric Oscillators

We are investigating the feasibility of using a three dimensional mechanical oscillator for detecting force and mass. The mechanical oscillator in question consists of a spherical mass supported by a filiform neck. Depending on the fabrication process, the mass can be as small as a few l0 nm to a few 100 nm. In this paper, we focus on the morphological changes observed during its fabrication by means of surface diffusion induced by heating of a sharpened metal tip. Some results on its mechanical properties will also be reported.小特集 マイクロマシ