Dietary intake, mental status, physical activity, and lifestyle affecting bowel movement frequency and stool texture in young Japanese women

Constipation is a symptom-based disorder, and its definition is mainly subjective. Patients are more concerned with ease ofpassage and consistency rather than frequency of bowel movement. Studies on bowel movement frequency and stool texture inthe general population are sparse, especially in young women. In this cross-sectional study, data obtained from self-administered questionnaires, including age, height, body weight, lifestyle, food habits, anxiety, depressive status, frequency of bowel movements,stool texture, and defecation-related symptoms were analyzed in 245 female Japanese university students. An establishedsemiquantitative questionnaire available for clinical investigation (FFQg) was used to obtain a detailed assessment of food intake and physical activity levels. Of the participants, 21.4% had bowel movements ?3 times per week and 33.3% had hard or lumpy stools ?25% and loose (mushy) or watery stools <25% of bowel movements. There was a positive association between infrequent bowel movements and hard or lumpy stools. These two situations both caused similar symptoms such as a sensation of incomplete evacuation and straining. There was no association of bowel movement frequency and stool texture with any specificnutrients and foods, dietary intake, mental status, or physical activity. Several lifestyle factors such as regular bowel movements and hesitation with evacuation were associated with bowel movement frequency and stool texture. Several lifestyle factors, but not mental, physical, or dietary intake factors, were associated with bowel movement frequency and stool texture in young Japanese women

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

The status of DECIGO

DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) is the planned Japanese space gravitational wave antenna, aiming to detect gravitational waves from astrophysically and cosmologically significant sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window for gravitational wave astronomy and for the universe. DECIGO will consists of three drag-free spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with 1000 km arm lengths whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry-Perot interferometer, and four units of triangular Fabry-Perot interferometers are arranged on heliocentric orbit around the sun. DECIGO is vary ambitious mission, we plan to launch DECIGO in era of 2030s after precursor satellite mission, B-DECIGO. B-DECIGO is essentially smaller version of DECIGO: B-DECIGO consists of three spacecraft arranged in an triangle with 100 km arm lengths orbiting 2000 km above the surface of the earth. It is hoped that the launch date will be late 2020s for the present

Suomen ja sen murteiden merkitys Suomeen muuttaneiden kieli-identiteetissä: tapaustutkimus Turun seudulla

Tässä pro gradu -tutkimuksessa tarkastelen sekä Turun seudulla asuvien maahanmuuttotaustaisten suomen kielen ja aluemurteen merkitystä kansallisessa ja paikallisessa identiteetissä että heidän mielikuviansa aluemurteen sanoista ja ilmaisuista. Tutkimuksessani käsittelen kielen vaihtelua ja ei-kielitieteilijöiden kielen käsityksiä, joten tämä tutkimus koskee sosiolingvistiikkaa ja kansanlingvistiikkaa. Tähän saakka aiemmissa tutkimuksissa on tutkittu maahanmuuttotaustaisten kieli-identiteetin ja kansallisen identiteetin välisen sekä aluemurteen ja paikallisen identiteetin välisen suhteita erikseen. Tiettyjen sanojen tai ilmaisujen mielikuvia ei muutenkaan ole tutkittu muissa tutkimuksissa. Tutkimuksessani käsittelen kyselyn avulla laatimaani aineistoa. Tutkimuksen kohderyhmä muodostuu Turun kaupungissa toimivista omakielisen opetuksen (OMO) ja oppilaan oman äidinkielen opetuksen (MAI) opettajista. Tämä on laadullinen tutkimus, joten analysoin aineistoa löytääkseni havaintoja ja tulkintamahdollisuuksia. Tutkimuksen kautta havaittiin, että Turun kaupungin OMO- ja MAI-opettajat puhuvat suomea sujuvasti, mutteivat ole kokeneet itseänsä suomalaisiksi. Toisaalta he ovat kokeneet itseänsä paikallisiksi ihmisiksi, vaikka heidän aluemurteen osaamisensa on heikompaa verrattuna heidän suomen kielen taitoihinsa. Toisin sanoen kielen ja identiteetin välillä on ristiriita. Lisäksi heillä on asuinpaikan aluemurteen tietyistä sanoista ja ilmauksista samanlaisia, mutta osittain on myös erilaisia mielikuvia kuin suomalaisilla. Näistä havainnoista ja tuloksista kävi ilmi, että tässä tutkimuksessakin maahanmuuttotaustaisten kansallinen identiteetti ei muutu helposti, kuten aiemmissa tutkimuksissa on todettu. Siihen verrattuna asuinpaikan paikallinen identiteetti rakentuisi helposti. Kielen vaikutus molempiin identiteetteihin on kuitenkin pieni. Myös maahanmuuttotaustaiset ihmiset pystyisivät kommunikoimaan aluemurteella, mutta myös he saattaisivat joskus tulkita sanoja puhujan tarkoituksesta poikkeavalla tavalla

Pathogenicity of border disease virus FNK2012-1 strain isolated from a pig in the natural host, sheep

A first isolation of border disease virus (BDV) in Japan was from a pig on a farm without keeping any ruminants. Our previous study showed that this BDV, termed the FNK2012-1 strain, replicated inefficiently in swine-derived cells compared with those of ruminant origin. Pigs inoculated with this virus showed neither clinical symptoms nor viremia. In this study, we evaluated the pathogenicity of the FNK2012-1 strain in sheep, its natural host. The inoculated sheep showed clinical symptoms and transient viremia. Seroconversion was observed in the inoculated sheep. These results suggest that the FNK2012-1 strain was introduced from sheep and has not yet adapted to swine. Therefore, surveillance of border disease in Japan is necessary among both the swine and ruminant populations

Antiviral Activity of Micafungin and Its Derivatives against SARS-CoV-2 RNA Replication

Echinocandin antifungal drugs, including micafungin, anidulafungin, and caspofungin, have been recently reported to exhibit antiviral effects against various viruses such as flavivirus, alphavirus, and coronavirus. In this study, we focused on micafungin and its derivatives and analyzed their antiviral activities against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The micafungin derivatives Mi-2 and Mi-5 showed higher antiviral activity than micafungin, with 50% maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 5.25 and 6.51 µM, respectively (3.8 to 4.7-fold stronger than micafungin) and 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of >64 µM in VeroE6/TMPRSS2 cells. This high anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity was also conserved in human lung epithelial cell-derived Calu-3 cells. Micafungin, Mi-2, and Mi-5 were suggested to inhibit the intracellular virus replication process; additionally, these compounds were active against SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Delta (AY.122, hCoV-19/Japan/TY11-927/2021), Omicron (BA.1.18, hCoV-19/Japan/TY38-873/2021), a variant resistant to remdesivir (R10/E796G C799F), and a variant resistant to casirivimab/imdevimab antibody cocktail (E406W); thus, our results provide basic evidence for the potential use of micafungin derivatives for developing antiviral agents

Screening of tick-borne pathogens in argasid ticks in Zambia : Expansion of the geographic distribution of Rickettsia lusitaniae and Rickettsia hoogstraalii and detection of putative novel Anaplasma species

Ticks (Ixodidae and Argasidae) are important arthropod vectors of various pathogens that cause human and animal infectious diseases. Many previously published studies on tick-borne pathogens focused on those transmitted by ixodid ticks. Although there are increasing reports of viral pathogens associated with argasid ticks, information on bacterial pathogens they transmit is scarce. The aim of this molecular study was to detect and characterize Rickettsia and Anaplasmataceae in three different argasid tick species, Ornithodoros faini, Ornithodoros moubata, and Argas walkerae collected in Zambia. Rickettsia hoogstraalii and Rickettsia lusitaniae were detected in 77 % (77/100) of Ar. walkerae and 10 % (5/50) of O. faini, respectively. All O. moubata pool samples (n = 124) were negative for rickettsial infections. Anaplasmataceae were detected in 63 % (63/100) of Ar. walkerae and in 82.2 % (102/124) of O. moubata pools, but not in O. faini. Phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated sequences of 16S rRNA and groEL genes revealed that Anaplasma spp. detected in the present study were distinct from previously validated Anaplasma species, indicating that the current knowledge on the diversity and vector range of Anaplasma spp. is incomplete. Our findings highlight new geographical records of R. lusitaniae and R. hoogstraalii and confirm that the wide geographic distribution of these species includes the African continent. The data presented here increase our knowledge on argasid tick-borne bacteria and contribute toward understanding their epidemiology