Classes of the assertion for bringing up self-esteem-oriented communication without losing respectful attitude to others under the COVID-19 pandemic.

新型コロナウイルス感染症に対する不安や恐れから他者に対してストレスをぶつける行動を取る人がみられている。そこで子ども達に対して新型コロナウイルスの正しい知識と予防行動について学習を行った。その上で自己尊重他者尊重に基づいたアサーティブネス・トレーニングを実施した。その結果「相手の気持ちを聞く」「相手のせいにしない」という他者尊重に関することについて意識の変化がみられた。また授業後の感想では自分の主張傾向を振り返り相手の気持ちを考えながら自分の気持ちを伝えていきたいと記述している者が多くみられた。Because of the stress from the fear of getting infected by the new coronavirus or its serious symptoms, there seems to be a lot of people making aggressive and negative actions toward others. That is the reason why we conducted classes on scientific know l edge about the virus and how to prevent students from getting infect ed by it. After that, they experienced “assertiveness training,” in which they were targeted to have an awareness of assertiveness toward themselves and others. As a result, the students became more aware of respecting others as shown in their actions like “trying to listen to others and understand what they mean” or “trying not to blame others on some bad things that happened.” Also, according to the descriptions on the class, many students wrote in the questionnaire that they understood how they assert their ideas and that they should make self assertive actions without hurting others’ feelings

Records of several species of bees and wasps from Tottori Sand Dunes with special reference to nesting sites of a sand wasp, Bembix niponica.

2017年5月から11月初めまで鳥取砂丘でニッポンハナダカバチ（環境省レッドリストで絶滅危惧II類）などの希少有剣ハチ類の生息状況を調査した。アリ科をのぞく膜翅目（ハチ類）は12科21種を確認したが，そのうち次の7種は鳥取砂丘新記録である： キアシブトコバチ，サトジガバチ，アカオビケラトリバチ，コウライヨコバイバチ，キスジツチスガリ，オオムカシハナバチ，コマルハナバチ。ニッポンハナダカバチは6月下旬から8月上旬に成虫の出現を確認し，これまで不明であった営巣地が鳥取砂丘の南側の林縁近くの広い裸地にあることを確認した。確認された営巣地のうちで個体数を最も多く観察できた合せヶ谷広場で，巣穴の位置と密度を2017年と2018年の2回調査した。営巣密度は2018年のほうが大きく，2017年11月に行われたポケモン Go イベントの参加者による大規模な踏みつけは，本種の生息には大きな悪影響を与えなかったと考えられた。個体数を比較的多く確認できたツチバチ類，ニッポンハナダカバチ，ヤマトスナハキバチ，キスジツチスガリ，ルイスヒトホシアリバチについては，季節消長および鳥取砂丘内での分布などの概要を記した。 / We surveyed rare wasps and bees such as Bembix niponica (Vulnerable, VU in the Japan Ministry of Environment Red List 2019) in Tottori Sand Dunes from May to early November in 2017. A total of 21 species were recorded. Of these, the following six species are the species newly recorded from Tottori Sand Dunes: Brachymeria lasus, Larra amplipennis, Psen koreanus, Cerceris arenaria, Colletes (Colletes) collaris, Bombus ardens. Colony sites of Bembix niponica in Tottori Sand Dunes were found for the first time. Average numbers of the nests per 10 m×10 m (100 m2) square area were 7.1±4.72 in 2017 and 11.8±1.44 in 2018

Role of Position 627 of PB2 and the Multibasic Cleavage Site of the Hemagglutinin in the Virulence of H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus in Chickens and Ducks

Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses have caused major disease outbreaks in domestic and free-living birds with transmission to humans resulting in 59% mortality amongst 564 cases. The mutation of the amino acid at position 627 of the viral polymerase basic-2 protein (PB2) from glutamic acid (E) in avian isolates to lysine (K) in human isolates is frequently found, but it is not known if this change affects the fitness and pathogenicity of the virus in birds. We show here that horizontal transmission of A/Vietnam/1203/2004 H5N1 (VN/1203) virus in chickens and ducks was not affected by the change of K to E at PB2-627. All chickens died between 21 to 48 hours post infection (pi), while 70% of the ducks survived infection. Virus replication was detected in chickens within 12 hours pi and reached peak titers in spleen, lung and brain between 18 to 24 hours for both viruses. Viral antigen in chickens was predominantly in the endothelium, while in ducks it was present in multiple cell types, including neurons, myocardium, skeletal muscle and connective tissues. Virus replicated to a high titer in chicken thrombocytes and caused upregulation of TLR3 and several cell adhesion molecules, which may explain the rapid virus dissemination and location of viral antigen in endothelium. Virus replication in ducks reached peak values between 2 and 4 days pi in spleen, lung and brain tissues and in contrast to infection in chickens, thrombocytes were not involved. In addition, infection of chickens with low pathogenic VN/1203 caused neuropathology, with E at position PB2-627 causing significantly higher infection rates than K, indicating that it enhances virulence in chickens

Clinical and microbiological characteristics of polymicrobial bacteremia: a retrospective, multicenter study

Purpose To clarify the clinical and microbial characteristics of polymicrobial bacteremia (PMB) to contribute to improvements in clinical diagnosis and effective early treatment. Methods This retrospective multicenter study used data from three acute-care hospitals in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, collected between January 2014 and March 2019. We reviewed the demographics, comorbidities, organisms isolated, infectious focus, and 30-day mortality of patients with PMB. Results Of the 7233 positive blood cultures, 808 (11.2%) were positive for more than one organism. Of the patients with bacteremia, 507 (7.0%) had PMB, of whom 65.3% were male. Infectious foci were identified in 78.3% of the cases, of which intra-abdominal infections accounted for 47.1%. A combination of Gram-positive cocci (GPC) (chain form) and Gram-negative rods (GNR) accounted for 32.9% of the cases, and GPC/GNR and GNR/GNR patterns were significantly associated with intra-abdominal infections. The 30-day mortality rate of patients with PMB was 18.1%, with a median of 7.5 days from diagnosis to death. The mortality in patients with an infectious focus identified was significantly lower than that in patients with an unknown focus (16.3% vs. 24.5%; p = 0.031). Conclusions Intra-abdominal infections were the most common source of PMB, and were strongly associated with a Gram-staining combination pattern of GPC (chain form)/GNR. PMB cases with an unknown focus had a poorer prognosis, highlighting the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment

Corneal Regeneration by Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) Using Decellularized Corneal Matrix.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of DALK using a decellularized corneal matrix obtained by HHP methodology. Porcine corneas were hydrostatically pressurized at 980 MPa at 10°C for 10 minutes to destroy the cells, followed by washing with EGM-2 medium to remove the cell debris. The HHP-treated corneas were stained with H-E to assess the efficacy of decellularization. The decellularized corneal matrix of 300 μm thickness and 6.0 mm diameter was transplanted onto a 6.0 mm diameter keratectomy wound. The time course of regeneration on the decellularized corneal matrix was evaluated by haze grading score, fluorescein staining, and immunohistochemistry. H-E staining revealed that no cell nuclei were observed in the decellularized corneal matrix. The decellularized corneal matrices were opaque immediately after transplantation, but became completely transparent after 4 months. Fluorescein staining revealed that initial migration of epithelial cells over the grafts was slow, taking 3 months to completely cover the implant. Histological sections revealed that the implanted decellularized corneal matrix was completely integrated with the receptive rabbit cornea, and keratocytes infiltrated into the decellularized corneal matrix 6 months after transplantation. No inflammatory cells such as macrophages, or neovascularization, were observed during the implantation period. The decellularized corneal matrix improved corneal transparency, and remodelled the graft after being transplanted, demonstrating that the matrix obtained by HHP was a useful graft for corneal tissue regeneration

Response of a Wild Edible Plant to Human Disturbance: Harvesting Can Enhance the Subsequent Yield of Bamboo Shoots

Wild edible plants, ecological foodstuffs obtained from forest ecosystems, grow in natural fields, and their productivity depends on their response to harvesting by humans. Addressing exactly how wild edible plants respond to harvesting is critical because this knowledge will provide insights into how to obtain effective and sustainable ecosystem services from these plants. We focused on bamboo shoots of Sasa kurilensis, a popular wild edible plant in Japan. We examined the effects of harvesting on bamboo shoot productivity by conducting an experimental manipulation of bamboo shoot harvesting. Twenty experimental plots were prepared in the Teshio Experimental Forest of Hokkaido University and were assigned into two groups: a harvest treatment, in which newly emerged edible bamboo shoots were harvested (n = 10); and a control treatment, in which bamboo shoots were maintained without harvesting (n = 10). In the first year of harvesting (2013), bamboo shoot productivities were examined twice; i.e., the productivity one day after harvesting and the subsequent post-harvest productivity (2-46 days after harvesting), and we observed no difference in productivity between treatments. This means that there was no difference in original bamboo shoot productivity between treatments, and that harvesting did not influence productivity in the initial year. In contrast, in the following year (2014), the number of bamboo shoots in the harvested plots was 2.4-fold greater than in the control plots. These results indicate that over-compensatory growth occurred in the harvested plots in the year following harvesting. Whereas previous research has emphasized the negative impact of harvesting, this study provides the first experimental evidence that harvesting can enhance the productivity of a wild edible plant. This suggests that exploiting compensatory growth, which really amounts to less of a decline in productivity, may be s a key for the effective use of wild edible plants

Synthesis of Methylene­bicyclo­[3.2.1]­octanol by a Sm(II)-Induced 1,2-Rearrangement Reaction with Ring Expansion of Methylene­bicyclo­[4.2.0]­octanone

Direct conversion of methylene­bicyclo­[4.2.0]­octanone to methylene­bicyclo­[3.2.1]­octanol by a Sm­(II)-induced 1,2-rearrangement with ring expansion of the methylene­cyclobutane is described. Three conditions were optimized to allow the adaptation of this approach to various substrates. A rearrangement mechanism is proposed involving the generation of a ketyl radical and cyclopentanation by ketyl–olefin cyclization, followed by radical fragmentation and subsequent protonation