The World Caught a Cold

A children’s book on the COVID-19 Pandemic.https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/yicb_childrensbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Progressive renal fibrosis in murine polycystic kidney disease: An immunohistochemical observation

Progressive renal fibrosis in murine polycystic kidney disease: An immunohistochemical observation.BackgroundThe appearance of interstitial fibrosis in polycystic kidneys is emblematic of progressive disease. Matrix forming this scar tissue is derived from local renal cells in response to cystogenesis. We investigated the phenotype of collagen-producing cells in the cystic kidneys of DBA/2-pcy mice to better characterize the spectrum of interstitial cells associated with renal fibrogenesis.MethodsThe extent of interstitial fibrosis and the number of fibroblasts in cystic kidneys were first quantitated over time using computer-assisted image analysis. Subsequently, antisera to four cell protein markers were studied by coexpression immunohistochemistry during progression of fibrosis using confocal microscopy. The antisera included fibroblast-specific protein 1 (FSP1) for fibroblast phenotype, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) for contractile phenotype, vimentin (VIM) for mesenchymal phenotype, and heat shock protein 47 (HSP47) for interstitial collagen-producing phenotype.ResultsInterstitial fibrosis in cystic kidneys gradually increased throughout the 30-week observation period of our study. With progression of cystogenesis, most of the tubules in pcy mice either dilated or disappeared with time. FSP1+ fibroblasts were distributed sparsely throughout the renal interstitium of young pcy and wild-type mice. Their number increased in the widening fibrotic septa by 18 weeks of age and persisted through 30 weeks of the study interval. Some epithelia among remnant tubules trapped within fibrotic septa around adjacent cysts also acquired the phenotype of FSP1+, HSP47+ collagen-producing fibroblasts, suggesting a possible role for epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in this process. Most FSP1+ fibroblasts were α-SMA-, but HSP47+, suggesting they were producing collagen proteins for the extracellular matrix. α-SMA+, FSP1-, HSP47+ or HSP47- cells were also observed, and the latter tended to distribute independently in a linear pattern, reminiscent of vasculature adjacent to forming cysts. VIM+ expression was not observed in α-SMA+ cells.ConclusionsMany nonoverlapping as well as fewer overlapping populations of FSP1+ and α-SMA+ cells shared in the collagen expression associated with progressive fibrogenesis in pcy mice undergoing cystogenesis. Some FSP1+ fibroblasts are likely derived from tubular epithelium undergoing EMT, while αSMA+, VIM- cells probably represent vascular smooth muscle cells or pericytes surviving vessel attenuation during the chaos of fibrogenesis. Importantly, not all interstitial cells producing collagens are α-SMA+

Development of the Clothing Education Program for the Purpose of the Rediscovery and Succession of the Culture of the Kimono

昨年度は，附属福山高等学校において，明治期に輸出されたキモノの実物観察を通して日本の衣装文化を理解する学習プログラムを開発した。生徒は，実物衣装の観察と布の厚み測定を通して輸出用キモノの特徴を明確に理解し，また明治の絹物商人のものづくりの精神に対して感動を得た。本研究の目的は，横浜の絹物商椎野正兵衛や京都の飯田高島屋の活動を取り上げて，キモノについてより多角的に探究させるとともに，1904年に開催されたセントルイス万国博覧会でキモノが大量に販売されたことがアメリカでのブームを引き起こしたことを理解させる学習を開発することであった。さらには，この学習を通してキモノ文化のちからを再発見し，未来へと継承して行く意識と態度を育成することを目的とした。開発したプログラムを附属高等学校において実践し，学習効果を検証した。アンケート等から，生徒は，明治期に輸出された刺繍のキモノが欧米を魅了した背景に椎野庄兵衛たちの優れたものづくりの心と技があったことを理解するとともに，キモノの文化を継承し発展させるためには歴史的理解を踏まえてグローバルな視点から考えなければならないことを認識した，という効果が確認された。Last year, we developed a home economics program for teaching Japanese kimono culture through the observation of kimonos exported during the Meiji era. The Attached Fukuyama High School students learned kimono characteristics from the thickness of the cloth. In this study a new learning program about the activities of silk dress dealers, S. Shobey in Yokohama and Iida Takashimaya in Kyoto, was developed for the Attached High School clothing education. In the lessons, students learned that kimonos were sold in large quantities at the St. Louis World Exposition held in the United States in 1904. From questionnaires, it was recognized that the students understood the heart and the manufacturing skill of S. Shobey and Takashimaya in the embroidery of exported kimonos. The new learning program helped students to understand the value of kimonos from a global perspective, based on historical understanding and had a thought to succeed to kimono culture in the future

Increased water intake decreases progression of polycystic kidney disease in the PCK rat

Renal enlargement in polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is caused by the proliferation of mural epithelial cells and transepithelial fluid secretion into the cavities of innumerable cysts. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) stimulates the proliferation of human PKD cells in vitro via cAMP-dependent activation of the B-Raf/MEK (MAPK/ERK kinase/extracellular signalregulated kinase (ERK) pathway. ERK activity is elevated in cells that line the cysts in animals with PKD, and AVP receptor antagonists reduce ERK activity and halt disease progression. For suppression of the effect of AVP physiologically, water intake was increased in PCK rats, a model of PKD, and the effect on renal morphology, cellular mechanism, and function was determined. The addition of 5% glucose in the drinking water increased fluid intake approximately 3.5-fold compared with rats that received tap water. In PCK rats, increased water intake for 10 wk reduced urinary AVP excretion (68.3%), and urine osmolality fell below 290 mOsmol/kg. High water intake was associated with reduced renal expression of AVP V2 receptors (41.0%), B-Raf (15.4%), phosphorylated ERK (38.1%), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive renal cells (61.7%). High water intake reduced the kidney/body weight ratio 28.0% and improved renal function. Taken together, these data demonstrate that water intake that is sufficient to cause persistent water diuresis suppresses B-Raf/MEK/ERK activity and decreases cyst and renal volumes in PCK rats. It is suggested that limiting serum AVP levels by increased water intake may be beneficial to some patients with PKD

Association Between Tooth Loss and Longitudinal Changes in B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Over 5 Years in Postmenopausal Women: The Nagahama Study

BACKGROUND: There is disparity between the sexes in cardiovascular diseases including heart failure (HF). This study aimed to investigate the effect of periodontal disease (PD) on plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration across sex, age, and menopausal status, as well as the interaction effect of MT and diabetes mellitus (DM) on BNP. METHODS: This large-scale prospective cohort study enrolled 7, 539 individuals with no myocardial infarctions or angina pectoris at baseline from the general Japanese population. The association between baseline number of missing teeth (MT) and the longitudinal changes in BNP over 5 years (ΔBNP) was evaluated according to sex and menopausal status. RESULTS: Among 7, 539 participants, 3, 190 were postmenopausal women with a mean age ± standard deviation of 61.1 ± 7.6 at baseline. Multivariate analysis revealed a positive association between MT and ΔBNP among postmenopausal women even after adjusting for covariates, including traditional HF risk factors (coefficient, 0.210; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.107 to 0.312; P 50. Including an interaction term (MT × DM) in the multivariate model revealed a positive interaction between MT and DM in ΔBNP among postmenopausal women (coefficient for interaction, 1.365; 95% CI, 0.902 to 1.827; P for interaction <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed a positive association between MT and ΔBNP, as well as a positive effect of the interactive association between MT and DM, among postmenopausal women. Our results suggest a sex difference of an adverse effect of PD on initial myocardial wall stress in the ventricles

Calorie restriction alters the mechanisms of radiation-induced mouse thymic lymphomagenesis

Calorie restriction (CR) suppresses not only spontaneous but also chemical- and radiation-induced carcinogenesis. Our previous study revealed that the cancer-preventive effect of CR is tissue dependent and that CR does not effectively prevent the development of thymic lymphoma (TL). We investigated the association between CR and the genomic alterations of resulting TLs to clarify the underlying resistance mechanism. TLs were obtained from previous and new experiments, in which B6C3F1 mice were exposed to radiation at 1 week of age and fed with a CR or standard (non-CR) diet from 7 weeks throughout their lifetimes. All available TLs were used for analysis of genomic DNA. In contrast to the TLs of the non-CR group, those of the CR group displayed suppression of copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity (LOH) involving relevant tumor suppressor genes (Cdkn2a, Ikzf1, Trp53, Pten), an event regarded as cell division–associated. However, CR did not affect interstitial deletions of those genes, which were observed in both groups. In addition, CR affected the mechanism of Ikzf1 inactivation in TLs: the non-CR group exhibited copy-neutral LOH with duplicated inactive alleles, whereas the CR group showed expression of dominant-negative isoforms accompanying a point mutation or an intragenic deletion. These results suggest that, even though CR reduces cell division–related genomic rearrangements by suppressing cell proliferation, tumors arise via diverse carcinogenic pathways including inactivation of tumor suppressors via interstitial deletions and other mutations. These findings provide a molecular basis for improved prevention strategies that overcome the CR resistance of lymphomagenesis

特定健康診査受診者の保健指導受講の有無と3 年後の健診・医療データとの関連の検討

This study was performed to examine whether specific medical examinees’ attendance at a health guidance program influenced the results of health checkups conducted 3 years later and other medical service data. The study population consisted of 250 individuals residing in Town B, Prefecture A, who were enrolled in the national health insurance plan; had received a specific medical checkup in 2012 and subsequently became eligible for health guidance; had received another specific medical checkup in 2015; and for whom relevant medical service data were available. The main variables were age, gender, results of both checkups, annual medical fees, and whether they had received consultations on lifestyle-related diseases at a medical institution. Participants were grouped according to whether they had attended health guidance during the 3-year study period (attendance vs. non-attendance), and ensured that all participant data were anonymized. After 3 years, significant decreases in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p < 0.001) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 0.005) were observed among males in the attendance group, while the females in the same group showed significant decreases in body weight (p = 0.043), DBP (p = 0.011), and LDL-C (p = 0.002). To examine how the changes in health checkup results differed between groups, we calculated difference scores by subtracting the 2012 data from the 2015 data. The males in the attendance group showed a significantly greater decrease in DBP ( − 4.12 ± 7.20, p = 0.014) than the males in the non-attendance group. The females in the non-attendance group showed a significantly greater increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) than the females in the attendance group (2.95 ± 8.33, p = 0.042). The number of patients who consulted medical institutions for hypertension (p = 0.039) and hyperlipidemia (p = 0.010) were also significantly increased in the females in the non-attendance group. The significant decrease in DBP among males in the attendance group may have been because these individuals reviewed their lifestyle habits after receiving health guidance. The increase in HDL-C among the females in the non-attendance group could be attributed to their participation in exercise therapy during consultations with other medical institutions. The results of this study clearly indicated the importance of organizing health guidance with collaboration between municipality and medical institutions

従業員が若年認知症と診断された場合の就労継続に対する事業所の意向

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to clarify and identify the factors related to the intentions of workplaces to retain employees diagnosed with young onset dementia (YOD). Methods: An anonymous self-administrated questionnaire survey was sent by mail to all １,２9３ workplaces with 50 or more employees in A Prefecture. In addition to providing demographic data for the workplace, employers were asked to answer freely about their intention of continuing to employ employees in the case of their being diagnosed with young onset dementia. Intention regarding continuous employment was analyzed qualitatively using encoded descriptive data. Results: Responses were received from ３5７ workplaces, and ２9２ valid responses were used for analysis. Workplaces intended to consider continuing employment for employees diagnosed with young onset dementia, with a view to offering continued non-discriminatory employment and staying legally compliant. In addition, while considering offering job accommodations and keeping their employees safe according to their abilities, there was also an intention on the part of the business establishment to demand meeting their obligations to customers such as assuring customer safety and satisfaction. In addition, they stated the need for a offering systematic support for workplace personnel and company departments, and wrote that they would consult with their attending physician / industrial physician to identifying dementia-related symptoms and to make decisions with regard to employment continuation and placement. Discussion: Workplaces should understand YOD at an Young stage. It is necessary to provide training and information to businesses so that they can consider continuation of employment

The status of parenting acquaintances and factors related to the presence orabsence of parenting acquaintances among motherswith 18-month-old children.

目的： 1 歳6 か月児を持つ母親の育児仲間の実態と育児仲間の有無に関連する要因を明らかにすることである。対象と方法：A 県B 市の1 歳6 か月児健康診査を受診した母親を対象として，無記名自記式質問紙調査を行った。調査項目は基本属性，育児の状況，育児ストレス，対人態度（内的作業モデル），育児仲間の有無とし，育児仲間の有無に関連する要因をロジステイック回帰分析した。結果：分析対象者105 名のうち，育児仲間がいない者（なし群）は10 名（9.6％），なし群の平均年齢は33.4 歳，子どもの出生順位は第一子70.0％，育児仲間が必要であると回答した者は80.0％であった。育児仲間に最も期待することは手段的サポート（情報交換・子どもを預け合う等）と回答した者は，育児仲間なし群は60.0% で，あり群の20.0％より有意に高かった(p<0.01)。育児ストレス尺度得点の合計は，育児仲間なし群が有意に高く(p<0.01)，内的作業モデル（安定型）の得点は，育児仲間なし群が有意に低かった（ｐ＜0.05）。育児仲間の有無に関連する要因は，育児仲間に最も期待すること（手段的サポート／情緒的サポート）（P=0.015，オッズ比5.443），内的作業モデル（安定型）(P=0.007，オッズ比0.831)であった。考察･結論： 1 歳6 か月児は歩行が確立し外出の機会が増え育児仲間と出会う機会も増えることが予想されるが，育児仲間がいない者が約1 割存在し，それらは育児仲間に手段的サポート（情報交換・子どもを預け合う等）を期待しつつも他者との関係に苦手意識があることから，母親同士の交流が促進される育児仲間づくりの支援が必要である

Is Japan Pronatalism Justified? Fear of Hinoeuma Women and Sex Selection

Japan, having had the longest isolationist policy in the world, is averse to options, such as migration to increase the population. What kinds of pronatalist policies to increase fertility and lower the population&rsquo;s age are ethical? Two questions can be raised: is it ethical for the government to intercede, and is it ethical for individuals to exercise this choice? In addition to the gradually decreasing birth rate, Japan is faced with the challenge of a possible sharp decline in the birth rate in 5 years. Astrology and superstition have influenced the sex preference of a child in Japan, and in 1966, there was a 26% drop in the birth rate. It was the year of Hinoeuma, occurring at 60-year intervals, and women born that year are believed to have a potentially dangerous &lsquo;headstrong temperament&rsquo; and murder their husbands. Abortion rates spiked that year, and many forged the birth date of their child. The next Hinoeuma is in 2026. Although the bioethical debate about pronatalism exists in the literature, there is no literature addressing the question of sex selection in the context of a decreasing population. This paper argues that even if the Japanese government&rsquo;s current pronatalist approach is ethically warranted, it should not extend to sex selection since it would promote misogyny and stereotypical gender roles