Assessment of traffic accidents in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic vs. previous years: a preliminary report

Beginning in April 2020, social distancing measures were implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. We assessed whether traffic accident rates had decreased from April 2020 to December 2021 as compared with previous years. The analysis included 2,934,477 traffic accidents, and the trend of decreasing rates of traffic accidents in recent years and seasonal fluctuations in traffic accidents were considered. The yearly change in the traffic accident rate between 2015 and 2019 was estimated, and the traffic accident rate in 2020 and 2021 was predicted. This was followed by the comparison of observed vs. predicted traffic accident rate. In 2020, the observed vs. expected rates of traffic accidents were lower in April to December 2020, and the rate of traffic accidents in Japan was 30–40% lower in April–May 2020 than would be expected based on trends from previous years. In 2021, rates of traffic accidents remained lower than expected between January and November, but the magnitude of decrease was not as pronounced. These findings could be explained by social distancing policies, including the declaration of the state of emergency, and the relaxation of public health and social measures over time

Norrisiella sphaerica gen. et sp. nov., a new coccoid chlorarachniophyte from Baja California, Mexico

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科生物多様性動態学A new chlorarachniophyte, Norrisiella sphaerica S. Ota et K. Ishida gen. et sp. nov., from the coast of Baja California, Mexico is described. We examined its morphology, ultrastructure, and life cycle in detail, using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and time-lapse videomicroscopy. We found that this chlorarachniophyte possessed the following characteristics: (1) vegetative cells were coccoid and possessed a cell wall, (2) a pyrenoid was slightly invaded by plate-like periplastidial compartment from the tip of the pyrenoid, (3) a nucleomorph was located near the pyrenoid base in the periplastidial compartment, (4) cells reproduced vegetatively via autospores, and (5) a flagellate stage was present in the life cycle. This combination of characteristics differs from any of the described chlorarachniophyte genera, and therefore a new genus is established. Fluorescent microscopic observations suggested that the alga formed multinucleate cells prior to forming autospores. Time-lapse observations during autospore formation showed that cytokinesis occurred simultaneously in the multinucleate cells. Zoospores were also produced, and video sequences captured the release of zoospores from coccoid cells. © 2007 The Botanical Society of Japan and Springer

Salaries, degrees, and babies: Trends in fertility by income and education among Japanese men and women born 1943-1975-Analysis of national surveys

BACKGROUND: While fertility rates have decreased during the second half of the 20th century in Japan, little is known regarding trends in the number of children that men and women have across birth cohorts and whether these differ by education and income. METHODS: We used data from four rounds of the National Fertility Survey (1992, 2005, 2010 and 2015) and included men and women aged 40-49 years (16728 men and 17628 women). By 5-year birth cohorts, we assessed the distribution of number of children (0, 1, 2 and 3 or more) and total fertility (the mean number of children) at completed fertility (age 45-49 or 40-44 years depending on birth cohort). We assessed trends in these fertility outcomes in men and women separately, and by education (no university education; university education) for men and women and by reported annual income (0 to \u3c3 000 000 JPY; 3 000 000 to \u3c6 000 000 JPY; ≥6 000 000 JPY) for men. RESULTS: When comparing those born in 1943-1948 with those born in 1971-1975, the proportion with no children had increased from 14.3 to 39.9% for men and from 11.6 to 27.6% for women. This increase coincided with a decrease in the proportions of individuals with 2 or more children. Total fertility had decreased from 1.92 to 1.17 among men and from 1.96 to 1.42 among women. For men, those with a university degree were more likely to have children than those without a university degree in all birth cohorts except 1943-1947. Men with higher income were more likely to have children across birth cohorts. While the proportion who had children had decreased in all income groups, the decrease was steeper among those in the lowest income group. Among women born 1956-1970, those with a university degree were less likely to have children than those without a university degree; this difference was no longer seen among those born 1971-1975. For both men and women, trends in having children and total fertility across birth cohorts did not differ by educational status. CONCLUSIONS: The decline in the total fertility rate in Japan can be attributed to both an increasing proportion of the population who have no children and a lower number of children among those who have children. Men with lower education and income were less likely to have children and the disparity in the number of children that men have by income had increased in more recent birth cohorts. Among women, higher education was associated with lower fertility, although this pattern was no longer observed among those born in 1971-1975

The herbivore\u27s dilemma: Trends in and factors associated with heterosexual relationship status and interest in romantic relationships among young adults in Japan-Analysis of national surveys, 1987-2015

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that an increasing proportion of young adults in Japan have lost interest in romantic relationships, a phenomenon termed herbivorization . We assessed trends in heterosexual relationship status and self-reported interest in heterosexual romantic relationships in nationally representative data. METHODS: We used data from seven rounds of the National Fertility Survey (1987-2015) and included adults aged 18-39 years (18-34 years in the 1987 survey; sample size 11,683-17,675). Current heterosexual relationship status (married; unmarried but in a relationship; single) was estimated by sex, age group and survey year, with singles further categorized into those reporting interest vs. no interest in heterosexual romantic relationships. Information about same-sex relationships were not available. RESULTS: Between 1992 and 2015, the age-standardized proportion of 18-39-year-old Japanese adults who were single had increased steadily, from 27.4 to 40.7% among women and from 40.3 to 50.8% among men. This increase was largely driven by decreases in the proportion of married women aged 25-39 years and men aged 30-39 years, while those in a relationship had increased only slightly for women and remained stable for men. By 2015, the proportion of single women was 30.2% in those aged 30-34 years and 24.4% in those aged 35-39 years. The corresponding numbers for men were 39.3% and 32.4%. Around half of the singles (21.4% of all women and 25.1% of all men aged 18-39 years) reported that they had no interest in heterosexual romantic relationships. Single women and men who reported no interest in romantic relationships had lower income and educational levels and were less likely to have regular employment compared to those who reported such an interest. CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis of heterosexual relationships in nationally representative data from Japan, singlehood among young adults had steadily increased over the last three decades. In 2015 around one in four women and one in three men in their thirties were unmarried and not in a heterosexual relationship. Half of the singles reported no interest in romantic relationships and these women and men had lower income and educational levels and were less likely to have regular employment

Fish in the sea: Number, characteristics, and partner preferences of unmarried Japanese adults - analysis of a national survey

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of adults in Japan remain unmarried even though they intend to marry during their lifetime. To provide data for policy makers and those searching for partners in the Japanese marriage market, we estimated the number and characteristics of unmarried women and men with marriage intention and assessed their partner preferences. Based on the findings, we hypothesized regarding potential mismatches between the individuals available in the marriage market and the type of partners they are looking for. METHODS: We used data from the National Fertility Survey (2015), a nationally representative survey in Japan, and included 20,344 participants aged 18-49 years, of which 6,568 were unmarried with marriage intention. We estimated the total number of unmarried women and men who intend to marry, extrapolated their characteristics to the Japanese population, and assessed their partner preferences, as well as their ideal age of marriage and the ideal age of their partner. RESULTS: In 2015, there were 8.48 million unmarried women and 9.83 million unmarried men aged 18-49 years with marriage intention in Japan. Surpluses of around 600,000 men were observed in non-densely inhabited areas (men-to-women ratio: 1.31) and in the Kanto region (1.23). Most of the women and men in the marriage market had annual incomes lower than 3,000,000 JPY (28,000 USD) and only 263,000 women (3%) and 883,000 men (9%) had an income of 5,000,000 JPY (47,000 USD) or more; 167,000 men (2%) had an income of 7,000,000 JPY (66,000 USD) or more, with roughly three-quarters of them having a university degree. When asked about eight items that one may consider in a potential partner, the proportion of women listing an item as important tended to be larger than those of men across all items (education, occupation, finances, personality, mutual hobbies, cooperation/understanding regarding one\u27s work, and attitude towards/skills in housework and childrearing) except appearance. The largest differences were observed for finances (proportion of women vs. men listing the item as important or would consider: 94.0% vs. 40.5%, p\u3c0.001), occupation (84.9% vs. 43.9%, p\u3c0.001), and education (53.9% vs. 28.7%, p\u3c0.001). While women, on average, preferred men who were around 1-3 years older than themselves, men preferred women around their own age until the age of 26 years, at which point men preferred women who were younger than themselves, with the preferred age difference increasing substantially with age. As such, the number of men preferring a younger partner was larger than the number of women who preferred an older partner. CONCLUSIONS: By providing data on the number, characteristics and partner preferences of individuals in the marriage market, our study could inform decisions for those searching for marriage partners in Japan. Moreover, we hypothesize that mismatches in geographical location, the supply-demand disparity for partners with higher income, and age preferences could partly explain the large number of Japanese women and men who remain unmarried despite intending to get married. Further studies are needed to assess if, and to what extent, the identified mismatches may affect marriage rates

Norrisiella sphaerica gen. et sp. nov., a new coccoid chlorarachniophyte from Baja California, Mexico

A new chlorarachniophyte, Norrisiella sphaerica S. Ota et K. Ishida gen. et sp. nov., from the coast of Baja California, Mexico is described. We examined its morphology, ultrastructure, and life cycle in detail, using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and time-lapse videomicroscopy. We found that this chlorarachniophyte possessed the following characteristics: (1) vegetative cells were coccoid and possessed a cell wall, (2) a pyrenoid was slightly invaded by plate-like periplastidial compartment from the tip of the pyrenoid, (3) a nucleomorph was located near the pyrenoid base in the periplastidial compartment, (4) cells reproduced vegetatively via autospores, and (5) a flagellate stage was present in the life cycle. This combination of characteristics differs from any of the described chlorarachniophyte genera, and therefore a new genus is established. Fluorescent microscopic observations suggested that the alga formed multinucleate cells prior to forming autospores. Time-lapse observations during autospore formation showed that cytokinesis occurred simultaneously in the multinucleate cells. Zoospores were also produced, and video sequences captured the release of zoospores from coccoid cells

Massively parallel single-cell genomics of microbiomes in rice paddies

世界初のイネ根圏微生物叢の網羅的1細胞ゲノム解析に成功 --コメ生産現場が抱える問題のデータベース化に向けて--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-11-09.Plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs) have attracted increasing attention because they may be useful in increasing crop yield in a low-input and sustainable manner to ensure food security. Previous studies have attempted to understand the principles underlying the rhizosphere ecology and interactions between plants and PGPMs using ribosomal RNA sequencing, metagenomic sequencing, and genome-resolved metagenomics; however, these approaches do not provide comprehensive genomic information for individual species and do not facilitate detailed analyses of plant–microbe interactions. In the present study, we developed a pipeline to analyze the genomic diversity of the rice rhizosphere microbiome at single-cell resolution. We isolated microbial cells from paddy soil and determined their genomic sequences by using massively parallel whole-genome amplification in microfluidic-generated gel capsules. We successfully obtained 3, 237 single-amplified genomes in a single experiment, and these genomic sequences provided insights into microbial functions in the paddy ecosystem. Our approach offers a promising platform for gaining novel insights into the roles of microbes in the rice rhizomicrobiome and to develop microbial technologies for improved and sustainable rice production

The Emergence of HIV-1 Transmitted Drug Resistance Mutations Among Antiretroviral Therapy-naive Individuals in Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia

Background: the global scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the primary factor contributing to the decline in deaths from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related illnesses. However, the emergence of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) compromises the effects of ART in treatment-naïve individuals, which may hinder treatment success. The present study aimed to identify the presence of TDR among treatment-naive individuals in Buleleng, Bali, which is currently ranked sixth among Indonesian provinces with the highest cumulative human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection cases. Methods: thirty-nine ART-naive individuals in Buleleng Regency General Hospital were enrolled in the present study. Blood samples from participants were subjected to a genotypic analysis. Results: 28 protease (PR) and 30 reverse transcriptase (RT) genes were successfully amplified and sequenced from 37 samples. HIV-1 subtyping revealed CRF01_AE as the dominant circulating recombinant form in the region. No TDR for PR inhibitors was detected; however, TDR for RT inhibitors was identified in five out of 30 samples (16.7%). Conclusion: these results indicate the emergence of TDR among ART-naive individuals in Buleleng, Bali. This issue warrants serious consideration because TDR may hamper treatment success and reduce ART efficacy among newly diagnosed individuals. Continuous surveillance with a larger sample size is necessary to monitor TDR among ART-naive individuals