DEATH AND DIVINE JUDGEMENT IN ECCLESIASTES

The current scholarly consensus places Ecclesiastes’ composition in the postexilic era, sometime between the late Persian and early Hellenistic periods, leaning towards the late fourth or early third centuries BCE. Premised on this consensus, this thesis proposes that the book of Ecclesiastes is making a case for posthumous divine judgement in order to rectify pre-mortem injustices. Specifically, this thesis contends that issues relating to death and injustice raised by Qohelet in the book of Ecclesiastes point to the necessity of post-mortem divine judgement. Judging from its implied social and historical context, the book of Ecclesiastes also may have served as perhaps a provocative voice for, or as a catalyst to, the emergence of apocalyptic eschatology and later sectarian conflicts within Judaism during the mid-Second Temple period. Some people in postexilic Israelite society began to raise questions about traditional views of death, Sheol, and divine judgement at a time when retributive justice appears not to be assured or to be absent. One may well ask: what is the book of Ecclesiastes doing, if it appeared on the cusp of the Persian-Hellenistic transition period when the traditional idea of theodicy was perhaps becoming a serious issue in Israelite society, before full-blown apocalyptic eschatology surfaced? The answer seems to be inseparable from questions of how best Ecclesiastes as a book is to be read. Contemporary approaches to reading the book as a unified whole are examined, and a “frame-narrative” reading is argued to be the best approach. The key to unravelling the book’s puzzle lies in realizing that the author probably intended the frame-narrator to have the last say. The role of this “third person” is pivotal for explaining the paradoxes within Qohelet’s monologue and its relationship to the epilogue and uncovering the book’s overall purpose

A Screening Method for the Isolation of Polyhydroxyalkanoate-Producing Purple Non-sulfur Photosynthetic Bacteria from Natural Seawater

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a family of biopolyesters accumulated by a variety of microorganisms as carbon and energy storage under starvation conditions. We focused on marine purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria as host microorganisms for PHA production and developed a method for their isolation from natural seawater. To identify novel PHA-producing marine purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria, natural seawaters were cultured in nutrient-rich medium for purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria, and twelve pink- or red-pigmented colonies were picked up. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis revealed that four isolates synthesized PHA at levels ranging from 0.5 to 24.4 wt% of cell dry weight. The 16S ribosomal RNA sequence analysis revealed that one isolate (HM2) showed 100% identity to marine purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria. In conclusion, we have demonstrated in this study that PHA-producing marine purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria can be isolated from natural seawater under nutrient-rich conditions

わが国の看護における医療政策研究の動向

　本研究は、今後の看護における医療政策研究の方向性を示すために、過去10年間（2010年～2020年）の看護における医療政策研究に関する動向、研究内容について整理し、今後の課題を示すことを目的とした。医学中央雑誌Web版を用いて、検索ワード「医療政策」とし、「看護論文」「原著論文」に限定し検索した結果、医療政策について記述のあった62件を分析対象とした。　研究内容の分析から、11のサブカテゴリが抽出され、5つのカテゴリ【保健事業の実際と評価】【医療提供体制】【看護の発展】【看護職の労働環境】【地域医療連携】に分類された。多くの文献が、現行の法制での実態調査・疫学研究、医療法改正による影響の分析であった。保健事業の実際と評価においても、実際の活動や評価について具体的に報告していたが、新たな事業化・施策化に関するプロセスや実際についての記述はみられなかった。これらのことから、看護職に広くは医療政策に関わる意識と能力を醸成する必要があり、看護職が自らのこととして看護における医療政策について考えられるよう、看護基礎教育から継続した学習が必要であることが示唆された

潜在看護師の復職支援に関する研究～潜在看護師支援に関する文献から検討する日本の課題～

　日本と海外における潜在看護師の復職支援に関する研究の動向を明らかにし、日本における潜在看護師の復職支援の一助とすることを目的として、文献研究を行った。CINALを用いてすべての文献を対象に、inactive nurse(s)、return to work、をキーワードとして文献を抽出した。医学中央雑誌においても発表されているすべての文献（原著論文）について「潜在看護師」「復職支援」をキーワードとしている文献を抽出し、分析対象文献31件のレビューを行った。研究内容は、潜在看護師を対象とした調査研究と、復職を促進することを目的とした取り組みに大別された。潜在看護師を対象とした調査研究は14件であり、そのうち「復職に必要な要因の分析」10件、「復職までのプロセス」３件、「潜在看護師の看護技術に関する調査」1件が含まれていた。復職を促進することを目的とした取り組みは17件であり、そのうち「復職支援プログラムの実践」16件、「復職後における支援の検討」１件が含まれていた。病院が主体となり復職支援する取り組みは、海外・日本ともに一定の成果をあげていた。大学をはじめとする看護教育機関や公立の機関が主体となり、潜在看護師の学び直し（以下リフレッシャー）プログラムを実践している場合は、特定のスキルの習得ではなく、広く看護教育を学び直すプログラムが構築、実践されていた。復職先の病院が主体となり、リフレッシャープログラムを実践している場合は、病院の特徴をふまえた特定のスキルを獲得することを目的にプログラムが構築されていた。さらに米国では、大学・病院が協働し主に知識と技術を分担したプログラム開発も行われており、特に公立の施設と協働し、長期的に潜在看護師を支援するしくみも創られていた。日本でも、大学・病院・公立施設で協働し、多様な内容・場を提供できる新たな潜在看護師リフレッシャープログラムのしくみづくりが必要である

The cDNA sequence and expression of the AAA-family peroxin genes pex-1 and pex-6 from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

We cloned cDNAs encoding two peroxins, PEX-1 and PEX-6, of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Peroxins are proteins that play essential roles in peroxisome biogenesis and are encoded by pex genes. Among the peroxins, PEX-1 and PEX-6 constitute the subfamily 2 of AAA (ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities) proteins. Each cDNA agreed well with the respective mRNA in size (3.4 kb for pex-1 and 2.3 kb for pex-6) and did not carry any spliced leader sequence. The pex-1 cDNA was composed of 24 exons, which were encoded by a genomic region containing three open reading frames (ORFs), c11h1.4, c11h1.5, and c11h1.6; the predicted ORF c11h1.5 was encompassed in the 15th intron. Although many exon-intron borders in pex-1 were inconsistent with those predicted for c11h1.4 and c11h1.6, those in pex-6 coincided with those for the ORF f39g3.7. The pex-1 and pex-6 genes encoded proteins with 996 and 720 amino acid residues, respectively. Both pex-1 mRNA and pex-6 mRNA were detectable mainly in intestinal cells throughout the life cycle of C. elegans.The erratam is attached for this article

Association of an overlap syndrome of autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis with cytomegalovirus infection

A 63-year-old woman, who presented with severe jaundice and elevated serum conjugated bilirubin level, denied alcohol and drug use and showed no evidence of viral hepatitis. Based on clinical and laboratory features, she was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis with primary biliary cirrhosis. Hematological and immunochemical assays, radiographic imaging, clinical examination, and liver biopsy were conducted. Laboratory results were the following: negative for fluorescence antinuclear antibody, negative for antismooth muscle antibodies but positive for antinuclear antibody (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and antimitochondrial M2 antibody, high titers of serum globulin, and positive for cytomegalovirus IgM. Liver biopsy showed submassive lobular necrosis, inflammation with broad areas of parenchymal collapse, and chronic nonsuppurative destructive cholangitis. The patient responded well to corticosteroid therapy. This case might illustrate an association between cytomegalovirus infection and the occurrence of autoimmune hepatitis