Mosques in Japan responding to COVID-19 pandemic: Infection prevention and support provision

Religious activities tend to be conducted in enclosed, crowded, and close-contact settings, which have a high potential of transmitting the coronavirus disease, 2019 (COVID-19); therefore, religious communities are expected to take appropriate infection prevention measures. Meanwhile, during past disasters, religious communities have provided various types of support to affected people; hence, their role in disaster risk reduction has received much attention. In this study, we aimed to identify the infection prevention measures and support provision implemented by mosques—Islamic institutions managed and operated mainly by foreign Muslims living in Japan—during the one year from January 2020. We collected information from newspaper articles (18 articles on 19 mosques) and interviews with representatives of three mosques. We found that various infection control measures were implemented in mosques—refraining from mass prayers and closing buildings from an early stage (around February 2020); canceling large-scale events during the month of Ramadan; moving some activities online; and ensuring indoor ventilation and safe physical distance even when continuing face-to-face prayer activities. We also found that various types of support were provided by mosques—donating masks to the local government; listening to problems of people affected by COVID-19 regardless of their nationality; providing financial support to them; translating and disseminating information to foreign Muslims; and providing religious meals for them. This study provides actual examples of infection prevention measures taken by mosques in a Muslim-minority society and suggests that mosques appropriately responded to the needs of religious minorities during disasters, including COVID-19

Newly Synthesized Compound, PABA-Ursodeoxycholic Acid, for Evaluation of Intestinal Bacteria

From the standpoint of utilizing a distinctive feature of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and intestinal bile acid metabolism, a conjugate of ursodeoxycholic acid with PABA (PABA-UDCA) was newly synthesized for studying whether it can be a good material or not to evaluate enteric bacteria. In incubation experiment, this compound was reasonably deconjugated by cholylglycine hydrolase resulting in the release of PABA. In animal experiment, urinary excretions of PABA were determined during six hours following oral administration of 10 mg PABA-UDCA. Control rats (n=7) excreted 140.1 ± 59.5 μ,g (mean ± SD) of PABA. By contrast, the rats (n=9) with intestinal antisepsis by antibiotic administration excreted less (18.3 ± 16. 7 μg; P < 0.001) whereas those with intestinal bacterial overgrowth by making enteric blind loop excreted more (451.1 ± 223.6 μg; P < 0.01). These observations indicate that this new compound is likely to offer a simple and rapid method for evaluation of the intestinal microorganisms

Relationships between insulin resistance, blood glucose levels and gastric motility : an electrogastrography and external ultrasonography study

Background : Detailed information concerning the influence of insulin resistance on gastrointestinal motility are not available. Methods : The relationship between insulin resistance and gastric motility and emptying, and changes in gastric motility with changes in blood glucose level were investigated using electrogastrography (EGG) and external ultrasonography in 20 non-diabetic subjects. The homeostasis model assessment ratio (HOMA-R) was used as an index of insulin resistance. The cut off value for HOMA-R was set at 1.7. Subjects with HOMA-R ≥ 1.7 were the high HOMA-R group, and HOMA-R < 1.7 were the normal HOMA-R group. In the EGG data, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis was performed, and the mean peak power was compared among brady-, normal-, and tachy-gastria. Results : In the fasting state, the ratios of brady-gastria in EGG and HOMA-R were significantly positively correlated, and the ratios of normal-gastria and HOMA-R were significantly negatively correlated. When glucose was intravenously administered, the ratio of normal-gastria was significantly decreased and the ratio of brady-gastria was significantly increased in subjects with a high HOMA-R. In a gastric emptying test by external ultrasonography, gastric emptying activity was significantly decreased in subjects with a high HOMA-R. Conclusions : We conclude that insulin resistance induces abnormal gastric motility. Though abnormal gastric motility is related to HOMA-R, the findings herein suggest that incretin, showing insulin resistance, or an adipocyokine might be related to the differences in EGG in both groups. The relation between abnormal gastric motility and other serum parameters (incretin, adipocyokine, etc) would contribute to a better understanding of this process

cDNA cloning of rat proteasome subunit RC1, a homologue of RING10 located in the human MHC class II region

AbstractThe nucleotide sequence of a cDNA that encodes a new subunit, named RC1, of rat proteasomes (multicatalytic proteinase complexes) has been determined. The polypeptide predicted from the open reading frame consisted of 208 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 23,130, which is consistent with the size obtained by electrophoretic analysis of purified RC1. The partial amino acid sequences of several fragments of RC1, obtained by protein chemical analyses, were found to be in excellent accordance with those deduced from the cDNA sequence. Surprisingly, the overall structure of RC1 was found to be almost identical to that of recently isolated RING10, whose gene is located in the class II region of the human MHC gene cluster. This finding suggests that RC1 is a homologue of human RING10, supporting the proposal that proteasomes are involved in the antigen processing pathway

Naïve rat umbilical cord matrix stem cells significantly attenuate mammary tumor growth through modulation of endogenous immune responses

Background: Un-engineered human and rat umbilical cord matrix stem cells (rUCMSC) attenuate growth of several types of tumors in mice and rats. However, the mechanism by which UCMSC attenuate tumor growth has not been studied rigorously. Methods- The possible mechanisms of tumor growth attenuation by rUCMSC were studied using orthotopic Mat B III rat mammary tumor grafts in female F344 rats. Tumor-infiltrating leukocytes were identified and quantified by immunohistochemical image analysis. Potential cytokines involved in lymphocyte infiltration in the tumors were determined by microarray and Western blot analysis. The Boyden chamber migration assay was performed for the functional analysis of identified cytokines. Results: rUCMSC markedly attenuated the tumor growth; this attenuation was accompanied by considerable lymphocyte infiltration. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the majority of infiltrating lymphocytes in the rUCMSC-treated tumors were CD3+ T cells. In addition, treatment with rUCMSC significantly increased infiltration of CD 8+ and CD4+ T cells and NK cells throughout tumor tissue. CD68+ monocytes/macrophages and FoxP3+ regulatory T cells were scarcely observed, only in the tumors of the PBS control group. Microarray analysis of rUCMSC identified that monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 is involved in rUCMSCinduced lymphocyte infiltration in the tumor tissues. Discussion: These results suggest that naïve rUCMSC attenuated mammary tumor growth at least in part by enhancing host anti-tumor immune responses. Thus, naïve UCMSC can be used as powerful therapeutic cells for breast cancer treatment, and MCP-1 may be a key molecule to enhance the effect of UCMSC at the tumor site

Thermal and chemical evolution of the subarc mantle revealed by spinel-hosted melt inclusions in boninite from the Ogasawara (bonin) Archipelago, Japan

Primitive melt inclusions in chrome spinel from the Ogasawara Archipelago (Japan) compose two discrete groups of high-SiO2, high-MgO (high-Si) and low-SiO2, low-MgO (low-Si) boninitic suites, with ultra-depleted dish- and V-shaped, and less-depleted flat, rare earth element patterns. The most magnesian melt inclusions of each geochemical type were used to estimate the temperature-pressure conditions for primary boninites, which range from 1345 °C at 0.56 GPa to 1421 °C at 0.85 GPa for the 48-46 Ma low-Si and high-Si boninites, and 1381 °C at 0.85 GPa for the 45 Ma low-Si boninite. The onset of the Pacific slab subduction at 52 Ma forced upwelling of depleted mid-oceanic ridge basalt mantle (DMM) to yield proto-arc basalt (PAB). With the rise of DMM, refractory harzburgite ascended without melting. At 48-46 Ma, introduction of slab fluids induced melting of the PAB residue and high-temperature harzburgite, resulting in the low-Si and high-Si boninites, respectively. Meanwhile, convection within the mantle wedge brought the less-depleted residue of PAB and DMM into the region fluxed by slab fluids, which melted to yield the less-depleted low-Si boninite at 45 Ma, and fertile arc basalts, respectively

Electronic sculpting of ligand-GPCR subtype selectivity:the case of angiotensin II

GPCR subtypes possess distinct functional and pharmacological profiles, and thus development of subtype-selective ligands has immense therapeutic potential. This is especially the case for the angiotensin receptor subtypes AT1R and AT2R, where a functional negative control has been described and AT2R activation highlighted as an important cancer drug target. We describe a strategy to fine-tune ligand selectivity for the AT2R/AT1R subtypes through electronic control of ligand aromatic-prolyl interactions. Through this strategy an AT2R high affinity (<i>K</i>_i = 3 nM) agonist analogue that exerted 18,000-fold higher selectivity for AT2R versus AT1R was obtained. We show that this compound is a negative regulator of AT1R signaling since it is able to inhibit MCF-7 breast carcinoma cellular proliferation in the low nanomolar range

Development and application of an ultra-miniaturized blood collecting/testing system by MEMS

This report outlines research, supported by a Kansai University special fund (2004). Collecting blood and sending it to a given destination is inevitable in micro-TAS application for the purpose of this research. Development of a micro-needle made of biodegradable polymer and a method for collecting blood with this micro-needle, evaluation of bloodstream characteristics in a micro-channel, and development of supporting technology for collecting and analyzing blood are discussed in this paper. In each case, successful new technologies were developed