The association between problematic internet use and neck pain among Japanese schoolteachers

Objectives: Problematic internet use (PIU) has been suggested in relation to psychological symptoms among schoolteachers, but the relationship with physical symptoms remains unclear. We examined whether PIU or longer Internet usage time is associated with neck pain in schoolteachers. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 2582 teachers aged 20 years or older (35.6% women) in Shimane and Tottori, Japan in 2018. Neck pain was defined as ≥5 points on the Neck Disability Index. The Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS) was used to assess PIU. Internet usage time on weekdays and weekends was divided into five groups: 0, 1–29, 30–59, 60–119, and ≥120 min/day. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of the CIUS score and Internet usage time on weekdays or weekends with neck pain, adjusting for sex, age, position at school, insomnia, and psychological distress. Results: We observed 800 (31.0%) teachers with neck pain. The median (interquartile range) of their CIUS scores was 7 (2, 14). A higher CIUS score was independently associated with a higher prevalence of neck pain (odds ratio of 4th vs. 1st quartiles, 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–1.87; trend P = .006). Compared with non-Internet users, Internet users on weekdays had almost double the odds of neck pain although the difference did not reach the customary level for designating statistical significance. Conclusions: In conclusion, teachers with higher scores in CIUS were associated with a higher prevalence of neck pain in Japan, suggesting adults with PIU being at risk of physical disorders

Physicochemical Properties of the Mammalian Molecular Chaperone HSP60

The E. coli GroEL/GroES chaperonin complex acts as a folding cage by producing a bullet-like asymmetric complex, and GroEL exists as double rings regardless of the presence of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Its mammalian chaperonin homolog, heat shock protein, HSP60, and co-chaperonin, HSP10, play an essential role in protein folding by capturing unfolded proteins in the HSP60/HSP10 complex. However, the structural transition in ATPase-dependent reaction cycle has remained unclear. We found nucleotide-dependent association and dissociation of the HSP60/HSP10 complex using various analytical techniques under near physiological conditions. Our results showed that HSP60 exist as a significant number of double-ring complexes (football- and bullet-type complexes) and a small number of single-ring complexes in the presence of ATP and HSP10. HSP10 binds to HSP60 in the presence of ATP, which increased the HSP60 double-ring formation. After ATP is hydrolyzed to Adenosine diphosphate (ADP), HSP60 released the HSP10 and the dissociation of the double-ring to single-rings occurred. These results indicated that HSP60/HSP10 undergoes an ATP-dependent transition between the single- and double-rings in their system that is highly distinctive from the GroEL/GroES system particularly in the manner of complex formation and the roles of ATP binding and hydrolysis in the reaction cycle

Green tea consumption and the risk of incident functional disability in elderly Japanese: the Ohsaki Cohort 2006 Study123

Background: Previous studies have reported that green tea consumption is associated with a lower risk of diseases that cause functional disability, such as stroke, cognitive impairment, and osteoporosis. Although it is expected that green tea consumption would lower the risk of incident functional disability, this has never been investigated directly