Plastic brain structure changes associated with the division of labour and ageing in termites

Division of labour is a prominent feature of social insect societies, where different castes engage in different specialised tasks. As brain differences are associated with behavioural differences, brain anatomy may be linked to caste polymorphism. Here, we show that termite brain morphology changes markedly with caste differentiation and age in the termite, Reticulitermes speratus. Brain morphology was shown to be associated with reproductive division of labour, with reproductive individuals (alates and neotenic reproductives) having larger brains than non-reproductives (workers and soldiers). Micro-computed tomography (CT) imaging and dissection observations showed that the king's brain morphology changed markedly with shrinkage of the optic lobes during their long life in the dark. Behavioural experiments showed that mature primary kings lose visual function as a result of optic lobe shrinkage. These results suggested that termites restructure their nervous systems to perform necessary tasks as they undergo caste differentiation, and that they also show flexible changes in brain morphology even after the final moult. This study showed that brain morphology in social insects is linked to caste and ageing, and that the evolution of the division of labour is underpinned by the development of diverse neural systems for specialised tasks. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

健康への配慮とﾒﾀﾎﾞﾘｯｸｼﾝﾄﾞﾛｰﾑ対策状況について -佐世保市民の健康に関する実態調査報告-

本研究では､健康への意識の有無とﾒﾀﾎﾞﾘｯｸｼﾝﾄﾞﾛｰﾑ(以下､MetS)予防および改善行動の実践の有無から分析を行い､意識や行動の違いが健康に関する項目にどのような影響を与えるのか検討を行った｡その結果､健康への意識を持つことにより日常的に健康の維持増進に向けた生活習慣を送り､健康診断やがん検診の受診など健康に向けた望ましい行動や､共食日数の増加や余暇活動の増加など QOL の向上にもつながることが示唆された｡また､健康を意識することに加えて MetS 予防を行っているものでは､さらに望ましい生活習慣状況となっており､MetS 予防といった明確な目的およびその対策を実践しているという自覚によってより一層健康的な日常生活の実践に結びついていることが考えられた｡In the present study, we analyzed the data from the presence or absence of the awareness of health and from the presence or absence of the practice for prevention of metabolic syndrome(hereinafter called“MetS”)and the behavior for improvement, and examined what effect the differences in the awareness and behavior might influence on the items on health. As a result, it was suggested that, by having an awareness of health, it would be possible to establish a life-style enabling the maintenance and promotion of health, and to be linked to the desirable behavior for health such as having regularly a health check-up and a cancer examination, and to go far towards the advancement of QOL such as the increased number of days of‘eating in company\u27and the increased level of activity for leisure. In addition to having an awareness of health, those who were conducting the preventive measure against MetS were found to lead a more, desirable life-style, and to be related to the practice of a healthier daily life by becoming self-conscious of having a definite objective of preventing MetS and practicing its measure

Should the provision of home help services be contained?: Validation of the new preventive care policy in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To maintain the sustainability of public long-term care insurance (LTCI) in Japan, a preventive care policy was introduced in 2006 that seeks to promote active improvement in functional status of elderly people who need only light care. This policy promotes the use of day care services to facilitate functional improvement, and contains the use of home help services that provide instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) support. However, the validity of this approach remains to be demonstrated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects comprised 241 people aged 65 years and over who had recently been certified as being eligible for the lightest eligibility level and had began using either home help or day care services between April 2007 and October 2008 in a suburban city of Tokyo. A retrospective cohort study was conducted ending October 2009 to assess changes in the LTCI eligibility level of these subjects. Cox's proportional hazards model was used to calculate the relative risk of declining in function to eligibility Level 4 among users of the respective services.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multivariate analysis adjusted for factors related to service use demonstrated that the risk of decline in functional status was lower for users of home help services than for users of day care services (HR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31-0.98). The same result was obtained when stratified by whether the subject lived with family or not. Furthermore, those who used two or more hours of home help services did not show an increase in risk of decline when compared with those who used less than two hours.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>No evidence was obtained to support the effectiveness of the policy of promoting day care services and containing home help services for those requiring light care.</p

休養状況から見た健康に向けた実践状況 -佐世保市民の健康に関する実態調査報告-

健康づくりの要素として｢栄養･食生活｣｢身体活動･運動｣｢休養･こころの健康づくり｣の3本柱があげられるが､本報告では佐世保市において平成24年1月～2月に行われた｢佐世保市民の健康に関する実態調査｣の調査結果のうち､休養状況を示す｢休養･こころの健康づくり｣に着目をし､休養と健康についての分析を行った｡その結果､日常的に健康に配慮しているもの及び配慮している生活習慣として｢栄養･食生活｣を挙げた者が最も多く､｢休養｣をあげた者の割合は､｢栄養･食生活｣｢運動｣に対して少なかった｡｢運動｣を挙げた者は休養がとれている者ととれていない者との差が大きく､また､休養がとれている者は､積極的に身体を動かしていたことを示した｡休養を適切にとることは､日常生活が健康的な生活につながることを示唆した｡しかし､休養が健康の3本柱でありながら､健康のために配慮することとして休養は考えられにくい状況であったことから､休養と健康とのつながりについて周知していくことが必要となると考える｡It is thought that“nutrition and dietary life”,“physical activity and exercise”and“rest and mental health promotion”are the most important factors for health promotion. Previously, we made a survey on actual conditions of health for people living in Sasebo in a period from January to February of 2012. Based on results of the survey, an analysis was made on a rest and health paying attention to the results of“rest and mental health promotion”, which indicates the situation of people\u27s rest. The number of people usually paying attention to own health and those who chose the item“nutrition and dietary life”as their important life habit was the most. Whereas the number of subjects who chose the item“rest”was less than the number of subjects who chose the item“nutrition and dietary life”or“exercise”. Regarding the subjects who chose the item of exercise, there was a large difference between the numbers of subjects taking a rest enough and those who were not. Moreover, the present findings suggested that physical activity of people taking a rest enough is mostly high. These results suggest that to take an appropriate rest would lead to healthy life. “Rest”is one of three indispensable factors to keep health and so it is important to be concerned about“rest”for health maintenance. However, such idea was not so widely received until recently and“rest”was apt to be disregarded. Therefore, it is thought necessary to widely spread the idea about close correlation between rest and health

Achieving LDL cholesterol target levels <1.81 mmol/L may provide extra cardiovascular protection in patients at high risk: Exploratory analysis of the Standard Versus Intensive Statin Therapy for Patients with Hypercholesterolaemia and Diabetic Retinopathy study

Aims To assess the benefits of intensive statin therapy on reducing cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with type 2 diabetes complicated with hyperlipidaemia and retinopathy in a primary prevention setting in Japan. In the intension-to-treat population, intensive therapy [targeting LDL cholesterol = 2.59 to = 100 to = 2.59 to <3.10 mmol/L in patients with hypercholesterolaemia and diabetic retinopathy

The Physical Housing Environment and Subjective Well-Being Among Older People Using Long-Term Care Services in Japan

For older people using long-term care services, the conditions of their life-space may be critical. The relationships between the physical housing environment and aspects of health were examined among older people in Japan (aged 65+ years, N = 1,928) by multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Lack of safety, low access to emergency assistance, low or high indoor temperature, poor sanitary conditions, and state of home disrepair were significantly associated with negative aspects of health among people with low activities of daily living (ADL) independence. Home care service providers and policymakers need to consider the importance of appropriate environmental conditions for the most vulnerable groups

The improvement effect of working through the Silver Human Resources Center on pre-frailty among older people: a two-year follow-up study

Abstract Background Although the health benefits of working in old age are well known, no research has examined them among older people with pre-frailty. We examined the improvement effect of working through the Silver Human Resources Center (SHRC) on pre-frailty among older people in Japan. Methods We carried out a two-year longitudinal survey from 2017 to 2019. Among 5,199 older people, the analysis included 531 participants who were judged to be of pre-frailty status at baseline and who completed both surveys. We utilized the records of participants’ work through the SHRC from 2017 to 2019. The evaluation of the frequency of working through the SHRC was categorized as “less-working” (i.e., less than a few times a month), “moderate-working” (i.e., one to two times a week), and “frequent-working” (i.e., more than three times a week). The transition of frailty status was classified as “improved” (from pre-frailty to robust) and “non-improved” (from pre-frailty to pre-frailty or frailty). Logistic regression was used to assess the influence of the frequency of working through the SHRC on the improvement of pre-frailty. The analysis model was adjusted for age, sex, working for financial reward, years of membership, community activities, and health status at baseline. Inverse-probability weighting was used to correct for survival bias in the follow-up period. Results The improvement rate of pre-frailty during follow-up was 28.9% among the less-working, 40.2% in the moderate-working, and 36.9% in the frequent-working groups. The improvement rate in the less-working group was significantly lower than that in the other two groups (φ = -2.4). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that individuals in the moderate-working group had significantly higher odds of pre-frailty improvement than those in the less-working group (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.14–1.90), and no significant differences were found between the frequent-working and less-working groups. Conclusions We found that the participants engaged in moderate working through the SHRC significantly increased their rate of pre-frailty improvement, while frequent working showed no significant association. Therefore, in the future it is important to provide moderate work to older people with pre-frailty according to their health status