〈共同研究プロジェクト紹介〉多文化共生社会における日本語教育研究 サブプロジェクト : 「生活のための日本語」の内容に関する研究 「生活者」としての外国人に対する日本語教育の確立をめざして

学習院大学文学部多文化共生社会に向かう日本において,「生活者としての外国人」に対する日本語教育の体制整備は重要課題の一つである。本サブプロジェクト(2009年10月～2013年3月)は,「生活者としての外国人」に対する日本語教育の内容を検討する際の基礎資料として,「生活のための日本語」一覧を示すことを目指した。浜松及び広島において調査を実施し,14の場面・テーマにおける105の言語行動の頻度・困難度・重要度,困難度・重要度を決定づける要因について調べた。本稿では,その結果を2008年に実施した全国調査の分析結果とともに示す。Establishing a Japanese language education system for resident foreigners is an important task in Japan, which is becoming a multicultural society. The objective of this sub-project, which took place from October 2009 to March 2013, was to create a list of "Japanese language for living in Japan" to be used as a basic reference in reviewing the content of Japanese language education programs for resident foreigners in Japan. The study was conducted in Hamamatsu and Hiroshima and examined the frequency, level of difficulty, and importance of 105 linguistic behaviors in 14 settings involving different situations and topics. Subsequently, an analysis was carried out on the factors that determine the level of difficulty and importance. This study presents the results, along with the results of a nationwide survey conducted in 2008

THE EFFECT OF MEDICATION ON QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN WITH SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI INFECTION IN TANZANIA

The effect of mass treatment on questionnaire results in the diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni was examined in 267 school children in an endemic area of Tanzania by Kato-Katz analysis of fecal specimens. The questionnaire asked for information about self-diagnosis, abdominal symptoms, blood in stools, history of wild water contact, stool examination and medication for schistosomiasis, and knowledge of the disease. A logistic regression analysis disclosed a significant association between schistosomiasis and diarrhea (p ? 0.007; odds ratio, 32.0; confidence interval, 2.5 - 403.3) and abdominal enlargement (p ? 0.003; odds ratio, 15.2; confidence interval, 2.6 - 90.1) among 61 children who had no history of medication for schistosomiasis. The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 86% and 64%, respectively. In contrast, no significant correlation was observed either for the 116 treated children, or for all the 267 children after the mass treatment. We conclude, therefore, that for children who had no history of medication for schistosomiasis, the questionnaire for abdominal manifestations provides reliable information on S. mansoni infection. However, once a child takes medication, the questionnaire becomes unreliable. This observation suggests that immunomodulation by anti-schistosomiasis drugs that kill adult worms exerts an effect on the appearance of abdominal manifestations and might explain the ambiguity of clinical symptoms in chronically infested patients, except in terminal cases. Further studies are required to develop a simple, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic method for monitoring S. mansoni infection after medication in local areas without resort to laboratory-based identification of schistosomiasis

Cellular HIV-1 DNA levels in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy strongly correlate with therapy initiation timing but not with therapy duration

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Viral reservoir size refers to cellular human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) DNA levels in CD4⁺T lymphocytes of peripheral blood obtained from patients with plasma HIV-1-RNA levels (viral load, VL) maintained below the detection limit by antiretroviral therapy (ART). We measured HIV-1 DNA levels in CD4⁺lymphocytes in such patients to investigate their clinical significance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>CD4⁺T lymphocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of 61 patients with a VL maintained at less than 50 copies/ml for at least 4 months by ART and total DNA was purified. HIV-1 DNA was quantified by nested PCR to calculate the copy number per 1 million CD4⁺lymphocytes (relative amount) and the copy number in 1 ml of blood (absolute amount). For statistical analysis, the Spearman rank or Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used, with a significance level of 5%.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CD4 cell counts at the time of sampling negatively correlated with the relative amount of HIV-1 DNA (median = 33 copies/million CD4⁺lymphocytes; interquartile range [IQR] = 7-123 copies/million CD4⁺lymphocytes), but were not correlated with the absolute amounts (median = 17 copies/ml; IQR = 5-67 copies/ml). Both absolute and relative amounts of HIV-1 DNA were significantly lower in six patients in whom ART was initiated before positive seroconversion than in 55 patients in whom ART was initiated in the chronic phase, as shown by Western blotting. CD4 cell counts before ART introduction were also negatively correlated with both the relative and absolute amounts of HIV-1 DNA. Only the relative amounts of HIV-1 DNA negatively correlated with the duration of VL maintenance below the detection limit, while the absolute amounts were not significantly correlated with this period.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The amounts of cellular HIV-1 DNA in patients with VLs maintained below the detection limit by the introduction of ART correlated with the timing of ART initiation but not with the duration of ART. In addition, CD4⁺T lymphocytes, which were newly generated by ART, diluted latently infected cells, indicating that measurements of the relative amounts of cellular HIV-1 DNA might be underestimated.</p

Oxidative stress causes enhanced endothelial cell injury in human heme oxygenase-1 deficiency

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系The first known human case of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) deficiency is presented in this report. The patient is a six-year-old boy with severe growth retardation. He has been suffering from persistent hemolytic anemia characterized by marked erythrocyte fragmentation and intravascular hemolysis, with paradoxical increase of serum haptoglobin and low bilirubin. An abnormal coagulation/fibrinolysis system, associated with elevated thrombomodulin and von Willebrand factor, indicated the presence of severe, persistent endothelial damage. Electron microscopy of renal glomeruli revealed detachment of endothelium, with subendothelial deposition of an unidentified material. Iron deposition was noted in renal and hepatic tissue. Immunohistochemistry of hepatic tissue and immunoblotting of a cadmium- stimulated Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) revealed complete absence of HO-1 production. An LCL derived from the patient was extremely sensitive to hemin-induced cell injury. Sequence analysis of the patient\u27s HO-1 gene revealed complete loss of exon-2 of the maternal allele and a two-nucleotide deletion within exon3 of the paternal allele. Growth retardation, anemia, iron deposition, and vulnerability to stressful injury are all characteristics observed in recently described HO-1 targeted mice. This study presents not only the first human case of HO-1 deficiency but may also provide clues to the key roles played by this important enzyme in vivo

Distinct cytokine profiles of systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated macrophage activation syndrome with particular emphasis on the role of interleukin-18 in its pathogenesis

Objectives: To compare the pro-inflammatory cytokine profiles and the cytokine kinetics in patients with secondary macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) due to systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (s-JIA) and in both active and inactive disease states of s-JIA (but no MAS), with those demonstrated in EBV-induced haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and Kawasaki disease (KD), and to investigate the significance of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of s-JIA. Methods: Five patients with MAS complicating s-JIA (MAS/s-JIA), 10 with HLH due to EBV infection (EBV-HLH), 22 with KD and 28 healthy controls were analysed. Cytokine concentrations (IL-18, IL-6, neopterin and TNF-α receptor Types I and II) were quantified in serum by ELISA. Results: were compared with clinical features of MAS/s-JIA, including ferritin concentrations. Results. Serum IL-18 concentrations in MAS/s-JIA patients were significantly higher than those in EBV-HLH or KD patients (P<0.05). Serum IL-6 concentrations in KD patients were significantly higher than those in EBV-HLH or MAS/s-JIA patients. Serum neopterin concentrations in EBV-HLH patients were significantly higher than those in MAS/s-JIA or KD patients. Serum IL-18 correlated positively with the following measurements of disease activity: CRP, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase and other cytokines (P<0.05). Serum concentrations of IL-18 in s-JIA patients remained elevated in the inactive phase of disease, whereas clinical parameters and other cytokines normalized. Conclusions: IL-18 may be an important mediator in s-JIA. Although serum Il-18 concentrations correlated with markers of the disease activity, IL-18 concentrations remained elevated even when other markers of disease activity normalized. Serum IL-18 concentration may be a promising indicator of the disease activity. The cytokine release pattern in MAS/HLH is different among patients with different aetiologies. Monitoring the cytokine profile, including IL-18, may be useful for differentiation of MAS/HLH and evaluation of disease activity in s-JIA. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved

A series of ENU-induced single-base substitutions in a long-range cis-element altering Sonic hedgehog expression in the developing mouse limb bud

AbstractMammal–fish-conserved-sequence 1 (MFCS1) is a highly conserved sequence that acts as a limb-specific cis-acting regulator of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) expression, residing 1 Mb away from the Shh coding sequence in mouse. Using gene-driven screening of an ENU-mutagenized mouse archive, we obtained mice with three new point mutations in MFCS1: M101116, M101117, and M101192. Phenotype analysis revealed that M101116 mice exhibit preaxial polydactyly and ectopic Shh expression at the anterior margin of the limb buds like a previously identified mutant, M100081. In contrast, M101117 and M101192 show no marked abnormalities in limb morphology. Furthermore, transgenic analysis revealed that the M101116 and M100081 sequences drive ectopic reporter gene expression at the anterior margin of the limb bud, in addition to the normal posterior expression. Such ectopic expression was not observed in the embryos carrying a reporter transgene driven by M101117. These results suggest that M101116 and M100081 affect the negative regulatory activity of MFCS1, which suppresses anterior Shh expression in developing limb buds. Thus, this study shows that gene-driven screening for ENU-induced mutations is an effective approach for exploring the function of conserved, noncoding sequences and potential cis-regulatory elements

The purpose and the motivation for future practice of physical activity and related factors in Japanese university students

Purpose: We investigated the purpose and the motivation for the future practice of physical activity and related factors in Japanese university students. Materials and Methods: The participants were 499 university students (407 men and 92 women). Participants were surveyed using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Questionnaire items were anthropometrics, current exercise habits, preference for exercise, existence of exercise partners, benefits of exercise, self-efficacy for exercise, and the purpose to be motivated to exercising in the future. Results: The exercise group had higher scores for preference for exercise, exercise partners, self-efficacy for exercise, and benefits of exercise than the non-exercise group. The exercise group also reported being more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future than the non-exercise group. In the exercise group, those who felt benefits of exercise were more likely to be motivated to exercise for enhancement of health, enjoyment, making friends, prevention of illness, and enhancement of competitiveness. In the non-exercise group, those who had a preference for exercise were more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future for enjoyment, prevention of illness, and enhancement of competitiveness. In both the exercise and non-exercise groups, women were markedly more likely to be motivated to exercise in the future for aesthetics. Conclusions: These results indicate that there is a difference in the purpose and the motivation for future practice of physical activity between the exercise group and the non-exercise group as well as between genders

Nasal Extracts from Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease Induce Tau Aggregates in a Cellular Model of Tau Propagation.

Background:Emerging evidence indicates that the misfolded tau protein can propagate aggregates between cells in a prion-like manner. This prion activity has been typically studied in brain extracts of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but not in the olfactory region that can be a potential biomarker in AD.Objective:To investigate the prion seeding activity of tau in nasal mucosa tissues using a cell culture model of tau propagation.Methods:Brain and nasal mucosa homogenates were added to HEK293T cells expressing three repeat or four-repeat domains of tau with the L266V, V337M (3RD*VM) and P301L and V377M mutations (4RD*LM) fused to the enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) respectively. We also measured the level of phosphorylated tau (p-tau), total tau (t-tau), and p-tau/t-tau ratio and performed correlation analysis between tau prion activity and the level of tau.Results:We found that brain and nasal tissue homogenates from patients with AD significantly induced tau aggregation in HEK293T cells either expressing tau 3RD*VM-EGFP or 4RD*LM-EGFP compared with control brain and nasal tissue homogenates. The levels of p-tau and p-tau/t-tau ratio were significantly increased in the brain of patients with AD; however, no significant difference was found in nasal tissue compared with their respective control tissue homogenates.Conclusion:These results suggest that the nasal tissues contain tau seeds, similar to the brain, albeit without changes in the levels of p-tau and t-tau. Therefore, a cellular bioassay using nasal tissues would have great potential as an AD biomarker because of the usefulness of nasal tissue biopsy

Selective Optical Control of Synaptic Transmission in the Subcortical Visual Pathway by Activation of Viral Vector-Expressed Halorhodopsin

The superficial layer of the superior colliculus (sSC) receives visual inputs via two different pathways: from the retina and the primary visual cortex. However, the functional significance of each input for the operation of the sSC circuit remains to be identified. As a first step toward understanding the functional role of each of these inputs, we developed an optogenetic method to specifically suppress the synaptic transmission in the retino-tectal pathway. We introduced enhanced halorhodopsin (eNpHR), a yellow light-sensitive, membrane-targeting chloride pump, into mouse retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) by intravitreously injecting an adeno-associated virus serotype-2 vector carrying the CMV-eNpHR-EYFP construct. Several weeks after the injection, whole-cell recordings made from sSC neurons in slice preparations revealed that yellow laser illumination of the eNpHR-expressing retino-tectal axons, putatively synapsing onto the recorded cells, effectively inhibited EPSCs evoked by electrical stimulation of the optic nerve layer. We also showed that sSC spike activities elicited by visual stimulation were significantly reduced by laser illumination of the sSC in anesthetized mice. These results indicate that photo-activation of eNpHR expressed in RGC axons enables selective blockade of retino-tectal synaptic transmission. The method established here can most likely be applied to a variety of brain regions for studying the function of individual inputs to these regions