Identification of lysophospholipid receptors in human platelets: the relation of two agonists, lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine 1-phosphate

AbstractLysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine 1-phosphate (Sph-1-P) are known as structurally related bio-active lipids activating platelets through their respective receptors. Although the receptors for LPA and Sph-1-P have been recently identified in various cells, the identification and characterization of ones in platelets have been reported only preliminarily. In this report, we first investigated the distinct modes of LPA and Sph-1-P actions in platelet activation and found that LPA functioned as a much stronger agonist than Sph-1-P, and high concentrations of Sph-1-P specifically desensitized LPA-induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. In order to identify the responsible receptors underlying these observations, we analyzed the LPA and Sph-1-P receptors which might be expressed in human platelets, by RT-PCR. We found for the first time that Edg2, 4, 6 and 7 mRNA are expressed in human platelets

A community intervention trial of multimodal suicide prevention program in Japan: A Novel multimodal Community Intervention program to prevent suicide and suicide attempt in Japan, NOCOMIT-J

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To respond to the rapid surge in the incidence of suicide in Japan, which appears to be an ongoing trend, the Japanese Multimodal Intervention Trials for Suicide Prevention (J-MISP) have launched a multimodal community-based suicide prevention program, NOCOMIT-J. The primary aim of this study is to examine whether NOCOMIT-J is effective in reducing suicidal behavior in the community.</p> <p>Methods/DesignThis study is a community intervention trial involving seven intervention regions with accompanying control regions, all with populations of statistically sufficient size. The program focuses on building social support networks in the public health system for suicide prevention and mental health promotion, intending to reinforce human relationships in the community. The intervention program components includes a primary prevention measures of awareness campaign for the public and key personnel, secondary prevention measures for screening of, and assisting, high-risk individuals, after-care for individuals bereaved by suicide, and other measures. The intervention started in July 2006, and will continue for 3.5 years. Participants are Japanese and foreign residents living in the intervention and control regions (a total of population of 2,120,000 individuals).</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The present study is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the community-based suicide prevention program in the seven participating areas.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) UMIN000000460.</p

Association between shift work and the risk of death from biliary tract cancer in Japanese men

Background: There is increasing evidence suggesting that shift work involving night work may increase cancer risk. Methods: We examined the association between working rotating shifts and the risk of death from biliary tract cancer among Japanese men who participated in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study. Of the 46, 395 men recruited, 22, 224 men aged 40-65 at baseline (1988-1990) who reported working full-time or were self-employed were included in the present analysis. The study subjects were followed through December 31, 2009. Information regarding occupation and lifestyle factors was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI) for the risk of death from biliary tract cancer in relation to shift work. Results: During a mean 17-year follow-up, we observed 94 biliary tract cancer deaths, including 23 deaths from gallbladder cancer and 71 deaths from extrahepatic bile duct cancer. Overall, shift work was associated with a statistically non-significant increase in the risk of biliary tract cancer, with an HR of 1.50 (95 % CI: 0.81-2.77), among rotating shift workers. When the analysis was limited to extrahepatic bile duct cancer, a significant association appeared, with a multivariable-adjusted HR of 1.93 (95 % CI: 1.00-3.72) for rotating shift workers. Conclusion: Our data indicate that shift work may be associated with increased risk of death from extrahepatic bile duct cancer in this cohort of Japanese men. The association with gallbladder cancer remains unclear because of the small number of deaths

Well-beingのための行動理論に関する研究

ヘルスプロモーションとは、人々が自らの健康をコントロールし、改善することができるようにするプロセスであり、well-beingを向上するために、個人や集団が望みを確認・実現し、ニーズを満たし、環境に対処することが求められる。健康行動に関してはいくつかの代表的理論が知られており、本研究では、健康行動理論に基づいた報告について、書誌情報データベースMEDLINEを用い、近年の行動理論適用状況を分析した。その結果、transtheoretical model(汎理論的モデル)、health belief model(ヘルス・ビリーフ・モデル)、the theory of planned behavior(計画的行動理論)、social cognitive theory(社会認知理論)、PRECEDE-PROCEED model(プリシード・プロシードモデル)などが、一次から三次予防を目的に多く用いられていること、行動理論の効用と限界を理解し、対象者に適当なモデルを選択し応用していく必要があることが明らかになった。Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health. To reach a state of complete well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and realize aspirations, satisfy needs, and change or cope with the environment. The purpose of this study was to analyze the application of theory-based interventions for health promotion in recent years by using the MEDLINE database. The results showed that the transtheoretical model, health belief model, the theory of planned behavior, social cognitive theory, PRECEDE-PROCEED model, etc. are widely used for health promotion, and that it is necessary to understand the meaning and limits of behavior theories and apply the most suitable model for each situation

The Constrained Maximal Expression Level Owing to Haploidy Shapes Gene Content on the Mammalian X Chromosome.

X chromosomes are unusual in many regards, not least of which is their nonrandom gene content. The causes of this bias are commonly discussed in the context of sexual antagonism and the avoidance of activity in the male germline. Here, we examine the notion that, at least in some taxa, functionally biased gene content may more profoundly be shaped by limits imposed on gene expression owing to haploid expression of the X chromosome. Notably, if the X, as in primates, is transcribed at rates comparable to the ancestral rate (per promoter) prior to the X chromosome formation, then the X is not a tolerable environment for genes with very high maximal net levels of expression, owing to transcriptional traffic jams. We test this hypothesis using The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) and data from the Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome (FANTOM5) project. As predicted, the maximal expression of human X-linked genes is much lower than that of genes on autosomes: on average, maximal expression is three times lower on the X chromosome than on autosomes. Similarly, autosome-to-X retroposition events are associated with lower maximal expression of retrogenes on the X than seen for X-to-autosome retrogenes on autosomes. Also as expected, X-linked genes have a lesser degree of increase in gene expression than autosomal ones (compared to the human/Chimpanzee common ancestor) if highly expressed, but not if lowly expressed. The traffic jam model also explains the known lower breadth of expression for genes on the X (and the Z of birds), as genes with broad expression are, on average, those with high maximal expression. As then further predicted, highly expressed tissue-specific genes are also rare on the X and broadly expressed genes on the X tend to be lowly expressed, both indicating that the trend is shaped by the maximal expression level not the breadth of expression per se. Importantly, a limit to the maximal expression level explains biased tissue of expression profiles of X-linked genes. Tissues whose tissue-specific genes are very highly expressed (e.g., secretory tissues, tissues abundant in structural proteins) are also tissues in which gene expression is relatively rare on the X chromosome. These trends cannot be fully accounted for in terms of alternative models of biased expression. In conclusion, the notion that it is hard for genes on the Therian X to be highly expressed, owing to transcriptional traffic jams, provides a simple yet robustly supported rationale of many peculiar features of X's gene content, gene expression, and evolution

Lifestyle-Related Risk Factors for Peptic Ulcer Disease : A Hospital-Based Case-Control Study in Akita Prefecture

A case~control study was carried out to determine lifestyle~relatedrisk factors for pepticulcer disease (PUD). The subjects, who resided in Akita, Japan, were 161 patients withPUD and 322 control subjects without PUD who underwent medical checkups, matchedwith patients by gender and age. All of the subjects underwent endoscopy and providedinformation on psychosocial factors and lifestyle practices through self~administeredquestionnaires. Blood samples were collected for determination of Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) status. Lifestyle~relatedvariables were assessed for their associations withPUD and H. pylori infection by using multiple logistic regression analysis. The prevalencesof H. pylori infection were 97.5% in the patients and 84.8% in the controls, whichwere higher than those in Japanese adults (i.e., from 23% to 73%). Significant riskfactors for PUD were positive H. pylori status (odds ratio (OR) = 14.1), leanness (OR=2.68), urban residency (OR= 2.57), irregular meal times (OR= 2.17), smoking habit(OR= 1.98), shift work (OR = 2.15), non~professional occupation (OR=2.64), lack ofmorale in job (OR= 2.13), and difficulty in mood change (OR=2.20). Significant riskfactors for H. pylori infection were age of 40 years or over (OR=4.28) and rural origin(OR=3.l7).These findings suggest that smoking, leanness, and psychosocial stress in daily lifeare associated with PUD in the northeastern region of Japan where the prevalence of H.pylori infection is considerably high

Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing Views on Suicide

A population-based cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was conducted in orderto clarify the socio-demographic factors influencing views on suicide in rural areas ofAkita Prefecture. The response rate from 8,163 residents aged 30-69 years was 88.2%.The relationships between views on suicide and socio-demographic factors(age,sex,educational background,occupational status,and depression state)were examined usinga logistic regression analysis with itemized views on suicide for dependent variables.Compared to respondents with a compulsory level of education,the odds ratio of thoseselecting“suicide is tragic”was relatively high for university graduates(odds ratio 2.03,95% confidence intervals 1.50-2.75). Similarly,compared to respondents with a compulsorylevel of education,the odds ratio of those selecting“something must be done aboutsuicide”was high for university graduates(odds ratio 2.83,95% confidence intervals2.08-3.86). In terms of sex,the odds ratio of those selecting“suicide is tragic”and“something must be done about suicide”was higher in women than in men. In terms ofoccupational status,people other than non-manual workers tended to select“suicide isshameful”and not to select“suicide is tragic”. In conclusion,socio-demographic factorssuch as educational background,sex,occupational status and depression influencedviews on suicide

FACTORS AFFECTING PSYCHOLOGICAL MALADJUSTMENT IN JAPANESE COLLEGE STUDENTS STUDYING IN ENGLISH ENVIRONMENTS

Background : There are some reports on psychological maladjustment of foreign students studying in a second-language environment. To clarify the factors affecting the maladjustment of Japanese students studying in an English environment at a Japanese university, we examined 91 Japanese first-grade students, who had no psychological distress and scored 480 points or more on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) at the time of entrance.Methods : The presence/absence of psychological maladjustment was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distresses Scale, conducted three months after entrance. As possible factors affecting the maladjustment, suitemate, tendencies towards shyness and perfectionism, TOEFL scores, attitudes toward taking classes in English and the location of the university were employed.Results : Results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the psychological maladjustment was associated with greater perfectionism (Odds ratio 20.1 ; 95% confidence interval 2.06～197) and lower TOEFL scores (23.6, 2.09～307) of the above factors.Conclusion : In Japanese students studying in English environments, greater perfectionism and lower TOEFL scores may affect psychological maladjustment. Some intervention for perfectionistic-prone students may be necessary, in order to foster their adjustments in such universities