Flow およびその周辺概念に関する質問紙作成に向けての量的研究

本研究の第1の目的は、心理的に最高の状態である競技中のFlow特性を探索的因子分析によって明らかにし、Csikszentmihalyi の Flow 特性、Jackson の作成した質問紙と比較し再検討することである。第2の目的は、スポーツ競技選手が試合において最高の状態を生み出す競技前の心理状態と要素とその背景を検討することである。高校生・大学生のスポーツ競技者男子284名、女子79名の合計363名に対し、質問紙によるアンケート調査を行った。探索的因子分析の結果、競技中の状態は「高い効力感とはっきりとしたフィードバック」「動きの自動化」「自己コントロール感」「注意の集中」「自己超越感」「明確な目標の認知」「非日常性の認知」の7因子、競技前の状態は「良好な心身のコンディション」「競技への集中」「サポーターの支持」「心理的負担の軽減」「参加への満足感」の5因子が抽出された。また、分散分析の結果、競技年数や競技レベルで差が見られた。The purpose of this research was to clarify the flow characteristic of the highest psychological state during a game by exploring factor analysis, and to reexamine this state by comparing it with flow concept by Csikszentmihalyi and the questionnaire about flow made by Jackson. This research also aims to examine the psychological state, elements, and background before the athletes attain a heightened state in the game. The questionnaire respondents were 284 male athletes and 79 female athletes (total 363 athletes), comprising high-school and university students. As a result of exploring factor analysis, in the state during the game 7 factors were found : high efficacy and unambiguous feedback, automation of action, sense of self-control, focusing, sense of self-transcendence, perception of clear goals, and perception of extraordinariness. In the state before the game 5 factors were found : good physical and mental condition, concentration for competition, support by cheering people, reduction of psychological stress, and sense of satisfaction for participation. Moreover, a difference was seen in the game years and game level as a result of a decentralized analysis

Does the Clock Tick Slower or Faster in Parkinson’s Disease? – Insights Gained From the Synchronized Tapping Task

The rhythm of the internal clock is considered to be determined by the basal ganglia, with some studies suggesting slower internal clock in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, patients may also show motor hastening when they walk (festination) or are engaged in repetitive tapping, indicating faster ticking of the internal clock. Is the internal clock slower or faster in PD? The purpose of this study was to answer this question, i.e., how fast and slow a rhythm they can synchronize with, especially with reference to the limit of sensorimotor synchronization or temporal integration, representing the threshold of slower pace they can entrain into their motor actions, which is known to lie between 2 and 3 s in normal subjects but not yet studied in PD. We employed a synchronized tapping task that required subjects to tap the key in synchrony with repetitive tones at fixed interstimulus intervals (ISI) between 200 and 4800 ms. Twenty normal subjects and sixteen PD patients were enrolled, who were classified into early and advanced PD groups by UPDRS-III (early: 15 or less, advanced: more than 15). The ISI at which the response changes from synchronizing with the tones to lagging behind them was considered to be the limit of temporal integration. Early PD patients responded ahead of the tones (negative asynchrony), which became more apparent with repeated tapping. This suggested “faster” ticking clock even in the presence of the pacing tones. In normal subjects, the limit of temporal integration was around 2–3 s: below this, subjects could synchronize with the tones, while above it they had difficulty in synchronization. In early PD patients, the limit of temporal integration was significantly longer than in normal subjects, pointing to their enhanced ability to synchronize also with slower paces of tones, but advanced PD patients had significantly shortened limits, suggesting that advanced patients lost this ability. In conclusion, the limit of temporal integration is initially longer but gets shorter as the disease progresses. It can be explained by the hastening of the internal clock at the earlier stages of PD, followed by the loss of temporal integration

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

N-glycomic and microscopic subcellular localization analyses of NPP1, 2 and 6 strongly indicate that trans-Golgi compartments participate in the Golgo-to-plastid traffic of nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterases in rice

Trabajo presentado en el KAAB International Symposium (Frontiers in Plant Science and Biotechnology), celebrado en Niigata (Japón) el 29 de septiembre de 2015.Peer Reviewe

Proteomics Analysis Reveals Non-Controlled Activation of Photosynthesis and Protein Synthesis in a Rice npp1 Mutant under High Temperature and Elevated CO2 Conditions

Rice nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1 (NPP1) catalyzes the hydrolytic breakdown of the pyrophosphate and phosphodiester bonds of a number of nucleotides including ADP-glucose and ATP. Under high temperature and elevated CO2 conditions (HT + ECO2), the npp1 knockout rice mutant displayed rapid growth and high starch content phenotypes, indicating that NPP1 exerts a negative effect on starch accumulation and growth. To gain further insight into the mechanisms involved in the NPP1 downregulation induced starch overaccumulation, in this study we conducted photosynthesis, leaf proteomic, and chloroplast phosphoproteomic analyses of wild-type (WT) and npp1 plants cultured under HT + ECO2. Photosynthesis in npp1 leaves was significantly higher than in WT. Additionally, npp1 leaves accumulated higher levels of sucrose than WT. The proteomic analyses revealed upregulation of proteins related to carbohydrate metabolism and the protein synthesis system in npp1 plants. Further, our data indicate the induction of 14-3-3 proteins in npp1 plants. Our finding demonstrates a higher level of protein phosphorylation in npp1 chloroplasts, which may play an important role in carbohydrate accumulation. Together, these results offer novel targets and provide additional insights into carbohydrate metabolism regulation under ambient and adverse conditions