Requirements for ‘Good Notes’ that College Students, Faculty and Administrative Staff Assume : From the Comments at Koshien University Best Notebook Award

This paper analyzes comments on ‘good notes’ by college students, faculty and administrative staff. The analysis demonstrates their ideas of notes and differences in perspective according to their status. Students regard color highlighting as a major means in making notes, and make use of color highlighting under a variety of learning strategies. They also attach importance to organizing learning outcomes on their notebooks, while supplementing them with relevant information by themselves. Faculty members rather prefer simple notebooks in which pieces of information are classified in several zones. The possibility is suggested that chances for students to talk with administrative staff and hear about their experiences and thoughts provide students with favorable inspiration in somewhat different perspectives from those of faculty

Association of short term exposure to Asian dust with increased blood pressure

Air pollution causes hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Asian dust (AD) reportedly induces asthma or acute myocardial infarction along with air pollution, but its impact on blood pressure (BP) is unknown. We investigated the association between short-term AD exposure and BP fluctuations in 300, 952 individuals whose BP was measured during April 2005–March 2015 and divided them into AD and non-AD groups based on visitation for AD-related events. AD’s occurrence, air pollutants’ concentration (suspended particulate matter, SO2, NO2, photochemical oxidants), and meteorological variables (mean ambient temperature, relative humidity) were obtained from a monitoring station; AD events correlated with decreased visibility (< 10 km). We observed 61 AD days, with 3897 participants undergoing medical check-ups. Short-term AD exposure at lag day-0 was significantly associated with higher systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and pulse rate (PR) risk (β = 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35–2.35 for SBP, β = 2.24, 95% CI 1.88–2.61 for DBP, β = 0.52, 95% CI 0.14–0.91 for PR) using multi-pollutant model. Population-attributable fractions exposed to AD were 11.5% for those with elevated SBP (SBP ≥ 120 mmHg) and 23.7% for those with hypertension (SBP ≥ 140 mmHg or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg). This study showed a strong association between short-term AD exposure and increased SBP and DBP

Functionally confirmed compound heterozygous ADAM17 missense loss-of-function variants cause neonatal inflammatory skin and bowel disease 1

A disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) is the major sheddase that processes more than 80 substrates, including tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα). The homozygous genetic deficiency of ADAM17 causing a complete loss of ADAM17 expression was reported to be linked to neonatal inflammatory skin and bowel disease 1 (NISBD1). Here we report for the first time, a family with NISBD1 caused by functionally confirmed compound heterozygous missense variants of ADAM17, namely c.1699T>C (p.Cys567Arg) and c.1799G>A (p.Cys600Tyr). Both variants were detected in two siblings with clinical features of NISBD1, such as erythroderma with exudate in whole body, recurrent skin infection and sepsis and prolonged diarrhoea. In a cell-based assay using Adam10/17 double-knockout mouse embryonic fibroblasts (Adam10/17−/− mEFs) exogenously expressing each of these mutants, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-stimulated shedding was strongly reduced compared with wild-type ADAM17. Thus, in vitro functional assays demonstrated that both missense variants cause the loss-of-function of ADAM17, resulting in the development of NISBD1. Our study further expands the spectrum of genetic pathology underlying ADAM17 in NISBD1 and establishes functional assay systems for its missense variants

Genotoxicity of nano/microparticles in in vitro micronuclei, in vivo comet and mutation assay systems

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recently, manufactured nano/microparticles such as fullerenes (C₆₀), carbon black (CB) and ceramic fiber are being widely used because of their desirable properties in industrial, medical and cosmetic fields. However, there are few data on these particles in mammalian mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. To examine genotoxic effects by C₆₀, CB and kaolin, an <it>in vitro </it>micronuclei (MN) test was conducted with human lung cancer cell line, A549 cells. In addition, DNA damage and mutations were analyzed by <it>in vivo </it>assay systems using male C57BL/6J or <it>gpt </it>delta transgenic mice which were intratracheally instilled with single or multiple doses of 0.2 mg per animal of particles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In <it>in vitro </it>genotoxic analysis, increased MN frequencies were observed in A549 cells treated with C₆₀, CB and kaolin in a dose-dependent manner. These three nano/microparticles also induced DNA damage in the lungs of C57BL/6J mice measured by comet assay. Moreover, single or multiple instillations of C₆₀and kaolin, increased either or both of <it>gpt </it>and Spi^-mutant frequencies in the lungs of <it>gpt </it>delta transgenic mice. Mutation spectra analysis showed transversions were predominant, and more than 60% of the base substitutions occurred at G:C base pairs in the <it>gpt </it>genes. The G:C to C:G transversion was commonly increased by these particle instillations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Manufactured nano/microparticles, CB, C₆₀and kaolin, were shown to be genotoxic in <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>assay systems.</p

Severe neurological phenotypes of Q129 DRPLA transgenic mice serendipitously created by en masse expansion of CAG repeats in Q76 DRPLA mice

We herein provide a thorough description of new transgenic mouse models for dentatorubral–pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) harboring a single copy of the full-length human mutant DRPLA gene with 76 and 129 CAG repeats. The Q129 mouse line was unexpectedly obtained by en masse expansion based on the somatic instability of 76 CAG repeats in vivo. The mRNA expression levels of both Q76 and Q129 transgenes were each 80% of that of the endogenous mouse gene, whereas only the Q129 mice exhibited devastating progressive neurological phenotypes similar to those of juvenile-onset DRPLA patients. Electrophysiological studies of the Q129 mice demonstrated age-dependent and region-specific presynaptic dysfunction in the globus pallidus and cerebellum. Progressive shrinkage of distal dendrites of Purkinje cells and decreased currents through α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid and γ-aminobutyrate type A receptors in CA1 neurons were also observed. Neuropathological studies of the Q129 mice revealed progressive brain atrophy, but no obvious neuronal loss, associated with massive neuronal intranuclear accumulation (NIA) of mutant proteins with expanded polyglutamine stretches starting on postnatal day 4, whereas NIA in the Q76 mice appeared later with regional specificity to the vulnerable regions of DRPLA. Expression profile analyses demonstrated age-dependent down-regulation of genes, including those relevant to synaptic functions and CREB-dependent genes. These results suggest that neuronal dysfunction without neuronal death is the essential pathophysiologic process and that the age-dependent NIA is associated with nuclear dysfunction including transcriptional dysregulations. Thus, our Q129 mice should be highly valuable for investigating the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions

トウキョウ ノウギョウ ダイガク ガクセイ ガ ガクガイ ノウギョウ ケンキュウ ニ タイシテ キタイスル ヨウソ ノ トウケイガクテキ チュウシュツ

東京農業大学農学部にて開講されている，農業ビジネスデザインの受講学生を対象に，学生が学外農業研修で感じた「良かった点」の特徴を明らかにすることを目的として，自由記述によるアンケートを実施した。データ化した自由記述回答にテキストマイニングを施し，抽出した名詞の出現件数のデータに数量化Ⅲ類解析を施した。その結果，研修を主催する個人農家・企業，自治体，大学，の3属性によって，良かった点の内容が異なる1軸を含む3つの有効軸が算出された。本研究により，研修を受けた学生が現地に対して感じた良かった点は，‘人’および‘農家’の要素によって説明できると考えられた。これらの要素は同時に，農業志向の高い若者が農業研修に対して期待するものとして解釈することができると考えられ，今後，研修先との情報共有，意思疎通および研修内容の改善を通して，研修生と受け入れ先とのマッチングに役立てるなど，日本農業の担い手育成のためのPDCAサイクル化に大いに役立つと考えられた。A questionnaire based on free description was conducted with the aim of clarifying the features of “positive characteristics of the agricultural training course” that students felt through participating in agricultural training held outside the campus as part of “Studies for agricultural career design”, held at the Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture. The obtained responses were typed up and analyzed by text-mining method and multivariate analysis of the quantification theory type 3 was demonstrated on converted category (1/0) data based on the appearance of extracted nouns in answerers’ responses. As results, 3 axes including 1 axis where the mean value of the score according to the classification of the promoter mediating agricultural training courses significantly differed, were calculated. According to these results, the “positive characteristics of the agricultural training courses” that students felt, were might be summarized as the experience of “person” and “farmer”. It was also thought that these components could be interpreted as what expected of an agricultural experience program by the agriculture-minded young. In conclusion, findings in this study could be utilized as information sharing and communication tools in the training place for improvements in training contents, and would be useful for PDCA cycling, such as helping the match between students and training places, in developing agricultural human resources