The process of grounding by native and nonnative speakers of Japanese

It is considered that a number of factors, such as the external social structure, language proficiency, and relative knowledge of the content domain, affect interaction. Therefore, one of the participants is thought to play a more important role in interaction and to dominate the conversation. However, some studies have illustrated that both participants in a conversation actively contribute to interaction regardless of the pre-existing attributes of the participants. This study examines participants’ contributions to establish mutual understandings in interactions between native and non-native speakers and also investigates whether nativeness and topic expertise affect their contributions to the discourse. The data consisted of five tape-recorded interactions between native and non-native speakers of Japanese and were analyzed using collaborative theory. Analysis revealed that both participants, native and non-native speakers, adjusted assumptions about mutual beliefs at any point in interactions, seek what kind of and how much information their interlocutor needed, and coordinated their responses by using acknowledgment, demonstration, completion, and refashioning. At the same time, this study demonstrated that the collaborative theory is an effective tool for the analysis of discourse where non-native speakers are engaged, in addition to where only native speakers are engaged

pruR and PA0065 Genes Are Responsible for Decreasing Antibiotic Tolerance by Autoinducer Analog-1 (AIA-1) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection is considered a high-risk nosocomial infection and is very difficult to eradicate because of its tolerance to antibiotic treatment. A new compound, autoinducer analog-1 (AIA-1), has been demonstrated to reduce antibiotic tolerance, but its mechanisms remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of AIA-1 in the antibiotic tolerance of P. aeruginosa. A transposon mutant library was constructed using miniTn5pro, and screening was performed to isolate high tolerant mutants upon exposure to biapenem and AIA-1. We constructed a deletion mutant and complementation strain of the genes detected in transposon insertion site determination, pruR and PA0066-65-64, and performed killing assays with antibiotics and AIA-1. Gene expression upon exposure to biapenem and AIA-1 and their relationship to stress response genes were analyzed. High antibiotic tolerance was observed in Tn5-pruR and Tn5-PA0065 transposon mutants and their deletion mutants, ΔpruR and ΔPA0066-65-64. Complemented strains of pruR and PA0066-65-64 with their respective deletion mutants exhibited suppressed antibiotic tolerance. It was determined that deletion of PA0066-65-64 increased rpoS expression, and PA0066-65-64 affects antibiotic tolerance via the rpoS pathway. Additionally, antibiotics and AIA-1 were found to inhibit pruR and PA0066-65-64. This study proposed that pruR and PA0066-65-64 are members of the antibiotic tolerance suppressors

Clinical Significance of Peripheral Blood T Lymphocyte Subsets in Helicobacter pylori-Infected Patients

Background. Helicobacter pylori chronically colonizes gastric/duodenal mucosa and induces gastroduodenal disease and vigorous humoral and cellular immune responses. Methods. In order to clarify the immunological changes induced by this infection, we determined the percentage and, as indicated, ratios of the following cells in peripheral blood of 45 H. pylori-infected patients and 21 control subjects: CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cells, T helper 1 cells (Th1), T helper 2 cells (Th2), CD4+CD25+ T cells, Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs), CD4/CD8 ratio, and Th1/Th2 ratio. Results. The percentage of CD8+ T cells was significantly lower in H. pylori-infected patients (mean ± SD; 18.0 ± 7.1%) compared to control subjects (mean ± SD; 23.2 ± 7.8%) (P < 0.05). The CD4/CD8 ratio was significantly higher in H. pylori-infected patients (mean ± SD; 3.1 ± 2.4) compared to control subjects (mean ± SD; 2.1 ± 1.0) (P < 0.05). The Th1/Th2 ratio was significantly lower in H. pylori-infected patients (mean ± SD; 10.0 ± 8.5) compared to control subjects (mean ± SD; 14.5 ± 9.0) (P < 0.05). The percentage of CD4+CD25+ T cells in H. pylori-infected patients (mean ± SD; 13.2 ± 6.2%) was significantly higher than that in control subjects (mean ± SD; 9.8 ± 3.4%) (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in Tregs. Conclusion. Tregs did not decrease, but the activation of humoral immunity and Th2 polarization were observed in the peripheral blood of H. pylori-infected patients. In some cases, these changes may induce systemic autoimmune diseases

Porphyromonas gingivalis Outer Membrane Vesicles Stimulate Gingival Epithelial Cells to Induce Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines via the MAPK and STING Pathways

Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is a keystone pathogen associated with chronic periodontitis and produces outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that contain lipopolysaccharide (LPS), gingipains, and pathogen-derived DNA and RNA. Pg-OMVs are involved in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. Pg-OMV-activated pathways that induce the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-8 in the human gingival epithelial cell line, OBA-9, were investigated. The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB in levels of Pg-OMV-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines was investigated using Western blot analysis and specific pathway inhibitors. Pg-OMVs induced IL-6 and IL-8 production via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) 1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 MAPK, and NF-κB signaling pathways in OBA-9 cells. In addition, the stimulator of interferon genes (STING), an essential innate immune signaling molecule, was triggered by a cytosolic pathogen DNA. Pg-OMV-induced IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA expression and production were significantly suppressed by STING-specific small interfering RNA. Taken together, these results demonstrated that Pg-OMV-activated Erk1/2, JNK, p38 MAPK, STING, and NF-κB signaling pathways resulting in increased IL-6 and IL-8 expression in human gingival epithelial cells. These results suggest that Pg-OMVs may play important roles in periodontitis exacerbation by stimulating various pathways

Autoinducer Analogs Can Provide Bactericidal Activity to Macrolides in Pseudomonas aeruginosa through Antibiotic Tolerance Reduction

Macrolide antibiotics are used in treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic biofilm infections despite their unsatisfactory antibacterial activity, because they display several special activities, such as modulation of the bacterial quorum sensing and immunomodulatory effects on the host. In this study, we investigated the effects of the newly synthesized P. aeruginosa quorum-sensing autoinducer analogs (AIA-1, -2) on the activity of azithromycin and clarithromycin against P. aeruginosa. In the killing assay of planktonic cells, AIA-1 and -2 enhanced the bactericidal ability of macrolides against P. aeruginosa PAO1; however, they did not affect the minimum inhibitory concentrations of macrolides. In addition, AIA-1 and -2 considerably improved the killing activity of azithromycin and clarithromycin in biofilm cells. The results indicated that AIA-1 and -2 could affect antibiotic tolerance. Moreover, the results of hydrocarbon adherence and cell membrane permeability assays suggested that AIA-1 and -2 changed bacterial cell surface hydrophobicity and accelerated the outer membrane permeability of the hydrophobic antibiotics such as azithromycin and clarithromycin. Our study demonstrated that the new combination therapy of macrolides and AIA-1 and -2 may improve the therapeutic efficacy of macrolides in the treatment of chronic P. aeruginosa biofilm infections

Process of parenting a child with RB

Background : Retinoblastoma（RB） occurs at a very young age. Since the disease is diagnosed at an early age, the family is responsible for the care of the childʼs disease acceptance. Objective : This study aims to explore the parenting process of children with RB toward disease acceptance. Methods : Parents of eleven children with RB living in Japan were interviewed, and the data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach of Kinoshita（M-GTA）. Results : There were twenty-one concepts representing the process of parenting a child with RB while guiding him or her toward disease acceptance, and nineteen of them were classified into ten categories based on semantic similarities. The two other concepts showed similar interpretability to categories. These categories and concepts were summarized into two core categories : “Helping the child develop a positive mindset to define the disease as a part of him/herself ” and “Paving the way in advance for the child to live comfortably when his or her living space expands”. Conclusions : In a cyclical framework of parenting, consisting of two core categories described in Results, the parents coordinated these two approaches while maintaining balance by “Avoiding saying anything that does not need to be said” and established their process of parenting a child with RB while guiding him or her toward disease acceptance, according to their household situation. The results suggest the necessity of recognizing that in childhood-onset cancers, such as RB, and diseases involving genetic issues, problems tend to occur not only during the treatment period but also at the time of life events and providing support from a comprehensive perspective

What Does Impacts on Civic Engagement?: A Review of Empirical Research in Japanese School Education

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of empirical research on civic engagement in Japanese schools and to draw implications for future research. A quantitative examination of previous empirical studies reveals that the range of independent variables related to the promotion or discouragement of civic engagement and the methods of examining the relationships between variables differ depending on the research area: (1) micro-level variables and statistical analysis in political science, (2) micro/macro variables and statistical analysis in pedagogy, (3) macro-level variables and non-statistical analysis in pedagogy. The analysis of typical cases of these three research patterns shows that they have different characteristics in terms of the purpose of the research and the research design accordingly. It also shows that the variables and research objects focused on diff er according to the discipline, suggesting the need to encourage collaboration between different disciplines, particularly between political science and education, in order to promote more comprehensive research on youth civic engagement

Can Ground-based Telescopes Detect The Oxygen 1.27 Micron Absorption Feature as a Biomarker in Exoplanets ?

The oxygen absorption line imprinted in the scattered light from the Earth-like planets has been considered the most promising metabolic biomarker of the exo-life. We examine the feasibility of the detection of the 1.27 micron oxygen band from habitable exoplanets, in particular, around late- type stars observed with a future instrument on a 30 m class ground-based telescope. We analyzed the night airglow around 1.27 micron with IRCS/echelle spectrometer on Subaru and found that the strong telluric emission from atmospheric oxygen molecules declines by an order of magnitude by midnight. By compiling nearby star catalogs combined with the sky background model, we estimate the detectability of the oxygen absorption band from an Earth twin, if it exists, around nearby stars. We find that the most dominant source of photon noise for the oxygen 1.27 micron band detection comes from the night airglow if the contribution of the stellar PSF halo is suppressed enough to detect the planet. We conclude that the future detectors for which the detection contrast is limited by photon noise can detect the oxygen 1.27 micron absorption band of the Earth twins for ~50 candidates of the late type star. This paper demonstrates the importance of deploying small inner working angle efficient coronagraph and extreme adaptive optics on extremely large telescopes, and clearly shows that doing so will enable study of potentially habitable planets.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

OCNSのがんゲノム医療への関与

The purpose of this study was to clarify the current status of oncology certified nurse specialist（OCNS） involvement in cancer genome medicine. A survey of 235 OCNSs who consented to participate in the study revealed that those involved in cancer genome medicine had a better understanding of hereditary tumors. Through descriptive content analysis, 8 learning needs were identified in relation to cancer genome medicine. Among these needs,［ basic knowledge of hereditary tumors and cancer genome medicine］, ［regular acquisition of up-to-date information on genetic medicine］, and［ genetic counseling in actual clinical settings］revealed no differences between OCNSs involved and not involved in genetic medicine. On the other hand,［ role of an OCNS in genetic medicine］, ［nursing care for patients and families with hereditary diseases］, ［systems and collaboration to incorporate genetic medicine into organizations］, ［information on genetic medicine for facilities other than urban/designated hospitals］, and［ programmed learning as a systematic approach to genetic medicine provided by academic societies］ differed between the groups in terms of descriptive contents

Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 in both cancer cells and hosts contributes to tumour growth, invasion and metastasis

mPGES-1 (microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1) is a stimulus-inducible enzyme that functions downstream of COX (cyclo-oxygenase)-2 in the PGE2 (prostaglandin E2)-biosynthesis pathway. Although COX-2-derived PGE2 is known to play a role in the development of various tumours, the involvement of mPGES-1 in carcinogenesis has not yet been fully understood. In the present study, we used LLC (Lewis lung carcinoma) cells with mPGES-1 knockdown or overexpression, as well as mPGES-1-deficient mice to examine the roles of cancer cell- and host-associated mPGES-1 in the processes of tumorigenesis in vitro and in vivo. We found that siRNA (small interfering RNA) silencing of mPGES-1 in LLC cells decreased PGE2 synthesis markedly, accompanied by reduced cell proliferation, attenuated Matrigel™ invasiveness and increased extracellular matrix adhesion. Conversely, mPGES-1-overexpressing LLC cells showed increased proliferating and invasive capacities. When implanted subcutaneously into wild-type mice, mPGES-1-silenced cells formed smaller xenograft tumours than did control cells. Furthermore, LLC tumours grafted subcutaneously into mPGES-1-knockout mice grew more slowly than did those grafted into littermate wild-type mice, with concomitant decreases in the density of microvascular networks, the expression of pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor, and the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2. Lung metastasis of intravenously injected LLC cells was also significantly less obvious in mPGES-1-null mice than in wild-type mice. Thus our present approaches provide unequivocal evidence for critical roles of the mPGES-1-dependent PGE2 biosynthetic pathway in both cancer cells and host microenvironments in tumour growth and metastasis