Feelings of Personal Relative Deprivation and Subjective Well-Being in Japan.

Personal relative deprivation (PRD) refers to emotions of resentment and dissatisfaction caused by feeling deprived of a deserved outcome compared to some reference. While evidence suggests that relative deprivation based on objective data such as income affects well-being, subjective PRD has been less explored, especially in the East. This study evaluated the relationship between PRD and subjective well-being based on various aspects in the context of Japan. An online questionnaire survey, including the Japanese version of the Personal Relative Deprivation Scale (J-PRDS5) and various well-being indices, was administered to 500 adult participants, balanced for sex and age. Quantitative data analysis methods were used. PRD significantly correlated with subjective well-being as assessed by various aspects. Through mediation analysis, we found that a strong tendency to compare one's abilities with others may undermine subjective well-being through PRD. The results also indicated that well-developed human environments may be associated with the maintenance of subjective well-being levels, even when PRD is high. Toward developing future interventions to improve well-being and health, efforts must be undertaken in Japan to monitor PRD and further clarify the mechanism of the association between PRD and the factors that showed a strong relationship in this study.

The Japanese version of the Material Values Scale: construct assessment and relationship with age, personality, and subjective well-being.

BACKGROUND: Materialism indicates the extent to which an individual's life is focused on consumerism, or the acquisition of money and possessions. The Material Values Scale (MVS), comprising the factors "success," "centrality," and "happiness," is a well-known rating scale for materialism. However, a Japanese version of the materialism scale has not yet been established, and the details of the factors and effects related to materialism have not yet been clarified in Japan. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the Japanese version of the MVS (J-MVS). METHODS: We developed the translated J-MVS using a back-translation process. To validate and evaluate the scale based on an online survey, we recruited 500 people, with 100 participants (50 men, 50 women) in five age groups, from 20 to 69 years. We compared and evaluated several factor structure models based on exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. To evaluate the external criterion-referenced validity of the developed J-MVS scale, we examined the relationship between age, personality, and well-being, which have shown stable relationships with materialism in previous studies. RESULTS: We developed two six-item dual-factor models. Both models showed significant positive correlations with social comparison orientation and neuroticism, and had significant negative correlations with various subjective well-being indices, suggesting sufficient external criterion-referenced validity. The J-MVS comprising six positive-worded items (J-MVS-P6; without any reverse-worded items) showed a higher correlation with other indicators than the version comprising six items representing all item types and was considered to have higher external criterion-referenced validity. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the J-MVS-P6 for use as a materialism scale in Japan. Compared with the findings from other countries, materialism in Japan may be more closely related to subjective well-being. This scale may be used to examine the effectiveness of various intervention methods for improving individuals' happiness, based on changes in factors closely related to materialism in Japan.

Association of work environment with stress and depression among Japanese workers.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of studies that investigated the effect of a wide range of work environmental factors on stress and depression in Japan. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association of work environment factors with stress and depression among workers in Japan. METHODS: We conducted questionnaire surveys of workers that mainly engage in desk work in Japan. Stress was assessed through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), depression through the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and work environment through physical and psychological workplace environment questionnaires. Workers were divided into low and high stress groups based on PSS score (median split), and divided into non-depressed and depressed groups based on their PHQ-9 score (< 5, and ≥5); these groups were then compared with their working environment. In addition, a multiple regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: Responses were obtained from 210 subjects. Multiple regression analysis showed that "Ability to work at one's own pace" and "Ability to apply personal viewpoint to work," etc., had effect on stress, while "Workplace harassment" and "Support from colleagues," etc., had effect on depression. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that stress and depression in Japanese workers are related to factors such as job demands, control of work, workplace harassment, and psychological safety.

Association between multimorbidity, self-rated health and life satisfaction among independent, community-dwelling very old persons in Japan: longitudinal cohort analysis from the Kawasaki Ageing and Well-being Project.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify associations between multimorbidity and subjective health outcomes among the very old persons, after adjusting for coexisting conditions such as frailty and depression. STUDY SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This was an observational cross-sectional study involving 1012 independent, community-dwelling very old persons (507 men, 505 women; aged 85-89 years) in Kawasaki city, Japan. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the cross-sectional associations between multimorbidity and poor self-rated health (SRH) and life satisfaction using binary logistic regression. The secondary outcome was the association of subjective health with each chronic condition. RESULTS: The prevalence of multimorbidity (≥2 conditions) was 94.7%, and the average number of chronic conditions was 4.47±1.9. Multimorbidity was significantly associated with poor SRH in the adjusted model only when six or more chronic conditions were present (OR 4.80; 95% CI 1.34 to 17.11; p=0.016). Cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, respiratory disease, connective tissue disease and arthritis showed significant associations with poor SRH after multivariate adjustment. Sex-specific analysis replicated associations between multimorbidity with six or more conditions and SRH in both men and women, while the diseases with the greatest impact on SRH differed between men and women. Most conditions were not associated with low satisfaction with life scale, with the exception of arthritis (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.78, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Multimorbidity is prevalent in the independent, community-dwelling very old persons and is associated with poor SRH when six or more conditions are present; conditions causing mobility limitations, such as cerebrovascular disease, connective tissue disease and arthritis, have a negative impact on SRH. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: UMIN000026053.

Subjective well-being and month-long LF/HF ratio among deskworkers.

The importance of workers' well-being has been recognized in recent years. The assessment of well-being has been subjective, and few studies have sought potential biomarkers of well-being to date. This study examined the relationship between well-being and the LF/HF ratio, an index of heart rate variability that reflects sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activity. Pulse waves were measured using photoplethysmography through a web camera attached to the computer used by each participant. The participants were asked to measure their pulse waves while working for 4 weeks, and well-being was assessed using self-reported measures such as the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the Flourishing Scale (FS). Each of the well-being scores were split into two groups according to the median value, and the LF/HF ratio during work, as well as the number of times an LF/HF ratio threshold was either exceeded or subceeded, were compared between the high and low SWLS, positive emotion, negative emotion, and FS groups. Furthermore, to examine the effects of the LF/HF ratio and demographic characteristics on well-being, a multiple regression analysis was conducted. Data were obtained from 169 participants. The results showed that the low FS group had a higher mean LF/HF ratio during work than the high FS group. No significant differences were seen between the high and low SWLS groups, the high and low positive emotion groups, or the high and low negative emotion groups. The multiple regression analysis showed that the mean LF/HF ratio during work affected the FS and SWLS scores, and the number of times the mean LF/HF ratio exceeded +3 SD had an effect on the positive emotion. No effect of the LF/HF ratio on negative emotions was shown. The LF/HF ratio might be applicable as an objective measure of well-being.

Cybernic treatment with wearable cyborg Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) improves ambulatory function in patients with slowly progressive rare neuromuscular diseases: a multicentre, randomised, controlled crossover trial for efficacy and safety (NCY-3001).

BACKGROUND: Rare neuromuscular diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, spinal bulbar muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, distal myopathy, sporadic inclusion body myositis, congenital myopathy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis lead to incurable amyotrophy and consequent loss of ambulation. Thus far, no therapeutic approaches have been successful in recovering the ambulatory ability. Thus, the aim of this trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cybernic treatment with a wearable cyborg Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL, Lower Limb Type) in improving the ambulatory function in those patients. RESULTS: We conducted an open-label, randomised, controlled crossover trial to test HAL at nine hospitals between March 6, 2013 and August 8, 2014. Eligible patients were older than 18 years and had a diagnosis of neuromuscular disease as specified above. They were unable to walk for 10 m independently and had neither respiratory failure nor rapid deterioration in gait. The primary endpoint was the distance passed during a two-minute walk test (2MWT). The secondary endpoints were walking speed, cadence, and step length during the 10-m walk test (10MWT), muscle strength by manual muscle testing (MMT), and a series of functional measures. Adverse events and failures/problems/errors with HAL were also evaluated. Thirty patients were randomly assigned to groups A or B, with each group of 15 receiving both treatments in a crossover design. The efficacy of a 40-min walking program performed nine times was compared between HAL plus a hoist and a hoist only. The final analysis included 13 and 11 patients in groups A and B, respectively. Cybernic treatment with HAL resulted in a 10.066% significantly improved distance in 2MWT (95% confidence interval, 0.667-19.464; p = 0.0369) compared with the hoist only treatment. Among the secondary endpoints, the total scores of MMT and cadence at 10MWT were the only ones that showed significant improvement. The only adverse effects were slight to mild myalgia, back pain, and contact skin troubles, which were easily remedied. CONCLUSIONS: HAL is a new treatment device for walking exercise, proven to be more effective than the conventional method in patients with incurable neuromuscular diseases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: JMACTR, JMA-IIA00156.

Unobtrusive Sensing Technology for Quantifying Stress and Well-Being Using Pulse, Speech, Body Motion, and Electrodermal Data in a Workplace Setting: Study Concept and Design.

Introduction: Mental disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide. Depression has a significant impact in the field of occupational health because it is particularly prevalent during working age. On the other hand, there are a growing number of studies on the relationship between "well-being" and employee productivity. To promote healthy and productive workplaces, this study aims to develop a technique to quantify stress and well-being in a way that does not disturb the workplace. Methods and analysis: This is a single-arm prospective observational study. The target population is adult (>20 years old) workers at companies that often engage in desk work; specifically, a person who sits in front of a computer for at least half their work hours. The following data will be collected: (a) participants' background characteristics; (b) participants' biological data during the 4-week observation period using sensing devices such as a camera built into the computer (pulse wave data extracted from the facial video images), a microphone built into their work computer (voice data), and a wristband-type wearable device (electrodermal activity data, body motion data, and body temperature); (c) stress, well-being, and depression rating scale assessment data. The analysis workflow is as follows: (1) primary analysis, comprised of using software to digitalize participants' vital information; (2) secondary analysis, comprised of examining the relationship between the quantified vital data from (1), stress, well-being, and depression; (3) tertiary analysis, comprised of generating machine learning algorithms to estimate stress, well-being, and degree of depression in relation to each set of vital data as well as multimodal vital data. Discussion: This study will evaluate digital phenotype regarding stress and well-being of white-collar workers over a 4-week period using persistently obtainable biomarkers such as heart rate, acoustic characteristics, body motion, and electrodermal activity. Eventually, this study will lead to the development of a machine learning algorithm to determine people's optimal levels of stress and well-being. Ethics and dissemination: Collected data and study results will be disseminated widely through conference presentations, journal publications, and/or mass media. The summarized results of our overall analysis will be supplied to participants. Registration: UMIN000036814.

Novel Distinctive Roles of Docking Proteins in Short-term Synaptic Plasticity of Frog Neuromuscular Transmission Revealed by Botulinum Neurotoxins.

Short-term synaptic plasticity (SSP) is a basic mechanism for temporal processing of neural information in synaptic transmission. Facilitation, the fastest component of SSP, has been extensively investigated with regard to Ca2+ signaling and other relevant substances. However, systematic analyses on the slower components of SSP, originated by Magleby and Zengel, have remained stagnant for decades, as few chemicals directly modifying these slower components have been identified. In combination with refined experimental protocols designed to study the stimulation frequency-dependence of SSP and botulinum neurotoxins A and C (BoNT-A and BoNT-C), we investigated SSP of frog neuromuscular transmission to clarify the roles of synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25) and syntaxin, SNARE proteins exclusively participating in vesicular events including docking, priming and exocytosis. We found that BoNT-A treatment eliminated slow potentiation, and BoNT-C poisoning abolished intermediate augmentation, two components of SSP. Fast facilitation was maintained after double poisoning with BoNT-A and -C, but the postsynaptic response became biphasic. A novel depression, termed repression, emerged by double poisoning. Repression was different from depletion because it developed even at a low-frequency stimulation of 1 Hz. We conclude that SNAP-25 and syntaxin not only play roles as cooperative exocytotic machinery, but also have roles in SSP.

Tactile Evaluation Feedback System for Multi-Layered Structure Inspired by Human Tactile Perception Mechanism.

Tactile sensation is one type of valuable feedback in evaluating a product. Conventionally, sensory evaluation is used to get direct subjective responses from the consumers, in order to improve the product's quality. However, this method is a time-consuming and costly process. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel tactile evaluation system that can give tactile feedback from a sensor's output. The main concept of this system is hierarchically layering the tactile sensation, which is inspired by the flow of human perception. The tactile sensation is classified from low-order of tactile sensation (LTS) to high-order of tactile sensation (HTS), and also to preference. Here, LTS will be correlated with physical measures. Furthermore, the physical measures that are used to correlate with LTS are selected based on four main aspects of haptic information (roughness, compliance, coldness, and slipperiness), which are perceived through human tactile sensors. By using statistical analysis, the correlation between each hierarchy was obtained, and the preference was derived in terms of physical measures. A verification test was conducted by using unknown samples to determine the reliability of the system. The results showed that the system developed was capable of estimating preference with an accuracy of approximately 80%.

Physical-Perceptual Correspondence for Dynamic Thermal Stimulation.

Thermal displays have been applied in various haptic applications, from material simulation to interpersonal communication; however, there is insufficient knowledge about the temporal processing in human thermal sense to provide a　knowledge basis for thermal display design. In this study, we investigated the physical-perceptual correspondence for dynamic thermal stimulation to shed a light on the temporal processing of human thermal sense. In the experiments, participants reported subjective timings of the temperature onset and temperature peak of continuous temperature changes applied to the thenar eminence. We found that the physical-perceptual correspondence was not consistent for warm and cold stimulations. For warm stimulation, the subjective experience always came after the corresponding physical event. On the other hand, for cold stimulation, while the subjective onset always lagged the physical onset, the subjective temperature peak preceded the physical temperature peak. We analyzed these results in the framework of linear systems theory. The results suggest that the senses of warmth and cold have distinct temporal filtering properties, with the sense of cold being more transient than the sense of warmth. These findings advance our knowledge regarding temporal processing in human thermal sense and serve as a basis for thermal display design.

An open trial of long-term testosterone suppression in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the long-term effects of leuprorelin on leg-muscle strength in spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). We hypothesized that testosterone suppression by leuprorelin would prevent the progression of muscle weakness. METHODS: In a prospective, long duration, open trial, 16 SBMA patients underwent medical castration with leuprorelin for 3.5 years. Chlormadinone was coadministered initially to prevent a testosterone surge. The strength of knee extension and flexion were quantitated using a torque machine. RESULTS: Our hypothesis was rejected. The leg strength measures decreased significantly with the mean reduction of 22.3-27.8%. In a post hoc analysis, the leg strength of 4 patients with higher pretreatment baseline total testosterone levels and short disease duration of 1-6 years were stronger at baseline and decreased by only 12.3-15.7% after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Leuprorelin was not effective in this small long-term treatment trial in SBMA. The possibility that earlier treatment might be beneficial may deserve further study.

How to identify water from thickener aqueous solutions by touch.

Water detection is one of the most crucial psychological processes for many animals. However, nobody knows the perception mechanism of water through our tactile sense. In the present study, we found that a characteristic frictional stimulus with large acceleration is one of the cues to differentiate water from water contaminated with thickener. When subjects applied small amounts of water to a glass plate, strong stick-slip phenomena with a friction force of 0.46 ± 0.30 N and a vertical force of 0.57 ± 0.36 N were observed at the skin surface, as shown in previous studies. Surprisingly, periodic shears with acceleration seven times greater than gravitational acceleration occurred during the application process. Finite-element analyses predicted that these strong stimuli could activate tactile receptors: Meissner's corpuscle and Pacinians. When such stimuli were applied to the fingertips by an ultrasonic vibrator, a water-like tactile texture was perceived by some subjects, even though no liquid was present between the fingertip and the vibrator surface. These findings could potentially be applied in the following areas: materials science, information technology, medical treatment and entertainment.

Magnetic sponge prepared with an alkanedithiol-bridged network of nanomagnets.

The magnetic dipole-dipole interaction between nanomagnets having huge magnetic moments can have a strength comparable to that of the van der Waals interaction between them, and it can be manipulated by applying an external magnetic field of conventional strength. Therefore, the cooperation between the dipole-dipole interaction and the applied magnetic field allows the magnetic moments of nanomagnets to be aligned and organized in an ordered manner. In this work, a network of magnetic nanoparticles connected with flexible long-alkyl-chain linkers was designed to develop a "magnetic sponge" capable of absorbing and desorbing guest molecules with changes in the applied magnetic field. The magnetization of the sponge with long-alkyl-chain bridges (30 C atoms) exhibited a 500% increase after cooling in the presence of an applied field of 7 T relative to that in the absence of a magnetic field. Cooling in a magnetic field leads to anisotropic stretching in the sponge due to reorganization of the nanomagnets along the applied field, in contrast to the isotropic organization under zero-field conditions. Such magnetic-responsive organization and reorganization of the magnetic particle network significantly influences the gas absorption capacity of the nanopores inside the material. The absorption and desorption of guests in an applied magnetic field at low temperature can be regarded as a fascinating "breathing feature" of our magnetic sponge.

How do we recognize biological materials by touch?

Biological materials are often used as industrial sources; however, the features of their tactile texture have not been examined. Here, we show that the features of biological materials are warm, silky, and non-slippery sensations, which are governed by thermal conductivity, surface energy, and surface roughness. Interestingly, surface roughness is the most important factor in determining these three tactile sensations. This finding is valuable for developing virtual reality systems and humanoids as well as for understanding the cognitive mechanism of biological materials.

How do we recognize water and oil through our tactile sense?

We can distinguish water and oil through our sense of feel, because the frictional properties of a water film are characteristic. However, we found that it was difficult to distinguish water and silicone oil on a glass substrate only by its feel. Friction evaluation showed that we recognize the liquid as water when the frictional resistance is large and changeable. On a glass substrate, water and silicone oil were not distinguishable, since both had a large frictional resistance. Statistical analysis suggested the contribution of the wettability of solid substrates to their tactile feel. This finding shows that we distinguish water from oil based on the significant friction properties; it is applicable to virtual reality systems, as well as cosmetics, food, and textiles.

Tactile impression and friction of water on human skin.

Water has a unique touch as well as characteristic physical properties. However, nobody knows the real identity of its touch. Here, we show that water creates a stick-slip feel when a small amount is rubbed using fingertip on an artificial skin that mimics the structure of human skin. The results of frictional analyses predict that this stick-slip feel is caused by a drastic change in frictional resistance. The present result is valuable for biologists and robot engineers as well as cognitive scientists and tribologists, because it is a new example of stick-slip phenomena on biological surfaces. The tactile texture of this most familiar material could also be applied to consumer products or virtual reality systems.

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of traveling wave-type ultrasonic motors.

In this paper, nonlinear dynamic response of a traveling wave-type ultrasonic motor was investigated. In particular, understanding the transient dynamics of a bar-type ultrasonic motor, such as starting up and stopping, is of primary interest. First, the transient response of the bar-type ultrasonic motor at starting up and stopping was measured using a laser Doppler velocimeter, and its driving characteristics are discussed in detail. The motor is shown to possess amplitude-dependent nonlinearity that greatly influences the transient dynamics of the motor. Second, a dynamical model of the motor was constructed as a second-order nonlinear oscillator, which represents the dynamics of the piezoelectric ceramic, stator, and rotor. The model features nonlinearities caused by the frictional interface between the stator and the rotor, and cubic nonlinearity in the dynamics of the stator. Coulomb's friction model was employed for the interface model, and a stick-slip phenomenon is considered. Lastly, it was shown that the model is capable of representing the transient dynamics of the motor accurately. The critical parameters in the model were identified from measured results, and numerical simulations were conducted using the model with the identified parameters. Good agreement between the results of measurements and numerical simulations is observed.

Effects of pesticides on the peripheral and central nervous system in tobacco farmers in Malaysia: studies on peripheral nerve conduction, brain-evoked potentials and computerized posturography.

We examined the effects of pesticides on the central and peripheral nervous system in the setting of a tobacco farm at a developing country. Maximal motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities (MCV and SCV, respectively) in the median, sural and tibial nerves, postural sway, and brain-evoked potentials (auditory event-related and visual-evoked potentials) were measured in 80 male tobacco farmers and age- and sex-matched 40 controls in Kelantan, Malaysia. Median SCV (finger-wrist) in farmers using Delsen (mancozeb, dithiocarbamate fungicide), who showed significant decrease of serum cholinesterase activities, were significantly lower compared with the controls. Sural SCV in farmers using Fastac (alpha-cypermethrin, pyrethroid insecticide) and median MCV (elbow-wrist) in farmers using Tamex (butralin, dinitroaniline herbicide) were significantly slowed compared with their respective controls. In Delsen (mancozeb, dithiocarbamate) users, the power of postural sway of 0-1 Hz was significantly larger than that in the controls both in the anterior-posterior direction with eyes open and in the right-left direction with eyes closed. The former type of sway was also significantly increased in Tamaron (methamidophos, organophosphorus insecticide) users. In conclusion, nerve conduction velocities and postural sway seem to be sensitive indicators of the effects of pesticides on the central and peripheral nervous system.

Material properties estimation of layered soft tissue based on MR observation and iterative FE simulation.

In order to calculate deformation of soft tissue under arbitrary loading conditions, we have to take both non-linear material characteristics and subcutaneous structures into considerations. The estimation method of material properties presented in this paper accounts for these issues. It employs a compression test inside MRI in order to visualize deformation of hypodermic layered structure of living tissue, and an FE model of the compressed tissue in which non-linear material model is assigned. The FE analysis is iterated with updated material constant until the difference between the displacement field observed from MR images and calculated by FEM is minimized. The presented method has been applied to a 3-layered silicon rubber phantom. The results show the excellent performance of our method. The accuracy of the estimation is better than 15%, and the reproducibility of the deformation is better than 0.4 mm even for an FE analysis with different boundary condition.