Association between Regular Exercise and Self-Rated Health and Sleep Quality among Adults in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Regular exercise may be associated with better self-rated health and sleep status. However, this correlation among various age groups, such as young, middle-aged, and older people, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not been examined. This study examined the correlation between regular exercise and self-rated health and sleep quality among adults in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using an online survey conducted between February 26 and 27, 2021. A total of 1410 adults in Japan (age range, 20-86 years) completed the online survey. Regular exercise was divided into: (1) more than 30 min of moderate exercise a day, (2) more than 2 days per week, and (3) continuous for 1 year or longer. Self-rated health and sleep quality were assessed using the Likert scale. After adjusting for multiple confounders, regular exercise was correlated with decreased poor self-rated health and poor sleep quality in middle-aged adults; however, no significant correlation was observed among young and older adults. The promotion of regular exercise among middle-aged people during the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to better self-rated health and sleep quality status.

First Report of Pythium Cluster B2a Species Causing Root Rot in Welsh Onion.

Hiroshima Prefecture has the highest production area of hydroponically grown Welsh onions (Allium fistulosum L.) in Japan. Since the cultivation began in 1988, root rot (Fig. 1A) followed by leaf browning (Fig. 1B) has caused significant economic losses. Approximately 80% (loss of 45 million JPY) of plant loss occurred from May to Sep 2009 (Shimizu, unpublished), and the disease was observed again in 2020. Diseased Welsh onions (five to six leaf stage) were collected in 2009. Abundant nonseptate hyphae of Pythium-like organisms were observed in the rotted roots (Fig. 1C). Disinfected symptomatic tissue samples were placed on NARF medium (Morita and Tojo 2007) and incubated at 25°C for 3 to 7 days. Six Pythium-like organisms were isolated, and their morphological features on a grass blade culture, potato carrot agar (PCA) (van der Plaats-Niterink 1981), cornmeal agar (CMA) and V8 juice agar (Miller 1955) were examined. Hyphal growth rates from 1-46°C were measured by culturing on PCA. The ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and mitochondrial COI of the isolates were amplified and sequenced according to Ueta and Tojo (2016). All six isolates obtained showed similar morphology, hyphal growth rates, and sequences of ITS and COI. Detailed descriptions are provided here for the representative isolate 72 (MAFF246451). The isolate produced asexual structures but did not form sexual structures, including oogonia, antheridia, and oospores on all the media used. Hyphae were up to 6.8 µm wide. Appressoria were knob-like terminations (Fig. 1D). Sporangia were filamentous and indistinguishable from the hyphae. Zoospores (Fig. 1E) were formed at 5-25°C. The diameter of encysted zoospores ranged 7.4-10.1 (av. 8.9) µm (Fig. 1F). Cardinal temperatures for hyphal growth on PCA were 5°C min, 28-31°C opt, and 35°C max. The daily growth rate at 25°C was 15.0 mm per day. The sequence analysis of all isolates, including isolate 72 (GenBank ac nos AB700596 for ITS, LC630955 for COI) showed the present isolates belonged to Pythium Cluster B2a (Robideau et al. 2011) (Fig. 2). Based on these features, the six isolates were identified as Pythium Cluster B2a sp. In the inoculation test, isolate 72 was cultured on CMA at 25°C for 5 days. Mycelium disks (5 mm diam) obtained from the culture were placed on the primary roots of 8-day-old Welsh onion seedlings (cv Koutou), which were grown at a density of six plants on rock wool cubes moistened with tap water in a 50 mL plastic pot. The inoculated and non-inoculated plants were grown at 28°C for 7 days in a growth chamber. The experiment was repeated twice using three pots per replication. The plants inoculated with isolate 72 wilted, and their roots rotted 7 days after inoculation. No disease was found observed on the non-inoculated plants. The isolate of Pythium Cluster B2a sp. was consistently re-isolated from the diseased plants, thus, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Pythium Cluster B2a sp. causing stem rot on lettuce has been recorded in Italy (Garibaldi et al. 2017). To our knowledge, this is the first report of Pythium Cluster B2a sp. on Welsh onions. Since significant losses to root rot of Welsh onion have occurred in Japan, identification of the causal organism will enable the development of management practices to reduces losses.

In vitro assessment of effects of persistent organic pollutants on the transactivation of estrogen receptor α and ß (ERα and ERß) from the Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica).

To assess the effect of exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on the estrogen receptor (ER) signaling pathway in Baikal seals (Pusa sibirica), we investigated the molecular characterizations and functions of two Baikal seal ER (bsER) isoforms, bsERα and bsERß. The bsERα and bsERß cDNA clones isolated have an open reading frame of 595 and 530 amino acid residues, respectively. The tissue distribution analyses of bsER mRNAs showed that bsERα transcripts were primarily found in the ovary and uterus, and bsERß in the muscle in wild Baikal seals. The immunofluorescence staining assay showed that 17ß-estradiol (E2) treatment promoted the nuclear translocation of in vitro-expressed bsERα. Transient transfection of bsERα in U2OS cells enhanced the transcription of pS2, an ER target gene of E2. We then measured bsER-mediated transactivation potencies of POPs in an in vitro reporter gene assay system, in which a bsERα or bsERß expression vector was transfected into COS-1 cells. For comparison, transactivation potencies of POPs on mouse ERs (mERα and mERß) were also evaluated in the same manner. Results showed significant dose-dependent responses of bsERs and mERs when treated with p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT), and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE). bsERs and mERs showed no response when exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Comparison of the dose-response curves of DDTs across species (bsERs vs. mERs) showed that bsERα had a response similar to mERα, but bsERß was less sensitive than mERß. Comparing the lowest observable effective concentrations of p,p'-DDT (2.8 µM) and p,p'-DDE (10 µM) for in vitro bsERα-mediated transactivation with their hepatic concentrations in wild Baikal seals indicated that some individuals accumulated these compounds at levels comparable to the effective concentrations, suggesting the potential disruption of the bsERα signaling pathway in the wild population by these compounds. Co-transfection experiments with bsER and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) suggested that high accumulation of estrogenic compounds exerts a synergistic effect with dioxin-like congeners on ER signaling through AHR activation in the wild seal population.

The Association Between Pain and Quality of Life for Patients With Cancer in an Outpatient Clinic, an Inpatient Oncology Ward, and Inpatient Palliative Care Units.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to clarify the association between pain and quality of life (QOL) of Japanese patients with cancer using a cancer-specific QOL scale (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC] QLQ-C15-PAL) in 3 care settings (outpatient, inpatient, and palliative care units [PCUs]). METHODS: We examined the above-mentioned purpose for the total of 404 patients. RESULTS: In outpatients, physical, emotional functioning (EF), and global health status/QOL (QL item) were significantly correlated with average pain, and their correlation coefficients were -0.37 to -0.46 (P < .0001). In inpatients, they were -0.33 (P = .006), -0.26 (P = .030), and -0.31 (P = .012). In the PCU patients, they were -0.12 (P = .316), -0.30 (P = .009), and -0.28 (P = .015). CONCLUSION: Patients' pain had an association with physical and emotional QOL, and the association was smaller in the PCU patients than the others.

[Study on Extraction Conditions of Water-Soluble Substances­Purity Test (4) for Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone Listed in Japan's Specifications and Standards for Food Additives].

The food additive polyvinylpolypyrrolidone is approved for use as a filter aid. The water-soluble substances test of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone often shows poor reproducibility. The instruction "boil gently while stirring using a stirrer" was considered critical, and so this issue was examined. The results showed that the use of a combination of both an oil bath and a stirrer provided good reproducibility without decomposition or other problems.

Daytime physical activity and sleep in pre-schoolers with developmental disorders.

AIM: This study aims to investigate the association between daytime physical activity (PA) and sleep in pre-schoolers with or without autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). METHOD: Thirty-one pre-school children with ASD and 16 age-matched controls were recruited. Sleep and PA patterns were measured with an Actiwatch for 7 days. After average PA values were calculated for three periods (morning, afternoon and evening) of each day for each child, the days with maximum (active) and minimum (inactive) PA values for these three periods were determined. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare sleep following active mornings, afternoons and evenings with that following inactive time periods. RESULTS: In control children, sleep onset time following active mornings/afternoons did not differ from that following inactive mornings/afternoons. In contrast, sleep onset following the most inactive morning (median sleep onset time: 9:57 pm) and the most inactive afternoon (median sleep onset time: 10:24 pm) began significantly later than that following the most active mornings (median sleep onset time: 9:21 pm) and the most active afternoons (median sleep onset time: 9:39 pm) in children with ASD. The percentage of sleep for control children following active mornings was significantly higher (median: 93.2%) than that following inactive ones (median: 91.7%). Significant associations were not found between evening PA and sleep in either ASD or control children. CONCLUSIONS: A high level of morning and afternoon PA can advance the sleep phase in children with ASD.

Psychometric properties and population-based score distributions of the Japanese Sleep Questionnaire for Preschoolers.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to present psychometric properties and describe the score distributions of the Japanese Sleep Questionnaire for Preschoolers (JSQ-P), a guardian-reported survey questionnaire for assessing sleep disturbances and problematic sleep habits among preschool children. METHODS: Guardians of 2998 toddlers in three communities and guardians of 102 patients diagnosed with sleep disorders in two clinics completed the JSQ-P. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed the 10 domains of the JSQ-P to be similar to our previous small-scale study and confirmed the robustness of the JSQ-P. The JSQ-P showed acceptable internal consistency; α coefficients ranged from 0.622 (insufficient sleep) to 0.912 (restless legs syndrome [RLS], motor) for the community sample and 0.696 (insufficient sleep) to 0.959 (RLS, motor) for the clinical sample. The score differentiations between the community and clinical samples associated with RLS, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), morning symptoms, parasomnias, excessive daytime sleepiness, and daytime behaviors were demonstrated in our study. The distributions of percentile T scores for each subscale and age and gender differentiation of scores also were evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed that the JSQ-P is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate Japanese sleep habits using a large population-based sample. The JSQ-P may be useful in both clinical and academic settings.

Body movement analysis during sleep for children with ADHD using video image processing.

In recent years, the amount of children with sleep disorders that cause arousal during sleep or light sleep is increasing. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a cause of this sleep disorder; children with ADHD have frequent body movement during sleep. Therefore, we investigated the body movement during sleep of children with and without ADHD using video imaging. We analysed large gross body movements (GM) that occur and obtained the GM rate and the rest duration. There were differences between the body movements of children with ADHD and normally developed children. The children with ADHD moved frequently, so their rest duration was shorter than that of the normally developed children. Additionally, the rate of gross body movement indicated a significant difference in REM sleep (p < 0.05). In the future, we will develop a new device that can easily diagnose children with ADHD, using video image processing.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of a pertussis vaccination programme for Japan considering intergenerational infection.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of pertussis in adolescence and adulthood has been increasing, and pertussis outbreaks have occurred sporadically in Japan. The risk of intergenerational infection of pertussis is of concern. The aim of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of alternative vaccination programmes for replacing the conventional diphtheria-tetanus (DT) vaccine programme administered in adolescence, considering the risk of intergenerational infection. METHODS: We examined the cost-effectiveness of 4 pertussis vaccination programmes: (1) one-time adolescent DT vaccination (DT); (2) one-time adolescent DT-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccination; (3) one-time adolescent DTaP with decennial booster (DTaP+booster); and (4) one-time adolescent DTaP with additional vaccination targeted at parents with infants (additional DTaP for parents). We adapted a state-transition Markov model to estimate the costs and effectiveness of vaccination in the adolescent and adult cohorts and then considered intergenerational infection from adolescents/adults to infants. We assumed a societal perspective to estimate results and expressed these in terms of cost, life expectancy, quality-adjusted life expectancy, benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). RESULTS: At an incidence of 25 per 100,000, the ICERs of the DTaP and additional DTaP for parents strategies were 3,576,072 JPY and 240,055,273 JPY, respectively, when intergenerational transmission of infection was considered. The ICER for the DTaP+booster strategy was dominated. MAJOR CONCLUSION: Alternative vaccination programmes are not currently cost-effective. If intergenerational infection considered, one-time adolescent DTaP vaccination is cost-effective. More accurate reports of pertussis incidence are required as the results of cost-effectiveness analyses of vaccination vary greatly depending on incidence.

Cancer incidence and mortality in Osaka, Japan: future trends estimation with an age-period-cohort model.

In previous studies we predicted future trends in cancer incidence for each prefecture in order to plan cancer control. Those predictions, however, did not take into account the characteristics of each prefecture. We therefore used the results of age-period-cohort analysis of incidence and mortality data of Osaka, and estimated the incidence and mortality of cancers at all sites and selected sites. The results reflect the characteristics of Osaka, which has and is expected to have large number of patients with liver cancer. We believe our results to be useful for planning and evaluating cancer control activities in Osaka. It would be worthwhile to base the estimation of cancer incidence and mortality in each prefecture on each population-based cancer registry.

Comparison between overall, cause-specific, and relative survival rates based on data from a population-based cancer registry.

Three kinds of survival rates are generally used depending on the purpose of the investigation: overall, cause-specific, and relative. The differences among these 3 survival rates are derived from their respective formulas; however, reports based on actual cancer registry data are few because of incomplete information and short follow-up duration recorded on cancer registration. The aim of this study was to numerically and visually compare these 3 survival rates on the basis of data from the Nagasaki Prefecture Cancer Registry. Subjects were patients diagnosed with cancer and registered in the registry between 1999 and 2003. We calculated the proportion of cause of death and 5-year survival rates. For lung, liver, or advanced stage cancers, the proportions of cancer-related death were high and the differences in survival rates were small. For prostate or early stage cancers, the proportions of death from other causes were high and the differences in survival rates were large. We concluded that the differences among the 3 survival rates increased when the proportion of death from other causes increased.

Lugol-voiding lesions are an important risk factor for a second primary squamous cell carcinoma in patients with esosphageal cancer or head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Lugol-voiding lesions (LVLs), detected by chromoendoscopy using iodine dye in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (EC) or head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNC), are associated with a second primary carcinoma in the other organ. We undertook a cross-sectional and retrospective cohort study to assess the risk for second primary carcinomas according to the severity of LVLs, on the basis of their number and size. METHODS: A total of 1,060 patients with only EC, only HNC, or both EC and HNC (EC+HNC) underwent esophageal endoscopic examination between January 1994 and January 2010. The patients were classified according to the number of LVLs in an endoscopic visual field and the size of the largest LVLs. Factors associated with the second primary EC or HNC were analyzed. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that a larger number and size of LVLs increased the risk for synchronous and early metachronous second primary cancer (P value for trend <0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that a number of LVLs ≥20 (EC+HNC vs. only HNC, odds ratio (OR)=15.7; EC+HNC vs. only EC, 3.5) and a size ≥10 mm (EC+HNC vs. only HNC, OR=3.1; EC+HNC vs. only EC, 3.2) were independent risk factors for synchronous and early metachronous second primary cancer. A larger number of LVLs was a risk factor for metachronous EC and HNC, and a size ≥10 mm was a risk factor for late metachronous EC. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of LVLs in patients with HNC or EC closely correlated with a second primary carcinoma in the other organ. Patients with LVLs must be followed closely for development of a second primary carcinoma.

[Relationship between seizure duration and bispectral index during modified electroconvulsive therapy].

BACKGROUND: The relationship between seizure duration and bispectral index (BIS) has not been studied well in modified electroconvulsive therapy (mECT). METHODS: We studied the changes in BIS and recorded the seizure duration during mECT under propofol and suxamethonium anesthesia. We examined the relationship between seizure duration and BIS. RESULTS: The BIS value immediately before turning on the electricity correlated with seizure duration. The range of BIS values that caused effective seizure duration were 53.6-58.8. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows the possibility of determining the moment of application of electricity in mECT by using BIS values.

Intravenous anesthetics inhibit capacitative calcium entry in pulmonary venous smooth muscle cells.

BACKGROUND: The authors have previously demonstrated that propofol attenuates capacitative calcium entry (CCE) via the protein kinase C signaling pathway in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PVSMCs). The current goals were to determine whether CCE exists in PVSMCs; to assess the roles of the protein kinase C, tyrosine kinase (TK), and rho-kinase signaling pathways in regulating CCE; and to investigate the extent and cellular mechanisms by which intravenous anesthetics (thiopental, midazolam, ketamine, and propofol) alter CCE. METHODS: Primary cultures of fura-2-loaded canine PVSMCs were placed in a dish (37 degrees C) on an inverted fluorescence microscope. Intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was measured as the 340/380 fluorescence ratio in individual PVSMCs. Thapsigargin, a sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-adenosine triphosphatase inhibitor, was used to deplete intracellular Ca2+ stores after removing extracellular Ca2+. CCE was then activated by restoring extracellular Ca2+ (2.2 mm). RESULTS: Thapsigargin caused a transient increase in [Ca2+]i (160 +/- 6%). Restoring extracellular Ca2+ caused a rapid peak increase in [Ca2+]i (155 +/- 7% of baseline), followed by a sustained increase in [Ca2+]i (129 +/- 5% of baseline), i.e., CCE was stimulated in PVSMCs. Neither protein kinase C activation nor inhibition had an effect on CCE. rho-Kinase inhibition also had no effect on CCE, whereas TK inhibition attenuated both peak and sustained CCE. Thiopental, midazolam, ketamine, and propofol each attenuated both peak and sustained CCE. TK inhibition abolished the thiopental-, midazolam-, and ketamine-induced, but not the propofol-induced, decreases in CCE. CONCLUSION: Capacitative calcium entry is present in canine PVSMCs. Thiopental, midazolam, and ketamine attenuate CCE primarily via the TK signaling pathway. Propofol attenuates CCE via a TK-independent mechanism.