Illuminance, Subjective Sleep Quality, and Psychosomatic Health in Elderly Individuals Requiring Care: A Survey of Japan's Hokuriku Region in Winter.

We measured the illuminance exposure for 3 days in winter of a convenience sample of 44 elderly people certified as requiring support in Japan's Hokuriku region. We calculated the illuminance ratio per minute during activity and while in bed and analyzed the relationship between illuminance, subjective sleep quality, and psychosomatic health. There was a significant negative correlation between illuminance and 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale scores. Multiple regression analysis indicated that depression scores were significantly related to age, level of required support, and illuminance. The findings suggest that environments without light and dark cycles increase depression scores in frail elderly people.

Measuring illuminance and investigating methods for its quantification among elderly people living at home in Japan to study the relationship between illuminance and physical and mental health.

AIM: To measure illuminance in the home lives of elderly people to clarify the current state of affairs and concurrently investigate quantification methods for this purpose. METHODS: Illuminance and the physical and mental health of 24 elderly people living, with some assistance, in their homes in a prefecture in the Hokuriku region were studied over 3 days. Illuminance was quantified in accordance with the rotation of the earth, with day and night defined according to times of sunrise/sunset. Daytime mean illuminance and mean time exposed to seven levels of illuminance between 50 and 1000 lx during the day were calculated. Physical and mental health were assessed through interviews using the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, the Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey version 2, the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form. Analysis of the correlation between illuminance and scores on mental and physical health was carried out. RESULTS: The mean score for daytime illuminance was 687 lx. The mean time for daytime exposure to light above 400 lx was 59 min. A significant positive correlation was found between daytime mean illuminance, time exposed to light over 400 lx and life satisfaction. A significant negative correlation was found between time exposed to light over 400 lx and depression scores. CONCLUSIONS: Findings uncovered for the first time the actual illumination experienced by frail elderly individuals living at home in Japan. The quantification of illuminance is important, because research has shown a relationship between mental health and illuminance exposure.

Characterization of the high affinity Zn transporter from Noccaea caerulescens, NcZNT1, and dissection of its promoter for its role in Zn uptake and hyperaccumulation.

• In this paper, we conducted a detailed analysis of the ZIP family transporter, NcZNT1, in the zinc (Zn)/cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulating plant species, Noccaea caerulescens, formerly known as Thlaspi caerulescens. NcZNT1 was previously suggested to be the primary root Zn/Cd uptake transporter. Both a characterization of NcZNT1 transport function in planta and in heterologous systems, and an analysis of NcZNT1 gene expression and NcZNT1 protein localization were carried out. • We show that NcZNT1 is not only expressed in the root epidermis, but also is highly expressed in the root and shoot vasculature, suggesting a role in long-distance metal transport. Also, NcZNT1 was found to be a plasma membrane transporter that mediates Zn but not Cd, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) or copper (Cu) uptake into plant cells. • Two novel regions of the NcZNT1 promoter were identified which may be involved in both the hyperexpression of NcZNT1 and its ability to be regulated by plant Zn status. • In conclusion, we demonstrate here that NcZNT1 plays a role in Zn and not Cd uptake from the soil, and based on its strong expression in the root and shoot vasculature, could be involved in long-distance transport of Zn from the root to the shoot via the xylem.

Combination of B-Lynch brace suture and uterine artery embolization for atonic bleeding after cesarean section in a patient with placenta previa accreta.

We report the case of a patient with placenta previa accreta. A 29-year-old multipara, who had previously undergone a cesarean section, was admitted to our hospital for vaginal bleeding. An emergency cesarean section was carried out at the 33rd week of gestation. Uterine bleeding was uncontrollable, and hence, hysterectomy was planned. However, before hysterectomy, B-Lynch brace suture was carried out to control the massive bleeding; moreover, the suturing technique enabled uterine artery embolization to be carried out as an interventional radiological technique. A good postoperative course was observed, and thus, a secondary hysterectomy was not required. A combination of the B-Lynch brace suture technique and uterine artery embolization may be an alternative treatment for emergency bleeding during cesarean section in patients with placenta previa accreta.

Breastfeeding information in midwifery textbooks in Japan: content analysis with evaluation standards based on Delphi method.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate breastfeeding information in midwifery textbooks. Evaluation standards were developed in order to perform content analysis. A 3-round Delphi method using a panel of 32 midwives resulted in 36 evaluation items from the original 38 draft items based on 4 major international guidelines and statements on breastfeeding. Subsequently, breastfeeding descriptions in 4 midwifery textbooks most frequently used in Japan were examined using a 4-point scale (A, accurate and sufficient description; B, accurate but insufficient description; C, no description; and D, inaccurate or inconsistent description). Among the evaluation items, 40% were rated as A, 25% as C, 21% as B, and 15% as D across the 4 textbooks. In conclusion, a substantial proportion of breastfeeding information in these textbooks was found to be inaccurate, inconsistent, or insufficient in content.

Elevated expression of TcHMA3 plays a key role in the extreme Cd tolerance in a Cd-hyperaccumulating ecotype of Thlaspi caerulescens.

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal for plants, but several unique Cd-hyperaccumulating plant species are able to accumulate this metal to extraordinary concentrations in the aboveground tissues without showing any toxic symptoms. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this hypertolerance to Cd are poorly understood. Here we have isolated and functionally characterized an allelic gene, TcHMA3 (heavy metal ATPase 3) from two ecotypes (Ganges and Prayon) of Thlaspi caerulescens contrasting in Cd accumulation and tolerance. The TcHMA3 alleles from the higher (Ganges) and lower Cd-accumulating ecotype (Prayon) share 97.8% identity, and encode a P(1B)-type ATPase. There were no differences in the expression pattern, cell-specificity of protein localization and transport substrate-specificity of TcHMA3 between the two ecotypes. Both alleles were characterized by constitutive expression in the shoot and root, a tonoplast localization of the protein in all leaf cells and specific transport activity for Cd. The only difference between the two ecotypes was the expression level of TcHMA3: Ganges showed a sevenfold higher expression than Prayon, partly caused by a higher copy number. Furthermore, the expression level and localization of TcHMA3 were different from AtHMA3 expression in Arabidopsis. Overexpression of TcHMA3 in Arabidopsis significantly enhanced tolerance to Cd and slightly increased tolerance to Zn, but did not change Co or Pb tolerance. These results indicate that TcHMA3 is a tonoplast-localized transporter highly specific for Cd, which is responsible for sequestration of Cd into the leaf vacuoles, and that a higher expression of this gene is required for Cd hypertolerance in the Cd-hyperaccumulating ecotype of T. caerulescens.

Physiological, genetic, and molecular characterization of a high-Cd-accumulating rice cultivar, Jarjan.

Cadmium (Cd) in rice is a major source of Cd intake for people on a staple rice diet. The mechanisms underlying Cd accumulation in rice plant are still poorly understood. Here, we characterized the physiology and genetics of Cd transport in a high-Cd-accumulating cultivar (Jarjan) of rice (Oryza sativa). Jarjan showed 5- to 34-fold higher Cd accumulation in the shoots and grains than the cultivar Nipponbare, when it was grown in either a non-Cd-contaminated or a Cd-contaminated soil. A short-term uptake experiment showed no significant difference in Cd uptake by the roots between the two cultivars. However, Jarjan translocated 49% of the total Cd taken up to the shoots, whereas Nipponbare retained most of the Cd in the roots. In both concentration- and time-dependent experiments, Jarjan showed a superior capacity for root-to-shoot translocation of Cd. These results indicate that the high-Cd-accumulation phenotype in Jarjan results from efficient translocation of Cd from roots to shoots. Genetic analysis using an F(2) population derived from Jarjan and Nipponbare revealed that plants showing high- and low-Cd-accumulation phenotypes segregated in a 1:3 ratio, indicating that high accumulation in Jarjan is controlled by a single recessive gene. Furthermore, we isolated OsHMA3, a gene encoding a tonoplast-localized Cd transporter from Jarjan. The OsHMA3 protein was localized in all roots cells, but the sequence has a mutation leading to loss of function. Therefore, failure to sequester Cd into the root vacuoles by OsHMA3 is probably responsible for high Cd accumulation in Jarjan.

Identification of a novel major quantitative trait locus controlling distribution of Cd between roots and shoots in rice.

Accumulation of Cd in rice grain is a serious concern of food safety since rice as a staple food is a major source of Cd intake in Asian countries. However, the mechanisms controlling Cd accumulation in rice are still poorly understood. Herein, we report both physiological and genetic analysis of two rice cultivars contrasting in Cd accumulation, which were screened from a core collection of rice cultivars. The cultivar Anjana Dhan (Indica) accumulated much higher levels of Cd than Nipponbare (Japonica) in the shoots and grains when grown in both soil and solution culture. A short-term uptake experiment (20 min) showed that Cd uptake by Nipponbare was higher than that by Anjana Dhan. However, the concentration of Cd in the shoot and xylem sap was much higher in Anjana Dhan than in Nipponbare. Of the Cd taken up by the roots, <4% was translocated to the shoots in Nipponbare, compared with 10-25% in Anjana Dhan, indicating a higher root-to-shoot translocation of Cd in the latter. A quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis for Cd accumulation was performed using an F(2) population derived from Anjana Dhan and Nipponbare. A QTL with large effect for Cd accumulation was detected on the short arm of chromosome 7, explaining 85.6% of the phenotypic variance in the shoot Cd concentration of the F(2) population. High accumulation is likely to be controlled by a single recessive gene. A candidate genomic region was defined to <1.9 Mb by means of substitution mapping.

Preliminary study of a physiological evaluation method on attentiveness concentration during mental arithmetic; correlation between task performance and physiological indices.

It is important that task performance is physiologically evaluated in consideration of arousal level. But there are relatively few preceding studies. In this study, the relationship between task performance and physiological indices was studied with regard to attentiveness concentration. The subjects were eight healthy college students. They performed calculations and a visual display terminal (VDT) task. Electroencephalogram (EEG) frequency component, alpha attenuation coefficient (AAC), skin potential level (SPL), blood flow of the finger tip skin (BF), and visual analog scale (VAS), were measured. In order to quantify task performance, correlations between the task performance and physiological indices during the mental task were analyzed. The results suggest that AAC correlates with the error rate in calculation. BF also correlates with the error rate in calculation, while the calculation speed correlates with SPL. It can be inferred that the task speed and error rate are supposed to be related to the different physiological background.

Use of an infrared sensor system to take long-term bedside measurements of rest-activity patterns in the elderly with dementia.

In order to study long-term rest-activity patterns of elderly residents in care facilities, an infrared sensor system was developed. This sensor system detects a resident's presence or absence from their bed and their activity with little inconvenience. Using this system, the rest-activity patterns of two elderly people with dementia was assessed over a period of 3 months. For both subjects, frequent activity peaks and absences from their beds were often observed during the night. Such a sensor system will be useful for evaluating the sleep-wake rhythms of people with sleep disorders.