A Qualitative Study of Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Lives in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder in Japan.

(1) Background: COVID-19 may deteriorate some aspects among individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although some positive aspects were reported during the pandemic, it remains unclear how COVID-19 qualitatively influences their living context; (2) Methods: this study employed interviews with four participants with ADHD during the declaration of emergency issued in Japan. The study was a part of ongoing coaching as a psychosocial intervention for ADHD, which was initiated long before the pandemic. The data were the answers to the question: "how are things going with participants during this pandemic?". In a qualitative analysis, the researchers coded the data to identify different themes and sub-themes; (3) Results and Discussion: the qualitative data analysis yielded five themes: (1) Terrible feeling caused by frustration, stress, and anger; (2) Closeness due to the internal difficulties and conflict; (3) Deteriorating ADHD symptoms and executive function related matters; (4) Condition is the same as usual; and (5) Positive aspects associated with the self-lockdown. As a whole, these results show that the COVID-19 pandemic could be a factor in inducing psychological distress in the participants who adjust relatively better at work/school but did not do well at home before the pandemic; (4) Conclusions: this study indicates the need for special support for individuals with ADHD, especially those who originally had difficulties at home.

Structure and Stereochemistry of Amphidinolide N Congeners from Marine Dinoflagellate Amphidinium Species.

Two highly potent cytotoxic 26-membered macrolides, isocaribenolide-I (1) and a chlorohydrin 2, together with known amphidinolide N (3), have been isolated from a free-swimming dinoflagellate Amphidinium species (KCA09053 and KCA09056 strains) collected off Iriomote Island, Japan. The structures of 1 and 2 were determined to be a congener of 3 with an isobutyl terminus and the chlorohydrin form of 3, respectively, by detailed analyses of spectroscopic data. The relative stereochemistries of 1 and 2 were elucidated by the conformational analyses based on NMR data.

Iriomoteolides-9a and 11a: two new odd-numbered macrolides from the marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium species.

Iriomoteolides-9a (1) and 11a (2), new 15- and 19-membered macrolides, respectively, have been isolated from the marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium species (strain KCA09052). Compounds 1 and 2 were obtained from the extracts of the algal cells inoculated in the PES and TKF seawater medium, respectively. The structures of 1 and 2 were assigned on the basis of detailed NMR analyses. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited cytotoxic activity against human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa cells.

Iriomoteolides-10a and 12a, Cytotoxic Macrolides from Marine Dinoflagellate Amphidinium Species.

Two new macrolides, iriomoteolides-10a (1) and -12a (2), have been isolated from a marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp. (KCA09053 strain), and their structures were elucidated on the basis of a detailed two dimensional (2D)-NMR analysis. Compound 1 is a novel 21-membered Amphidinium macrolide, which contains one tetrahydrofuran ring, two ketone carbonyls, two hydroxyl groups, and six one-carbon branches. Compound 2 is a new 12-membered macrolide related to amphidinolide Q. Compound 1 exhibited cytotoxic activity against human cervix adenocarcinoma HeLa and murine hepatocellular carcinoma MH134 cells.

Amphirionin-2, a novel linear polyketide with potent cytotoxic activity from a marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium species.

A novel linear polyketide, amphirionin-2 (1), with two unique hexahydrofuro[3,2-b]furan moieties has been isolated from the cultivated algal cells of a benthic dinoflagellate Amphidinium sp. (strain KCA09051). The structure was elucidated on the basis of detailed analyses of 2D NMR data, and the absolute configuration of C-5 was determined by using modified Mosher's method. Amphirionin-2 (1) exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against human colon carcinoma Caco-2 cells and human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells.

Attention deficit and attention training in early twentieth-century Japan.

Yuzero Motora (1856-1912), regarded as the first professional Japanese psychologist, tried to address students' attention difficulties through attention training methods of his own design. His reports contain the first description of ADHD-like symptoms in the history of Japan. Motora viewed "distractibility" as the irregular transition of attention. Students with low scores and attention difficulties who participated in Motora's exercises showed improvement in arithmetic, psychological testing, and certain aspects of daily life. This article describes Motora's theoretical conception of attention and attention training methodology, the history of attention deficit and attention training, and the significance of Motora's experiments.

Amphirionin-4 with potent proliferation-promoting activity on bone marrow stromal cells from a marine dinoflagellate amphidinium species.

A linear polyketide, amphirionin-4 (1), has been isolated from cultivated algal cells of the marine dinoflagellate Amphidinium species. The structure was elucidated on the basis of detailed analyses of 1D and 2D NMR data, and the absolute configurations of C-4 and C-8 were determined using the modified Mosher's method. Amphirionin-4 (1) exhibited extremely potent proliferation-promoting activity on murine bone marrow stromal ST-2 cells (950% promotion) at a concentration of 0.1 ng/mL.

Observation of glycolytic metabolites in tumor cell lysate by using hyperpolarization of deuterated glucose.

Hyperpolarization of stable isotope-labeled substrates and subsequent NMR measurement of the metabolic reactions allow for direct tracking of cellular reactions in vitro and in vivo. Here, we report the hyperpolarization of (13)C6-glucose-d7 and evaluate its use as probes to observe glucose flux in cells. We measured the lifetime of the polarized signal governed by the spin-lattice relaxation time T1. (13)C6-Glucose-d7 exhibited a T1 that was over ten times as long as that of (13)C6-glucose, and metabolic NMR studies of hyperpolarized (13)C6-glucose-d7 using tumor cell lysate led to observation of the resonances due to phosphorylated fluctofuranoses generated through aerobic glycolysis.

Measuring adjustment in Japanese juvenile delinquents with learning disabilities using Japanese version of Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children II.

AIM: The aim of this study was to create a profile of the cognitive and academic abilities of juvenile delinquents (JD) in Japan using the newly validated Japanese version of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II-J). METHODS: We administered the KABC-II-J to 22 JD (Mage = 15.9 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.4), 28 typically developing high school students (Mage = 16.0 years, SD = 0.08), and (as controls) 12 special education students (Mage = 16.9, SD = 0.83) with mild intellectual disabilities. RESULTS: We observed significant differences between JD and typically developing students on learning index of the Mental Process Index, and the vocabulary, reading, writing, and mathematics indices on the Achievement Index. JD had lower scores than did typically developing high school students. Fourteen JD had a 1 SD discrepancy (43%) in scores on these indices. These cases were suspected of having learning disabilities. CONCLUSION: The KABC-II-J is a suitable means of assessing academic and cognitive problems in JD; professionals working in the field of juvenile delinquency should recognize that offenders might have severe academic delays and learning disabilities.

A platform for designing hyperpolarized magnetic resonance chemical probes.

Hyperpolarization is a highly promising technique for improving the sensitivity of magnetic resonance chemical probes. Here we report [(15)N, D(9)]trimethylphenylammonium as a platform for designing a variety of hyperpolarized magnetic resonance chemical probes. The platform structure shows a remarkably long (15)N spin-lattice relaxation value (816 s, 14.1 T) for retaining its hyperpolarized spin state. The extended lifetime enables the detection of the hyperpolarized (15)N signal of the platform for several tens of minutes and thus overcomes the intrinsic short analysis time of hyperpolarized probes. Versatility of the platform is demonstrated by applying it to three types of hyperpolarized chemical probes: one each for sensing calcium ions, reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide) and enzyme activity (carboxyl esterase). All of the designed probes achieve high sensitivity with rapid reactions and chemical shift changes, which are sufficient to allow sensitive and real-time monitoring of target molecules by (15)N magnetic resonance.

Community-based suicide prevention through group activity for the elderly successfully reduced the high suicide rate for females.

The lack of social support is the most common risk factor for late-life suicide. Few previous community-based interventions against the lack of social relationships reduced suicide. This study aims to evaluate outcomes of a community-based prevention program against suicide amongst the elderly in rural Japan. During 1995-2002, the program based on population strategy including group activity, psychoeducation and self-assessment of depression but no screening for depression, was implemented for elderly residents in Yuri town, Japan (5-year average population 6817; 5-year average suicide rate [> or =65 years old] 291.4/10(5)). Changes in the relative risk of suicide for individuals (> or =65 years old) before and after the 8-year implementation were estimated by the incidence rate ratio (IRR), using a quasi-experimental design with a neighboring reference, Chokai town, Japan (5-year average population 8136; 5-year average suicide rate [> or =65 years old] 216.5/10(5)). The risk of elderly females in Yuri completing suicide was reduced by 76% (age-adjusted IRR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.10-0.58), while there was no change in the risks for Yuri's elderly males and both Chokai's elderly males and females. General loglinear analysis estimated a ratio of the female IRR in Yuri to that in its Akita prefecture of 0.35 (95% CI, 0.14-0.84), showing that the reduction of the risk in the intervention area was greater than a historical trend. A community-based suicide prevention through a group intervention designed to increase knowledge and to cultivate social relationships would be effective for elderly females but not males.