Homebound older adults who live independently in rural Japan: Prevalence and contributing factors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Being homebound is a phenomenon of confining older adults to their homes owing to health, social, and psychological factors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were requested to refrain from going out to prevent infection. Consequently, the homebound status of older adults was influenced by social and environmental factors, resulting in an increase in the number of homebound older adults during the pandemic.

Effects of postnatal dexamethasone treatment on mRNA expression profiles of genes related to alveolar development in an emphysema model in mice.

Emphysema can be induced in animals by postnatal treatment with dexamethasone (Dex) and such models have been widely used for various research. However, it is not clear what are the effects of Dex on assembly of alveolar elastic fibers in the emphysema model in mice. This study compared the expression profile of genes related to alveolar development between Dex treated and control mice during the treatment from postnatal day 3 (P3) to P14 with a 2-day break.