Effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine in elementary and middle schools: a 10-year follow-up investigation.

Background: Influenza spreads from schools to the rest of society. Thus, we conducted questionnaire surveys of influenza vaccination in elementary and middle schools in a district for 10 years to determine immunization rates and infection conditions among students who were potential sources of infection at home.

Methods: The questionnaire-based survey on influenza vaccine administration, influenza infection, and influenza types contracted, as well as influenza immunization history, was conducted in 10 seasons over a period of 10 years.

Sublingual immunotherapy for pediatric patients with mite allergies.

Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been increasingly used instead of subcutaneous immunotherapy. SLIT was initially approved for use among adults; however, it has become more widely accepted for children. Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of SLIT in the treatment of dust mite allergies among children, including adverse effects.

Osteoblastic adherence regulates hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation: a conceptional and study.

Background: Intrinsic factors related to self-renewal regulatory factors in hematopoietic stem cells are well known; however, limited information is available on extrinsic factors, such as the cell environment. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the regulatory mechanism of hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal, focusing on the osteoblastic niche, and examined how adherence to osteoblasts affects stem cell differentiation.

Methods: For this experimental study, we developed a co-culture system for hematopoietic stem cells and osteoblasts, such that cells adhered to osteoblasts can be separated from those that do not.

Supplemental education in early childhood may be associated with professional achievement.

Objectives: To investigate which extracurricular lessons medical doctors and medical students received in early childhood and to compare the results to a similarly aged representative sample.

Methods: This retrospective questionnaire-based study investigated the prevalence of supplemental early education, along with professional outcomes later in life. The study compared two samples: First, as a proxy for "professional success", medical students and residents (n = 147) were asked to recall which extracurricular lessons they had taken when pre-school aged.

Human granulocytes undergo cell death via autophagy.

Mature neutrophils must be quickly removed from inflammatory sites to prevent tissue damage. Neutrophil removal is thought to be accomplished primarily through caspase-dependent apoptosis, which involves several genes of mitochondrial origin. However, mature neutrophils show reduced gene transcription and mitochondrial numbers.