Two waves of photosymbiosis acquisition in extant planktonic foraminifera explained by ecological incumbency.

Photosymbiosis, a mode of mixotrophy by algal endosymbiosis, provides key advantage to pelagic life in oligotrophic oceans. Despite its ecological importance, mechanisms underlying its emergence and association with the evolutionary success of photosymbiotic lineages remain unclear. We used planktonic foraminifera, a group of pelagic test-forming protists with an excellent fossil record, to reveal the history of symbiont acquisition among their three main extant clades.

Service provision conditions for foreign residents in municipalities in Japan.

This study examined the actual conditions of service provision to foreign residents (FRs) addressing prevention of lifestyle-related diseases (LRDs) and disaster preparedness/disaster responses (DPRs) in Japanese municipalities. : A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered questionnaire with representatives of public health nurses in each municipality in Japan from December 2021 to January 2022. Services considering FRs are more likely to be implemented in cities than in towns, and in municipalities where FRs account for ≥2.

A biogenic geodesic dome of the silica skeleton in Phaeodaria.

Unique architectures of microbial skeletons are viewed as a model for the architectural design of artificial structural materials. In particular, the specific geometric arrangement of a spherical skeleton 0.5-1.

Clustering evaluation of water quality for various classes of in-flow rivers in connected brackish lakes.

Brackish waters and estuaries at the lower reaches of rivers accumulate organic matter and nutrients from various sources in the watershed. Sufficient light and shallow water depth stimulate phytoplankton growth, resulting in a more diversified ecosystem with higher trophic levels. For effective watershed management, it is crucial to characterize the water quality of all rivers, including small and medium-sized ones.

DNA metabarcoding focusing on the plankton community: an effective approach to reconstruct the paleo-environment.

DNA metabarcoding (DNA-MB) targeting the whole plankton community is a promising approach in studies of sediment samples from water bodies, but its effectiveness in ancient material is not well demonstrated. We applied DNA-MB of plankton in a sediment core to reconstruct the paleo-environment of Lake Shinji, Japan, through a marine lagoon/freshwater lake transition during the past 2300 years. We interpreted core-sample plankton taxonomy and habitat by reference to the modern plankton community in water samples.

DNA metabarcoding focused on difficult-to-culture protists: An effective approach to clarify biological interactions.

DNA metabarcoding on a single organism is a promising approach to clarify the biological interactions (e.g., predator-prey relationships and symbiosis, including parasitism) of difficult-to-culture protists.

Role of Maternal and Child Health Handbook on Improving Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The objective of this review is to assess and synthesize the role of the maternal and child health (MCH) handbook on improving healthcare service utilization, behavior change, and health outcomes for women and children. A systematic search of all relevant existing reports was conducted on 14 January 2021, using the following online bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, Academic Search Premier, Emcare, APA PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Two reviewers independently performed study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment.

Can digital health technologies exacerbate the health gap? A clustering analysis of mothers' opinions toward digitizing the maternal and child health handbook.

Background: The use of mobile health has increased worldwide, but along with its increased utilization comes the risk of the digital divide, inequity in access to information and communications technologies, exerting greater influence on health inequity caused by socioeconomic determinants of health. There is a growing need to investigate whether the digitization of existing health interventions has a risk of worsening the health gap.

Methods: We investigated the attitudes of mothers and pregnant women toward digitization of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook (MCHH), a popular personal health record (PHR) used by almost every pregnant woman or mother in Japan, using a cross-sectional survey.

Ecology, Morphology, Phylogeny and Taxonomic Revision of Giant Radiolarians, Orodaria ord. nov. (Radiolaria; Rhizaria; SAR).

The phylogenetic affiliation of Oroscenidae, a family of Radiolaria possessing large siliceous skeletons, was thoroughly revised in this study. Plankton sampling was conducted over seven years in seven sea areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Molecular analyses on the obtained specimens revealed that living oroscenids are phylogenetically different from hitherto-known radiolarian orders.

Infant Mortality Rates for Farming and Unemployed Households in the Japanese Prefectures: An Ecological Time Trend Analysis, 1999-2017.

Background: Recent research suggests that Japanese inter-prefecture inequality in the risk of death before reaching 5 years old has increased since the 2000s. Despite this, there have been no studies examining recent trends in inequality in the infant mortality rate (IMR) with associated socioeconomic characteristics. This study specifically focused on household occupation, environment, and support systems for perinatal parents.

Phylogenetic Revision of the Order Entactinaria-Paleozoic Relict Radiolaria (Rhizaria, SAR).

Entactinaria, an order of Radiolaria, are defined by a specific skeletal structure called "initial spicular system (ISS)". The oldest entactinarians appeared in the Ordovician period, and the extant species are thought to have survived until today. However, the morphological observation revealed that the ISSs of entactinarian families are highly variable, and the validity of this characteristic is questionable.

[Demographic Characteristics of Foreign Residents in Japan; Child Maltreatment and Language Problems in Child Protection Services].

In this study, we examined the changes in the demographic characteristics of foreign residents in Japan (FRJ) and the current status of FRJ from a global health perspective. We also considered child maltreatment that occurred in FRJ families and language problems in child welfare. Japan's official statistics in the end of 2017 indicated that there were more than 2.

Factors associated with social support in child-rearing among mothers in post-disaster communities.

Background: Natural disasters have long-term negative impacts on the health and socioenvironmental conditions of a population, affecting the physical environment as well as the relationships within the community, including social networks. Mothers in post-disaster communities may have difficulty receiving social support not only from family members and relatives but also from members of their community, such as people in their neighborhoods. This study focused on mothers with infants and preschool-aged children in post-disaster communities.

Associations between childhood experiences of parental corporal punishment and neglectful parenting and undergraduate students' endorsement of corporal punishment as an acceptable parenting strategy.

This study evaluated the effects of childhood experiences of parental corporal punishment (CP) and neglectful parenting (NP) on Japanese university students' endorsement of parental CP (EPP) to discipline children, in relation to subjective happiness (SH). A total of 536 undergraduate students who showed no physical symptoms completed anonymous paper-based questionnaires addressing demographic characteristics, undergraduate classes, and recent health conditions on SF-8 (PCS, MCS). It was found that the proportions of participants who experienced pervasive CP and NP were larger in men than in women (36.

Exploring roles and capacity development of village midwives in Sudanese communities.

Introduction: Home birth remains a strong preference and village midwives are the only option for maternal and neonatal care for many rural women in Sudan. This study assessed whether interventions such as strengthening linkages among health facility/staff, skilled birth attendants and village midwives (VMWs); strengthening the supervision system; and strengthening the governance capacity of local health departments improved their service delivery, and it examined factors linked with improved performance of VMWs in their communities.

Methods: This descriptive study comprised a cross-sectional baseline survey, two intervention years and an endline survey.

Elemental composition and ultrafine structure of the skeleton in shell-bearing protists-A case study of phaeodarians and radiolarians.

Cross-sections were prepared by ultramicrotome (UM) and focused ion beam (FIB) system in order to examine the skeletal structure of ecologically and geologically important shell-bearing protists: phaeodarians and radiolarians. The elemental composition of the skeleton was clarified by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, suggesting that the skeletons of both groups are mainly made of amorphous silica (SiO·nHO) with other minor elements (Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Ca and Fe) and that these two groups have similar elemental composition, compared with other siliceous organisms (diatoms and sponges). However, the structural difference among the two groups was confirmed: phaeodarian skeletons are porous, unlike radiolarians with solid skeletons.

Gazelletta kashiwaensis sp. nov. (Medusettidae, Phaeodaria, Cercozoa), Its Morphology, Phylogeny, Distribution, and Feeding Behavior.

A phaeodarian morphotype, characterized by the feet surrounded with forked pedal spines with anchor-like structures, was collected in the subtropical North Pacific. Considering the morphological and phylogenetic uniqueness, this morphotype is described as Gazelletta kashiwaensis sp. nov.

Changing Knowledge and Practices of Mothers on Newborn Care through Mother Class: An Intervention Study in Indonesia.

Poor knowledge and practices of newborn care may contribute to high neonatal mortality. This study aims to analyze the effect of prenatal education, namely 'mother class', on knowledge and practices of newborn care among mothers in Tangerang Selatan District, Indonesia. An intervention study with a quasi-experimental design was conducted.

A New Phaeodarian Species Discovered from the Japan Sea Proper Water, Auloscena pleuroclada sp. nov. (Aulosphaeridae, Phaeosphaerida, Phaeodaria).

A new phaeodarian species, characterized by the presence of long developed side branches recurved proximally and distally on the surface of its radial tube, was described as Auloscena pleuroclada. This new species was only collected from the layers below the 250 m depth in the Sea of Japan. They have never been found in the shallower layers (above 250 m) of this sea or in other investigated areas.

Molecular Phylogeny of the Widely Distributed Marine Protists, Phaeodaria (Rhizaria, Cercozoa).

Phaeodarians are a group of widely distributed marine cercozoans. These plankton organisms can exhibit a large biomass in the environment and are supposed to play an important role in marine ecosystems and in material cycles in the ocean. Accurate knowledge of phaeodarian classification is thus necessary to better understand marine biology, however, phylogenetic information on Phaeodaria is limited.

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) handbook in Mongolia: a cluster-randomized, controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) handbook in Mongolia to increase antenatal clinic attendance, and to enhance health-seeking behaviors and other health outcomes.

Methods: A cluster randomized trial was conducted using the translated MCH handbook in Bulgan, Mongolia to assess its effectiveness in promoting antenatal care attendance. Pregnant women were recruited from 18 randomly allocated districts using shuffled, sealed envelopes.

Effect of a maternal and child health handbook on maternal knowledge and behaviour: a community-based controlled trial in rural Cambodia.

Maternal and child health (MCH) handbooks are comprehensive home-based booklets designed to integrate MCH records. Although empirical evidence suggests the handbooks are more effective than current card-type records, this has not been scientifically demonstrated. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of the MCH handbook on maternal knowledge and behaviour as measured by antenatal care (ANC) attendance, delivery with skilled birth attendants (SBAs) and delivery at a health facility.