Prevalence of Smoking Among 4 Licensed Types of Nursing Personnel in Japan: An Epidemiological Study.

There is a high prevalence of smoking among nursing personnel, despite the fact that nursing is a health care profession. In Japan there are 4 types of licensed nursing professionals. However, the prevalence of smoking among different types of licensed personnel has not been clarified.

Identification and Expression Profiles of microRNA in Dolphin.

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) are focused on the role of biomarker because they are stable in serum and plasma, and some of them express in the specific organs and increase with the organ injury. Thus miRNAs may be very useful as biomarkers for monitoring the health and condition of dolphins and for detecting disorders in aquariums. Here, a small RNA library was made from dolphin lung, liver and spleen, and miRNA expression patterns were then determined for 15 different tissues.

Small Buccal Fat Pad Cells Have High Osteogenic Differentiation Potential.

Dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells derived from mature adipocytes have mesenchymal stem cells' (MSCs) characteristics. Generally, mature adipocytes are 60-110 μm in diameter; however, association between adipocyte size and dedifferentiation efficiency is still unknown. This study, therefore, investigated the dedifferentiation efficiency of adipocytes based on cell diameter.

Tension Force Downregulates Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression and Upregulates the Expression of Their Inhibitors through MAPK Signaling Pathways in MC3T3-E1 cells.

Objective: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), produced by osteoblasts, catalyze the turnover of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules in osteoid, and the regulation of MMP activity depends on interactions between MMPs and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). We focused on the degradation process of ECM in osteoid that was exposed to mechanical strain, and conducted an in vitro study using MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells to examine the effects of tension force (TF) on the expression of MMPs and TIMPs, and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways.

Design: Cells were incubated on flexible-bottomed culture plates and stimulated with or without cyclic TF for 24 hours.