MOTS-c modulates skeletal muscle function by directly binding and activating CK2.

MOTS-c is a mitochondrial microprotein that improves metabolism. Here, we demonstrate CK2 is a direct and functional target of MOTS-c. MOTS-c directly binds to CK2 and activates it in cell-free systems.

Perceived Age Discrimination has Different Effects on Japanese People's Wellbeing Based on Age Groups.

This study elucidates the direct and indirect effects of perceived age discrimination on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction among young, middle-aged, and older adults-through the mediator variables of psychosocial resources and aging stereotypes. Data were collected through a web-based survey conducted in Japan. The total sample size was 2400: 400 men and women in each of the age groups 20 to 39, 40 to 59, and 60 to 79.

Microfocus X-Ray Computed Tomography of (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida) with an Evaluation of Histological Sections After Scanning.

Microfocus X-ray computed tomography (micro-CT) is expected to be utilized in the taxonomy of macroturbellarians that require histological technique(s) for identification, allowing nondestructive observation of the internal structures of specimens in a short time. With micro-CT, we observed a polyclad flatworm, (Schmarda, 1859), in this study. In the CT images, the main reproductive organs in the polyclad specimen were well observed, but some diagnostic characters were unclear or undetectable.

Health Information Source Patterns and Dietary Variety among Older Adults Living in Rural Japan.

Dietary variety is associated with some health outcomes among older adults. Rural areas, however, often have difficulty accessing health information that influences dietary variety. This study aimed to identify patterns of health information sources by using latent class analysis and assess their association with dietary variety among older adults aged ≥ 75 in rural Japan (n = 411).

Associations between information and communication technology use and frailty in community-dwelling old-old adults: results from the ILSA-J.

Objectives: Frailty is a significant cause of adverse health events including long-term care and hospitalization. Although information and communication technology (ICT) has become an integral part of modern life, it remains unclear whether ICT use is associated with frailty.

Design: A cross-sectional study (Integrated Longitudinal Studies on Aging in Japan, ILSA-J).

Development and Validation of the Meiji Nutritional Profiling System (Meiji NPS) to Address Dietary Needs of Adults and Older Adults in Japan.

This study introduces the Meiji Nutritional Profiling System (Meiji NPS), which was specifically designed to respond to age-related shifts in nutrient requirements among Japanese adults (<65 years old) and older adults (≥65 years old). Japan has one of the most aged societies in the world. The health issues of interest are malnutrition and lifestyle-related diseases among adults and frailty among older adults.

Higher-level competence: Results from the Integrated Longitudinal Studies on Aging in Japan (ILSA-J) on the shape of associations with impaired physical and cognitive functions.

Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationships between levels of competence and impaired physical and cognitive functions in older adults.

Methods: We used a data set of the Integrated Longitudinal Studies on Aging in Japan for 2017 including 5475 community-dwelling older adults. Levels of competence were assessed using the Japan Science and Technology Agency Index of Competence (JST-IC).

Conformational preference of 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanol studied by supersonic jet spectroscopy: Intramolecular OH/π interaction.

A π-type hydrogen bonding between the OH group and the π electron is a crucial factor for the conformational preference of the molecular structure with a flexible group. However, the information on the effect of the substituent on the OH/π interaction is insufficient. The laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) excitation, the dispersed fluorescence (DF), the IR-UV hole-burning, and the IR dip spectra of jet-cooled 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethanol were measured for the first time.

[Blood pressure and pulse rate changes immediately after bathing and immediately after leaving the bath in elderly people living in the community].

Introduction: Although the number of deaths in bathtubs in homes and residential facilities for the elderly has been decreasing slightly since 2017, it is still 4,900 (2019), which is almost twice the number of traffic accident deaths.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate blood pressure and pulse fluctuations in community-dwelling elderly people during bathing, and to examine the alert range to determine when heat shock occurs.

Methods: Ten elderly men (72.

Influence of medical care tasks on subjective burden and gain among older adults' family caregivers: structural equation modeling for testing the role of formal and informal support.

Background: The number of caregivers performing medical care tasks at home for older adults is expected to increase. Family caregivers, who are not healthcare professionals, are likely to find these activities difficult and burdensome. However, appropriate support may decrease the negative and increase the positive aspects of caregiving.

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Professional Fulfillment Index among healthcare professionals: A validation study.

Objectives: Translation of the Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI) into Japanese would be more useful than the currently developed scales for appropriately measuring burnout and professional fulfillment in healthcare professionals. This study aimed to develop the Japanese version of the PFI and examine its internal consistency, structural validity, and convergent validity in healthcare professionals.

Methods: Healthcare professionals in Japan were recruited online.

The transcriptional changes underlying the flowering phenology shift of Arabidopsis halleri in response to climate warming.

Climate warming is causing shifts in key life-history events, including flowering time. To assess the impacts of increasing temperature on flowering phenology, it is crucial to understand the transcriptional changes of genes underlying the phenological shifts. Here, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of genes contributing to the flowering phenology shifts in response to increasing temperature by monitoring the seasonal expression dynamics of 293 flowering-time genes along latitudinal gradients in the perennial herb, Arabidopsis halleri.

Association Between Attitudes Toward Trauma Informed Care and Psychological First-Aid Training Experience Among Health Care Professionals in Japan.

Objective: Trauma informed care (TIC) is an important approach for people who have experienced trauma. Although psychological first aid (PFA) may be effective training in TIC, no study reported an association between PFA training and TIC. This study aimed to investigate the association between PFA training and attitudes toward TIC among health care professionals in Japan.

Inverse Association between Cheese Consumption and Lower Cognitive Function in Japanese Community-Dwelling Older Adults Based on a Cross-Sectional Study.

Diet modification may contribute to the prevention of age-related cognitive decline. The association between dairy product consumption and cognitive function in older people remains unknown. We investigated whether cheese intake is associated with lower cognitive function (LCF) in community-dwelling older adults.

Consumer Evaluation of Agricultural Products Produced in Areas Affected by Natural Disasters: A Case Study of Damaged Apples in Japan.

This study examines how consumers perceive agricultural products affected by natural disasters, using apples in Japan as a case study. Typhoons and other natural disasters frequently damage the surface of apples during the production season, causing significant harm to farmers' businesses, particularly when a large typhoon hits the production area. To maintain the sustainability of agricultural production, consumers need to purchase damaged crops at a certain price.

Effects of Two Electron-Donating and/or -Withdrawing Substituents on Two-Photon Absorption for Diphenylacetylene Derivatives.

Two-photon absorption for diphenylacetylene (DPA) derivatives with two substituents (-OMe and/or -NO) at the 4,4'-position was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The two-photon absorption spectra and the two-photon absorption cross-sections σ for DPA derivatives were obtained by optical-probing photoacoustic spectroscopy (OPPAS). The simulated two-photon absorption spectra of the DPA derivatives, obtained with the time-dependent density functional theory within the Tamm-Dancoff approximation, agreed well with the experimental ones.

The Attitudes of Nursing Home Staff Toward Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Residents in Tokyo: A Vignette Survey.

This study aimed to elucidate the dimensions of reactions to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) residents among staff of intensive-care nursing homes for older adults and the factors related to these dimensions. A questionnaire survey was administered by mail to the staff ( = 607) of 26 nursing homes in Tokyo whose directors agreed to cooperate. We used a vignette approach for the survey and asked the staff how they imagined the residents' wishes and their own reactions.

sp. nov., an Interstitial Polyclad Flatworm Showing a Wide Distribution along Japanese Coasts.

We establish a new interstitial polyclad species, sp. nov., based on specimens collected from coarse-sandy habitats in three Japanese main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku) along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan.

The Impact of Japan's Soft Lockdown on Depressive Symptoms among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

This study investigated the impact of stay-at-home orders on depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was administered to older adults living in Ayase City, Kanagawa Prefecture, in July 2020, after the Japanese government declared its first COVID-19 state of emergency and stay-at-home order. In a sample of 1056 people, 69.

Influence of dialysis-related stigma on health-related indicators in Japanese patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Introduction: Focusing on impacts to health-related indicators in older Japanese patients, this study analyzed both the direct influence of dialysis-related stigma and influences of its intersectionality with other stigmatized characteristics.

Methods: Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 7461 outpatients in dialysis facilities. Other stigmatized characteristics include lower income, lower education, disabled activities of daily living, and diabetic end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as a cause for starting dialysis treatment.

[Psychosocial mediators between socioeconomic status and oral health among urban-dwelling older adults].

Objectives　This study examined the psychosocial mediators that most effectively mediate the socioeconomic status (SES)-based differences in oral health (OH) among urban-dwelling older adults.Methods　A representative sample of individuals aged ≥65 years living in two areas with different residential SES in Tokyo produced 739 effective participants. OH was based on the total score of subjective sense of health, number of remaining teeth, and oral function.

Prognosis of home-cared or hospital-treated acute fever in older adults: A prospective multicenter case-control study.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the differences in the prognosis of older patients who received home care or hospitalized care to treat acute fever in Japan.

Methods: This prospective case-control study screened 192 registered acutely pyrexic older patients who received home care at 10 medical institutions in Japan, and enrolled 15 and 30 patients who were treated in the hospital (hospitalized group) and at home (home-care group), respectively, matched for fever and the physical conditions before fever onset. Intergroup differences in the 90-day mortality from fever onset and changes in patients' disability and dementia from the pre-fever to 90 days post-fever onset were determined.

A non-pharmacological multidomain intervention of dual-task exercise and social activity affects the cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults with mild to moderate cognitive decline: A randomized controlled trial.

The present study aimed to determine the impact of a 10-month multidomain program using dual-task exercise and social activity conducted at a community-based facility on improved cognitive function in older adults with mild to moderate cognitive decline. The participants included 280 community-dwelling older adults (age 71-91 years) with mild to moderate cognitive decline. The intervention group exercised for 90 min/day, once a week.

single-leg medial drop landing with trunk lean includes improper body mechanics related to anterior cruciate ligament injury risk: A comparison of body mechanics between successful trials and failed trials in the drop landing test among female basketball athletes.

Background: Improper body mechanics during landing is a typical risk factor of anterior cruciate ligament injury. Drop landing test is used to evaluate landing mechanics by observing not only successful trials but also failed trials. Leaning of the trunk, which is frequently observed during failed trials, may lead to improper body mechanics related to anterior cruciate ligament injury.