Ameliorative effects of squid phospholipids from Todarodes pacificus on atopic dermatitis-like lesions in NC/Nga mice.

Atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as eczema, is a chronic or relapsing inflammatory skin disease characterized by repeated exacerbations and remissions. Here, we investigated the effects of squid phospholipids (PLs) extracted from Todarodes pacificus on AD. The composition of squid PLs was analyzed using thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography, and the effects of PLs on AD were investigated using a rat paw edema model and an AD-like mouse model (NC/Nga mice).

Hederagenin Glycoside Isolated from the Pericarps of Fruits Induces Apoptotic Cell Death in Breast Cancer Cells.

Background/aim: Hederagenin (3β,4α-3,23-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid) is a natural pentacyclic triterpene that is present in various medicinal plants and exhibits pharmacological activities against various diseases, including cancer. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of Aq3639 (3β-[(O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-α-L-arabinopyranosyl)oxy]olean-12-en-28-oic acid), a hederagenin glycoside comprising hederagenin and a disaccharide of L-rhamnose and L-arabinose, on breast cancer cells.

Materials And Methods: Aq3639 was isolated from the pericarps of Akebia quinata fruits, and its effects on cells from the human breast cell line MCF-7 were examined.

Garlic ( L.) Organosulfur Compounds Inhibit Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation by Decreasing Steroid Sulfatase Levels.

Background/aim: Breast cancer is mostly affected by estrogen, which promotes proliferation, tumorigenesis, and cancer progression. Estrogen sulfotransferase (SULT1E1) catalyzes sulfation to inactivate estrogens, whereas steroid sulfatase (STS) catalyzes estrogen sulfate hydrolysis to activate estrogens in breast cancer cells. Three major organosulfur compounds in garlic (Allium sativum L.

Relative age effect on the physical activity and sedentary behavior in children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years old: a cross-sectional study in Japan.

Background: Few studies have shown that relatively younger children and adolescents (those born later in the same school year) were less likely to engage in physical activity in a phenomenon termed the relative age effect. Although these studies mainly targeted elementary and middle school students, no study has reported on the relative age effect on physical activity in ordinary high school students. Moreover, the relative age effect on sedentary behavior might show an opposite association with physical activity.

The association between milk and dairy products intake and insomnia symptoms among Japanese adults in community-based cohort.

To examine the association between habitual intake of milk and dairy products and insomnia. Cross-sectional study by using cohort study data among 60,633 participants (22,721 men and 37,912 women) aged 20-74 years in eastern Japan. The data of milk and dairy products intake, sleep status and other lifestyle habits were collected by self-administered questionnaires.

Number of teeth and functional disability in community-dwelling older adults.

Introduction: This study determined whether tooth loss was associated with the development of functional disability and estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF) of functional disability due to tooth loss, along with risk factors for functional disability such as physical function and cognitive impairment.

Methods: The participants were 838 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥70 years living in the Tsurugaya district in Japan in 2003. The exposure variable was the number of remaining teeth (counted by trained dentists).

Effects of continuous supplementation of Harms on the cardiac autonomic function of community-dwelling elderly individuals during resting and standing tests: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cardiac autonomic function (CAF) decreases with aging, and Harms (ASH) consumption reportedly induces anti-stress effects. This study aimed to assess the effect of continuous supplementation of ASH on CAF during resting and standing tests in the elderly population.

Methods: This double-blind, randomized controlled trial was conducted in the morning in a laboratory setting and was carried out between June 2017 and July 2017 at Kambaikan, Doshisha University (Karasuma-higashi-iru, Imadegawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8580, Japan).

[Evaluation of the relationship between household economic situation and food group intake in children attending nursery school].

Objectives　The relationship between household income and dietary intake among older children and adults in Japan has been studied. However, few studies have examined the relationship in younger children, and we believe that this should be taken into consideration from early childhood to correct health disparities. In this study, we examined the relationship between family income and dietary food group intake, and investigated the adequacy of food intake based on the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top for young children aged 3 to 6 years attending nursery school.

Associations of Dental Health With the Progression of Hippocampal Atrophy in Community-Dwelling Individuals: The Ohasama Study.

Background And Objectives: Although tooth loss and periodontitis have been considered risk factors of Alzheimer disease, recent longitudinal researches have not found a significant association with hippocampal atrophy. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify a longitudinal association between the number of teeth present (NTP) and hippocampal atrophy dependent on the severity of periodontitis in a late middle-aged and older adult population.

Methods: This study included community-dwelling individuals aged 55 years or older who had no cognitive decline and had undergone brain MRI and oral and systemic data collection twice at 4-year intervals.

Development of University of Tokyo's eating disorders inventory in female athletes.

Aims: This study aimed to develop a scale to screen for eating disorders in female athletes.

Methods: Preliminary survey: A total of 275 female athletes (mean age: 19.4 ± 1.

Japanese version of the Brief Sense of Community Scale: construct validity and reliability.

Background: The Brief Sense of Community Scale is a widely accepted eight-item scale that measures the four dimensions of sense of community; however, the factor structure of the Japanese version of this scale has never been confirmed. In this study, we demonstrated the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Brief Sense of Community Scale.

Methods: After completing the back translation of the scale, a sample of 993 Japanese individuals completed the Japanese version of the Brief Sense of Community Scale.

Neighborhood-level socioeconomic factors moderate the association between physical activity and relative age effect: a cross-sectional survey study with Japanese adolescents.

Background: Relative age effect is defined as a phenomenon where children born early generally perform better than children born later in the same cohort. Physical activity is an important factor that might be influenced by the relative age effect. Socioeconomic factors (e.

Young people's perspectives of thyroid cancer screening and its harms after the nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture: a questionnaire survey indicating opt-out screening strategy of the thyroid examination as an ethical issue.

Background: Overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer has become a major global medical issue. Ultrasound-based thyroid cancer screening has promoted overdiagnosis, and recently international recommendations state that it should not be conducted, even after a nuclear accident. The Fukushima thyroid cancer screening program was initiated in 2011 as a health policy after the nuclear accident.

Relationship between maximum occlusal force and gastrointestinal cancer in community-dwelling older Japanese adults.

Globally, the cancer burden is expected to increase as populations are ageing. Therefore, cancer prevention among older age groups is important. This prospective cohort study examined the relationship between the number of remaining teeth, maximum occlusal force, and incidence of gastrointestinal cancer in community-dwelling older Japanese individuals using data from the Tsurugaya project; 847 participants were included.

Trajectory and factors of radiation risk perception of students aged 10-12 years at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident.

Various studies have investigated radiation risk perceptions after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. However, student surveys are limited. This study aimed to investigate the perception of radiation risk among students aged 18-20 years who were in the 5th and 6th grades of elementary school at the time of the accident.

Behavioral and electrophysiological investigations of effects of temporal regularity on illusory-figure processing.

The allocation of limited processing resources at an appropriate timing should be critical for selecting incoming signals. On the other hand, perceptual organization, which relatively automatically integrates fragmentary elements into coherent objects, should also be critical to decrease the processing load. By indexing behavioral measures and event-related potentials (ERPs), this study examined the effects of temporal regularity, which makes it possible to predict the time at which stimuli occur, on task-unrelated early processing of perceptual organization.

Oral health-related quality of life is associated with the prevalence and development of depressive symptoms in older Japanese individuals: The Ohasama Study.

Objective: This prospective study investigated the cross-sectional association between impaired oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and the prevalence of depressive symptoms, and the longitudinal association between impaired OHRQoL and development of depressive symptoms among older adults.

Background: Previous studies have shown a relationship between poor oral health and depression among older adults; however, findings are inconsistent.

Materials And Methods: Participants were 669 community-dwelling older Japanese individuals aged≥55 years (mean: 67.

An ethical dimension to accident management and health surveillance.

Many radiation protection actions carry a multitude of direct and indirect consequences that can impact on the welfare of affected populations. Health surveillance raises ethical challenges linked to privacy and data protection, as well as questions about the net benefit of screening. The SHAMISEN project recognized these issues and developed specific recommendations to highlight ethical challenges.

Statistical parametric mapping of three-dimensional local activity distribution of skeletal muscle using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Analysis of the internal local activity distribution in human skeletal muscles is important for managing muscle fatigue/pain and dysfunction. However, no method is established for three-dimensional (3D) statistical analysis of features of activity regions common to multiple subjects during voluntary motor tasks. We investigated the characteristics of muscle activity distribution from the data of ten healthy subjects (29 ± 1 year old, 2 women) during voluntary teeth clenching under two different occlusal conditions by applying spatial normalization and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) to analysis of muscle functional magnetic resonance imaging (mfMRI) using increase in transverse relaxation time (T2) of the skeletal muscle induced by exercise.

Relationship Between Oral Health and Fractures in Community-Dwelling Older Japanese Adults.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between poor oral health and the incidence of fall-related fractures in older Japanese individuals.

Design: A 9-year prospective cohort study.

Setting And Participants: Participants comprised 937 community-dwelling older Japanese adults aged 70 years or older.

The Association between Number of Remaining Teeth and Maintenance of Successful Aging in Japanese Older People: A 9-Year Longitudinal Study.

With population aging, an increasing attention has been paid to quality of life rather than mere longevity. Now, it is urgently needed to clarify predictors of well-being in later life, i.e.

Cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms lead to biases in self-evaluated masticatory performance among community-dwelling older Japanese adults: the Tsurugaya Project.

Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to examine if cognitive impairment, depressive symptoms, and their combination are associated with biases between self-evaluated and measured masticatory performance in community-dwelling older Japanese adults.

Methods: The sample constituted of 804 community-dwelling elderly Japanese individuals aged ≥70 years. Cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination and Geriatric Depression Scale, respectively.