Chubu University

本研究は、若者の利用実態と居場所評価の分析を通じて、複合公共施設が若者の居場所として果たす役割を検討した。事例は2023年に中津川市中心市街地に開館した複合公共施設「ひと・まちテラス」である。高校生145名へのアンケートと職員インタビューを実施し、クラスター分析および重回帰分析により分析した。その結果、本施設は学習だけでなく交流や休息の場としても機能し、利用目的に応じた4つの利用者群が抽出された。また、「落ち着き」や「明るさ」が快適な居場所認識を高め、建築デザインや周辺街並み評価、施設内での居場所感が地域への愛着や誇りと関連することが明らかとなった。これらは、複合公共施設が若者の地域参加や愛着形成に寄与する可能性を示している。

Assessing travel-related Quality of Life (QoL) is a significant challenge due to its reliance on subjective human perception, which is difficult to measure. Traditional studies are often constrained by the limited scope of costly, manual data collection. The significant contribution of this research is the introduction of a new framework that can analyze tourist perception on a large and systematic scale. The novelty of this work lies in the utilization of Google Street View (GSV) as a large-scale visual data source, coupled with the use of a sequence-based model to analyze travel routes, which allows for the simulation of the ever-changing travel experience better than the analysis of single, static images. This framework was applied to a dataset in Phuket, consisting of 456 driving routes, totaling 4,560 sequential images. Visual features were extracted from this image data using Object Detection and Semantic Segmentation techniques and then used to build prediction models with LSTM and KNeighborsRegressor for analysis in conjunction with QoL scores from questionnaires. The analysis revealed key insights into tourist perception patterns, identifying a significant divergence between the culturally homogeneous group of Thai tourists and the highly diverse group of foreign tourists. Furthermore, it was found that tangible quality of life dimensions (e.g., Material Well-being) was perceived more consistently than abstract dimensions (e.g., Emotional Well-being). In conclusion, this research shifts the paradigm of route analysis from focusing solely on efficiency to a human-centric process, providing a new tool for urban planners and stakeholders to understand and improve the quality of the journey in a more profound way.

Painting and drawing are symbolic representations that visually transform natural scenes into line and colour. These visual expressions change through cultural transmission—the process by which artworks are reproduced and modified across individuals or communities. While structured patterns have been observed in transmitted language and music, it remains unclear whether similar structuring occurs in colour use for visual representations. This study investigates the emergence of structured colour expression in painting through cultural transmission. We conducted a transmission chain experiment using colouring books. Participants viewed and memorised a coloured page, then reproduced the colour patterns from memory. Their reproduction was used as the stimulus for the next participant. Two colouring books were used, each with five initial colourings. Each transmission chain involved ten iterations, with 100 participants total (five chains per book). In the final generation, participants used fewer and more consistent colours for recognizable objects compared to the initial random-like patterns. This indicates a structuring of colour use over time. However, familiar colour choices (e.g. green for leaves) emerged in only some chains, showing partial influence of prior object-colour knowledge. Our findings suggest that, like language and music, colour use in visual art becomes structured through cultural transmission. While not all chains developed familiar colouring, the overall simplification and regularity of colour patterns highlight the role of shared knowledge and perceptual expectations in shaping visual cultural evolution.

Hearing loss in older adults is a risk factor for depression, cognitive decline, frailty, and other conditions, and it has various negative physical and psychological effects. Hearing loss care requires the support of medical professionals; however, most hearing care education is targeted at professionals working in hospitals and care facilities, with few interventions aimed at visiting nurses. To address this gap, we developed the "Hearing Loss Care Education Program for the Older Adults" to improve visiting nurses' skills in managing hearing loss. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. This cluster randomized controlled trial was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000053337) and conducted across 22 visiting nursing stations: 11 in the intervention group (60 visiting nurses) and 11 in the control group (42 visiting nurses). The intervention consisted of on-demand lectures and technical exercises, followed by a 3-month follow-up period. The primary outcome was the "implementation of hearing care," whereas the secondary outcomes were "knowledge of hearing care" and "confidence in implementing hearing care." Between-group differences were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. As part of the primary outcome, a significant increase in the implementation of "hearing screening" was observed in the intervention group (odds ratio 8.35, 95% confidence interval 3.60-19.34, p < 0.001). Additionally, the intervention group demonstrated significantly higher "knowledge of hearing care" and "confidence in implementing hearing care." These findings suggest that the program effectively enhanced visiting nurses' knowledge and confidence in hearing care and supports the integration of hearing screening into their routine practice.

Evolutionary transitions in land plant fertilization from zooidogamy to siphonogamy were characterized by transformations of male reproductive cells. Basal land plants such as bryophytes and pteridophytes have motile sperm, whereas most seed plants have nonmotile sperm, delivered by a pollen tube. Despite being seed plants, gymnosperm cycads and ginkgo uniquely form highly multiflagellated and large motile sperm within pollen tubes. However, the evolutionary state of these male reproductive cells remains unknown. We clarified the gene expression profiles of Cycas revoluta pollen tubes and motile sperm swimming toward female reproductive cells. Male cycad cells expressed fewer genes associated with transcription, translation, and related processes, which is consistent across land plants. We compared the distinctive orthologous groups (OGs) of the genes specifically expressed in sperm and pollen tubes with those in other plants. Cycad pollen tubes shared several OGs with angiosperms but possessed significantly fewer gene copies and lacked cell wall remodeling and plasma membrane-localized receptor genes that contribute to rapid and guided growth. The growth mechanism of cycad pollen tubes might be largely different from angiosperm pollen tubes. In contrast, despite their morphological uniqueness, cycad sperm shared representative OGs with angiosperm sperm cells to the same extent as egg cells. In addition, a sperm-specific histone variant may contribute to transcriptional regulation via chromatin condensation like other male gametes. As an extant gymnosperm that retains zooidogamy with pollen tubes, the cycad represents a molecular intermediate state in the transition from zooidogamy to siphonogamy, providing insight into the evolution of land plant fertilization.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) remains a versatile organic solvent used globally. In recent years, immunological occupational diseases such as hypersensitivity syndrome (HS) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) have attracted attention in terms of the number of patients and the life-threatening consequences. This review summarizes mechanisms underlying HS pathogenesis based on the available literature. TCE-HS is a disease attributable to anti-CYP2E1 autoantibodies and HLA-B13:01 as susceptibility gene and is characterized by systemic skin lesions, severe-to-moderate liver damage, fever above 38°C, leukocytosis, lymphadenopathy, and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6) reactivation with elevated inflammatory cytokines, which are all similar to the characteristics of drug-induced HS. TCE-HS occurs on average 1month after the commencement of exposure to TCE, which is shorter than the corresponding period for SSc. Recent epidemiological and animal studies have clarified the mechanism of pathogenesis: the oxidative metabolites chloral hydrate, dichloroacetyl chloride, and trichloroethanol, which are produced by CYP2E1, amplify the methylation of CD4+ T cells and activate them, resulting in the upregulation of cytokines such as TNF-α. Subsequently, some unidentified but oxidized metabolite haptens are assumed to activate CD8+ T cells with HLA-B*13:01, resulting in the production of anti-CYP2E1 autoantibodies. Subsequently, HHV6 is reactivated, leading to the development of skin and hepatic injuries. Whether skin lesions develop through a pathophysiological mechanism originating from hepatic lesions or by the same mechanism as the development of hepatic lesions remains unclear. Although disease contours have been clarified, further studies are required to elucidate its pathogenesis.

Introduction: REV7 functions in various biological processes, including the DNA damage response. REV7 expression has been linked to the prognosis and chemoresistance in several human cancers. This study investigated the significance of REV7 in gallbladder adenocarcinoma (GBAC). Methods: REV7 expression was examined immunohistochemically in 77 resected GBAC specimens, and its association with clinicopathological features was analyzed. REV7-depleted GBAC cell lines were established, and the biological effects of REV7 depletion were evaluated. Results: High REV7 expression in GBAC tissues correlated with increased cell proliferation, as assessed by Ki-67 labeling indices (p < 0.001), and was associated with a trend toward shorter overall survival (p = 0.070) and significantly shorter post-progression survival (p = 0.035). REV7-knockout and REV7-knockdown cell lines derived from NOZ and G415 GBAC cells (NOZ-KO and G415-KD, respectively) showed reduced proliferation and increased sensitivity to cisplatin; however, REV7 depletion did not affect cell migration and invasion. Reintroduction of REV7 into NOZ-KO cells restores chemoresistance. Furthermore, RNA sequencing analysis comparing wild-type NOZ and NOZ-KOs revealed that REV7 inactivation downregulates genes involved in the DNA damage response. Conclusion: REV7 may contribute to tumor progression and chemoresistance in GBAC and may serve as a prognostic biomarker and molecular target for GBAC management.

CD109 is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein that is upregulated in various human cancers and exhibits tumor-promoting effects. In this study, we investigated the role of CD109 in gallbladder adenocarcinoma (GBAC). CD109 expression in 77 resected GBAC samples was immunohistochemically evaluated. CD109 expression in tumor cells correlated with TNM stage, N factor, histological grade, lymphatic invasion, and perineural invasion and was associated with reduced disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Stromal CD109 expression was detected in several cases, similar to that of α-SMA and FAP, suggesting its presence in cancer-associated fibroblasts. Stromal expression was also correlated with TNM stage, N factor, perineural invasion, and reduced DFS. Combined analysis of CD109 expression in tumor and stromal cells further stratified patients by prognosis. CD109 overexpression in GBAC cell lines induced the expression of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. Analyses using a public database revealed the association between CD109 and EMT-related gene expression in biliary tract cancer cell lines. Moreover, CD109 depletion promoted enhanced transforming growth factor-β1/Smad3 signaling and attenuated epidermal growth factor/AKT signaling in GBAC cells in a cell type-dependent manner. Collectively, these findings suggest that CD109 may serve as a prognostic biomarker of tumor progression and outcome in GBAC.