Jobu University

Endometriosis is characterized by the accumulation of immune cells in endometrial lesions and the peritoneal cavity. Macrophages contribute to the growth and neovascularization of endometriotic lesions. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR1) is involved in neovascularization, while peritoneal macrophages (PMs) play a critical role in endometriosis development and establishment. We examined the role of VEGFR1 signaling in PMs during endometriosis development using a murine model of ectopic endometrial transplantation. Endometrial fragments from female wild-type (WT) or VEGFR1 tyrosine kinase-deficient (TK-/-) donor mice were implanted into the peritoneal walls of recipient mice, either in a WT→WT or TK-/-→TK-/- combination. On day 14 after endometrial transplantation, the implant size, neovascular growth-promoting factors, macrophage accumulation in the implants and peritoneal cavity, and cytokine production were assessed. PMs from WT or TK-/- mice were transferred into the peritoneal cavity of WT→WT mice and their effects were assessed. Compared to WT→WT mice, TK-/-→TK-/- mice exhibited smaller implant sizes and reduced neovascularization, including angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis. This was correlated with an increase in pro-inflammatory (M1) and a decrease in alternative (M2) large peritoneal macrophages (LPMs) within the peritoneal cavity. Transfer of TK-/--PMs into the peritoneal cavity of WT→WT mice reduced endometriosis development and macrophage accumulation. This led to increased expression of M1 macrophage genes and decreased expression of M2 phenotype genes, compared to WT-PMs transfer. PMs from TK-/- mice exhibited increased M1-related and decreased M2-related gene expression. Deletion of VEGFR1 TK signaling in PMs suppressed endometriosis progression and neovascularization by increasing M1 LPMs. Specific inactivation of VEGFR1 TK signaling may represent a potential therapeutic target for the management of endometriosis.

Abstract Introduction: Provider shortages, lengthy waitlists, and a variety of other challenges associated with implementing traditional evidence-based strategies to reduce parent stress and improve childhood outcomes have resulted in the development of digital solutions intended to overcome many of these challenges. Unfortunately, provider uptake of many of these digital approaches remains low. The current study examines parent perceptions of usability and changes in their child’s behavior, executive functioning, and impairment following eight weeks of use of a digital contingency management system that overcomes limitations of past approaches and integrates a parent application with a child video game. Method: Ninety children between the ages of 6 and 12 were enrolled in this observational study. Parents were asked to use the digital application for eight weeks and complete the Disruptive Behavior Disorders Rating Scale - Modified (DBD-Modified), Child Executive Function Inventory (CHEXI), and Impairment Rating Scale (IRS) every two weeks. Multilevel models (MLM) were used with repeated observations (Level-1) nested within individual parents (Level-2) to examine changes on these outcomes over time. Results: Small to moderate magnitude improvements in behavior (Cohen’s d = 0.57), executive functioning (Cohen’s d = 0.50), and impairment (Cohen’s d = 0.43) following eight weeks of use were observed. Additionally, most parents found the application easy to use (88.7%), would recommend it to a friend (90.4%) and perceived it as reducing stress (59.7%) and arguments with their child (72.6%). Discussion: This study provides preliminary evidence for the potential benefits of a parent-child digital application leveraging gamification for youth with behavioral and executive functioning challenges.

地震により倒壊した家屋からの人命救助活動の向上に向け，消防，警察等の救助機関において，倒壊家屋内で梁等の下敷きとなっている要救助者の挟圧解除を迅速・的確に行うための検討・検証が進められている．本研究では，2016年熊本地震以降に有効性が確認された「要救助者下部側の破壊・押下げ」による挟圧解除手法について，要救助者周辺の床版の基本的力学性状（床版の剛性）の把握を目的とする実証実験を行った．その結果，救助実務の向上に有用と考えられる知見を5点整理することができた．また，本研究を通じて開発した実験方法（試験治具，実験手順等）は，今後の更なる検討・検証推進に有用な知見を提供するものと考えられ，地震倒壊家屋による人的被害軽減への寄与が期待される．

Evaluating reciprocal inhibition of the thigh muscles is important to investigate the neural circuits of locomotor behaviors. However, measurements of reciprocal inhibition of thigh muscles using spinal reflex, such as H‐reflex, have never been systematically established owing to methodological limitations. The present study aimed to clarify the existence of reciprocal inhibition in the thigh muscles using transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS). Twenty able‐bodied male individuals were enrolled. We evoked spinal reflex from the biceps femoris muscle (BF) by tSCS on the lumber posterior root. We examined whether the tSCS‐evoked BF reflex was reciprocally inhibited by the following conditionings: (1) single‐pulse electrical stimulation on the femoral nerve innervating the rectus femoris muscle (RF) at various inter‐stimulus intervals in the resting condition; (2) voluntary contraction of the RF; and (3) vibration stimulus on the RF. The BF reflex was significantly inhibited when the conditioning electrical stimulation was delivered at 10 and 20 ms prior to tSCS, during voluntary contraction of the RF, and during vibration on the RF. These data suggested a piece of evidence of the existence of reciprocal inhibition from the RF to the BF muscle in humans and highlighted the utility of methods for evaluating reciprocal inhibition of the thigh muscles using tSCS.

Abstract This study examines the effect of the merger between Nippon Oil and Kyushu Oil in 2008 on the Japanese gasoline market. This merger was thought to have a significant impact on the market because the former had the top share in the market at that time. In order to focus on the change in Japanese retail gasoline prices, this study adopts the analysis of difference-in-differences. Because there were many Kyushu Oil stations in the Kyushu region while there were few in other regions, this study compares price changes between the Kyushu and neighboring regions. As a result of the analysis, we find that there was little difference in price changes between the two regions after the merger. JEL codes: L44, G34, L11, D22

IntroductionDisasters and accidents have occurred with increasing frequency in recent years. Primary disasters have the potential to result in mass casualty events involving crush syndrome (CS) and other serious injuries. Prehospital providers and emergency clinicians stand on the front lines of these patients’ evaluation and treatment. However, the bulk of our current knowledge, derived from historical data, has remained unchanged for over ten years. In addition, no evidence-based treatment has been established to date.ObjectiveThis narrative review aims to provide a focused overview of, and update on, CS for both prehospital providers and emergency clinicians.DiscussionCS is a severe systemic manifestation of trauma and ischemia involving soft tissue, principally skeletal muscle, due to prolonged crushing of tissues. Among earthquake survivors, the reported incidence of CS is 2–15%, and mortality is reported to be up to 48%. Patients with CS can develop cardiac failure, kidney dysfunction, shock, systemic inflammation, and sepsis. In addition, late presentations include life-threatening systemic effects such as hypovolemic shock, hyperkalemia, metabolic acidosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. Immediately beginning treatment is the single most important factor in reducing the mortality of disaster-situation CS. In order to reduce complications from CS, early, aggressive resuscitation is recommended in prehospital settings, ideally even before extrication. However, in large-scale natural disasters, it is difficult to diagnose CS, and to reach and start treatments such as continuous administration of massive amounts of fluid, diuresis, and hemodialysis, on time. This may lead to delayed diagnosis of, and high on-site mortality from, CS. To overcome these challenges, new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in the CS animal model have recently been advanced.ConclusionsPatient outcomes can be optimized by ensuring that prehospital providers and emergency clinicians maintain a comprehensive understanding of CS. The field is poised to undergo significant advances in coming years, given recent developments in what is considered possible both technologically and surgically; this only serves to further emphasize the importance of the field, and the need for ongoing research.

The purpose of this research was to clarify the possibility of time-series and quantitative evaluation of the effects of e-sports on emotions from facial images using a recognitional model of facial expressions based on a machine learning. Training and validation data were labeled based on 7600 facial images, and recognitional models of happy, sad, surprise, anger, disgust, fear, and expressionlessness were created with facial expression analysis software. Twenty healthy adult men were enrolled to perform tennis game selected as an esports, and the facial images obtained over time and analyzed. High recognitional performance was obtained especially for the four facial expressions of happy, sad, surprise, and anger when the scores of facial expressions were evaluated from the training data using the recognitional model. A correlation was shown between sad and defeated games, and this validity was also supported by subjective evaluation when applied to a tennis game. This method might be useful as a diagnostic index of emotions in a sensory test.

This study aimed to investigate how the cutaneous reflexes in the peroneus longus (PL) muscle are affected by changing the ankle joint position in patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI). We also investigated the correlation between the degree of reflex modulation and angle position sense of the ankle joint. The participants were 19 patients with CAI and 20 age-matched controls. Cutaneous reflexes were elicited by applying non-noxious electrical stimulation to the sural nerve at the ankle joint in the neutral standing and eversion/inversion standing positions. The suppressive middle latency cutaneous reflex (MLR; ~ 70-120ms) and angle position sense of the ankle joint were assessed. During neutral standing, the gain of the suppressive MLR was more prominent in the CAI patients than in controls, although no significant difference was seen during 30° inversion standing. In addition, the ratios of the suppressive MLR and background electromyography in a neutral position were significantly larger than those at the 15°, 25°, and 30° inversion positions in CAI patients. No such difference was seen in control individuals. Furthermore, the correlations between reflex modulation degree and position sense error were quite different in CAI patients compared to controls. These findings suggest that the sensory-motor system was deteriorated in CAI patients due to changes in the PL cutaneous reflex pathway excitability and position sense of the ankle joint.