The objective of this study was to investigate changes in physical activity (PA) between January (before the COVID-19 epidemic) and April (during the COVID-19 epidemic) 2020 in community-dwelling ...older adults in Japan.
Cross-sectional online survey.
From April 23 to 27, 2020, an online survey was completed by 1,600 community-dwelling older adults in Japan.
We assessed the frailty status using the Kihon checklist, and other demographics and asked questions regarding PA at two time points: January and April 2020. We defined the total PA time (minutes) per week based on activity frequency and time.
The study participants' mean age, proportion of women, and prevalence of frailty were 74.0±5.6 years, 50% (n=800), and 24.3% (n=388), respectively. We found a significant decrease in total PA time in April 2020 (median interquartile range (IQR), 180 0 to 420) when compared to January 2020 (median IQR, 245 90 to 480) (P<0.001). We also performed a subgroup analysis according to the frailty category; total PA time significantly decreased in April 2020 when compared to January 2020 for all frailty categories (P<0.001).
In conclusion, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the total PA time in April 2020 significantly decreased compared to that in January 2020 in older adults. This finding may lead to a higher incidence of disability in the near future in older people.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to investigate changes in physical activity (PA) between January (before the COVID-19 epidemic) and April (during the COVID-19 epidemic) 2020 in ...community-dwelling older adults in Japan.
Design
Cross-sectional online survey.
Setting and Subjects
From April 23 to 27, 2020, an online survey was completed by 1,600 community-dwelling older adults in Japan.
Methods
We assessed the frailty status using the Kihon checklist, and other demographics and asked questions regarding PA at two time points: January and April 2020. We defined the total PA time (minutes) per week based on activity frequency and time.
Results
The study participants’ mean age, proportion of women, and prevalence of frailty were 74.0±5.6 years, 50% (n=800), and 24.3% (n=388), respectively. We found a significant decrease in total PA time in April 2020 (median interquartile range (IQR), 180 0 to 420) when compared to January 2020 (median IQR, 245 90 to 480) (P<0.001). We also performed a subgroup analysis according to the frailty category; total PA time significantly decreased in April 2020 when compared to January 2020 for all frailty categories (P<0.001).
Conclusion
In conclusion, due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the total PA time in April 2020 significantly decreased compared to that in January 2020 in older adults. This finding may lead to a higher incidence of disability in the near future in older people.
Objectives
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity (PA) and the incidence of frailty among initially non-frail older adults in ...Japan.
Design
A follow-up online survey.
Setting and Subjects
Among the 1,600 baseline online survey participants, 388 adults were already frail, and 275 older adults did not respond to the follow-up survey. Thus, the final number of participants in this study was 937 (follow-up rate: 77.3%).
Methods
We assessed the total PA time at four time points according to the COVID-19 waves in Japan: January 2020 (before the pandemic), April 2020 (during the first wave), August 2020 (during the second wave), and January 2021 (during the third wave). We then investigated the incidence of frailty during a one-year follow-up period (during the pandemic).
Results
The total PA time during the first, second, and third waves of the pandemic decreased from the pre-pandemic PA time by 33.3%, 28.3%, and 40.0%, respectively. In particular, the total PA time of older adults who were living alone and socially inactive decreased significantly: 42.9% (first wave), 50.0% (second wave), and 61.9% (third wave) less than before the pandemic, respectively. Additionally, they were at a significantly higher risk of incident frailty than those who were not living alone and were socially active (adjusted odds ratio: 2.04 95% confidence interval: 1.01–4.10).
Conclusion
Our findings suggest that older adults who live alone and are socially inactive are more likely to experience incident frailty/disability due to decreased PA during the pandemic. Understanding this mechanism may be crucial for maintaining the health status of older adults.
Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease is a neurodegenerative disorder pathologically characterized by eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions. A high-intensity signal along the ...corticomedullary junction on DWI has been described as a specific MR imaging finding of the cerebrum in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease. However, MR imaging findings of the cerebellum in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease have not been fully evaluated. Here, we review MR imaging findings of the cerebellum in a series of 8 patients with pathologically confirmed neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease. The MR imaging results showed cerebellar atrophy (8/8 patients) and high-intensity signal on FLAIR images in the medial part of the cerebellar hemisphere right beside the vermis (the "paravermal area") (6/8) and in the middle cerebellar peduncle (4/8). The paravermal abnormal signals had a characteristic distribution, and they could be an indicator of the diagnosis of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease even when using the results of past MR imaging examinations in which DWI findings were not examined.
The rotational dynamics of carbon monoxide (CO) in a molten salt, ionic liquids (ILs), and alkanes were investigated by 17O NMR T 1 measurements using labeled C17O. The molten salt and the studied ...ILs have the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide anion (NTf2−) in common. In hexane near room temperature, the rotational relaxation times are close to the values predicted from the slip boundary condition in the Stokes–Einstein–Debye (SED) theory. However, in contradiction to the theoretical prediction, the rotational relaxation times decrease as the value of η/T increases, where η and T are the viscosity and absolute temperature, respectively. In other alkanes and ILs used in this study, the rotational relaxation times are much faster than those predicted by SED, and show a unique dependence on the number of alkyl carbons. For the same value of η/T, the CO rotational relaxation times in ILs composed of short-alkyl-chain-length imidazolium cations (1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) are close to those for a molten salt (CsNTf2). On the other hand, the rotational relaxation times in ILs composed of long-chain-length imidazolium (1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium) and phosphonium (tributylmethylphosphonium and tetraoctylphosphonium) cations are much shorter than the SED predictions. This deviation from theory increases as the alkyl chain length increases. We also found that the rotational relaxation times in dodecane and squalane are similar to those in ILs with a similar number of alkyl carbons. These results are discussed in terms of heterogeneous solvation and in comparison with the translational diffusion of CO in ILs.
Ubiquitin (Ub) modification plays an essential role in the regulation of various cellular processes. Ub performs a remarkable array of cellular tasks through the production of a large number of ...ubiquitinated proteins; such tasks require many Ubs. Ubs are expressed abundantly from several Ub encoding genes, though not in excess. Rather, Ub expression is tightly regulated through various control mechanisms. Recent studies have shown that the cellular Ub level is regulated by balanced activities of deubiquitinating enzymes and their regulators. Here, we review the current understandings of the regulatory mechanisms that control Ub expression and its metabolism and maintain Ub homeostasis.
Resumen Antecedentes La presencia de fibrosis hepática es el denominador común de numerosas enfermedades crónicas del hígado que pueden evolucionar a fibrosis y a hepatocarcinoma. Las más importantes ...por su frecuencia son las hepatitis virales y el hígado graso no alcohólico, cuya prevalencia aumenta en proporciones epidémicas. La biopsia hepática, aun cuando imperfecta, continúa siendo el estándar de oro que tiende a ser reemplazado en muchas situaciones clínicas por métodos de imagen no invasivos. Objetivos Describir la experiencia obtenida en nuestro departamento de imagen con la técnica de elastografía por resonancia magnética, analizar y comentar los resultados publicados por otros autores en la literatura reciente en gastroenterología, hepatología y radiología, complementada con una búsqueda en PubMed de los últimos 10 años. Resultados y conclusiones La elastografía por resonancia magnética es un método no invasivo y eficaz, cuyos resultados tienen concordancia con la biopsia hepática, presenta superioridad sobre los métodos de elastografía por ultrasonido debido a que evalúa un volumen mucho mayor de tejido hepático y muestra la distribución de las lesiones que, a menudo, es heterogénea. La mayor ventaja del protocolo de resonancia magnética descrito estriba en cuantificar en la misma sesión, además de la fibrosis, el contenido de grasa y de hierro, lo cual se realiza en una exploración dirigida específicamente a este fin, en un tiempo de 25 min y a un costo-beneficio favorable para el paciente y la institución.
In this study, dense sintered polycrystalline compacts (relative density: >95%) of Tysonite-type fluoride ion conductor, La0.93Ba0.07F2.93, with different grain sizes were prepared by applying the ...spark plasma sintering method, and their electrical conductivities were evaluated in order to understand the influence of microstructures on the ionic conductivity. The conductivity of the prepared compacts increased when increasing the sintering temperature up to 1273 K, and showed the highest value, e.g. 7.1 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 300 K, which was much higher than the reported values for sintered compacts of the same material. These were because the application of the spark plasma sintering technique enabled us the high densification of the sintered compacts and the increase in the sintering temperature enhanced the grain growth resulting in the decrease in the grain boundary resistance. The inhibitory effect of grain boundary on the ionic conduction was not significant when the density of the polycrystalline compacts was sufficiently high. On the other hand, when the sintering temperature was higher than 1273 K, small pores were formed along the grain boundaries and the conductivity was degraded with increasing the sintering temperature. Such a decrease in the conductivity could be interpreted by the increase in the grain boundary resistance due to the pore formation by the high temperature sintering. This work demonstrated that, for sintering polycrystalline (La,Ba)F3-based fluoride ion conductors, there is an optimum preparation condition to achieve the optimum microstructure i.e. high density, large grain size, and clean grain boundary, for high fluoride ion conduction.
•Dense (La,Ba)F3 compacts with different grain sizes were prepared by the spark plasma sintering.•Bulk and grain boundary conductivities were evaluated separately.•Influences of microstructures on ionic conductivity of (La,Ba)F3 were investigated.
Aim
Phase angle (PhA) can be determined through bioelectrical impedance analysis and is a unique variable for skeletal muscle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between PhA ...and muscle mass/quality in older adults. In addition, we attempted to determine the cutoff value of PhA for poor muscle function.
Methods
Community-dwelling Japanese older men (n=285, 81.1±7.1 years) and women (n=724, 80.4±6.8 years) participated in this study and were classified into four groups based on the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (normal, presarcopenia, dynapenia, and sarcopenia). We measured PhA using bioelectrical impedance analysis, muscle quantity and quality indicators using ultrasonography, muscle strength, and physical performance and compared them in four groups. We also tried to determine the cutoff value of PhA for poor muscle function.
Results
We found a significant difference in PhA among the four groups in men (P<0.05), and the dynapenia (3.61±0.75°) and sarcopenia groups (3.40±0.74°) showed significantly lower values than the normal group (4.50±0.86°) (P<0.05), but not the presarcopenia group (4.12±0.85°). In women, a significant difference was also observed among the four groups (P<0.05), and the dynapenia (3.41±0.65°) and sarcopenia groups (3.31±0.66°) showed significantly lower measures than the normal group (4.14±0.71°) (P<0.05), but not the presarcopenia group (4.07±0.51°). The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis indicated the best cutoff value of PhA (men: 4.05°, women: 3.55°) to discriminate sarcopenia and dynapenia from normal and presarcopenia.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that PhA is a useful indicator for muscle function.
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy utilizes our immune system to attack cancer cells and is an extremely promising strategy for cancer treatment. Although immune-checkpoint blockade, such as anti-PD-1 ...(programmed cell death 1) antibody, has demonstrated significant enhancement of anti-tumor immunity and has induced notable clinical outcomes, its response rates remain low, and adverse effects are always a matter of concern; therefore, new targets for cancer immunotherapy are always desired. In this situation, new concepts are needed to fuel the investigation of new target molecules for cancer immunotherapy. We propose that CD69 is one such target molecule. CD69 is known to be an activation marker of leukocytes and is also considered a crucial regulator of various immune responses through its interacting proteins. CD69 promotes T-cell retention in lymphoid tissues via sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) internalization and also plays roles in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders through interacting with its functional ligands Myl9/12 (myosin light chains 9, 12a and 12b). In anti-tumor immunity, CD69 is known to be expressed on T cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs). We revealed that CD69 negatively regulates the effector function of intratumoral T cells and importantly controls the ‘exhaustion’ of CD8 T cells. In addition, we and others showed that either CD69 deficiency or the administration of anti-CD69 monoclonal antibody enhances anti-tumor immunity. Thus, CD69 is an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy.
CD69 controls anti-tumor immunity
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
PDF
