Promoting health and productivity management in small companies through outreach-based public-private partnership: the Yokohama Linkworker Project.

Introduction: With health promotion initiatives in small companies lagging behind those in larger corporations, strengthening health and productivity management in small companies through innovative strategies is an urgent priority. We hypothesized that an outreach strategy involving a public-private partnership would be beneficial for this purpose. The present study examines the implementation of a public-private partnership strategy in Yokohama City, Japan, assessing its impact on health and productivity management in small enterprises, focusing on implementation outcomes. Methods: As part of the Yokohama Linkworker Project (Y-Link Project), this study describes and examines a public-private partnership program in Yokohama City, Japan, involving the city's government and a private life insurance company. Trained insurance sales representatives served as "Linkworkers" for the program, reaching out to small enterprises in the city. These Linkworkers provided tailored support to these companies, assisting them with obtaining the "Yokohama Health and Productivity Management Certification" issued by the City of Yokohama authorities and collaborating with external entities to offer health promotion programs for employees. Program interventions took place from August to September 2020. The RE-AIM framework was utilized to evaluate the Project. Data were extracted from Linkworkers' activity records, certification records, the Linkworker survey, and follow-up surveys with participating companies at 6- and 18- months post-interventions. Results: Within 2 months, 71 Linkworkers visited 500 companies (50% were small firms, <50 employees). Among them, 224 (45%) enterprises received certifications, contributing to an increased regional certification rate. Linkworker-assisted companies tended to be significantly smaller in size. The odds ratios of implementing workplace health promotion programs in certified firms, compared to non-certified firms, were 4.09 (95% CI: 1.79-9.35) at 6 months and 2.31 (95% CI: 1.04-5.11) at 18 months. For small firms, the odds ratios were 6.87 (95% CI: 1.74-27.06) at 6 months and 3.42 (95% CI: 1.17-10.03) at 18 months. The certification retention rate at 24 months was 60%, irrespective of company size. Linkworkers perceived the outreach strategy as having a positive impact on their primary operations. Conclusion: The Y-Link Project's outreach strategy enhanced health and productivity management in small enterprises in Yokohama City, enabling long-term health promotion programs addressing program availability disparities related to company size.

Feasibility, Safety, Enjoyment, and System Usability of Web-Based Aerobic Dance Exercise Program in Older Adults: Single-Arm Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 epidemic, opportunities for social interaction and physical activity among older people are decreasing, which may have a negative impact on their health. As a solution, a web-based group exercise program provided through a videoconferencing platform would be useful. As a web-based exercise program that older adults can easily, safely, and enjoyably perform at home, we developed a short-duration, light-intensity aerobic dance exercise program. Before studying the effectiveness of this exercise program, its characteristics, such as feasibility, safety, enjoyment, and system usability, should be examined among older adults. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility, safety, and enjoyment of a web-based aerobic dance exercise program and the usability of a web-based exercise delivery system using a videoconferencing platform for older adults. METHODS: This study was designed as a prospective single-arm pilot study. A total of 16 older adults participated in an 8-week web-based aerobic dance program held every morning (8:30 AM to 8:50 AM) on weekdays at home. Retention and adherence rates were measured for the program's feasibility. Safety was assessed by the heart rate reserve, an index of exercise intensity calculated from heart rate, and the number of adverse events during exercise sessions. Enjoyment of this exercise program was assessed by an 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (not enjoyable at all) to 10 (extremely enjoyable) obtained through telephone interviews after the first-, third-, sixth-, and eighth-week intervention. For usability, the ease of the videoconferencing platform system was assessed through telephone interviews after the intervention. RESULTS: A female participant with hypertension dropped out in the second week because of the continuously reported high blood pressure (≥180 mmHg) before attending the exercise session in the first week. Therefore, the retention rate was 93.8% (15/16). Among the remaining participants, the median (IQR) overall adherence rate was 97.4% (94.7-100). Regarding safety, the mean (SD) heart rate reserve during the aerobic dance exercise was 29.8% (6.8%), showing that the exercise was relatively safe with very light to light intensity. There were no adverse events during the exercise session. The enjoyment score (0-10 points) significantly increased from the first (6.7 [1.7]) to sixth (8.2 [1.3]) and eighth week (8.5 [1.3]). Regarding usability, 11 participants reported difficulties at the beginning, such as basic touch panel operations and the use of unfamiliar applications; however, all got accustomed to it and subsequently reported no difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed high feasibility, enjoyment, and safety of the web-based aerobic dance exercise program in older adults, and the web-based exercise delivery system may have areas for improvement, albeit without serious problems. Our web-based aerobic dance exercise program may contribute to an increase in physical and social activities among older adults.

Molecular characterization of Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) VASCULAR PLANT ONE-ZINC FINGER2 (CuVOZ2) interacting with CuFT1 and CuFT3.

Shortening the juvenility is a burning issue in breeding fruit trees such as Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.). Decreasing the breeding period requires a comprehensive understanding of the flowering process in woody plants. Throughout the Arabidopsis flowering system, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) interacts with other transcription factors (TFs) and functions as a transmissible floral inducer. In a previous study, a VASCULAR PLANT ONE-ZINC FINGER1 (VOZ1)-like TF from the Satsuma mandarin, CuVOZ1, showed protein-protein interaction with two citrus FTs in a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system and precocious flowering in Arabidopsis. In this study, another VOZ, CuVOZ2, was isolated from the Satsuma mandarin 'Aoshima' and protein-protein interaction was confirmed between CuVOZ2 and CuFTs. No apical meristem (NAM) and zinc coordination motifs were identified within the N-terminal of CuVOZ2. Docking simulation predicted that interactions between CuVOZ2 and CuFTs might occur in domain B of CuVOZ2, which contains a zinc finger motif. According to docking predictions, the distances between the amino acid residues involved ranged from 1.09 to 4.37 Å, indicating weak Van der Waals forces in the interaction. Cys216, Cys221, Cys235, and His239 in CuVOZ2 were suggested to bond with a Zn2+ in the Zn coordination motif. Ectopic expression of 35SΩ:CuVOZ2 in Arabidopsis affected the flowering time, length of inflorescence and internode, and number of siliques, suggesting that CuVOZ2 might regulate both vegetative and reproductive development, act as a trigger for early flowering, and be involved in the elongation of inflorescence possibly in a slightly different way than CuVOZ1.

Association between intensity or accumulating pattern of physical activity and executive function in community-dwelling older adults: A cross-sectional study with compositional data analysis.

Objective: Previous studies have suggested a positive association between physical activity (PA) and executive function in older adults. However, they did not adequately consider the compositional nature of daily time use and accumulated PA patterns. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between intensity or accumulated PA patterns and executive functions (inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) in community-dwelling older adults, considering the interaction of daily time spent in PA, sedentary behavior (SB), and sleep. Method: This cross-sectional study used baseline data from a randomized controlled trial on the effect of exercise on cognitive function conducted between 2021 and 2022. Data from 76 community-dwelling older adults were used in the analysis. The time spent in PA and SB was assessed using an accelerometer, and sleep duration was self-reported. The Stroop task (inhibitory control), N-back task (working memory), and task-switching task (cognitive flexibility) were conducted to evaluate the subcomponents of executive function. Considering various potential confounders, compositional multiple linear regression analysis and compositional isotemporal substitution were performed to examine the association of PA with executive function and to estimate predicted changes in executive function in response to the hypothetical time-reallocation of movement behaviors, respectively. Results: A longer time spent in light-intensity PA (LPA), relative to remaining behaviors, was associated with better Stroop task performance. Moreover, this association was stronger in LPA lasting longer than 10 min than in sporadic LPA. Additionally, theoretical 30 min/day time reallocation from SB or sleep to LPA was associated with better Stroop task performance (corresponding to approximately a 5%-10% increase). On the other hand, no significant associations of time spent in moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA with any subcomponents of executive function were observed. Conclusion: LPA was positively associated with inhibitory control, and this association was stronger in bouts of LPA than in sporadic LPA. Moreover, reducing the time spent in SB or sleep and increasing the time spent in LPA, especially long-bout LPA, could be important measures for managing inhibitory control in late life. Future large longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to confirm these associations and reveal the causality and underlying mechanisms.

Indium-Mediated Allylation of Carbonyl Compounds in Ionic Liquids: Effect of Salts in Ionic Liquids.

The In-mediated allylation of carbonyl compounds can be performed in various types of solvents including ionic liquids. However, we have found that in [bmim][BF4] (where bmim = 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium), the In-mediated coupling of crotyl bromide with benzaldehyde gives a complex mixture, and some additives, such as halides and amines, are crucial for the successful conversion to the corresponding γ-adduct. Instead, the addition of alcohols or water promotes the formation of the α-adduct. An asymmetric induction with up to 62% enantiomeric excess (ee) was observed employing cinchonidine as an additive in a binary solvent consisting of an ionic liquid and dichloromethane.

Increased CD40L+PD-1+ follicular helper T cells (Tfh) as a biomarker for predicting calcineurin inhibitor sensitivity against Tfh-mediated B-cell activation/antibody production after kidney transplantation.

It is unclear to what extent the development of follicular helper T cells (Tfh) and de novo donor-specific human leukocyte antigen antibody (DSA) production could be influenced by immunosuppressive agents, particularly calcineurin inhibitor (CNI; cyclosporine or tacrolimus), after kidney transplantation. Here, the effects of immunosuppressive agents on Tfh-mediated B-cell activation and antibody production were investigated. In vitro circulating Tfh (cTfh; memory CD4+CXCR5+)/B-cell (CD19+) co-culture assays revealed that CNI considerably inhibited cTfh-mediated B-cell activation and IgG antibody secretion through the suppression of IL-21 and IL-2. Both IL-21 and CD40L up-regulated IL-2 receptors (CD25) on B cells, and anti-CD25 antibody induced apoptosis of activated B cells, resulting in the inhibition of IgG production. The frequency of cTfh-expressed CD40L and PD-1 was elevated in patients with de novo DSA 1 year after transplantation. The degree of inhibition by CNI was dependent on Staphylococcal enterotoxin B-induced CD40L+PD-1+ cTfh up-regulation level. Our data demonstrate that CD40L+PD-1+cTfh could be a marker to implicate individual difference in CNI sensitivity for Tfh-mediated B-cell activation in kidney transplantation.

DISASTER RELIEF FOR THE JAPANESE EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI OF 2011: STRESS REDUCTION THROUGH THE TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION® TECHNIQUE.

This study examined changes in self-reported stress symptoms after instruction in the Transcendental Meditation(®) technique among 171 residents of two cities (Sendai and Ishinomaki) directly affected by the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster compared with 326 non-disaster Tokyo participants previously tested before and after learning the technique and a no-treatment control group (n = 68). The participants completed a rating checklist of mental and physical symptoms. Disaster area participants who learned the Transcendental Meditation(®) technique in contrast to controls showed a significant drop in total symptom score from pre-test to post-test (effect size = -1.09). Results were comparable for an ordinal measure of symptom intensity. The findings suggest the potential value of this procedure for relief from disaster trauma.

Endotoxin does not alter the pharmacokinetics of micafungin, but it impairs biliary excretion of micafungin via multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (ABCC2/Mrp2) in rats.

Micafungin, a newly developed echinocandin-type antifungal agent, is widely used for the treatment of deep-seated fungal infections including those of Candida species and Aspergillus species. In the present study, the possible alterations in the pharmacokinetics and biliary excretion of micafungin were investigated in endotoxemic rats induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae endotoxin. Endotoxin (2 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 24 h before an intravenous injection of micafungin (1 mg/kg). No significant differences in the plasma concentration-time curves and pharmacokinetic parameters of micafungin were observed between endotoxin-treated and endotoxin-untreated rats. When endotoxin-treated rats received a constant-rate infusion of micafungin, the biliary clearance of micafungin was significantly decreased, whereas the steady-state plasma concentration did not change. By protein immunoblot analysis, a significant decrease in the expression of hepatic multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (ABCC2/Mrp2), which is an efflux protein for micafungin, was observed in endotoxin-treated rats. These results suggest that endotoxin-induced decrease in the hepatobiliary excretion of micafungin is caused, at least in part, by the reduction of Mrp2-mediated hepatobiliary transport ability. The present study may provide information suggesting that micafungin can be used for patients with endotoxemia without the need for dosage adjustment.

Induction of apoptosis of detached oral squamous cell carcinoma cells by safingol. Possible role of Bim, focal adhesion kinase and endonuclease G.

The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor safingol increased rounding and detachment of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cells in monolayer cultures. When dissociated cells were incubated in the presence of safingol, cell adhesion was prevented and cell viability was lost gradually, while most cells survived in the absence of safingol even if their attachment was blocked by coating the culture plates with polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate. Flow cytometric analysis and agarose gel electrophoresis of cellular DNA revealed an increase in the proportion of sub-G(1) cells and DNA fragmentation, indicating that safingol induced apoptosis of dissociated cells. During the induction of apoptosis in cell suspensions by safingol, there was an increase of the pro-apoptotic BH-3 only protein Bim and decrease of pro-survival Bcl-2 family proteins Bcl-xL and mitochondrial pro-apoptogenic factor endonuclease G translocated to the nucleus. The level of phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) required for cell survival also rapidly decreased, followed by a decrease in the protein level. The introduction of siRNA against PKCalpha into SAS cells resulted in an increase of Bim, a decrease of Bcl-xL, the translocation of endonuclease G, and a decrease in the phosphorylation of FAK. These results suggest that Bim, Bcl-xL, FAK and endonuclease G are involved in safingol-induced apoptosis of detached oral SCC cells. Safingol can be used to induce apoptosis with cell detachment, anoikis, of oral SCC cells.