Solvent-Dependent Conformational Switching of N-Methyl-N,N'-diarylsquaramide.

N,N'-Diarylsquaramide and N,N'-dialkylsquaramide are conformationally stable linkers with extended (trans, trans) and folded (cis, cis) structures, respectively, independently of external conditions. Here, we show that N-monomethylated N,N'-diarylsquaramides generally take a (trans, cis) structure in the crystal but show a solvent-dependent conformational equilibrium in solution. In particular, the stable conformer of N-methyl-N,N'-bis(1-naphthyl)squaramide (1f) changes depending upon the solvent. Thus, aromatic N-monomethylated squaramides could find application as components of environment-responsive molecular switches.

Conceptualizing participation in the community mental health context: Beginning with the Clubhouse model.

PURPOSE: Although participation is key to community mental health, the concept remains elusive. The study explored a conceptualization of participation in the community-based mental health agencies context from a first-person perspective, using the Clubhouse model as an example. METHODS: Qualitative data, collected from 21 Clubhouse service users through three focus groups (1 UK and 2 US) for primary analysis and secondary data from 104 individual interviews, were analysed using a grounded theory approach. RESULTS: Focus group narratives revealed three main domains of what may be named everyday participation process, Making Decisions, Doing Work, and Locating Oneself in Community, blended with each other rather than forming clear-cut stages. Sixty-six extracted primary codes, with two underlying interrelated core categories identified, named Autonomy and Egalitarian Connection, were organized by domain and by category. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest a 3 × 2 axial model of participation that participation signifies a behaviour, comprised of three blended activity domains, entailing actions and interactions that concern Autonomy and Egalitarian Connection, which, dynamically interacting with each other, appear to condition meaningful participation the next day. Egalitarian relationship skills development appears critical for training practitioners to help promote service users' quality everyday participation and getting-a-life-back experiences towards well-being, or meaningful life.

Construction of Aromatic Multilayered Structures Based on the Conformational Properties of N,N'-Dimethylated Squaramide.

Squaramide is a highly rigid four-membered ring system bearing two carbonyl and two amino groups, and its derivatives have found applications in many fields. We synthesized several N,N'-dimethylated oligosquaramides linked via phenyl groups, and investigated their structures in the crystalline state and in solution. Compounds 1, 2 (bissquaramides), and 13 (trissquaramide) exist as folded structures in the crystalline state, in which the aromatic rings are located in a face-to-face position. In their multilayered structures, the benzene rings are more nearly parallel and are closer to each other, compared with those in N,N'-dimethylated oligoureas. Individual molecules of meta-connected compounds 2 and 13 show a helical structure with all-R or all-S axis chirality, but afford only racemic crystals. The NMR spectra indicated that these compounds retain well-ordered folded structures in solution. The unique steric and electronic properties of N,N'-dimethylated squaramide can provide access to novel functional aromatic multilayered and helical foldamers.

Sense of clubhouse community belonging and empowerment.

BACKGROUND: While the neighborhood community literature well documents a link between participation in supportive and effective community groups or activities and empowerment, there is as yet little empirical evidence of this relationship in the context of community mental health programs. AIM: The primary purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between sense of community belonging and empowerment among members of mental health clubhouses. METHODS: A secondary analysis using a hierarchical regression model was conducted on cross-sectional structured interview data collected through a self-report questionnaire from 102 clubhouse members from six clubhouses in the United States and Finland. RESULTS: The results indicated that members' sense of clubhouse community belonging positively contributes to their empowerment. CONCLUSION: Fostering sense of community belonging appears to be a valid approach to catalyze empowerment. Study limitations and future research agendas were discussed.

"Pushing the Boat Out": A Meta-synthesis of How Members, Staff and Family Experience the Clubhouse Model.

To explore how member, staff, and family experience the contributions of the clubhouse model to outcomes for adults with severe mental illness. Given the significant role social and vocational arenas play in promoting wellbeing, irrespective of health status, explorations of the role such arenas can play in helping individuals accomplish their life and vocational goals may be useful in guiding policy and practice. A metaethnography was conducted using 11 qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2015. Four themes and an overarching metaphor were identified: (1) Stepping out of limiting realities; (2) anchoring; (3) creating ways of flourishing; and (4) prospects of a life outside the clubhouse. "Pushing out the boat" as a metaphor holds promise in facilitating discussions about the subjective outcomes of the clubhouse model and for expanding knowledge about clubhouses as multi-dimensional programs that provide social, educational, and vocational opportunities for adults recovering from mental health problems. Our findings show that clubhouses are valuable communities for meaningful doings for individuals to build self-confidence, relations, and perspective-all crucial for processes of recovery. Clubhouses provide people a place to establish an anchor in a supportive environment where they can try things out and regain their self-confidence. From there, they may choose to push their boat out. However, many members might need to choose not to-the seas may be too rough or their boat may not yet be strong enough for the journey. Further research is needed to examine members' experiences with integration into mainstream social networks and employment. It will also be important to examine how practitioners can intentionally interact with Clubhouse members and their families to promote the individuals' processes of social integration outside the clubhouse.

Meanings associated with the core component of clubhouse life: the work-ordered day.

Despite the clubhouse model's 60-year existence internationally, the central nature of its core program, the "work-ordered day" (WOH) (Beard et al. in Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal 5:47-53, 1982), is not well understood; hence, the primary focus of the present study was to explore members' experiences of the nature and meaning of the WOH. The study drew on qualitative interview data collected in 2009-2013 through open-ended questions and probes with 102 members and 24 staff from 5 Clubhouse International-certified clubhouses (2 US and 3 Finnish). Participant observation supplemented the interviews and all data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Charmaz in Rethinking methods in psychology, 1995; Glaser and Strauss in The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research, 1967). Two major themes clustered around: (a) WOH in service of autonomy (things to do, sense of accomplishment, respite, development of occupational skills) and (b) WOH in service of relationships (receiving support; collaboration; and making contributions to the clubhouse community). Clubhouse members appeared to experience the WOH as meaningful because it helps them, as its best, reconstruct a life, develop their occupational self and skill sets, and experientially learn and live what parallels a good life in the general community. It appears that these experiences, interconnecting with the fundamental human needs for autonomy and relationship, point to wellbeing and recovery as part of personal growth. These findings can guide clubhouse daily practice in assessing members' psychosocial strengths and needs pertaining to recovery. Future research should elaborate on influences of sources of meaning, including work designs and the contributions of everyday socio-cultural interactive and reciprocal processes to these meanings.

Dentilisin involvement in coaggregation between Treponema denticola and Tannerella forsythia.

Periodontitis arises from a biofilm consisting of gram-negative anaerobic rods and spirochetes. Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia, termed the Red complex, have been co-isolated with high frequency from chronic periodontitis lesions, and these microorganisms are thought to be major pathogens of the disease. Coaggregation is an important strategy in the colonization of dental plaque biofilm by these bacteria. In the present study, we investigated the coaggregation of T. denticola strains with T. forsythia ATCC 43037 by use of visual grading or spectrophotometry. T. denticola ATCC 35405 coaggregated with T. forsythia, reaching a plateau at approximately 60 min. This coaggregation was inhibited by heat treatment of T. denticola ATCC 35405, but not of T. forsythia. Disaccharides such as sucrose, maltose, and lactose inhibited coaggregation by approximately 50%. The coaggregation reaction varied among T. denticola strains. There was somewhat less coaggregation between T. denticola ATCC 33520 and T. forsythia than between T. denticola ATCC 35405 and T. forsythia, although this difference was not statistically significant; T. denticola ATCC 33521 showed a trace level of coaggregation with T. forsythia. The magnitude of coaggregation among the three T. denticola strains was proportional to their dentilisin activities. Inactivation of dentilisin abolished coaggregation activity, but inactivation of the major outer sheath protein did not. In addition, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride did not affect coaggregation. These results indicate that dentilisin is involved indirectly in the coaggregation between T. denticola and T. forsythia, because its proteolytic activity is not required, possibly via ligand maturation.

Surnames and Gender in Japan: Women's Challenges in Seeking Own Identity.

[[Japansurnamefamilygendermarriagelaw ]] Strongly influenced by the previous Meiji Civil Code that shaped people's perceptions about the traditional Japanese family, postwar Japanese society has not fully guaranteed gender equality, and whether to legally allow the dual-surname system is one of the major legal and political debates in Japanese society. To understand the tension between the traditional Japanese family emphasized in the previous Meiji Civil Code and gender equality emphasized in the current Japanese law, this study explored the surname system in Japan by reviewing historical trends, recent surveys, political debates, and comparing with other nations. This study illustrated that the surname was not attached to the family lineage and membership as today in the past, and symbolic significance of the surname has changed through the course of Japanese history.

Limitations for measuring religion in a different cultural context - the case of Japan.

The article points out the limitations in surveys measuring religiosity and spirituality using the measures developed in Christian or Western contexts. Japanese people think of religion (shukyo) as revealed religion such as Christianity that has specific doctrinal belief and faith. Through their history of religious regulation, Japanese people came to consider themselves "non-religious" as a way of survival, not to be punished by political authorities and not to be stigmatized in their community. Thus they tend to answer that they consider themselves "non-religious" in surveys, while performing ritual performances for their ancestors in Buddhist temples and Buddhist altars not only to thank ancestors but also to ease the psychological fear people have toward muenbotoke, restless ancestors who have no legitimate offspring to take care of them. To extend the study of spirituality or religiousness in the Japanese context, qualitative studies are necessary not to misinterpret religiousness and spirituality in Japanese context.

Aging in rural Japan--limitations in the current social care policy.

Owing to equal and increased opportunities for education and employment, today's trend in Japanese marriages is characterized by late and less frequent marriage. This paper discusses unavoidable diversity in rural families to point out the anticipated consequences of aging in rural areas and to discuss limitations in current public social care policies. Specifically, the averaged proportion of never-married and single persons at ages 45 to 49 and 50 to 54 in legally recognized depopulated cities, towns, and villages in Japan is calculated to illustrate the expected diversity in families in rural depopulated areas. It also illustrates the need for future studies to develop better social care policies for increasing numbers of single caregivers and single elders.

Social integration and healthy aging in Japan: how gender and rurality matter.

The current study analyzed the 1999 and 2001 waves of the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging. Two measures of social integration were associated with lower risks of being physically disabled or depressed at Wave 1 and with a lower risk of progressing into deeper levels of physical disability and depression by Wave 2. Ceteris paribus, compared to elderly urbanites, elderly ruralites had a much higher risk of being physically disabled but much lower odds of being depressed. And compared to elderly men, elderly women had similar risks of being physically disabled but much higher odds of being depressed. Suggestions are made on how future research on longevity in Japan, the world's most longevous nation, can explore the links among social integration, place, gender, and the postponement of mortality.

Characterization of mutations affecting embryonic hematopoiesis in the medaka, Oryzias latipes.

In a genetic screen for mutations affecting organogenesis in the medaka, Oryzias latipes, we identified eight mutants with defects in embryonic hematopoiesis. These mutations were classified into seven complementation groups. In this paper, we characterize the five mutants that were confirmed in the next generation. The beni fuji mutant was defective in the generation of blood cells, exhibiting reduced blood cells at the initiation of circulation. Mutations in two genes, lady finger and ryogyoku, caused abnormal morphology of blood cells, i.e., deformation, along with a progressive decrease in the number of blood cells. The sekirei mutant exhibited photosensitivity with autofluorescent blood cells. Mutations in kyoho resulted in huge blood cells that were approximately three times longer than the wild-type blood cells. The spectrum of phenotypes identified in this study is similar to that of the zebrafish hematopoietic mutants except for the huge blood cells in kyoho. Our results demonstrate that medaka, as well as zebrafish, is a useful model to study hematopoiesis.

Misexpression of mouse porcupine isoforms modulates the differentiation of P19 embryonic carcinoma cells.

Drosophila porcupine (porc) encodes an ER membrane protein that is required for the processing of the Drosophila Wnt family. Homologs of porc have been identified in various multicellular organisms and have been implicated in the biosynthesis of Wnt proteins. In contrast to Drosophila, vertebrates generate four different porc mRNAs (A-D) by alternative splicing. Murine porcD (MporcD) mRNA levels transiently increase during the neuroectodermal differentiation of P19 cells, but diminish during mesodermal differentiation. P19 cells constitutively expressing mouse porcA (MporcA), but not MporcD, undergo apoptosis by the induction of neuroectodermal differentiation. Meanwhile, P19 cells constitutively expressing MporcD, but not MporcA, do not adopt mesodermal cell morphology and fail to express myf-5 when induced to mesodermal differentiation. These results therefore demonstrate that the alternative splicing of Mporc is regulated in a cell-type specific manner, and the resulting Mporc isoforms have different functions in the neuroectodermal and mesodermal differentiation of P19 cells.

Spatial distribution of mDLG6 mRNA in embryonic and adult mouse brain.

We have isolated mouse DLG6 (mDLG6) cDNA clones by RT-PCR and then by using the RT-PCR products to screen a mouse brain cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence of mDLG6 shows 79.2% and 82.7% overall identity to human (hDLG6) and rat DLG6 (rDLG6), respectively. In situ hybridization revealed that mDLG6 mRNA is predominantly expressed in embryonic and adult brain.

Drosophila segment polarity gene product porcupine stimulates the posttranslational N-glycosylation of wingless in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Wnt is a family of cysteine-rich secreted glycoproteins, which controls the fate and behavior of the cells in multicellular organisms. In the absence of Drosophila segment polarity gene porcupine (porc), which encodes an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) multispanning transmembrane protein, the N-glycosylation of Wingless (Wg), one of Drosophila Wnt family, is impaired. In contrast, the ectopic expression of porc stimulates the N-glycosylation of both endogenously and exogenously expressed Wg. The N-glycosylation of Wg in the ER occurs posttranslationally, while in the presence of dithiothreitol, it efficiently occurs cotranslationally. Thus, the cotranslational disulfide bond formation of Wg competes with the N-glycosylation by an oligosaccharyl transferase complex. Porc binds the N-terminal 24-amino acid domain (residues 83-106) of Wg, which is highly conserved in the Wnt family and stimulates the N-glycosylation at surrounding sites. Porc is also necessary for the processing of Drosophila Wnt-3/5 in both embryos and cultured cells. Thus, Porc binds the N-terminal specific domain of the Wnt family and stimulates its posttranslational N-glycosylation by anchoring them at the ER membrane possibly through acylation.