Did Parents and Teachers Struggle with Child Survivors 20 Months after the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan? A Retrospective Observational Study

Background

On March 11, 2011, Japan was struck by the earthquake and tsunami. Twenty months after the disaster, we collected information on the difficulties faced by parents and teachers in dealing with the post-traumatic symptoms of child survivors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between post-traumatic symptoms in children and parents’ and teachers’ difficulties in dealing with children who survived the huge disaster.

Methods

The subjects included 12,524 children from elementary, middle, and junior high schools in Ishinomaki City. The Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms for Children 15 items (PTSSC-15), a self-rating questionnaire on post-traumatic symptoms, was distributed among the children, and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a self-rating questionnaire on difficulties in dealing with children, was given to their parents and teachers. With PTSSC-15, a valid response was obtained from 10,909 (89.5%) participants. With SDQ for teachers and parents, valid responses were obtained from 10,577 (86.7%) and 7052 (83.9%) participants, respectively.

Results

PTSSC-15 scores were significantly higher (P<0.001) in girls than in boys from the junior high school. These effect sizes were less than 0.30. Correlations of teachers’ SDQ scores and PTSSC-15 scores were significantly low (r<0.21, P<0.001) for both genders and all children. Likewise, correlations between SDQ scores assigned by parents (excluding “prosocial behavior”) and PTSSC-15 scores were significantly low (r<0.21, P<0.001) for both genders and at all school levels.

Conclusion

This study elucidated that the difficulties faced by parents and teachers while dealing with child survivors significantly low correlate with the child’s post-traumatic symptoms caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Thus, it is important that clinicians should not only evaluate post-traumatic symptoms with a self-rating questionnaire but also try to objectively evaluate whether there were day-to-day difficulties caused by the post-traumatic symptoms.     

A comparative study of the immunity region of lambdoid phages including Shiga-toxin-converting phages: molecular basis for cross immunity

Comparison of eight lambdoid phages, including three Shiga-toxin converting phages, has been carried out with respect to the immunity region, especially the recognition helices of their repressor and CRO proteins on the one hand, and operator sequences on the other. Some as yet unassigned components of the regulatory circuits have been inferred by computer search. The cross immunity phenomenon shown by phages VT2-Sa and lambda is explained on the basis of similarity in their sequences. In addition, the similarity of 933W and HK022 in the sequences of their recognition helices of repressor and CRO, on the one hand, and operators, on the other, has led us to predict that they will have identical or similar immunity specificity. This homology has enabled us also to locate the OL (and consequently PL) of phage 933W that has been thought to be non-existent.     

Quantitative analysis of matrix metalloproteinases-2 and -9, and their tissue inhibitors-1 and -2 in human placenta throughout gestation

To elucidate the implication of type IV collagenases(MMP-2 and MMP-9) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) for placental development, we quantified their levels in the conditioned media of placental organ culture and primary culture of the trophoblast as well as in the tissue extracts of placentas from different stages of gestation using specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. First trimester villous tissue secreted about 10 times more pro-MMP-2 than pro-MMP-9, and pro-MMP-2 levels dramatically decreased in the second trimester. On the other hand, pro-MMP-9 levels were more than 10 times higher than those of pro-MMP-2 in the primary culture of the first trimester trophoblast, indicating the involvement of stromal cells for prominent pro-MMP-2 secretion from first trimester villous tissue described above. Levels of TIMPs, especially those of TIMP-2, remained constant throughout gestation both in the culture media and tissue extracts. Gelatin zymography revealed abundant secretion of the active form of MMP-2 as well as pro-MMP-2 from first trimester villous tissue. Western immunoblot analysis confirmed the presence of both TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 in placental tissue. These results suggest that active secretion of MMP-2 from villous tissue in the first trimester and constant production of TIMPs throughout gestation are characteristic of placental development.     

High-Throughput Phenotyping of Chlamydomonas Swimming Mutants Based on Nanoscale Video Analysis

Studies on biflagellated algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii mutants have resulted in significant contributions to our understanding of the functions of cilia/flagella components. However, visual inspection conducted under a microscope to screen and classify Chlamydomonas swimming requires considerable time, effort, and experience. In addition, it is likely that identification of mutants by this screening is biased toward individual cells with severe swimming defects, and mutants that swim slightly more slowly than wild-type cells may be missed by these screening methods. To systematically screen Chlamydomonas swimming mutants, we have here developed the cell-locating-with-nanoscale-accuracy (CLONA) method to identify the cell position to within 10-nm precision through the analysis of high-speed video images. Instead of analyzing the shape of the flagella, which is not always visible in images, we determine the position of Chlamydomonas cell bodies by determining the cross-correlation between a reference image and the image of the cell. From these positions, various parameters related to swimming, such as velocity and beat frequency, can be accurately estimated for each beat cycle. In the examination of wild-type and seven dynein arm mutants of Chlamydomonas, we found characteristic clustering on scatter plots of beat frequency versus swimming velocity. Using the CLONA method, we have screened 38 Chlamydomonas strains and detected believed-novel motility-deficient mutants that would be missed by visual screening. This CLONA method can automate the screening for mutants of Chlamydomonas and contribute to the elucidation of the functions of motility-associated proteins.     

Genus specificity and extensive methylation of the W chromosome-specific repetitive DNA sequences from the domestic fowl,Gallus gallus domesticus

Two female-specific repeating DNA units of 0.6 kilobase pairs (kb) and 1.1 kb, produced by digesting the genomic DNA of the White Leghorn chicken with Xho I, were cloned by inserting them into the Xho I site of an Escherichia coli plasmid vector pACYC177. Two such recombinant plasmids, pAGD0601 and pAGD1101, containing a single 0.6-kb and 1.1-kb sequence, respectively, were used as molecular probes. In situ hybridization of the ³Hprobes to the metaphase chromosomes from the female White Leghorn embryos revealed their localization in the W chromosome. Semiquantitative Southern blot hybridization with ³²P-probes in excess indicated that the 0.6-kb unit and 1.1-kb unit were repeated approximately 14,000 and 6,000 times, respectively, in the W chromosome. The two units comprised about 46% of the W chromosomal DNA. These two repeating units were found in the female genomes of every line of Gallus g. domesticus tested and in the female genomes of three jungle fowl species (G. gallus, G. sonneratii, and G. varius) but not in three species belonging to other genera in the suborder Galli. Hha I sites in the 0.6-kb and 1.1-kb repeating units were shown to be extensively methylated and a significant fraction of the Hpa II sites in the 0.6-kb repeating units were also shown to be methylated in the female genome of the White Leghorn. Methylation patterns of Hpa II sites in or around the 0.6-kb repeating units examined by the Msp I digestion were similar in the various lines of domestic fowls and the two species of jungle fowls, but G. varius (black or green jungle fowl) produced a different pattern of digestion with Msp I.     

Type 2C protein phosphatase clade D family members dephosphorylate guard cell plasma membrane H+-ATPase

Plasma membrane (PM) H⁺-ATPase in guard cells is activated by phosphorylation of the penultimate residue, threonine (Thr), in response to blue and red light, promoting stomatal opening. Previous in vitro biochemical investigation suggested that Mg²⁺- and Mn²⁺-dependent membrane-localized type 2C protein phosphatase (PP2C)-like activity mediates the dephosphorylation of PM H⁺-ATPase in guard cells. PP2C clade D (PP2C.D) was later demonstrated to be involved in PM H⁺-ATPase dephosphorylation during auxin-induced cell expansion in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). However, it is unclear whether PP2C.D phosphatases are involved in PM H⁺-ATPase dephosphorylation in guard cells. Transient expression experiments using Arabidopsis mesophyll cell protoplasts revealed that all PP2C.D isoforms dephosphorylate the endogenous PM H⁺-ATPase. We further analyzed PP2C.D6/8/9, which display higher expression levels than other isoforms in guard cells, observing that pp2c.d6, pp2c.d8, and pp2c.d9 single mutants showed similar light-induced stomatal opening and phosphorylation status of PM H⁺-ATPase in guard cells as Col-0. In contrast, the pp2c.d6/9 double mutant displayed wider stomatal apertures and greater PM H⁺-ATPase phosphorylation in response to blue light, but delayed dephosphorylation of PM H⁺-ATPase in guard cells; the pp2c.d6/8/9 triple mutant showed similar phenotypes to those of the pp2c.d6/9 double mutant. Taken together, these results indicate that PP2C.D6 and PP2C.D9 redundantly mediate PM H⁺-ATPase dephosphorylation in guard cells. Curiously, unlike auxin-induced cell expansion in seedlings, auxin had no effect on the phosphorylation status of PM H⁺-ATPase in guard cells.

Type 2C protein phosphatase clade D family members redundantly dephosphorylate the penultimate C-terminal threonine residue of plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase in guard cells to control stomatal movement.