The Tohoku journal of experimental medicine
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Feb 2022
Observational StudyFactors Affecting Human Damage in Heavy Rains and Typhoon Disasters.
Floods due to heavy rains or typhoons are frequent annual hazards in Japan. This study aims to reduce disaster fatalities and contribute to disaster risk reduction. This retrospective observational study analyzed fatalities caused by heavy rains or typhoons. ⋯ Analyzing the victim's locations in the 2020 Kumamoto Heavy Rain using hazard and inundation maps suggested the difficulty of ensuring the safety of people living in dangerous areas. This study showed the characteristics of flood damage by heavy rains and typhoons in Japan and reports that flood damage is increasing because of the hazard size and community aging. Disaster risk reduction, disaster education, and evacuation safety plans for the elderly using hazard maps were important for strengthening disaster resilience.
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Disaster endangers the nutritional health of children with resulting effects on their mental, physical, and social well-being. Adequate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in disaster prevents malnutrition and save lives. Although much progress has been made in nutritional support in disaster, malnutrition among children is still evident. ⋯ Periodic nutritional assessment of children and nutritional support in disaster by designated IYCF authority are necessary. Education and participation of the general population are also important. Future assessments must examine food allergies in children and nutrition effects on child mental health in disaster.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Feb 2022
Families' Health after the Great East Japan Earthquake: Findings from the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study.
Infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and mental disorders in both adults and children are reported after disasters occur. The correlation between chronic diseases and mental disorders has also been reported. Moreover, disasters may affect perinatal outcomes. ⋯ Among parents, there was an increase in overweight persons (P for trend = 0.004 in mothers and < 0.0001 in fathers) and in the number of smokers based on the severity of house damage (P for trend = 0.002 in mothers and < 0.0001 in fathers), whereas no such trend was observed in grandparents. Continuous monitoring and support for those who need are essential. Moreover, utilizing existing cohort studies to investigate health status when we face a new disaster is desirable.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Feb 2022
Case ReportsApplication of Diffusion Tensor Imaging Fiber Tractography for Human Masseter Muscle.
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used to indicate the direction of nerve and muscle fibers by using the characteristics that water molecules preferentially diffuse along the fibrous structure. However, DTI fiber tractography for multipennate muscles, such as the masseter muscle, is challenging due to a lack of data regarding the imaging parameters. This study aimed to determine the optimal DTI parameters for masseter muscle fiber tractography. ⋯ The appropriate combination of the b-value, NEX, and the number of MPG directions for masseter muscle fiber tractography could be determined based on previously reported anatomical data of the masseter muscle fibers. DTI may enable the non-invasive evaluation of masseter muscle fiber length and orientation. Elucidation of the details of masseter muscle fiber orientation is useful in evaluating stomatognathic biomechanics and muscle disorders.
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Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Feb 2022
TRPV1 Protect against Hyperglycemia and Hyperlipidemia Induced Liver Injury via OPA1 in Diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-associated mitochondrial impairment may a key factor leading to liver injury. Transient receptor potential receptor vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) regulates the energy expenditure and cholesterol metabolism in hepatocytes and protects against oxidative toxicity. Optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) is involved in the protection of TRPV1 on cardiac microvascular and lung injury. ⋯ The protective effects of TRPV1 on mitochondrial were blocked by OPA1 siRNA. In conclusion, our study showed that the identified regulation of TRPV1 to OPA1 has important implication to the pathogenesis of T2DM-associated liver injury. Targeting the action of TRPV1 and OPA1 presents a potential therapeutic intervention.