Dental hygiene students find it challenging to understand and perform the dental hygiene process of care (DHPC) after only a limited amount of clinical training; they generally improve their DHPC skills through clinical experience after graduation. In this study, we developed and evaluated interactive learning materials that simulate the DHPC. We divided the learning contents of the DHPC into six components and created five simulation materials. Using these materials, students could experience a typical DHPC virtually. In total, 30 third-year university dental hygiene students were divided into two groups (A and B), and then pre-quizzes were carried out for each group (group A: Quiz I, group B: Quiz II). Next, the students learned using the developed materials and took post-quizzes (group A: Quiz II, group B: Quiz I) to clarify their understanding of the DHPC. After the post-quizzes, a questionnaire survey was conducted. Both groups showed significantly higher scores on the post-quiz than on the pre-quiz (Group A: p = 0.0451 vs. Group B: p = 0.0090, paired Student’s t-test). In addition, more than 80% of the responses to the questionnaire were favorable. These results suggest that the simulation materials developed in this study are effective for learning the DHPC.

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This study explored changes in the thinking and behavior of Japanese doctors who had personally battled serious illness. Doctors are often assumed to be physically and mentally healthy. When falling sick, they are prone to self-stigmatization. However, the positive outcomes of doctors battling illnesses have attracted scholarly attention. Psychiatrist Carl Jung advocated the concept of the "wounded healer," a person who has endured an illness, gains wisdom from the experience, and uses it to heal others more effectively. We analyzed the aforementioned changes by narrowing down the "wounded healer" effect data group. We qualitatively analyzed verbatim transcripts of semi-structured interviews conducted with 14 doctors who had personally battled cancer, cerebrovascular disease, or heart disease using multilevel text condensation. After serious illness, doctors were more likely to believe that they had gained a lot from their experience. Changes in thinking related to medical practice included the acquisition of diverse knowledge. Such changes translated into behavioral changes; for example, understanding the patient’s perspective manifested in their improved communication with the patients. Most doctors diversified their activities outside of medical practice. Many also experienced significant changes in their views on life. The "wounded healer" effect was confirmed, bearing valuable implications for medical education.

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Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor that histologically forms a tumor-like osteoid or bone. Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) is highly expressed in the blood of patients with various malignant tumors or in the tumors themselves, and its expression is positively correlated with tumor grade. Therefore, PAI-1 is a potential target for cancer therapy. In this study, a small-molecule PAI-1 inhibitor, TM5614, was tested on U2OS cells, which are osteosarcoma cell-like cells, to examine its effect on cell metabolism. The MTT assays and cell count analysis showed that TM5614 inhibited U2OS cell proliferation. We also tested the apoptotic activity of U2OS cells by multiple assays, and no induction of apoptosis by TM5614 was observed. In contrast, cell cycle analysis revealed that TM5614 induced U2OS cells in G2-M arrest. This study revealed that TM5614 treatment increased p53 and p21 Waf1/Cip1 expression in U2OS cells. In conclusion, we showed that the PAI-1 inhibitor TM5614 induced G2-M arrest in U2OS cells.

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Dental caries still remains one of the most com- mon diseases of mankind and many studies have demonstrated the relationship between high sugar consumption and dental caries. Sweet prefer- ence has been linked to the taste sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). Individuals could be distinguished between non-tasters, medium-tast- ers, and super-tasters based on their PROP detec- tion thresholds. Some studies reported that DMFT index value was significantly larger for non-tast- ers compared to super-tasters. However, such kind of research has not been performed in Japan. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation- ship between dental caries and taste sensitivity to PROP in order to identify individuals at higher risk of developing dental caries in Japanese. The result showed there was a tendency of increasing number of dental caries as the taste sensitivity to PROP decreased. These results suggest that taste sensi- tivity to PROP could be a useful screening tool to identify individuals at higher risk of dental caries in Japanese people.

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Aim: We investigated atherosclerotic effects in young healthy subjects according to SNPs in paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and adiponectin (ADPN). Materials and Methods: A total of 217 young heal­ thy Japanese subjects aged between 18 and 31 years were enrolled in this study. The genotypes of PON1, Q192R (rs662) and L55M (rs854560) were elucidated using the PCR­RFLP method, and those of ADPN, +276G/T (rs1501299) and +45T/G (rs2241766) using an automated DNA sequence analysis. To investigate the relationship between genetic polymorphisms and phenotypes, a univariate analysis of the dominant/recessive model and allele frequencies was performed. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis of all gene polymorphisms, age, sex, body mass index, and blood biochemistry data was conducted. Results: The 4 genotypes were as follows, 11.5% QQ, 43.3% QR, and 45.2% RR in PON1­Q192R, 89.1% LL, 10.4% LM, and 0.5% MM in PON1­ L55M, 47.0% GG, 43.3% GT, and 9.7% TT in ADPN +276G/T, 51.2% TT, 39.6% TG, and 9.2% GG in ADPN+45T/G. The univariate analysis showed that ADPN+45T/G was associated with intima­media thickness (IMT). The risk allele G showed a significantly increased IMT in both the dominant and recessive model (P=0.047, P=0.035). In the multi­ variate analysis, ADPN+45T/G was identified as an independent factor associated with IMT (P=0.003). In the multivariate analysis of ADPN levels, 2 SNPs (PON1­Q192R and ADPN+276G/T) were identified as independent factors（P=0.039, P=0.020). Conclusions: The present study suggests the small effects of genetic polymorphisms even in young healthy individuals.

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Objectives: Although dental support is important for the healthy development of dietary function, stud- ies on eating behavior and oral function in early childhood are limited. This study aimed to clarify dietary problems in nursery school children and parents’ perceptions of their children’s diet. Materials and Methods: By using a self-administered questionnaire, the survey was conducted on 371 parents of children aged 3–6 years attending seven nursery schools in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Results: Regarding dietary problems, 55% of the parents reported walking around during the meal, 25% shared chewing with mouth open, and 29% stated difficulty in smooth swallowing with a mouth filled with food. These problems were significantly associated with decreased quantity and longer time of the meal, which were major concerns of the parents. Although no parent consulted dental pro- fessionals regarding dietary problems, 39% of theparents agreed about the need for dentistry sup- port on children’s diet. Conclusion: This study on young children’s diet indi- cated that oral functional problems in mastication and swallowing underlie dietary problems such as decreased quantity and longer time of the meal, and a considerable ratio of parents expected support from dentistry for their children’s diet.

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