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Abstract STAT3 is constitutively activated in many cancer types, including lung cancer, and can induce cancer cell proliferation and cancer stem cell (CSC) maintenance. STAT3 is activated by tyrosine kinases, such as JAK and SRC, but the mechanism by which STAT3 maintains its activated state in cancer cells remains unclear. Here, we show that PRMT5 directly methylates STAT3 and enhances its activated tyrosine phosphorylation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. PRMT5 expression is also induced by STAT3, suggesting the presence of a positive feedback loop in cancer cells. Furthermore, methylation of STAT3 at arginine 609 by PRMT5 is important for its transcriptional activity and support of tumour growth and CSC maintenance. Indeed, NSCLC cells expressing the STAT3 mutant which R609 was replaced to alanine (R609K) show significantly impaired tumour growth in nude mice. Overall, our study reveals a mechanism by which STAT3 remains activated in NSCLC and provides a new target for cancer therapeutic approaches.

Abstract Background Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is widely performed for a number of hormone-producing tumors and postoperative management depends on the hormones produced. In the present study, we conducted a retrospective analysis to clarify the risk factors for postoperative complications, particularly postoperative fever after laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Methods We analyzed 406 patients who underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy at our hospital between 2003 and 2019. Postoperative fever was defined as a fever of 38 °C or higher within 72 h after surgery. We investigated the risk factors for postoperative fever after laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Results There were 188 males (46%) and 218 females (54%) with a median age of 52 years. Among these patients, tumor pathologies included 188 primary aldosteronism (46%), 75 Cushing syndrome (18%), and 80 pheochromocytoma (20%). Postoperative fever developed in 124 of all patients (31%), 30% of those with primary aldosteronism, 53% of those with pheochromocytoma, and 8% of those with Cushing syndrome. A multivariate logistic regression analysis identified pheochromocytoma and non-Cushing syndrome as independent predictors of postoperative fever. Postoperative fever was observed in 42 out of 80 cases of pheochromocytoma (53%), which was significantly higher than in cases of non-pheochromocytoma (82/326, 25%, p

Summary:. The profunda artery perforator (PAP) flap, commonly used for small- to medium-sized breast reconstructions, offers easy harvest and inconspicuous donor-site scars. However, its shorter vascular pedicle compared with the deep inferior epigastric perforator flap limits its reach to lateral recipient vessels. This often requires strategic placement of perforators at the flap’s edge to extend reach, potentially causing congestion in the distal part of the flap. To address these challenges, using the posterior accessory saphenous vein (pASV) has proven effective. Using the pASV as a vein graft significantly extends the pedicle length of the PAP flap, enhancing anastomosis success with recipient vessels. Additionally, in cases of flap congestion, the proximal segment of the pASV can be used as an additional venous outflow pathway, while grafting the distal segment further extends its length. This dual approach improves overall flap viability and reduces venous congestion risks. This discussion highlights two cases demonstrating the innovative use of the pASV within the PAP flap. In case 1, the pASV extended the pedicle length, enhancing the flap’s placement flexibility and facilitating anastomosis with thoracodorsal vessels. In case 2, the pASV served as a secondary venous outflow pathway, with the distal segment grafted to extend the proximal portion. This adaptation provided additional venous drainage and effectively managed positioning constraints imposed by recipient vessel locations. These examples illustrate the significant benefits of utilizing the pASV in PAP flap breast reconstructions, offering a novel strategy to improve viability and expand its use in complex scenarios requiring extended vascular reach.

Abstract Tumor structure is heterogeneous and complex, and it is difficult to obtain complete characteristics by two‐dimensional analysis. The aim of this study was to visualize and characterize volumetric vascular information of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tumors using whole tissue phenotyping and three‐dimensional light‐sheet microscopy. Here, we used the diagnosing immunolabeled paraffin‐embedded cleared organs pipeline for tissue clearing, immunolabeling, and three‐dimensional imaging. The spatial distributions of CD34, which targets blood vessels, and LYVE‐1, which targets lymphatic vessels, were examined by calculating three‐dimensional density, vessel length, vessel radius, and density curves, such as skewness, kurtosis, and variance of the expression. We then examined those associations with ccRCC outcomes and genetic alteration state. Formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tumor samples from 46 ccRCC patients were included in the study. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed the associations between blood vessel and lymphatic vessel distributions and pathological factors such as a high nuclear grade, large tumor size, and the presence of venous invasion. Furthermore, three‐dimensional imaging parameters stratified ccRCC patients regarding survival outcomes. An analysis of genomic alterations based on volumetric vascular information parameters revealed that PI3K‐mTOR pathway mutations related to the blood vessel radius were significantly different. Collectively, we have shown that the spatial elucidation of volumetric vasculature information could be prognostic and may serve as a new biomarker for genomic alterations. High‐end tissue clearing techniques and volumetric immunohistochemistry enable three‐dimensional analysis of tumors, leading to a better understanding of the microvascular structure in the tumor space.

Abstract Background Due to an increase in life expectancy, the incidence of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) in patients aged ≥75 years has been increasing. In this study we investigated the characteristics before treatment and the outcomes of systemic therapies for patients aged ≥75 years with mRCC and compared the results with those for patients aged

Abstract Keloids are benign fibroproliferative skin tumors caused by aberrant wound healing that can negatively impact patient quality of life. The lack of animal models has limited research on pathogenesis or developing effective treatments, and the etiology of keloids remains unknown. Here, we found that the characteristics of stem-like cells from keloid lesions and the surrounding dermis differ from those of normal skin. Furthermore, the HEDGEHOG (HH) signal and its downstream transcription factor GLI1 were upregulated in keloid patient–derived stem-like cells. Inhibition of the HH-GLI1 pathway reduced the expression of genes involved in keloids and fibrosis-inducing cytokines, including osteopontin. Moreover, the HH signal inhibitor vismodegib reduced keloid reconstituted tumor size and keloid-related gene expression in nude mice and the collagen bundle and expression of cytokines characteristic for keloids in ex vivo culture of keloid tissues. These results implicate the HH-GLI1 pathway in keloid pathogenesis and suggest therapeutic targets of keloids.

Abstract Tumor suppressor p53 plays a central role in response to DNA damage. DNA-damaging agents modulate nuclear actin dynamics, influencing cell behaviors; however, whether p53 affects the formation of nuclear actin filaments remains unclear. In this study, we found that p53 depletion promoted the formation of nuclear actin filaments in response to DNA-damaging agents, such as doxorubicin (DOXO) and etoposide (VP16). Even though the genetic probes used for the detection of nuclear actin filaments exerted a promotive effect on actin polymerization, the detected formation of nuclear actin filaments was highly dependent on both p53 depletion and DNA damage. Whilst active p53 is known to promote caspase-1 expression, the overexpression of caspase-1 reduced DNA damage-induced formation of nuclear actin filaments in p53-depleted cells. In contrast, co-treatment with DOXO and the pan-caspase inhibitor Q-VD-OPh or the caspase-1 inhibitor Z-YVAD-FMK induced the formation of nuclear actin filament formation even in cells bearing wild-type p53. These results suggest that the p53-caspase-1 axis suppresses DNA damage-induced formation of nuclear actin filaments. In addition, we found that the expression of nLifeact-GFP, the filamentous-actin-binding peptide Lifeact fused with the nuclear localization signal (NLS) and GFP, modulated the structure of nuclear actin filaments to be phalloidin-stainable in p53-depleted cells treated with the DNA-damaging agent, altering the chromatin structure and reducing the transcriptional activity. The level of phosphorylated H2AX (γH2AX), a marker of DNA damage, in these cells also reduced upon nLifeact-GFP expression, whilst details of the functional relationship between the formation of nLifeact-GFP-decorated nuclear actin filaments and DNA repair remained to be elucidated. Considering that the loss of p53 is associated with cancer progression, the results of this study raise a possibility that the artificial reinforcement of nuclear actin filaments by nLifeact-GFP may enhance the cytotoxic effect of DNA-damaging agents in aggressive cancer cells through a reduction in gene transcription.

Abstract In Japan, the number of elderly people in need of nursing care is increasing while the population of young people is decreasing, and the potential for labor shortages in the field of elder care is of great concern. This study aimed to estimate the behavior of the elderly by using sensors to monitor indoor air quality (IAQ), without placing undue burden on the elderly or their caregivers. Odor and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were monitored in a private room of a nursing home in the Kanto Region of Japan, the behaviors of the resident and staff members were recorded, and the relationship between the two was analyzed. Both odor and CO2 concentrations were higher when the resident was present than when absent, indicating that the resident was one of the main sources of indoor odor and CO2. In addition, after the resident entered the room, the CO2 concentration increased and remained stable, whereas the odor concentration tended to vary after the resident entered the room, first increasing and later decreasing. This suggested that the increase or decrease in odor could be used to monitor the behavior of the resident and staff members. The relationship between the slopes of odor and CO2 in typical behavioral events suggest that if only odor increases and CO2 does not change, the likelihood of the event in which feces were observed during diaper changes is high. In addition, based on the behavior near the sensor, the rate of CO2 and odor emissions differed between the elderly resident and the younger staff members, suggesting that the ratio of odor slope to CO2 slope may be greater in the elderly than in younger people. Furthermore, the repeated number of increases and decreases in odor and CO2 suggested that multiple events could be distinguished. These results suggest that IAQ can be utilized to estimate the behavior of residents and staff in nursing care facilities for the elderly.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of the global food system, sending shockwaves across countries' societies and economy. This has presented formidable challenges to sustaining a healthy and resilient lifestyle. The objective of this study is to examine the food consumption patterns and assess diet diversity indicators, primarily focusing on the food consumption score (FCS), among households in 38 countries both before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study with 37 207 participants (mean age: 36.70 ± 14.79, with 77 % women) was conducted in 38 countries through an online survey administered between April and June 2020. The study utilized a pre-tested food frequency questionnaire to explore food consumption patterns both before and during the COVID-19 periods. Additionally, the study computed Food Consumption Score (FCS) as a proxy indicator for assessing the dietary diversity of households. Findings: This quantification of global, regional and national dietary diversity across 38 countries showed an increment in the consumption of all food groups but a drop in the intake of vegetables and in the dietary diversity. The household's food consumption scores indicating dietary diversity varied across regions. It decreased in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, including Lebanon (p

Species extinction risk is a crucial indicator of the global impact of climate change on biodiversity. In life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), the relationship between the potentially extinct ratio and temperature is used to calculate characterization factors (CFs) that indicate additional biodiversity impact per unit greenhouse gas emissions, using the biodiversity loss indicator termed potentially disappeared fraction (PDF). However, current methods for calculating CFs that focus on terrestrial biodiversity do not show differences among taxa and regions. Here, we estimated taxon-level CFs based on a species-specific extinction risk approach for determining impact of CO2 emission on terrestrial biodiversity. The extinction risk of a species is defined as the reciprocal of the estimated waiting times for extinction caused by climate-derived habitat loss of the species. Based on the approach, CFs for five taxa—birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, vascular plants—were estimated as 0.017, 0.017, 0.025, 0.027, and 0.040 (PDF·km2·year·kton−1), respectively. In addition, CFs that use the number of potentially extinct species (species·kton−1) as indicators were also calculated based on the same species-specific extinction risk approach. The proposed method successfully calculates taxon-level CFs and has the potential to show their regional variations, which contributes to the precise impact assessment on climate-derived biodiversity in LCIA.

Abstract Background Previous clinical trials have demonstrated the potential efficacy of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPis) in patients with cancer involving homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene-mutation. Moreover, HRR gene-mutated cancers are effectively treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with the increase in tumor mutation burden. We have proposed to conduct a multicenter, single-arm phase II trial (IMAGENE trial) for evaluating the efficacy and safety of niraparib (PARPi) plus programmed cell death-1 inhibitor combination therapy in patients with HRR gene-mutated cancers who are refractory to ICIs therapy using a next generation sequencing-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and tumor tissue analysis. Methods Key eligibility criteria for this trial includes HRR gene-mutated tumor determined by any cancer gene tests; progression after previous ICI treatment; and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status ≤ 1. The primary endpoint is the confirmed objective response rate (ORR) in all patients. The secondary endpoints include the confirmed ORR in patients with HRR gene-mutation of ctDNA using the Caris Assure (CARIS, USA). The target sample size of the IMAGENE trial is 57 patients. Biomarker analyses will be performed in parallel using the Caris Assure, proteome analysis, and T cell repertoire analysis to reveal tumor immunosurveillance in peripheral blood. Expected outcome Our trial aims to confirm the clinical benefit of PARPi plus ICI combination therapy in ICI-resistant patients. Furthermore, through translational research, our trial will shed light on which patients would benefit from the targeted combination therapy for patients with HRR gene-mutated tumor even after the failure of ICIs. Trial registration The IMAGENE trial: jRCT, Clinical trial no.: jRCT2051210120, Registered date: November 9, 2021.

Abstract The livestock industry is a major source of atmospheric volatile organic compounds(VOCs), but details on these emissions are not well documented in Japan. In particular, it remains unclear how the rearing method affects the emissions of VOCs from livestock, which originate primarily from feces and urine. Here we aimed to estimate the amounts of VOCs emitted from the feces and urine of tethered Holstein dairy cattle in a cattle shed in Japan. Dimethyl sulfide and acetone accounted for about 60% of the total VOCs emitted from feces, followed by formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Also, dimethyl sulfide and acetone were the dominant VOCs emitted from urine, accounting for 90% of the total VOCs. The VOCs from manure were considered to be emitted between the excretion and removal of the manure during the cleaning of the shed. As a result of analyzing images from three cameras installed in the shed, the average time between excretion and cleaning during the daytime (8:00 am–5:00 pm) was 80 min for feces and urine, whereas at night (5:00 pm–7:00 am), the average time between excretion and cleaning was 480 min. Based on the above findings, the emissions of VOCs in the interval between excretion and cleaning of the shed were estimated. As a result, the emissions of VOCs from feces and urine per head of cattle in the shed were estimated to be 1.75 and 1.52 g day−1, respectively. Furthermore, contribution of VOCs emitted from manure to odor activity value (OAV) and hydroxyl radical reactivity (OHR) were also estimated. Volatile fatty acids and sulfur compounds emitted from feces estimated to have high contribution to OAV, whereas aldehydes contributed mainly for OHR from manure.

Abstract Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have tumour initiation, self-renewal, and long-term tumour repopulation properties, and it is postulated that differentiated somatic cells can be reprogrammed to CSCs by oncogenic signals. We previously showed that oncogenic HRAS V12 conferred tumour initiation capacity in tumour suppressor p53-deficient (p53 −/− ) primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) through transcription factor NF-κB-mediated enhancement of glucose uptake; however, the underlying mechanisms of RAS oncogene-induced CSC reprogramming have not been elucidated. Here, we found that the expression of the reprogramming factor SOX2 was induced by HRAS V12 in p53 −/− MEFs. Moreover, gene knockout studies revealed that SOX2 is an essential factor for the generation of CSCs by HRAS V12 in mouse and human fibroblasts. We demonstrated that HRASV12-induced cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) activity and subsequent enhancement of protein O-GlcNAcylation were required for SOX2 induction and CSC generation in these fibroblasts and cancer cell lines containing RAS mutations. Moreover, the CDK inhibitor dinaciclib and O-GlcNAcylation inhibitor OSMI1 reduced the number of CSCs derived from these cells. Taken together, our results reveal a signalling pathway and mechanism for CSC generation by oncogenic RAS and suggest the possibility that this signalling pathway is a therapeutic target for CSCs.

There is concern among the general public that information technology (IT) innovations may make existing jobs redundant. This may be perceived to pose a greater problem to future generations because new technologies, not limited to IT innovations, will be sophisticated in the future. Our previous work revealed that messages reminding people of familial support as a nudge can moderate risk-averse attitudes toward risks that are perceived to threaten future generations, which could be effective for other kinds of risks. Therefore, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the message effects for information provision on IT innovations. The study was conducted via an online questionnaire survey in January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than 3,200 samples were collected from respondents aged 20 years or older living in Japan. The treatment groups received basic information supplemented with additional text or additional text and an illustration that highlighted IT innovations as support from previous generations. The control group received only the basic textual information. The effects of the intervention were evaluated by comparing changes in average subjective assessment of IT in the treatment groups with those in the control group. The intervention effect was statistically significant, and the sense of familial support after receiving the intervention messages was significantly increased in the treatment group that viewed the illustration compared with the control group. Additionally, we discuss how each component of the HEXACO personality traits influences responses to the intervention messages. Through a series of surveys, we demonstrated the potential of our framework for a wide variety of applications involving information provision perceived to involve future generations.

Abstract Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CO2, temperature, and humidity in a private room in a care facility for the elderly were measured and the behavior of a resident and staff were recorded in order to clarify the effects of the resident’s behavior, especially defecation, on indoor air quality. Average indoor concentrations of total VOCs (in μg m−3) in summer, autumn, and winter were 40.9, 16.7, and 18.8, respectively. Average indoor concentrations of CO2 in summer, autumn, and winter were 813, 761, and 1144 ppm, respectively, revealing a tendency for the concentrations of CO2 to be higher in winter, in contrast to the VOC concentration. The concentrations of VOCs and CO2 were 1.1 to 1.5 times higher when the resident was present in the room than when the resident was absent. This result suggests that one of the main sources of VOC and CO2 emissions in indoor air was the resident. Acetic acid, 1-butanol, propanoic acid, hexanoic acid, and phenol, which are contained in human sweat, exhaled air, and excrement, were the predominant VOCs in the air of the room regardless of the season, and these five components accounted for more than 90% of the total VOCs. The concentrations of these components were higher when the resident was present in the room, suggesting that the resident was the main source of these components. Based on the changes in the VOC and CO2 concentrations over time and the records of the resident and the staff, it was noted that VOC concentrations decreased, in some cases, before and after diaper changes. Our research suggests that certain aspects of the behavior of residents can be inferred by monitoring changes in indoor air quality.

Abstract Anti‐proinflammatory cytokine therapies against interleukin (IL)‐6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and IL‐1 are major advancements in treating inflammatory diseases, especially rheumatoid arthritis. Such therapies are mainly performed by injection of antibodies against cytokines or cytokine receptors. We initially found that the glycolytic inhibitor 2‐deoxy‐d‐glucose (2‐DG), a simple monosaccharide, attenuated cellular responses to IL‐6 by inhibiting N‐linked glycosylation of the IL‐6 receptor gp130. Aglycoforms of gp130 did not bind to IL‐6 or activate downstream intracellular signals that included Janus kinases. 2‐DG completely inhibited dextran sodium sulfate‐induced colitis, a mouse model for inflammatory bowel disease, and alleviated laminarin‐induced arthritis in the SKG mouse, an experimental model for human rheumatoid arthritis. These diseases have been shown to be partially dependent on IL‐6. We also found that 2‐DG inhibited signals for other proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF‐α, IL‐1β, and interferon ‐γ, and accordingly, prevented death by another inflammatory disease, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) shock. Furthermore, 2‐DG prevented LPS shock, a model for a cytokine storm, and LPS‐induced pulmonary inflammation, a model for acute respiratory distress syndrome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). These results suggest that targeted therapies that inhibit cytokine receptor glycosylation are effective for treatment of various inflammatory diseases.

Background The aims of this study were (1) to clarify the impact of tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) status on the outcome and immunogenomic profile of human clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and (2) to determine phenotypic differences in TLSs between different types of genitourinary cancer, that is, urinary ccRCC and bladder cancer.Methods We performed a quantitative immunohistological analysis of ccRCC tissue microarrays and conducted integrated genome mutation analysis by next-generation sequencing and methylation array analysis. Since the tumor immune microenvironment of ccRCC often differs from that of other cancer types, we analyzed the phenotypic differences in TLSs between ccRCC and in-house bladder cancer specimens.Results Varying distribution patterns of TLSs were observed throughout ccRCC tumors, revealing that the presence of TLSs was related to poor prognosis. An analysis of genomic alterations based on TLS status in ccRCC revealed that alterations in the PI3K-mTOR pathway were highly prevalent in TLS-positive tumors. DNA methylation profiling also revealed distinct differences in methylation signatures among ccRCC samples with different TLS statuses. However, the TLS characteristics of ccRCC and bladder cancer markedly differed: TLSs had the exact opposite prognostic impact on bladder cancer as on ccRCC. The maturity and spatial distribution of TLSs were significantly different between the two cancer types; TLSs were more mature with follicle-like germinal center organization and likely to be observed inside the tumor in bladder cancer. Labeling for CD8, FOXP3, PD-1, and PD-L1 showed marked differences in the diversity of the immune microenvironment surrounding TLSs. The proportions of CD8-, FOXP3-, and PD-L1-positive cells were significantly higher in TLSs in bladder cancer than in TLSs in ccRCC; rather the proportion of PD-1-positive cells was significantly higher in TLSs in ccRCC than in TLSs in bladder cancer.Conclusion The immunobiology of ccRCC is unique, and various cancerous phenomena conflict with that seen in other cancer types; therefore, comparing the TLS characteristics between ccRCC and bladder cancer may help reveal differences in the prognostic impact, maturity and spatial distribution of TLSs and in the immune environment surrounding TLSs between the two cancers.

In computer-aided diagnosis systems for lung cancer, segmentation of lung nodules is important for analyzing image features of lung nodules on computed tomography (CT) images and distinguishing malignant nodules from benign ones. However, it is difficult to accurately and robustly segment lung nodules attached to the chest wall or with ground-glass opacities using conventional image processing methods. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a method for robust and accurate three-dimensional (3D) segmentation of lung nodule regions using deep learning. In this study, a nested 3D fully connected convolutional network with residual unit structures was proposed, and designed a new loss function. Compared with annotated images obtained under the guidance of a radiologist, the Dice similarity coefficient (DS) and intersection over union (IoU) were 0.845 ± 0.008 and 0.738 ± 0.011, respectively, for 332 lung nodules (lung adenocarcinoma) obtained from 332 patients. On the other hand, for 3D U-Net and 3D SegNet, the DS was 0.822 ± 0.009 and 0.786 ± 0.011, respectively, and the IoU was 0.711 ± 0.011 and 0.660 ± 0.012, respectively. These results indicate that the proposed method is significantly superior to well-known deep learning models. Moreover, we compared the results obtained from the proposed method with those obtained from conventional image processing methods, watersheds, and graph cuts. The DS and IoU results for the watershed method were 0.628 ± 0.027 and 0.494 ± 0.025, respectively, and those for the graph cut method were 0.566 ± 0.025 and 0.414 ± 0.021, respectively. These results indicate that the proposed method is significantly superior to conventional image processing methods. The proposed method may be useful for accurate and robust segmentation of lung nodules to assist radiologists in the diagnosis of lung nodules such as lung adenocarcinoma on CT images.

Nudging is a method for eliciting a desired behavior. One approach to nudging involves information provision. When information presented for this purpose is designed from an evolutionary perspective, it may reveal a deeper level of rationality within human decision-making that might otherwise appear to be irrational. Based on insights from the evolution of altruism, we previously designed a message to remind people of the benefits they have received from the actions of relatives to realize industrialization. We then demonstrated that using this message in Japan was effective at moderating extreme risk-averse attitudes toward air pollution resulting from industrialization. However, the universality of the intervention effect, including whether it could be affected by exogenous factors, was not explored. Therefore, in the present study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial based on an online survey carried out in Japan, Canada, and the US. The intervention was shown to be effective in all the three countries, but the effect size varied according to segment. Although women showed more intervention effects than men in Japan and the US, no significant sex difference was observed in Canada. In terms of personality traits, higher agreeableness significantly contributed to the intervention effects. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated many lifestyle changes, was found to weaken the intervention effect by increasing the message effect in the control group. We propose that this effect was caused by an increased perception of familial support in everyday life. These results suggest that the nudge message was universally effective, although the effect size might have been affected by cultural factors and social events.

Disposable plastics are drawing considerable attention as a source of environmental risk despite their benefits in daily life. Banning the use of disposable plastics could increase other types of risks, which may damage the public good in the long run. Considering the trade-off of the risks and benefits, one way to improve social welfare is to conduct proper recycling and to continue using plastics but limit them to essential use, avoiding an unnecessary ban. A potential barrier to such a policy might be risk-averse attitudes toward actions that are perceived to threaten future generations, which is a well-known phenomenon. We previously designed a framework for information provision using messages that remind individuals about familial support, which had significant effects in multiple countries on increasing positive attitudes toward air pollution caused by industrialization. We hypothesized that this information provision could also be effective for disposable plastic use. Thus, we conducted a randomized controlled trial via online surveys in Japan, Canada, and the US to identify the effects of our designed messages about recycling on increasing positive attitudes toward disposable plastics. The intervention effects were measured by the difference-in-difference method and panel analysis based on linear regression models using the respondents' attributes and personality traits. The effects were consistently correlated with a sense of familial support, with the effect sizes varying according to country (US > Japan > Canada). Attributes that positively contributed to the message being more effective were higher agreeableness, lower Machiavellianism, lower psychopathy, and being a woman. Although personal fear about COVID-19 moderated the message effects, concern about the threats to relatives and family boosted the effects. Although the effect sizes were influenced by external factors, the results suggested that our proposed framework for information provision has the potential to be applied to a wider variety of risk-related topics.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) in houses is often deteriorated by chemical substances emitted from heating, building materials, or other household goods. Since it is difficult for occupants to recognize air pollution, they rarely understand the actual conditions of the IAQ. An investigation into the actual condition of IAQ in houses was therefore conducted in this study. Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in 24 occupied houses was measured, and the results from our analysis showed that the use of combustion heaters increased the concentration of CO2 and led to indoor air pollution. Results indicate that as outdoor temperature decreased, the frequency of ventilation decreased simultaneously, and CO2 concentration increased. Results of the questionnaire survey revealed that the actual IAQ in each house did not match the level of awareness its occupants had regarding ventilation. Along with this difficulty in perceiving air pollution, the lack of knowledge about ventilation systems and the effects of combustion heating may be additional barriers to IAQ awareness.