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In the spring of 2013, Akira Suzuki, the Japanese architectural critic, editor and Professor of Architecture at Musashino Art University, issued an invitation to three architects to design and self-build a tree house for HC Andersen Park in the suburbs of Tokyo. He observes how the resulting ephemeral structures, built out of the trees themselves, invited interaction with visitors and, and were 'less material buildings with solid roofs and walls than 'conditions' or 'happenings''. He discerns that the widespread adoption of social media in Japan has resulted in a paradigm shift. This has moved creativity away from the folly, as an object of contemplation, scale-less and position-less on the landscape's horizon and solitary in the mind. In its place, the solitary browsing of networks is causing people to meet in actual space, which resists the easy flows of internet connectivity without imposing walls or rooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are composed of DNA and antimicrobial proteins, including myeloperoxidase (MPO). Recent studies have demonstrated that impaired regulation of NETs could trigger an autoimmune response. Propylthiouracil (PTU), an antithyroid drug, is associated with a risk of MPO antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) production and MPO ANCA-associated vasculitis (MPO AAV). This study was undertaken to clarify the mechanism of MPO ANCA production, using the PTU-induced model of MPO AAV. Methods NETs were induced by treating human neutrophils with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) in vitro. We examined whether the addition of PTU influenced the NET formation induced by PMA and the degradation of NETs by DNase I, which is regarded as a regulator of NETs. Furthermore, we examined whether NETs generated by the combination of PMA and PTU induced MPO ANCA and MPO AAV in vivo in rats. Results When NETs were induced by PMA with PTU using human neutrophils in vitro, abnormal conformation of NETs was observed. Interestingly, the abnormal NETs were hardly digested by DNase I. Moreover, rats immunized with the abnormal NETs, which had been induced by PMA with PTU using rat neutrophils, produced MPO ANCA and developed pulmonary capillaritis. When rats were given oral PTU with intraperitoneal injection of PMA, pauci-immune glomerulonephritis and pulmonary capillaritis occurred with MPO ANCA production in the serum. Conclusion Our findings indicate that abnormal conformation and impaired degradation of NETs induced by PTU are involved in the pathogenesis of PTU-induced MPO ANCA production and MPO AAV. These findings suggest that disordered NETs can be critically implicated in the pathogenesis of MPO AAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral functional training and nutrient supplements to improve the nutrition of malnourished elderly people in a nursing home. Background: Malnutrition is a frequent problem in the elderly requiring long-tem care; however, it is not clear whether oral functional training can be effective to improve nutrition. Subjects and methods: Fourteen subjects of 82 residents (mean age 85.7 ± 6.2 years) in a nursing home, who had a serum albumin level of ≤3.8 g/dl and understood the purpose of this study, were randomly divided into two groups of seven: one group served as the supplement group (mean age 87.0 ± 4.9 years) to which a high-calorie and high-protein diet was provided, and the other as the oral training plus supplement group (mean age 84.6 ± 10.1 years) to which oral functional training was given by a dental hygienist once a week as well as the above diet. Nutritional status was evaluated using serum biochemical values as indices at 4 months after the start of the intervention. Results: In the supplement group, serum albumin was 3.44 ± 0.36 g/dl at the start of the study (before intervention) and 3.24 ± 0.45 g/dl at 4 months after intervention. In the oral training plus supplement group, it was 3.56 ± 0.22 g/dl before intervention and significantly increased to 3.70 ± 0.33 g/dl after intervention ( p < 0.05: Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Conclusion: Nutritional supplements alone were not adequate, but with oral functional training to maintain and improve feeding function, nutritional improvement in the elderly could be observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]