Masanao Katagiri

In Japan, there are many disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons; thus, the acquisition of knowledge and skills related to disaster preparation by the public is a key issue. In disaster preparation education, learning should be sustained until the disaster situation, not immediately after learning. In this study, we examined the effects of disaster education events on learning disaster preparation knowledge among elementary school children. We conducted two tests—a post-test and a post-post-test—immediately after the disaster education event in 2019 and six months after the event, respectively. These scores were used to measure persistence of learning. We confirmed that the improvement of knowledge and skills related to disaster reduction was sustained even after a certain period had passed since the disaster preparation education.

The effects of 21-hydroxypregnenolone and related steroids such as deoxycorticosterone (DOC; 21-hydroxyprogesterone), cortisol, and corticosterone on progesterone 17 alpha-hydroxylase activity by steroidogenic cytochrome P450 c17 (CYP17) were investigated. 21-Hydroxypregnenolone contains a hydroxyl group at C-3 in the A cyclic hydrocarbon ring and a double bond at C-5 in the B cyclic hydrocarbon ring, whereas DOC, cortisol, and corticosterone contain a ketone group at C-3 and a double bond at C-4 in the A cyclic hydrocarbon ring. No marked inhibition was observed for DOC, cortisol, and corticosterone at 100 mu M concentration. Nonetheless, 21-hydroxypregnenolone exhibited competitive inhibition of progesterone 17 alpha-hydroxylation activity by CYP17 with a K-i value of 36.4 mu M. These results suggest that a hydroxyl group at C-3 in the A ring and a double bond at C-5 in the B ring in steroid hormones are important for the substrate recognition of CYP17.