Japanese American Research Articles

Beneath Heavy Pines in World War II Louisiana: The Japanese American Internment Experience at Camp Livingston by Hayley Johnson and Sarah Simms (review)

Beneath Heavy Pines in World War II Louisiana: The Japanese American Internment Experience at Camp Livingston by Hayley Johnson and Sarah Simms (review)

Disrupting the Reproductive Lives of Japanese American Families During Wartime: The Overlapping Histories of Removal, Incarceration, and Eugenic Sterilization, 1942–1946

The World War II mass incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans disrupted families, enacted intergenerational trauma, and characterized Japanese Americans as inherent racial threats. This federal exercise in biopolitical management intersected with state-sponsored eugenic sterilization in California institutions. Linking War Relocation Authority and California Department of Institutions records, we document 32 Japanese American sterilization survivors during the wartime incarceration period (1942–1946). We show how federal and state authority converged to deprive Japanese Americans of civil rights and reproductive liberty. We add original research and analysis to the intertwined histories of Japanese American incarceration, eugenics, and family in the United States.

The Japanese American incarceration and the origins of penology in California: A microhistory

AbstractThe history of academic criminology has been written at a macro‐scale from national and international perspectives. These histories rely on abstract concepts that overlook external events in the formation of criminology. Using a microhistory approach, this article explores the origins of the penology programme established at the Police School of San José State University. Willard Schmidt started the programme in 1946 based on his experience as director of security police at Tule Lake prison camp, a site for incarceration of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. The discussion examines August Vollmer's role in founding the Police School and his opposition to the incarceration, Schmidt's activities at Tule Lake, and how this shaped the first penology programme in California.

Transparent Citizenship: The Racialization of Privacy in Post–World War II Japanese American Fiction

Abstract Written in the wake of the Japanese incarceration and the emergence of new Cold War discourses around race, privacy, and democracy, Hisaye Yamamoto’s and John Okada’s works mark a shift from the specific targeting of Japanese Americans as individuals whose citizenship was contingent upon enforced transparency to the broader suspicion of the more generalized “Oriental” as a figure whose opacity becomes an excuse for racialized surveillance and policing in the name of national security. As formerly interned or imprisoned individuals, Yamamoto’s and Okada’s protagonists begin their stories already understanding the contingency of their right to privacy and the expectations of transparency that attend their reentry into the mainstream of US society. This article argues that Yamamoto’s and Okada’s depictions of this transparent citizenship not only critique the limitations and burdens of proof that it places on racialized (and otherwise minoritized) individuals, but also articulate ways to think differently about citizenship itself. What if US citizenship were understood as a formation that did not fetishize the role of individual agency in the process of self-determination? What if the goal of transparency was not to expose or condemn the individual but to better illuminate the parts that individuals play in the construction of our society, and the complexity of their connections to others? And how might transparent citizenship be reconceptualized to empower, rather than infantilize, citizens vis-à-vis the state, by giving us information we might need to imagine and remake the power dynamics of this relationship?

Efficacy and safety of olezarsen in lowering apolipoprotein C-III and triglycerides in healthy Japanese Americans

BackgroundOlezarsen is a GalNAc3-conjugated, hepatic-targeted antisense oligonucleotide that lowers apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III) and triglyceride levels. The efficacy and safety of olezarsen has not previously been studied in ethnically diverse American populations. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of olezarsen in healthy Japanese Americans.MethodsA randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase 1 study was performed in 28 healthy Japanese American participants treated with olezarsen in single-ascending doses (SAD; 30, 60, 90 mg) or multiple doses (MD; 60 mg every 4 weeks for 4 doses). The primary, secondary, and exploratory objectives were safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and effects of olezarsen on fasting serum triglycerides and apoC-III, respectively.ResultsThere were 20 participants (16 active:4 placebo) in the SAD part of the study, and 8 participants (6 active:2 placebo) in the MD part of the study. For the primary endpoint, no serious adverse events or clinically relevant laboratory abnormalities were reported. The majority of olezarsen plasma exposure occurred within 24 h post-dose. In the SAD cohorts at Day 15 the percentage reduction in apoC-III/TG was − 39.4%/ − 17.8%, − 60.8%/ − 52.7%, and − 68.1%/ − 39.2% in the 30, 60 and 90 mg doses, respectively, vs 2.3%/44.5% increases in placebo. In the MD cohort, at Day 92 the percentage reduction in apoC-III/TG was − 81.6/ − 73.8% vs − 17.2/ − 40.8% reduction in placebo. Favorable changes were also present in VLDL-C, apoB and HDL-C.ConclusionsSingle- and multiple-dose administration of olezarsen was safe, was well tolerated, and significantly reduced apoC-III and triglyceride levels in healthy Japanese Americans.

The Female Body and the Environment: A Transnational Study of Mo Yan’s Feng ru Fei tun, Murakami Haruki’s Nejimaki-dori Kuronikuru, and Gabriel García Márquez’s El amor en los tiempos del cólera

The female body is often depicted in parallel with the environment in many literary works. This article examines how the female body can prompt a rethinking of the environment by analyzing three literary works, Mo Yan’s Feng ru Fei tun, published in 1996 Murakami Haruki’s Nejimaki-dori Kuronikuru, published in 1994-1995, and Gabriel García Márquez’s El amor en los tiempos del cólera, published in 1985, which root in Chinese, Japanese, and Latin American cultures, respectively. This paper argues that, on the one hand, the female body parallels the environment by displaying non-human characteristics and relating to natural elements in these three works; on the other hand, it deconstructs the boundary between the environment and humans by playing a crucial role in constructing human identity. This paper draws on theories of posthumanism, material feminism, and ecofeminism to explore the depiction of the female body and its role in rethinking the environment. The cultural hybridity of local and non-local worldviews—a key reason for situating this study within a transnational comparative framework—serves as a crucial element in demonstrating how the female body bridges the environment and human identity across all three works. This analysis aims to deconstruct the anthropocentric perspective on the environment, thereby rethinking the role of the female body in this context.

‘If I were at peace, I wouldn’t be here’: Staging incarceration’s transgenerational, transnational ghosts and memory in Jay Kuo’s Allegiance

While a majority of the Second World War-based musicals tend to glorify America’s heroism and downplay or ignore its injustices, Jay Kuo’s (2015) musical Allegiance centres on the unlawful incarceration of over one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese American civilians held in American concentration camps during the war, which is a history that many Americans continue not to be aware of. Through foregrounding Jessica Nakamura’s framework of response-ability, this article considers the ways Allegiance activates it, through the use of spectral embodiment as a means to engage ghosts of Japanese diasporic war memory, especially as it relates to the portrayal of the historical figure Mike Masaoka and a staging of the Hiroshima bombing. Allegiance’s staging of ghosts is similarly interrogated within a musical where unsettled personal trauma conjures ghosts of the past that must be settled by characters like the protagonist, Sammy Kimura, who enters a dialogic relationship with them. Through analysing press materials, onstage performances, interviews and documentary content, this article highlights how transnational connections and transgenerational response-ability are staged to help cope with and remember Japanese and Japanese American experiences. It similarly discusses how the musical form aided and inhibited the show’s meaning to and resonance with audiences throughout Allegiance’s production history. Through settling and unsettling the dead, this article considers how Allegiance enshrines personal, communal and national memories about wartime incarceration into a piece of art that serves educational and reparative purposes for the production companies and audiences who experienced the show on and off-Broadway.

Schooling in camp: Incarceration camps and the Japanese American school experience during World War II

AbstractObjectiveThis study aims to explore the school experiences of Japanese American children and teenagers who were incarcerated in camps during World War II following the issuance of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.MethodsThe study examines video interviews available in Densho's online archive, focusing on the educational experiences of second‐generation Japanese Americans who resumed their education in the camps.ResultsThe analysis reveals that many interviewees reported positive experiences in camp schools, despite the poor conditions. A key factor contributing to these positive experiences was the dedication of teachers, who not only promoted academic success but also addressed the psychological and emotional needs of the incarcerated students.ConclusionWhile many interviewees highlighted the supportive role of teachers, the negative effects of incarceration on their school experiences cannot be overlooked, as a significant number recalled unpleasant aspects of their education in the camps. Moreover, the incarceration of Japanese Americans still has contemporary implications.

Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education Grants (DOI)

Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education Grants (DOI)

Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program (DOI)

Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program (DOI)

Abstract A086: Racial and ethnic disparities in prostate cancer survival in the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC)

Abstract Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) survival has improved over the past 20 years due to advancements in treatment and screening. However, racial and ethnic disparities in PCa survival remain. Studying population differences in PCa survival may help identify underlying contributing factors. Methods: We conducted survival analyses among 10,651 African American, Latino, Native Hawaiian, Japanese American, and non-Hispanic White (NHW) men with an incident PCa diagnosis since 1993 who were part of the Multiethnic Cohort Study. Sub- hazard ratios (SHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using the Fine and Grey Subdistribution Hazards Model to account for competing risks in PCa-specific mortality, with age since diagnosis as the time metric. Multivariable models included age at PCa diagnosis, Gleason score, stage at diagnosis, and baseline values of education, initial treatment (radiation, surgery, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or no active treatment), diabetes history, physical activity, BMI, smoking status, and dietary intakes linked to PCa progression (tomatoes, whole milk, fatty fish, processed meat, saturated fat, and alcohol). We also performed stratified analyses by tumor stage (localized or regional/distant) and Gleason score (≤7 or >7). Associations were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05. Results: Of 10,651 men diagnosed with PCa over 27 years of follow-up (mean duration, 8.4 years), 1,324 (12.4%) died of PCa. Those with lower Gleason scores were less likely to die than those with higher scores (6.8% of men with Gleason score ≤7 vs 21.3% of men with Gleason score >7, p<0.001). Likewise, men with localized disease were less likely to die than men with regional/distant disease (7.5% of men with localized disease vs. 29.2% of men with regional/distant disease, p<0.001). Japanese Americans had significantly lower mortality compared with NHWs (SHR=0.63, 95% CI:0.51, 0.79, p<0.001), consistently observed across stage and Gleason score: localized (SHR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.87, p<0.001); regional/distant (SHR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.88, p=0.01); Gleason ≤7 (SHR=0.61, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.86, p<0.001); and Gleason score >7 (SHR=0.59, 95% CI: 0.43, 0.79, p<0.001). PCa-specific mortality was significantly higher among African Americans compared to NHWs (SHR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.08-1.60, p=0.01). This difference was more pronounced for less aggressive tumors: localized (SHR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.96, p<0.001); Gleason ≤7 (SHR=1.28, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.71, p=0.11). Lastly, we did not observe significant differences in PCa mortality for Latinos and Native Hawaiians compared to NHWs overall or by disease severity. Conclusions: Japanese American have ∼40% lower and African Americans have ∼30% higher PCa-specific mortality relative to NHWs, even after accounting for lifestyle/behavioral factors, stage, Gleason score, and treatment. Further investigations are needed to explore social and cultural factors that impact care as well as tumor-based characteristics that may vary between populations to understand these disparities in PCa mortality. Citation Format: Wei Xiong, Fei Chen, Ann S. Hamilton, David Conti, Raymond Hughley, David Bogumil, Anqi Wang, Song-Yi Park, Peggy Wan, Lynne R. Wilkens, Loïc Le Marchand, Brenda Y. Hernandez, Christopher A. Haiman. Racial and ethnic disparities in prostate cancer survival in the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A086.

Abstract A048: Association between ambient particulate matter and colorectal cancer incidence: The Multiethnic Cohort Study

Abstract Background: Growing evidence suggests that air pollution may be a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). We examined the association between ambient particulate matter (PM) exposure and CRC risk within the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC), representing the first study to include a large sample of racial and ethnic minoritized populations. Methods: The MEC is a prospective study that recruited, from 1993 through 1996, men and women ages 45-75 years largely from five racial and ethnic groups (African American, Japanese American, Latino, Native Hawaiian, and Non-Hispanic White) living in Hawai‘i and California. This study included 98,675 California MEC participants, residing predominately in Los Angeles County. Satellite-based PM2.5 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5μm) exposures were estimated from a published spatiotemporal model. Kriging interpolation was used to estimate PM10 (PM <10μm) exposures using routine air monitoring data from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Time-varying PM exposures were assessed from time of recruitment through 12/31/2018. Incident invasive CRC cases were identified via linkage with the California Cancer Registry (n=3,217). Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association between PM and CRC risk using age as the time metric, with strata defined by age at cohort entry and race and ethnicity, and adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors. Heterogeneity of the PM-CRC association was assessed by sex, race and ethnicity, and CRC subsite (right colon, left colon, rectum). Results: Risk of CRC increased with PM2.5 (per 10μg/m3 hazard ratio [HR] 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96-1.33) with a larger HR observed among females (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.03-1.62) than males (HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.76-1.22) (Pheterogeneity=0.24). CRC risk was positively associated with PM2.5 across race and ethnicity (except for African American participants) with the largest HR observed among Latino participants (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.03-2.08) (Pheterogeneity=0.20). There was no statistically significant heterogeneity of PM2.5 effect by tumor subsite (Pheterogeneity=0.07); although larger HRs were seen for left colon (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.08- 2.14) and rectal cancers (HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.05-2.25) than right colon cancers (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.88-1.35). PM10 was not associated with CRC risk (per 10 μg/m3; HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.93-1.22) with no evidence of heterogeneity in associations by sex or race and ethnicity (respective Pheterogeneity 0.75, 0.44). Although HRs for PM10 appeared to differ by CRC subsite (Pheterogeneity=0.03), the 95% CI of these HRs included the null (right HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.84-1.06; left HR 1.13, 95% CI 0.95-1.35; rectal HR 1.18, 95% CI 0.97-1.43). Conclusions: Preliminary findings suggest that PM2.5 exposure is associated with CRC risk with larger associations in females and, possibly, for left colon and rectal cancer. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings and evaluate the potential biological pathways underlying these associations. Citation Format: Ugonna Ihenacho, Chiuchen Tseng, Jun Wu, Scott Fruin, Timothy V. Larson, Salma Shariff-Marco, Loïc Le Marchand, Daniel O. Stram, Lynne R. Wilkens, Christopher A. Haiman, Beate Ritz, Iona Cheng, Anna H. Wu. Association between ambient particulate matter and colorectal cancer incidence: The Multiethnic Cohort Study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A048.

Abstract B152: Joint Associations of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Education on the Incidence of Colorectal Cancer: The Multiethnic Cohort Study

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the 3rd most diagnosed cancer worldwide. When considered separately, both neighborhood- and individual-level SES exposures have been associated with CRC incidence. However, the joint associations of neighborhood- and individual-level SES on CRC incidence have not been examined. Methods: In a prospective study of 153,725 Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) participants (24,764 African American, 44,447 Japanese American, 34,974 Latino, 11,511 Native Hawaiian, and 38,029 White participants) recruited from predominantly Los Angeles County, California (CA), and Hawaii (HI), we examined the joint association of neighborhood SES (nSES) and individual-level education with CRC incidence (CA: 2,519, HI: 2,210 cases). Education, other demographics, and health behaviors were self-reported in the baseline questionnaire (1993-1996). CRC diagnosis was determined via linkages with state cancer registries. nSES was derived using a composite score based on 1990 US Census block group data and assigned to geocoded baseline addresses. Our joint SES measure included four categories: high nSES (quintiles 4-5) and high education (> high school), high nSES and low education (≤ high school), low nSES (quintiles 1-3) and high education, and low nSES and low education. State-specific hazards ratios (HR) for CRC incidence were estimated for joint SES categories. Cox regression adjusted for age at cohort entry, CRC family history, polyp history, obesity, diabetes, diet, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, and NSAID, multivitamin, and hormone therapy use. Subgroup analyses were conducted by sex, race, and ethnicity. Results: For HI MEC participants, compared to individuals with high nSES and high education, risk for CRC was highest among those with low nSES and low education (HR=1.27; 95% CI:1.11-1.45) followed by high nSES and low education (HR=1.25; 95% CI:1.12-1.41), and low nSES and high education (HR=1.17; 95% CI: 1.03-1.31). This pattern of association was observed across sex but differed across race and ethnicity (p-heterogeneity=0.04). The overall pattern of association was observed among White participants in HI. However, for Japanese American individuals in HI, compared to those with high nSES and high education, risk for CRC was highest for low nSES and high education (HR=1.29; 95% CI:1.09-1.53) and high nSES and low education (HR= 1.28; 95% CI; 1.10-1.50). For Native Hawaiian individuals, compared to those with high nSES and high education, CRC risk was highest for those with low nSES and low education (HR=1.70; 95% CI: 1.20-2.42). Associations were not statistically significant between the joint SES measure and CRC risk in CA (HRs: 0.92-0.97). Conclusion: Among MEC participants in HI, CRC risk varied with the joint measure of nSES and education across racial and ethnic groups. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the joint associations of neighborhood- and individual-level SES in understanding racial and ethnic disparities in CRC. Citation Format: Catherine Walsh, Meera Sangaramoorthy, Songyi Park, Sung-shim (Lani) Park, Gertraud Maskarinec, Lynne Wilkens, Christopher Haiman, Anna Wu, Salma Shariff-Marco, Loic Le Marchand, Iona Cheng. Joint Associations of Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Education on the Incidence of Colorectal Cancer: The Multiethnic Cohort Study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B152.

"A Different Kind of Hardship": Landscapes of Japanese American Resettlement During World War II

abstract: At the beginning of World War II, the United States illegally imprisoned 120,000 Japanese Americans and placed them in concentration camps for the duration of the war. What is less known about the incarceration is that more than one-quarter of the camp population, or approximately thirty-five thousand individuals, was encouraged to leave the camps and relocate to rural communities, small towns, and cities largely in the Mountain West, Midwest, and East Coast. This article focuses on the living conditions and experiences of Japanese Americans during this wartime resettlement period as they adjusted to life outside the camps and encountered a wide range of housing types, including tent camps, rooming houses, college dormitories, hostels, and, often, crowded and substandard apartments located in urban areas. Many Japanese Americans faced numerous challenges in these new environments, notably a discriminatory real estate industry and limited job opportunities. This discussion of the physical landscapes encountered during the resettlement period helps provide a more complete and richer understanding of the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during the war.

Association of Prepregnancy Cardiometabolic Factors With Gestational Diabetes Among Asian Populations in the United States

BackgroundAsian individuals are among the highest immigrant group to the United States and at particularly high risk of gestational diabetes, which is associated with long-term maternal cardiovascular disease. Limited data are available on the association of prepregnancy cardiometabolic risk factors with gestational diabetes among Asian American subjects. ObjectivesThis study sought to determine the association of prepregnancy hypertension and body mass index (BMI) among Asian ancestry subgroups and by maternal nativity. MethodsUsing data from the National Vital Statistics System from 2016 to 2019, the prevalence of gestational diabetes, stratified according to prepregnancy hypertension and obesity, was examined according to maternal race. Predicted probability of gestational diabetes with continuous BMI was calculated across Asian ancestry subgroups and by maternal nativity. ResultsAmong 13.3 million pregnancies, gestational diabetes occurred in 6.5%. Asian subjects had the highest prevalence (12.3%). Among those with prepregnancy hypertension, Asian subjects had the highest prevalence (29.3%). Across the range of BMI (18-42 kg/m2), Asian subjects had the highest predicted probability. There was substantial heterogeneity across Asian ancestry subgroups between the association of BMI with gestational diabetes, with highest probability among Japanese and Korean American subjects at BMI >23 kg/m2. Predicted probability of gestational diabetes was higher for mothers born outside the United States among all Asian subgroups, except for Japanese American subjects. ConclusionsAsian American individuals have the highest prevalence of gestational diabetes at any BMI and with hypertension. Substantial variation in risk is present across Asian subgroups. Findings suggest a need for more tailored screening and intervention for gestational diabetes among Asian American subjects, with a specific focus on risk for individuals born outside the United States.

Research Note : Recovering Vernacular Landscapes in World War II Incarceration Camps Through Japanese American Newspapers

abstract: In February 1942, an estimated 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans in the United States were forced to move into seventeen temporary holding camps formally and euphemistically named reception or assembly centers, and later were removed to ten semipermanent relocation centers. This Research Note seeks to demonstrate how knowledge about the ephemeral and lost assembly center landscapes may be recovered by critically examining reporting about carceral conditions in government-censored incarceration camp newspapers, using the Tanforan Totalizer , a prison camp newspaper published at the Tanforan Assembly Center, as a methodological case history. It takes into account the trauma and oppression the imprisoned population was experiencing at Tanforan Assembly Center, a racetrack in San Bruno, California, that was repurposed to serve as an assembly center. This article demonstrates the ability to recover substantial information about Tanforan landscapes in the Totalizer as well as the humor its journalists used as a strategic mode to evade censorship. Given that the newspaper was subject to extreme censorship, I evaluate it as a filter for what could be revealed about the landscapes at Tanforan Assembly Center and the prisoners' building practices at this temporary site of the incarceration. The prisoners' resilience in dealing with their oppressive living conditions is conveyed in this journalism along with the gravitas and poignancy of their agency, leavened with ironic humor and cooperative community efforts. This article also explores the embodied spatialized experience of Taro Katayama, editor of the Totalizer , as he moved from the Tanforan Assembly Center to the Central Utah Relocation Center at Topaz, Utah, where he was managing editor of the Topaz Times and an editor of the art journal Trek .

Quantification of eosinophils in the lower gastrointestinal tract of adults: a review of surgical specimens with normal histology from the Free State province, South Africa.

Eosinophils are normal residents of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). They are noted in small numbers with significant variation between anatomic locations. An idiopathic increase of eosinophils is known as eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease (EGID). EGIDs are a heterologous group of disorders that produce a range of enteric and colonic syndromes. Their incidence has been increasing worldwide. Our study aimed to quantify eosinophils in each segment of the GIT in surgical specimens with normal histology to facilitate the histological diagnosis of EGID. Similarly, we aimed to describe the effect of race and gender on gastrointestinal eosinophil numbers. A retrospective, quantitative comparative study was performed. We assessed 360 surgical specimens with normal histology from the lower gastrointestinal tract of African and Caucasian adults from the Free State Province, South Africa. The number of eosinophils per mm² was counted. Overall, comparable eosinophil values were noted for both males and females, and African and Caucasian South Africans. However, Caucasians recorded a higher concentration of eosinophils in the appendix and the left colon. Eosinophils were most numerous in the lamina propria, with only small numbers present in the epithelium. Our results show that the South African population has similar eosinophil distribution trends to international studies. However, South Africans had far fewer eosinophils than Japanese and North American adults in each segment. Specific eosinophil reference ranges were formulated to quantify reference ranges of eosinophils in the lower GIT, allowing for the accurate diagnosis of EGIDs in our population in future.

Comparative B cell epitope profiling in Japanese and North American cohorts of MDA5+ dermatomyositis reveals a direct association between immune repertoire and pulmonary mortality.

Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody-positive (MDA5+) dermatomyositis patients exhibit clinical features that vary by geographical and ethnic/genetic distribution. We therefore investigated whether B cell epitope profiles and corresponding clinical features distinguished two independent cohorts of MDA5+ dermatomyositis. We used ELISA-based methods to determine the relationship between antibody recognition of overlapping 155 amino acid MDA5 subfragments and clinical features of 17 MDA5+ dermatomyositis patients from Japan. Associations between clinical features and standardized anti-MDA5 subfragment antibody titers were assessed via Brunner Munzel testing and compared with clinical/serological profiles of an independent North American cohort. ROC analyses and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to further assess the relationship between anti-MDA5 fragment antibody levels and specific clinical features/outcomes. Clinical characterization of a Japanese cohort of 17 MDA5+ dermatomyositis patients revealed a high prevalence of arthritis (47%) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) (100%). Serological profiling demonstrated predominant antibody recognition of MDA5 fragments A (aa 1-155), B (aa 130-284), and E (aa 517-671) in a pattern that was distinct from North American MDA5+ patients (n = 24) whose sera preferentially recognized fragment H (aa 905-1026). Statistical analysis revealed a striking association between anti-fragment A antibody levels and rapidly progressive ILD (RP-ILD) among Japanese patients (p< 0.01). ROC and Kaplan Meier curves also demonstrated a strong relationship between anti-fragment A antibody levels, RP-ILD, and pulmonary death in combined cohort analyses. Japanese and North American MDA5+ dermatomyositis patients manifest markedly different B cell epitope profiles that are associated with higher prevalence of RP-ILD and worse clinical outcome among Japanese patients.

Racial and ethnic differences in second primary lung cancer risk among lung cancer survivors.

Recent therapeutic advances have improved survival among lung cancer (LC) patients, who are now at high risk of second primary lung cancer (SPLC). Hispanics comprise the largest minority in the United States, who have shown a lower LC incidence and mortality than other races, and yet their SPLC risk is poorly understood. We quantified the SPLC incidence patterns among Hispanics vs other races. We used data from the Multiethnic Cohort, a population-based cohort of 5 races (African American, Japanese American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, and White), recruited between 1993 and 1996 and followed through 2017. We identified patients diagnosed with initial primary lung cancer (IPLC) and SPLC via linkage to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Resultsregistries. We estimated the 10-year cumulative incidence of IPLC (in the entire cohort) and SPLC (among IPLC patients). A standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated as the ratio of SPLC-to-IPLC incidence by race and ethnicity. Among 202 692 participants, 6788 (3.3%) developed IPLC over 3 871 417 person-years. The 10-year cumulative IPLC incidence was lower among Hispanics (0.80%, 0.72 to 0.88) vs Whites (1.67%, 1.56 to 1.78) or Blacks (2.44%, 2.28 to 2.60). However, the 10-year SPLC incidence following IPLC was higher among Hispanics (3.11%, 1.62 to 4.61) vs Whites (2.80%, 1.94 to 3.66) or Blacks (2.29%, 1.48 to 3.10), resulting in a significantly higher SIR for Hispanics (SIR = 8.27, 5.05 to 12.78) vs Whites (SIR = 5.60, 4.11 to 7.45) or Blacks (SIR = 3.48, 2.42 to 4.84; P < .001). Hispanics have a higher SPLC incidence following IPLC than other races, which may be potentially due to better survival after IPLC and extended duration for SPLC development. Continuing surveillance is warranted to reduce racial disparities among LC survivors.

Policing the Catastrophe: History and Conspiracy in David Peace's Tokyo Trilogy

Abstract This essay focuses on the police protagonists in David Peace's Tokyo Trilogy and the historical mediations they perform in the worlds of the novels. It argues that these mediations are generated by the way Peace subverts the conventional narrative structure of historical detective fiction: rather than moving toward resolution—solving a crime—the object of detection is continually displaced to conspiracies with historical and political implications, thereby constituting different temporalities that do not move forward but rather repeat, circulate, or are perpetually delayed. Underlying these repetitions, transmissions, and premonitions are historical-political legacies of Japanese empire, war, and American anti-communist conspiracies, which open toward a critical-conspiratorial understanding of postwar Japan.