This study explores the integration of computer vision with topology optimization for additive manufacturing, with a focus on maximizing eigenfrequency in a design domain. Utilizing cus-tom-developed photogrammetry software, high-resolution images are processed to generate de-tailed 3D models, subsequently converted to STL files with precision. Adaptive meshing in COMSOL Multiphysics, controlled through a MATLAB API, ensures optimal mesh resolution. Prioritizing resource conservation in extraterrestrial environments, the original volume is reduced by 50% while preserving structural integrity. The design domain undergoes rigorous topology optimization in MATLAB, supported by COMSOL's advanced FEM simulation. The optimized design exhibits a 57% performance improvement and a 50% weight reduction, maintaining desired vibration characteristics, validating the efficacy of the modifications. Moreover, the case with an eccentric mass shows a significant 64% increase in eigenfrequency.

Lipopolysaccharides are a type of polysaccharide mainly present in the bacterial outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Recent studies have revealed that lipopolysaccharides contribute to the immune response of the host by functioning as a cancer antigen. We retrospectively recruited 198 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery. The presence of lipopolysaccharides was determined using immunohistochemical staining, with the intensity score indicating positivity. The relationship between lipopolysaccharides and CD8, PD-L1, TGFBI (a representative downstream gene of TGF-β signaling), E-cadherin, and claudin-4 (epithelial–mesenchymal transition markers) was also investigated. Thereafter, we identified 20 patients with advanced gastric cancer receiving nivolumab and investigated the relationship between lipopolysaccharides and nivolumab sensitivity. After staining for lipopolysaccharides in the nucleus of cancer cells, 150 negative (75.8%) and 48 positive cases (24.2%) were found. The lipopolysaccharide-positive group showed increased cancer stromal TGFBI expression (p < 0.0001) and PD-L1 expression in cancer cells (p = 0.0029). Lipopolysaccharide positivity was significantly correlated with decreased E-cadherin expression (p = 0.0055) and claudin-4 expression (p = 0.029); however, no significant correlation was found between lipopolysaccharide expression and overall survival rate (p = 0.71). Among cases receiving nivolumab, the lipopolysaccharide-negative and -positive groups had a disease control rate of 66.7% and 11.8%, respectively (p = 0.049). Lipopolysaccharide positivity was associated with TGF-β signaling and epithelial–mesenchymal transition and was considered to promote therapeutic resistance to nivolumab.

The use of interspecific hybrids during the industrial fermentation process has been well established, positioning the frontier of advancement in brewing to capitalize on the potential of Saccharomyces hybridization. Interspecific yeast hybrids used in modern monoculture inoculations benefit from a wide range of volatile metabolites that broaden the organoleptic complexity. This is the first report of sake brewing by Saccharomyces arboricola and its hybrids. S. arboricola x S. cerevisiae direct-mating generated cryotolerant interspecific hybrids which increased yields of ethanol and ethyl hexanoate compared to parental strains, important flavor attributes of fine Japanese ginjo sake rice wine. We used hierarchical clustering heatmapping with principal component analysis for metabolic profiling and found that the low levels of endogenous amino/organic acids clustered S. arboricola apart from the S. cerevisiae industrial strains. In sake fermentations, hybrid strains showed a mosaic profile of parental strains, while metabolic analysis suggested S. arboricola had a lower amino acid net uptake than S. cerevisiae. Additionally, we found an increase in ethanolic fermentation from pyruvate and increased sulfur metabolism. Together, our results suggest S. arboricola is poised for in-depth metabolomic exploration in sake fermentation.

This paper employs the two-step procedure developed by Cheung and Ng (1996) to analyze the causality-in-mean and causality-in-variance between the housing and stock markets of the UK. The empirical findings make two key contributions. First, although previous studies have indicated a one-way causal relation from the housing market to the stock market in the UK, this paper discovered a two-way causal relation between them. Second, a causality-in-variance as well as a causality-in-mean was detected from the housing market to the stock market.

This paper presents a novel approach for individual design perception modeling using the YUKI-trained Fuzzy Inference System. The study focuses on understanding how individuals perceive design based on personality traits, particularly openness to experience. The proposed YUKI algorithm optimizes the FCM clustering algorithm, enhancing its ability to handle uncertain and imprecise data. The YUKI-trained FIS generates several Sugeno-type FIS models to predict design perception, to minimize the Root Mean Squared Error between the model prediction and the actual design perception of participants. The results demonstrate that the YUKI-trained FIS offers more accurate predictions compared to the traditional FCM-trained FIS, and the RMSE values for individual design perceptions fall within a satisfactory range of 0.84 to 1.32. The YUKI-trained FIS proves effective in clustering individuals based on their level of openness, providing insights into how personality traits influence design perception.

(1) Background: Double-strand breaks (DSBs) in a single nucleus are usually measured using the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA), sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test, and comet assay (CA). We developed mono-dimensional single-cell pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (1D-SCPFGE) and angle-modulated two-dimensional single-cell pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (2D-SCPFGE) to observe DNA fragmentation in separated motile sperm. (2) Methods: We set up comparative standards, calibration curves, the required sensitivity, and eligibility criteria for test sperm to validate their measurement principles. (3) Results: We revealed that the conventional methods overlooked the interference of nucleoproteins in their measurements. In-gel proteolysis improves the measurement accuracies of 1D- and 2D-SCPFGE. We recommend using naked DNA for comparative standards and test specimens. Moreover, we have observed several dysfunctions that may induce DNA damage in the separated motile sperm. Overall, our discussion highlights the need to revisit the conventional univariable analyses based on the SCSA, SCD test, and CA. (4) Conclusions: Human infertility is a complex syndrome, and the aim of quality control in intracytoplasmic sperm injection is to identify the underlying dysfunctions remaining in the separated motile sperm that render them ineligible for injection. Well-designed, multivariable analyses with special consideration to confounding factors are necessary in future cohort studies.

Right-sided ligamentum teres (RSLT) is a rare anatomic variant in which the fetal umbilical vein connects to the right portal vein. Patients with RSLT frequently have hepatic vasculature and bile duct anomalies, which increase the risk of complications with hepatectomy. Most patients with RSLT undergo open hepatectomy. We describe a patient with RSLT and hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent laparoscopic hepatectomy. The patient was a 69-year-old man with hepatocellular carcinoma located in the left liver based on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging also demonstrated RSLT. Three-dimensional CT analysis revealed independent right lateral type anomalies of the portal vein and bile duct. Laparoscopic extended left lateral sectionectomy was performed after careful surgical planning. Ultrasonography was used frequently during surgery to avoid damaging the right hepatic vasculature. The left lateral and partial left median sections were removed as planned. The patient’s postoperative recovery was uneventful. Avoiding injury to the right hepatic vasculature is essential when performing left lobectomy, including left lateral sectionectomy, in patients with RSLT. Laparoscopic hepatectomy can be performed safely in patients with RSLT, provided that careful surgical planning is conducted using preoperative three-dimensional CT analysis and intraoperative ultrasonography is used.

Background Community health workers (CHWs) drawn from the general population are an important human resource in health care systems, preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and contributing to an increase in healthy life expectancy in Japan. Thus, we have developed the COmmunity health workers perceptual and behavioral Competency Scale for preventing Non-communicable diseases (COCS-N) to measure CHWs’ competence in preventing NCDs. The purpose of this study is to examine individual and community factors affecting CHWs’ COCS-N scores. Methods Municipal public health nurses and other public health professionals are responsible for training and supporting CHWs in Japan. Therefore, the existence of CHWs and their willingness to participate in the study were confirmed with the municipalities, who were asked to distribute the self-administered questionnaire to CHWs where consent was obtained (N = 6,480). Variables used included demographic characteristics, COCS-N scores, and individual- and community-related factors. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess associations between variables. Results A total of 3,120 people completed the questionnaire, a valid response rate of 48.1%. The respondents’ mean age was 67.0 years (standard deviation = 9.0), and 88.0% were female. Comparison of the high- and low- competence groups in terms of NCD prevention based on COCS-N scores identified 13 factors associated with significant differences, including years spent working as a CHW (p < 0.001), subjective sense of health (p = 0.005), European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) scores (p < 0.001), and community commitment scale (CCS) scores (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that HLS-EU-Q47 scores (odds ratio [OR]: 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.03) were a significant individual factor, while CCS scores (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11–1.16) were a significant community factor. Conclusions We found that the COCS-N score was associated with the individual factors overall health literacy (HL), perceptions of HL, and subjective sense of health, and with the community factor CCS scores. These results suggest that strengthening individual factors such as HL and subjective sense of health, and community factors such as sense of community is an effective strategy for increasing CHWs’ competence in preventing NCDs.

This report elucidates the first surgical correction of an infundibular muscular ventricular septal defect (VSD) in a one-year-old Ragdoll cat via cardiac arrest using cardiopulmonary bypass, a method that is rarely used in feline cardiac surgery. VSDs can lead to congestive heart failure and pulmonary hypertension, particularly in patients with large shunts. This case involved a VSD that was atypically located and classified under the Soto classification instead of the standard Kirklin classification. Detailed echocardiography revealed that the defect required intervention owing to left heart and main pulmonary artery enlargement. Despite the VSD being located on the contralateral side, as anticipated in the preoperative examinations, the choice of median sternotomy allowed for successful closure of the defect. Conversely, the insertion of two cannulas into the ascending aorta resulted in damage to the adjacent thoracic duct, causing transient chylothorax, which resolved with conservative treatment. Cardiac arrest induced by a cardioplegic solution facilitated the surgical procedure, although it has led to anemia in cats. However, on postoperative day 490, the patient exhibited only minor residual shunting with normalized heart size, and remained healthy. This technique appears to be a viable treatment option for congenital heart disease in cats.

Our study clarified what is the same or not between Tier 1(Tokyo) and Tier 2(Kansai) metropolitan areas on shrinking cities problems. Both of metropolitan areas will dramatically decrease the Housing Asset Value (HAV) where areas of bedroom communities are located. On the other hand, compared to Tokyo, Kansai has been hit by decline at a faster pace. This raises the question of whether Kansai will be more or less impoverished by the deflation of the HAV. According to our results, Kansai municipalities should expect the HAV losses of 38% by 2045, but the HAV losses would be higher in the northern suburbs of Osaka. Kansai has to face the effects of the HAV deflation faster than Tokyo. But Tokyo has a neck of higher residential land price, the income multiplier of the HAV per household is about 4. The HAV deflation hits more severe problems for elderly households in Tokyo. Considering our study, Tier 2 metropolitan area is much faster effects of the HAV deflation, but Tier 1 metropolitan area has more serious social problem than Tier 2. Hence, there are different problems of different natures rather than which one is more severely affected by the deflation of the HAV.

The risk of gastric cancer (GC) declines after Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication and long-term aspirin use. We evaluated the effects of H. pylori eradication (Cohort 1) and aspirin use (Cohort 2) on the methylation of microRNAs (miRNAs) such as miR-34c, miR-124a-3, miR-129-2, and miR-137 in the gastric mucosa with and without GC, i.e., atrophic mucosa (AM) and intestinal metaplasia (IM). DNA was isolated from AM and IM separately using laser caption microdissection. In Cohort 1, H. pylori eradication was associated with a significant reduction of miR-124a-3 methylation only in AM, but not in IM. miR-129-2 methylation in AM may be a surrogate marker of GC in H. pylori-infected patients. In Cohort 2, aspirin did not reverse miRNA methylation in either AM or IM irrespective of H. pylori infection. miR-129-2 methylation in AM was an independent predictive marker of GC in H. pylori-infected but not -eradicated patients. These results indicate that H. pylori eradication and aspirin use were less effective in improving methylation in IM compared with AM; thus, these interventions are recommended at an early stage prior to the development of IM to prevent GC development.

The effect of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) encapsulated in nanoparticles (Nano PGE1) on motor dysfunction and muscle atrophy induced by sciatic nerve injury (SNI) was investigated in rats, and was compared with PGE1 encapsulated in lipid microspheres (Lipo PGE1) or PGE1 clathrated in cyclodextrin (PGE1-CD). The hind limb muscle weight ratio decreased until 2 weeks after SNI. All 3 PGE1 formulations significantly improved SNI-induced motor dysfunction. Nano PGE1 significantly promoted recovery from muscle atrophy at 2 and 3 weeks after SNI. Lipo PGE1 was also effective, but multiple doses were required. Compared with the SNI control group, the Nano PGE1 group showed upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and agrin expression in the injured sciatic nerve and atrophic muscles. Nano PGE1 accumulated prominently at the site of nerve injury and persisted for longer than Lipo PGE1 or PGE1-CD. Expression of all EP receptors was detected in the normal sciatic nerve, and EP2 expression increased after SNI. Finally, Nano PGE1 promoted ERK1/2 and Akt phosphorylation. These findings suggest that PGE1 released from nanoparticles accumulates at sites of nerve injury and increases VEGF production by augmenting ERK1/2 phosphorylation via EP receptor signaling, thus promoting tissue repair and regeneration.

Many countries are facing the advent of super-aging societies, where sarcopenia and frailty will become emerging problems. Elderly people suffer from various diseases, such as diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and dementia. The prevalence of comorbidities is a major problem in countries with aged populations. Underlying diseases, such as diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and also dementia are associated with sarcopenia and frailty, and they are frequent causes of falls, fractures, and a decline in activities of daily living. Fractures in the elderly people are associated with bone fragility, which is influenced by diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Nutritional support for chronic disease patients and sarcopenic individuals with adequate energy and protein intake, vitamin D supplementation, blood-glucose-level management for individuals with diabetes, obesity prevention, nutritional education for healthy individuals, and the enlightenment of society could be crucial to solving the problems in super-aging societies.

Many countries are facing the advent of super-aging societies, where sarcopenia and frailty will become emerging problems. Elderly people suffer from various diseases, such as diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and dementia. The prevalence of comorbidities is a major problem in countries with aged populations. Underlying diseases, such as diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and also dementia are associated with sarcopenia and frailty, and they are frequent causes of falls, fractures, and a decline in ADL. Fractures in the elderly people are associated with bone fragility. Diabetes and chronic kidney disease are associated with bone fragility. Nutritional support for chronic disease patients and sarcopenic individuals with adequate energy and protein intake, vitamin D supplementation, blood-glucose-level management for individuals with diabetes, obesity prevention, nutritional education for healthy individuals, and the enlightenment of society could be crucial to solving the problems in super-aging societies.

In this paper, we review a new treatment of classical radiation damping, which resolves a well-known contradiction in the Abraham-Lorentz equation that has long been a concern. This radiation damping problem has already been solved in quantum mechanics by the method introduced by Friedrichs. Based on Friedrichs’ treatment, we solved this long-standing problem by classicizing quantum mechanics by replacing the canonical commutation relation in quantum mechanics with the Poisson bracket relation in classical mechanics. As an application of our new approach, we will analyze the anomalous damping experienced by electrons undergoing cyclotron motion inside a waveguide near the cut-off frequency. This anomalous damping cannot be described using the existing Abraham-Lorentz equation.

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are associated with various diseases; hence, they are important targets in drug discovery. However, the physicochemical empirical properties of PPI-targeted drugs are distinct from those of conventional small molecule oral pharmaceuticals, which adhere to the ”rule of five (RO5).” Therefore, developing PPI-targeted drugs using conventional methods, such as molecular generation models, is difficult. In this study, we propose a molecule generation model based on deep reinforcement learning, specialized for generating PPI inhibitors. By introducing a scoring function that can represent the properties of PPI inhibitors, we successfully generated potential PPI inhibitor compounds. The generated virtual compounds possess the desired properties for PPI inhibitors, and show similarity to commercially available PPI libraries. These generated virtual compounds are freely available as a virtual library.

Ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes are implicated in DNA demethylation through dioxygenase activity, which converts 5-methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). However, the specific roles of TET enzymes and 5-hmC levels in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have not yet been evaluated. In this study, we analyzed 5-hmC levels and TET mRNA expression in a well-characterized dataset of 117 matched pairs of HNSCC tissues and normal tissues. 5-hmC levels and TET mRNA expression were examined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. 5-hmC levels were evaluated according to various clinical characteristics and prognostic implications. Notably, we found that 5-hmC levels were significantly correlated with tumor stage (P = 0.032) and recurrence (P = 0.018). Univariate analysis revealed that low levels of 5-hmC were correlated with poor disease-free survival (DFS; log-rank test, P = 0.038). The expression of TET family genes was not associated with outcomes. In multivariate analysis, low levels of 5-hmC were evaluated as a significant independent prognostic factor of DFS (hazard ratio: 2.352, 95% confidence interval: 1.136–4.896; P = 0.021). Taken together, our findings showed that reduction of TET family gene expression and subsequent low levels of 5-hmC may affect the development of HNSCC.

This report is a narrative of a certified nurse working on a long-term rehabilitation ward for patients with dementia in Japan during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time visitation restrictions had been implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 causing psychological distress for patients and their families which nurses had to cope with . The nurse was interviewed twice September–October 2020. The recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Three themes were identified relating to changes in care in response to the pandemic which nurses had to adapt to: the risk of collapse of family members’ roles, anxiety caused by patients forgetting family members and family memories and increased disorientation. During the pandemic, nursing care needs to adapt, ensuring that family attachments and ties continue and minimizing the disruption caused by the pandemic, while ensuring that everyone remains Covid-safe.

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as human herpesvirus-8, is the causative agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma, Castleman’s disease, and primary effusion lymphoma. Although the functions of the viral thymidine kinases (vTK) of herpes simplex virus-1/2 and varicella zoster virus are well understood, that of KSHV ORF21 (an ortholog of vTK) is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of ORF21 in lytic replication and infection by generating two ORF21-mutated KSHV BAC clones: ORF21-kinase activity deficient-KSHV (21KD) and stop codon-induced ORF21-deleted-KSHV (21del). The results showed that both ORF21-mutations did not affect viral genome replication, lytic genes transcription, or the production of viral genome-encapsidated particles. ORF21 molecule-dependent function, other than the kinase function of ORF21, was involved in the infectivity of progeny virus. ORF21 was expressed at 36 h after induction of lytic replication, and endogenously expressed ORF21 was localized in the whole cytoplasm and decreased on the cell surface area. Moreover, the effects of ORF21 expression on signaling pathways and proliferation were analyzed. The results showed that ORF21 upregulated the MEK phosphorylation and anchorage-independent cell growth. These findings indicate that ORF21 plays key roles in both infection and oncogenesis of KSHV through the manipulation of cellular function.

Zn–Ni plating is indispensable in various industries because of its high corrosion resistance. However, Ni has been reported to trigger allergies; thus, an alternative Ni-free plating is desired. Zn–Fe plating is considered to be a promising candidate, albeit its corrosion resistance still needs to be improved. The corrosion resistance of Zn–Fe plating is expected to increase by the addition of Mo as the third alloying element as it is more noble than Zn and Fe. In this study, Zn–Fe–Mo plating with a corrosion resistance nearly equivalent to that of the Zn–Ni plating was fabricated. Zn–Fe–Mo plating was electrically deposited from continuously agitated plating baths prepared by mixing ZnSO₄, FeSO₄, Na₂MoO₄, Na₃C₆H₅O₇, and Na₂SO₄ using Fe or Ni plates as the substrate. The surface morphology, composition, crystal phase, and electronic state of Mo of the platings were investigated by SEM-EDS, XRD, and XPS. The anti-corrosion performance was evaluated by Tafel extrapolation method. Formation of plating comprising a Mo containing alloy phase was found to be crucial for improving corrosion resistance. The Zn–Fe–Mo plating demonstrates promise for replacing anti-corrosion Zn–Ni platings.

A number of recent discoveries suggest close links between anxiety- or probable relief-like behaviors and intracellular signaling molecules controlling morphogenesis in glial cells such as oligodendrocytes (oligodendroglial cells) in the brain, which have protective effects on neuronal cells. In the former behaviors, their intracellular signaling molecules include small GTPase members, some of which mediate cell morphological changes. Rnd2 is one such member, belonging to the Rho family of small GTPases. Despite the currently known functions of Rnd2, the precise roles of Rnd2 in cell morphogenesis and related functions in health and disease states remain to be elucidated. Herein we show that signaling through anxiety-related loss of function of the rnd2 gene is related to the regulation of oligodendroglial cell morphological differentiation in the FBD-102b cell line, which is often utilized as oligodendroglial cell differentiation model. Knockdown of Rnd2 with the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CasRx system or RNA interference has been shown to inhibit morphological differentiation. Similarly, knockdown of Prag1 and Fyn kinase, signaling molecules acting downstream of Rnd2, also blunts differentiation. Rnd2 or Prag1 knockdown also decreases Fyn phosphorylation, which is critical for its activation and for oligodendroglial cell differentiation and myelination. Of note, hesperetin, a citrus flavonoid with protective effects on oligodendroglial cells as well as neuronal ones, can recover the defective differentiation induced by the knockdown of Rnd2/Prag1/Fyn. These results suggest that signaling through Rnd2/Prag1/Fyn is directly associated with normal oligodendroglial cell morphological differentiation. Deficiency of the signaling cascade is recovered by hesperetin, presenting one potential molecular construction underlying anxiety and possible therapeutic targets.

A cell-surface ectonucleotidase CD39 mediates the conversion of extracellular ATP into immunosuppressive adenosine with another ectonucleotidase CD73. The elevated adenosine in the tumor microenvironment (TME) attenuates antitumor immunity, which promotes tumor cell immunologic escape and progression. Anti-CD39 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which suppress the enzymatic activity, can be applied to antitumor therapy. Therefore, an understanding of the relationship between the inhibitory activity and epitope of mAbs is important. We previously established an anti-mouse CD39 (mCD39) mAb, C₃₉Mab-1 using the Cell-Based Immunization and Screening (CBIS) method. In this study, we determined the critical epitope of C₃₉Mab-1 using flow cytometry. We performed the PA tag (12 amino acids)-substituted analysis (named PA scanning) and RIEDL tag (5 amino acids)-substituted analysis (named RIEDL scanning) to determine the critical epitope of C₃₉Mab-1 using flow cytometry. By the combination of PA scanning and RIEDL scanning, we identified the conformational epitope, spanning three segments of 275^th to 279^th, 282^nd to 291^st, and 306^th to 323^rd amino acids of mCD39. These analyses would contribute to the identification of the conformational epitope of membrane proteins.

Novel far-red-sensitive symmetric squaraine (SQ) dyes with terminal alkyl-chain modifications were designed, synthesized and characterized aiming towards imparting multifunctionalities such as photosensitization, dye aggregation prevention and source of electrolyte components. The dye sensitizers SQ-77 and SQ-80 with the alkyl chain terminal modifications consisting of iodine and 1-methylimidazolium iodide, respectively, were designed and synthesized as new dye sensitizers for DSSCs based on the symmetric SQ-5 without any terminal modification used as reference. Upon adsorption on the mesoporous TiO2 surface, The SQ-77 depicted an enhanced dye loading and dye aggregation. On the other hand, SQ-80 demonstrated reduced dye aggregation and stronger binding on the TiO2 surface leading to enhanced durability of DSSCs. Apart from the most common photosensitization behaviour, the newly designed dye demonstrated multifunctionality such as aggregation prevention and electrolyte functionality utilizing iodine-based redox electrolyte in the presence and absence of I2 and LiI additives. In the absence of LiI and I2, a mixture of SQ-77 and SQ-80 demonstrated a photoconversion efficiency of 1.54 % under simulated solar irradiation, which was about 6 times higher as compared to reference dye SQ-5 (0.24 %) having no alkyl chai terminal modification.

Breakthroughs in surgical and medical techniques have significantly improved outcomes for children with congenital heart disease (CHD), but research continues to address the ongoing challenge of organ dysfunction after surgery. Our study explored circular RNAs (circRNAs) within plasma-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) in children undergoing CHD surgery. Post-surgery EV circRNAs showed dramatic expression changes between organ dysfunction (OD) and control groups. Tissue injury-related pathways were consistent across pre- and post-surgery in OD. The top two significant predicted tissue sources of these circRNAs originated from the respiratory system, aligning with the major organ dysfunction type (respiratory failure). Five of these circRNAs, namely circ-CELSR1, circ-PLXNA1, circ-OBSL1, circ-DAB2IP, circ-KANK1, significantly correlated between PELOD (Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction), supporting the potential of circRNAs as prognostic markers. These findings pave the way for EV circRNAs as promising tools for managing post-surgical organ dysfunction and potentially guiding therapeutic strategies in children with CHD.

The on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) with a sand trench is an economical option for residents in rural areas or the countryside where a centralised sewer system is inaccessible. 2A sand achieves improved filtration, microbial activity and consistent long term performance when compared to gravel or scoria based trench systems. However, it is expensive and only readily available in a few areas across New Zealand. Additionally, it has a reputation for premature blockage when overloaded or compacted. The aim of this study is not only to critically evaluate the performance of Crushed Glass (CG) with respect to 2A sand, but also to investigate different loading rates for CG when treating primary treated effluent from a septic tank. A test rig was designed and constructed to simulate the real environment of the sand column in a discharge control trench. The treatment efficiency of three filters was recorded and compared in this study. Overall, the CG loaded at 25mm/day (CG₂₅) and 50mm/day (CG₅₀) provided an average of 13% and 6% more Total Nitrogen (TN) reduction than the sand filter, respectively. The removal rates for the TN were up to 69.5%. The CG₅₀ filter performed similarly at 50mm/day as the 2A sand filter in terms of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)₅ removal of more than 94%. The CG₂₅ removal rates for TSS and BOD₅ at the start of the trial (likely due to residual liquid contamination from the bottles when crushed) improved over the sampling period and ultimately achieved similar results of 92% and 91.3% to the filters loaded at 50mm/day. Lifecycle cost analyses and carbon balances were completed for the two media. It highlighted that the current price of CG is only half of 2A sand, yet it produces significantly less CO₂ emissions than 2A sand. A 3-bedroom dwelling could save up to $500 and reduce 200kg of CO₂ released to the environment annually when 2A sand is substituted for CG. Based on the findings of this paper, it is likely that the reduced installation cost, lessened environmental impact and theoretical availability will lead to CG systems becoming more common in New Zealand and abroad.

The importance of the contribution from tourism to climate change was pointed out by the International Tourism Organization (UNWTO). By combining process-based Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Input-output analysis, several researches have tried to evaluate the impacts of the tourism industry as well as its products and services. Indeed, the tourism sector has a wide range of industries including travel and tour, transportation, accommodation, food and beverage, amusement, souvenirs etc. However, the existing cases did not show a breakdown of the impact on climate change. In this paper, the carbon footprint (CFP) of the Japanese tourism industry was calculated based on tourist consumption, using the Japanese Input-output table and the Japanese tourism industry. It was shown that the total emissions were approximately 136 million t-CO2 per year. The contribution ratio of each stage is as follows: Transport 56.3%, Souvenirs 23.2%, Petrol (direct emissions) 16.9%, Accommodation 9.8%, Food and Beverage 7.5%, Activities 3.0%. Then, in the breakdown, the impact is high in the following order Air transport 24.7%, Petrol (direct emissions) 16.9%,Accommodation 9.8%, Food and Beverage 7.5%, Petrol 6.1%, Textile products 5.3%, Food items 4.9%, Confectionery 4.8%, Rail transport 3.9%, Cosmetics 1.9%, Footwear 1.8%, etc. In addition to transportation, this research also highlighted especially the contribution from souvenirs, accommodation, food and beverages.

Prolonged high-intensity grinding can modify the crystal structure of solid substances and/or induce chemical reaction, which is referred to as mechanochemical reaction. Such reactions can exert positive influences on hydrometallurgical processes, therefore, many researchers have applied mechanochemical reactions for metals dissolution from minerals. The mechanism of mechanochemical reaction has been investigated using solid analyses and simulations. Structural changes caused by mechanochemical reaction are not yet sufficiently clarified because the ground samples are amorphous. The objective of this study was to analyze structural changes of cerianite in weathered residual rare earth ore by mechanochemical reduction. Structural change was analyzed by x-ray absorption near-edge structure and extended x-ray absorption fine structure analysis at the cerium L_III- and K-edges. These analyses revealed that the structural change of cerianite in this ore induced by mechanochemical reduction involved oxygen vacancy production. The process of the oxygen vacancy formation was closely coupled with the quantum effect of localization–delocalization of the 4f electron of cerium.

Researchers have reported various impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on small-scale fishers, such as stagnating market demands, reduction of market price and income, etc. While literature have heeded to these impacts in a relatively short time frame, scant evidence exists on the changing impacts over time and on the detailed processes of how fishers have been coping with the challenges in a longer time period. Furthermore, few studies have comprehensively analysed the impacts and strategies from multiple perspectives. This study aims to explore the perceived impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on small-scale fishing communities and to highlight the coping strategies adopted by fishers over a year since the initial outbreak, through a case study in Trang Province, Thailand. Analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews indicated that fishers wisely utilised natural, financial and social capitals at the early stages of the outbreak, while human capitals were essential for recovering from the impacts in the later stages. Our findings suggest that the adaptive capacity to flexibly change livelihood strategies are crucial, while alternative income source may not necessarily help small-scale fishers under stagnating global economy.

Purpose: To evaluate seasonal variation in intra-ocular pressure (IOP) with and without short tear break-up time (SBUT, BUT ≤ 5 s). Methods: This study enrolled 176 patients who visited one of six eye clinics in Japan for IOP measurement at every season. The mean patient age was 67.9 years, including 79 males. We compared the seasonal variation in IOP (mean ± SD) across spring (Mar-May), summer (Jun-Aug), fall (Sep-Nov), and winter (Dec-Feb). Results: The IOP (mmHg) in winter and summer, respectively, was 12.8 ± 3.7 and 12.8 ± 3.1 for non-glaucoma patients without SBUT (n = 47, P = 0.964), 14.8 ± 3.4 and 13.3 ± 3.4 for non-glaucoma patients with SBUT (n = 57, P < 0.001), 14.3 ± 3.2 and 14.1 ± 3.4 for glaucoma patients without SBUT (n = 36, P = 0.489), and 13.3 ± 3.0 and 11.6 ± 2.9 for glaucoma with SBUT (n = 36, P < 0.001). Seasonal variation was largest across the seasons in the glaucoma with SBUT group, and the magnitude of seasonal variation correlated with BUT (β = 0.228, P = 0.003). Conclusions: Seasonal variation tended to be larger in patients with SBUT than those without SBUT.

In Japan, schools were suddenly closed all over the country with one month left at the end of the school year to prevent the spread of new coronavirus infections. Although previous studies have shown that quarantine and isolation have a negative impact on mental health, the impact of school closure on children's mental health is not clear. This study examined mental health indicators, such as emotional symptoms, in addition to behavior during school closure and anxiety after school resumes, among children in three primary schools for which survey data existed in December before school closure. No cases of infection have been confirmed in the area where the school was located at the time of the survey. As a result, anxiety about whether they would be able to return to their normal routine after school resumed was associated with mental health. In addition, there was a worsening of emotional symptoms in those who were in medium group of school adjustment as of December.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer tumors frequently have intratumor heterogeneity. Tumors with high intratumor heterogeneity have caused therapeutic resistance and have human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) heterogeneity in response to HER2-targeted therapies. This study aimed to investigate whether high HER2 heterogeneity levels were clinically related to poor prognosis for HER2-targeted adjuvant therapies resistance in primary breast cancers. METHODS: This study included patients with primary breast cancer (n = 251) treated with adjuvant HER2-targeted therapies. HER2 heterogeneity was manifested by the shape of HER2 fluorescence in situ hybridization amplification (FISH) distributed histograms with HER2 gene copy number within a tumor sample. Those heterogeneity classified each tumor into the biphasic grade graph (high heterogeneity [HH]) group and the monophasic grade graph (low heterogeneity [LH]) group. Both groups were evaluated for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) for a median of ten years of annual follow-up. RESULTS: Of 251 patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, 46 (18.3%) and 205 (81.7%) were classified into the HH and LH groups, respectively. The HH group had more distant metastases and a poorer prognosis than the LH group (DFS: P < 0.001 (HH:63% vs LH:91% at 10 years), and OS: P = 0.012 (HH:78% vs LH:95% at 10 years). CONCLUSION: High HER2 heterogeneity is a poor prognostic factor in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer. A novel approach of heterogeneity, which is manifested by the shape of HER2 FISH distributions, might be clinically useful in the prognosis prediction of patients after HER2 adjuvant therapy.

We evaluated the usefulness of the novel cholesterol-triglyceride subgroup (CTS) indices that potentially reflect the metabolic status regarding risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) using a retrospective longitudinal study of the Japanese general population. We recruited 12,373 individuals from the annual users of our healthcare center. Among them, the first onset of CHD was recorded in 131 individuals between April, 2014 and March, 2020. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses for all normalized lipid indices revealed that the CTSqnt index showed a comparable hazard ratio for the CHD outcome to non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (nonHDL-c) and triglycerides. The HR of the CTSqlt index was significantly lower than for CTSqnt, but still comparable to that for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c). In comparison with the other indices, CTSqlt is more sensitive to risk increment while the index value increases. Linear regression analyses for the CTS indices and previously known lipid indices suggest that the CTSqnt and CTSqlt indices reflect the quantity of atherogenic lipoproteins and size of smaller and denser LDLs, respectively. Furthermore, the CTSqnt/HDL-c index can be used as a comprehensive risk indicator that may represent the status of lipid metabolism determined by the CTSqlt and CTSqnt indices and thus may be useful for screening. The CTS indices can be used to evaluate the metabolic status of individuals, which may increase the risk of future CHD.

Direct electron transfer (DET)-type bioelectrocatalysis, which couples electrode reactions and catalytic functions of redox enzymes without any redox mediator, is one of the most intriguing subjects studied over the past decades in the field of bioelectrochemistry. In order to realize the DET-type bioelectrocatalysis and to improve the performance, nanostructures of the electrode surface have to be carefully tuned for each enzyme. In addition, enzymes can also be tuned by protein engineering approach for the DET-type reaction. This review summarizes the resent progresses in this field of the research, while taking into consideration of the importance of nanostructure of electrodes as well as redox enzymes. Described are basic concepts and theoretical aspects of DET-type bioelectrocatalysis, significance of nanostructures as scaffolds for DET-type reactions, protein engineering approached for DET-type reactions, and concepts and facts of bidirectional DET-type reactions, from a cross-disciplinary viewpoint.

We have successfully measured amyloid beta (Aβ) (1-40) protein added in human serum by a NiCr strain gauge cantilever biosensor immobilized with liposomes incorporating cholesterol. Importantly, we investigated the effect of incorporation of cholesterol in the liposome in order to suppress the interaction between the liposome and many different proteins included in human serum. It was revealed that incorporating cholesterol suppresses the interaction between the proteins other than Aβ in human serum and the liposome. Finally, we detected Aβ(1-40) in human serum with typical chronological behaviors due to Aβ aggregation and fibrillization. Furthermore, as a digital low-pass filtering procedure could reduce external noises, the cantilever sensor immobilized with liposome incorporating cholesterol can detect low-concentrated Aβ in human serum.

Bioelectrocatalysis has become one of important research fields in electrochemistry and provided a firm base for an important technology for application to various bioelectrochemical devices such as biosensors, biofuel cells, and biosupercapacitors. The understanding and technology in bioelectrocatalysis have been greatly improved by introducing nanostructured electrode materials and protein-engineering methods over the last few decades. Recently, the electro-enzymatic production of renewable energy resources and useful organic compounds (bioelectrosynthesis) also attracts worldwide attention. In this review, we summarize recent progress in applications of enzymatic bioelectrocatalysis.

Bioelectrocatalysis provides the intrinsic catalytic-functions of redox enzymes to non-specific electrode reactions and is the most important and basic concept for biosensors. This review starts by describing fundamental characteristics of bioelectrocatalytic reactions in mediated and direct electron transfer types from a theoretical viewpoint and summarizes amperometric biosensors based on multi-enzymatic cascades and for multi-analyte detection. The review also introduces prospective aspects of two new concepts of biosensors: mass-transfer-controlled (pseudo)steady-state amperometry at microelectrodes with enhanced enzymatic activity without calibration curves and potentiometric coulometry at enzyme/mediator-immobilized biosensors for absolute determination.

Objectives: This study validated the Japanese version of O’Donovan et al.’s (2020) composite measure of psychological safety scale and examined the associations of psychological safety with mental health and job-related outcomes. Methods: Online surveys were administered twice to Japanese employees with teams of more than three members. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability was tested using Cronbach’s α and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Structural validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Convergent validity was tested. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between psychological safety and psychological distress, work engagement, job performance, and job satisfaction. Results: Two hundred healthcare workers and 200 non-healthcare workers were analyzed. The Cronbach’s alpha of the total score was 0.92 - 0.96 and ICC was 0.88 - 0.92. CFA demonstrated poor fit, and EFA yielded a two-factor structure, suggesting one factor combined with peers and team. The scale showed good convergent validity. The total score of the scale showed significant associations with all outcomes in adjusted model in all workers. Conclusions: The Japanese version of the measure of the psychological safety scale presented good reliability and validity. Psychological safety is important for employees’ mental health and performance.

Researchers have focused on collaborative governance as an effective measure to realise sustainable natural resource management through the participation of various stakeholders. However, the literature has indicated that issues such as power imbalances tend to undermine the effectiveness of collaborative governance. Powerful actors represented by the government tend to control collaborative processes and produce benefits for dominant groups, while less empowered local communities are often deprived of opportunities for livelihood improvement. Although numerous researchers have analysed the key factors that influence the processes and outcomes of collaborative governance, few have identified a concrete measure to reduce the risk of failure, particularly when managing power imbalances in developing countries. This study explored a methodology to address the power imbalances in collaborative governance based on a case study of a participatory peatland fire prevention project implemented in West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted with project participants suggested that measures such as establishing a joint team of government officers and villagers, providing a common facilitation training programme, training villagers as facilitators, promoting equal knowledge sharing, and allowing villagers to make their own decisions mitigated the power imbalances between the two groups.

Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-mediated exon skipping has become a valuable tool for investigating gene function and developing gene therapy. Machine learning-based computational methods such as eSkip-Finder have been developed to predict the efficacy of ASOs via exon skipping. However, these methods are computationally demanding, and the accuracy of predictions remains suboptimal. In this study, we propose a new approach to reduce computational burden and improve prediction performance by using feature selection within machine learning algorithms and ensemble learning techniques. We evaluated our approach using a dataset of experimentally validated exon skipping events, dividing it into training and testing sets. Our results demonstrate that using a 3-way voting approach with random forest, gradient boosting, and XGBoost can significantly reduce computation time to under ten seconds while improving prediction performance, as measured by R2 for both 2’-O-methyl nucleotides (2OMe) and phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs). Additionally, the feature importance ranking derived from our approach is in good agreement with previously published results. Our findings suggest that our approach has the potential to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of predicting ASO efficacy via exon skipping. It could also facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies. This study could contribute to the ongoing efforts to improve ASO design and optimize gene therapy approaches.

IIAEK (Ile-Ile-Ala-Glu-Lys, lactostatin) is a novel pentapeptide from bovine milk β-lactoglobulin which lowers cholesterol levels. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the suppression of intestinal cholesterol absorption by IIAEK are unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of IIAEK on intestinal cholesterol metabolism in Caco-2 cells in a human intestinal model. We found that IIAEK significantly reduced the expression of intestinal cholesterol metabolism-associated genes, particularly that of the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) protein. Subsequently, we chemically synthesized a novel molecular probe, IIXEK, which can visualize a complex of target proteins interacting with photoaffinity-labeled IIAEK by fluorescent substances. Photoaffinity labeling and MS analysis with IIXEK for the rat small intestinal mucosa and intestinal lipid raft fractions of Caco-2 cells, we identified intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) as a specific molecule interacting with IIAEK and discovered IIAEK common binding amino acid sequence, GFYLFVEGGR. Transfection of IAP siRNA counteracted the decrease in ABCA1 mRNA levels in Caco-2 cells. IIAEK significantly increased IAP mRNA and protein levels, and significantly decreased ABCA1 mRNA and protein levels in Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, we found that IIAEK targets IAP to improve cholesterol metabolism via a novel signaling pathway with a specific activation of IAP and down-regulation of intestinal ABCA1.

Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-mediated exon skipping has emerged as a powerful tool for examining the function of genes and exons in basic research, as well as gene therapy. Computational methods, such as eSkip-Finder, have been developed to predict the efficacy of ASOs via exon skipping using machine learning. However, these methods can be computationally demanding and the prediction accuracy of the tool is not yet optimal. In this study, we propose an approach to reduce computational burden and improve prediction performance by utilizing feature selection within machine learning algorithms and employing ensemble learning techniques. The method was evaluated using a dataset of genes with experimentally validated exon skipping events. The dataset was divided into training and testing sets to assess the accuracy of the algorithm. Our results demonstrate that using a 3-way voting approach with random forest, gradient boosting, and XGBoost can significantly reduce computation time to under ten seconds while improving prediction performance, as measured by R2 for both 2’-O-methyl nucleotides (2OMe) and phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs). Additionally, the feature importance ranking derived from our approach is in good agreement with previously published results. These findings suggest that this approach has the potential to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of predicting ASO efficacy via exon skipping, facilitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies.

With demand for the long-term continued use of existing building facilities, structural health monitoring and damage detection are attracting interest from society. Sensors of various types have been practically applied in the industry to satisfy this need. Among the sensors, piezoelectric sensors are an extremely promising technology by virtue of their cost advantages and durability. Although they have been used in aerospace and civil engineering, their application for building engineering remains limited. Remarkably, recent catastrophic seismic events have further rein-forced the necessity of rapid damage detection and quick judgment about the safe use of facilities. Faced with these circumstances, this study was conducted to assess the applicability of piezoelectric sensors to evaluate building components. Specifically, this study emphasizes structural damage caused by earthquakes. After first applying to cyclic loading tests to composite beam component specimens and steel frame subassemblies with a folded roof plate, the prospective damage posi-tions were also found using finite element analysis. Crack propagation and buckling locations were predicted adequately. The piezoelectric sensors provided output when the concrete slab showed tensile cracks, or when the folded roof plate experienced local buckling. Furthermore, damage expansion and progression were detected multiple times during loading tests. Results showed that the piezoelectric sensors can detect structural damage of building components, demonstrating their potential for use in inexpensive and stable monitoring systems.

Background: In recent years, the assessment and guidance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality using noninvasive and invasive monitoring techniques have been increasingly recommended. In this study, we introduce a new physiological monitoring system that simultaneously measures arterial pressure (AP), venous pressure (VP), and cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (SctO2) during CPR. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted at a single center (Kagoshima City Hospital). Adult out-of-hospital patients aged ≥18 years with an intravenous femoral arterial line, venous line, and SctO2 monitor were included. We measured femoral arterial pressure (FAP) and femoral venous pressure (FVP) invasively if catheters were immediately inserted into the femoral artery and vein for potential candidates who require interventions such as extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation but did not receive such interventions as a result. Results: We observed several representative cases that provided the following insights: We presented several cases, including two patients with significant increases in FVP and low SctO2 values, and in both cases, return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was not achieved. In contrast, we also presented two cases in which CPR resulted in higher FAP compared to FVP and an upward trend in SctO2 values was observed, and both instances achieved ROSC. Conclusion: We presented a simultaneous physiological monitoring system that can monitor AP, VP, and SctO2 during CPR. Further case accumulations will be necessary to assess the variations in hemodynamic status during CPR and the association between each hemodynamic status and outcomes after cardiac arrest.

Obesity induces inflammation in the hypothalamus and adipose tissue, resulting in metabolic disorders. A novel hypothalamic neuropeptide, neurosecretory protein GM (NPGM), was previously identified in the hypothalamus of vertebrates. While NPGM plays an important role in lipid metabolism in chicks, its metabolic regulatory effects in mammals remain unclear. In this study, a novel Cre driver line, NPGM-Cre, was generated for cell-specific manipulation. Cre-dependent overexpression of Npgm led to fat accumulation without increased food consumption in NPGM-Cre mice. Chemogenetic activation of NPGM neurons acutely promoted feeding behavior and chronically resulted in a transient increase in body mass gain. Furthermore, the ablated NPGM neurons exhibited a tendency to be glucose intolerant, with infiltration of proinflammatory macrophages into the adipose tissue. These results suggest that NPGM neurons may regulate lipid storage and inflammatory responses, thereby maintaining glucose homeostasis.

Carbonous nanomaterials are promising additives for composite coatings for heat-dissipation materials because of their excellent thermal conductivity. Here, copper/carbonous nanomaterial composite coatings were prepared using nanodiamond (ND) as the carbonous nanomaterial. The copper/ND composite coatings were electrically deposited onto copper substrates from a continuously stirred copper sulfate coating bath containing NDs. NDs were dispersed by ultrasonic treatment, and the initial bath pH was adjusted by adding sodium hydroxide solution or sulfuric acid solution before electrodeposition. The effects of various coating conditions—the initial ND concentration, initial bath pH, stirring speed, electrical current density, and the amount of electricity—on the ND content of the coatings were investigated. Furthermore, the surface of the NDs was modified by hydrothermal treatment to improve ND incorporation. A higher initial ND concentration and a higher stirring speed increased the ND content of the coatings, whereas a higher initial bath pH and a greater amount of electricity decreased it. The electrical current density showed a minimum ND content at approximately 5 A/dm². Hydrothermal treatment, which introduced carboxyl groups onto the ND surface, improved the ND content of the coatings. A copper/ND composite coating with a maximum of 3.85 mass% ND was obtained.

Transposable elements (TEs) are highly abundant in plant genomes. Environmental stress is one of the critical stimuli that activate TEs. We analyzed a heat-activated retrotransposon named ONSEN in cruciferous vegetables. The multiple copies of ONSEN-like elements (OLEs) were found in all the cruciferous vegetables that were analyzed. The copy number of OLE was abundant in Brassica oleracea, which includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprout, and kale. Phylogenic analysis demonstrated that some OLEs transposed after the allopolyploidization of parental Brassica species. Furthermore, we found that the increasing number of OLEs in B. oleracea appeared to be induced transpositional silencing by epigenetic regulation, including DNA methylation. The results of this study would be relevant to the understanding of evolutionary adaptations to thermal environmental stress in different species.

We developed two human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)/human embryonic stem cell-specific glycan-recognizing mouse antibodies, R-10G and R-17F, using the Tic (JCRB1331) hiPSC line as an antigen. R-10G recognizes a low-sulfate keratan sulfate, and R-17F recognizes lacto-N-fucopentaose-1. To evaluate the general characteristics of stem cell glycans, we used the hiPSC line 201B7 (HPS0063), a prototype iPSC line. Using an R-10G affinity column, an R-10G-binding protein was isolated. The protein yielded a single but very broad band from 480 to 1,236 kDa by blue native gel electrophoresis. After trypsin digestion, the protein was identified as podocalyxin by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. According to Western blotting, the protein reacted with R-10G and R-17F. The R-10G positive band was resistant to digestion with glycan-degrading enzymes, including peptide N-glycanase, but the intensity of the band was decreased significantly by digestion with keratanase, keratanase II, and endo-β-galactosidase, suggesting the R-10G epitope to be a keratan sulfate. These results suggest that keratan sulfate-type epitopes are shared by hiPSCs. However, the keratan sulfate from 201B7 cells contained a polylactosamine disaccharide unit (Galβ1-4GlcNAc) at a significant frequency, whereas that from Tic cells consisted mostly of keratan sulfate disaccharide units (Galβ1-4GlcNAc(6S)). In addition, the abundance of the R-10G epitope was significantly lower in 201B7 cells than in Tic cells.

Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives and include trans-retinoic acid, isotretinoin, tamibarotene, and bexarotene, all of which are currently available for clinical use. The clinical development of retinoid therapy for neuroblastoma has a history spanning more than four decades. The most promising agent is isotretinoin, which can contribute to improving event-free survival in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma by approximately 10 % when administered over six months as maintenance therapy. Although isotretinoin is regarded as an essential component in the standard clinical management of high-risk neuroblastoma, its use for this purpose in the US and EU is off-label. To promote isotretinoin use in Japan as a treatment for neuroblastoma, our clinical research team is planning to launch an investigator-initiated, registration-directed clinical trial. The present review article discusses the basic science behind retinoid therapy, pre-clinical / clinical evidence on neuroblastoma, the concept of the proposed clinical trial, and prospects for this therapy.

Frontotemporal dementia and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 7 (FTD/ALS7) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the onset of ALS and/or FTD mainly in adulthood. Patients with some types of mutations, including the Thr104Asn (T104N) mutation of charged multivesicular body protein 2B (CHMP2B), have predominantly ALS phenotypes, whereas patients with other mutations have predominantly FTD phenotypes. A few patients with further other mutations have both phenotypes approximately equally; however, the reason why phenotypes differ depending on the position of the mutation is unknown. CHMP2B composes one part of the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT), specifically ESCRT-III, in the cytoplasm. We describe here, for the first time, that CHMP2B with the T104N mutation inhibits neuronal process elongation in the N1E-115 cell line, a model of neuronal differentiation. The inhibitory phenotype was accompanied by changes in marker protein expression. It is noteworthy that CHMP2B with the T104N mutation but not its wild-type was preferentially accumulated in the Golgi body. Of the four major Golgi stress signaling pathways currently known, the pathway through Arf4, as the small GTPase, was specifically upregulated in cells expressing CHMP2B with the T104N mutation. Conversely, knockdown of Arf4 with the cognate small interfering (si)RNA recovered the neuronal process elongation inhibited by the T104N mutation. These results suggest that the T104N mutation of CHMP2B inhibits neuronal morphological differentiation by triggering Golgi stress signaling, revealing a possible therapeutic molecular target for recovering potential molecular and cellular phenotypes underlying FTD/ALS7.

EZH2 overexpression is associated with tumor proliferation, metastasis, and poor prognosis. Targeting and inhibiting EZH2 may be an effective therapeutic strategy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). We previously analyzed EZH2 mRNA expression in a well-characterized dataset of 230 (110 original and 120 validation cohorts) human head and neck cancer samples. This study aimed to investigate the effects of inhibiting EZH2, either via RNA interference or via pharmacotherapy, on HNSCC growth. EZH2 upregulation was significantly correlated with recurrence (P < 0.001) and the methylation index of tumor suppressor genes (P < 0.05). DNMT3A was significantly upregulated upon EZH2 upregulation (P = 0.043). Univariate analysis revealed that EZH2 upregulation was associated with poor disease-free survival (log-rank test, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, EZH2 upregulation was evaluated as a significant independent prognostic factor of disease-free survival (hazard ratio: 2.085, 95% confidence interval: 1.390–3.127; P < 0.001). Cells treated with RNA interference and DZNep, an EZH2 inhibitor, showed the most dramatic changes in expression, accompanied with a reduction in the growth and survival of FaDu cells. These findings suggest that EZH2 upregulation is correlated with tumor aggressiveness and adverse patient outcomes in HNSCC. Evaluation of EZH2 expression might help predict the prognosis of HNSCC patients.

: Forty-nine children who started wearing cartilage conduction hearing aids (CC-HA) before elementary school graduation (including 17 cases of bilateral hearing loss and 32 cases of unilateral hearing loss) were followed up and examined. The wearing and utilization status of CC-HA, as well as the progress to date, were evaluated. In addition, 33 participants who purchased CC-Has were interviewed to assess the wearing effect. Eleven of the 17 children with bilateral hearing loss and 25 of the 32 children with unilateral hearing loss have continued using CC-HA. In terms of wearing effect, a good wearing effect was reported, even by those with one-sided hearing loss. In cases where it is difficult to wear CC-HAs stably with pasting or ear tips, it is possible to fix them stably using commercially available hair bands and eyeglass vines. In two cases, CC-HAs were worn from the age of 0. With ingenuity and appropriate educational and medical support, it is possible to wear CC-HA from infancy.

Many agonists for the estrogen receptor are known to disrupt endocrine functioning. We have developed a computational model that predicts agonists for the estrogen receptor ligand-binding domain in an assay system. Our model was entered into the Tox21 Data Challenge 2014, a computational toxicology competition organized by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. This competition aims to find high-performance predictive models for various adverse-outcome pathways, including the estrogen receptor. Our predictive model, which is based on the random forest method, delivered the best performance in its competition category. In the current study, the predictive performance of the random forest models was improved by strictly adjusting the hyperparameters to avoid overfitting. The random forest models were optimized from 4,000 descriptors simultaneously applied to 10,000 activity assay results for the estrogen receptor ligand-binding domain, which have been measured and compiled by Tox21. At this time, our model delivers the highest predictive power on estrogen receptor agonists in the world. Furthermore, analysis of the optimized model revealed some important features of the agonists, such as the number of hydroxyl groups in the molecules.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in anterior knee laxity (AKL), stiffness, general joint laxity (GJL), and genu recurvatum (GR) during the menstrual cycle in female non-athletes and female athletes with normal and irregular menstrual cycles. Participants were 19 female non-athletes (eumenorrhea, n=11; oligomenorrhea, n=8) and 15 female athletes (eumenorrhea, n=8; oligomenorrhea, n=7). AKL was measured as the amount of anterior tibial displacement at 67 N - 133 N. Stiffness was calculated as change in (Δ)force/Δ anterior displacement. The Beighton method was used to evaluate the GJL. The GR was measured as the maximum angle of passive knee joint extension. AKL, stiffness, GJL, and GR were measured twice in four phases during the menstrual cycle. Stiffness was significantly higher in oligomenorrhea groups than in eumenorrhea groups, although no significant differences between menstrual cycle phases were evident in female non-athletes. GR was significantly higher in the late follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases than in the early follicular phase, although no significant differences between groups were seen in female athletes. Estradiol may affect the stiffness of the periarticular muscles in the knee, suggesting that GR in female athletes may change during the menstrual cycle.

This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the joint and ligament structures of the subtalar joint and degeneration of the subtalar articular facet. We examined 50 feet from 25 Japanese cadavers. The number of articular facets, joint congruence, and intersecting angle were measured for the joint structure of the subtalar joint, and the footprint areas of the ligament attachments of the cervical ligament, interosseous talocalcaneal ligament (ITCL), and anterior capsular ligament were measured for the ligament structure. Also, subtalar joint facets were classified into Degeneration (+) and (-) groups according to degeneration of the talus and calcaneus. No significant relationship was identified between the joint structure of the subtalar joint and degeneration of the subtalar articular facet. In contrast, footprint area of the ITCL was significantly higher in the Degeneration (+) group than in the Degeneration (-) group for the subtalar joint facet. These results suggest that the joint structure of the subtalar joint may not affect degeneration of the subtalar articular facet. Degeneration of the subtalar articular facet may be related to the size of the ITCL.

Recent research on fractional order control laws has introduced the fractional calculus concept into the field of control engineering. As described herein, we apply fractional order LQR control to a current-controlled attractive-force type magnetic levitation system, which is a strongly nonlinear and unstable system, to investigate its control performance through experimentation. First, to design the controller, a current-controlled attractive-force type magnetic levitation system expressed as an integer-order system is extended to a fractional order system expressed using fractional order derivatives. Then target value tracking control of levitated objects is achieved by adding states, described by the integrals of the deviation between the output and the target value, to the extended system. Next, a fractional order LQR controller is designed for the extended system. For state-feedback control such as fractional order servo LQR control, which requires information of all states, a fractional order state-observer is configured to estimate fractional order states. Simulation results demonstrate that fractional order servo LQR control can achieve equilibrium point stabilization and enable target-value tracking. Finally, to verify the fractional order servo LQR control effectiveness, experiments using the designed fractional order servo LQR control law are done with comparison to conventional integer-order servo LQR control.

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been rapidly increasing worldwide. A choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined high fat diet (CDHFD) has been used to create a mouse model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). There are some reports about the effects on mice of being fed CDAHFD for a long time, 1 to 3 months. However, the effect of this diet over a short period has been unknown. Therefore, we examined the effect of one week of feeding CDAHFD on the mouse liver. Feeding this diet for only one week induced lipid droplet deposition in the liver with increasing activity of liver-derived enzymes in the plasma. On the other hand, it did not induce fibrosis and cirrhosis. Additionally, it was demonstrated that mitochondrial respiration is significantly impaired with severe oxidative stress in the liver by CDAHFD, associated with a decreasing mitochondrial DNA copy number and complexes-proteins. In the gene expression analysis of the liver, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were significantly increased by CDAHFD. These results demonstrated that one week of feeding CDAHFD to mice induces steatohepatitis with mitochondrial dysfunction and severe oxidative stress, without fibrosis, which can partially mimic the early stage of the NASH in humans.

In this study, lithium reaction distributions, dependent on charge-discharge rate, were nondestructively visualized for a commercial lithium-ion battery, using the Compton scattering imaging technique. By comparing lithium reaction distributions obtained from two different charge-discharge speeds, residual lithium ions were detected at the center of the negative electrode on a fully discharged state, by relatively high-speed discharge rate. Moreover, we confirmed that inhomogeneous reactions were facilitated on a relatively high-speed charge-discharge rate, in both the negative and positive electrodes. A feature of our technique is that it can be applied to commercially used lithium-ion batteries, because it uses high-energy X-rays with a high penetration power. Our technique thus opens a novel analyzing pathway for developing advanced batteries.

COVID-19 has rapidly spread worldwide since December 2019. During the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 repeatedly mutated from Alpha to Omicron. The severity and mortality are related to age, sex, and underlying diseases (respiratory, cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, metabolic, cancer, and immune diseases). We retrospectively studied 44 hospitalized stroke patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The mortality rate of hospitalized stroke patients with COVID-19 was 6 (13.6%). The cause of death was coagulopathy in 3 cases of ischemic stroke. High modified Rankin Scale score（mRS）of stroke patient was correlated with severity of COVID-19. The timing of vaccination is inversely correlated with COVID-19 severity. In conclusion, stroke patients with COVID-19 have high mortality rates attributed to coagulopathy. Stroke patients with high mRS scores are more likely to develop severe COVID-19. In high mRS scores, therapy for severe COVID-19 should be administered.

Age-related macular degeneration is a progressive retinal disease that is associated with factors such as oxidative stress, decreased phagocytic activity, and inflammation. In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of SIG-1451, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug developed for treating atopic dermatitis and known to inhibit toll-like receptor 4, on light-induced photoreceptor degeneration. SIG-1451 was intraperitoneally injected into rats once a day before exposure to 1000 lx light for 24 h; one day later, optical coherence tomography showed a decrease in retinal thickness, and electroretinogram (ERG) amplitude was also found to have decreased 3 d after light exposure. Moreover, SIG-1451 protected against this decrease in retinal thickness and increase in ERG am-plitude. One day after light exposure, upregulation of inflammatory response-related genes was observed, and SIG-1451 was found to inhibit this upregulation. Iba-1, a microglial marker, was suppressed in SIG-1451-injected rats. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying these effects, we used lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated rat immortalised Müller cells. The upregu-lation of C-C motif chemokine 2　by LPS stimulation was significantly inhibited by SIG-1451 treatment, and western blot analysis revealed a decrease in phosphorylated I-κB levels. These results indicate that SIG-1451 protects photoreceptor cells by attenuating light damage progression through inhibiting inflammatory responses.

The purpose of this study was to determine changes in the mechanical properties of the thigh and lower leg musculature during the early follicular and ovulatory phases. Subjects were 15 female university students with normal menstrual cycles. The early follicular and ovulatory phases were estimated by the basal body temperature method, ovulation kits, and salivary estradiol concentration measurement. The MyotonPRO digital palpation device (Myoton AS, Tallinn, Estonia) was used to measure muscle and tendon stiffness in the early follicular and ovulatory phases. Measurement sites were the rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), patellar tendon (PT), medial head of gastrocnemius, soleus, and Achilles tendon. No significant differences in stiffness of all muscle tendons were identified between the early follicular and ovulatory phases. In the ovulatory phase, a significant positive correlation was seen between stiffness of RF and PT, and between stiffness of VM and PT. These results suggest that the stiffness of muscles and tendons of anterior sites of the thigh and posterior sites of the lower leg may not change between the early follicular and ovulatory phases. During the ovulatory phase, tendons may also be stiffer in individuals with stiffer anterior thigh muscles.

To investigate factors associated with the success of switching to faricimab for type 1 macular neovascularization (MNV) refractory to intravitreal aflibercept (IVA). This retrospective cohort study included patients with type 1 MNV who were switched to faricimab because they were refractory to IVA at two centers. The main outcome was an extension of the treatment interval after 6 months, and factors related to the success or failure of the extension and visual and anatomical outcomes were assessed. The analysis included 43 eyes of 43 patients. Extended dosing intervals of more than 2 weeks were identified in 14 eyes (32.6%). A short dosing interval before the switch, the absence of polypoidal lesions, and a thin central choroidal thickness before the switch were identified as factors involved in successful extension. For patients with refractory type 1 MNV, switching to faricimab is a safe and potential option to extend from existing dosing intervals.

Ustekinumab, a new anti-interleukin-12/23 antibody, is an effective treatment for ulcerative colitis; however, data regarding predictive factors of its efficacy are limited. This study aimed to identify biomarkers that can predict the long-term outcome of ustekinumab treatment. We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients with active ulcerative colitis treated with ustekinumab at our hospital from June 2020 to January 2023. We divided patients into non-remission and remission groups, and examined whether baseline biomarkers, including C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio, and early treatment response could predict clinical remission at week 48 of ustekinumab treatment. Of the 33 patients included in the study, 21 (63.6%) were in clinical remission at week 48 of ustekinumab treatment. The baseline C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio value was identified as an independent prognostic factor for clinical remission at week 48 (odds ratio: 10, 95% confidence interval: 1.6–62.4, p=0.014), with the cutoff value of 3.353 showing excellent prognostic performance (sensitivity: 71.4%, specificity: 83.3%). Furthermore, the clinical response at week 4 (p=0.009) and that at week 8 (p=0.005) were significantly associated with clinical remission at week 48. The baseline C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio value and early treatment response are useful biomarkers to predict the long-term efficacy of ustekinumab treatment.

Introduction Headache is a common public health problem, but its burden could be avoided by raising headache awareness and the appropriate use of acute medication and prophylactic medication. Few reports on raising headache awareness in the general public have been reported, and there are no reports on headache awareness campaigns through social networking services (SNS), or social media, in Japan. We prospectively performed a headache awareness campaign from March 2022 through 2 SNS, targeting nurse and wind instrumental musicians, because they are with high headache prevalence. Methods Through the 2 SNS, the article and video were distributed, respectively. The article and video described the 6 important topics for the general public about headaches, which were described in the Clinical Practice Guideline for Headache Disorders 2021. Just after reading or watching them as e-learning, we performed online questionnaire sheets to investigate the awareness of the 6 topics through the 2 SNS. The awareness of the 6 topics before and after the campaign was evaluated. Results In the SNS nurse-senka, we obtained 1191 responses. Women comprised 94.4%, and the median (range) age was 45 (20 to 71) years old. Headache sufferers were 63.8%, but only 35.1% had consulted doctors. In the SNS Creatone, we got the response from 134 professional musicians, with 77.3% of women. The largest number of respondents were in their 20s (range 18-60 years old). Headache sufferers were 87.9%. Of them, 36.4% had consulted doctors, 24.2% were medication-overuse headache. The ratios of individuals who were aware of the 6 topics significantly increased from 15.2%-47.0% to 80.4-98.7% after the online questionnaire in both SNS (p < 0.001, all). Conclusions We conducted this headache awareness campaign through e-learning and an online survey via 2 SNS. The ratios of individuals who were aware of the 6 topics about headaches significantly increased 1 month after e-learning. Our results suggest that e-learning and online survey can improve headache awareness. The materials in this campaign can be installed into smartphone applications and further spread on SNS, leading to strong influence. With rapid digital transformations such as online telemedicine and artificial intelligence diagnosis, raising awareness will be more efficient and effective and should be important.

Acidic glycosphingolipids, gangliosides are highly and consistently expressed in nervous tissues of vertebrates at high levels. Therefore, they have been believed to be largely involved in the development and function of nervous systems. Recent studies with genetic engineering of glycosyltransferase genes have revealed novel aspects of roles of gangliosides in the regulation of nervous tissues with substantial basis. In this review, novel findings on the ganglioside functions and their modes of action elucidated mainly by studies of gene knockout mice have been summarized. In particular, roles of gangliosides in the regulation of lipid rafts to maintain the integrity of nervous systems have been reported with a focus on the roles in the regulation of neuro-inflammation and neurodegeneration via complement systems. In addition, recent advances in the studies of congenital neurodisorders due to the genetic mutaions of ganglioside synthase genes, and also in the techniques for the analysis of ganglioside functions have been introduced.

EUS–TA in unresectable pancreatic cancer requires not only a tissue diagnosis but also tissue collection in anticipation of comprehensive genomic profiling. However, the optimal puncture target remains controversial. Therefore, the Primary and Metastatic Lesions in Pancreatic Cancer (PRIMATE) study was designed to clarify the optimal target by comparing the success rates for meeting OncoGuide NCC Oncopanel (NOP) analysis criteria on pre-check primary and metastatic lesion specimens obtained during the same EUS–TA session in patients with invasive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. In this ongoing prospective study, two specimens, each from primary and metastatic lesions, are obtained by EUS–TA (typically using a 19G fine-needle biopsy needle) in patients with invasive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The primary endpoint is the proportion of EUS–TA specimens that meet NOP analysis criteria during pre-check (i.e., tumor cellularity ≥ 20% and tissue area ≥ 4 mm2), which are then compared between primary and metastatic lesions. This study has been approved by the National Cancer Center Institutional Review Board (Research No. 2022-168). The results of this study will be reported at an international conference and published in an international peer-reviewed journal. The trial registration number is UMIN 000048966.

Lysosomal degradation of tyrosinase, a pivotal enzyme in melanin synthesis, negatively impacts melanogenesis in melanocytes. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms by which lysosomes target tyrosinase have remained elusive. Here, we identify RING finger protein 152 (RNF152) as a membrane-associated ubiquitin ligase specifically targeting tyrosinase for the first time, utilizing AlphaScreen technology. We observed that modulating RNF152 levels in B16 cells, either via overexpression or siRNA knockdown, resulted in decreased or increased both tyrosinase and melanin levels, respectively. Notably, RNF152 and tyrosinase colocalized at the trans-Golgi network (TGN). However, upon treatment with lysosomal inhibitors, both proteins appeared in the lysosomes, indicating that tyrosinase undergoes RNF152-mediated lysosomal degradation. Through ubiquitination assays, we found the indispensable roles of both the RING and transmembrane (TM) domains of RNF152 in facilitating tyrosinase ubiquitination. In summary, our findings underscore RNF152 as a tyrosinase-specific ubiquitin ligase essential for regulating melanogenesis in melanocytes.

Background: The AR-V7 splice variant is a cause of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, testing for the presence of AR-V7 by RT-PCR shows AR-V7 positivity in healthy individuals. We hypothesized that the positivity reflected contamination by hematopoietic cells. We tried a novel CTC enrichment instrument using Celsee® to clear hematopoietic cells. Methods: We tested whole blood or Celsee-enriched samples for AR-V7 by RT-PCR and included samples from 41 CRPC patients undergoing sequential therapy. We evaluated the associations between AR-V7 status and clinical factors. We evaluated factors affecting AR-V7 positivity. Results: AR-V7 positivity was lower in Celsee-enriched than in whole blood specimens. AR-V7 and clinical factors did not predict the therapy effectiveness. We found no significant differences in the effectiveness of Enz/Abi upon AR-V7 evaluation. All AR-V7 positive patients had resistance to Enz/Abi. DTX, CBZ, and Radium223 treatment showed no significant difference in the treatment effectiveness, regardless of AR-V7 presence. AR-V7 was more frequently positive than EOD2 in cases with bone metastases. Conclusion: Celsee® CTC enrichment suppresses the AR-V7 false positivity. All AR-V7 positive patients presented resistance to Enz/Abi. DTX, CBZ, and Radium223 were effective and remained treatment options. AR-V7 positivity should progressively appear in patients with advanced bone metastases.

Quality-of-life (QOL) is important for cancer patients with poor prognosis. However, QOL survey is difficult using patients. We created cancer scenarios and investigated QOL utility values among the general public using vignette-based methods. On the other hand, some scenarios may have been difficult for the general public to image and understand. Therefore, we conducted a QOL survey among physicians. This survey was conducted by interviewing physicians adminis-tering chemotherapy to patients for recurrent/metastatic pancreatic cancer. Responses were eval-uated using Composite Time Trade-Off (cTTO) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for 11 pancreatic cancer status scenarios to be evaluated (survey scenarios). Survey scenarios consisted of health state, type and Grade of adverse events. Health status was classified into two categories: Stable disease (SD) and Progressive disease (PD). Twenty responders answered in this survey, however two responses were excluded because of inconsistent responses. The stable disease had the highest QOL value for both assessment method. Whereas progression disease (PD) had the lowest QOL value. The physicians scored higher QOL values on VAS and cTTO than the general public in all survey scenarios. The QOL values obtained by physicians were consistent with the degree of sta-tus in any assessment scenarios.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between objective chewing ability and nutritional status of Japanese community-dwelling elders. Design: Cross sectional study. Participants: In total, 509 community-dwelling elders living in the Tokyo metropolitan area participated in a comprehensive survey occurring in October 2013. Measurements: Basic characteristics referred to sex, age, and body mass index. Undernutrition was examined through serum albumin levels. Chewing ability was examined through a color-changeable xylitol gum. By evaluating color changes in the chewing gum. Nutritional intake was examined through the semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. Results: In the poor chewing ability group, all nutrient intake levels were significantly low, except for carbohydrates and all food groups intake levels were significantly low, except for cereals, confectionery, sugars, seasonings, and spices. Additionally, after adjusting for covariates, chewing ability showed a significant association with undernutrition. Conclusion: We concluded that chewing ability was closely associated with nutrient and different food groups intake as well as undernutrition among Japanese community-dwelling elders. Thus, in order to ensure a comprehensive nutritional management, nutritionists and dentists should collaborate when treating the same patients.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the attachment types of the tibialis anterior tendon (TAT) in Japanese fixed cadavers and to determine the attachment site area in three dimensions. We examined 100 feet from 50 Japanese cadavers. The TAT was classified according to differences in the number of fiber bundles as: Type I, with one fiber bundle; Type II, with two fiber bundles; and Type III, with three fiber bundles. The attachment site area of the TAT was measured using a three-dimensional scanner. Cases were Type II in 95% and Type III in 5%, with no cases of Type I identified. In Type II, mean attachment site areas were 85.2 ± 18.2 mm2 for the medial cuneiform bone (MCB) and 72.4 ± 19.0 mm2 for the first metatarsal bone (1MB), showing a significantly larger area for MCB than for 1MB. These findings suggest the possibility of ethnic differences in TAT attachment types and suggest that TAT attachments in Japanese individuals are highly likely to be Type II, with rare cases of Type III. Accurate measurement of attachment site areas is possible with appropriate three-dimensional measurements.

Rectal cancer presents significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, with neoadjuvant therapy playing a pivotal role in improving resectability and patient outcomes. MRI serves as a critical tool in assessing treatment response. However, differentiating viable tumor tissue from therapy-induced changes on MRI remains a complex task. In this comprehensive review, we explore treatment options for rectal cancer based on resectability status, focusing on the role of MRI in guiding therapeutic decisions. We delve into the nuances of MRI-based evaluation of treatment response following neoadjuvant therapy, with particular attention to emerging techniques like radiomics. Drawing from current literature and insights, we provide essential recommendations for post-neoadjuvant therapy management in rectal cancer, all within the context of MRI-based findings.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is most commonly observed in male patients. Although PCa progresses relatively slowly, high-risk PCa is associated with an increased risk of lymph nodes, distant metastases, and PCa-related death. Several guidelines recommend radiation therapy (RT) of the prostate combined with long-term androgen deprivation therapy for high-risk PCa. A comparison of clinical outcomes between radical prostatectomy (RP) and RT for high-risk PCa by propensity score-matched analysis showed that RP had a significantly higher risk of biochemical recurrence than RT. However, the combination of neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy followed by RP may be more likely to achieve a cure when overall survival is considered the primary endpoint. In this review, we aimed to confirm the oncological outcomes of RP and RT for high-risk PCa and highlight the importance of neoadjuvant therapy followed by RP for high-risk PCa.

The relationship between arterial stiffness and oxygen uptake (VO2) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate this relationship and factors contributing to VO2 in patients with AMI. The role of arterial stiffness in cardiac-skeletal muscle coupling during exercise was then elucidated. The exercise capacity via cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX), cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), and body composition of 101 patients with AMI were measured at discharge. Patients were categorized based on their CAVI into three groups: (i) normal (CAVI: ≤7.9), (ii) borderline (CAVI: 8.0–8.9), and (iii) abnormal (CAVI: ≥9.0). Subsequently, VO2 was compared among these groups. The relationship between the CAVI and peak VO2 (VO2 Peak) during CPX and factors contributing to VO2 Peak were investigated. The abnormal CAVI group had a significantly lower VO2 Peak than the normal and borderline groups. The CAVI was associated with VO2 Peak in patients with AMI. Furthermore, the CAVI was found to be a factor contributing to VO2 Peak. These findings suggest that arterial stiffness in tissue blood distribution and blood supply defines systemic exercise limits in patients with AMI. This suggested that arterial stiffness plays a significant role in cardio-vascular-skeletal muscle coupling.

Background: Tacrolimus (TAC) effectively induces remission in refractory ulcerative colitis (UC). However, TAC therapy usually lasts for 3 months. Although azathioprine (AZA) is often used in maintenance therapy, the relapse rate remains high. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of adalimumab (ADA) for remission maintenance in patients with UC after induction therapy with TAC. Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients with moderate-to-severe UC who achieved clinical remission after 3 months of TAC therapy with endoscopic non-mucosal healing (Cohort A). After TAC discontinuation, the remission maintenance rate for up to 1 year after starting ADA therapy was examined. We retrospectively enrolled patients with UC treated with TAC (Cohort B). Among patients in clinical remission after TAC treatment for 3 months, those who received AZA as remission maintenance therapy after TAC discontinuation constituted the AZA group. Patients in Cohort A who received ADA and AZA as remission maintenance therapy after TAC discontinuation constituted the ADA group. We compared the remission maintenance rates in AZA and ADA groups for up to 5 years after TAC discontinuation. Results: In Cohort A, of the 46 patients with UC treated with TAC, 17 were eligible for analysis after receiving ADA as remission maintenance therapy. A notable 88.2% (15/17) were still in remission 1 year after starting ADA. The ADA group (n=16) exhibited a significantly higher relapse-free rate than the AZA group (n=26) (p<0.05; log-rank test). Conclusion: Switching to ADA for remission maintenance in patients with refractory UC who achieved clinical remission with TAC is clinically useful.

Pv11, an insect cell line established from the midge Polypedilum vanderplanki, is capable of ametabolic desiccation tolerance, so-called anhydrobiosis. We previously discovered that heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) contributes to the acquisition of desiccation tolerance by Pv11 cells, but the mechanistic details have yet to be elucidated. Here, by analyzing the gene expression profiles of newly established HSF1-knockout and -rescue cell lines, we show that HSF1 has a genome-wide effect on gene regulation in Pv11. HSF1-knockout cells exhibit a reduced desiccation survival rate, but this is completely restored in HSF1-rescue cells. By comparing mRNA profiles of the two cell lines, we reveal that HSF1 induces anhydrobiosis-related genes, especially genes encoding late embryogenesis abundant proteins and thioredoxins, but represses a group of genes involved in basal cellular processes, thus promoting an ametabolic state in the cell. In addition, HSF1 binding motifs are enriched in the promoters of anhydrobiosis-related genes and we demonstrate binding of HSF1 to these promoters by ChIP-qPCR. Thus, HSF1 directly regulates the transcription of anhydrobiosis-related genes and consequently plays a pivotal role in the induction of anhydrobiotic ability in Pv11 cells.

Geranylgeranyl acetone (GGA) protects against various types of cell damages by upregulating heat shock proteins. We investigated whether GGA protect neuronal cells from cell death induced by oxidative stress. Glutamate exposure was lethal to HT-22 cells which comprise a neuronal line derived from mouse hippocampus. This configuration is often used as a model for hippocampus neurodegeneration in vitro. In the present study, GGA protected HT-22 cells from glutamate-induced oxidative stress. GGA pretreatment did not induce Hsps. Moreover, reactive oxygen species increased to the same extent in both GGA-pretreated and untreated cells exposed to glutamate. In contrast, glutamate exposure and GGA pretreatment increased mitochondrial membrane potential. However, increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration were inhibited by GGA pretreatment. In addition, the increase of phosphorylated ERKs by the glutamate exposure was inhibited by GGA pretreatment. These findings suggest that GGA protects HT-22 cells from glutamate-provoked cell death without Hsp induction and that the mitochondrial calcium buffering capacity plays an important role in this protective effect.

To achieve low-cost and on-demand launches of micro satellites, the authors have been researching and developing a micro hybrid rocket since 2014. In 2018, a ballistic launch experiment was performed using the developed hybrid rocket, where it reached an altitude of about 6.2 km. The rocket engine had a 3D-printed solid fuel grain made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resin in combination with a nitrous-oxide oxidizer. The fuel grain port had a star-fractal swirl geometry in order to increase the surface area of the port, to promote the laminar-turbulent transition by increasing the friction resistance, and to give a swirling velocity component to the oxidizer flow. This overcame the hybrid rocket’s drawback of low fuel regression rate; i.e., it achieved a higher fuel-gas generation rate compared with a classical port geometry. In 2021, the hybrid rocket engine was scaled up and its total impulse was increased to over 50 kNs for reaching an altitude of 15 km. In addition to the engine, other components were also improved, such as through incorporation of lightweight structures, low-shock separation devices, a high-reliability telemetry device and data logger, while keeping costs low. The rocket was launched and reached an altitude of about 10.1 km, which broke the previous Japanese altitude record of 8.3 km for hybrid rockets. The presentation will report on the developed components from the viewpoint of system design and the results of the ballistic launch experiments.

The excessive intake of sodium (Na) and insufficient intake of potassium (K) are major concerns to prevent hypertension. Using low-Na/K seasonings (reducing 25% of the NaCl and adding K salt) may improve the dietary Na/K ratio and help prevent hypertension. To devise an intervention study using low-Na/K seasonings at a company cafeteria, we calculated the Na and K contents of the meals served at the cafeteria and estimated changes in the intakes when suitable low-Na/K seasonings were used. We also considered using milk as a good source of K. We used an ingredient list of a company cafeteria and calculated Na and K contents in each dish. The average amounts of NaCl and K per use were 5.04 g and 718 mg, respectively. Seasonings contributed 70.9% of the NaCl. With the use of low-Na/K seasonings, an estimated reduction in NaCl of 0.8 g/day and an estimated increase in K of 308 mg/day was achieved. An additional serving (200 mL) of milk, NaCl was reduced by 0.57 g/day and K was increased by 610 mg/day, with an overall decrease in the dietary Na/K ratio from 3.20 to 2.40. The use of low-Na/K seasonings and dairy may improve the dietary Na/K ratio among cafeteria users and help prevent hypertension.

We aimed to compare prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) following percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) with or without chemolipiodolization (CL) for early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using propensity score-matched analysis. We enrolled 221 patients with early-stage HCC who received PRFA with (n = 76) or without (n = 145) CL in Saga Central Hospital between April 2004 and December 2020. No significant difference was observed in OS between PRFA with and without CL cohorts (median survival time [MST]: 5.4 vs. 4.5 years; p = 0.0806). To reduce confounding effects, 108 patients were selected using propensity score-matched analysis (n = 54 for each treatment). No significant difference was observed in OS between the cohorts (MST: 3.6 vs. 4.0 years; p = 0.5474). After stratification according to tumor size, no significant difference was observed in OS for patients with tumor size ≥20 mm between PRFA with and without CL cohorts (MST: 3.4 vs. 3.5 years; p = 0.8236). PRFA with CL was not a significant prognostic factor in both univariate and multivariate analyses (p = 0.5477 and 0.9600, respectively). Our findings suggest that PRFA with CL does not demonstrate longer prognostic effects than PRFA without CL in early-stage HCC, regardless of tumor size.

Abstract: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are deregulated in human cancers and are associated with disease progression. Plasmacytoma Variant Translocation 1 (PVT1), an lncRNA, is located adjacent to MYC, linked to multiple myeloma (MM). PVT1 is expressed in MM and is associated with carcinogenesis, however, its role and regulation machinery remain uncertain. We examined PVT1/MYC expression through real time PCR in plasma cells purified from 59 MGUS and 140 MM patients. MM cell lines KMS11, KMS12PE, OPM2, and RPMI8226 were treated with JQ1, a MYC superenhancer inhibitor, or MYC inhibitor 10058-F4. The expression levels of PVT1 and MYC were significantly higher in MM than in MGUS (p &lt; 0.0001), and showed positive correlation with disease progression (r = 0.394, p &lt; 0.0001). JQ1 inhibited cell proliferation and decreased the expression levels of MYC and PVT1. However, 10054-F4 did not alter the expression level of PVT1. The positive correlation between MYC and PVT1 in patients, synchronous downregulation of MYC and PVT1 by JQ1, and no effect of MYC inhibitor on PVT1 expression suggest that the expression of these two genes is coregulated by a superenhancer. Cooperative effects between these two genes may contribute to MM pathogenesis and progression.

We have developed circular defects in 2-dimensional photonic crystal lasers that allow current injection for interconnected optical communications. However, when cleaving the sample to measure the output light, the output light intensity changes due to the cleaving position. In a previous study, we discovered through simulation that this effect could be eliminated and that a higher optical output might be obtained by applying a convex edge structure. In this paper, we develop the fabrication technology for this structure, fabricate samples, and measure the output light experimentally. Room-temperature continuous-wave laser oscillations using this structure are observed. The laser threshold is similar to well-lasing samples with normal cleavage edge faces. We are assured that these results contribute to future work such as accurate manufacturing and improving the end-face configuration to obtain higher outputs.

Piriform fossa and/or esophageal injuries caused by calibration tubes are relatively rare and re-main unelucidated. Herein, we report the case of a 36-year-old woman with morbid obesity, sleep apnea, and menstrual abnormalities who was scheduled to undergo laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). We inserted a 36-Fr Nelaton catheter made of natural rubber as a calibration tube during the surgery. However, excessive resistance was observed. We confirmed a submuco-sal layer detachment of approximately 5 cm from the left piriform fossa to the esophagus using intraoperative endoscopy. Additionally, LSG was performed using an endoscope as the guiding calibration tube. We inserted a nasogastric tube under endoscopy with a guidewire before com-pleting the surgery, hoping for a guiding effect on saliva flow. After 17 months, the patient suc-cessfully lost weight postoperatively without complaints of neck pain or discomfort during swallowing. Therefore, if the damage is limited to the submucosal layer, as in this case, conserva-tive therapy should be considered, which is similar to the concept of not requiring suture closure in endoscopic submucosal dissection. This case highlights the risk of iatrogenic injuries to the pi-riform fossa and/or esophagus during LSG and the importance of careful calibration tube inser-tion to prevent them.

Milk serves as a crucial source of natural bioactive compounds essential for human nutrition and health. The gastrointestinal digestion of milk proteins releases various biologically active peptides that positively impact human health and enhance physiological performance. With the growing production of cheese, Greek yogurt, and other dairy products, the volume of unutilized acid whey is significantly increasing. Acid whey, containing almost all whey proteins and approximately one-quarter of casein, presents a valuable raw material for generating peptides with potential health benefits. These peptides exhibit properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, opioid, mineral-binding, and growth-stimulating activities, contributing to improved human immunity and the treatment of chronic diseases. Enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins has been developed as a method to produce these peptides, facilitating their use in food fortification. To incorporate whey into functional beverages, it undergoes fermentation by lactic acid bacteria with proteolytic activity. To specifically enrich these beverages with peptides exhibiting targeted bioactivities, it is essential to select lactic acid bacteria strains possessing the requisite protease profiles. Additionally, the sensory properties of the final product can be enhanced using starter cultures with diverse metabolic capabilities, even in the absence of added flavoring agents. Given the imperative to develop waste-free technologies and enhance the profitability of the dairy industry, there is a growing need to efficiently utilize and transform acid whey into a broad spectrum of valuable products and food additives. This approach is justified not only by the nutritional benefits of the bioactive components in whey but also by the commercial potential of safe and health-enhancing products.

The paper focuses on the application of a multilevel, integrative and territorial approach to the protection of cultural heritage through planning instruments in Serbia. It points out the problems of the sectoral approach and discusses international recommendations that can be integrated into the planning methodology. The case study is the area of Djerdap National Park, which has an already established international and national importance. The research suggests that the cultural heritage in the area, with the exception of the Roman limes, is still recognized at the level of individual localities. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning all levels of governance to safeguard the whole spatial entity rather than focusing solely on its particular areas. The interna-tional and national importance of the planning area contributes to the strengthening of awareness of heritage and its institutional protection. However, the vitality of the area, which is key to its sustainable development, comes from the local level. Planning documents contribute to the inte-gration of local values and local communities into development programs and projects.

In order to shorten the detection time and improve the average precision on embedded devices, A lightweight and high accuracy model is proposed for passion fruit in complex environments (backlight, occlusion, overlap, sunny, cloudy, rainy). Firstly, replacing the backbone network of YOLOv5 with a lightweight GhostNet model reduces the number of parameters and computation while improving detection speed. Secondly, a new feature branch is added to the GhostNet network, and the feature fusion layer in the neck network is reconstructed to effectively combine the lower-level and higher-level features, which not only improves the accuracy of the model but also maintains its lightweight. Finally, the knowledge distillation methods are used to transfer the knowledge from the more capable teacher model to the less capable student model, which significantly improving the detection accuracy. The improved model is denoted as G-YOLO-NK. The average accuracy of the G-YOLO-NK network is 96.00%, which is 1.00% higher than the original YOLOv5s model. Furthermore, the improved model size is 7.14MB, reduced to half of the original model, and the real-time detection frame rate is 11.25 FPS on the Jetson Nano. Compared to the state-of-the-art model, the proposed model outperforms them in terms of average precision and detection performance. The present work provides an effective model for real-time detection of passion fruits in complex orchard scenes, which can provide valuable technical support for the development of orchard picking robots and greatly improve the intelligence level of orchards.

The impact of interaction SS with MJO on rainfall along Java Island to East Nusa Tenggara has been studied using daily rainfall observation data from 2140 weather observation stations, which are also equipped with GSMaP, OLR, and ERA5 data. There were 61 SS events found, 17 during active MJO and 44 in inactive MJO. Rainfall increases more in the western study area when the active MJO and more in the eastern study area when the inactive MJO is due to SS. SS reduces rainfall in the Jakarta region, regardless of the activity or inactivity of the MJO. SS causes extreme rainfall to only occur in a small part of certain areas, so it tends to significantly reduce the possibility of extreme rainfall. In the southern part of the IMC, SS predominates over MJO in supporting increased water vapor transport. Large-scale synoptic circulations like the monsoon, SS, and MJO can interact with local land-sea wind circulation to produce spatiotemporal variability in rainfall on Java Island. Rainfall mostly increases in the afternoon and decreases in the morning when SS occurs, whether there is MJO or not. Convective instability analysis indicates that SS increases precipitation, most likely by lowering CIN and raising VIMFC.

The Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) scanner is an easy and portable Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data acquisition device. Its main output is a 3D point cloud covering the scanned scene. Regarding the importance of accuracy in the survey domain, this paper aims to assess the accuracy of two SLAM scanners: the NavVis VLX and the BLK2GO Scanner. This assessment is conducted for both outdoor and indoor environments. In this context, two types of reference data are used: the Total Station (TS) and the static scanner Z+F Imager 5016. To carry out the assessment, four comparisons are tested: cloud to cloud, cloud to mesh, mesh to mesh, and edge detection board assessment. However, the results of the assessments confirm that the accuracy of indoor SLAM scanner measurements (5 mm) is greater than that of outdoor ones (between 10 mm and 60 mm). Moreover, the comparison of cloud to cloud provides the best accuracy regarding direct accuracy measurement without manipulations. Finally, based on the high accuracy, scanning speed, flexibility, and the accuracy differences between tested cases, it is confirmed that SLAM scanners are effective tools for data acquisition.

Eelgrass meadows have attracted a lot of attention not only for their ability to maintain marine ecosystems as feeding grounds for marine organisms, but also for their potential to store atmos-pheric and dissolved CO2 as blue carbon. This study comprehensively evaluated the bacterial and chemical composition data obtained from eelgrass sediments of different scales along the coast of Japan to investigate the sediment effect on the acclimatization of eelgrass. Regardless eelgrass habitat, approximately 1% Anaerolineales, Babeliales, Cytophagales, and Phycisphaerales were present in the bottom sediment. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were present at 3.69 % in eelgrass sediment compared to 1.70 % in bare sediment. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) were present at 2.81% and 1.10% in the eelgrass and bare sediment, respectively. Bacterial composition analysis and linear discriminant analysis revealed that sulfur-oxidizing bacteria detoxified H2S in the eelgrass meadows and that the larger-scale eelgrass meadows had a higher diversity of sul-fur-oxidizing bacteria. Our result indicated that one of the following systems detoxifies the H2S in eelgrass meadows microbial oxidation by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, oxidation by O2 perme-ated by the physical diffusion of benthos. This study indicated the issues of maintaining sustain-able conservation of the eelgrass bed.

Glycosidic linkage analysis was conducted on the unfractionated polysaccharides in the alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs) prepared from six red seaweeds (Gracilariopsis sp., Prionitis sp., Mastocarpus papillatus, Callophyllis sp., Mazzaella splendens, and Palmaria palmata) using GC-MS/FID analysis of partially methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs). The cell walls of P. palmata primarily contained mixed-linkage xylans and small amounts of sulfated galactans and cellulose. In contrast, the unfractionated polysaccharides of the other five species were rich in galactans displaying diverse 3,6-anhydro-galactose and galactose linkages with varied sulfation patterns. Different levels of cellulose were also observed. This glycosidic linkage method offers advantages for cellulose analysis over traditional monosaccharide analysis that is known for underrepresenting glucose in crystalline cellulose. Relative linkage compositions calculated from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements showed that anhydro sugar linkages generated more response in the latter detection method. This improved linkage workflow presents a useful tool for studying polysaccharide structural variations across red seaweed species. Furthermore, for the first time, relative linkage compositions from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements, along with normalized FID and total ion current (TIC) chromatograms without peak assignments, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technique's potential to differentiate various red seaweed species.

Background: Educating college students about the importance of good sleep habits could lead to the adoption of healthier sleep routines, including sufficient sleep duration and sleep quality. The current pre-post study examines the impact of completing a sleep education program called “Sleep 101” on (1) sleep hygiene practices, (2) sleep quality, and (3) weekday and weekend sleep behaviors among college students. “Sleep 101” is an interactive online course developed to educate college students about the importance of sleep by addressing basic sleep physiology, the impact of sleep on mood, academic and physical performance, the interactions between sleep and various substances, and common sleep disorders. Methods: 338 college students were recruited from a midsized public university in the US and invited to participate in “Sleep 101”, of which 25 participants completed the baseline and post-intervention questionnaire. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) was utilized to evaluate sleep hygiene practices, while standard questions were employed to assess weekday and weekend sleep behaviors and overall sleep quality. Results: Those who completed the study demonstrated a significant increase in weekday sleep duration and were less likely to engage in negative prior bedtime activities. In addition, 40% of those who completed baseline and post-intervention assessments noticed improvements in their sleep quality. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a brief online program is beneficial in improving sleep behaviors among college and could be a scalable approach to addressing current sleep issues and preventing future sleep problems in college students.

The profile of secondary metabolites occurring in apple cuticular layer is not only characteristic for particular apple cultivar, but also dynamically reflects various external factors in growing environment. In this study, the possibility to authenticate apple samples based on analysis of their cuticular layer extracts was investigated. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) was employed for obtaining metabolomic fingerprints. In total, 274 authentic apple samples, four cultivars harvested within the seasons 2020 to 2022 in the Czech Republic and Poland were analysed. The generated complex data processed by univariate and multivariate statistical methods enabled to build classification models for discrimination of apple cultivars as well as their geographical origin. The models showed very good performance in differentiation of Czech and Polish samples for three of four cultivars: ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Idared’, moreover, the validity of the models was verified over harvest seasons. The diagnostic markers, besides metabolites of triterpene biosynthetic pathway, mainly represented wax esters. ‘Jonagold’, which is known to be susceptible to mutations, was the only cultivar for which the unambiguous classification of geographical origin was not possible.

Superior fiber quality is one of the most important objectives in cotton breeding. To detect the genetic basis underlying fiber quality, an F2 population containing 413 plants was constructed by crossing Jifeng 914 and Jifeng 173, both of which have superior fiber quality, with Jifeng 173 being better. Five fiber quality traits were investigated in the F2, F2:3, F2:4, and F2:5 populations. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was conducted based on a high-density genetic map containing 11,488 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and spanning 4,202.12 cM in length. Transgressive segregation patterns and complex correlations in the five tested traits were observed. A total of 108 QTLs were found, including 27 for fiber length (FL), 16 for fiber strength (FS), 24 for micronaire (MC), 17 for fiber uniformity (FU), and 24 for fiber elongation rate (FE). Chromosome A7 contained 12 QTL, ranking the first. No QTL was found on chromosome D1 and D11. Each QTL contributed 1.98%–21.45% to the phenotypic variation (PV), including 13 major effect QTLs that contributed more than 10% toward PV. Two QTLs could be repeatedly detected in three populations, including qFL-D3-2 in F2, F2:4, and F2:5 with 9.18%–21.45% of PV, qFS-A11-1 in F2:3, F2:4 and F2:5 with 6.05%–10.41% of PV. Another seven stable QTLs could be detected in two populations, including four major effect QTLs: qFL-A12-3, qFS-D10-2, qMC-D6-2, and qMC-D8-1. Fourteen QTL-overlapping regions were found, which might explain the complex correlations among the five phenotypic traits. Four regions on chromosome A11, D3, D6, and D10 covered by both stable and major effect QTLs are promising for further fine mapping. The genomic regions of the two QTLs detected in three populations and the four major effect QTLs contain 810 genes. Gene functional analysis revealed that the annotated genes are mainly involved in protein binding and metabolic pathways. Fifteen candidate genes in the qFL-D3-2 region are highly expressed in fiber or ovules during fiber initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall thickening, or maturation stages. qRT-PCR revealed that Ghir_D03G005440.1 and Ghir_D03G011310.1 may play a role in promoting fiber initiation, Ghir_D03G006470.1 may be beneficial for promoting fiber elongation. This study provides more information for revealing the molecular genetic basis underlying cotton fiber quality.

Currently there are fewer depth models applied to pepper picking detection, while the existing generalized neural networks have problems such as large model parameters, long training time, and low model accuracy.In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a Yolo-chili target detection algorithm for chili pepper detection. First, the classical target detection algorithm yolov5 is used as a benchmark model, and an adaptive spatial feature pyramid structure combining the attention mechanism and the idea of multi-scale prediction is introduced to improve the model's detection effect on occluded peppers and small target peppers. Secondly, a three-channel attention mechanism module is introduced to improve the algorithm's long-distance recognition ability and reduce the interference of redundant testers. Finally, the quantized pruning method is used to reduce the model parameters and realize the lightweight processing of the model. Applying the method to the homemade chili pepper dataset, the AP value of chili pepper reaches 93.11%; the accuracy rate is 93.51% and the recall rate is 92.55%.The experimental results show that yolo-chili is able to achieve accurate and real-time pepper detection under complex orchards.

The temporary immersion system bioreactor named GreenTray®[2], [3]presents advantages over the existing ones. Firstly, there is no need to use forceps to move the shoots or plantlets in or out of the recipient, neither the use of scalpel to divide them. Secondly, the basis of the shoot can remain in the GreenTray® and can sprout again in several cycles of growth. These two characteristics reduce the costs in the process of micropropagation. Besides, shoots or plantlets development is enhanced by the aeration of the recipient, thus enriching with CO2 the recipient atmosphere. The chapter describes and provides images and values of interest in (1) the micropropagation process of some commercial Prunus or Pyrus rootstocks; (2) the plantlet growth under autotrophic conditions; and (2) the inoculation of plants with pathogens that reproduce in vitro the symptoms observed in vivo, using the GreenTray® bioreactor.

Aiming at the problems of inaccurate segmentation of long object and information loss of small object in real-time semantic segmentation algorithm, this paper proposes a lightweight multi-branch real-time semantic segmentation network based on BiseNetV2. The new auxiliary branch makes full use of spatial details and context information to cover the long object in the field of view. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the inference speed of the model, the asymmetric convolution is used in each stage of the auxiliary branch to design a structure with low computational complexity. In the multi-branch fusion stage, the alignment and fusion module is designed to provide guidance information for deep and shallow feature mapping, so as to make up for the problem of feature misalignment in the fusion of information at different scales, and thus reduce the loss of small target information. In order to further improve the model’s awareness of key information, a global context module is designed to capture the most important features in the input data. The proposed network uses NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU experiment, on the road street view data set Cityscapes and CamVid average occurring simultaneously ratio reached 77.1% and 78.4% respectively, with running speed of 127 frames/s respectively and 112 frames/s. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve real-time segmentation and improve the accuracy significantly, showing good semantic segmentation performance

Strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora is one of the main diseases of strawberry and significantly impacts the yield and quality of strawberry fruit. There are now no effective control techniques available except for fungicide sprays, which may directly impact consumers. Biological control is becoming an alternative method for the control of plant diseases to replace or decrease the application of traditional synthetic chemical fungicides. Trichoderma is widely used as a biological agent for controlling strawberry root rot. In order to provide resources for screening the highly effective biocontrol fungus for controlling strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, the biocontrol mechanism,the control effects of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 against strawberry root rot and growth-promoting effects on strawberry seedlings were investigated by plate culture, microscopy observation and root drenching methods.The results showed that CMT10 had obvious competitive, antibiotic and hyperparasitism effects on Neopestalotiopsis clavispora CMGF3. The CMT10 could quickly occupy nutritional space, and the inhibition rates of CMT10 against CMGF3 in confrontation culture on 7 d was 65.49%. The inhibition rates of volatile metabolite and fermentation metabolite produced by CMT10 against CMGF3 were 79.67% and 69.84%, respectively. The mycelium of strain CMT10 can act as hyperparasites by making contacting, winding and penetrating hyphae of CMGF3. Pot experiment showed that the biocontrol efficacy of CMT10 on strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora was 63.00%. CMT10 had obvious promotion effect on strawberry growth, the plant height, root length, total fresh weight, root fresh weight, stem fresh weight and root dry weight, with the promotion rates were 20.09%, 22.39%, 87.11%, 101.58%, 79.82% and 72.33%, respectively. Overall, this study showed the ability of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 to control strawberry root rot and their potential to develop as novel biocontrol agents to replace chemical fungicides for eco-friendly, sustainable agriculture.

In this paper we study a class of impulsive delayed neural networks with parameter uncertainties and reaction-diffusion terms. Using the properties of M-matrices and some inequality techniques, some sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the global exponential stability of the given system. The results obtained are presented by simple algebraic inequalities, which are certainly more concise than previous methods. Finally, the validity and usefulness of our results are illustrated by arithmetic examples.

Pyrops candelaria is one of the common pests of fruit trees, but the research on the pathogenic microorganisms it may carry is very limited. Therefore, it is essential to reveal the pathogenic microbes it carries and their potential hazards. This study found a new virus from the transcriptome of P. candelaria, which was first reported in P. candelaria and named as PyCaV (Pyrops candelaria associated virus). RACE and bioinformatics assay revealed that the full-length of PyCaV is 10855 bp with the polyA tail, containing a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polyprotein consisting of 3171 amino acid (aa). The virus has a typical Iflavirus structure, including two rhv domains, a RNA helicase domain (HEL), a 3C cysteine protease domain (Pro), and a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domain (RdRp). Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus belongs to family Iflaviridae and sequence alignements analysis suggedted PyCaV is new member in unassigned genus of family Iflaviridae. Further in-depth analysis of virus-infection-part showed that PyCaV is distributing in the whole longan lanternfly, including its head, chest, and abdomen, but more PyCaV was identified in the chest. The distribution of PyCaV in different parts of P. candelaria was further explored, which showed that more PyCaV were detected in its piercing-sucking mouthparts and chest viscera. Statistical analysis showed that the PyCaV infection was affected by time and locations.

Apis mellifera, especially weak ones, are highly vulnerable to Carpoglyphus lactis mites, which can rapidly infest and consume stored pollen, leading to weakened colonies and potentially colony collapse. This study aimed to ascertain and investigate the prevalence of this mite in honeybee colonies across 9 provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A total of 615 honeybee colonies were collected, from 66 apiaries during the spring and 58 apiaries during the summer of 2023. A 1,242 bp segment of the the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The detection levels of C. lactis in the honeybees were compared between winter and summer. Based on the COI sequence analysis, the nucleotide sequence similarity of C. lactis mites isolated in the ROK with those from China (NC048990.1) was found to be 99.5%, and with those from the United Kingdom (KY922482.1) was 99.3%. This study is the first report of C. lactis in Korean apiaries. The findings in this study demonstrate a significantly higher detection rate in winter, which is 4.1 times greater than that in summer (p &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, the results underscore the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for detecting C. lactis mites.

With the burgeoning growth of online retail, the issue of counterfeit products has become a significant threat to both consumer trust and brand integrity, posing challenges to sustainable market practices. Online retail platforms are promoted to redesign their channel structures and enhance brand traceability to tackle counterfeits using blockchain technology. To investigate the interactions between blockchain technology and the channel structures of online retail platforms, we design a game theory model incorporating a manufacturer with(out) blockchain participation selling products via an online retail platform that operates an agency channel and/or a reselling channel. We show that the critical trade-off of blockchain participation comprises the brand assurance effect of the blockchain, the channel competition intensification effect, and the blockchain adoption cost. The platform is capable of strategically designing the channel structure to encourage (while discouraging) blockchain participation by the manufacturer. Our analysis highlights the complementarity between blockchain participation and the channel structure. Furthermore, the effect of the consumer’s belief in the reselling channel, the commission fee in the agency channel, and the substitutability between channels are investigated in depth. The research provides valuable insights for online retail platforms and policymakers seeking to foster a sustainable and trustworthy e-commerce ecosystem.