Examination of the effect of physical therapy combined with kinesiology taping on pain and muscle weakness in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

[Purpose] Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis include pain, limited range of motion, and muscle weakness. Conservative treatment for knee osteoarthritis includes exercise therapy, physical therapy, and taping therapy. Kinesiology taping has gained traction in clinical practice for knee osteoarthritis treatment owing to its therapeutic benefits.

Vagal Reactions During Laser Balloon Ablation in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation.

Radiofrequency and cryoballoon applications around the pulmonary veins (PVs) could provoke a vagal reflex (VR) by modulating the intrinsic cardiac autonomic nervous system (ICANS).This study aimed to investigate the incidence, timing, and clinical impact of a VR provoked by a laser balloon application for a PV isolation (PVI).A total of 92 consecutive paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients underwent a laser balloon PVI of PAF.

Bioprinting 3D human cardiac tissue chips using the pin type printer 'microscopic painting device' and analysis for cardiotoxicity.

In this study, three-dimensional (3D) cardiac tissue constructed using the pin type bioprinter 'microscopic painting device' and layer-by-layer cell coating technique was confirmed to have drug responsiveness by three different analytical methods for cardiotoxicity assay. Recently, increasing attention has been focused on biofabrication to create biomimetic 3D tissue. Although various tissues can be produced in vitro, there are many issues surrounding the stability and reproducibility of the preparation of 3D tissues.

Liposomal adhesion via electrostatic interactions and osmotic deflation increase membrane tension and lipid diffusion coefficient.

Membrane adhesion is a ubiquitous phenomenon in cells and is related to various biological events such as migration, morphogenesis, and differentiation. To understand the physicochemical aspects of membrane adhesion, liposome-liposome adhesion and liposome-substrate adhesion have been studied. Although membrane adhesion has been shown to increase membrane tension and inhibit lipid diffusion, the relationship between these changes and the degree of membrane adhesion have not been quantified.

Blood Coagulation Status during Cryofreezing Ablation and Effects of the Direct Anticoagulants Dabigatran and Edoxaban.

Cryoballoon ablation is an established catheter-based approach to treat atrial fibrillation (AF). However, thromboembolic events cannot be avoided during cryoablation. There is little data regarding the blood coagulation status during freezing.

Constitutive expression of CsGI alters critical night length for flowering by changing the photo-sensitive phase of anti-florigen induction in chrysanthemum.

Chrysanthemum is a typical short day (SD) flowering plant that requires a longer night period than a critical minimum duration to successfully flower. We identified FLOWERING LOCUS T-LIKE 3 (FTL3) and ANTI-FLORIGENIC FT/TFL1 FAMILY PROTEIN (AFT) as a florigen and antiflorigen, respectively, in a wild diploid chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum seticuspe). Expression of the genes that produce these proteins, CsFTL3 and CsAFT, is induced in the leaves under SD or a noninductive photoperiod, respectively, and the balance between them determines the progression of floral transition and anthesis.

Three-dimensional bioprinting human cardiac tissue chips of using a painting needle method.

Three-dimensional (3D) printers are attracting attention as a method for arranging and building cells in three dimensions. Bioprinting technology has potential in tissue engineering for the fabrication of scaffolds, cells, and tissues. However, these various printing technologies have limitations with respect to print resolution and due to the characteristics of bioink such as viscosity.

Investigation on Perceptron Learning for Water Region Estimation Using Large-Scale Multispectral Images.

Land cover classification and investigation of temporal changes are considered to be common applications of remote sensing. Water/non-water region estimation is one of the most fundamental classification tasks, analyzing the occurrence of water on the Earth's surface. However, common remote sensing practices such as thresholding, spectral analysis, and statistical approaches are not sufficient to produce a globally adaptable water classification.

Collaborative Study for Analysis of Subvisible Particles Using Flow Imaging and Light Obscuration: Experiences in Japanese Biopharmaceutical Consortium.

The evaluation of subvisible particles, including protein aggregates, in therapeutic protein products has been of great interest for both pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulatory agencies. To date, the flow imaging (FI) method has emerged as a powerful tool instead of light obscuration (LO) due to the fact that (1) protein aggregates contain highly transparent particles and thereby escape detection by LO and (2) FI provides detailed morphological characteristics of subvisible particles. However, the FI method has not yet been standardized nor listed in any compendium.

Does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) simultaneously combined with local heat and cold applications enhance pain relief compared with TENS alone in patients with knee osteoarthritis?

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate whether transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation simultaneously combined with local heat and cold applications enhances pain relief compared with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation alone in patients with knee osteoarthritis. [Subjects and Methods] Fourty-five patients with knee osteoarthritis participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to the following three interventions: transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation simultaneously combined with local heat using a hot pack; combined with local cold using a cold pack; and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation alone.

Photoperiod-insensitive floral transition in chrysanthemum induced by constitutive expression of chimeric repressor CsLHY-SRDX.

A wide variety of physiological processes including flowering are controlled by the circadian clock in plants. In Arabidopsis, LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1) constitute the central oscillator, and their gain of function and loss of function disrupt the circadian clock and affect flowering time through FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), a gene encoding a florigen. Chrysanthemum is a typical short-day (SD) plant and responds to shortening of day length by the transition from the vegetative to reproductive phase.

Comparison of forward walking and backward walking in stroke hemiplegia patients focusing on the paretic side.

[Purpose] To investigate the features of backward walking in stroke patients with hemiplegia by focusing on the joint movements and moments of the paretic side, walking speed, stride length, and cadence. [Subjects and Methods] Nine stroke patients performed forward walking and backward walking along a 5-m walkway. Walking speed and stride length were self-selected.

The gated induction system of a systemic floral inhibitor, antiflorigen, determines obligate short-day flowering in chrysanthemums.

Photoperiodic floral induction has had a significant impact on the agricultural and horticultural industries. Changes in day length are perceived in leaves, which synthesize systemic flowering inducers (florigens) and inhibitors (antiflorigens) that determine floral initiation at the shoot apex. Recently, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) was found to be a florigen; however, the identity of the corresponding antiflorigen remains to be elucidated.

Expansion of functional human mucosal-associated invariant T cells via reprogramming to pluripotency and redifferentiation.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells play an important physiological role in host pathogen defense and may also be involved in inflammatory disorders and multiple sclerosis. The rarity and inefficient expansion of these cells have hampered detailed analysis and application. Here, we report an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based reprogramming approach for the expansion of functional MAIT cells.

WASPs and WAVEs: from molecular function to physiology in hematopoietic cells.

The actin cytoskeleton is critically involved in a variety of cell functions. The Arp2/3 complex mediates branching of filamentous actin. The members of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) family are major regulators of the complex.

Day light quality affects the night-break response in the short-day plant chrysanthemum, suggesting differential phytochrome-mediated regulation of flowering.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) is a short-day plant, which flowers when the night length is longer than a critical minimum. Flowering is effectively inhibited when the required long-night phase is interrupted by a short period of exposure to red light (night break; NB). The reversal of this inhibition by subsequent exposure to far-red (FR) light indicates the involvement of phytochromes in the flowering response.

Ischaemic complications 20 years after harvesting of a radial forearm flap in a patient with scleroderma.

We present the case of a 67-year-old woman with scleroderma who had progressive necrosis of the finger together with severe pain 20 years after harvesting of a radial forearm flap. After reconstruction of the radial artery the ulceration of her right middle finger healed spontaneously within a month, and the pain disappeared.

CsFTL3, a chrysanthemum FLOWERING LOCUS T-like gene, is a key regulator of photoperiodic flowering in chrysanthemums.

Chrysanthemum is a typical short-day (SD) plant that responds to shortening daylength during the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase. FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)/Heading date 3a (Hd3a) plays a pivotal role in the induction of phase transition and is proposed to encode a florigen. Three FT-like genes were isolated from Chrysanthemum seticuspe (Maxim.

Suppression of late-flowering and semi-dwarf phenotypes in the Arabidopsis clock mutant lhy-12;cca1-101 by phyB under continuous light.

Photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis is controlled not only by floral activators such as GI, CO, and FT, but also by repressors such as SVP and FLC. Double mutations in LHY and CCA1 (lhy;cca1) accelerated flowering under short days, mainly by the GI-CO dependent pathway. In contrast, lhy;cca1 showed delayed flowering under continuous light (LL), probably due to the GI-CO independent pathway.

Constitutively active Stat5A and Stat5B promote adipogenesis.

Objective: The metabolic syndrome is an important social problem affecting many people in developed countries. Obesity is a leading cause of this syndrome, hence understanding molecular mechanisms underlying obesity is of prime importance for preventive medicine to develop novel methods to alleviate the corresponding social cost as well as for pharmaceutical companies to develop antimetabolic drugs.

Methods: Since adipocytes play an important role in obesity, we explored the signaling pathways leading to differentiation of adipocytes.

Double loss-of-function mutation in EARLY FLOWERING 3 and CRYPTOCHROME 2 genes delays flowering under continuous light but accelerates it under long days and short days: an important role for Arabidopsis CRY2 to accelerate flowering time in continuous light.

The photoperiodic response is one of the adaptation mechanisms to seasonal changes of lengths of day and night. The circadian clock plays pivotal roles in this process. In Arabidopsis, LHY, CCA1, ELF3, and other clock proteins play major roles in maintaining circadian rhythms.

Lnk regulates integrin alphaIIbbeta3 outside-in signaling in mouse platelets, leading to stabilization of thrombus development in vivo.

The nature of the in vivo cellular events underlying thrombus formation mediated by platelet activation remains unclear because of the absence of a modality for analysis. Lymphocyte adaptor protein (Lnk; also known as Sh2b3) is an adaptor protein that inhibits thrombopoietin-mediated signaling, and as a result, megakaryocyte and platelet counts are elevated in Lnk-/- mice. Here we describe an unanticipated role for Lnk in stabilizing thrombus formation and clarify the activities of Lnk in platelets transduced through integrin alphaIIbbeta3-mediated outside-in signaling.

Possible role of early flowering 3 (ELF3) in clock-dependent floral regulation by short vegetative phase (SVP) in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Circadian clock proteins play key roles in adaptations of plants to diurnal environmental conditions. The photoperiodic flowering response is one of the mechanisms of adaptation to seasonal changes in the lengths of day and night. Double mutations in two clock genes, late elongated hypocotyl (LHY) and circadian clock associated 1 (CCA1), accelerated flowering under short days (SDs) but delayed flowering under continuous light (LL) in Arabidopsis thaliana.