Relationship between reaction time variability on go/no go tasks and neuropsychological functioning in younger and older adults.

Introduction: Early detection of cognitive impairment in older adults is important for the prevention of dementia. Intra-individual variability in reaction time (IIV-RT) during go/no-go tasks can be used for the early detection of cognitive impairment in older adults living in the community. This study aimed to determine the relationship between IIV-RT and cognitive function during go/no-go tasks and the cutoff values for determining the risk of cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older adults.

Synthesis and Characterization of Quinone Compounds Derived from Doubly and Triply Linked Diporphyrins and Tuning of Their Absorption Properties.

Porphyrins are attracting increasing attention in materials science and photochemistry owing to their unique properties and diverse applications. This study focuses on modifying and tuning the absorption properties of porphyrins, specifically those of quinoidal porphyrins, to extend their spectral range into the near-infrared (NIR) region. We report the synthesis and structural and physical properties of quinone compounds derived from doubly and triply linked diporphyrins and their metal complexes.

On-shelf circulation of warm water toward the Totten Ice Shelf in East Antarctica.

The Totten Glacier in East Antarctica, with an ice volume equivalent to >3.5 m of global sea-level rise, is grounded below sea level and, therefore, vulnerable to ocean forcing. Here, we use bathymetric and oceanographic observations from previously unsampled parts of the Totten continental shelf to reveal on-shelf warm water pathways defined by deep topographic features.

Relationship between hand stereotypies and purposeful hand use and factors causing skin injuries and joint contractures in individuals with Rett syndrome.

Background: Skin injuries and joint contractures in the upper limbs are observed in approximately 50 % of individuals with Rett syndrome, respectively.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between stereotypic hand movements and purposeful hand skills, items related to these, and factors that cause upper extremity skin injuries and joint contractures in individuals with Rett syndrome.

Study Design: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study in 2020 with families belonging to either of the two largest Rett syndrome organizations in Japan.

Effect of tranexamic acid administration on intraoperative blood loss during peritonectomy: a single-center retrospective observational study.

Background: The efficacy of tranexamic acid in elective major invasive abdominal surgeries has not yet been established. We investigated the effect of tranexamic acid administration on intraoperative blood loss during peritoneal resection of pseudomucinoma and cancerous peritoneal dissemination.

Methods: Patients aged ≥ 20 years old who underwent peritoneal resection for pseudomucinoma or cancerous peritoneal dissemination at the Kishiwada Tokushukai Hospital were included in this single-center retrospective observational study.

Different brain activation patterns in the prefrontal area between self-paced and high-speed driving tasks.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on prefrontal cortex brain activity when participants attempted to stop a car accurately at a stop line when driving at different speeds using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Twenty healthy subjects with driving experience drove their own cars for a distance of 60 m five times each at their own pace or as fast as possible. The variation in the distance between the stop line and the car was not significantly different between the self-paced and high-speed tasks.

Comparison of the presence and absence of an intervention to reduce hand stereotypies in individuals with Rett syndrome.

Background: We investigated how many individuals with Rett syndrome were undergoing interventions to reduce stereotypic hand movements and the factors determining the presence or absence of an intervention.

Method: A questionnaire was sent to 194 families. Each survey item was compared between the intervention and non-intervention groups according to the presence or absence of interventions to reduce hand stereotypies.

Multidecadal poleward shift of the southern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current off East Antarctica.

The southern boundary (SB) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the southernmost extent of the upper overturning circulation, regulates the Antarctic thermal conditions. The SB's behavior remains unconstrained because it does not have a clear surface signature. Revisited hydrographic data from off East Antarctica indicate full-depth warming from 1996 to 2019, concurrent with an extensive poleward shift of the SB subsurface isotherms (>50 km), which is most prominent at 120°E off the Sabrina Coast.

Estimation of Effect of Radiation Dose Reduction for Internal Exposure by Food Regulations under the Current Criteria for Radionuclides in Foodstuff in Japan Using Monitoring Results.

This study examined the effect of food regulations under the current criteria (e.g., 100 Bq/kg for general foods) established approximately a year after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident.

Effects of a dual task and different levels of divided attention on motor-related cortical potential.

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of divided attention on motor-related cortical potential (MRCP) during dual task performance while the difficulty of the secondary task was altered. [Participants and Methods] Twenty-two right-handed healthy volunteers participated in the study. MRCPs were recorded during two tasks, a single task (ST) and a simple (S-DT) or complex dual task (C-DT).

Single versus dual pathways to functional outcomes in schizophrenia: Role of negative symptoms and cognitive function.

Background: The functional outcomes for many patients with schizophrenia remain poor, and the specific determinants for and pathways to functional outcomes are not well understood to date. It is unknown whether major determinants of outcomes are achieved via a motivated single pathway or by the motivation and capacity defined in dual pathways. This study investigated whether different aspects of functional outcomes, such as residential, social, and vocational outcomes, are the main determinants of the experience factors for negative symptoms or whether the experience factors and cognitive function are the determinants.

Strong ice-ocean interaction beneath Shirase Glacier Tongue in East Antarctica.

Mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet, Earth's largest freshwater reservoir, results directly in global sea-level rise and Southern Ocean freshening. Observational and modeling studies have demonstrated that ice shelf basal melting, resulting from the inflow of warm water onto the Antarctic continental shelf, plays a key role in the ice sheet's mass balance. In recent decades, warm ocean-cryosphere interaction in the Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas has received a great deal of attention.

Synthesis of Porphyrinquinone and Doubly-Fused Diporphyrin Quinone Through Oxidation of Diarylporphyrins Using a Hypervalent Iodine Compound.

Treatment of a meso-diarylporphyrin with PhI(OAc) in the presence of BF  ⋅ OEt and propionic acid affords the corresponding porphyrinquinone in a high yield (91%). A novel quinone derived from meso-meso β-β doubly-fused diporphyrin was obtained as the sole byproduct (16% yield), which exhibits strong panchromatic absorption between 300 and 1000 nm. It has a low HOMO-LUMO gap owing to expanded and low-symmetry π-planes.

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia: Modeling the role of experience factor and expression factor.

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia can be explained by two factors, experience and expression, which should be considered as separate symptoms. However, their relative role in real world functioning has not been clarified. This study aimed to clarify the relative role of experience and expression in real world functioning, and their associations with positive symptoms and neurocognitive function.

Measurement of complex refractive index with tunable extreme ultraviolet high harmonic source.

We report a broadband refractive index measurement method based on a higher harmonic generation tabletop coherent extreme ultraviolet source. We measured the complex refractive index of a sample material by measuring the interference pattern produced by a bare double slit and comparing this with the pattern produced by another double slit with one slit covered by the sample material. We validated the method by measuring the complex refractive index of aluminum in the photon energy range of 63-78 eV using a neon gas jet.

2019 Diagnostic criteria for mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD): From the Japan research committee of the ministry of health, labor, and welfare for systemic autoimmune diseases.

Objective: To update and revise the diagnostic criteria for mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) issued by the Japan Research Committee of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW), a round table discussion by experts from rheumatology, dermatology, and pediatric medicine was conducted in multiple occasions.

Methods: The definition of MCTD, and items included in the diagnostic criteria were generated by consensus method and evaluation using clinical data of typical and borderline cases of MCTD, by applying to the diagnostic criteria for MCTD proposed in 1996 and 2004 by the Research Committee of MHLW.

Results: To the end, all committee members reached consensus.

Variation factors of stereotypical hand movements in subjects with Rett syndrome.

: Stereotypical hand movements have been observed in most individuals diagnosed with Rett syndrome. : To investigate factors that increase or decrease hand stereotypies in individuals with Rett syndrome. : A questionnaire regarding hand stereotypies or purposeful hand behaviours was sent to 1016 schools for special needs education and 204 facilities in Japan.

Three Types of Broadly Reacting Antibodies against Influenza B Viruses Induced by Vaccination with Seasonal Influenza Viruses.

We analyzed the antibody (Ab) repertoire against influenza B viruses induced by vaccination with seasonal influenza viruses in one individual who had never been vaccinated until 2009. The vaccine used in this study comprised B/Massachusetts/2/2012 (Yamagata lineage), A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2), and A/California/7/2009 (H1N1). One month after the subject received two vaccinations, blood (200 ml) was obtained and peripheral mononuclear cells were prepared, and a large Ab library was constructed using phage display technology.

What are patients with Rett syndrome interested in?

[Purpose] Rett syndrome is a severe neurodevelopmental disease; individuals typically have no verbal skills or purposeful hand movements. In clinical settings, knowledge of their interests would be helpful for therapy. Therefore, we investigated the interests of Rett syndrome patients.

The effects of tool holding on body schema during motor imagery: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to assess the influence of tool holding on brain activities during motor imagery in two tasks: imagining the movement of writing the alphabet while holding a pen and without holding the pen. [Subjects and Methods] Eleven healthy right-handed adults performed two tasks, holding a pen and not holding the pen during imagining the movement of writing the alphabet using a pen. Regions of targets were Brodmann areas 6 which were a motor-related region, 44/45 and 39/40 which taken on the role of forming the body schema.

The Level of IgA Antibodies to Endothelial Cells Correlates with Histological Evidence of Disease Activity in Patients with Lupus Nephritis.

Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) are frequently detected in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but their pathological role remains unclear. We recently developed a solubilized cell surface protein capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CSP-ELISA) to detect antibodies against membrane proteins involved in autoimmune reactions. In this study, sera from 51 patients with biopsy-proven lupus nephritis (LN), 25 with SLE without renal involvement (non-LN SLE), 42 disease control (DC) subjects, and 80 healthy control (HC) subjects were tested for IgG- and IgA-AECA for human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and human glomerular EC (HGEC) by using CSP-ELISA.

Comparison of cortical activation in an upper limb added-purpose task versus a single-purpose task: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to compare prefrontal activations during an added-purpose task with those during a single-purpose task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. [Subjects] Six healthy right-handed adults were included in this study. [Methods] The participants were instructed to complete both added-purpose and single-purpose activities separately with each hand.