This study reports on an extremely rare case of non-traumatic atlantoaxial rotatory fixation (AARF) in an adult. Although there are numerous reports on traumatic AARF in adults, those on non-traumatic AARFs are limited. We present the case of a 25-year-old woman who developed neck pain with a limited range of motion (ROM) that began upon waking without any particular inducement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEarly disease diagnosis hinges on the sensitive detection of signaling molecules. Among these, hydrogen sulfide (HS) has emerged as a critical player in cardiovascular and nervous system signaling. On-chip immunoassays, particularly nanoarray-based interfacial detection, offer promising avenues for ultra-sensitive analysis due to their confined reaction volumes and precise signal localization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are widely used in the field of regenerative medicine because of their various functions, including anti-inflammatory effects. ADSCs are considered to exert their anti-inflammatory effects by secreting anti-inflammatory cytokines and extracellular vesicles. Although recent studies have reported that metabolites have a variety of physiological activities, whether those secreted by ADSCs have anti-inflammatory properties remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrailty is a growing public health challenge in Japan's rapidly aging population, where 28.8% are aged ≥ 65. While multicomponent interventions have shown potential in preventing frailty, traditional face-to-face programs face accessibility challenges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of long-term exposure to physical barriers used as preventive measures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on cognitive function and behavior in an apolipoprotein E (ApoE) mouse dementia model.
Methods: ApoE mice were divided into co-housed, partitioned by a transparent bulkhead (partitioned), and isolated groups. To assess anxiety, cognitive recognition, and spatial learning, behavioral tests, including the open-field test, novel object recognition test, and Morris water maze test, were conducted at three and six months after the start of the 33-week rearing period.
Electrochromic systems capable of switching absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region (750-2500 nm) are attractive from the viewpoint of applications for material and life science, and thus several examples have been reported to date. In general, the development of organic-based systems is needed to reduce the environmental impact and improve biocompatibility. Although extending the switchable spectral range is crucial for the application of organic electrochromic molecules, the switching of NIR absorption based on redox interconversion is still a challenging issue regarding reversibility and durability during interconversion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCellulase selectively recognizes cellulose surfaces and cleaves their β-1,4-glycosidic bonds. Combining hydrolysis using cellulase and fermentation can produce alternative fuels and chemical products. However, anaerobic bacteria produce only low levels of highly active cellulase complexes so-called cellulosomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCovalent bonds share electron pairs between two atoms and make up the skeletons of most organic compounds in single, double and triple bonds. In contrast, examples of one-electron bonds remain scarce, most probably due to their intrinsic weakness. Although several pioneering studies have reported one-electron bonds between heteroatoms, direct evidence for one-electron bonds between carbon atoms remains elusive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is growing global concern regarding the detrimental health impacts of PM emissions from traditional stoves that utilize polluting fuels. Conventional methods for estimating daily personal PM exposure involve personal air samplers and measuring devices placed in a waist pouch, but these instruments are cumbersome and inconvenient. To address this issue, we developed a novel neck-mounted PM monitoring device (Pocket PM Logger) that is compact, lightweight, and can operate continuously for 1 week without recharging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHDR syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by hypoparathyroidism (H), deafness (D), and renal dysplasia (R) caused by genetic variants of the GATA3 gene. We present the case of a 38-year-old Japanese man with HDR syndrome who exhibited hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural deafness, renal dysfunction, severe symptomatic hypocalcemia with Chvostek's and Trousseau's signs, and QT prolongation on electrocardiography. He had a family history of deafness and hypocalcemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBy acid treatment of precursor alcohols, mesitylethynyl-substituted diarylmethyl cations were isolated as stable solids, X-ray structural analyses of which revealed a planar geometry. Furthermore, the ion pairs including these triarylpropargyl cations form charge-segregated assemblies in the crystal, and effective intermolecular interaction induces a red-shift of absorption in the crystal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTricolor electrochromism was realized through the interconversion among the neutral (yellow), dicationic (green), and tetracationic (blue) states, even though only one kind of chromophore is generated upon oxidation. Both dicationic and tetracationic states were isolated as stable salts, and their different colors come from the effective inter-chromophore interaction only in the tetracationic state but not in the dicationic state. Despite the negligible Coulombic repulsion in the tetracationic state with four cyanine-type chromophores, pentacenebisquinodimethane undergoes stepwise two-stage two-electron oxidation when radical-stabilizing 5-(4-octyloxyphenyl)-2-thienyl groups are attached on the exomethylene bonds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe employed carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration monitoring using mobile devices to identify location-specific risks for airborne infection transmission. We lent a newly developed, portable Pocket CO2 Logger to 10 participants, to be carried at all times, for an average of 8 days. The participants recorded their location at any given time as cinema, gym, hall, home, hospital, other indoors, other outgoings, pub, restaurant, university, store, transportation, or workplace.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamilial hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL) 1 is a rare genetic disorder with an autosomal codominant mode of inheritance and is caused by defects in the apolipoprotein (apo) B (APOB) gene that disable lipoprotein formation. ApoB proteins are required for the formation of very low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs), chylomicrons, and their metabolites. VLDLs transport cholesterol and triglycerides from the liver to the peripheral tissues, whereas chylomicrons transport absorbed lipids and fat-soluble vitamins from the intestine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Administration of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) into the joint cavity has been shown to alleviate the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis (OA) by releasing exosomes and anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, the therapeutic effect of these cells is limited by their rapid disappearance after administration. Thus, it is necessary to prolong cell survival in the joint cavity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUpon dibenzo annulation on Thiele's hydrocarbon (tetraphenyl-p-quinodimethane), the quinoid form and the biradical form adopt quite different geometries, and thus are no longer resonance structures. When these two forms can interconvert rapidly due to the small energy barrier (ΔG), the equilibrated mixture contains both forms in a ratio that is determined by the energy difference (ΔG) between the two forms. For a series of tetrakis[5-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-thienyl]-substituted derivatives, the more stable quinoid form and the metastable biradical form coexist in solution as an equilibrated mixture due to small ΔG (<15 kcal mol) and ΔG (1-4 kcal mol), in which the proportion of the two forms can be regulated by temperature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenetic testing is key in modern healthcare, particularly for monogenic disorders such as familial hypercholesterolemia. This Tohoku Medical Megabank Project study explored the impact of first-degree relatives' dyslipidemia history on individual responses to familial hypercholesterolemia genomic results. Involving 214 participants and using Japan's 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study analyzed radiation dose data to observe the annual decline in ambient radiation doses and assess the factors contributing to fluctuations in reconstructed areas of the Fukushima prefecture. Utilizing a novel mobile monitoring system installed on a community minibus, the study employed a cost-effective sensor, namely, Pocket Geiger which was integrated with a microcontroller and telecommunication system for data transfer, access, visualization, and accumulation. The study area included the region between Okuma and Tomioka towns.
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