Endocranial development in non-avian dinosaurs reveals an ontogenetic brain trajectory distinct from extant archosaurs.

Modern birds possess highly encephalized brains that evolved from non-avian dinosaurs. Evolutionary shifts in developmental timing, namely juvenilization of adult phenotypes, have been proposed as a driver of head evolution along the dinosaur-bird transition, including brain morphology. Testing this hypothesis requires a sufficient developmental sampling of brain morphology in non-avian dinosaurs.

A proxy for brain-to-endocranial cavity index in non-neornithean dinosaurs and other extinct archosaurs.

Although the brain fills nearly the entire cranial cavity in birds, it can occupy a small portion of it in crocodilians. The lack of data regarding the volumetric correspondence between the brain and the cranial cavity hampers thorough assessments of the degree of encephalization in non-neornithean dinosaurs and other extinct archosaurs and, consequently, informed inferences regarding their cognitive capacities. Existing data suggest that, across extant archosaurs, the degree of endocranial doming and the volume of intracranial nonneural components are inversely related.

Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel by Hydrocracking of -Heptadecane Using Pt-Supported Y-Zeolite-AlO Composite Catalysts.

Hydrocracking of fat or Fischer-Tropsch (FT) wax from biomass to produce the jet fuel of sustainable aviation fuel has been one of the key reactions. -Heptadecane, which is one of the model diesel fractions produced from fat or FT wax, has hardly been used for hydrocracking of hydrocarbon for jet fuel production, while -hexadecane has often been used as one of the model compounds for this reaction. In the present study, a HY-zeolite (50 wt %, SiO/AlO = 100)-AlO (50 wt %) composite-supported Pt (0.

New theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan provides critical implications for the early evolution of ornithomimosaurs.

Ornithomimosauria consists of the ostrich-mimic dinosaurs, most of which showing cursorial adaptations, that often exhibit features indicative of herbivory. Recent discoveries have greatly improved our knowledge of their evolutionary history, including the divergence into Ornithomimidae and Deinocheiridae in the Early Cretaceous, but the early part of their history remains obscured because their fossil remains are scarce in the Aptian-Albian sediments. In recent years, many isolated ornithomimosaur remains have been recovered from the Aptian Kitadani Formation of Fukui, central Japan.

Risk factors for intolerance of oral 5-aminosalicylic acid preparations in pediatric ulcerative colitis.

Background: No previous study of Japanese children with ulcerative colitis (UC) has reported the risk factors for intolerance of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). We aimed to identify risk factors for intolerance of oral 5-ASA preparations in pediatric UC.

Methods: Patients with childhood-onset UC who were seen at our hospital between November 2003 and March 2020 were investigated.

YAP/TAZ-TEAD is a novel transcriptional regulator of genes encoding steroidogenic enzymes in rat granulosa cells and KGN cells.

Steroidogenesis in ovarian granulosa cells is regulated by the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) via transcriptional regulation of its related genes. We herein showed the involvement of the Hippo pathway in this regulation. In KGN granulosa cell, repression of YAP/TAZ activity induced the expression of CYP11A1, HSD3B2, and CYP19A1 in a TEAD-dependent manner without cAMP stimulation.

Anatomical network analyses reveal evolutionary integration and modularity in the lizards skull.

The morphology of lizard skulls is highly diverse, and it is crucial to understand the factors that constrain and promote their evolution to understand how lizards thrive. The results of interactions between cranial bones reflecting these factors can be detected as integration and modularity, and the analysis of integration and modularity allows us to explore the underlying factors. In this study, the integration and modularity of the skulls of lizards and the outgroup tuatara are analyzed using a new method, Anatomical Network Analysis (AnNA), and the factors causing lizards morphological diversity are investigated by comparing them.

Association of steroid administration with larger coronary artery abnormalities in patients with Kawasaki disease.

We sought to elucidate the risk profiles of patients with Kawasaki disease who developed coronary artery abnormalities through a retrospective analysis with special reference to steroid treatment. Demographics of the patients were obtained from medical records, and characteristics of the coronary artery abnormalities were evaluated by echocardiography and coronary angiography, which included number, location, size, and length of coronary artery abnormalities (we evaluated by cardiac catheterisation with the American Heart Association classification with segments). We divided the patients into two groups based on steroid use and compared their characteristics and the complications of coronary artery abnormalities and cardiac events.

Evaluation of the European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology-2019 classification criteria in patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a single-center retrospective study.

This study aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology-2019 (EULAR/ACR-2019) classification criteria with prior classification schemes for patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE). This single-center retrospective study examined 53 patients with cSLE and 53 patients having antinuclear antibody (ANA) titers ≥ 1:80 but not cSLE as controls. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for the EULAR/ACR-2019 criteria, original criteria reported earlier in 2019, the ACR-1997 criteria, and the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics-2012 (SLICC-2012) criteria.

Characterization and Identification of Bioactive Polyphenols in the Roxb. Pericarp Extract.

In this study, we present the isolation and characterization of the structure of six gallotannins (-), three ellagitannins (-), a neolignan glucoside (), and three related polyphenolic compounds (gallic acid, and ) from Roxb. pericarp extract (TBE). Among the isolates, the structure of compound possessing a previously unclear absolute configuration was unambiguously determined through nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism analyses.

Palaeoneurology of the early cretaceous iguanodont Proa valdearinnoensis and its bearing on the parallel developments of cognitive abilities in theropod and ornithopod dinosaurs.

Proa valdearinnoensis is a relatively large-headed and stocky iguanodontian dinosaur from the latest Early Cretaceous of Spain. Its braincase is known from three specimens. Similar to that of other dinosaurs, it shows a mosaic ossification pattern in which most of the bones seem to have fused together indistinguishably while a few (frontoparietal, basioccipital) might have remained loosely attached.

The so-called foramen singulare in cetacean periotics is actually the superior vestibular area.

It is nearly 100 years ago that the "foramen singulare" was first identified in cetacean periotics. Since then, the "foramen singulare" has been recognized in periotics of many cetacean species, extant or extinct. Surprisingly, however, it has never been confirmed if the foramen singulare in cetacean periotics is really homologous to that in other mammals.

Efficacy of hepatitis B vaccination in children with rheumatic diseases.

Background: Vaccination to prevent hepatitis B (HB) virus infection is important for children undergoing immunosuppressive treatment. Information on the efficacy of HB vaccination in children with rheumatic diseases undergoing immunosuppressive therapy is scarce.

Methods: Children with rheumatic diseases administered HB vaccine during immunosuppressive treatment between May 2013 and September 2016 were enrolled.

Combination immunosuppressant therapy for rapidly progressive pyoderma gangrenosum in a child.

An 8-year-old girl was presented to our clinic with fever, arthritis in her left knee, a necrotic right fifth toe, and multiple large deep-seated ulcerations. She was diagnosed with pyoderma gangrenosum. Treatment with corticosteroids alone was ineffective for her skin lesions, and therefore combination immunosuppressant therapy was administered.

Endocranial anatomy of the ceratopsid dinosaur and interpretations of sensory and motor function.

is one of the well-known Cretaceous ceratopsian dinosaurs. The ecology of has been controversial because of its unique morphological features. However, arguments based on brain and inner ear structures have been scarce.

Comprehensive Detection of Candidate Pathogens in the Lower Respiratory Tract of Pediatric Patients With Unexpected Cardiopulmonary Deterioration Using Next-Generation Sequencing.

Objectives: Next-generation sequencing has been applied to the investigation of microorganisms in several clinical settings. We investigated the infectious etiologies in respiratory specimens from pediatric patients with unexpected cardiopulmonary deterioration using next-generation sequencing.

Design: Retrospective, single-center, observational study.

Development of a highly sensitive microplate luminometer using ATP bioluminescence.

Analytical techniques using ATP bioluminescence, which has a high quantum yield and substrate specificity, are widely used in various assays, such as luciferase reporter assays, in the biological sciences. Although most microplate luminometers can be used to measure ATP luminescence with 96-well or 384-well microplates, their ATP detection limits are typically several tens of amol, which is not sufficient for evaluating cell activities and variability within small samples, such as those containing only a few cells. To analyze cell activities at low ATP concentrations, a more sensitive microplate luminometer is required.

Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution.

Relative brain sizes in birds can rival those of primates, but large-scale patterns and drivers of avian brain evolution remain elusive. Here, we explore the evolution of the fundamental brain-body scaling relationship across the origin and evolution of birds. Using a comprehensive dataset sampling> 2,000 modern birds, fossil birds, and theropod dinosaurs, we infer patterns of brain-body co-variation in deep time.

Avian palaeoneurology: Reflections on the eve of its 200th anniversary.

In birds, the brain (especially the telencephalon) is remarkably developed, both in relative volume and complexity. Unlike in most early-branching sauropsids, the adults of birds and other archosaurs have a well-ossified neurocranium. In contrast to the situation in most of their reptilian relatives but similar to what can be seen in mammals, the brains of birds fit closely to the endocranial cavity so that their major external features are reflected in the endocasts.

An unusual bird (Theropoda, Avialae) from the Early Cretaceous of Japan suggests complex evolutionary history of basal birds.

The Early Cretaceous basal birds were known largely from just two-dimensionally preserved specimens from north-eastern China (Jehol Biota), which has hindered our understanding of the early evolution of birds. Here, we present a three-dimensionally-preserved skeleton (FPDM-V-9769) of a basal bird from the Early Cretaceous of Fukui, central Japan. Unique features in the pygostyle and humerus allow the assignment of FPDM-V-9769 to a new taxon, .

A Rapid ATP Bioluminescence-based Test for Detecting Levofloxacin Resistance Starting from Positive Blood Culture Bottles.

Administering appropriate antimicrobial therapy as early as possible is important for rescuing bacteremic patients. Therefore, rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests in positive blood culture specimens have been diligently sought. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence-based methods have been used for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests.

Development of a novel and rapid measurement system for growth differentiation factor-15, progranulin, and osteopontin in uterine sarcoma.

Uterine sarcomas are rare and aggressive gynecologic tumors with poor prognosis; therefore, early diagnosis is crucial for therapy. However, it is very difficult to distinguish uterine sarcomas from leiomyomas which are common benign uterine tumors. Therefore, the development of a diagnostic method that utilizes reliable biomarkers to distinguish uterine sarcomas from leiomyomas is important so as to identify the rare tumors.