Quality of Life Survey Using NEI VFQ-25 in Japanese Patients With Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy.

Objectives: To assess the quality of life in Japanese patients with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) using The National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.

Methods: Here, 34 patients with FECD (FECD group) and 13 healthy individuals (control group) completed the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire Japanese version by interview format. The association between dominant eye corrected distance visual acuity and composite score (component 11) or subscales in the FECD group was evaluated using Spearman rank correlation coefficient.

[Redo Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Performed via Left Thoracotomy].

Eight patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting( CABG) by left thoracotomy approach to the left coronary artery territory after CABG. The left subclavian artery was selected as an inflow anastomosis site, and the greater saphenous vein was used as a graft. The average operative time was 187 minutes, and the hospital stay was 12.

Revisiting the early light-induced protein hypothesis in the sustained thermal dissipation mechanism in yew leaves.

Overwintering evergreen trees in boreal regions continuously convert absorbed light energy into heat through a process known as sustained thermal dissipation. To better understand this mechanism, this study examined the alterations in the photosynthetic apparatus and transcriptomes of yew (Taxus cuspidata) leaves throughout the year, comparing sun-exposed and shaded leaves. The Y(II) parameter, conventionally used to estimate the quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII), indicated the occurrence of temperature-dependent thermal dissipation during winter.

Anthocyanins act as a sugar-buffer and an alternative electron sink in response to starch depletion during leaf senescence: a case study on a typical anthocyanic tree species, Acer japonicum.

We hypothesized that anthocyanins act as a sugar-buffer and an alternative electron sink during leaf senescence to prevent sugar-mediated early senescence and photoinhibition. To elucidate the role of anthocyanin, we monitored seasonal changes in photosynthetic traits, sugar, starch and N contents, pigment composition, and gene expression profiles in leaves exposed to substantially different light conditions within a canopy of an adult fullmoon maple (Acer japonicum) tree. Enhancement of starch amylolysis accompanied by cessation of starch synthesis occurred in the same manner independent of light conditions.

Astaxanthin protects human ARPE-19 retinal pigment epithelium cells from blue light-induced phototoxicity by scavenging singlet oxygen.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of an increasing number of diseases that causes irreversible impairment and loss of vision in the elderly. AMD occurs by oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis of retinal pigment epithelium cells. The onset of AMD may be positively correlated with the exposure to blue light.

Adaptation and measurement invariance of the 13-item version of Patient Activation Measure across Japanese young adult cancer survivors during and after treatment: A cross-sectional observational study.

The 13-item version of the Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13) is a frequently used measure that gauges the level of self-management in an individual. However, its applicability across Japanese young adult (YA) cancer survivors during and after their treatment remains unclear. This study confirmed the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Japanese version of PAM-13 across them during and after treatment.

Impact of flexible work arrangements on job resignation after cancer diagnosis among Japanese young adult cancer survivors.

Purpose: Many workers had flexible work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the association between flextime and remote working and job resignation among Japanese young adult cancer survivors after diagnosis.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted using an online survey with 401 Japanese young adult cancer survivors diagnosed with adult-onset cancer and aged 20-39 years at the time of the survey in January 2022.

Identification of BST2 as a conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cell marker.

The conjunctival epithelium consists of conjunctival epithelial cells and goblet cells derived from conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cells. However, the source of these cells is not well known because no specific markers for conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cells have been discovered. Therefore, to identify conjunctival epithelial stem/progenitor cell markers, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of a conjunctival epithelial cell population derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).

Ethylenediurea protects against ozone phytotoxicity not by adding nitrogen or controlling stomata in a stomata-unresponsive hybrid poplar.

Ozone (O) pollution is a persistent environmental issue worldwide, which causes widespread damage to vegetation, deteriorating plant health and reducing plant productivity. Ethylenediurea (EDU) is a synthetic chemical that has been widely applied in scientific studies as a protectant against O phytotoxicities. Despite four decades of active research, the exact mechanisms to explain its mode of action remain unclear.

Muscle mass, quality, and strength; physical function and activity; and metabolic status in cachectic patients with head and neck cancer.

Background & Aims: Cancer cachexia is commonly associated with poor prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). However, its pathophysiology and treatment are not well established. The current study aimed to assess the muscle mass/quality/strength, physical function and activity, resting energy expenditure (REE), and respiratory quotient (RQ) in cachectic patients with HNC.

Exposure to strong irradiance exacerbates photoinhibition and suppresses N resorption during leaf senescence in shade-grown seedlings of fullmoon maple ().

Leaves of fullmoon maple () turn brilliant red with anthocyanins synthesis in autumn. Based on field observations, autumn coloring mainly occurs in outer-canopy leaves exposed to sun, whereas inner-canopy leaves remain green for a certain longer period before finally turn yellowish red with a smaller amount of anthocyanins. Here, we hypothesized that outer-canopy leaves protect themselves against photooxidative stress anthocyanins while simultaneously shading inner canopy leaves and protecting them from strong light (holocanopy hypothesis).

Association of phase angle with muscle function and prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the correlation of phase angle (PhA) with other parameters (e.g., muscle mass/quality/strength and physical function), assess the prognostic relevance of prechemoradiotherapy (CRT) PhA, and suggest a reference value of PhA in Asian patients with head and neck cancer (HNC).

Photosynthetic and Growth Responses in a Pioneer Tree (Japanese White Birch) and Competitive Perennial Weeds ( sp.) Grown Under Different Regimes With Limited Water Supply to Waterlogging.

For a successful natural regeneration of Japanese white birch ( var. ), competitive vegetation should be managed. Here, we clarified how soil water condition modifies the competitiveness of Japanese white birch against perennial weeds, species, based on an ecophysiological approach combining a glasshouse experiment and a field survey.

Differences in specific concerns perceived by parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate based on the types of cleft.

Background: Parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) have concerns including guilt and worry. Differences in concerns by cleft type is, however, under-researched.

Aim: To compare differences in perceived concerns among parents of children with CL/P by cleft type, adjusting for children's gender and age.

The effectiveness of vibratory stimulation in reducing pain in children receiving vaccine injection: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Although vaccine injections are important, children experience pain and discomfort upon their administration. BUZZY®, a vibratory stimulation tool with an ice pack, was reported to be an effective tool for reducing the pain caused to children during injection administration; its mechanisms were explained by gate control theory. However, the evidence is inadequate because of insufficient methodology in previous reports.

Constant ratio of C to C under various CO concentrations and light intensities, and during progressive drought, in seedlings of Japanese white birch.

Constant mesophyll conductance (g), and two-resistance g model (involved in resistances of cell wall and chloroplast), where g reaches maximum under higher CO concentrations, cannot describe the phenomenon that g decreases with increasing intercellular CO concentration (C) under relatively higher CO concentrations. Yin et al. (2020) proposed a g model, according to which the ratio of chloroplastic CO concentration (C) to C is constant in the two-resistance g model, which can describe the decreasing g with increasing C.

Ethylenediurea (EDU) effects on Japanese larch: an one growing season experiment with simulated regenerating communities and a four growing season application to individual saplings.

Japanese larch ( (Lamb.) Carr.) and its hybrid are economically important coniferous trees widely grown in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hormesis: Highly Generalizable and Beyond Laboratory.

Hormesis is a biphasic dose-response relationship with contrasting effects of low versus high doses of stress. Hormesis is rapidly developing in plant science research and has wide implications for risk assessment, stress biology, and agriculture. Here, we explore selected areas of importance to the concept of hormesis and suggest that hormesis is a highly generalizable phenomenon.

Parental factors predicting unnecessary ambulance use for their child with acute illness: A cross-sectional study.

Aims: To examine characteristics of parents of children with acute, albeit mild, illnesses who used ambulance transport unnecessarily.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Methods: From 2016 - 2017, we recruited parents who visited the emergency room of a Japanese paediatric hospital and whose children were discharged without hospitalization.

A quantitative assessment of hormetic responses of plants to ozone.

Evaluations of ozone effects on vegetation across the globe over the last seven decades have mostly incorporated exposure levels that were multi-fold the preindustrial concentrations. As such, global risk assessments and derivation of critical levels for protecting plants and food supplies were based on extrapolation from high to low exposure levels. These were developed in an era when it was thought that stress biology is framed around a linear dose-response.

Effects of major vein blockage and aquaporin inhibition on leaf hydraulics and stomatal conductance.

The density and architecture of leaf veins determine the network and efficiency of water transport within laminae and resultant leaf gas exchange and vary widely among plant species. Leaf hydraulic conductance ( K) can be regulated by vein architecture in conjunction with the water channel protein aquaporin. However, our understanding of how leaf veins and aquaporins affect leaf hydraulics and stomatal conductance ( g) remains poor.

Effects of ozone and ammonium sulfate on cauliflower: Emphasis on the interaction between plants and insect herbivores.

Ammonium sulfate [(NH)SO] deposition and elevated ozone (O) concentrations may negatively affect plants and trophic interactions. This study aimed to evaluate for the first time the interactive effects of high (NH)SO load and elevated O levels on cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L.) under field conditions.

On the Nonmonotonic, Hormetic Photoprotective Response of Plants to Stress.

Accumulated evidence show that reactive species play a dual role in plants as well, with likely biphasic responses. This suggests that photoprotective mechanisms may also show similar patterns because they are highly related to reactive species. The nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is an index of heat dissipation of excitation energy in the antenna system.