Investigation of brain volume changes associated with aging: Results from the fourth research on osteoarthritis/osteoporosis against disability survey.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the impact of aging on brain volume among community residents in Japan, focusing on trends over time and specific brain structures.

Methods: We analyzed data from the fourth survey (2015-2016) of the Research on Osteoarthritis/Osteoporosis Against Disability project, encompassing 2146 community residents from Japan's mountainous and coastal regions. A total of 1755 participants (81.

The relationship between long COVID, labor productivity, and socioeconomic losses in Japan: A cohort study.

Objectives: We examined shifts in labor productivity and their economic ramifications among adult patients with long COVID in Japan.

Methods: A total of 396 patients were categorized into three groups based on symptom progression: non-long COVID, long COVID recovered, and long COVID persistent. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed at three time intervals: 3, 6, and 12 months after COVID-19 diagnosis.

Effect of romosozumab administration on proximal junctional kyphosis in corrective spinal fusion surgery.

Background Context: The effect of romosozumab administration in patients undergoing corrective spinal fusion surgery has not yet been analyzed.

Purpose: To examine the effect of romosozumab administration on reducing the incidence of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK), particularly PJK due to fractures (PJK-Fx), in patients undergoing spinal corrective fusion surgery.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Adrenocortical carcinoma with circulating tumor DNA analysis at post-operative recurrence: a case report with review of literature.

Recently, the usefulness of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis in various malignancies has been reported. However, reports on ctDNA analysis in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) are few. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the detectability of genetic mutations in ctDNA and the association between ctDNA allelic ratio and disease progression in a patient with post-operative recurrence of ACC.

Clinical comparison and genetic analysis in pheochromocytoma with primary aldosteronism.

Pheochromocytoma is a rare form of adrenal hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and associated genetic mutations in patients with pheochromocytoma and primary aldosteronism. We retrospectively analyzed data from 23 patients with pheochromocytoma diagnosed and treated between 2011 and 2022.

Stereotaxic Coordinates of Human Hypothalamic Nuclei Used for Region of Interest Analyses in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The hypothalamus maintains homeostasis by controlling various organs and the central nervous system, but analyzing the human hypothalamic nuclei is challenging. Our previous studies applied areal parcellation to high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to delineate hypothalamic nuclei boundaries. This article presents stereotaxic coordinates of these nuclei for fMRI analyses, offering guidance on defining regions of interest and appropriate spatial smoothing kernel sizes.

Resonant oscillation of droplets under an alternating electric field to enhance solute diffusion.

This study investigates a novel microfluidic mixing technique that uses the resonant oscillation of coalescent droplets. During the vertical contact-separation process, solutes are initially separated as a result of the combined effects of diffusion and gravity. We show that the application of alternating current (AC) voltage to microelectrodes below the droplets causes a resonant oscillation, which enhances the even distribution of the solute.

, a new species on from Japan.

leaf spot on hemp has re-emerged with increasing hemp cultivation worldwide. In Japan, , initially recorded as the causal pathogen in Japan, was studied with morphology based on the current criteria and detailed molecular phylogenetic analyses using seven gene loci. The robust phylogenetic data and morphology of examined specimens unveiled the existence of a new species of the genus causing leaf spot disease on .

Assessment of Follow-Up for Pulmonary Nodules from Radiology Reports with Natural Language Processing.

Radiology reports are an essential communication method for ensuring smooth workflow in healthcare. However, many of these reports are described in free text, and findings documented by radiologists may not be adequately addressed. In this study, focusing on pulmonary nodules, we evaluated whether cases in which radiologists described follow-up as recommended were receiving appropriate treatment.

More widespread functionality of posterior language area in patients with brain tumors.

Damage to the posterior language area (PLA), or Wernicke's area causes cortical reorganization in the corresponding regions of the contralateral hemisphere. However, the details of reorganization within the ipsilateral hemisphere are not fully understood. In this context, direct electrical stimulation during awake surgery can provide valuable opportunities to investigate neuromodulation of the human brain in vivo, which is difficult through the non-invasive approaches.

Transition Behaviors of Isostructural Hydrogen-Bonded Frameworks Composed of Naphthalene, Quinoxaline, and Pyrazinopyrazine Derivatives.

A series of isostructural reticular frameworks with systematic differences on chemical structures allows us to disclose correlations between specific structural factors and properties, providing insights for designing novel porous materials. However, even slight differences in the molecular structure often lead to non-isostructural polymorphic frameworks particularly in the case of hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) because the structures of HOFs are based on a subtle balance of reversible interactions. In this study, we found that three simple analogues of tetracarboxylic acids with naphthalene, quinoxaline, and pyrazinopyrazine cores (NT, QX, and PP, respectively) yielded isostructural solvated HOFs (NT-1, QX-1, and PP-1, respectively), where hydrogen-bonded sql-networked sheets were slip-stacked with closely similar manners.

Oversampling effect in pretraining for bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) to localize medical BERT and enhance biomedical BERT.

Background: Pretraining large-scale neural language models on raw texts has made a significant contribution to improving transfer learning in natural language processing. With the introduction of transformer-based language models, such as bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT), the performance of information extraction from free text has improved significantly in both the general and medical domains. However, it is difficult to train specific BERT models to perform well in domains for which few databases of a high quality and large size are publicly available.

Intramuscular injection of mesenchymal stem cells augments basal muscle protein synthesis after bouts of resistance exercise in male mice.

Skeletal muscle mass is critical for activities of daily living. Resistance training maintains or increases muscle mass, and various strategies maximize the training adaptation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with differential potency in skeletal muscle cells and the capacity to secrete growth factors.

Investigation of predictors for in-hospital death or long-term hospitalization in community-acquired pneumonia with risk factors for aspiration.

Background: It is known that the mortality of pneumonia in patients with risk factors for aspiration is worse than that in those without these risk factors. However, it is still unknown which risk factors for aspiration predict prognosis. Therefore, we aimed to determine which risk factors for aspiration are associated with death or prolonged hospitalization.

Simultaneous detection of the shuttling motion of liquid metal droplets in channels under alternating pressure and capacitive sensor signals.

Implementing a signal-switching mechanism for the selective use of integrated sensors and actuators plays a crucial role in streamlining the functionality of miniaturized devices. Here, a liquid metal droplet (LMD)-based signal-switching mechanism is introduced to achieve such functionality. Pressure modulation with a 100-μm spatial resolution enabled precise control of the position of the LMDs within a channel.

Noninvasive intervention by transcranial ultrasound stimulation: Modulation of neural circuits and its clinical perspectives.

Low-intensity focused transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) is an emerging noninvasive technique capable of stimulating both the cerebral cortex and deep brain structures with high spatial precision. This method is recognized for its potential to comprehensively perturb various brain regions, enabling the modulation of neural circuits, in a manner not achievable through conventional magnetic or electrical brain stimulation techniques. The underlying mechanisms of neuromodulation are based on a phenomenon where mechanical waves of ultrasound kinetically interact with neurons, specifically affecting neuronal membranes and mechanosensitive channels.

Self-administered questionnaires enhance emotion estimation of individuals with autism spectrum disorders in a robotic interview setting.

Background: Robots offer many unique opportunities for helping individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Determining the optimal motion of robots when interacting with individuals with ASD is important for achieving more natural human-robot interactions and for exploiting the full potential of robotic interventions. Most prior studies have used supervised machine learning (ML) of user behavioral data to enable robot perception of affective states (i.

Dual-color live imaging unveils stepwise organization of multiple basal body arrays by cytoskeletons.

For mucociliary clearance of pathogens, tracheal multiciliated epithelial cells (MCCs) organize coordinated beating of cilia, which originate from basal bodies (BBs) with basal feet (BFs) on one side. To clarify the self-organizing mechanism of coordinated intracellular BB-arrays composed of a well-ordered BB-alignment and unidirectional BB-orientation, determined by the direction of BB to BF, we generated double transgenic mice with GFP-centrin2-labeled BBs and mRuby3-Cep128-labeled BFs for long-term, high-resolution, dual-color live-cell imaging in primary-cultured tracheal MCCs. At early timepoints of MCC differentiation, BB-orientation and BB-local alignment antecedently coordinated in an apical microtubule-dependent manner.

Implementation of a Multilingual Electronic Medical Questionnaire: For Use Inside or Outside the Hospital.

We implemented a multilingual medical questionnaire system, which allows patients to answer questionnaires both in and out of the hospital. The response data are sent to and stored as structured data on the server in hospital information system, and could be converted to Japanese and quoted as part of progress notes in the electronic medical record.

Classification of Diagnostic Certainty in Radiology Reports with Deep Learning.

A radiology report is prepared for communicating clinical information about observed abnormal structures and clinically important findings with referring clinicians. However, such observations and findings are often accompanied by ambiguous expressions, which can prevent clinicians from accurately interpreting the content of reports. To systematically assess the degree of diagnostic certainty for each observation and finding in a report, we defined an ordinal scale comprising five classes: definite, likely, may represent, unlikely, and denial.