Associations of cognitive decline with outcomes of cardiovascular rehabilitation in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Background: Patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are often contending with various comorbidities including cognitive decline. Cognitive decline is a risk marker for adverse outcomes in these patients. On the other hand, cardiovascular rehabilitation (CVR) improves clinical outcomes.

Machine Learning Prediction of Leuconostoc spp. Growth Inducing Spoilage in Cooked Deli Foods Considering the Effect of Glycine and Sodium Acetate.

To control spoilage by lactic acid bacteria (Leuconostoc spp.) in cooked deli food, various combinations of environmental and/or intrinsic factors have been employed based on hurdle technology. Since many factors and their combinations greatly influence Leuconostoc spp.

Anti-tumor effect of proteasome inhibitor on canine urothelial carcinoma.

Canine urothelial carcinoma (cUC) is one of the most malignant tumors affecting dogs; however, its proliferative mechanism is yet to be fully elucidated. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is an important metabolic pathway regulating protein degradation, and its dysfunction leads to apoptosis. We investigated the antitumor effect of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, which blocks the UPS.

Isolation and Identification of the Antibacterial Compounds Produced by Maillard Reaction of Xylose with Phenylalanine or Proline.

Maillard reaction products (MRPs) of xylose with phenylalanine and xylose with proline exhibit high antibacterial activity. However, the active antibacterial compounds in MRPs have not yet been identified or isolated. This study aimed to isolate the active compounds in the two antibacterial MRPs.

3-D stochastic modeling approach in thermal inactivation: estimation of thermal survival kinetics of O157:H7 in a hamburger after exposure to desiccation stress.

Desiccation tolerance of pathogenic bacteria is one strategy for survival in harsh environments, which has been studied extensively. However, the subsequent survival behavior of desiccation-stressed bacterial pathogens has not been clarified in detail. Herein, we demonstrated that the effect of desiccation stress on the thermotolerance of O157:H7 in ground beef was limited, and its thermotolerance did not increase.

Identifying essential factors for energy-efficient walking control across a wide range of velocities in reflex-based musculoskeletal systems.

Humans can generate and sustain a wide range of walking velocities while optimizing their energy efficiency. Understanding the intricate mechanisms governing human walking will contribute to the engineering applications such as energy-efficient biped robots and walking assistive devices. Reflex-based control mechanisms, which generate motor patterns in response to sensory feedback, have shown promise in generating human-like walking in musculoskeletal models.

PAM-flexible genome editing with an engineered chimeric Cas9.

CRISPR enzymes require a defined protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) flanking a guide RNA-programmed target site, limiting their sequence accessibility for robust genome editing applications. In this study, we recombine the PAM-interacting domain of SpRY, a broad-targeting Cas9 possessing an NRN > NYN (R = A or G, Y = C or T) PAM preference, with the N-terminus of Sc + +, a Cas9 with simultaneously broad, efficient, and accurate NNG editing capabilities, to generate a chimeric enzyme with highly flexible PAM preference: SpRYc. We demonstrate that SpRYc leverages properties of both enzymes to specifically edit diverse PAMs and disease-related loci for potential therapeutic applications.

Seasonality of coastal upwelling trends in the Mauritania-Senegalese region under RCP8.5 climate change scenario.

The Mauritania-Senegalese upwelling region (MSUR), the southernmost region of the Canary current upwelling system, is well-known for its coastal productivity and the key role it plays in enriching the oligotrophic open ocean through the offshore transport of the upwelled coastal waters. The great ecological and socio-economic importance makes it necessary to evaluate the impact of climate change on this region. Hence, our main objective is to examine the climate change signal over the MSUR with a high resolution regional climate system model (RCSM) forced by the Earth system model MPI-ESM-LR under RCP8.

Antibacterial Effect of Melanoidins Derived From Xylose and Phenylalanine Against Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens.

Melanoidins produced from the combination of D-xylose and L-phenylalanine have been reported to exhibit strong antibacterial effects. This study investigated the influence of environmental factors, such as temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45°C), pH (5.5, 6.

Podoplanin promotes cell proliferation, survival, and migration of canine non-tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma.

Podoplanin (PDPN) is a prognostic factor and is involved in several mechanisms of tumor progression in human squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Canine non-tonsillar SCC (NTSCC) is a common oral tumor in dogs and has a highly invasive characteristic. In this study, we investigated the function of PDPN in canine NTSCC.

Non-destructive quality classification of rice taste properties based on near-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning algorithms.

The taste quality of rice is determined by protein and amylose percentages, with low levels indicating high-quality taste in Japan. However, accurate non-destructive screening remains a challenge for the industry. We explored the use of machine learning models and near-infrared spectra to classify rice taste quality.

Disentangling the impact of Atlantic Niño on sea-air CO flux.

Atlantic Niño is a major tropical interannual climate variability mode of the sea surface temperature (SST) that occurs during boreal summer and shares many similarities with the tropical Pacific El Niño. Although the tropical Atlantic is an important source of CO to the atmosphere, the impact of Atlantic Niño on the sea-air CO exchange is not well understood. Here we show that the Atlantic Niño enhances (weakens) CO outgassing in the central (western) tropical Atlantic.

A Structure-Based Gaussian Expansion for Quantum Reaction Dynamics in Molecules: Application to Hydrogen Tunneling in Malonaldehyde.

We developed an approximate method for quantum reaction dynamics simulations, namely, a structure-based Gaussian (SBG) expansion approach, where SBG bases for the expansion of the wave function Ψ, expressed by a product of single-atom Cartesian Gaussians centered at the positions of respective nuclei, are mainly placed around critical structures on reaction pathways such as on the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) through a transition state. In the present approach, the "pseudo-lattice points" at which SBGs are deployed are selected in a perturbative manner so as to make moderate the expansion length. We first applied the SBG idea to a two-dimensional quadruple-well model and obtained accurate tunneling splitting values between the lowest four states.

PAM-Flexible Genome Editing with an Engineered Chimeric Cas9.

CRISPR enzymes require a defined protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) flanking a guide RNA-programmed target site, limiting their sequence accessibility for robust genome editing applications. In this study, we recombine the PAM-interacting domain of SpRY, a broad-targeting Cas9 possessing an NRN > NYN PAM preference, with the N-terminus of Sc++, a Cas9 with simultaneously broad, efficient, and accurate NNG editing capabilities, to generate a chimeric enzyme with highly flexible PAM preference: SpRYc. We demonstrate that SpRYc leverages properties of both enzymes to specifically edit diverse NNN PAMs and disease-related loci for potential therapeutic applications.

Multimodal bipedal locomotion generation with passive dynamics deep reinforcement learning.

Generating multimodal locomotion in underactuated bipedal robots requires control solutions that can facilitate motion patterns for drastically different dynamical modes, which is an extremely challenging problem in locomotion-learning tasks. Also, in such multimodal locomotion, utilizing body morphology is important because it leads to energy-efficient locomotion. This study provides a framework that reproduces multimodal bipedal locomotion using passive dynamics through deep reinforcement learning (DRL).

Inhibitory effect of d-Tryptophan on the spoilage potential of Shewanella baltica and Pseudomonas fluorescens and its potential application in salmon fillet preservation.

In this study, we found the inhibitory effect of d-Tryptophan (d-Trp) on the bacterial growth and spoilage potential of P. fluorescens and S. baltica.

Effect of water activity on the mechanical glass transition and dynamical transition of bacteria.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the glass-transition behavior of bacteria (Cronobacter sakazakii) as a function of water activity (a). From the water sorption isotherm (298 K) for C. sakazakii, monolayer water content and monolayer a were determined to be 0.

Study on the quality and myofibrillar protein structure of chicken breasts during thawing of ultrasound-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW).

The effects of air thawing (AT), water thawing (WT), slightly acidic electrolyzed water (ET), ultrasound-assisted water thawing (WUT) and ultrasound-assisted slightly acidic electrolyzed water (EUT) on the quality and myofibrillar protein (MP) structure of chicken breasts were investigated. The results showed that WUT and EUT could significantly improve the thawing rate compared with AT, WT, and ET groups. The EUT group not only had lower thawing loss, but also their immobilized and free water contents were similar to fresh sample according to the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF NMR) results.

Thermal Stability of Fructooligosaccharides Extracted from Defatted Rice Bran: A Kinetic Study Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Thermal degradation kinetics of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) in defatted rice bran were studied at temperatures of 90, 100, and 110 °C. FOS extracted from rice bran and dissolved in buffers at pH values of 5.0, 6.

Modelling the invasion of human small intestinal epithelial-like cells by Salmonella enterica Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes using Bayesian inference.

To develop a mechanistic bacterial dose-response model, based on the concept of Key Events Dose-Response Framework (KEDRF), this study aimed to investigate the invasion of intestinal model cells (Caco-2) by Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes and described the behaviour of both pathogens as a mathematical model using Bayesian inference. Monolayer-cultured Caco-2 cells (approximately 10 cells) were co-cultured with various concentrations (10 -10  colony forming unit [CFU] ml ) of Salm. Typhimurium and L.

Clinical Characteristics Associated with the Development of Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective This study analyzed the clinical and laboratory parameters that might influence the clinical outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes who develop diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which has not been well investigated. Methods We reviewed the clinical and laboratory data of 158 patients who were hospitalized due to DKA between January 2006 and June 2019 and compared the data of patients stratified by the type of diabetes. In addition, the patients with type 2 diabetes were subdivided according to age, and their clinical and laboratory findings were evaluated.

Non-destructive assessment of amylose content in rice using a quality inspection system at grain elevators.

Amylose content is an important determinant of rice quality. Its accurate, non-destructive assessment is a challenge to the industry. We examined whether the automatic quality inspection system accurately measured the amylose content.

Antibacterial Properties of Melanoidins Produced from Various Combinations of Maillard Reaction against Pathogenic Bacteria.

Novel melanoidins are produced by the Maillard reaction. Here, melanoidins with high antibacterial activity were tested by examining various combinations of reducing sugars and amino acids as reaction substrates. Twenty-two types of melanoidins were examined by combining two reducing sugars (glucose and xylose) and eleven l-isomers of amino acids (alanine, arginine, glutamine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine) to confirm the effects of these melanoidins on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes at 25°C.

Why Does Cronobacter sakazakii Survive for a Long Time in Dry Environments? Contribution of the Glass Transition of Dried Bacterial Cells.

To investigate the mechanism of adaptation of Cronobacter sakazakii to desiccation stress, the present study focused on the glass transition phenomenon of dried bacterial cells, using a thermomechanical technique. The mechanical glass transition temperature () of dried C. sakazakii cells , prepared by different drying methods (air drying and freeze-drying) and with different water activity (a) levels (0.

Theoretical Design of Blue-Color Phosphorescent Complexes for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes: Emission Intensities and Nonradiative Transition Rate Constants in Ir(ppy)(acac) Derivatives.

Theoretical calculations of phosphorescent spectra and nonradiative transition (NRT) rate constants for S ⇝ T, T ⇝ S, and S ⇝ S were carried out to determine the best candidate for a blue-color phosphorescent complex among several derivatives of bis(2-phenylpyridine)(acetylacetonate)iridium(III). The geometries of the ground state (S), the lowest triplet state (T), and the lowest excited singlet state (S) were optimized at the levels of density functional theory, in which B3LYP functionals and SBKJC+p basis sets were used. The NRT rate constants were derived by using a generating function method within the displaced harmonic oscillator model.