Effect of solar radiation on the functional components of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves.

Background: The functional components of mulberry leaves have attracted the attention of the health food industry, and increasing their concentrations is an industry goal. This study investigated the effects of solar radiation, which may influence the production of flavonol and 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) functional components in mulberry leaves, by comparing a greenhouse (poor solar radiation) and outdoor (rich solar radiation) setting.

Results: The level of flavonol in leaves cultivated in the greenhouse was markedly decreased when compared with those cultivated outdoors.

Network dysfunction in α-synuclein transgenic mice and human Lewy body dementia.

Objective: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is associated with the accumulation of wild-type human α-synuclein (SYN) in neurons and with prominent slowing of brain oscillations on electroencephalography (EEG). However, it remains uncertain whether the EEG abnormalities are actually caused by SYN.

Methods: To determine whether SYN can cause neural network abnormalities, we performed EEG recordings and analyzed the expression of neuronal activity-dependent gene products in SYN transgenic mice.

[Discharge Dynamics and Related Factors of Long-stay Patients in Psychiatric Hospitals].

A longstanding challenge in Japan is prolonged psychiatric hospitalization and the associated difficulty of discharge, lost opportunities for patients' social participation, and stagnant reallocation of medical resources. Although the length of stay has been shortened recently on average, its distribution tends to be polarized into high-turnover and long-stay groups. To resolve these problems, we must understand the discharge dynamics of long-stay patients.

Comparisons of prevalence and related factors of depression in middle-aged adults between urban and rural populations in Japan.

Background: Findings of urban-rural differences in the prevalence of depression have been controversial, and few reports have directly compared the related factors of depression between urban and rural areas. The present study aimed to investigate differences between urban and rural areas in Japan with regards to the prevalence of and related factors of depression in middle-aged adults, in order to further understanding of the features of depression in this demographic.

Methods: We used a multistage, random sampling procedure and mailing method.

Evaluation of a Self-Administered Computerized Cognitive Battery in an Older Population.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the utility of the Cogstate self-administered computerized neuropsychological battery in a large population of older men.

Methods: We invited 7,167 men (mean age of 75 years) from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, a prospective cohort of male health professionals. We considered individual Cogstate scores and composite scores measuring psychomotor speed and attention, learning and working memory and overall cognition.

Orally active prostacyclin analogue beraprost sodium in patients with chronic kidney disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II dose finding trial.

Background: Evidence increasingly points to the importance of chronic hypoxia in the tubulointerstitium as a final common pathway to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Beraprost sodium (BPS) is an orally active prostacyclin (PGI2) analogue demonstrating prevention of the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in various animal models by maintaining renal blood flow and attenuating renal ischemic condition.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II trial was designed to determine the recommended dose of the sustained-release form of BPS (TRK-100STP 120 μg/day or 240 μg/day) in Japanese patients with CKD.

Cyclopiazonic acid biosynthesis gene cluster gene cpaM is required for speradine A biosynthesis.

Speradine A is a derivative of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) found in culture of an Aspergillus tamarii isolate. Heterologous expression of a predicted methyltransferase gene, cpaM, in the cpa biosynthesis gene cluster of A. tamarii resulted in the speradine A production in a 2-oxoCPA producing A.

Comparing the influence of wildfire and prescribed burns on watershed nitrogen biogeochemistry using 15N natural abundance in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem components.

We evaluated differences in the effects of three low-severity spring prescribed burns and four wildfires on nitrogen (N) biogeochemistry in Rocky Mountain headwater watersheds. We compared paired (burned/unburned) watersheds of four wildfires and three spring prescribed burns for three growing seasons post-fire. To better understand fire effects on the entire watershed ecosystem, we measured N concentrations and δ15N in both the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems components, i.

Nationwide survey of Cockayne syndrome in Japan: Incidence, clinical course and prognosis.

In the first nationwide survey of Cockayne syndrome (CS) in Japan, the incidence of CS was estimated to be 2.77 per million births (95%CI: 2.19-3.

Long-acting reversible contraception in the pediatric emergency department: clinical implications and common challenges.

Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is recommended as first-line contraception for adolescents and young adults. As the use of LARC increases, pediatric emergency medicine clinicians should be able to recognize different types of LARC and address their common adverse effects, adverse reactions, and complications. This continuing medical education activity provides an overview of LARC and will assist clinicians in the evaluation and management of patients with LARC-associated complaints.

Antimicrobial activity and stability of weakly acidified chlorous acid water.

The antimicrobial activity of weakly acidified chlorous acid water (WACAW) against Staphylococcus aureus, non-pathogenic Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC O157:H7), Candida albicans, and spore-forming Bacillus and Paenibacillus species was evaluated in vitro. The antiviral activity was also examined using feline calicivirus (FCV).

Immunohistochemistry and molecular epidemiology of avian paramyxovirus 1 from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections of Japanese doves (Columba livia) affected with neurological signs.

Four doves (Nos. 1-4 birds) affected with neurological signs (ataxia, circling and torticollis) were investigated pathologically and microbiologically. Viral isolation was tried from the tracheal and cloacal swabs of all 4 birds and from liver, spleen, kidney, heart, lung and brain of Nos.

Survival of influenza A virus on contaminated student clothing.

The role of contaminated clothing in the transmission of influenza A virus during an epidemic period was investigated by examining the recovery of infectious influenza virus from experimentally virus-contaminated clothing, which had been subejected to routine wearing and washing for several months or years. The amount of infectious virus recovered from the nine types of clothing decreased with time and was shown to differ widely between clothing samples, when the contaminated clothing samples were maintained in uncovered glass Petri dishes in a safety cabinet under air blowing. These results indicate a dependence of virus transmissibility on the nature of the contaminated clothes.

Comparing the driving behaviours of individuals with frontotemporal lobar degeneration and those with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Assessing driving aptitude in dementia patients is critically important for both patient and public safety. However, there have been only a few reports on the driving behaviours and accident risk of patients with dementia, especially frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Therefore, we compared the characteristics of driving behaviours in patients with FTLD and those with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The relationship between post-stroke depression and physical recovery.

Background: Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a serious and common complication of stroke. In this prospective study on the relationship between clinical PSD and physical recovery, we focused on (1) distinguishing between depression and apathy, (2) issues in assessment of PSD, and (3) timing of assessment.

Methods: Japanese stroke patients (n=117) were studied.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor reduces intimal hyperplasia in rabbit autologous jugular vein graft under poor distal runoff.

Background: Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors are widely used in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus to accomplish glycemic control through an increase in the blood glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) concentration. These agents also inhibit vascular inflammation (eg, in atherosclerosis). This study was undertaken to determine whether and how vildagliptin (a potent dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor) might reduce intimal hyperplasia in vein grafts.

Ectomycorrhizal colonization and growth of the hybrid larch F₁ under elevated CO₂ and O₃.

We studied the colonization of ectomycorrhizal fungi and species abundance of a hybrid larch (F1) under elevated CO₂ and O₃. Two-year-old seedlings were planted in an Open-Top-Chamber system with treatments: Control (O3 < 6 nmol/mol), O₃ (60 nmol/mol), CO₂ (600 μmol/mol), and CO2 + O₃. After two growing seasons, ectomycorrhiza (ECM) colonization and root biomass increased under elevated CO₂.

ApoE-isoform-dependent cellular uptake of amyloid-β is mediated by lipoprotein receptor LR11/SorLA.

The formation of senile plaques composed of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain is likely the initial event in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Possession of the APOE ε4 allele, the strong genetic factor for AD, facilitates the Aβ deposition from the presymptomatic stage of AD in a gene-dosage-dependent manner. However, the precise mechanism by which apoE isoforms differentially induce the AD pathology is largely unknown.

Soil bacterial community composition altered by increased nutrient availability in Arctic tundra soils.

The pool of soil organic carbon (SOC) in the Arctic is disproportionally large compared to those in other biomes. This large quantity of SOC accumulated over millennia due to slow rates of decomposition relative to net primary productivity. Decomposition is constrained by low temperatures and nutrient concentrations, which limit soil microbial activity.

The structural classification of the highly disordered crystal phases of [Nn][BF4], [Nn][PF6], [Pn][BF4], and [Pn][PF6] salts (Nn(+) = tetraalkylammonium and Pn(+) = tetraalkylphosphonium).

The structures of 16 symmetric tetraalkylammonium (Nn(+)) and tetraalkylphosphonium (Pn(+)) salts ([Nn][BF4], [Nn][PF6], [Pn][BF4], and [Pn][PF6], where n = 1 to 4, and denotes the number of carbon atoms in each alkyl chain) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction in order to elucidate the effect of ion size on the disordered structure of organic salts. All the salts exhibit one or more solid-solid phase transitions in differential scanning calorimetric curves. Powder X-ray diffraction revealed that the highest temperature solid phase of these salts belongs to a crystal system with a high cubic or hexagonal symmetry.

Effect of cation species on surface-induced phase transition observed for platinum complex anions in platinum electrodeposition using nanoporous silicon.

In an earlier work [K. Fukami et al., J.

Inhibition by caffeic acid of the influenza A virus multiplication in vitro.

Caffeic acid has been shown to inhibit the multiplication of influenza A virus in vitro, whereas caffeine, quinic acid and chlorogenic acid do not. Caffeic acid has also been shown to have antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus (DNA virus) and polio virus (RNA virus). In the present study, a comparison of the one-step growth curve of the influenza virus in the presence of caffeic acid with that in the absence of the reagent showed that an eclipse period of the virus multiplication in the infected cells was not affected by the reagent, while the progeny virus yield was markedly decreased in the presence of caffeic acid.

Association between the Mediterranean diet and cognitive decline in a biracial population.

Background: Results from numerous studies suggest protective effects of the Mediterranean diet for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. Evidence for an association with a decreased risk of cognitive decline is less consistent and studies are limited by a lack of diversity in their populations.

Methods: We followed 2,326 older adults (38.