Impact of quality of life on overall work productivity impairment and activity impairment of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: the PEONY study.

Objectives: Even in a lupus low disease activity state (LLDAS), many patients with SLE continue to face residual symptoms and disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the quality of life, activity impairment and overall work productivity impairment among patients in LLDAS. Residual disease burden was also evaluated for patients in LLDAS.

The performance of optic disc-macula distance to disc-diameter ratio in qualitative and quantitative assessment of the optic disc size.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the performance of the optic disc-macula distance to disc-diameter ratio (DM/DD) in qualitative and quantitative assessment of optic disc size.

Methods: In 300 apparently normal eyes, we determined the correlation between DM/DD and the planimetric disc area (DA) and evaluated the performance of DM/DD in discriminating between small and large discs. The ability of DM/DD to predict the actual DA was validated in a separate cohort of 200 eyes.

The abundance of regulatory T cell subsets is associated with the clinical outcomes of sarcoidosis.

Objectives: Some patients with sarcoidosis achieve spontaneous remission, whereas others repeatedly experience relapse. We examined differences in the clinical course of active sarcoidosis according to peripheral blood immunophenotypes before treatment.

Methods: This retrospective study compared peripheral blood immunophenotypes between patients with active sarcoidosis (n=28) and healthy control subjects (n=10).

New diagnostic criteria and current issues for pulmonary hypertension.

In 2022, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) proposed new diagnostic criteria for pulmonary hypertension (PH). These criteria include significant changes to the definitions of pulmonary hemodynamic indices. Specifically, the threshold for mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) has been lowered from ≥25 mmHg to >20 mmHg, and the threshold for pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) has been adjusted from ≥3 Wood units (WU) to >2 WU.

A case of immunoglobulin G4-related disease complicated by atopic dermatitis responsive to upadacitinib treatment.

Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is mainly treated with glucocorticoids. In many cases, this disease is resistant to glucocorticoids, and their toxicity can be a problem. We encountered a patient with IgG4-RD affecting multiple organs (such as the skin, lung, and lacrimal gland), who had comorbidities, including atopic dermatitis and diabetes.

Precise Spectroscopy of the 3n and 3p Systems via the ^{3}H(t, ^{3}He)3n and ^{3}He(^{3}He, t)3p Reactions at Intermediate Energies.

To search for low-energy resonant structures in isospin T=3/2 three-body systems, we have performed the experiments ^{3}H(t,^{3}He)3n and ^{3}He(^{3}He,t)3p at intermediate energies. For the 3n experiment, we have newly developed a thick Ti-^{3}H target that has the largest tritium thickness among targets of this type ever made. The 3n experiment for the first time covered the momentum-transfer region as low as 15  MeV/c, which provides ideal conditions for producing fragile systems.

SIRT5 mutants reveal the role of conserved asparagine and glutamine residues in the NAD-binding pocket.

SIRT5, one of the mammalian sirtuins, specifically recognizes succinyl-lysine residues on proteins and catalyzes the desuccinylation reaction. In this study, we characterized SIRT5 mutants with hydrophobic amino acid substitutions at Q140 and N141, in addition to the catalytic residue H158, known as an active site residue, by the Michaelis-Menten analysis and X-ray crystallography. Kinetic analysis showed that the catalytic efficiency (k/K) of the Q140L and N141V mutants decreased to 0.

Charge neutralization and β-elimination cleavage mechanism of family 42 L-rhamnose-α-1,4-D-glucuronate lyase revealed using neutron crystallography.

Gum arabic (GA) is widely used as an emulsion stabilizer and edible coating and consists of a complex carbohydrate moiety with a rhamnosyl-glucuronate group capping the non-reducing ends. Enzymes that can specifically cleave the glycosidic chains of GA and modify their properties are valuable for structural analysis and industrial application. Cryogenic X-ray crystal structure of GA-specific L-rhamnose-α-1,4-D-glucuronate lyase from Fusarium oxysporum (FoRham1), belonging to the polysaccharide lyase (PL) family 42, has been previously reported.

A comparison of opioid dose between home palliative care and hospital palliative care.

Objective: While opioids are a key part of palliative care, few studies have evaluated opioid demand in the home care context. This study aims to compare opioid usage in home care and hospital care settings.

Methods: This cross-sectional study retrospectively recruited patients receiving palliative care in home care and hospital settings, between November 2018 and October 2020.

Resveratrol Derivatives Inhibit Transthyretin Fibrillization: Structural Insights into the Interactions between Resveratrol Derivatives and Transthyretin.

Hereditary ATTR amyloidosis is a disease caused by the deposition of amyloid fibrils formed by mutated transthyretin (TTR), a protein that binds to thyroid hormone in the serum, in the organs. The development of a small molecule that binds to and stabilizes TTR is a promising strategy for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis. In the present study, we demonstrated that the resveratrol derivatives including pterostilbene available as a dietary supplement inhibit the fibrillization of V30M-TTR to the same extent as the approved drug tafamidis.

New insights into the oxidation process from neutron and X-ray crystal structures of an O-sensitive [NiFe]-hydrogenase.

[NiFe]-hydrogenase from Miyazaki F is an O-sensitive enzyme that is inactivated in the presence of O but the oxidized enzyme can recover its catalytic activity by reacting with H under anaerobic conditions. Here, we report the first neutron structure of [NiFe]-hydrogenase in its oxidized state, determined at a resolution of 2.20 Å.

Rafoxanide, a salicylanilide anthelmintic, interacts with human plasma protein transthyretin.

Transthyretin (TTR) is a carrier protein for thyroid hormone thyroxine (T ) in plasma, placental cytosol, and cerebrospinal fluid. While the potential toxicity of small molecules that compete with T for binding to TTR should be carefully studied, these small molecules can also serve as anti-ATTR amyloidosis drugs by stabilizing the TTR structure. Here, we demonstrated that rafoxanide, an EU-approved anthelmintic drug for domesticated animals, binds to the T -binding site of TTR.

A 65-Year-Old Man With Massive Hemoptysis.

A 65-year-old man experienced a cough and mild hemoptysis suddenly one morning. He was prescribed tranexamic acid and carbazochrome salicylate by the local clinic at the first visit, and his hemoptysis stopped. However, 2 days later, he experienced recurrent hemoptysis that was prolonged intermittently.

Characterization of the molecular interactions between resveratrol derivatives and death-associated protein kinase 1.

Death-associated protein kinase 1 (DAPK1), a Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated serine/threonine kinase, regulates cell apoptosis and autophagy and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Targeting DAPK1 may be a promising approach for treating AD. In our previous study, we found that a natural polyphenol, resveratrol (1), is a moderate DAPK1 inhibitor.

Hybridization of Wide-Angle X-ray and Neutron Diffraction Techniques in the Crystal Structure Analyses of Synthetic Polymers.

The development in the crystal structure analysis of synthetic polymers using the hybridized combination of wide-angle X-ray and neutron diffraction (WAXD and WAND, respectively) techniques has been reviewed with many case studies performed by the authors. At first, the technical development was reviewed, in which the usage of high-energy synchrotron X-ray source was emphasized for increasing the total number of the observable diffraction peaks, and several examples were introduced. Secondly, the usage of the WAND method was introduced, in which the successful extraction of hydrogen atomic positions was described.

A phase II study of S-1 and cisplatin with concurrent thoracic radiotherapy followed by durvalumab for unresectable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in Japan (SAMURAI study): primary analysis.

Background: The standard of care for unresectable, locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) is chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by durvalumab, based on the PACIFIC study. Although multiple Japanese phase II studies have shown high efficacy and tolerability of CRT with cisplatin plus S-1 (SP), no prospective study using durvalumab after SP-based CRT has been reported.

Objectives: We conducted a multicenter phase II study of this approach, the interim analysis of which showed a high transition rate to durvalumab consolidation therapy.

Neutron crystallography and quantum chemical analysis of bilin reductase PcyA mutants reveal substrate and catalytic residue protonation states.

PcyA, a ferredoxin-dependent bilin pigment reductase, catalyzes the site-specific reduction of the two vinyl groups of biliverdin (BV), producing phycocyanobilin. Previous neutron crystallography detected both the neutral BV and its protonated form (BVH) in the wildtype (WT) PcyA-BV complex, and a nearby catalytic residue Asp105 was found to have two conformations (protonated and deprotonated). Semiempirical calculations have suggested that the protonation states of BV are reflected in the absorption spectrum of the WT PcyA-BV complex.

Discovery of ^{39}Na.

The new isotope ^{39}Na, the most neutron-rich sodium nucleus observed so far, was discovered at the RIKEN Nishina Center Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory using the projectile fragmentation of an intense ^{48}Ca beam at 345  MeV/nucleon on a beryllium target. Projectile fragments were separated and identified in flight with the large-acceptance two-stage separator BigRIPS. Nine ^{39}Na events have been unambiguously observed in this work and clearly establish the particle stability of ^{39}Na.

A case of glucocorticoid-resistant adult Still's disease complicated by pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease.

Adult Still's disease (ASD) is rarely complicated by pulmonary hypertension (PH). A 76-year-old woman experienced ASD relapse with repeated exacerbation of PH and interstitial lung disease. Although she had been treated with immunosuppressive agents and pulmonary vasodilators, the ASD relapsed with fever, rash, increased inflammatory responses and exacerbated interstitial lung disease, and PH.

Protonation states of hen egg-white lysozyme observed using D/H contrast neutron crystallography.

Hen egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) is an enzymatic protein with two acidic amino acids, Glu35 and Asp52, in its active site. Glu35 acts as a proton donor to the substrate and Asp52 interacts with the positively charged substrate, suggesting different protonation states of these residues. However, neutron crystallographic studies thus far have not provided a consistent picture of the protonation states of these residues.

Revisiting the concept of peptide bond planarity in an iron-sulfur protein by neutron structure analysis.

The planarity of the peptide bond is important for the stability and structure formation of proteins. However, substantial distortion of peptide bonds has been reported in several high-resolution structures and computational analyses. To investigate the peptide bond planarity, including hydrogen atoms, we report a 1.