Long-Term Prognosis Following Early Rehabilitation in the ICU: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: Critically ill patients often have residual functional disabilities. Studies have shown that early rehabilitation improves short-term physical function. However, it remains unknown whether early rehabilitation affects long-term prognosis and healthcare resource utilization.

Continuous illumination picosecond imaging using a delay line detector in a transmission electron microscope.

Progress towards analysing transitions between steady states demands improvements in time-resolved imaging, both for fundamental research and for applications in information technology. Transmission electron microscopy is a powerful technique for investigating the atomic structure, chemical composition and electromagnetic properties of materials with high spatial resolution and precision. However, the extraction of information about dynamic processes in the ps time regime is often not possible without extensive modification to the instrument while requiring careful control of the operation conditions to not compromise the beam quality.

Investigation of the optimal method of oxygen administration with simultaneous use of a surgical mask: a randomized control study.

Purpose: From the perspective of infection prevention during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a recommendation was made to use surgical masks after extubation in patients in the operating room. For compliance with this recommendation, anesthesiologists need to administer oxygen to the patient with an oxygen mask over the surgical mask. However, no studies have investigated whether this method allows good maintenance of oxygenation in patients.

Hemodynamically adjusted infrahepatic inferior venous cava clamping can reduce postoperative deterioration in renal function: a retrospective observational study.

Purpose: Infrahepatic inferior vena cava (IIVC) clamping is beneficial for reducing the amount of bleeding during hepatic surgery, although the associated systemic circulatory deterioration is noticeable. The relationship between changes in the degree of IIVC clamping and postoperative renal function was retrospectively evaluated.

Methods: A total of 59 patients who underwent elective hepatic surgery with surgical IIVC clamping in the two years were analyzed.

Laser-Induced Skyrmion Writing and Erasing in an Ultrafast Cryo-Lorentz Transmission Electron Microscope.

We demonstrate that light-induced heat pulses of different duration and energy can write Skyrmions in a broad range of temperatures and magnetic field in FeGe. Using a combination of camera-rate and pump-probe cryo-Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, we directly resolve the spatiotemporal evolution of the magnetization ensuing optical excitation. The Skyrmion lattice was found to maintain its structural properties during the laser-induced demagnetization, and its recovery to the initial state happened in the sub-μs to μs range, depending on the cooling rate of the system.

Magnetic Skyrmions and Skyrmion Clusters in the Helical Phase of Cu_{2}OSeO_{3}.

Skyrmions are nanometric spin whirls that can be stabilized in magnets lacking inversion symmetry. The properties of isolated Skyrmions embedded in a ferromagnetic background have been intensively studied. We show that single Skyrmions and clusters of Skyrmions can also form in the helical phase and investigate theoretically their energetics and dynamics.

Filming the formation and fluctuation of skyrmion domains by cryo-Lorentz transmission electron microscopy.

Magnetic skyrmions are promising candidates as information carriers in logic or storage devices thanks to their robustness, guaranteed by the topological protection, and their nanometric size. Currently, little is known about the influence of parameters such as disorder, defects, or external stimuli on the long-range spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the skyrmion lattice. Here, using a large (7.

Simultaneous observation of the quantization and the interference pattern of a plasmonic near-field.

Surface plasmon polaritons can confine electromagnetic fields in subwavelength spaces and are of interest for photonics, optical data storage devices and biosensing applications. In analogy to photons, they exhibit wave-particle duality, whose different aspects have recently been observed in separate tailored experiments. Here we demonstrate the ability of ultrafast transmission electron microscopy to simultaneously image both the spatial interference and the quantization of such confined plasmonic fields.

Prophylactic effect of Lactobacillus oral vaccine expressing a Japanese cedar pollen allergen.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) represent an attractive delivery vehicle for oral allergy vaccine because of their safety as a food microorganism as well as their potent adjuvant activity triggering anti-allergic immune response. Here, we report the generation of recombinant LAB expressing a major Japanese cedar pollen allergen Cry j 1 (Cry j 1-LAB), and their prophylactic effect in vivo. To facilitate heterologous expression, the codon usage in the Cry j 1 gene was optimized for the host LAB strain Lactobacillus plantarum by the recursive PCR-based exhaustive site-directed mutagenesis.

Production of 5-aminolevulinic acid by Propionibacterium acidipropionici TISTR442.

Propionibacterium acidipropionici TISTR442 produced the highest amount of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) when cultivated in medium supplemented with glycine at 18g/l. ALA production correlated with ALA synthase activity, whereas ALA dehydratase activity was maintained at a low level. ALA yield reached 405mg/l after prolonged cultivation for 1 month.

A typical noiseless Pockels E field sensor.

A new practical Pockels E field sensor has been demonstrated. By combining a ferroelectric liquid crystal and a polarization-maintaining optical fiber with the sensor, it is theoretically found that almost all of the optical and electronic noise produced in the system can be completely eliminated. This fact has been experimentally proven not only under the conditions of a uniform electric field but also those of a nonuniform electric field and with ac voltages applied to a stabilized corona discharge.

Electronically driven fragmentation of silver nanocrystals revealed by ultrafast electron crystallography.

We report an ultrafast electron diffraction study of silver nanocrystals under surface plasmon resonance excitation, leading to a concerted fragmentation. By examining simultaneously transient structural, thermal, and Coulombic signatures of the prefragmented state, an electronically driven nonthermal fragmentation scenario is proposed.

The development and applications of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography.

We review the development of ultrafast electron nanocrystallography as a method for investigating structural dynamics for nanoscale materials and interfaces. Its sensitivity and resolution are demonstrated in the studies of surface melting of gold nanocrystals, nonequilibrium transformation of graphite into reversible diamond-like intermediates, and molecular scale charge dynamics, showing a versatility for not only determining the structures, but also the charge and energy redistribution at interfaces. A quantitative scheme for 3D retrieval of atomic structures is demonstrated with few-particle (<1,000) sensitivity, establishing this nanocrystallographic method as a tool for directly visualizing dynamics within isolated nanomaterials with atomic scale spatio-temporal resolution.

Characterization of the C-terminal truncated form of amylopullulanase from Lactobacillus plantarum L137.

A gene (apuA) encoding amylopullulanase from a starch-hydrolyzing lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum L137, which had been isolated from traditional fermented food made from fish and rice in the Philippines, was found to contain two unique amino acid repeating units in the N- and C-terminal region. The former is a six amino acid sequence (Asp-Ala/Thr-Ala-Asn-Ser-Thr) repeated 39 times, and the latter is a three amino acid sequence (Gln-Pro-Thr) repeated 50 times. To clarify the role of these repeating units, a truncated apuA in the C-terminal region was constructed and expressed in L.

Gibberellin controls the nodulation signaling pathway in Lotus japonicus.

Root nodule formation is regulated by several plant hormones, but the details of the regulation of the nodulation signaling pathway are largely unknown. In this study, the role of gibberellin (GA) in the control of root nodule symbiosis was investigated at the physiological and genetic levels in Lotus japonicus. Exogenous application of biologically active GA, GA(3), inhibited the formation of infection threads and nodules, which was counteracted by the application of a biosynthesis inhibitor of GA, Uniconazole P.

Root hair deformation of symbiosis-deficient mutants of Lotus japonicus by application of Nod factor from Mesorhizobium loti.

In the model leguminous plant Lotus japonicus, the reception of a symbiotic signal called Nod factor (NF), which is secreted by the symbiont bacterium Mesorhizobium loti, induces wavy shaped root hairs. This is called root hair deformation. To dissect the root hair deformation process, we studied symbiosis- deficient mutants of L.

Characterization of gene encoding amylopullulanase from plant-originated lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum L137.

A starch-hydrolyzing lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum L137, was isolated from traditional fermented food made from fish and rice in the Philippines. A gene (apuA) encoding an amylolytic enzyme from Lactobacillus plantarum L137 was cloned, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The apuA gene consisted of an open reading frame of 6171 bp encoding a protein of 2056 amino acids, the molecular mass of which was calculated to be 215,625 Da.

CYCLOPS, a mediator of symbiotic intracellular accommodation.

The initiation of intracellular infection of legume roots by symbiotic rhizobia bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi is preceded by the induction of calcium signatures in and around the nucleus of root epidermal cells. Although a calcium and calmodulin-dependent kinase (CCaMK) is a key mediator of symbiotic root responses, the decoding of the calcium signal and the molecular events downstream are only poorly understood. Here, we characterize Lotus japonicus cyclops mutants on which microbial infection was severely inhibited.

Direct observation of optically induced transient structures in graphite using ultrafast electron crystallography.

We use ultrafast electron crystallography to study structural changes induced in graphite by a femtosecond laser pulse. At moderate fluences of < or =21 mJ/cm2, lattice vibrations are observed to thermalize on a time scale of approximately 8 ps. At higher fluences approaching the damage threshold, lattice vibration amplitudes saturate.

Promotion of metal accumulation in nodule of Astragalus sinicus by the expression of the iron-regulated transporter gene in Mesorhizobium huakuii subsp. rengei B3.

Toxic metal contamination in agricultural fields is an important worldwide problem. In previous studies, we developed a bioremediation system based on the symbiosis between Astragalus sinicus and the recombinant rhizobium, Mesorhizobium huakuii subsp. rengei B3 developed by overexpressing a synthetic tetrameric metallothionein gene (MTL4) and cDNA encoding the phytochelatin synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtPCS).

Traditional healthful fermented products of Japan.

A variety of fermentation products, such as foods containing probiotic bacteria, black rice vinegar (kurosu), soy sauce (shoyu), soybean-barley paste (miso), natto and tempeh, are sold in food stores in Japan. These fermented food products are produced by traditional methods that exploit mixed cultures of various non-toxic microorganisms. These microorganisms include lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, sake yeast, koji molds and natto bacteria.

Polyubiquitin promoter-based binary vectors for overexpression and gene silencing in Lotus japonicus.

In this study, we compared the transcriptional activities between Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)35S promoter and polyubiquitin (Ljubq1) promoter from Lotus japonicus using beta-glucuronidase (gus) reporter gene in transgenic plants of L. japonicus. The promoter analysis demonstrated that the Ljubq1 promoter possessed higher activity than the CaMV35S promoter in leaves, stems, roots, nodules, and pollen.

Two-dimensional measurement technique for birefringence vector distributions: measurement principle.

The two-dimensional measurement principle for a birefringence vector distribution in transparent materials is analyzed. The system nonuniformity that results from the system components makes the two-dimensional measurement principle quite different from that of a point-measurement method, and the measurement principle requires a two-dimensional analysis. A pulsed optical phase modulation is employed to simplify the two-dimensional mathematical analysis.

Two-dimensional measurement technique for birefringence vector distributions: data processing and experimental verification.

A two-dimensional measurement method for a birefringence vector distribution differs from a point-measurement method not only in the two-dimensional system nonuniformity but also in the system reliability. The previously proposed intrinsic vector allowed for the elimination of the influence of the system nonuniformity, whereas the two-dimensional system reliability is ensured by both an online diagnosis technique and an image lock-in processing. It is revealed that the measured intrinsic vector is relevant not only with the birefringence vector distribution in a sample but also with the natural birefringence vector distributions that exist in the optic components.