Exploration of Solution-Processed Bi/Sb Solar Cells by Automated Robotic Experiments Equipped with Microwave Conductivity.

Solution-processed inorganic solar cells with less toxic and earth-abundant elements are emerging as viable alternatives to high-performance lead-halide perovskite solar cells. However, the wide range of elements and process parameters impede the rapid exploration of vast chemical spaces. Here, we developed an automated robot-embedded measurement system that performs photoabsorption spectroscopy, optical microscopy, and white-light flash time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC).

Effectiveness of risk minimization measures for valproate: a drug utilization study based on implementation of a risk minimization programme in Europe, analysis of data from the UK.

Objective: Since 2014, valproate has not been recommended for use in girls and women of childbearing potential unless other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated. Risk minimization measures (RMMs) of valproate were implemented to reduce the potential risks of developmental disorders among pregnant women. A drug utilization study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of RMMs.

Comparison of text processing methods in social media-based signal detection.

Purpose: Adverse event (AE) identification in social media (SM) can be performed using various types of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML). These methods can be categorized by complexity and precision level. Co-occurrence-based ML methods are rather basic, as they identify simultaneous appearance of drugs and clinical events in a single post.

A multi-institutional experience in the aortic and arterial pathology in individuals with genetically confirmed vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Objective: Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is a rare connective tissue disorder owing to pathogenic variants in COL3A1 that lead to impaired type III collagen production. We aim to describe the contemporary multi-institutional experience of aortic and arterial pathology in individuals with vEDS, to evaluate disease patterns and refine management recommendations.

Methods: This cross-sectional, retrospective study of individuals with genetically confirmed vEDS was conducted between 2000 and 2015 at multiple institutions participating in the Vascular Low Frequency Disease Consortium.

Habitat modification by invasive crayfish can facilitate its growth through enhanced food accessibility.

Background: Invasive ecosystem engineers can facilitate their invasions by modifying the physical environment to improve their own performance, but this positive feedback process has rarely been tested empirically except in sessile organisms. The invasive crayfish Procambarus clarkii is an ecosystem engineer that destroys aquatic macrophytes, which provide a physical refuge for animal prey, and this destruction is likely to enhance vulnerability to predators. Using two series of mesocosm experiments, we tested the hypothesis that the invasive crayfish increases its feeding efficiency on animal prey by reducing submerged macrophytes, thus increasing its individual growth rate in a positive density-dependent manner.

Diagnosis and Monitoring of Cystinosis Using Immunomagnetically Purified Granulocytes.

Background: Cystine determination is a critical biochemical test for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of the lysosomal storage disease cystinosis. The classical mixed-leukocyte cystine assay requires prompt specialized recovery/isolation following blood drawing, providing cystine concentrations normalized to total protein from assorted types of white blood cells, each with varying cystine content.

Methods: We present a new workflow for cystine determination using immunomagnetic granulocyte purification, and new reference ranges established from 47 patient and 27 obligate heterozygote samples assayed.

Improved ethanol tolerance and ethanol production from glycerol in a streptomycin-resistant Klebsiella variicola mutant obtained by ribosome engineering.

To improve the ethanol tolerance of the Klebsiella variicola strain TB-83, we obtained the streptomycin-resistant, ethanol-tolerant mutant strain TB-83D by a ribosome engineering approach. Strain TB-83D was able to grow in the presence of 7% (v/v) ethanol and it showed higher ethanol production than strain TB-83. Examination of various culture conditions revealed that yeast extract was essential for ethanol production and bacterial growth.

Intestinal and hepatic expression of cytochrome P450s and mdr1a in rats with indomethacin-induced small intestinal ulcers.

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs induce the serious side effect of small intestinal ulcerations (SIUs), but little information is available regarding the consequences to drug metabolism and absorption.

Aim: We examined the existence of secondary hepatic inflammation in rats with indomethacin (INM)-induced SIUs and assessed its relationship to the cytochrome P450 (CYP) and P-glycoprotein (mdr1a), the major drug-metabolizing factors in the small intestine and the liver.

Methods: Gene expression of the CYP family of enzymes and mdr1a was measured with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Reinterventions in the superficial femoral artery.

The management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has drastically changed since the introduction and advancement of endovascular surgery. The majority of PAD that requires mechanical treatment is managed with endovascular interventions using a variety of techniques and devices. The infrainguinal vasculature, especially the superficial femoral artery (SFA), poses a significant challenge to successful long-term outcomes for a variety of reasons.

Ethanol production from glycerol-containing biodiesel waste by Klebsiella variicola shows maximum productivity under alkaline conditions.

Biodiesel fuel (BDF) waste contains large amounts of crude glycerol as a by-product, and has a high alkaline pH. With regard to microbial conversion of ethanol from BDF-derived glycerol, bacteria that can produce ethanol at alkaline pH have not been reported to date. Isolation of bacteria that shows maximum productivity under alkaline conditions is essential to effective production of ethanol from BDF-derived glycerol.

Dilation of the inferior colliculus and hypersensitivity to sound in Wnt1-cre and Wnt1-GAL4 double-transgenic mice.

The processing of sound information is mediated by the cochlea and the central auditory system. Among the central auditory system, the inferior colliculus (IC) has leading roles in the acoustic processing. In a previous study, we demonstrated psychiatric disorder-related behavioral abnormalities in a genetically modified animal of Wnt1-cre and Wnt1-GAL4 double-transgenic (dTg) mouse.

A comparative study of axon-surrounding cells in the two nasal nerve tracts from mouse olfactory epithelium and vomeronasal organ.

The olfactory and vomeronasal systems are the two nasal chemical detectors in mammals. While glial cells in the olfactory nerve tracts have been well-investigated, little is known about cells in the vomeronasal nerve tracts. In the present study, we compared the expression patterns of marker proteins in the cells comprising the two nasal nerve tracts in mice.

Psychiatric disorder-related abnormal behavior and habenulointerpeduncular pathway defects in Wnt1-cre and Wnt1-GAL4 double transgenic mice.

The neural crest is a unique structure in vertebrates. Wnt1-cre and Wnt1-GAL4 double transgenic (dTg) mice have been used in a variety of studies concerning neural crest cell lineages in which the Cre/loxP or GAL4/UAS system was applied. Here, we show psychiatric disorder-related behavioral abnormalities and histologic alterations in a neural crest-derived brain region in dTg mice.

Effect of ATP and 2-oxoglutarate on the in vitro interaction between the NifA GAF domain and the GlnB protein of Azospirillum brasilense.

Azospirillum brasilense is a diazotroph that associates with important agricultural crops and thus has potential to be a nitrogen biofertilizer. The A. brasilense transcription regulator NifA, which seems to be constitutively expressed, activates the transcription of nitrogen fixation genes.

Expression and characterization of an N-truncated form of the NifA protein of Azospirillum brasilense.

Azospirillum brasilense is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium associated with important agricultural crops such as rice, wheat and maize. The expression of genes responsible for nitrogen fixation (nif genes) in this bacterium is dependent on the transcriptional activator NifA. This protein contains three structural domains: the N-terminal domain is responsible for the negative control by fixed nitrogen; the central domain interacts with the RNA polymerase σ(54) co-factor and the C-terminal domain is involved in DNA binding.

A case of angiocentric T-cell lymphoma presenting as lethal midline granuloma.

A case of angiocentric T-cell lymphoma with glabellar skin being the only affected site was reported. A 43-year-old woman had a several months' history of glabellar swelling followed by progressive and destructive ulceration of the region. Histopathology of the biopsied specimen showed panniculitis with atypical lymphocytes and degenerative vessels filled with atypical cells.

[Trends of the patients with malocclusion on dental clinic of pediatric dentistry].

The factors which determine the situation of continuation in malocclusion treatment and characteristic of patient with malocclusion in pediatric dentistry were estimated from the status and the trend of patients undergoing denture guidance at the outpatient clinic for pediatric dentistry. The following results were obtained. 1.