A Novel Sesterterpenoid, Petrosaspongin and γ-Lactone Sesterterpenoids with Leishmanicidal Activity from Okinawan Marine Invertebrates.

Leishmaniasis is a major public health problem, especially affecting vulnerable populations in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is endemic in 90 countries, and with millions of people at risk, it is seen as one of the ten most neglected tropical diseases. Current treatments face challenges such as high toxicity, side effects, cost, and growing drug resistance.

Changes in glenohumeral range of motion by repetitive pitching and their relationship with arm speed during pitching.

This study aimed to (1) examine the acute changes in the glenohumeral range of motion (ROM) after repetitive pitching and (2) clarify whether arm speed during pitching is associated with changes in the glenohumeral internal rotation (IR) and horizontal adduction (HADd) ROM. Fifteen healthy college males with over five years of baseball experience participated. Glenohumeral ROMs of IR, external rotation, and HADd were measured using a digital inclinometer before, immediately after, and one day after completing 100 repetitive full-effort pitches.

Development of decision-aid of goal-setting for patients with distal radius fracture: Aid for decision-making in occupation choice for distal radius fracture.

Background: Patients with distal radius fractures (DRFs) encounter significant difficulties and challenges in their daily lives due to their medical condition and a lack of strategies for modifying activities. Occupation-based interventions have emerged as promising strategies to improve occupational performance and participation outcomes, addressing these challenges.

Purpose: This study aims to develop the aid for decision-making in occupation choice for distal radius fracture (ADOC-DRF), a novel decision-aid tool designed to facilitate patient-centered and occupation-based goal-setting by offering illustrations tailored to the postsurgical recovery period and prescribed activity loads.

Prevalence and Transmission Cycle of Avian Pathogens in the Isolated Oceanic Islands of Japan.

Avian haemosporidian parasites and avian pox virus (APV) are well-known pathogens for their impact on avian populations, especially in oceanic islands where introduced pathogens show strong virulence for endemic and naïve birds. The Bonin Islands are a group of oceanic islands 1000 km south of Tokyo. Like the Hawaiian Islands, there are many endemic and endangered species as well as introduced species, which have greatly affected the native avian fauna.

Graphene Oxide as a Self-Carbocatalyst to Facilitate the Ring-Opening Polymerization of Glycidol for Efficient Polyglycerol Grafting.

Grafting carbon-based nanomaterials (CNMs) with polyglycerol (PG) improves their application potentials in biomedicine and electronics. Although "grafting from" method offers advantages over "grafting to" one in terms of operability and versatility, little is known about the reaction process of glycidol with the surface groups onto CNMs. By using graphene oxide (GO) as a multi-functional model material, we examined the reactivity of the surface groups on GO toward glycidol molecules via a set of model reactions.