A fusion protein of polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1) and a Nudix hydrolase is involved in inorganic polyphosphate accumulation in the unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a linear polymer of phosphate that plays various roles in cells, including in phosphate and metal homeostasis. Homologs of the vacuolar transporter chaperone 4 (VTC4), catalyzing polyP synthesis in many eukaryotes, are absent in red algae, which are among the earliest divergent plant lineages. We identified homologs of polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1), a conserved polyP synthase in bacteria, in 42 eukaryotic genomes, including 31 species detected in this study and 12 species of red algae.

Association between smoking and duration of regional anesthesia - A propensity score matching study.

Background: Previous studies have shown shorter duration of general anesthesia in smokers but it is unclear in regional anesthesia among smokers. We investigated the association between smoking status and the duration of regional anesthesia.

Methods: A total of 77 patients with a mean age of 47.

Age-Related Differences in the Effectiveness of Rehabilitation to Improve Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Stroke: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: This study aimed to reveal differences in the effectiveness of rehabilitation in improving activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with acute stroke across age groups and propose age-appropriate rehabilitation strategies.

Methods: This observational study analyzed nationwide administrative data of inpatients admitted to hospitals with acute stroke between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2020. The data included the average length of daily rehabilitation sessions, weekly frequency of rehabilitation sessions, and initiation of rehabilitation within 3 days.

Analysis of the characteristics of anticipatory postural adjustments in older adults using smartphones: Association between cognitive and balance functions.

Objectives: Using smartphones, we aimed to clarify the characteristics of anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) in older adults and examine the relationship between cognitive and balance functions.

Methods: The study participants were 10 young and 13 older adults. An accelerometer built into a smartphone was attached to the lower back (L5) of the participant, and acceleration in the mediolateral direction was measured using a one-leg stance (OLS).

Association between additional weekend rehabilitation and functional outcomes in patients with hip fractures: does age affect the effectiveness of weekend rehabilitation?

Purpose: Rehabilitation after hip fracture surgery is crucial for improving physical function. Additional rehabilitation over the weekend or after working hours is reportedly associated with improved physical function; however, this may not apply to an aging population, including patients aged > 90 years. This study aimed to investigate the association between additional weekend rehabilitation and functional outcomes in different age groups.

Association between additional weekend rehabilitation and in-hospital mortality in patients with hip fractures.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between additional rehabilitation at the weekend, and in-hospital mortality and complications in patients with hip fracture who underwent surgery.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in Japan using a nationwide multicentre database from April 2010 to March 2018, including 572,181 patients who had received hip fracture surgery. Propensity score matching was performed to compare patients who received additional weekend rehabilitation at the weekend in addition to rehabilitation on weekdays after the surgery (plus-weekends group), as well as those who did not receive additional rehabilitation at the weekend but did receive weekday rehabilitation (weekdays-only group).

The reliability and validity of joint range of motion measurement using zoom and a smartphone application.

[Purpose] This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of measuring the range of motion of joints using a remote videoconferencing system (Zoom) and a smartphone application. [Participants and Methods] This study included 16 young and healthy adults. The participants were instructed to perform shoulder joint flexion exercises in a seated position, with automatic motions, and maintain that posture throughout the measurement.

Reliability and validity of quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments using smartphones.

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments using smartphones. [Participants and Methods] The study included 10 young control participants who underwent a one-legged stance with an accelerometer and a smartphone that were simultaneously attached to their lower back (L5). Acceleration was measured as the mediolateral component of the lumbar movement toward the stance side.

Horizontally Acquired Nitrate Reductase Realized Kleptoplastic Photoautotrophy of Rapaza viridis.

While photoautotrophic organisms utilize inorganic nitrogen as the nitrogen source, heterotrophic organisms utilize organic nitrogen and thus do not generally have an inorganic nitrogen assimilation pathway. Here, we focused on the nitrogen metabolism of Rapaza viridis, a unicellular eukaryote exhibiting kleptoplasty. Although belonging to the lineage of essentially heterotrophic flagellates, R.

New quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments using a smartphone in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objective: To investigate a smartphone-enabled quantitative evaluation of anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) during one-leg stance (OLS) movements among individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 10 young controls, 10 older individuals, and 13 individuals with PD. A smartphone and accelerometer were attached to the participants' lower back (L5), and the movements of the lower back toward the stance side during OLS were measured.

Life cycle and functional genomics of the unicellular red alga for elucidating algal and plant evolution and industrial use.

Sexual reproduction is widespread in eukaryotes; however, only asexual reproduction has been observed in unicellular red algae, including , which branched early in Archaeplastida. possesses a small genome; it is polyextremophile, grows either photoautotrophically, mixotrophically, or heterotrophically, and is being developed as an industrial source of vitamins and pigments because of its high biomass productivity. Here, we show that exhibits a sexual life cycle, alternating between cell-walled diploid and cell wall-less haploid, and that both phases can proliferate asexually.

Genome evolution of a nonparasitic secondary heterotroph, the diatom .

Secondary loss of photosynthesis is observed across almost all plastid-bearing branches of the eukaryotic tree of life. However, genome-based insights into the transition from a phototroph into a secondary heterotroph have so far only been revealed for parasitic species. Free-living organisms can yield unique insights into the evolutionary consequence of the loss of photosynthesis, as the parasitic lifestyle requires specific adaptations to host environments.

Separated center-of-pressure measurements reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Background And Objective: Accelerations, ground reaction force data, and other quantitative data obtained from kinematic analyses of gait initiation serve as measures of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether a separate center of pressure information could reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Methods: Ten healthy elderly subjects and 10 patients with Parkinson's disease participated in this study.

Measurements of the centre of pressure of individual legs reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in patients with post-stroke hemiplegia.

Objectives: To determine whether individual measurements of the centre of pressure for the stance and stepping legs can reveal new characteristics of reduced anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in post-stroke hemiplegic patients.

Methods: Subjects included 30 stroke patients and 10 healthy age-matched controls. The acceleration of the trunk, and the centre of pressure of each leg, were measured during gait initiation, 3 times each with the paretic and non-paretic legs leading.

Five Non-motile Dinotom Dinoflagellates of the Genus .

and are benthic dinoflagellates possessing diatom-derived tertiary plastids, so-called dinotoms. Due to the lack of available genetic information, their phylogenetic relationship remains unknown. In this study, sequencing of 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and the L gene from temporary cultures isolated from natural samples revealed that they are close relatives of another dinotom, .

Relationship between Cell Cycle and Diel Transcriptomic Changes in Metabolism in a Unicellular Red Alga.

Metabolism, cell cycle stages, and related transcriptomes in eukaryotic algae change with the diel cycle of light availability. In the unicellular red alga , the S and M phases occur at night. To examine how diel transcriptomic changes in metabolic pathways are related to the cell cycle and to identify all genes for which mRNA levels change depending on the cell cycle, we examined diel transcriptomic changes in In addition, we compared transcriptomic changes between the wild type and transgenic lines, in which the cell cycle was uncoupled from the diel cycle by the depletion of either cyclin-dependent kinase A or retinoblastoma-related protein.

Evolutionary Changes in DnaA-Dependent Chromosomal Replication in Cyanobacteria.

Replication of the circular bacterial chromosome is initiated at a unique origin () in a DnaA-dependent manner in which replication proceeds bidirectionally from to . The nucleotide compositions of most bacteria differ between the leading and lagging DNA strands. Thus, the chromosomal DNA sequence typically exhibits an asymmetric GC skew profile.

Responses of unicellular predators to cope with the phototoxicity of photosynthetic prey.

Feeding on unicellular photosynthetic organisms by unicellular eukaryotes is the base of the aquatic food chain and evolutionarily led to the establishment of photosynthetic endosymbionts/organelles. Photosynthesis generates reactive oxygen species and damages cells; thus, photosynthetic organisms possess several mechanisms to cope with the stress. Here, we demonstrate that photosynthetic prey also exposes unicellular amoebozoan and excavates predators to photosynthetic oxidative stress.

Discovery of a kleptoplastic 'dinotom' dinoflagellate and the unique nuclear dynamics of converting kleptoplastids to permanent plastids.

A monophyletic group of dinoflagellates, called 'dinotoms', are known to possess evolutionarily intermediate plastids derived from diatoms. The diatoms maintain their nuclei, mitochondria, and the endoplasmic reticulum in addition with their plastids, while it has been observed that the host dinoflagellates retain the diatoms permanently by controlling diatom karyokinesis. Previously, we showed that dinotoms have repeatedly replaced their diatoms.

Acidophilic green algal genome provides insights into adaptation to an acidic environment.

Some microalgae are adapted to extremely acidic environments in which toxic metals are present at high levels. However, little is known about how acidophilic algae evolved from their respective neutrophilic ancestors by adapting to particular acidic environments. To gain insights into this issue, we determined the draft genome sequence of the acidophilic green alga and performed comparative genome and transcriptome analyses between and its neutrophilic relative The results revealed the following features in that probably contributed to the adaptation to an acidic environment.