Investigation of predictors of latent visual impairment in patients with sellar lesions.

Objective: Patients with sellar lesions compressing the optic nerve sometimes perceive visual improvement after lesion resection, despite the absence of visual impairment on preoperative ophthalmological examination. This study investigated the indicators of latent visual impairment in patients with sellar lesions.

Methods: Forty-five patients who underwent surgery for sellar lesions compressing the optic nerve with no preoperative visual abnormalities and no change in visual assessment between pre- and postoperative ophthalmological examinations were divided into two groups: 1) patients who perceived recovery of visual function after lesion resection (the improved group), and 2) patients who did not (the unaffected group).

Detection of quantitative trait loci for rice root systems grown in paddies based on nondestructive phenotyping using X-ray computed tomography.

Plant roots are essential for water and nutrient uptake, as well as resistance to abiotic stresses. While measuring root systems under field conditions is labor-intensive, most quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to root traits have been detected under artificial conditions. However, QTLs identified under artificial conditions may not always manifest the expected effects that are observed under field conditions.

Pituitary abscess occurring 12 years after transsphenoidal surgery for Rathke's cleft cyst.

A 73-year-old man who previously underwent transsphenoidal surgery for a Rathke's cleft cyst presented with headache and fever. Ophthalmological examination revealed the progression of visual impairment. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cystic mass in the sellar and suprasellar regions with rim-like enhancement.

Negative features of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Motor neurons of Onuf's nucleus survive in ADAR2-conditional knockout mice.

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) do not develop oculomotor disturbances and vesicorectal dysfunction until end-stage disease owing to the survival of certain motor neurons (MNs), including oculomotor neurons and MNs within Onuf's nucleus. In sporadic ALS, adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 2 (ADAR2)-mediated editing of GluA2 mRNA at the Q/R site is compromised in lower MNs. We previously developed genetically modified mice with a conditional knockout of ADAR2 in cholinergic neurons (ADAR2/VAChT-Cre, Fast; AR2).

Enhanced Marine Biodegradation of Polycaprolactone through Incorporation of Mucus Bubble Powder from Violet Sea Snail as Protein Fillers.

Microplastics' spreading in the ocean is currently causing significant damage to organisms and ecosystems around the world. To address this oceanic issue, there is a current focus on marine degradable plastics. Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a marine degradable plastic that is attracting attention.