Wheel-shaped icosanuclear homo- and heterometallic complexes of Ni(II), Co(II), and Cu(II) ions supported by unsymmetrical aminoalcohol ligands.

Reactions of M(OAc)2·4H2O (M = Ni, Co) with 3-[benzyl(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-1-propanol (H2L) in the presence of pyridine or triethylamine afforded novel homometallic icosanuclear wheel-shaped complexes [M20L4(HL)4(OAc)28] (M = Ni (1), Co (2)), which consist of a central M(II)12 single-stranded, nearly planar loop with four peripheral [M2(HL)(OAc)2] fragments attached in an S4 symmetrical fashion. The complexes can alternatively be recognized as saddle-shaped wheel structures, in which four tetranuclear units of [M4L(HL)(OAc)7](2-) are connected by four M(2+) ions (M5). The tetranuclear unit itself can be derived from an ideal C2 symmetrical [M4(HL)2(μ-η(2)-OAc)4(μ-η(1),η(1)-OAc)2(η(1),η(1)-OAc)](-) structure through deprotonation of the HL(-) ligand, and is composed of two plane-shared M3O4 incomplete cubanes in which the M2 and M3 atoms are involved in the central fused plane and the M1 and M4 atoms are disposed at the apex sites.

Planetary stewardship in an urbanizing world: beyond city limits.

Cities are rapidly increasing in importance as a major factor shaping the Earth system, and therefore, must take corresponding responsibility. With currently over half the world's population, cities are supported by resources originating from primarily rural regions often located around the world far distant from the urban loci of use. The sustainability of a city can no longer be considered in isolation from the sustainability of human and natural resources it uses from proximal or distant regions, or the combined resource use and impacts of cities globally.

Global forecasts of urban expansion to 2030 and direct impacts on biodiversity and carbon pools.

Urban land-cover change threatens biodiversity and affects ecosystem productivity through loss of habitat, biomass, and carbon storage. However, despite projections that world urban populations will increase to nearly 5 billion by 2030, little is known about future locations, magnitudes, and rates of urban expansion. Here we develop spatially explicit probabilistic forecasts of global urban land-cover change and explore the direct impacts on biodiversity hotspots and tropical carbon biomass.

Effects of regional climate changes on the planktonic ecosystem and water environment in the frozen Notoro Lagoon, northern Japan.

Diatom fossils from core sediments and living diatoms from water samples of Notoro Lagoon in northern Japan were examined to evaluate natural climate effects on lagoon environmental changes. In 1974, the artificial inlet was excavated. Immediately after, the anoxic bottom water in Notoro Lagoon began to disappear due to an increasing water exchange rate.

[Relationships of the stages of behavior change in dietary habits of the mothers of school-age children with the breakfast intake of the children and the health-associated behavior of the family].

Objectives: We aimed to clarify the relationships of the different stages of behavior change in dietary habits followed by the mothers of school-age children with the actual breakfast intake of these children and the health-associated behavior of the family.

Methods: We carried out a questionnaire-based survey of 1949 children at 18 elementary schools and of 881 families with children attending seven elementary schools in Kagoshima prefecture. We were supplied with information about children's breakfast intake and content on the day they took the survey and information about mothers' breakfast intake and the stage of behavior change in dietary habits to which they belonged, for which five stages were defined using the stage-of-change model.

Decreased expression of semaphorin-3A, a neurite-collapsing factor, is associated with itch in psoriatic skin.

Pruritus is a common symptom of psoriasis, which affects quality of life. This symptom accompanies the hyper-innervation of sensory C-fibres in psoriatic lesions. Two extracellular molecules, nerve growth factor (NGF) and semaphorin-3A, regulate C-fibre extension.

Urban land teleconnections and sustainability.

This paper introduces urban land teleconnections as a conceptual framework that explicitly links land changes to underlying urbanization dynamics. We illustrate how three key themes that are currently addressed separately in the urban sustainability and land change literatures can lead to incorrect conclusions and misleading results when they are not examined jointly: the traditional system of land classification that is based on discrete categories and reinforces the false idea of a rural-urban dichotomy; the spatial quantification of land change that is based on place-based relationships, ignoring the connections between distant places, especially between urban functions and rural land uses; and the implicit assumptions about path dependency and sequential land changes that underlie current conceptualizations of land transitions. We then examine several environmental "grand challenges" and discuss how urban land teleconnections could help research communities frame scientific inquiries.

The cost effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccines: a systematic review.

Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the world's most common sexually transmitted infections, and has been associated with a number of cervical and non-cervical diseases, including cancer. HPV vaccines have been licensed for use in females for some time, but the quadrivalent vaccine has only recently become licensed for use in males. Many countries have adopted a vaccination programme for adolescent females based on results of cost-effectiveness analyses.

Clinical significance of Escherichia albertii.

Discriminating Escherichia albertii from other Enterobacteriaceae is difficult. Systematic analyses showed that E. albertii represents a substantial portion of strains currently identified as eae-positive Escherichia coli and includes Shiga toxin 2f-producing strains.

Real-time tissue elastography for the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

We compared conventional ultrasound (US) B-mode, color Doppler and elastographic assessment of lymph node (LN) stiffness against pathological findings from surgical samples, to determine the most useful factors for identifying LN metastases. Seventy-one LNs in 19 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) were examined. Using our new system, elastography images were scored from 1-5.

Patients' identification and reporting of unsafe events at six hospitals in Japan.

Background: Hospitals and other health care organizations have increasingly recognized the need to engage patients as participants in patient safety. A study was conducted to compare patients' and health care staff's identification and reporting of such events.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered at six hospitals in Japan to outpatients and inpatients from November 2004 through February 2007.

Controlled release of insulin from self-assembling nanofiber hydrogel, PuraMatrix™: application for the subcutaneous injection in rats.

The concept of this research is, using the acetyl-(Arg-Ala-Asp-Ala)₄-CONH₂ peptide hydrosol (PuraMatrix™, PM), to develop an new injectable formula of controlled insulin delivery for subcutaneous injection. PM has sol-gel phase transition behavior, and was developed as a scaffold in the field of tissue engineering. The aqueous media of the PM including insulin changed from a sol to a gel phase with increasing ion strength of phosphate ion and pH in working environments in vitro and in vivo.

Risk factors of workplace violence at hospitals in Japan.

Background: Patients and their relatives exposed to mental stress caused by hospitalization or illness might use violence against healthcare staff and interfere with quality healthcare.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate incidences of workplace violence and the attributes of healthcare staff who are at high risk.

Design: A questionnaire-based, anonymous, and self-administered cross-sectional survey.

Co-occurrence patterns of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti and Aedes mediovitattus, a dengue competent mosquito in Puerto Rico.

Aedes aegypti is implicated in dengue transmission in tropical and subtropical urban areas around the world. Ae. aegypti populations are controlled through integrative vector management.

A meta-analysis of global urban land expansion.

The conversion of Earth's land surface to urban uses is one of the most irreversible human impacts on the global biosphere. It drives the loss of farmland, affects local climate, fragments habitats, and threatens biodiversity. Here we present a meta-analysis of 326 studies that have used remotely sensed images to map urban land conversion.

Wide distribution of O157-antigen biosynthesis gene clusters in Escherichia coli.

Most Escherichia coli O157-serogroup strains are classified as enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which is known as an important food-borne pathogen for humans. They usually produce Shiga toxin (Stx) 1 and/or Stx2, and express H7-flagella antigen (or nonmotile).

Emergence of a novel Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O serogroup cross-reacting with Shigella boydii type 10.

This is the first report of the isolation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains whose O antigens were genetically and serologically identical to those of Shigella boydii type 10, from human feces. The novel STEC O serogroup may be widespread in Japan and associated with diarrhea and hemorrhagic colitis.

CCK-2/gastrin receptor signaling pathway is significant for gemcitabine-induced gene expression of VEGF in pancreatic carcinoma cells.

Aims: As activation and overexpression of the cholecystokinin-2 (CCK-2)/gastrin receptor can lead to carcinogenesis, it has been explored as a therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer. We demonstrated that Z-360, a CCK-2/gastrin receptor antagonist, combined with gemcitabine prolonged survival and reduced gemcitabine-induced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in a pancreatic carcinoma orthotopic xenograft mouse. In this study, we investigated the role of the CCK-2/gastrin signaling pathway on gemcitabine-induced VEGF expression in PANC-1 human pancreatic carcinoma cells.

Molecular epidemiological investigation of a diffuse outbreak caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Montevideo isolates in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

In Osaka Prefecture, Japan, three foodborne outbreaks were caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Montevideo in rapid succession between September 2007 and May 2008. Further, Salmonella Montevideo was also isolated from several sporadic diarrhea patients and asymptomatic carriers examined during approximately the identical period. To investigate the relatedness of the isolates, we performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis, and multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) for 29 Salmonella Montevideo isolates obtained in this region between 1991 and 2008.

Comparison of four enrichment broths for the detection of non-O157 Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli O91, O103, O111, O119, O121, O145 and O165 from pure culture and food samples.

Aims: We compared the efficiency of universal pre-enrichment broth (UPB), modified Escherichia coli broth containing novobiocin (mEC + n), modified Tryptic Soy Broth (mTSB) and mTSB with novobiocin (mTSB + n) for the enrichment of non-O157 Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

Methods And Results: Freeze-injured and control non-O157 STEC (O91, O103, O111, O119, O121, O145 and O165) strains were used to artificially contaminate beef and radish sprout samples, which were then cultivated in each of the four enrichment media.

How many adenocarcinoma lung cancers come from bronchioloalveolar carcinoma?

Background: There is emerging evidence that bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is the forerunner of peripheral adenocarcinoma lung cancers (ALC). Since advanced stage ALC is often diagnosed on cytology alone, we hypothesized that the incidence of BAC is underreported and that a large proportion of ALC in our population are part of the BAC-adenocarcinoma sequence.

Methods: We reviewed the pretreatment computed tomographic (CT) scans of 69 patients with ALC and looked for characteristic features of BAC.

Risperidone in schizophrenia: is there a role for therapeutic drug monitoring?

Background: Although risperidone is commonly used in the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia, the role of therapeutic drug monitoring has yet to be elucidated. The purpose of this review was to determine whether risperidone warrants therapeutic drug monitoring in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: Using a previously published nine-step decision-making algorithm, the available evidence was examined to determine whether therapeutic drug monitoring of risperidone is warranted in adult schizophrenic patients.

Development and applicability of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS) in Japan.

Background: Patient safety culture at healthcare organizations plays an important role in guaranteeing, improving and promoting overall patient safety. Although several conceptual frameworks have been proposed in the past, no standard measurement tool has yet been developed for Japan.

Methods: In order to examine possibilities to introduce the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS) in Japan, the authors of this study translated the HSOPS into Japanese, and evaluated its factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity.