Daily walking habits can mitigate age-related decline in static balance: a longitudinal study among aircraft assemblers.

Improving physical balance among older workers is essential for preventing falls in workplace. We aimed to elucidate the age-related decline in one-leg standing time with eyes closed, an indicator of static balance, and mitigating influence of daily walking habits on this decline in Japan. This longitudinal study involved 249 manufacturing workers, including seven females, aged 20-66 years engaged in tasks performed at height in the aircraft and spacecraft machinery industry.

Fabrication of composite ceramic polymeric membranes for agricultural wastewater treatment.

Humans have contaminated water supplies with harmful compounds, including different heavy metals. Heavy metals can interfere with human and animal vital organs and metabolic processes. They are also persistent and bioaccumulative.

Prenatal inflammation impairs early CD11c-positive microglia induction and delays myelination in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) is a form of maternal immune activation (MIA) linked to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Our previous study identified neurodevelopmental impairments in an MIA mouse model mimicking HCA. Thus, this study investigated the role of CD11c microglia, key contributors to myelination through IGF-1 production, in this pathology.

Zeta Potential Change and curing effects on Shield Muck solidified by Metal Ion Complex Catalysis.

Using potentiometric testing, we investigated the zeta potential of shield muck curing materials' particle surfaces, varying the concentration of metal ion complex. We analyzed the microscopic characteristics of shield muck curing products by using the electron microscopy, revealing the impact of metal ion complex on curing. Results showed that the metal ion complex significantly reduces the surface zeta potential of shield muck and conventional curing materials, with cement showing the most substantial effect, followed by shield muck, calcium carbonate, and calcium sulfate.

Compositional data analysis enables statistical rigor in comparative glycomics.

Comparative glycomics data are compositional data, where measured glycans are parts of a whole, indicated by relative abundances. Applying traditional statistical analyses to these data often results in misleading conclusions, such as spurious "decreases" of glycans when other structures increase in abundance, or high false-positive rates for differential abundance. Our work introduces a compositional data analysis framework, tailored to comparative glycomics, to account for these data dependencies.

No significant relationship found between spontaneous motor tempo, heartbeat, and individual alpha frequency: an analysis of internal tempos.

Many theories of time perception propose the existence of an internal pacemaker, and studies across behavioral, physiological, and neuroscience fields have explored this concept. Specifically, Spontaneous Motor Tempo (SMT), the most comfortable and natural tapping tempo for each individual, is thought to reflect this internal pacemaker's tempo. Changes in heart rate are also linked to time estimation, while Individual Alpha Frequency (IAF), the peak in the alpha range (8-13 Hz) observed in EEG, is reported to reflect the brain's temporal processing.

Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 redundantly control clonal deletion and contribute to an anergy-like transcriptome in auto-reactive thymocytes to impose tolerance in mice.

The Nr4a nuclear hormone receptors are transcriptionally upregulated in response to antigen recognition by the T cell receptor (TCR) in the thymus and are implicated in clonal deletion, but the mechanisms by which they operate are not clear. Moreover, their role in central tolerance is obscured by redundancy among the Nr4a family members and by their reported functions in Treg generation and maintenance. Here we take advantage of competitive bone marrow chimeras and the OT-II/RIPmOVA model to show that Nr4a1 and Nr4a3 are essential for the upregulation of Bcl2l11/BIM and thymic clonal deletion by self-antigen.

High transmission in 120-degree sharp bends of inversion-symmetric and inversion-asymmetric photonic crystal waveguides.

Bending loss is one of the serious problems for constructing nanophotonic integrated circuits. Recently, many works reported that valley photonic crystals (VPhCs) enable significantly high transmission via 120-degree sharp bends. However, it is unclear whether the high bend-transmission results directly from the valley-photonic effects, which are based on the breaking of inversion symmetry.

Correlation between medial meniscus degenerative tears and medial meniscus extrusion and dynamics using ultrasonography.

Background: Evaluating the correlation between degenerative meniscus tears and medial meniscus extrusion is necessary to determine the appropriate treatment plan for early-stage knee osteoarthritis. This study evaluated the relationship between degenerative meniscal tears and medial meniscus extrusion in early-stage knee osteoarthritis by using ultrasonography.

Methods: A total of 132 knees from 123 patients with early-stage knee osteoarthritis were evaluated retrospectively.

Clinical characteristics affecting weight loss in an East Asian population receiving semaglutide: A STEP 6 subgroup analysis.

Objective: To explore the effects of semaglutide versus placebo on body weight (BW) by subgroups of baseline characteristics.

Methods: In STEP 6, Japanese and Korean adults with overweight or obesity were randomized to subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg, semaglutide 1.

Prognostic Analysis of Pathological Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma Harboring Major EGFR Mutations.

Background: While Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has favorable outcomes with targeted therapy, early-stage prognosis remains influenced by pathological factors and central nervous system (CNS) recurrence. The study aimed to clarify prognostic factors in pathological stage (pStage) I EGFR mutation-positive LUAD.

Methods: Between 2015 and 2018, 2,191 pStage I LUAD cases with known EGFR status (excluding EGFR testing after recurrence) who received anatomical resection were included from multiple institutions in Japan.

Comparison of Sublobar Resection and Proton Therapy for Early-Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background: For early-stage lung cancer, sublobar resection (SLR) is an alternative to lobectomy, which is the standard treatment. Recently, proton therapy (PT) is being increasingly used, even in patients with operable lung cancer, as an attractive alternative to conventional radiation therapy. Thus, we performed propensity score matching (PSM) to compare the outcomes of SLR and PT in patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Angiographic signs during mechanical thrombectomy as predictors of post-stroke epilepsy: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: Post-stroke epilepsy (PSE) is a major complication of stroke. However, data about the predictors of PSE in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) undergoing mechanical thrombectomy are limited.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between intraoperative angiographic signs and PSE risk in patients with anterior circulation AIS who underwent mechanical thrombectomy.

Expression, purification and characterization of phosphatidylserine-targeting antibodies for biochemical and therapeutic applications.

The externalization of Phosphatidylserine (PS) from the inner surface of the plasma membrane to the outer surface of the plasma membrane is an emblematic event during apoptosis and serves as a potent "eat-me" signal for the efferocytosis of apoptotic cells. Although less well understood, PS is also externalized on live cells in the tumor microenvironment and on live virus-infected cells whereby it serves as an immune modulatory signal that drives tolerance and immune escape. Given the importance of PS in cancer immunology and immune escape, PS-targeting monoclonal antibodies have been characterized with promising immunotherapeutic potential.

-related neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review on genotype-phenotype correlations.

Introduction: Genotype-phenotype correlations in -related neurodevelopmental disorders (-NDDs) remain unclear. This systematic review aimed to clarify these correlations.

Methods: Searches of PubMed and Embase were conducted on 8 August 2024 to identify studies that had investigated genetically diagnosed NDDs (5q31.

Heat-related impacts on all-cause emergency hospitalisation differ by area deprivation and urbanicity: a time-stratified case-crossover study in Japan.

Background: Climate-related health impacts have been a global public health concern. Identifying vulnerable populations is critical in implementing adaptation strategies. This study aimed to examine how heat-related impacts on all-cause emergency hospitalisations differ by area deprivation and urbanicity.

The interactive toxic effect of homocysteine and copper on cardiac microvascular endothelial cells during ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is associated with the development and progression of chronic cardiovascular diseases through the deleterious effects of high levels of homocysteine (Hcy) on the cardiovascular system. However, the exact mechanism of action of Hcy on the acute injury of the cardiovascular system following ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) remains unclear. The present study demonstrated that copper mobilization occurs during cardiac I/R, and the interactive toxic effect of Hcy and mobile Cu during cardiac I/R induces necroptosis of cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs) and thus enhances cardiac dysfunction.

Expression and functional analysis of mouse chitinases without the ZZ domain of Staphylococcus aureus Protein A.

Chitinase plays a role in mammalian immune responses, particularly in the degradation of fungal cell walls. The aim of the present study was to express and characterize recombinant mouse chitotriosidase (Chit1) and acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) without the ZZ domain, a domain that may interfere with immunological analyses. We successfully expressed recombinant chitinases without the ZZ domain (Chit1-V5-His and AMCase-V5-His) as a soluble protein from an expression vector pET21a in the Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami B (DE3) strain.

Structure and catalytic activity of a dihydrofolate reductase-like enzyme from Leptospira interrogans.

A dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)-like enzyme from Leptospira interrogans (LiDHFRL) was cloned and the recombinant protein was characterized. Sequence alignment suggested that the enzyme lacked the conserved catalytic residues found in DHFR. Indeed, LiDHFRL did not catalyze the reduction of dihydrofolate by either NADH or NADPH.

Curcumin pretreatment prevents butyrate-induced cell death and release of damage-associated molecular patterns on gingival epithelial Ca9-22 cells.

Objectives: Exposure of gingival epithelial cells to butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid produced by dental plaque bacteria, cause cell death and subsequent damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) release. We investigated the effects of curcumin, a polyphenol extracted from turmeric, on butyrate-induced human gingival epithelial Ca9-22 cell death and DAMP release.

Methods: Ca9-22 cells were pretreated with curcumin before butyrate exposure.

Fixation for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus Leads to Successful Clinical Outcomes in 9 out of 10 Patients: a Systematic Review.

Importance: Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) with an osteochondral fragment are amendable for fixation. Fixation aims to stabilize the osteochondral fragment while retaining the native cartilage. Though fixation for OLT is a promising treatment, no systematic overview of the literature on its efficacy and safety exists.