History of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) test guidelines for non-animal test methods in Japan.

The number of alternatives to animal tests (non-animal test methods) for human health developed globally account for more than 40% of the test methods in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals (TGs). Within the TGs, the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) has standardized 16 OECD TGs for human health, implemented four major revisions, and developed one test method for the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) S10 guidelines on photosafety. This review describes trends in the OECD and Japan that mainly focus on international standardizations of non-animal test methods for human health.

Physical activity during summer and recognition of heatstroke prevention among patients with cardiovascular disease in an urban area of Japan: a descriptive study.

Objective: Patients with cardiovascular disease are considered a high-risk population for heat-related illnesses. This study aimed to describe the difference in physical activity between summer and fall among patients with cardiovascular disease and their recognition of heatstroke prevention in an urban area with high temperature conditions.

Results: We enrolled 56 outpatients who participated in cardiac rehabilitation in the summer of 2022 (median age, 75 years [interquartile range, 68-80]).

Impact of hospital formulary intervention on carbapenem use: a segmented time-series analysis of consumption and a propensity score-matched non-inferiority study of treatment efficacy.

Background: Pharmaceutical formularies play a crucial role in guiding medication use by balancing clinical effectiveness and cost efficiency. Although formulary implementation has been increasing in Japan, comprehensive evaluations of its impact on both clinical and economic outcomes are limited. This study aimed to assess the effect of introducing an antimicrobial formulary at Yokohama City University Hospital on antibiotic usage and treatment outcomes in intra-abdominal infections.

Synergetic effect of fungal pretreatment and lignin modification on delignification and saccharification: a case study of a natural lignin mutant in mulberry.

Background: Fungal pretreatment for partial separation of lignocellulosic components may reduce lignocellulose recalcitrance during the production of biofuels and biochemicals. Quantitative and qualitative modification of plant lignin through genetic engineering or traditional breeding may also reduce the recalcitrance. This study was conducted to examine the effects of combining these two approaches using three white rot fungi and mulberry wood with an altered lignin structure.

Comparison of clinical and virological features in pediatric and adult dengue cases at Insein General Hospital during Myanmar's 2022 dengue season.

Background: Myanmar is one of the countries in Southeast Asia where serious dengue outbreaks occur and Yangon is among the regions with the highest number of cases in the country. Many infections including dengue are common in Yangon during the rainy season, and co-infections may also occur. Adults are more likely than children to experience co-infections of dengue and other diseases.

Understanding the local-level variations in seasonality of human respiratory syncytial virus infection: a systematic analysis.

Background: While previous reports characterised global and regional variations in RSV seasonality, less is known about local variations in RSV seasonal characteristics. This study aimed to understand the local-level variations in RSV seasonality and to explore the role of geographical, meteorological, and socio-demographic factors in explaining these variations.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review to identify published studies reporting data on local-level RSV season onset, offset, or duration for at least two local sites.

Predictive factors of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormality on high-resolution computed tomography scans: a prospective observational study.

Background: Fibrotic types of interstitial lung abnormalities seen on high-resolution computed tomography scans, characterised by traction bronchiolectasis/bronchiectasis with or without honeycombing, are predictors of progression and poor prognostic factors of interstitial lung abnormalities. There are no reports on the clinical characteristics of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography scans. Therefore, we aimed to examine these clinical characteristics and clarify the predictive factors of fibrotic interstitial lung abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography scans.

Enhancing furcation involvement classification on panoramic radiographs with vision transformers.

Background: The severity of furcation involvement (FI) directly affected tooth prognosis and influenced treatment approaches. However, assessing, diagnosing, and treating molars with FI was complicated by anatomical and morphological variations. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) enhanced diagnostic accuracy for detecting FI and measuring furcation defects.

Identification of unmet information needs among families of critically ill patients and their association with post-intensive care syndrome-family: protocol for a single-center cross-sectional study.

Background: Families of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) need a variety of information about the patient. Meeting these information needs improves the quality of communication between the family and ICU staff, as well as reduces the risk of post-intensive care syndrome-family (PICS-F). However, information needs continue to be unmet, and information regarding which specific information needs are met or unmet is insufficient.

A case series on the basic concept and design of removable partial dentures: support and bracing considerations.

Background: When designing removable partial dentures, maximizing the effectiveness of support and bracing is necessary to minimize denture movement. Therefore, it is essential to emphasize the importance of providing patients with appropriate, safe, and secure removable partial dentures and have clinicians rerecognize the concept and importance of support and bracing. This study aimed to present extension-base removable partial dentures through six specific clinical case series and describe the effect of support and bracing action on denture design, which is essential for denture movement minimization.

An autopsy case with tubular obstruction by impacted swollen blebs due to ischemic acute kidney injury.

Background: Oliguric acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the critical conditions which needs emergent treatment due to the lack of the capacity of excreting toxins and fluids, and plasma membrane bleb formation is considered as one of the characteristic morphologic alterations in ischemic AKI in both animal models and human. We present here an autopsy case with clear electron microscopy images capturing a definitive instance of blebbing in ischemic AKI.

Case Presentation: A 66-year-old man was admitted for oliguric AKI with nephrotic syndrome (NS).

Niche-derived Semaphorin 4A safeguards functional identity of myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells.

Somatic stem cell pools comprise diverse, highly specialized subsets whose individual contribution is critical for the overall regenerative function. In the bone marrow, myeloid-biased hematopoietic stem cells (myHSCs) are indispensable for replenishment of myeloid cells and platelets during inflammatory response but, at the same time, become irreversibly damaged during inflammation and aging. Here we identify an extrinsic factor, semaphorin 4A (Sema4A), which non-cell-autonomously confers myHSC resilience to inflammatory stress.

Transition from the topological to the chaotic in the nonlinear Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model.

Recent studies on topological materials are expanding into the nonlinear regime, while the central principle, namely the bulk-edge correspondence, is yet to be elucidated in the strongly nonlinear regime. Here, we reveal that nonlinear topological edge modes can exhibit the transition to spatial chaos by increasing nonlinearity, which can be a universal mechanism of the breakdown of the bulk-edge correspondence. Specifically, we unveil the underlying dynamical system describing the spatial distribution of zero modes and show the emergence of chaos.

Precession modulates the poleward expansion of atmospheric circulation to the Arctic Ocean.

Under sustained global warming, Arctic climate is projected to become more responsive to changes in North Pacific meridional heat transport as a result of teleconnections between low and high latitudes, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we reconstruct subarctic humidity changes over the past 400 kyr to investigate the role of low-to-high latitude interactions in regulating Arctic hydroclimate. Our reconstruction is based on precipitation-driven sediment input variations in the Subarctic North Pacific (SANP), which reveal a strong precessional cycle in subarctic humidity under the relatively low eccentricity variations that dominated the past four glacial-interglacial cycles.

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome due to renal-limited thrombotic microangiopathy and membranous nephropathy after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation successfully treated with calcineurin inhibitors.

Transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a severe complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with high mortality. As calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) reportedly contribute to TMA via drug-induced endothelial injury, treatment of TMA often involves CNI discontinuation or dose reduction. However, renal-limited TMA, defined as biopsy-proven renal TMA without the classical triad (hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and organ damage), has rarely been reported after allo-HSCT, and its optimal management remains unknown.

Response to initial treatment with glucocorticoids in TAFRO syndrome and implications for secondary treatment.

The study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of various initial treatments incorporating glucocorticoid (GC) in TAFRO syndrome (thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin fibrosis, and organomegaly). Cases of TAFRO syndrome up to November 2023 were retrospectively collected. Overall survival (OS) and resistance to GC therapy were assessed, with resistance analyzed based on the time to the next treatment or death (TTNTD).

Effect of postoperative peripheral nerve blocks on the analgesia nociception index under propofol anesthesia: an observational study.

Purpose: The analgesia nociception index (ANI), also referred to as the high frequency variability index (HFVI), is reported to be an objective measure of nociception. This study investigated changes in ANI after peripheral nerve blocks (PNB) under general anesthesia. Understanding these changes could enhance assessment of PNB efficacy before emergence from general anesthesia.

Comparison of the incidence of proteinuria and changes in eGFR among febuxostat and topiroxostat users.

Background: Febuxostat and topiroxostat are non-purine selective xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitors commonly used for hyperuricaemia treatment in Japan. However, comparative data on the effects of febuxostat and topiroxostat on renal function and proteinuria are limited. This study compared proteinuria incidence and changes in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) among prevalent febuxostat and topiroxostat users.

Alien toxic toads suppress individual growth and phenotypic development of native predatory salamanders.

Alien species can influence populations of native species through individual-level effects such as predation, competition, and poisoning. For alien species that possess strong defensive chemicals, poisoning is one of the most powerful mechanisms of individual-level effects on native biota. Although toxic alien species could potentially negatively affect survival (lethal effects) or life history traits (sub-lethal effects) of native predators via poisoning, previous studies have mainly focused on acute lethal effects.

An evaporite sequence from ancient brine recorded in Bennu samples.

Evaporation or freezing of water-rich fluids with dilute concentrations of dissolved salts can produce brines, as observed in closed basins on Earth and detected by remote sensing on icy bodies in the outer Solar System. The mineralogical evolution of these brines is well understood in regard to terrestrial environments, but poorly constrained for extraterrestrial systems owing to a lack of direct sampling. Here we report the occurrence of salt minerals in samples of the asteroid (101955) Bennu returned by the OSIRIS-REx mission.

Methanol transfer supports metabolic syntrophy between bacteria and archaea.

In subsurface methanogenic ecosystems, the ubiquity of methylated-compound-using archaea-methylotrophic methanogens-implies that methylated compounds have an important role in the ecology and carbon cycling of such habitats. However, the origin of these chemicals remains unclear as there are no known energy metabolisms that generate methylated compounds de novo as a major product. Here we identified an energy metabolism in the subsurface-derived thermophilic anaerobe Zhaonella formicivorans that catalyses the conversion of formate to methanol, thereby producing methanol without requiring methylated compounds as an input.

Pivotal roles of Plasmodium falciparum lysophospholipid acyltransferase 1 in cell cycle progression and cytostome internalization.

The rapid intraerythrocytic replication of Plasmodium falciparum, a deadly species of malaria parasite, requires a quick but constant supply of phospholipids to support marked cell membrane expansion. In the malarial parasite, many enzymes functioning in phospholipid synthesis pathway have not been identified or characterized. Here, we identify P.

East Asian expatriate football players and national team success: Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean players in Europe (2000-2024).

This study investigated the influence of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean football players' participation in European leagues on their national teams' FIFA rankings from 2000 to 2024. Utilizing data from 22,972 matches featuring 392 players across 36 European leagues and 12 tournaments or cup competitions, survival and conditional process analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between expatriate player counts, appearances, playing time, and FIFA rankings. The results demonstrated a significant correlation between the number of expatriate players, particularly in top-tier leagues, and national team rankings.

Deep learning model based prediction of vehicle CO emissions with eXplainable AI integration for sustainable environment.

The transportation industry contributes significantly to climate change through carbon dioxide ( ) emissions, intensifying global warming and leading to more frequent and severe weather phenomena such as flooding, drought, heat waves, glacier melting, and rising sea levels. This study proposes a comprehensive approach for predicting emissions from vehicles using deep learning techniques enhanced by eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) methods. Utilizing a dataset from the Canadian government's official open data portal, we explored the impact of various vehicle attributes on emissions.