NARROW AND DWARF LEAF 1, the Ortholog of Arabidopsis ENHANCER OF SHOOT REGENERATION1/DORNRÖSCHEN, Mediates Leaf Development and Maintenance of the Shoot Apical Meristem in Oryza sativa L.

The molecular basis for leaf development, a major focus in developmental biology, remains unclear in the monocotyledonous grass, rice (Oryza sativa). Here, we performed a mutant screen in rice and identified an AP2-type transcription factor family protein, NARROW AND DWARF LEAF1 (NDL1). NDL1 is the ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana (subsequently called Arabidopsis) ENHANCER OF SHOOT REGENERATION1 (ESR1)/DORNRÖSCHEN (DRN) and mediates leaf development and maintenance of the shoot apical meristem (SAM).

Sustained Compression with a Pneumatic Cuff on Skeletal Muscles Promotes Muscle Blood Flow and Relieves Muscle Stiffness.

(1) Purpose: This study aimed to examine whether a pneumatic cuff could promote muscle blood flow and improve muscle stiffness by continuously compressing muscles with air pressure in healthy college students. (2) Method: Twenty-one healthy collegiate students participated in this study. The probe of the near-infrared spectrometer was attached to the upper surface of the left gastrocnemius muscle, and a cuff was wrapped around the left lower leg.

Automatic Detection of Medial and Lateral Compartments from Histological Sections of Mouse Knee Joints Using the Single-Shot Multibox Detector Algorithm.

Objective: Although mouse osteoarthritis (OA) models are widely used, their histological analysis may be susceptible to arbitrariness and inter-examiner variability in conventional methods. Therefore, a method for the unbiased scoring of OA histology is needed. In this study, as the first step for establishing this system, we developed a computer-vision algorithm that automatically detects the medial and lateral compartments of mouse knee sections in a rigorous and unbiased manner.

Effects of visual-motor illusion in stroke hemiplegic patients with left-side personal neglect: A report of two cases.

Personal neglect is the neglect of self-body space, which often occurs in patients with unilateral spatial neglect (USN), but lacks a dedicated rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of visual-motor illusion (VMI) on two-stroke hemiplegic patients with left-side personal neglect. Case 1 was a 53-year-old man diagnosed with a right lenticulostriate artery infarction.

Evaluation of indices for predicting recovery of exercise tolerance in patients surviving allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Purpose: Decline in physical function in the early stage after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a major challenge. Exercise tolerance tests, such as the 6-min walk test, are useful markers for predicting exercise tolerance and various other traits, including cardiometabolic risk and non-relapse mortality. This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate and identify predictors of recovery of exercise tolerance in the early stage after allo-HSCT.

Effects of age and gender on spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters in older adults.

Purpose: Gait changes are more prominently observed in older adults than in young adults, especially in kinematics of lower extremities and trunk. These changes can result in incidental falls during gait, possibly leading to inability to perform activities of daily living independently. This study aimed to investigate the effect of gender and age on gait changes, such as spatiotemporal parameters and peak joint angles in lower extremities and trunk during gait.

Development of Indole Alkaloid-Type Dual Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Against CTLA-4 and PD-L1 Based on Diversity-Enhanced Extracts.

Cancer immunotherapy involves the use of the immune system for cancer treatment. Recently, immune checkpoint-blocking antibodies have become integral for the treatment of some cancers. However, small molecules exhibit advantages over monoclonal antibody drugs, such as cell penetration, long half-life, and low manufacturing costs, and the possibility of oral administration.

A cross-sectional study to assess variability in knee frontal plane movement during single leg squat in patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Background: Single leg squat (SLS) tests help predict anterior cruciate ligament injuries. However, the variability in joint movement during this test has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to examine the knee frontal plane movement variability during SLS in patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Both Full-Length and Protease-Cleaved Products of Osteopontin Are Elevated in Infectious Diseases.

Circulating full-length osteopontin (FL-OPN) is elevated in plasma from patients with various infectious diseases, such as adult T-cell leukemia, (TB), hepatitis virus infection, leptospirosis, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), AIDS/TB, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Proteolysis of OPN by thrombin, matrix metalloproteases, caspase 8/3, cathepsin D, plasmin, and enterokinase generates various cleaved OPNs with a variety of bioactivities by binding to different target cells. Moreover, OPN is susceptible to gradual proteolysis.

Dimensionality and item-difficulty hierarchy of the Fugl-Meyer assessment of the upper extremity among Japanese patients who have experienced stroke.

Background: The Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) has been used in many clinical studies and in stroke rehabilitation. In studies evaluating psychometric properties, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the FMA-UE is a multidimensional tool. Item Response Theory One-Parameter Logistic (IRT1PL) supports that item-difficulty hierarchy can be used as a treatment index of upper extremity function for stroke recovery.

Positive-word stimuli via a smartphone application have no immediate-term effects on multi-directional reach ability in standing position: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to examine the immediate-term effect of positive-word stimuli via a smartphone application on the multi-directional reach ability in standing position in young adults.

Methods: This study was an immediate-term, assessor-blinded, two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial among young adults recruited from one university in Japan. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group or control group using a computer-based random number-generating programme.

Psychometric properties of the Assessment of Positive Occupation 15 final version in individuals with mental illness.

Aims: This study was to test the reliability and validity of the Assessment of Positive Occupational 15 (APO-15) for individuals experiencing mental illness.

Methods: A sample of 408 people experiencing mental illness living in communities or admitted to hospitalized was recruited. The sample has completed demographic information, the Assessment of Positive Occupation 15 (APO-15), the Japanese version of the Self-identified Stage of Recovery Part-B (SISR-B), the Japanese version of the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS), the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12).

Analysis of the numbers of clinical trials on physical therapy in Japan: comparison with those in the North American register from 2010 to 2019.

[Purpose] Information about clinical trials related to physical therapy (CTPT) in Japan, which has the highest aging rate in the world, is essential for physical therapy education, research, and policymaking to change and strengthen the education system and promote research grants. This survey aimed to clarify the proportion of CTPT in the clinical registry and compare the proportion of CTPT in Japan with that in North America. [Participants and Methods] The ClinicalTrials.

DMI-Fungicide Resistance in , the Causal Agent of Asian Pear Scab-How Reliable Are Mycelial Growth Tests in Culture?

Scab, caused by , is among the most serious diseases of Asian pears and control of this disease largely relies on sterol demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicides. However, pear growers have complained about field performance of DMIs since the mid-2000s. In this study, to evaluate pathogen sensitivity, mycelial growth tests and inoculation tests were conducted using DMI-amended culture medium and fungicide-sprayed potted pear trees, respectively.

Healthcare-seeking behavior and awareness of physical therapy among Japanese residents in Thailand: a descriptive study.

[Purpose] This descriptive study examined healthcare-seeking behavior and awareness of physical therapy among Japanese residents of different age groups in Thailand. [Participants and Methods] The study included 145 Japanese residents in Thailand. An online questionnaire was used to collect data on the participants' sociodemographic characteristics, healthcare-seeking behavior, and awareness of physical therapy.

High Levels of the Cleaved Form of Galectin-9 and Osteopontin in the Plasma Are Associated with Inflammatory Markers That Reflect the Severity of COVID-19 Pneumonia.

Numbers of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have increased rapidly worldwide. Plasma levels of full-length galectin-9 (FL-Gal9) and osteopontin (FL-OPN) as well as their truncated forms (Tr-Gal9, Ud-OPN, respectively), are representative inflammatory biomarkers. Here, we measured FL-Gal9, FL-OPN, Tr-Gal9, and Ud-OPN in 94 plasma samples obtained from 23 COVID-19-infected patients with mild clinical symptoms (CV), 25 COVID-19 patients associated with pneumonia (CP), and 14 patients with bacterial infection (ID).

Regulation of the plastochron by three many-noded dwarf genes in barley.

The plastochron, the time interval between the formation of two successive leaves, is an important determinant of plant architecture. We genetically and phenotypically investigated many-noded dwarf (mnd) mutants in barley. The mnd mutants exhibited a shortened plastochron and a decreased leaf blade length, and resembled previously reported plastochron1 (pla1), pla2, and pla3 mutants in rice.

Blood Levels of Galectin-9, an Immuno-Regulating Molecule, Reflect the Severity for the Acute and Chronic Infectious Diseases.

Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a β-galactoside-binding lectin capable of promoting or suppressing the progression of infectious diseases. This protein is susceptible to cleavage of its linker-peptides by several proteases, and the resulting cleaved forms, N-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) and C-terminal CRD, bind to various glycans. It has been suggested that full-length (FL)-Gal-9 and the truncated (Tr)-Gal-9s could exert different functions from one another via their different glycan-binding activities.

Higher exercise tolerance early after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the predictive marker for higher probability of later social reintegration.

As the proportion of long-term survivors after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is on the rise, it is essential to consider the significance of quality of life (QOL), including reintegration with society (returning to school or work). This retrospective cohort study aims to illustrate the precise epidemiology of social reintegration later after allo-HSCT and determine its predictive indicators. We enrolled 56 patients, and 40 patients (71%) attained social reintegration at 2 years post-HSCT.

Joint movement variability during landing in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Background: Rapid knee valgus and knee internal rotation motions in the initial phase of landing are the known mechanisms for anterior cruciate ligament injury, and many studies have been investigated on knee joint peak angle during landing. However, the variability in joint movement during landing has not been fully investigated. This study aimed to compare the coefficient of variation of lower extremity range of motion in patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and healthy subjects during landing.

Decision Tree Algorithm Identifies Stroke Patients Likely Discharge Home After Rehabilitation Using Functional and Environmental Predictors.

Background And Purpose: The importance of environmental factors for stroke patients to achieve home discharge was not scientifically proven. There are limited studies on the application of the decision tree algorithm with various functional and environmental variables to identify stroke patients with a high possibility of home discharge. The present study aimed to identify the factors, including functional and environmental factors, affecting home discharge after stroke inpatient rehabilitation using the machine learning method.