Inflammation switches the chemoattractant requirements for naive lymphocyte entry into lymph nodes.

Sustained lymphocyte migration from blood into lymph nodes (LNs) is important for immune responses. The CC-chemokine receptor-7 (CCR7) ligand CCL21 is required for LN entry but is downregulated during inflammation, and it has been unclear how recruitment is maintained. Here, we show that the oxysterol biosynthetic enzyme cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (Ch25h) is upregulated in LN high endothelial venules during viral infection.

Association of the interaction between daily step counts and frailty with disability in older adults.

The differences in the association of objectively measured physical activity with disability between frail and non-frail older adults remain unclear. We (1) evaluated the dose-dependent relationship between daily steps and disability in older adults with and without frailty and (2) examined the interaction between steps and frailty status in relation to the risk of disability. This prospective study used data from 4065 adults aged ≥ 65 years from the Kyoto-Kameoka Study, Japan.

Impact of neurovascular bundle preservation on biochemical recurrence after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate functional and oncological outcomes in patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral nerve-sparing (NS) robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for high-risk prostate cancer.

Methods: The cohort comprised 2683 patients with clinical stage T1-4, N0M0 high-risk prostate cancer who underwent RARP in Japanese tertiary care centers from August 2011 to April 2023. High risk was defined using the European Association of Urology risk stratification criteria.

Low-Gradient Severe Aortic Stenosis: Insights From the CURRENT AS Registry-2.

Background: Low-gradient (LG) aortic stenosis (AS) has not been fully characterized compared with high-gradient (HG) AS in terms of cardiac damage, frailty, aortic valve calcification, and clinical outcomes.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes between each hemodynamic type of LG AS and HG AS.

Methods: The current study included 3,363 patients in the CURRENT AS (Contemporary outcomes after sURgery and medical tREatmeNT in patients with severe Aortic Stenosis) Registry-2 after excluding patients without indexed stroke volume or left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) data.

Monkey-deer rodeo: exploring the mounting behaviours of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) on Sika deer (Cervus nippon).

Interspecies interactions present diverse forms and functions, contributing significantly to ecological and social dynamics. This study focuses on the mounting behaviours of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) towards Sika deer (Cervus nippon), a rare and still unexplained phenomenon, with minimal emphasis on the behaviour of the deer. Using video data from two distinct sites, Yakushima and Minoh, Japan, we documented 45 sequences of macaque-deer interactions and analysed macaques' behaviours and deer behaviours using focal and behavioural sampling techniques.

Added Value of Shaking Chills for Predicting Bacteremia in Patients with Suspected Infection.

Background: Detailed grading of chills is more useful for diagnosing bacteremia than simply classifying the presence or absence of chills. However, its value added to other clinical information has not been evaluated.

Objective: To evaluate the value of adding chills grading to other clinical information compared to simply noting the presence or absence of chills for predicting bacteremia in patients with suspected infection.

TRPA1 contributes to respiratory depression from tobacco aerosol.

Transient receptor potential ankyrin-1 (TRPA1) is expressed in the trigeminal nerves in the nasal cavity. It detects irritant chemicals such as formalin and acrolein, induces respiratory depression to protect against further inhalation, and elicits avoidance behavior. Although tobacco smoke contains formalin, acrolein, and other irritant chemicals, the possible contribution of TRPA1 to protection against tobacco smoke has yet to be fully understood.

GRK5 regulates endocytosis of FPR2 independent of β-Arrestins.

The formyl-peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that responds to pathogen-derived peptides and regulates both pro-inflammatory and pro-resolution cellular processes. While ligand selectivity and G-protein-signalling of FPR2 have been well characterized, molecular mechanisms controlling subsequent events such as endocytosis and recycling to the plasma membrane are less understood. Here we show the key role of the GPCR kinase 5 (GRK5) in facilitating FPR2 endocytosis and post-endocytic trafficking.

Complete genome sequence of strain MH-1 isolated from Japanese traditional homemade pickled Chinese cabbage.

was recently reported as a novel species. Here, we present the whole-genome sequence of strain MH-1 isolated from homemade pickled Chinese cabbage in Japan. These genomic data have the potential to help clarify the role of species in fermented foods.

BIL7 enhances plant growth by regulating the transcription factor BIL1/BZR1 during brassinosteroid signaling.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant steroid hormones that regulate plant development and environmental responses. BIL1/BZR1, a master transcription factor that regulates approximately 3000 genes in the BR signaling pathway, is transported to the nucleus from the cytosol in response to BR signaling; however, the molecular mechanism underlying this process is unknown. Here, we identify a novel BR signaling factor, BIL7, that enhances plant growth and positively regulates the nuclear accumulation of BIL1/BZR1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Universal Health Checkups and Risk of Incident Diabetes and Hypertension.

Importance: Type 2 diabetes and hypertension are obesity-related, noncommunicable diseases becoming increasingly common worldwide. In 2008, Japan launched a nationwide universal health checkup program, Specific Health Checkup (SHC), for the primary prevention of obesity-related diseases, but its effectiveness has been understudied.

Objective: To investigate the association of the SHC program with incident diabetes and hypertension, using a target trial emulation framework.

Correction: Enhanced catalytic activity of solubilised species obtained by counter-cation exchange of K{Co [Fe(CN)]} for water oxidation.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D4SC04390A.].

Imaging of cardiac amyloidosis using dynamic F-FPYBF-2 positron emission tomography.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic ability of 5-(5-(2-(2-(2-F-fluoroethoxy) ethoxy) ethoxy) benzofuran-2-yl)-N-methylpyridin-2-amine (F-FPYBF-2) dynamic PET for patients with cardiac amyloidosis (CA).

Methods: The subjects were patients diagnosed with proven amyloidosis (n = 16) including transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) (n = 7) and light chain amyloidosis (AL amyloidosis) (n = 9), of which 4 and 5 with (AL-CA) and without (AL-nCA) cardiac involvement, and 4 control subjects suffering from some symptoms of cardiac failure without amyloidosis (CTL). Thirty minutes dynamic F-FPYBF-2 PET/CT was performed to evaluate the time activity curve and the retention index (mRI) as the ratio of the myocardial SUV at 15 to 5 min.

Self-Reported Time-at-Bedside and Its Association with In-Training Examination Scores of Residents in Japan.

Background: Time-at-bedside plays a central role in clinical medicine. However, the amount of time Japanese clinical residents spend at patients' bedsides remains unexplored.

Objective: To quantify time-at-bedside and examine its association with in-training examination scores during clinical residency in Japan.

Poor prognostic factors for relapse of interstitial lung disease in microscopic polyangiitis: the Japanese multicentre REVEAL cohort study.

Background: This study investigated poor prognostic factors for the relapse of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) after remission induction therapy.

Methods: We enrolled patients diagnosed with MPA complicated by ILD according to the Chapel Hill Consensus definition from 2001 to 2023 in multiple institutions in the REVEAL cohort. All patients who were treated with immunosuppressive therapy were followed up, and those who relapsed with ILD were extracted in this study.

Verification of a system utilizing heartbeat-induced acoustic pulse waves for estimating the time at which bladder urine increases to a level requiring drainage among individuals with spinal cord injury.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to the loss of urinary sensation, making urination difficult. In a previous experiment involving six healthy participants, we measured heartbeat-induced acoustic pulse waves (HAPWs) at the mid-back, calculated time-series power spectra of heart rate gradients at three ultralow/very low frequencies, distinguished and formulated waveform characteristics (one characteristic for each power spectrum, nearly uniform across participants) at times of increased urine in the bladder and heightened urges to urinate, and developed an algorithm with five of these power spectra to identify when urination is needed by extracting the waveform portion (continuous timepoints) where all of the characteristics were consistent with the formulated characteristics. The objective of this study was to verify the validity of the algorithm fed with data from measured HAPW of participants with SCI and to adapt the algorithm for these individuals.

Optimal Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Multivessel Disease and Chronic Kidney Disease.

There is a scarcity of data on clinical outcomes after intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with multivessel disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The OPTIVUS-Complex PCI study multivessel cohort was a prospective multicenter single-arm trial enrolling 1015 patients who underwent multivessel IVUS-guided PCI including left anterior descending coronary artery target with an intention to meet the prespecified OPTIVUS criteria for optimal stent expansion. We compared the clinical outcomes between patients with and without CKD.

Frequency-dependent corticospinal facilitation following tibialis anterior neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

The optimal stimulation frequency for inducing neuromodulatory effects remains unclear. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) with different frequencies on cortical and spinal excitability. Thirteen able-bodied individuals participated in the experiment involving NMES: (i) low-frequency at 25 Hz, (ii) high-frequency at 100 Hz, and (iii) mixed-frequency at 25 and 100 Hz switched every one second.

Incorporating "kawaii-ness" into your life may increase gray matter volume in the putamen and frontal gyrus.

Interest in kawaii-ness is growing day by day around the world. However, the relationship between the brain and kawaii-ness remains unclear. Previous studies have revealed how adults' brains respond to infants, but there is little research into the relationship between non-infant objects that have kawaii-ness and the brain, particularly its structure.

Selective Labeling of Phosphatidylcholine to Track Their Translocation Between Organelles in Living Cells.

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a major phospholipid that forms biological membranes in eukaryotes. PC is mainly synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus and then transported to other organelle membranes via multiple mechanisms. Such interorganelle lipid transport is thought to play an important role in the maintenance of cell morphology, organelle functions, and homeostasis, though the details of this process have not yet been well investigated.

Cultural Defaults in the Time of COVID: Lessons for the Future.

Five years after the beginning of the COVID pandemic, one thing is clear: The East Asian countries of Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea outperformed the United States in responding to and controlling the outbreak of the deadly virus. Although multiple factors likely contributed to this disparity, we propose that the culturally linked psychological defaults ("cultural defaults") that pervade these contexts also played a role. Cultural defaults are commonsense, rational, taken-for-granted ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.

The Simplest Method for Fishhook Removal: The String-Yank Technique.

Fishing is a popular recreational activity worldwide, but complications arise when fishhooks become embedded in the skin. Barbed hooks, due to their design, are particularly challenging to remove. While many individuals attempt self-extraction, some present to emergency departments for medical intervention.