Comparison of muscle synergies in walking and pedaling: the influence of rotation direction and speed.

Background: Understanding the muscle synergies shared between pedaling and walking is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of human motor control and establishing highly individualized rehabilitation strategies. This study investigated how pedaling direction and speed influence the recruitment of walking-like muscle synergies.

Methods: Twelve healthy male participants pedaled at three speeds (60 RPM, 30 RPM, and 80 RPM) in two rotational directions (forward and backward).

Enhancing social-emotional skills in early childhood: intervention study on the effectiveness of social and emotional learning.

Background: Social and emotional learning (SEL) is crucial for developing skills such as emotional regulation, cooperation, and goal achievement. Deficits in these skills are linked to later academic and behavioral problems. While SEL interventions have been widely implemented internationally, few have been tested in early childhood settings in Japan, and their effectiveness remains unclear.

Lack of an association between spleen volume and risk of pneumococcal infection in cancer patients: a nested case-control study.

Background: The spleen is a key organ in preventing pneumococcal infection, especially in patients with immunocompromised condition such as those with cancer. Previous studies have shown that a small spleen volume in pneumococcal pneumonia patients is associated with severe disease course. However, it is unknown whether a small spleen increases risk of pneumococcal infection.

Clock-Sleep Communication.

Rhythmicity is a characteristic feature of the inanimate universe. The organization of biological rhythms in time is an adaptation to the cyclical environmental changes brought on by the earth's rotation on its axis and around the sun. Circadian (L.

[A case of paroxysmal dysarthria and ataxia appeared late after treatment of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-related isolated rhombencephalitis].

A 49-year-old female was admitted to our hospital due to acute-onset dysarthria and unstable gait. Brain MR diffusion weighted imaging revealed high signal intensities in the midbrain. Brain tumors, abscess and demyelinating lesions was suspected firstly as etiology of the lesion and antibiotics and antiviral drug were started under consulting with the neurosurgeon about brain biopsy.

Association between burnout and job-quitting intentions among public health center staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide survey in Japan.

Objective　The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has imposed considerable stress on public health centers (PHCs) in Japan, raising concerns over staff burnout and intention to quit. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between burnout and job-quitting intention among PHC staff members and estimated the prevalence of burnout and job-quitting intentions among these staff members.Methods　This study employed a cross-sectional design.

Safety of Calcium Channel Blockers in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis and Hypertension.

Background: There is a paucity of data on safety of calcium channel blockers (CCB) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and hypertension.

Methods And Results: Among 2,460 patients with severe AS and hypertension receiving antihypertensive therapy in the CURRENT AS registry-2, we compared the clinical outcomes between patients taking antihypertensive therapy with CCB (CCB group) and without CCB (no CCB group). In the entire study population, CCB was prescribed in 1,763 patients (71.

Dominant effect of a single amino acid mutation in the motor domain of myosin VI on hearing in mice.

An unconventional myosin, myosin VI gene (MYO6), contributes to recessive and dominant hearing loss in humans and mice. The Kumamoto shaker/waltzer (ksv) mouse is a model of deafness resulting from a splice-site mutation in Myo6. While ksv/ksv homozygous mice are deaf due to cochlear hair cell stereocilia fusion at the neonatal stage, the hearing phenotypes of ksv/+ heterozygous mice have been less clear.

Autism-spectrum quotient mediates the relationship between clinical symptoms and quality of life in schizophrenia.

Background: Social dysfunctions can affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia. The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) is a widely used measure of innate autistic traits. However, in patients with schizophrenia, the score may represent the severity of autism-like social dysfunctions as a consequence of symptoms.

Systematic Investigation of Electronic States and Bond Properties of LnO, LnO, LnS, and LnS (Ln = La-Lu) by Spin-Orbit Multiconfiguration Perturbation Theory.

The electronic structures of lanthanide monoxides (LnO/LnO) and monosulfides (LnS/LnS) for all lanthanide series elements (Ln = La-Lu) have been systematically analyzed with sophisticated quantum chemical calculations. The ground electronic configuration has been determined to be Ln 4f6s or 4f for the neutral molecules and Ln 4f for the cations. The low-lying energy states resulting from spin-orbit coupling and ligand field effects have been resolved using spin-orbit multiconfiguration quasi-degenerate second-order perturbation theory calculations.

Future spinal reflex is embedded in primary motor cortex output.

Mammals can execute intended limb movements despite the fact that spinal reflexes involuntarily modulate muscle activity. To generate appropriate muscle activity, the cortical descending motor output must coordinate with spinal reflexes, yet the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. We simultaneously recorded activities in motor-related cortical areas, afferent neurons, and forelimb muscles of monkeys performing reaching movements.

Corticosteroids reduce pathological angiogenesis yet compromise reparative vascular remodeling in a model of retinopathy.

Tissue inflammation is often broadly associated with cellular damage, yet sterile inflammation also plays critical roles in beneficial tissue remodeling. In the central nervous system, this is observed through a predominantly innate immune response in retinal vascular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinopathy of prematurity. Here, we set out to elucidate the dynamics of the immune response during progression and regression of pathological neovascularization in retinopathy.

Feasibility/clinical utility of half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin echo imaging combined with deep learning reconstruction in gynecologic magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: When antispasmodics are unavailable, the periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER; called BLADE by Siemens Healthineers) or half Fourier single-shot turbo spin echo (HASTE) is clinically used in gynecologic MRI. However, their imaging qualities are limited compared to Turbo Spin Echo (TSE) with antispasmodics. Even with antispasmodics, TSE can be artifact-affected, necessitating a rapid backup sequence.

Fluctuation of physical function during chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy during rehabilitation intervention: Real-world data and risk factor analyses.

Introduction: Patients undergoing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy face prolonged treatment timelines and are prone to cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) after infusion. Disabilities in physical function and the importance of rehabilitation during CAR-T-cell therapy to maintain physical function have been poorly documented.

Method: We performed a retrospective cohort study to assess changes in exercise tolerance via differences in a 6-min-walking distance (Δ6MWD) and factors influencing it.

Potential of Japanese Macaques for Understanding Etiology and Seasonality of Repetitive Linear Enamel Hypoplasia in Nonhuman Primates.

Japanese macaques are ideal to advance understanding of a wide-spread pattern of recurrent developmental distress in great apes, preserved as repetitive linear enamel hypoplasia (rLEH). Not only are they numerous, unendangered, and well-studied, but they are distributed from warm-temperate evergreen habitats in southern Japan to cool-temperate habitats in the north, where they are adapted behaviorally and phenotypically to winter cold and seasonal undernutrition. We provide a pilot study to determine if enamel hypoplasia exists in Japanese macaques from the north and, if temporal patterns of enamel hypoplasia are consistent with seasonal cold, undernutrition and/or exposure to secondary plant compounds.

Application of the shift-invert Lanczos algorithm to a nonequilibrium Green's function for transport problems.

Nonequilibrium Green's function theory and related methods are widely used to describe transport phenomena in many-body systems, but they often require a costly inversion of a large matrix. We show here that the shift-invert Lanczos method can dramatically reduce the computational effort. We apply the method to two test problems, namely a simple model Hamiltonian and to a more realistic Hamiltonian for nuclear fission.

Investigator-initiated, multi-center, single-arm, open-label study of the effectiveness of canakinumab in Japanese patients with Schnitzler syndrome.

Background: Schnitzler syndrome is an adult-onset autoinflammatory disease characterized by an urticaria-like rash and monoclonal gammopathy with fever and fatigue. Although some treatments have shown efficacy in clinical trials, no approved treatment exists. We aimed to assess canakinumab, an anti-IL-1β monoclonal antibody, in Japanese patients.

Management of ERCP-related perforation: a large multicenter study.

Background And Aims: Perforation is a rare but serious adverse event associated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). There is no consensus to guide clinicians in the management of ERCP-related duodenal perforations, making it difficult to determine whether surgical or endoscopic treatment is optimal. The present study retrospectively evaluated the characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who experienced ERCP-related duodenal perforations according to the mechanism of injury.

Longitudinal phosphoproteomics reveals the PI3K-PAK1 axis as a potential target for recurrent colorectal liver metastases.

The resistance of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLMs) to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy remains a significant global health challenge. We investigated the phosphoproteomic dynamics of serial tissue sections obtained from initial metastases and recurrent tumors collected from 24 patients to address this unmet need for innovative therapeutic strategies for patients with CRLM with a poor prognosis. Our analysis revealed the activation of PAK kinase in patients with CRLM with a poor prognosis.

Improved prognosis of de novo metastatic prostate cancer after an introduction of life-prolonging agents for castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Background: In Japan, since 2014, new treatments such as androgen receptor signaling inhibitors and cabazitaxel have become applicable for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), leading to dramatic changes in treatment options.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of recent advancements in treatment options on the overall survival (OS) of patients diagnosed with de novo metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) in Japan.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 2450 Japanese men diagnosed with de novo mCSPC between 2008 and 2018.

Non-invasive scalp recording of electroencephalograms and evoked potentials in unanesthetized horses using a 12-channel active electrode array.

Despite the long history of the horse-human bond, our understanding of the brain and mind of horses remains limited due to the lack of methods to investigate their brain functions. This study introduces a novel methodology for completely non-invasive, multi-channel recording of electroencephalography (EEG) and evoked potentials in awake horses to examine equine auditory cortical processing. The new approach utilizes specially designed brush-shaped active electrodes that facilitate stable signal acquisition through the hair coat by penetrating electrode pins and integrated pre-amplifiers.

Delta-Radiomics Approach Using Contrast-Enhanced and Noncontrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography Images for Predicting Distant Metastasis in Patients With Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Carcinoma.

Purpose: To predict distant metastasis (DM) in patients with borderline resectable pancreatic carcinoma using delta-radiomics features calculated from contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and non-CECT images.

Methods And Materials: Among 250 patients who underwent radiation therapy at our institution between February 2013 and December 2021, 67 patients were deemed eligible. A total of 11 clinical features and 3906 radiomics features were incorporated.