Search

Background Stress coping strategies are related to health outcomes. However, there is no clear evidence for sex differences between stress-coping strategies and mortality. We investigated the relationship between all-cause mortality and stress-coping strategies, focusing on sex differences among Japanese adults. Methods A total of 79,580 individuals aged 35-69 years participated in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study between 2004 and 2014 and were followed up for mortality. The frequency of use of the five coping strategies was assessed using a questionnaire. Sex-specific, multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for using each coping strategy "sometimes," and "often/very often" (versus "very few" use) were computed for all-cause mortality. Furthermore, relationships were analyzed in specific follow-up periods when the proportion assumption was violated. Results During the follow-up (median: 8.5 years), 1,861 mortalities were recorded. In women, three coping strategies were related to lower total mortality. The HRs (95% confidence intervals) for "sometimes" were 0.81 (0.67-0.97) for emotional expression, 0.79 (0.66-0.95) for emotional support-seeking, and 0.80 (0.66-0.98) for disengagement. Men who "sometimes" used emotional expression and sometimes or often used problem-solving and positive reappraisal had a 15-41% lower HRs for all-cause mortality. However, those relationships were dependent on the follow-up period. There was evidence that sex modified the relationships between emotional support-seeking and all-cause mortality (p for interaction = 0.03). Conclusions In a large Japanese population, selected coping strategies were associated with all-cause mortality. The relationship of emotional support-seeking was different between men and women.

Although rs763361, which causes a nonsynonymous glycine-to-serine mutation at residue 307 (G307S mutation) of the DNAX accessory molecule-1 (DNAM-1) immunoreceptor, is a single-nucleotide polymorphism associated with autoimmune disease susceptibility, little is known about how the single-nucleotide polymorphism is involved in pathogenesis. In this study, we established human CD4+ T cell transfectants stably expressing wild-type (WT) or G307S DNAM-1 and showed that the costimulatory signal from G307S DNAM-1 induced greater proinflammatory cytokine production and cell proliferation than that from wild-type DNAM-1. The G307S mutation also enhanced the recruitment of the tyrosine kinase Lck and augmented p-Tyr322 of DNAM-1. We also established a mouse myelin Ag–specific CD4+ T cell transfectant stably expressing the chimeric DNAM-1 (chDNAM-1) consisting of the extracellular, transmembrane, and a part of intracellular regions of mouse DNAM-1 (residues 1–285) fused with the part of the intracellular region (residues 286–336) of human WT or G307S chDNAM-1. Adoptive transfer of the mouse T cell transfectant expressing the G307S chDNAM-1 into mice exacerbated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis compared with the transfer of cells expressing the WT chDNAM-1. These findings suggest that rs763361 is a gain-of-function mutation that enhances DNAM-1–mediated costimulatory signaling for proinflammatory responses.

Transforming assemblies are products that alter their shapes by re-assembling their parts. This idea is applied to a wide range of objects from folding gadgets as outdoor gear aimed at saving space, to robotic characters fighting in Hollywood films which drastically change their appearance. While the former type falls into a folding or packing problems, the latter requires a different viewpoint to be solved since the destination shape is not necessarily aiming at minimizing the occupation space. As a possible solution, this kind of deformation can be decomposed into segmentation of the shape to parts and parts matching. Segmentation is a general problem in shape modeling and numerous algorithms have been proposed for this. On the other hand, matching simultaneously multiple parts (many-to-many matching) has hardly been explored. This study develops a many-to-many matching algorithm for surface meshes of parts from two distinct destination shapes of a single transforming assembly. The proposed algorithm consists of a local geometry analysis and a global optimization of parts combination based on such analysis. For the local geometry analysis, the surface geometric feature is described by a local shape descriptor. Some vertices are detected as feature points by intrinsic shape signature (ISS) and the geometry at the feature points is expressed by the signature of histogram of orientation (SHOT). For all the combination of pairs from each destination shape, the number of feature points with similar descriptor values is counted. In the global optimization, the final matching is determined by the maximum weight matching on a complete bipartite graph whose nodes are the parts, and edges are weighted by the number of the feature points with similar descriptors. We present successful results for several examples to empirically show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Several reports have revealed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection tends to have more severe outcomes in cancer patients. Although vaccination reduces the risk of severe disease, data on antibody titers achieved by vaccination is scarce in cancer patients.We collected 79 blood samples (69 lung cancer patients and 10 control individuals) and conducted an anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody assay to compare the antibody titer achieved with current treatment. Sixty-eight patients (86%) received the BNT162 mRNA vaccine and 11 (14%) received the mRNA-1273 vaccine. They were categorized according to the current treatment: control individuals without cancer (cohort A), lung cancer patients who were treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy (cohort B), immunotherapy (cohort C), combination of cytotoxic chemotherapy and immunotherapy (cohort D), tyrosine kinase inhibitors (cohort E), and radiation therapy (cohort F).Among 69 lung cancer patients (cohort B-F), 57 (83%) had adenocarcinoma, and 66 (96%) had advanced-stage cancer. In the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody assay, the antibody titer was significantly lower in lung cancer patients than in control individuals (p = 0.01). The median antibody titers were 161 AU/ml in control individuals and 59.9 AU/ml in lung cancer patients.Antibody titers after the second vaccination were lower in cancer patients than those in healthy individuals. Our findings provide essential information for understanding the benefits and necessity of additional vaccination to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in lung cancer patients.

In the current work we experimentally explored yawed wind turbine wake impacts on downwind wind turbine performances and wind loads. The lab-scale wind turbine model with a rotor diameter ( D) of 0.442 m and a height of 1 m (=2.26 D) was installed in a closed-circuit boundary layer wind tunnel (test section: 15 m long × 3.6 m wide × 2.0 m high) of the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM) of Kyushu University. Power performance tests were initially conducted with a single rotor in isolation in order to characterize a rotor’s power output in stand-alone conditions. A detailed comparison of the tests revealed that the power output decreased rapidly as the yaw angle (γ) increased. It is presumed that the power output decrease in yawed cases is mainly due to the decrease in the effective rotor area and the change in the angle of the incoming wind flow with respect to the wind turbine blade. Next, using two wind turbine models aligned with the dominant inflow direction, the merging wakes behaviors caused by three different lateral separation distances were tested: (a) Case 1 ( y = 0), (b) Case 2 ( y = 0.5 D), and (c) Case 3 ( y = 1 D). Here, the separation distance between the two wind turbine models was fixed at 6 D in all cases. Extremely large power output deficits of 46%–76% were seen in the Case 1 configuration. This is mainly due to the significant wake velocity deficits induced by the upwind wind turbine model. In the Case 2 configuration with γ values of 20° and 30°, a significant increase in the power output of the downwind wind turbines was observed. Similar to Case 1 configuration, these results are considered to be mainly due to the upwind turbine-induced wake velocity deficits and wake deflection. Finally, in the Case 3 configuration, no significant difference was found in all of the results, and the tendency was almost the same. We show that the wake velocity deficits induced by the upwind wind turbine model had almost no effect on the power output of the downwind wind turbine model. We evaluated the total power output of the two turbines. As a result, in the Case 2 configuration with 20° yaw angle, the total power output of the two wind turbine models was the highest due to the increase in the power output of the downwind wind turbine model. In order to investigate the main cause of the significant increase in the power output of the downwind wind turbine model at 20° and 30° yaw angles in the Case 2 configuration, we measured the lateral wind speed distribution at the 6 D position on the downwind side of the upwind wind turbine model by using the ultrasonic anemometer. As a results, it was clarified that the peak of the wake velocity deficits induced by the upwind wind turbine model is clearly shifted away from the downwind turbine such that it experiences a smaller deficit due to wake steering. Also, with wake steering the upwind turbine-induced wake velocity deficits may be smaller due to the reduction in rotor area. Finally, it is extremely important to understand the wind load acting on the downwind wind turbine model operating within the wake region induced by the upwind yawed wind turbine model when the maximum power output is generated. It can be seen that as the yaw angle of the upwind wind turbine model increased, the power output generated by the downwind wind turbine model and the streamwise wind load acting on it also increased. However, it was also clarified that the streamwise wind load acting on the downwind wind turbine model in this situation did not exceed the stand-alone value.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi establish mutualistic symbiosis with a wide range of terrestrial plants, including rice. However, the mechanisms underlying the initiation of AM symbiosis are yet to be elucidated, particularly in nonleguminous plants. We previously demonstrated that chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1 (OsCERK1), a lysin motif receptor–like kinase essential for chitin-triggered immunity, also plays a key role in AM symbiosis in rice. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of switching between immunity and symbiosis by OsCERK1 are yet to be fully elucidated. SYMBIOSIS RECEPTOR–LIKE KINASE (SYMRK)/DOES NOT MAKE INFECTIONS 2 (DMI2) is a leucine-rich repeat receptor–like kinase associated with both root nodule symbiosis and AM symbiosis in legumes. The homolog of SYMRK in rice, OsSYMRK, has a shorter form than that in legumes because OsSYMRK lacks a malectin-like domain (MLD). The MLD reportedly contributes to symbiosis in Lotus japonicus; however, the contribution of OsSYMRK to AM symbiosis in rice remains unclear. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the MLD of SYMRK/DMI2 is widely conserved even in mosses and ferns but absent in commelinids, including rice. To understand the function of OsSYMRK, we produced an Ossymrk knockout mutant using genome editing technology. AM colonization was mostly abolished in Ossymrk with a more severe phenotype than Oscerk1. Ca2+ spiking against chitin tetramer was also diminished in Ossymrk. In contrast, comparable defense responses against chitin heptamer to the wild type were observed in Ossymrk. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation studies demonstrating an interaction between OsSYMRK and OsCERK1 indicate that OsSYMRK may play an important role in switching from immunity to symbiosis through the interaction with OsCERK1 in rice.

Summary Microbial DNA-based monitoring is a promising tool for reservoir monitoring that has been used mainly for shale reservoir development. In this study, long-term microbial DNA-based monitoring was applied to the Sarukawa oil field, which has a complex reservoir structure with no practical simulation model available. Fluid samples were collected periodically from nine production wells and two injection wells from October 2019 to July 2021. DNA was extracted from the samples, and the microbial composition was analyzed by 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Based on similarities between the microbial profiles, the samples were classified into seven clusters that corresponded closely to the original fluid type (i.e., injection or production fluid) and specific environment (e.g., geological strata or compartments). A comparative analysis of the microbial profiles suggested possible well connectivity and water breakthrough. These results demonstrate that microbial DNA-based monitoring can provide useful information for optimizing production processes (e.g., waterflooding) in mature oil fields.

The right and left mandibular processes derived from the first branchial arch grow toward the midline and fuse to create the rostral tip region of the mandible during mandibular development. Severe and mild cases of failure in this process results in rare median cleft of the lower lip and cleft chin, respectively. The detailed molecular mechanisms of mandibular tip formation are unknown. We hypothesize that the Msx1 gene is involved in mandibular tip development, because Msx1 has a central role in other craniofacial morphogenesis processes, such as teeth and the secondary palate development. Normal Msx1 expression was observed in the rostral end of the developing mandible; however, a reduced expression of Msx1 was observed in the soft tissue of the mandibular tip than in the lower incisor bud region. The rostral tip of the right and left mandibular processes was unfused in both control and Msx1-null (Msx1

The relationship between body composition including skeletal muscle and liver hypertrophy initiated by portal vein embolization (PVE) for major hepatectomy has not been clarified. This study aimed to investigate the effects of skeletal muscle, body adipose, and nutritional indicators on liver hypertrophy.Fifty-nine patients who underwent PVE scheduled for major right-sided hepatectomy were included. The skeletal muscle area of L3 as skeletal muscle index was calculated. The relationship between skeletal muscle loss and clinical variables was assessed. We also evaluated the relationship between30% liver growth or12% liver growth/week after PVE.Skeletal muscle loss was observed in 39 patients (66.1%) and associated with zinc deficiency, visceral adipose index, liver growth rate, and liver growth rate/week. Multivariate analysis indicated that future liver volume and skeletal muscle index were associated with30% liver growth, and functional future liver volume and skeletal muscle index were associated with12% liver growth/week.Loss of skeletal muscle, and a small future remnant liver volume, attenuates liver hypertrophy initiated by PVE. Strength building and nutritional supplementation may have positive effects on liver hypertrophy after PVE.

Esketamine is used for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression in many countries. A population pharmacokinetic (popPK) model of esketamine and its metabolite (noresketamine) has been previously developed, which included Asian race and Japanese ethnicity as covariates on their exposures. The present study aimed to update the popPK model by adding new data from a phase 2b study in Japanese patients and reassess intrinsic and extrinsic factors on esketamine and noresketamine exposures. The updated model identified the effects of body weight on the fraction of the esketamine dose absorbed in the nasal cavity and elimination rate constant of esketamine, and Asian race on the apparent clearance of noresketamine. The model predicted that an increase of 30 kg of body weight would decrease esketamine exposures by ≈20%. Noresketamine exposures would be affected by Asian race and body weight. However, those newly identified covariates were not considered to have clinically relevant impacts, and therefore dose adjustments were not necessary. In conclusion, the popPK model of esketamine and noresketamine was successfully updated and suggested that interindividual variability of esketamine exposures can be better explained by body weight, rather than by race/ethnicity. The new findings obtained in this study should be useful information for the further development of esketamine and for clinical practice in the future.

Objective:Excessive salt intake raises blood pressure and increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as CVD, chronic kidney disease and stomach cancer. Reducing the Na content of food is an important public health measure to control the NCD. This study quantifies the amount of salt reduced by using umami substances, i.e. glutamate, inosinate and guanylate, for adults in the USA.Design:The secondary data analysis was performed using data of the US nationally representative cross-sectional dietary survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018. Per capita daily salt intake corresponding to the NHANES food groups was calculated in the four hypothetical scenarios of 0 %, 30 %, 60 % and 90 % market share of low-Na foods in the country. The salt reduction rates by using umami substances were estimated based on the previous study results.Setting:The USAParticipants:4139 individuals aged 20 years and older in the USAResults:Replacing salt with umami substances could help the US adults reduce salt intake by 7·31–13·53 % (7·50–13·61 % for women and 7·18–13·53 % for men), which is equivalent to 0·61–1·13 g/d (0·54–0·98 g/d for women and 0·69–1·30 g/d for men) without compromising the taste. Approximately, 21·21–26·04 % of the US adults could keep their salt intake below 5 g/d, the WHO’s recommendation in the scenario where there is no low-Na product on the market.Conclusions:This study provides essential information that the use of umami substances as a substitute for salt may help reduce the US adults’ salt intake.

Objectives:Previous studies using objective parameters have shown that irregular sleep is associated with the disease incidence, progression, or mortality. This study aimed to determine the association between subjective sleep duration and sleep regularity, with mortality in a large population., Methods:Participants were from the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort study. We obtained information from each participant on sleep duration, sleep regularity, and demographics and overall lifestyle using self-administered questionnaires. We defined sleep regularity according to participants' subjective assessment of sleep/wake time regularity. Participants (n = 81,382, mean age: 58.1 ± 9.1years, males: 44.2%) were classified into 6 groups according to sleep duration and sleep regularity. Hazard ratios (HR) for time-to-event of death were calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model., Results:The mean follow-up period was 9.1 years and the mean sleep duration was 6.6 h/day. Irregular sleep significantly increased the risk of all-cause mortality in all models compared with regular sleep (HR 1.30, 95% confidence interval; CI, 1.18-1.44), regardless of sleep duration. Multivariable analysis of the 6 groups by sleep pattern (sleep regularity and duration) showed irregular sleep and sleep durations of, Conclusions:Our study shows an association between sleep irregularity and all-cause mortality in a large Japanese population. Our findings provide further confirmation of the need to consider not only sleep duration, but also the regularity aspect of sleep schedules.

Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a ribosomopathy that is characterized by macrocytic anemia, congenital malformations, and early onset during childhood. Genetic studies have demonstrated that most patients carry mutations in one of the 20 related genes, most of which encode ribosomal proteins (RP). Treatment of DBA includes corticosteroid therapy, chronic red blood cell transfusion, and other forms of immunosuppression. Currently, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only cure for DBA. Interestingly, spontaneous remissions occur in 10-20% of transfusion-dependent DBA patients. However, there is no consistent association between specific mutations and clinical manifestations. In the past decades, researchers have made significant progress in understanding the pathogenesis of DBA, but it remains unclear how the ubiquitous RP haploinsufficiency causes the erythroid-specific defect in hematopoiesis in DBA patients, and why there is a difference in penetrance and spontaneous remission among individuals who carry identical mutations. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the development of DBA animal models and discuss the future research directions for these important experimental systems.