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For further gravitational wave (GW) detections, it is significant to invent a technique to reduce all kinds of mirror displacement noise dominant at low frequencies for ground-based detectors. The neutron displacement-noise-free interferometer (DFI) is one of the tools to reduce all the mirror displacement noise at lower frequencies. In this paper, we describe a further simplified configuration of a neutron DFI in terms of neutron incidence direction. In the new configuration, neutrons enter the interferometer with unidirectional incidence at four speeds as opposed to two bidirectional incidences of opposite directions at two speeds as reported previously. This simplification of the neutron DFI is significant for proof-of-principle experiments.

Various forms of graph coloring problems have been studied over the years in the society of graph theory. Recently, some original puzzles are popularized in Japanese 100-yen shops, and one of them can be formalized as a graph coloring problem in a natural way. However, this natural graph coloring problem has not been investigated in the context of the graph theory. In this paper, we investigate this puzzle as a graph coloring problem. We first prove that this graph coloring problem is NP-complete even when the graph is restricted to a path or a spider. In these cases, diameter of the graphs seems to play an important role for its difficulty. We then show that the problem can be solved in polynomial time when the graph is restricted to some graph classes of constant diameter.

CRISPR-Cas9 short guide RNA (sgRNA) library screening is a powerful approach to understand the molecular mechanisms of biological phenomena. However, its in vivo application is currently limited. Here, we developed our previously established in vitro revival screening method into an in vivo one to identify factors involved in spermatogenesis integrity by utilizing sperm capacitation as an indicator. By introducing an sgRNA library into testicular cells, we successfully pinpointed the retinal degeneration 3 (Rd3) gene as a significant factor in spermatogenesis. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis highlighted the high expression of Rd3 in round spermatids, and proteomics analysis indicated that Rd3 interacts with mitochondria. To search for cell-type-specific signaling pathways based on scRNA-seq and proteomics analyses, we developed a computational tool, Hub-Explorer. Through this, we discovered that Rd3 modulates oxidative stress by regulating mitochondrial distribution upon ciliogenesis induction. Collectively, our screening system provides a valuable in vivo approach to decipher molecular mechanisms in biological processes.

The human neocortex arises from the carefully orchestrated production and maturation of neurons and glia from neural progenitor pools during development. The molecular mechanisms underlying human corticogenesis are not well understood, but critically important to understanding our complex cognitive abilities and how the dysregulation of these mechanisms can lead to intellectual impairment and neuropsychiatric disease. The activity of cis gene-regulatory elements (GREs) and their corresponding transcription factors (TFs) play a pivotal role in modulating cell-specific transcriptional programs that drive corticogenesis.The emergence of genomic tools to profile gene expression and chromatin dynamics in single cells has facilitated the study of the interplay between gene regulatory elements and the TFs acting on these sites. Previously, our laboratory profiled transcriptional programs across developing neocortical cell types and identified several TFs enriched in neural progenitor cells located in the germinal zone (GZ) of the neocortex. In parallel, we profiled and contrasted chromatin dynamics between the GZ and the neuron-enriched cortical plate (CP), identifying GREs predicted to drive gene expression programs during neurogenesis. From these studies we identified a TF, ZFHX4, which is highly enriched in ventricular radial glia, and is the target of several GREs with enriched activity in the GZ. ZFHX4 has been implicated in several neurodevelopmental and intellectual disorders, including congenital bilateral isolated ptosis, syndromic Peters anomaly, and childhood apraxia of speech and has been reported to regulate cell differentiation at least in part through interactions with the chromatin remodeling complex NuRD. Despite its clinical relevance and enriched expression within neural progenitors of the developing brain, the role of ZFHX4 in neocortical development has never been studied. I hypothesize that ZFHX4 coordinates human cortical neurogenesis through the NuR

The verbal overshadowing effect, a phenomenon where verbal descriptions of an encoded face hinder subsequent recognition, has been linked to the similarity in facial image sets used in recognition tasks. However, the specific aspects of similarity that influence this effect remained underexplored. This study, therefore, employed the Stable Diffusion image-generation model to create image sets that are similar either verbally or nonverbally. Experimental results using these sets revealed the presence of the verbal overshadowing effect in the verbally-similar set, but it was not evident in the nonverbally-similar set. These findings align with existing explanations of the verbal overshadowing effect and contribute to enhancing its predictability.

We undertake a project to reexamine microlensing data gathered from high-cadence surveys. The aim of the project is to reinvestigate lensing events with light curves exhibiting intricate anomaly features associated with caustics, yet lacking prior proposed models to explain these features. Through detailed reanalyses considering higher-order effects, we identify that accounting for orbital motions of lenses is vital in accurately explaining the anomaly features observed in the light curves of the lensing events OGLE-2018-BLG-0971, MOA-2023-BLG-065, and OGLE-2023-BLG-0136. We estimate the masses and distances to the lenses by conducting Bayesian analyses using the lensing parameters of the newly found lensing solutions. From these analyses, we identify that the lenses of the events OGLE-2018-BLG-0971 and MOA-2023-BLG-065 are binaries composed of M dwarfs, while the lens of OGLE-2023-BLG-0136 is likely to be a binary composed of an early K-dwarf primary and a late M-dwarf companion. For all lensing events, the probability of the lens residing in the bulge is considerably higher than that of it being located in the disk., Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, 6 tables

We analyze the anomalies appearing in the light curves of the three microlensing events MOA-2022-BLG-563, KMT-2023-BLG-0469, and KMT-2023-BLG-0735. The anomalies exhibit common short-term dip features that appear near the peak. From the detailed analyses of the light curves, we find that the anomalies were produced by planets accompanied by the lenses of the events. For all three events, the estimated mass ratios between the planet and host are on the order of $10^{-4}$: $q\sim 8 \times 10^{-4}$ for MOA-2022-BLG-563L, $q\sim 2.5\times 10^{-4}$ for KMT-2023-BLG-0469L, and $q\sim 1.9\times 10^{-4}$ for KMT-2023-BLG-0735L. The interpretations of the anomalies are subject to a common inner-outer degeneracy, which causes ambiguity when estimating the projected planet-host separation. We estimated the planet mass, $M_{\rm p}$, host mass, $M_{\rm h}$, and distance, $D_{\rm L}$, to the planetary system by conducting Bayesian analyses using the observables of the events. The estimated physical parameters of the planetary systems are $(M_{\rm h}/M_\odot, M_{\rm p}/M_{\rm J}, D_{\rm L}/{\rm kpc}) = (0.48^{+0.36}_{-0.30}, 0.40^{+0.31}_{-0.25}, 6.53^{+1.12}_{-1.57})$ for MOA-2022-BLG-563L, $(0.47^{+0.35}_{-0.26}, 0.124^{+0.092}_{-0.067}, 7.07^{+1.03}_{-1.19})$ for KMT-2023-BLG-0469L, and $(0.62^{+0.34}_{-0.35}, 0.125^{+0.068}_{-0.070}, 6.26^{+1.27}_{-1.67})$ for KMT-2023-BLG-0735L. According to the estimated parameters, all planets are cold planets with projected separations that are greater than the snow lines of the planetary systems, they have masses that lie between the masses of Uranus and Jupiter of the Solar System, and the hosts of the planets are main-sequence stars that are less massive than the Sun., Comment: 11 pages, 7 tables, 10 figures

Following Shin et al. (2023b), which is a part of the Systematic KMTNet Planetary Anomaly Search series (i.e., a search for planets in the 2016 KMTNet prime fields), we conduct a systematic search of the 2016 KMTNet sub-prime fields using a semi-machine-based algorithm to identify hidden anomalous events missed by the conventional by-eye search. We find four new planets and seven planet candidates that were buried in the KMTNet archive. The new planets are OGLE-2016-BLG-1598Lb, OGLE-2016-BLG-1800Lb, MOA-2016-BLG-526Lb, and KMT-2016-BLG-2321Lb, which show typical properties of microlensing planets, i.e., giant planets orbit M dwarf host stars beyond their snow lines. For the planet candidates, we find planet/binary or 2L1S/1L2S degeneracies, which are an obstacle to firmly claiming planet detections. By combining the results of Shin et al. (2023b) and this work, we find a total of nine hidden planets, which is about half the number of planets discovered by eye in 2016. With this work, we have met the goal of the systematic search series for 2016, which is to build a complete microlensing planet sample. We also show that our systematic searches significantly contribute to completing the planet sample, especially for planet/host mass ratios smaller than $10^{-3}$, which were incomplete in previous by-eye searches of the KMTNet archive., Comment: 63 pages, 16 Tables, 19 Figures, Submitted in the AAS journal

Characterization of the elemental distribution of samples with rough surfaces has been strongly desired for the analysis of various natural and artificial materials. Particularly for pristine and rare analytes with micrometer sizes embedded on specimen surfaces, non-invasive and matrix effect-free analysis is required without surface polishing treatment. To satisfy these requirements, we proposed a new method employing the sequential combination of two imaging modalities, i.e., microenergy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) and Raman micro-spectroscopy. The applicability of the developed method is tested by the quantitative analysis of cation composition in micrometer-sized carbonate grains on the surfaces of intact particles sampled directly from the asteroid Ryugu. The first step of micro-XRF imaging enabled a quick search for the sparsely scattered and micrometer-sized carbonates by the codistributions of Ca2+ and Mn2+ on the Mg2+- and Fe2+-rich phyllosilicate matrix. The following step of Raman micro-spectroscopy probed the carbonate grains and analyzed their cation composition (Ca2+, Mg2+, and Fe2+ + Mn2+) in a matrix effect-free manner via the systematic Raman shifts of the lattice modes. The carbonates were basically assigned to ferroan dolomite bearing a considerable amount of Fe2+ + Mn2+ at around 10 atom %. These results are in good accordance with the assignments reported by scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, where the thin-sectioned and surface-polished Ryugu particles were applicable. The proposed method requires neither sectioning nor surface polishing; hence, it can be applied to the remote sensing apparatus on spacecrafts and planetary rovers. Furthermore, the non-invasive and matrix effect-free characterization will provide a reliable analytical tool for quantitative analysis of the elemental distrib

Sumiko Abe,1 Mina Yasuda,1,2 Kazunori Tobino,1,2 Sonoko Harada,1,3 Hitoshi Sasano,1 Yuki Tanabe,1 Yuuki Sandhu,1 Tomohito Takeshige,1 Kei Matsuno,1 Tetsuhiko Asao,1 Takuto Sueyasu,2 Saori Nishizawa,2 Kohei Yoshimine,2 Yuki Ko,2 Yuki Yoshimatsu,2 Kosuke Tsuruno,2 Hiromi Ide,2 Haruhi Takagi,1 Jun Ito,1 Tetsutaro Nagaoka,1 Norihiro Harada,1,3,4 Kazuhisa Takahashi1,4 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Iizuka Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan; 3Atopy (Allergy) Research Center, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 4Research Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, JapanCorrespondence: Norihiro Harada, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, 3-1-3 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8431, Japan, Tel +81-3-5802-1063, Fax +81-3-5802-1617, Email nor@juntendo.ac.jpBackground: Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) improves clinical outcomes and quality of life for patients with severe asthma and has shown sustained reductions in airway narrowing and air trapping in previous CT studies. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive analysis, including CT evaluation, of clinical outcomes in Japanese patients who have undergone BT for severe asthma. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of BT in Japanese asthma patients, with a focus on the CT metric “WA at Pi10” to assess airway disease.Methods: Twelve patients with severe persistent asthma who underwent BT were assessed using ACQ6, AQLQ, pulmonary function tests, FeNO measurement, blood sampling, and chest CT before BT and one year after the third procedure for the upper lobes.Results: The median age of the patient was 62.0 years, 7/12 (58.3%) were male, 4/12 (33.3%) used regular oral corticosteroids, and 8/12 (66.7%) received biologics.

Conventional machine learning algorithms have traditionally been designed under the assumption that input data follows a vector-based format, with an emphasis on vector-centric paradigms. However, as the demand for tasks involving set-based inputs has grown, there has been a paradigm shift in the research community towards addressing these challenges. In recent years, the emergence of neural network architectures such as Deep Sets and Transformers has presented a significant advancement in the treatment of set-based data. These architectures are specifically engineered to naturally accommodate sets as input, enabling more effective representation and processing of set structures. Consequently, there has been a surge of research endeavors dedicated to exploring and harnessing the capabilities of these architectures for various tasks involving the approximation of set functions. This comprehensive survey aims to provide an overview of the diverse problem settings and ongoing research efforts pertaining to neural networks that approximate set functions. By delving into the intricacies of these approaches and elucidating the associated challenges, the survey aims to equip readers with a comprehensive understanding of the field. Through this comprehensive perspective, we hope that researchers can gain valuable insights into the potential applications, inherent limitations, and future directions of set-based neural networks. Indeed, from this survey we gain two insights: i) Deep Sets and its variants can be generalized by differences in the aggregation function, and ii) the behavior of Deep Sets is sensitive to the choice of the aggregation function. From these observations, we show that Deep Sets, one of the well-known permutation-invariant neural networks, can be generalized in the sense of a quasi-arithmetic mean.

Acquiring the desired font for various design tasks can be challenging and requires professional typographic knowledge. While previous font retrieval or generation works have alleviated some of these difficulties, they often lack support for multiple languages and semantic attributes beyond the training data domains. To solve this problem, we present FontCLIP: a model that connects the semantic understanding of a large vision-language model with typographical knowledge. We integrate typography-specific knowledge into the comprehensive vision-language knowledge of a pretrained CLIP model through a novel finetuning approach. We propose to use a compound descriptive prompt that encapsulates adaptively sampled attributes from a font attribute dataset focusing on Roman alphabet characters. FontCLIP's semantic typographic latent space demonstrates two unprecedented generalization abilities. First, FontCLIP generalizes to different languages including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK), capturing the typographical features of fonts across different languages, even though it was only finetuned using fonts of Roman characters. Second, FontCLIP can recognize the semantic attributes that are not presented in the training data. FontCLIP's dual-modality and generalization abilities enable multilingual and cross-lingual font retrieval and letter shape optimization, reducing the burden of obtaining desired fonts., Comment: 11 pages. Eurographics 2024. https://yukistavailable.github.io/fontclip.github.io

This article investigates bioinspired solutions for achieving stable dynamic gaits in legged robots through leg coordination and foot trajectories. In this study, we recorded the kinematics of underwater running of the crab, Pachygrapsus marmoratus, and implemented the parameterized foot trajectories and inter-leg coordination on an underwater legged robot, SILVER 2.0. The robot's design parameters like legs’ stiffness, leg length, and body mass are based on the Underwater Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum (USLIP), a model that describes underwater running in animals. With this implementation, we observed the spontaneous emergence of USLIP dynamics in 20% of the strides in the robot. This approach allowed SILVER 2.0 to leverage the advantages of stable dynamic gaits while optimizing the foot trajectory and inter-leg coordination, resulting in improved locomotion performances. The robot achieved a forward velocity of 0.16 m/s, twice the value obtained in previous gaits. Our study presents a promising approach for improving the locomotion performance of legged robots, enabling their effective use in various field applications, and further confirms a broad embedding of controllers generating template dynamics., QC 20240318

This paper explores how opportunities for reducing the total use of office space can be identified, investigates how the benefits in terms of energy savings from space efficiency measures could be calculated, and gives a first estimate of such values. A simple method to measure office space use is presented and tested at two university departments, and very low space efficiency is found. A variety of reasons for the low space efficiency are identified via interviews with property managers and heads of the concerned departments. These include the fact that the incentives for using space efficiently are small for the decision-makers, and the costs in terms of time and trouble are perceived as high. This suggests that interesting results can be achieved without large efforts. Moreover, we present a proof of concept of how to estimate the amount of energy that can be saved by reducing space use. We find a rough estimate of the potential energy savings of 2 MWh/m2 in embodied primary energy intensity (assuming that more efficient use of space leads to a decrease in new construction) and 200 kWh/m2/year in final energy intensity. Those numbers should be useful as rough estimates when looking at opportunities for saving energy by using space more efficiently., QC 20240122

Study preregistration has become increasingly popular in psychology, but its potential to restrict researcher degrees of freedom has not yet been empirically verified. We used an extensive protocol to assess the producibility (i.e., the degree to which a study can be properly conducted based on the available information) of preregistrations and the consistency between preregistrations and their corresponding papers for 300 psychology studies. We found that preregistrations often lack methodological details and that undisclosed deviations from preregistered plans are frequent. These results highlight that biases due to researcher degrees of freedom remain possible in many preregistered studies. More comprehensive registration templates typically yielded more producible preregistrations. We did not find that the producibility and consistency of preregistrations differed over time or between original and replication studies. Furthermore, we found that operationalizations of variables were generally preregistered more producible and consistently than other study parts. Inconsistencies between preregistrations and published studies were mainly encountered for data collection procedures, statistical models, and exclusion criteria. Our results indicate that, to unlock the full potential of preregistration, researchers in psychology should aim to write more producible preregistrations, adhere to these preregistrations more faithfully, and more transparently report any deviations from their preregistrations. This could be facilitated by training and education to improve preregistration skills, as well as the development of more comprehensive templates.

BACKGROUND: There is a need for novel noninvasive markers for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) to stratify patients at high risk for liver-related events including liver cancer and decompensation. In the present study, we used proteomic analysis of proteins in extracellular vesicles (EVs) to identify new biomarkers that change with fibrosis progression and can predict the development of liver-related events. METHODS: We analyzed serum EVs from 50 patients with MASLD assessed for liver fibrosis by biopsy and identified proteins that altered with advanced fibrosis. A further evaluation was conducted on another cohort of 463 patients with MASLD with biopsy. RESULTS: Eight candidate proteins were identified by proteomic analysis of serum EVs. Among them, serum levels of Fibulin-3, Fibulin-1, and Ficolin 1 correlated with their EV levels. In addition, serum Fibulin-3 and serum Fibulin-1 levels changed significantly with advanced fibrosis. Using another cohort with biopsy, we found that the serum Fibulin-3 concentration was significantly greater in those with advanced fibrosis but that the serum Fibulin-1 concentration was not significantly different. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that a higher Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index and higher serum Fibulin-3 concentration were independent risk factors for liver-related events. When the cutoff value for the serum Fibulin-3 concentration was 6.0 µg/mL according to the Youden index of AUROCs, patients with high serum Fibulin-3 significantly more frequently developed liver-related events than did other patients. Validation using another cohort of 226 patients with clinically diagnosed MASLD confirmed that high serum Fibulin-3 levels are associated with a greater frequency of liver-related events. CONCLUSIONS: Serum Fibulin-3 was identified as a biomarker for predicting liver-related events in patients with MASLD.

PURPOSE: This study investigated whether Ki-67 labeling index (LI) correlated with clinical outcomes after SRS for atypical meningiomas. METHODS: This retrospective study examined 39 patients with atypical meningiomas who underwent SRS over a 10-year study period. Ki-67 LI was categorized into 3 groups: low (< 5%), intermediate (5%-10%), and high (> 10%). Local tumor control rates (LCRs), progression-free rates (PFRs), disease-specific survival (DSS) rates, and adverse radiation-induced events (AREs) were evaluated. RESULTS: The median follow-up periods were 26 months. SRS was performed at a median prescription dose of 18 Gy for tumors with a median Ki-67 LI of 9.6%. The 3-year LCRs were 100%, 74%, and 25% in the low, intermediate, and high LI groups, respectively (p = 0.011). The 3-year PFRs were 100%, 40%, and 0% in the low, intermediate, and high LI groups (p = 0.003). The 5-year DSS rates were 100%, 89%, and 50% in the low, intermediate, and high LI groups (p = 0.019). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis showed a significant correlation of high LI with lower LCR (hazard ratio [HR], 3.92; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-13.04, p = 0.026), lower PFR (HR 3.80; 95% CI 1.46-9.88, p = 0.006), and shorter DSS (HR 6.55; 95% CI 1.19-35.95, p = 0.031) compared with intermediate LI. The ARE rates were minimal (8%) in the entire group. CONCLUSION: Patients with high Ki-67 LI showed significantly more tumor progression and tumor-related death. Ki-67 LI might offer valuable predictive insights for the post-SRS management of atypical meningiomas.

Scientific evidence regularly guides policy decisions1, with behavioural science increasingly part of this process2. In April 2020, an influential paper3 proposed 19 policy recommendations (claims) detailing how evidence from behavioural science could contribute to efforts to reduce impacts and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we assess 747 pandemic-related research articles that empirically investigated those claims. We report the scale of evidence and whether evidence supports them to indicate applicability for policymaking. Two independent teams, involving 72 reviewers, found evidence for 18 of 19 claims, with both teams finding evidence supporting 16 (89%) of those 18 claims. The strongest evidence supported claims that anticipated culture, polarization and misinformation would be associated with policy effectiveness. Claims suggesting trusted leaders and positive social norms increased adherence to behavioural interventions also had strong empirical support, as did appealing to social consensus or bipartisan agreement. Targeted language in messaging yielded mixed effects and there were no effects for highlighting individual benefits or protecting others. No available evidence existed to assess any distinct differences in effects between using the terms physical distancing and social distancing. Analysis of 463 papers containing data showed generally large samples; 418 involved human participants with a mean of 16,848 (median of 1,699). That statistical power underscored improved suitability of behavioural science research for informing policy decisions. Furthermore, by implementing a standardized approach to evidence selection and synthesis, we amplify broader implications for advancing scientific evidence in policy formulation and prioritization.

Rhabdoid tumor of the kidney (RTK) is a rare but aggressive cancer that occurs in infancy and early childhood.[1] Current treatment protocols for RTK included a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, however the prognosis remains poor with a 5-year survival between 20-25%.[1] Therefore, the need to develop therapeutic strategies to treat RTK is still greatly unmet. High dependence on glycolysis by cancer cells, known as the Warburg effect [2], demonstrates a weakness that can be harnessed to target cancer cells and provides rationale for exploring antiglycolytic approaches for targeting cancer cells. Glyceraldehye-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is an essential enzyme within the glycolysis pathway (Figure 1) making GAPDH a potential therapeutic target for inhibiting tumor growth and progression [3]. Aspergillus oryzae is a probiotic fungus that is used in the production of Japanese fermented food, including soybean paste and soy sauce. Heptelidic acid (HA) is a sesquiterpene lactone derived from A. oryzae and has recently been shown to exert antitumor effects against multiple cancers including pancreatic and extraintestinal melanomas. [4,5] HA is a specific and irreversible inhibitor of GAPDH.[6] Its GAPDH inhibition activity is shown to contribute to its antitumor effects. [4,5]. The purpose of this study is to assess the therapeutic potential of HA on RTK. This study gives the first evidence that HA shows cytotoxicity in RTK and provides rationale to ultimately develop a therapy using HA for RTK.

Jutaro Nakamura,1,2 Tomoko Ohno,2 Yuki Mizuki,1 Masaki Takeuchi,1 Nobuhisa Mizuki,1 Nozomi Matsumura1,2 1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa, JapanCorrespondence: Jutaro Nakamura, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9, Fukuura, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan, Tel +81-45-787-2683 ; Fax +81-45-781-9755, Email jutaro_n@yokohama-cu.ac.jpPurpose: This prospective observational study aimed to explore the diversity in lacrimal pathway morphology among patients with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction (CNLDO) by examining dacryocystography (DCG) images.Patients and Methods: The study included 64 patients who underwent DCG before undergoing general anesthesia probing for unilateral CNLDO. Several parameters were measured from the lateral view of the DCG images: (1) the lacrimal sac (LS) and the nasolacrimal duct (NLD) angle, (2) the angle formed by the superior orbital rim (SOR), LS, and the NLD, (3) LS length, and (4) bony NLD length. Additionally, frontal views of the DCG images were utilized to measure (5) LS–NLD angle and (6) LS angle concerning the midline.Results: The average age of the patients was 34.3 months. The mean ± standard deviation of the measurements of the above parameters was (1) − 1.2° ± 16.5° (range: − 44.6° ± 46.6°), (2) − 5.0° ± 10.3° (range: − 24.0° ± 19.0°), (3) 10.2 ± 2.4 mm (range: 6.5– 16.0 mm), (4) 8.0 ± 2.5 mm (range: 3.1– 14.8 mm), (5) 15.6° ± 11.2° (range: − 16.8° ± 41.0°), and (6) 15.1 ± 5.2° (range: 3.3°– 29.8°). All parameters, except for parameter (3), conformed to a normal distribution.Conclusion: This study provides valuable anthropometric data derived from DCG images, highlighting the substantial variability in lacrimal pathway morphology am

Sulfonated semi-alicyclic polyimides have issues with poor mechanical and chemical stability in water. As described herein, we synthesized a new sulfonated semi-alicyclic polyimide composed of bicyclo[2.2.2]oct-7-ene-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BOEDA) and 3,3'- bis-(sulfopropoxy)-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (BSPA), of which the contained dienophile structure can undergo Diels–Alder (D-A) reaction. Facile cross-linking reaction was conducted via Fe3+- catalyzed D-A reaction between BSPA-BOEDA and silica nanoparticles (NPs) modified by (3-cyclopentadienylpropyl) triethoxyslane (CPTS). Compared with BSPA-BOEDA, the cross-linked BSPA-BOEDA-NP membrane and its thin film showed better stability in water. Humiditycontrolled grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXRS) revealed that an isotropic phase segregation of 2 nm-1 formed in both BSPA-BOEDA and BSPA-BOEDA-NP thin films. The BSPABOEDA and BSPA-BOEDA-NP thin films exhibited high proton conductivity of 4 × 10-2 S cm-1 and 1 × 10-2 S cm-1, respectively, under 25 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH)., STEPI-12 (12th Conference on POLYIMIDES) , Montpellier, France, June 4-7, 2023

Liver metastases from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are highly fatal. A rat-based patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model is available for transcatheter therapy. This study aimed to create an immunodeficient rat model with liver xenografts of patient-derived primary PDAC and evaluate efficacy of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy with cisplatin in this model. Three patient-derived PDACs were transplanted into the livers of 21 rats each (totally, 63 rats), randomly assigned into hepatic arterial infusion, systemic venous infusion, and control groups (n = 7 each) four weeks post-implantation. Computed tomography evaluated tumor volumes before and four weeks after treatment. Post-euthanasia, resected tumor specimens underwent histopathological examination. A liver-implanted PDAC PDX rat model was established in all 63 rats, with first CT identifying all tumors. Four weeks post-treatment, arterial infusion groups exhibited significantly smaller tumor volumes than controls for all three tumors on second CT. Xenograft tumors histologically maintained adenocarcinoma features compared to original patient tumors. Ki67 expression was significantly lower in arterial infusion groups than in the other two for the three tumors, indicating reduced tumor growth in PDX rats. A liver-implanted PDAC PDX rat model was established as a rat-based preclinical platform. Arterial cisplatin infusion chemotherapy represents a potential therapy for PDAC liver metastasis.

In an experimental study set in Singapore's tropical climate, we evaluated the thermal environmental performance, energy consumption, and thermal comfort of air and radiant cooling systems, operating at an operative and air temperature of 26 °C. 78 participants across five groups answered thermal comfort surveys in a crossover study design. Environmental performance metrics indicated that both systems produced similar conditions, with a noticeable difference in air velocity. The mean radiant temperature to air temperature difference was less than 0.5 °C in both systems. The radiant system exhibited a 33 % higher heat flux extraction than the air system and required less electrical power for the transportation of the cooling medium and ventilation air. Overall, the radiant system used 4 % less energy than the air system when controlled at 26 °C and 34 % when operated at 23 °C. Results show that radiant and air systems provided equal thermal comfort in cooling, with over 60 % of participants expressing satisfaction and ∼ 20 % voted neutral thermal satisfaction. ∼ 40 % of participants preferred cooler conditions, and ∼ 30 % desired increased air movement.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is classified into simple steatosis (SS) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) according to histological findings from liver biopsies. Phosphatidylcholine (PC), the main component of phospholipids in serum lipoproteins, is easily oxidized to phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PC-OOH). Although a lipid composition in the low-density lipoproteins (LDL) from patients with NASH could be abnormal, it remains unclear. Here, to better understand the characteristics of lipids in the LDL from NASH and SS, we compared the composition of PC and PC-OOH species in LDL particles (LDL-PC, LDL-PCOOH) from these patients, then clarified the association between these lipids and NASH severity. Methods: The serum samples from patients with NASH (female, n = 9) and SS (female, n = 4; male, n = 2) were used for isolation of LDL. Total lipids were extracted from isolated LDL, and the species of PC and PC-OOH were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. Results: The sum of LDL-PC and the sum of LDL-PCOOH were significantly higher in NASH than in SS. Several LDL-PC (PC 32:0, 32:1, 32:2, 34:3, 36:2, sum of PC with saturated fatty acyl chains and sum of LDL-PC with polyunsaturated fatty acyl chains) and several LDL-PCOOH (34:2, 36:2, 36:3 and total) were increased significantly with increasing fibrosis score. In particular, a series of LDL-PCOOH were more reflective of the severity of fibrosis score. Conclusions: LDL-PC and LDL-PCOOH species were strongly correlated with the fibrosis score in NASH, which suggests that abnormal LDL is involved in the development of liver fibrosis.

Objective: Despite improvements in diabetes monitoring and treatment many patients do not achieve treatment goals. Person-centred approaches have been proposed. However, their practical implementation lags. One barrier is uncertainty about which person-reported outcomes (PROs) should be considered to add the most value. We sought to identify PROs that may be prioritised. Methods: We used data from a multi-stakeholder Delphi study aimed at developing a person-centred diabetes outcome set and analysed which PROs patients considered important for regular monitoring but healthcare providers less so. Linear regression analyses tested whether belonging to either stakeholder group would predict the importance attributed to an outcome. Results: We found disagreement between patients and healthcare providers on eleven PROs. Stakeholder group predicted perceived importance for ten: self-management behaviours (including performance, perceived importance, motivation, and capacity), sleep quality, diabetes symptoms, screening visit attendance, health status, lifestyle behaviours, and side effects.Conclusion:Our findings suggest that, according to patients’ preferences, self-management behaviours, health status and sleep are currently not adequately considered in diabetes management, compromising person-centred care. Practical implications: This study suggests that prioritising these PROs can facilitate the implementation of more person-centred diabetes monitoring which may support better-informed treatment decisions to achieve treatment goals.

Questions: Numerous studies on community assembly processes have been conducted in natural ecosystems. However, we know little about community assembly processes in human-dominated urban ecosystems. Here, we asked: (1) how are the composition and functional diversity of native and exotic plant species shaped by local environment and landscape factors across urban vacant lots; and (2) how is microbial (bacterial and fungal) community composition influenced by the local environment, landscape factors, and plant species composition across urban vacant lots?. Location: We investigated 69 urban vacant lots in Yokohama, Japan. Methods: By using a variation partitioning approach, we examined the relative importance of local environmental and landscape factors (including land use and spatial structure) in explaining variation in plant species composition and functional diversity of native or exotic species. We also explored the relative importance of local environmental and landscape factors, and plant species composition in explaining variation in microbial community composition. Results: The spatial structure of vacant lots determined the species composition and functional diversity of plant communities, suggesting that plant community assembly is determined by dispersal limitation. However, the functional diversity of the exotic species varied randomly, which reduced the relative importance of the spatial structure of vacant lots. Plant species composition as well as the spatial structure of vacant lots were the important drivers of the composition of soil microbial communities, despite a higher proportion of unexplained variation in their composition. Finally, we found an essential contribution of earthmoving methods in explaining the variations in both plant and microbial community composition. Conclusion: Plant and microbial community composition would be largely determined by dispersal limitation across urban vacant lots. Understanding urban community assembly is cri

We study the capture of a magnetic skyrmion into a domain wall (DW) structure in thin films of chirally magnetic type of materials like $[{\rm Pt}({\rm Co/Ni})_M/{\rm Ir}_N]$ and find that in the respective ground states of the DW and the skyrmion, they repel each other. However, rotating the DW's phase away from the stable phase using local external magnets may cause the successful capture and hence creation of a stable bound state of a magnetic skyrmion and a DW. We also find that inaccurate manipulation of the DW's phase may destroy the magnetic skyrmion by inducing its shrinkage. En passant, we find the possibility of pair creation of a skyrmion anti-DW-skyrmion pair and a creation of two skyrmions from a decaying meron pair (MP) on the DW. Finally, we contemplate the operation of capturing magnetic skyrmions into DWs as a part in a larger toolbox of spintronic applications, including memory and computing., Comment: RevTeX: 8 pages, 3 figures

We numerically construct a stable three-string junction of Y-shape in a flag manifold nonlinear sigma model on $SU(3)/U(1)^2$., Comment: 22pages, 5 figures

The ground state of QCD with two flavors (up and down quarks) at finite baryon density in sufficiently strong magnetic field is in a form of either a chiral soliton lattice(CSL), an array of solitons stacked along the magnetic field, or a domain-wall Skyrmion phase in which Skyrmions are spontaneously created on top of the CSL In the latter, one 2D (baby) Skyrmion in the chiral soliton corresponds to two 3D Skyrmions (baryons) in the bulk. In this paper, we study spin statistics of topological solitons by using the following two methods: the conventional Witten's method by embedding the pion fields of two flavors into those of three flavors with the Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) term, and a more direct method by using the two-flavor WZW term written in terms of a spin structure. We find that a chiral soliton of finite quantized size called a pancake soliton and a hole on a chiral soliton are fermions or bosons depending on odd or even quantizations of their surface areas, respectively, and a domain-wall Skyrmion is a boson. We also propose surgeries of topological solitons: a domain-wall Skyrmion (boson) can be cut into a pancake soliton (fermion) and a hole (fermion), and a chiral soliton without Skyrmions can be cut into a pancake soliton (fermion) and a hole (fermion)., Comment: 38 pages, 8 figures

We study stationary rotating topological solitons in (2+1)-dimensional ${\mathbb C}P^2$ non-linear sigma model with a stabilizing potential term. We find families of $U(1)\times U(1)$ symmetric solutions with topological degrees larger than 2, which have two angular frequencies and are labelled by two (one topological and the other non-topological) winding numbers $k_1>k_2$. We discuss properties of these solitons and investigate the domains of their existence., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures

The spectral flow is ubiquitous in the physics of soliton-fermion interacting systems. We study the spectral flows related to a continuous deformation of background soliton solutions, which enable us to develop insight into the emergence of fermionic zero modes and the localization mechanism of fermion densities. We investigate a $\CP^2$ nonlinear sigma model in which there are the (anti-) instantons and also the sphalerons with vanishing topological charge. The standard Yukawa coupling of the fermion successfully generates infinite towers of the spectra and the spectral flow is observed when increasing the size of such solitons. At that moment, the localization of the fermions on the solitons emerges. The avoided crossings are also observed in several stages of the exchange of the flows, they are indicating a manifestation of the fermion exchange of the localizing nature., Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, v2: minor corrections

We study topological lumps supported by the second homotopy group $\pi_2(S^2) \simeq {\mathbb Z}$ in a gauged $O(3)$ model without any potential term coupled with a (non)dynamical $U(1)$ gauge field. It is known that gauged-lumps are stable with an easy-plane potential term but are unstable to expand if the model has no potential term. In this paper, we find that these gauged lumps without a potential term can be made stable by putting them in a uniform magnetic field, irrespective of whether the gauge field is dynamical or not. In the case of the non-dynamical gauge field, only either of lumps or anti-lumps stably exists depending on the sign of the background magnetic field, and the other is unstable to shrink to be singular. We also construct coaxial multiple lumps whose size and mass exhibit a behaviour of droplets. In the case of the dynamical gauge field, both the lumps and anti-lumps stably exist with different masses; the lighter (heavier) one corresponds to the (un)stable one in the case of the nondynamical gauge field. We find that a lump behaves as a superconducting ring and traps magnetic field in its inside, with the total magnetic field reduced from the background magnetic field., Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures

The recent advancements in black hole imaging have opened a new era of probing horizon-scale physics with electromagnetic radiation. However, a feature of the observed images, a bright ring encircling a relatively dark region, has not sufficiently proved the existence of event horizons. It thus requires extreme care when studying the possibility of using such image features to examine quantum effects that may change the classical picture of black holes slightly or drastically. In this work, we investigate the image of a horizonless compact object, whose interior metric satisfies the 4D semi-classical Einstein equation non-perturbatively for the Planck constant, and whose entropy agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking formula. Although the absence of an event horizon allows light rays to pass through the dense interior, the extremely strong redshift significantly darkens the image, making it almost identical to the classical black-hole image. In particular, if there is light emission a bit inside the surface of the object, the intensity around the inner shadow is slightly enhanced, which could be a future observable prediction to characterize the object. We also find through a phenomenological parameter that the image is further darkened due to interactions inside. Thus, the image is consistent with current observations, and the object could be a candidate for black holes in quantum theory., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Matching published version

Shinye Kim,1 Yuki Shigemoto2 1Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA; 2Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 3261, USACorrespondence: Shinye Kim, Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 335B Education Building 1000, Bascom Mall, Madison, WI, 53706, USA, Email shinye.kim@wisc.edu

Over the last decade, it has become evident that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) plays a pivotal role in brain solute clearance through perivascular pathways and interactions between the brain and meningeal lymphatic vessels. Whereas most of this fundamental knowledge was gained from rodent models, human brain clearance imaging has provided important insights into the human system and highlighted the existence of important interspecies differences. Current gold standard techniques for human brain clearance imaging involve the injection of gadolinium-based contrast agents and monitoring their distribution and clearance over a period from a few hours up to 2 days. With both intrathecal and intravenous injections being used, which each have their own specific routes of distribution and thus clearance of contrast agent, a clear understanding of the kinetics associated with both approaches, and especially the differences between them, is needed to properly interpret the results. Because it is known that intrathecally injected contrast agent reaches the blood, albeit in small concentrations, and that similarly some of the intravenously injected agent can be detected in CSF, both pathways are connected and will, in theory, reach the same compartments. However, because of clear differences in relative enhancement patterns, both injection approaches will result in varying sensitivities for assessment of different subparts of the brain clearance system. In this opinion review article, the "EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)" consortium on human brain clearance imaging provides an overview of contrast agent pharmacokinetics in vivo following intrathecal and intravenous injections and what typical concentrations and concentration–time curves should be expected. This can be the basis for optimizing and interpreting contrast-enhanced MRI for brain clearance imaging. Furthermore, this can shed light on how molecules may exchange between blood, brain, and CSF.

Visual object memory is a fundamental element of various cognitive abilities, and the underlying neural mechanisms have been extensively examined especially in the anterior temporal cortex of primates. However, both macroscopic large-scale functional network in which this region is embedded and microscopic neuron-level dynamics of top-down regulation it receives for object memory remains elusive. Here, we identified the orbitofrontal node as a critical partner of the anterior temporal node for object memory by combining whole-brain functional imaging during rest and a short-term object memory task in male macaques. Focal chemogenetic silencing of the identified orbitofrontal node downregulated both the local orbitofrontal and remote anterior temporal nodes during the task, in association with deteriorated mnemonic, but not perceptual, performance. Furthermore, imaging-guided neuronal recordings in the same monkeys during the same task causally revealed that orbitofrontal top-down modulation enhanced stimulus-selective mnemonic signal in individual anterior temporal neurons while leaving bottom-up perceptual signal unchanged. Furthermore, similar activity difference was also observed between correct and mnemonic error trials before silencing, suggesting its behavioral relevance. These multifaceted but convergent results provide a multiscale causal understanding of dynamic top-down regulation of the anterior temporal cortex along the ventral fronto-temporal network underpinning short-term object memory in primates.

Although solar wind-driven convection is expected to dominate magnetospheric circulation at Mercury, its exact pattern remains poorly characterized by observations. Here we present BepiColombo Mio observations during the third Mercury flyby indicative of convection-driven transport of low-energy dense ions into the deep magnetosphere. During the flyby, Mio observed an energy-dispersed ion population from the duskside magnetopause to the deep region of the midnight magnetosphere. A comparison of the observations with backward test particle simulations suggests that the observed energy dispersion structure can be explained in terms of energy-selective transport by convection from the duskside tail magnetopause. We also discuss the properties and origins of more energetic ions observed in the more dipole-like field regions of the magnetosphere in comparison to previously reported populations of the plasma sheet horn and ring current ions. Additionally, forward test particle simulations predict that most of the observed ions on the nightside will precipitate onto relatively low-latitude regions of the nightside surface of Mercury for a typical convection case. The presented observations and simulation results reveal the critical role of magnetospheric convection in determining the structure of Mercury's magnetospheric plasma. The upstream driver dependence of magnetospheric convection and its effects on other magnetospheric processes and plasma-surface interactions should be further investigated by in-orbit BepiColombo observations.