6,7-Dimethoxy-4-methylcoumarin suppresses pro-inflammatory mediator expression through inactivation of the NF-kappaB and MAPK pathways in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells

In this study, we investigated the ability of 6,7-dimethoxy-4-methylcoumarin (DMC) to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in mouse macrophage (RAW 264.7) cells, and the molecular mechanism through which this inhibition occurred. Our results indicated that DMC down regulated LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, thereby reducing the production of NO and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, DMC suppressed LPS-induced production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the anti- inflammatory activity of DMC, we assessed its effects on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and the activity and expression of nuclear transcription factor kappa-B (NF-κB). The experiments demonstrated that DMC inhibited LPS-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38. In addition, it attenuated LPS-induced NF-κB activation via the inhibition of IκB-α phosphorylation. Taken together, these data suggest that DMC exerts its anti-inflammatory effects in RAW 264.7 cells through the inhibition of LPS-stimulated NF-κB and MAPK signaling, thereby downregulating the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators

Genotoxic Klebsiella pneumoniae in Taiwan

Colibactin is a nonribosomal peptide-polyketide synthesized by multi-enzyme complexes encoded by the pks gene cluster. Colibactin-producing Escherichia coli have been demonstrated to induce host DNA damage and promote colorectal cancer (CRC) development. In Taiwan, the occurrence of pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) has been suggested to correlate with an increasing risk of CRC, and Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant PLA pathogen in Taiwan

Realization of giant magnetoelectricity in helimagnets

We show that low field magnetoelectric (ME) properties of helimagnets Ba0.5Sr1.5Zn2(Fe1-xAlx)12O22 can be efficiently tailored by Al-substitution level. As x increases, the critical magnetic field for switching electric polarization is systematically reduced from ~1 T down to ~1 mT, and the ME susceptibility is greatly enhanced to reach a giant value of 2.0 x 10^4 ps/m at an optimum x = 0.08. We find that control of nontrivial orbital moment in the octahedral Fe sites through the Al-substitution is crucial for fine tuning of magnetic anisotropy and obtaining the conspicuously improved ME characteristics

A STUDY OF FEATURE SETS FOR EMOTION RECOGNITION FROM SPEECH SIGNALS

This thesis focuses on finding useful features for emotion recognition from speech signals. In comparison to the popular openSMILE “emobase” feature set, our proposed method reduced the size of feature space to about 28% yet boosted the recognition rate by 3.3%. Given we are at a point technologically where computing is cheap and fast, and lots of data are available, the approach to solving all sorts of problems is based on sophisticated machine learning techniques to implicitly make sense of data. Yet in this work, we study particular features that are felt to correlate with changes in emotion but have not been commonly selected for emotion recognition tasks. Jitter, shimmer, breathiness, and speaking rate are analyzed and are found to systematically change as a function of emotion. We not only explore these additional acoustic features that help improve the classification performance, but also try to understand the importance of the existing features in improving accuracy. Our results show that using our features together with MFCCs and pitch related features lead to a better performance

気候変動が農業に与える経済的影響に関する実証分析

Tohoku University日引聡課

Aging Farmers and the Role of Community in Adaptation to Extreme Temperature Effects on Crop Yields: Empirical Evidence from Japan

紀要類（bulletin）departmental bulletin pape

Substitution of Human and Physical Capitals in Farm Adaptation to Extreme Temperatures: Evidence from Corn Yields in US

departmental bulletin pape

Assessing the Impact of the Establishment of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing on Taiwan’s Foreign Direct Investment in Japan: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

This study examines the impact of the establishment of Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM) on Taiwan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) trends in Japan. Using interrupted time series analysis, we analyze both the immediate and long-term effects of JASM’s creation on FDI, while controlling for external shocks such as the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the United States–China trade war in 2018–2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022). Our results indicate an immediate decline in the number of FDI cases following JASM’s establishment, accompanied by a positive post-event trend, suggesting gradual recovery and long-term growth. In contrast, the monetary value of FDI did not exhibit a significant immediate effect but demonstrated a positive trend over time. However, further analysis reveals that the initial negative impact on FDI may have been confounded by the effects of the pandemic rather than the JASM establishment itself. These findings highlight the complex dynamics of large-scale corporate investments and their influence on FDI patterns. They underscore the importance of maintaining investor confidence and policy stability to support long-term economic growth, especially in the face of external shocks.working pape

Reducing Health Risks from Extreme Temperatures in the Elderly: The Role of Solar Photovoltaics

Rising extreme temperatures and escalating energy costs threaten public health by limiting households’ ability to regulate indoor climates. This study investigates whether residential solar photovoltaics (PVs) can mitigate these risks by lowering energy expenses. Using Japan’s prefecture-month-level mortality data from 2009 to 2014, we exploit the electricity price surge following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Our findings show that solar PV installation significantly reduces temperature-related health risks, particularly among the elderly. These results underscore the importance of renewable energy in enhancing climate resilience and call for policies that promote solar PV adoption to protect vulnerable populations.research repor

Multi-scale symbolic entropy analysis provides prognostic prediction in patients receiving extracorporeal life support

Introduction: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) can temporarily support cardiopulmonary function, and is occasionally used in resuscitation. Multi-scale entropy (MSE) derived from heart rate variability (HRV) is a powerful tool in outcome prediction of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Multi-scale symbolic entropy analysis (MSsE), a new method derived from MSE, mitigates the effect of arrhythmia on analysis. The objective is to evaluate the prognostic value of MSsE in patients receiving ECLS. The primary outcome is death or urgent transplantation during the index admission. Methods: Fifty-seven patients receiving ECLS less than 24 hours and 23 control subjects were enrolled. Digital 24-hour Holter electrocardiograms were recorded and three MSsE parameters (slope 5, Area 6–20, Area 6–40) associated with the multiscale correlation and complexity of heart beat fluctuation were calculated. Results: Patients receiving ECLS had significantly lower value of slope 5, area 6 to 20, and area 6 to 40 than control subjects. During the follow-up period, 29 patients met primary outcome. Age, slope 5, Area 6 to 20, Area 6 to 40, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score, multiple organ dysfunction score (MODS), logistic organ dysfunction score (LODS), and myocardial infarction history were significantly associated with primary outcome. Slope 5 showed the greatest discriminatory power. In a net reclassification improvement model, slope 5 significantly improved the predictive power of LODS; Area 6 to 20 and Area 6 to 40 significantly improved the predictive power in MODS. In an integrated discrimination improvement model, slope 5 added significantly to the prediction power of each clinical parameter. Area 6 to 20 and Area 6 to 40 significantly improved the predictive power in sequential organ failure assessment. Conclusions: MSsE provides additional prognostic information in patients receiving ECLS. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-014-0548-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users