A photoinduced growth system of peptide nanofibres addressed by DNA hybridization

Spatiotemporal control of peptide nanofibre growth was achieved by photocleavage of a DNA-conjugated β-sheet forming peptide that is linked through a photoresponsive amino acid residue. Peptide nanofibres were selectively formed by photocleaving the conjugate on complementary DNA-immobilised glass substrate

Effect of bovine milk fermented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus L8020 on periodontal disease in individuals with intellectual disability: a randomized clinical trial

Studies on the oral health of individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have identified problems that include a high prevalence of periodontal disease. The use of probiotics to treat periodontal disease has been the focus of considerable research, and bovine milk fermented with Lactobacillus rhamnosus L8020 (L8020 yogurt) has been shown to reduce the oral prevalence of four periodontal pathogens. Objective: The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to compare the effects of L8020 yogurt (test group) with those of placebo yogurt (placebo group) on the papillary-marginal-attached (PMA) index, gingival index (GI), and probing depth (PD) in 23 individuals with ID. Methodology: All patients were required to consume the allocated yogurt after breakfast for 90 days. PMA index and GI scores as well as PDs were assessed before the start of yogurt consumption (baseline), after 45 and 90 days of consumption, and 30 days after the cessation of consumption. Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney U test or Fisher’s exact test was used for inter-group comparisons, and the mixed effect model of repeated measurements was used for data analysis. Results: The decrease in PMA index score was significantly greater in the test group than in the placebo group (p<0.001). The GI score also decreased during the study, with a tendency for greater decrease in the test group. Furthermore, decreases in PD between baseline, 45 and 90 days tended to be greater in the test group than in the placebo group. Conclusion: These results suggest that regular consumption of bovine milk fermented with L. rhamnosus L8020 can lower the risk of periodontal disease in individuals with ID

Effects of nitrous oxide sedation on sympathetic batireflex sesensitivity.

笑気吸入鎮静法（IS）は不安，恐怖心の強い患者，知的障害者，内部障害等を有する患者などに応用される精神鎮静法である．動脈圧は圧受容器反射により維持・調整されているが，亜酸化窒素（N2O）吸入が圧受容器反射感受性（BRS）に影響するかは不明である．そこで，IS中に連続血圧と，マイクロニューログラフィーを用いて筋交感神経活動（Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity：MSNA）を同時測定し，動脈圧の変動に対する末梢血管調節性交感神経活動の変化量からBRSを検証した．健常成人男性10名［31±2歳］を対象に，水平仰臥位でルームエアー，100％酸素（O2），30％N2O，40％N2Oをそれぞれ20分間吸入した後，各条件下で心拍数（HR），心拍出量（CO），1回拍出量（SV），連続血圧およびMSNAを5分間測定した．さらに，O2を20分間吸入した後に回復期を設け，ルームエアーで5分間同様の測定をした．BRSの評価のために，まず，連続血圧の拡張期血圧（DBP）を3mmHgごとにグルーピングを行い，各グループのDBP平均値をDBPの代表値とし，100拍あたりのMSNAのバースト数（BI）とバースト面積（Total MSNA）をMSNA代表値とした．各グループのDBPとBIおよびTotal MSNA代表値から求めた直線回帰の傾きを交感神経性圧受容器反射感受性（sBRS）とした．各IS条件間でHR，CO，血圧に差はなかった．また，DBPとBIおよびTotal MSNAで求めたsBRSは両者ともIS濃度による変動を示さなかった．以上から，笑気吸入中に圧受容器反射のオペレーティングポイント，感受性とも維持されることが示唆された．2019博士（歯学）松本歯科大

Repetitive pain experiences modulate feedforward control of hemodynamics and modification by nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation in humans

Background: Repetitive experiences of certain stresses evoke feedforward cardiovascular responses via central command (CC)--central signals from the higher brain. However, it is unclear whether the anticipatory cardiovascular responses before pain stimulation occur after repetitive pain experiences and how nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation (N2O), a sedative widely used in dentistry, affects the responses. We tested the hypothesis that the repetitive cold pressor test (CPT) alters the anticipatory cardiovascular responses, which are attenuated by N2O. Materials and methods: Beat-to-beat systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), and finger arterial stiffness (β-stiffness) were measured during the 5-min rest, 30-s countdown (CD) before CPT, 2-min CPT, and 3-min recovery (CPT[1st]) in 15 young adults [age, 28 ± 4 years]. The same protocols were repeated randomly with the second CPT (CPT + CC) or placebo test (PLCB + CC). Results: SBP and DBP increased from baseline in CPT[1st] and CPT + CC under room air (RA) and 40 % N2O, while SBP was lower under N2O than under RA in CPT[1st]. HR in CPT[1st] was lower under N2O than under RA. The change (Δ) in HR was smaller during CPT[1st] than during CPT + CC under N2O, and a similar trend was observed under RA. ΔSBP by CD was lower under N2O than under RA in CPT[1st] but not in CPT + CC. HR increased with CD in CPT + CC but not in CPT[1st] under both RA and N2O. β-stiffness increased by CD regardless of the pain experience, while it was lower under N2O. Conclusion: Repetitive pain experiences induce a feedforward HR increase. 40 % N2O decreases vascular stiffness, which may attenuate the anticipatory pressor response only when the feedforward HR increase does not exist

Complexity of Body Movements during Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Recently, measuring the complexity of body movements during sleep has been proven as an objective biomarker of various psychiatric disorders. Although sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and might exacerbate ASD symptoms, their objectivity as a biomarker remains to be established. Therefore, details of body movement complexity during sleep as estimated by actigraphy were investigated in typically developing (TD) children and in children with ASD. Several complexity analyses were applied to raw and thresholded data of actigraphy from 17 TD children and 17 children with ASD. Determinism, irregularity and unpredictability, and long-range temporal correlation were examined respectively using the false nearest neighbor (FNN) algorithm, information-theoretic analyses, and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Although the FNN algorithm did not reveal determinism in body movements, surrogate analyses identified the influence of nonlinear processes on the irregularity and long-range temporal correlation of body movements. Additionally, the irregularity and unpredictability of body movements measured by expanded sample entropy were significantly lower in ASD than in TD children up to two hours after sleep onset and at approximately six hours after sleep onset. This difference was found especially for the high-irregularity period. Through this study, we characterized details of the complexity of body movements during sleep and demonstrated the group difference of body movement complexity across TD children and children with ASD. Complexity analyses of body movements during sleep have provided valuable insights into sleep profiles. Body movement complexity might be useful as a biomarker for ASD

Funding of an enterprise through the issue of bonds

<div><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been postulated to involve impaired neuronal cooperation in large-scale neural networks, including cortico-cortical interhemispheric circuitry. In the context of ASD, alterations in both peripheral and central auditory processes have also attracted a great deal of interest because these changes appear to represent pathophysiological processes; therefore, many prior studies have focused on atypical auditory responses in ASD. The auditory evoked field (AEF), recorded by magnetoencephalography, and the synchronization of these processes between right and left hemispheres was recently suggested to reflect various cognitive abilities in children. However, to date, no previous study has focused on AEF synchronization in ASD subjects. To assess global coordination across spatially distributed brain regions, the analysis of Omega complexity from multichannel neurophysiological data was proposed. Using Omega complexity analysis, we investigated the global coordination of AEFs in 3–8-year-old typically developing (TD) children (n = 50) and children with ASD (n = 50) in 50-ms time-windows. Children with ASD displayed significantly higher Omega complexities compared with TD children in the time-window of 0–50 ms, suggesting lower whole brain synchronization in the early stage of the P1m component. When we analyzed the left and right hemispheres separately, no significant differences in any time-windows were observed. These results suggest lower right-left hemispheric synchronization in children with ASD compared with TD children. Our study provides new evidence of aberrant neural synchronization in young children with ASD by investigating auditory evoked neural responses to the human voice.</p></div

Scatter plot of log-transformed Omega complexity (250–300 ms) and age in months for ASD and TD children.

<p>(A) During the 0–50 ms time window, there was no significant correlation between Omega complexity and age in months for either TD children or children with ASD. (B) For TD children, a significant correlation between Omega complexity and age in months was only detected during the 250–300 ms time window. TD, typically developing. ASD, autism spectrum disorder. Solid blue line, regression line for TD children. Broken red line, regression line for ASD children. *, P < 0.0031.</p

Demographic characteristics of the study participants.

<p>Demographic characteristics of the study participants.</p