Pole Exercise on Thorax Cage and its Influence on the Flexibility in Low Back-pain Patients

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has been common clinical and neuromusculoskeletal disorders. Authors have continued clinical practice and research concerning LBP and rehabilitation, associated with the efficacy of pole exercise movement and application. Methods: Subjects were 18 LBP patients with 46.6 ± 5.8 years old. They were randomly assigned to two groups, which are pole exercise and control groups. Group 1 continued axial rotation, lateral bending and forward/backward rotation along Moriyasu method 10 times 3 sets per day for 2 weeks. Group 2 continued Slump Stretching and Gluteus Stretch in the same way. The biomarkers include Finger Floor Distance (FFD) and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) before and after the intervention. Results: Both groups showed significant improved results in FFD and NRS between before and after the intervention. Group 1 showed significant improved results in FFD and NRS after intervention, which were 5.2 ± 9.4 cm vs. 15.7 ± 7.0 cm, and 3.0 ± 2.1 vs. 5.1 ± 1.3 respectively. Conclusion: The results suggested that continuous daily pole exercise would be effective for improved flexibility and motor function for thorax cage and vertebrae. Further study and comparative evaluation among LBP, pole exercise, FFD and other biomarkers will be expected in the future

Pole exercise on the ROM of thoracic spine

Background: The stability of the spine and flexibility of the thoracic cage have been in discussion for long. Authors have continued clinical practice and rehabilitation for various subjects. Among them, we have developed the application of pole exercise for various subjects, leading to the improved flexibility of thoracic spine. Subjects and Methods: Enrolled subjects were 18 adults with an average age of 27.8 ± 2.9 years old. Methods included the continuation of pole exercise by two ways, which are performed on the shoulder and at the armpit. The range of motion (ROM) of thoracic upper/lower (U/L groups) thoracic cage was analyzed using the measurement apparatus, spinal mouse. Results: For the main effect between U/L groups, there was a significant difference in the range of the total ROM. For alternating effect between intervention condition and time, there was a significant difference in ROM (total, flexion, and extension). U-group showed larger ROM compared to the L-group. Discussion and Conclusion: There would be probable some reasons for the difference, which are (i) bucket-handle rotation about a dorsoventral axis, (ii) caliper rotation about a craniocaudal axis, and (iii) pump-handle rotation about a mediolateral axis. These results would become reference data, leading to further research in the future

Particulate plutonium released from the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns

Traces of Pu have been detected in material released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in March of 2011; however, to date the physical and chemical form of the Pu have remained unknown. Here we report the discovery of particulate Pu associated with cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) that formed in and were released from the reactors during the FDNPP meltdowns. The Cs-pollucite-based CsMP contained discrete U(IV)O2 nanoparticles,Peer reviewe

Photo-induced orientation behaviors of azobenzene liquid crystal copolymers for photonic crystals

A certain wavelength of incident light is forbidden based on the optical periodicity related to the intervals and refractive indices of the comprising materials. For multi-bilayered films with periodicity, on–off switching of reflection is possible due to the presence or absence of a refractive index difference between two consisting films. Changes in the refractive index can be induced by stimuli-responsive orientation behaviors of liquid crystal (LC) molecules with birefringence. Azobenzene (Az) groups are employed for photo response and copolymerized with non-photo-responsive LC mesogen groups for cooperative orientation to improve light penetration by the dilution of Az concentration. LC mesogen groups are designed to have a high refractive index to improve the reflection contrast. The refractive indices and the orientation behaviors of the copolymer films are investigated. On–off switching of reflection for multi-bilayered films consisting of alternate Az-containing LC copolymers and poly vinyl alcohol is conducted using ultraviolet and visible light irradiation, and their reflection intensity and response speed are compared between the different LC mesogen types and molar ratios

On-off switching properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals consisting of azo-functionalized polymer liquid crystals having different methylene spacers and polyvinyl alcohol

In this paper, photoresponsive behavior of multi-bilayered films having precisely controlled layer thickness prepared by stacking an azo-functionalized polymer liquid crystal, PMAzXAc, and polyvinyl alcohol alternatively, PVA, is described. The multi-bilayered films were found to reflect a light of specific wavelength depending on the layer thickness and refractive index, and showed the reversible change in the reflection intensity by irradiation with visible and UV lights. The change in the reflection intensity was brought about by change in the molecular orientation of PMAzXAc between an out-of-plane orientation and a photo-induced isotropic state, and was strongly dependent on the number of methylene spacer of PMAzXAc linking the azobenzene side group with the acrylate polymer main chain. PMAz6Ac with hexa-methylene spacer showed the largest change in the reflection intensity, while smaller change in the reflection intensity was observed for PMAzXAc having shorter or longer methylene spacer than 6. The effect of the methylene spacers on the photochemical change in the molecular orientation of azobenzene chromophores in the multi-bilayered films will be discussed

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Lithium Ion Conductivities of Solid Electrolytes Prepared by Low-temperature Heat Treatment of Amorphous Materials in the Li2O-Al2O3-GeO2-P2O5 System for All-solid-state Batteries

Amorphous materials (a-LAGP(x = 0.5)) with the composition of Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 were prepared by mechanochemical synthesis method. Crystalline compounds with LiGe2(PO4)3-based NASICON-type structure were formed by heat treatment of a-LAGP(x = 0.5) at 400–700 °C in air. Solid electrolytes prepared by the heat treatment of pelletized-type a-LAGP(x = 0.5) and MgO-modified a-LAGP(x = 0.5) at 700 °C exhibited the lithium ion conductivities on the order of 10−5–10−4 S cm−1 at room temperature. The addition of MgO into a-LAGP(x = 0.5) increased the electrical conductivity. Lithium ion conductors prepared by low-temperature heat treatment of pelletized-type amorphous materials in the Li2O-Al2O3-GeO2-P2O5 system would be promising as solid electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries

Capillary Effect Enhancement in a Plastic Capillary Tube by Nanostructured Surface

We investigated the enhancement of the capillary effect in a plastic capillary tube using only a nanostructured surface. Since plastic is a hydrophobic material, the capillary effect does not emerge without an additional coating or plasma treatment process. Therefore, capillary effect enhancement by the nanostructure fabrication method is expected to reduce the cost and minimise the contamination produced in the human body. By combining a hydrophilic nylon resin and a nanostructure at the tip of the plastic pipette, we could confirm that the capillary effect was produced solely by the tube fabrication process. The produced capillary effect increased linearly with increasing nanostructure height when a standard solution with a surface tension of 70 mN·m−1 was used. Thus, we can conclude that including the plastic part with nanostructure can be useful for biomedical applications. In addition, we suggest that the proposed method is highly effective in controlling the wetting properties of plastic surfaces, compared to the typical coating or plasma treatment processes

Development and analysis of a nano-triangular wave-shaped polarizer

Abstract As society becomes smarter, advanced optical sensing and imaging technologies utilizing visible and near-infrared regions have become increasingly prevalent. Wire-grid polarizers, which are available for broadband electromagnetic waves, are effective in improving the signal-to-noise ratio of such optical systems and enabling more advanced object detection and analysis. However, to be implemented in everyday products, low-cost manufacturing methods must be developed while maintaining high-performance optical functions. To meet these requirements, we conducted an analysis of the geometry of wire-grid polarizers, and designed and developed a wire-grid polarizer with a nano-triangular wave-shaped structure that can be fabricated using general-purpose manufacturing equipment. Once the mould is prepared, this polarizer can be fabricated via nanoimprinting and metal deposition with a normal angle or electroless plating processes. The polarizer fabricated through electroless Ni plating achieves a transmittance of 40%, which is approximately 1.4 times higher than that achieved in a previous study using electroless Ni plating on a rectangular structure with the same period. In addition, the polarizer fabricated through normal angle Al deposition operates over a wide range of wavelengths from visible light to near-infrared, and achieves a polarization extinction ratio of 24 dB at a wavelength of 550 nm and a high transmittance of 81%. High-performance polarizers can be obtained through normal-angle deposition using general-purpose equipment in contrast to the oblique-angle deposition method employed in the manufacture of conventional rectangular structure-based wire-grid polarizers, thereby contributing to cost reduction and improved manufacturability