Intrascleral Fixation of an Intraocular Lens through the Pars Plana Prevents Corneal Endothelial Damage

We report two cases of aphakia in whom an intraocular lens (IOL) was intrasclerally fixated through the pars plana to minimize further corneal endothelial damage. A modified lock-and-lead technique was used. A sclerotomy and scleral incision were made 2.5 mm from the limbus. A 24-G catheter needle was used for penetration of the leading haptic, and two ultrathin 30-G needles were used to bury the ends of the haptics. The scleral incision was sutured with 8-0 nylon. Corneal endothelial cells were preserved after surgery. Neither intra- nor postoperative complications were observed. Intrascleral fixation of an IOL through the pars plana effectively minimizes further damage to corneal endothelial cells in select cases

Variation in bradyrhizobial NopP effector determines symbiotic incompatibility with Rj2-soybeans via effector-triggered immunity

The soybean Rj2 gene encodes a TIR-NBS-LRR protein that confers resistance to nodulation by certain rhizobial strains. Here, the authors show that T3SS effector NopP is an avirulence protein that is necessary for Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA 122 to trigger Rj2-dependent incompatibility

Activin E Controls Energy Homeostasis in Both Brown and White Adipose Tissues as a Hepatokine

Brown adipocyte activation or beige adipocyte emergence in white adipose tissue (WAT) increases energy expenditure, leading to a reduction in body fat mass and improved glucose metabolism. We found that activin E functions as a hepatokine that enhances thermogenesis in response to cold exposure through beige adipocyte emergence in inguinal WAT (ingWAT). Hepatic activin E overexpression activated thermogenesis through Ucp1 upregulation in ingWAT and other adipose tissues including interscapular brown adipose tissue and mesenteric WAT. Hepatic activin E-transgenic mice exhibited improved insulin sensitivity. Inhibin βE gene silencing inhibited cold-induced Ucp1 induction in ingWAT. Furthermore, in vitro experiments suggested that activin E directly stimulated expression of Ucp1 and Fgf21, which was mediated by transforming growth factor-β or activin type I receptors. We uncovered a function of activin E to stimulate energy expenditure through brown and beige adipocyte activation, suggesting a possible preventive or therapeutic target for obesity

Comprehensive electrocardiographic diagnosis based on deep learning

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, and coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major contributor. Early-stage CAD can progress if undiagnosed and left untreated, leading to myocardial infarction (MI) that may induce irreversible heart muscle damage, resulting in heart chamber remodeling and eventual congestive heart failure (CHF). Electrocardiography (ECG) signals can be useful to detect established MI, and may also be helpful for early diagnosis of CAD. For the latter especially, the ECG perturbations can be subtle and potentially misclassified on manual interpretation and/or when analyzed by traditional algorithms found in ECG instrumentation. For automated diagnostic systems (ADS), deep learning techniques are favored over conventional machine learning techniques, due to the automatic feature extraction and selection processes involved. This paper highlights various deep learning algorithms exploited for the classification of ECG signals into CAD, MI, and CHF conditions. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), followed by combined CNN and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models, appear to be the most useful architectures for classification. A 16-layer LSTM model was developed in our study and validated using 10-fold cross validation. A classification accuracy of 98.5% was achieved. Our proposed model has the potential to be a useful diagnostic tool in hospitals for the classification of abnormal ECG signals

Candidate Brown-dwarf Microlensing Events with Very Short Timescales and Small Angular Einstein Radii

Short-timescale microlensing events are likely to be produced by substellar brown dwarfs (BDs), but it is difficult to securely identify BD lenses based on only event timescales t_E because short-timescale events can also be produced by stellar lenses with high relative lens-source proper motions. In this paper, we report three strong candidate BD-lens events found from the search for lensing events not only with short timescales (t_E ≲ 6 days) but also with very small angular Einstein radii (θ_E ≲ 0.05 mas) among the events that have been found in the 2016–2019 observing seasons. These events include MOA-2017-BLG-147, MOA-2017-BLG-241, and MOA-2019-BLG-256, in which the first two events are produced by single lenses and the last event is produced by a binary lens. From the Monte Carlo simulations of Galactic events conducted with the combined t_E and θ_E constraint, it is estimated that the lens masses of the individual events are 0.051^(+0.100)_(−0.027) M⊙, 0.044^(+0.090)_(−0.023) M⊙, and 0.046^(+0.067)_(−0.023) M⊙/0.038^(+0.056)_(−0.019) M⊙ and the probability of the lens mass smaller than the lower limit of stars is ~80% for all events. We point out that routine lens mass measurements of short-timescale lensing events require survey-mode space-based observations

Protocol for a multicentre, prospective observational study of elective neck dissection for clinically node-negative oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (END-TC study)

Introduction: In early-stage oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC), elective neck dissection (END) is recommended when occult lymph node metastasis is suspected; however, there is no unanimous consensus on the risks and benefits of END in such cases. The management of clinically node-negative (cN0) OTSCC remains controversial. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the efficacy of END and its impact on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with cN0 OTSCC. Methods and analysis: This is a prospective, multicentre, nonrandomised observational study. The choice of whether to perform END at the same time as resection of the primary tumour is based on institutional policy and patient preference. The primary endpoint of this study is 3-year overall survival. The secondary endpoint are 3-year disease-specific survival, 3-year relapse-free survival and the impact on patient QoL. Propensity score-matching analysis will be performed to reduce selection bias. Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the Clinical Research Review Board of the Nagasaki University. The protocol of this study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry. The datasets generated during the current study will be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. The results will be disseminated internationally, through scientific and professional conferences and in peer-reviewed medical journals

Candidate Brown-dwarf Microlensing Events with Very Short Timescales and Small Angular Einstein Radii

Short-timescale microlensing events are likely to be produced by substellar brown dwarfs (BDs), but it is difficult to securely identify BD lenses based on only event timescales t_E because short-timescale events can also be produced by stellar lenses with high relative lens-source proper motions. In this paper, we report three strong candidate BD-lens events found from the search for lensing events not only with short timescales (t_E ≲ 6 days) but also with very small angular Einstein radii (θ_E ≲ 0.05 mas) among the events that have been found in the 2016–2019 observing seasons. These events include MOA-2017-BLG-147, MOA-2017-BLG-241, and MOA-2019-BLG-256, in which the first two events are produced by single lenses and the last event is produced by a binary lens. From the Monte Carlo simulations of Galactic events conducted with the combined t_E and θ_E constraint, it is estimated that the lens masses of the individual events are 0.051^(+0.100)_(−0.027) M⊙, 0.044^(+0.090)_(−0.023) M⊙, and 0.046^(+0.067)_(−0.023) M⊙/0.038^(+0.056)_(−0.019) M⊙ and the probability of the lens mass smaller than the lower limit of stars is ~80% for all events. We point out that routine lens mass measurements of short-timescale lensing events require survey-mode space-based observations