Temporary formation of highly conducting domain walls for non-destructive read-out of ferroelectric domain-wall resistance switching memories

Funding: Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant number XDB07030200) (JFS).Erasable conductive domain walls in insulating ferroelectric thin films can be used for non-destructive electrical read-out of the polarization states in ferroelectric memories. Still, the domain-wall currents extracted by these devices have not yet reached the intensity and stability required to drive read-out circuits operating at high speeds. This study demonstrated non-destructive read-out of digital data stored using specific domain-wall configurations in epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films formed in mesa-geometry structures. Partially switched domains, which enable the formation of conductive walls during the read operation, spontaneously retract when the read voltage is removed, reducing the accumulation of mobile defects at the domain walls and potentially improving the device stability. Three-terminal memory devices produced 14 nA read currents at an operating voltage of 5 V, and operated up to T = 85 °C. The gap length can also be smaller than the film thickness, allowing the realization of ferroelectric memories with device dimensions far below 100 nm.PostprintPostprintPeer reviewe

Changes in Renal Function after Different Tandem Hematopoietic Stem-cell Transplantation Approaches in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

This study was done to observe the alteration of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in multiple myeloma patients according to type of tandem hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Forty-one patients were enrolled in this study. Twenty patients underwent autologous HSCT (auto-HSCT) and 21 patients underwent allogeneic HSCT (allo-HSCT). The changes in eGFR after the two tandem HSCT modalities were different between the two groups, according to the donor of stem cells (P = 0.016). In the auto-HSCT group, the eGFR, recorded 12 months after secondary HSCT, was significantly decreased compared with the eGFR recorded before stem cell mobilization (P = 0.005). Although there was no significant difference, the trend showed that the eGFR after allo-HSCT decreased from the previous HSCT until a month after secondary HSCT. In addition, after 6 months of secondary HSCT, the eGFR recovered to the level recorded prior to the HSCT (P = 0.062). This difference may be due to total body irradiation, a calcineurin inhibitor, or maintemance therapy. Changes in renal function would be monitored closely for these patients. The recovery of the eGFR would be a main focus for the patients treated with the total body irradiation or the calcineurin inhibitor, a progressive decline of the eGFR would be also crucial for the patients treated with maintenance therapy

Impact of a delirium prevention project among older hospitalized patients who underwent orthopedic surgery: a retrospective cohort study

Background Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common clinical syndrome with significant negative outcomes. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a delirium screening tool and multidisciplinary delirium prevention project. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a single teaching center in Korea. A cohort of patients who underwent a delirium prevention program using a simple delirium screening tool from December 2018 to February 2019 (intervention group, N = 275) was compared with the cohort from the year before implementation of the delirium prevention program (December 2017 to February 2018) (control group, N = 274). Patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to orthopedic wards and underwent surgery were included. The incidence rates of delirium before and after implementation of the delirium prevention program, effectiveness of the delirium screening tool, change in the knowledge score of nurses, and length of hospital stay were assessed. Results The sensitivity and specificity of the screening tool for the incidence of POD were 94.1 and 72.7%, respectively. The incidence rates of POD were 10.2% (control group) and 6.2% (intervention group). The odds ratio for the risk reduction effect of the project related to the incidence of POD was 0.316 (95% confidence interval: 0.125–0.800, p = 0.015) after adjustment for possible confounders. The delirium knowledge test score increased from 40.52 to 43.24 out of 49 total points (p < 0.001). The median length of hospital stay in the intervention and control groups was 6.0 (interquartile range, 4–9) and 7.0 (interquartile range, 4–10) days, respectively (p = 0.062). Conclusion The screening tool successfully identified patients at a high risk of POD at admission. The POD prevention project was feasible to implement, effective in preventing delirium, and improved knowledge regarding delirium among the medical staff. Trial registration None.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Fermentation by Lactobacillus enhances anti-inflammatory effect of Oyaksungisan on LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oyaksungisan (OY) has been used as a traditional drug in east-Asian countries. However, its effect on inflammation still remains unknown. In this study, to provide insight into the biological effects of OY and OY fermented by <it>Lactobacillus</it>, we investigated their effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammation in the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The investigation was focused on whether OY and fermented OYs could inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin (PG) E₂as well as the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, nuclear factor (NF)-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that OY inhibits a little LPS-induced NO, PGE₂, TNF-α and IL-6 productions as well as the expressions of iNOS and COX-2. Interestingly, the fermentation significantly increased its inhibitory effect on the expression of all pro-inflammatory mediators. Furthermore, the fermented OYs exhibited elevated inhibition on the translocation of NF-κB p65 through reduced IκBα degradation as well as the phosphorylations of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38 and c-Jun NH₂-terminal kinase (JNK) MAPKs than untreated control or original OY.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Finally, the fermentation by <it>Lactobacillus </it>potentiates the anti-inflammatory effect of OY by inhibiting NF-κB and MAPK activity in the macrophage cells.</p

The Somatic Genomic Landscape of Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma

We describe the landscape of somatic genomic alterations of 66 chromophobe renal cell carcinomas (ChRCCs) based on multidimensional and comprehensive characterization, including mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and whole genome sequencing. The result is consistent that ChRCC originates from the distal nephron compared to other kidney cancers with more proximal origins. Combined mtDNA and gene expression analysis implicates changes in mitochondrial function as a component of the disease biology, while suggesting alternative roles for mtDNA mutations in cancers relying on oxidative phosphorylation. Genomic rearrangements lead to recurrent structural breakpoints within TERT promoter region, which correlates with highly elevated TERT expression and manifestation of kataegis, representing a mechanism of TERT up-regulation in cancer distinct from previously-observed amplifications and point mutations

PMP: Learning to Physically Interact with Environments using Part-wise Motion Priors

We present a method to animate a character incorporating multiple part-wise motion priors (PMP). While previous works allow creating realistic articulated motions from reference data, the range of motion is largely limited by the available samples. Especially for the interaction-rich scenarios, it is impractical to attempt acquiring every possible interacting motion, as the combination of physical parameters increases exponentially. The proposed PMP allows us to assemble multiple part skills to animate a character, creating a diverse set of motions with different combinations of existing data. In our pipeline, we can train an agent with a wide range of part-wise priors. Therefore, each body part can obtain a kinematic insight of the style from the motion captures, or at the same time extract dynamics-related information from the additional part-specific simulation. For example, we can first train a general interaction skill, e.g. grasping, only for the dexterous part, and then combine the expert trajectories from the pre-trained agent with the kinematic priors of other limbs. Eventually, our whole-body agent learns a novel physical interaction skill even with the absence of the object trajectories in the reference motion sequence.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

Physiological and Metabolomic Responses of Kale to Combined Chilling and UV-A Treatment

Short-term abiotic stress treatment before harvest can enhance the quality of horticultural crops cultivated in controlled environments. Here, we investigated the effects of combined chilling and UV-A treatment on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala). Five-week-old plants were subjected to combined treatments (10 &deg;C plus UV-A LED radiation at 30.3 W/m2) for 3-days, as well as single treatments (4 &deg;C, 10 &deg;C, or UV-A LED radiation). The growth parameters and photosynthetic rates of plants under the combined treatment were similar to those of the control, whereas UV-A treatment alone significantly increased these parameters. Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) decreased and H2O2 increased in response to UV-A and combined treatments, implying that these treatments induced stress in kale. The total phenolic contents after 2- and 3-days of combined treatment and 1-day of recovery were 40%, 60%, and 50% higher than those of the control, respectively, and the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity also increased. Principal component analysis suggested that stress type and period determine the changes in secondary metabolites. Three days of combined stress treatment followed by 2-days of recovery increased the contents of quercetin derivatives. Therefore, combined chilling and UV-A treatment could improve the phenolic contents of leafy vegetables such as kale, without growth inhibition

Development on Health Risk Assessment Method for Multi-Media Exposure of Hazardous Chemical by Chemical Accident

In this study, a long-term health risk assessment was conducted for complex, multimedia exposure where the exposure duration was set for the leak of a hazardous chemical spilled after an accident. The study designed a virtual chemical accident scenario where 40 tons of benzyl chloride leaked in a factory inside the Ulsan Petrochemical Industrial Complex for one hour on 1 January 2017. Using a multimedia environmental dynamics model, benzyl chloride concentrations in air and soil were estimated. The time when the atmospheric concentration was less than or equal to the background concentration was recorded as the end point. An assessment of the cancer risk via soil ingestion was carried out after dividing the subjects into four age groups (0&ndash;9 years; 10&ndash;18 years; 19&ndash;65 years; &gt;65 years). All age groups showed an increased cancer risk where the values exceeded 1.0 &times; 10&minus;6. The 0&ndash;9 years age group showed the largest distribution (4.27% of the total area) with the highest maximum and mean values. The distribution maps for all age groups exhibited a trend towards the southeast of the accident site

Arabidopsis EPSIN1 Plays an Important Role in Vacuolar Trafficking of Soluble Cargo Proteins in Plant Cells via Interactions with Clathrin, AP-1, VTI11, and VSR1

Epsin and related proteins play important roles in various steps of protein trafficking in animal and yeast cells. Many epsin homologs have been identified in plant cells from analysis of genome sequences. However, their roles have not been elucidated. Here, we investigate the expression, localization, and biological role in protein trafficking of an epsin homolog, Arabidopsis thaliana EPSIN1, which is expressed in most tissues we examined. In the cell, one pool of EPSIN1 is associated with actin filaments, producing a network pattern, and a second pool localizes primarily to the Golgi complex with a minor portion to the prevacuolar compartment, producing a punctate staining pattern. Protein pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation experiments reveal that Arabidopsis EPSIN1 interacts with clathrin, VTI11, γ-adaptin-related protein (γ-ADR), and vacuolar sorting receptor1 (VSR1). In addition, EPSIN1 colocalizes with clathrin and VTI11. The epsin1 mutant, which has a T-DNA insertion in EPSIN1, displays a defect in the vacuolar trafficking of sporamin:green fluorescent protein (GFP), but not in the secretion of invertase:GFP into the medium. Stably expressed HA:EPSIN1 complements this trafficking defect. Based on these data, we propose that EPSIN1 plays an important role in the vacuolar trafficking of soluble proteins at the trans-Golgi network via its interaction with γ-ADR, VTI11, VSR1, and clathrin

Desmoid-type fibromatosis mimicking cystic retroperitoneal mass: case report and literature review

Abstract Background Retroperitoneal desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) is an uncommon mesenchymal neoplasm presenting as a firm mass with locally aggressive features. It usually manifests as a well-circumscribed or ill-defined, solid mass on cross-sectional imaging. Cystic changes of DF have been described in the literature in association with prolonged medical treatment or abscess formation. However, spontaneous cystic change is rarely reported. Case presentation Here we report the case of a 46-year-old patient with a DF mimicked a large cystic tumor in the retroperitoneum. Ultrasonography and computed tomography were performed in order to search for localizations and characteristics of the cystic tumor. Radiological findings showed an oval cystic mass with a relatively thick wall, measuring 18.3 × 12.3 × 21.5 cm in the left upper abdomen. Laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy was performed and histopathological examination by immunohistochemical study enabled us to diagnose a DF invading the pancreatic parenchyma. The patient remained asymptomatic during an 8-month follow up period. Conclusions We report an extremely rare case of retroperitoneal DF with spontaneous cystic change. DF can manifest as a mainly cystic mass with a thick wall, as in our case, which makes the correct diagnosis difficult. DF should be included in the preoperative differential diagnosis of a cystic retroperitoneal mass, regardless of its rarity