Scattering functions of knotted ring polymers

We discuss the scattering function of a Gaussian random polygon with N nodes under a given topological constraint through simulation. We obtain the Kratky plot of a Gaussian polygon of N=200 having a fixed knot for some different knots such as the trivial, trefoil and figure-eight knots. We find that some characteristic properties of the different Kratky plots are consistent with the distinct values of the mean square radius of gyration for Gaussian polygons with the different knots.Comment: 4pages, 3figures, 3table

Embedding of Epiretinal Proliferation for a Secondary Lamellar Macular Hole 12 Years after Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair

A 58-year-old Japanese man underwent vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in 2002. Twelve years later, optical coherence tomography revealed the development of a lamellar macular hole; the visual acuity was 20/200. Two years later, because metamorphopsia and the foveal retina thinning were aggravated, epiretinal proliferation embedding was performed to restore the foveal structure by transplanting glial cells to the foveal cavity. The patient was followed-up for 4 years, and his macular morphology and visual acuity (20/66) improved. No complications occurred. This appears to be the first report of epiretinal proliferation embedding for a lamellar macular hole post-RRD repair

A 6-Year Controlled Gastric Adenocarcinoma Metastasized to the Lung, Cervical Spine and Mandible in a Japanese Male: A Patient Report

Gastric adenocarcinoma metastasized to the lung, cervical vertebrae and mandible 6 years after gastrectomy in a 70-year-old man. When the man visited our clinic, he complained of pain in the left mandible with paralysis in the left lower lip and diffuse swelling with a fluctuation inside the left ramus of the mandible. Medium contrast computed tomography (CT) presented bone loss that looked like a wormhole at the left angle of the mandible. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed abscess or osteomyelitis at the site. He showed no response despite treatment with antibiotics, and we suspected a neoplastic lesion. With a mandibular ramus specimen obtained by biopsy and examined histopathologically, adenocarcinoma of the salivary gland was strongly suspected. MRI presented a neoplastic lesion in his cervical vertebrae, and by biopsy he was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. Thereafter, chest CT presented multiple pulmonary metastases. Considering the patient’s history of gastrectomy due to gastric adenocarcinoma, the stomach, cervical vertebrae or mandible were examined pathologically and immunohistochemically by biopsy: all specimens showed a moderately differentiated type of tubular adenocarcinoma, and the results for cytokeratin-related tumor markers were the same. We finally diagnosed him as having metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma to the lung, cervical vertebrae and mandible. Because the metastases had spread to multiple organs, the mandibular lesion was not treated, and terminal care in another facility was unavoidably selected. In making a differential diagnosis of multiple metastases, pathological and immunohistochemical examinations of metastatic lesions by biopsy were very useful based on the diagnostic imagings by CT and MRI

Interface design dividing physical findings into medical and trauma findings facilitates clinical document entry in the emergency department: A prospective observational study.

PURPOSE: The interface design and its effect on workflow are key determinants of the usability of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the emergency department (ED). However, whether the overall clinical care can be improved by dividing the interface design of physical findings into medical and trauma findings is unknown. We previously developed an EMR system in which the checkpoints were separated into different sections according to the body part. Herein, we modified this EMR system by remaking the interface design specifically for trauma patients, and evaluated its performance. METHODS: This study was undertaken in a single-center ED between October 2014 and September 2015. In the modified EMR system, all trauma findings are displayed together on the screen, according to the Japan Advanced Trauma Evaluation and Care. We compared the time to final documentation entry and the length of ED stay between the previous (used in the first 6 months) and current systems (used in the latter 6 months). Furthermore, we stratified the patients by triage levels. RESULTS: The study involved 2141 patients (934 and 1207 assessed using the previous and modified EMR systems, respectively). The modified EMR in trauma patients significantly decreased the time to final documentation entry from 131.5 [interquartile range, 86.8-207.3] to 115 [78.8-161] min (p = 0.049). When stratifying trauma patients by triage level, significantly shorter clinical documentation times were observed with the modified EMR system in levels 2 (emergency) and 3 (urgent). CONCLUSIONS: Using different interfaces for trauma findings shortened the time for clinical documentation for trauma patients

Kcnab1 Is Expressed in Subplate Neurons With Unilateral Long-Range Inter-Areal Projections

Subplate (SP) neurons are among the earliest-born neurons in the cerebral cortex and heterogeneous in terms of gene expression. SP neurons consist mainly of projection neurons, which begin to extend their axons to specific target areas very early during development. However, the relationships between axon projection and gene expression patterns of the SP neurons, and their remnant layer 6b (L6b) neurons, are largely unknown. In this study, we analyzed the corticocortical projections of L6b/SP neurons in the mouse cortex and searched for a marker gene expressed in L6b/SP neurons that have ipsilateral inter-areal projections. Retrograde tracing experiments demonstrated that L6b/SP neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) projected to the primary motor cortex (M1) within the same cortical hemisphere at postnatal day (PD) 2 but did not show any callosal projection. This unilateral projection pattern persisted into adulthood. Our microarray analysis identified the gene encoding a β subunit of voltage-gated potassium channel (Kcnab1) as being expressed in L6b/SP. Double labeling with retrograde tracing and in situ hybridization demonstrated that Kcnab1 was expressed in the unilaterally-projecting neurons in L6b/SP. Embryonic expression was specifically detected in the SP as early as embryonic day (E) 14.5, shortly after the emergence of SP. Double immunostaining experiments revealed different degrees of co-expression of the protein product Kvβ1 with L6b/SP markers Ctgf (88%), Cplx3 (79%), and Nurr1 (58%), suggesting molecular subdivision of unilaterally-projecting L6b/SP neurons. In addition to expression in L6b/SP, scattered expression of Kcnab1 was observed during postnatal stages without layer specificity. Among splicing variants with three alternative first exons, the variant 1.1 explained all the cortical expression mentioned in this study. Together, our data suggest that L6b/SP neurons have corticocortical projections and Kcnab1 expression defines a subpopulation of L6b/SP neurons with a unilateral inter-areal projection

雌雄キタイワトビペンギンにおける血中のステロイドホルモン値と血液生化学値を指標とした繁殖と換羽の生理学的研究

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OB] 極域生物圏11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所１階交流アトリウ

Interstitial Axon Collaterals of Callosal Neurons Form Association Projections from the Primary Somatosensory to Motor Cortex in Mice

Association projections from cortical pyramidal neurons connect disparate intrahemispheric cortical areas, which are implicated in higher cortical functions. The underlying developmental processes of these association projections, especially the initial phase before reaching the target areas, remain unknown. To visualize developing axons of individual neurons with association projections in the mouse neocortex, we devised a sparse labeling method that combined in utero electroporation and confocal imaging of flattened and optically cleared cortices. Using the promoter of an established callosal neuron marker gene that was expressed in over 80% of L2/3 neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) that project to the primary motor cortex (M1), we found that an association projection of a single neuron was the longest among the interstitial collaterals that branched out in L5 from the earlier-extended callosal projection. Collaterals to M1 elongated primarily within the cortical gray matter with little branching before reaching the target. Our results suggest that dual-projection neurons in S1 make a significant fraction of the association projections to M1, supporting the directed guidance mechanism in long-range corticocortical circuit formation over random projections followed by specific pruning.Yuichiro Oka, Miyuki Doi, Manabu Taniguchi, Sheena Y X Tiong, Hisanori Akiyama, Takuto Yamamoto, Tokuichi Iguchi, Makoto Sato, Interstitial Axon Collaterals of Callosal Neurons Form Association Projections from the Primary Somatosensory to Motor Cortex in Mice, Cerebral Cortex, 2021;, bhab153, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhab153

Organ system network analysis and biological stability in critically ill patients

Abstract Background Continuous coordination among organ systems is necessary to maintain biological stability in humans. Organ system network analysis in addition to organ-oriented medicine is expected to improve patient outcomes. However, organ system networks remain beyond clinical application with little evidence for their importance on homeostatic mechanisms. This proof-of-concept study examined the impact of organ system networks on systemic stability in severely ill patients. Methods Patients admitted to the intensive care unit of the University of Tokyo Hospital with one representative variable reflecting the condition of each of the respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, coagulation, and inflammatory systems were enrolled. Relationships among the condition of individual organ systems, inter-organ connections, and systemic stability were evaluated between non-survivors and survivors whose organ system conditions were matched to those of the non-survivors (matched survivors) as well as between non-survivors and all survivors. We clustered these six organ systems using principal component analysis and compared the dispersion of the principal component scores of each cluster using the Ansari-Bradley test to evaluate systemic stability involving multiple organ systems. Inter-organ connections were evaluated using Spearman’s rank test. Results Among a total of 570 enrolled patients, 91 patients died. The principal component analysis yielded the respiratory-renal-inflammatory and cardiovascular-hepatic-coagulation system clusters. In the respiratory-renal-inflammatory cluster, organ systems were connected in both the survivors and the non-survivors. The principal component scores of the respiratory-renal-inflammatory cluster were dispersed similarly (stable cluster) in the non-survivors, the matched survivors, and the total survivors irrespective of the severity of individual organ system dysfunction. Conversely, in the cardiovascular-hepatic-coagulation cluster, organ systems were connected only in the survivors, and the principal component scores of the cluster were significantly dispersed (unstable cluster) in the non-survivors compared to the total survivors (P = 0.002) and the matched survivors (P = 0.004). Conclusions This study demonstrated that systemic instability was closely associated with network disruption among organ systems irrespective of their dysfunction severity. Organ system network analysis is necessary to improve outcomes in severely ill patients