Subsurface structure identification at the blind prediction site of ESG6 based on the earthquake-to-microtremor ratio method and diffuse field concept for earthquakes

We participated in the blind prediction exercise organized by the committee of the blind prediction experiment during the 6th International Symposium on Effects of Surface Geology on Seismic Motion (CBP-ESG6). In response to the committee's request, we identified the ground velocity structure from microtremors observed at a target site as the first step of the exercise. First, we calculated the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio of microtremors (MHVR) at the target site from the distributed microtremor data collected in the vicinity of the target site in Kumamoto Prefecture. Then, we converted the MHVR into a pseudo horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio of earthquake (pEHVR) using the previously proposed and validated earthquake-to-microtremor ratio (EMR) method, where an empirically obtained EMR is used to convert MHVR into pEHVR. Next, we inverted the S-wave and P-wave velocity structures based on the pEHVR and the diffuse field concept for earthquakes. The theoretical EHVR calculated from the identified velocity structure reproduced the pEHVR quite well in the frequency range of 0.1-22 Hz. After the collection of the blind prediction results by all the participants, the CBP-ESG6 released the observed earthquake records, a preferred model based on the P-S logging data from the in-situ borehole measurement combined with the generic deeper structure, and the average of all the predicted structures by the participants. Notably, our inverted structure was found to be close to the preferred model and the averaged one of all the blind prediction participants, despite some minor differences in the horizontal site amplification factor around the maximum peak frequency at 0.8-1 Hz

Identification and functional analysis of glutamine transporter inStreptococcus mutans

Background Streptococcus mutans, a biofilm-forming bacterium, possesses several transporters that function as import/export molecules. Among them, the PII protein family is composed of members that regulate glutamine synthesis in bacterial species. Objective In this study, we characterized the function of the glutamine transporter in S. mutans MT8148. Methods The SMU.732 gene, corresponding to glnP in S. mutans, is homologous to the glutamine transporter gene in Bacillus subtilis. We constructed a glnP-inactivated mutant strain (GEMR) and a complement strain (comp-GEMR) and evaluated their biological functions. Results Growth of GEMR was similar in the presence and absence of glutamine, whereas the growth rates of MT8148 and comp-GEMR were significantly lower in the presence of glutamine as compared to its absence. Furthermore, biofilms formed by MT8148 and comp-GEMR were significantly thicker than that formed by GEMR, while the GEMR strain showed a significantly lower survival rate in an acidic environment than the other strains. Addition of n-phenyl-2-naphthylamine, used to label of the membrane, led to increased fluorescence intensity of MT8148 and GEMR, albeit that was significantly lower in the latter. Conclusions These results suggest that glnP is associated with glutamine transport in S. mutans, especially the import of glutamine involved in biofilm formation

S-Wave Site Amplification Factors from Observed Ground Motions in Japan: Validation of Delineated Velocity Structures and Proposal for Empirical Correction

We first derived site amplification factors (SAFs) from the observed strong motions by the Japanese nationwide networks, namely, K-NET and KiK-net of National Institute of Earthquake Research and Disaster Resilience and Shindokei (Instrumental Seismic Intensity) Network of Japan Meteorological Agency by using the so-called generalized spectral inversion technique. We can use these SAFs for strong motion prediction at these observation sites, however, we need at least observed weak motion or microtremor data to quantify SAF at an arbitrary site. So we tested the capability of the current velocity models in Japan whether they can reproduce or not the observed SAFs at the nearest grid of every 250 m as the one-dimensional theoretical transfer functions (TTF). We found that at about one-half of the sites the calculated 1D TTFs show more or less acceptable fit to the observed SAFs, however, the TTFs tend to underestimate the observed SAFs in general. Therefore, we propose a simple, empirical method to fill the gap between the observed SAFs and the calculated TTFs. Validation examples show that our proposed method effectively predict better SAFs than the direct substitute of TTFs at sites without observed data

Epidermal γδ T cells sense precancerous cellular dysregulation and initiate immune responses

Hyperplasia associated with a loss of tissue homeostasis can induce DNA replication stress, leading to precancerous dysregulation. Epidermal γδ T cells reside in the primary barrier that protects against diverse environmental insults; however, the functions of these T cells in tissue surveillance are not completely understood. In mice with inducible Notch1 inactivation in keratinocytes that causes epidermal hyperplasia, epidermal γδ T cells sensed stressed keratinocytes and migrated into the cutaneous draining lymph nodes. Simultaneous induction of β-galactosidase (β-Gal) as a putative antigen expressed in the process of precancerous dysregulation and Notch1 ablation in the epidermis resulted in elevated β-Gal-specific IgG2a production. Epidermal γδ T cells were found to have the capacity to express chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 7 and migrate into the lymph nodes. Cutaneous draining lymph node cells in Notch1-inactivated mice expressed high levels of IFN-γ upon anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28 stimulation. Furthermore, induced expression of β-Gal in mice that lacked epidermal γδ T cells failed to induce anti-β-Gal IgG. These results suggest that epidermal γδ T cells play an essential role in the initiation process of epidermal antigen-specific humoral immune responses and demonstrate the importance of epidermal γδ T cells in sensing precancerous dysregulation and activating adaptive immunit

Bilateral Orbital Inflammation as a Manifestation of Paraneoplastic Syndrome

Paraneoplastic neurologic syndromes (PNS) constitute a rare group of disorders whose optimal treatment is yet to be established. We report a patient with bilateral orbital inflammation associated with PNS, who responded well to surgical resection of the primary tumor. An 83-year-old woman was referred to our department for treatment of a progressive reduction in visual acuity and palpebral swelling in both eyes for the past 2 months. She was scheduled to undergo thoracic surgery for lung cancer. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the right and left eye had worsened from 0.3 to 0.5 one month before she was referred to our department to 0.03 and 0.07, respectively. A slit-lamp examination revealed edema in both eyelids. Goldmann perimetry revealed several paracentral scotomas with constriction of the peripheral visual fields of both eyes, along with central absolute scotomas in V-4e isopter in the right eye. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed swelling of the bilateral extraocular muscles, which compressed the bilateral optic nerves at the orbital apex. Seven days after the resection of the lung cancer, the BCVA improved to 0.07 and 0.15 in the right and left eyes, respectively, without concomitant immunotherapy. Intravenous methylprednisolone (500 mg/day) was administered for 3 days to treat the residual orbital inflammation. Fourteen days after surgery, the BCVA further improved to 0.4 and 0.5 in the right and left eyes, respectively. Swelling of the bilateral extraocular muscles and the visual field abnormalities improved dramatically. Early diagnosis is crucial for the management of PNS

Novel scotoma detection method using time required for fixation to the random targets

We developed a novel scotoma detection system using time required for fixation to the random targets, or the” eye-guided scotoma detection method “. In order to verify the” eye-guided scotoma detection method “, we measured 78 eyes of 40 subjects, and examined the measurement results in comparison with the results of measurement by Humphrey perimetry. The results were as follows: (1) Mariotte scotomas were detected in 100% of the eyes tested; (2) The false-negative rate (the percentage of cases where a scotoma was evaluated as a non-scotoma) was less than 10%; (3) The positive point distribution in the low-sensitivity eyes was well matched. These findings suggested that the novel scotoma detection method in the current study will pave the way for the realization of mass screening to detect pathological scotoma earlier.[Author summary] Conventional perimeters, such as the Goldmann perimeter and Humphrey perimeter, require experienced examiners and space occupying. With either perimeter, subjects’ eye movements need to be strictly fixed to the fixation target of the device. Other perimeters can monitor fixation and automatically measure the visual field. With the eye-guided scotoma detection method proposed in the current study, subjects feel less burdened since they do not have to fixate on the fixation target of the device and can move their eyes freely. Subjects simply respond to visual targets on the display; then, scotomas can be automatically detected. The novel method yields highly accurate scotoma detection through an algorithm that separates scotomas from non-scotomas

Distribution of Choroidal Thickness and Choroidal Vessel Dilation in Healthy Japanese Individuals: The Nagahama Study

[Purpose] To report fundamental epidemiologic data for choroidal parameters such as choroidal thickness and index of choroidal vascularity in Japanese individuals and to evaluate their correlations with age, sex, systemic parameters, and other ocular parameters. [Design] Population-based cohort study. [Participants] A total of 9850 individuals participated in the first follow-up of the Nagahama Prospective Cohort for Comprehensive Human Bioscience (the Nagahama Study) conducted between 2013 and 2016. [Methods] All participants underwent standardized ophthalmic examinations, including OCT with enhanced depth imaging (EDI; RS-3000 Advance; Nidek). We manually segmented the choroidoscleral interface to measure subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and calculated the normalized choroidal intensity obtained with EDI (NCIEDI) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI). These are indices of choroidal brightness in OCT and reportedly represent the dilation of choroidal vessels. After summarizing the age-sex stratified distributions of SFCT, NCIEDI, and CVI, their associations with age, sex, axial length (AL), and spherical equivalent (SE) were evaluated using linear regression analysis with adjustments for possible confounders. [Main Outcome Measures] Distribution of SFCT, NCIEDI, and CVI in the healthy Japanese population and their characteristics. [Results] Age-sex standardized SFCT, NCIEDI, and CVI were 291.2 μm, 0.653, and 66.88%, respectively. In both men and women, SFCT was associated negatively with age (P < 0.001) and NCIEDI was associated positively with age (P < 0.001). Although both SFCT and NCIEDI did not differ significantly between men and women overall (P = 0.87 and P = 0.21, respectively), among younger participants (35–50 years of age), men showed significantly greater SFCT than women (P < 0.001). Only in men was CVI associated positively with age (P < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, SFCT was associated significantly with age, sex, AL, SE, and the interaction term of age and sex (P < 0.001). Independent of SFCT, NCIEDI and CVI were associated significantly with age (P < 0.001). [Conclusions] We report normative Japanese SFCT, NCIEDI, and CVI data using a large general Japanese cohort. The association analysis of SFCT with NCIEDI and CVI suggested that younger individuals have a more lumen-rich choroid for their choroidal thickness than older individuals

Epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells sense precancerous cellular dysregulation and initiate immune responses

Hyperplasia associated with a loss of tissue homeostasis can induce DNA replication stress, leading to precancerous dysregulation. Epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells reside in the primary barrier that protects against diverse environmental insults; however, the functions of these T cells in tissue surveillance are not completely understood. In mice with inducible Notch1 inactivation in keratinocytes that causes epidermal hyperplasia, epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells sensed stressed keratinocytes and migrated into the cutaneous draining lymph nodes. Simultaneous induction of β-galactosidase (β-Gal) as a putative antigen expressed in the process of precancerous dysregulation and Notch1 ablation in the epidermis resulted in elevated β-Gal-specific IgG2a production. Epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells were found to have the capacity to express chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 7 and migrate into the lymph nodes. Cutaneous draining lymph node cells in Notch1-inactivated mice expressed high levels of IFN-{gamma} upon anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28 stimulation. Furthermore, induced expression of β-Gal in mice that lacked epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells failed to induce anti-β-Gal IgG. These results suggest that epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells play an essential role in the initiation process of epidermal antigen-specific humoral immune responses and demonstrate the importance of epidermal {gamma}{delta} T cells in sensing precancerous dysregulation and activating adaptive immunity

Ligneous periodontitis exacerbated by Behçet’s disease in a patient with plasminogen deficiency and a stop-gained variant PLG c.1468C > T: a case report

Background Plasminogen serves as the precursor to plasmin, an essential element in the fibrinolytic process, and is synthesized primarily in the liver. Plasminogen activation occurs through the action of plasminogen activator, converting it into plasmin. This conversion greatly enhances the fibrinolytic system within tissues and blood vessels, facilitating the dissolution of fibrin clots. Consequently, congenital deficiency of plasminogen results in impaired fibrin degradation. Patients with plasminogen deficiency typically exhibit fibrin deposits in various mucosal sites throughout the body, including the oral cavity, eyes, vagina, and digestive organs. Behcet's disease is a chronic recurrent systemic inflammatory disease with four main symptoms: aphthous ulcers of the oral mucosa, vulvar ulcers, skin symptoms, and eye symptoms, and has been reported worldwide. This disease is highly prevalent around the Silk Road from the Mediterranean to East Asia. We report a case of periodontitis in a patient with these two rare diseases that worsened quickly, leading to alveolar bone destruction. Genetic testing revealed a novel variant characterized by a stop-gain mutation, which may be a previously unidentified etiologic gene associated with decreased plasminogen activity. Case presentation This case report depicts a patient diagnosed with ligneous gingivitis during childhood, originating from plasminogen deficiency and progressing to periodontitis. Genetic testing revealed a suspected association with the PLG c.1468C > T (p.Arg490*) stop-gain mutation. The patient's periodontal condition remained stable with brief intervals of supportive periodontal therapy. However, the emergence of Behçet's disease induced acute systemic inflammation, necessitating hospitalization and treatment with steroids. During hospitalization, the dental approach focused on maintaining oral hygiene and alleviating contact-related pain. The patient's overall health improved with inpatient care and the periodontal tissues deteriorated. Conclusions Collaborative efforts between medical and dental professionals are paramount in comprehensively evaluating and treating patients with intricate complications from rare diseases. Furthermore, the PLG c.1468C > T (p.Arg490*) stop-gain mutation could contribute to the association between plasminogen deficiency and related conditions