The relation between limb segment coordination during walking and fall history in community-dwelling older adults

Control of the swing foot during walking is important to prevent falls. The trajectories of the swing foot are adjusted by coordination of the lower limbs, which is evaluated with uncontrolled manifold (UCM) analysis. A previous study that applied this analysis to walking revealed that older adults with fall history had compensatorily great segment coordination to stabilize the swing foot during normal walking. However, it is unknown whether the increase in segment coordination helps for preventing incident falls in the future. At baseline measurement, 30 older adults walked for 20 times at a comfortable speed. UCM analysis was performed to evaluate how the segment configuration in the lower limbs contributes to the swing foot stability. One year after the baseline visit, we asked the subjects if there were incident falls through a questionnaire. The univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between the index of segment coordination and incident falls with and without adjustment for gait velocity. Twenty-eight older adults who responded to the questionnaire were classified into older adults (n = 12) who had the incident fall and those (n = 16) who did not have falls. It was revealed that older adults who increased the segment coordination associated with swing foot stability tended to experience at least one fall within one year of measurement. The index of the UCM analysis can be a sensitive predictor of incident falls

Nephrin is an important component of the barrier system in the testis.

Nephrin, a gene product of the congenital nephrotic syndrome of the Finnish type (NPHS1), is a 1242-residue putative transmembrane protein of the immunoglobulin family of cell adhesion molecules. The expression of this gene is localized in rat and human glomerular epithelial cells. Here we report the expression of nephrin in various tissues other than the kidneys in mice. The expression of nephrin mRNA in various tissues of mice, including the kidneys, testes, spleen, thymus and brain, were first investigated by the RT-PCR method, and it was shown that a high level of nephrin mRNA could be detected in the testes of mice 1-6 weeks old. In situ hybridization revealed the expression of the nephrin gene in the Sertoli cells. Additionally, immunofluorescent staining studies indicated that nephrin was colocalized with anchoring protein ZO-1 in the mouse testis. From these results, it is inferred that nephrin is an important component of the barrier system in testes.</p

Pressure evolution of electronic structure and magnetism in the layered van der Waals ferromagnet CrGeTe3_3

Layered van der Waals ferromagnets, which preserve their magnetic properties down to exfoliated monolayers, are fueling a bonanza of fundamental research and nanoscale device demonstration. CrGeTe$_3$ is a prime example for this class of materials. Its temperature-pressure phase diagram features an insulator-to-metal transition and a significant increase of ferromagnetic Curie-Weiss temperatures upon entering the metallic state. We use density functional theory to understand the magnetic exchange interactions in CrGeTe$_3$ at ambient and elevated pressure. We calculate Heisenberg exchange couplings, which provide the correct ferromagnetic ground state and explain the experimentally observed pressure dependence of magnetism in CrGeTe$_3$. Furthermore, we combine density functional theory with dynamical mean field theory to investigate the effects of electronic correlations and the nature of the high pressure metallic state in CrGeTe$_3$.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

Effects of Medium Shape, Fertilization Methods and Plant Density on the Growth of Pansy Grown in Medium Hardened by Heat Fusion Polyester Fiber without Polyethylene Pot

To develop bedding plant production system without polyethylene pots (PP), problems that may be encountered with compacted medium hardened by heat fusion polyester fiber were investigated. Effects of medium shape, fertilization methods and plant density on the growth of pansy in medium without PP were investigated. To improve water usage on compacted medium, a watering space (6×6×depth 3cm) was made on the upper part of the compacted medium (9×9×depth 9cm). In the early stages of the experiment the amount of water supplied per pot (weight after irrigation-weight before irrigation) of medium with water space was 10–25% greater than that of medium without a water space. However, from the mid to late stages of the experiment, the difference gradually declined. The amount of water supplied per pot was similar between with and without water space especially on cloudy or rainy days. The growth of pansies on medium without PP was remarkably greater with water space than without water space. On 10g/liter basal fertilizer treatment, pansies had severe symptoms of fertilizer damage. The growth of pansy on 10g/liter basal fertilizer was inhibited compared to that of 5g/liter basal fertilizer. Spacing treatment was conducted whenever plant density was half. Height of pansy grown with spacing treatment was significantly lower than that without spacing treatment. PP had no effects on growth when pansy was grown without spacing treatment. However, when pansy was grown with spacing treatment, pansy grown without PP had significantly greater growth than with PP. Algal growth on the medium increased with increasing irrigation rate or nutrient rate. Combination of spacing treatment and medium without PP decreased the rate of algal growth on medium.固化培地を利用したポリポットを用いないポットレス栽培において，潅水効率の上昇，施肥の簡易化，藻の発生抑制のため，培地の形状，施肥方法および栽植密度がパンジーの生育に及ぼす影響について検討した．9㎝角のポット型培地に6×6×深さ3㎝のくぼみ（ウォータースペース）を培地上部に作成すると，栽培前期の水供給量（灌水後の重量―灌水前の重量）が約10～25% に多くなった．しかし，栽培中期から後期にかけてはその違いは次第に小さくなり，特に曇雨天時には水供給量に差はみられなくなった．ウォータースペースの有無にかかわらず，ポリポットがあると生育に違いは認めらなかったが，ポットレス区ではウォータースペースによって生育が改善された．元肥量10ｇ/liter 区では生育初期に高濃度障害と思われる症状が見られ，5ｇ/liter 区より生育が抑制された．栽植密度を半分にしたスペーシングによって，草丈はかなり抑制された．スペーシングなしの場合にはポットの有無による差は小さかったが，ポットレス栽培の生育がスペーシング栽培でかなり改善された．ポットレス・スペーシング有・灌水量120ml区の生育が最も旺盛であった．養分量が多いほど灌水量が多いほど，藻の発生が大であったが，スペーシングとポットレスを組み合わせると藻の発生が改善された

Case Report Immune Thrombocytopenia in a Child with T Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma

We describe the case of a 13-year-old boy who presented with persistent thrombocytopenia during maintenance chemotherapy with mercaptopurine and methotrexate for T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. He was diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) after thorough investigations for the relapse of lymphoma and was successfully treated with immunoglobulin and steroids. ITP is known to be associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, and various types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma but rarely with T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma or in children. Diagnosis of ITP with lymphoma is challenging due to the many factors affecting platelet counts, and ITP often complicates the diagnosis or treatment course of lymphoma. The underlying mechanism of ITP with NHL is still unclear. Drug-induced immunomodulation with a reduction of regulatory T cells might have contributed to the development of ITP in our case

Differentiating between Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma and Glioblastoma: The Diagnostic Value of Combining 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography with Arterial Spin Labeling

Using conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods, the differentiation of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and glioblastoma (GBM) is often difficult due to overlapping imaging characteristics. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of combining 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) with arterial spin labeling (ASL) for differentiating PCNSL from GBM. In all, 20 patients with PCNSL and 55 with GBM were retrospectively examined. From the FDG-PET data, the maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and the ratio of tumor to normal contralateral gray matter (T/N_SUVmax) were calculated. From the ASL data, the T/N ratio of the maximum tumor blood flow (relative TBFmax: rTBFmax) was obtained. Diagnostic performance of each parameter was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. A generalized linear model was applied for comparing the performance of FDG-PET and ASL individually, and in combination. In univariate analysis, SUVmax and T/N_SUVmax were statistically higher in patients with PCNSL and rTBFmax was higher in patients with GBM. In the multivariate analysis, T/N_SUVmax and rTBFmax were statistically independent. The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) for discriminating PCNSL from GBM were 100%, 87.3%, and 0.950 in T/N_SUVmax; 90%, 72.7%, and 0.824 in rTBFmax; and 95%, 96.4%, and 0.991 in the combined model, respectively. The combined use of T/N_SUVmax and rTBFmax may contribute to better differentiation between PCNSL and GBM

Heme breakdown and ischemia/reperfusion injury in grafted liver during living donor liver transplantation

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) requires ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), which can cause early graft injury. However, the detailed mechanism of I/R injury remains unknown. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a rate-limiting enzyme in heme catabolism and results in the production of iron, carbon monoxide (CO), and biliverdin IXα. Furthermore, in animals, HO-1 has a protective effect against oxidative stress associated with I/R injury. However, in humans, the molecular mechanism and clinical significance of HO-1 remain unclear. We previously demonstrated that exhaled CO levels increase during LDLT, and postulated that this may indicate I/R injury. In this study, we elucidate the origin of increased exhaled CO levels and the role of HO-1 in I/R injury during LDLT. We studied 29 LDLT donors and recipients each. For investigation of HO-1 gene expression by polymerase chain reaction and HO-1 localization by immunohistological staining, liver biopsies from the grafted liver were conducted twice, once before and once after I/R. Exhaled CO levels and HO-1 gene expression levels significantly increased after I/R. In addition, HO-1 levels significantly increased after I/R in Kupffer cells. Furthermore, we found a significant positive correlation between exhaled CO levels and HO-1 gene expression levels. These results indicated that increased heme breakdown in the grafted liver is the source of increased exhaled CO levels. We also found a significant relationship between HO-1 gene expression levels and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels; i.e., the higher the HO-1 gene expression levels, the higher the ALT levels. These results suggest that HO-1-mediated heme breakdown is caused by I/R during LDLT, since it is associated with increased exhaled CO levels and liver damage