Preterm birth is associated with an increased fundamental frequency of spontaneous crying in human infants at term-equivalent age.

早産児の泣きが伝えること -早期からの発達評価・支援に向けた取り組み-. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2014-08-21.Human infant crying has been researched as a non-invasive tool for assessing neurophysiological states at an early developmental stage. Little is known about the acoustic features of spontaneous cries in preterm infants, although their pain-induced cries are at a higher fundamental frequency (F0) before term-equivalent age. In this study, we investigated the effects of gestational age, body size at recording and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) on the F0 of spontaneous cries in healthy preterm and full-term infants at term-equivalent age. We found that shorter gestational age was significantly associated with higher F0, although neither smaller body size at recording nor IUGR was related to increased F0 in preterm infants. These findings suggest that the increased F0 of spontaneous cries is not caused by their smaller body size, but instead might be caused by more complicated neurophysiological states owing to their different intrauterine and extrauterine experiences

The role of trefoil factor family in apparently healthy subjects administrated gastroprotective agents for the primary prevention of gastrointestinal injuries from low-dose acetylsalicylic acid: a preliminary study

It is well-known that acetylsalicylic acid induces gastrointestinal complication. Recently, trefoil factor family has been reported as a mucosal protective factor. We focused on trefoil factor family as one of defensive system for gastrointestinal injuries. The aim of this trial was to evaluate trefoil factor family levels in the serum of healthy subjects with low-dose acetylsalicylic acid. Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid with placebo or proton pump inhibitor or rebamipide were administered in 30 healthy subjects. Transnasal endoscopy was performed at 0, 24 h, 3 and 7 day. Changing of trefoil factor family (1,2,3) and numbers of gastric injuries were evaluated. The numbers of gastric injuries were significantly increased in the placebo group at 3 and 7 days. Injuries in the proton pump inhibitor group were not induced, in the rebamipide group were slightly induced. Trefoil factor family level in the placebo group were decreased in 3 and 7 days compared with prior to starting the trial. Trefoil factor family may have an important association with acetylsalicylic acid-induced gastrointestinal damage. Proton pump inhibitor and rebamipide prevented low-dose acetylsalicylic acid-induced gastrointestinal complications compared with the placebo group

Column-Parallel Correlated Multiple Sampling Circuits for CMOS Image Sensors and Their Noise Reduction Effects

For low-noise complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors, the reduction of pixel source follower noises is becoming very important. Column-parallel high-gain readout circuits are useful for low-noise CMOS image sensors. This paper presents column-parallel high-gain signal readout circuits, correlated multiple sampling (CMS) circuits and their noise reduction effects. In the CMS, the gain of the noise cancelling is controlled by the number of samplings. It has a similar effect to that of an amplified CDS for the thermal noise but is a little more effective for 1/f and RTS noises. Two types of the CMS with simple integration and folding integration are proposed. In the folding integration, the output signal swing is suppressed by a negative feedback using a comparator and one-bit D-to-A converter. The CMS circuit using the folding integration technique allows to realize a very low-noise level while maintaining a wide dynamic range. The noise reduction effects of their circuits have been investigated with a noise analysis and an implementation of a 1Mpixel pinned photodiode CMOS image sensor. Using 16 samplings, dynamic range of 59.4 dB and noise level of 1.9 e− for the simple integration CMS and 75 dB and 2.2 e− for the folding integration CMS, respectively, are obtained

Establishment of a new rehabilitation program using masticatory training food for jaw deformity patients

Background/purpose: Patients with jaw deformities may show a reduction in masticatory function as a result of postoperative hypofunction. This study aimed to establish a novel rehabilitation program using a commercially available masticatory training food for patients with jaw deformities after orthognathic surgery. Materials and methods: Nine patients with mandibular prognathism (the training group: n = 5, and the non-training group: n = 4) and 6 control participants with normal occlusion were included in this study. For the rehabilitation program with masticatory exercise, patients were instructed to chew the training food once a day for 60 days starting from 10 days after the surgery. The effects of the rehabilitation program were assessed by determining the maximum bite force (MBF) and the masticatory performance (MP). Clinical assessments were performed just before orthognathic surgery (Pre) and at 10 days (T0), 1 month (T1), 2 months (T2), and 3 months (T3) after surgery. Results: Compared with the non-training group, the training group showed a trend toward greater recovery amount of MBF from Pre to T3, and a significantly greater recovery amount in MP (p < 0.05) from Pre to T3. When the time-series change of MP was evaluated in both groups from T0 to T3, a significant difference was observed in the interaction terms (p = 0.03). This result indicates that the effectiveness of the training may be demonstrated by following the postoperative course further. Conclusion: The rehabilitation using this training food may become a useful method for postoperative hypofunction in patients with jaw deformities

A bacterial enzyme degrading the model lignin compound β-etherase is a member of the glutathione-S-transferase superfamily

AbstractCleavage of β-aryl ether linkages is essential in lignin degradation. We identified another β-etherase gene (ligF), which contains an open reading frame of 771 bp and lies between genes coding Cα-dehydrogenase (ligD) and β-etherase (ligE). The β-etherase activity of LigF expressed in Escherichia coli was more than 80 times as high as that of LigE. ligF and ligE are homologous to glutathione-S-transferase, and upon addition of glutathione a remarkable acceleration of β-etherase activity was found in E. coli carrying ligF. It is concluded that LigF plays a central role in β-aryl ether cleavage and that glutathione is the hydrogen donor in this reaction

Cognitive flexibility in 12-month-old preterm and term infants is associated with neurobehavioural development in 18-month-olds

早産児の注意の切り替えの弱さは後の認知発達と関連する --アイトラッカーを用いた注意機能の定量的分析から--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-01-11.There is growing evidence that preterm children are at an increased risk of poor executive functioning, which underlies behavioural and attention problems. Previous studies have suggested that early cognitive flexibility is a possible predictor of later executive function; however, how it develops in infancy and relates to the later neurobehavioural outcomes is still unclear in the preterm population. Here, we conducted a longitudinal study to investigate oculomotor response shifting in 27 preterm and 25 term infants at 12 months and its relationship with general cognitive development and effortful control, which is a temperamental aspect closely associated with executive function, at 18 months. We found that moderate to late preterm and term infants significantly inhibited previously rewarded look responses, while very preterm infants did not show significant inhibition of perseverative looking at 12 months. Moreover, lower inhibition of perseverative looking was significantly associated with lower general cognitive development and attentional shifting at 18 months. These findings suggest that the early atypical patterns of oculomotor response shifting may be a behavioural marker for predicting a higher risk of negative neurobehavioural outcomes, including attention-related problems in preterm children

Functional training after orthognathic surgery

Background/purpose: Even after surgical orthodontic treatment, the level of masticatory function in patients with jaw deformities is still lower than that of healthy subjects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of functional training program using gum chewing exercise after orthognathic surgery on masticatory function in patients with mandibular prognathism. Materials and methods: The study subjects were 16 patients with mandibular prognathism who underwent orthognathic surgery and 8 individuals with normal occlusion. Patients were divided into two groups (training group and non-training group; n = 8 per group). Functional training included gum chewing exercise and patient-education about masticatory function. The training; gum chewing exercise of 5 min twice a day for 90 days, started at 3 months after surgery. For each subject, electromyographic activities of masseter and temporalis muscles during maximum voluntary clenching (MVC) and jaw movement during gum chewing were recorded before and after surgical orthodontic treatment. Two parameters; activity index (AI: ratio of activity of masseter and temporalis muscles) and error index (EI: ratio of the number of abnormal chewing patterns), were used. Results: In the training group, the AI value during MVC increased significantly and the EI value during gam chewing decreased significantly after surgical orthodontic treatment (AI: p < 0.01; EI: p < 0.01), indicating the improvement of activity balance of masseter and temporalis muscles and conversion of the jaw movement from abnormal to normal pattern (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Our findings suggested that functional training using the gum chewing and patient-education exercise improved masticatory function in patients with mandibular prognathism

Treatment decision of camouflage or surgical orthodontic treatment for skeletal Class III patients based on analysis of masticatory function

Background/purpose: Surgical orthodontic treatment is recommended for patients with severe dentoskeletal discrepancies, while camouflage orthodontic treatment is recommended for patients with mild to moderate discrepancies. However, the decision as to which treatment should be chosen is complicated. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in masticatory function in patients who underwent camouflage and surgical orthodontic treatment for skeletal Class III malocclusion, as well as the usefulness of Wits appraisal in treatment decision based on masticatory functional analysis. Materials and methods: The study subjects were 45 patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion (15 cases with camouflage orthodontics and 30 cases with orthognatic surgery) and 12 individuals with normal occlusion. We analyzed the pre-treatment records of electromyographic activities of masseter and temporalis muscles and jaw movements. Results: There were no significant differences in various functional measurements between the camouflage and surgery groups. However, there were significant but not strong correlations between ANB and both masseter muscle activity (r = 0.36, p < 0.01) and expression ratio of abnormal chewing (r = −0.54, p < 0.01). Division of patients into two groups using a cutoff value of −6.0 mm for Wits appraisal showed a significant difference in masseter muscle activity between −6.0 mm or less group and the control (p < 0.01) but none between more than −6.0 mm group and the control. Conclusion: Camouflage orthodontic treatment is inappropriate for patients with relatively severe dentoskeletal discrepancies. Wits appraisal of −6.0 mm is a potentially useful parameter for treatment decision