Tadalafil use is associated with a lower incidence of Type 2 diabetes in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia: A population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: Tadalafil, commonly prescribed for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), may benefit patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for glycemic markers and complications. However, the association between the long-term use of tadalafil and the incidence of T2DM has not been investigated. METHODS: We emulated a target trial of tadalafil use (5 mg/day) and the risk of T2DM using a population-based claims database in Japan. Patients who initiated tadalafil or alpha-blockers for BPH and had no history of diabetes diagnosis, no dispensing of glucose-lowering drugs, and no history of hemoglobin A1c levels of ≥6.5% (47–48 mmol/mol) were included. The primary outcome was the incidence of T2DM. Pooled logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RRs) and 5-year cumulative incidence differences (CIDs). RESULTS: A total of 5180 participants initiated tadalafil treatment and were compared with 20, 049 patients who initiated alpha-blockers. The median follow-up time for each arm was 27.2 months (interquartile range [IQR], 12.0–47.9) in tadalafil users and 31.3 months (IQR, 13.7–57.2) in alpha-blocker users. The incidence rates of T2DM in tadalafil and alpha-blocker users were 5.4 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.0–7.2) and 8.8 (95% CI, 7.8–9.8) per 1000-person years, respectively. Initiation of tadalafil was associated with a reduced risk of T2DM (RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.39–0.62; 5-year CID, −0.031; 95% CI, −0.040 to −0.019). CONCLUSION: The incidence of T2DM was lower in men with BPH treated with tadalafil than in those treated with alpha-blockers. Thus, tadalafil may be more beneficial than alpha-blockers in preventing T2DM

Global phylogeography of a pantropical mangrove genus Rhizophora

マングローブ植物の全球分布と分化過程を解明 --ヤエヤマヒルギ属の種・地域を網羅した系統解析--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-03-31.Rhizophora is a key genus for revealing the formation process of the pantropical distribution of mangroves. In this study, in order to fully understand the historical scenario of Rhizophora that achieved pantropical distribution, we conducted phylogeographic analyses based on nucleotide sequences of chloroplast and nuclear DNA as well as microsatellites for samples collected worldwide. Phylogenetic trees suggested the monophyly of each AEP and IWP lineages respectively except for R. samoensis and R. × selala. The divergence time between the two lineages was 10.6 million years ago on a dated phylogeny, and biogeographic stochastic mapping analyses supported these lineages separated following a vicariant event. These data suggested that the closure of the Tethys Seaway and the reduction in mangrove distribution followed by Mid-Miocene cooling were key factors that caused the linage diversification. Phylogeographic analyses also suggested the formation of the distinctive genetic structure at the AEP region across the American continents around Pliocene. Furthermore, long-distance trans-pacific dispersal occurred from the Pacific coast of American continents to the South Pacific and formed F1 hybrid, resulting in gene exchange between the IWP and AEP lineages after 11 million years of isolation. Considering the phylogeny and phylogeography with divergence time, a comprehensive picture of the historical scenario behind the pantropical distribution of Rhizophora is updated

Aging of the Zero-Field-Cooled Magnetization in Ising Spin Glasses: Experiment and Numerical Simulation

A new protocol of the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) magnetization process is studied experimentally on an Ising spin-glass (SG) Fe$_{0.50}$Mn$_{0.50}$TiO$_3$ and numerically on the Edwards-Anderson Ising SG model. Although the time scales differ very much between the experiment and the simulation, the behavior of the ZFC magnetization observed in the two systems can be interpreted by means of a common scaling expression based on the droplet picture. The results strongly suggest that the SG coherence length, or the mean size of droplet excitations, involved even in the experimental ZFC process, is about a hundred lattice distances or less.Comment: 4 pages, 5 fugure

The complete chloroplast genome of a coastal plant, Euphorbia jolkinii (Euphorbiaceae)

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of a coastal plant, Euphorbia jolkinii Boiss. (Euphorbiaceae), was determined. The chloroplast genome was 162, 854 bp in length, consisting of a large single copy region (90, 726 bp), a small single copy region (18, 422 bp), and two inverted repeats (26, 853 bp). The chloroplast genome contained 115 genes, consisting of 80 unique protein-coding genes, 30 unique tRNA genes, four unique rRNA genes, and one pseudogene, rps16. GC content of the whole chloroplast genome was 35.6%. The phylogenetic analysis showed a close relationship between E. jolkinii and E. pekinensis Rupr. The sequence data would provide useful information to understand the evolutionary process of E. jolkinii

Hydrophobic Silicone Elastomer Chamber for Recording Trajectories of Motile Porcine Sperms without Adsorption

Motile porcine sperms adhere to hydrophilic materials such as glass and plastics. The adsorption of sperms to a hydrophobic poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane is less compared with that to glass. We investigated the linear velocity (LV) and amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALHD) of motile porcine sperm on glass and PDMS preparations using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Significant decreases were observed in the 15-min LV (P<0.05) and ALHD (P<0.05) in motile porcine sperm on glass preparations compared with those on PDMS preparations. These differences were due to adsorption of the head and/or neck to hydrophilic substrates. Because of the elasticity of PDMS, we propose that a PDMS membrane should be used for CASA. To investigate the dynamics of motile porcine sperms with microfluidics, we do not recommend plasma treatment to bond PDMS and glass in the microchannel preparation; instead, we suggest that a PDMS molding process without plasma treatment be used for preparation of microfluidic channels

Factors driving adaptive radiation in plants of oceanic islands: A case study from the Juan Fernández Archipelago

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Adaptive radiation is a common evolutionary phenomenon in oceanic islands. From one successful immigrant population, dispersal into different island environments and directional selection can rapidly yield a series of morphologically distinct species, each adapted to its own particular environment. Not all island immigrants, however, follow this evolutionary pathway. Others successfully arrive and establish viable populations, but they remain in the same ecological zone and only slowly diverge over millions of years. This transformational speciation, or anagenesis, is also common in oceanic archipelagos. The critical question is why do some groups radiate adaptively and others not? The Juan Fernández Islands contain 105 endemic taxa of angiosperms, 49% of which have originated by adaptive radiation (cladogenesis) and 51% by anagenesis, hence providing an opportunity to examine characteristics of taxa that have undergone both types of speciation in the same general island environment. Life form, dispersal mode, and total number of species in progenitors (genera) of endemic angiosperms in the archipelago were investigated from literature sources and compared with modes of speciation (cladogenesis vs. anagenesis). It is suggested that immigrants tending to undergo adaptive radiation are herbaceous perennial herbs, with leaky self-incompatible breeding systems, good intra-island dispersal capabilities, and flexible structural and physiological systems. Perhaps more importantly, the progenitors of adaptively radiated groups in islands are those that have already been successful in adaptations to different environments in source areas, and which have also undergone eco-geographic speciation. Evolutionary success via adaptive radiation in oceanic islands, therefore, is less a novel feature of island lineages but rather a continuation of tendency for successful adaptive speciation in lineages of continental source regions.Austrian Science Fund Grant number P21723-B16National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development Grant number 1160794Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under Open Partnership Joint Projec

Single-center experience with a minimally invasive apicoaxillary external ventricular assist device

Von H. Kalb