Experimental observations on the optimal layout of orientation blocks for safe road crossing by the visually impaired

For people with visual impairments who face difficulties when crossing the road, in urban areas of Japan the infrastructure designed to provide an indication of crossing direction and the curbstones at sidewalk-roadway boundaries often varies in reliability from one crossing to another. If anything, this promotes stress for users and is an issue for which improvement is urgently needed. The authors have proposed new orientation blocks to be installed at crosswalk entrances as a means of more accurately indicating to people with visual impairments the trajectory to follow when crossing the road, and in prior research have derived desirable specifications for the profile of these blocks and their position relative to tactile walking surface indicators (TWSI). For this paper, in order to examine in greater detail the desirable position of orientation blocks relative to TWSI, the authors conducted an experiment using totally blind subjects to evaluate conditions on a 10 m walk that simulated an actual crossing. The results, based on observations of the trajectories walked by participants in the experiment and interviews eliciting their subjective evaluations, showed that separating orientation blocks and blister tactile blocks by about 8–12 cm is effective in constraining lateral deviation at a point 5 m from the start of crossing and that an 8 cm separation was desirable in order to maintain an effective reduction of mental stress while crossing

Management of Myositis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, including polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM), and clinically amyopathic DM (CADM), are a diverse group of autoimmune diseases characterized by muscular involvement and extramuscular manifestations. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) has major pulmonary involvement and is associated with increased mortality in PM/DM/CADM. The management of PM-/DM-/CADM-associated ILD (PM/DM/CADM-ILD) requires careful evaluation of the disease severity and clinical subtype, including the ILD forms (acute/subacute or chronic), because of the substantial heterogeneity of their clinical courses. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of myositis-specific autoantibodies’ status, especially anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) and anti-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase (ARS) antibodies, in order to evaluate the clinical phenotypes and treatment of choice for PM/DM/CADM-ILD. Because the presence of the anti-MDA5 antibody is a strong predictor of a worse prognosis, combination treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs) and calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs; tacrolimus (TAC) or cyclosporin A (CsA)) is recommended for patients with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive DM/CADM-ILD. Rapidly progressive DM/CADM-ILD with the anti-MDA5 antibody is the most intractable condition, which requires immediate combined immunosuppressive therapy with GCs, CNIs, and intravenous cyclophosphamide. Additional salvage therapies (rituximab, tofacitinib, and plasma exchange) should be considered for patients with refractory ILD. Patients with anti-ARS antibody-positive ILD respond better to GC treatment, but with frequent recurrence; thus, GCs plus immunosuppressants (TAC, CsA, azathioprine, and mycophenolate mofetil) are often needed in order to achieve favorable long-term disease control. PM/DM/CADM-ILD management is still a therapeutic challenge for clinicians, as evidence-based guidelines do not exist to help with management decisions. A few prospective clinical trials have been recently reported regarding the treatment of PM/DM/CADM-ILD. Here, the current knowledge on the pharmacologic managements of PM/DM/CADM-ILD was mainly reviewed

Methanol production by reversed methylotrophy constructed in Escherichia coli

We constructed a reversed methylotrophic pathway that produces methanol, a promising feedstock for production of useful compounds, from fructose 6-phosphate (F6P), which can be supplied by catabolism of biomass-derived sugars including glucose, by a synthetic biology approach. Using Escherichia coli as an expression host, we heterologously expressed genes encoding methanol utilization enzymes from methylotrophic bacteria, i.e. the NAD⁺-dependent methanol dehydrogenase (MDH) from Bacillus methanolicus S1 and an artificial fusion enzyme of 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase and 6-phospho-3-hexuloisomerase from Mycobacterium gastri MB19 (HPS-PHI). We confirmed that these enzymes can catalyze reverse reactions of methanol oxidation and formaldehyde fixation. The engineered E. coli strain co-expressing MDH and HPS-PHI genes produced methanol in resting cell reactions not only from F6P but also from glucose. We successfully conferred reversed methylotrophy to E. coli and our results provide a proof-of-concept for biological methanol production from biomass-derived sugar compounds

A Case Report of Idiopathic Omental Infarction in an Obese Child

Omental infarction (OI) is a rare cause of acute abdomen in children. A 9-year-old girl was presented with sudden-onset intermittent right lower quadrant abdominal pain and fever (37.9°C). Physical examination revealed abdominal tenderness in the right lower quadrant with localized rebound tenderness which resembled acute appendicitis. She was obese and her BMI was on the 99th percentile. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a 5 cm ill-defined heterogeneous fatty mass with hyperattenuating streaks just beneath the abdominal wall. She was diagnosed as OI and treated conservatively with reduced meals and antibiotics. Her symptom resolved gradually and she was discharged on day 7 without complications. OI should be considered as a differential diagnosis for acute right-sided abdominal pain, especially in obese children. Enhanced CT is useful for differentiating OI from other conditions presenting with acute abdomen

Characteristics of hospitalized children infected with macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to clarify retrospectively the characteristics of children hospitalized for respiratory tract infection caused by macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae).METHODS: Children who were hospitalized for respiratory tract infection due to M. pneumoniae were enrolled in this study. The diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection was made on the grounds of polymerase chain reaction results.RESULTS: Thirty-three children were hospitalized due to lower respiratory tract infection with M. pneumoniae. Of the 33 children, 31 (median age five years) were identified as being infected with macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae (A2063G:30, A2064G:1) by sequence analysis. Of the 31 children infected with macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae, 21 (68%) had received 14- or 15-membered macrolide antibiotics and four (13%) had received minocycline before hospitalization. During hospitalization, minocycline was administered to 16 (52%) of the 31 children infected with macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae. Of the 20 children infected with macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae under eight years of age, six (30%) were treated with minocycline during hospitalization. The difference in total febrile days between children receiving minocycline treatment before hospitalization and children not receiving minocycline treatment was three days.CONCLUSIONS: The majority of hospitalized children with respiratory tract infection due to macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae infection was of preschool age and had received 14- or 15-membered macrolide antibiotics before hospitalization. Because macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae is widespread in Japan, the administration of minocycline as a second-line antibiotic in children under eight years of age cannot be withheld when clinical symptoms do not improve with macrolide antibiotics

Infrared Free Electron Laser or Polarized Ultraviolet Photolysis of Hierarchical and Chiral Components of Interleukin-6, AlanylAlanine and Alanine: Photolysis of hierarchical and chiral components of interleukin 6

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) could be decomposed by irradiation of IR-FEL (Infrared free electron laser). Using circularly polarized and other UV light and IR-FEL light, photolysis of hierarchical components of cast films of IL-6, namely deuterated aqueous solutions of enantiomers of dipeptide (L-alanyl-L-alanine (Ala-ala) or D-alanyl-D-alanine) and enantiomers of amino acid (L-alanine (Ala) or D-alanine) was investigated whether specific bonds can be broken by absorption of light (not due to heat). In addition, IR-FEL irradiation to powder as well as crystal structure determination for L-Ala and D-Ala at 173 and 293 K were also carried out to confirm reproducibility in the solid state about long-lasting controversy about Salam’ hypothesis associated with chirality exhibiting structural phase transition at different temperature. Subunits of IL-6 (dipeptide and amino acid) could not be decomposed by polarized IR-FEL nor UV (ultraviolet) light regardless of their chirality. All experimental methods tested in this study failed to prove Salam's hypothesis, positively. Consequently, secondary structure of IL-6 was found to be easier to be damaged by IR-FEL than covalent bonds. HIGHLIGHTS Interleukin 6 (IL-6) was decomposed by irradiation of IR-FEL (Infrared free electron laser). Parts of IL-6 (dipeptide and amino acid) was not decomposed by polarized IR-FEL nor UV (ultraviolet) light regardless of their chirality. Secondary structure of IL-6 was easier to be damaged by IR-FEL than covalent bonds. &nbsp

Experimental observations on the optimal layout of orientation blocks for safe road crossing by the visually impaired

For people with visual impairments who face difficulties when crossing the road, in urban areas of Japan the infrastructure designed to provide an indication of crossing direction and the curbstones at sidewalk-roadway boundaries often varies in reliability from one crossing to another. If anything, this promotes stress for users and is an issue for which improvement is urgently needed. The authors have proposed new orientation blocks to be installed at crosswalk entrances as a means of more accurately indicating to people with visual impairments the trajectory to follow when crossing the road, and in prior research have derived desirable specifications for the profile of these blocks and their position relative to tactile walking surface indicators (TWSI). For this paper, in order to examine in greater detail the desirable position of orientation blocks relative to TWSI, the authors conducted an experiment using totally blind subjects to evaluate conditions on a 10 m walk that simulated an actual crossing. The results, based on observations of the trajectories walked by participants in the experiment and interviews eliciting their subjective evaluations, showed that separating orientation blocks and blister tactile blocks by about 8–12 cm is effective in constraining lateral deviation at a point 5 m from the start of crossing and that an 8 cm separation was desirable in order to maintain an effective reduction of mental stress while crossing