In-situ preservation of nitrogen-bearing organics in Noachian Martian carbonates

Understanding the origin of organic material on Mars is a major issue in modern planetary science. Recent robotic exploration of Martian sedimentary rocks and laboratory analyses of Martian meteorites have both reported plausible indigenous organic components. However, little is known about their origin, evolution, and preservation. Here we report that 4-billion-year-old (Ga) carbonates in Martian meteorite, Allan Hills 84001, preserve indigenous nitrogen(N)-bearing organics by developing a new technique for high-spatial resolution in situ N-chemical speciation. The organic materials were synthesized locally and/or delivered meteoritically on Mars during Noachian age. The carbonates, alteration minerals from the Martian near-surface aqueous fluid, trapped and kept the organic materials intact over long geological times. This presence of N-bearing compounds requires abiotic or possibly biotic N-fixation and ammonia storage, suggesting that early Mars had a less oxidizing environment than today

S-1 mediated tumor priming enhances intratumor liposomal fate

The efficient delivery of nanocarrier-based cancer therapeutics into tumor tissue is problematic. Structural abnormalities, tumor vasculature heterogeneity, and elevated intratumor pressure impose barriers against the preferential accumulation of nanocarrier-based cancer therapeutics within tumor tissues and, consequently, compromise their therapeutic efficacy. Recently, we have reported that metronomic S-1, orally available tegafur formulation, dosing synergistically augmented the therapeutic efficacy of oxaliplatin (l-OHP)-containing PEGylated liposome without increasing the toxicity in animal model. However, the exact mechanism behind such synergistic effect was not fully elucidated. In this study, therefore, we tried to shed the light on the contributions of metronomic S-1 dosing to the enhanced accumulation and/or spatial distribution of PEGylated liposome within tumor tissue. Tumor priming with metronomic S-1 treatment induced a potent apoptotic response against both angiogenic endothelial cells and tumor cells adjacent to tumor blood vessels, resulting in enhanced tumor blood flow via transient normalization of tumor vasculature, along with alleviation of intratumor pressure. Such a change in the tumor microenvironment imparted by S-1 treatment allows efficient delivery of PEGylated liposome to tumor tissue and permits their deep penetration/distribution into the tumor mass. Such a priming effect of S-1 dosing can be exploited as a promising strategy to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of nanocarrier-based cancer therapeutics suffering from inadequate/heterogeneous delivery to tumor tissues

Association between induction of the self-management system for preventing readmission and disease severity and length of readmission in patients with heart failure

[Objective] We recently developed the self-management system using the HF points and instructions to visit hospitals or clinics when the points exceed the pre-specified levels. We found that the self-management system decreased the hospitalization for HF with an increase in unplanned visits and early intervention in the outpatient department. However, it is unclear whether we managed severe HF outpatients who should have been hospitalized. In this study, we aimed to compare HF severity in rehospitalized patients with regard to self-management system use. [Results] We retrospectively enrolled 306 patients (153 patients each in the system user and non-user groups) using propensity scores (PS). We compared HF severity and length of readmission in rehospitalized patients in both groups. During the 1-year follow-up period, 24 system users and 43 non-system users in the PS-matched cohort were hospitalized. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of brain natriuretic peptide levels at readmission, maximum daily intravenous furosemide dose, percentage of patients requiring intravenous inotropes, duration of hospital stay and in-hospital mortality. These results suggest that the HF severity in rehospitalized patients was not different between the two groups

ECOMICS: A Web-Based Toolkit for Investigating the Biomolecular Web in Ecosystems Using a Trans-omics Approach

Ecosystems can be conceptually thought of as interconnected environmental and metabolic systems, in which small molecules to macro-molecules interact through diverse networks. State-of-the-art technologies in post-genomic science offer ways to inspect and analyze this biomolecular web using omics-based approaches. Exploring useful genes and enzymes, as well as biomass resources responsible for anabolism and catabolism within ecosystems will contribute to a better understanding of environmental functions and their application to biotechnology. Here we present ECOMICS, a suite of web-based tools for ECosystem trans-OMICS investigation that target metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and meta-metabolomic systems, including biomacromolecular mixtures derived from biomass. ECOMICS is made of four integrated webtools. E-class allows for the sequence-based taxonomic classification of eukaryotic and prokaryotic ribosomal data and the functional classification of selected enzymes. FT2B allows for the digital processing of NMR spectra for downstream metabolic or chemical phenotyping. Bm-Char allows for statistical assignment of specific compounds found in lignocellulose-based biomass, and HetMap is a data matrix generator and correlation calculator that can be applied to trans-omics datasets as analyzed by these and other web tools. This web suite is unique in that it allows for the monitoring of biomass metabolism in a particular environment, i.e., from macromolecular complexes (FT2DB and Bm-Char) to microbial composition and degradation (E-class), and makes possible the understanding of relationships between molecular and microbial elements (HetMap). This website is available to the public domain at: https://database.riken.jp/ecomics/

Geographic variations of wood properties of Larix sibirica naturally grown in Mongolia

Geographic variations in growth, stress-wave velocity of stem, dynamic Youngâs modulus of stems and logs, annual ring width, latewood percentage and basic density were investigated for (Münchh.) Ledeb. naturally grown in Mongolia. A total of 250 trees with 20 to 30 cm in stem diameter at a height of 1.3 m above ground level were selected from each natural stand in five different provenances in Mongolia. In addition, five trees in each stand were cut for measuring dynamic Youngâs modulus of stems and logs, annual ring width, latewood percentage and basic density. Mean values of stress-wave velocity of stems in each stand ranged from 2.92 to 3.41 km s, and the mean value of five stands was 3.23 km s. Mean values of dynamic Youngâs modulus of logs in each stand ranged from 5.17 to 9.72 GPa. A significant correlation (â=â0.798, â<â0.01) was found between stress-wave velocity of stems and dynamic Youngâs modulus of logs. Among the five stands, the highest and the lowest values of average annual ring number were 193 and 44, respectively. Mean values of basic density in five trees within each stand were examined and ranged from 0.52 to 0.56 g cm. Significant differences among five stands were found in tree height, stress-wave velocity of stem, dynamic Youngâs modulus of stems and logs, annual ring width and latewood percentage, suggesting that trees naturally grown in Mongolia have geographic variations in mechanical properties of wood.Larix sibiricaâ1â1rpâ3L. sibiric

Concept-based teaching and learning for reconstructing the meaning of peace: a practice of integrated study in Hiroshima Global Academy

The aim of this study is to design the peace education unit, which support the students to achieve the two goals: (1) to reconstruct their own notions of peace, and (2) to acquire interdisciplinary concepts and apply them to find and describe the (non-)peaceful situations in our usual life. Therefore, we developed and implemented a concept based inquiry unit (18 class hours) at Hiroshima Global Academy (HiGA) middle school by contextualize the previous unit plan into the integrated learning program on “Global Justice.” As a result, we could choose the six concepts explaining a nonviolent but threatening the peaceful governance, human relation, and agency, demonstrate the social examples to apply them, and set a controversy defining the criteria of peace. The first outcome of this study is that we show the curricular-instructional gatekeeping adjusting to the school context of HiGA. The second is to find the relations between the students' learning of peace concepts and the reconstruction of peace notion

ヒト社会に貢献する動物に対するGABAのストレス軽減効果の検証

γ-アミノ酪酸 (GABA) の経口投与が肉用牛の長距離輸送および出荷・屠畜時のストレスを低減するかどうかを調べた。試験1では，対照区の去勢牛4頭に20mLの蒸留水を，処理区の去勢牛4頭に体重当たり10mgのGABA粉末を20mLの蒸留水に溶解した水溶液を，それぞれ130.1kmの陸路輸送直前に経口投与した。分散分析の結果，供試牛の唾液中コルチゾール濃度に対する処理と輸送経過時間との交互作用は，経過時間が60分までは有意 (P<0.05) であったが，120分以降については有意ではなくなった。試験2では，肥育牛20頭を5頭ずつ4処理区に分け，屠畜場への輸送前と翌朝の屠畜直前に，G区には13gのGABA粉末を100mLの蒸留水に溶解した水溶液を，S区には100mLの生理食塩水を，SG区には輸送前に生理食塩水と屠畜直前にGABA溶液を，それぞれ経口投与した。C区には輸送前も屠畜直前にも何も投与しなかった。多重比較検定の結果，いずれの処理区のウシの血漿コルチゾール濃度も，C区のウシよりも有意に低かった (全てP<0.01)。血漿アドレナリン濃度も，C区に比べ，S区のウシで有意に低く (P<0.05)，G区のウシで低い傾向 (P<0.10) がみられた。これらの結果から，GABAの経口投与は，肉用牛の輸送および屠畜時のストレスを投与後数十分間は低減させることが確認された。We examined whether orally administered γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) would reduce stress of applied animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs. We report here only about the results of tests of transport and handling stress in cattle. In test 1, 20 mL of GABA solution containing 10 mg of GABA powder per kg body weight was administered to a group of 4 steers. Twenty mL of deionized water was administered to another group of 4 steers. Both groups of steers were then transported together 130.1 km by road. A significant interaction between group and salivary cortisol level for transport times up to 60 min was shown in two-way repeated-measure ANOVA (P<0.05). In test 2, 100 mL of GABA solution containing 13 g of GABA powder was administered to 5 steers twice, just before transport and before slaughter (group G). One hundred mL of normal saline solution (NSS) was administered to 5 steers (group S); 100 mL of NSS and 100 mL of the GABA solution were administered to 5 steers just before transport and before slaughter, respectively (group SG). The remaining 5 steers did not receive any solutions (group C). Significantly lowered concentration of plasma cortisol in groups G, S and SG compared to group C was shown in multiple comparisons (all P<0.01). The concentration of plasma adrenaline was significantly lowered in group S (P<0.05) and tended to be lower in group G (P<0.10) compared to group C. These results indicate that orally administered GABA can be a kind of stress reliever for cattle transported and handled by human

Epidemiologic trends and distributions of imported infectious diseases among travelers to Japan before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2016 to 2021: a descriptive study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the trends of imported infectious diseases among travelers to non-endemic countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article aimed to describe those among travelers to Japan. METHODS: This is a descriptive study based on national surveillance data. Imported infectious disease cases were defined as those with a reported overseas source of infection among 15 diseases pre-selected based on the probability and impact of importation. The number of notified cases from April 2016 to March 2021 were described by disease and time of diagnosis. The relative ratio and absolute difference in case counts-both by number and per arrival-were calculated by disease comparing those from the pandemic period (April 2020-March 2021) to the pre-pandemic period (April 2016-March 2020). RESULTS: A total of 3524 imported infectious disease cases were diagnosed during the study period, including 3439 cases before and 85 cases during the pandemic. The proportionate distribution of diseases changed but notification counts of all 15 diseases decreased during the pandemic. Accounting for arrivals, however, seven diseases showed a two-fold or greater increase, with a notable absolute increase per million arrivals for amebiasis (60.1; 95%CI, 41.5-78.7), malaria (21.7; 10.5-33.0), and typhoid fever (9.3; 1.9-16.8). CONCLUSION: The epidemiology of imported infectious diseases changed during the pandemic. While the number of imported infectious disease cases decreased, the number of cases per arrivals increased considerably both in relative and absolute terms for several diseases of public health and clinical importance

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701