Evaluation of freshness of lettuce using multi-spectroscopic sensing and machine learning

We aimed to develop a method to evaluate lettuce freshness changes during storage using only the surface color. In the first experiment, the surface color of one lettuce were measured continuously for 6 days. At the same time, moisture contents, elemental composition and organic matter of lettuce leaves were measured by oven drying method, X-ray fluorescent analysis and Mid-infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Considering a combination of the surface color and moisture and elemental contents, it was found that there were several color change points before and after the time when the moisture contents and elemental balances in the lettuce changed. These results represented that the surface color could relate to the internal quality. Additionally, it is suggested that freshness of lettuce could be quantified and predicted using surface color information.Furthermore, the data set and the method for freshness evaluation leading to machine learning were studied in the second experiment for the freshness judgement. In this experiment, 15 multispectral sensing data including lettuce color information were acquired, and the quality change point was determined using machine learning such as K-means and decision tree

Synthesis and Evaluation of 1,3a,6a-triazapentalene (TAP)-bonded system

A method of synthesizing a directly connected 1,3a,6a-triazapentalene (TAP) ring system as a linearly bonded aromatic system with a planar form was established. Various TAP-dimers and a 2-alkyl-TAP-trimer were synthesized and their fluorescence properties were evaluated. Although the direct connection of the TAP ring with other TAP rings did not affect the fluorescence properties in diluted solvent, TAP-dimers showed unique fluorescence properties derived from the aggregation state under highly concentrated conditions. In particular, TAP-dimer 5f showed aggregation-induced emission in highly concentrated solution, and 5b showed typical mechanochromic fluorescence in the solid state despite their compact molecular size

Geochemical study of ultramafic rocks from Latowu area of North Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi and its implication for CO2 sequestration

Geochemistry of ultramafic rocks in the Latowu Area of North Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi has been investigated with the aim at deciphering of mineral characteristics, chemical composition and their potential use as carbon dioxide storage. Mineralogy was characterized by both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD); whereas bulk rock and mineral chemistry were analyzed by means of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and Electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) respectively. Results of analyses show that lizardite is predominant serpentine mineral present, followed by chrysotile and trace amount of magnetite. Remnants of olivine and pyroxene were detected in some samples but they have been pseudomorphicly replaced by serpentine. Serpentinization of Latowu ultramafic rocks has led to decrease in grain size and density. Lizardite is characterized by fine grained particles with higher in iron. The higher Mg and Fe of the rocks indicate a suitability as feed materials for carbon dioxide sequestration. Mineral and chemical properties of ultramafic rocks have significant role in evaluating the feasibility of mineral carbonation

Root PRR7 improves the accuracy of the shoot circadian clock through nutrient transport

The circadian clock allows plants to anticipate and adapt to periodic environmental changes. Organ- and tissue-specific properties of the circadian clock and shoot-to-root circadian signaling have been reported. While this long-distance signaling is thought to coordinate physiological functions across tissues, little is known about the feedback regulation of the root clock on the shoot clock in the hierarchical circadian network. Here, we show that the plant circadian clock conveys circadian information between shoots and roots through sucrose and K⁺. We also demonstrate that K+ transport from roots suppresses the variance of period length in shoots and then improves the accuracy of the shoot circadian clock. Sucrose measurements and qPCR showed that root sucrose accumulation was regulated by the circadian clock. Furthermore, root circadian clock genes, including PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR7 (PRR7), were regulated by sucrose, suggesting the involvement of sucrose from the shoot in the regulation of root clock gene expression. Therefore, we performed time-series measurements of xylem sap and micrografting experiments using prr7 mutants and showed that root PRR7 regulates K⁺ transport and suppresses variance of period length in the shoot. Our modeling analysis supports the idea that root-to-shoot signaling contributes to the precision of the shoot circadian clock. We performed micrografting experiments that illustrated how root PRR7 plays key roles in maintaining the accuracy of shoot circadian rhythms. We thus present a novel directional signaling pathway for circadian information from roots to shoots and propose that plants modulate physiological events in a timely manner through various timekeeping mechanisms

Tazobactam/piperacillin for moderate-to-severe pneumonia in patients with risk for aspiration: comparison with imipenem/cilastatin.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of aspiration pneumonia is becoming an important issue due to aging of populations worldwide. Effectiveness of tazobactam/piperacillin (TAZ/PIPC) in aspiration pneumonia is not clear. PURPOSE: To compare clinical efficacy between TAZ/PIPC (1:4 compound) and imipenem/cilastatin (IPM/CS) in patients with moderate-to-severe aspiration pneumonia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this open-label, randomized study either TAZ/PIPC 5 g or IPM/CS 1 g was intravenously administered every 12 h to patients with moderate-to-severe community-acquired aspiration pneumonia or nursing home-acquired pneumonia with risk for aspiration pneumonia for average 11 days. The primary outcome was clinical response rate at the end of treatment (EOT) in validated per-protocol (VPP) population. Secondary outcomes were clinical response during treatment (days 4 and 7) and at the end of study (EOS) in VPP population, and survival at day 30 in modified intention-to-treat (MITT) population. RESULTS: There was no difference between the groups in primary or secondary outcome. However, significantly faster improvement as measured by axillary temperature (p < 0.05) and WBC count (p = 0.01) was observed under TAZ/PIPC treatment. In patients with gram-positive bacterial infection, TAZ/PIPC was more effective at EOT in VPP population (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: TAZ/PIPC is as effective and safe as IPM/CS in the treatment of moderate- to-severe aspiration pneumonia

Structural insights into the agonists binding and receptor selectivity of human histamine H₄ receptor

慢性アレルギー疾患に関わるヒスタミン受容体の構造解明 --新規アトピー性皮膚炎・喘息治療薬の開発に貢献--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-10-23.Histamine is a biogenic amine that participates in allergic and inflammatory processes by stimulating histamine receptors. The histamine H₄ receptor (H₄R) is a potential therapeutic target for chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. Here, we show the cryo-electron microscopy structures of the H₄R-Gq complex bound with an endogenous agonist histamine or the selective agonist imetit bound in the orthosteric binding pocket. The structures demonstrate binding mode of histamine agonists and that the subtype-selective agonist binding causes conformational changes in Phe344[7.39], which, in turn, form the “aromatic slot”. The results provide insights into the molecular underpinnings of the agonism of H₄R and subtype selectivity of histamine receptors, and show that the H₄R structures may be valuable in rational drug design of drugs targeting the H₄R

Long-Term Outcome after Bone Marrow Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia Using Cyclophosphamide and Total Lymphoid Irradiation as Conditioning Regimen

AbstractWe retrospectively studied 49 patients in a single institute to evaluate the long-term outcome of total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) conditioning for allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) to treat aplastic anemia (AA). Most of the patients had received transfusions and had undergone previous treatment, with 33 receiving related transplants and 16 receiving unrelated transplants. Conditioning consisted of cyclophosphamide (Cy; 200 mg/kg) plus TLI (750 cGy) for related transplantation and Cy plus total body irradiation (TBI; 500 cGy) and TLI (500 cGy) for unrelated transplantation. Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) was added for 6 of the unrelated transplantations. Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted mainly of cyclosporine (CSA) and methotrexate (MTX). Graft failure developed in 2 patients (4.1%). With a median follow-up of 7 years, overall survival (OS) was 81% and was not statistically significantly different between the patients receiving related transplants and those receiving unrelated transplants. In multivariate analyses, a history of previous treatment with ATG was the sole factor associated with a worse survival rate, and the interval from diagnosis to treatment was not prognostic. The incidence of acute (grade II to IV) GVHD (aGVHD) was 23%, and that of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 29%. Female-to-male transplantation was the sole factor associated with chronic GVHD. B cell lymphoproliferative disorder developed only after the ATG-containing conditioning. No other secondary malignancies developed after long-term follow-up. Our findings suggest that TLI conditioning is feasible and effective for patients with AA

MEFV gene mutations in neuro-Behçet's disease and neuro-Sweet disease

ArticleAnnals of clinical and translational neurology. 6(12): 2595-2600 (2019)journal articl