Evolving Research and Development Landscape for Rare Diseases: Growing Concerns Over Orphan Drug Lag in Japan.

Patients with rare diseases worldwide face substantial unmet therapeutic needs. In Japan, drug lag-delays in drug approval compared to other countries-has resurfaced as a pressing public health issue. This study analyzes orphan drugs (ODs) approved in the United States (US) from 2005 to 2021, examining OD lag trends, and research and development (R&D) models to streamline OD development in Japan.

Unequal {110} Facets: The Potential Role of Intraparticle Heterogeneity and Facet Termination in Photoelectrochemical Activity of Single BiVO Particles.

BiVO photoanodes are promising for solar water splitting, with photogenerated electrons and holes preferentially reacting at top {010} and lateral {110} facets, respectively. However, the mechanisms driving this facet-dependent reactivity remain unclear. Here, we investigate facet-dependent photocurrent and material heterogeneity using correlative scanning photoelectrochemical microscopy (SPCM), electron beam induced current (EBIC) mapping, and mid-IR scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM).

VR HMD color calibration and accurate control of emitted light using Three.js.

Virtual reality (VR) can be used to design and create new types of psychophysical experiments. Its main advantage is that it frees us from the physical limitations of real-life experiments and the hardware and software limitations of experiments running on two-dimensional (2D) displays and computer graphics. However, color calibration of the displays is often required in vision science studies.

Multi-branch convolutional neural network with cross-attention mechanism for emotion recognition.

Research on emotion recognition is an interesting area because of its wide-ranging applications in education, marketing, and medical fields. This study proposes a multi-branch convolutional neural network model based on cross-attention mechanism (MCNN-CA) for accurate recognition of different emotions. The proposed model provides automated extraction of relevant features from multimodal data and fusion of feature maps from diverse sources as modules for the subsequent emotion recognition.

Plasma-Derived Atomic Hydrogen Enables Eley-Rideal-Type CO Methanation at Low Temperatures.

Activating H molecules into atomic hydrogen and utilizing their intrinsic chemical reactivity are important processes in catalytic hydrogenation. Here, we have developed a plasma-catalyst combined system that directly provides atomic hydrogen from the gas phase to the catalytic reaction to utilize the high energy and translational freedom of atomic hydrogen. In this system, we show that the temperature of CO methanation over Ni/AlO can be dramatically lower compared to thermal catalysis.

Differences in kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity between underwater dolphin kicking and flutter kicking: multiple approaches using three-dimensional motion analysis, electromyography, and hydrodynamic simulation.

It is well-known among swimmers and coaches that the swimming speed of the underwater dolphin kick (UDK) is higher than that of the underwater flutter kick (UFK). This study aimed to clarify the differences in swimming performance between the two kicking styles in terms of kinematics, kinetics and muscle activity. Eight male swimmers performed UDK and UFK in a water flume at same effort levels.

Whole-brain gray matter volume and fractional anisotropy of the posterior thalamic radiation and sagittal stratum in healthy adults correlate with the local environment.

The impacts of air pollution, local climate, and urbanization on human health have been well-documented in recent studies. In this study, we combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain analysis with a questionnaire survey on the local environment in 141 healthy middle-aged men and women. Our findings reveal that a favorable environment is positively correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) in the frontal and occipital lobes, cerebellum, and whole brain, as well as with fractional anisotropy (FA) in the fornix (including the fornix stria terminalis), posterior thalamic radiation (PTR), sagittal stratum (SS), and whole brain.

Elucidation of interface interactions between a dehydratase domain and an acyl carrier protein in cremimycin polyketide synthase.

Modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) are multi-domain enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of polyketide natural products. The dehydratase (DH) domain catalyzes the dehydration of the β-hydroxyacyl unit attached to the acyl carrier protein (ACP) domain in modular PKS. Although the DH domain likely recognizes the cognate ACP domain during the dehydration reaction, the molecular basis of DH-ACP interactions remains elusive.

Qcforever2: Advanced Automation of Quantum Chemistry Computations.

QCforever is a wrapper designed to automatically and simultaneously calculate various physical quantities using quantum chemical (QC) calculation software for blackbox optimization in chemical space. We have updated it to QCforever2 to search the conformation and optimize density functional parameters for a more accurate and reliable evaluation of an input molecule. In blackbox optimization, QCforever2 can work as compactly arranged surrogate models for costly chemical experiments.

Crystal Structures of Antigen-Binding Fragment of Anti-Osteocalcin Antibody KTM219.

Osteocalcin is a useful biomarker for bone formation and bone-related diseases. KTM219 is an anti-osteocalcin C-terminal peptide antibody. The single-chain variable region (scFv) and antigen-binding fragment (Fab) of KTM219 are applicable to the Quenchbody (Q-body) immunoassay.

Method for extracting elemental sulfur in environmental water and its application to blue tide samples from Tokyo Bay, Japan.

A simple method for determining elemental sulfur in environmental water was developed and applied to seawater samples collected immediately after the occurrence of blue tides in Tokyo Bay. To investigate the concentration and extraction methods, artificial elemental sulfur was quantitatively produced by oxidizing a sulfide solution with an iodine solution, then used as a standard reagent in the experiments. To concentrate the elemental sulfur in the water sample, glass filter paper (GF/F) was used to filter and collect the elemental sulfur.

PRA-MutPred: Predicting the Effect of Point Mutations in Protein-RNA Complexes Using Structural Features.

Interactions between proteins and RNAs are essential for the proper functioning of cells, and mutations in these molecules may lead to diseases. These protein mutations alter the strength of interactions between the protein and RNA, generally described as binding affinity (Δ). Hence, the affinity change upon mutation (ΔΔ) is an important parameter for understanding the effect of mutations in protein-RNA complexes.

Contrasting Mechanochromic Luminescence of Enantiopure and Racemic Pyrenylprolinamides: Elucidating Solid-State Excimer Orientation by Circularly Polarized Luminescence.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) and mechanochromic luminescence (MCL) have independently made substantial progress in recent years. However, the exploration of MCL in solid-state CPL materials, which holds practical significance, is still in its infancy. Herein, we report the MCL properties of readily accessible chiral pyrenylprolinamides bearing tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) or 2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonyl (Troc) groups.

Selective Synthesis of Amines by Heterogeneous Co Catalysts via Borrowing Hydrogen Protocols.

Developed Co-MgO/TiO was applicable to C-N bond formation by direct amination of primary and secondary alcohols with NH via a borrowing hydrogen protocol. Selective synthesis of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines was achieved by controlling the reaction conditions. Asymmetric secondary amines can be synthesized by the coupling of alcohols and amines.

High transmission in 120-degree sharp bends of inversion-symmetric and inversion-asymmetric photonic crystal waveguides.

Bending loss is one of the serious problems for constructing nanophotonic integrated circuits. Recently, many works reported that valley photonic crystals (VPhCs) enable significantly high transmission via 120-degree sharp bends. However, it is unclear whether the high bend-transmission results directly from the valley-photonic effects, which are based on the breaking of inversion symmetry.

Continuous Strain Modulation of Moiré Superlattice Symmetry From Triangle to Rectangle.

Moiré superlattices formed in van der Waals (vdW) bilayers of 2D materials provide an ideal platform for studying previously undescribed physics, including correlated electronic states and moiré excitons, owing to the wide-range tunability of their lattice constants. However, their crystal symmetry is fixed by the monolayer structure, and the lack of a straightforward technique for modulating the symmetry of moiré superlattices has impeded progress in this field. Herein, a simple, room-temperature, ambient method for controlling superlattice symmetry is reported.

Discovery of bicyclic borane molecule BH.

The discovery of fullerene following the synthesis of graphene marked a paradigm shift in chemistry. Here, we report the discovery of biycycloborane, arising from the synthesis of borophane (hydrogen boride). Uniquely, this synthesis method involves a decomposition mechanism rather than traditional atom-by-atom assembly, marking an unique approach to constructing complex borane structures.

Cost-Effective Strategy of Enhancing Machine Learning Potentials by Transfer Learning from a Multicomponent Data Set on ænet-PyTorch.

Machine learning potentials (MLPs) offer efficient and accurate material simulations, but constructing the reference ab initio database remains a significant challenge, particularly for catalyst-adsorbate systems. Training an MLP with a small data set can lead to overfitting, thus limiting its practical applications. This study explores the feasibility of developing computationally cost-effective and accurate MLPs for catalyst-adsorbate systems with a limited number of ab initio references by leveraging a transfer learning strategy from subsets of a comprehensive public database.

Serum laminin γ2 monomer as a novel diagnostic and prognostic marker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: The identification of effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers is critical to improving the outcomes of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We explored the potential of serum levels of laminin γ2 monomer (LG2m) as a biomarker in PDAC.

Methods: This study included two cohorts.

Exploring perceptions of diabetes distress and its care in Japan: a qualitative study of patients and physicians.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the obstacles preventing care of diabetes distress from being integrated into diabetes management, as perceived by both patients and healthcare professionals. By conducting interviews with people with type 2 diabetes (PWD) and physicians, this study aimed to gain insight into the current state of care for diabetes distress in diabetes management and propose targeted interventions to improve patients' overall well-being and treatment outcomes.

Design: This qualitative study used semistructured interviews with patients and physicians.

Reconstructing the experienced temperature during the larval oceanic migration of anguillid eels from otolith stable oxygen isotopes.

Migration routes and the depth patterns of anguillid eel larvae migrating long distances from spawning grounds in the ocean remain poorly understood. We used otolith stable isotope analysis to study the oceanic migrations of anguillid eels by reconstructing experienced water temperature histories of larvae. The otolith stable oxygen isotopes (δO) of recruited Anguilla japonica glass eels were analyzed to assess the relationship with the experienced water temperature of the early larval stage in laboratory experiments.

Selective adsorption of unmethylated DNA on ZnO nanowires for separation of methylated DNA.

DNA methylation is a crucial epigenetic modification used as a biomarker for early cancer progression. However, existing methods for DNA methylation analysis are complex, time-consuming, and prone to DNA degradation. This work demonstrates selective capture of unmethylated DNAs using ZnO nanowires without chemical or biological modifications, thereby concentrating methylated DNA, particularly those with high methylation levels that can predict cancer risk.

Electroencephalography-guided transcranial direct current stimulation improves picture-naming performance.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a potential method for improving verbal function by stimulating Broca's area. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to optimize the stimulation site, but it is unclear whether similar optimization can be achieved using scalp electroencephalography (EEG). Here, we investigated whether tDCS targeting a brain area identified by EEG can improve verbalization performance during a picture-naming task.