Emulating visual evaluations in the microscopic agglutination test with deep learning.

The Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) is widely recognized as the gold standard for diagnosing zoonosis leptospirosis. However, the MAT relies on subjective evaluations by human experts, which can lead to inconsistencies and inter-observer variability. In this study, we aimed to emulate expert assessments using deep learning and convert them into reproducible numerical outputs to achieve greater objectivity.

Mismatch-sensitive DNA hybridization controlled by inchworm-type peptide nucleic acid-PEG conjugates.

The duplex-forming behavior of an inchworm-type PNA-PEG conjugate (i-PPc), engineered for the selective recognition of point mutations in DNA, was assessed through thermodynamic analysis employing UV melting curves and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The i-PPc demonstrated the ability to form stable duplexes exclusively with fully complementary DNA sequences, while no hybridization with single-base mismatched sequences. This binary on/off hybridization behavior was maintained even under physiologically relevant conditions (37 °C), thereby illustrating the exceptional point mutation discrimination capability of i-PPc.

Pulmonary Smooth Muscle Hyperplasia Difficult to Differentiate from Primary Lung Cancer: A Case Report.

Introduction: Pulmonary smooth muscle hyperplasia (SMH) is a rare benign tumor that presents CT imaging findings that require differentiation from those of primary lung cancer.

Case Presentation: The postoperative follow-up chest CT for gastric cancer in a 76-year-old Japanese man revealed an abnormal shadow. A 2.

Concurrent incomplete atrioventricular septal defect and supravalvular mitral stenosis causing heart failure in a 13-year-old cat: a case report.

A 13-year-old female Persian cat with a heart murmur presented with dyspnea. Thoracic radiography revealed pleural effusion and dilation of peripheral pulmonary vessels. Echocardiography showed significant enlargement of the right atrium and ventricle and left atrial appendage; an atrial septal defect (ASD) near the atrioventricular valves; and a septum-like structure below the left atrial appendage.

Effect of Preoperative Nutritional Status on Postoperative Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Metastatic Spinal Tumors: Japan Association of Spine Surgeons with Ambition Multicenter Study.

Study Design: A multicenter prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of preoperative nutritional status, assessed using the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), on clinical outcomes, including survival prognosis, postoperative complications, hospitalization duration, and functional prognosis, in patients with metastatic spinal tumors undergoing surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Malnutrition is common in patients with cancer and is associated with poor clinical outcomes.

New-onset Kleine-Levin syndrome following COVID-19 infection: A case report.

Background: Kleine-Levin syndrome (KLS) is a rare sleep disorder marked by recurrent episodes of severe hypersomnolence with accompanying cognitive, behavioral, or mood disturbances. Infections are frequently reported before symptom onset and have been proposed as potential triggers, although a definitive causal relationship has not been established. Although relapses of KLS after COVID-19 infection have been described, only one possible case of new-onset KLS associated with COVID-19 has been reported, in which a definitive diagnosis was not established.

Metabolism of L-threonate, an ascorbate degradation product, requires a protein with L-threonate metabolizing domains in Arabidopsis.

L-Threonate is one of the major degradation products of ascorbate in plants. While bacteria can utilize L-threonate as a sole carbon source by converting it to dihydroxyacetone phosphate, a glycolysis intermediate, through a three- or four-step metabolic pathway, the corresponding processes in plants remain uncharacterized. Remarkably, an Arabidopsis gene encodes a unique protein containing domains homologous to all three enzymes involved in the bacterial three-step pathway.

Comparative evaluation of impact-based and hybrid approaches for real time earthquake shaking prediction.

Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems can provide seconds to tens of seconds of advanced notice before the arrival of destructive seismic waves. Their effectiveness, however, depends on how quickly and accurately each system forecasts ground motion using real-time data. This study compares the performance of two distinct EEW algorithms (PLUM (Kodera et al.

MAGGIC risk score-based risk stratification for selecting patients with heart failure who will benefit from multidisciplinary care.

Objective: Guidelines worldwide recommend specialist outpatient clinics staffed by a multidisciplinary team for management of patients with heart failure (HF). However, there is limited information on how best to select these patients for efficient use of resources. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of team-based care for patients with HF after discharge from hospital according to duration of intervention and stratification of patients according to risk.

Effects of attenuated TrkB signaling on the medial prefrontal cortex during early brain development: A comparative study using the maternal separation model.

Early life stress (ELS) is known to cause long-lasting social and cognitive deficits, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We previously reported that maternal separation (MS), a widely used ELS model, induces transient downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during early postnatal development. In this study, we investigated whether this transient suppression of BDNF-TrkB signaling contributes to the reduction in inhibitory neurons and behavioral alterations observed in the MS model.

Tau-Derived Peptides Bearing Azobenzene on Side Chains for Light-Controllable Microtubule Polymerization.

The precise control of microtubule dynamics is essential for diverse cellular processes and is a promising target for optical regulation using photoresponsive molecules. In this study, we developed Tau-derived peptides bearing azobenzene moieties on their side chains that enabled reversible photocontrol of microtubule polymerization by binding to the inside of microtubules. Two peptide derivatives with azobenzene located at different positions were synthesized by simple on-resin Fmoc solid-phase chemistry.

Effect of α- and δ-Tocotrienol on Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells~Tocotrienols as Potential Candidates for the Treatment of Airway Remodeling in Asthma.

Tocotrienols are members of the vitamin E family and exhibit antioxidant properties, immunomodulatory effects, and anti-inflammatory actions. Previously, we demonstrated that γ-tocotrienol inhibits human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell proliferation, migration, contractile phenotype expression, and extracellular matrix protein synthesis by suppressing RhoA activation. In this study, we investigated whether α- or δ-tocotrienol modulates transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)-induced contractile phenotype expression in human ASM cells and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB)-induced proliferation and migration of ASM cells.

Randomized Multicenter Trial of -8cmH2O versus -15cm H2O Intrathoracic Pressure Digital Thoracic Drainage for Air Leaks after Anatomical Pulmonary Resection.

Background: Digital pleural drainage systems are commonly used for chest tube management after lung resection, but the optimal intrathoracic pressure setting for digital pleural drainage systems in patients with air leaks remains unclear.

Methods: The study was a multicenter, prospective, RCT including patients with moderate air leaks (100-1000 mL/min) following segmentectomy or lobectomy. Patients were randomized to group A (physiological pressure mode, -8 cmHO) and group B (-15 cmHO).

Hybrid physical-statistical framework for seasonal streamflow forecasting in the Upper Feather River Basin, California.

Seasonal streamflow forecasts are essential given climate-driven extremes that breach stationarity in traditional methods. The complex hydrology and competing demands necessitate improved forecasting in the Upper Feather River Basin (UFRB), a key California State Water Project source upstream of Oroville Dam. We introduce a hybrid framework combining dynamical downscaling via WRF and the WEHY-HCM snow-hydrology model with a lead-time-dependent exponential-smoothing filter that adaptively corrects bias and quantifies uncertainty.

Worked human bones and the rise of urban society in the neolithic Liangzhu culture, East Asia.

The Liangzhu culture, which emerged in the mid-Holocene Yangtze Delta, established one of East Asia's earliest cities. At its core site, Liangzhu, numerous worked human bones were unearthed from canal and moat deposits. These remains date from 5000 to 4550 cal BP, with a concentration between 4800 and 4600 cal BP.

Muscle Quality Assessed by the Phase Angle Can Predict Renal Prognosis in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

: Muscle quality reflects functional characteristics beyond muscle mass and may offer prognostic insights in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated whether muscle quality predicts sarcopenia and renal outcomes in non-dialysis CKD patients. : We prospectively recruited 93 patients with CKD (stage G1-5).

γ-Cyclodextrin Co-Ingestion Enhances the Bioavailability of Perilla Oil, Regardless of Inclusion Complex Formation.

Perilla oil, a plant-derived lipid rich in α-linolenic acid (ALA), has demonstrated enhanced bioavailability when administered as an inclusion complex with γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD). Crucially, it remains unclear whether this enhancement requires complex formation or can be achieved simply by co-ingestion. To address this, we compared the effects of a γ-CD-perilla oil inclusion complex to the effects of a physical mixture of the two on the plasma fatty acid profiles of rats fed these preparations for four weeks.

Auxin Responds to Flowing Nutrient Solution to Accelerate the Root Growth of Lettuce in Hydroponic Culture.

Traditional soil cultivation of lettuce faces challenges; hydroponic technology offers solutions to improve lettuce production. However, the interrelationships among the root phenotype of lettuce, auxin synthesis and signal transduction, and nutrient solution flow, and their effects on hydroponic lettuce growth remain unclear. We investigated the effects of nutrient solution flow state on lettuce's early growth, transcriptomic changes, and auxin-related gene expression.

Antitumor Effects of Combination Therapy with Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus and Tepotinib on Lung Cancer Cells.

Despite advancements in molecular-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors, the survival rate of patients with advanced lung cancer remains unsatisfactory. Therefore, new and effective treatment strategies are urgently needed. Both mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) inhibitors and oncolytic viruses exhibit immunomodulatory properties along with direct antitumor effects.

Educational interventions on falls and fracture prevention in community dwelling older adults: a scoping review.

This scoping review aims to identify and summarize the content, duration, main outcomes, and benefits of educational interventions for fracture and fall prevention in community-dwelling older adults. Following JBI methodology and PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted in MEDLINE, Cochrane, JMED Plus J, EMBASE, and Igaku Chuo Zasshi for studies published in English and Japanese over the past ten years. Eligible studies included RCTs, quasi-experimental studies, observational studies, and systematic reviews.

Meteorological influences on seizure occurrence in children with epilepsy: a case-crossover analysis.

Purpose: Research on the association between meteorological conditions and epileptic seizures in children with epilepsy (CWE) remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity on seizure occurrence in CWE.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter prospective observational study involving CWE under 16 years of age who had experienced seizures more than once per year but less than once per week over the past year.

Localized Stage Plasmablastic Lymphoma with Ulcerative Colitis in Long-term Remission after Chemoradiotherapy.

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is a rare and aggressive B-cell lymphoma with a poor prognosis and is typically linked to HIV-related immunodeficiency. PBL associated with ulcerative colitis (UC) is an extremely rare condition. We report the case of a 63-year-old HIV-negative woman with UC who developed colonic PBL after long-term mesalazine and budesonide treatment.

[Questionnaire survey about barriers to telemedicine for patients with intractable neurological disorders].

Telemedicine is not widely used in patients with intractable neurological disorders including neurodegenerative diseases even though its application was covered by national insurance in Japan. To clarify what patient factors should be overcome for telemedicine application, we surveyed outpatients with intractable neurological disorders using questionnaires in Tottori University Hospital, Tekeda General Hospital and Fukuoka University Hospitals. The survey showed that more than half of the telemedicine-beginners did not want to use telemedicine in the former two hospitals located in provincial cities (0.

How Musculoskeletal Tumor Management Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data from a Nationwide Questionnaire Survey of Hospitals Specializing in Musculoskeletal Tumors in Japan.

Background: While changes in clinical practice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan have been widely studied, data specific to bone and soft tissue tumor care remain limited.

Methods: A nationwide web-based survey was conducted among hospitals specializing in musculoskeletal tumors. It assessed the occurrence of COVID-19-related events (patient infections, outbreak clusters, and staff infections), delays in referral and diagnosis, postponement or cancellation of specific treatments, and changes in institutional management strategies.

A Transdisciplinary Framework to Bridge Science-Policy-Development Gaps in Global Land Management Initiatives.

Effective implementation of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) remains a major challenge worldwide because of its weak integration within the domains of science, policy, and development practice. Based on global analyses of soil erosion risk and the degree of implementation of SLM research, policies, and practices at the country level, we propose a transdisciplinary framework to address soil erosion through SLM. In the analysis, we used indices of the policy-development, science-policy, and science-development interfaces to evaluate the overall science-policy-development interface (SPDI) in 236 countries.