Wet-type grinder-treated okara modulates gut microbiota composition and attenuates obesity in high-fat-fed mice

Wet-type grinder (WG) is a nanofiber technology used to atomize dietary fiber-rich materials. WG-treated okara (WGO) exhibits high dispersion and viscosity similar to those of viscous soluble dietary fibers. Here, we studied the effect of WGO supplementation on obesity and gut microbiota composition in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. WGO intake suppressed body weight gain and fat accumulation, improved glucose tolerance, lowered cholesterol levels, and prevented HFD-induced decrease in muscle mass. WGO supplementation also led to cecum enlargement, lower pH, and higher butyrate production. The bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes (16S rDNA) were sequenced to determine the gut microbiota composition of the fecal samples. Sequencing of bacterial 16S rDNA revealed that WGO treatment increased the abundance of butyrate producer Ruminococcus and reduced the abundances of Rikenellaceae, Streptococcaceae, and Prevotellaceae, which are related to metabolic diseases. Metabolomics analysis of the plasma of WGO- and cellulose-treated mice were conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that the primary bile acid biosynthesis pathway was significantly positively regulated by WGO intake instead of cellulose. These results demonstrate that WG is useful for improving functional properties of okara to prevent metabolic syndromes, including obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.

Insulin-like Growth Factor II mRNA-binding Protein 3 is a Highly Sensitive Marker for Intravascular Large B-cell Lymphoma: Immunohistochemical Analysis of 152 Pathology Specimens From 88 Patients

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare type of aggressive extranodal large B-cell lymphoma characterized by the selective growth of lymphoma cells within the lumina of blood vessels, particularly capillaries. IVLBCL lacks mass formation, and its diagnosis can be challenging. We analyzed the utility of insulin-like growth factor II mRNA-binding protein 3 (IMP3) immunohistochemistry for IVLBCL diagnosis in various organs. Double staining with paired box 5 (PAX5) was performed for validation. Overall, 152 pathological specimens (111 positive and 41 negative for IVLBCL) obtained from 88 patients with a diagnosis of IVLBCL were stained for IMP3 and IMP3/PAX5. As negative controls, 40 pathology specimens from 38 patients with no history of IVLBCL or other B-cell lymphomas were stained for IMP3, which comprised 31 benign pathological specimens from 29 patients in whom malignancy was suspected, 7 cases of appendicitis with intravascular and/or intralymphatic lymphoid proliferations, and 2 cases of intravascular natural killer/T-cell lymphoma. All mononuclear cells with cytoplasmic staining were considered positive for IMP3 expression, but expression restricted to germinal center B cells was excluded from evaluation. All 111 IVLBCL pathological specimens were positive for IMP3 and IMP3/PAX5. In addition, 11 of the 41 specimens originally diagnosed as IVLBCL-negative showed IMP3/PAX5 double-positive cells, raising the suspicion of IVLBCL. However, of the 40 negative control samples, IMP3-positive non-germinal center B cells were detected in only 2 samples (P= 0.0131) and no intravascular IMP3-positive B cells suspicious for IVLBCL were identified. Altogether, IMP3 immunohistochemistry is a highly sensitive marker of IVLBCL and can be a helpful adjunct for IVLBCL diagnosis.

Demonstrating Agreement between Radio and Fluorescence Measurements of the Depth of Maximum of Extensive Air Showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory

We show, for the first time, radio measurements of the depth of shower maximum (X_{max}) of air showers induced by cosmic rays that are compared to measurements of the established fluorescence method at the same location. Using measurements at the Pierre Auger Observatory we show full compatibility between our radio and the previously published fluorescence dataset, and between a subset of air showers observed simultaneously with both radio and fluorescence techniques, a measurement setup unique to the Pierre Auger Observatory. Furthermore, we show radio X_{max} resolution as a function of energy and demonstrate the ability to make competitive high-resolution X_{max} measurements with even a sparse radio array. With this, we show that the radio technique is capable of cosmic-ray mass composition studies, both at Auger and at other experiments.

Antidepressant properties of voluntary exercise mediated by gut microbiota

Although regular exercise has been reported to prevent depression, it has not been clarified whether the gut microbiota is involved in the factors that prevent depression through exercise. We investigated the effects of voluntary exercise on the gut microbiota and the prevention of depression-like behaviors using mice. C57BL/6 J male mice were subjected to 10 weeks of sedentary control or wheel running, then they were subjected to social defeat stress (SDS). Exercise attenuated that sucrose drinking was decreased by SDS treatment. Exercise increased the expression of Bdnf and decreased expression of Zo-1 and Claudin5 in the brain. Fecal Turicibacter, Allobaculum, and Clostridium sensu stricto, and propionate in the cecum were decreased by the exercise. Voluntary exercise-induced antidepressant properties might be partially caused by suppression of serotonin uptake into gut microbiota and increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier via reduced propionate production.

U-shaped link of health checkup data and need for care using a time-dependent cox regression model with a restricted cubic spline

We explored risk indicators likely to result in older adults needing certified long-term care in Japan and ascertained whether this relationship forms a U-shaped link. We analyzed a community-based cohort of residents in Kitanagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Participants were 3718 individuals aged 65 years and above who underwent health examinations between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012. For continuous clinical variables, we applied a time-dependent Cox regression model. Two types of models were applied-a linear and nonlinear model with restricted cubic splines-to assess the U-shaped association. Statistical significance (set at 0.05) for the nonlinearity was tested by comparing the spline and linear models. Among the participants, 701 were certified as needing Level 1 care or higher during a follow-up. Among the continuous clinical variables, the nonlinear model for body mass index, systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase revealed significant U-shaped associations as compared with the linear model in which the outcome was a certification of the need for nursing care. These results provide an important insight into the usefulness of nonlinear models for predicting the risk of such certification.

Limits to Gauge Coupling in the Dark Sector Set by the Nonobservation of Instanton-Induced Decay of Super-Heavy Dark Matter in the Pierre Auger Observatory Data

Instantons, which are nonperturbative solutions to Yang-Mills equations, provide a signal for the occurrence of quantum tunneling between distinct classes of vacua. They can give rise to decays of particles otherwise forbidden. Using data collected at the Pierre Auger Observatory, we search for signatures of such instanton-induced processes that would be suggestive of super-heavy particles decaying in the Galactic halo. These particles could have been produced during the post-inflationary epoch and match the relic abundance of dark matter inferred today. The nonobservation of the signatures searched for allows us to derive a bound on the reduced coupling constant of gauge interactions in the dark sector: α_{X}≲0.09, for 10^{9}≲M_{X}/GeV<10^{19}. Conversely, we obtain that, for instance, a reduced coupling constant α_{X}=0.09 excludes masses M_{X}≳3×10^{13}  GeV. In the context of dark matter production from gravitational interactions alone, we illustrate how these bounds are complementary to those obtained on the Hubble rate at the end of inflation from the nonobservation of tensor modes in the cosmological microwave background.

Potential for Improvement of Gut Microbiota Deterioration Caused by a High-fat, High-sucrose Diet through Administration of Acylated Steryl-β-glycosides

Consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) is associated with an increased risk of metabolic diseases, cancer, and neurological disorders, which are major global health concerns. In the present study, mice were fed a HFD containing 40% fat and 0.5% or 1.0% acylated steryl-β-glucosides (ASG) and their gut microbiota was compared to that of mice fed with a low-fat diet (LFD). After 55 d, the epididymal fat weight was higher in the HFD and ASG groups than in the LFD group; however, the epididymal fat weight was lower in the ASG group than in the HFD group. The abundance of gut microbiota increased with HFD in obese micespecific Bacillota, but decreased when ASG was added to the HFD. The number of intestinal bacteria involved in the production of carcinogenic secondary bile acids was increased by the consumption of HFD, but decreased by the addition of ASG to HSD. This finding may indicate the gut bacteria-mediated health benefits of ASG.

Antibody avidity maturation, following recovery from infection or the booster vaccination, grants breadth in SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing capacity

Background

Cross-neutralizing capacity of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants is important in mitigating (re-)exposures. Role of antibody maturation, the process whereby selection of higher affinity antibodies augments host immunity, to determine SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing capacity was investigated.

Methods

Sera from SARS-CoV-2 convalescents at 2-, 6-, or 10-months post-recovery, and BNT162b2 vaccine recipients at 3- or 25-weeks post-vaccination, were analyzed. Anti-spike IgG avidity was measured on urea-treated ELISAs. Neutralizing capacity was assessed by surrogate neutralization assays. Fold change between variant and wild-type neutralization inferred the breadth of neutralizing capacity.

Results

Compared with early-convalescence, avidity indices of late-convalescent sera were significantly higher (median 37.7 (interquartile range 28.4–45.1) vs. 64.9 (57.5–71.5), p &lt; 0.0001). Urea-resistant, high-avidity IgG best predicted neutralizing capacity (Spearman’s r = 0.49 vs. 0.67 (wild-type); 0.18–0.52 vs. 0.48–0.83 (variants)). Higher-avidity convalescent sera better cross-neutralized SARS-CoV-2 variants (p &lt; 0.001 (Alpha); p &lt; 0.01 (Delta and Omicron)). Vaccinees only experienced meaningful avidity maturation following the booster dose, exhibiting rather limited cross-neutralizing capacity at week-25.

Conclusions

Avidity maturation was progressive beyond acute recovery from infection, or became apparent after the booster vaccine dose, granting broader anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing capacity. Understanding the maturation kinetics of the two building blocks of anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral immunity is crucial.

Effects of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived intestinal organoids on colitis-model mice

Introduction

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by repeated remissions and relapses. Immunosuppressive drugs have facilitated the induction and maintenance of remission in many patients with UC. However, immunosuppressive drugs cannot directly repair impaired intestinal mucosa and are insufficient for preventing relapse. Therefore, new treatment approaches to repair the damaged epithelium in UC have been attempted through the transplantation of intestinal organoids, which can be differentiated into mucosa by embedding in Matrigel, generated from patient-derived intestinal stem cells. The method, however, poses the challenge of yielding sufficient cells for UC therapy, and patient-derived cells might already have acquired pathological changes. In contrast, human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells generated from healthy individuals are infinitely proliferated and can be differentiated into target cells. Recently developed human iPS cell-derived intestinal organoids (HIOs) aim to generate organoids that closely resemble the adult intestine. However, no study till date has reported HIOs injected into in vivo inflammatory models, and it remains unclear whether HIOs with cells that closely resemble the adult intestine or with intestinal stem cells retain the better ability to repair tissue in colitis.

Methods

We generated two types of HIOs via suspension culture with and without small-molecule compounds: HIOs that include predominantly more intestinal stem cells [HIO (A)] and those that include predominantly more intestinal epithelial and secretory cells [HIO (B)]. We examined whether the generated HIOs engrafted in vivo and compared their ability to accelerate recovery of the damaged tissue.

Results

Findings showed that the HIOs expressed intestinal-specific markers such as caudal-type homeobox 2 (CDX2) and villin, and HIOs engrafted under the kidney capsules of mice. We then injected HIOs into colitis-model mice and found that the weight and clinical score of the mice injected with HIO (A) recovered earlier than that of the mice in the sham group. Further, the production of mucus and the expression of cell proliferation markers and tight junction proteins in the colon tissues of the HIO (A) group were restored to levels similar to those observed in healthy mice. However, neither HIO (A) nor HIO (B) could be engrafted into the colon.

Conclusions

Effective cell therapy should directly repair tissue by engraftment at the site of injury. However, the difference in organoid property impacting the rate of tissue repair in transplantation without engraftment observed in the current study should be considered a critical consideration in the development of regenerative medicine using iPS-derived organoids.

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Human iPS cell-derived intestinal organoids were generated via suspension culture.

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The effects of two types of intestinal organoids in vivo were compared.

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Intestinal organoids were engrafted under mouse kidney capsules.

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Intestinal organoids promoted mucosal healing in acute colitis-model mice.

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Organoids with a higher gene expression of intestinal stem cell had higher effects.

Ivermectin Inhibits HBV Entry into the Nucleus by Suppressing KPNA2

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) specifically infects human hepatocytes and increases the risks of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Currently, nucleic acid analogs are the main therapeutics for chronic hepatitis caused by HBV infection. Although nucleic acid analogs can eliminate HBV DNA by inhibiting HBV reverse transcriptase, they cannot lead to negative conversion of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). In this study, we revealed that the antifilarial drug ivermectin suppresses HBV production by a different mechanism from the nucleic acid analog entecavir or Na⁺ taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide-mediated entry inhibitor cyclosporin A. Ivermectin reduced the levels of several HBV markers, including HBsAg, in HBV-infected human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2-hNTCP-C4 cells) and humanized mouse hepatocytes (PXB hepatocytes). In addition, ivermectin significantly decreased the expression of HBV core protein and the nuclear transporter karyopherin α2 (KPNA2) in the nuclei of HepG2-hNTCP-C4 cells. Furthermore, depletion of KPNA1-6 suppressed the production of cccDNA. These results suggest that KPNA1-6 is involved in the nuclear import of HBV and that ivermectin suppresses the nuclear import of HBV by inhibiting KPNA2. This study demonstrates the potential of ivermectin as a novel treatment for hepatitis B.

Effects of fluid-flow regimes on Chlorella sorokiniana cultivation in cascade photobioreactors with either flat or wavy bottoms

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate cascade photobioreactors (cascade PBRs) with two different bottom configurations-flat and wavy-to establish the effect that fluid-flow regimes exert on the photosynthetic productivity of Chlorella sorokiniana. In the flat-bottom PBR, areal biomass productivities decreased from 6.8 to 4.2 g·m^-2·d^-1 when the flow rate of a culture per unit of lane width was increased from 33 to 132 L·m^-1·min^-1. We found that this decrease in the areal productivity was the result of a decrease in the volumetric photon flux densities (volumetric PFDs), which was caused by an increase in the depth of the culture in the lane. Through CFD calculation and long-exposure photography, the flow of the culture in the wavy-bottom PBR was characterized in an upper straightforward section and underneath the swirling section. Under identical conditions of flow rate and volumetric PFD (66 L·m^-1·min^-1 and 50 μmol·m^-3·s^-1, respectively), the cell growth accelerated in the wavy-bottom PBR with areal productivity that reached 6.5 g·m^-2·d^-1-productivity was 5.1 g·m^-2·d^-1 in the flat-bottom PBR. The swirling flow in the wave troughs held the culture for longer periods in the illuminated lane, and the resultant extended period of mixing improved the photosynthetic productivity.

Acetyl-L-carnitine attenuates Poly I: C- induced sickness behavior in mice

Fatigue is accompanied by a decrease in physical activity or malaise, and might be reduced by acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) administration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preventive effects of ALC on Poly I: C-induced sickness behavior in mice. For the experiment, male C3H/HeN mice were used and treated with ALC for 5 days before Poly I: C administration. ALC administration attenuated the decrease in wheel behavior activity of mice at 24 h after Poly I: C administration, and ALC treated mice quickly recovered from the sickness behavior. The gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the cerebrum and hippocampus, which is associated with physical activity, was higher in the ALC-treated group. Translocator protein 18kDa (TSPO), which has cytoprotective effects, was up-regulated in the cerebrum and hippocampus, suggesting that ALC suppressed the decrease in activity induced by Poly I: C treatment through enhancement of cytoprotective effects in the brain.

Relationship between alcohol consumption and telecommuting preference-practice mismatch during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective

This study examined the association between increased alcohol consumption and telecommuting, comparing employees who expressed a preference for telecommuting and those who did not.

Methods

We conducted an internet monitor survey. Responses from 20 395 of the 33 302 participants were included in the final sample. Participants were asked about their desire for and frequency of telecommuting, and about changes in alcohol consumption under the COVID‐19 pandemic. Data were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.

Results

The ratio of increased drinking in those who telecommuted at least once a week was significantly different (OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.16–1.43, p < .001). The ratio of increased drinking in participants for whom telecommuting was not preferred was significantly different (OR = 1.08, 95%CI 1.02–1.14, p = .002). Since the interaction term was significant in preliminary analysis, stratification was performed. Participants who telecommuted despite preferring not to do so reported significantly increased alcohol consumption, as revealed by a multivariate analysis (OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.18–2.00, p < .001). Participants who expressed a preference for telecommuting showed no such increase (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 0.98–1.27, p = .074).

Conclusions

Under the COVID‐19 pandemic, telecommuting that involves a mismatch with employee preference for way of working may be a new risk factor for problematic drinking.

Verification of the Usefulness of an Assessment and Risk Control Sheet that Promotes Management of Cancer Drug Therapy

Background: Proper management of adverse events is crucial for the safe and effective implementation of anticancer drug treatment. Showa University Hospital uses our interview sheet (assessment and risk control [ARC] sheet) for the accurate evaluation of adverse events. On the day of anticancer drug treatment, a nurse conducts a face-to-face interview. As a feature of the ARC sheet, by separately describing the symptoms the day before treatment and the day of treatment and sharing the information on the medical record, it is possible to clearly determine the status of adverse events. In this study, we hypothesized that the usefulness and points for improvement of the ARC sheet would be clarified by using and evaluating a patient questionnaire.

Methods: This study included 174 patients (144 at Showa University Hospital (Hatanodai Hospital) and 30 at Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital (Toyosu Hospital) who underwent pre-examination interviews by nurses and received cancer chemotherapy at the outpatient center of Hatanodai and Toyosu Hospital. In the questionnaire survey, the ARC sheet’s content and quality, respondents’ satisfaction, structural strengths, and points for improvement were evaluated on a five-point scale.

Results: The patient questionnaire received responses from 160 participants, including the ARC sheet use group (132 people) and the non-use group (28 people). Unlike the ARC sheet non-use group, the ARC sheet use group recognized that the sheet was useful to understand the adverse events of aphthous ulcers (p = 0.017) and dysgeusia (p = 0.006). In the satisfaction survey questionnaire, there was a high sense of security in the pre-examination interviews by nurses using the ARC sheet.

Conclusions: The ARC sheet is considered an effective tool for comprehensively evaluating adverse events. Pre-examination interviews by nurses using ARC sheets accurately determined the adverse events experienced by patients with anxiety and tension due to confrontation with physicians.

Deep two-way matrix reordering for relational data analysis

Matrix reordering is a task to permute the rows and columns of a given observed matrix such that the resulting reordered matrix shows meaningful or interpretable structural patterns. Most existing matrix reordering techniques share the common processes of extracting some feature representations from an observed matrix in a predefined manner, and applying matrix reordering based on it. However, in some practical cases, we do not always have prior knowledge about the structural pattern of an observed matrix. To address this problem, we propose a new matrix reordering method, called deep two-way matrix reordering (DeepTMR), using a neural network model. The trained network can automatically extract nonlinear row/column features from an observed matrix, which can then be used for matrix reordering. Moreover, the proposed DeepTMR provides the denoised mean matrix of a given observed matrix as an output of the trained network. This denoised mean matrix can be used to visualize the global structure of the reordered observed matrix. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DeepTMR by applying it to both synthetic and practical datasets.

Is there a rational basis for cannabinoids research and development in ocular pain therapy? A systematic review of preclinical evidence

BACKGROUND

Purpose of the present systematic review is to investigate preclinical evidence in favor of the working hypothesis of efficacy of cannabinoids in ocular pain treatment.

METHODS

Literature search includes the most relevant repositories for medical scientific literature from inception until November, 24 2021. Data collection and selection of retrieved records adhere to PRISMA criteria.

RESULTS

In agreement with a priori established protocol the search retrieved 2471 records leaving 479 results after duplicates removal. Eleven records result from title and abstract screening to meet the inclusion criteria; only 4 results are eligible for inclusion in the qualitative synthesis impeding meta-analysis. The qualitative analysis highlights the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory efficacy of Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and its derivative HU-308 and of new racemic CB1 allosteric ligand GAT211 and its enantiomers GAT228 and GAT229. Moreover, CB2R agonists RO6871304 and RO6871085 and CB2R ligand HU910 provide evidence of anti-inflammatory efficacy. CB2 agonist HU308 reduces of 241% uveitis-induced leukocyte adhesion and changes lipidome profile. Methodological and design issues raise concern of risk of bias and the amount of studies is too small for generalization. Furthermore, the ocular pain model used can resemble only inflammatory but not neuropathic pain.

CONCLUSIONS

The role of the endocannabinoid system in ocular pain is underinvestigated, since only two studies assessing the effects of cannabinoid receptors modulators on pain behavior and other two on pain-related inflammatory processes are found. Preclinical studies investigating the efficacy of cannabinoids in ocular inflammatory and neuropathic pain models are needed to pave the way for clinical translation.

X-DC: Explainable Deep Clustering Based on Learnable Spectrogram Templates

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have achieved substantial predictive performance in various speech processing tasks. Particularly, it has been shown that a monaural speech separation task can be successfully solved with a DNN-based method called deep clustering (DC), which uses a DNN to describe the process of assigning a continuous vector to each time-frequency (TF) bin and measure how likely each pair of TF bins is to be dominated by the same speaker. In DC, the DNN is trained so that the embedding vectors for the TF bins dominated by the same speaker are forced to get close to each other. One concern regarding DC is that the embedding process described by a DNN has a black-box structure, which is usually very hard to interpret. The potential weakness owing to the noninterpretable black box structure is that it lacks the flexibility of addressing the mismatch between training and test conditions (caused by reverberation, for instance). To overcome this limitation, in this letter, we propose the concept of explainable deep clustering (X-DC), whose network architecture can be interpreted as a process of fitting learnable spectrogram templates to an input spectrogram followed by Wiener filtering. During training, the elements of the spectrogram templates and their activations are constrained to be nonnegative, which facilitates the sparsity of their values and thus improves interpretability. The main advantage of this framework is that it naturally allows us to incorporate a model adaptation mechanism into the network thanks to its physically interpretable structure. We experimentally show that the proposed X-DC enables us to visualize and understand the clues for the model to determine the embedding vectors while achieving speech separation performance comparable to that of the original DC models.

Detection of adenovirus hepatitis and acute liver failure in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients

Human adenovirus (HAdV) is an important cause of the common cold and epidemic keratoconjunctivitis in immunocompetent individuals. In immunocompromised patients, HAdV can sometimes cause severe infection such as cystitis, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, encephalitis, hepatitis, or disseminated disease, resulting in significant morbidity and also mortality. In particular, severe cases have been reported in patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Indeed HAdV has been recognized as a pathogen that requires careful monitoring in allo-HSCT patients. While HAdV hepatitis leading to severe acute liver failure is rare, such liver failure progresses rapidly and is often fatal. Unfortunately, HAdV hepatitis has few characteristic symptoms and physical findings, which makes it difficult to promptly confirm and start treatment. We report here four cases of HAdV hepatitis after allo-HSCT and their autopsy findings.

A bibliometric approach to finding fields that co-evolved with information technology

Among the declining industries, for example music industry, some have been revived by information technology (IT). At the same time, in academic fields, some have expected co-evolutions between IT and other fields to cause the resurgence of either field. In this research, the clustering of citation networks with 14,438 academic papers resulted in the identification of 28 academic fields in the areas “Computer Science” or “Information Science and Library Science.” Co-evolutions between these 28 fields and citing fields to the 28 fields were evaluated by an investigation of contents; a methodology to search co-evolutions was also proposed. This paper proposes that pairs of academic fields (with both high correlation and high dissimilarity) co-evolve, and some co-evolving pairs of academic fields were found. This research contributes to the discovery of the co-evolution between academic fields.

Hydrogen and steam injected tandem μ-reactor GC/FID system: phenol recovery from bisphenol A and alkylphenols using Ni/Y zeolite

Hydrogen and steam injected tandem μ-reactor-GC/FID system achieved online quantification of products from hydrogenation and dealkylation of bisphenol A and alkylphenols using Ni/Y zeolite.

Characterization of Anti-Ice Nucleation Activity of the Extract from Coffee Refuse

　The supercooling-facilitating (SCF) activities, that is, the anti-ice nucleation activity of the hot water extracts from five types of processed food refuse was examined. The extract with the highest activity among five hot water extracts was coffee refuse, showing 1.50℃ of SCF activity at a final concentration of 0.1 mg/ml. From the hot water extract of coffee refuse, the coffee refuse extract containing various polyphenols was prepared by the ultrafiltration (less than MWCO 10,000), a solvent fractionation of ethyl acetate. The yield of coffee refuse extract was 0.9% (w/w) from dried coffee refuse. The SCF activity of the coffee refuse extract at a final concentration of 1.0 mg/ml was 4.2℃. HPLC analysis of the coffee refuse extract showed that caffeine and chlorogenic acid, which are major components of coffee, could be found at 173 and 62.3 µg/ml, respectively. However, the SCF activities of both compounds (0.70 and 1.06℃) at a final concentration of 0.1 mg/ml were lower than those of ferulic acid and coumaric acid, respectively at 3.40 and 2.35℃. This is the first report to our knowledge on the SCF activity of caffeine. The SCF activity of caffeine at a final concentration of 1.0 mg/ml was 2.3℃. The specificity of caffeine against various ice nuclei containing calcium oxalate, 9-fluorenon, and ice nucleating bacteria was examined. Caffeine at a final concentration of 1.0 mg/ml could inhibit the ice nucleation activity of calcium oxalate, and Pseudomonas fluorescens KUIN-1 at the same level that of as silver iodide. From these results, it was suggested that the extract could be able to be applied to the field to control the frost damage of the vegetables and that the harvested vegetables might be stored unfrozen even at 0℃ or less.

Tandem μ-reactor-GC/MS for online monitoring of aromatic hydrocarbon production via CaO-catalysed PET pyrolysis

Online monitoring of products by a tandem μ-reactor-GC/MS system revealed the CaO catalysed PET pyrolysis pathway.

0.43 THz emission from high-T(c) superconducting emitters optimized at 77 K

A liquid helium-free, compact and continuous sub-terahertz radiation system operating at 77 K has been developed using a rectangular mesa device made from a high T(c)-superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+δ) single crystal, based on a different design of a stand-alone mesa sandwich structure to reduce the dc-current Joule heating effects. The mesa was thermally connected to sapphire plates through thin thermal grease embedded with diamond nano-crystals. When immersed in liquid N 2, the device emits intense radiation at 0.437 THz, the highest frequency ever achieved at 77 K, due to excitation of the TM(1, 0) rectangular cavity mode. By varying the dc current-voltage bias and the bath temperature in a He-flow cryostat, the device's emission frequency is broadly tunable from 0.31 THz at 79 K to 1.31 THz at 30 K.

Pollinosis and all-cause mortality among middle-aged and elderly Japanese: a population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Having an allergic disease may have health implications beyond those more commonly associated with allergy given that previous epidemiological studies have suggested that both atopy and allergy are linked to mortality. More viable immune functioning among the elderly, as indicated by the presence of an allergic disease, might therefore be associated with differences in all-cause mortality.

OBJECTIVE

Using data from a Japanese cohort, this study examined whether having pollinosis (a form of allergic rhinitis) in a follow-up survey could predict all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

METHODS

Data came from the Komo-Ise cohort, which at its 1993 baseline recruited residents aged 40-69 years from two areas in Gunma prefecture, Japan. The current study used information on pollinosis that was obtained from the follow-up survey in 2000. Mortality and migration data were obtained throughout the follow-up period up to December 2008. Proportional hazard models were used to examine the relation between pollinosis and mortality.

RESULTS

At the 2000 follow-up survey, 12% (1088 of 8796) of respondents reported that they had pollinosis symptoms in the past 12 months. During the 76 186 person-years of follow-up, 748 died from all causes. Among these, there were 37 external, 208 cardiovascular, 74 respiratory, and 329 neoplasm deaths. After adjusting for potential confounders, pollinosis was associated with significantly lower all-cause [hazard ratio 0.57 (95% confidence interval = 0.38-0.87)] and neoplasms mortality [hazard ratio 0.48 (95% confidence interval = 0.26-0.92)].

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Having an allergic disease (pollinosis) at an older age may be indicative of more viable immune functioning and be protective against certain causes of death. Further research is needed to determine the possible mechanisms underlying the association between pollinosis and mortality.

EXFOLIATIVE DERMATITIS FROM CHINESE HERBS (DECOCTION)

A patient, aged 78, with exfoliative dermatitis due to the ingestion of Chinese herbs (decoction) was presented. Provocative medication showed that he was sensitive to 4 composite materials (Radix angelicae acutilobae, Rhizoma zingiberis, Radix paeoniae and Radix glycyrrhizae). Patch tests were positive to each of these materials while the intradermal test was negative. These results indicate that systemic contact-type hypersensitivity to the ingested medicines is involved in evoking the exfoliative dermatitis lesion and that, in addition, purely epidermal contact sensitivity as defined by S. Epstein and Baer plays an important role.

Spectral investigation of hot spot and cavity resonance effects on the terahertz radiation from high-T(c) superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+δ) mesas

Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic radiation emitted from single and series-connected rectangular mesa devices of high-Tc superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ is investigated spectroscopically during simultaneous temperature distribution observations using a microcrystalline SiC photoluminescence technique. In single mesas, a hot-spot region with its temperature T locally exceeding Tc was observed to jump suddenly in position under small current I-bias changes. Although these hot-spot position jumps cause large changes in the output power with small changes in I, as long as the voltage V per junction number N is kept constant, they do not affect the output frequency f, which is given by the ac Josephson frequency fJ. f can lock onto that of a particular mesa cavity resonance frequency fc, which enhances the emission power and serves as the primary mechanism for the synchronization of the emissions from each of the intrinsic Josephson junctions in the mesa.

Prevalence and risk factors of soil-transmitted helminth infection in Nepal

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and intensity and examine the risk factors of soil transmitted helminth (STH; i.e., roundworm [Ascaris lumbricoides], hookworms [Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus], and whipworm [Trichuris trichiura]) infections in Nepal.

METHODS

Five hundred and ninety-four adults (256 men and 338 women) were selected via convenience sampling from five communities in Nepal. The Kato-Katz method was used to assess the prevalence and intensity of STH infection in this population.

RESULTS

Prevalence of STH infection ranged from 3.3% in Birendranagar in Chitwan, 3.5% in Kuleshor in Kathmandu, 11.7% in Kanyam in Ilam, 17.0% in Dhikurpokhari in Kaski and 51.4% in Khokana in Lalitpur District [corrected]. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that not using soap for hand-washing was significantly associated with the prevalence and infection intensity of roundworm, hookworms and whipworm. Similarly, not wearing sandals or shoes outside was significantly associated with the prevalence and infection intensity of roundworm and hookworms, but not with infection intensity of whipworm. Literacy, being underweight or overweight, anemia and occupation were not associated with prevalence and intensity of roundworm and hookworms infection, but there was an association between occupation and the prevalence of whipworm infection.

CONCLUSION

STH infection was associated with individual hygiene behavior, but not with nutritional status or socio-demographic characteristics. Health policy focusing on changing individual hygiene behaviors might be useful in addressing STH infection in Nepal.

Trans fatty acids exacerbate dextran sodium sulphate-induced colitis by promoting the up-regulation of macrophage-derived proinflammatory cytokines involved in T helper 17 cell polarization

Numerous reports have shown that a diet containing large amounts of trans fatty acids (TFAs) is a major risk factor for metabolic disorders. Although recent studies have shown that TFAs promote intestinal inflammation, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. In this study, we examined the effects of dietary fat containing TFAs on dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced colitis. C57 BL/6 mice were fed a diet containing 1·3% TFAs (mainly C16:1, C18:1, C18:2, C20:1, C20:2 and C22:1), and then colitis was induced with 1·5% DSS. Colonic damage was assessed, and the mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines and major regulators of T cell differentiation were measured. The TFA diet reduced survival and exacerbated histological damage in mice administered DSS compared with those fed a TFA-free diet. The TFA diet significantly elevated interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12p40, IL-23p19 and retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (ROR)γt mRNA levels in the colons of DSS-treated animals. Moreover, IL-17A mRNA levels were elevated significantly by the TFA diet, with or without DSS treatment. We also examined the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and peritoneal macrophages. These cells were exposed to TFAs (linoelaidic acid or elaidic acid) with or without LPS and the mRNA levels of various cytokines were measured. IL-23p19 mRNA levels were increased significantly by TFAs in the absence of LPS. Cytokine expression was also higher in LPS-stimulated cells exposed to TFAs than in unexposed LPS-stimulated cells. Collectively, our results suggest that TFAs exacerbate colonic inflammation by promoting Th17 polarization and by up-regulating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the inflamed colonic mucosa.

Abstract P2-18-03: Feasibility of sentinel node biopsy following neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cytology-proven node positive breast cancer before chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) for the node negative breast cancer is standard treatment as an accurate assessment of axillary lymph node status; however, axillary node dissection is a standard procedure for the node positive breast cancer. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has become the standard of care for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. It is reported that 40% of node positive disease convert to node negative after NAC. It remains controversial whether SLB could be applied to patients who present with node-positive disease before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of SNB following NAC in breast cancer patients presenting with cytology-proven axillary node metastasis before chemotherapy.

METHODS: A multicenter prospective study was performed from September 2011 to April 2013 in 101 breast cancer patients with positive axillary nodes, proven by ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration at initial diagnosis (T1-3, N1, M0). After the confirmation of patients as clinically node-negative by preoperative imaging following NAC, all patients underwent breast surgery, with SNB and complete axillary lymph node dissection. The sentinel nodes were examined by hematoxylin-eosin staining, immunohistochemical analysis or one-step nucleic acid amplification assay (OSNA).The false negative rate and detection rate were analyzed.

RESULTS: Among the 101 patients analyzed, all cases presented with invasive ductal carcinoma. with a mean tumor size of 3.4cm. Thirty-six cases were hormone receptor (HR) positive and HER2 negative (Lum), 14 cases were HR positive and HER2 positive (Triple-Positive), 27 cases were positive for HER2 (HER2-enriched), and 24 cases were Triple-Negative. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, a complete clinical response in the primary tumor was seen in 24.8%(25/101), a partial response in 66.3%(67/101), and no response in 7.9%(8/101). Pathological complete response of primary tumor was 39.6%. The pathological complete nodal response rate was 42.2%. The sentinel lymph node could be identified in 91 of 101 cases (90.1%); 88.9% (32/36) of patients with Lum, 100%(14/14)of those with Triple-Positive, 85.2% (23/27) of those with HER2-enriched, and 91.7% (22/24)% of those with Triple-Negative breast cancer subtype. The false negative rate was 12.7%; 35.7 (5/14) for Lum, 0% (0/8) for Triple-Positive, 5.0% (1/20) for HER2-enriched, and 7.7% (1/13) for Triple-Negative subtype (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSION: SNB following NAC in patients with node-positive breast cancer was found to be technically feasible, but is not recommended for the Lum subtype. However, it might be safely considered in selected patients, those with Triple-Positive, HER2-enrich and Triple-Negative subtype breast cancers.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P2-18-03.

A novel tamoxifen derivative, ridaifen-F, is a nonpeptidic small-molecule proteasome inhibitor

In a survey of nonpeptide noncovalent inhibitors of the human 20S proteasome, we found that a novel tamoxifen derivative, RID-F (compound 6), inhibits all three protease activities of the proteasome at submicromolar levels. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that a RID-F analog (RID-F-S*4, compound 25) is the smallest derivative compound capable of inhibiting proteasome activity, with a potency similar to that of RID-F. Kinetic analyses of the inhibition mode and competition experiments involving biotin-belactosin A (a proteasome inhibitor) binding indicated that the RID-F derivatives interact with the protease subunits in a different manner. Culturing of human cells with these compounds resulted in accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins and induction of apoptosis. Thus, the RID-F derivatives may be useful lead chemicals for the generation of a new class of proteasome inhibitors.

Ridaifen-SB8, a novel tamoxifen derivative, induces apoptosis via reactive oxygen species-dependent signaling pathway

Tamoxifen is an anticancer agent widely used for treatment of estrogen receptor (ERα)-positive breast cancer. We previously developed a novel synthesis of tamoxifen and its derivatives, named Ridaifens (RIDs). Some of them, including RID-SB8, exhibited a stronger anticancer activity than tamoxifen in ERα-positive MCF-7 cells while having lost the affinity for ERα, suggesting an ERα-independent anticancer mode of action. In this study, we investigated the underlying mechanism by which RID-SB8 exerts anticancer activity. As expected, anticancer activity of RID-SB8 was not influenced upon knockdown of ERα expression in MCF-7 cells. RID-SB8 exerted similar anticancer effects on thirteen ERα-negative cancer cell lines including human gliosarcoma SF539 cells. In SF539 cells, RID-SB8 triggered loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ(m)) and progression of apoptosis accompanied by activation of caspases and translocation of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) to the nucleus. Furthermore, it induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), and a ROS scavenger, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), canceled loss of ΔΨ(m) and progression of apoptosis triggered by RID-SB8. Using fifteen human cancer cell lines, we demonstrated a significant correlation between RID-SB8 concentration required for ROS production and that required for cytotoxic effect across these cell lines, but such correlation was not observed for tamoxifen. Finally, the selective induction of ROS and cytotoxic effect on cancer cells by RID-SB8 were confirmed. From these results, we concluded that RID-SB8 exerts an anticancer effect via a mode of action distinct from tamoxifen, and that RID-SB8 could become a promising anticancer lead compound which selectively induces ROS formation and apoptosis in cancer cells.

Rectal lymph node metastasis in recurrent ovarian carcinoma: essential role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in treatment planning

Although uncommon, ovarian cancer cells may spread to the rectal lymph nodes. However, few reports have described how to detect and treat such metastases. We report a case of a 59-year-old woman with mesorectal and pararectal lymph node metastases in recurrent ovarian carcinoma, detected conclusively using ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), and treated by low anterior resection with total mesorectal excision aiming for macroscopic complete resection. The treatment goals for the patient were gradually changed from curative to palliative chemotherapy; she survived for 45 months without rectal obstruction after secondary debulking surgery, and was followed up until autopsy. Thus, ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT may be valuable for detecting rectal lymph node metastasis and can play an essential role in planning treatment for recurrent ovarian carcinoma.

Novel tamoxifen derivative Ridaifen-B induces Bcl-2 independent autophagy without estrogen receptor involvement

Autophagy is a self-proteolysis process in eukaryotic cells that results in the sequestering of intracellular proteins and organelles in autophagosomes. Activation of autophagy progress continued growth of some tumors, instead extensive autophagy induces cell death. In a previous study, we synthesized a novel tamoxifen derivative, Ridaifen (RID)-B. RID-B induced mitochondria-involved apoptosis even in estrogen receptor (ER)-negative cells. Since tamoxifen induces autophagy other than apoptosis, we treated ER-negative Jurkat cells with RID-B in the present study. RID-B treatment induced apoptosis and LC3 and lysosome colocalization, which results in the formation of autolysosomes. Western blotting revealed that LC3 was converted to LC3-I to LC3-II with RID-B treatment, suggesting that RID-B induced autophagy without ER involvement. Moreover, overexpression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 suppressed the RID-B-induced cell death, but not the induction of autophagy. These results presumed that RID-B-induced autophagy is independent of Bcl-2, making RID-B-induced autophagy different from RID-B-induced apoptosis. Since Beclin 1 level is unchanged during RID-B treatment, RID-B induced autophagy pathway is Bcl-2/Beclin1 independent noncanonical pathway.