Search for Antideuterons of Cosmic Origin Using the BESS-Polar II Magnetic-Rigidity Spectrometer

We searched for antideuterons (d[over ¯]'s) in the 4.7×10^{9} cosmic-ray events observed during the BESS-Polar II flight at solar minimum in 2007-2008 but found no candidates. The resulting 95% C.L. upper limit on the d[over ¯] flux is 6.7×10^{-5}  (m^{2} s sr GeV/n)^{-1} in an energy range from 0.163 to 1.100  GeV/n. The result has improved by more than a factor of 14 from the upper limit of BESS97, which had a potential comparable to that of BESS-Polar II in the search for cosmic-origin d[over ¯]'s and was conducted during the former solar minimum. The upper limit of d[over ¯] flux from BESS-Polar II is the first result achieving the sensitivity to constrain the latest theoretical predictions.

Deferasirox Targeting Ferroptosis Synergistically Ameliorates Myocardial Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Conjunction With Cyclosporine A

BACKGROUND

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death, is a major cell death mode in myocardial ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury, along with mitochondrial permeability transition-driven necrosis, which is inhibited by cyclosporine A (CsA). However, therapeutics targeting ferroptosis during myocardial I/R injury have not yet been developed. Hence, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of deferasirox, an iron chelator, against hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced ferroptosis in cultured cardiomyocytes and myocardial I/R injury.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The effects of deferasirox on hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced iron overload in the endoplasmic reticulum, lipid peroxidation, and ferroptosis were examined in cultured cardiomyocytes. In a mouse model of I/R injury, the infarct size and adverse cardiac remodeling were examined after treatment with deferasirox, CsA, or both in combination. Deferasirox suppressed hypoxia- or hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced iron overload in the endoplasmic reticulum, lipid peroxidation, and ferroptosis in cultured cardiomyocytes. Deferasirox treatment reduced iron levels in the endoplasmic reticulum and prevented increases in lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis in the I/R-injured myocardium 24 hours after I/R. Deferasirox and CsA independently reduced the infarct size after I/R injury to a similar degree, and combination therapy with deferasirox and CsA synergistically reduced the infarct size (infarct area/area at risk; control treatment: 64±2%; deferasirox treatment: 48±3%; CsA treatment: 48±4%; deferasirox+CsA treatment: 37±3%), thereby ameliorating adverse cardiac remodeling on day 14 after I/R.

CONCLUSIONS

Combination therapy with deferasirox and CsA may be a clinically feasible and effective therapeutic approach for limiting I/R injury and ameliorating adverse cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction.

Erratum: Search for Cosmic-Ray Boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using Recoil Protons at Super-Kamiokande [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 031802 (2023)]

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.031802.

Cardiac Autoantibodies Against Cardiac Troponin I in Post-Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure: Evaluation in a Novel Murine Model and Applications in Therapeutics

BACKGROUND

Cardiac autoantibodies (cAAbs) are involved in the progression of adverse cardiac remodeling in heart failure (HF). However, our understanding of cAAbs in HF is limited owing to the absence of relevant animal models. Herein, we aimed to establish and characterize a murine model of cAAb-positive HF after myocardial infarction (MI), thereby facilitating the development of therapeutics targeting cAAbs in post-MI HF.

METHODS

MI was induced in BALB/c mice. Plasma cAAbs were evaluated using modified Western blot-based methods. Prognosis, cardiac function, inflammation, and fibrosis were compared between cAAb-positive and cAAb-negative MI mice. Rapamycin was used to inhibit cAAb production.

RESULTS

Common cAAbs in BALB/c MI mice targeted cTnI (cardiac troponin I). Herein, 71% (24/34) and 44% (12/27) of the male and female MI mice, respectively, were positive for cAAbs against cTnI (cTnIAAb). Germinal centers were formed in the spleens and mediastinal lymph nodes of cTnIAAb-positive MI mice. cTnIAAb-positive MI mice showed progressive cardiac remodeling with a worse prognosis (P=0.014, by log-rank test), which was accompanied by cardiac inflammation, compared with that in cTnIAAb-negative MI mice. Rapamycin treatment during the first 7 days after MI suppressed cTnIAAb production (cTnIAAb positivity, 59% [29/49] and 7% [2/28] in MI mice treated with vehicle and rapamycin, respectively; P<0.001, by Pearson χ2 test), consequently improving the survival and ameliorating cardiac inflammation, cardiac remodeling, and HF in MI mice.

CONCLUSIONS

The present post-MI HF model may accelerate our understanding of cTnIAAb and support the development of therapeutics against cTnIAAbs in post-MI HF.

UNMF: a unified nonnegative matrix factorization for multi-dimensional omics data

Factor analysis, ranging from principal component analysis to nonnegative matrix factorization, represents a foremost approach in analyzing multi-dimensional data to extract valuable patterns, and is increasingly being applied in the context of multi-dimensional omics datasets represented in tensor form. However, traditional analytical methods are heavily dependent on the format and structure of the data itself, and if these change even slightly, the analyst must change their data analysis strategy and techniques and spend a considerable amount of time on data preprocessing. Additionally, many traditional methods cannot be applied as-is in the presence of missing values in the data. We present a new statistical framework, unified nonnegative matrix factorization (UNMF), for finding informative patterns in messy biological data sets. UNMF is designed for tidy data format and structure, making data analysis easier and simplifying the development of data analysis tools. UNMF can handle a wide range of data structures and formats, and works seamlessly with tensor data including missing observations and repeated measurements. The usefulness of UNMF is demonstrated through its application to several multi-dimensional omics data, offering user-friendly and unified features for analysis and integration. Its application holds great potential for the life science community. UNMF is implemented with R and is available from GitHub (https://github.com/abikoushi/moltenNMF).

Measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters from the T2K experiment using 3.6×1021 protons on target

The T2K experiment presents new measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters using 19.7 ( 16.3 ) × 10 20 protons on target (POT) in (anti-)neutrino mode at the far detector (FD). Compared to the previous analysis, an additional 4.7 × 10 20 POT neutrino data was collected at the FD. Significant improvements were made to the analysis methodology, with the near-detector analysis introducing new selections and using more than double the data. Additionally, this is the first T2K oscillation analysis to use NA61/SHINE data on a replica of the T2K target to tune the neutrino flux model, and the neutrino interaction model was improved to include new nuclear effects and calculations. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses are presented, including results on sin 2 θ 13 and the impact of priors on the δ CP measurement. Both analyses prefer the normal mass ordering and upper octant of sin 2 θ 23 with a nearly maximally CP-violating phase. Assuming the normal ordering and using the constraint on sin 2 θ 13 from reactors, sin 2 θ 23 = 0 . 561 - 0.032 + 0.021 using Feldman-Cousins corrected intervals, and Δ m 32 2 = 2 . 494 - 0.058 + 0.041 × 10 - 3 eV 2 using constant Δ χ 2 intervals. The CP-violating phase is constrained to δ CP = - 1 . 97 - 0.70 + 0.97 using Feldman-Cousins corrected intervals, and δ CP = 0 , π is excluded at more than 90% confidence level. A Jarlskog invariant of zero is excluded at more than 2 σ credible level using a flat prior in δ CP , and just below 2 σ using a flat prior in sin δ CP . When the external constraint on sin 2 θ 13 is removed, sin 2 θ 13 = 28 . 0 - 6.5 + 2.8 × 10 - 3 , in agreement with measurements from reactor experiments. These results are consistent with previous T2K analyses.

First Dark Matter Search with Nuclear Recoils from the XENONnT Experiment

We report on the first search for nuclear recoils from dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with the XENONnT experiment, which is based on a two-phase time projection chamber with a sensitive liquid xenon mass of 5.9 ton. During the (1.09±0.03)  ton yr exposure used for this search, the intrinsic ^{85}Kr and ^{222}Rn concentrations in the liquid target are reduced to unprecedentedly low levels, giving an electronic recoil background rate of (15.8±1.3)  events/ton yr keV in the region of interest. A blind analysis of nuclear recoil events with energies between 3.3 and 60.5 keV finds no significant excess. This leads to a minimum upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section of 2.58×10^{-47}  cm^{2} for a WIMP mass of 28  GeV/c^{2} at 90% confidence level. Limits for spin-dependent interactions are also provided. Both the limit and the sensitivity for the full range of WIMP masses analyzed here improve on previous results obtained with the XENON1T experiment for the same exposure.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Harboring the t(16;21)(p11;q22) Translocation Treated With Venetoclax Plus Azacitidine After Cord Blood Transplantation

A 62-year-old female was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(16;21)(p11;q22). She achieved complete hematological remission after induction therapy and underwent umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation (CBT). At 150 days after the CBT, a bone marrow examination revealed relapse. We treated the patient with venetoclax plus azacitidine as salvage therapy. After five cycles of venetoclax and azacitidine therapy, the patient died due to disease progression. The prognosis of AML with t(16;21)(p11;q22) is very poor owing to the high rate of early relapse even after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Therefore, a novel therapeutic approach is required to improve patient outcomes.

Searching for Heavy Dark Matter near the Planck Mass with XENON1T

Multiple viable theoretical models predict heavy dark matter particles with a mass close to the Planck mass, a range relatively unexplored by current experimental measurements. We use 219.4 days of data collected with the XENON1T experiment to conduct a blind search for signals from multiply interacting massive particles (MIMPs). Their unique track signature allows a targeted analysis with only 0.05 expected background events from muons. Following unblinding, we observe no signal candidate events. This Letter places strong constraints on spin-independent interactions of dark matter particles with a mass between 1×10^{12} and 2×10^{17}  GeV/c^{2}. In addition, we present the first exclusion limits on spin-dependent MIMP-neutron and MIMP-proton cross sections for dark matter particles with masses close to the Planck scale.

Hypoxia-induced oxidative stress promotes therapy resistance via upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 in multiple myeloma

BACKGROUND

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematopoietic malignancy for which proteasome inhibitors have become available in recent years. However, many patients develop resistance to these drugs during treatment. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the mechanisms underlying resistance acquisition by proteasome inhibitors. Side population (SP) cells, which have a high drug efflux capacity and hypoxic responses in the microenvironment have both provided important insights into drug resistance in MM; however, little is known about the characteristics of SP cells in hypoxic microenvironments.

METHODS

We performed cDNA microarray analysis for SP and non-SP obtained from RPMI-8226 and KMS-11 cell lines cultured for 48 h in normoxic and hypoxic conditions (1% O₂ ). Genes specifically upregulated in hypoxic SP were examined.

RESULTS

Our comprehensive gene expression analysis identified HMOX1, BACH2, and DUX4 as protein-coding genes that are specifically highly expressed in SP cells under hypoxic conditions. We have shown that HMOX1/heme oxygenase-1 (HMOX1/HO-1) is induced by hypoxia-inducible reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduces ROS levels. Furthermore, we found that HMOX1 contributes to hypoxia-induced resistance to proteasome inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. Excessive ROS levels synergistically enhance bortezomib sensitivity. In clinical datasets, HMOX1 had a strong and significantly positive correlation with MAFB but not MAF. Interestingly, hypoxic stimulation increased MAFB/MafB expression in myeloma cells; in addition, the knockdown of MAFB under hypoxic conditions suppressed HMOX1 expression.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the hypoxia-ROS-HMOX1 axis and hypoxia-induced MafB may be important mechanisms of proteasome inhibitor resistance in hypoxic microenvironments.

Search for Cosmic-Ray Boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using Recoil Protons at Super-Kamiokande

We report a search for cosmic-ray boosted dark matter with protons using the 0.37  megaton×years data collected at Super-Kamiokande experiment during the 1996-2018 period (SKI-IV phase). We searched for an excess of proton recoils above the atmospheric neutrino background from the vicinity of the Galactic Center. No such excess is observed, and limits are calculated for two reference models of dark matter with either a constant interaction cross section or through a scalar mediator. This is the first experimental search for boosted dark matter with hadrons using directional information. The results present the most stringent limits on cosmic-ray boosted dark matter and exclude the dark matter-nucleon elastic scattering cross section between 10^{-33}cm^{2} and 10^{-27}cm^{2} for dark matter mass from 1  MeV/c^{2} to 300  MeV/c^{2}.

RIB induced reactions: Studying astrophysical reactions with low-energy RI beam at CRIB

Astrophysical reactions involving radioactive isotopes (RI) often play an important role in high-temperature stellar environments. The experimental studies on the reaction rates for those are still limited mainly due to the technical difficulties in producing high-quality RI beams. A direct measurement of those reactions would be still challenging in many cases, however, we can make a reliable evaluation of the reaction rates by an indirect method or by studying the resonance prorerties. Here we ntroduce recent examples of experimental studies on such RI-involving astrophysical reactions, performed at Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo, using the low-energy RI beam separator CRIB. One is for the neutron-induced destruction reactions of 7Be in the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, and the other is the study on the 22Mg(α, p) reaction relevant in X-ray bursts, which was performed with the resonant scattering method from the inverse reaction channel.

Epstein-Barr virus-associated inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the liver: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma is a rare stromal tumor with no standard treatment. However, some reports have revealed that follicular dendritic cell sarcoma has an inflammatory pseudotumor variant associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection that has a relatively good prognosis. In this report, we present a case of a resected inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the liver, and have reviewed the literature on the clinicopathological, molecular, and genomic features of this tumor.

CASE PRESENTATION

The inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma originates only in the liver or spleen, causes no symptoms, and is more common in middle-aged Asian women. It has no characteristic imaging features, which partially explains why the inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma is difficult to diagnose. Pathologically, the inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma has spindle cells mixed with inflammatory cells and is variably positive for follicular dendritic cell markers (CD21, CD23, and CD35) and Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA. On genetic analysis, patients with this tumor high levels of latent membrane protein 1 gene expression and extremely low levels of host C-X-C Chemokine Receptor type 7 gene expression, indicating that the inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma has a latent Epstein-Barr virus type 2 infection.

CONCLUSIONS

The inflammatory pseudotumor variant of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma is an Epstein-Barr virus-associated tumor and a favorable prognosis by surgical resection, similar to Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric cancer.

Doxorubicin causes ferroptosis and cardiotoxicity by intercalating into mitochondrial DNA and disrupting Alas1-dependent heme synthesis

Clinical use of doxorubicin (DOX) is limited because of its cardiotoxicity, referred to as DOX-induced cardiomyopathy (DIC). Mitochondria-dependent ferroptosis, which is triggered by iron overload and excessive lipid peroxidation, plays a pivotal role in the progression of DIC. Here, we showed that DOX accumulated in mitochondria by intercalating into mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), inducing ferroptosis in an mtDNA content-dependent manner. In addition, DOX disrupted heme synthesis by decreasing the abundance of 5'-aminolevulinate synthase 1 (Alas1), the rate-limiting enzyme in this process, thereby impairing iron utilization, resulting in iron overload and ferroptosis in mitochondria in cultured cardiomyocytes. Alas1 overexpression prevented this outcome. Administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), the product of Alas1, to cultured cardiomyocytes and mice suppressed iron overload and lipid peroxidation, thereby preventing DOX-induced ferroptosis and DIC. Our findings reveal that the accumulation of DOX and iron in mitochondria cooperatively induces ferroptosis in cardiomyocytes and suggest that 5-ALA can be used as a potential therapeutic agent for DIC.

Immunomodulatory Cell Therapy Using αGalCer-Pulsed Dendritic Cells Ameliorates Heart Failure in a Murine Dilated Cardiomyopathy Model

BACKGROUND

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a life-threatening disease, resulting in refractory heart failure. An immune disorder underlies the pathophysiology associated with heart failure progression. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cell activation is a prospective therapeutic strategy for ischemic heart disease. However, its efficacy in nonischemic cardiomyopathy, such as DCM, remains to be elucidated, and the feasible modality for iNKT cell activation in humans is yet to be validated.

METHODS

Dendritic cells isolated from human volunteers were pulsed with α-galactosylceramide ex vivo, which were used as α-galactosylceramide-pulsed dendritic cells (αGCDCs). We treated DCM mice harboring mutated troponin T^{ΔK210/ΔK210} with αGCDCs and evaluated the efficacy of iNKT cell activation on heart failure in DCM mice. Furthermore, we investigated the molecular basis underlying its therapeutic effects in these mice and analyzed primary cardiac cells under iNKT cell-secreted cytokines.

RESULTS

The number of iNKT cells in the spleens of DCM mice was reduced compared with that in wild-type mice, whereas αGCDC treatment activated iNKT cells, prolonged survival of DCM mice, and prevented decline in the left ventricular ejection fraction for 4 weeks, accompanied by suppressed interstitial fibrosis. Mechanistically, αGCDC treatment suppressed TGF (transforming growth factor)-β signaling and expression of fibrotic genes and restored vasculature that was impaired in DCM hearts by upregulating angiopoietin 1 (Angpt1) expression. Consistently, IFNγ (interferon gamma) suppressed TGF-β-induced Smad2/3 signaling and the expression of fibrotic genes in cardiac fibroblasts and upregulated Angpt1 expression in cardiomyocytes via Stat1.

CONCLUSIONS

Immunomodulatory cell therapy with αGCDCs is a novel therapeutic strategy for heart failure in DCM.

Search for New Physics in Electronic Recoil Data from XENONnT

We report on a blinded analysis of low-energy electronic recoil data from the first science run of the XENONnT dark matter experiment. Novel subsystems and the increased 5.9 ton liquid xenon target reduced the background in the (1, 30) keV search region to (15.8±1.3)  events/(ton×year×keV), the lowest ever achieved in a dark matter detector and ∼5 times lower than in XENON1T. With an exposure of 1.16 ton-years, we observe no excess above background and set stringent new limits on solar axions, an enhanced neutrino magnetic moment, and bosonic dark matter.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension global cross-sectional scientific survey (CLARITY) – interim results on the adoption and perception of guidelines

Background

The chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) global cross-sectional scientific survey (CLARITY) was established to provide insights into current clinical practices and unmet needs in the diagnosis and treatment of CTEPH. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) plays a leading role in establishing guidelines (GLs) for clinical decision-making in acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and CTEPH. It is of interest to better understand how these GLs affect real-world practice.

Purpose

To assess the adoption and perception of clinical practice GLs among medical specialists working in the fields of cardiology.

Methods

The online survey was developed by an independent committee of 11 international CTEPH experts using the Delphi method and designed to elicit responses regarding disease awareness and management, including follow-up after acute PE and diagnosis of suspected CTEPH. Logic functions were implemented to ensure respondents only viewed questions relevant to their clinical practice. To date, professional members of 17 Scientific Societies and other medical organizations were invited to respond to the survey. For this interim analysis response data were collected from 10.09.2021 to 10.02.2022.

Results

Out of 242 respondents, 107 specialized in cardiology (44%) and 7 specialized in angiology (3%) were included in this interim analysis. Respondents were from Europe (75%, n=85), Asia Pacific (20%, n=23) and the Americas (5%, n=6) and generally had 15–29 (40%, n=45) or 5–14 (37%, n=42) years of working experience. Of the 67 respondents (59%) that did not work in a pulmonary hypertension (PH)/CTEPH expert centre, only 24 (36%) were affiliated with such a centre.

Of respondents involved in acute PE management (n=101) and CTEPH diagnosis (n=87), 87 (86%) and 71 (82%) reported following the 2019 PE ESC/European Respiratory Society (ERS) and 2015 PH ESC/ERS GLs, respectively. Regardless of country, a higher proportion of respondents from Asia Pacific also reported using national GLs for PE (44%, n=10) and CTEPH (52%, n=12) compared to respondents from Europe (15%, n=11; 25%, n=15) and the Americas (25%, n=1; 40%, n=2). Overall, GLs were perceived to facilitate clinical practice (Fig. 1).

Lack of GLs to screen for CTEPH following acute PE was more often reported as a barrier by respondents from Asia Pacific and those working in an expert centre. Low adherence to GLs was reported as a barrier to CTEPH diagnosis by approximately 1/3 of respondents, irrespective of care setting, and in higher proportion among those with more working experience.

Conclusion

Despite the availability of GLs, reported barriers indicate an opportunity for educational activities to improve adoption and adherence to GLs. Observed differences and potential gaps between clinical practice and the GLs warrant further exploration through additional global insights collected by the survey throughout April 2022.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): This survey is sponsored by Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a Janssen Pharmaceutical Company of Johnson & Johnson

VARIATION IN RADIATION DOSE RATES FROM RADIONUCLIDES DISCHARGED BY THE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL REPROCESSING PLANT IN ROKKASHO UNDER DIFFERENT YEARLY WEATHER CONDITIONS

The radiation dose rate from radionuclides released by the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Japan, was assessed for a year specified in the safety review during which the weather conditions were not significantly different from those of the other 10 y. However, the actual year-by-year variation in annual radiation dose rate was not examined. A model system for evaluating the dose rate from the radionuclides released into the atmosphere was constructed. In this study, the radiation dose rate in the weather conditions of 24 weather bins was estimated for a standard year by the model. The annual maximum dose rate from 1959 to 2012 was estimated using a simplified method that integrated the dose rates of each weather bin in the standard year by estimating the annual frequency of the bin in the target year. We obtained ~1.3 as the maximum/minimum ratio of the annual maximum dose rate.

Iron Overload via Heme Degradation in the Endoplasmic Reticulum Triggers Ferroptosis in Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a promising therapeutic target to improve clinical outcomes after acute myocardial infarction. Ferroptosis, triggered by iron overload and excessive lipid peroxides, is reportedly involved in I/R injury. However, its significance and mechanistic basis remain unclear. Here, we show that glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4), a key endogenous suppressor of ferroptosis, determines the susceptibility to myocardial I/R injury. Importantly, ferroptosis is a major mode of cell death in I/R injury, distinct from mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis. This suggests that the use of therapeutics targeting both modes is an effective strategy to further reduce the infarct size and thereby ameliorate cardiac remodeling after I/R injury. Furthermore, we demonstrate that heme oxygenase 1 up-regulation in response to hypoxia and hypoxia/reoxygenation degrades heme and thereby induces iron overload and ferroptosis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of cardiomyocytes. Collectively, ferroptosis triggered by GPx4 reduction and iron overload in the ER is distinct from MPT-driven necrosis in both in vivo phenotype and in vitro mechanism for I/R injury. The use of therapeutics targeting ferroptosis in conjunction with cyclosporine A can be a promising strategy for I/R injury.

Material radiopurity control in the XENONnT experiment

The selection of low-radioactive construction materials is of the utmost importance for rare-event searches and thus critical to the XENONnT experiment. Results of an extensive radioassay program are reported, in which material samples have been screened with gamma-ray spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{222}$$\end{document}222Rn emanation measurements. Furthermore, the cleanliness procedures applied to remove or mitigate surface contamination of detector materials are described. Screening results, used as inputs for a XENONnT Monte Carlo simulation, predict a reduction of materials background (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\sim $$\end{document}∼17%) with respect to its predecessor XENON1T. Through radon emanation measurements, the expected \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{222}$$\end{document}222Rn activity concentration in XENONnT is determined to be 4.2 (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$^{+0.5}_{-0.7}$$\end{document}-0.7+0.5) \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\upmu $$\end{document}μBq/kg, a factor three lower with respect to XENON1T. This radon concentration will be further suppressed by means of the novel radon distillation system.

Gray matter volume and burnout severity among medical professionals

Introduction

Occupational burnout has become a pervasive problem in human services. Medical professionals are particularly vulnerable to burnout, which may lead to reduced motivation, medical errors, and voluntary absenteeism. To ensure effect functioning of medical systems, better understanding of burnout among medical professionals is warranted.

Objectives

We aimed to investigate the structural brain correlates of burnout severity among medical professionals.

Methods

Nurses in active service underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed their burnout severity using self-reported psychological questionnaires. This study was approved by the Committee on Medical Ethics of Kyoto University and was conducted in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association.

Results

The results reflected considerable individual differences in burnout severity in our sample. Our findngs revealed that the levels of burnout severity were associated with the regional gray matter volumes in brain areas such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex and insula.

Conclusions

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical professionals have faced even greater stress. We hope that our findings will contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms of burnout and offer useful insights for developing effective interventions to manage stress and burnout.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Experimental studies on astrophysical reactions at the low-energy RI beam separator CRIB

Experimental studies on astrophysical reactions involving radioactive isotopes (RI) often accompany technical challenges. Studies on such nuclear reactions have been conducted at the low-energy RI beam separator CRIB, operated by Center for Nuclear Study, the University of Tokyo. We discuss two cases of astrophysical reaction studies at CRIB; one is for the 7Be+n reactions which may affect the primordial 7Li abundance in the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis, and the other is for the 22Mg(α, p) reaction relevantin X-raybursts.

Plasma MMP-9 Levels as the Future Risk of Conversion to Dementia in ApoE4-Positive MCI Patients: Investigation Based on the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Database

BACKGROUND

Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) has been reported to be correlated with declines in hippocampal volume and cognitive function in ApoE4-positive MCI patients.

OBJECTIVES

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of plasma matrix MMP-9 on the conversion risk between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients with and without ApoE4.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Retrospective observational study using the data extracted from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database.

PARTICIPANTS

We included 211 ApoE4-positive MCI subjects (ApoE4+ MCI) and 184 ApoE4-negative MCI subjects (ApoE4- MCI).

MEASUREMENTS

We obtained demographic and data including plasma MMP-9 levels at baseline and longitudinal changes in Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) up to 15 years. We compared conversion rates between ApoE4+ MCI and ApoE4- MCI by the Log-rank test and calculated the hazard ratio (HR) for covariates including age, sex, educational attainment, drinking and smoking histories, medications, and plasma MMP-9 levels using a multiple Cox regression analysis of ApoE4+ MCI and ApoE4- MCI.

RESULTS

No significant differences were observed in baseline plasma MMP-9 levels between ApoE4+ MCI and ApoE4- MCI. High plasma MMP-9 levels increased the conversion risk significantly more than low plasma MMP-9 levels (HR, 2.46 [95% CI, 1.31-4.48]) and middle plasma MMP-9 levels (HR, 1.67 [95% CI, 1.04-2.65]) in ApoE4+ MCI, but not in ApoE4- MCI.

CONCLUSION

Plasma MMP-9 would be the risk of the future conversion to dementia in ApoE4+ MCI.

A mixture-of-experts deep generative model for integrated analysis of single-cell multiomics data

The recent development of single-cell multiomics analysis has enabled simultaneous detection of multiple traits at the single-cell level, providing deeper insights into cellular phenotypes and functions in diverse tissues. However, currently, it is challenging to infer the joint representations and learn relationships among multiple modalities from complex multimodal single-cell data. Here, we present scMM, a novel deep generative model-based framework for the extraction of interpretable joint representations and crossmodal generation. scMM addresses the complexity of data by leveraging a mixture-of-experts multimodal variational autoencoder. The pseudocell generation strategy of scMM compensates for the limited interpretability of deep learning models, and the proposed approach experimentally discovered multimodal regulatory programs associated with latent dimensions. Analysis of recently produced datasets validated that scMM facilitates high-resolution clustering with rich interpretability. Furthermore, we show that crossmodal generation by scMM leads to more precise prediction and data integration compared with the state-of-the-art and conventional approaches.

Excessive Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Expression Induces Cardiac Rupture via p53-Dependent Apoptosis After Myocardial Infarction

Background

Apoptosis plays a pivotal role in cardiac rupture after myocardial infarction (MI), and p53 is a key molecule in apoptosis during cardiac rupture. Hif‐1α (hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α), upregulated under hypoxia, is a known p53 inducer. However, the role of Hif‐1α in the regulatory mechanisms underlying p53 upregulation, apoptosis, and cardiac rupture after MI is unclear.

Methods and Results

We induced MI in mice by ligating the left anterior descending artery. Hif‐1α and p53 expressions were upregulated in the border zone at day 5 after MI, accompanied by apoptosis. In rat neonatal cardiomyocytes, treatment with cobalt chloride (500 μmol/L), which mimics severe hypoxia by inhibiting PHD (prolyl hydroxylase domain‐containing protein), increased Hif‐1α and p53, accompanied by myocyte death with caspase‐3 cleavage. Silencing Hif‐1α or p53 inhibited caspase‐3 cleavage, and completely prevented myocyte death under PHD inhibition. In cardiac‐specific Hif‐1α hetero‐knockout mice, expression of p53 and cleavage of caspase‐3 and poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase were reduced, and apoptosis was suppressed on day 5. Furthermore, the cleavage of caspase‐8 and IL‐1β (interleukin‐1β) was also suppressed in hetero knockout mice, accompanied by reduced macrophage infiltration and matrix metalloproteinase/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase activation. Although there was no intergroup difference in infarct size, the cardiac rupture and survival rates were significantly improved in the hetero knockout mice until day 10 after MI.

Conclusions

Hif‐1α plays a pivotal role in apoptosis, inflammation, and cardiac rupture after MI, in which p53 is a critical mediator, and may be a prospective therapeutic target for preventing cardiac rupture.

CYBERTRACK2.0: zero-inflated model-based cell clustering and population tracking method for longitudinal mass cytometry data

Summary

Recent advancements in high-dimensional single-cell technologies, such as mass cytometry, enable longitudinal experiments to track dynamics of cell populations and identify change points where the proportions vary significantly. However, current research is limited by the lack of tools specialized for analyzing longitudinal mass cytometry data. In order to infer cell population dynamics from such data, we developed a statistical framework named CYBERTRACK2.0. The framework’s analytic performance was validated against synthetic and real data, showing that its results are consistent with previous research.

Availability and implementation

CYBERTRACK2.0 is available at https://github.com/kodaim1115/CYBERTRACK2.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Methotrexate-induced Transient Encephalopathy in an Adolescent and Young Adult Patient with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

A 17-year-old girl was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). After the administration of high-dose methotrexate (MTX) or intrathecal MTX, the patient experienced transient hemiparesis and motor aphasia. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed a high-intensity lesion in the bilateral centrum semiovale, and a vasospasm was detected in the proximal segment of bilateral A1 on magnetic resonance angiography. Edaravone was administered, and leucovorin rescue treatment was continued; eventually, the patient's neurological symptoms completely resolved. This finding suggested that vasospasm might be a mechanism underlying MTX-induced transient encephalopathy in adolescent and young adult patients with ALL.

Portuguese ABE’s BPSD score (ABS): exploring agreement between ABS items and neuropsychiatric inventory domains

Introduction

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common, disabling and burdensome core-features of dementia, with important diagnostic and prognostic value. However, their measurement remains challenging. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is the most widely used NPS measure. Nevertheless, it is also time-consuming and impractical in most clinical settings. Therefore, the Abe’s BPSD score (ABS) has been proposed as a brief score to facilitate the NPS assessment.

Objectives

To explore the concurrent validity of the Portuguese ABS by comparing the 10 ABS items with the relevant NPI-12 domains.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with outpatients attending a gerontopsychiatric consultation. Patients were included if they were ≥65 years and had a reliable caregiver. NPS frequency rates (number of patients with a symptom) were estimated with ABS and NPI-12, and an agreement analysis was undertaken by calculating kappa-coefficients (k) and the respective 95% confidence interval [95%CI] between ABS items and relevant NPI-12 domains.

Results

Overall, 107 patients were included. Kappa-values ranged from 0.277 to 1.000. Higher agreement was recorded for the ABS items eating/toilet problems (k=1.000), day–night reversal (k=0.976[0.925-1.000]) and depressive/gloomy mood (k=0.957[0.899-1.000]), with the NPI-12 appetite/eating abnormalities, night-time behavioural disturbances and dysphoria domains, respectively. The ABS item violent force recorded the lowest agreement (k=0.277[0.104-0.45]) with the NPI-12 agitation/aggression domain.

Conclusions

This exploratory analysis demonstrates good levels of agreement between most ABS items and relevant NPI-12 domains. Data add to the evidence that both measures capture a comparable broad spectrum of psychopathology, supporting the ABS use in clinical routine. Support: FCT(PD/BD/114555/2016), and National Funds through FCT-within CINTESIS, R&D Unit (ref.UIDB/4255/2020).

Hierarchical non-negative matrix factorization using clinical information for microbial communities

Background

The human microbiome forms very complex communities that consist of hundreds to thousands of different microorganisms that not only affect the host, but also participate in disease processes. Several state-of-the-art methods have been proposed for learning the structure of microbial communities and to investigate the relationship between microorganisms and host environmental factors. However, these methods were mainly designed to model and analyze single microbial communities that do not interact with or depend on other communities. Such methods therefore cannot comprehend the properties between interdependent systems in communities that affect host behavior and disease processes.

Results

We introduce a novel hierarchical Bayesian framework, called BALSAMICO (BAyesian Latent Semantic Analysis of MIcrobial COmmunities), which uses microbial metagenome data to discover the underlying microbial community structures and the associations between microbiota and their environmental factors. BALSAMICO models mixtures of communities in the framework of nonnegative matrix factorization, taking into account environmental factors. We proposes an efficient procedure for estimating parameters. A simulation then evaluates the accuracy of the estimated parameters. Finally, the method is used to analyze clinical data. In this analysis, we successfully detected bacteria related to colorectal cancer.

Conclusions

These results show that the method not only accurately estimates the parameters needed to analyze the connections between communities of microbiota and their environments, but also allows for the effective detection of these communities in real-world circumstances.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1186/s12864-021-07401-y).

Heart Rate Reduction with Ivabradine Prevents Cardiac Rupture after Myocardial Infarction in Mice

PURPOSE

Cardiac rupture is a fatal complication following myocardial infarction (MI). An increase in heart rate (HR) is reportedly an independent risk factor for cardiac rupture during acute MI. However, the role of HR reduction in cardiac rupture after MI remains to be fully elucidated. We aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of HR reduction with ivabradine (IVA) on post-MI cardiac rupture in mice.

METHODS

We induced MI in mice by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery. Subsequently, we subcutaneously implanted osmotic pumps filled with IVA solution or vehicle (Veh) in the surviving MI mice at 24 h postoperatively. We biochemically analyzed the myocardium on day 5, additionally observed the mice for 10 days, and analyzed the rates of cardiac rupture and non-cardiac rupture death, and survival after MI.

RESULTS

HR was significantly lower in the IVA-treated mice, whereas blood pressure was comparable between the two groups. Compared to the Veh-treated mice, apoptosis was significantly reduced in the MI border zone in the IVA-treated mice. Although there were no differences in the infarct size of the surviving MI mice between the two groups, HR reduction with IVA significantly reduced cardiac rupture (rupture rate 26 and 8% in the Veh-treated and IVA-treated groups, respectively) and improved survival after MI.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that HR reduction with IVA prevents cardiac rupture after MI. This may be particularly effective in MI patients with a high HR who are either unable to adequately tolerate β-blockers or whose HR remains high despite receiving β-blockers.

Distal Vessel Imaging via Intra-arterial Flat Panel Detector CTA during Mechanical Thrombectomy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Obtaining information on invisible vasculature distal to the occlusion site helps to deploy a stent retriever safely during mechanical thrombectomy for large-vessel occlusion. It is essential to reduce the amount of contrast used for detecting the vessels distal to the occlusion site because acute ischemic stroke patients tend to have chronic kidney disease and patients with severe chronic kidney disease are at an increased risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury. We assessed whether vessels distal to the occlusion site during acute ischemic stroke with large-vessel occlusion could be visualized on angiographic images using flat panel detector CT acquired following intra-arterial diluted contrast injection, compared with MRA findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between May 2019 and January 2020, we enrolled 28 consecutive patients with large-vessel occlusions of the anterior circulation eligible for mechanical thrombectomy following MR imaging. The patients underwent CBV imaging using flat panel detector CT with an intra-arterial diluted contrast injection instead of intravenous injection. Flat panel detector CT angiographic images reconstructed from the same dataset were evaluated for image quality, collateral status of the MCA territory, and visualization of the vessels distal to the occlusion site. These findings were compared with MRA findings.

RESULTS

Twenty-two patients were retrospectively examined. Flat panel detector CT angiographic image quality in 20 patients (91%) was excellent or good. The distal portion of the occluded vessel segment was visualized in 14 patients (70%), while the proximal portion of the segment adjacent to the occluded vessel in 3 (15%) was visualized. No visualization was observed in only 1 patient (5%) with no collateral supply. Flat panel detector CT angiographic images were shown to evaluate vessels distal to the occlusion site more accurately than MRA.

CONCLUSIONS

In acute ischemic stroke with large-vessel occlusion, flat panel detector CT angiographic images could successfully visualize vessels distal to the occlusion site with a small amount of contrast material.

Hyperuricemia impaired nitric oxide bioavailablity and deteriorated pulmonary arterial hypertension via a uric acid transporter, URATv1 in xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR)-independent manner

Background

Hyperuricemia occurs in approximately 80% in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and is positively correlated with pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP). It has been reported that uric acid (UA) reduced endothelium derived nitric oxide (NO) production in porcine pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAEC). However, the effects of UA and xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), catalytic enzyme of UA, on the development of PAH have not been fully elucidated.

Purpose

We examined the followings; (1) the effects of hyperuricemia on the endothelial function and the development of PAH in rats (2) the therapeutic effects of UA transporter inhibitor on PAH in rats, and (3) the role of XOR in PAH in mice.

Methods

We used normal and 5-wk Sugen5416/Hypoxia/Normoxia-exposed (SU/Hx/Nx) rats. Gene expression levels of URATv1, a UA transporter, were measured by RT-PCR. We determined the isometric tension of PA rings isolated from normal rats. The study with the isolated perfused lung preparation was performed in SU/HX/Nx rats. To investigate the chronic effect of UA on the development of PAH, hyperuricemia was induced by the administration of 2% oxonic acid (OA) in diet for 6-wk. Benzbromarone (BBR, 10mg/kg/day, diet, from weeks 0 to 5), a URATv1 transporter inhibitor, was administered in the SU/Hx/Nx-rats with or without 2%OA. To examine the role of XOR in PAH, XOR+/− and wild type (WT) mice were exposed to 3-wk Nx or Hx (10% O2).

Results

The mRNA of URATv1 was detected in the normal lungs. Isometric tension study showed that UA (8 mg/dl) inhibited acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation. In perfused lung preparations, UA acutely increased estimated PVR in a dose-dependent manner (1.6–16.0mg/dl) with reducing cGMP levels in the lungs. BBR significantly attenuated the pressor response to UA. UA levels in the plasma and the lung tissues were significantly elevated in SU/Hx/Nx-rats with 2%OA (normal vs. vehicle vs. 2%OA, plasma: 0.24±0.01 vs. 0.80±0.14 and 1.44±0.17 mg/dl; lung tissues: 68±3 vs. 142±3 and 377±46 pmol/g tissue). They exhibited further elevation of right ventricle systolic pressure (RVSP) (31±2 vs. 72±6 vs. 101±3 mmHg) and Ea (a marker of RV afterload) (0.24±0.04 vs. 0.97±0.15 vs. 2.36±0.49 mmHg/μL) with the exacerbation of occlusive lesions of PAs. BBR had no changes in the UA levels in the plasma (1.93±0.30 mg/dL), but significantly reduced the UA levels in the lung tissues (101±10 pmol/g tissue) and attenuated the increase in RVSP (53±8mmHg) and Ea (0.21±0.05 mmHg/mL) in the SU/Hx/Nx-rats with 2%OA. On the other hand, BBR had no effects on RVSP (76±7 mmHg) and Ea (0.91±0.15 mmHg/mL) in the SU/Hx/Nx-rats without 2%OA. There were no significant differences in RVSP between XOR+/− mice with Hx and WT with Hx (26±2 vs. 26±2 mmHg).

Conclusions

Hyperuricemia itself impairs endothelial function and deteriorates PAH via URATv1 in a XOR-independent manner. UA can be a novel therapeutic target for PAH.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Identification of predictors of response to initial oral combination therapy in WHO-functional class II or III PAH patients: a post-hoc analysis of the AMBITION study

Background

AMBITION Study (NCT01178073) provided the first long-term clinical evidence for initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil (COMB) compared with monotherapy of either agent (MONO), and the results contributed to the ESC/ERS guidelines recommending initial combination therapy in PAH patients with low and intermediate risk. However, predictors of response to initial oral combination therapy to identify PAH patients who benefit most from it have not been assessed.

Purpose

To identify potential predictors of response to initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil (COMB) in PAH patients with WHO-FC II or III in the AMBITION study.

Methods

We examined 302 COMB patients from the modified intention to treat (mITT) population enrolled in the AMBITION study (n=605). The mITT population includes PAH patients with risk factors related to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (Ex-PAS) who were excluded from the primary analysis set (PAS). A responder (i.e. event-free subject) was defined as not having a clinical failure event. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with responders. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent risk for each factor that showed a significant difference between cohorts by interactive backward selection. Odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-values are presented.

Results

Univariate analysis showed that responders tended to be lower age, female, typical PAH (i.e. PAS), absence of coronary artery disease, non-use of oxygen therapy, and have better baseline parameters (i.e., lower NT-proBNP, longer 6-minute walk distance, low Borg index, high SaO2, WHO-FC II). A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that female gender (OR=2.669, 95% CI: 1.291–5.518, P=0.0081), use of aldosterone antagonist diuretics (OR=2.535, 95% CI: 1.027–6.257, P=0.0436), lower log NT-proBNP (OR=0.704, 95% CI: 0.524–0.944, P=0.0190), and longer 6-minute walk distance (OR=1.006, 95% CI: 1.002–1.010, P=0.0039) were independent predictors of response to initial combination therapy.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that initial combination therapy with ambrisentan and tadalafil is beneficial, especially in less severe typical PAH patients. It also demonstrates that there is a potential contributing factor (i.e. use of aldosterone antagonist diuretics) which is not listed in the risk assessment table of the ESC/ERS guidelines.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Private company. Main funding source(s): AMBITION study was funded by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK; study number 112565; trial registration number: NCT01178073) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. This analysis was funded by both companies.

Automatic three-dimensional segmentation of mouse embryonic stem cell nuclei by utilising multiple channels of confocal fluorescence images

Time-lapse confocal fluorescence microscopy images from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) carrying reporter genes, histone H2B-mCherry and Mvh-Venus, have been used to monitor dynamic changes in cellular/differentiation characteristics of live ESCs. Accurate cell nucleus segmentation is required to analyse the ESC dynamics and differentiation at a single cell resolution. Several methods used concavities on nucleus contours to segment overlapping cell nuclei. Our proposed method evaluates not only the concavities but also the size and shape of every 2D nucleus region to determine if any of the strait, extrusion, convexity and large diameter criteria is satisfied to segment overlapping nuclei inside the region. We then use a 3D segmentation method to reconstruct simple, convex, and reasonably sized 3D nuclei along the image stacking direction using the radius and centre of every segmented region in respective microscopy images. To avoid false concavities on nucleus boundaries, fluorescence images of the H2B-mCherry reporter are used for localisation of cell nuclei and Venus fluorescence images are used for determining the cell colony ranges. We use a series of image preprocessing procedures to remove noise outside and inside cell colonies, and in respective nuclei, and to smooth nucleus boundaries based on the colony ranges.  We propose dynamic data structures to record every segmented nucleus region and solid in sets (volumes) of 3D confocal images. The experimental results show that the proposed image preprocessing method preserves the areas of mouse ESC nuclei on microscopy images and that the segmentation method effectively segment out every nucleus with a reasonable size and shape. All 3D nuclei in a set (volume) of confocal microscopy images can be accessed by the dynamic data structures for 3D reconstruction. The 3D nuclei in time-lapse confocal microscopy images can be tracked to calculate cell movement and proliferation in consecutive volumes for understanding the dynamics of the differentiation characteristics about ESCs. LAY DESCRIPTION: Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are considered as an ideal source for basic cell biology study and producing medically useful cells in vitro. This study uses time-lapse confocal fluorescence microscopy images from mouse ESCs carrying reporter gene to monitor dynamic changes in cellular/differentiation characteristics of live ESCs. To automate analyses of ESC differentiation behaviours, accurate cell nucleus segmentation to distinguish respective cells are required. A series of image preprocessing procedures are implemented to remove noise in live-cell fluorescence images but yield overlapping cell nuclei. A segmentation method that evaluates boundary concavities and the size and shape of every nucleus is then used to determine if any of the strait, extrusion, convexity, large and local minimum diameter criteria satisfied to segment overlapping nuclei. We propose a dynamic data structure to record every newly segmented nucleus. The experimental results show that the proposed image preprocessing method preserves the areas of mouse ESC nuclei and that the segmentation method effectively detects overlapping nuclei. All segmented nuclei in confocal images can be accessed using the dynamic data structures to be visualised and manipulated for quantitative analyses of the ESC differentiation behaviours. The manipulation can be tracking of segmented 3D cell nuclei in time-lapse images to calculate their dynamics of differentiation characteristics.

Changes in lung to finger circulation time measured via cardiopulmonary polygraphy in patients with varying types of heart disease

Cardiopulmonary polygraphy (PG) demonstrates not only parameters for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) but also hemodynamics. We previously developed a software that detects lung to fingertip circulation time (LFCT) derived from PG dataset and reported that those LFCT reflected the cardiac output. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the LFCT changes during clinical course and whether reflects the impact of in-hospital treatment on cardiac function. Consecutive patients (N = 89) who admitted to the cardiovascular division, underwent PG at the early and late phase of admission. Parameters for SDB and LFCT were compared between an acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) group (n = 51) and non-ADHF group (n = 38). ADHF group was further divided into subgroups: preserved ejection fraction (pEF) (EF > 40%) and reduced EF (rEF) (EF ≤ 40%). Using our original algorithm, we obtained LFCT values from all of the patients, though 29.4% of ADHF and 44.7% of non-ADHF had no or mild SDB. LFCT significantly shortened in the ADHF-rEF group, in contrast to ADHF-pEF group or non-ADHF group (ADHF-rEF group: 26.9 ± 7.6 to 24.2 ± 6.1 s, p = 0.01; ADHF-pEF group: 25.3 ± 7.3 to 25.3 ± 6.9 s, p = 0.98; non-ADHF group: 21.5 ± 5.5 to 21.9 ± 5.0 s, p = 0.65). The respiratory disorder index in the ADHF group improved after treatment, irrespective of EF (pEF: 26.9 ± 16.1 to 15.8 ± 11.9/h, p < 0.01; rEF: 27.0 ± 16.5 to 20.7 ± 13.6/h, p = 0.03). Automatic detection of LFCT was feasible in almost all cardiac patients. LFCT value changed according to the heart failure treatment in ADHF-rEF patients and reflected cardiac function. LFCT might be a useful indicator of effective cardiac disease treatment.

Search for Electron Antineutrino Appearance in a Long-Baseline Muon Antineutrino Beam

Electron antineutrino appearance is measured by the T2K experiment in an accelerator-produced antineutrino beam, using additional neutrino beam operation to constrain parameters of the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata (PMNS) mixing matrix. T2K observes 15 candidate electron antineutrino events with a background expectation of 9.3 events. Including information from the kinematic distribution of observed events, the hypothesis of no electron antineutrino appearance is disfavored with a significance of 2.40σ and no discrepancy between data and PMNS predictions is found. A complementary analysis that introduces an additional free parameter which allows non-PMNS values of electron neutrino and antineutrino appearance also finds no discrepancy between data and PMNS predictions.

162 Detection of ovulation disorders and normal ovulation using wireless sensors of ventral tail surface temperature and neck acceleration data in Japanese Black cows

The present study aimed to clarify the possibility of detection of ovulation disorders and normal ovulation in Japanese Black cows using wearable wireless sensors based on continuous measurements of body surface temperature (ST) and neck acceleration data. For cows with normal ovulation (n=19, 8.5 years old, 476.2kg), controlled internal drug release (CIDR) and gonadotrophin-releasing hormone were administered on arbitrary days of the oestrous cycle (Day −10), and oestrus was induced by CIDR removal and prostaglandin F2α administration (Day −3). Ovulation (Day 0) was induced by gonadotrophin-releasing hormone administration on estimated oestrus day (Day −1) and was detected based on the disappearance of ≥8mm follicles using ultrasonography at 1- to 2-h intervals. For cows with spontaneous ovarian cysts (n=11, 8.6 years old, 471.2kg), oestrus and the next day were defined as Days −1 and 0, respectively. Plasma concentrations of progesterone (P4) and oestradiol-17β (E2) were measured on Days −9, −6, −2, −1, 0, 1, 5, and 8. The body ST sensor was attached to the ventral tail base (Day −16), and ST was measured every 10min for 24 days. For analysis of ST, after extracting hourly maximum ST values, the values were expressed as residual ST (RST; ST − mean ST for the same hour on the previous 3 days) for removal of circadian rhythm (Miura et al. 2017 Anim. Reprod. Sci. 180, 50-57; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2017.03). The acceleration sensor (Farmnote Color, Farmnote Inc.) was attached to the neck (Day −16). Hourly oestrus level (amount of oestrus activity) was obtained from the amount of activity; the difference between the residual oestrus level (REL; same calculation as RST) and measured values of each day was used. To identify RST and REL of cows with normal ovulation and cows with ovarian cysts, the mean values and standard deviations for the same hours for 3-7 days before oestrus were calculated. Mean RST and REL for 3-7 days before oestrus were assumed according to the normal distribution. The 95% confidence range was determined using×1 standard deviation of all hours. Values over the 95% confidence range for ≥5h were considered to be different from the mean 4 days and the 5% level. For RST, no difference was found in both groups due to the large influence of environment, particularly low temperature. However, for REL, a difference was indicated for oestrus in all cows (P&lt;0.05). A large peak of REL appeared once on oestrus (&gt;14.4 REL for 20h) in normal cows, and three peaks occurred in &lt;21 days (&gt;16.2 REL for 21, 15, and 15h) in cows with ovulation disorders (P&lt;0.05). The REL rapidly increased following peaking E2 and decreasing P4 to oestrus (Day −1) in normal cows. In cows with an ovulation disorder, REL increased on oestrus; however, E2 and P4 remained high and low stable to oestrus, respectively. In conclusion, oestrus activity and the characteristics of normal cows and those with an ovulation disorder can be detected by the neck acceleration sensor using the correction value. This research was supported by The Research Project for the Future Agriculture Production Utilising Artificial Intelligence.

Model-based cell clustering and population tracking for time-series flow cytometry data

Background

Modern flow cytometry technology has enabled the simultaneous analysis of multiple cell markers at the single-cell level, and it is widely used in a broad field of research. The detection of cell populations in flow cytometry data has long been dependent on “manual gating” by visual inspection. Recently, numerous software have been developed for automatic, computationally guided detection of cell populations; however, they are not designed for time-series flow cytometry data. Time-series flow cytometry data are indispensable for investigating the dynamics of cell populations that could not be elucidated by static time-point analysis. Therefore, there is a great need for tools to systematically analyze time-series flow cytometry data.

Results

We propose a simple and efficient statistical framework, named CYBERTRACK (CYtometry-Based Estimation and Reasoning for TRACKing cell populations), to perform clustering and cell population tracking for time-series flow cytometry data. CYBERTRACK assumes that flow cytometry data are generated from a multivariate Gaussian mixture distribution with its mixture proportion at the current time dependent on that at a previous timepoint. Using simulation data, we evaluate the performance of CYBERTRACK when estimating parameters for a multivariate Gaussian mixture distribution, tracking time-dependent transitions of mixture proportions, and detecting change-points in the overall mixture proportion. The CYBERTRACK performance is validated using two real flow cytometry datasets, which demonstrate that the population dynamics detected by CYBERTRACK are consistent with our prior knowledge of lymphocyte behavior.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that CYBERTRACK offers better understandings of time-dependent cell population dynamics to cytometry users by systematically analyzing time-series flow cytometry data.

Direct observation of imploded core heating via fast electrons with super-penetration scheme

Fast ignition (FI) is a promising approach for high-energy-gain inertial confinement fusion in the laboratory. To achieve ignition, the energy of a short-pulse laser is required to be delivered efficiently to the pre-compressed fuel core via a high-energy electron beam. Therefore, understanding the transport and energy deposition of this electron beam inside the pre-compressed core is the key for FI. Here we report on the direct observation of the electron beam transport and deposition in a compressed core through the stimulated Cu Kα emission in the super-penetration scheme. Simulations reproducing the experimental measurements indicate that, at the time of peak compression, about 1% of the short-pulse energy is coupled to a relatively low-density core with a radius of 70 μm. Analysis with the support of 2D particle-in-cell simulations uncovers the key factors improving this coupling efficiency. Our findings are of critical importance for optimizing FI experiments in a super-penetration scheme.

P850Clinical difference of recent myocardial infarction compared with acute myocardial infarction - Insights from Tokyo CCU network multicenter registry

Background

Although the patient's characteristics and outcome of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have been sufficiently investigated and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been recognized as established treatment strategy, those of recent myocardial infarction (RMI) have not been fully evaluated.

Purpose

The purpose of the present study was to clarify clinical characteristics and in-hospital outcomes of RMI patients from the database of the Tokyo CCU network multicenter registry.

Methods

In Tokyo CCU network multicenter registry database from 2013 to 2016, 15788 consecutive patients were registered as AMI (within 24 hours from onset) and RMI (within 2–30 days from onset). However 1246 patients were excluded because of inadequate data. And we excluded 66 cases because of out of onset period and 129 cases that strongly suspected of involvement of vasospastic events. Therefore, remaining 14347 patients were categorized to RMI group (n=1853) and AMI group (n=12494), and analyzed.

Results

Compared with AMI group, average age was older (70.4±12.9 vs 68.0±13.4 years, p<0.001), male was less (72.4 vs 76.4%, p<0.001), chest pain as chief complaint was less (75.2 vs 83.6%, p<0.001), prevalence of diabetes mellitus was higher (35.9 vs 31.0%, p<0.001), multi-vessel coronary disease was more (54.7 vs 44.6%, p<0.001), patients undergoing PCI was less (79.0 vs 91.2%, p<0.001), and the incidence of mechanical complication was more in RMI group (3.0 vs 1.5%, p<0.001). Although 30-day mortality was equivalent between 2 groups (5.3 vs 5.8%, p=0.360), the major cause of death in AMI group was cardiogenic shock, while in the RMI group it was a mechanical complication. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, the 2 groups had significantly different cumulative incidence of death due to cardiogenic shock (p=0.006, Log-rank test) and mechanical complication (p=0.021, Log-rank test). Furthermore death due to mechanical complication in AMI group was plateau after about 1 week from hospitalization, whereas in RMI group it continued to increase.

Kaplan-Meier analysis

Conclusions

RMI patients had distinctive clinical features in backgrounds and treatment strategies compared with AMI patients, and the major cause of death of RMI patients was different from that of AMI patients. Furthermore, even though treatment during hospitalization of RMI patients was well done, death due to mechanical complications continued to increase.

P5594Comparison of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants versus vitamin K antagonist on changes in pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Background/Introduction

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) requires a lifelong anticoagulation therapy. However, the efficacy or safety of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have not been established in CTEPH.

Purpose

We aimed to evaluate the effects of NOACs on the changes in pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and their adverse events such as bleeding and clinical worsening in CTEPH.

Methods

We retrospectively compared the changes in PVR among CTEPH patients taking vitamin-K antagonists (VKA) (n=38) and those taking NOACs (n=46) to evaluate the effectiveness of NOACs for the prophylaxis of thrombotic disease progression in CTEPH. Also, we extracted incidence of clinically relevant bleeding and clinical worsening in CTEPH as an exploratory outcome measures. Clinical worsening in CTEPH was defined as composite outcome of death from any cause, lung transplantation and worsening pulmonary hypertension that resulted in hospitalization, addition of specific drug for pulmonary hypertension, or rescue pulmonary endarterectomy or balloon pulmonary angioplasty. Clinically relevant bleeding was defined as composite major bleeding and/or clinically relevant non-major bleeding, which is defined as bleeding associated with the need for medical intervention, contact with a physician, interruption of anticoagulation therapy, discomfort or impairment of activities of daily life.

Results

The changes in PVR (VKA group; −0.17±0.82 woods unit/year, NOACs group; −0.44±0.89 woods unit/year, p=0.32) were comparable between VKA and NOACs groups. The incidence of clinical worsening in CTEPH (VKA group; 1.8% per patient-year, NOACs group; 0% per patient-year) and clinically relevant bleeding (VKA group; 2.8% per patient-year, NOACs group; 2.8% per patient-year) was comparable between the VKA and NOACs groups. D-dimer levels (VKA group; 0.58±0.22 μg/ml, NOACs group; 0.67±0.47 μg/ml, p=0.41) were also comparable between the groups.

Conclusions

Our study revealed that NOACs had a similar effectiveness in the prevention of thrombotic disease progression in CTEPH as compared with VKA. The result suggest that NOACs might have similar efficacy and safety as VKA in daily clinical practice.

Acknowledgement/Funding

Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development