•Original purpose-built 2018 Japanese survey data is used.•Financial literacy makes people daring and reckless toward some financial aspects.•This doesn’t change much even for people with fairly high ...financial literacy.•High financial literacy of elderly males could be a warning sign.•The “strong swimmer effect” should be taught in financial education.
Using original purpose-built 2018 Japanese survey data, we estimate the financial behaviors and attitudes of households. We find that financial literacy plays an important and consistent role in financial decision-making. However, the actual behaviors are counter-intuitive: people with high levels of financial literacy tend to take too many risks, overborrow, and hold naive financial attitudes. That is, financial literacy tends to cause people to become daring and reckless toward some financial aspects. By contrast, financially literate people are better at retirement planning and are indifferent to gambling. Preferences such as risk and loss aversions and discount factors, also play a role in financial choices.
Rechargeable lithium batteries have rapidly risen to prominence as fundamental devices for green and sustainable energy development. Lithium batteries are now used as power sources for electric ...vehicles. However, materials innovations are still needed to satisfy the growing demand for increasing energy density of lithium batteries. In the past decade, lithium-excess compounds, Li₂MeO₃ (Me = Mn⁴⁺, Ru⁴⁺, etc.), have been extensively studied as high-capacity positive electrode materials. Although the origin as the high reversible capacity has been a debatable subject for a long time, recently it has been confirmed that charge compensation is partly achieved by solid-state redox of nonmetal anions (i.e., oxide ions), coupled with solid-state redox of transition metals, which is the basic theory used for classic lithium insertion materials, such as LiMeO₂ (Me = Co³⁺, Ni³⁺, etc.). Herein, as a compound with further excess lithium contents, a cation-ordered rocksalt phase with lithium and pentavalent niobium ions, Li₃NbO₄, is first examined as the host structure of a new series of high-capacity positive electrode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. Approximately 300 mAh·g⁻¹ of high-reversible capacity at 50 °C is experimentally observed, which partly originates from charge compensation by solid-state redox of oxide ions. It is proposed that such a charge compensation process by oxide ions is effectively stabilized by the presence of electrochemically inactive niobium ions. These results will contribute to the development of a new class of high-capacity electrode materials, potentially with further lithium enrichment (and fewer transition metals) in the close-packed framework structure with oxide ions.
Gold-based nanoparticles hold promise as functional nanomedicines, including in combination with a photothermal effect for cancer therapy in conjunction with chemotherapy. Here, we synthesized hollow ...gold nanoparticles (HGNPs) exhibiting efficient light absorption in the near-IR (NIR) region. Several synthesis conditions were explored and provided monodisperse HGNPs approximately 95–135 nm in diameter with a light absorbance range of approximately 600–720 nm. The HGNPs were hollow and the surface had protruding structures when prepared using high concentrations of HAuCl4. The simultaneous nucleation of a sacrificial AgCl template and Au nanoparticles may affect the resulting HGNPs. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) is metabolized from disulfiram and is a repurposed drug currently attracting attention. The chelation of DDTC with copper ion (DDTC-Cu) has been investigated for treating glioma, and here we confirmed the cytotoxic effect of DDTC-Cu towards rat C6 glioma cells in vitro. HGNPs alone were biocompatible and showed little cytotoxicity, whereas a mixture of DDTC-Cu and HGNPs was cytotoxic in a dose dependent manner. The temperature of HGNPs was increased by NIR-laser irradiation. The photothermal effect on HGNPs under NIR-laser irradiation resulted in cytotoxicity towards C6 cells and was dependent on the irradiation time. Photothermal therapy by HGNPs combined and DDTC-Cu was highly effective, suggesting that this combination approach hold promise as a future glioma therapy.
Supported Pd–Au alloy catalysts were developed for the highly efficient and selective hydrosilylation of α,β-unsaturated ketones and alkynes. The Pd/Au atomic ratio of the Pd–Au alloy and the ...supporting material affected the catalytic activity, and supported Pd–Au alloy nanoparticles with a low Pd/Au atomic ratio functioned as highly active heterogeneous catalysts under mild reaction conditions. Structural characterization of supported Pd–Au alloy catalysts by X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and transmission electron microscopy revealed the formation of random Pd–Au alloy nanoparticles with a uniform size of around 3 nm on the support. Furthermore, XAS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy elucidated the charge transfer from Pd to Au and the formation of isolated single Pd atoms in random Pd–Au alloys with a low Pd/Au ratio, which enabled efficient hydrosilylation of a variety of substrates under mild reaction conditions.
Provocation tests of coronary artery spasm are useful for the diagnosis of vasospastic angina (VSA). However, these tests are thought to have a potential risk of arrhythmic complications, including ...ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF), and brady-arrhythmias. We aimed to elucidate the safety and the clinical implications of the spasm provocation tests in the nationwide multicentre registry study by the Japanese Coronary Spasm Association.
A total of 1244 VSA patients (M/F, 938/306; median 66 years) who underwent the spasm provocation tests were enrolled from 47 institutes. The primary endpoint was defined as major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). The provocation tests were performed with either acetylcholine (ACh, 57%) or ergonovine (40%). During the provocation tests, VT/VF and brady-arrhythmias developed at a rate of 3.2 and 2.7%, respectively. Overall incidence of arrhythmic complications was 6.8%, a comparable incidence of those during spontaneous angina attack (7.0%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that diffuse right coronary artery spasm (P < 0.01) and the use of ACh (P < 0.05) had a significant correlation with provocation-related VT/VF. During the median follow-up of 32 months, 69 patients (5.5%) reached the primary endpoint. The multivariable Cox proportional hazard model revealed that mixed (focal plus diffuse) type multivessel spasm had an important association with MACEs (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.84; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-6.03; P < 0.01), whereas provocation-related arrhythmias did not.
The spasm provocation tests have an acceptable level of safety and the evaluation of spasm type may provide useful information for the risk prediction of VSA patients.
Since three-dimensional (3D)-printed tablets were approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 3D printing technology has garnered increasing interest for the fabrication of ...medical and pharmaceutical devices. With various dosing devices being designed for manufacture by 3D printing, 3D-printed ophthalmic formulations to release drugs have been one such target of investigation. In the current study, 3D-printed contact lenses designed for the controlled release of the antibiotic azithromycin were produced by vat photopolymerization, and the effect of the printer ink composition and a second curing process was investigated. The azithromycin-loaded contact lenses were composed of the cross-linking reagent polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA), PEG 400 as a solvent, a photoinitiator, and azithromycin. The 3D-printed contact lenses were fabricated successfully, and formulations with lower PEGDA concentrations produced thicker lenses. The mechanical strength of the PEGDA-based contact lenses was dependent on the amount of PEGDA and was improved by a second curing process. Drug release from 3D-printed contact lenses was reduced in the samples with a second curing process. The azithromycin-loaded contact lenses exhibited antimicrobial effects in vitro for both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. These results suggest that 3D-printed contact lenses containing antibiotics are an effective model for treating eye infections by controlling drug release.
Although adipocytes are major targets of insulin, the influence of impaired insulin action in adipocytes on metabolic homeostasis has been unclear. To provide insight into the role of insulin action ...in adipocytes, we generated mice that lack 3'-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase1 (PDK1) specifically in adipocytes (A-PDK1KO mice). These mice manifest impairment of metabolic actions of insulin in adipose tissue and a reduction in adipose tissue mass. The mice developed insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis, all of which were markedly attenuated by additional ablation of FoxO1 specifically in adipocytes without an effect on adipose tissue mass, indicating that the PDK1-FoxO1 axis in adipocytes plays an important role in systemic metabolic homeostasis through a mechanism independent of the regulation of adipose tissue mass. Neither circulating levels of adiponectin and leptin nor inflammation in adipose tissue differed between A-PDK1KO mice and adipocyte-specific PDK1/FoxO1 deficient mice (A-PDK1/FoxO1KO mice), indicating that those factors did not account for the difference in metabolic phenotypes of the two genotypes of mice. Microarray and lipidomics analyses revealed that leukotriene B4 (LTB4) levels in plasma and in adipose tissues as well as the expression of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO), a rate limiting enzyme for LTB4 production, in adipose tissues were increased and normalized in A-PDK1KO and A-PDK1/FoxO1KO mice, respectively. Administration of a 5-LO inhibitor reduced plasma levels of LTB4 and ameliorated insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in A-PDK1KO mice. Furthermore, insulin was found to inhibit LTB4 production through downregulation of 5-LO expression via the PDK1-FoxO1 pathway in isolated adipocytes. These results thus indicate that insulin signaling via the PDK1-FoxO1 pathway negatively regulates the production of LTB4 through the suppression of 5-LO in adipocytes and thereby maintains systemic insulin sensitivity.
Disclosure
T. Hosooka: Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. W. Ogawa: Research Support; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Abbott.
Presented here are the observations and interpretations from a comprehensive analysis of 16 representative particles returned from the C-type asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. On average Ryugu ...particles consist of 50% phyllosilicate matrix, 41% porosity and 9% minor phases, including organic matter. The abundances of 70 elements from the particles are in close agreement with those of CI chondrites. Bulk Ryugu particles show higher δ18O, Δ17O, and ε54Cr values than CI chondrites. As such, Ryugu sampled the most primitive and least-thermally processed protosolar nebula reservoirs. Such a finding is consistent with multi-scale H-C-N isotopic compositions that are compatible with an origin for Ryugu organic matter within both the protosolar nebula and the interstellar medium. The analytical data obtained here, suggests that complex soluble organic matter formed during aqueous alteration on the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal (several 10’s of km), <2.6 Myr after CAI formation. Subsequently, the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal was fragmented and evolved into the current asteroid Ryugu through sublimation.
The glycosyltransferase EOGT transfers O-GlcNAc to a consensus site in epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats of a limited number of secreted and membrane proteins, including Notch receptors. In ...EOGT-deficient cells, the binding of DLL1 and DLL4, but not JAG1, canonical Notch ligands was reduced, and ligand-induced Notch signaling was impaired. Mutagenesis of O-GlcNAc sites on NOTCH1 also resulted in decreased binding of DLL4. EOGT functions were investigated in retinal angiogenesis that depends on Notch signaling. Global or endothelial cell-specific deletion of
resulted in defective retinal angiogenesis, with a mild phenotype similar to that caused by reduced Notch signaling in retina. Combined deficiency of different
mutant alleles exacerbated the abnormalities in
retina, and Notch target gene expression was decreased in
endothelial cells. Thus, O-GlcNAc on EGF repeats of Notch receptors mediates ligand-induced Notch signaling required in endothelial cells for optimal vascular development.
The Notch signaling pathway is highly conserved and essential in animal development and tissue homeostasis. Regulation of Notch signaling is a crucial process for human health. Ligands initiate a ...signal cascade by binding to Notch receptors expressed on the neighboring cell. Notch receptors interact with ligands through their epidermal growth factor-like repeats (EGF repeats). Most EGF repeats are modified by O-glycosylation with residues, such as O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc), O-fucose, and O-glucose. A recent study revealed the distinct roles of these O-glycans in ligand binding, processing, and trafficking of Notch receptors. In particular, O-GlcNAc glycans are essential for Delta-like (DLL) ligand-mediated Notch signaling. In this study, we showed that O-GlcNAc promotes Notch1 trafficking to the cell surfaces under the condition that O-fucose and O-glucose are removed from consecutive EGF repeats of Notch1. Through in vitro experiments, we showed that O-GlcNAc mediates the stability of EGF domains in the same manner as O-fucose and O-glucose. Thus, O-GlcNAc on EGF domains possesses a shared function in the stability of EGF domains and Notch1 trafficking.
•O-GlcNAc on Notch1 EGF26-33 affects its cell surface expression.•O-GlcNAc mediates the stability of folded EGF domains.•Notch O-glycans possess shared functions in protein stability and Notch1 trafficking.
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