•An adjoint marginal sensitivity method was newly derived.•We applied this method to detect CO2 seepage in the ocean.•We successfully conducted 2D and 3D test simulations.•The limitation of this ...method also emerged when applied to oceanic sites.•Practical usage of this method was proposed when applied to oceanic sites.
To mitigate global warming, the large volume of CO2 released into the atmosphere must be reduced. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) are promising means for this. In addition, CCS operators who inject and store CO2 into subseabed geological formations may be legally required to monitor CO2 leakage into seawater, even though such events are very unlikely; after detecting unusually high CO2 concentrations, their social responsibility implies specifying the position and flux of the associated CO2 seepage in the sea site. In this study, we adopted the adjoint marginal sensitivity method to predict such parameters based on the information recorded by a limited number of CO2 sensors located on the seafloor. In particular, we newly derived the adjoint marginal sensitivity from the relationship between a source term and the measured concentrations. We successfully conducted two-dimensional tests and three-dimensional simulations with a realistic topography; tidal and ocean currents with CO2 dispersion were time-forwardly simulated and the seepage information was efficiently evaluated via time-backward numerical tests. However, the limitation of this method also emerged. We accumulated knowledge on its practical utility and proposed some ways to reduce the estimation errors. It is also inferred that this method can be applied for the source detection of various marine pollutants and resources.
Purpose
Maintenance of oral feeding is important in terms of maintaining and improving the quality of life in terminal cancer patients receiving palliative care. Although adequate oral health status ...is essential for oral feeding in hospitalized patients, the relationship between oral health and oral feeding in patients receiving palliative care remains unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine how the general condition and oral health status of these patients relate to decisions regarding their nutritional intake methods.
Methods
This retrospective cross-sectional study included 103 terminal cancer patients (59 men and 44 women; mean age, 73.8 ± 10.9 years) who received palliative care between April 2017 and August 2019. The nutritional method was assessed using the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS). We assessed two types of nutritional methods: (1) the method advised by the attending physician until the initial dental examination (FOIS-I) and (2) the recommended method based on consultation with a palliative care doctor and dentist after the initial oral examination (FOIS-R). Furthermore, the participants’ basic information and Dysphagia Severity Scale (DSS) and Oral Health Assessment Tool (OHAT) scores were assessed.
Results
There was a divergence between FOIS-I and FOIS-R. FOIS-R was significantly higher than FOIS-I (
p
< 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that the time until death, DSS score, and OHAT score had a significant impact on determining the food form for oral feeding.
Conclusions
Appropriate oral health assessment is important in determining the food form and indication for oral feeding among patients receiving palliative care.
Electrophoresis is one of the most important analytical technologies for characterization of macromolecules and their interactions. Among them, native gel electrophoresis is used to analyze the ...macromolecules in the native structure. It differs in principle and information from those obtained by sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) or blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN-PAGE). SDS-PAGE is carried out in the presence of strong denaturant, SDS, while BN-PAGE is done in the presence of negatively charged dye, e.g., Coomassie brilliant blue, G-250. Here, we describe native gel electrophoresis using agarose gel and a buffer at pH 6.1 composed of histidine and 2-(N-morpholino) ethanesulfonic acid. First, a protocol for vertical and horizontal formats of agarose native gel electrophoresis is described followed by different staining procedures. Then, various examples obtained using the developed procedure will be shown to demonstrate how the technology can be applied to specific cases and the advantages or caveats of the present technology.
Intramolecular
S
-acylation of a thiol-installed threonine with a thioester unit, followed by S-O acyl transfer and subsequent desulphurisation, allows the synthesis of lactone peptides. A protocol ...has been developed enabling the cyclisation of a linear peptide, a reaction which has not been achieved by conventional methods.
Tandem acyl transfers of thiol-installed Thr-containing peptide thioesters followed by desulphurization enabled the synthesis of Thr-lactone peptides.
Preserved rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds stored for nearly a century as an emergency food stocks from the Mikawa area were investigated for their genetic diversity. Morphologically, the seeds appeared ...to be typical Japonica. One chloroplast INDEL petN-trnC, two nuclear INDELs Acp1 and Cat1, and three SNP markers in Starch synthase IIa were amplified to characterize the molecular profile. The efficiency of amplification varied among the markers. Most of preserved seeds were classified as Japonica, but some were identified as Indica. The heterozygous genotypes detected suggested a high frequency of outcrossing at that time. On the other hand, 21 SSR markers showed quite a high degree of amplification efficiency. Principal coordinate analysis and STRUCTURE analysis based on the SSR polymorphisms proved that the preserved seeds contained alleles that were not detected among current landraces and breeding varieties, and there were the expected three subpopulations among 96 preserved seeds. These results indicated that these preserved seeds from Mikawa area in Meiji era had high genetic diversity and consisted of some subpopulations including Indica landraces with typical Japonica seed shape. These lines were considered to have been lost from current genetic resources.
Background
Learning and memory deficits and pathologic changes in the hippocampus caused by toothlessness and soft diet feeding are related to reduced masseter muscle (MM) function.
Objective
Myosin ...heavy chain (MyHC) isoform expression in the MM also changes under different chewing conditions. The neurotransmitter calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‐A) are involved in MM formation. However, the relationship between CGRP, VEGF‐A and MyHC isoforms in the MM in the senescence‐accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) strain, a model of learning and memory deficits, remains unclear.
Methods
Changes in CGRP, VEGF‐A, vasculogenesis marker and MyHC isoform mRNA expression in the MMs of ageing SAMP8 and senescence‐accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) mice was investigated through quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) and in situ hybridization.
Results
qRT–PCR revealed obviously high CGRP levels in the SAMP8 mouse MM (p < .001). MyHC‐IId/x mRNA expression in the MM was higher in 24‐week‐old SAMP8 mice than 24‐week‐old SAMR1 mice (p < .001) but lower in slow‐MyHC SAMP8 mice than SAMR1 mice (p < .001). CGRP mRNA was observed on the muscle fibres of the SAMP8 mouse MM but not the SAMR1 mouse MM through in situ hybridization. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed strong positive contributions of SAMP8‐MyHC‐IId/x, SAMP8‐CGRP, SAMR1‐MyHC‐emb, SAMR1‐CGRP, SAMR1‐VEGF‐A, SAMR1‐CD31, SAMP8‐VEGF‐A, and SAMP8‐CD31 in the MM at 12 and 24 weeks.
Conclusion
Calcitonin gene‐related peptide is also key for the MyHC‐IId/x and slow‐MyHC patterns in the MMs of SAMP8 mice.
With aging, the sympathetic nerve becomes dominant, and more CGRP is released from the hippocampus or trigeminal ganglion, which is transported to the masseter muscle. CGRP may be effected to the composition and vascularity of muscle fiber types in the model of learning and memory deficits masseter muscle.
Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID‐19) mRNA vaccines sometimes cause various skin rashes. We report an unusual case of erythema nodosum‐like nodules with vesicular and pustular papules, which arose after ...the first shot of a COVID‐19 mRNA vaccine. A skin biopsy showed marked neutrophilic infiltration with necrobiotic changes throughout the dermis and subcutis. Immunohistochemically, CD8+ cells were much more common than CD4+ cells in the dense neutrophilic infiltrates. Many CD68+ macrophages were present around the CD8+ cells. No cases of neutrophilic dermatosis with necrobiotic changes have been reported. Thus, our findings should be added to the cutaneous adverse effects of the vaccines.
A histopathological examination of an EN‐like lesion with a few pustules revealed dense perivascular and periglandular infiltrates throughout the dermis and subcutis, which were composed of neutrophils, histiocytes, lymphocytes, and a lot of cell debris with marked necrobiotic changes. Immunohistochemically, cytotoxic CD8+ cells were much more common than CD4+ cells in the dense neutrophilic infiltrates. Many CD68+ macrophages were present around the CD8+ cells.
Engulfment and cell motility (ELMO) proteins bind to Dock180, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) of the Rac family, and regulate GEF activity. The resultant ELMO/Dock180/Rac module regulates ...cytoskeletal reorganization responsible for the engulfment of apoptotic cells, cell migration, and neurite extension. The expression and function of Elmo family proteins in the nervous system, however, are not yet fully understood. Here, we characterize the comparative gene expression profiles of three Elmo family members (Elmo1, Elmo2, and Elmo3) in the brain of C57BL/6J mice, a widely used inbred strain, together with reeler mutant mice to understand gene expression in normal laminated brain areas compared with abnormal areas. Although all three Elmo genes showed widespread mRNA expression over various mouse tissues tested, Elmo1 and Elmo2 were the major types expressed in the brain, and three Elmo genes were up-regulated between the first postnatal week (infant stage) and the third postnatal week (juvenile, weaning stage). In addition, the mRNAs of Elmo genes showed distinct distribution patterns in various brain areas and cell-types; such as neurons including inhibitory interneurons as well as some non-neuronal cells. In the cerebral cortex, the three Elmo genes were widely expressed over many cortical regions, but the predominant areas of Elmo1 and Elmo2 expression tended to be distributed unevenly in the deep (a lower part of the VI) and superficial (II/III) layers, respectively, which also changed depending on the cortical areas and postnatal stages. In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, Elmo2 was expressed in dentate granule cells more in the mature stage rather than the immature-differentiating stage. In the thalamus, Elmo1 but not the other members was highly expressed in many nuclei. In the medial habenula, Elmo2 and Elmo3 were expressed at intermediate levels. In the cerebellar cortex, Elmo1 and Elmo2 were expressed in differentiating-mature granule cells and mature granule cells, respectively. In the Purkinje cell layer, Elmo1 and Elmo2 were expressed in Purkinje cells and Bergmann glia, respectively. Disturbed cellular distributions and laminar structures caused by the reeler mutation did not severely change expression in these cell types despite the disturbed cellular distributions and laminar structures, including those of the cerebrum, hippocampus, and cerebellum. Taken together, these results suggested that these three Elmo family members share their functional roles in various brain regions during prenatal-postnatal development.
•Elmo1 and Elmo2 are highly expressed in the brain among eight mouse tissues tested.•Each Elmo gene has distinct cellular and regional expression patterns throughout various brain areas at embryonic, infant, and juvenile stages.•These results suggested that the three Elmo genes play differential roles in the development and function of the brain.
Background: Endometrial cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies. Because the findings mentioned in radiogram interpretation reports issued by diagnostic radiologists influence ...treatment strategies, we aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of preoperative computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) interpretation results in clinically relevant settings. Methods: The clinical records of patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer treated at Tohoku University Hospital from January 2012 to December 2021 were reviewed. The preoperative and pathologically estimated cancer stages were compared based on the results mentioned in the radiogram interpretation report. Results: The preoperative and postoperative cancer stages were concordant in 70.0% of the patients. By contrast, the cancer stage was underdiagnosed and overdiagnosed in 21.7% and 8.2% of the patients, respectively. The sensitivities of MRI for deep myometrial invasion, cervical stromal invasion, vaginal invasion, and adnexal metastasis were 65.1%, 58.2%, 33.3%, and 18.4%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity for pelvic lymph node metastasis using a combination of CT and MRI were 40.9% and 98.4%, respectively. Those for para-aortic lymph node metastases using CT were 37.0% and 99.5%, respectively. Conclusions: The low sensitivity observed in this study clarified the limitations of preoperative diagnostic performance in current clinical practice.
PDF
