Predictive value of serum interleukin-6 for neonatal encephalopathy outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) may predict adverse outcomes of neonatal encephalopathy (NE); however, limited data regarding the predictive utility of IL-6 during neurodevelopmental follow-up are available. We aimed to determine the utility of IL-6 for predicting adverse outcomes at 18 to 22 months of age. METHODS: Eighty-seven patients with NE who received therapeutic hypothermia were enrolled in this study. Serial serum IL-6 levels during the first 3 postnatal days were collected. Patients were classified into three groups: 1) death, 2) survival with moderate to severe neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) at 18-22 months of age, and 3) survival without NDD (favorable outcome). The predictive ability of IL-6 was determined by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: Serial IL-6 data of 80 patients with NE were available and showed peak levels on postnatal day 1; these levels gradually decreased toward day 3. By 18-22 months of age, 13 and 17 patients died and experienced moderate to severe NDD without death, respectively. Fifty patients experienced favorable outcomes. Higher IL-6 levels on day 1 predicted the composite adverse outcome (including death and survival with NDD; n = 30; AUC, 0.648). Higher IL-6 levels on day 1 predicted death (n = 13; AUC, 0.799), whereas higher IL-6 levels on day 1 predicted survival with NDD (n = 17; AUC, 0.536). CONCLUSIONS: The AUC of IL-6 that predicted survival with NDD was lower than the AUC of IL-6 that predicted death; therefore, IL-6 may have insufficient utility for predicting NDD without death.

Regional Inequalities in Oral Frailty and Social Capital.

INTRODUCTION: Oral frailty leads to poor nutritional status, which, in turn, leads to frailty. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine regional differences in the prevalence of oral frailty and to identify factors associated with oral frailty using 3-level multilevel models. METHODS: This study comprised 165,164 participants aged ≥65 y without long-term care requirements in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. The dependent variable was oral frailty, which was calculated based on age, number of teeth, difficulty in eating tough foods, and choking. The individual-level independent variables included sociodemographics, present illness, social participation, frequency of meeting friends, and social capital. The local district-level independent variable was social capital (n = 1,008) derived from exploratory factor analyses. The municipality-level independent variable was population density (n = 62). Three-level multilevel Poisson regression analysis was performed to calculate the prevalence ratios (PRs). RESULTS: The prevalence of oral frailty in municipalities ranged from 39.9% to 77.6%. Regarding district-level factors, higher civic participation was significantly associated with a lower probability of oral frailty. At the municipality level, the PR of the rural-agricultural area was 1.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.23) (reference: metropolitan). CONCLUSION: These results highlight the usefulness of oral frailty prevention measures in encouraging social participation in rural areas. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STATEMENT: The results of the present study showed regional differences in oral frailty. In particular, rural-agricultural areas show higher prevalence rates of oral frailty than those in metropolitan cities. Promoting measures of social participation among older adults may help prevent oral frailty in rural areas.

Effects of household composition on infant feeding and mother-infant health in northern Kenya.

BACKGROUND: Households with alloparents, individuals other than the mother who care for an infant, can shift members' roles and affect mother-infant health. AIMS: To investigate how household composition relates to infant feeding and infectious disease risk in mother-infant dyads, the team utilized data from breastfeeding dyads (n 208) surveyed during a prolonged drought and food scarcity in northern Kenya. METHODS: Households were classified by the presence/absence of potential alloparents, distinguishing non-siblings and siblings of the infant. Regression models for breastfeeding frequency, complementary feeding status, and recent infections (n 83) evaluated these outcomes' associations with household type while accounting for food insecurity, adjusted for infant age, infant sex, and maternal age. RESULTS: Household type was unassociated with breastfeeding frequency, but the presence of non-sibling alloparents interacted with food insecurity, predicting increasing breastfeeding frequency as food insecurity intensified among dyads living with non-sibling alloparents. Households with non-sibling alloparents were also inversely associated with complementary feeding but had no association with infection. Households with siblings were inversely associated with (protective against) infant and maternal infection. CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to understand the interactive influence of household social and food ecologies on mother-infant diet and health under diverse cultural rules and norms for alloparenting.

Enhanced charge density wave with mobile superconducting vortices in La1.885Sr0.115CuO4.

Superconductivity in the cuprates is found to be intertwined with charge and spin density waves. Determining the interactions between the different types of order is crucial for understanding these important materials. Here, we elucidate the role of the charge density wave (CDW) in the prototypical cuprate La1.885Sr0.115CuO4, by studying the effects of large magnetic fields (H) up to 24 Tesla. At low temperatures (T), the observed CDW peaks reveal two distinct regions in the material: a majority phase with short-range CDW coexisting with superconductivity, and a minority phase with longer-range CDW coexisting with static spin density wave (SDW). With increasing magnetic field, the CDW first grows smoothly in a manner similar to the SDW. However, at high fields we discover a sudden increase in the CDW amplitude upon entering the vortex-liquid state. Our results signify strong coupling of the CDW to mobile superconducting vortices and link enhanced CDW amplitude with local superconducting pairing across the H - T phase diagram.

Precise Measurement of Differential Cross Sections of the Σ

The differential cross sections of the Σ^{-}p→Λn reaction were measured accurately for the Σ^{-} momentum (p_{Σ}) ranging from 470 to 650 MeV/c at the J-PARC Hadron Experimental Facility. Precise angular information about the Σ^{-}p→Λn reaction was obtained for the first time by detecting approximately 100 reaction events at each angular step of Δcosθ=0.1. The obtained differential cross sections show a slightly forward-peaking structure in the measured momentum regions. The cross sections integrated for -0.7≤cosθ≤1.0 were obtained as 22.5±0.68 [statistical error(stat.)] ±0.65 [systematic error(syst.)] mb and 15.8±0.83(stat)±0.52(syst) mb for 470

Two-Dimensional Superconducting Fluctuations Associated with Charge-Density-Wave Stripes in La_{1.87}Sr_{0.13}Cu_{0.99}Fe_{0.01}O_{4}.

The presence of a small concentration of in-plane Fe dopants in La_{1.87}Sr_{0.13}Cu_{0.99}Fe_{0.01}O_{4} is known to enhance stripelike spin and charge density wave (SDW and CDW) order and suppress the superconducting T_{c}. Here, we show that it also induces highly two-dimensional superconducting correlations that have been argued to be the signatures of a new form of superconducting order, the so-called pair density wave (PDW) order. In addition, using resonant soft x-ray scattering, we find that the two-dimensional superconducting fluctuation is strongly associated with the CDW stripe. In particular, the PDW signature first appears when the correlation length of the CDW stripe grows over eight times the lattice unit (∼8a). These results provide critical conditions for the formation of the PDW order.

Observation of Coulomb-Assisted Nuclear Bound State of Ξ

In an emulsion-counter hybrid experiment performed at J-PARC, a Ξ^{-} absorption event was observed which decayed into twin single-Λ hypernuclei. Kinematic calculations enabled a unique identification of the reaction process as Ξ^{-}+^{14}N→_{Λ}^{10}Be+_{Λ}^{5}He. For the binding energy of the Ξ^{-} hyperon in the Ξ^{-}-^{14}N system a value of 1.27±0.21 MeV was deduced. The energy level of Ξ^{-} is likely a nuclear 1p state which indicates a weak ΞN-ΛΛ coupling.

Coumarin improves tomato plant tolerance to salinity by enhancing antioxidant defence, glyoxalase system and ion homeostasis.

Salinity is a severe threat to crop growth, development and even to world food sustainability. Plant possess natural antioxidant defense tactics to mitigate salinity-induced oxidative stress. Phenolic compounds are non-enzymatic antioxidants with specific roles in protecting plant cells against stress-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Coumarin (COU) is one of these compounds, however, to date, little is known about antioxidative roles of exogenous COU in enhancing plant tolerance mechanisms under salt stress. The involvement of COU in increasing tomato salt tolerance was examined in the present study using COU as a pre-treatment at 20 or 30 µM for 2 days against salt stress (100 or 160  NaCl; 5 days). The COU-mediated stimulation of plant antioxidant defence and glyoxalase systems to suppress salt-induced ROS and methylglyoxal (MG) toxicity, respectively, were the main hypotheses examined in the present study. Addition of COU suppressed salt-induced excess accumulation of ROS and MG, and significantly reduced membrane damage, lipid peroxidation and Na+ toxicity. These results demonstrate COU-improved plant growth, biomass content, photosynthetic pigment content, water retention and mineral homeostasis upon imposition of salinity. Finally, this present study suggests that COU has potential roles as a phytoprotectant in stimulating plant antioxidative mechanisms and improving glyoxalase enzyme activity under salinity stress.

Observation of Magnon Polarization.

We measure the mode-resolved direction of the precessional motion of the magnetic order, i.e., magnon polarization, via the chiral term of inelastic polarized neutron scattering spectra. The magnon polarization is a unique and unambiguous signature of magnets and is important in spintronics, affecting thermodynamic properties such as the magnitude and sign of the spin Seebeck effect. However, it has never been directly measured in any material until this work. The observation of both signs of magnon polarization in Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} also gives direct proof of its ferrimagnetic nature. The experiments agree very well with atomistic simulations of the scattering cross section.

Bone densitometry worldwide: a global survey by the ISCD and IOF.

In a global survey of fracture liaison services, most reported that DXA access met needs. However, adherence to basic DXA quality and reporting procedures was confirmed by only around 50% of institutions and many required education for operators/interpreters. Overall, there is significant variability in the access to, and quality of, DXA services worldwide. INTRODUCTION: While the use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been widely adopted worldwide for the assessment of bone mineral density, the quality of DXA facilities is unknown. To address this, a global survey of fracture liaison services (FLS) was conducted by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) to assess the quality of their DXA facilities. METHODS: A questionnaire for the accessibility and quality of DXA services was co-created by representatives of the ISCD and the IOF and made available to institutions who participated in the Capture the Fracture Best Practice Framework. From a list of 331 contacted invitees, 124 FLS centres responded; analyses were based on 121 centres with suitable data. RESULTS: Over 70% of institutions reported that, for over 90% of the time, DXA access met service needs, and the scanning/reporting quality was perceived as excellent. However, 25% of DXA facilities reported not being accredited by a professional/governmental organization, and adherence to some basic DXA quality assurance and reporting procedures was confirmed by < 50% of services. Importantly, in excess of 50% of institutions stated that they desired ongoing education in osteoporosis and DXA for operators and interpreters. CONCLUSION: There is significant variability in the access to and quality of DXA services for established FLS worldwide. Despite two decades of training initiatives in osteoporosis densitometry, many centres are falling short of the standards of the IOF-ISCD Osteoporosis Essentials criteria.

A patient-level key performance indicator set to measure the effectiveness of fracture liaison services and guide quality improvement: a position paper of the IOF Capture the Fracture Working Group, National Osteoporosis Foundation and Fragility Fracture Network.

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Capture the Fracture® Campaign with the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN) and National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) has developed eleven patient-level key performance indicators (KPIs) for fracture liaison services (FLSs) to guide quality improvement. INTRODUCTION: Fracture Liaison Services (FLSs) are recommended worldwide to reduce fracture risk after a sentinel fracture. Given not every FLS is automatically effective, the IOF Capture the Fracture working group has developed and implemented the Best Practice Framework to assess the organisational components of an FLS. We have now developed a complimentary KPI set that extends this assessment of performance to the patient level. METHODS: The Capture the Fracture working group in collaboration with the Fragility Fracture Network Secondary Fragility Fracture Special Interest Group and National Osteoporosis Foundation adapted existing metrics from the UK-based Fracture Liaison Service Database Audit to develop a patient-level KPI set for FLSs. RESULTS: Eleven KPIs were selected. The proportion of patients: with non-spinal fractures; with spine fractures (detected clinically and radiologically); assessed for fracture risk within 12 weeks of sentinel fracture; having DXA assessment within 12 weeks of sentinel fracture; having falls risk assessment; recommended anti-osteoporosis medication; commenced of strength and balance exercise intervention within 16 weeks of sentinel fracture; monitored within 16 weeks of sentinel fracture; started anti-osteoporosis medication within 16 weeks of sentinel fracture; prescribed anti-osteoporosis medication 52 weeks after sentinel fracture. The final KPI measures data completeness for each of the other KPIs. For these indicators, levels of achievement were set at the < 50%, 50-80% and > 80% levels except for treatment recommendation where a level of 50% was used. CONCLUSION: This KPI set compliments the existing Best Practice Framework to support FLSs to examine their own performance using patient-level data. By using this KPI set for local quality improvement cycles, FLSs will be able to efficiently realise the full potential of secondary fracture prevention and improved clinical outcomes for their local populations.

Diffuse Pulmonary Meningotheliomatosis with Sarcomatous Transformation in a Shiba Dog.

A 2-year-old neutered female Shiba dog exhibited laboured breathing for 1 month. Computed tomography of the thoracic cavity revealed multiple nodules (2-5 mm diameter) in the lungs. Grossly, the lungs were firm and normal in shape. The nodules were grey-white in colour. Microscopically, the nodules were non-encapsulated and exhibited an irregular shape. They were composed of polygonal or spindle cells with indistinct cell borders arranged in sheets. The cells had large, round, hyperchromatic nuclei and abundant pale eosinophilic cytoplasm with no atypia. Intrapulmonary arterial emboli and infiltration into the bronchioles were observed. Immunohistochemically, the cells were positive for vimentin and negative for cytokeratin, glial fibrillary acidic protein and α-smooth muscle actin. Ultrastructurally, the cells displayed cytoplasmic processes, desmosomes and intermediate filaments. These findings led to a diagnosis of diffuse pulmonary meningotheliomatosis with sarcomatous transformation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of diffuse pulmonary meningotheliomatosis in a dog.

Observation of two types of charge-density-wave orders in superconducting La2-xSrxCuO4.

The discovery of charge- and spin-density-wave (CDW/SDW) orders in superconducting cuprates has altered our perspective on the nature of high-temperature superconductivity (SC). However, it has proven difficult to fully elucidate the relationship between the density wave orders and SC. Here, using resonant soft X-ray scattering, we study the archetypal cuprate La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) over a broad doping range. We reveal the existence of two types of CDW orders in LSCO, namely CDW stripe order and CDW short-range order (SRO). While the CDW-SRO is suppressed by SC, it is partially transformed into the CDW stripe order with developing SDW stripe order near the superconducting Tc. These findings indicate that the stripe orders and SC are inhomogeneously distributed in the superconducting CuO2 planes of LSCO. This further suggests a new perspective on the putative pair-density-wave order that coexists with SC, SDW, and CDW orders.

Comprehensive and quantitative assessment of nitrate dynamics in two contrasting forested basins along the Sea of Japan using dual isotopes of nitrate.

The recent deposition rates of atmospheric nitrate derived from east Asia to the Japanese forested watershed facing the Sea of Japan are of serious concern. However, export ratios and the seasonality of atmospheric nitrate versus microbial nitrate from forest soils to upstreams have not yet been quantified. Furthermore, the influence of local nitrogen sources and internal biogeochemical processes are still unclear. To determine the influence of watershed properties and atmospheric nitrogen deposition on nitrate dynamics in two adjacent basins (the Kita and Minami Rivers) located in central Japan, we conducted seasonal synoptic surveys using the dual isotopes of nitrate. It was found that nitrate regenerated through nitrification in the forest soil was likely the dominant nitrogen source in both basins from the upstream to downstream waters. However, nitrate concentrations and the direct leaching ratio of atmospheric nitrate were considerably higher in the Kita River Basin than in the Minami River Basin, possibly due to the difference in forest environments. In the Kita River Basin, geographic trait such as altitude may be one factor regulating the sensitivity of forest ecosystem to nitrogen deposition. Quantitative assessments of nitrate outflows from the sub-basins revealed that nitrogen leached from the forest soil was a major source (61-81%) of nitrate loading to the coastal sea.

Templated Assembly of Pore-forming Peptides in Lipid Membranes.

Pore-forming peptides are of interest due to their antimicrobial activity and ability to form gateways through lipid membranes. Chemical modification of these peptides makes it possible to arrange several peptide monomers into well-defined pore-forming structures using various templating strategies. These templated super-structures can exert antimicrobial activity at significantly lower total peptide concentration than their untemplated equivalents. In addition, the chemical moieties used for templating may be functionalized to interact specifically with targeted membranes such as those of pathogens or cancer cells. A range of molecular templates has been explored, including dimerization of pore-forming monomers, their covalent attachment to cyclodextrin, porphyrin or fullerene scaffolds as well as attachment of amino acid linkers or nucleic acid constructs to generate assemblies of 4 to 26 peptides or proteins. Compared to free peptide monomers, templated pore assemblies showed increased membrane affinity, prolonged open-state lifetimes of the pores and more frequent pore formation due to higher local concentration. These constructs are useful model systems for biophysical studies to understand porin and ion channel proteins and their mechanisms of insertion into lipid membranes. Recently designed DNA-templates are expanding the usefulness of templated pore assemblies beyond applications of cell killing and may include targeted drug delivery and accelerate the emerging field of single-molecule detection and characterization of biomolecules by nanopore-based resistive pulse sensing.

Interaction of sulfur with phytohormones and signaling molecules in conferring abiotic stress tolerance to plants.

Sulfur (S) is a macronutrient for the plant, which has an immense role in basic plant processes and regulation of several metabolic pathways. It has also a major role in providing protection against adverse conditions. Sulfur-containing amino acids and metabolites maintain plant cell mechanisms to improve stress tolerance. It interacts with several biomolecules such as phytohormones, polyamines, nitric oxide (NO), and even with other plant nutrients, which can produce some derivatives those are essential for abiotic stress tolerance. Different S derivatives stimulate signaling cascades, for the upregulation of different cellular messengers such as abscisic acid, Ca2+, and NO. Sulfur is also known to interact with some essential plant nutrients by influencing their uptake and transport, hence, confers nutrient homeostasis efficiencies. This review focuses on how S is interacted with several signaling molecules like NO, glutathiones, phytohormones, hydrogen sulfide, polyamines, etc. This is a concise summary aimed at guiding the researchers to study S-related plant processes in the light of abiotic stress tolerance.

Hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Analysis of the National Database of Japan.

This study aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors for hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing immunosuppressive therapy. The National Database of Japan, in which insurance claim data have been comprehensively accumulated, was utilized. The subjects were 76 641 RA patients who were plausibly initiated on immunosuppressive therapy from April 2013 to March 2014. Laboratory tests of the hepatitis B surface antigen, anti-hepatitis B virus surface antibody, and anti-hepatitis B virus core antibody were performed in 28.23%, 12.52% and 14.63% of patients, respectively, when the therapy was initiated. We found that HBV reactivation and fulminant hepatitis occurred in both the patients with and without HBV DNA monitoring, indicating insufficient monitoring in Japan during the study. The cumulative incidence of HBV reactivation over 24 months was 1.57% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.28%-1.92%) in the monitoring group, which consisted of those with resolved HBV infection. Glucocorticoid administration was a potent risk factor for HBV reactivation (hazard ratio [HR]  = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.26-2.29, P = .001 in all subjects, and HR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.18-2.81, P = .007 in the nonmonitoring group), although it was not statistically significant in the monitoring group (HR = 1.49, 95% CI = 0.99-2.26 and P = .057). No significant risk difference was observed between single administration of methotrexate and biological drugs.