Phototriggered Butenolide Formation from a Cyclobutenedione and an Acidic Nucleophile.

A phototriggered conjugation reaction of an aminocyclobutenedione and an acidic nucleophile was discovered. Upon blue light irradiation of the materials, a butenolide derivative with substituents derived from the aminocyclobutenedione and the nucleophile was produced. The reaction proceeded efficiently under organic solvent or organic solvent/aqueous buffer (1/1) conditions. This reaction would be useful for the synthesis of unique butenolide derivatives and derivatization of acidic functional groups contained in aqueous biomolecules.

[A Case of BRCA2 Mutation-Positive Intraductal Carcinoma of the Prostate].

A 75-year-old man presented with macroscopic hematuria and a high serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Macroscopic hematuria had subsided by the time of consultation. The PSA level was 38.590 ng/ml, which, along with rectal examination and magnetic resonance imaging findings, led to the suspicion of prostate cancer. Transrectal needle biopsy of the prostate revealed intraductal carcinoma of the prostate (IDC-P). Computed tomography and bone scintigraphy were performed, and the prostate cancer was classified as cT2cN0M0. After 6 months of combined androgen blockade therapy, a radical prostatectomy was performed; however, PSA levels continued to increase, and the patient was diagnosed with castration resistant prostate cancer. Multiple bone metastases appeared 5 months after the initiation of abiraterone therapy. Three courses of docetaxel and two courses of cabazitaxel were administered, but the disease progression continued. The IDC-P was found to be positive for the BRCA2 mutation by BRACAnalysis® performed at the start of cabazitaxel therapy. To our knowledge, no other cases of BRCA2 mutation positive IDC-P have been reported in Japan. After we started administration of Olaparib, the patient's PSA level was lowered and the disease progression stopped.

Clarify Sit-to-Stand Muscle Synergy and Tension Changes in Subacute Stroke Rehabilitation by Musculoskeletal Modeling.

Post-stroke patients exhibit distinct muscle activation electromyography (EMG) features in sit-to-stand (STS) due to motor deficiency. Muscle activation amplitude, related to muscle tension and muscle synergy activation levels, is one of the defining EMG features that reflects post-stroke motor functioning and motor impairment. Although some qualitative findings are available, it is not clear if and how muscle activation amplitude-related biomechanical attributes may quantitatively reflect during subacute stroke rehabilitation. To better enable a longitudinal investigation into a patient's muscle activation changes during rehabilitation or an inter-subject comparison, EMG normalization is usually applied. However, current normalization methods using maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) or within-task peak/mean EMG may not be feasible when MVC cannot be obtained from stroke survivors due to motor paralysis and the subject of comparison is EMG amplitude. Here, focusing on the paretic side, we first propose a novel, joint torque-based normalization method that incorporates musculoskeletal modeling, forward dynamics simulation, and mathematical optimization. Next, upon method validation, we apply it to quantify changes in muscle tension and muscle synergy activation levels in STS motor control units for patients in subacute stroke rehabilitation. The novel method was validated against MVC-normalized EMG data from eight healthy participants, and it retained muscle activation amplitude differences for inter- and intra-subject comparisons. The proposed joint torque-based method was also compared with the common static optimization based on squared muscle activation and showed higher simulation accuracy overall. Serial STS measurements were conducted with four post-stroke patients during their subacute rehabilitation stay (137 ± 22 days) in the hospital. Quantitative results of patients suggest that maximum muscle tension and activation level of muscle synergy temporal patterns may reflect the effectiveness of subacute stroke rehabilitation. A quality comparison between muscle synergies computed with the conventional within-task peak/mean EMG normalization and our proposed method showed that the conventional was prone to activation amplitude overestimation and underestimation. The contributed method and findings help recapitulate and understand the post-stroke motor recovery process, which may facilitate developing more effective rehabilitation strategies for future stroke survivors.

Classification of Motor Impairments of Post-Stroke Patients Based on Force Applied to a Handrail.

Many patients suffer from declined motor abilities after a brain injury. To provide appropriate rehabilitation programs and encourage motor-impaired patients to participate further in rehabilitation, sufficient and easy evaluation methodologies are necessary. This study is focused on the sit-to-stand motion of post-stroke patients because it is an important daily activity. Our previous study utilized muscle synergies (synchronized muscle activation) to classify the degree of motor impairment in patients and proposed appropriate rehabilitation methodologies. However, in our previous study, the patient was required to attach electromyography sensors to his/her body; thus, it was difficult to evaluate motor ability in daily circumstances. Here, we developed a handrail-type sensor that can measure the force applied to it. Using temporal features of the force data, the relationship between the degree of motor impairment and temporal features was clarified, and a classification model was developed using a random forest model to determine the degree of motor impairment in hemiplegic patients. The results show that hemiplegic patients with severe motor impairments tend to apply greater force to the handrail and use the handrail for a longer period. It was also determined that patients with severe motor impairments did not move forward while standing up, but relied more on the handrail to pull their upper body upward as compared to patients with moderate impairments. Furthermore, based on the developed classification model, patients were successfully classified as having severe or moderate impairments. The developed classification model can also detect long-term patient recovery. The handrail-type sensor does not require additional sensors on the patient's body and provides an easy evaluation methodology.

Organic Carbon and Nitrogen Isoscapes of Reef Corals and Algal Symbionts: Relative Influences of Environmental Gradients and Heterotrophy.

The elemental (C/N) and stable isotopic (δ13C, δ15N) compositions and compound-specific δ15N values of amino acids (δ15NAA) were evaluated for coral holobionts as diagnostic tools to detect spatiotemporal environmental heterogeneity and its effects on coral health. Hermatypic coral samples of eight species were collected at 12 reef sites with differing levels of pollution stress. The C/N ratios, δ13C values, and δ15N values of coral tissues and endosymbiotic algae were determined for 193 coral holobionts, and the amino acid composition and δ15NAA values of selected samples were analyzed. δ15N values were influenced most by pollution stress, while C/N ratios and δ13C values depended most strongly on species. The results imply that δ13C and δ15N values are useful indicators for distinguishing the ecological niches of sympatric coral species based on microhabitat preference and resource selectivity. Using δ15NAA values, the trophic level (TL) of the examined coral samples was estimated to be 0.71 to 1.53, i.e., purely autotrophic to partially heterotrophic. Significant portions of the variation in bulk δ15N and δ13C values could be explained by the influence of heterotrophy. The TL of symbionts covaried with that of their hosts, implying that amino acids acquired through host heterotrophy are translocated to symbionts. Dependence on heterotrophy was stronger at polluted sites, indicating that the ecological role of corals changes in response to eutrophication.

Temporal Features of Muscle Synergies in Sit-to-Stand Motion Reflect the Motor Impairment of Post-Stroke Patients.

Sit-to-stand (STS) motion is an important daily activity, and many post-stroke patients have difficulty performing STS motion. Previous studies found that there are four muscle synergies (synchronized muscle activations) in the STS motion of healthy adults. However, for post-stroke patients, it is unclear whether muscle synergies change and which features primarily reflect motor impairment. Here, we use a machine learning method to demonstrate that temporal features in two muscle synergies that contribute to hip rising and balance maintenance motion reflect the motor impairment of post-stroke patients. Analyzing the muscle synergies of age-matched healthy elderly people ( n = 12 ) and post-stroke patients ( n = 33 ), we found that the same four muscle synergies could account for the muscle activity of post-stroke patients. Also, we were able to distinguish post-stroke patients from healthy people on the basis of the temporal features of these muscle synergies. Furthermore, these temporal features were found to correlate with motor impairment of post-stroke patients. We conclude that post-stroke patients can still utilize the same number of muscle synergies as healthy people, but the temporal structure of muscle synergies changes as a result of motor impairment. This could lead to a new rehabilitation strategy for post-stroke patients that focuses on activation timing of muscle synergies.

Organization of functional modularity in sitting balance response and gait performance after stroke.

BACKGROUND: Recovery of postural adjustment, especially when seated, is important for performing activities of daily living after stroke. However, conventional clinical measures provide little insight into a common strategy for dynamic sitting balance and gait. We aimed to evaluate functional re-organization of posture and ambulatory performance after stroke. METHODS: The subjects of the study included 5 healthy men and 21 post-stroke patients. The spatiotemporal modular organization of ground reaction forces during a balance task in which the leg on the non-affected side was lifted off the ground while seated was quantified by using complex principal component analysis. FINDINGS: A 3% decrease in the temporal strength of the primary module in post-stroke patients was an independent predictor of gait performance in the hospital setting with high sensitivity and specificity. Tuning of the temporal strength was accompanied by the recovery of sitting and ambulation. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest that evaluation of the modular characteristics of ground reaction forces during a sitting balance task allows us to predict recovery and functional adaptation through daily physical rehabilitation.

High-definition imaging system based on spatial light modulators with light-scattering mode.

We have developed a prototype high-definition imaging system using polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal (PDLC) light valves, which can modulate unpolarized light with high spatial resolution and exhibit a high optical efficiency, based on the light-scattering effect. We fabricated high-definition light valves with a fine polymer-matrix structure in a PDLC film by controlling the curing conditions used during the photopolymerization-induced phase separation and formation process. This device has excellent characteristics, such as a high resolution, with 50 lp/mm for a limiting resolution and greater than 20 lp/mm at the 50% modulation transfer function point, and a reflectivity of greater than 60%. An optically addressable full-color projection display was designed, consisting of three PDLC light valves, a schlieren optical system based on shift-decentralization optics with a xenon lamp illumination and input-image sources with 1.5 million pixels, including electrical image compensation of the gamma characteristics. We succeeded in displaying pictures on a 110-inch screen with a resolution of 810 TV lines and a luminous flux of 1900-2100 American National Standards Institute lumens.