Hierarchical nickel carbonate hydroxide nanostructures for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water splitting.

Metal carbonate hydroxides have emerged as novel and promising candidates for water splitting due to their good electrochemical properties and eco-friendly features. In this study, the hierarchical mesoporous structure of nickel carbonate hydroxide hydrate (Ni2(CO3)(OH)2·4H2O) was synthesized by a one-pot facile hydrothermal method. It demonstrated photocatalytic properties for the first time, exhibiting a hydrogen evolution reaction yield of 10 µmol g-1 h-1 under white light irradiation with a nominal power of 0.495 W. This facile synthesis strategy and the good photocatalytic properties indicate that nickel carbonate hydroxide is a promising material for application in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Engineering of Zinc Finger Nucleases Through Structural Modeling Improves Genome Editing Efficiency in Cells.

Genome Editing is widely used in biomedical research and medicine. Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are smaller in size than transcription activator-like effector (TALE) nucleases (TALENs) and CRISPR-Cas9. Therefore, ZFN-encoding DNAs can be easily packaged into a viral vector with limited cargo space, such as adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors, for in vivo and clinical applications. ZFNs have great potential for translational research and clinical use. However, constructing functional ZFNs and improving their genome editing efficiency is extremely difficult. Here, the efficient construction of functional ZFNs and the improvement of their genome editing efficiency using AlphaFold, Coot, and Rosetta are described. Plasmids encoding ZFNs consisting of six fingers using publicly available zinc-finger resources are assembled. Two functional ZFNs from the ten ZFNs tested are successfully obtained. Furthermore, the engineering of ZFNs using AlphaFold, Coot, or Rosetta increases the efficiency of genome editing by 5%, demonstrating the effectiveness of engineering ZFNs based on structural modeling.

CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Gene Knockout in a Non-Model Sea Urchin, Heliocidaris crassispina.

Sea urchins have been used as model organisms in developmental biology research and the genomes of several sea urchin species have been sequenced. Recently, genome editing technologies have become available for sea urchins, and methods for gene knockout using the CRISPRCas9 system have been established. Heliocidaris crassispina is an important marine fishery resource with edible gonads. Although H. crassispina has been used as a biological research material, its genome has not yet been published, and it is a non-model sea urchin for molecular biology research. However, as recent advances in genome editing technology have facilitated genome modification in non-model organisms, we applied genome editing using the CRISPR-Cas9 system to H. crassispina. In this study, we targeted genes encoding ETS transcription factor (HcEts) and pigmentation-related polyketide synthase (HcPks1). Gene fragments were isolated using primers designed by inter-specific sequence comparisons within Echinoidea. When Ets gene was targeted using two sgRNAs, one successfully introduced mutations and impaired skeletogenesis. In the Pks1 gene knockout, when two sgRNAs targeting the close vicinity of the site corresponding to the target site that showed 100% mutagenesis efficiency of the Pks1 gene in Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, mutagenesis was not observed. However, two other sgRNAs targeting distant sites efficiently introduced mutations. In addition, Pks1 knockout H. crassispina exhibited an albino phenotype in the pluteus larvae and adult sea urchins after metamorphosis. This indicates that the CRISPRCas9 system can be used to modify the genome of the non-model sea urchin H. crassispina.

A Prospective Observational Study on Gastric Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection under Continuous Administration of Antithrombotic Agents.

Background: This study aimed to assess the completion rate and postoperative bleeding incidence of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for gastric tumors under continuous antithrombotic therapy. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted including 88 patients with 100 gastric lesions who underwent gastric endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and received continuous antithrombotic therapy. Additionally, retrospective data on gastric ESD in 479 patients with 534 lesions who did not receive antithrombotic therapy were collected for comparison. Results: The en bloc resection rates (100% in the continuous antithrombotic therapy group vs. 100% in the non-antithrombotic therapy group) and complete resection rates (97.0% vs. 96.3%, respectively) were high and comparable between the groups. No significant differences were found in the specimen size or procedure time. Perforation rates were low (0% vs. 2.3%, respectively) and were not significantly different between the groups. However, postoperative bleeding occurred significantly more frequently in the continuous antithrombotic therapy group (10.2% vs. 4.2%, respectively) than in the non-antithrombotic therapy group. The subgroup analysis revealed a higher incidence of postoperative bleeding in patients receiving thienopyridine derivatives. Conclusions: Continuous administration of antithrombotic agents, especially thienopyridines, increased the risk of postprocedural hemorrhage following gastric ESD. These findings support the need for careful consideration of pharamcological management before ESD, aligning with the current guidelines.

Coarse-Grained Simulations on Polyethylene Crystal Network Formation and Microstructure Analysis.

Understanding and characterizing semi-crystalline models with crystalline and amorphous segments is crucial for industrial applications. A coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) simulations study probed the crystal network formation in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) from melt, and shed light on tensile properties for microstructure analysis. Modified Paul-Yoon-Smith (PYS/R) forcefield parameters are used to compute the interatomic forces among the PE chains. The isothermal crystallization at 300 K and 1 atm predicts the multi-nucleus crystal growth; moreover, the lamellar crystal stems and amorphous region are alternatively oriented. A one-dimensional density distribution along the alternative lamellar stems further confirms the ordering of the lamellar-stack orientation. Using this plastic model preparation approach, the semi-crystalline model density (ρcr) of ca. 0.913 g·cm-3 and amorphous model density (ρam) of ca. 0.856 g·cm-3 are obtained. Furthermore, the ratio of ρcr/ρam ≈ 1.06 is in good agreement with computational (≈1.096) and experimental (≈1.14) data, ensuring the reliability of the simulations. The degree of crystallinity (χc) of the model is ca. 52% at 300 K. Nevertheless, there is a gradual increase in crystallinity over the specified time, indicating the alignment of the lamellar stems during crystallization. The characteristic stress-strain curve mimicking tensile tests along the z-axis orientation exhibits a reversible sharp elastic regime, tensile strength at yield ca. 100 MPa, and a non-reversible tensile strength at break of 350%. The cavitation mechanism embraces the alignment of lamellar stems along the deformation axis. The study highlights an explanatory model of crystal network formation for the PE model using a PYS/R forcefield, and it produces a microstructure with ordered lamellar and amorphous segments with robust mechanical properties, which aids in predicting the microstructure-mechanical property relationships in plastics under applied forces.

Assembly of continuous high-resolution draft genome sequence of Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus using long-read sequencing.

The update of the draft genome assembly of sea urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, which is widely studied in East Asia as a model organism of early development, was performed using Oxford nanopore long-read sequencing. The updated assembly provided ~600-Mb genome sequences divided into 2,163 contigs with N50 = 516 kb. BUSCO completeness score and transcriptome model mapping ratio (TMMR) of the present assembly were obtained as 96.5% and 77.8%, respectively. These results were more continuous with higher resolution than those by the previous version of H. pulcherrimus draft genome, HpulGenome_v1, where the number of scaffolds = 16,251 with a total of ~100 Mb, N50 = 143 kb, BUSCO completeness score = 86.1%, and TMMR = 55.4%. The obtained genome contained 36,055 gene models that were consistent with those in other echinoderms. Additionally, two tandem repeat sequences of early histone gene locus containing 47 copies and 34 copies of all histone genes, and 185 of the homologous sequences of the interspecifically conserved region of the Ars insulator, ArsInsC, were obtained. These results provide further advance for genome-wide research of development, gene regulation, and intranuclear structural dynamics of multicellular organisms using H. pulcherrimus.

Overexpression of Slc22a18 facilitates fat accumulation in mice.

We previously reported that solute carrier family 22 member 18 (Slc22a18) regulates lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Here, we provide additional evidence derived from experiments with adenoviral vector expression and genetic manipulation of mice. In primary cultured rat hepatocytes, adenoviral overexpression of mouse Slc22a18 increased triglyceride accumulation and triglyceride synthetic activity, which was decreased in an adenoviral knockdown experiment. Adenoviral overexpression of mouse Slc22a18 in vivo caused massive fatty liver in mice, even under normal dietary conditions. Conversely, adenoviral knockdown of mouse Slc22a18 reduced hepatic lipid accumulation induced by a high-glucose and high-sucrose diet. We created Slc22a18 knockout mice, which grew normally and showed no obvious spontaneous phenotypes. However, compared with control littermates, the knockout mice exhibited decreased hepatic triglyceride content under refeeding conditions, significantly reduced epididymal fat mass, and tended to have lower liver weight in conjunction with leptin deficiency. Finally, we created transgenic mice overexpressing rat Slc22a18 in an adipose-specific manner, which had increased body weight and epididymal fat mass primarily because of increased adipocyte cell volume. In these transgenic mice, a positive correlation was observed between adiposity and the expression levels of the rat Slc22a18 transgene. Taken together, these results indicate that Slc22a18 has positive effects on lipid accumulation in vivo.

Erratum: Linear Optical Quantum Computation with Frequency-Comb Qubits and Passive Devices [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 200602 (2023)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.200602.

Designing Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Modified Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes for Highly Selective Electrochemical Drug Sensors.

Drug detection in biological solutions is essential in studying the pharmacokinetics of the body. Electrochemical detection is an accurate and rapid method, but measuring multiple drugs that react at similar potentials is challenging. Herein, we developed an electrochemical sensor using a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode modified with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) to provide specificity in drug sensing. The MIP is a polymer material designed to recognize and capture template molecules, enabling the selective detection of target molecules. In this study, we selected the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) as the template molecule. In the electrochemical measurements using an unmodified BDD, the DOX reduction was observed at approximately -0.5 V (vs Ag/AgCl). Other drugs, i.e., mitomycin C or clonazepam (CZP), also underwent a reduction reaction at a similar potential to that of DOX, when using the unmodified BDD, which rendered the accurate quantification of DOX in a mixture challenging. Similar measurements conducted in PBS using the MIP-BDD only resulted in a DOX reduction current, with no reduction reaction observed in the presence of mitomycin C and CZP. These results suggest that the MIP, whose template molecule is DOX, inhibits the reduction of other drugs on the electrode surface. Selective DOX measurement using the MIP-BDD was also possible in human plasma, and the respective limits of detection of DOX in PBS and human plasma were 32.10 and 16.61 nM. The MIP-BDD was durable for use in six repeated measurements, and MIP-BDD may be applicable as an electrochemical sensor for application in therapeutic drug monitoring.

Rapid fiber-detection technique by artificial intelligence in phase-contrast microscope images of simulated atmospheric samples.

Since the manufacture, import, and use of asbestos products have been completely abolished in Japan, the main cause of asbestos emissions into the atmosphere is the demolition and removal of buildings built with asbestos-containing materials. To detect and correct asbestos emissions from inappropriate demolition and removal operations at an early stage, a rapid method to measure atmospheric asbestos fibers is required. The current rapid measurement method is a combination of short-term atmospheric sampling and phase-contrast microscopy counting. However, visual counting takes a considerable amount of time and is not sufficiently fast. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze microscope images to detect fibers may greatly reduce the time required for counting. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the use of AI image analysis for detecting fibers in phase-contrast microscope images. A series of simulated atmospheric samples prepared from standard samples of amosite and chrysotile were observed using a phase-contrast microscope. Images were captured, and training datasets were created from the counting results of expert analysts. We adopted 2 types of AI models-an instance segmentation model, namely the mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN), and a semantic segmentation model, namely the multi-level aggregation network (MA-Net)-that were trained to detect asbestos fibers. The accuracy of fiber detection achieved with the Mask R-CNN model was 57% for recall and 46% for precision, whereas the accuracy achieved with the MA-Net model was 95% for recall and 91% for precision. Therefore, satisfactory results were obtained with the MA-Net model. The time required for fiber detection was less than 1 s per image in both AI models, which was faster than the time required for counting by an expert analyst.

Chain-Level Analysis of Reinforced Polyethylene through Stretch-Induced Crystallization.

Herein, we propose a large-scale simulation approach to perform the stretch-induced crystallization of entangled polyethylene (PE) melts. Sufficiently long (1000 ns) united-atom molecular dynamics (UAMD) simulations for 16000 chains of 1000 consecutive CH2 united-atom particles under periodic boundary conditions were performed to achieve the crystallinity observed in experiments. Before the isothermal crystallization process, we applied uniaxial stretching as pre-elongation to the embedded strain memory on the entangled PE melts. We confirmed significant differences in the morphologies of crystal domains and scattering patterns for pre-elongation ratios of 400% and 800%. The obtained scattering patterns were consistent with the experimental results. Uniaxial stretching MD simulations revealed that the elastic modulus at 800% pre-elongation was stronger than that at 400% pre-elongation. From this observation, we can derive the structure-property relationship, wherein the magnitude of the pre-elongation governs the crystal domain structures and mechanical properties.

REMOVER-PITCh: microhomology-assisted long-range gene replacement with highly multiplexed CRISPR-Cas9.

A variety of CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing technologies have been developed, including gene insertion and gene replacement, and applied to the study and treatment of diseases. While numerous studies have been conducted to improve the efficiency of gene insertion and to expand the system in various ways, there have been relatively few reports on gene replacement technology; therefore, further improvements are still needed in this context. Here, we developed the REMOVER-PITCh system to establish an efficient long-range gene replacement method and demonstrated its utility at two genomic loci in human cultured cells. REMOVER-PITCh depends on microhomology-assisted gene insertion technology called PITCh with highly multiplexed CRISPR-Cas9. First, we achieved gene replacement of about 20-kb GUSB locus using this system. Second, by applying the previously established knock-in-enhancing platform, the LoAD system, along with REMOVER-PITCh, we achieved the replacement of a longer gene region of about 200 kb at the ARSB locus. Our REMOVER-PITCh system will make it possible to remove and incorporate a variety of sequences from and into the genome, respectively, which will facilitate the generation of various disease and humanized models.

Inhibition of OCT4 binding at the MYCN locus induces neuroblastoma cell death accompanied by downregulation of transcripts with high-open reading frame dominance.

Amplification of MYCN is observed in high-risk neuroblastomas (NBs) and is associated with a poor prognosis. MYCN expression is directly regulated by multiple transcription factors, including OCT4, MYCN, CTCF, and p53 in NB. Our previous study showed that inhibition of p53 binding at the MYCN locus induces NB cell death. However, it remains unclear whether inhibition of alternative transcription factor induces NB cell death. In this study, we revealed that the inhibition of OCT4 binding at the MYCN locus, a critical site for the human-specific OCT4-MYCN positive feedback loop, induces caspase-2-mediated cell death in MYCN-amplified NB. We used the CRISPR/deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) technology to specifically inhibit transcription factors from binding to the MYCN locus in the MYCN-amplified NB cell lines CHP134 and IMR32. In both cell lines, the inhibition of OCT4 binding at the MYCN locus reduced MYCN expression, thereby suppressing MYCN-target genes. After inhibition of OCT4 binding, differentially downregulated transcripts were associated with high-open reading frame (ORF) dominance score, which is associated with the translation efficiency of transcripts. These transcripts were enriched in splicing factors, including MYCN-target genes such as HNRNPA1 and PTBP1. Furthermore, transcripts with a high-ORF dominance score were significantly associated with genes whose high expression is associated with a poor prognosis in NB. Because the ORF dominance score correlates with the translation efficiency of transcripts, our findings suggest that MYCN maintains the expression of transcripts with high translation efficiency, contributing to a poor prognosis in NB. In conclusion, the inhibition of OCT4 binding at the MYCN locus resulted in reduced MYCN activity, which in turn led to the downregulation of high-ORF dominance transcripts and subsequently induced caspase-2-mediated cell death in MYCN-amplified NB cells. Therefore, disruption of the OCT4 binding at the MYCN locus may serve as an effective therapeutic strategy for MYCN-amplified NB.

High pressure pasteurization: Simultaneous native tissue decellularization and sterilization.

Introduction: Terminal sterilization is important for the clinical applicability of decellularized xenografts. High hydrostatic pressurization (HHP) process is a potential strategy for decellularization and decontamination of xenografts; however, its disinfection efficiency remains poorly elucidated. This study investigated the disinfection efficacy of the HHP process at physiologically relevant 36 °C against difficult-to-kill spore-forming bacteria. Methods: Bacillus atrophaeus and Geobacillus stearothermophilus were suspended in a pressurization medium with or without antibiotic agents and pressurized under two different HHP procedures: repeated and sustained pressurization. Results: The sustained pressurizing conditions, exploited for the conventional tissue decellularization, did not effectively eliminate the bacteria; however, repeated pressurization greatly increased the disinfection effect. Moreover, the antibiotic-containing pressurization medium further increased the disinfection efficiency to the level required for sterilization. Conclusions: The optimized high hydrostatic pressurization can be used to sterilize biological tissues during the decellularization process and is a promising strategy for manufacturing tissue-derived healthcare products.

Preparation and Characterization of High-Density Polyethylene with Alternating Lamellar Stems Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Mechanical recycling is the most efficient way to reduce plastic pollution due to its ability to maintain the intrinsic properties of plastics as well as provide economic benefits involved in other types of recycling. On the other hand, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide key insights into structural deformation, lamellar crystalline axis (c-axis) orientations, and reorganization, which are essential for understanding plastic behavior during structural deformations. To simulate the influence of structural deformations in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) during mechanical recycling while paying attention to obtaining an alternate lamellar orientation, the authors examine a specific way of preparing stacked lamella-oriented HDPE united atom (UA) models, starting from a single 1000 UA (C1000) chain of crystalline conformations and then packing such chain conformations into 2-chain, 10-chain, 15-chain, and 20-chain semi-crystalline models. The 2-chain, 10-chain, and 15-chain models yielded HDPE microstructures with the desired alternating lamellar orientations and entangled amorphous segments. On the other hand, the 20-chain model displayed multi-nucleus crystal growth instead of the lamellar-stack orientation. Structural characterization using a one-dimensional density profile and local order parameter {P2(r)} analyses demonstrated lamellar-stack orientation formation. All semi-crystalline models displayed the total density (ρ) and degree of crystallinity (χ) range of 0.90-0.94 g/cm-3 and ≥42-45%, respectively. A notable stress yield (σ_yield) ≈ 100-120 MPa and a superior elongation at break (ε_break) ~250% was observed under uniaxial strain deformation along the lamellar-stack orientation. Similarly, during the MD simulations, the microstructure phase change represented the average number of entanglements per chain (). From the present study, it can be recommended that the 10-chain alternate lamellar-stack orientation model is the most reliable miniature model for HDPE that can mimic industrially relevant plastic behavior in various conditions.

An Aspirin-Free Versus Dual Antiplatelet Strategy for Coronary Stenting: STOPDAPT-3 Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Bleeding rates on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) within 1 month after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain high in clinical practice, particularly in patients with acute coronary syndrome or high bleeding risk. Aspirin-free strategy might result in lower bleeding early after PCI without increasing cardiovascular events, but its efficacy and safety have not yet been proven in randomized trials. METHODS: We randomly assigned 6002 patients with acute coronary syndrome or high bleeding risk just before PCI either to prasugrel (3.75 mg/day) monotherapy or to DAPT with aspirin (81-100 mg/day) and prasugrel (3.75 mg/day) after loading of 20 mg of prasugrel in both groups. The coprimary end points were major bleeding (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium 3 or 5) for superiority and cardiovascular events (a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, definite stent thrombosis, or ischemic stroke) for noninferiority with a relative 50% margin. RESULTS: The full analysis set population consisted of 5966 patients (no-aspirin group, 2984 patients; DAPT group, 2982 patients; age, 71.6±11.7 years; men, 76.6%; acute coronary syndrome, 75.0%). Within 7 days before randomization, aspirin alone, aspirin with P2Y12 inhibitor, oral anticoagulants, and intravenous heparin infusion were given in 21.3%, 6.4%, 8.9%, and 24.5%, respectively. Adherence to the protocol-specified antiplatelet therapy was 88% in both groups at 1 month. At 1 month, the no-aspirin group was not superior to the DAPT group for the coprimary bleeding end point (4.47% and 4.71%; hazard ratio, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.75-1.20]; Psuperiority=0.66). The no-aspirin group was noninferior to the DAPT group for the coprimary cardiovascular end point (4.12% and 3.69%; hazard ratio, 1.12 [95% CI, 0.87-1.45]; Pnoninferiority=0.01). There was no difference in net adverse clinical outcomes and each component of coprimary cardiovascular end point. There was an excess of any unplanned coronary revascularization (1.05% and 0.57%; hazard ratio, 1.83 [95%CI, 1.01-3.30]) and subacute definite or probable stent thrombosis (0.58% and 0.17%; hazard ratio, 3.40 [95% CI, 1.26-9.23]) in the no-aspirin group compared with the DAPT group. CONCLUSIONS: The aspirin-free strategy using low-dose prasugrel compared with the DAPT strategy failed to attest superiority for major bleeding within 1 month after PCI but was noninferior for cardiovascular events within 1 month after PCI. However, the aspirin-free strategy was associated with a signal suggesting an excess of coronary events. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT04609111.

Cytokine Adsorption Effects of a Novel Hemofiltration Column for the Treatment of Experimental Endotoxemia.

INTRODUCTION: The TKM-101 is a new hemofiltration column packed with a polymer alloy membrane consisting of polyethersulfone, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and sulfonated poly (arylene ether) copolymers. We examined the ability of the TKM-101 column to remove cytokines and humoral mediators from blood in vitro and the effects of extracorporeal treatment with the TKM-101 column on the mortality rate and inflammatory responses to endotoxic shock in vivo. METHODS: In vitro and in vivo laboratory investigations were conducted. In the in vitro experiment, the adsorption abilities of TKM-101, AN69-ST, and control columns for cytokine-related sepsis in blood were compared using human serum samples. In the in vivo experiment, male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and injected with Escherichia coli endotoxin (15 mg/kg, intravenously). Afterward, the rats were assigned (in a double-blind manner) to one of three groups (n = 17 per group): apheresis with a control column (control group), apheresis with an AN69-ST column (AN69-ST group), or apheresis with a TKM-101 column (TKM-101 group). Outcomes were compared among the groups. RESULTS: In vitro, the concentrations of all evaluated cytokines significantly decreased with the TKM-101 column compared to those with the control column; however, there were no significant differences between the TKM-101 and AN69-ST columns. In vivo, the mortality rates 8 h after endotoxin injection were 65%, 29%, and 29% for the control, AN69-ST, and TKM-101 groups, respectively. Hypotension and elevated plasma cytokine concentrations were less prominent in the TKM-101 and AN69-ST groups compared to those in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: TKM-101 effectively removed proteins of varying sizes, from small-sized proteins such as interleukin (IL)-8 to mid-sized protein such as IL-10 in vitro. Moreover, TKM-101 treatment reduced mortality and had inhibitory effects on inflammatory responses in endotoxemic rats. These findings suggest that TKM-101 treatment may be available for use in patients with sepsis and/or endotoxemia.

Characterization of Potentially Inappropriate Medications That Need Special Attention in the Elderly with Dementia by Analyzing Pharmacy Claims Data.

Community pharmacists may play a key role in promoting deprescribing of potential inappropriate medications (PIMs) that are highly prevalent among community-dwelling elderly with dementia. To characterize PIMs categories that need a special attention for dementia patients, in the present study, we analyzed the anonymized pharmacy claims data of patients aged 65 years and older (n = 333869) who visited nationwide 905 community-based pharmacies of Sugi Pharmacy Co., Ltd. during December 1-31, 2019. A dementia group was defined as patients who received typical dementia medications marketed in Japan, i.e., donepezil, galantamine, memantine or rivastigmine, and a non-dementia group was defined as patients who received no such medications. After propensity score matching on the basis of patients' age, gender and home healthcare insurance usage, the data of 11486 patients in each group were subjected to logistic regression analyses, to identify PIMs categories particularly important for dementia patients. Univariate analysis indicated that the proportions of dementia patients who received 1 and 2≤ of PIMs were significantly (p < 0.001) greater than those of non-dementia patients (odds ratios were 1.35 and 1.47, respectively). Multivariate analyses identified 5 categories of PIMs that were significantly more frequently prescribed in dementia patients, i.e., 'H2 blockers,' 'drugs for overactive bladder,' 'anti-diabetes drugs' and 'sulpiride' listed as PIMs categories for non-specific cases (adjusted odds ratios (aORs): 1.29, 1.91, 1.17, and 1.38, respectively), in addition to 'antipsychotics' listed only for dementia patients (aOR: 4.29). These results provide useful information to establish strategies for pharmacist-led deprescribing of PIMs in dementia patients.

3D matrix adhesion feedback controls nuclear force coupling to drive invasive cell migration.

Cell invasion is a multi-step process, initiated by the acquisition of a migratory phenotype and the ability to move through complex 3D extracellular environments. We determine the composition of cell-matrix adhesion complexes of invasive breast cancer cells in 3D matrices and identify an interaction complex required for invasive migration. ßPix and myosin18A (Myo18A) drive polarized recruitment of non-muscle myosin 2A (NM2A) to adhesion complexes at the tips of protrusions. Actomyosin force engagement then displaces the Git1-ßPix complex from paxillin, establishing a feedback loop for adhesion maturation. We observe active force transmission to the nucleus during invasive migration that is needed to pull the nucleus forward. The recruitment of NM2A to adhesions creates a non-muscle myosin isoform gradient, which extends from the protrusion to the nucleus. We postulate that this gradient facilitates coupling of cell-matrix interactions at the protrusive cell front with nuclear movement, enabling effective invasive migration and front-rear cell polarity.

Electrochemical Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infection Using Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes.

Efficient detection of sodium nitrite in human urine could be used to diagnose urinary tract infections rapidly. Here, we demonstrate a fast and novel method for the selective detection of sodium nitrite in different human urine samples using electrolysis with a bare boron-doped diamond electrode. The measurement is performed without adding any other species, such as enzymes, and uses a simple electrochemical approach with an oxidation step followed by reduction. In the present study, we pay attention to the reduction potential range for the measurement, which is substantially different from many previous literature reports that focus on the oxidation reaction. The determination of added sodium nitrite based on cyclic voltammetry or differential pulse voltammetry is employed for two pooled urine samples and three individual urine matrices. From this, the linear response ranges for sodium nitrite detection are 0.5-10 mg/L (7.2-140 µmol/L) and 10-400 mg/L (140-5800 µmol/L). The results from these urine samples convert well to the calibration curve, with a limit of detection established as 0.82 mg/L (R2 = 0.9914), which is clinically relevant.