Neutron scattering and neural-network quantum molecular dynamics investigation of the vibrations of ammonia along the solid-to-liquid transition

Vibrational spectroscopy allows us to understand complex physical and chemical interactions of molecular crystals and liquids such as ammonia, which has recently emerged as a strong hydrogen fuel candidate to support a sustainable society. We report inelastic neutron scattering measurement of vibrational properties of ammonia along the solid-to-liquid phase transition with high enough resolution for direct comparisons to ab-initio simulations. Theoretical analysis reveals the essential role of nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) for correctly describing the intermolecular spectrum as well as high energy intramolecular N-H stretching modes. This is achieved by training neural network models using ab-initio path-integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) simulations, thereby encompassing large spatiotemporal trajectories required to resolve low energy dynamics while retaining NQEs. Our results not only establish the role of NQEs in ammonia but also provide general computational frameworks to study complex molecular systems with NQEs.

In Vitro and in Silico Analyses of the Adiponectin Receptor Agonistic Action of Soybean Tripeptides

The Tyr-Pro (YP) dipeptide can serve as an adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) agonist. We thus investigated the AdipoR1-agonistic potential of YP-related tripeptides in the soybean protein sequence. Among the 17 soybean candidate tripeptides, those elongated at the C-terminus of YP (0.1 μM YPG, 140 ± 16%; 0.1 μM YPE, 141 ± 22%; 0.1 μM YPP, 145 ± 19%; 0.1 μM YPQ, 143 ± 20%; p < 0.05) significantly promoted glucose uptake by L6 muscle myotubes, comparable to the effect of 0.1 μM AdipoRon (163 ± 52%, p < 0.05). The knockdown of AdipoR1 expression in L6 cells abrogated this effect of YPG and YPP, indicating that the two tripeptides had an AdipoR1 agonistic effect. CHARMM-GUI-aided molecular dynamics simulation in a virtual phospholipid membrane revealed that YPG and YPP were stably positioned at the binding pockets of AdipoR1 (binding free energy < -10 kcal/mol). These findings demonstrate that the tripeptides YPG and YPP, with AdipoR1 agonistic YP sequences, have alternative adiponectin-like potential via their preferential binding to AdipoR1.

Getting Hydrogen to the Gigaton Scale

Due to its ability to perform clean, efficient processes, hydrogen has long been promoted as the energy carrier of the future, but recent activity and advances suggest a tipping point has been reached as hydrogen is now being recognized by much of the world for its unique capabilities to strongly support global efforts in achieving climate neutrality. The coming decades will require a massive increase in the amount of hydrogen used in the energy system as well as a transition from largely thermochemical to predominantly electrochemical processes involving hydrogen. For this to happen, hydrogen will need to globally approach the gigaton-scale on an annual basis. Thus, before hydrogen can fully achieve its potential, challenges that need to be addressed include achieving scale and further research and development (R&D) advances.

In vitro and in silico characterization of adiponectin-receptor agonist dipeptides

The aim of this study is to develop a dipeptide showing an adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) agonistic effect in skeletal muscle L6 myotubes. Based on the structure of the AdipoR1 agonist, AdipoRon, 15 synthetic dipeptides were targeted to promote glucose uptake in L6 myotubes. Tyr-Pro showed a significant increase in glucose uptake among the dipeptides, while other dipeptides, including Pro-Tyr, failed to exert this effect. Tyr-Pro induces glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) expression in the plasma membrane, along with adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. In AdipoR1-knocked down cells, the promotion by Tyr-Pro was ameliorated, indicating that Tyr-Pro may directly interact with AdipoR1 as an agonist, followed by the activation of AMPK/Glut4 translocation in L6 myotubes. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that a Tyr-Pro molecule was stably positioned in the two potential binding pockets (sites 1 and 2) of the seven-transmembrane receptor, AdipoR1, anchored in a virtual 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine membrane. In conclusion, we demonstrated the antidiabetic function of the Tyr-Pro dipeptide as a possible AdipoR1 agonist.

Cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure: a national Danish register-based study of predictors of referral and outcomes

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): The Danish Heart Foundation

Background

 Heart failure (HF) places a large burden on patients and society as a major cause of morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Participation in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in people with HF is a clinically and cost-effective strategy and recommended in international clinical guidelines.

Purpose

The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the temporal trends and predictors of national CR referral, and (2) compare the risk of hospital readmission and mortality in those referred for CR compared to no referral.

Methods

All patients in Denmark with incident HF were identified by the Danish Heart Failure Register in the period 2010 to 2018 (n = 33,257) and CR referral assessed within 120 days of hospital admission. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between CR referral and predictors and to compare risk of hospital readmission and mortality until 1 year between referred and not referred patients.

Results

Overall, 45.0% of HF patients were referred to exercise-based CR, increasing from 31.7% in 2010 to 52.2% in 2018. Factors independently associated with higher CR referral were: NYHA functional class II, LVEF &lt;50%, diagnosis of myocardial infarction and use of ACE inhibitor. Male gender, older age, region, unemployment, retirement, living alone, non-Danish ethnic origin, lower educational level, NYHA class IV, treatment for hypertension, existing chronic obstructive lung disease and stroke were associated with lower CR referral. CR referral was associated with lower risk of readmission (adjusted odds ratio: 0.90;95%CI: 0.85-0.95), HF-specific mortality (0.61; 0.39-0.95) and all-cause mortality (0.61; 0.55-0.69) as compared to no referral.

Conclusions

Although CR referral has increased over time, only some 1 in 2 diagnosed HF patients in Denmark are referred to exercise-based CR. CR referral is associated with lower risk in readmissions and mortality. Strategies to promote CR referral including healthcare professional education on the benefits of CR and alternative methods of CR delivery are urgently needed to improve access to CR, especially for high-risk groups.

Brain-transportable soy dipeptide, Tyr-Pro, attenuates amyloid β peptide25-35-induced memory impairment in mice

In this study, experiments on amyloid β peptide_25-35-induced mice were performed to provide in vivo evidence on the potential of the blood–brain barrier transportable soy dipeptide, Tyr-Pro, in combating memory impairment. We demonstrated for the first time that oral administration of Tyr-Pro (100 mg/kg, twice a day) in mice for 16 days significantly improved impaired memory by spontaneous alternation and shortened step-through latency in amyloid β-induced mice.

A novel red-emitting K2Ca(PO4)F:Eu2+ phosphor with a large Stokes shift

We report a K₂CaPO₄F:Eu²⁺ phosphor with a new crystal structure. This phosphor has a large Stokes shift and converts near-ultraviolet light to red luminescence without absorption of other visible light. The mechanism was elucidated by applying a constrained density functional theory to the solved crystal structure.

Alterations in time intervals of ductus venosus and atrioventricular flow velocity waveforms in growth-restricted fetuses

OBJECTIVE

To investigate time intervals of the ductus venosus (DV) flow velocity waveform (FVW) and those of the cardiac cycle that correspond with each DV-FVW component in fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) due to placental insufficiency.

METHODS

Women with a pregnancy complicated by IUGR were recruited into the study, as was a normal control group. Time intervals for systolic (S) and diastolic (D) components were measured in DV-FVW as follows: S(DV), from the nadir of the a-wave during atrial contraction to the nadir between the S-wave and D-wave; D(DV), from the nadir between S-wave and D-wave to the nadir of the a-wave. Regarding cardiac cycles, the following variables were measured from ventricular inflow through the tricuspid valve (TV) and mitral valve (MV): S(TV) and S(MV), from the second peak of ventricular inflow caused by atrial contraction (A-wave) to the opening of the atrioventricular valve; D(TV) and D(MV), from the opening of the atrioventricular valve to the peak of the A-wave. In the IUGR group, only the last examination performed within 1 week of delivery was used for analysis. All variables were analyzed statistically using Z-scores.

RESULTS

Data were obtained from 249 normal fetuses and 26 fetuses with IUGR. Compared to normal fetuses, S(DV) showed a significant decrease (P < 0.001), while D(DV) showed a significant increase (P < 0.001) in the IUGR group. Regarding cardiac cycles, S(TV) and S(MV) showed significant decreases (P = 0.014 and P < 0.001, respectively) and D(TV) and D(MV) showed significant increases (P = 0.008 and P = 0.002, respectively) in fetuses with IUGR.

CONCLUSION

Time-interval alterations of DV-FVW in growth-restricted fetuses reflect the hemodynamic events caused by placental insufficiency.

The diagnostic usefulness of dermoscopy for identifying six-legged larval ticks

Ticks are vectors of a variety of diseases such as Lyme disease and Japanese spotted fever. We examined an 87-year-old female with multiple tick bites by at least 236 larval Amblyomma testudinarium infestations. Numerous tick bites are generally caused by the six-legged larvae, which were verified in this case by dermoscopy. The present case indicates the diagnostic usefulness of dermoscopy for six-legged larval tick bites.

Structure and dynamics of shock-induced nanobubble collapse in water

Shock-induced collapse of nanobubbles in water is investigated with molecular dynamics simulations based on a reactive force field. We observe a focused jet at the onset of bubble shrinkage and a secondary shock wave upon bubble collapse. The jet length scales linearly with the nanobubble radius, as observed in experiments on micron-to-millimeter size bubbles. Shock induces dramatic structural changes, including an ice-VII-like structural motif at a particle velocity of 1  km/s. The incipient ice VII formation and the calculated Hugoniot curve are in good agreement with experimental results.

Risk factors for lymph node metastasis in histologically poorly differentiated type early gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

We retrospectively evaluated the predictive factors for lymph node metastasis in poorly differentiated early gastric cancer (poorly differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma, signet-ring cell carcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma) in order to examine the possibility of endoscopic resection for poorly differentiated early gastric cancer.

METHODS

A total of 573 patients with histologically poorly differentiated type early gastric cancer (269 mucosal and 304 submucosal), who had undergone curative gastrectomy, were enrolled in this study. Risk factors for lymph node metastasis were evaluated by univariate and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Lymph node metastasis was observed in 74 patients (12.9%) (6 with mucosal cancer and 68 with submucosal cancer). By univariate analysis risk factors for lymph node metastasis were lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (presence), depth of invasion (submucosa), and tumor diameter (> 20 mm), ulcer or ulcer scar (presence), and histological type (mucinous adenocarcinoma). By multivariate analysis, risk factors for lymph node metastasis were LVI, depth of invasion, and tumor diameter. In mucosal cancers, the incidence of lymph node metastasis was 0% irrespective of LVI in tumors smaller than 20 mm, and 1.7% in tumors 20 mm or larger without LVI. In submucosal cancers, the incidence of lymph node metastasis was 2.4% in tumors smaller than 20 mm without LVI.

CONCLUSIONS

A histologically poorly differentiated type mucosal gastric cancer measuring less than 20 mm and without LVI may be a candidate for endoscopic resection. This result should be confirmed in a larger study with many patients.

Multipotent islet-1 cardiovascular progenitors in development and disease

During the past several years, advances at the intersection of cardiovascular development and heart stem cell biology have begun to reshape our view of the fundamental logic that drives the formation of discrete tissue components in the mammalian heart. Although many of the critical genes that control cardiac myogenesis have been identified, our understanding of how a highly diverse and specialized subset of heart cell lineages arises from mesodermal precursors and is subsequently assembled into distinct muscle chambers, coronary arterial tree and large vessels, valvular tissue, and conduction system/pacemaker cells remains at a relatively primitive stage. Recent studies have uncovered a diverse group of closely related heart progenitors that are central in controlling and coordinating these complex steps of cardiogenesis. Understanding the pathways that control their formation, renewal, and subsequent conversion to specific differentiated progeny forms the underpinning for unraveling the pathways for congenital heart disease and has direct relevance to cardiovascular regenerative medicine. This current brief review highlights the discovery and delineation of the role of Islet-1 cardiovascular progenitors in the generation of diverse heart cell lineages and how the implications of these findings are revising our classification and thinking about congenital heart disease in general.

Etretinate enhances the susceptibility of human skin squamous cell carcinoma cells to 5-aminolaevulic acid-based photodynamic therapy

BACKGROUND

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 5-aminolaevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a noninvasive and effective treatment for superficial skin cancers. Etretinate, a derivate of vitamin A, with the chemical formula ethyl(2E,4E,6E,8E)-9-(4-methoxy-2,3,6-trimethylphenyl)-3,7-dimethyl-2,4,6,8-nona-tetraenoate, has been reported to have antitumour effects and to regulate the proliferation and differentiation of skin cancers.

OBJECTIVE

In order to develop more efficient PDT, we investigated whether etretinate enhanced the cytotoxic action of ALA-based PDT against human squamous cell carcinoma cell line, HSC-5.

METHOD

The in vitro cytotoxicity was measured using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptotic cells were detected by double-staining with fluorescent annexin V and propidium iodide. Intracellular protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) converted from exogenous ALA was measured by a fluorescence meter.

RESULTS

HSC-5 cells pretreated with a nontoxic concentration of etretinate became more susceptible to the cytotoxic action of ALA-based PDT. Etretinate-pretreated cells underwent apoptosis in response to ALA-based PDT. Etretinate pretreatment resulted in enhanced accumulation of ALA-dependent intracellular PpIX.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that etretinate enhances the susceptibility of HSC-5 cells to ALA-based PDT via the intracellular increase of ALA-dependent PpIX. Etretinate might be useful for improvement of ALA-based PDT.

Lead retention mechanisms and hydraulic conductivity studies of various bentonites for geoenvironment applications

Four bentonites from various sources were exposed to batch adsorption testing, selective sequential extraction and consolidation tests to investigate their metal retention capacity and hydraulic conductivity for geoenvironmental application such as in clay barrier materials. The Japanese bentonites (JB1-JB3) contain approximately 2-4% of carbonate and trace amount of zeolite (JB2 and JB3), whereas the US bentonite has < 1% carbonate and no zeolite. The rank of smectite content in the bentonites are USB > JB1 > JB3 > JB2. The materials ranked as JB2 approximately JB3 > JB1 > USB, according to retention capacity, while after the removal of carbonate the retention capacity order was JB1 approximately JB2 approximately JB3 > USB. SSE results indicate that carbonate plays a major role at low Pb solution concentration and precipitate as PbCO3. Once the carbonate is exhausted, the clay composition dominates the sorption process. The hydraulic conductivity of the bentonite mixtures (basalt + 10% bentonite) using water was kUSB < kJB1 < kJB3 < kJB2, consistent with the smectite content and swelling power, with USB having the highest proportion of smectite. Among the Japanese bentonites studied, JB1 is the best candidate for barrier material, comparable to the widely used USB.

Experimental heating properties of re-entrant type resonant cavity applicator for deep tumor hyperthermia

This paper discusses the heating properties of a new type hyperthermia system composed of a re-entrant type resonant cavity applicator for a deep tumor of the abdominal region. In this heating method, a human body is placed between the two inner electrodes, and is heated with electromagnetic fields stimulated in the cavity without contact between the surface of the human body and the applicator. First, the experimental heating results of an agar-muscle equivalent phantom were presented. Second, we performed an experiment with a lard-agar phantom. The center region of the agar phantom could be heated selectively without generating hot spots in the lard layers. From these results, it was found that our newly developed heating method is useful for a deep-seated tumor hyperthermia treatment.

Self-organization phenomena and decaying self-similar state in two-dimensional incompressible viscous fluids

The final self-similar state of decaying two-dimensional (2D) turbulence in 2D incompressible viscous flow is analytically and numerically investigated for the case with periodic boundaries. It is proved by theoretical analysis and simulations that the sinh-Poisson state comega=-sinh (betapsi) is not realized in the dynamical system of interest. It is shown by an eigenfunction spectrum analysis that a sufficient explanation for the self-organization to the decaying self-similar state is the faster energy decay of higher eigenmodes and the energy accumulation to the lowest eigenmode for given boundary conditions due to simultaneous normal and inverse cascading by nonlinear mode couplings. The theoretical prediction is demonstrated to be correct by simulations leading to the lowest eigenmode of {(1,0) + (0,1)} of the dissipative operator for the periodic boundaries. It is also clarified that an important process during nonlinear self-organization is an interchange between the dominant operators, which leads to the final decaying self-similar state.

Yeast Golgi apparatus ? dynamics and sorting

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the best-studied organisms to understand molecular mechanisms of membrane traffic, but as far as the organization of the Golgi apparatus is concerned, yeast is only just beginning to yield clues about how dynamic and flexible the organelle is.

Unexpected delayed rupture of the vertebral-posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms following closed head injury

Subarachnoid haemorrhage secondary to closed head injury is rarely associated with traumatic aneurysms of the posterior circulation. We report two cases of ruptured vertebral-posterior inferior cerebellar artery (VA-PICA) pseudoaneurysms following closed head injuries. In each case, there was no associated penetrating injury or skull fracture. The first patient was kicked followed by disturbed consciousness. The computerized tomography (CT) scan on admission and cerebral angiography on the 11th day after the trauma revealed a massive subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) with pan-ventricular haemorrhage and an aneurysm of the right PICA near its origin. Further ruptures occurred on the 12th, 15th, and 66th day, and he died on the 69th day. The second patient complained of persistent headache and nausea following a fight on the previous day. A CT scan and angiography on the 1st day after the trauma showed posterior fossa SAH with fourth ventricular blood and a tiny protrusion of the left VA-PICA. On the 14th day, repeated angiography revealed a remarkable growth of the aneurysm, followed by the second rupture. The repair of the VA-PICA junction was urgently performed with successful exclusion of the aneurysm. To our knowledge, only eight cases of traumatic aneurysms located at the VA or the PICA near its origin have been reported. When intraventricular blood is found with massive subarachnoid blood or with posterior fossa SAH, this ominous complication should be considered. Traumatic VA-PICA pseudoaneurysms are curable by refined microsurgical techniques, if diagnosed in time.

Gene transfer of Fc-fusion cytokine by in vivo electroporation: application to gene therapy for viral myocarditis

Among a number of techniques for gene transfer in vivo, the direct injection of plasmid DNA into muscle is simple, inexpensive and safe. Although combining direct DNA injection with in vivo electroporation increases the efficiency of gene transfer into muscle, applications of this method have remained limited because of the relatively low expression level. To overcome this problem, we developed a plasmid vector that expresses a secretory protein as a fusion protein with the noncytolytic immunoglobulin Fc portion and used it for electroporation-mediated viral interleukin 10 (vIL-10) expression in vivo. The fusion cytokine vIL-10/mutFc was successfully expressed and the peak serum concentration of vIL-10 was almost 100-fold (195 ng/ml) higher than with a non-fusion vIL-10 expression plasmid. The expressed fusion cytokine suppressed the phytohemagglutinin-induced IFN-gamma production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and decreased the mortality in a mouse viral myocarditis model as effectively as vIL-10 expression. These results demonstrate that the transfer of plasmid DNA expressing a noncytolytic Fc-fusion cytokine is useful to deliver enhanced levels of cytokine without altering general biological activities. This simple and efficient system should provide a new approach to gene therapy for human diseases and prove very useful for investigating the function of newly discovered secretory protein genes.

Intracoronary separation of a nosecone: an unusual complication of directional atherectomy

A rare case of coronary separation of nosecone fixed to a 6 Fr GTO cutter catheter after failed directional coronary atherectomy (DCA) is reported. Revascularization was successful using a stent via the subintimal neolumen beside the nosecone. Heavily calcified lesions are relative contraindications to DCA.