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The negative side effects of mask-wearing on reading facial emotional cues have been investigated in several studies with adults post-2020. However, little is known about children. This study aimed to determine the negative influence of mask-wearing on reading emotions of adult faces by Japanese school-aged children, compared to Japanese adults. We also examined whether this negative influence could be alleviated by using a transparent face mask instead of an opaque one (surgical mask). The performance on reading emotions was measured using emotion categorization and emotion intensity rating tasks for adult faces. As per the findings, the accuracy of emotion recognition in children was impaired for various facial expressions (disgust, fear, happy, neutral, sad, and surprise faces), except for angry faces. Conversely, in adults, it was impaired for a few facial expressions. The perceived intensity for happy faces with a surgical mask was weaker in both children and adults than in those without the mask. A negative influence of wearing surgical masks was generally not observed for faces wearing a transparent mask in both children and adults. Thus, negative side effects of mask-wearing on reading emotions are observed for more facial expressions in children than in adults; transparent masks can help remedy these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: It is critical to develop accurate and universally available biomarkers for dementia diseases to appropriately deal with the dementia problems under world-wide rapid increasing of patients with dementia. In this sense, electroencephalography (EEG) has been utilized as a promising examination to screen and assist in diagnosing dementia, with advantages of sensitiveness to neural functions, inexpensiveness, and high availability. Moreover, the algorithm-based deep learning can expand EEG applicability, yielding accurate and automatic classification easily applied even in general hospitals without any research specialist. Methods: We utilized a novel deep neural network, with which high accuracy of discrimination was archived in neurological disorders in the previous study. Based on this network, we analyzed EEG data of healthy volunteers (HVs, N = 55), patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, N = 101), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, N = 75), and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH, N = 60) to evaluate the discriminative accuracy of these diseases. Results: High discriminative accuracies were archived between HV and patients with dementia, yielding 81.7% (vs. AD), 93.9% (vs. DLB), 93.1% (vs. iNPH), and 87.7% (vs. AD, DLB, and iNPH). Conclusion: This study revealed that the EEG data of patients with dementia were successfully discriminated from HVs based on a novel deep learning algorithm, which could be useful for automatic screening and assisting diagnosis of dementia diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tests the influence of wearing a protective face mask on the perceived attractiveness of the wearer. Participants who identified as White, and who varied in their ideological stance toward mask wearing, rated the attractiveness of facial photographs. The photos varied in baseline attractiveness (low, medium, and high), race (White and Asian), and whether or not the face was wearing a protective mask. Attitudes regarding protective masks were measured after the rating task using a survey to identify participants as either pro- or anti-mask. The results showed that masked individuals of the same race were generally rated as more attractive than unmasked individuals, but that masked individuals of another race were rated as less attractive than unmasked individuals. Moreover, pro-mask participants rated masked individuals as generally more attractive than unmasked individuals, whereas anti-maskers rated masked individuals as less attractive. A control experiment, replicating the procedure but replacing the protective masks with a partially occluding notebook, showed that these effects were mask-specific. These results demonstrate that perceived attractiveness is affected by characteristics of the viewer (attitudes toward protective masks), their relationship to the target (same or different race), and by circumstances external to both (pandemic). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearing a sanitary mask tended, in the main, to reduce the wearer's sense of perceived facial attractiveness before the COVID-19 epidemic. This phenomenon, termed the sanitary-mask effect, was explained using a two-factor model involving the occlusion of cues used for the judgment of attractiveness and unhealthiness priming (e.g., presumed illness). However, these data were collected during the pre-COVID-19 period. Thus, in this study, we examined whether the COVID-19 epidemic changed the perceived attractiveness and healthiness when viewing faces with and without sanitary masks. We also used questionnaires to evaluate beliefs regarding mask wearers. We found that the perception of mask-worn faces differed before versus after the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. Specifically, mask-wearing improved wearers' sense of the attractiveness of faces, which were rated as less attractive when a mask was not worn after the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic. Furthermore, mask-worn faces were rated as healthier after the onset of the COVID-19. The proportion of respondents with negative associations regarding mask-wearing (e.g., unhealthiness) decreased relative to before the epidemic. We suggest that the weakening of this association altered the sanitary-mask effect with a relative emphasis on the occlusion component, reflecting the temporal impact of a global social incident (the COVID-19 epidemic) on the perception of facial attractiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Optimizing the collagenase G (ColG):collagenase H (ColH) ratio is a key strategy for achieving tailored donor-tissue specific islet isolation. Collagen V (Col V) and collagen III (Col III) are crucial target matrices of ColG and ColH, respectively. We herein investigated the relevance between the expression of target matrices in pancreatic tissues and influence of ColG:ColH ratio on islet isolation outcome. Methods: Islet isolation was performed in Lewis and SD rats using different ColG:ColH ratios (5:1, 1:1 and 1:5; n = 7/group). The composition of Col III and Col V was examined using immunohistochemical staining, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blotting and mass spectrometry. Chain types in collagen I (Col I) were also assessed using mass spectrometry. Results: No beneficial effects were observed by increasing the ColG amount, irrespective of the rat strain. In contrast, the islet yield in Lewis rats was considerably increased by high amounts of ColH but decreased in SD rats, suggesting that Lewis pancreas contains more Col III than SD pancreas. Neither immunohistochemical nor real-time PCR showed correlation with isolation outcome. However, Western blotting revealed that Lewis contained considerably higher amount of Col III than SD (p = 0.10). Likewise, Col-I(α1)/Col-III(α1) and Col-I(α2)/Col-III(α1) were significantly lower in Lewis than in SD rats (p = 0.007, respectively). Furthermore, the isolation outcome was considerably correlated with the composition of homotrimeric Col I. Conclusions: The Col III expression and the composition of homotrimeric Col I in pancreatic tissues determined using mass analyses appeared useful for optimizing the ColG:ColH ratio in islet isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In addition to electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), tobacco companies have recently begun to sell heat-not-burn tobacco products, Ploom and iQOS in Japan. Previous research has reported an inverse association between combustible cigarette smoking and educational attainment, but little is known about the association for e-cigarettes, especially heat-not-burn tobacco products. Our objective was to analyze the relationship between educational attainment and e-cigarette and heat-not-burn tobacco use. Setting: An internet survey (randomly sampled research agency panelists) in Japan. Participants: A total of 7338 respondents aged 18–69 years in 2015 (3632 men and 3706women). Primary measures: Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of educational attainment for current smoking (combustible cigarettes), e-cigarette ever-use, and heat-not-burn ever-use were calculated by multivariable logistic regression models using covariates including socio-demographic factors. Stratified analyses according to smoking status (combustible cigarettes) were additionally performed for e-cigarette ever-use and heat-not-burn tobacco product ever-use. Results: Associations between educational attainment and e-cigarette ever-use or heat-not-burn tobacco ever-use are not straightforward, although these associations are not statistically significant except for one cell. For example, using "graduate school" education as a reference category, adjusted ORs for "high school" were 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85–2.44) for e-cigarettes ever-use and 0.75 (95% CI:0.19–2.97) for heat-not-burn tobacco product ever-use. Among current smokers, compared with “graduate school” (reference), those with lower educational attainment showed 0.6 to 0.7 ORs for e-cigarette ever-use: e.g.,"4-year university"(OR = 0.54, 95% CI:0.24–1.24) and "high school" (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.30–1.60). Among former smokers, lower education indicated higher ORs for both e-cigarettes and heat-not-burn tobacco ever-use. Conclusions: This study provides baseline information on educational gradients of e-cigarette and heat-not-burn tobacco products, ever-use. As heat-not-burn tobacco products are increasing their market share in Japan, continuous monitoring of these products will be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the effect of bottom-up visual cues-the cues of being watched-from anthropomorphized (face-like) everyday objects on religious people's prosocial behavior. As religious people are more likely than less-religious people to perceive faces in everyday objects and as perception of face-like objects promotes prosociality, it was expected that religious people would become more prosocial when they perceived face-like objects. To test the hypothesis, the study replicated a past finding in a Japanese sample in which religious people tended to perceive a face in everyday objects. Next, results showed that the decision to donate in religious people (compared to less-religious people) was increased when a face-like object was displayed with charitable appeals. This effect was not observed with a non-face-like object. The current study indicates that interaction with the surrounding environment plays an important role in motivating prosocial behavior among religious people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amounts of the DNAs of human herpesviruses-6 (HHV-6) and -7 (HHV-7) in saliva samples were monitored during the acute and convalescent phases of exanthem subitum (ES) to elucidate the kinetics of virus shedding after ES. A total of 247 saliva samples were collected from 17 children (5 males and 12 females: 8-31 months old at onset). The monitoring period ranged from 152 to 721 days after onset, and in 15 children it was longer than 1 year. Among the 17 cases, 16 were attributed to HHV-6B, while a single case was attributed to HHV-7. Detection rates and average amounts of HHV-6 DNA in saliva samples after ES attributed to HHV-6B were low in the acute phase, increased to the maximum in the convalescent phase at 3-7 months, and then decreased. In addition, to investigate the source of infection, saliva samples from the older siblings (age 3-9 years) and parents of ES patients and children with a history of ES were also examined. The detection rate of HHV-6 DNA in saliva samples from 3- to 9-year-old children was significantly higher than the rate in adult saliva samples. Taken together, these findings suggest that the saliva of children in the convalescent phase of ES might be a more likely source of HHV-6 infection than that of adults. J. Med. Virol. 89:696-702, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, some Japanese women use a sanitary mask to hide their faces when not wearing makeup, perhaps because they believe that they are more attractive (or less ugly) when wearing a sanitary mask than when not wearing makeup. The present study examined the effect of wearing a sanitary mask on the perception of facial attractiveness. We manipulated the presence or absence of a mask in the main experiments or an occluder (e.g., notebook) in control experiments and asked participants to rate facial images. The results revealed that attractive faces wearing a sanitary mask were perceived as less attractive than the same faces without the mask, contrary to Japanese women's belief. This is the first study to demonstrate a new phenomenon, the sanitary-mask effect, in which observers underestimate the physical attractiveness of a mask-wearing face. Importantly, the pattern of the results of perceived attractiveness was substantially altered when a control object occluded the faces. This suggests that facial occlusion by a sanitary mask has a unique effect, due to occlusion and unhealthiness priming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of the quality of highly marbled beef during dry aging for 60 days after slaughter showed that the changes in some qualities differed from those of conventional meat. The tenderness of these meats did not change during aging for 50 days but then gradually increased until day 60. The juiciness of these meats, as determined by sensory evaluation, did not change during aging for 60 days, except for a decrease on day 20. The umami intensity of these meats in the sensory evaluation and the value calculated by Glu and IMP quantification were highest on day 40. This high umami intensity was induced by the synergistic effect of umami compounds such as Glu and IMP. These results for tenderness, juiciness, umami intensity, and flavor intensity suggested that the best duration of dry aging for highly marbled beef was 40 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-mediated base pairs formed by the coordination of metal ions to natural or artificial bases impart unique chemical and physical properties to nucleic acids and have attracted considerable interest in the field of nanodevices. AgI ions were found to mediate DNA polymerase catalyzed primer extension through the formation of a C-AgI-T base pair, as well as the previously reported C-AgI-A base pair. The comparative susceptibility of dNTPs to AgI-mediated enzymatic incorporation into the site opposite cytosine in the template was shown to be dATP>dTTP≫dCTP. Furthermore, two kinds of metal ions, AgI and HgII, selectively mediate the incorporation of thymidine 5′-triphosphate into sites opposite cytosine and thymine in the template, respectively. In other words, the regulated incorporation of different metal ions into programmed sites in the duplex by DNA polymerase was successfully achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metalloporphyrins were immobilized on biogenous iron oxide (BIO) produced by iron-oxidizing bacteria, Leptothrix ochracea. These organic–inorganic hybrid materials were used as immobilized catalysts for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 under solvent-free conditions. ZnII porphyrin immobilized via four tetraalkylammonium bromide groups showed high catalytic activity and reusability at a catalyst loading of 0.1 mol%. The product was obtained in 99% yield after nine times reuse, and the substrate scope was broad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In daily life, huge costs can arise from just one incorrect performance on a visual search task (e.g., a fatal accident due to a driver overlooking a pedestrian). One potential way to prevent such drastic accidents would be for people to modify their decision criterion (e.g., placing a greater priority on accuracy rather than speed) during a visual search. The aim of the present study was to manipulate the criterion by creating an awareness of being watched by another person. During a visual search task, study participants were watched (or not watched) via video cameras and monitors. The results showed that, when they believed they were being watched by another person, they searched more slowly and accurately, as measured by reaction times and hit/miss rates. These findings also were obtained when participants were videotaped and they believed their recorded behavior would be watched by another person in the future. The study primarily demonstrated the role of being watched by another on the modulation of the decision criterion for responding during visual searches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron-oxidizing bacteria, Leptothrix ochracea, produce biogenous iron oxide (BIO), while the heat treatment of BIO gives its magnetized material (m-BIO). In this study, they were chemically modified with silane coupling agents to give organic–inorganic hybrid materials, which were then used as immobilization supports for enzymes. BIO-M, which was prepared by modifying BIO with 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, was found to be the best immobilization support. The immobilized lipases showed remarkably high catalytic activity; for example, Burkholderia cepacia lipase (BCL) immobilized on BIO-M showed a turnover frequency of 33 000 h−1 for 1-phenylethanol (1a). m-BIO-M, which was prepared by modifying m-BIO with 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, was also used as an immobilization support. Although the lipases immobilized on m-BIO-M showed lower catalytic activity than those immobilized on BIO-M, the former could be separated and reused easily by using a magnet. These immobilized enzymes could be recycled at least five times and are environmentally benign biocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Bifunctional Porphyrin Catalysts for the Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates from Epoxides and C02: Structural Optimization and Mechanistic Study" in the September 2014 issue is presented.

Review: 67 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly active Mg-porphyrin catalyst for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 under solvent-free conditions showing a TON of up to 103000 is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), a graft-to-recipient weight ratio (GRWR) of under 0.8 is recognized as the critical graft size. Our aim was to compare the survival rates of recipients with small-for-size grafts (SFSG: GRWR <0.8), normal-sized grafts (NSG), and large-for-size grafts (LFSG: GRWR ≥ 3.5) and to investigate the mortality risk with SFSG. Between 1991 and April 2019, we performed 188 LDLT surgeries. Recently, we added splenectomy when portal vein pressure is high (>17 mm Hg) to interrupt the splenic bloodstream. We divided all LDLT cases retrospectively into 3 groups: an SFSG group (n = 22), NSG group (n = 154), and LFSG group (n = 12). We investigated the survival rates in these groups. Furthermore, we divided the SFSG group into 2 subgroups: an SFSG with splenectomy (SFSG+S) group (n = 7) and an SFSG without splenectomy group. We investigated the occurrence rates of lethal complications such as portal vein thrombosis, hepatic artery thrombosis, and hepatic vein thrombosis. The 5-year survival rate in the SFSG group was significantly lower (52.8%) than in the other groups (NSG: 84.5%; LFSG: 83.3%), but that of the SFSG+S group was similar (80.0%) to that of other groups. There was no difference in the occurrence of postoperative complications such as portal vein thrombosis, hepatic artery thrombosis, or hepatic vein thrombosis between the SFSG+S group and other groups. Graft survival of LDLT using SFSG+S was as good as that of normal-sized grafts. Reducing portal vein pressure was important for SFSG. • Small-for-size syndrome (SFSS) is a dangerous complication that often occurs in small-for-size grafts (SFSG). • The main cause of SFSS is the sinusoidal microcirculatory disturbances caused by portal hypertension. • The outcomes of living donor liver transplantation using SFSGs with splenectomy were as good as those using normal-sized grafts. • We confirmed that splenectomy was a very effective method to reduce portal vein pressure for SFSGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Although the Luminex system for HLA typing provides a convenient, easy to perform laboratory workflow, limitations restricting the ability to routinely obtain both breadth (number of loci) and depth (allele resolution) of data are inherent in the system. If high-resolution data is required, high volume laboratories can minimize costs effectively but for clinical laboratories in direct support of hematopoetic cell transplants (HCTs) costs of dye-terminator sequence-based typing are relatively high. In order to improve the economy of obtaining both broad and high-resolution data for our laboratory, we tested a next generation sequencing (NGS) method for HLA typing. Methods The method uses the Illumina MiSeq device combined with commercial software providing a convenient workflow for data generation and analysis. Data for HLA-A, B, C, exons 1-7 are obtained with phase determined by a combination of overlapping sequences and database lookup. Data for DRB1/3/4/5, DQA1, DQB1, DPA1, and DPB1 are obtained from exons 1-4 with phase between exons determined by coincidence with established databases. Results This approach was tested with parallel typing using the NGS and Luminex systems for over 200 samples to date. We intend to continue with parallel typing during the next few months for a total of about 500 samples for our final report. Overall results demonstrated unambiguous 3-field (six-digit) typing for all HLA class I and II with less than 1% failure rate and complete coincidence with Luminex data. Improvements in both accuracy and resolution are provided by the NGS system, and laboratory effort required is similar. Software and data storage are performed on the cloud, providing rapid analysis, ease of use, and freedom from on site systems support. Conclusion We detail the comparative typing results and critically examine the NGS workflow towards establishing the efficacy and economy of this NGS approach in laboratories supporting HCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim In our previous study, we suggested that 19% of parents could be donors with HLA zero or one antigen mismatch of HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 in the graft-versus-host direction, and 6.2% of parents could be 5–6/6 antigen matched donors in Japanese families. A previous study on a German population indicated that 3.5% of parents were 5–6/6 antigen matched donors. Our hypothesis was that linkage disequilibrium caused this difference, and we analyzed the relation between the haplotypes and the numbers of HLA matched loci. Methods The subjects were 1153 Japanese quartet families. Their HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 alleles were typed by SSO method. Each family has a father, a mother, and a sibling of the patient requiring hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The parents were divided into two groups: (i) 5–6/6 antigen matched parents ( n = 143), and (ii) 0–4/6 antigen matched parents ( n = 2163). In each group, NIAH (non-inherited paternal or maternal antigen haplotype) were counted and these frequencies were calculated. Results Top eight NIAH frequencies of all parents, group (i), and group (ii) are shown below. Conclusion There were not many tendencies for NIAH of 5-6/6 antigen matched parents to be biased against frequent haplotypes in the Japanese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Although the Luminex system for HLA typing provides a convenient, easy to perform laboratory workflow, limitations restricting the ability to routinely obtain both breadth (number of loci) and depth (allele resolution) of data are inherent in the system. If high-resolution data is required, high volume laboratories can minimize costs effectively but for clinical laboratories in direct support of hematopoietic cell transplants (HCTs) costs of dye-terminator sequence-based typing are relatively high. In order to improve the economy of obtaining both broad and high-resolution data for our laboratory, we tested a next generation sequencing (NGS) method for HLA typing. Methods The method uses the Illumina MiSeq device combined with commercial software providing a convenient workflow for data generation and analysis. Data for HLA-A, B, C, exons 2, 3, and 4 are obtained with phase determined between exons 2 and 3 by sequencing and with exon 4 by coincidence with established databases. Data for DRB1/3/4/5, DQA1, DQB1, DPA1, and DPB1 are obtained from exons 2 and 3 with phase between exons determined by coincidence with established databases. Results This approach was tested with parallel typing using the NGS and Luminex systems for 100 samples to date. We intend to continue with parallel typing during the next few months for a total of about 300 samples for our final report. Overall results thus far are promising and suggest improvements in both accuracy and resolution are provided by the NGS system. Software and data storage are performed on the cloud, providing ease of use and free from on site systems support. Conclusion We will detail the comparative typing results and critically examine the NGS workflow towards establishing the efficacy and economy of this NGS approach in laboratories supporting HCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]