Ehime University

Despite the growing concern over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure in companion animals, dietary intake through commercial pet food remains poorly characterized. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of 100 commercially available pet food products for dogs and cats in Japan, encompassing both dry and wet types, to quantify 34 target PFAS compounds. PFAS were frequently detected, with concentrations varying by food type, ingredients, and country of origin. Fish-based products contained elevated levels of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), and perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA), and regional patterns suggested the influence of Asian-specific PFAS sources such as F-53B. Hazard quotient (HQ) assessments based on EFSA tolerable weekly intakes indicated that average HQs exceeded 1 for both dogs and cats in several products, signaling potential health risks. However, due to the lack of species-specific toxicokinetic information for dogs and cats, the EFSA-based risk characterization presented here should be interpreted as a preliminary assessment. Although dry food had higher PFAS concentrations when converted to feeding amounts, estimated exposure was higher for wet food due to higher consumption. These findings provide the first evidence of ingredient-driven and country-of-origin-dependent PFAS contamination in pet food. Fish used as ingredients are a significant source of exposure to PFAS. They also highlight the urgent need for regulatory oversight and toxicological evaluations specific to companion animals. These animals serve as vulnerable populations and as sentinels of human co-exposure in domestic environments.

To evaluate the feasibility of a telemedicine workflow using the Smart Eye Camera (SEC) for anterior segment imaging during community outreach screenings in Timor-Leste, and to describe the distribution of anterior segment findings among screening attendees. Prospective, community outreach, cross-sectional pilot screening study.. Eighty-two adults (164 eyes) who participated in community eye screenings in Timor-Leste. Uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCVA) and pinhole visual acuity were recorded in logMAR units. Anterior segment slit-lamp videos were acquired using the SEC (a smartphone-attachable slit-beam camera) and uploaded to a secure cloud platform for remote grading by ophthalmologists. Nuclear cataracts were graded (NUC1–NUC3) from slit-beam images in a subset with nuclear cataract. Feasibility of remote image acquisition and grading; frequency of anterior segment findings among screened eyes; UCVA and pinhole visual acuity; and exploratory description of nuclear cataract grade in relation to visual acuity. Participants had a mean age of 58.95±14.03 years (range, 29–87), and 52.4% were female. Mean UCVA was 0.55±0.65 logMAR and mean pinhole visual acuity was 0.42±0.66 logMAR. Among screened eyes, the most common findings were cataract (37.1%), conjunctivitis (25.9%), and pterygium (12.3%). In descriptive age-stratified summaries, cataract was identified only in the ≥50 years group (44.7% of eyes), and visual acuity was worse in older participants. In the nuclear cataract subset (59 eyes), higher nuclear grades were associated with worse UCVA and pinhole visual acuity. In this pilot convenience sample, telemedicine screening using a portable smartphone-based slit-beam camera was feasible and enabled remote identification of common anterior segment conditions in Timor-Leste. Cataract and ocular surface conditions were frequent among screening attendees, but these findings should not be interpreted as population prevalence. Larger, systematically sampled studies incorporating best-corrected visual acuity and reproducibility assessments of image grading are needed to estimate population prevalence and to evaluate clinical impact and referral outcomes.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been utilised as colorimetric biosensors because of their optical properties. Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-immobilised AuNPs (ssDNA-AuNPs) are widely used for nucleic acid detection. AuNPs strongly scatter light, allowing individual particles to be observed using dark-field microscope (DFM). In this study, we performed target ssDNA detection using the cross-linked aggregation of ssDNA-AuNPs via DFM. The limit of detection (LOD) was determined by evaluating the aggregation ratio of the ssDNA-AuNPs estimated at the single-cluster level using DFM images. The LOD for the target ssDNA detection based on the intensity of each spot in the DFM image was 15pM. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to perform a single-cluster analysis based on the red/gree/blue (RGB) values of individual spots in DFM images, and the LOD was determined to be 13pM. These LOD values are approximately 50 times lower than those obtained using the colorimetric method. Our results indicate that single-cluster analysis based on the intensity or colour of each spot in DFM images enables sensitive detection of target molecules.

The effect of Al/O ratio on the development of acicular ferrite microstructure development and the toughness in weld material containing low oxygen has been studied. Three base steel plates with different aluminum contents were prepared by vacuum melting method. The addition of 0∼10% CO2 into Ar shielding gas and the Ar gas double shield technique during arc welding of base plates formed various oxygen levels from 16 to 307 ppm. The samples with different Al/O ratio were thus obtained. The optical microstructures showed that coarse grain boundary ferrite was formed along prior austenite grain boundaries in all samples. When Al/O ratio was from 0.39 to 1.13, some of the inclusions appeared to be acted as nucleation site for acicular ferrite and weld metal with acicular ferrite exhibited good toughness (vTrs < 243 K). In this case, SEM-EDX chemical composition analysis of these inclusions indicated that inclusions were rich in oxygen, manganese and sulfer with a small amount of aluminum and silicon. It was assumed that the MnS precipitated on Al2O3-MnO-SiO2 inclusion and become effective nuclei of acicular ferrite.

Accurate quantification of liver steatosis is critical for diagnosing steatotic liver disease. We aimed to evaluate a newly developed Steatosis Index (SI), which integrates multiple quantitative ultrasound (US) parameters, for assessing liver steatosis in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). We retrospectively enrolled 568 patients with CLD who underwent both US attenuation coefficient (iATT) and MRI-proton density fat fraction (PDFF). With MRI-PDFF as a reference standard, we examined whether SI, developed by integrating backscatter coefficient and signal texture parameters into iATT, improves the accuracy of liver steatosis quantification and grading. SI demonstrated a stronger correlation (Pearson's r = 0.85 vs. 0.78, p < 0.001) and better concordance (Lin's concordance correlation coefficient = 0.84 vs. 0.75, p < 0.001), as well as higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for differentiating each steatosis grade: 0.94 vs. 0.92 for grade ≥ 1, 0.95 vs. 0.90 for grade ≥ 2, and 0.93 vs. 0.88 for grade 3, all p < 0.001), compared to iATT. It also showed significant improvement in reclassification and discrimination metrics, with internal validation using bootstrap resampling confirming the reliability of these findings. SI provided excellent diagnostic performance in quantifying and grading liver steatosis and may serve as a valuable tool for monitoring it in patients with CLD. Trial Registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry, Number: UMIN000047411.

The transport of microplastics (MPs) from rivers to the ocean remains poorly constrained, highlighting the need for quantitative evaluation of the MPs budget in estuarine environments. This study quantitatively evaluated MPs transport in an estuary using field observations and numerical simulations, focusing on vertical distribution, mass flux, and salt-wedge processes. MPs in estuarine environments were found to accumulate vertically and be re-transported by tidal forcing, resulting in seaward export over a single tidal cycle.Field observations were conducted in the estuarine reach of the Oita River during one tidal cycle, with five sampling campaigns from high tide through low tide to the subsequent high tide. Water samples were collected at 50 cm vertical intervals from the surface to near the riverbed, and flow velocities were measured simultaneously.The results showed that vertical MPs mass fluxes consistently followed a depth-dependent pattern of bottom &gt; mid-depth &gt; surface during both neap and spring tides, indicating persistent bottom-dominated transport. Spatiotemporal integration of MPs mass fluxes yielded a net seaward transport of +1.22 × 10³ mg/m over one tidal cycle, quantitatively demonstrating MPs export from land to the coastal ocean. This net export resulted from dominant land-to-sea transport during ebb tide, driven by upstream MPs fluxes and resuspension from the bottom layer, exceeding landward transport during flood tide.Numerical simulations reproduced MPs accumulation near the halocline formed during ebb tide and subsequent seaward transport by bottom currents, consistent with the observed positive net flux. These results demonstrate that estuarine MPs transport is asymmetrically controlled by tidal flow and salinity stratification, with the halocline playing a key role in MPs accumulation and seaward export.