Kyoto Prefectural University

Objectives: This study aimed to prospectively investigate the associations among obesity, physical activity, and short-term high medical expenditures in Japanese employees and their dependents. Methods: Participants were 245,044 employees and their dependents aged 40-74 years who underwent the Specific Health Checkup in fiscal year 2008. Health checkup and medical expenditure data for 2008-2010 were provided by health insurers. They were divided into 12 groups according to the combination of body mass index categories (normal, overweight, and obesity) and engagement in exercise and/or daily physical activity (inactive, daily physical activity only, exercise only, and active). The multivariable-adjusted odds ratios of the groups for high total medical expenditures in the next year compared to the inactive normal body mass index group were estimated. High medical expenditures were defined as the top 5% of total annual expenditures, consistent with prior literature identifying high-cost users. Similar analyses were performed by sex and age (<65 years, ≥65 years). Results: Of the participants, 61.8% were men (mean age, 52.1 years). Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios were significantly high only in the inactive groups with overweight or obesity in men and younger individuals. In women and older individuals, the odds ratios were significantly high only in inactive women with obesity; however, the odds ratios were high in women who exercised only and in active older individuals, both with obesity. Conclusions: Exercise or daily physical activity might attenuate the possibility of incurring high short-term medical expenditures in men and younger individuals with overweight or obesity. These findings suggest that physical activity recommendations may need to be tailored for women and older individuals with obesity, and further longitudinal research is warranted.

Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) is a climate mitigation strategy that accelerates natural rock weathering processes to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. Applying crushed basalt to agricultural soils releases base cations (Ca2+, Mg2+) that form stable carbonates or leach as bicarbonate to the ocean. In addition to carbon sequestration, basalt weathering provides crop nutrients, potentially improving yields and quality. This study evaluated the effects of basalt application on crop growth and soil carbon sequestration through a two-year field experiment, with a focus on elemental dynamics.A field experiment was conducted from 2023 to 2024 at an experimental field in Hokkaido University (43.07° N, 141.34° E; gray lowland soil), using soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill.) in the first year and maize (Zea mays L.) in the second. Five treatments with three replications were established: a control, three basalt application rates (5, 10, and 20 wt.% incorporated into the top 15 cm; BA5, BA10, BA20), and a lime application (0.15 wt.%). While basalt was applied only in 2023, lime was reapplied in 2024 to match the soil pH of BA10. In 2023, soil and plant samples were collected at the flowering (R2), seed development (R6) and R8 stages. In 2024, soil and plant samples were collected at the vegetative (V9), reproductive (R1), and harvest (R6) stages. We measured plant dry weight, elemental concentrations, and grain yield. Soil analyses included pH, exchangeable cations, available silicon (Si), and mineralogical composition via X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). Total carbon budgets were calculated by integrating plant and soil data.Soil pH increased similarly in both basalt and lime treatments. Basalt application significantly increased soil exchangeable magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) concentrations throughout the entire cultivation period. Additionally, available Si concentrations significantly increased in 2024. In contrast, exchangeable calcium (Ca) concentration showed no significant change with basalt application, increasing only in the limed plots. This likely reflects the high initial exchangeable calcium concentration in the original soil. XRPD showed a decrease in Ca-plagioclase in 2024 compared to pre-cultivation soil in 2023, with the greatest decrease observed in BA20. This reduction occurred primarily in planted plots, suggesting that crop roots may enhance basalt weathering. While basalt application showed no growth-promoting effects on soybean, it significantly increased maize plant height at V9, leaf dry weight at R1, and stem cross-sectional area at R6. In soybean, shoot manganese (Mn) and nickel (Ni) concentrations decreased in both basalt and lime treatments. In maize, shoot Mn concentration decreased in the lime treatment, while shoot Mg concentration increased significantly and shoot Si concentration showed an increasing trend in basalt treatments. Soil exchangeable Mg concentration was positively correlated with shoot dry weight.Overall, basalt application had no negative effects on crop growth and can be beneficial depending on the crop species. The growth-promoting effects arise not only from pH neutralization but also from the supply of essential elements such as Mg and Si released through weathering. Mineralogical evidence indicates that basalt weathering progressed over two years, suggesting potential carbon sequestration through ERW in agricultural soils.

Max-plus algebra is a semiring with two operations: addition ⊕:=max and multiplication ⊗:=+ . The definition of the max-plus algebraic determinant is equivalent to the assignment problem on a bipartite graph. %This study presents a new expression of the max-plus algebraic determinant. Since the assignment problem has a formulation as linear programming, the duality theorem induces the minimization problem that attains the same optimal value as the assignment problem. We translate this dual problem in terms of max-plus algebraic operation and obtain another expression for the max-plus algebraic determinant. For the determinant of the product of max-plus square matrices, we have only the inequality det(P⊗Q)≥detP⊗detQ , and a known sufficient condition for the equality is given by the condition for det(P⊗Q) . Exploiting the duality theorem for the determinant, we derive a necessary and sufficient condition for the equality. Our criterion only needs the optimal assignments corresponding to detP and detQ but does not require to compute det(P⊗Q) beforehand.

Deuterium, a stable isotope of hydrogen, is widely used in analytical and pharmaceutical sciences; however, its influence on intermolecular interactions remains poorly understood. This study aims to clarify the effect of solvent deuteration on solute-solvent and solute-stationary phase interactions by examining retention behavior in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Deuterated solvents were applied as mobile phases and compared with their hydrogenated counterparts. In reversed-phase HPLC, deuterated solvents increased the retention of all analytes, indicating that the affinity is reduced between deuterated solvents and hydrophobic compounds, likely due to enhanced solvent-solvent interactions. Aromatic analytes particularly increase retention, suggesting that CH-π and OH-π interactions are weakened in deuterated solvents. In contrast, the sensitivity of π-conjugated stationary phases is minimal to solvent deuteration, implying that π-π interactions are less affected. Effects of deuterated solvents were also observed in normal-phase HPLC using a C60-immobilized stationary phase. These results demonstrate that solvent deuteration systematically alters intermolecular interactions, as reflected in the chromatographic retention.

Sarcopenia and low muscle mass are distinct clinical conditions associated with adverse outcomes after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery. Due to limited effective screening methods, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of four tools for these conditions in preoperative patients with CRC. This cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥65 years with stage I-III CRC scheduled for elective surgery. Sarcopenia and low appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) were diagnosed according to the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 criteria. Diagnostic performance of calf circumference (CC), SARC-F, SARC-CalF, and the Ishii score was evaluated. Ninety-eight patients (48.0% females, mean age 77.4 ± 6.2 years) were included. Prevalences of low ASM and sarcopenia were 56.1% and 41.8%, respectively. For low ASM, CC demonstrated the highest accuracy (AUC 0.907, sensitivity 80.0%, specificity 86.0%), significantly outperforming SARC-F and SARC-CalF (AUCs 0.617 and 0.854; p<0.005), and comparable to the Ishii score (AUC 0.895). For sarcopenia, the Ishii score exhibited the highest accuracy (AUC 0.957, sensitivity 100%, specificity 75.4%), significantly surpassing CC, SARC-F, and SARC-CalF (AUCs 0.875, 0.704, and 0.865; p<0.001). The Ishii score demonstrated superior diagnostic performance for sarcopenia, underscoring the importance of muscle strength assessment for effective screening.

Abstract Background: To assess recurrence risk in ER-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, multigene assays (MGAs) are useful in addition to clinicopathological factors. In Japan, Curebest™ 95GC was developed in 2011 and introduced clinically in 2013. Oncotype DX® was added to national health insurance in 2023. While adjuvant chemotherapy is often considered for patients classified as high-risk by any MGA, treatment decisions can be complex. Furthermore, breast cancers identified as high-risk by MGAs often exhibit higher pathological complete response (pCR) rates, suggesting increased sensitivity to chemotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate MGAs from two perspectives—prognostic prediction and NAC sensitivity—to inform individualized treatment strategies. Materials and Methods: We analyzed microarray gene expression data from public databases to identify patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. In this study, Curebest™ 95GC, developed in Japan, was used post-analysis for research purposes only. Based on microarray expression data, we calculated PAM50, 21GC (Oncotype DX® surrogate analyses), EndoPredict (EP), and either 95GC or 155GC. In Study 1(n=555), we assessed the prognostic value of each MGA and evaluated recurrence risk based on the number of high-risk classifications. In study2(n=550), we evaluated the predictive value of each MGA for pCR rate and analyzed the relationship between NAC sensitivity and the combined assessment of the number of high-risk classifications treated with NAC. Results: In Study 1, all four MGAs (PAM50, 21GC, EP, and 95GC) significantly stratified DRFS between high- and low-risk groups (p =8.93e-08, 2.31e-08, 3.64e-07, and 9.25e-10), with comparable prognostic performance. Patients were grouped by the number of high-risk classifications. A 5-year DRFS of 97% was observed in patients with 0 high-risk classifications, compared to 66% in those with 4. Patients were further stratified into two groups: those with 0 or 1 high-risk classification and those with ≥2. The 0-1 group showed a 5-year DRFS of 96.7%, while the ≥2 group had a significantly worse prognosis at 79.0% (p=2.04e-11). The combined assessment provided better prognostic accuracy than any individual MGA alone. Notably, patients with only one high-risk result showed excellent outcomes, suggesting endocrine therapy alone may suffice. Conversely, those deemed low-risk by all MGAs may not require adjuvant chemotherapy.In Study 2, high-risk patients had significantly higher pCR rates across all MGAs. 155GC showed the strongest stratification (p=1.62e-08). Patients classified as high-risk by all four MGAs had significantly higher pCR rates than those with 0-3 high-risk classifications (p=9.37e-11). 95GC provides CEL files containing expression data for all 20,000 genes. This allows concurrent calculation of multiple MGAs, facilitating evaluation and reducing cost. Use of CEL files supports integrated MGA analysis, and may support precise personalized treatment. Conclusion: Combining four MGAs improves prediction over single MGAs. This integrated genomic approach offers a promising strategy to optimize individualized treatment in ER-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. Citation Format: M. Nishida, R. Tsunashima, N. Hirotani, S. Kitano, C. Matsui, S. Matsumoto, A. Watanabe, C. Kato, M. Morita, K. Sakaguchi, Y. Naoi. Integrated Prognostic and Chemotherapy Sensitivity Assessment Using Multiple Gene Assays in ER-positive, HER2-negative Early Breast Cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2025; 2025 Dec 9-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2026;32(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS3-08-25.

New Caledonia is a biodiversity hotspot with high levels of micro-endemism, yet its gracillariid fauna remains poorly documented. Here, two new species of Caloptilia Hübner, 1825 (Gracillariidae) are described from Glochidion J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Phyllanthaceae) host plants in Parc des Grandes Fougères, New Caledonia: Caloptilia augeas Guiguet, Lopez-Vaamonde, van Nieukerken & Ohshima, sp. nov., and Caloptilia ceryneia Guiguet, Lopez-Vaamonde, van Nieukerken & Ohshima, sp. nov. Both species induce leaf galls on Glochidion billardierei Baill., co-occurring on the same host species, sometimes even on the same leaf. They exhibit distinct wing patterns, but very similar male and female genitalia, and DNA barcoding supports their status as separate species. These findings provide evidence for potential within-host sympatric speciation, as documented in other gall-inducing insects. The larval biology of C. augeas and C. ceryneia reveals a unique frass disposal behaviour, whereby waste is excreted through a hole and the aperture is subsequently sealed-an adaptation not previously reported in gall-inducing Lepidoptera. Our findings double the known number of gall-inducing species in Gracillariidae, highlighting that this life history strategy may be more common than currently appreciated. We also provide new information on distribution and host plants of Caloptilia xanthopharella (Meyrick, 1880), a leaf roller found on the same host plant, G. billardierei. These findings mark the first records of the subfamily Gracillariinae in New Caledonia. This study underscores the underexplored diversity of New Caledonian gracillariids and emphasises the conservation value of Parc des Grandes Fougères. Further surveys in the Indo-Pacific region may reveal additional yet undescribed Caloptilia species associated with Phyllanthaceae and help clarify the evolutionary mechanisms underpinning their diversification.

To evaluate whether regional treatment settings are associated with differences in the clinical outcomes among older gastric cancer patients undergoing curative gastrectomy. This multicenter retrospective study included 327 patients aged ≥ 80 years who underwent curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The patients were classified into urban (n = 118) and rural (n = 209) groups. The baseline characteristics, surgical outcomes, and long-term outcomes were compared. Patients in rural areas had poorer performance statuses, more comorbidities, worse nutritional and inflammatory profiles, and longer distances to the hospital. However, no differences were observed between the urban and rural groups in terms of the surgical approach, postoperative complication rates, or the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy. The 5-year overall survival rates in the rural and urban groups were 66.6% and 59.8%, respectively (p = 0.197). A multivariate Cox regression analysis identified Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≥ 2 (hazard ratio: 2.02), carcinoembryonic antigen ≥ 5 ng/mL (hazard ratio: 1.92), pathological stage III (hazard ratio: 3.72), and Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ III complications (hazard ratio: 2.51) as independent predictors of overall survival. The comparable surgical and long-term survival outcomes between patients treated in rural and urban areas suggest that equitable surgical care may be achievable across different geographic settings.

Fibrillary glomerulonephritis (FGN) is a rare kidney disease characterized by the deposition of Congo red (CR) negative fibrils measuring 12 to 24 nm in diameter on electron microscopy. Recently, DnaJ heat shock protein family (Hsp40) member B9 (DNAJB9) detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was discovered to be a sensitive and specific biomarker for FGN. This report presents the first documented case of recurrent congophilic FGN, a rare glomerular disease with features resembling amyloidosis, occurring two years and eight months after a renal transplant. Diagnosis of both primary and recurrent FGN was confirmed through DNAJB9 detection using advanced laser microdissection and LC-MS/MS techniques. The recurrent FGN exhibited features consistent with amyloidosis, including CR positivity, characteristic microscopic findings, and fibrils on electron microscopy with a 9 to 15 nm diameter. This case demonstrates that FGN could recur in the transplanted kidney as congophilic GN with characteristic findings of amyloidosis, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to render a correct diagnosis without LC-MS/MS or immunohistochemistry.