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SummaryWe compared the effectiveness of promoting bone healing between two teriparatide preparations for atypical femoral fracture (AFF). A total of 45 AFFs were included in this study, and we compared the duration of bone union. Teriparatide administered by daily injection enhanced bone union more than weekly administration in complete AFFs.IntroductionThe efficacy of teriparatide for atypical femoral fracture (AFF) has been recently reported. Although two different teriparatide preparations can be used to treat osteoporosis in Japan, daily or weekly injection, all previous reports on the effectiveness of teriparatide for AFF only examined daily injection formulations. Therefore, we compared the promotion of bone healing between the two teriparatide preparations for AFF.MethodsA total of 45 consecutive AFFs in 43 Japanese patients were included in this study. They received either a daily 20-μg teriparatide injection (daily group; n = 32) or a once-a-week 56.5-μg teriparatide injection (weekly group; n = 13). We compared the clinical background and duration of bone union between these two groups.ResultsWhen all patents were included, the fracture healing time was not significantly different between the two groups. Only patients with complete AFFs had significantly fewer daily bisphosphonate or denosumab injections than the weekly group (P < 0.05). The fracture healing time in the daily group (6.1 ± 4.1 months) was significantly shorter than that in the weekly group (10.1 ± 4.2 months) (P < 0.05). Even if the influence of bisphosphonate or denosumab usage was excluded, a similar significant difference was observed in the fracture healing time (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups among patients with incomplete AFFs.ConclusionsDaily teriparatide injections enhance bone union more than weekly injections in complete AFF patients.

SummaryThere is still a lack of evidence that minodronate or denosumab prevents bone loss due to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in non-Western patients. This study showed that both drugs significantly improved lumbar spine and total hip bone mineral density in Asian men with prostate cancer who received ADT.IntroductionTo evaluate whether monthly oral minodronate or semiannual subcutaneous injection of denosumab improves bone mineral density (BMD) in Asian men with prostate cancer (PCa) receiving ADT.MethodsA multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled study including patients with hormone-sensitive PCa without bone metastasis receiving ADT was performed. Patients were randomized (1:1:1) to minodronate, denosumab, or no agent control groups. The primary end point was the mean percentage change in BMD at the lumbar spine at 12 months. Secondary end points were the mean percentage change in BMD at the femoral neck and total hip and changes in bone turnover markers. Statistical comparison was performed using analysis of covariance.ResultsOf the 147 subjects enrolled in this study, 102 were randomly assigned into the minodronate (n = 36), denosumab (n = 36), and control (n = 30) groups. The percentage change in BMD at the lumbar spine was significantly improved in the minodronate (2.5%, p < 0.05) and denosumab groups (4.0%, p < 0.01) compared with that in the control group (− 0.1%). Denosumab increased BMD at the femoral neck and total hip at 12 months, whereas minodronate only increased BMD at the total hip compared with controls (all p < 0.05). The percentage change in bone turnover markers at 12 months was significantly lower in the minodronate and denosumab groups compared with that in the control group (both p < 0.01).ConclusionMinodronate or denosumab can be used for preventing bone loss related to ADT in Asian patients with PCa.

In the aftermath of the heavy rainfall events of 2017 in North Kyushu, Asakura (Japan), driftwood-related disaster risk has proven to be as real as it was in 1933, when wood-laden debris-flow invaded the city centre of Kobe City near Sannomiya station. Despite a temporary truce obtained thanks to extensive Sabo dam constructions, climate change, the return of forest on agricultural land due to rural exodus and an ageing population are once again increasing driftwood hazard and disaster risk. In the face of these novel challenges, new management strategies may need to be considered, and the present contribution aims to propose a new approach to driftwood hazards and disaster risk. For this purpose, the present contribution is analysing the 2D hydrodynamic of scenario-based floods on driftwood deposited after the 2017 heavy-rainfall event in Asakura. The boundary conditions for the simulation were generated using UAV photogrammetry calibrated against existing DEM data to generate a DEM at 25 cm horizontal resolution and an orthophotographs at 5 cm resolution. The results show that with the new river configuration (post-2017), an instantaneous peak flow of 90 m3/s is necessary to flood the areas where the driftwood has stopped with a water depth of >40 cm. This is 9 times the mode discharge calculated from the inlet geometry. The majority of the driftwood is thus not an immediate hazard, and leaving the wood instead of removing it should be considered as a management strategy whenever it is feasible. Recent research in Western Europe and Northern America has already shown the importance of driftwood for biodiversity and wildlife, and combining both environmental and hazards and disaster risk objectives may be a solution. For this purpose, the authors propose that medium-size ditch and artificial “abandoned channels” could be created in order to trap the wood in the floodplain, so that the cost from removing the wood can be alleviated, horizontal trapping could complement vertical trapping at slit dams, and the local wildlife could benefit from the wood decomposition in the floodplain.

JSNS 2  (J-PARC Sterile Neutrino Search at J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source) is an experiment that searches for sterile neutrinos via the observation of ν ¯ μ → ν ¯ e  appearance oscillations using muon decay-at-rest neutrinos. The JSNS 2  experiment performed data taking from 2021. In this manuscript, a study of the accidental background is presented. The rate of the accidental background is ( 9.29 ± 0.39 ) × 10 - 8 /spill with 0.75 MW beam power and comparable to the expected number of signal events.

JSNS2 (J-PARC Sterile Neutrino Search at J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source) is an experiment that is searching for sterile neutrinos via the observation of ν¯μ→ν¯e appearance oscillations using muon decay-at-rest neutrinos. Before dedicated data taking in the first-half of 2021, we performed a commissioning run for 10 days in June 2020. Using the data obtained in this commissioning run, in this paper, we present an estimate of the correlated background which imitates the ν¯e signal in a sterile neutrino search. In addition, in order to demonstrate future prospects of the JSNS2 experiment, possible pulse shape discrimination improvements towards reducing cosmic ray induced fast neutron background are described.

Abstract JSNS $$^2$$ 2  (J-PARC Sterile Neutrino Search at J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source) is an experiment that searches for sterile neutrinos via the observation of $$\\bar{\\nu }_{\\mu } \\rightarrow \\bar{\\nu }_{e}$$ ν ¯ μ → ν ¯ e  appearance oscillations using muon decay-at-rest neutrinos. The JSNS $$^2$$ 2  experiment performed data taking from 2021. In this manuscript, a study of the accidental background is presented. The rate of the accidental background is ( $$9.29\\pm 0.39) \\times 10^{-8}$$ 9.29 ± 0.39 ) × 10 - 8 /spill with 0.75 MW beam power and comparable to the expected number of signal events.

Treatment of edentulous and atrophic mandibular fractures is extremely difficult. Generally, mandibular fractures are repaired and fixed as internal fixation using a reconstruction plate or miniplates with intra- or extraoral approach. Few cases in which external fixation including a transmucosal fixation was performed have also been reported. We report a case of atrophic and edentulous mandibular fracture which was healed by the fixation using dental implants and implant-supported bridge.

A study of the effectiveness of graphene oxides (GO) dispersed in water as a lubricant additive between tungsten carbide (WC) pin against stainless steel (SUS304) plate was carried out. A 0.1 wt.% GO was prepared and used as a lubricant under an applied load of 3 N for 20,000 friction cycles of reciprocating tribological testing. The results show that a GO dispersion with pH 3 provided the lowest friction coefficient, which was approximately 0.05. Worn areas on the wear track of the SUS304 flat plate and WC ball surface were also small. The increasing pH obviously affected the tribological properties, where the friction coefficient increased to approximately 0.10–0.20 in the steady state for pH 5, pH 7 and pH 9. Meanwhile, a GO dispersion with pH 10 was not able to provide good tribological properties for the tested materials. The observations on microscopic images revealed the formation of tribofilms on the wear tracks for low pH. The tribofilms caused reduction of the friction force and protected the plates from severe wear during the sliding tests.           

Background: The aim of this study was to clarify the role of bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BM-SCs) expressing CD271 in the development of gastric cancer. Methods: The effect of human BM-SCs on the proliferation and motility of six gastric cancer cell lines, OCUM-2M, OCUM-2MD3, OCUM-12, KATO-III, NUGC-3, and MKN-74, was examined. CD271 expression levels in BM-SCs were analysed by flow cytometry. We also generated a gastric tumour model by orthotopic inoculation of OCUM-2MLN cells in mice that had received transplantation of bone marrow from the CAG-EGFP mice. The correlation between the clinicopathological features of 279 primary gastric carcinomas and CD271 expression in tumour stroma was examined by immunohistochemistry. Results: Numerous BM-SCs infiltrated the gastric tumour microenvironment; CD271 expression was found in ∼25% of BM-SCs. Conditioned medium from BM-SCs significantly increased the proliferation of gastric cancer cell lines. Furthermore, conditioned medium from gastric cancer cells significantly increased the number of BM-SCs, whereas migration of OCUM-12 and NUGC-3 cells was significantly increased by conditioned medium from BM-SCs. CD271 expression in stromal cells was significantly associated with macroscopic type-4 cancers, diffuse-type tumours, and tumour invasion depth. The overall survival of patients ( n =279) with CD271-positive stromal cells was significantly worse compared with that of patients with CD271-negative stromal cells. This is the first report of the significance of BM-SCs in gastric cancer progression. Conclusions: Bone marrow-derived stromal cells might have an important role in gastric cancer progression, and CD271-positive BM-SCs might be a useful prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients.

Abstract JSNS2 (J-PARC Sterile Neutrino Search at J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source) is an experiment that is searching for sterile neutrinos via the observation of $\\bar{\\nu }_{\\mu } \\rightarrow \\bar{\\nu }_e$ appearance oscillations using neutrinos from muon decay-at-rest. For this search, rejecting cosmic-ray-induced neutron events by Pulse Shape Discrimination (PSD) is essential because the JSNS2 detector is located above ground, on the third floor of the building. We have achieved 94.95%$\\pm$0.15% rejection of neutron events while keeping 92.82%$\\pm$1.77% of signal, electron-like events using a data-driven likelihood method. This article will report the PSD technique using the full fiducial volume of the JSNS2 detector.