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Microwave dielectric measurements were performed in the frequency range from 1 mHz up to 30 GHz using a time domain reflectometry (TDR) method for emulsions and gels. Flat-end sample cells have been used in the TDR measurement to contact a small spot of the surface of those viscoelastic and solid samples without any destruction. Relaxation processes due to various water structures were observed for these aqueous systems. Relaxation parameters thus obtained offer information about these water structures and amounts. The relaxation strength obtained from the high frequency process due to free water can be an adequate measure of water content in spite of some ambiguities for different water structures in some materials. Comparisons of actual water contents in emulsion with those estimated from the relaxation strength indicate that water structure is affected by the interaction between water and micelle. Unfreezable water observed in DNA gel under the freezing point consists of bound water and a fraction of free water. Bound water molecules are still unfreezable to keep the double helical structure of DNA, when the fraction of free water is frozen at lower temperatures. These water structures determine physical properties of moist materials. TDR measuring technique with the flat-end cell is effective to investigate water structures in viscoelastic moist materials and to evaluate physical properties and structures of complex molecular systems.

Monitoring the health of athletes is important for their protection, and questionnaires such as those produced by the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) are a valuable tool in this process. In 2020, several changes were made to the OSTRC questionnaires (OSTRC-O, OSTRC-H), including changes to the wording, structure, and logic of the original questionnaires. In the present study, the Japanese versions of the OSTRC questionnaires (OSTRC-O.JP, OSTRC-H.JP) were revised to meet the requirements of the updated versions and to analyse new and previously collected data to illustrate the impact of the changes on Japanese athletes. Proposed changes were categorized as minor or more substantial; minor changes were effected to the questionnaire instructions and to the wording of all four questions, and more substantial changes were made to the wording of question 2. The updated questionnaires also included changes to questionnaire logic and answer categories. To assess the consequences of the changes to the wording of question 2, 101 athletes were asked to complete the OSTRC-H.JP, which included both the original and updated versions of question 2, over 10 consecutive weeks. We calculated the number of health problems identified when new gatekeeper logic was and was not applied, using 1585 OSTRC-H.JP responses to assess the consequences of the changes to the questionnaire logic. The kappa coefficient, which measures the level of agreement between the responses to question 2 of the original and updated versions, was high. By applying gatekeeper logic, there was a remarkable reduction in the number of injuries and illnesses among all health problems but less reduction in substantial health problems and time loss health problems. These changes will make it easier for Japanese athletes to complete the questionnaires and improve the quality of collected data.

We herein report a case of Guillain‐Barré syndrome (GBS) after SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. The patient was a close contact with a SARS‐CoV‐2 patient. Initially, she did not have any symptoms and quarantined at a hotel. Dysgeusia and olfactory abnormality appeared at day 6 after testing positive for infection and disappeared by day 9. Subsequently, the patient developed numbness of the arms and legs, difficulty walking, and dyspnea and was referred to our hospital. Her clinical examination showed generalized weakness and hyporeflexia. A cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed albuminocytological dissociation. Her nerve conduction studies were consistent with demyelinating polyneuropathy. Intravenous immunoglobulin was administered based on a diagnosis of GBS.

To clarify the prevalence and severity of injuries and illnesses in university handball players. Prospective cohort study. Survey-based online questionnaire. 231 university handball players (109 males and 122 females) over 38 weeks. Each participant completed the Japanese version of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire on Health Problems every Sunday. The main outcome measures were the average weekly prevalence of injuries and illnesses, duration, average weekly severity scores rated on a scale of 0–100 based on answers to four key questions, and cumulative severity scores. The average weekly prevalence was 27.4 % (95 % CI: 25.6–29.1 %) for injuries and 2.2 % (95 % CI: 1.6–2.8 %) for illnesses. Among injuries, traumatic injuries had higher average weekly severity scores (50.0 vs 32.0, p < 0.05) and cumulative severity scores per case (65.0 vs 42.0, p < 0.05) than overuse injuries. Conversely, overuse injuries lasted approximately 10 days longer than traumatic injuries (18 days vs 10 days, p < 0.05). Traumatic knee injuries and overuse shoulder injuries ranked the highest in prevalence, duration, and cumulative severity scores. We found that, although overuse injuries were less severe than traumatic injuries, they interfered with handball activities for extended periods. •Traumatic injuries had a higher prevalence than overuse injuries.•Overuse injuries were less severe but lasted longer than traumatic injuries.•Traumatic knee and overuse shoulder injuries had more cases and greater severity.•Traumatic ankle/hand and overuse lower back injuries had high cumulative severity.

ORAI1 encodes a calcium channel essential in the store-operated calcium entry mechanism. A previous genetic association study identified a rare in-frame insertion variant of ORAI1 conferring Kawasaki disease (KD). To deepen our understanding of the involvement of rare variants of ORAI1 in KD pathogenesis, we investigated 3812 patients with KD and 2644 healthy individuals for variations in the protein-coding region of ORAI1. By re-sequencing the study participants' DNA, 27 variants with minor allele frequencies (MAFs) < 0.01 that had not been examined in the previous study were identified. Although no significant association with KD was observed either in single-variant analyses or in a collapsing method analysis of the 27 variants, stratification by MAFs, variant types, and predicted deleteriousness revealed that six rare, deleterious, missense variants (MAF < 0.001, CADD C-score ≥ 20) were exclusively present in KD patients, including three refractory cases (OR = ∞, P = 0.046). The six missense variants include p.Gly98Asp, which has been demonstrated to result in gain of function leading to constitutive Ca entry. Conversely, five types of frameshift variants, all identified near the N terminus and assumed to disrupt ORAI1 function, showed an opposite trend of association (OR = 0.35, P = 0.24). These findings support our hypothesis that genetic variations causing the upregulation of the Ca /NFAT pathway confer susceptibility to KD. Our findings also provide insights into the usefulness of stratifying the variants based on their MAFs and on the direction of the effects on protein function when conducting association studies using the gene-based collapsing method.

In asthma genetics, the association of highly replicated susceptibility genes lacks consistency across populations. To identify genuine associations, we investigated the reproducibility of the 23 most promising asthma and asthma-related candidate genes in a moderately sized sample from the Japanese population. We compared the frequency of 33 polymorphisms in unrelated cases and controls and tested for their association with asthma, atopy and serum total IgE levels using allele frequency, codominant, dominant and recessive genotype models. On the basis of the consistency of our findings with previous meta-analyses and large replication studies, IL13 , TNF , ADAM33 , IL4RA and TBXA2R might represent common major asthma and asthma-related trait genes. Individual gene assessment was extended to the interactions between two polymorphisms using our original method. Interactions between TBXA2R and ADAM33 , and IL4RA and C3 were suggested to increase the risk for childhood and all asthma (adult and childhood asthma combined). The confirmation of previously reported associations between gene polymorphisms and phenotypes was problematic when as few as several hundred samples per group were used. Stratification of the subjects by environmental factors or other confounding factors may be necessary to improve the sensitivity and reliability of association results.

This study aimed to examine injury surveillance practices in a variety of university sports teams and barriers and facilitators for injury data collection and utilisation. Cross-sectional study. University sports teams in Japan. Medical, coaching, and other staff (non-medical/-coaching staff) of the university sports teams in Japan. The survey included 31 questions that examined the barriers and facilitators for injury data collection, and the type of data on injury and exposure collected. Injury data were collected during matches for 69 teams (48.3%) and training for 61 teams (42.7%). Injuries were primarily captured by athletic trainers in teams with medical staff, coaching staff and athletes in teams without medical staff. Common barriers in collecting and utilising injury data included limited funding for trained personnel and lack of time for medical staff to record data. Facilitating factors included clarification of the methods employed in recording and utilising injury data for teams with medical staff and the deployment of trained personnel to record injuries for teams without medical staff. Approximately half of the Japanese university teams collected injury data. Considering barriers and facilitators is crucial to facilitate the collection and utilisation of injury data. •Half of the university teams surveyed collect sports injury data during matches or training.•Athletic trainers are primary recorders of injury data in teams with medical staff.•Limited funding and lack of time hinder injury data collection and use.•Clear injury data collection methods aid medical teams in collection and use.•Personnel and funding support injury recording in teams without medical staff.

Background CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology has facilitated the generation of knockout mice, providing an alternative to cumbersome and time-consuming traditional embryonic stem cell-based methods. An earlier study reported up to 16% efficiency in generating conditional knockout (cKO or floxed) alleles by microinjection of 2 single guide RNAs (sgRNA) and 2 single-stranded oligonucleotides as donors (referred herein as “two-donor floxing” method). Results We re-evaluate the two-donor method from a consortium of 20 laboratories across the world. The dataset constitutes 56 genetic loci, 17,887 zygotes, and 1718 live-born mice, of which only 15 (0.87%) mice contain cKO alleles. We subject the dataset to statistical analyses and a machine learning algorithm, which reveals that none of the factors analyzed was predictive for the success of this method. We test some of the newer methods that use one-donor DNA on 18 loci for which the two-donor approach failed to produce cKO alleles. We find that the one-donor methods are 10- to 20-fold more efficient than the two-donor approach. Conclusion We propose that the two-donor method lacks efficiency because it relies on two simultaneous recombination events in cis , an outcome that is dwarfed by pervasive accompanying undesired editing events. The methods that use one-donor DNA are fairly efficient as they rely on only one recombination event, and the probability of correct insertion of the donor cassette without unanticipated mutational events is much higher. Therefore, one-donor methods offer higher efficiencies for the routine generation of cKO animal models.

The two Jaenisch laboratory studies published in Cell in 2013 were ground-breaking, demonstrating for the first time proof of principle CRISPR mediated gene editing in the mouse zygote to generate knockout and conditional alleles, and caused much excitement in the transgenic mouse community. [...]our study is not the first time concerns have been raised as to the efficiency of the 2-guides 2-oligo method, with anecdotal reports from others in the transgenic community (Science; 2016. doi:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aal0334 [doi.org]), which stated that “What was disappointing is none of us could reproduce at the efficiencies reported by Jaenisch. Because efficiencies at different genomic loci often vary highly (which the Yang et al. authors state in their paragraph below point #3), it would be ideal to gather such side-by-side data for at least 6 to 10 loci or more to ensure reproducibility. [...]our observations call into question the robustness of the approach and its suitability for widespread use. Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, AV Hill Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK David Brough & Catherine B. Lawrence 13.