Largest recent impact craters on Mars: Orbital imaging and surface seismic co-investigation.

Two >130-meter-diameter impact craters formed on Mars during the later half of 2021. These are the two largest fresh impact craters discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since operations started 16 years ago. The impacts created two of the largest seismic events (magnitudes greater than 4) recorded by InSight during its 3-year mission. The combination of orbital imagery and seismic ground motion enables the investigation of subsurface and atmospheric energy partitioning of the impact process on a planet with a thin atmosphere and the first direct test of martian deep-interior seismic models with known event distances. The impact at 35°N excavated blocks of water ice, which is the lowest latitude at which ice has been directly observed on Mars.

Surface waves and crustal structure on Mars.

We detected surface waves from two meteorite impacts on Mars. By measuring group velocity dispersion along the impact-lander path, we obtained a direct constraint on crustal structure away from the InSight lander. The crust north of the equatorial dichotomy had a shear wave velocity of approximately 3.2 kilometers per second in the 5- to 30-kilometer depth range, with little depth variation. This implies a higher crustal density than inferred beneath the lander, suggesting either compositional differences or reduced porosity in the volcanic areas traversed by the surface waves. The lower velocities and the crustal layering observed beneath the landing site down to a 10-kilometer depth are not a global feature. Structural variations revealed by surface waves hold implications for models of the formation and thickness of the martian crust.

Artificial intelligence for the automated single-shot assessment of psoriasis severity.

BACKGROUND: PASI score is globally used to assess disease activity of psoriasis. However, it is relatively complicated and time-consuming, and the score will vary due to the inconsistent subjectivity between dermatologists. Therefore, an AI system capable of assessing psoriasis severity will be useful. OBJECTIVES: To propose a simplified PASI system (Single-Shot PASI) and associated AI models capable of assessing psoriasis severity. METHODS: Overall, 705 psoriasis images of the trunk's front and back were used in our research. Considering the relatively small number of images, we used data augmentation techniques to expand the data. A psoriasis expert's scores were used as teacher data. Various convolutional neural network models and hyperparameters were adjusted using a fivefold cross-validation. From these adjustments, we discovered that fine-tuning Imagenet2012-pretrained InceptionV3 whose last linear layer was replaced by a two-layer perceptron (30 hidden units and five output units) exhibited the best performance. RESULTS: To validate our deep learning system, 10 images were selected as test sets and were excluded from the training sets. The AI assessment of Single-Shot PASI was almost consistent with the clinical severity. We examined whether AI assistance would affect human scoring. In this study, 13 dermatologists and 9 medical students were invited as evaluators. Mean absolute differences from AI scores and standard deviation among evaluators reduced with AI assistance. In addition, the evaluator's scores got close to the teacher's score with AI's assistance. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed a Single-Shot PASI system and developed an associated AI system capable of assessing psoriasis severity simply by uploading a single clinical image. An easy-to-use scoring system and our freely available AI software would help dermatologists and patients with psoriasis.

Deep-learning image-reconstruction algorithm for dual-energy CT angiography with reduced iodine dose: preliminary results.

AIM: To evaluate the computed tomography (CT) attenuation values, background noise, arterial depiction, and image quality in whole-body dual-energy CT angiography (DECTA) at 40 keV with a reduced iodine dose using deep-learning image reconstruction (DLIR) and compare them with hybrid iterative reconstruction (IR). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Whole-body DECTA with a reduced iodine dose (200 mg iodine/kg) was performed in 22 patients, and DECTA data at 1.25-mm section thickness with 50% overlap were reconstructed at 40 keV using 40% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction with Veo (hybrid-IR group), and DLIR at medium and high levels (DLIR-M and DLIR-H groups). The CT attenuation values of the thoracic and abdominal aortas and iliac artery and background noise were measured. Arterial depiction and image quality on axial, multiplanar reformatted (MPR), and volume-rendered (VR) images were assessed by two readers. Quantitative and qualitative parameters were compared between the hybrid-IR, DLIR-M, and DLIR-H groups. RESULTS: The vascular CT attenuation values were almost comparable between the three groups (p=0.013-0.97), but the background noise was significantly lower in the DLIR-H group than in the hybrid-IR and DLIR-M groups (p<0.001). The arterial depictions on axial and MPR images and in almost all arteries on VR images were comparable (p=0.14-1). The image quality of axial, MPR, and VR images was significantly better in the DLIR-H group (p<0.001-0.015). CONCLUSION: DLIR significantly reduced background noise and improved image quality in DECTA at 40 keV compared with hybrid-IR, while maintaining the arterial depiction in almost all arteries.

Evaluation of a high-speed but low-throughput RT-qPCR system for detection of SARS-CoV-2.

With the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a high-speed and convenient detection technology should be at the forefront of medical care worldwide. This study evaluated the usefulness of GeneSoC, a compact, high-speed reciprocal flow quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction system, for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The results support the use of this system for the rapid identification of SARS-CoV-2. This approach can contribute to the strategic selection of initial management strategies for patients with COVID-19.

g Factor of the

The gyromagnetic factor of the low-lying E=251.96(9) keV isomeric state of the nucleus ^{99}Zr was measured using the time-dependent perturbed angular distribution technique. This level is assigned a spin and parity of J^{π}=7/2^{+}, with a half-life of T_{1/2}=336(5) ns. The isomer was produced and spin aligned via the abrasion-fission of a ^{238}U primary beam at RIKEN RIBF. A magnetic moment |µ|=2.31(14)µ_{N} was deduced showing that this isomer is not single particle in nature. A comparison of the experimental values with interacting boson-fermion model IBFM-1 results shows that this state is strongly mixed with a main νd_{5/2} composition. Furthermore, it was found that monopole single-particle evolution changes significantly with the appearance of collective modes, likely due to type-II shell evolution.

Low prevalence of maternal microchimerism in peripheral blood of Japanese children with type 1 diabetes.

AIM: To clarify the prevalence and degree of maternal microchimerism in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes, as well as its effect on phenotypic variation. METHODS: We studied 153 Japanese children with type 1 diabetes, including 124 children positive for ß-cell autoantibodies, and their 71 unaffected siblings. The number of circulating microchimeric cells per 105 host cells was estimated by the use of quantitative-polymerase chain reaction targeting non-transmitted maternal human leukocyte antigen alleles. The results were compared to previous data from white European people. Phenotypic comparison was performed between maternal microchimerism carriers and non-carriers with diabetes. RESULTS: Maternal microchimerism was detected in 15% of children with autoantibody-positive type 1 diabetes, 28% of children with autoantibody-negative type 1 diabetes, and 16% of unaffected siblings. There were no differences in the prevalence or levels of maternal microchimerism among the three groups or between the children with type 1 diabetes and their unaffected siblings. Furthermore, maternal microchimerism carriers and non-carriers exhibited similar phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal microchimerism appears to be less common in Japanese children with type 1 diabetes than in white European people. Our data indicate that maternal microchimerism is unlikely to be a major trigger or a phenotypic determinant of type 1 diabetes in Japanese children and that the biological significance of maternal microchimerism in type 1 diabetes may differ among ethnic groups.

Correction: Myeloproliferative leukemia protein activation directly induces fibrocyte differentiation to cause myelofibrosis.

Owing to the insufficient specificity of the anti-myeloproliferative leukemia protein (MPL) antibody in the original version of this Article, Figure 6 and parts of Figures 2a, 4e, and 5a do not represent the correct information. The corrected version of Figure 6 is in this correction and those of Figures 2a, 4e, and 5a are shown in the supplemental information.

Estimation of glycaemic control in the past month using ratio of glycated albumin to HbA1c.

AIMS: To evaluate comprehensively the use of the glycated albumin to HbA1c ratio for estimation of glycaemic control in the previous month. METHODS: A total of 306 children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus underwent ≥10 simultaneous measurements of glycated albumin and HbA1c . Correlation and concordance rates were examined between HbA1c measurements taken 1 month apart (ΔHbA1c ) and glycated albumin/HbA1c ratio fluctuations were calculated as Z-scores from the cohort value at enrolment of this study cohort (method A) or the percent difference from the individual mean over time (method B). RESULTS: Fluctuations in glycated albumin/HbA1c ratio (using both methods) were weakly but significantly correlated with ΔHbA1c , whereas concordance rates were significant for glycaemic deterioration but not for glycaemic improvement. Concordance rates were higher using method B than method A. CONCLUSIONS: The glycated albumin/HbA1c ratio was able to estimate glycaemic deterioration in the previous month, while estimation of glycaemic improvement in the preceding month was limited. Because method B provided a better estimate of recent glycaemic control than method A, the individual mean of several measurements of the glycated albumin/HbA1c ratio over time may also identify individuals with high or low haemoglobin glycation phenotypes in a given population, such as Japanese children with Type 1 diabetes, thereby allowing more effective diabetes management.

Protein-altering variants of PTPN2 in childhood-onset Type 1A diabetes.

AIM: To examine the contribution of PTPN2 coding variants to the risk of childhood-onset Type 1A diabetes. METHODS: PTPN2 mutation analysis was carried out for 169 unrelated Japanese people with childhood-onset Type 1A diabetes. We searched for coding variants that were absent or extremely rare in the general population and were scored as damaging by multiple in silico programs. We performed mRNA analysis and three-dimensional structural prediction of the detected variants, when possible. We also examined possible physical links between these variants and previously reported risk SNPs as well as clinical information from variant-positive children. RESULTS: One frameshift variant (p.Q286Yfs*24) and two probably damaging missense substitutions (p.C232W and p.R350Q) were identified in one child each. Of these, p.Q286Yfs*24 and p.C232W were hitherto unreported, while p.R350Q accounted for 2/121,122 alleles of the exome datasets. The p.Q286Yfs*24 variant did not encode stable mRNA, and p.C232W appeared to affect the structure of the tyrosine-protein phosphatase domain. The three variants were physically unrelated to known risk SNPs. The variant-positive children manifested Type 1A diabetes without additional clinical features and invariably carried risk human leukocyte antigen alleles. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide the first indication that PTPN2 variants contribute to the risk of Type 1A diabetes, independently of known risk SNPs. PTPN2 coding variants possibly induce non-specific Type 1A diabetes phenotypes in individuals with human leukocyte antigen-mediated disease susceptibility. Our findings warrant further validation.

Association Between the Fertile Period and Live Birth Post-Kidney Transplantation: A Retrospective Single-Center Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite restoration of fertility after kidney transplantation, the benefit is limited in female kidney recipients. Our objective is to determine the reasons for this discrepancy. METHODS: We evaluated 315 women who underwent kidney transplantation from 1983 to 2015 (a median of age at transplantation [10th-90th percentile] of 32 years [7-55 years]); 230 recipients between the ages of 15 to 49 years old as of March 2016 were observed. RESULTS: We experienced 10 abortions and 21 live births from our 23 recipients and 2 abortions and 7 live births in 7 recipients from other transplant center. The live birth rate was 8.9 per 1000 female transplant recipients of childbearing age. Seven recipients received either treatments of artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. Average age at pregnancy was 33.2 ± 3.2 years old, and the fertile period post-transplantation was longer in recipients with live births than those without live births (14.1 ± 7.1 vs 9.9 ± 7.3 years, P < .05). In 42.9% of recipients with live birth, pregnancy-induced hypertension was observed in the last trimester. The gestational age and the average birth weight were 32.8 ± 5.0 months and 2184 ± 632 g, respectively. During follow-up of 14.5 years, there was one case of graft loss, which is a rate of 2.5 per 1000 female recipients. CONCLUSION: Although pregnancy complications are often observed in kidney recipients, graft survival is less influenced by pregnancy. Importantly, kidney disease at childbearing age disrupts pregnancy even after kidney transplantation.

Myeloproliferative leukemia protein activation directly induces fibrocyte differentiation to cause myelofibrosis.

Myelofibrosis (MF) may be caused by various pathogenic mechanisms such as elevation in circulating cytokine levels, cellular interactions and genetic mutations. However, the underlying mechanism of MF still remains unknown. Recent studies have revealed that fibrocytes, the spindle-shaped fibroblast-like hematopoietic cells, and the thrombopoietin (TPO)/myeloproliferative leukemia protein (MPL; TPO receptor) signaling pathway play a certain role in the development of MF. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between fibrocytes and MPL activation. We showed that TPO or a TPO receptor agonist directly induces fibrocyte differentiation using murine fibrocyte cell lines and a murine MF model. Conversely, elimination of macrophages expressing MPL by clodronate liposomes reversed the MF phenotype of the murine model, suggesting that fibrocyte differentiation induced by MPL activation contributes to the progression of MF. Furthermore, we revealed that SLAMF7high MPLhigh monocytes in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were possible fibrocyte precursors and that these cells increased in number in MF patients not treated with ruxolitinib. Our findings confirmed a link between fibrocytes and the TPO/MPL signaling pathway, which could result in a greater understanding of the pathogenesis of MF and lead to the development of novel therapeutic interventions.

Reduced complexity of force and muscle activity during low level isometric contractions of the ankle in diabetic individuals.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the structure and amount of variability of surface electromyography (sEMG) patterns and ankle force data during low-level isometric contractions in diabetic subjects with different degrees of neuropathy. METHODS: We assessed 10 control subjects and 38 diabetic patients, classified as absent, mild, moderate, or severe neuropathy, by a fuzzy system based on clinical variables. Multichannel sEMG (64-electrode matrix) of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius medialis muscles were acquired during isometric contractions at 10%, 20%, and 30% of the maximum voluntary contraction, and force levels during dorsi- and plantarflexion were recorded. Standard deviation and sample entropy of force signals were calculated and root mean square and sample entropy were calculated from sEMG signals. Differences among groups of force and sEMG variables were verified using a multivariate analysis of variance. FINDINGS: Overall, during dorsiflexion contractions, moderate and severe subjects had higher force standard deviation and moderate subjects had lower force sample entropy. During plantarflexion, moderate subjects had higher force standard deviation and all diabetic subjects had lower entropy. Tibialis anterior presented higher root mean square in absent group and lower entropy in mild subjects. For gastrocnemius medialis, entropy was higher in severe and lower in moderate subjects. INTERPRETATION: Diabetic neuropathy affects the complexity of the neuromuscular system during low-level isometric contractions, reducing the system's capacity to adapt to challenging mechanical demands. The observed patterns of neuromuscular complexity were not associated with disease severity, with the majority of alterations recorded in moderate subject.

Pharmacokinetic Profile of Twice- and Once-daily Tacrolimus in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the differences in pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles after the 1:1 ratio-based conversion from a twice-daily to a once-daily tacrolimus formulation (TD-TAC and OD-TAC, respectively) in pediatric recipients of kidney transplants. METHODS: TD-TAC was initially administered to 29 pediatric patients who underwent kidney transplantations between April 2010 and September 2015 and were then subsequently switched to OD-TAC. The switch dose ratio was 1:1, and the 24-hour complete PK parameter assessment was performed before and after the regimen was changed from TD-TAC to OD-TAC. RESULTS: The mean total daily dose at baseline was 5.5 ± 2.9 mg (0.18 ± 0.10 mg/kg body weight). Consecutive PK studies revealed no significant difference in the mean time to achieve maximum concentrations and the area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 hours (AUC0-24) of both drug formulations. However, the mean trough concentration (Cmin) and the maximum concentration of OD-TAC were 22% and 6% lower and higher, respectively, than those of TD-TAC. Therefore, a better correlation was observed between the AUC0-24 and Cmin of OD-TAC than between those of TD-TAC. CONCLUSIONS: After the change from TD-TAC to OD-TAC, the AUC0-24 values were equivalent despite a 22% reduction in Cmin. Cmin may therefore be an excellent predictor in the therapeutic drug monitoring of OD-TAC because of its superior correlation with AUC0-24.