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Efficacy and Limitations of Flow Cytometry for the Rapid Diagnosis of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma
No full textBackground/Objectives: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) has a markedly high proliferation rate, making early diagnosis and prompt therapeutic intervention essential. To accelerate diagnosis, our institution adopted flow cytometry (FCM) in conjunction with conventional histopathology, and this study therefore evaluated the diagnostic performance of FCM for PCNSL. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 67 consecutive patients with suspected PCNSL who underwent intraoperative FCM between 2010 and 2023 based on preoperative imaging. B-cell clonality was defined as ≥20% CD19/CD20-positive cells with a κ/λ ratio of >3.0 or <0.5. Results: Using histopathology, we confirmed the presence of PCNSL in 42 patients, all diagnosed as having diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Six cases (14.3%) were discordant (FCM-D). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of FCM were 85.7%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. T-cell markers were significantly elevated in FCM-D cases (p < 0.01), although these were pathologically diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma based on histology and immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: FCM yields reliable diagnostic information within hours of tissue collection and supports early therapeutic decisions in PCNSL. Discordant results may reflect reactive T-cell infiltration. This is the first study to present detailed subset analyses in PCNSL using FCM in correlation with pathology, underscoring its utility as a rapid diagnostic tool.Cancers, 17(22), art. no. 3646; 2025journal articl
Associations Between the Diverse Aspects of Psychological Frailty and Health‐Related Outcomes in Community‐Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross‐Sectional Study
No full textBackground: Psychological frailty (PsF), encompassing cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities, remains understudied despite its potential impact on health outcomes in older adults. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the characteristics of diverse aspects of PsF, including cognitive frailty (CF), lower cognitive function, and affective frailty (AF), and to examine their associations with health-related outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Data were analysed from 420 community-dwelling older adults participating in the Tarumizu Study in Japan, excluding those exhibiting physical or social frailty. Participants were categorised into Robust, Lower cognitive function, CF, AF, and Multi-domain PsF groups. AF was assessed using five items from the Geriatric Depression Scale, focusing on emotional vulnerability. Health outcomes included self-rated health, subjective memory complaints (SMC), and functional ability of daily living. Associations were analysed using adjusted multiple regression models controlling for covariates. Results: PsF was present in 39.5% of the cohort (lower cognitive function: 18.1%, CF: 7.6%, AF: 11.0%, Multi-domain PsF: 2.9%). In the adjusted models, only AF showed a significant positive association with SMC (adjusted risk ratio = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.06–2.42, p = 0.023). No significant associations were found between any PsF domain and subjective health or daily functional ability in the adjusted models. Conclusions: AF, characterised by emotional vulnerability, was uniquely associated with SMC, suggesting emotional factors may play a more central role than cognitive decline in shaping perceptions of memory problems. These findings highlight the heterogeneous nature of PsF and underscore the need for nuanced assessments to inform targeted prevention and intervention strategies.Psychogeriatrics, 26(1), art. no. e70115; 2025journal articl
Thin polyimide film with high porosity as an alternative substrate for forward osmosis membranes
No full textEnhancing the substrate properties of forward osmosis (FO) membranes to achieve high water flux can significantly improve the feasibility of FO-based water treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of polyamide (PA) FO membranes fabricated with a thin, highly porous polyimide (PI) film. Among the variable concentrations of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC), MPD and TMC at 2.0 and 0.15 wt%, respectively, achieved a water flux of 17.2 L/m2h and reverse salt flux of 1.9 g/m2h when using a 1.0 M NaCl draw solution. Examination of the PA-selective layer formed on the PI substrate revealed cavities and folds with a thickness of 20–40 nm. Interestingly, increasing the hole diameter of the PI substrate from 80 to 300 nm reduced the water permeate flux from 17.2 to 9.8 L/m2h. The structural parameter of the FO membrane developed in this study (193 μm) was comparable to that of most other FO membranes reported in literature. When treating municipal raw sewage, the water flux and reverse salt flux of the developed FO membrane were approximately 60 % higher than those of a commercial cellulose triacetate FO membrane. This study highlights the potential and limitations of PI-based FO membranes for wastewater treatment.Desalination and Water Treatment, 324, art. no. 101586; 2025journal articl
Multiple nutrient recovery from aquaculture wastewater through vacuum membrane distillation
No full textThe sustainable management of aquaculture wastewater is crucial for environmental stewardship and resource valorization. Vacuum Membrane Distillation (VMD) was systematically investigated as an advanced process for recovering ammonia and concentrating nitrate and phosphate. Initial batch tests established optimal process conditions for selective ammonia separation and high concentration factors of non-volatile nutrients (nitrate and phosphate). Applying these conditions to prefiltered inland aquaculture wastewater, the first-stage VMD achieved >85% ammonia removal, recovering it 40-fold (from 25 mg/L to 1,015 mg/L) in a dilute phosphoric acid-receiving solution, with a separation factor of 120. Subsequently, the second-stage VMD concentrated the remaining nitrate and phosphate by approximately 5-fold within 60 h. The VMD membrane exhibited a minor 10% flux decline and maintained excellent conductivity rejection (>99%), producing high-quality permeate with 80% water recovery over 120 h of operation. The technoeconomic analysis confirmed the system's viability, showing that baseline operating costs (343 mg/L). Conversely, the second-stage system for nitrate-phosphate recovery was unprofitable at baseline due to the high purified water production cost (USD 162/m3). Sensitivity analysis indicated that moderate feed concentrations (>100 mg/L) combined with targeted energy and component optimization enable economic feasibility in both stages. Overall, these results provide a robust reference for recovering concentrated, multiple nutrients from aquaculture wastewater, demonstrating strong potential to achieve complete nitrogen and phosphorus recovery, zero-waste discharge, and production of valuable, high-quality liquid fertilizers for agricultural reuse.Chemical Engineering Journal, 527, art. no. 172109; 2025journal articl
自治体における地域型住宅の位置付けと市民の認知度
Full text linkIn order to reduce carbon dioxide, the largest cause of global warming, the goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Against this backdrop, the Building Energy Conservation Law has been revised, requiring energy conservation in the housing sector as well. Regional housing, which is housing specialized for energy conservation in consideration of the climate, is being planned in various regions. On the other hand, there is the Regional Housing Plan, which is a system to provide total support for local lifestyles, such as housing and living environment development, by local public entities utilizing their autonomy and ingenuity to meet the challenges of each region. As a result of extracting and analyzing the projects and budgets in regional housing plans, it became clear that Tottori Prefecture is working on energy conservation. In Tottori Prefecture, the Tottori Sumairu Support Project and the Tottori Healthy Energy-Saving Housing Promotion Project are promoting the spread of NE-ST, which are highly energy-efficient houses with high thermal insulation and airtightness, accounting for about 6.7% of housing starts. It was also found that the company is focusing on activities to improve the performance of houses not only through new construction but also through renovation. The low level of recognition, with about 61% of the respondents not knowing about the revision of the Energy Conservation Law and about 30% not knowing about terms related to housing performance and environmental performance of houses, indicates that public awareness of energy conservation is low. In order to promote the spread of regional housing, it is assumed that it is necessary to deepen the understanding of energy onservation by presenting the reduction of heating and cooling costs and health benefits of energy conservation to public in an easy-to-understand manner.長崎大学大学院工学研究科研究報告, 55(104), pp.15-22; 2025departmental bulletin pape
Firms’ climate risks and bank lending: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis
Full text linkClimate risks influence banks' lending behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study uses Japanese data to show that banks reduced lending to high CO2 intensity firms at the start of the crisis and the following year. However, banks that previously invested heavily in these firms increased their lending, especially to firms with significant declines in sales. Our results also reveal that banks' lending to high CO2 intensity firms varies according to their capital buffers. These findings hold even when considering zombie lending and bank relationships, indicating that banks took climate risks into account when reallocating funds during a liquidity shock.Finance Research Letters, 73, art. no. 106606; 2024journal articl
Arterial Reconstruction Using the Right Gastroepiploic Artery in Living Donor Liver Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience
Full text linkBACKGROUND: Recipient hepatic arteries are generally used for arterial reconstructions in living donor liver transplantation. When the hepatic arteries are not feasible, the right gastroepiploic artery is one of the options for arterial reconstructions. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of using the right gastroepiploic artery and report the analyzed retrospective patient outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We included 324 patients who underwent primary living donor liver transplantation between August 1997 and December 2023. The rates of complications and surgical outcomes for different arteries used for reconstruction were compared between the groups. RESULTS: For primary arterial reconstruction, the right gastroepiploic artery was used in 18 patients. The incidence of arterial complications and biliary strictures was higher than in the remaining 306 patients (P=0.01 and P=0.21, respectively). The 1-year and 5-year graft survival rates were 83.3% and 77.8% in the right gastroepiploic artery group, and 83.7% and 70.1% in the hepatic artery group, respectively (P=0.58). Eleven patients underwent arterial re-reconstruction secondary to arterial complications. The right gastroepiploic artery was used for the first time in 7 of these patients because the hepatic arteries were not reusable. Arterial complications after arterial re-reconstruction occurred in 4 patients (36.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Arterial reconstruction using the right gastroepiploic artery was an effective option when the hepatic arteries were not suitable options, as it offered graft outcomes comparable to those of hepatic artery reconstruction, despite an increased risk of arterial and biliary complications.Annals of Transplantation, 30, art. no. e946135; 2025journal articl
Contrasting Responses of Ion Concentration Variations to Atmospheric Patterns in Central Himalayan Ice Cores
Full text linkWe analyzed the water‐soluble chemical composition of an 81.2‐m‐long ice core collected in2019 from ∼6,000 m elevation on a south‐facing glacier in the Nepal Himalaya. The ice core chronology isbased on variability in nitrate and calcium ions, which reveal an apparently seasonal periodicity (with wintermaxima) throughout the core's length. Two annual boundaries are consistent with the tritium peak representingnuclear tests conducted in 1963 CE and with the spike in sulfate ions due to the eruption of Krakatau in 1883 CE.The ice core spans 145 years from 1875 to 2019 CE. Dating uncertainties due to the layer counting methodologywere estimated as ±1 year for 1963–2019 CE and ±2 years for 1875–1963 CE. Comparison with earlier icecores drilled on the northern side of the Himalayas revealed that the ion components exhibit inverse correlationswith two key climatic indices: the North Atlantic Oscillation and Southern Oscillation Index. Compositeanalysis of reanalysis climate data suggests that these inverse relationships reflect springtime pressure patterns,which show regional differences between the northern and southern sides of the Himalayan range.Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 130(2), art. no. e2024JD042392; 2025journal articl