乔赛大学

Aim Schizonepeta spike, the dried spikes of Schizonepeta tenuifolia, are traditionally evaluated based on floret density. However, the chemical basis for this criterion remains unclear. This study aimed to provide scientific insight into this traditional quality evaluation by clarifying the association between floret density (floret-to-spike ratio) and pulegone content in whole spikes, and the localization of compounds between florets and rachises.Methods Two accessions of S. tenuifolia were cultivated at six sites in Japan and analyzed by LC-Q-TOF-MS. Correlation analysis was performed between the floret-to-spike ratio and pulegone content in whole spikes. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to characterize the localization of compounds between florets and rachises, and the relative abundances of major compounds were compared between them.Results In whole spikes, pulegone content tended to increase with a higher floret-to-spike ratio. The PCA based on the comprehensive compounds showed that florets and rachises separated into distinct groups, regardless of cultivation site or accession. Florets showed higher levels of bioactive compounds, including pulegone, luteoloside, and apigetrin, whereas rachises showed higher hesperidin levels than other parts.Conclusion Floret density of Schizonepeta spikes, as described in traditional quality evaluation, was found to be related to pulegone content, which tends to increase as the floret density becomes higher. Moreover, florets were characterized by higher levels of bioactive compounds, including luteoloside and apigetrin, and this localization suggests that the accumulation of these compounds increases in spikes with dense florets. These findings provide chemical insights into the traditional quality evaluation of Schizonepeta spikes.

OBJECTIVE:This study investigated whether providing numerical adverse event information and social norm nudging in medication counselling enhances patients' willingness to take medication differently, depending on their numeracy skills. METHODS:An online survey was conducted with 554 Japanese adults who were randomly assigned to one of four medication counselling scenarios, combining numerical and non-numerical adverse event information with or without a social norm nudge. After viewing counselling videos on a hypothetical diabetes drug, participants' willingness to take the medication and subjective numeracy skills were assessed. KEY FINDINGS:The results indicated that numerical adverse event information significantly improved medication willingness among more numerate participants, but had no significant effect on less numerate participants. In contrast, social norm nudging was more effective for less numerate individuals, whereas it had no significant effect on more numerate participants. CONCLUSIONS:The findings underscore the importance of tailoring counselling strategies to patients' numeracy levels to optimize decision-making and improve adherence. As a practical implication, the findings suggest that brief numeracy screening before medication counselling may enable pharmacists to optimize their communication strategies. Moreover, the findings offer a foundation for pharmacists to implement numeracy-based communication strategies in clinical counselling to enhance patient-centred communication.

Periostin is a matricellular protein induced by type 2 cytokines. It has been shown to play important roles in airway inflammation and tissue remodeling. Although periostin has been studied in asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis, its role in allergic rhinitis (AR) and nasal hyperresponsiveness (NHR) is unclear. This study aimed to determine whether periostin is involved in the development of NHR in AR. A murine AR model was established by sensitization and repeated intranasal challenges with Japanese cedar pollen (JCP). In this animal model of AR, an increase in nasal responsiveness to histamine was observed 24 h after the last JCP challenge, indicating the development of NHR. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the JCP-induced NHR was accompanied by increased periostin gene expression. Immunohistochemical examinations demonstrated the expression of integrin subunits αV (Itgav), β3 (Itgb3) and β5 (Itgb5), which are known as receptors for periostin, in the nasal mucosa, especially in the mucosal epithelium. Notably, repeated intranasal administration of recombinant periostin to healthy I mice reproduced the NHR phenotype, as observed in AR model mice. These findings suggest that periostin upregulation in the nasal mucosa plays a causal role in the development of NHR, a key feature of AR.

Polyamines - putrescine, spermidine, and spermine - are ubiquitous cationic molecules that are essential for cellular proliferation and homeostasis. Their intracellular concentrations decline with age, contributing to physiological and cognitive deterioration. Recent studies have revealed that spermidine supplementation extends lifespan and improves cognitive and cardiac function in various model organisms, suggesting that maintaining polyamine balance has anti-aging potential. Polyamine metabolism is tightly regulated through biosynthesis, degradation, and transport; however, age-associated upregulation of spermine oxidase (SMOX) and accumulation of its toxic byproduct acrolein promote oxidative damage and cellular senescence. Suppressing SMOX activity or polyamine degradation attenuates senescence markers and DNA damage, highlighting spermine catabolism as a therapeutic target. Polyamines also modulate epigenetic regulation, including DNA methylation and histone acetylation, thereby influencing gene expression and chromatin structure during aging. Moreover, polyamine-dependent hypusination of eIF5A sustains protein synthesis in senescent cells. These multifaceted actions indicate that polyamine metabolism integrates redox control, translational regulation, epigenetic maintenance and autophagy to determine cellular and organismal longevity. While animal studies demonstrate clear anti-aging effects of spermidine and spermine, human clinical evidence remains limited, with variable outcomes likely due to bioavailability and metabolic conversion. Future strategies combining dietary or probiotic polyamine enhancement, enzyme-targeted inhibitors, and personalized metabolic interventions hold promise for extending healthspan. Collectively, maintaining optimal polyamine homeostasis emerges as a key approach to counteract aging and age-related diseases.

Morier-Genoud and Ovsienko introduced q-deformations of continued fractions, Farey labelings, and Conway–Coxeter friezes, and established relationships among them in restricted settings associated with triangulations having exactly two exterior cells. In this paper, we extend these correspondences to arbitrary subsequences of quiddities arising from general triangulations. We show that the numerator and denominator polynomials of q-deformed continued fractions coincide with entries of q-deformed Conway–Coxeter friezes, while the corresponding polynomials in q-Farey labelings agree with them up to explicit powers of q. These powers are described combinatorially in terms of the number of diagonals in the triangulation, or equivalently, the number of entries equal to 1 in the associated frieze. Furthermore, we determine the minimum and maximum degrees of these polynomials in terms of the same combinatorial data.