Matsuyama University (松山大学, Matsuyama daigaku) is a private university in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1923, and it was chartered as a university in 1949. The present name was adopted in 1989.
Artemisinin derivatives (ARTs) induce ferrous iron-dependent cell death (ferroptosis) by generating free radicals. Polymer-ARTs conjugates would be advantageous for cancer therapy. In this paper, we designed and synthesized the three types of ART-conjugated novel methacrylamide derivatives with or without a spacer between the aromatic group and the methacrylamide moiety for mechanochemical solid-state polymerization. The polymer conversion rate of ART-ethyl-MA and ART-methyl-MA for 90min polymerization was achieved at 78 and 49%, respectively. However, ART-MA, which does not have a spacer, could not polymerize owing to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) expanding from the methacrylamide moiety to the aromatic sites. The resulting poly(ART-ethyl-MA) produced the thermodynamically stable end-chain radicals through the main-chain scission via mechanical energy, and the generated mechanoradicals would play a role as an initiator of the surrounding monomers. The biocompatible sulfobetaine polymer-ARTs conjugates were fabricated through the mechanochemical solid-state copolymerization of sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) and ART-ethyl-MA. The number average molecular weight and heterogeneity of the resulting water-soluble PSBMA-ARTs conjugates were 8000 g mol-1 and 1.10, respectively. These results suggest that the design of solid monomers suitable for mechanochemical solid-state polymerization would require a molecular structure susceptible to single solid-state electron transfer (SSET) and the stability of mechanoradicals generated by the main-chain scission of resulting polymer. The mechanochemical solid-state copolymerization of zwitterionic monomer and hydrophobic monomer would be advantageous for the development of biocompatible polymer-drug conjugates.
Reliable dimensional inspection with handheld 3D scanners is frequently affected by unstable environmental conditions, reflective surfaces, and operator-dependent variability. This study introduces a practical, industry-oriented workflow designed to minimize noise during both acquisition and post-processing. The approach combines controlled lighting and temperature management, surface preparation using matte spray coatings, and optimized scanning trajectories to enhance data capture stability. These acquisition strategies are followed by a structured post-processing pipeline in Artec Studio 17, emphasizing targeted noise filtering while preserving small geometric features. Three machined components of differing complexity were evaluated, with dimensional accuracy assessed against their corresponding CAD models. The proposed workflow yielded average improvements of 1–2
INTRODUCTION:Personal and national identities can play a pivotal role in understanding youth well-being in increasingly diverse societies. However, previous research has predominantly focused on Western contexts, overlooking youth from non-Western societies. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of research that simultaneously examined both personal and national identities in relation to well-being. To address this gap, this study focused on youth belonging to a majority group in Japan, confronting augmented cultural variations, and addressed relationships between personal and national identities and their links to well-being. METHODS:This cross-sectional study included 968 university students in Japan aged 18-29 years (Mage = 20.06, SD = 1.17; 51.34% women) who identified their nationality as Japanese. Participants completed in 2016 self-report questionnaires, including measures of personal and national identity processes and well-being. RESULTS:Personal identity commitment and in-depth exploration were positively associated with national identity exploration and commitment, whereas personal identity reconsideration of commitment was positively associated with national identity exploration. Personal identity commitment and national identity exploration were positively related to well-being, and personal identity reconsideration of commitment was negatively related to well-being. CONCLUSIONS:This study contributes to understanding the interplay between personal and national identity processes and their relations with well-being among youth in a majority group outside Western countries. Given the importance of identity for young people's adjustment and for fostering their sense of social responsibility, this study may have significant practical implications for promoting both individual well-being and social cohesion.
Eldecalcitol (ELD), an active vitamin D3 analog, is extensively prescribed in Japan for the treatment of osteoporosis. However, hypercalcemia remains a significant concern, particularly in patients with impaired renal function. Data on the extent to which renal dysfunction increases the risk of hypercalcemia are limited. This retrospective study investigated the relationship between hypercalcemia and renal function in 212 ELD-treated outpatients at Matsuyama Shimin Hospital. Hypercalcemia was observed in 17.0% of the patients. A weak negative correlation was observed between follow-up serum calcium levels and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis identified a baseline eGFR cutoff of ≤45.9 mL/min, and propensity score matching (1 : 1) adjusted for 12 covariates, including baseline calcium, demonstrated a significantly higher incidence of hypercalcemia in patients with eGFR ≤45.9 mL/min. These findings indicate that a low baseline eGFR predisposes patients to hypercalcemia during ELD therapy. In clinical practice, patients with baseline eGFR ≤45.9 mL/min may require more frequent calcium monitoring and consideration of alternative treatments such as alfacalcidol, with close collaboration between physicians and pharmacists.
This study examined whether vocalization (speaking aloud) supports the learning of multiword expressions (MWEs) in sentences, and how text presentation, vocabulary size, and working memory (WM) capacity affect outcomes. Seventy-one Japanese university and graduate students studied 80 English MWEs (verb-noun idioms) under four within-participant conditions combining vocalization and text presentation. In each condition, 20 MWEs were introduced and assessed through item memory, form recognition, and meaning recognition tests; an additional 20 MWEs appeared only in the tests for comparison. Participants also completed a vocabulary size test and two digit span tasks. Results showed that silent learning was more effective than vocalization, while text presentation supported learning. Vocabulary size contributed more than WM capacity. These findings suggest that vocalization does not always enhance learning and that, when learning MWEs embedded in sentences, learning without vocalization may be more effective.
