Teikyo University (帝京大学, teikyō daigaku) is a private university headquartered in the Itabashi ward of Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1931 as Teikyo Commercial High School (帝京商業高等学校). It became Teikyo University in 1966. It is part of Teikyo Group, a multinational educational foundation that also operates language and cultural exchange facilities at pre-university levels in various countries.The university consists of eight undergraduate facilities, one junior college, and six graduate schools. Five main campuses in Japan are supplemented by several overseas campuses that provide study-abroad opportunities for Japanese students, as well as Japanese-oriented learning for residents of the campuses' home countries. Total enrollment is about 20,000 students. Although the headquarters is the Itabashi campus, the majority of students (approximately 17,000) are enrolled at the Hachiōji campus in West Tokyo.In the 2019 and 2020 editions of its university rankings, Times Higher Education ranked Teikyo University among the top 501-600 universities in the world and 78th in Asia.
DNA-protein crosslinks are bulky lesions that block DNA replication and transcription and are increasingly recognized in metabolic disorders characterized by carbonyl stress. Glyceraldehyde is a highly reactive triose that forms advanced glycation end-products, but its contribution to nuclear DNA-protein crosslink formation has not been defined. We examined glyceraldehyde-induced DNA-protein crosslinks in rat cardiomyoblast-derived H9c2 cells using an advanced recovery of potassium sodium dodecyl sulfate precipitates (ARK) assay combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Glyceraldehyde exposure modestly but significantly increased DNA-protein crosslink levels and generated nuclear high-molecular-weight complexes enriched in glycation adducts. Proteomic profiling of the DNA-tethered protein fraction revealed non-muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms 9 and 10 among the most abundant components. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry mapping identified glycation adducts on multiple arginine residues within the coiled-coil rod and non-helical tail regions of non-muscle myosin heavy chains, including N δ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine and argpyrimidine. These modifications coincided with detergent-insoluble, high-molecular-weight myosin species in nuclear fractions. Our data identify glycated non-muscle myosins as major constituents of glyceraldehyde-induced, DNA-tethered DPC-associated assemblies and suggest a link between carbonyl stress and DNA damage associated with nuclear protein aggregation in cardiomyoblasts.
Anastomotic leakage most frequently occurs within the first postoperative week, when intrinsic tissue strength is limited. Although bioabsorbable reinforcement materials are widely used, the optimal degradation profile remains unclear. This study evaluated whether short-term bioabsorbable reinforcement improves early mechanical stability compared with medium-term reinforcement in a controlled porcine small bowel model. Ten pigs underwent laparotomy, and three standardized jejunal end-to-end anastomoses were created in each animal: control, short-term reinforcement, and medium-term reinforcement. Animals were sacrificed at 1 week (n = 5) or 3 weeks (n = 5). The primary endpoint was intraluminal bursting pressure, and rupture location was recorded. At 1 week, bursting pressures were 87 (72–98) mmHg in controls, 156 (136–182) mmHg in the medium-term group, and > 200 mmHg in the short-term group (p < 0.001). Both reinforcement groups exceeded controls, and short-term reinforcement showed the highest strength. All specimens ruptured at the anastomotic line. At 3 weeks, all groups exceeded the measurement limit (> 200 mmHg); however, rupture location differed significantly, with controls failing at the suture line and reinforced segments rupturing away from the anastomosis (p < 0.01). Histology demonstrated increased subanastomotic connective tissue thickness in reinforced groups, particularly at 1 week. Short-term bioabsorbable reinforcement markedly enhanced early mechanical stability and altered late rupture patterns, suggesting restoration of structural competence. Temporal alignment between degradation and early healing may represent a rational strategy to improve anastomotic outcomes.
Physical activity is influenced by built environment, but these associations may differ according to functional capability and subjective and objective environmental measures. Using data from a mail survey of 5,489 community-dwelling older adults, we examined associations between neighborhood environments and physical activity across functional capability levels. Objective environmental factors were associated with physical activity only among the robust group, whereas subjective environmental factors were associated with physical activity across all functional capability groups. These findings suggest that associations between neighborhood environments and physical activity vary by functional capability and highlight importance of policies addressing both subjective and objective environmental factors.
BACKGROUND:Enlicitide decanoate, an oral proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, was shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in a phase 2 trial; longer-term data are needed. METHODS:In this multinational, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled adults with a history of a major atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event with an LDL cholesterol level of 55 mg per deciliter or higher and those who were at risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event with an LDL cholesterol level of 70 mg per deciliter or higher. Participants were assigned in a 2:1 ratio to receive enlicitide at a dose of 20 mg or placebo daily for 52 weeks. The primary end point was the mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level from baseline to week 24. Key secondary end points were the mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level at week 52 and the mean percent change in levels of non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein B and the percent change in lipoprotein(a) level at week 24. RESULTS:Of the 2909 participants in the intention-to-treat population, 1935 received enlicitide and 969 received placebo (5 did not receive enlicitide or placebo). The mean age of the participants was 63 years, and 39.3% were women. The mean (±SD) LDL cholesterol level at baseline was 96.1±38.9 mg per deciliter. The mean percent change in LDL cholesterol levels at week 24 was -57.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], -61.8 to -52.5) with enlicitide and 3.0% (95% CI, 0.9 to 5.1) with placebo, representing an adjusted between-group difference of -55.8 percentage points (95% CI, -60.9 to -50.7; P<0.001). The mean percent change in LDL cholesterol level at week 52, the mean percent changes in non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels at week 24, and the percent change in lipoprotein(a) levels at week 24 were significantly greater with enlicitide than with placebo (P<0.001 for all comparisons). The incidence of adverse events did not appear to differ between the groups. CONCLUSIONS:Among participants who had a history of or were at risk for a first atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease event, treatment with the oral PCSK9 inhibitor enlicitide resulted in significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels than placebo at 24 weeks. (Funded by MSD [Rahway, NJ]; CORALreef Lipids ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05952856.).
A smoothly parametrized family of probability distributions forms a manifold. Its differential-geometrical structures are elucidated by introducing a Riemannian metric and one-parameter families of affine connections ( α -connections). There exists duality between α - and -α -connections, so that an α -flat manifold is automatically -α -flat. In an α -flat manifold, a natural quasi-distance, called the α -divergence can naturally be introduced from the intrinsic dualistic structure. When α =-1 , this reduces to the Kullback divergence, and when α =0 it is the Hellinger distance (which in this case is related to the Riemannian distance). The geometry of α -divergence is connected with the α - and -α -geodesics due to the α - and -α -connections. It is important in many statistical problems to approximate a distribution by one belonging to a prescribed family of distributions that is closest to the distribution in the sense of the α -divergence. This problem of α -approximation is solved with the help of the α -geodesic and -α -geodesic. The geometrical structures of the function space of distributions are also touched upon.
