The origin of complex organic molecules (COMs) in young Class 0 protostars has been one of the major questions in astrochemistry and star formation. While COMs are thought to form on icy dust grains via gas-grain chemistry, observational constraints on their formation pathways have been limited to gas-phase detection. Sensitive mid-infrared spectroscopy with JWST enables unprecedented investigation of COM formation by measuring their ice absorption features. Mid-infrared emission from disks and outflows provide complementary constraints on the protostellar systems. We present an overview of JWST/Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (MRS) and imaging of a young Class 0 protostar, IRAS 15398−3359, and identify several major solid-state absorption features in the 4.9–28 μm wavelength range. These can be attributed to common ice species, such as H2O, CH3OH, NH3, and CH4, and may have contributions from more complex organic species, such as C2H5OH and CH3CHO. In addition to ice features, the MRS spectra show many weaker emission lines at 6–8 μm, which are due to warm CO gas and water vapor, possibly from a young embedded disk previously unseen. Finally, we detect emission lines from [Fe ii], [Ne ii], [S i], and H2, tracing a bipolar jet and outflow cavities. MIRI imaging serendipitously covers the southwestern (blueshifted) outflow lobe of IRAS 15398−3359, showing four shell-like structures similar to the outflows traced by molecular emission at submillimeter wavelengths. This overview analysis highlights the vast potential of JWST/MIRI observations and previews scientific discoveries in the coming years.

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We present a near-infrared band-merged photometric and polarimetric catalog for the 39 × 69 fields on the northeastern part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which were observed using SIRPOL, an imaging polarimeter of the In-fraRed Survey Facility (IRSF). This catalog lists 1,858 sources brighter than 14 mag at H band with polarization signal-to-noise ratio greater than three in the J, H, or K s bands. Based on the relationship between the extinction and the polarization degree, we argue that the polarization mostly arises from dichroic extinctions caused by local interstellar dust in the LMC. This catalog allows us to map polarization structures to examine the global geometry of the local magnetic field, and to show a statistical analysis of polarization of each field to understand its polarization properties. At the selected fields with coherent polarization position angles, we estimate magnetic field strengths in the range of 3−25 µG using the Chandrasekhar-Fermi method. This implies the presence of large-scale magnetic fields on a scale of around one hundred parsecs. When comparing mid and far-infrared dust emission maps, we confirmed that the polarization patterns are well aligned with molecular clouds around the star-forming regions.

A 20′ × 20 ′ region around 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is observed and analyzed in the near-infrared. We obtain polarimetry data in the J, H, and K s bands using the SIRIUS polarimeter SIRPOL at the Infrared Survey Facility 1.4 m telescope. We measure the Stokes parameters of 2562 point-like sources to derive the degree of polarization and the polarization position angles. We discuss the statistics of the groups classified by color-magnitude diagram and proper motions of the sources, in order to separate the Galactic foreground sources from those present in the LMC. We notice that groups classified by the proper motion data show a tendency towards different polarimetric properties.

A prospective observational study was conducted in 524 lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (LDH) inpatients to report the long-term effects of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment. Participants received integrative CAM treatment during hospitalization, from June 2012 to May 2013, and long-term outcomes were assessed from July to August 2016. Numerical rating scales (NRSs) of back and leg pain, the Oswestry disability index (ODI), satisfaction, surgery, recurrence, and current care status were investigated. Baseline characteristics were analyzed to determine factors that predicted long-term satisfaction. A total of 367 patients were available for follow-up. The long-term change in NRS of back and leg pain and ODI was 3.53 (95% CI, 3.22, 3.83), 2.72 (2.34, 3.11), and 32.89 (30.21, 35.57), respectively, showing that improvements were well sustained. Regarding satisfaction, 86.11% responded that they were "slightly improved" or better. Range of lumbar flexion ≤ 60 ∘ and both legs' pain at admission were significant predictors of "much improved" or better satisfaction in the long term. Overall, LDH patients who received CAM treatment maintained favorable states in the long term. However, as an uncontrolled observational study, further studies with placebo and/or active controls are warranted. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02257723 (date of registration: October 2, 2014).

We present near-infrared spectra of three low-luminosity protostars and one background star in the Perseus molecular cloud, acquired using the infrared camera on board the AKARI space telescope. For the comparison with different star-forming environments, we also present spectra of the massive protostar AFGL 7009S, where the protostellar envelope is heated significantly, and the low-mass protostar RNO 91, which is suspected to be undergoing an episodic burst. We detected ice absorption features of H2O, CO2, and CO in all spectra around the wavelengths of 3.05, 4.27, and 4.67 μm, respectively. For at least two low-luminosity protostars, we also detected the XCN ice feature at 4.62 μm. The presence of the crystalline H2O ice and XCN ice components indicates that the low-luminosity protostars experienced a hot phase via accretion bursts during the past mass accretion process. We compared the ice abundances of the low-luminosity protostars with those of embedded low-mass protostars and the dense molecular clouds and cores, suggesting that their ice abundances reflect the strength of prior bursts and the timescale after the last burst.

This study compared the meat quality, histochemical traits, palatability, and expression levels of apoptotic (cytochrome c and caspases) and anti-apoptotic (small heat shock proteins) factors at 45 min and 24 h post-mortem of Hanwoo Longissimus thoracis muscles in groups categorized by Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) values to investigate the association between beef tenderness variation and apoptosis-related molecules. There were no differences in marbling scores, meat quality traits, or histochemical characteristics among the WBS groups (p > 0.05) indicating no significant effect on the tenderness variation in the current study. On the other hand, the low group exhibited higher levels of apoptotic and anti-apoptotic factors (except for αβ-crystallin) at 45 min post-mortem compared to the high WBS group, resulting in higher scores of tenderness attributes (p < 0.05). However, the level of αβ-crystallin at 45 min post-mortem was lower in the low and medium WBS groups compared to the high WBS group (p < 0.0106). At 24 h post-mortem, no significant differences were observed in the expression levels of apoptosis-related factors among the WBS groups (p > 0.05) except for heat shock protein 27 (p < 0.05).

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