This is the first longitudinal study to demonstrate that exacerbations are involved in emphysema progression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Emphysema progression should be evaluated as part of the outcomes of exacerbations in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

TAC may reflect the airway-related disease changes that accumulate in the "quiet" zone in early/mild COPD, indicating that TAC acquired with commercially available software across various CT platforms may be a biomarker to predict accelerated COPD progression.

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The near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu is thought to be a primitive carbonaceous object that contains hydrated minerals and organic molecules. We report sample collection from Ryugu’s surface by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft on 21 February 2019. Touchdown images and global observations of surface colors are used to investigate the stratigraphy of the surface around the sample location and across Ryugu. Latitudinal color variations suggest the reddening of exposed surface material by solar heating and/or space weathering. Immediately after touchdown, Hayabusa2’s thrusters disturbed dark, fine grains that originate from the redder materials. The stratigraphic relationship between identified craters and the redder material indicates that surface reddening occurred over a short period of time. We suggest that Ryugu previously experienced an orbital excursion near the Sun.

New antigenic variants of B/Yamagata/16/88-like lineage which appeared in the season of 1997 as a minor strain tended to predominate in the following season. Also, we could observe for the first time, three peaks of activity caused by H3N2 virus and two variants of B influenza virus. Antigenic and phylogenetic analyses revealed that B/Victoria/2/87-like variants appeared again in Japan in 1997 after a nine-year absence. Influenza B viruses evolved into three major lineages, including the earliest strain (I), B/Yamagata/16/88-like variants (II), which comprised of three sublineages (II-(i), II-(ii), II-(iii)), and B/Victoria/2/87-like variants (III). Evolution of influenza B virus hemagglutinin was apparently distinguishable from that of influenza A virus, showing a systematic mechanism of nucleotide deletion and insertion. This phenomenon was observed to be closely related to evolutionary pathways of I, II-(i), II-(ii), II-(iii) and III lineages. It was noteworthy to reveal that the nucleotide deletion and insertion mechanism of influenza B virus completed one cycle over a fifty-year period, and that a three nucleotide deletion was again observed in 1997 strains belonging to lineage II-(iii). It was evident that amino acid substitutions accompanying nucleotide insertions were highly conserved.

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Rationale: Very little is known about airways that are too small to be visible on thoracic multidetector computed tomography but larger than the terminal bronchioles.Objectives: To examine the structure of preterminal bronchioles located one generation proximal to terminal bronchioles in centrilobular and panlobular emphysema.Methods: Preterminal bronchioles were identified by backtracking from the terminal bronchioles, and their centerlines were established along the entire length of their lumens. Multiple cross-sectional images perpendicular to the centerline were reconstructed to evaluate the bronchiolar wall and lumen, and the alveolar attachments to the outer airway walls in relation to emphysematous destruction in 28 lung samples from six patients with centrilobular emphysema, 20 lung samples from seven patients with panlobular emphysema associated with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and 47 samples from seven control (donor) lungs. Measurements and Main Results:The preterminal bronchiolar length, wall volume, total volume (wall 1 lumen), lumen circularity, and number of alveolar attachments were reduced in both centrilobular and panlobular emphysema compared with control lungs. In contrast, thickening of the wall and narrowing of the lumen were more severe and heterogeneous in centrilobular than in panlobular emphysema. The bronchiolar lumen was narrower in the middle than at both ends, and the decreased number of alveolar attachments was associated with increased wall thickness in centrilobular emphysema.Conclusions: These results provide new information about small airways pathology in centrilobular and panlobular emphysema and show that these changes affect airways that are not visible with thoracic multidetector computed tomography scans but located proximal to the terminal bronchioles in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.