This review aims to provide an update on the role of augmented reality (AR) in surgical training and investigate whether the use of AR improves performance measures compared to traditional approaches in surgical trainees.PUBMED, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, British Library and Science Direct were searched following PRIMSA guidelines. All English language original studies pertaining to AR in surgical training were eligible for inclusion. Qualitative analysis was performed and results were categorised according to simulator models, subsequently being evaluated using Messick’s framework for validity and McGaghie’s translational outcomes for simulation-based learning.Of the 1132 results retrieved, 45 were included in the study. 29 platforms were identified, with the highest ‘level of effectiveness’ recorded as 3. In terms of validity parameters, 10 AR models received a strong ‘content validity’ score of 2.15 models had a ‘response processes’ score ≥ 1. ‘Internal structure’ and ‘consequences’ were largely not discussed. ‘Relations to other variables’ was the best assessed criterion, with 9 platforms achieving a high score of 2. Overall, the Microsoft HoloLens received the highest level of recommendation for both validity and level of effectiveness.Augmented reality in surgical education is feasible and effective as an adjunct to traditional training. The Microsoft HoloLens has shown the most promising results across all parameters and produced improved performance measures in surgical trainees. In terms of the other simulator models, further research is required with stronger study designs, in order to validate the use of AR in surgical training. The advent of the digital revolution has ushered forward an era where the traditional “see one, do one, teach one” method of surgical training is near obsoletion. Technological advances in the past decade have allowed digital simulation to arrive at the forefront of training and education, allowing for a limitless cycle of repetition and feedback for skill acquisition. Surgical training, as much as any form of training, stands to benefit from virtual reality simulation, where a safe environment is established to practise skills without harm to others and to limit the drain on resources. However, surgery is a field where tactile feedback is imperative, which virtual reality alone cannot offer.Simulation is defined as “encompassing any activity which aims to imitate a system or environment with the aim of assessing, informing and modifying behaviour” by ASiT (Association of Surgeons in Training).Augmented reality (AR) is an alternative to Virtual Reality (VR) that allows for haptic feedback and interaction within a virtual environment. Where VR provides a completely immersive digital environment, AR overlays digital information over the physical world, hence combining the benefits of traditional ‘gold standard’ tactile training methods and VR.61 This study has chosen to focus on AR rather than MR, as the inclusion of MR may introduce too much heterogeneity between the capabilities of each platform.Another alternative to VR is the emerging mixed reality (MR) technology. MR is similar to AR in that it overlays digital information over the physical world. While the 2 are often referred to interchangeably, the difference lies in the fact that MR is an extension of AR which allows for real-time interaction between the digital and physical elements. For the purposes of this study, it was decided to focus on AR. While MR has promising prospects, it is still a relatively new technology and is more loosely defined than AR and VR. The degree to which a digital environment can be extended in MR is much more advanced and overlaps in the literature with both AR and VR.This study aims to evaluate the role of AR in surgical training and provide an update on the validity and effectiveness of the current AR training systems in use. Specifically, it aims to investigate whether the involvement of AR in surgical training produces better performance measures compared to other, more traditional training approaches.The terms ‘better performance measures’ and ‘more traditional methods’ were left deliberately broad to account for the heterogeneity of the measures described in the literature.Prior to conduction of this review, the international prospective register of systematic reviews, ‘PROSPERO’, was searched to avoid duplication. The systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA  guidelines.A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Ovid (EMBASE) and Google Scholar using the search string:  AND (educat* OR simulat* OR train*) AND . Cochrane (CENTRAL), Science Direct and the British Library databases were also searched to cover grey literature. The latest search was returned and finalised on February 2021. A manual search of the references used in the screened results and relevant reviews was carried out to identify any missing eligible studies.All original, English language studies describing augmented reality in the context of surgical education were eligible for inclusion. Studies with participants at any level of surgical training were accepted , across all specialties in both clinical and non-clinical settings, so long as a clearly defined control and educational performance measure were identified. Studies were excluded if they: (i) were not conducted in a human surgical discipline; (ii) were describing the AR in the context of patient education; (iii) were only describing technological aspects and development of the AR model; (iv) had an unclear distinction between AR and VR; (v) if they did not include a control (vi) if they did not include the use of AR in a training/educational context or (vii) if they did not provide a clearly defined educational or performance measure.All results were first screened by title and abstract. The remaining results and any studies deemed ‘dubious’ were examined in full. Data extracted from the eligible studies included the study design, the number of participants, the details of the AR simulator, and the training tasks and specialty area. Performance and educational outcomes were noted to determine the level of effectiveness and validity of the AR simulation for surgical training. This was later expanded upon by Beckman et al., who proposed a comprehensive rating scale to measure the strength of each validity parameter , or ‘translational level’ (T) of a training model. These translational levels were used to describe gradated educational effects of a simulator model, beginning at the classroom or simulator lab level (T1), leading onto downstream effects of safer patient care approaches (T2), resulting in improved patient outcomes (T3), before moving onto the collateral, systemic effects, such as cost saving and skill retention (T4). For the purposes of this study, an adapted version of McGaghie’s translational outcomes was used, wherein T1 - which refers to knowledge, skills and attitudes - was divided into LoE 1 and LoE 2. LoE 1 referred to participants’ satisfaction with the simulator tool, while LoE 2 referred to development of knowledge and skills as measured by the simulator tool. Thus, the maximum LoE a study could be awarded was 5  was consulted for majority consensus. For the purposes of the data analysis, the overall scores for each modality was determined by the highest score in each parameter across all the studies performed .Table 1.A total of 1132 studies were retrieved from the search, of which 173 were removed as duplicates and 726 were excluded following title and abstract review. A further 187 studies were excluded after full text examination, as summarised in A detailed analysis of the results is given below.Seven studies covered the use of the Microsoft HoloLens . The HoloLens is an augmented reality head mounted display (ARHMD). The smart-glasses allow for a high level of user interactivity through the use of sensual and natural interface commands with gaze, gesture and voice (‘GGV’) inputs. Another such study under neurosurgery discovered that trainees identified drill position and angle faster and more accurately with the HoloLens in the context of burr hole localisation, when compared to standard techniques. When used for cholecystectomy training, it was found that the HoloLens significantly improved economy of movement and error rates along with overall user performance. In the context of urogynaecological surgery, surgical residents’ knowledge, confidence and self-perceived preparedness scores increased significantly from the baseline. Similarly, for pre-op planning for lung adenocarcinoma, it was found that the HoloLens resulted in a shorter response time, more positive emotions and less cognitive load and effort. Another study reviewed the use of the HoloLens for surgical telementoring in trauma found no significant difference between the AR and the control group. While participants found the HoloLens made task completion easier, it resulted in a longer task completion time.A prospective observational study on ureteroscopy revealed use of the HoloLens improved procedural times and OSAT scores for trainees, and 95% of participants agreed that the HoloLens had a role in surgical education.A randomised control trial for orthopaedic training demonstrated that the use of AR led to a faster learning curve to achieve the same overall level of competency. While no participants favoured the use of the HoloLens as a training method by itself, 83% expressed that the combination of AR alongside their standard education would be their ideal learning strategy.Across these 7 studies, the HoloLens was afforded a collectively strong validity rating: content = 2; response processes = 1; internal structure = 1; relations to other variables = 2; consequences = 2. The overall LoE was 3. Two studies reviewed the role of STAR for cricothyroidotomies. In both the randomised control trial and the prospective observational study, the utilisation of STAR received higher scores in all performance metrics.16For basic surgical skills teaching, STAR was found to cause fewer focus shifts and less placement error. There was no significant difference in task completion time for an abdominal incision task when compared to the conventional system, but port placement was 19% longer.System for Telementoring with Augmented Reality (STAR)  is an ARHMD that projects the operative instructions directly onto the wearer’s field of view. A total of 4 studies evaluated this system; 3 in the context of trauma and the other for basic surgical skills. The first study found that participants using STAR for leg fasciotomy simulations received a greater individual performance score, demonstrated fewer errors and increased confidence.Overall, STAR was given a strong validity in most parameters: . Three prospective observational studies evaluated this simulation platform in the context of neurosurgery. The first study involved thoracic pedicle screw placement training and found a non-significant reduction of failure rate and indicated a trend toward learning retention, based on the improvement from practice to test sessions. The second study also indicated ImmersiveTouch ‘jump starts the learning curve’ when used for ventriculostomy training. The last study was also conducted for ventriculostomy training and disclosed similar findings; the AR group was more likely to succeed on their first attempt in the clinical environment.The ImmersiveTouch System  utilises specialised glasses and a robotic stylus to immerse the user in an interactive 3D environment with haptic feedback.The overall performance of ImmersiveTouch in terms of validity and translational outcomes is promising. It reached strong validity in both content and internal structure and a high LoE: content = 2; response processes = N; internal structure = 2; relations to other variables = 1; consequences=1 and LoE = 3.20 However, in 1 study, this was thought to be due to repetition and familiarity with the tasks, and another found that global satisfaction was better for the cadaver model.21The ProMIS AR simulator  retains all the qualities of a traditional box trainer, but has the additional benefit of providing objective feedback on performance measures. Four prospective observational studies used ProMIS to assess and train basic laparoscopy skills. All studies showed an overall improvement and displayed higher scores in the ProMIS compared the control groups.Overall, ProMIS had a higher LoE and a strong validity of content but scored poorly in the other parameters: . The second was a randomised control trial wherein Google Glass produced similar results to the control group. It was concluded that ARHMD were less useful but more enjoyable when utilised in learning.The Google Glass, also simply known as Glass, is a pair of lightweight smart glasses that have been extensively trialled in medical research. In the case of this review, 2 studies were found that described their use in urology and basic surgical skills. The first was conducted as a prospective observation survey, where 81% of participants wanted the AR technology to be incorporated into their residency training programs and 93% felt that this had a place in the operating room.Although the LoE shows a positive level of translational outcomes, Google Glass rated poorly in all validity parameters: content = N; response processes = 1; internal structure = 1; relations to other variables = 1; consequences = 0 and LoE = 2.29 The orthopaedic participants took a longer time to adjust to the free hand technique than their counterparts from the control group, but their accuracy and success rate remained high.The Perk Station , Boston, MA, USA), simulator for percutaneous surgery training, along with its successor, the Perk Tutor , was described in 2 randomised control trials. The studies found that the AR simulator produced less tissue damage and a better success rate than the comparison in both orthopaedic and neurosurgery training contexts.Overall, Perk Station scored a positive LoE but was rated relatively low on all validity parameters: content = 1; response processes = 1; internal structure = 0; relations to other variables = 0; consequences = 1 and LoE = 2.31ART Platform  is a simulator designed to overlay the instruments of a mentor onto the trainee’s laparoscopic monitor. Two randomised control trials were performed which demonstrated faster skill acquisition, quicker task completion time, fewer errors and a shorter, steeper learning curve compared to the traditional methods.However, despite the positive translational outcomes, ART Platform also scored poorly in terms of validity: content = N; response processes = 1; internal structure = 1; relations to other variables = N; consequences = N and LoE = 2.VatSim-XR (AR mode) and Unity ARKit  is a simulator model capable of adopting several different simulation modes – AR, VR and Mixed Reality (MR). Each mode was tested against a traditional box trainer and found that AR provided the most balanced training environment with regards to fidelity and accuracy. However, the box trainer and MR trainer demonstrated a superior realism, 3D perception and immersive surgical performance. The VatSim-XR scored strongly (rating of 2) in both content and relations to other variables, but further development is required to provide better outcomes than the traditional method of training.The eoSim  is a laparoscopic surgery simulator and was used in a prospective observational study to train basic surgical skills. It showed a strong validity in content and relation to other variables and showed correlation with the control group. The eoSim was deemed a useful educational tool through Likert Scale analysis and awarded an LoE of 2, but participants felt that the control method was more beneficial, overall.PIÑATA, Optical See-Through AR (OST-AR)  relies on medical dummies which simulate the surface anatomy of veins and arteries and an OST-AR interface for needle insertion and central venous access. The PIÑATA had strong validity in control and relations to other variables (rating of 2) and scored 1 in all other parameters. Participants in the study strongly favoured the implementation of PIÑATA into traditional surgical training and an LoE of 2 was awarded. It was used in a randomised control trial to assess dynamic hip screw guidewire insertion. Participants using the FluoroSim outperformed the control group in regard to procedural time, number of radiographs and guidewire retries. While there was an improved baseline of the learning curve and after a 1-week washout period, the short duration of the study could not provide evidence for a longer-term skill retention. Additionally, this improvement was not significantly greater than that observed in the control group.Two studies under orthopaedics described simulators with a relatively strong validity. The FluoroSim consists of a virtual environment FluoroSim , a haptic device, 3D printed drill and a VR headset. where there was no significance difference between the AR and control group when assessing wire navigation. While both simulators showed strong validity in content and relations to other variables, as they showed no significant difference in overall performance measures compared to the control groups, they cannot be recommended over traditional training without further studies.Similarly, a novel prototype simulation was described in,48; 1 under urology, training ureterovesical anastomosis; 2 for otolaryngology for functional endoscopic sinus surgery and dissection44; 3 under neurosurgery for tumour resection planning, spinal needle insertion and identification of a basilar tip aneurysm; 1 under orthopaedics for surgical telementoring of arthroscopic shoulder procedures; under basic laparoscopy skills, including suturing, peg transfer and needle insertion47; under trauma for tension pneumothorax; 1 under gynaecology and 1 under cardiothoracic for needle insertion. However, all of these were stand-alone reports which only suggested strong validity in a maximum of 1 validity parameter and did not have a LoE above 2. Therefore, they could not provide strong evidence that AR produces better outcomes when implemented within surgical training.Several other augmented reality simulators have also been depicted in the literature, including 4 under vascular surgery describing central venous catheterisationThe only exceptions were the ‘A virtual interactive presence (VIP) platform’  and the NAV1 SinusTracker , which both achieved an LoE of 3. However, neither simulator outperformed the control group and so could not be recommended over traditional methodsThis systematic review focused on clinical trials which evaluated the impact of AR on performance and educational measures of trainees during surgical training. It has described 45 studies which cover a wide range of surgical specialties and AR training models.The Microsoft HoloLens, STAR, and ImmersiveTouch systems definitively had an overall positive effect on performance measures for surgical trainees when compared to traditional means, especially when used as an addendum to the standard methods of surgical education. Scoring highly in content validity and LoE, ProMIS could be deemed a useful simulator tool. However, lacklustre performance across the other parameters necessitates further development and research before determining the strength of its outcomes. Likewise, while the integration of the Google Glass has received positive feedback, there was insufficient evidence to suggest that it improves the performance measures of surgical trainees, due to its poor rating across validity parameters. This was also the case regarding the Perk Station and ART platforms, which both scored highly in LoE but achieved less promising validity ratings.22 While the ProMIS and Google Glass were also assessed by more than 1 study, there was variation in the strength of the study methodology and level of bias. Therefore, their value as a training tool remains inconclusive until further investigation. The VatSim-XR (AR mode) and Unity ARKit, eoSim, PIÑATA, FluoroSim and Unnamed prototype were also rated relatively highly across the validity parameters and LoE. However, they were all in their early stages of development and were not ready for commercial use in surgical training.Of all the AR models, only the HoloLens, STAR, ImmersiveTouch, ProMIS, Google Glass, Perk Station and ART Platform were described by more than 1 study. Of those, the HoloLens scored the overall highest validity across all parameters. This was followed by ImmersiveTouch and STAR, which both showed relatively strong validity across all parameters; a high LoE of 3 and 2, respectively.It would be premature to crown the Microsoft HoloLens as the superior AR tool without taking into account reporting bias. As the HoloLens was described by more studies, more areas of validity had the opportunity to be assessed. Thus, despite the Microsoft HoloLens having the highest amount of supporting evidence, this is not necessarily a reflection on its performance as an educational tool when compared to the other models. Rather, this emphasises the importance of validity assessment in study design.Messick’s criteria presents a more comprehensive study of validity when compared to past methodologies by subsuming and presenting a unified approach of previous theories. The majority of studies lacked a standardised validation process and were purely descriptive in their analysis, with 91% having no discussion of at least 1 validity criterion. ‘Content’ was the best assessed criterion, with 22% of studies achieving a score >1; ‘Response processes’ was the least reviewed criterion, only achieving a score >1 in a singular study. ‘Relations to other variables’ was the most discussed parameter. Although this measure is useful to illustrate the construct validity and realism of a model, on its own, this criterion does little to evaluate the simulations’ educational impact. In general, it is to be expected that novices perform poorly when compared to experts; however, the effectiveness of AR simulation in bridging this gap remains ambiguous without considering the other variables.56 However, face validity is recognised as being a poor measure due to the subjective nature of ‘perceived realism’ and lack of quantifiability, thus diminishing the overall impact of results.The lack of discussion on certain parameters may be attributed to the reliance of many studies on outmoded definitions of validity when approaching their research design. For instance, several studies quoted achieving ‘face validity’ as a goal. Input from more expert level surgeons may have provided a better insight into the pragmatism of adopting the AR model into the clinical training environment, consequently negating the risk of inexperience skewing the results.On review, although the studies evaluated a number of criteria, there were several confounding factors. For example, many studies did not consider the learning curve participants may have experienced when familiarising themselves with the new AR technology. Improvement in performance could well have been attributed to increased confidence when navigating the simulation technology, as opposed to the direct result of any educational impact provided by the AR model itself. Secondly, possibility of any additional training the participants may have acquired outside of the simulation environment was not accounted for within the study designs. A common theme amongst the included papers was the use of surveys to assess the confidence level of participants and whether they believed AR had a place in the clinical environment. While it has been well established that trainees’ confidence is not an insignificant contributor to improved surgical competence, a large proportion of participants were either medical students or novice level surgical trainees.41 Collateral effects, especially the financial benefits of the AR technology, were not described in detail. However, platforms such as the Projector Method alluded to the latter as it produced improved performance measures in surgical trainees, despite its relatively primitive and cheap design. It can also be argued that the cost-saving effect is inherent, if intervention with the AR modality results in enhanced surgical competence in trainees. Increased surgical competence reduces the risk of complications, therefore saving expenses on consequential prolonged hospital stays and repeat surgeries.Appraisal of translational outcomes was an area which lacked extensive testing. The highest LoE recorded was 3, which only 7 AR platforms achieved.There are several limitations to this review. Firstly, within the studies included and secondly, with the nature of the review itself. The included studies had a large degree of heterogeneity in study design and outcome measures. Out of the 45, only 14 studies were randomised control trials, and only 9 studies overall included a sample size of over 50. Therefore, the quality of research used in this review was generally poor. Moreover, many of the studies focused on the development of the AR model and while the construct validity tended to rate relatively high, many of the other parameters rarely rated above 1. Only 7 studies assessed the simulation in a clinical environment. Of those, the duration of the research was too short to measure long term translational outcomes, such as skill retention. Furthermore, their limited scope did not allow for assessment of behavioural changes in the clinical environment in regard to patient safety and cost saving.As with any qualitative systematic review, the study design is inherently biased as there is no objective process for measuring validity and translational outcomes of studies. Further, there is the unavoidable flaw of reporting bias due to the search criteria used . We also acknowledge that the terms ‘mixed reality’ and ‘augmented reality’ are sometimes used interchangeably. Had we included the term ‘mixed reality’ in our search string, it is possible that this study may have yielded a different number of papers.51 Disparities in the technological advancement of the modalities may have skewed the results in favour of the more accessible platforms. However, even the preliminary results for the prototype platforms were in favour of implementing AR in surgical training.It is pertinent to note that the platforms included in this study were at different stages of developmental design. For example, the HoloLens and ImmersiveTouch systems are well-established systems with widespread commercial use, whereas other platforms used in this study were only prototypes.59Technical skill acquisition is the core around which surgical training has been centred. With the influx of innovative new technology seeping into the modern operating theatre, surgeons are faced with more stimuli and digital ouput than the tradition methods of surgical training prepare them for. Augmented reality creates the opportunity for that gap to be bridged - by the merging of the digital and physical world, input can be selected and managed, thus reducing the cognitive load and improving situational awareness while performing surgery, a skill which has been neglected in medical school teaching.Allowing surgeons to become familiar with immersive technology facilitates for skill acquisition in a low-risk environment, making room to learn from errors and establish muscle memory. Establishing AR in surgical training has the possibility for widespread and long-term benefits: skill acquisition and retention, reduced cost and better patient outcomes with more competent surgeons.In conclusion, AR technology has fundamentally changed the way in which trainees can acquire mastery of surgical skills. Use of AR has opened up the realms of exciting opportunities for innovation in medical education. After appraisal of the existing systems, it was revealed that the Microsoft HoloLens has shown the most promising results - both in terms of validity and level of effectiveness – when used in surgical training to produce improved performance measures. In terms of the other simulator models, there needs to be further research, with stronger study designs in order to justify the use of AR in surgical training. Overall, this review has highlighted the importance for future studies in this area to incorporate a more rigorous validation process in their methodologies. Likewise, potential areas of investigation could be the evaluation of long-term skill retention, financial impacts and trainee behavioural changes.Despite issues with the quality of studies, the early results are largely in favour of the integration of AR simulation in surgical training. Simulation technology has brought forth a plethora of possibilities in the delivery of medical education, and continued advancement and innovation indicate a bright future for AR in this sphere.Click here for additional data file.Supplemental Material for The Role of Augmented Reality in Surgical Training: A Systematic Review by Dhivya Suresh, BSc (Hons), Abdullatif Aydin, BSc (Hons), MBBS, PhD, Stuart James, BSc (Hons), MBBS, Kamran Ahmed, PhD, and Prokar Dasgupta, MSc, MD, FEBU in Surgical Innovation


Though player drafts have commonly been utilised to equitably disperse amateur talent and avoid bidding wars, often they have also been accused of creating a monopsony labour market which restricts player movement. Within the Australian Football League (AFL) some have called for the increase of the initial draftee contract from two to three seasons, which further pushes the envelope on monopsony power. Instead of increasing the contract length, this paper suggests a call option to be purchased by the teams allowing them to add a further season to the draftee contract at a predetermined compensation package should they choose to do so at the end of the initial contract. The call prices per pick were calculated using the Black-Scholes model and were valued between 1% and 1.5% of the pick value. However, it failed to follow a monotonic function similar to pick value, owing to managerial overconfidence and sunk investment plays. Overall, the findings allow teams to procure the option of increasing initial draftee contracts and not impede further on a player’s ability to move. Pay and performance in the labour market has attracted the interest of many both in the solicitation of service and the employment/retention of talent. However, with most jobs requiring skills that ought to be developed, the cost of training has equally been brought into the debate. Though employers might like such costs to be borne by the apprentices exclusively, studies have suggested that the opposite materializes for a variety of reasons. Despite this, during the training period, employers do incur a net cost, as the wages paid to an apprentice would be higher than their marginal product, until a surplus is gained post proficiency  created the first player draft with the intent of creating an equitable mechanism for the allocation of amateur talent and avoid a bidding war for the athletes . Teams tAdamson v New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (1991) 31 FCR 535, 268) in the Australian National Rugby League , where the court ruled the draft, (1) limited the freedom of a player to select their employer , and (2) imposed a new post-contractual restraint upon them . This begs the question on how the draft and subsequent player contracts could be augmented to suit the competing interests of the players, teams and the league overall.Irrespective of its benefits to the competition, the draft has been accused of inadvertently creating a monopsony market for amateur talent . AmateurUnlike most of its North American professional league counterparts, where initial draftee contracts are between three to four years, AFL teams provide a two-year contract for new draftees entering the league. However, with an increasing consensus that the initial two seasons does not allow teams to fully recoup their investments and retain amateur talent, clubs have lobbied for the contract length to be increased by one year , especiath of the first pick. However, as trades themselves include the biases of perceived value inferred upon them by decision makers , the validity of the PVC has been questioned in the past [Draft picks assigned to teams by the league each year are essentially financial instruments owned by the benefitting clubs. Teams can opt to either use the pick to select an amateur player or trade it for a player, another pick(s), or a selection(s) in the future. Given these picks are indivisible themselves and have varying levels of value associated to them, a litany of academic work has been presented in the past to value them. The first known draft pick value chart (PVC) was created by Mike McCoy and Jim Johnson of the Dallas Cowboys (an NFL club) in the late 1980s’ using a Weibull distribution model to equate draft day trades . The proposed chart declined at an exponential rate where the difference between the first two picks was approximately 1/6the past .Hence, Dawson and Magee  suggesteFor the purposes of this study, we used the survival estimate model proposed by Chandrakumaran  and GlasS(t), for a player’s career having a length T of more than t games is given in F(t) is the cumulative density function for that player. This timeframe is assumed to be the time in which a draftee is listed to play a game until they eventually retire or are delisted. The hazard event is excluded (or considered still active) if a player is delisted in one season and picked up by another team in a few years.The survival function, t regular season games. Based on the curve we can expect a draftee to play a median of just over 100 games in their career .The Kaplan-Meier survival estimate function of all draftees within the sample is given in Si(0) refers to player i’s probability to survive in the league, based on the estimated coefficient (β1) for the pick used to select them (Picki). Also, S(0) refers to the survival estimate of a draftee after playing zero games as observed in the Kaplan-Meier survival function given in Whilst this allows the prediction of a draftee’s expectancy to survive based on the games they have played; a Cox proportional hazards model was employed to value each individual selection. Though a classical model always uses hazard rates we retrospectively augmented this to evaluate survival instead of hazard to keep in line with the theme, through S(0) was estimated at 0.9808 with β1 retaining a value of 0.0274 (refer to the estimation results in S1 Table model (1) in 0 except at very large volumes. With a mean of 104 and a tail spanning across till 260, this variation in the larger volumes is deemed acceptable for the purposes of this study. Overall, the pick value function derived through this exercise upheld the inverse monotonic assumption laid out in the existing literature and will be used as the baseline model for the forthcoming sections.After setting the cross sectional data set as a survival panel, Prior to creating an option pricing model to incorporate the option to extend a contract to a third season, it is essential to understand if the option to explore moving teams is in the best economic interest of a player. On the other hand, players might also entertain the prospect of moving, to get the exposure of playing with a championship team, be listed in a lower rated team to get more consistent game time and even relocate closer to their families. Previous research within the AFL has suggested players who remain with the team that initially drafted them tend to provide 27 points per season to the team’s net point difference [Overall, based on the curvature of the graphs, most players did perform better with the team that initially drafted them as demonstrated by the higher survival estimates. However, those who were drafted early on using picks one through to sixteen, which is the same group targeted by the proposed change, did have a slight advantage had they moved to a different team at any point in their career. Based on the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the period ending 2022 , this wot = 0). Hence, the best way to cater to this premature contract is through an option.One suggestion that has been presented is to allow teams to retain a player they recruit through the draft for one more season after the end of the initial contract at season two. The proposal would eventuate between the team and the player at the time of the draft (t = 0. This would inherently (1) protect the team from exponential pay increases observed amongst draftees at the end of season two (t = 2); whilst (2) allowing them to negate extending to a third season if they chose not to proceed with the player after their initial contract; and (3) give players the ability to negotiate a competitive compensation package for their third season subject to meeting a set of prerequisites. To explore this, the Black-Scholes model (BSM) was chosen [In theory, a call option would be purchased by the team selecting the player, agreeing to a pay them a predetermined salary for their third season at s chosen  to valueC = call option pricet = spot priceSK = strike pricer = risk-free interest ratet = time to maturityv = volatilityσN = normal distributiont = 0. As this has already been calculated in the previous pick value section  from S1 Table in t = 2, which is the second input, utilizing the coefficients defined in S1 Table model (3) in NI) per year from the 2006 season was calculated as it will be the third season of the first draftees from 2003 .The BSM equation requires five key inputs. First of which is the spot price at NI1) and the second, the cumulative improvement over three seasons (NI3). Since the option considered here looks at the benefit to a team in extending the draftee contract by one year, the year-on-year risk-free rate (NI1) suited the purpose of the study.The option prices based on the spot and strike were thus calculated and depicted in The analysis shows both the spot and call price functions run parallel to each other. The calls themselves were valued between 1% and 1.5% of the spot price. However, as shown in S2 Table in The question now remains as to why the option costs of these picks do not decline monotonically as the coinciding pick values. Research in psychology has suggested people are generally confident in their decisions . This isWith these two human irrationalities driving the decision makers in the team, players drafted early on are likely to get more game time in the third season irrespective of their outcomes. This will reduce the deviation in game time observed amongst such players, which is one of the inputs of the BSM. On the other hand, players drafted in the middle would not be similarly privileged as teams would delist them (or play them less frequently) because there is a high variability in their output when compared to their initial selection and their initial financial commitment does not warrant riding the loss. Hence the higher volatility pushes the price of the call up , 37.Still, this experiment introduced an alternative solution by which teams could extend draftee contracts without adding any additional contractual constraints on the player. To put this into practice, let’s assume that there is a team that wishes to purchase an option to extend the draftee contract of a player selected at pick one. If we assume that the player will be paid 0.9803  rather than at the end of season two (t = 2); and (3) clubs the option to withdraw from extending to third season if the draftee did not perform. Moreover, keeping these contracts and option to extend to relatively lower number of periods will discourage contract fatigue, and ensure draftees continuously deliver outcomes to match expectations [In order to circumvent this, the optimal solution would be to give the teams the option to extend to the third season by purchasing this right at the time of the initial contract. Using the BSM, call option prices for each pick and their value as a percentage of the spot price were given in S2 Table in ctations . On the ctations .Whilst previously out of reach, the growing incorporation of technical staff within sporting teams would allow for the simultaneous refreshing of this method and retrofit it to other time frames. These could be three-year contracts with an option to extend for another one or more years and also repurposed to any league as long as the expected outcomes increases every season. If the expected outcome in the next season is less than the previous one, teams are better off paying the effective rate for the player as there would be no need to hedge against pay increases. Similarly, before such extension options are proposed, it is important to evaluate if a player’s prospects in terms of playing time increases should they move to a different team. If not, a player would be better off playing for their drafting team as their prospects remain high. On the other hand, drafting teams could exert a higher level of monosponic exploitation as the marketability of their skill is low elsewhere.Likewise, in the general labour market, firms requiring workers with specific skills would ideally invest in the required training and upliftment of apprentices. This would translate to a period where these firms will incur a net cost as the productivity of these apprentices, will not match their wages. However, upon achieving said proficiency, the firm will make a profit through the surplus . Still, should the apprentice depart the firm upon completing the training , the firm will break even on their total investment, or even make a net loss Click here for additional data file.S1 Data(XLSX)Click here for additional data file.


Androgen receptor (AR) splice variants (AR-Vs) have been discussed as a biomarker in prostate cancer (PC). However, some reports question the predictive property of AR-Vs. From a mechanistic perspective, the connection between AR full length (AR-FL) and AR-Vs is not fully understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the dependence of AR-FL and AR-V expression levels on AR gene activity. Additionally, we intended to comprehensively analyze presence of AR-FL and three clinically relevant AR-Vs  in different stages of disease, especially with respect to clinical utility in PC patients undergoing AR targeted agent (ARTA) treatment.n = 10) and metastatic tissues (n = 20), liquid biopsy samples (n = 422), mCRPC liquid biopsy samples of n = 96 patients starting novel treatment). Finally, baseline AR-FL and AR-V status was correlated with clinical outcome in a defined cohort of n = 65 mCRPC patients undergoing ARTA treatment.AR-FL and AR-V levels were analyzed in PC and non-PC cell lines upon artificial increase of AR pre-mRNA using either drug treatment or AR gene activation. Furthermore, expression of AR-FL and AR-Vs was determined in PC specimen at distinct stages of disease (primary (We revealed rising levels of AR-FL accompanied with appearance and increase of AR-Vs in dependence of elevated AR pre-mRNA levels. We also noticed increase in AR-FL and AR-V levels throughout disease progression. AR-V expression was always associated with high AR-FL levels without any sample being solely AR-V positive. In patients undergoing ARTA treatment, AR-FL did show prognostic, yet not predictive validity. Additionally, we observed a substantial clinical response to ARTA treatment even in AR-V positive patients. Accordingly, multivariate analysis did not demonstrate independent significance of AR-Vs in neither predictive nor prognostic clinical utility.We demonstrate a correlation between AR-FL and AR-V expression during PC progression; with AR-V expression being a side-effect of elevated AR pre-mRNA levels. Clinically, AR-V positivity relies on high levels of AR-FL, making cells still vulnerable to ARTA treatment, as demonstrated by AR-FL and AR-V positive patients responding to ARTA treatment. Thus, AR-FL and AR-V might be considered as a prognostic, yet not predictive biomarker in mCRPC patients.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40364-023-00481-w. The full-length androgen receptor (AR-FL) is a driver of prostate cancer (PC) by acting as a transcription factor, thereby facilitating disease progression . DevelopAR splice variants (AR-Vs) have been discussed to predict non-response to ARTA . These sAR-FL and AR-Vs have been analyzed in a plethora of studies, describing appearance of AR-Vs as a main mechanism of ARTA resistance –23. Howe−/AR-V−), LNCaP (AR-FL++/AR-V+), 22Rv1 (AR-FL++/AR-V++), PC-3 (AR-FL−/AR-V−). These cell lines represent different stages of prostate cancer   Fig. A in a se2. Media was purchased from SigmaAldrich . Trypsin–EDTA, phosphate-buffered saline and fetal calf serum were purchased from Thermo Fisher Scientific .Human cell lines were purchased from the Leibniz-Institute DSMZ GmbH   or ATCC® (RWPE-1) and cultured under matching protocols at 37 °C and 5% COFor AR modulation, we performed two different treatments: For ARTA related modulation, cells were cultured in the presence of 10 µM enzalutamide  for up to 14 days. Induction of endogenous AR gene expression was performed using a modified CRISPR/dCas9 AR activation system ((#GA100263), Origene, Rockville, MD, USA). Cells in a 24 well plate were transfected with 500 ng gRNA or scramble control plasmids along with 150 ng enhancer plasmid using the ViaFect™ Transfection Reagent . RNA was isolated 48 h post transfection.For isolation of total RNA, we used the RNeasy® Mini kit  following the manufactures guide. 500 ng of total RNA were reverse transcribed using the Primescript® Reverse Transcription Kit  or the Quantitect Reverse Transcription Kit along with gDNA wipeout buffer (Qiagen).AR-FL expression was analyzed using TaqMan PCR assay Hs00171172_m1) (Thermo Fisher Scientific). AR-V status was analyzed by using previously described custom-made TaqMan PCR assays specific for detection of AR-Vs AR-V3, AR-V7 and AR-V9 [1172_m1  and HPRT1 (Hs99999909_m1) (Thermo Fisher Scientific). qPCR reactions were run using the Luna Mastermix on a QuantStudio 3 qPCR cycler (Thermo Fisher Scientific).CTC analysis was conducted using a custom-made enrichment approach described in detail previously . BrieflyFor copy number calculation, known number of oligonucleotides containing the exon spanning regions of AR-Vs – in decreasing concentrations – were used as template DNA in qPCR reactions Fig. S. Ct valuThe statistical assessment was performed using R software , SPSS-Statistics V25.0  and Prism 8 V8.4.3 . The descriptive statistics are reported as medians with interquartile ranges (IQR) or 95% confidence intervals (CI) for continuous variables and as frequencies and populations for categorical variables. Time-to-event outcomes (PFS and OS) were evaluated performing Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis for univariate and multivariate analyses.−/AR-V−), LNCaP , 22Rv1 , PC-3  as well as non-prostate and non-cancer, yet AR positive HEK293-T (AR-FL+/AR-V−/+) cells. Cell lines were treated in two AR modulating conditions: enzalutamide treatment and endogenous AR gene induction using a modified CRISPR/dCas9 activation system.First, we thought to determine association of AR-FL and AR-V expression in vitro by using cell lines displaying different AR-FL and AR-V levels as well as diverse stages of prostate cancer Fig. B, S1: RWLNCaP cells displayed significant increase in AR-FL mRNA levels within 14 days of treatment with enzalutamide Fig. A. Also, When inducing endogenous AR gene expression using a modified CRISPR/dCas9 activation system, high levels of both endogenous AR-FL and AR-Vs could not be increased further in LNCaP and 22Rv1 cell lines Fig. SC. HEK293Next, we performed dichotomous detection analysis of AR-FL and AR-Vs, in primary PC tissue samples as well as metastatic biopsy samples Fig. A, B. AR-Subsequently, we assessed copy numbers of AR-FL and AR-Vs in primary and metastatic tumor samples Fig. C. Both An = 422 PC patients , AR-V7 was found to be the most abundant AR-V , whereas AR-V3 and AR-V9 were expressed in lower number of patients (159 patients (77.9%) and 142 patients (69.6%) respectively). These results demonstrate co-expression of AR-FL and AR-Vs in clinical liquid biopsy samples. Additionally, AR-V expression does not occur without simultaneous expression of AR-FL.We then determined AR-FL and AR-V expression in circulating tumor cell (CTC) samples of When analyzing expression levels of AR-FL, we detected the lowest AR-FL levels in samples displaying no AR-V expression compared to highest AR-FL levels in samples also displaying all three AR-Vs Fig. B. We alsn = 94 mCRPC patients starting either first line, second line or higher lines of treatment at the time of blood drawing. Treatment included both, ARTA and chemotherapeutic treatment. We detected 20.0% CTC- patients in first line treatment, 18.2% in second line and 3.1% in third or higher lines of treatment. 37.5% patients were identified being CTC + /AR-FL + /AR-V- in first line, 13.6% in second line and 21.9% in third or higher lines of treatment. 2.5%, 4.5% and 0.0% patients were identified to be CTC + /AR- in first, second and higher lines of treatment, respectively. For CTC + /AR-FL + /AR-V + expression, 40.0% of the patients were triple positive in first line, 63.7% in second line and 75.0% in third or higher lines of treatment . These results demonstrate higher appearance and expression levels of both AR-FL and AR-Vs in later stages of disease.Subsequently, we evaluated the distribution of all subgroups  in a subgroup of n = 65 patients) was comprehensively analyzed for AR-V expression before starting ARTA treatment . At the time of study closure in March 2021, median follow-up time was 14 (IQR 8–31) months. Baseline characteristics are presented in Table SA subgroup of patients (p < 0.01)  were observed between patients displaying expression of one (5 months (CI 2.4–7.6)), two (6 months (CI 0.0–13.5)) or even three AR-Vs (6 months (CI 1.2–10.8)) , within the three subgroups it was not reached for CTC- patients, 10 months (CI 8.9–11.1) for CTC + /AR-FL + /AR-V- patients and 6 months (CI 4.0–8.0) for CTC + /AR-FL + /AR-V + patients (Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test, p < 0.01)  were detected among patients displaying expression of one (15 months (CI 0.0–33.0)), two (20 months (CI 9.5–30.5)) or even three AR-Vs (9 months (CI 0.0–18.2)) , within the three subgroups it was not reached for CTC- patients, 27 months (CI 23.5–30.5) for CTC + /AR-FL + /AR-V- patients and 13 months (CI 9.0–17.0) for CTC + /AR-FL + /AR-V + patients (Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test, Results of uni- and multivariate analysis for the different subgroups  are shown in Tables SNext, we determined AR-FL and AR-V transcript copy numbers in CTC + and AR-V + patients, respectively, and stratified patients into responding (R) and non-responding (N) subgroups. For AR-FL, we only noticed significantly higher copy numbers in patients demonstrating a worse OS. For none of the clinical outcome parameters, we detected significant differences of AR-V transcript copy numbers between responders (R) and non-responders (N) Fig. E. These In this study, we aimed to analyze the connection of AR-FL and three supposedly clinically relevant AR-Vs, i.e., AR-V3, AR-V7 and AR-V9, in different stages of PC. Given controversial results on AR-Vs as biomarker, we also intended to comprehensively evaluate the predictive and prognostic power of AR-FL and AR-Vs in the context of ARTA treatment.We demonstrate a correlation between both occurrence and expression levels of AR-FL and AR-Vs throughout the course of disease. AR-FL is a known driver in prostate cancer . We deteFrom a biological perspective, the discovery of increasing mRNA levels of AR-Vs in PC has raised the question, whether these proteins might play a role in CRPC progression as well as ARTA treatment resistance –29. ThisFrom a clinical perspective, AR-Vs have been discussed as a resistance mechanism and thus, a tool for prediction of non-response to ARTA, mainly abiraterone and enzalutamide , 32, 33.As with AR-FL, we noticed an increase in both actual number of AR-Vs and AR-V expression levels within higher lines of treatment. This is in line with a recent study demonstrating a correlation between AR-V appearance and a more advanced stage of disease , 35. ThuThe presented results finally lead to a main clinical consequence: virtually all cells expressing AR-Vs also express high levels of AR-FL, which still implies tumor cell vulnerability to ARTA treatment. Accordingly, we hypothesize that AR inhibition still provokes a clinical benefit even in patients expressing AR-V mRNA, presumably due to inhibition of the AR-FL protein and thus, alteration of the canonical AR signaling cascade. The main reason for AR-V related resistance mechanism depends on its nuclear localization to act as transcription factor even in the presence of ARTA , 33. HowOur results demonstrate the value of AR-FL and AR-V as a prognostic, yet not predictive biomarker in the setting of ARTA for mCRPC patients. Thus, we postulate to avoid AR-FL and AR-vs as sole predictors for response to treatment. We assume that AR-V mRNA expression does not have a major mechanistic role in tumor progression, but rather is a side effect of elevated levels of AR pre-mRNA. This is underlined by a strong correlation of increased levels of both AR-FL and AR-Vs at distinct stages of disease. Hence, AR-V expression – at least on the mRNA level – should be regarded as an epiphenomenon related to a more advanced stage of disease rather than a biological mechanism of non-response to ARTA.Additional file 1:Figure S1. Cell lines at different stages of prostate cancer. Schematic overview of the clinical course of prostate cancer from healthy epithelium (left) to end stage prostate cancer and representative, established prostate (cancer) cell lines used in this study. HSPC: hormone sensitive PC; CRPC: castration resistant PC; NEDPC: neuroendocrine differentiated PC.Additional file 2:Figure S2. cDNA copy number determination. Left panels: Overview of dsDNA oligonucleotides covering the spanning regions of KLK3-PSA, AR-FL, AR-V3, AR-V7 and AR-V9 TaqMan qPCR assays.Dotted line displays region of KLK3-PSA and AR-FL assay ; Arrows and line displays forward and reverse primers as well as hydrolysis probe. Right panels: Standard curves for cDNA copy number quantification. Linear equations were used to determine copy numbers per 5ml blood sample.Additional file 3:Figure S3. Endogenous AR modulation using either enzalutamide treatment or a modified CRISPR/dCas9 AR activation system. A) Fold change analysis of AR-FL and AR-Vs in 22Rv1 cells treated with enzalutamide for up to 14 days. B) AR-FL and AR-V copy number determination in HEK293-T cells treated with enzalutamide for up to 14 days. C) Amplification curves of qPCR analyses of LNCaP (upper panel) and 22Rv1 (lower panel) cells treated with CRISPR/dCas9 AR activation system. Shown are amplification curves of AR-FL and AR-Vs. Cells were transfected with either scramble control plasmid (scr) or AR promotor specific guideRNA (gRNA).Additional file 4:Table S1. AR splice variant TaqMan detection assays.Additional file 5:Table S2. Baseline characteristics of n = 65 patients with mCRPC starting treatment with abiraterone or enzalutamide.Additional file 6:Table S3. Univariate analyses of biomarkers for PFS and OS in 65 mCRPC-patients on abiraterone or enzalutamide therapy . TableS4. Univariate analyses of biomarkers for PFS and OS in 54 mCRPC-patients on abiraterone or enzalutamide therapy (CTC+/AR-FL+ cohort). Table S5. Univariate analyses of biomarkers for PFS and OS in 35 mCRPC-patients on abiraterone or enzalutamide therapy (CTC+/AR-FL+/AR-V+ cohort). TableS6. Multivariate analyses of biomarkers for PFS and OS in 65 mCRPC-patients on abiraterone or enzalutamide therapy . Table S7. Multivariate analyses of biomarkers for PFS and OS in 54mCRPC-patients on abiraterone or enzalutamide therapy (CTC+/AR-FL+ cohort).


Staphylococcus aureus by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The ATRP-derived polymeric dyes have the potential as biosensors for the detection of target DNA, protein, or bacteria, as well as bioimaging.Infectious diseases caused by pathogens are a health burden, but traditional pathogen identification methods are complex and time-consuming. In this work, we have developed well-defined, multifunctional copolymers with rhodamine B dye synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using fully oxygen-tolerant photoredox/copper dual catalysis. ATRP enabled the efficient synthesis of copolymers with multiple fluorescent dyes from a biotin-functionalized initiator. Biotinylated dye copolymers were conjugated to antibody (Ab) or cell-wall binding domain (CBD), resulting in a highly fluorescent polymeric dye-binder complex. We showed that the unique combination of multifunctional polymeric dyes and strain-specific Ab or CBD exhibited both enhanced fluorescence and target selectivity for bioimaging of  Infectious diseases caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi remain a great burden on humanity . As an eVarious classes of fluorescent materials such as small-molecule organic dyes ,19,20,21The fluorescent labeling of block copolymers has been achieved through various methods, such as noncovalent encapsulation, direct labeling with fluorescent initiators or monomers, or post-polymerization modification . A varie+ , which reacts with an alkyl halide initiator (R-X), leading to the formation of a [X–Cu(II)/L]+ deactivator and a propagating radical (R*). Radical propagation occurs until the radical chain ends are deactivated by [X–Cu (II)/L]+, forming X-capped dormant species and regenerating [Cu(I)-L]+. ATRP equilibrium is shifted toward dormant species since the rate constant of activation of dormant species is typically much smaller than the rate constant of radical deactivation, i.e., kact ≪ kdeact. Thus, the key aspect of the ATRP mechanism is a low concentration of active propagating species and a larger number of dormant chains  dimethylammonio] propionate (CBMA) was purchased from TCI . Water (HPLC grade), dimethylformamide , and dimethyl sulfoxide  were purchased from Fisher . rocedure .500 was passed through a column of basic alumina to remove the inhibitor. The stock solutions of RDMA (20 mg in 2.0 mL of DMSO), biotin-I (20 mg in 1.0 mL of DMSO), CuBr2 (33.5 mg in 20.0 mL of DMSO), TPMA (13.06 mg in 1.0 mL of DMSO), and EYH2 (0.97 mg in 1.0 mL of DMSO) were prepared prior to polymerization. OEOMA2 stock (200 µL), TPMA stock (100 µL), biotin-I (200 µL), EYH2 stock (50 µL), RDMA stock (1 mL), DMF (50 µL), and 10X PBS solution (500 µL) were added. Finally, HPLC water was added to reach a final volume of 5 mL, and the reaction mixture was stirred on a vortex. The final concentrations were CBMA (300 mM), RDMA (3 mM), biotin-I (1.5 mM), EYH2 (15 µM), CuBr2 (0.3 mM), TPMA (0.9 mM), and DMSO (30% v/v). ([CBMA]/[RDMA]/[biotin-I]/[EYH2]/[CuBr2]/[TPMA] = 200/2/1/0.02/0.4/1.2). Then, 4.4 mL of the reaction “cocktail” were added to a 1-dram (12/96 mm) vial equipped with a magnetic stirring bar. The polymerization mixture was stirred in an open vial at 500 rpm for 60 min under blue LEDs .BT-p(CBMA-RDMA (2)): In a 5 mL volumetric flask, 344 mg (1.5 mmol) of CBMA were weighed. CuBr500-RDMA (2/4): In a 5 mL volumetric flask, 750 mg (1.5 mmol) of OEOMA500 were weighed. CuBr2 stock (200 µL), TPMA stock (100 µL), biotin-I (100 µL), EYH2 stock (50 µL), RDMA stock (500 µL), DMF (50 µL), and 10X PBS solution (500 µL) were added. Finally, HPLC water was added to reach a final volume of 5 mL, and the reaction mixture was stirred on a vortex. The final concentrations were OEOMA500 (300 mM), RDMA (1.5 mM), biotin-I (0.75 mM), EYH2 (15 µM), CuBr2 (0.3 mM), TPMA (0.9 mM), and DMSO (30% v/v). ([OEOMA500]/[RDMA]/[biotin-I]/[EYH2]/[CuBr2]/[TPMA] = 400/2/1/0.02/0.4/1.2). For the synthesis of BT-p(OEOMA500-RDMA (4)), RDMA stock (1.0 mL) was added, resulting in the final concentration of RDMA (3 mM) in the polymerization mixture. ([OEOMA500]/[RDMA]/[biotin-I]/[EYH2]/[CuBr2]/[TPMA] = 400/4/1/0.02/0.4/1.2). Then, 4.4 mL of the CRBP cocktail were added to a 1-dram (12/96 mm) vial equipped with a magnetic stirring bar. The polymerization mixture was stirred in an open vial at 500 rpm for 60 min under blue LEDs .BT-p coupled with MALS, DLS, Viscometer, and RI detectors . Measurements were performed using the Waters Ultrahydrogel Linear column with 1X DPBS as an eluent at room temperature and a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min.Before analysis, the synthesized biotinylated copolymeric dyes were purified by dialysis in deionized water using SpectraPor500-RDMA (4)). The final concentrations were OEOMA500 (300 mM), RDMA (3.0 mM), biotin-I (0.75 mM), EYH2 (15 µM), CuBr2 (0.3 mM), TPMA (0.9 mM), and DMSO (30% v/v). ([OEOMA500]/[RDMA]/[biotin-I]/[EYH2]/[CuBr2]/[TPMA] = 400/4/1/0.02/0.4/1.2). Then, 4.4 mL of the ATRP cocktail ([OEOMA500]/[RDMA]/[biotin-I]/[EYH2]/[CuBr2]/[TPMA] = 400/4/1/0.02/0.4/1.2) were added to a 1-dram (12/96 mm) vial equipped with a magnetic stir bar. The polymerization mixture in an uncapped vial was stirred at 500 rpm for 40 min under green LEDs . The samples were taken at regular intervals, quenched with 1,4-bis(3-isocyanopropyl) piperazine  = 60 μM). The polymer sample was incubated in 1X PBS buffer in a plate reader at 37 °C in the measurement chamber for 18 h. The negligible change in the fluorescence intensity of the polymer samples during the experiment indicated the high stability of the polymeric dyes under these experimental conditions .500-RDMA (4)) complexes was measured and compared with biotinylated monomeric rhodamine B complexes with NeutrAvidin and antibody/CBD (antibody/CBD-RD complexes) (500-RDMA (4)) complexes were 2.6 and 3.7 times higher than that of the antibody- and CBD-RD complexes (500-RDMA (4)) complex was improved by increasing the number of rhodamine B dyes on the copolymer without background fluorescence from nonspecific binding of the copolymer. Next, the fluorescence of antibody/CBD-p(OEOMAmplexes) . The fluomplexes b, respec500-RDMA (4)) complex generated a clear change in the fluorescence intensity compared with the target S. aureus cells alone (500-RDMA (4)) complex comes from binding to the surface of S. aureus cells. Furthermore, we confirmed the specificity of these complexes using flow cytometry. In both binder cases, the complex did not bind to B. anthracis Sterne cells, as no fluorescence was detected. These results suggest that we have generated complexes that are target-specific and can bind to the target bacterium, induced by antibody or CBD.We then assessed binding onto single bacterial cells using flow cytometry. The addition of each binder-p) complex for the bioimaging of target bacteria. When we prepared S. aureus cells with binder-p(OEOMA500-RDMA (4)) complex, all the target bacterial cells with binder-p(OEOMA500-RDMA (4)) complex showed red emission in each image (500-RDMA (4)) complexes were 1.6 and 3.6 times higher than that of antibody- and CBD-RD complexes, respectively (500-RDMA (4)) complexes can be applied for bioimaging to visualize specific bacteria.We applied the signal-enhancing property of each binder-p(OEOMAch image a–d. In aectively e. Additiectively f,g. ThesWe have developed ATRP-derived copolymeric multifunctional rhodamine B dyes and attached them to binders such as an antibody or CBD for selective binding of target bacterial cells. The photoredox/Cu-catalyzed ATRP technique enabled the efficient and rapid synthesis of well-defined copolymers with multiple fluorescent dyes. Antibody/CBD-polymeric dye complex showed both enhanced fluorescence and target selectivity for bioimaging. This is due to the special structural property of this complex, consisting of multiple fluorescent dyes and a single binding molecule. The combination of this unique property of the polymeric dye and binder-induced targeting can also be applied to conjugate multiple signaling molecules such as quantum dots, DNA, and enzymes, followed by the potential applications in pathogen detection, and selective microbial decontamination, as well as bioimaging. The present work has also opened the potential application of ATRP-derived polymeric dyes in biosensors for detection of the DNA or protein biomarkers.


The use of EMG-driven robots in the rehabilitation of post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome patients was shown to be effective.The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of traditional neurological rehabilitation and neurological rehabilitation combined with a rehabilitation robot for patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome. Eighty-six participants transferred from intensive care units due to post-viral fatigue after COVID-19 were randomly divided into two groups: the intervention group and the control group. The control group received standard neurological rehabilitation for 120 min a day, while the intervention group received the same neurological rehabilitation for 75 min a day, complemented by 45 min of exercises on the rehabilitation robot. The Berg scale, Tinetti scale, six-minute walking test, isokinetic muscle force test, hand grip strength, Barthel Index, and Functional Independence Measure were used to measure the outcomes. Both groups improved similarly during the rehabilitation. Between groups, a comparison of before/after changes revealed that the intervention group improved better in terms of Functional Independence Measure ( In recent years, a new global health problem emerged due to the novel coronavirus—SARS-CoV-2—causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This virus, which first appeared in China, has quickly spread worldwide, causing a global pandemic. In addition to the characteristic symptoms of respiratory tract infections, such as fever, cough, or fatigue, in the course of COVID-19, many other symptoms are likely to appear, including loss of taste and smell, sore throat, headache, muscle or joint pain, skin rash, nausea and vomiting, and dizziness ,4, whichA similar phenomenon has also been reported for other viral diseases. Tansey et al.  showed tFatigue syndrome observed after COVID-19 is characterized by chronic fatigue, sleep problems, depressive symptoms, and myalgia . The undVarious rehabilitation approaches are used to manage post-COVID symptoms ,14,15. SDue to the growing workload of medical staff as well as the ever-increasing costs of rehabilitation, new methods of patient therapy are also sought, involving advanced medical devices that have the potential to reduce the burden on multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams. In light of the abovementioned problems, robotic devices could greatly improve the ability of healthcare to manage post-COVID patients and their symptoms ,16. TherA prospective randomized clinical trial was conducted in the Neuro-rehabilitation Ward of the Provincial Hospital in Poznan, Poland, between January and August 2022. The study has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT05130736.Participants who were transferred directly from Intensive Care Units (ICUs) due to post-viral fatigue after experiencing a severe course of COVID-19 according to the criteria presented by Carod-Artal  were incThe CG received standard neurological rehabilitation for 120 min a day, while the IG received the same neurological rehabilitation for 75 min a day, complemented by 45 min of exercises on the rehabilitation robot . The rehabilitation robot was a device constructed to support physiotherapists and patients during the rehabilitation process. Due to the fact that the robot is EMG-driven, the device is able to help patients with relatively low muscle strength perform active exercises. Even if muscle contraction, due to its weakness, is not visible, electrodes applied above the muscles record changes in their activity during the contraction. Those signals trigger the actuator, which moves the movable parts (extensions) of the device. A limb of the patient is attached to those extensions by straps, which allows them to perform a movement (such as flexion and extension of the elbow) and control the movement even in a situation when normal movement will not be possible due to muscle weakness. The intervention was described in detail in a previous feasibility study [Several measurement tools were used to assess functional physical ability ), muscle strength ), and independence in activities of daily living .The Berg scale is used to assess balance and measures the static and dynamic balance using 14 motor tasks. Each task is scored from 0 to 4, where 0 means that the subject is not able to perform the task, and 4 is scored when the subject performed the task in the best way assigned to the task. The maximum total score is 56 points, and it indicates that the patient is fully independent in ambulation . The TinThe isokinetic muscle force test of elbow flexors and extensors in the dominant hand was performed on the rehabilitation robot. Patients were seated in a chair (dominant side toward the robot) with a straight back, hips and knees in 90 degrees of flexion, and feet on the floor. The dominant forearm was fixed by two straps and with the hand gripping a handle. The axis of the elbow was aligned with the axis of the dynamometer . Muscle The HGS test was performed for the dominant hand using the JAMAR hydraulic hand dynamometer . The test was performed in accordance with the gold standard of the American Society of Hand Therapists . ParticiThe Barthel Index is a scale used to assess independence and the need for assistance in performing activities related to toileting, sphincter control, transferring to and from a wheelchair, and ambulation . Functiop < 0.05. The Shapiro–Wilk test was used to check distribution normality. Student’s t-test was used to initially compare the results of the two groups. In the wake of the absence of a normal distribution, the Mann–Whitney U test was used. The ANOVA test for repeated measures was used to examine differences over time, taking into account the qualitative variable—group. The assumption of sphericity was checked with the Mauchley test; if sphericity was violated, the Greenhaus–Geisser correction was applied. Tukey’s test was used for post hoc analyses.Statistical analysis was performed with Statistica 13.3 software . The threshold for statistical significance was set at A total of 86 participants were included in the study. However, due to various causes, five participants did not complete the study. Therefore, data from 81 participants (42 in IG and 39 in CG) were analyzed. There were significant differences between groups in terms of weight and BMI, yet groups did not differ in age, height, or any of the measured parameters at the baseline. Group characteristics comparison at the baseline is presented in A comparison of the results before and after rehabilitation in both groups is presented in p = 0.047). The post hoc test showed differences between the FIM motor subscale before rehabilitation and the measurement after rehabilitation in both groups (<0.001).In the analysis of the results of repeated measures ANOVA, taking into account the division into groups, no intra-group interactions were found in any parameter except the FIM motor subscale , and post hoc analysis showed no statistical significance in the comparison of post-intervention measures between groups. Similarly, the Barthel scale, which measures a patient’s independence, showed significant improvements in both groups with no significant group × time interactions. These results show that both rehabilitation approaches lead to patients’ improvements in terms of independence, and neither approach is more or less beneficial than the other. The observed improvement in the FIM and Barthel scale should be considered clinically important, as changes in those scales, even by a few points, indicate meaningful changes in independence and can be related to decreased need for care [The use of robots in rehabilitation gained significant traction in 1990 , and thifor care . These ffor care ,27,28.Villafañe et al.  comparedSome other authors found that robot-assisted rehabilitation can be more efficient than traditional rehabilitation. Dehem et al.  conducteAs stated previously, the majority of available studies using robots in rehabilitation were conducted on stroke patients; however, a few authors compared using rehabilitation robots with conventional rehabilitation on patients with different conditions. Kawasaki et al.  and PoolAccording to the available literature, rehabilitation using robots shows either similar effectiveness to classic rehabilitation, which is consistent with our results, or higher effectiveness than classic rehabilitation. The cost-effectiveness of this type of intervention remains an open issue that requires further research.To our knowledge, the current study is the first clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of traditional neurological rehabilitation and neurological rehabilitation combined with a rehabilitation robot for patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome. We consider this as a strength of this study. However, the study has some limitations. Due to the setting, we are not able to calculate the realistic cost-effectiveness of the intervention because participants had to undergo the whole rehabilitation process, and rather than achieving the predetermined goal, their improvement was measured. A further limitation results from organizational and financial reasons, due to which only exercises of the upper limb were performed using the EMG-driven robotic device.Human–robot interaction (HRI) is studied mainly in the area of social robotics. HRI may be different when a non-humanoid rehabilitation robot is used, like the one in the current study. Hertz and Wieze  showed tIn light of the results of the present study, implementing EMG-driven robots in the rehabilitation of post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome patients is effective. Substituting a part of traditional rehabilitation with robotic rehabilitation did not negatively alter rehabilitation outcomes. Our results indicate that the implementation of robotic rehabilitation for patients with post-coronavirus fatigue syndrome in rehabilitation programs can be supported. Further investigations aiming at achieving rehabilitation goals rather than completing a rehabilitation period should be conducted in the future to establish the realistic cost-effectiveness of such procedures.


The second annual meeting was jointly organized by the AAPPS-Division of Condensed Matter Physics (DCMP) and the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University. In 2022, the 15th Asia Pacific Physics Conference (APPC15) was held in the summer. Consequently, AC2MP focused on three main topics: applications of extreme conditions for condensed matter physics, quantum beam applications in condensed matter physics, and topology-related phenomena in matter.The Asia–Pacific Conference on Condensed Matter Physics  and nanoprobes, and the physics of thin films and layered materials. Then, a poster session with short verbal presentations was held. In the superconductivity session, high-On November 23, 2022, three sessions on topological matters and surfaces, nano science and novel transport, quantum matters, and extreme conditions were held. The discussion centered on topology and transport as well as novel states induced by strong magnetic fields. The relation between topological matter and strong correlations was also one of the highlights of the sessions.In the closing remarks, the conference chair Prof. Nojiri expressed deep gratitude to attendees, program committee members, the local organizing committee, and sponsors for their support and contributions. This was the first DCMP held onsite in the post-Covid-19 era, and it was quite successful.1. The 2022 HU Gang-fu (HU Kang-fuh) Prize  Award by Chen Hui (The Associate Researcher at Institute of Physics CAS).2. The 2022 HU Gang-fu (HU Kang-fuh) Prize  Award by Yang Jian-cheng .3. RAO Yu-tai (YAO Yu-tai) Prize  Award by Wu Jian 4. RAO Yu-tai (YAO Yu-tai) Prize  Award by Xu Xiu-Lai 5. YE Qi-sun (YEH Chi-sun) Prize (for Condensed Matter Physics) Award by Yuan Hui-Qiu 6. YE Qi-sun (YEH Chi-sun) Prize (for Condensed Matter Physics) Award by Yao Hong 7. WU You-xun (WOO Yui-hsun) Prize (for Nuclear Physics) Award by Wei Long 8. WU You-xun (WOO Yui-hsun) Prize (for Nuclear Physics) Award by Liu Yu-Xin 9. WANG Gan-chang (WANG Kan-chang) Prize  Award by Li Hai-bo At the 2022 fall meeting of the Chinese Physical Society (CPS) held in Southern University of Science and Technology, 5 prizes were awarded to 9 physicists. They arehttp://www.cps-net.org.cn/Reward/Content/show/id/4313.doThe detailed citations can be found at Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, Progress of Theoretical Physics, Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, and JPS Conference Proceedings. The selection committee has chosen four papers for the 2023 award based on 18 nominations (for 17 papers) made by the editors of the JPS journals and representatives of the 10 divisions of JPS.In recognition of important achievements toward progress in physics, the Physical Society of Japan (JPS) annually selects outstanding papers from among original research articles published in the The award ceremony for the 28th Outstanding Paper Award will be held at noon on September 18, 2023.The titles of the four selected papers, together with their citations, follow below.3GeTe2Magnetic Properties of Layered Itinerant Electron Ferromagnet FeJ. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 82, 124,711 (2013)Bin Chen, JinHu Yang, HangDong Wang, Masaki Imai, Hiroto Ohta, Chishiro Michioka, Kazuyoshi Yoshimura, and MingHu Fang3GeTe2, which has recently been the subject of intense research as a two-dimensional itinerant ferromagnet, and on its various physical properties. The authors determined the basic properties of Fe3GeTe2, such as its magnetic phase transition and magnetic fluctuation. The critical behavior of the magnetic properties of Fe3GeTe2 are due to strong spin fluctuations near the ferromagnetic critical point, reflecting the fact that it is a layered compound weakly coupled by van der Waals interactions, and is well explained by Moriya’s self-consistent renormalization (SCR) theory and Takahashi’s theory developed for quasi-two-dimensional ferromagnets. Furthermore, from the analysis of the Rhodes-Wohlfarth ratio, which is a measure of itinerant and localized properties, it is concluded that Fe3GeTe2 is a quasi-two-dimensional itinerant magnet.This paper is a pioneering report on the experimental growth of a single crystal of Fe3GeTe2 has attracted much attention as one of the few materials that exhibit itinerant ferromagnetism in monolayer systems. Monolayer materials have been intensively studied by the international research community in recent years since the discovery of graphene, and van der Waals layered compounds are one of the main material groups in this field. This paper led to the discovery of Fe3GeTe2 as a monolayer itinerant ferromagnet, and its contribution to the research of various physical properties is also appreciated. The pioneering work, focusing on two-dimensional itinerant ferromagnets and its significant influence on recent studies, is now recognized for its high scientific importance. Therefore, this paper deserves the Outstanding Paper Award from the Physical Society of Japan.Recently, FeGapless Spin-Liquid Phase in an Extended Spin 1/2 Triangular Heisenberg ModelJ. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 80, 093,707 (2014)Ryui Kaneko, Satoshi Morita, and Masatoshi ImadaQuantum spin liquids, i.e., the phase of a quantum spin system in which the spin is not frozen at absolute zero temperature, have attracted much attention since Anderson proposed the idea in the 1970s. In the early stages of research, the Heisenberg model on the frustrated triangular lattice was considered to be a candidate, but later studies revealed that the ground state of the triangular lattice Heisenberg model with only the nearest-neighbor interaction is antiferromagnetic.Although the search for quantum spin liquids has continued since then, their existence has not been established due to difficulties in numerical approaches, except for examples with exact solutions such as the Kitaev spin model. In this paper, the authors report the quantum spin liquid phase in the J1-J2 model on a triangular lattice with next-nearest-neighbor interaction in addition to the nearest-neighbor interaction when the ratio of J2 to J1 is in the region between 0.1 and 0.135, using a many-variable variational Monte Carlo method for up to relatively large sizes.The results presented in this paper have had a strong impact on the study of quantum spin liquids and triggered many related studies. The theoretical model discussed in this paper is still recognized as one of the most promising candidates for quantum spin liquids. It is of great academic significance that this paper suggests a nontrivial quantum spin liquid phase not in a special model like the Kitaev spin model but in a relatively simple spin model. Therefore, this paper deserves the Outstanding Paper Award from the Physical Society of Japan.2Multiple Superconducting Phases and Unusual Enhancement of the Upper Critical Field in UTeJ. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 89, 053705 (2020)Dai Aoki, Fuminori Honda, Georg Knebel, Daniel Braithwaite, Ai Nakamura, DeXin Li, Yoshiya Homma, Yusei Shimizu, Yoshiki J. Sato, Jean-Pascal Brison, and Jacques Flouquet2. The authors performed precise measurements of magnetoresistance, specific-heat, and magnetocaloric effect under high pressures. Their high-quality data made it possible to demonstrate that UTe2 possesses multiple superconducting phases. Such phases are akin to the superfluid phases of 3He. In addition, they found that some of the phases exhibit upper critical fields that exceed the Pauli limit. These results strongly suggest that UTe2 has spin triplet superconductivity with complex superconducting order parameters. This is an outstanding achievement that deserves the Outstanding Paper Award of the Physical Society of Japan.This paper reports the multiple superconducting phases of the recently discovered superconductor, UTeCan an off-axis gamma-ray burst jet in GW170817 explain all the electromagnetic counterparts?Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2018, 043E02Kunihito Ioka and Takashi NakamuraThe gravitational wave event GW170817, associated with the merger of two neutron stars observed on August 17, 2017, was a historic event that heralded the beginning of multi-messenger astrophysics by observing not only gravitational waves but also electromagnetic counterparts across all wavelength ranges from gamma rays to radio waves. In particular, the observed gamma rays supported a 30-year-old hypothesis that binary neutron star mergers produce short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). However, the luminosity was three or four orders of magnitude lower than standard one. In this paper, which was released on the same day as the LIGO-Virgo press conference, the authors proposed an off-axis model that naturally explains why the luminosity was lower; this model is now widely accepted as the standard model. This model gives a simple but consistent explanation of the observational results, in which the collimated emission from the relativistic jet appears many orders of magnitude fainter when observed from a direction different from the jet axis. Although different models were proposed shortly after its discovery, the authors’ off-axis model was eventually proven correct when apparent superluminal motion was discovered in long-duration observations of radio waves. The authors have been proposing the possibility of GRBs being observed from off-axis since the early 2000s, and their many years of original research came to fruition in this event. In the future era of multi-messenger astrophysics, the off-axis model of GRBs will be used as the standard model to interpret observational results and will continue to play an important role. This paper is therefore worthy of the JPS Outstanding Paper Award.Fumiko Yonezawa1938–2019The late Fumiko Yonezawa, emeritus professor of Keio University, made major contributions to physics, such as the development of the coherent potential approximation, and the theory of the metal–insulator transition in liquid selenium. Prof. Yonezawa served as the first female president of the Physical Society of Japan (JPS) and as the president of the Society for Women Scientists for a Bright Future, she also promoted women scientists.JPS has established the “Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Prize” to celebrate the achievements of Prof. Yonezawa and to honor and encourage the activities of the women who are members of JPS.A few prize winners will be selected once a year, with a maximum of about five recipients. The prize ceremony will be held during the annual meeting of JPS. The prize recipients will give commemorative lectures at JPS meetings within a period of one 1 year after receiving the prize. Winners will receive items such as certificates and honorary shields, as well as additional prizes, namely: (1) paid attendance fees for JPS meetings for the next 3 years; and (2) an exemption, of up to 200,000 JPY (yen), from publication fees and open access fees for the Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, and from the article processing charges for the journal, Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics .The citations of the winners of the 4th (2023) Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Prize are listed below.Rina TakagiAssistant Professor, Institute of Engineering Innovation/Department of Applied Physics, The University of TokyoExploration of new materials for multi-orbital correlated electron systems showing unique magnetic statesM(tmdt)2. Depending on the degeneracy between the orbitals of metallic ions M and the orbitals of organic ligand tmdt, she has found that various kinds of strongly correlated electronic phases appear such as paramagnetic metal, antiferromagnetic or non-magnetic Mott insulators, and orbital-selective Mott insulators. Second, she studied the second group of multiple-orbital strongly correlated materials, such as itinerant magnets of hexagonal Y3Co8Sn4 and cubic EuAl4 crystals. She has found multiple-Q ordered magnetic structures due to magnetic frustration. She especially has found that even under space-inversion symmetry, multiple-Q ordered magnetic structures such as triangular lattices of magnetic vortices are formed due to four-body magnetic interaction mediated by conduction electrons. These achievements by Dr. Takagi, revealing rich physics of multiple-orbital strongly correlated systems, are benefitting the Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Prize of the Physical Society of Japan.Dr. Rina Takagi has conducted a series of studies about strongly correlated electronic materials having multiple orbitals, revealing rich physics due to the critical role of multiple orbitals by clarifying the relation between their characteristic magnetic structures and multiple orbitals. First, she studied organic solids of single-component molecular conductors Nayuta TakemoriSpecially Appointed Associate Professor, Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology, Osaka UniversityExploring strongly correlated many-body effects in unique electronic systems: a theoretical studyFocusing on an interplay between peculiar electronic structures and strong correlation effects that may occur in real materials, Dr. Takemori has theoretically studied emergent phenomena with special emphasis on mass imbalance systems, quasicrystal systems, and iron-based superconductors. In particular, she is highly regarded as a leading young researcher in the theoretical studies of strongly correlated quasicrystals.Dr. Takemori first investigated a mixed system of cold Fermi atoms with different masses. She focused on a unique degree of freedom called mass imbalance, which characterizes the mixed cold atom system, and obtained the results strongly suggesting the possibility of an emergent supersolid state in which density waves and superfluid coexist. The theoretical study, conducted thereafter, on the strong correlation effects in quasicrystal systems is representative of Dr. Takemori's research work, which was inspired by the quantum criticality in the Au–Al–Yb quasicrystal discovered in 2012. Using the dynamical mean field theory, she systematically analyzed characteristic phenomena originating from strong correlation effects and the peculiar geometrical structure inherent in the quasiperiodic systems, and thus elucidated that the phase transitions such as the Mott transition and the superconducting transition are uniquely determined even in the quasiperiodic systems, while the distribution of the local electronic quantities reflects the quasiperiodic structure below the transition temperature. Furthermore, the result obtained by extending this analysis to superconductivity turns out to be consistent with the superconducting state discovered later for the Al–Mg–Zn quasicrystal, and it gives a signature to distinguish superconductivity in periodic systems and that in quasicrystals. More recently, she has vigorously conducted research on novel physical properties arising from the unique Fermi-surface shape in iron-based superconductors and has obtained the results that provide an important step for clarifying the common properties of iron-based superconductors.These observations lead us to conclude that Dr. Takemori’s scientific achievements deserve the Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Prize of the Physical Society of Japan.Nanae TaniguchiAssociate Professor, Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies (IPNS), High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)Exploration of new physics beyond the Standard Model of elementary particlesThe purpose of the KEK Belle II experiment is to study new physics beyond the Standard Model in particle physics by producing many B0 B0-bar meson pairs by electron–positron collisions. Because the collision rate in Belle II is several ten times higher than the previous Belle experiment, many detectors had to be rebuilt.Nanae Taniguch received her PhD for the study of new particle physics through rare B-meson decays. After receiving the degree, she started working on a project to build a new Central Drift Chamber  to measure tracks from the collision point in a high-rate environment in Belle II. Taniguchi played a central role in the development, mass-production, and installation of new electronics for CDC. She also worked on the construction of CDC and successfully read out 14,000 channels of signals as designed. She also worked on coordinating domestic and international collaborators to develop and mass-produce the electronics, and fulfilled the responsibility of its performance evaluation and quality assurance. In addition, she expanded her coverage to the trigger and data acquisition systems, and made all the detector components work together as a unified system. For her such significant contributions to the experiment, she was chosen to be the leader of the CDC group in 2019. In addition, for her contributions on solving the problems on CDC and safe operation of CDC, she received the Belle II Best Achievement Award in 2021.As a member of the Future Planning Committee of the Japan Association of High Energy Physicists, she is actively involved in discussing and planning the future of the particle physics field. She is also actively reaching out to the public and telling the joy of working on science through science camps for female high school students and public lectures.Her achievements and various activities stand out in the field, and encourage other female scientists to follow her. Nanae Taniguchi thus deserves to receive the Fumiko Yonezawa Memorial Prize of the Physical Society of Japan.Nicole Bell, President of the Australian Institute of Physics“I am honoured to represent the Australian physics community and look forward to advocating on behalf of our discipline. The AIP provides a key avenue to promote the value of science in general, and physics in particular, to government, policy makers, and the wider community.”University of Melbourne Professor Nicole Bell has been appointed President of the Australian Institute of Physics (AIP). The AIP is the national professional body for Australian physics, dedicated to promoting the role of physics in research, education, industry and the community. This appointment recognises Professor Bell’s leadership and contributions to the discipline.“Physics is a critical enabling science. History tells us that many technological developments were driven by fundamental research for which the eventual commercial applications were not originally anticipated. It is essential that basic breakthrough research is well supported, so that we feed the pipeline of ideas that ultimately lead to broad applications.”In her 2-year term as AIP president, she intends to promote the importance of fundamental research.Professor Bell’s own research lies at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, with particular focus on dark matter and neutrino physics. She leads the Theory Program of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics.Professor Bell joined the School of Physics at the University of Melbourne in 2007. Her previous roles include postdoctoral appointments at Fermilab and Caltech in the USA. She has held an ARC Future Fellowship and was a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and received the Nancy Millis Medal from the Australian Academy of Science in 2020.Suklyun Hong, President of Korean Physical SocietyAs of 2023, Professor Suklyun Hong from Sejong University has taken on the role of the 30th president of the Korean Physical Society (KPS) for a two-year term. The current executive body of the KPS includes Executive Vice-President, Professor William Jo (Ewha Womans University); Secretary of General Affairs, Professor Yunsang Lee (Soongsil University); and Treasurer, Professor Keun-Young Kim (GIST). During the New Year’s ceremony meeting held in January 2023, President Hong shared his vision and mission statement for KPS members.Despite the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean Physical Society (KPS) has made significant progress in recent years. However, we are aware that many hurdles still lie ahead. During the campaign period for last year's KPS presidential election, I had the opportunity to speak with many members who have shared their concerns with me. I assure you that I will do my utmost to address these issues and work towards a better future for our society. To tackle the various challenges that we face, we must unite our collective knowledge and strengths. This year is pivotal for the success of our society, and we must approach it with a sense of urgency and purpose. As the 30th president of the KPS, I am committed to promoting several exciting missions in the coming years.Our first project aims to create a solid foundation for the renaissance of physics in Korea. As a basic science, physics education needs to be strengthened and secured as a priority. We plan to achieve this by working with the government and the national assembly to strengthen legislative policy. We will also establish easy access programs for physics education with new formats and contents that will raise awareness of physics among parents and students. To take measures to reform university education and expand education projects, we will launch the “Commission for Physics Education Initiative (CPEI)”. Through the CPEI, we will efficiently link existing educational projects and implement new ones that are suitable for the internet environment. The first project under the CPEI is the Physics League, which will be held on February 18, 2023. With this project, we plan to inherit and progressively expand the “physics certification system” and the “junior high school physics competition” to create a new physics education platform. We will continue to develop more educational projects in the future.Second, we are committed to improving the research environment for KPS members. To achieve this goal, we will continue to expand basic research funds and distribute them in a balanced manner. Our aim is to secure sustainable research funding in the field of physics for KPS members by stabilizing the “field-specific support system”, while also expanding basic research funding. By doing so, we hope to establish a research-rich ecosystem, where young researchers can quickly establish their laboratories, and mid-career researchers can ensure stable lab operations. We will also pay close attention to ensure that researchers in traditional and challenging fields can continue their research.Third, we are committed to ensuring that KPS journals and conferences are beneficial to our members. To achieve this goal, we are launching the “KPS Publishing” and “5-year Leap Forward Project” for our society journals, with the aim of improving the citation index of the journals through an innovative editorial process. We will improve the quality and scale of KPS spring and fall annual conferences and continuously expand them to achieve world-class standards, making those led by K-Physics leading physics conferences in Asia. Additionally, we will establish a new academic support system to promote future conferences hosted by division chapters, regional chapters, and individual members. This support system will be instrumental in facilitating conferences and disseminating new research results in the field of physics.Through these efforts, we aim to create a KPS that is truly “of the members, by the members, and for the members”. We recognize the diversity of our membership, including women physicists, researchers of government laboratories, and others, who together form the academic society within KPS. To ensure that all members have a voice, we will promote equal participation in the executive committee, enabling everyone to communicate and listen to each other’s ideas and perspectives. By creating a more inclusive and democratic society, we hope to strengthen KPS and promote its growth in the years to come.Last but certainly not least, we humbly ask for your continued participation, interest, and warm encouragement as we strive to achieve our goals. We wish all our esteemed members and their families good health and prosperity, and we express our deep appreciation for your ongoing support. Thank you.