Gender Differences in the Effects of Trust on Substance Abuse Severity Among Incarcerated Stimulant Offenders in Japan.

Background: Treatment of stimulant offenders in Japan is an urgent issue. One of the more recent support approaches for stimulant offenders in Japan is to understand and support them based on a self-medication hypothesis; however, the effect of trust on substance abuse severity among incarcerated stimulant offenders has not been examined. Additionally, while accounting for gender differences is essential when providing support for them, these differences have not also been examined.

A phase II study of zandelisib in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma: ME-401-K02 study.

Zandelisib, a selective, potent PI3Kδ inhibitor, demonstrated favourable outcomes in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma in a global phase II study. This phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of zandelisib for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma or marginal zone lymphoma. Sixty-one patients received zandelisib orally at 60 mg daily continuously in the first two 28-day cycles, followed by intermittent dosing on Days 1-7 following each cycle until progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity.

Carboplatin in combination with etoposide for advanced small cell lung cancer complicated with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia: a single-arm phase II study.

Background: Acute exacerbation (AEx) of interstitial pneumonia is the most common lethal adverse event related to the pharmacological treatment of patients with lung cancer complicated with interstitial pneumonia. Although small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is linked to poor prognosis, it exhibits good response to chemotherapy. Few previous research studies have investigated the safety and efficacy of treatment for advanced SCLC complicated with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP).

Hydration and Biodistribution of Zwitterionic Dendrimers Conjugating a Sulfobetaine Monomer and Polymers.

Zwitterionic polymers exhibit strong hydration, high biocompatibility, and antifouling properties. Dendrimers are regularly branched polymers, which are used in the drug delivery system (DDS). In this study, we synthesized zwitterionic monomer- and polymer-conjugated dendrimers as a biocompatible nanoparticle to investigate the relation between the hydration property and biodistribution.

A viscoelastic-plastic deformation model of hemisphere-like tip growth in Arabidopsis zygotes.

Plant zygote cells exhibit tip growth, producing a hemisphere-like tip. To understand how this hemisphere-like tip shape is formed, we revisited a viscoelastic-plastic deformation model that enabled us to simultaneously evaluate the shape, stress and strain of Arabidopsis () zygote cells undergoing tip growth. Altering the spatial distribution of cell wall extensibility revealed that cosine-type distribution and growth in a normal direction to the surface create a stable hemisphere-like tip shape.

Factors Associated With Nutritional Status in Patients With Removable Dentures: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Tooth loss can impair masticatory function and may subsequently result in malnutrition. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with controlling nutritional status (CONUT) scores, which assess malnutrition risk, in patients with removable dentures. Materials and methods In this cross-sectional study, data were obtained from a consecutive sampling of 192 patients (mean age 72.

Confirmatory diagnosis and successive chemotherapeutic treatments of metastatic skeletal sarcoma: A case report.

sarcoma is rare and its clinical features remain unclear. Given the similarity in presentation, it is possible that previously reported cases of Ewing-like adamantinoma may have been sarcoma. The present case report describes a tumor in a 55-year-old man that was originally thought to be a Ewing-like adamantinoma, but was recently found to be an sarcoma following direct sequencing.

Q241R mutation of Braf causes neurological abnormalities in a mouse model of cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome, independent of developmental malformations.

Constitutively active mutants of BRAF cause cardio-facio-cutaneous (CFC) syndrome, characterized by growth and developmental defects, cardiac malformations, facial features, cutaneous manifestations, and mental retardation. An animal model of human CFC syndrome, the systemic BrafQ241R/+ mutant mouse, has been reported to exhibit multiple CFC syndrome-like phenotypes. In this study, we analyzed the effects of Braf mutations on neural function, separately from their effects on developmental processes.

An atypical presentation of bronchogenic cyst.

Background: Bronchial cysts (BCs) can be difficult to diagnose because of non-specific site of occurrence and heterogeneous density of cyst content in some patients. We present herein a BC case with such nonspecific findings.

Case: A 23-year-old man referred to our hospital because of an abnormal chest image during a mass-screening.

Effects of Baseline Blood Zinc Levels on the Humoral Immune Response After COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination: A Prospective Study in a Japanese Population.

Background/objectives: Although the protective effects of zinc against COVID-19 are documented, its impact on COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity remains unknown.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study involving a cohort of 79 Japanese individuals (aged 21-56 years; comprising three subcohorts) and measured their serum zinc levels pre-vaccination and anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG levels pre- and post-vaccination over 4 months.

Results: Serum zinc concentrations ranged between 74-140 and 64-113 μg/dL in male and female individuals, respectively, with one male and 11 female participants exhibiting subclinical zinc deficiency (60-80 μg/dL).

Optimizing Visualization of Pollen Tubes in Wheat Pistils.

Successful pollination and fertilization are crucial for grain setting in cereals. Wheat is an allohexaploid autogamous species. Due to its evolutionary history, the genetic diversity of current bread wheat () cultivars is limited.

Lutein Maintains Bone Mass In Vitro and In Vivo Against Disuse-Induced Bone Loss in Hindlimb-Unloaded Mice.

Background: Lutein, a carotenoid, exhibits various biological activities such as maintaining the health of the eye, skin, heart, and bone. Recently, we found that lutein has dual roles in suppressing bone resorption and promoting bone formation. In this study, we examined the effects of lutein in a disuse-induced osteoporosis model using hindlimb-unloaded (HLU) mice.

Promotes Antioxidant Gene Expression and Mitochondrial Oxidative Respiration in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.

(L.) Urban (family Apiaceae) () is a traditional botanical medicine used in aging and dementia. Water extracts of (CAW) have been used to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms in related animal models and are associated with increases in antioxidant response element (ARE) genes and improvements in mitochondrial respiratory function and neuronal health.

BLV-CoCoMo Dual qPCR Assay Targeting LTR Region for Quantifying Bovine Leukemia Virus: Comparison with Multiplex Real-Time qPCR Assay Targeting Region.

The proviral load (PVL) of the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a useful index for estimating disease progression and transmission risk. Real-time quantitative PCR techniques are widely used for PVL quantification. We previously developed a dual-target detection method, the "Liquid Dual-CoCoMo assay", that uses the coordination of common motif (CoCoMo) degenerate primers.

Metal-Ligand Cooperation in Dihydrogen Activation by a Cationic Metallogermylene: Enhanced Activity from Tungsten to Molybdenum.

Dihydrogen activation by metallogermylenes was investigated experimentally and theoretically. A neutral NHC-coordinated chlorometallogermylene was synthesized and converted to a cationic base-free metallogermylene of molybdenum via chloride abstraction. The cationic molybdogermylene showed enhanced reactivity toward H compared to the tungsten analog.

Computed Tomography Evaluation of Extracellular Volume for Predicting Prognosis in Patients with Severe Renal Dysfunction on Dialysis.

: Extracellular volume (ECV) analysis using computed tomography is recognized as a potential method for diagnostic application. It is currently the only noninvasive method for quantitatively evaluating myocardial fibrosis in dialysis patients for whom gadolinium contrast agents are contraindicated. In this study, we assessed the utility of ECV measurement via CT in the left ventricular (LV) myocardium (LVM) to predict major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in dialysis patients.

Thyroid Carcinoma Glycoproteins Express Altered -Glycans with 3-O-Sulfated Galactose Residues.

Aberrant protein glycosylation is a hallmark alteration of cancer and is highly associated with cancer progression. Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, but the -glycosylation of its glycoproteins has not been well characterized. In this work, we analyzed multiple freshly prepared PTC specimens along with paired normal tissue obtained from thyroidectomies.

Motion detection: Specific thalamocortical connections revealed.

Inferring the direction of image motion is an important component of visual processing. A study with in vivo dual electrophysiological recording now reveals that the sensitivity of visual cortical neurons to the direction of motion is established by specific neural connections from the visual thalamus.

Verification of an alteration in the gut microbiota that increases nutritional risk in patients on hemodialysis.

In end-stage kidney disease requiring hemodialysis, patients at nutritional risk have a poor prognosis. The gut microbiota is important for maintaining the nutritional status of patients. However, it remains unclear whether an altered gut microbiota correlates with increased nutritional risk in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

An examination of the intra-rater reliability of the Y Balance test for high school female athletes.

[Purpose] The Y Balance test is a dynamic balance assessment tool widely used in sports. Although its reliability has been established in professional male athletes, its suitability for female high-school athletes remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the reliability of the Y Balance test in this population.

[Efficacy and Adverse Events of Low-Dose Intravesical BCG Therapy for Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer].

We examined the efficacy and adverse effects of low-dose intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Patients who underwent intravesical BCG therapy (n＝176 ; 198 courses) at our hospital between April 2012 and December 2022 were enrolled. After assigning patients to either the low-dose or regular-dose (40 or 80 mg of BCG Tokyo 172 strain) groups, treatment efficacy and incidence of adverse events were compared.

The Impact on Patient Prognosis of Changes to the Method of Notifying Staff About Accepting Patients With Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Background: Our hospital is a designated emergency hospital and accepts many patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Previously, after receiving a direct call from emergency services to request acceptance of an OHCA patient, the emergency room (ER) chief nurse notified medical staff. However, this method delayed ER preparations, so a Code Blue system (CB) was introduced in which the pending arrival of an OHCA patient was broadcast throughout the hospital.

Lumbar Spondylolysis After Posterior Corrective Fusion for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: A Report of Two Cases and Literature Review.

After corrective surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), patients can return to sports activities without restrictions. While there have been many reports of long-term disc degeneration between adjacent segments after posterior corrective fusion, the effects of sports activities on adjacent segments after corrective fusion surgery are not well understood. Particularly, cases of acquired spondylolysis after long fusion surgeries for scoliosis are rare.

Availability of, Barriers to Performing, and Educational Practices of Interventional Procedures for Refractory Pain in Cancer Patients: A Nationwide Survey of Designated Cancer Hospitals in Japan.

Background: Because of the limitations of pharmacological therapy, nonpharmacological therapies including intervention procedures are also important for quality of cancer pain management.

Objective: To clarify the availability of, number performed, barriers to performing, and educational practices of four interventional procedures (celiac plexus neurolysis/splanchnic nerve neurolysis, phenol saddle block, epidural analgesia, and intrathecal analgesia) in designated cancer hospitals.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Heme regulates protein interactions and phosphorylation of BACH2 intrinsically disordered region in humoral response.

Heme is known to bind to the intrinsically disordered region (IDR) to regulate protein function. The binding of heme to the IDR of transcription factor BACH2 promotes plasma cell differentiation, but the molecular basis is unknown. Heme was found to increase BACH2 IDR interaction with TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1).