Status of school health programs in Asia: National policy and implementation.

Background: The WHO's Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework is based on an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between health and education, and the need to take a holistic approach to health promotion in schools. We aim to clarify the degree to which the HPS framework is reflected in the national policies of eight target countries and the issues surrounding its successful implementation.

Methods: Date were collected through two expert workshops with participants from eight Asian countries: Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, Lao PDR, Nepal, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Establishment and characterization of a novel patient-derived Ewing sarcoma cell line, NCC-ES2-C1.

Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a small round cell sarcoma that is characterized by the unique gene translocation EWSR1-FLI1. It is the second most common primary bone and soft tissue malignancy in children and adolescents. It constitutes 10-15% of all bone sarcomas and is highly aggressive and rapidly recurring.

Comparison of Symptomatic Vasospasm after Surgical Clipping and Endovascular Coiling.

Vasospasm, initial neurological damage, rebleeding, and periprocedural complications are associated prognostic factors for clinical outcomes after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In this study, factors related to delayed ischemic neurological deficit (DIND) are evaluated using data from our institute for the last 18 years. Data from 2001 to 2018 of patients with aneurysmal SAH who underwent surgical clipping (SC) or endovascular coiling (EC) within 7 days of onset were retrospectively analyzed.

PHOSPHATE exporter XPR1/SLC53A1 is required for the tumorigenicity of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death in women. Ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is a chemotherapy-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer with poor prognosis. As a basis for the development of therapeutic agents that could improve the prognosis of OCCC, we performed a screen for proteins critical for the tumorigenicity of OCCC using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Reported Incidents Involving Non-medical Care Workers and Nursery Teachers in Hospitals in Japan: An Analysis of the Japan Council for Quality Health Care Nationwide Database.

Objective With the shortage of medical staff, the birth rate decline, and aging populations in some countries, task shifting from specific medical staff to non-medical care workers in hospitals has been implemented as a short-term solution. Incident reporting reduces preventable patient errors, improves the quality of healthcare services, and contributes to patient safety. However, research focused on the expanding roles of non-medical staff who provide direct care for patients is lacking.

An Externally-Applied, Natural-Mineral-Based Novel Nanomaterial IFMC Improves Cardiopulmonary Function under Aerobic Exercise.

Nanotechnology has widespread applications in sports; however, there are very few studies reporting the use of nanotechnology to enhance physical performance. We hypothesize that a natural-mineral-based novel nanomaterial, which was developed from Japanese hot springs, might overcome the limitations. We examined if it could enhance physical performance.

Establishment and characterization of NCC-DDLPS5-C1: a novel patient-derived cell line of dedifferentiated liposarcoma.

Dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) is a highly aggressive subtype of liposarcoma that is morphologically defined as a transition from a well-differentiated lipomatous component to a non-lipogenic one. Curative therapy for DDLPS is complete resection, and the benefits of current systemic chemotherapy remain marginal. Although DDLPS is molecularly characterized by co-amplification of MDM2 and CDK4 (12q14-15) and detailed genomic analyses have been conducted by multiple research groups, the effects of molecular targeted drugs are marginal, and novel therapeutic modalities are required.

Discovery of tricyclic HIV-1 integrase-LEDGF/p75 allosteric inhibitors by intramolecular direct arylation reaction.

We have been conducting exploratory research to develop human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) integrase-LEDGF/p75 allosteric inhibitors (INLAIs). Here, we report on a newly designed compound with a tricyclic scaffold that shows promise as an inhibitor. Various scaffolds were synthesized by intramolecular direct arylation reaction to fix the position of a lipophilic side chain required for antiviral activity.

Recombinant cell-detecting RaDR-GFP in mice reveals an association between genomic instability and radiation-induced-thymic lymphoma.

In this study, we aimed to investigate how homologous recombinant (HR)-related genomic instability is involved in ionizing radiation (IR)-induced thymic lymphoma in mice. We divided five-week-old Rosa26 Direct Repeat-GFP (RaDR-GFP) transgenic mice into non-IR control and IR groups and exposed the mice in the IR group to a 7.2 Gy dose of γ-rays, delivered in 1.

Efficacy of education on injection technique for patients diagnosed with diabetes with lipohypertrophy: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of providing education on injection technique to patients with diabetes with lipohypertrophy (LH).

Design: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: We included patients with diabetes who use insulin and have LH, and excluded patients without LH.

TDP-43 represses cryptic exon inclusion in the FTD-ALS gene UNC13A.

A hallmark pathological feature of the neurodegenerative diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the depletion of RNA-binding protein TDP-43 from the nucleus of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. A major function of TDP-43 is as a repressor of cryptic exon inclusion during RNA splicing. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in UNC13A are among the strongest hits associated with FTD and ALS in human genome-wide association studies, but how those variants increase risk for disease is unknown.

A Japanese single-center experience of the efficacy and safety of asfotase alfa in pediatric-onset hypophosphatasia.

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder caused by mutations in the ALPL gene, which encodes tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase. The severity of HPP is widely diverse from the perinatal form to the adult mild form. The former represents the most severe form and was earlier associated with high mortality due to pneumonia which was caused by severe hypomineralization of the bones-such as chest deformity and fractured ribs-and muscle weakness.

Prognostic Significance of Systemic Inflammation Indices by K-ras Status in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Systemic inflammation markers are useful prognostic indicators for metastatic colorectal cancer. However, the influence of K-ras genotypes on these markers in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer is unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the associations between systems of evaluating pretreatment systemic inflammation and outcomes according to K-ras genotypes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Intracellular MUC20 variant 2 maintains mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and enhances drug resistance in gastric cancer.

Background: Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) is a particular histologic variant of gastric cancer (GC). However, the critical factor related to the aggressive characteristics of SRCC has not been determined.

Methods: We collected surgically resected tissues from 360 GC patients in the Kumamoto University cohort and generated survival curves via the Kaplan-Meier method.

Carotid body tumor with neck metastasis due to germline variant: a case report and literature review.

Unlabelled: Carotid body tumor involving the succinate dehydrogenase subunit B (SDHB) variant reportedly had a higher frequency of metastasis than other variants of succinate dehydrogenase. However, the correlation between genotype and phenotype among patients with carotid body tumor with gene variant remains unclear. Thus, we present a case of carotid body tumor with neck lymph metastasis caused by a novel variant, which resulted in long-term disease-free survival achieved after surgery.

SIPA1L1/SPAR1 Interacts with the Neurabin Family of Proteins and is Involved in GPCR Signaling.

Signal-induced proliferation-associated 1 (SIPA1)-like 1 (SIPA1L1; also known as SPAR1) has been proposed to regulate synaptic functions that are important in maintaining normal neuronal activities, such as regulating spine growth and synaptic scaling, as a component of the PSD-95/NMDA-R-complex. However, its physiological role remains poorly understood. Here, we performed expression analyses using super-resolution microscopy (SRM) in mouse brain and demonstrated that SIPA1L1 is mainly localized to general submembranous regions in neurons, but surprisingly, not to PSD.

Establishment and characterization of NCC-UPS4-C1: a novel cell line of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma from a patient with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is a cancer predisposition syndrome caused by a germline mutation of the TP53. The lifetime risk of cancer in individuals with LFS is ≥ 70% for men and ≥ 90% for women. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) is one of the core cancers associated with LFS.

The advanced lung cancer inflammation index is a novel independent prognosticator in colorectal cancer patients after curative resection.

Background: The advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI), which comprehensively evaluates the patient body composition and inflammation/nutritional status, is reportedly associated with the patient outcome in lung cancer. However, the clinical significance in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients after curative resection remains unclear.

Methods: A total of 813 CRC patients after curative resection between April 2005 and June 2019 in a single institution were retrospectively enrolled.

Development of an Outward Proton Pumping Rhodopsin with a New Record in Thermostability by Means of Amino Acid Mutations.

We have developed a methodology for identifying further thermostabilizing mutations for an intrinsically thermostable membrane protein. The methodology comprises the following steps: (1) identifying thermostabilizing single mutations (TSSMs) for residues in the transmembrane region using our physics-based method; (2) identifying TSSMs for residues in the extracellular and intracellular regions, which are in aqueous environment, using an empirical force field FoldX; and (3) combining the TSSMs identified in steps (1) and (2) to construct multiple mutations. The methodology is illustrated for thermophilic rhodopsin whose apparent midpoint temperature of thermal denaturation is ∼91.

Comparison of the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in children before and after the emergence of Delta variant of concern in Japan.

Delta variant of concern (VOC) is the current predominant severe acute respiratory coronavirus type 2 strain causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); however, information regarding the impact of the Delta VOC on clinical features and outcomes in pediatric patients with COVID-19 is limited. We conducted a retrospective observational study using the data of patients <18 years of age in COVIREGI-JP, the COVID-19 registry in Japan. The patients were divided into two groups according to the timing of enrollment in the registry (pre-Delta VOC era, October 2020 to May 2021; and Delta VOC era, August to October 2021), and the clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between the two groups.

Pipeline flow diversion with adjunctive coil embolization for internal carotid artery aneurysms following an intradural component: results in 46 consecutive aneurysms from a Japanese single-center experience.

In the treatment of an intracranial aneurysm with the flow diverter, the combined use of coil embolization can help promote subsequent progressive thrombosis within the aneurysm sac and reduce the risk of delayed aneurysm rupture. This study retrospectively reviewed outcomes of patients who had undergone the Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) with adjunctive coil embolization (PED/coil) at a single center to determine its safety and efficiency. Patients with internal carotid artery aneurysms following an intradural component were selected for PED/coil between 2015 and 2020.

Establishment and Characterization of NCC-MFS5-C1: A Novel Patient-Derived Cell Line of Myxofibrosarcoma.

Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is a highly aggressive malignancy with complex karyotypes and a postoperative recurrence tendency, owing to its strong invasiveness. Although systemic chemotherapy is considered in patients with unresectable MFS, the efficacy of conventional chemotherapy is hitherto unclear. Recently, drug screening analysis using a large number of tumor cell lines has been attempted to discover novel therapeutic candidate drugs for common cancers.

Sirolimus for epileptic seizures associated with focal cortical dysplasia type II.

Objective: To determine whether sirolimus, a mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, reduces epileptic seizures associated with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) type II.

Methods: Sixteen patients (aged 6-57 years) with FCD type II received sirolimus at an initial dose of 1 or 2 mg/day based on body weight (FCDS-01). In 15 patients, the dose was adjusted to achieve target trough ranges of 5-15 ng/mL, followed by a 12-week maintenance therapy period.