Sarcopenia: Prognostic Value for Unresectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients Treated With Gemcitabine Plus Nab-Paclitaxel.

Objective: The aim of the study was to clarify the association of skeletal muscle mass and the prognosis of unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) treated with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP).

Methods: We included 124 unresectable PDAC patients who received GnP chemotherapy. Skeletal muscle mass of the third lumbar vertebrae (L3) level was measured by computed tomography immediately before GnP initiation, and the skeletal muscle index (L3-SMI) was calculated.

Histology of the Porous Oculomotorius: Relevance to Anterior Skull Base Approaches.

 Mobilization of cranial nerve III (CNIII) at its dural entry site is commonly described to avoid damage from stretching during approaches to the parasellar, infrachiasmatic, posterior clinoid, and cavernous sinus regions. The histologic relationships of CNIII as it traverses the dura, and the associated surgical implications are nonetheless poorly described. We herein assess the histology of the CNIII-dura interface as it relates to surgical mobilization of the nerve.

A carbon-functionality-appended diborylacetylene available for a component of organic synthesis and OLEDs.

We present new 1,2-diborylacetylene derivatives with planar 9-oxa-10-boraanthracene termini, which display excellent stability to allow usual handling and even thermal evaporation for the preparation of thin films for OLEDs, and also undergo typical reactions of alkynes such as the Diels-Alder reaction.

Impact of anti-diabetic sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors on tumor growth of intractable hematological malignancy in humans.

Under the dysfunction of mitochondria, cancer cells preferentially utilize both glycolytic and pentose phosphate pathways rather than electron transport chains to desperately generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (reduced form) (NADPH), classically recognized as the Warburg effect. Based on this background, the present study tested the hypothesis that anti-diabetic sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors would exert a tumor-suppressive impact on intractable human hematological malignancies via the modulation of glucose metabolism within cells and cell cycles. The level of mRNA for SGLT2 was remarkably elevated in leukemic cells from patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), one of the most intractable blood cancers in humans, and as well as in two kinds of ATL cell lines (MT-1 and MT-2).

Prognostic value of the fluctuation in the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio at 6 weeks of pembrolizumab treatment is specific to the clinical response in metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Purpose: Most patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma experience no objective response to pembrolizumab and have poor overall survival (OS). Here, we investigated the prognostic value of fluctuation in the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) at 6 weeks of pembrolizumab treatment, focusing on its association with the achievement of objective response.

Materials And Methods: The clinical records of 177 metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients treated with pembrolizumab were retrospectively analyzed.

Insufficiency of hepatocyte growth factor activator inhibitor-1 confers lymphatic invasion of tongue carcinoma cells.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) activator inhibitor type-1 (HAI-1), encoded by the SPINT1 gene, is a transmembrane protease inhibitor that regulates membrane-anchored serine proteases, particularly matriptase. Here, we explored the role of HAI-1 in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) cells. An immunohistochemical study of HAI-1 in surgically resected TSCC revealed the cell surface immunoreactivity of HAI-1 in the main portion of the tumor.

Prognostic impacts of serum levels of C-reactive protein, albumin, and total cholesterol in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Various systems for predicting the prognosis of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have been developed. However, associations between performance status (PS) and prognosis of MDS require further investigation. To objectively assess the impact of PS on survival, we examined laboratory findings associated with PS, including serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin (ALB), and total cholesterol (CHOL).

Bringing out the potential of organoboron compounds by designing the chemical bonds and spaces around boron.

Since the structures, reactivity and properties of organoboron compounds stem from the electron deficiency and low electronegativity of boron, the design of the chemical bonds attached to boron as well as the space provided by substituents around boron leads to particular reactivity and functions of organoboron compounds. Based on the concept of vacant boron p-orbital engineering in combination with peripheral space design for boron, we have developed new organoboron compounds, which exhibit exotic reactivity and properties and boron-mediated organic transformations capable of constructing large π-conjugated systems. Here we describe our recent study by focusing on three topics: (i) the synthesis and its derivatization, small-molecule activation and application to materials science of a two-coordinate boron cation (borinium ion), (ii) a 9-borafluorene-mediated benzannulation reaction of alkyne derivatives and (iii) BN-substituted molecules featuring a 4nπ heterocycle exhibiting unique electronic and emission properties.

Endpoint Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) Assay for Enumeration of Thiocyanate-degrading Bacteria.

An endpoint recombination amplification reaction (RPA) assay for assessing the abundance of the gene encoding thiocyanate dehydrogenase (TcDH) in Thiohalobacter has been developed. The RPA reaction was performed at 37°C for 30‍ ‍min, terminated by the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution, and the DNA concentration of the RPA product was fluorometrically measured. The abundance of TcDH in 22 activated sludge samples and 7 thiocyanate-degrading enrichment cultures ranged between 2.

Maturation of the sella turcica and parasellar region: Surgical relevance for anterior skull base approaches in pediatric patients.

Objective: Traditional and extended transnasal transsphenoidal approaches provide direct access to a variety of anterior skull base pathologies. Despite increased utilization of transnasal approaches in children, anatomic studies on pediatric skull base maturation are limited. We herein perform a surgically relevant morphometric analysis of the sella and parasellar regions during pediatric maturation.

Maturation of the internal auditory canal and posterior petrous bone with relevance to lateral and posterolateral skull base approaches.

Anatomic knowledge of the internal auditory canal (IAC) and surrounding structures is a prerequisite for performing skull base approaches to the IAC. We herein perform a morphometric analysis of the IAC and surgically relevant aspects of the posterior petrous bone during pediatric maturation, a region well-studied in adults but not children. Measurements of IAC length (IAC-L), porus (IAC-D) and midpoint (IAC-DM) diameter, and distance from the porus to the common crus (CC; P-CC) and posterior petrosal surface (PPS) to the posterior semicircular canal (PSC; PPS-PSC) were made on thin-cut axial CT scans from 60 patients (grouped by ages 0-3, 4-7, 8-11 12-15, 16-18, and > 18 years).

Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion as the Initial Presentation in a Patient with Stage I Small-cell Lung Cancer.

A 67-year-old man with a history of esophageal cancer resection was referred to our hospital because of nausea and appetite loss. Laboratory findings showed severe hyponatremia and were compatible with syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a nodule measuring 13 mm in the lower lobe of the right lung.

Unique Electronic Excitations at Highly Localized Plasmonic Field.

ConspectusUnder visible light illuminations, noble metal nanostructures can condense photon energy into the nanoscale region. By precisely tuning the metal nanostructures, the ultimate confinement of photoenergy at the molecular scale can be obtained. At such a confined photon energy field, various unique photoresponses of molecules, such as efficient visible light energy conversion processes or efficient multielectron transfer reactions, can be observed.

The difference of chows affects mouse physiological conditions.

Acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice is a model system of human acetaminophen overdose and oxidative stress in vivo. The system is technically established, and we usually obtain severe liver damage in the treated mice; however, it is possible that the degree of liver damage is affected by the type of chow fed to mice. Thus, in this experiment, we investigated the effect of different chows on mice by comparing acetaminophen-induced liver damage, liver antioxidant level, and serum amino-acid concentrations.

Photoactuating Artificial Muscles of Motor Amphiphiles as an Extracellular Matrix Mimetic Scaffold for Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Mimicking the native extracellular matrix (ECM) as a cell culture scaffold has long attracted scientists from the perspective of supramolecular chemistry for potential application in regenerative medicine. However, the development of the next-generation synthetic materials that mimic key aspects of ECM, with hierarchically oriented supramolecular structures, which are simultaneously highly dynamic and responsive to external stimuli, remains a major challenge. Herein, we present supramolecular assemblies formed by motor amphiphiles (), which mimic the structural features of the hydrogel nature of the ECM and additionally show intrinsic dynamic behavior that allow amplifying molecular motions to macroscopic muscle-like actuating functions induced by light.

Diabetic ketoacidosis shortly after COVID-19 vaccination in a non-small-cell lung cancer patient receiving combination of PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors: A case report.

We describe a case of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) shortly after the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) vaccination in a 65-year-old woman with non-small-cell lung cancer under a combination treatment of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors. She had no history of diabetic mellitus. A few days after the second shot of COVID-19 vaccination, she developed DKA.

The Systematic Workplace-Improvement Needs Generation (SWING): Verifying a Worker-Centred Tool for Identifying Necessary Workplace Improvements in a Nursing Home in Japan.

This study developed and tested a new measurement instrument, the Systematic Workplace-Improvement Needs Generation (SWING), to identify workplace-improvement needs. The participants were 53 workers in a Japanese nursing home for the elderly. The respondents used the SWING questionnaire to self-generate five 'cues' they considered important to improve the workplace.

Capturing the Trajectory of Metal-Ion-Cluster Formation: Stepwise Accumulation of Zn(II) Ions in a Robust Coordination Space Formed by a Rigid Tridentate Carboxylate Ligand.

Organic ligand-directed synthesis of metal-ion clusters with a well-defined number and arrangement of metal ions is an important subject toward the development of functional inorganic-organic nanohybrids. Here we report the synthesis of multinuclear Zn-oxo clusters using a triptycene-based rigid ligand (HL) featuring three metal-coordination sites arranged in a triangular shape. Upon complexation of HL with zinc acetate dihydrate, a decanuclear Zn-oxo cluster and multinuclear Zn-oxo clusters with a smaller number of Zn(II) ions were formed as the final product and its intermediates, respectively.

Impact of phosphate binders on medication dosing frequency, timing, and number of prescribed pills in hemodialysis patients.

Introduction: Phosphate binders (PBs) account for a large proportion of the daily pill burden in hemodialysis patients. However, patients do not take them all at once but at several dosing timings.

Methods: We analyzed the dosing timings of all 322 types of oral drugs prescribed to 533 hemodialysis patients.

Visualizing the decline of public interest in the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident by analyzing letters to the editor in Japanese newspapers.

This study aimed to delineate the decline in public interest toward the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FNPP) accident in Japan over a ten-year period. In this longitudinal descriptive study, we searched for publications within a ten-year period in Letters to the Editor that mentioned the GEJE, the FNPP accident, or the January 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (GHAE) that occurred in Japan, using the official databases of the three largest Japanese newspapers. The GEJE- and GHAE-related publications (4,809 and 2,092, respectively) are depicted as scatter plots.

Successful Response to Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, and Dacarbazine Chemotherapy in a Patient with Metastatic Carotid Body Paraganglioma.

Carotid body paraganglioma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor presenting with low-grade histological and clinical features. However, the tumor has the potential to produce distant metastasis, and due to its rarity, little information is available regarding chemotherapy for such metastatic lesions. Here, we report a case of carotid body paraganglioma with development of pulmonary and bone metastases 10 years after radical surgery for the primary lesion in the neck.

Effects of antioxidant capacity on micronucleus induction by cigarette smoke in mammalian cells.

We have compared micronucleus (MN) induction by cigarette smoke in the L5178Y, TK6, and CHL/IU cell lines. The test sample was total particulate matter of 3R4F reference cigarette smoke, suspended in DMSO. After 3-h treatment, with or without a rat liver S9 metabolic activation system, followed by 24-h recovery, dose-dependent MN increases were seen in all cell lines.