Single Dose of Attenuated Vaccinia Viruses Expressing H5 Hemagglutinin Affords Rapid and Long-Term Protection Against Lethal Infection with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A H5N1 Virus in Mice and Monkeys.

Background/objectives: In preparation for a potential pandemic caused by the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, pre-pandemic vaccines against several viral clades have been developed and stocked worldwide. Although these vaccines are well tolerated, their immunogenicity and cross-reactivity with viruses of different clades can be improved.

Methods: To address this aspect, we generated recombinant influenza vaccines against H5-subtype viruses using two different strains of highly attenuated vaccinia virus (VACV) vectors.

In vitro throughput screening of anticancer drugs using patient-derived cell lines cultured on vascularized three-dimensional stromal tissues.

The development of high-throughput anticancer drug screening methods using patient-derived cancer cell (PDC) lines that maintain their original characteristics in an in vitro three-dimensional (3D) culture system poses a significant challenge to achieving personalized cancer medicine. Because stromal tissue plays a critical role in the composition and maintenance of the cancer microenvironment, in vitro 3D-culture using reconstructed stromal tissues has attracted considerable attention. Here, a simple and unique in vitro 3D-culture method using heparin and collagen together with fibroblasts and endothelial cells to fabricate vascularized 3D-stromal tissues for in vitro culture of PDCs is reported.

Development and Characterization of a Highly Sensitive NanoLuciferase-Based Immunoprecipitation System for the Detection of Anti-Influenza Virus HA Antibodies.

Antibody detection is crucial for monitoring host immune responses to specific pathogen antigens (Ags) and evaluating vaccine efficacies. The luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) was developed for sensitive detection of Ag-specific antibodies in sera from various species. In this study, we describe NanoLIPS, an improved LIPS assay based on NanoLuciferase (NLuc), and employ the assay for monitoring antibody responses following influenza virus infection or vaccination.

Short-term insomnia and common cold: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The role of insomnia as a symptom of cold has not been fully explored. This study aimed to identify the nature of mild short-term insomnia (MSTI) as a symptom in common cold and examine the relationship between the diagnosis of common cold and MSTI.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a clinic in Nagano, Japan.

Surgical Correction of Adult Unrepaired Tetralogy of Fallot to Facilitate Stage IIIA Uterine Cancer Treatment.

Unrepaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) in adults may compound cancer treatment difficulties, while strategies for adult unrepaired TOF combined with malignant neoplasms are scarce. Here, we report a case of adult unrepaired TOF with uterine cancer. A hybrid surgical strategy minimized invasiveness and the patient survived both cancer resection and adjuvant radiochemotherapy.

Surgical extraction of a giant intracardiac lead vegetation and epicardial pacemaker reimplantation in a pacemaker-dependent hemodialysis patient.

A 57-year old male with a dual-chamber pacemaker and 40-year history of hemodialysis and autoinflammatory disease developed a large, 35 × 35 mm intracardiac vegetation on the right ventricular pacing lead. As this mass was large enough to occlude the tricuspid valve orifice, transvenous lead extraction was deemed unsuitable. Instead, an urgent surgical extraction of the whole pacemaker system, including leads and vegetation, was conducted under cardiopulmonary bypass.

Surgical resection of enlarged calcification formed by idiopathic localized constrictive pericarditis during total aortic arch replacement for aortic dissection.

A 75-year-old woman presented at a prior hospital with persistent cough and was treated conservatively for a thrombosed-type aortic dissection (Stanford A). One-year after discharge, follow-up computerized tomography revealed a DeBakey type II, chronic dissecting aortic aneurysm enlarged to 54 mm. She was referred to our hospital with slight edema in the face and extremities and chest radiography showed calcification around the heart.

Extremely young case of small bowel intussusception due to Peutz-Jeghers syndrome with nonsense mutation of STK11.

Intussusception is a frequent and severe complication of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS). We herein present the case of a 3-year-old girl who experienced jejuno-jejunal intussusception due to PJS polyps. Despite no apparent family history of PJS, she had exhibited mucocutaneous pigmentation since infancy and recurrent abdominal pain and vomiting from 2 years of age.

Pulmonary Artery Obstruction by Idiopathic Calcification Causing Sudden Collapse in a Neonate.

We report a case of a newborn infant who experienced circulatory collapse caused by a calcified lesion occluding the main pulmonary artery (PA). The baby was full-term at birth at a normal birth weight. Cyanosis was noted immediately after birth.

The effects of iclaprim on exotoxin production in methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus.

Purpose: Extracellular protein toxins contribute to the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus infections. The present study compared the effects of iclaprim and trimethoprim - two folic acid synthesis inhibitors - with nafcillin and vancomycin on production of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), alpha haemolysin (AH) and toxic-shock syndrome toxin I (TSST-1) in methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (MRSA and VISA, respectively).

Prognostic impact of low allelic ratio ITD and mutation in acute myeloid leukemia.

In the opinion of the European LeukemiaNet (ELN), nucleophosmin member 1 gene mutation ( mut)-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an fms-like kinase 3-internal tandem duplication (-ITD) allele ratio (AR) <0.5 (low AR) has a favorable prognosis, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) in the first complete remission (CR1) period is not actively recommended. We studied 147 patients with -ITD gene mutation-positive AML, dividing them into those with low AR and those with AR of ≥0.

Usefulness of BCOR gene mutation as a prognostic factor in acute myeloid leukemia with intermediate cytogenetic prognosis.

BCOR gene is a transcription regulatory factor that plays an essential role in normal hematopoiesis. The wider introduction of next-generation sequencing technology has led to reports in recent years of mutations in the BCOR gene in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but the related clinical characteristics and prognosis are not sufficiently understood. We investigated the clinical characteristics and prognosis of 377 de novo AML cases with BCOR or BCORL1 mutation.

Evaluation of the 95% limits of agreement of the volumes of 5-year clinically stable solid nodules for the development of a follow-up system for indeterminate solid nodules in CT lung cancer screening.

Background: This study sought to evaluate the 95% limits of agreement of the volumes of 5-year clinically stable solid nodules for the development of a follow-up system for indeterminate solid nodules.

Methods: The volumes of 226 solid nodules that had been clinically stable for 5 years were measured in 186 patients (53 female never-smokers, 36 male never-smokers, 51 males with <30 pack-years, and 46 males with ≥30 pack-years) using a three-dimensional semiautomated method. Volume changes were evaluated using three methods: percent change, proportional change and growth rate.

Popliteal Artery Pseudoaneurysm Associated with Osteochondroma.

Osteochondroma is the most common benign bone tumor, which can sometimes cause vascular complications. Here we report two rare cases (a 48-year-old woman and a 28-year-old woman) presenting with pain and a pulsatile mass in the popliteal region. Computed tomography revealed pseudoaneurysm in the popliteal artery, which was closely associated with a protrusion of a femoral osteochondroma.

Relationship between swallowing function and breathing/phonation.

Objective: Clarification of the association between the swallowing function and respiratory and phonatory functions.

Methods: The subjects were 30 patients with a chief complaint of swallowing disorder with clear consciousness capable of retaining a sitting position. Patients with organic and functional diseases of the larynx were excluded.

D816 mutation of the KIT gene in core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia is associated with poorer prognosis than other KIT gene mutations.

The clinical impact of KIT mutations in core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) is still unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the prognostic significance of each KIT mutation (D816, N822K, and other mutations) in Japanese patients with CBF-AML. We retrospectively analyzed 136 cases of CBF-AML that had gone into complete remission (CR).

[Pseudoaneurysm Formation after Aortic Root Replacement Using Freestyle Porcine Bioprosthesis].

We report a case of pseudoaneurysm formation after implantation of Medtronic Freestyle stentless bioprosthesis with a full root technique. A 65-year-old man previously underwent aortic root replacement with a Freestyle bioprosthesis. Ten years after the initial operation, pseudoaneurysm of the aortic root with a diameter of 6 cm was observed by computed tomography.

[Surgical Treatment for Various Types of Thoracic Aortic Disease using Commercially Available Open Stent Graft;Early Results and Technical Pitfalls].

Background: The open stent grafting, in other words "frozen elephant trunk (FET)" technique has been played an important role in surgical treatment of extensive thoracic aortic pathologies. J Graft Open Stent Graft (JOSG) was a new Japan-made commercially available product. We have recently introduced this attractive device as an alternative to self-made open stent graft.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia associated with DNA-methylation regulatory gene mutations.

In recent years, it has been reported that the frequency of DNA-methylation regulatory gene mutations - mutations of the genes that regulate gene expression through DNA methylation - is high in acute myeloid leukemia. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia with associated DNA-methylation regulatory gene mutation. We studied 308 patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Clinical features of Japanese polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia patients harboring CALR, JAK2V617F, JAK2Ex12del, and MPLW515L/K mutations.

The risk of complication of polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET) by thrombosis in Japanese patients is clearly lower than in western populations, suggesting that genetic background such as race may influence the clinical features. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between genetic mutations and haplotypes and clinical features in Japanese patients with PV and ET. Clinical features were assessed prospectively among 74 PV and 303 ET patients.

Complex molecular genetic abnormalities involving three or more genetic mutations are important prognostic factors for acute myeloid leukemia.

We conducted a comprehensive analysis of 28 recurrently mutated genes in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 271 patients with de novo AML. Co-mutations were frequently detected in the intermediate cytogenetic risk group, at an average of 2.76 co-mutations per patient.

Ultra-High-Resolution Computed Tomography of the Lung: Image Quality of a Prototype Scanner.

Purpose: The image noise and image quality of a prototype ultra-high-resolution computed tomography (U-HRCT) scanner was evaluated and compared with those of conventional high-resolution CT (C-HRCT) scanners.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the institutional review board. A U-HRCT scanner prototype with 0.