Serum PD-1 regulation and PD-1 expression of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in patients in thyroid eye disease associated with immunosuppression treatment.

Purpose: Thyroid eye disease (TED) primarily occurs in hyperthyroid patients, sometimes resulting in poor visual prognosis. Although other autoimmune diseases have been reported to be associated with serum programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), the relationship with TED remains unknown. This study investigated the relationship between TED and immune checkpoint molecules.

The Effectiveness of Pattern Scanning Laser Trabeculoplasty as an Additional Treatment for the Patients of Open-Angle Glaucoma Receiving Full Ocular Hypotensive Medications.

: Our purpose was to examine the effectiveness of pattern scanning laser trabeculoplasty (PSLT) as an additional treatment for patients of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) receiving maximized ocular hypotensive medications (OHM). : A total of 40 eyes of 33 patients (average age 72.7 ± 10.

Prophylactic Cervical Cerclage in Cases Following Cervical Conization at a Japanese Perinatal Center.

The objective of this study was to re-examine the effect of cerclage on the possible factors associated with preterm delivery in women who had cervical conization. This was a retrospective cohort study comparing the obstetric outcomes of women with or without prophylactic cervical cerclage in pregnancy following a prior conization and managed at our institute between 2004 and 2023. In this study, there were 75% of pregnant women with a history of cervical conization.

Symptoms of Isolated Optic Neuropathy in a Patient with Systemic, Brain, and Meningeal Metastases from Breast Cancer: A Case Report.

Introduction: Ocular metastases from breast cancer, particularly involving the optic nerve, are rare and pose a diagnostic challenge. Typically, optic nerve metastases are believed to originate from nearby choroidal metastases or hematogenous spread through the posterior ciliary arteries. However, there have been some reports of metastases through leptomeningeal dissemination.

Relationship between vitreous interleukin-6 levels and vitreous particles findings on widefield optical coherence tomography in posterior uveitis.

Purpose: To investigate relationship between vitreous interleukin-6 levels and vitreous particles findings on widefield optical coherence tomography in posterior uveitis.

Methods: This retrospective study examined vitreous inflammatory cells (hyperreflective particles) of posterior uveitis on widefield optical coherence tomography (WOCT). We examined the number of hyperreflective particles (possibility of vitreous inflammatory cells) observed on WOCT and the correlations with interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels.

Metabolism-linked methylotaxis sensors responsible for plant colonization in strain 22A.

Motile bacteria take a competitive advantage in colonization of plant surfaces to establish beneficial associations that eventually support plant health. Plant exudates serve not only as primary growth substrates for bacteria but also as bacterial chemotaxis attractants. A number of plant-derived compounds and corresponding chemotaxis sensors have been documented, however, the sensors for methanol, one of the major volatile compounds released by plants, have not been identified.

Serum CA125 level as predictors of the efficacy of olaparib maintenance therapy for platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer.

Aim: Ovarian cancer is a gynecological malignancy with a poor prognosis. For platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer, maintenance therapy with poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors after chemotherapy is considered; however, olaparib treatment does not always lead to sufficient progression-free survival (PFS). This study aimed to identify factors that predict the efficacy of maintenance therapy using olaparib in platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer.

Machine Learning Model with Texture Analysis for Automatic Classification of Histopathological Images of Ocular Adnexal Mucosa-associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma of Two Different Origins.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop artificial intelligence algorithms that can distinguish between orbital and conjunctival mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas in pathological images.

Methods: Tissue blocks with residual MALT lymphoma and data from histological and flow cytometric studies and molecular genetic analyses such as gene rearrangement were procured for 129 patients treated between April 2008 and April 2020. We collected pathological hematoxylin and eosin-stained (HE) images of lymphoma from these patients and cropped 10 different image patches at a resolution of 2048 × 2048 from pathological images from each patient.

Factors related to intensive care unit Nurses' work engagement: A web-based survey.

A questionnaire survey on the personal and work factors related to work engagement among intensive care unit nurses concerning their recovery experiences and the nursing practice environment was conducted using a web-based tool. Two individual factors (demographics and experience on recovery from job stress) and four work factors (work employment type, nursing method, COVID-19 nursing experience, and nursing practice environment) were surveyed. Data from 244 participants were obtained, and survey items were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis with work engagement as the dependent variable.

Relationship between Vitreous IL-6 Levels, Gender Differences and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in a Blood Sample of Posterior Uveitis.

This study retrospectively determined the relationship between vitreous IL-6 levels and clinical and laboratory data collected from uveitis patients. We examined an unknown cause of posterior uveitis, collecting vitreous fluid to investigate vitreous IL-6 levels. The samples were analyzed in consideration of clinical and laboratory factors, such as the male/female ratio.

En-face widefield optical coherence tomography angiography for understanding vascular networks changes in two cases of acute retinal necrosis.

Purpose: The present study assesses the utility of en-face widefield optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) imaging for evaluating the retinal vascular network during the course of treatment in acute retinal necrosis(ARN).

Observations: OCTA images of two cases of acute retinal necrosis were analyzed. Case 1 was a 15-year-old male with visual crowding in his right eye who had best-corrected visual acuity of 16/20 and intraocular pressure of 25 mmHg in his right eye on initial evaluation.

Relationship between ultra-widefield optical coherence tomography and ophthalmoscopy for detecting posterior inflammation in posterior uveitis and panuveitis.

Purpose: To confirm the utility of ultra-widefield optical coherence tomography (W-OCT) for diagnosing uveitis.

Method: We retrospectively studied patients who had been diagnosed with uveitis and had undergone W-OCT. All patients had visited at Osaka Metropolitan University between January 2019 and January 2022.

En Face Images Using Ultra-Widefield Optical Coherence Tomography in 2 Cases of Traumatic Hypotony Maculopathy before and after Surgical Intervention.

The aim was to investigate the structural changes of the retina using en face ultra-widefield optical coherence tomography (OCT) images during the treatment of hypotony maculopathy with traumatic cyclodialysis. Case 1 was a 43-year-old male patient with visual crowding in his left eye (metallic wire injury that occurred 3 weeks previously) who was referred to our department. Although best-corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in his left eye on initial evaluation, intraocular pressure was 6 mm Hg.

Prediction of Oral Drug Absorption in Rats from In Vitro Data.

Purpose: In drug discovery, rats are widely used for pharmacological and toxicological studies. We previously reported that a mechanism-based oral absorption model, the gastrointestinal unified theoretical framework (GUT framework), can appropriately predict the fraction of a dose absorbed (Fa) in humans and dogs. However, there are large species differences between humans and rats.

The Need for Adult Pneumococcal Vaccination in Nigeria.

Despite universal immunization coverage on a global scale among children, the vast majority of immunocompromised adults, and particularly the elderly, remain unvaccinated. Considering that a significant proportion of mortality from pneumococcal disease occurs among the elderly, preventive measures through pneumococcal vaccination in adults, especially the elderly with co-morbidities, needs to be urgently explored and implemented in Africa, and particularly in Nigeria, to stem the tide of deaths resulting from pneumococcal disease among this population. This article looks at the pneumococcal epidemiology and burden of disease in Nigeria, as well as the vaccines available and the rationale for adult pneumococcal vaccination.

Association between induction of the self-management system for preventing readmission and disease severity and length of readmission in patients with heart failure.

Objective: We recently developed the self-management system using the HF points and instructions to visit hospitals or clinics when the points exceed the pre-specified levels. We found that the self-management system decreased the hospitalization for HF with an increase in unplanned visits and early intervention in the outpatient department. However, it is unclear whether we managed severe HF outpatients who should have been hospitalized.

Discrepancy between left ventricular hypertrophy by echocardiography and electrocardiographic hypertrophy: clinical characteristics and outcomes.

Background: The clinical significance of the discrepancy between left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) by echocardiography and ECG remains to be elucidated.

Methods: After excluding patients who presented with pacemaker placement, QRS duration ≥120 ms and cardiomyopathy and moderate to severe valvular disease, we retrospectively analysed 3212 patients who had undergone both scheduled transthoracic echocardiography (echo) and ECG in a hospital-based population. Cornell product >2440 mm · ms was defined as ECG-based LVH; left ventricular mass index >115 g/m for men and >95 g/m for women was defined as echo-based LVH.

Clinical impact of left and right axis deviations with narrow QRS complex on 3-year outcomes in a hospital-based population in Japan.

While the prognostic impact of QRS axis deviation has been assessed, it has never been investigated in patients without conduction block. Thus, we evaluated the prognostic impact of QRS-axis deviation in patients without conduction block. We retrospectively analyzed 3353 patients who had undergone both scheduled transthoracic echocardiography and electrocardiography in 2013 in a hospital-based population, after excluding patients with a QRS duration of ≥ 110 ms, pacemaker placement, and an QRS-axis - 90° to - 180° (northwest axis).

Effectiveness of protocol-based pharmacotherapy management collaboration between hospital and community pharmacists to address capecitabine-related hand-foot syndrome in cancer patients: a retrospective study.

Background: Pharmaceutical care of capecitabine-related hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is extremely important to avoid the progression of the syndrome. Protocol-based pharmacotherapy management (PBPM) of HFS by community pharmacists has been introduced in our community, whereby the community pharmacist instructs patients to use steroid creams if they develop HFS of grade 2 or higher. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of PBPM in cancer patients with HFS by comparing it to conventional pharmaceutical care using monitoring reports for pharmacotherapy management by community pharmacists.

Prevalence of rubella antibodies: comparison between women with pregnancy induced by infertility treatments and those with spontaneous pregnancy.

Widespread rubella epidemics have sometimes occurred in Japan. We compared the prevalence of rubella antibodies in women who had conceived after infertility treatments and in those who had conceived spontaneously. We reviewed the obstetric records of nulliparous Japanese women who had conceived after infertility treatments and whose babies had been born at the Japanese Red Cross Katsushika Maternity Hospital from 2014 to 2018.

Efficacy and safety of sorafenib plus vitamin K treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma: A phase II, randomized study.

The previous retrospective study suggested that dosing vitamin K may enhance the anticancer action of sorafenib against hepatocellular carcinoma. To confirm it, we performed a phase II, randomized, open-label study. Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were randomly assigned to receive sorafenib + vitamin K2 (menatetrenone, 45 mg daily, orally) or sorafenib only.

Evaluation of Cell-Penetrating Peptides as Versatile, Effective Absorption Enhancers: Relation to Molecular Weight and Inherent Epithelial Drug Permeability.

Purpose: The poor permeability of new drug candidates across intestinal epithelial membranes complicates their development in oral form. This study investigated the potential of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) to improve the intestinal permeation and absorption of low-permeable low-molecular-weight (low-MW) drugs.

Methods: The in vitro epithelial permeation of six different drugs (metformin, risedronate, zanamivir, methotrexate [MTX], tacrolimus, and vincristine [VCR]) across Caco-2 cell monolayers was examined in the presence and absence of L- or D-penetratin, and the correlation between permeation enhancement efficiency and the properties of tested drugs was analyzed.

Xanthopsia Due to Digoxin Toxicity as a Cause of Traffic Accidents: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Manifestations of digoxin toxicity vary, such as cardiac disturbances and gastrointestinal symptoms, and most are not specific to digoxin toxicity. We report a case of xanthopsia (yellow vision), a rare and relatively specific manifestation of digoxin toxicity, causing traffic accidents. CASE REPORT A 76-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for treatment of heart failure.

Association of the induction of a self-care management system with 1-year outcomes in patients hospitalized for heart failure.

Background: To perform self-care in patients with heart failure (HF), we developed and implemented a new HF point self-care system, which was characterized by 1) the way weight and HF symptoms were scored ("Heart Failure Points") and 2) the timing of consultations defined for both patients and health care providers. We examined the association between the induction of the new system and 1-year outcomes in patients hospitalized for HF.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 569 consecutive patients into our study who were admitted for HF treatment at our hospital: 275 patients between November 2011 and October 2013 (before the induction of the self-management system) and 294 patients between November 2015 and October 2017 (after the induction).