Plasma Levels of a Cleaved Form of Galectin-9 Are the Most Sensitive Biomarkers of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and Tuberculosis Coinfection.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) complicated with tuberculosis (TB) is a global public issue. Due to the paucity of bacteria in AIDS/TB, blood-based biomarkers that reflect disease severity are desired. Plasma levels of matricellular proteins, such as osteopontin (OPN) and galectin-9 (Gal-9), are known to be elevated in AIDS and TB.

Sharp resonances in terahertz free-standing three-dimensional metallic woven meshes.

Free-standing structures that do not require any holder or substrate show high levels of flexibility and stretchability and hence are well-suited for THz applications. In this work, a free-standing three-dimensional metallic woven mesh is experimentally and numerically investigated at terahertz frequencies. Such mesh fabricated by weaving techniques exhibits sharp Fano-like resonances, which has not been found in previous studies.

Trend of strengthening clearance regulation in Japan and concerns about its worldwide effects on regulations for natural and artificial radionuclides.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan invited comments from the public on a revised guide on measurement and evaluation for clearance in 2019, which included a strict decision on how to treat uncertainties in the measurement and the nuclide vector. To resolve the issue on the uncertainty in clearance, a probabilistic approach had been established previously in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan Standard and incorporated into International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Report No. 67.

Evaluating the seasonality of growth in infants using a mobile phone application.

It has been observed that growth velocity of toddlers and school children shows seasonal variation, while such seasonality is unknown in infants. The aim of this study was to examine whether growth velocity (length and weight) of infants differs by seasons. We assessed longitudinal measurement data obtained for 9,409 Japanese infants whose parents used the mobile phone application, "Papatto Ikuji", during the period from January 2014 to October 2017.

Deletion of CD38 and supplementation of NAD attenuate axon degeneration in a mouse facial nerve axotomy model.

Following facial nerve axotomy, nerve function is not fully restored even after reconstruction. This may be attributed to axon degeneration/neuronal death and sustained neuroinflammation. CD38 is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and is a candidate molecule for regulating neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation.

CCN3 (NOV) Drives Degradative Changes in Aging Articular Cartilage.

Aging is a major risk factor of osteoarthritis, which is characterized by the degeneration of articular cartilage. CCN3, a member of the CCN family, is expressed in cartilage and has various physiological functions during chondrocyte development, differentiation, and regeneration. Here, we examine the role of CCN3 in cartilage maintenance.

SHP2 inhibition diminishes KRASG12C cycling and promotes tumor microenvironment remodeling.

KRAS is the most frequently mutated human oncogene, and KRAS inhibition has been a longtime goal. Recently, inhibitors were developed that bind KRASG12C-GDP and react with Cys-12 (G12C-Is). Using new affinity reagents to monitor KRASG12C activation and inhibitor engagement, we found that an SHP2 inhibitor (SHP2-I) increases KRAS-GDP occupancy, enhancing G12C-I efficacy.

Long-term administration of alpha-1 blocker can reverse the micturition pattern in a bladder outlet obstruction murine model.

Objective: To investigate the effect of chronic administration of an alpha-1 blocker on micturition patterns in long-term partial bladder outlet obstruction.

Methods: Mice were divided into three groups: a normal group, in which animals were fed a standard diet; a partial bladder outlet obstruction group, in which the proximal urethra was tied and animals were fed a standard diet; and a partial bladder outlet obstruction + naftopidil group, in which the proximal urethra was tied and animals were fed a standard diet containing naftopidil. Micturition behavior was evaluated in all groups for 6 months after partial bladder outlet obstruction surgery.

Extraction of Pd(ii) and Pt(ii) from aqueous hydrochloric acid with 1,3-diaminocalix[4]arene: switching of the extraction selectivity by using different extraction modes.

The extraction ability of 1,3-diaminocalix[4]arene (2: HL) toward platinum group metals (PGMs) has been investigated, which revealed that 2 is able to extract Pd(ii) and Pt(ii) from hydrochloric acid different extraction modes. The extraction species for Pd(ii) and Pt(ii) are [PdL] and [PtCl(HL)], respectively, as evidenced by equilibrium analysis and X-ray crystallography. In [PdL], the two phenoxide oxygens and two amino nitrogens of L coordinate to the Pd ion.

Microscopic pulmonary tumor embolism from adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

Introduction: Microscopic pulmonary tumor embolisms from prostate cancer are extremely rare. In this case of prostate cancer, microscopic pulmonary tumor embolism developed during androgen deprivation therapy.

Case Presentation: A 56-year-old man was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent androgen deprivation therapy.

Distance-Selected Topochemical Dehydro-Diels-Alder Reaction of 1,4-Diphenylbutadiyne toward Crystalline Graphitic Nanoribbons.

Solid-state topochemical polymerization (SSTP) is a promising method to construct functional crystalline polymeric materials, but in contrast to various reactions that happen in solution, only very limited types of SSTP reactions are reported. Diels-Alder (DA) and dehydro-DA (DDA) reactions are textbook reactions for preparing six-membered rings in solution but are scarcely seen in solid-state synthesis. Here, using multiple cutting-edge techniques, we demonstrate that the solid 1,4-diphenylbutadiyne (DPB) undergoes a DDA reaction under 10-20 GPa with the phenyl as the dienophile.

Improved Parkinsons disease motor score in a single-arm open-label trial of febuxostat and inosine.

Background: Cellular energetics play an important role in Parkinsons disease etiology, but no treatments directly address this deficiency. Our past research showed that treatment with febuxostat and inosine increased blood hypoxanthine and ATP in healthy adults, and a preliminary trial in 3 Parkinson's disease patients suggested some symptomatic improvements with no adverse effects.

Methods: To examine the efficacy on symptoms and safety in a larger group of Parkinsons disease patients, we conducted a single-arm, open-label trial at 5 Japanese neurology clinics and enrolled thirty patients (nmales = 11; nfemales = 19); 26 patients completed the study (nmales = 10; nfemales = 16).

A Surrogate Animal Model for Screening of Ebola and Marburg Glycoprotein-Targeting Drugs Using Pseudotyped Vesicular Stomatitis Viruses.

Filoviruses, including Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV), cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates with high mortality rates. There is no approved therapy against these deadly viruses. Antiviral drug development has been hampered by the requirement of a biosafety level (BSL)-4 facility to handle infectious EBOV and MARV because of their high pathogenicity to humans.

Structure change of monoclinic ZrO baddeleyite involving softenings of bulk modulus and atom vibrations.

Monoclinic ZrO baddeleyite exhibits anomalous softenings of the bulk modulus and atom vibrations with compression. The pressure evolution of the structure is investigated using neutron powder diffraction combined with ab initio calculations. The results show that the anomalous pressure response of the bulk modulus is related not to the change in the bonding characters but to the deformation of an oxygen sublattice, especially one of the layers made of oxygen atoms in the crystallographic a* plane.

(Pro)renin receptor promotes crescent formation via the ERK1/2 and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in glomerulonephritis.

(Pro)renin receptor [(P)RR] has multiple functions, but its regulation and role in the pathogenesis in glomerulonephritis (GN) are poorly defined. The aims of the present study were to determine the effects of direct renin inhibition (DRI) and demonstrate the role of (P)RR on the progression of crescentic GN. The anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis rat model developed progressive proteinuria (83.

Relationship between interleukin-1β gene expression in epicardial adipose tissue and coronary atherosclerosis based on computed tomographic analysis.

Background: Anti-inflammatory therapy targeting interleukin (IL)-1β reduced cardiovascular events in a randomized trial. We evaluated the relationship between IL-1β mRNA expression in epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and clinically-assessed coronary atherosclerosis on computed tomography (CT).

Methods: We studied 45 patients before cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass grafting [CABG], n ​= ​18; non-CABG, n ​= ​27).

Blockade of costimulatory CD27/CD70 pathway promotes corneal allograft survival.

Purpose: To determine whether the CD27/CD70 pathway plays a significant role in corneal allograft rejection by investigating the effect of blocking the CD27/CD70 pathway by anti-CD70 antibody on corneal allograft survival.

Methods: Orthotopic penetrating keratoplasty was performed using C57BL/6 donor grafts and BALB/c recipients. Expression of CD27 and CD70 on rejected cornea was examined by immunohistochemistry.

A retrospective comparative study of corrective osteotomy for tibial deformities with the multiaxial correction fixator and the circular fixator.

Purpose: A multiaxial correction (MAC) fixator is a monolateral type of fixator that can correct multi-planer deformities. The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical outcome of correction for tibial deformities with the MAC fixator and the circular external fixators.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients reconstructed with the MAC fixator (MAC group) or circular external fixators (Ring group) due to the congenital diseases or residual conditions after treatment of trauma, infection, tumor, or limb lengthening between 2003 and 2016.

Intrafamilial phenotypic distinction of hypophosphatasia with identical tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase gene mutation: a family report.

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is caused by mutations in the tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene in an autosomal recessive or dominant manner and characterized by defective mineralization of bone and low serum ALP levels. In this report, we present a family with HPP mother (case 1) and HPP child (case 2) who have identical TNSALP gene mutation (c.1015G>A p.

Elevated Levels of Galectin-9 but Not Osteopontin in HIV and Tuberculosis Infections Indicate Their Roles in Detecting MTB Infection in HIV Infected Individuals.

Galectin-9 (Gal-9) and osteopontin (OPN) play immunomodulatory roles in tuberculosis and HIV infections. Evaluation of their levels as well as their interplay with different pro-inflammatory cytokines is critical to understand their role in immunopathogenesis of HIV/tuberculosis co-infection considering the complexity of the disease. Plasma levels of these proteins were measured by ELISAs in HIV-negative individuals with pulmonary ( = 21), extrapulmonary ( = 33), and latent tuberculosis ( = 22) and in HIV infected patients with pulmonary ( = 14), latent tuberculosis ( = 17), and without tuberculosis ( = 41).

Vulnerability to psychological stress-induced anorexia in female mice depends on blockade of ghrelin signal in nucleus tractus solitarius.

Background And Purpose: Women have a higher incidence of eating disorders than men. We investigated whether the effects of ghrelin on feeding are affected by sex and stress, and to elucidate the mechanisms that may cause sex differences in stress-mediated anorexia, focusing on ghrelin.

Experimental Approach: Acylated ghrelin was administered to naïve and psychologically stressed male and female C57BL/6J mice, followed by measurements of food intake and plasma hormone levels.

Arthroscopic resection of a loose body in the inextensible metacarpophalangeal joint of the middle finger complicated with osteoarthritis: A case report.

Arthroscopic surgery is a standard technique for removal of loose bodies in large joints. By contrast, there were a few reports of arthroscopic surgery for loose bodies in small joints. We herein report a case of a 70-year-old woman with an inextensible metacarpophalangeal joint in the right middle finger due to an intra-articular loose body that developed after osteoarthritis.