Effects of heat stress on predicted energy balance, fat-to-protein ratio, and milk β-hydroxybutyrate in first-lactation Holstein cattle in Hokkaido, Japan.

Heat stress (HS) reduces dry-matter intake and causes negative energy balance (EB) in Holstein cattle, with consequent deterioration in milk production and wellness. Therefore, the effects of HS can be detected more directly from imbalances in EB than from the consequent changes in production or health traits. EB can be monitored by metabolism-related traits such as predicted EB (PEB), the fat-to-protein ratio (FPR), or β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in milk.

Protection of understory vegetation by deer exclosure fences prevent the reduction of beech growth due to soil erosion.

Overbrowsing by ungulates has degraded understory vegetation in worldwide forests. Understory degradation causes soil erosion and environmental degradation, causing mature tree decline. Although ungulate exclosure fences are installed to protect vegetation, their effectiveness in preventing tree decline associated with soil degradation remains unclear.

MR elastography vs a combination of common non-invasive tests for estimation of severe liver fibrosis in patients with hepatobiliary tumors.

Objectives: To evaluate the accuracy of combined imaging and blood test indices related to liver fibrosis (LF) compared to magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) for estimating severe LF (F3-4) in preoperative patients.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent MRE, gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MRI, and dynamic CT before liver resection. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using MRE, liver-to-spleen signal intensity ratio (LSR) using Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI, and spleen volume normalized to body surface area (SV/BSA) using CT volumetry were measured.

Genetic relationship of energy balance predicted from milk traits with fertility in Japanese Holsteins.

We predicted the energy balance of cows from milk traits and estimated the genetic correlations of predicted energy balance (PEB) with fertility traits for the first three lactations. Data included 9,646,606 test-day records of 576,555 Holstein cows in Japan from 2015 to 2019. Genetic parameters were estimated with a multiple-trait model in which the records among lactation stages and parities were treated as separate traits.

Comparison between Intravoxel Incoherent Motion and Splenic Volumetry to Predict Hepatic Fibrosis Staging in Preoperative Patients.

Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and splenic volumetry (SV) for hepatic fibrosis (HF) prediction have been reported to be effective. Our purpose is to compare the HF prediction of IVIM and SV in 67 patients with pathologically staged HF. SV was divided by body surface area (BSA).

Comparison between CT volumetry, technetium galactosyl-serum-albumin scintigraphy, and gadoxetic-acid-enhanced MRI to estimate the liver fibrosis stage in preoperative patients.

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of computed tomography volumetry (CTV), technetium galactosyl-serum-albumin (Tc-GSA) scintigraphy, and gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic-acid-enhanced MRI (EOB-MRI) in estimating the liver fibrosis (LF) stage in patients undergoing liver resection.

Methods: This retrospective study included 91 consecutive patients who had undergone preoperative dynamic CT and Tc-GSA scintigraphy. EOB-MRI was performed in 76 patients.

Tumor stiffness measurement using magnetic resonance elastography can predict recurrence and survival after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Tumor stiffness measurement using magnetic resonance elastography can assess tumor mechanical properties and predict hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence. This study aimed to investigate preoperative tumor stiffness on magnetic resonance elastography as a predictor of overall survival and recurrence-free survival in patients with solitary nodular hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent curative resection.

Methods: Seventy-eight patients with solitary nodular hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent preoperative magnetic resonance elastography and curative resection were retrospectively analyzed.

Acute Liver Failure and Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure in COVID-19 Era.

Acute liver failure (ALF) and acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), respectively, occur in patients with normal liver and patients with chronic liver diseases, including cirrhosis [...

Environmental factors affecting the conception rates of nulliparous and primiparous dairy cattle.

Dairy cattle must allocate energy to milk production and reproduction. Therefore, understanding the environmental factors that affect conception rates in nulliparous and primiparous cows is helpful in appropriate feeding management strategies before and after calving. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of environmental factors before and after the first calving on the conception rate, representing the starting point of milk production.

Comparison between CT volumetry and extracellular volume fraction using liver dynamic CT for the predictive ability of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objectives: To compare the predictive ability of liver fibrosis (LF) by CT-volumetry (CTV) for liver and spleen and extracellular volume fraction (ECV) for liver in patients undergoing liver resection.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed 90 consecutive patients who underwent CTV and ECV. Manually placed region-of-interest ECV (manual-ECV), rigid-registration ECV (rigid-ECV), and nonrigid-registration ECV (nonrigid-ECV) were calculated as ECV(%) = (1-haematocrit) × (ΔHU/ΔHU), where ΔHU = subtraction of unenhanced phase from equilibrium phase (240 s).

Fine-tuning of β-catenin in mouse thymic epithelial cells is required for postnatal T-cell development.

In the thymus, the thymic epithelium provides a microenvironment essential for the development of functionally competent and self-tolerant T cells. Previous findings showed that modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in mouse thymic epithelial cells (TECs) disrupts embryonic thymus organogenesis. However, the role of β-catenin in TECs for postnatal T-cell development remains to be elucidated.

A proposed model on MR elastography for predicting postoperative major complications in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To develop a model for predicting post-operative major complications in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: In all, 186 consecutive patients with pre-operative MR elastography were included. Complications were categorised using Clavien‒Dindo classification, with major complications defined as ≥Grade 3.

Magnetic resonance elastography-based prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after curative resection.

Background: Liver stiffness measurement using magnetic resonance elastography can assess the severity of liver fibrosis, which is significantly associated with recurrence after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether preoperative liver stiffness measurement by magnetic resonance elastograhy can predict recurrence after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods: Patients who underwent preoperative liver stiffness measurement and curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma were enrolled in this study.

Predictive value of combined computed tomography volumetry and magnetic resonance elastography for major complications after liver resection.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare the predictive value of computed tomography volumetry (CTV), magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) of the liver, and their combination for major complications after liver resection.

Methods: We enrolled 108 consecutive patients who underwent anatomical liver resection for liver tumors and preoperative contrast-enhanced CT and MRE. The future liver remnant (FLR) ratio was calculated by CTV, while the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was obtained by MRE.

Subcuticular Sutures Versus Staples for Wound Closure in Open Liver Resection: A Randomised Clinical Trial.

Background: Subcuticular sutures reduce wound complication rates only in clean surgeries. Repeat resection is frequently required in liver surgery, due to the high recurrence rate (30-50%) of liver cancers. The aim of this study is to assess that subcuticular sutures is superior to staples in liver surgery.

Predictive value of perfusion CT for blood loss in liver resection.

Blood loss is associated with the degree of damage in liver stiffness. Severe liver steatosis is a matter of concern in liver surgery, but does not correlate with liver stiffness. This study aimed to assess the relationship between blood perfusion of the liver and blood loss in liver pathologies.

Effects of Pyrrole-Imidazole Polyamides Targeting Human TGF-β1 on the Malignant Phenotypes of Liver Cancer Cells.

Synthetic pyrrole-imidazole (PI) polyamides bind to the minor groove of double-helical DNA with high affinity and specificity, and inhibit the transcription of corresponding genes. In liver cancer, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β expression is correlated with tumor grade, and high-grade liver cancer tissues express epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers. TGF-β1 was reported to be involved in cancer development by transforming precancer cells to cancer stem cells (CSCs).

Effects of use of conventional and sexed semen on the conception rate in heifers: A comparison study.

Conception rate with the use of sexed semen is lower than that with the use of conventional semen, posing a major problem in the dairy industry. The aim of this study was to understand the risk factors that affect the conception rate after artificial insemination (AI) with conventional and sexed semen using field data. The records of the first insemination in Holstein heifers with conventional (n = 41,857) and sexed semen (n = 45,465) in Hokkaido, Japan were analyzed.

Genetic parameters for mastitis incidence and its indicators based on somatic cell score for Holsteins in Hokkaido, Japan.

The objectives of this study were to estimate the heritability of mastitis incidence and genetic correlations between the mastitis and the somatic cell score (SCS) statistics, and to compare the practicability between different models. We used test-day records with the mastitis incidence and SCS collected from Holstein cows calving from 1988 to 2015 in Hokkaido, Japan. As indicators of mastitis, the average SCS (avSCS), the standard deviation of SCS (sdSCS), and the maximum SCS (maxSCS) were calculated using test-day records up to the first 305 days in milk within a lactation.