First aid with color atlas for the use of intestinal ultrasound for inflammatory bowel disease in daily clinical practice.

Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) is a promising modality for the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and has the potential to particularly contribute in monitoring disease activity, an advantage crucial for optimizing the therapeutic strategy. While many IBD physicians appreciate and are interested in the use of IUS for IBD, currently only a limited number of facilities can employ this examination in daily clinical practice. A lack of guidance is one of the major barriers to introducing this procedure.

Long-Term Exposure to Morphine Induces Cross-Tolerance to Acute Antinociceptive Effect of Remifentanil on Somatic and Visceral Stimuli in Rats.

Purpose: Remifentanil is one of the most commonly used opioids intraoperatively. Previous reports indicate that long-term use of opioids may lead to cross-tolerance to remifentanil, which poses a challenge in the control of acute pain intraoperatively. However, there is limited information regarding cross-tolerance to remifentanil, especially in visceral pain.

Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers for the Japanese endangered land snail Mandarina.

Objective: Mandarina is an endangered land snail genus of the oceanic Ogasawara archipelago. On Chichijima Island, the largest inhabited island in Ogasawara, this genus is almost extinct in the wild due to predation by invasive species. Although ex situ conservation programs started in 2010, genetic diversity and population structure remain unclear due to a lack of genetic markers with sufficient genetic variation.

The frequency of postoperative BNP measurement and intervention threshold of BNP concentration in pediatric cardiac intensive care unit: a prospective multicenter observational study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the current status of postoperative BNP measurement in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU).

Methods: This was a prospective multicenter observational study. Children under 15 years old who underwent pediatric cardiac surgery were included.

Artificial intelligence (AI) models for the ultrasonographic diagnosis of liver tumors and comparison of diagnostic accuracies between AI and human experts.

Background: Ultrasonography (US) is widely used for the diagnosis of liver tumors. However, the accuracy of the diagnosis largely depends on the visual perception of humans. Hence, we aimed to construct artificial intelligence (AI) models for the diagnosis of liver tumors in US.

Ratio of submucosal thickness to total bowel wall thickness as a new sonographic parameter to estimate endoscopic remission of ulcerative colitis.

Background: The development of feasible, reliable parameters and criteria for intestinal ultrasound (IUS) to estimate endoscopic remission of ulcerative colitis (UC) is a crucial clinical challenge. Such parameters must be simple, objective, and reproducible so that IUS can be widely used in daily practice. We developed a new parameter called the submucosa index (SMI), defined as a percentage of the submucosal thickness (SMT) in the total bowel wall thickness (BWT), and investigated its clinical potential.

Sonographically Measured Adipose Tissue Thickness Correlates with Laboratory Test Abnormalities Reflecting Metabolic State in Elderly Women.

Accumulation of adipose tissue progresses to metabolic diseases. Sonography is a convenient modality for measuring the thickness of adipose tissue. The present study aimed to clarify the site of adipose tissue thickness that correlated best with laboratory test values reflecting metabolic abnormalities.

Value of Low-Mechanical-Index Contrast-Enhanced Transabdominal Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-analysis.

The incidence and mortality rates of pancreatic cancer (PC) are increasing. It is important to discriminate PC from the other pancreatic lesions; however, differential diagnosis based on conventional transabdominal ultrasound (US) remains challenging even though US is often the first examination performed. Transabdominal contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has high diagnostic accuracy for PC.

Ancient drainage networks mediated a large-scale genetic introgression in the East Asian freshwater snails.

Biogeography and genetic variation of freshwater organisms are influenced not only by current freshwater connections but also by past drainage networks. The Seto Inland Sea is a shallow enclosed sea in Japan, but geological evidence showed that a large freshwater drainage had intermittently appeared in this area between the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Here, we demonstrated that this paleodrainage greatly affected the genetic variation of the East Asian freshwater snails, spp.

Biphasic Cuirass Ventilation During Anesthesia for Tracheobronchial Stent Insertion or Removal by a Rigid Bronchoscope: A Case Report.

Airway management and ventilation during a tracheobronchial stenting procedure are challenging given that mandatory positive pressure ventilation cannot be fully achieved while using a rigid bronchoscope due to leakage from the scope tip. Biphasic cuirass ventilation is a negative pressure ventilation method using an external cuirass fitted to the anterior chest, which could assist in spontaneous breathing and ventilation support. We report 3 successful anesthesia cases in which we could maintain adequate ventilation and oxygenation, supported by biphasic cuirass ventilation, in patients undergoing tracheobronchial stent placement or removal procedures using rigid bronchoscopy.

An HIV-infected Patient with Confirmed Overlapping Complications of Severe Amebic Colitis and CMV Enteritis.

We herein report a case of simultaneous amebic colitis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) enteritis in an HIV-infected patient. The patient was a 40-year-old man who developed bloody stool and diarrhea. We diagnosed him with severe amebic colitis associated with HIV infection and administered metronidazole.

[Video-assisted Transaortic Left Ventricular Thrombectomy].

A 50-year-old woman visited a previous hospital because of aphasia. She was diagnosed as having cardiogenic embolism and left ventricular thrombus. Anticoagulant therapy was performed but was unsuccessful because of hypermenorrhea due to the myoma of the uterus.

Inferring evolutionary responses of Anolis carolinensis introduced into the Ogasawara archipelago using whole genome sequence data.

Invaded species often can rapidly expand and establish in novel environments through adaptive evolution, resulting in devastating effects on native communities. However, it is unclear if genetic variation at whole-genomic levels is actually reduced in the introduced populations and which genetic changes have occurred responding to adaptation to new environments. In the 1960s, Anolis carolinensis was introduced onto one of the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, and subsequently expanded its range rapidly throughout two of the islands.

A Caucasian American patient with celiac disease diagnosed in Japan and successfully treated with a gluten-free diet.

We report the case of a 33-year-old Caucasian American man diagnosed with celiac disease in Japan. He presented to a community hospital because of chronic watery diarrhea and weight loss for 6 months. The laboratory data showed low serum albumin and serum cholesterol.

Declining soil Crustacea in a World Heritage Site caused by land nemertean.

Invasive non-native species are of great concern throughout the world. Potential severity of the impacts of non-native species is assessed for effective conservation managements. However, such risk assessment is often difficult, and underestimating possible harm can cause substantial issues.

Factors restricting the range expansion of the invasive green anole on Okinawa Island, Japan.

The green anole invaded the Ogasawara Islands in Japan, drove various native species to extinction, and its distribution expanded 14 years after initial establishment. invaded Okinawa Island, but it has not expanded its distribution in more than 25 years, although its density is extremely high in the southern region. To determine whether has the potential to expand its distribution on Okinawa Island, we performed phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial ND2 DNA sequences to study the origin of that invaded Okinawa Island.

Comparative epidemiology of influenza A and B viral infection in a subtropical region: a 7-year surveillance in Okinawa, Japan.

Background: The epidemic patterns of influenza B infection and their association with climate conditions are not well understood. Influenza surveillance in Okinawa is important for clarifying transmission patterns in both temperate and tropical regions. Using surveillance data, collected over 7 years in the subtropical region of Japan, this study aims to characterize the epidemic patterns of influenza B infection and its association with ambient temperature and relative humidity, in a parallel comparison with influenza A.

Effects of an invasive ant on land snails in the Ogasawara Islands.

We investigated how Pheidole megacephala has affected endemic achatinellid snails because these snails are excellent indicators of the impact of ants and they have high conservation value in Ogasawara. In 2015 we surveyed the Minamizaki area of Hahajima Island of Ogasawara, designated a core zone of the World Heritage Site, for P. megacephala.

Cardiac perforation caused by cement after percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty.

Percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty is a relatively simple, convenient, and minimally invasive procedure in which polymethylmethacrylate bone cement is used to manage back pain and spinal instability associated with osteoporotic compression fractures and other osteolytic spinal lesions. However, cement leakage into the venous system is a serious complication following percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty. A 74-year-old woman presented with cardiac perforation and pulmonary embolism caused by cement leakage into her venous system.

Relationship between epicardial adipose tissue thickness and early impairment of left ventricular systolic function in patients with preserved ejection fraction.

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is metabolically bioactive fat. The present study aimed to clarify the relationship between EAT amount and early impairment of left ventricular (LV) systolic function in patients with preserved ejection fraction (EF), all evaluated echocardiographically. Participants comprised 62 elderly women (mean age ± standard deviation, 68 ± 11 years) with lifestyle-related diseases and EF ≥ 60 %.

Safety study of somatostatin analogue octreotide for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in Japan.

Background: The total kidney volume (TKV) and total liver volume (TLV) increase and renal function decreases progressively in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Somatostatin analogues, such as octreotide, reduce these increases in TKV and TLV. The aim of this study was to examine the safety of the short-term administration of octreotide long-acting release (octreotide-LAR) in a small number of cases.

Carcinosarcoma, an atypical subset of gallbladder malignancies.

Carcinosarcoma represents an atypical subset of gallbladder malignancies, and sonographic imaging features have not yet been precisely defined. Previously reported cases have shown a heterogeneously echogenic solid mass protruding into and filling the gallbladder lumen. We present herein a case of carcinosarcoma and propose another finding suggestive of this tumor.

[Mitral regurgitation with concomitant atrial septal aneurysm; report of a case].

A 64-year-old female was admitted to our hospital because of severe dyspnea. Echocardiography revealed mitral valve regurgitation and atrial septal aneurysm (ASA). After instituting medical treatment for congestive heart failure, euvolemic status was achieved, and the patient underwent; (1) prosthetic patch repair for ASA; (2) mitral valvuloplasty with partial quadrangular resection of the posterior mitral leaflet; and (3) mitral annuloplasty using Physio ring.