Non-stapling thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax in young patients.

Objectives: Spontaneous pneumothorax in young patients has a high recurrence rate, even after surgical treatment, and bulla neogenesis around stapled lesions has been reported as a cause of postoperative recurrence. We investigate the clinical safety and long-term outcome of non-stapling thoracoscopic surgery for spontaneous pneumothorax in young patients.

Methods: Twenty-seven non-stapling thoracoscopic surgeries for pneumothorax in 24 patients younger than 25 years were retrospectively reviewed.

Computational study of the impact of nucleotide variations on highly conserved proteins: In the case of actin.

Sequencing of individual human genomes enables studying relationship among nucleotide variations, amino acid substitutions, effect on protein structures and diseases. Many studies have found general tendencies, for instance, that pathogenic variations tend to be found in the buried regions of the protein structures, that benign variations tend to be found on the surface of the proteins, and that variations on evolutionary conserved residues tend to be pathogenic. These tendencies were deduced from globular proteins with standard evolutionary changes in amino acid sequences.

[A Case of Spindle Cell Tumor in the Gastric Mucosa Treated with Laparoscopic Local Gastrectomy].

The patient was a 43-year-old man. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopic examination revealed a gastric submucosal tumor(SMT)-like, elevated 8-mm lesion in the greater curvature of the upper body of the stomach. It was diagnosed as spindle cell tumor on the basis of biopsy findings, and a gastrointestinal stromal tumor(GIST)was suspected.

Systemic Anaplastic Large T-Cell Lymphoma with Initial Presentation of Dysuria in a Dog.

A 6-year-old spayed female Akita Dog had dysuria, severe urinary retention and miliary masses in the vagina. Computed tomography revealed a mass at the urethrovaginal junction. The dog died 2 months after initial presentation.

Protein Data Bank Japan: Celebrating our 20th anniversary during a global pandemic as the Asian hub of three dimensional macromolecular structural data.

Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj), a founding member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) has accepted, processed and distributed experimentally determined biological macromolecular structures for 20 years. During that time, we have continuously made major improvements to our query search interface of PDBj Mine 2, the BMRBj web interface, and EM Navigator for PDB/BMRB/EMDB entries. PDBj also serves PDB-related secondary database data, original web-based modeling services such as Homology modeling of complex structure (HOMCOS), visualization services and utility tools, which we have continuously enhanced and expanded throughout the years.

Co-Development of Oncology Drugs and Companion Diagnostics: Analyses of Approval Lags and Drug Development Periods in Recently Approved Cases in Japan.

Background: The utilization of biomarkers has become increasingly active to enhance efficiency of clinical development. This study evaluated the current situation and quantitative impact of co-development of companion diagnostics (CDx) on the oncology drug development in Japan.

Methods: Based on publicly available information about the oncology drugs and CDx approved in Japan in 2010-2020, we evaluated the approval lag time between drugs and CDx, and the duration between the pivotal study start date and the new drug application submission date (the time to application).

[Surgical Strategy for Multiple Synchronous Primary Lung Cancer Showing Ground Glass Opacities:Percutaneous Preoperative Computed Tomography-guided Lipiodol Marking Followed by Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery].

From May 2006 to March 2018, a total of 30 patients with multiple ground glass opacities( GGO) lessor equal to 2.0 cm underwent percutaneous preoperative computed tomography (CT)-guided Lipiodolmarking and subsequent video-assisted thoracic surgery( VATS). There were 22 patients with 2 GGOs,6 patients with 3 GGOs, 1 patient with 4 GGOs, and 1 patient with 5 GGOs.

A case of gastric ischemia caused by massive gastric dilatation due to superior mesenteric artery syndrome.

Gastric ischemia is extremely rare and its endoscopic findings appear similar to those of malignant tumors, which makes accurate diagnosis difficult. We present the case of a 41-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital for severe abdominal pain and vomiting. Laboratory data at the time of admission indicated high serum levels of C-reactive protein, fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products and D-dimer.

A novel strain of endophytic Streptomyces for the biocontrol of strawberry anthracnose caused by Glomerella cingulata.

Anthracnose caused by Glomerella cingulata is one of the most devastating diseases of strawberry in Japan, particularly during its nursery period in the summer. In this study, we aimed to isolate and screen endophytic actinobacteria, to identify potential biocontrol agents capable of suppressing strawberry anthracnose. A total of 226 actinobacteria were successfully isolated from surface-sterilized strawberry tissues.

Safety and reliability of computed tomography-guided lipiodol marking for undetectable pulmonary lesions.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and reliability of percutaneous computed tomography (CT)-guided lipiodol marking for undetectable pulmonary lesions before video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).

Methods: We retrospectively analysed the cases of CT-guided lipiodol marking followed by VATS in 9 institutes from May 2006 to March 2018. Lipiodol (0.

Relationship between conformation shift and disease related variation sites in ATP-binding cassette transporter proteins.

Transport of small molecules across the cell membrane is a crucial biological mechanism for the maintenance of the cell activity. ABC transporter family is a huge group in the transporter membrane proteins and actively transports the substrates using the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis. In humans, there are 48 distinct genes for ABC transporters.

Direct generation of frequency-bin entangled photons via two-period quasi-phase-matched parametric downconversion.

We report a simple scheme for direct generation of frequency-bin entangled photon pairs via spontaneous parametric downconversion. Our fabricated nonlinear optical crystal with two different poling periods can simultaneously satisfy two different, spectrally symmetric nondegenerate quasi-phase-matching conditions, enabling the direct generation of entanglement in two discrete frequency-bin modes. Our produced photon pairs exhibited Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with high-visibility beating oscillations- a signature of two-mode frequency-bin entanglement.

Effects of Process Parameters on Material Removal in Vibration-Assisted Polishing of Micro-Optic Mold.

Process parameter conditions such as vibrating motion, abrasives, pressure and tool wear play an important role in vibration-assisted polishing of micro-optic molds as they strongly affect material removal efficiency and stability. This paper presents an analytical and experimental investigation on the effects of process parameters, aimed at clarifying interrelations between material removal and process parameters which affect polishing quantitatively. The material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness which represent the polishing characteristics were examined under different vibrating motions, grain sizes of abrasives and polishing pressure.

Relationship Between the Review Time and Various PMDA Consultations in Recent New Drug Approval Cases in Japan.

Background: It is considered important that the applicants and reviewers communicate well from the development stage and that both mutually understand the development strategy and application contents in conducting the review efficiently after the application is submitted. Therefore, we focus on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) consultations from the viewpoint of communication before the application and clarify the issues to consider in the challenge to reduce the review time in terms of the relationship between the review time and various PMDA consultations.

Methods: We investigated the relationship between the review time and various PMDA consultations for the drugs with new active ingredients approved in Japan using public information from the PMDA.

Glycemic variability in continuous glucose monitoring is inversely associated with baroreflex sensitivity in type 2 diabetes: a preliminary report.

Background: It is presently unclear whether glycemic variability (GV) is associated with baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), which is an early indicator of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy. The present study is the first to examine the relationships between BRS and GV measured using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, open-label clinical trial.

Primary Aldosteronism With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Requires More Antihypertensive Drugs for Blood Pressure Control: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) and primary aldosteronism (PA) have been reported to induce drug-resistant hypertension and atherosclerosis. It is likely that blood pressure (BP) control becomes far more difficult in PA patients with DM. However, precise clinical characteristics of PA with type 2 DM especially in the aspect of BP control are not clear.

Time-dependent effects of ipragliflozin on behaviour and energy homeostasis in normal and type 2 diabetic rats: continuous glucose telemetry analysis.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are oral antidiabetic drugs that promote urinary glucose excretion. Conversely, they cause behavioural changes, such as hyperphagia, that result in a positive energy balance. The relationship between energy homeostasis and SGLT2 inhibitors-induced behavioural changes remains unclear.

Association between day-by-day and ambulatory blood pressure variability in type 2 diabetes patients.

It remains unclear whether ambulatory blood pressure variability (BPV) contributes toward day-by-day BPV, despite the fact that not only day-by-day but also ambulatory BPV is reported to be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes patients. This study aimed to determine the association between day-by-day BPV and ambulatory BPV, which is especially distinguished between diurnal and nocturnal BPV, in type 2 diabetes patients. Day-by-day and ambulatory BPV were assessed in 30 type 2 diabetes patients (aged 54±15 years; 87% men; glycated hemoglobin: 9.

New tools and functions in data-out activities at Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj).

The Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj), a member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB), accepts and processes the deposited data of experimentally determined biological macromolecular structures. In addition to archiving the PDB data in collaboration with the other wwPDB partners, PDBj also provides a wide range of original and unique services and tools, which are continuously improved and updated. Here, we report the new RDB PDBj Mine 2, the WebGL molecular viewer Molmil, the ProMode-Elastic server for normal mode analysis, a virtual reality system for the eF-site protein electrostatic molecular surfaces, the extensions of the Omokage search for molecular shape similarity, and the integration of PDBj and BMRB searches.

The Durability of Basal Insulin Affects Day-to-Day Glycemic Variability Assessed by Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Randomized Crossover Trial.

Background: Not only within-day glycemic variability but also day-to-day glycemic variability is a risk factor for diabetic patients. However, the ways of controlling day-to-day glycemic variability are unclear. We hypothesized that the durability of basal insulin plays an important role in controlling day-to-day glycemic variability in type 2 diabetes patients, and we therefore aimed to evaluate whether glargine U300, which exhibits prolonged absorption compared with glargine U100 but the same composition as glargine U100, would lead to improved day-to-day glycemic variability.

Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj): updated user interfaces, resource description framework, analysis tools for large structures.

The Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj, http://pdbj.org), a member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB), accepts and processes the deposited data of experimentally determined macromolecular structures. While maintaining the archive in collaboration with other wwPDB partners, PDBj also provides a wide range of services and tools for analyzing structures and functions of proteins.

A Preliminary Study of How the Viscosity of Dietary Fluids and Videofluoroscopy Fluids can be Matched.

This study examined the method by which the viscosity of mealtime and videofluoroscopy fluid can be matched through adjustment of the amount of xanthan gum-based thickener added to them. Viscosity measurement was made with a cone-plate viscometer. Samples were tested at 5, 25, 45, and 65 ± 0.

Aldosterone-producing adrenocortical carcinoma with prominent hepatic metastasis diagnosed by liver biopsy: a case report.

Background: Aldosterone-producing adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare malignancy, which is usually diagnosed by histopathological examination of the excised tumor. In inoperable cases, aldosterone-producing ACC diagnosed by immunohistochemical staining of the metastatic tumor for Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 11β has not previously been reported and even in that case staining for adrenocortical-specific adrenal 4 binding protein/steroidogenic factor1 (Ad4BP/SF1) and steroidogenic enzymes has not been reported.

Case Presentation: We report the case of a 67-year-old Japanese woman with aldosterone-producing adrenocortical carcinoma.