Country-wide assessment of plastic removal rates on riverbanks and water surfaces.

Plastic pollution in river basins poses a significant environmental challenge, particularly in Japan, located in the northwestern North Pacific, often referred to as a hotspot for plastics. This study quantified the annual recovery of anthropogenic plastic litter from riverbanks and water surfaces, utilizing a nationwide cleanup dataset provided by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The dataset includes the amount of litter recovered through volunteer and administrative cleanup campaigns from 2016 to 2020 in 109 Japanese river basins.

Usefulness and problems of cytological examination by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymphadenopathy: A retrospective single-centre study.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a minimally invasive and useful technique for sampling mediastinal lymph nodes. High sensitivity and specificity of EBUS-TBNA in staging lung cancer have been reported. However, few studies have addressed the results of EBUS-TBNA in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymphadenopathy with or without lung cancer, since various neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions can involve the mediastinal lymph nodes.

Utility of an immunocytochemical analysis for pan-Trk in the cytodiagnosis of secretory carcinoma of the salivary gland.

Secretory carcinoma (SC) of the salivary gland is a rare distinct clinicopathological entity characterized by the presence of the ETV6-NTRK3 fusion. Although the characteristic cytological features of SC have been recognized, its cytodiagnosis, especially differentiating SC from acinic cell carcinoma, is challenging. Recent studies have revealed that immunohistochemistry for pan-tyrosine receptor kinase (Trk) and nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group member 3 (NR4A3) are specific for SC and acinic cell carcinoma, respectively.

Review of the cytological features of olfactory neuroblastoma: A retrospective single-center study.

Olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) is a rare malignant neuroectodermal tumor. Due to the rarity, there are scarce reports describing the cytological features of ONB. Thus, we aimed to analyze these cytological features and discuss their differences depending on the histological grading of ONB.

Longitudinal course of influenza C virus antibody titers of healthy adults in Sendai, Japan.

Background: Influenza C virus causes mild respiratory diseases in humans. Previous studies suggested that the predominant hemagglutinin-esterase gene lineage circulating in children might be selected among the adult population, yet the prevalence of influenza C virus in adults has not been described.

Objectives: To evaluate the frequency of influenza C virus infection in adults.

Spontaneous infarction of pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland: A case report.

Infarction after the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) procedure is a well-recognized phenomenon of salivary gland lesions. Though extremely rare, spontaneous infarction without previous FNA can occur in pleomorphic adenoma (PA). The present report describes a fourth cytological case of spontaneous infarction of PA of the parotid gland using immunocytochemical analysis, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time.

Low response in eliciting neuraminidase inhibition activity of sera among recipients of a split, monovalent pandemic influenza vaccine during the 2009 pandemic.

Antibodies against influenza virus neuraminidase (NA) protein prevent releasing of the virus from host cells and spreading of infection foci and are considered the 'second line of defence' against influenza. Haemagglutinin inhibition antibody-low responders (HI-LRs) are present among influenza split vaccine recipients. The NA inhibition (NAI) antibody response in vaccinees is worth exploring, especially those in the HI-LRs population.

Prominent oncocytic metaplasia in pleomorphic adenoma: A potential diagnostic pitfall.

Pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is the most common salivary gland tumor. The cytological features of PA are well recognized, and its diagnosis is straightforward in most cases. Some metaplastic changes in PA are well known; however, occurrence of oncocytic metaplasia in PA is very rare.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma diagnosis from bile duct cytological specimens: A retrospective single-center study.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) in the extrahepatic bile duct is extremely rare and clinically aggressive. Cytological examination of bile and/or bile duct brushing specimens plays an important role in the diagnosis of carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct, but only a few articles have described the cytological features of NEC in this area. Thus, we retrospectively analyzed the cytological features of NEC in bile and/or bile duct brushing specimens.

Fluctuations in Antibody Titers against Enterovirus D68 in Pediatric Sera Collected in a Community before, during, and after a Possible Outbreak.

We previously reported a hospital-based epidemiological study on enterovirus (EV)-D68 infection among children during the autumn of 2015, which indirectly inferred an outbreak in Sendai, Japan. In this study, stocked sera of children (aged 0-6 years; without symptoms of infectious diseases) in the Sendai community collected during 4 periods (1 year before, 6 months before, immediately after, and 1 year after the possible outbreak period) were analyzed using the neutralization antibody titer assay to determine community children's immunity levels against EV-D68 infection. The immunity levels were confirmed to have increased during the possible outbreak period and to have gradually waned over 1 year without another outbreak.

Metastatic salivary duct carcinoma in cardiac and pleural effusions: A case report with immunocytochemical analysis for androgen receptor and HER2.

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a relatively rare highly aggressive salivary gland tumor. Although SDC shows frequent lymph node and distant metastases, the presence of neoplastic cells in the pleural effusion is extremely rare. In this report, we describe the first documented cytological case of metastatic SDC in cardiac and pleural effusions with immunocytochemical analyses for androgen receptor (AR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER)2.

Imprint cytology of strumal carcinoid of the ovary: A case report with immunocytochemical analysis.

Strumal carcinoid is a rare ovarian tumor defined as carcinoid associated with struma ovarii. We report here the second cytological case of strumal carcinoid and performed immunocytochemical analysis for the first time. A 68-year-old Japanese female was found to have a solid tumor with small cystic components in the left ovary, and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed.

Case study-based time-course analysis of symptoms of respiratory syncytial virus infections followed by acute sinusitis in otherwise-healthy adults.

Reports on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections are abundant in pediatric and geriatric populations but not many in healthy adults, and particularly, those which demonstrated the illness throughout its time course are rare. We report two otherwise-healthy adult cases, showing a number of evidence essential for confirmation of exclusive infections with RSV, and document their clinical features from the onset of the disease to recovery, including secondary sinusitis with magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) images. The infection was proven by isolating RSV belonging to subgroup B and by observing elevated anti-RSV antibody titer in the paired sera.

Association of Serum HB-EGF Value and Response to Chemotherapy in Patients with Recurrent Ovarian Cancer.

Background/aim: Many anticancer agents including molecularly-targeted drugs have been developed for ovarian cancer. However, the prognosis of recurrent ovarian cancer remains extremely poor. Heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is reported as a rational target for ovarian cancer therapy.

Opioid receptor activation is involved in neuroprotection induced by TRPV1 channel activation against excitotoxicity in the rat retina.

Recently, we reported that capsaicin, a transient receptor potential vanilloid type1 (TRPV1) agonist, protected against excitotoxicity induced by intravitreal N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) in the rats in vivo. It has been reported that morphine, an opioid receptor agonist, ameliorated excitotoxicity induced by ischemia-reperfusion in the retina, and that capsaicin-induced neuroprotection was reduced by naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist in the brain. The aim of the present study is to clarify whether activation of opioid receptors is involved in the capsaicin-induced neuroprotection in the retina.

Lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report with emphasis on the cytological features.

Lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma (LEL-HCC) is a rare distinct histopathological subtype of HCC, which is characterized histopathologically by the presence of abundant lymphocytes around the neoplastic cells, and less than 50 cases have been reported. In this report, we describe the first cytological case of LEL-HCC. A 58-year-old Japanese male had an elevated serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level, and computed tomography scan demonstrated a tumorous lesion with contrast enhancement in the liver, thus, surgical resection was performed.

[Infectivity Titers of Each Component of the Influenza Virus in the Live Vaccine Purchased from a Parallel Import Distributing System].

Currently in Japan, the only approved influenza vaccine is the inactivated vaccine which is injected subcutaneously. On the other hand, there is a live vaccine available elsewhere in the world. Flumist, an intranasal influenza live vaccine which contains four strains of infectious viruses, has been used in the United States for more than 10 years; the vaccine has been found effective in clinical trials, while it has some limitations such as those on subjects for the administration, strict storage conditions, relatively short expiration date etc.

Activation of the TRPV1 channel attenuates N-methyl-D-aspartic acid-induced neuronal injury in the rat retina.

Capsaicin, a transient receptor potential vanilloid type1 (TRPV1) agonist, has been reported to protect against ischemia-reperfusion injury in various organs, including the brain, heart, and kidney, whereas activation of TRPV1 was also reported to contribute to neurodegeneration, including pressure-induced retinal ganglion cell death in vitro. We histologically investigated the effects of capsaicin and SA13353, TRPV1 agonists, on retinal injury induced by intravitreal N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA; 200 nmol/eye) in rats in vivo. Under ketamine/xylazine anesthesia, male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to intravitreal NMDA injection.

Alkalizer administration improves renal function in hyperuricemia associated with obesity.

We evaluated the combination effect of the alkalizer citrate with the xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol on renal function and uric acid in patients with hyperuricemia associated with obesity and/or metabolic syndrome (MetS), who were extracted from among the subjects enrolled in a prospective randomized controlled study aimed at assessing the efficacy of such a combination for improving renal function. We also conducted a post hoc analysis to examine influences on lipid profiles. Patients who consented to participate in the study were randomly allocated to receive either allopurinol alone (monotherapy) or in combination with a citrate preparation (combination therapy).

Extrapulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis in pelvic and paraaortic lymph nodes associated with uterine cancer: a report of 3 cases.

We report 3 cases of extrapulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis incidentally found in pelvic and paraaortic lymph nodes in association with uterine cancers. Three women, 47-year-old, 59-year-old, and 71-year-old, respectively, had uterine cancers and underwent hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and pelvic and paraaortic lymph node excision. None of the 3 patients had tuberous sclerosis complex or lymphangioleiomyomatosis in other organs.

The auxin responsive AP2/ERF transcription factor CROWN ROOTLESS5 is involved in crown root initiation in rice through the induction of OsRR1, a type-A response regulator of cytokinin signaling.

Cytokinin is known to have negative effects on de novo auxin-induced root formation. However, the regulatory mechanisms of root initiation by both cytokinin and auxin are poorly understood. In this study, we characterized a rice mutant, termed crown rootless5 (crl5), which produced fewer crown roots and displayed impaired initiation of crown root primordia.

The alkalizer citrate reduces serum uric Acid levels and improves renal function in hyperuricemic patients treated with the xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol.

Objective: Hyperuricemia, an integral component of metabolic syndrome, is a major health problem causing gout and renal damage. Urine alkalizers such as citrate preparations facilitate renal excretion of the uric acid, but its supportive effect on xanthine oxidase inhibitors has not been tested yet. We performed a randomized, prospective study of the effect of a combination of allopurinol and a citrate preparation on renal function in patients with hyperuricemia, employing 70 patients who had hyperuricemia with serum uric acid levels ≥7.

Successful treatment of a mycotic aortic pseudoaneurysm in a patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus while treating primary aldosteronism with spironolactone.

We describe a diabetic patient successfully treated for an acute mycotic aortic arch pseudoaneurysm with primary aldosteronism. The patient first complained of severe pain in the left upper extremity and left back with high C reactive protein (CRP) and high-grade fever. It was suspected that acute aortic dissection had developed in association with mycotic pseudoaneurysm of the aortic arch because of chest X-ray findings of enlargement of the aortic arch.