This study was conducted to evaluate the use of 4-dimensional (4D) maximum intensity projection (4D-MIP) to compensate for the disadvantages of average intensity projection (AIP), which is used to determine the internal target volume (ITV) in lung tumors. A respiratory motion phantom with a simulated tumor was imaged using 4D computed tomography (4D-CT). AIP and 4D-MIP were generated based on 10 phases of 4D-CT, followed by contouring of the ITV and ITV; these were compared with the ITV contoured in 10 phases of 4D-CT (ITV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere are comorbidities and complications in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis that often occur after the appearance of skin inflammation. Statistically, data show that patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis have a shorter life expectancy than patients without psoriatic dermatitis, due to the occurrence of arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and cerebral infarction. Many types of skin inflammation are treated with various antibody preparations, and marked improvement in patients' quality of life can be achieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInternationally, respirable crystalline silica (RCS) occupational exposure limits (OELs) are being reassessed and, in some jurisdictions, lowered, putting pressure on the capabilities of the analytical techniques used to achieve robust analyses and reliable detection limits. In preparation of a lower OEL, options for lowering the limit of detection (LoD) for RCS analysis have been assessed. Using a Direct-on-Filter X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis under reduced scan speeds in combination with low-noise RCS sampling filters, an LoD of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective This study aimed to determine whether differences in the static field strength of 1.5-T and 3.0-T MRI systems affect the diagnostic results of tumor size measurement in breast cancer and to compare them with the results of tumor size in surgical pathology diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe developed a fatty liver mouse model using human hepatocyte chimeric mice. As transplanted human hepatocytes do not respond to mouse growth hormone (GH) and tend to accumulate fat, we hypothesized that addition of human GH would alter lipid metabolism and reduce accumulation of fat in the liver even when fed a high-fat diet. Six uPA/SCID chimeric mice were fed a high-fat GAN diet to induce fatty liver while six were fed a normal CRF1 diet, and GH was administered to three mice in each group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShort-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are metabolites derived from gut microbiota and implicated in host homeostasis. Hence, the profiling SCFAs from biological samples plays an important role in revealing the interaction between gut microbiota and pathogens. Previous studies, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) combined with various derivatization strategies have been performed to obtain the SCFA profiles from biological samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: An open-label, single-arm, Japanese phase 2 study (J-Ph2) investigated the efficacy and safety of first-line (1L) palbociclib (PAL) + letrozole (LET) in postmenopausal Japanese women with ER+/HER2- advanced breast cancer (ABC). In the final analysis, median progression-free survival was 35.7 months (95% CI 21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Phys J C Part Fields
September 2023
Selenoprotein P (SeP, encoded by the SELENOP gene) is a plasma protein that contains selenium in the form of selenocysteine residues (Sec, a cysteine analog containing selenium instead of sulfur). SeP functions for the transport of selenium to specific tissues in a receptor-dependent manner. Apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoER2) has been identified as a SeP receptor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethotrexate (MTX)-associated lymphoproliferative disorder (MTX-LPD) is a troublesome problem in patients receiving MTX for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, its incidence, prognosis, and risk factors remain unclear. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the actual incidence, prognostic impact, and risk factors of MTX-LPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThroughout East Asia, Europe, and North America, mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV), for which bats have been proposed to be natural reservoirs, has been detected in a variety of domestic and wild mammals, as well as in humans. Here, we isolated a novel MRV strain (designated as Kj22-33) from a fecal sample from Vespertilio sinensis bats in Japan. Strain Kj22-33 has a 10-segmented genome with a total length of 23,580 base pairs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Kluyvera intermedia is a bacterium indigenous to humans. But Kluyvera intermedia bacteremia has been not reported thus far. We report a case of Kluyvera intermedia bacteremia with septic shock due to left obstructive pyelonephritis as a result of urolithiasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPectin modification and degradation are vital for plant development, although the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. Furthermore, reports on the function of pectin in early pollen development are limited. We generated -FOX rice lines with little methyl-esterified pectin even in the early-pollen mother-cell stage due to overexpression of the gene encoding pectin-methylesterase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe KamLAND-Zen experiment has provided stringent constraints on the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay half-life in ^{136}Xe using a xenon-loaded liquid scintillator. We report an improved search using an upgraded detector with almost double the amount of xenon and an ultralow radioactivity container, corresponding to an exposure of 970 kg yr of ^{136}Xe. These new data provide valuable insight into backgrounds, especially from cosmic muon spallation of xenon, and have required the use of novel background rejection techniques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report a search for cosmic-ray boosted dark matter with protons using the 0.37 megaton×years data collected at Super-Kamiokande experiment during the 1996-2018 period (SKI-IV phase). We searched for an excess of proton recoils above the atmospheric neutrino background from the vicinity of the Galactic Center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNiemann-Pick disease Type C (NPC) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutation of the NPC1/NPC2 genes, which ultimately results in the accumulation of unesterified cholesterol (UEC) in lysosomes, thereby inducing symptoms such as progressive neurodegeneration and hepatosplenomegaly. This study determines the effects of 6-O-α-maltosyl-β cyclodextrin (Mal-βCD) on lipid levels and synthesis in Npc1-deficient (Npc1-KO cells) and vehicle CHO cells. Compared to vehicle cells, Npc1-KO cells exhibited high level of UEC, and low levels of esterified cholesterols (ECs) and long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinical trials have not fully demonstrated the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy plus cetuximab for locally advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer (LA-SCCHN) in patients with cisplatin-ineligible renal dysfunction. Patients who received radiotherapy plus cetuximab for LA-SCCHN at Chiba University Hospital (Chiba, Japan) between July 2013 and October 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Background characteristics and locoregional control and overall survival rates were compared between patients with and without renal dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sarcopenia is characterized by the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength and is associated with poor prognosis in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cigarette smoke (CS) exposure, a major cause for COPD, induces mitochondrial damage, which has been implicated in sarcopenia pathogenesis. The current study sought to examine the involvement of insufficient Parkin-mediated mitophagy, a mitochondrion-selective autophagy, in the mechanisms by which dysfunctional mitochondria accumulate with excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the development of COPD-related sarcopenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Differentiation of hepatocytes and culture methods have been investigated in dogs as a tool to establish liver transplant and drug metabolism examination systems. However, mass culture techniques for canine hepatocytes (cHep) have not been investigated, and it is necessary to construct a suitable culture system. Recently, a protocol called Bud production has attracted attention, and a mixed culture of human and mouse hepatocytes, stem cells, and artificial blood vessels significantly improved the size and formation ratio of spheroids.
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