New Assessment Method for Upper Limb Function in Patients With Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: The 10 Coins Test.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Although there are several methods available to assess upper limb function in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy, few methods can evaluate the degree of upper limb functional impairment in activities of daily living.

Summary Of Background Data: We devised and evaluated the utility of a new assessment method called the 10 Coins Test, which is based on daily movements.

Incomplete activation of and leads to preimplantation arrest in cloned mouse embryos.

Differentiated cell nuclei can be reprogrammed after nuclear transfer (NT) to oocytes and the produced NT embryos can give rise to cloned animals. However, development of NT embryos is often hampered by recurrent reprogramming failures, including the incomplete activation of developmental genes, yet specific genes responsible for the arrest of NT embryos are not well understood. Here, we searched for developmentally important genes among the reprogramming-resistant H3K9me3-repressed genes and identified and by siRNA screening.

Intravesical mitomycin C (MMC) and MMC + cytosine arabinoside for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a randomised clinical trial.

Objectives: To compare the urinary pH, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and safety of adjuvant intravesical therapy in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) receiving mitomycin C (MMC) therapy and MMC + cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) therapy.

Patients And Methods: A total of 165 patients with NMIBC from six hospitals were randomly allocated to two groups: weekly instillation of MMC + Ara-C (30 mg/30 mL + 200 mg/10 mL) for 6 weeks and the same instillation schedule of MMC (30 mg/40 mL). The primary outcome was RFS, and secondary outcomes were urinary pH and toxicity in the two groups.

Early-phase migration dynamics of Echinococcus multilocularis in two mouse strains showing different infection susceptibilities.

The early-phase migration dynamics of Echinococcus multilocularis in the intermediate hosts remain largely unknown. We compared the parasite burden in the intestine, liver and faeces of DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mouse strains using parasite-specific quantitative PCR. Our results indicated that the parasites invaded mainly from the middle segments of the small intestine and completed migration to the liver within 24 h p.

Characterization of microRNAs expressed in the cystic legion of the liver of Mus musculus perorally infected with Echinococcus multilocularis Nemuro strain.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a zoonosis caused by the metacestode of Echinococcus multilocularis. The published genome of E. multilocularis showed that approximately 86% of its genome is non-coding.

Preliminary Study of a Single Instillation of Low-Concentration High-Volume Silver Nitrate Solution for Chyluria: Is >10 mL Instillation an Absolute Contraindication in the Real World?

Silver nitrate instillation (SNI) is one form of treatment for chyluria. However, there is the opinion that a high volume of SNI (>10 mL) should be avoided because life-threatening complications have been reported. However, we have noticed that most severe complications occur in high-concentration treatments (≥1%), even with a small volume.

Potential of cell-free DNA as a screening marker for parasite infections in dog.

Parasitic infections are common in stray dogs and accurate knowledge of parasite communities in dogs would provide insight into the epidemiology of parasitic diseases. In this study, we used Illumina sequencing technology to evaluate cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a marker for screening of parasitic infections in dogs. Plasma samples from 14 stray dogs captured in Bangladesh were used in the experiments.

Author Correction: Genetic homogeneity of goat malaria parasites in Asia and Africa suggests their expansion with domestic goat host.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

[Indwelling of Full-Length Metallic Ureteral Stents as an Initial Treatment for Patients with Untreated Malignant Ureteral Obstruction].

To examine the efficacy and safety of a full-length metallic ureteral stent (MS), Resonance®, we retrospectively evaluated 16 cases (22 ureteral units) with indwelling MS as the initial treatment for patients with untreated malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO). All patients had undergone MS insertion by the retrograde approach without cystoscopy, with indirect stent placement under fluoroscopy, as a new method that can be performed even if the number of medical staff is one less than that required. Both serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate values in all cases improved significantly (p<0.

Genetic homogeneity of goat malaria parasites in Asia and Africa suggests their expansion with domestic goat host.

Plasmodium was first identified in a goat in Angola in 1923, and only recently characterized by DNA isolation from a goat blood sample in Zambia. Goats were first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent approximately 10,000 years ago, and are now globally distributed. It is not known if the Plasmodium identified in African goats originated from parasites circulating in the local ungulates, or if it co-evolved in the goat before its domestication.

[Case of persistent false elevation of prostate-specific antigen after radical prostatectomy].

We report a rare case of persistent false elevation of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after radical prostatectomy (RP). Preoperative total PSA was 25.4 ng/ml and final pathology was Gleason score 3+5=8, pT3aN0M0.

[A case of retroperitoneal schwannoma extracted by a nerve sparing procedure under microscopic surgery].

We report a case in which we extracted retroperitoneal schwannoma by a nerve sparing procedure under microscopic surgery. A 63-year-old male was diagnosed with left ureter stone and left hydronephrosis. A left retroperitoneal tumor was found by the abdominal ultrasound sonography.

Rodent PSP94 gene expression is more specific to the dorsolateral prostate and less sensitive to androgen ablation than probasin.

To date, the rodent ventral prostate (VP) has been the focus of many studies on androgen action, less attention has been directed to the lateral prostate (LP) and the dorsal prostate (DP). The rodent VP has no clear homologous counterpart in the human prostate. The rodent LP and DP is the only prostate lobe comparable to the peripheral zone of the human prostate, where hormone-induced prostate cancer mainly occurs.

PSP94 expression after androgen deprivation therapy: a comparative study with prostate specific antigen in benign prostate and prostate cancer.

Purpose: To examine the clinical use of PSP94 (prostate secretory protein of 94 amino acids) as an androgen independent marker, we conducted a comparative study of prostate samples including benign tissue and cancers which did and did not have androgen deprivation.

Materials And Methods: Among 163 radical prostatectomy cases 75 had androgen deprivation before operation, while surgery was performed in the remainder without prior hormone treatment. Considering the pathological up grading following hormone therapy, contiguous sections from radical prostatectomy samples were stained for PSP94 and prostate specific antigen (PSA) by immunohistochemistry, and equivalent tumor foci were evaluated by assessing the intensity and extent of the staining.

Differential expression of PSP94 in rat prostate lobes as demonstrated by an antibody against recombinant GST-PSP94.

Prostate secretory protein (PSP94, 94 amino acids) is one of the most abundant proteins secreted from the prostate. Its biological role is unknown and still controversial, although it is assumed to have the potential to be a biomarker and a suppressor of prostate cancer. In order to establish an animal model to further elucidate its biological role, we expressed the mature form of rat PSP94 in Escherichia coli, using a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion expression vector; we generated a polyclonal rabbit antibody against the recombinant protein.

cDNA, genomic cloning, and gene expression analysis of mouse PSP94 (prostate secretory protein of 94 amino acids).

The potential use of prostate secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94) as a diagnostic biomarker or a therapeutic agent for prostate cancer has been reported. In order to establish an animal model to further elucidate on its biological role, we cloned the mouse PSP94 cDNA (approximately 500 bp) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and disclosed its genomic structure. The whole mouse PSP94 gene (approximately 23 kb) was amplified by long and accurate-PCR and also cloned by screening of a mouse embryo stem-cell genomic library.

Lymphatic transport of alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocotrienols and alpha-tocopherol in rats.

Lymphatic transport of alpha-, gamma- and delta-tocotrienols and alpha-tocopherol was measured in thoracic duct-cannulated rats. Animals were administered 3 ml of a test emulsion containing 200 mg sodium taurocholate, 50 mg fatty acid free-albumin, 200 mg fat and 100 mg of a mixture of tocotrienols and alpha-tocopherol (Exp. 1) or 10 mg of purified alpha-, gamma- or delta-tocotrienol or alpha-tocopherol (Exp.

Mechanism for the inhibition of fat digestion by chitosan and for the synergistic effect of ascorbate.

We investigated the mechanism for the inhibition of fat digestion by chitosan, and the synergistic effect of ascorbate. The important inhibition characteristics of fat digestion by chitosan from observations of the ileal contents were that it dissolved in the stomach and then changed to a gelled form, entrapping fat in the intestine. The synergistic effect of ascorbate (AsA) on the inhibition of fat digestion by chitosan is thought not to be acid-dependent but due to the specificity of AsA itself, according to the data resulting from using preparations supplemented with sodium ascorbate (AsN).

Effect of the viscosity or deacetylation degree of chitosan on fecal fat excreted from rats fed on a high-fat diet.

Several chitosan preparations, either with a comparable degree of deacetylation but differing viscosity or with comparable viscosity but a differing degree of deacetylation, were examined for their effect on the fecal fat excreted from rats fed on a high-fat diet. As the viscosity or deacetylation degree of a chitosan preparation increased, the more its effect on the apparent fat digestibility by rats became conspicuous. A supplement of ascorbic acid to each chitosan diets resulted in a significant depression of fat digestion and absorption in the lumen.

Lymphatic transport of stearic acid and its effect on cholesterol transport in rats.

Lymphatic transport of stearic acid, given as completely hydrogenated rapeseed oil (R10), 9 to 1 (R9) and 5 to 5 (R5) mixtures of R10, and soybean oil and completely hydrogenated tallow (T) was examined in the rat cannulated thoracic duct. R10, R9, R5, and T contained 91.4, 81.

Lymphatic transport of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids as triglyceride, ethyl ester and free acid, and their effect on cholesterol transport in rats.

Lymphatic transport of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids given in the forms of triglyceride, ethyl ester of free acid and their effect on cholesterol transport was compared in lymph-cannulated rats. Lymphatic recovery of DHA and EPA given by stomach tube in the form of triglyceride in which they were mainly located at the 2-position was significantly higher than that of the ethyl ester or free acid during the first 6 hr after the administration and the tendency continued until 9 hr. In contrast, the 9 to 24 hr recovery of DHA and EPA in the forms of ethyl ester and free acid was considerably higher than that of triglyceride.

Tea catechins decrease micellar solubility and intestinal absorption of cholesterol in rats.

A(-)-epicatechin (EC) and (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC) mixture and a mixture of their gallates (ECG and EGCG, respectively) markedly lowered lymphatic cholesterol absorption in rats with a cannulated thoracic duct. A mixture of ECG and EGCG was more effective in reducing cholesterol absorption than the EC and EGC mixture. These catechins also tended to decrease lymphatic absorption of triacylglycerols, although not so pronounced as in cholesterol absorption.

Prolongation of antipyretic action and reduction of gastric ulcerogenicity in the rat by controlled-release granules of bermoprofen, a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

While bermoprofen [(+-)-10,11-dihydro-alpha,8-dimethyl-11- oxodibenz[b,f]oxepin-2-acetic acid], a new nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), has potent antipyretic and analgesic activities with a short biological half-life, it shows ulcerogenic activity as a side-effect like other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. A bermoprofen preparation was specially designed to prolong its duration of action and to reduce its side effect. Immediate-release granules (IRGs) were prepared by coating particles of Nonpareil 103 with bermoprofen.

Bioavailability of cyclandelate from capsules in beagle dogs and dissolution rate: correlations with bioavailability in humans.

The bioavailability in beagle dogs and the dissolution rates of cyclandelate from five capsule preparations commercially available in Japan were measured. One of the capsules that showed an extremely low bioavailability in humans also showed the lowest bioavailability in beagle dogs, although the difference in bioavailability with the highest preparation was smaller than in humans. A significant correlation was obtained between the results of the studies in humans and beagles.

Influence of specific gravity and food on movement of granules in the gastrointestinal tract of rats.

The suitability of rats as an animal model for estimating the bioavailability of controlled-release granules in humans was investigated. Non-disintegrating granules (diameter of 0.8 mm; specific gravity of 0.