[The Role of Laboratory Data on Outpatient Prescriptions in Improving Collaboration with the Community and Health Outcomes].

Although there have been appeals for regional cooperation for a considerable time, are hospitals and local communities really working together? Hospitals typically permit a variety of professionals to work together, share information via medical records, and directly discuss patients. A problem with treating patients at home in local communities is that doctors and pharmacists do not share the same workplace; hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies do not have a common information source equivalent to medical records. Prescriptions and medical notes are the only things that connect health provision to the community.

Development of a robust predictive model for neutropenia after esophageal cancer chemotherapy using GLMMLasso.

Background: Neutropenia can easily progress to febrile neutropenia and is a risk factor for life-threatening infections. Predicting and preventing severe neutropenia can help avoid such infections.

Aim: This study aimed to develop an optimal model using advanced statistical methods to predict neutropenia after 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin chemotherapy for esophageal cancer and to create a nomogram for clinical application.

Beneficial effects of saw palmetto () fruit extract on the urinary symptoms of healthy Japanese adults with possible lower urinary tract symptoms: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Saw palmetto extract (SPE) is the most commonly used supplement for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), but most evidence is for those with LUTS, and little data is verifying its effectiveness for those who do not have the disease but are troubled by symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of SPE on the improvement of urinary frequency problems that present stress due to urinary urgency in daily life, among healthy Japanese adults aged ≥50 years who are not diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia or overactive bladder. They were randomly assigned to the SPE group or placebo group (34 participants per group) using a computerized random number generator.

High-Magnification Object Tracking with Ultra-Fast View Adjustment and Continuous Autofocus Based on Dynamic-Range Focal Sweep.

Active vision systems (AVSs) have been widely used to obtain high-resolution images of objects of interest. However, tracking small objects in high-magnification scenes is challenging due to shallow depth of field (DoF) and narrow field of view (FoV). To address this, we introduce a novel high-speed AVS with a continuous autofocus (C-AF) approach based on dynamic-range focal sweep and a high-frame-rate (HFR) frame-by-frame tracking pipeline.

A Novel Dynamic Light-Section 3D Reconstruction Method for Wide-Range Sensing.

Existing galvanometer-based laser-scanning systems are challenging to apply in multi-scale 3D reconstruction because of the difficulty in achieving a balance between a high reconstruction accuracy and a wide reconstruction range. This paper presents a novel method that synchronizes laser scanning by switching the field-of-view (FOV) of a camera using multi-galvanometers. Beyond the advanced hardware setup, we establish a comprehensive geometric model of the system by modeling dynamic camera, dynamic laser, and their combined interaction.

Preconditioning-Induced Facilitation of Lactate Release from Astrocytes Is Essential for Brain Ischemic Tolerance.

A sublethal ischemic episode [termed preconditioning (PC)] protects neurons in the brain against a subsequent severe ischemic injury. This phenomenon is known as brain ischemic tolerance and has received much attention from researchers because of its robust neuroprotective effects. We have previously reported that PC activates astrocytes and subsequently upregulates P2X7 receptors, thereby leading to ischemic tolerance.

Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Regulates Obesity and Glucose Homeostasis.

One of the major global health and welfare issues is the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Obesity, caused by the excessive accumulation of triglycerides in adipose tissues, induces adipocyte dysfunction, followed by inflammation, in adipose tissues and lipotoxicity in nonadipose tissues. Several studies have shown that obesity and glucose homeostasis are influenced by sphingolipid mediators, including ceramide and sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P).

Analysis of patients' thoughts and background factors influencing attitudes toward Deprescribing: interviews to obtain hints for highly satisfying and valid prescriptions.

Background: Prescribing with high levels of medical appropriateness and patient satisfaction improves adherence. However, its appropriateness does not always match patient preference. Deprescription is important for ensuring the safety of medication therapy, but is not straightforward.

Pharmacological Inhibition and Genetic Deletion of Cystathionine Gamma-Lyase in Mice Protects against Organ Injury in Sepsis: A Key Role of Adhesion Molecules on Endothelial Cells.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS), synthesized by cystathionine gamma-lyase (Cth), contributes to the inflammatory response observed in sepsis. This study examines the effect of Cth-derived HS in adhesion molecules on endothelial cells of vital organs in mice in a cecal ligation puncture (CLP)-induced model of sepsis, using two different and complementary approaches: Cth gene deletion and pharmacological inhibition. Our findings revealed a decreased level of HS-synthesizing activity (via Cth) in both Cth mice and PAG-treated wild-type (WT) mice following CLP-induced sepsis.

Current Clinical Trial Status and Future Prospects of PPAR-Targeted Drugs for Treating Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

The number of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing globally and is raising serious concerns regarding the increasing medical and economic burden incurred for their treatment. The progression of NASH to more severe conditions such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma requires liver transplantation to avoid death. Therefore, therapeutic intervention is required in the NASH stage, although no therapeutic drugs are currently available for this.

Factors affecting severity of pressure ulcers: Impact of number of medications.

Polypharmacy, which refers to the situation of a patient taking more medications than is clinically necessary, has become a major problem in recent years. Although the effects of medications on pressure ulcers have been reported, there are no reports on the impact of the total number of medications on pressure ulcers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of number of medications on the severity of pressure ulcers.

Development of an Alcohol Dilution-Lyophilization Method for the Preparation of mRNA-LNPs with Improved Storage Stability.

The lipid nanoparticle (LNP) is one of the promising nanotechnologies for the delivery of RNA molecules, such as small interfering RNA (siRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA). A series of LNPs that contain an mRNA encoding the antigen protein of SARS-CoV-2 were already approved as RNA vaccines against this infectious disease. Since LNP formulations are generally metastable, their physicochemical properties are expected to shift toward a more stable state during the long-time storage of suspensions.

Reversible suspension culture of human vascular smooth muscle cells using the functional biopolymer FP003.

Human vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are adherent cells, and they cannot survive without scaffolds in suspension culture. Here, we aimed to establish a suspension culture of SMCs using the functional biopolymer FP003 and to investigate the proliferation status of the cells. When SMCs were suspension cultured with FP003, their proliferation was inhibited with a viability of 75% until day 15.

HFR-Video-Based Stereo Correspondence Using High Synchronous Short-Term Velocities.

This study focuses on solving the correspondence problem of multiple moving objects with similar appearances in stereoscopic videos. Specifically, we address the multi-camera correspondence problem by taking into account the pixel-level and feature-level stereo correspondences, and object-level cross-camera multiple object correspondence. Most correspondence algorithms rely on texture and color information of the stereo images, making it challenging to distinguish between similar-looking objects, such as ballet dancers and corporate employees wearing similar dresses, or farm animals such as chickens, ducks, and cows.

An Active Multi-Object Ultrafast Tracking System with CNN-Based Hybrid Object Detection.

This study proposes a visual tracking system that can detect and track multiple fast-moving appearance-varying targets simultaneously with 500 fps image processing. The system comprises a high-speed camera and a pan-tilt galvanometer system, which can rapidly generate large-scale high-definition images of the wide monitored area. We developed a CNN-based hybrid tracking algorithm that can robustly track multiple high-speed moving objects simultaneously.

A novel method for predicting the unbound valproic acid concentration.

In this study, we constructed a prediction formula for unbound valproic acid (VPA) concentration that was more accurate and widely applicable than previously reported formulae. A total of 136 datasets from 75 patients were analyzed retrospectively. The median of free fraction of VPA was 0.

Amino Acids in Health and Disease: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Special Issue "Amino Acid Metabolism and Regulation in Health and Disease 2 [...

Pharmacokinetics of vancomycin and meropenem during continuous online hemodiafiltration: A case report.

Objectives: The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin and meropenem in patients treated with continuous online hemodiafiltration (OL-HDF) are not well understood.

Case: We evaluated dialytic clearance and serum concentrations of vancomycin and meropenem by OL-HDF in a critically ill patient with soft tissue infection. The mean clearance of OL-HDF and mean serum concentrations during continuous OL-HDF were 155.

Differential Roles of Cystathionine Gamma-Lyase and Mercaptopyruvate Sulfurtransferase in Hapten-Induced Colitis and Contact Dermatitis in Mice.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) has been shown to act as both anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory mediators. Application of HS donors generally protects against inflammation; however, experimental results using mice lacking endogenous HS-producing enzymes, such as cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH) and mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (MPST), are often contradictory. We herein examined two types of model hapten-induced inflammation models, colitis (an inflammatory bowel disease model of mucosal immunity) and contact dermatitis (a type IV allergic model of systemic immunity), in CTH-deficient () and MPST-deficient () mice.

A search for acrolein scavengers among food components.

Brain stroke is a major cause of being bedridden for elderly people, and preventing stroke is important for maintaining quality of life (QOL). Acrolein is a highly reactive aldehyde and causes tissue damage during stroke. Decreasing acrolein toxicity ameliorates tissue injury during brain stroke.

Relationship between elevated bilirubin levels and enhanced warfarin effects during biliary obstruction.

Objectives: A marked prolongation of the prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) is frequently observed during biliary obstruction in patients using warfarin. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with PT-INR prolongation during biliary obstruction in patients using warfarin.

Methods: Among 44 patients using warfarin who had biliary obstruction, we retrospectively investigated warfarin doses and laboratory data before and during biliary obstruction.