Allopregnanolone induces antidepressant-like effects through BDNF-TrkB signaling independent from AMPA receptor activation in a rat learned helplessness model of depression.

Allopregnanolone (ALLO, 3α5α-tetrahydroprogesterone) was found to be effective for depressed patients. Animal models of depression indicate that ALLO is associated with the pathophysiology of depression. Traditional antidepressant drugs produce antidepressant effects via the monoamine system, with consequent up-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

[Lung Cancer Diagnosed as Primary Site Two Years after the Resection of the Thoracic Wall Cancer of Unknown Primary].

A 73-year-old man was referred to our department because of the left chest wall tumor. Computed tomography(CT) showed a chest wall tumor. The chest wall resection was carried out and the tumor was diagnosed as metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary.

[Case of Resected Retroperitoneal Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma Extending to the Posterior Mediastinum].

A 71-year-old woman visited our hospital for the examination and treatment of retroperitoneal tumor. CT showed a retroperitoneal tumor extending to the posterior mediastinum; the tumor pressed the IVC and widely abutted the aorta. On MRI, the tumor showed low intensity on T1WI and high intensity on T2WI and DWI.

Net Effects of NETs: New Concepts.

It is challenging to investigate neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and bacterial colonization in vivo. Bitschar et al. (2020) oppose an existing paradigm regarding neutrophils in host defense and propose that neutrophils increase Staphylococcus aureus skin colonization through NETs, not by trapping microbes but via indirect mechanisms.

Monoaminergic balances predict non-depression-like phenotype in Learned Helplessness Paradigm.

Monoamine neuronal system abnormality is hypothesized to be the neurochemical pathology in depression, as it is supported by the efficacy of conventional antidepressants. The learned helplessness paradigm generates depression-like (LH) and non-depression-like (non-LH) behavioral models. Examination of the neurochemical states accompanying such distinct behavioral phenotypes can facilitate investigations of the mechanisms underlying resilience and the search for new strategies for depression prevention and therapy.

Development and validation of a driving simulator for evaluating the residual effects of drugs on driving performance - sensitivity analysis using zopiclone as a positive control: Study Protocol Clinical Trial (SPIRIT Compliant).

Introduction: Drugs acting on the central nervous system (CNS), especially hypnotics, can impair driving. The US Food and Drug Administration started requiring pharmaceutical companies to evaluate the residual influence of CNS agents on driving performance to review their recommended doses. Although it is important for physicians to discuss automobile driving while on medication with patients to promote traffic safety, the package inserts of most CNS agents in Japan uniformly prohibit patients from driving.

[Two Cases of Complete Response to Trastuzumab Combined with Chemotherapy for Recurrence of HER2-Positive Gastric Cancer].

Case 1: A 67-year-old male underwent distal gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer. Postoperative histopathological examination indicated pT2a, pN2, M0, pStage ⅢA. He received 4 courses of TS-1 with paclitaxel chemotherapy and TS-1 chemotherapy for 2 years.

Prefrontal cortex infusion of beta-hydroxybutyrate, an endogenous NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor, produces antidepressant-like effects in a rodent model of depression.

Aims: Neuroinflammation is deeply related to the pathophysiology of depression. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), which is an endogenous ketone body, exerts anti-inflammatory effects, and peripheral administration of BHB induces antidepressant effects in an animal model of depression; however, it is unclear whether BHB specifically mediates these actions in the brain. Thus, we administered BHB directly into the brain in a rodent model of depression using a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) paradigm.

Publisher Correction: Preconditioning the Initial State of Feeder-free Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Promotes Self-formation of Three-dimensional Retinal Tissue.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Effects of Kakato-tsurutsuru socks on dry heels in healthy volunteer subjects.

Kakato-tsurutsuru (Kt) socks have been selling for almost 30 years in Japan. Wearers claim they improve heel dryness despite no scientific evidence. We investigated the effects of Kt socks on heel dryness by questionnaire, clinical scores and non-invasive skin measurements.

Cholecystohepatic duct detected during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a case report.

Background: The cholecystohepatic duct is a rare form of an aberrant hepatic duct that connects to the gallbladder. Although cholecystohepatic duct is reported to be a very rare anomaly, injury of cholecystohepatic duct during cholecystectomy may result in serious complications. Herein, we present a case of cholecystohepatic duct in the ventral branch of the right posterior inferior segmental bile duct detected during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Cervical muscle diseases are associated with indefinite and various symptoms in the whole body.

Purpose: Patients with various and indefinite symptoms in the whole body occasionally have coincident with stiffness or tenderness of the cervical muscles. This prospective case series examined the effect of local modulation of the cervical muscles in patients with cervical disorders reporting indefinite whole-body symptoms.

Methods: A total of 1863 hospitalized patients with cervical disorders accompanying three or more indefinite whole-body symptoms, who were resistant to outpatient care, were enrolled in this study for 12 years.

Primary bipolar hemiarthroplasty as a treatment option for unstable intertrochanteric fractures.

Objectives: Management of unstable intertrochanteric fractures is challenging, especially in patients with osteoporosis. Comminuted unstable intertrochanteric fractures require postoperative immobilization. Several recent reports have recommended hemiarthroplasty for treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures to avoid various immobilization-associated complications.

Optical vortex-induced forward mass transfer: manifestation of helical trajectory of optical vortex.

The orbital angular momentum of an optical vortex field is found to twist high viscosity donor material to form a micron-scale 'spin jet'. This unique phenomenon manifests the helical trajectory of the optical vortex. Going beyond both the conventional ink jet and laser induced forward mass transfer (LIFT) patterning technologies, it also offers the formation and ejection of a micron-scale 'spin jet' of the donor material even with an ultrahigh viscosity of 4 Pa·s.

Effect of continuation of antiplatelet therapy on survival in patients receiving physician home visits.

Background: Little is known about the effects of continued antiplatelet therapy in patients who receive physician home visits. This study aimed to evaluate the association of survival with the continuation of antiplatelet drugs in patients who received physician home visits.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Toyota, Japan, from April 2015 to October 2018.

Neural correlates of tactile simultaneity judgement: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Simultaneity judgement (SJ) is a temporal discrimination task in which the targets span an ultimately short time range (zero or not). Psychophysical studies suggest that SJ is adequate to probe the perceptual components of human time processing in pure form. Thus far, time-relevant neural correlates for tactile SJ are unclear.

Preconditioning the Initial State of Feeder-free Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Promotes Self-formation of Three-dimensional Retinal Tissue.

A three-dimensional retinal tissue (3D-retina) is a promising graft source for retinal transplantation therapy. We previously demonstrated that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) can generate 3D-retina in vitro using a self-organizing stem cell culture technique known as SFEBq. Here we show an optimized culture method for 3D-retina generation from feeder-free human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs).

Using Resonance-Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry to Quantitatively Analyze the Creaming of an Emulsion.

In this study, we used a quantitative analytical method to indicate creaming behavior in an emulsion. An oil-in-water emulsion was directly measured by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the time profiles of the peak areas of an oil component, styrene, were obtained at heights of 1, 2, and 3 cm from the bottom of a sample that had a height of 4 cm. All time profiles roughly indicated that the signal intensity increased once, then decreased, and finally settled.

Family history of diabetes in both parents is strongly associated with impaired residual β-cell function in Japanese type 2 diabetes patients.

Aims/introduction: The objective of the present study was to clarify the association of the type and number of first-degree family history of diabetes (FHD) with the clinical characteristics, especially with residual β-cell function, in type 2 diabetes patients.

Materials And Methods: A total of 1,131 type 2 diabetes patients were recruited and divided into four groups according to FHD information as follows: (i) patients without FHD (FHD-); (ii) those with at least one sibling who had diabetes without parental diabetes (FHD+); (iii) those with one parent (FHD++); or (iv) those with both parents (FHD+++) who had diabetes with or without a sibling with diabetes.

Results: The percentages of the FHD-, FHD+, FHD++ and FHD+++ groups were 49.

Inhibition of microtubule assembly competent tubulin synthesis leads to accumulation of phosphorylated tau in neuronal cell bodies.

Neurofibrillary tangles, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), are somatodendritic filamentous inclusions composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. Microtubule loss is also a common feature of affected neurons in AD. However, whether and how the disruptions of microtubules and the microtubule-associated proteins occur in the pathogenesis of AD remain unclear.

Interdisciplinary therapy for severe periodontitis with Angle Class II Division 1 malocclusion: A case report with 7-year follow-up.

Background And Overview: Previous studies have suggested that occlusal discrepancy is a risk factor contributing to periodontal disease. Occlusal discrepancy could increase the risk of developing infrabony defects. The authors present a case of a patient with severe periodontitis who exhibited many infrabony defects in the molar region due to malocclusion-induced trauma.

Changes in Flexibility and Force are not Different after Static Versus Dynamic Stretching.

In this study, we examined the effects of static and dynamic stretching on range of motion (ROM), passive torque (PT) at pain onset, passive stiffness, and isometric muscle force. We conducted a randomized crossover trial in which 16 healthy young men performed a total of 300 s of active static or dynamic stretching of the right knee flexors on two separate days in random order. To assess the effects of stretching, we measured the ROM, PT at pain onset, passive stiffness during passive knee extension, and maximum voluntary isometric knee flexion force using an isokinetic dynamometer immediately before and after stretching.

Omics-based Identification of Glycan Structures as Biomarkers for a Variety of Diseases.

Glycans play important roles in cell communication, protein interaction, and immunity, and structural changes in glycans are associated with the regulation of a range of biological pathways involved in disease. However, our understanding of the detailed relationships between specific diseases and glycans is very limited. In this study, we proposed an omics-based method to investigate the correlations between glycans and a wide range of human diseases.

Muscle-derived SDF-1α/CXCL12 modulates endothelial cell proliferation but not exercise training-induced angiogenesis.

Chemokines are critical mediators of angiogenesis in several physiological and pathological conditions; however, a potential role for muscle-derived chemokines in exercise-stimulated angiogenesis in skeletal muscle remains poorly understood. Here, we postulated that the chemokine stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1α/C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12: CXCL12), shown to promote neovascularization in several organs, contributes to angiogenesis in skeletal muscle. We found that CXCL12 is abundantly expressed in capillary-rich oxidative soleus and exercise-trained plantaris muscles.