Anatomical Study of the Cuboid and Its Ligamentous Attachments and Its Implications for a Cuboid Osteotomy.

Background: Lateral column lengthening (LCL) for flexible flatfoot is an effective surgery with powerful correction of deformity because it tightens only the lateral third of the long plantar ligament (LPL). However, LCL has been associated with joint damage at the osteotomy site and loss of foot flexibility owing to joint fixation. We focused on the cuboid and investigate a novel anatomical LCL osteotomy site that effectively tightens the LPL without damaging any joints.

Oral administration of melatonin contained in drinking water increased bone strength in naturally aged mice.

Melatonin has recently been found to be a possible new regulator of bone metabolism. However, the influence of melatonin in natural age-related osteoporosis has not been fully elucidated yet, although there have been some reports regarding postmenopausal osteoporosis with melatonin treatments. The present study investigated the effects of long-term melatonin administration during the aging process on bone metabolism.

A health crisis during the Japanese Medieval Period: A new paleodemographic perspective.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the "Little Ice Age" (LIA) (in Japan, ˜1440 - 1730 CE) co-occurred with unique age-at-death patterns.

Materials: 810 adult human skeletons from the early Medieval Period (EMP) of Japan, which are contemporaneous with the Medieval Warm Period (10th - mid 13th century AD), and the late Medieval Period (LMP) and Edo Period, which are contemporary with the LIA.

Methods: Age at death and sex was determined for each skeleton and demographic profiles of the Yayoi Period (5th century BC - 3rd century AD), EMP, LMP, and Edo site samples were compared.

Proteomic profiling of archaeological human bone.

Ancient protein analysis provides clues to human life and diseases from ancient times. Here, we performed shotgun proteomics of human archeological bones for the first time, using rib bones from the Hitotsubashi site (AD 1657-1683) in Tokyo, called Edo in ancient times. The output data obtained were analysed using Gene Ontology and label-free quantification.

Renoprotective effect of the xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor topiroxostat on adenine-induced renal injury.

The aim of the present study was to reveal the effect of a xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) inhibitor, topiroxostat (Top), compared with another inhibitor, febuxostat (Feb), in an adenine-induced renal injury model. We used human liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP) chromosomal transgenic mice, and urinary L-FABP, a biomarker of tubulointerstitial damage, was used to evaluate tubulointerstitial damage. Male transgenic mice (n = 24) were fed a 0.

Increase in urinary markers during the acute phase reflects the degree of chronic tubulointerstitial injury after ischemia-reperfusion renal injury.

Context: Acute kidney injury (AKI) could lead to progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Objectives: To demonstrate that urinary markers in AKI are associated with the degree of persistent renal injury.

Material And Methods: Human L-FABP chromosomal transgenic (T) mice were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) clamping renal pedicle for 20 min or 30 min.

MR Imaging Evaluation of the Lisfranc Ligament in Cadaveric Feet and Patients With Acute to Chronic Lisfranc Injury.

Background: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is known to be useful to demonstrate Lisfranc ligament injury. There are few studies that report differences in MR imaging findings of acute or chronic Lisfranc ligament injuries. We applied oblique MR imaging planes parallel to the Lisfranc ligament for better visualization of the entire course of the ligament and assessed the detailed MR imaging appearances of the Lisfranc ligament in cadavers and patients with presumed Lisfranc injuries.

Human liver-type fatty acid-binding protein protects against tubulointerstitial injury in aldosterone-induced renal injury.

To demonstrate the renoprotective function of human liver-type fatty acid-binding protein (hL-FABP) expressed in proximal tubules in aldosterone (Aldo)-induced renal injury, hL-FABP chromosomal transgenic (Tg) and wild-type (WT) mice received systemic Aldo infusions (Tg-Aldo and WT-Aldo, respectively) were given 1% NaCl water for 28 days. In this model, elevation of systolic blood pressure, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression, macrophage infiltration in the interstitium, tubulointerstitial damage, and depositions of type I and III collagens were observed. Elevation of systolic blood pressure did not differ in WT-Aldo vs.

Infant feeding practice in medieval Japan: stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of human skeletons from Yuigahama-minami.

A longer breastfeeding duration provides various positive effects in subadult health because of abundant immunological factors and nutrients in human breast milk, and decreases the natural fertility of a population through lactational amenorrhea. In this study, we measured stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in the bone collagen of three adults and 45 subadults from the Yuigahama-minami site (from 12th to 14th century) in Kamakura, the early medieval capital of Japan. Marine foods, C3 -based terrestrial foods, and freshwater fish are the primarily protein sources for adults.

Anatomy of the extensor pollicis brevis associated with an extension mechanism of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint.

This study aimed to determine whether the extensor pollicis longus (EPL) or abductor pollicis longus (APL) can replace the function of thumb extension in hands in which the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) is absent. Cadaver dissection was performed to examine anatomical association between the interphalangeal (IP) joint and metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint of the thumb, as well as extension mechanism in clinical cases. EPB insertion could be classified into eight types, and the EPB was absent in 7.

Paleopathological evidence and detection of Mycobacterium leprae DNA from archaeological skeletal remains of Nabe-kaburi (head-covered with iron pots) burials in Japan.

The Nabe-kaburi is a unique burial method, the purpose of which is shrouded in mystery. The burials were performed during the 15(th) to 18(th) centuries in eastern Japan, and involved covering the heads of the deceased with iron pots or mortars. The identification of leprosy-specific osteological lesions among some of the excavated remains has led to the suggestion that Nabe-kaburi burials were a reflection of the social stigma against certain infectious diseases, such as leprosy, tuberculosis or syphilis.

Renoprotective effect of renal liver-type fatty acid binding protein and angiotensin II type 1a receptor loss in renal injury caused by RAS activation.

The aim of this study was to assess the renoprotective effect of renal human liver-type fatty acid binding protein (hL-FABP) and angiotensin II (ANG II) type 1A receptor (AT1a) loss in renal injury caused by renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activation. We established hL-FABP chromosomal transgenic mice (L-FABP(+/-)AT1a(+/+)), crossed the L-FABP(+/-)AT1a(+/+) with AT1a knockdown homo mice (L-FABP(-/-)AT1a(-/-)), and generated L-FABP(+/-)AT1a hetero mice (L-FABP(+/-)AT1a(+/-)). After the back-cross of these cubs, L-FABP(+/-)AT1a(-/-) were obtained.

Stable isotopic reconstructions of adult diets and infant feeding practices during urbanization of the city of Edo in 17th century Japan.

The urbanization of the city of Edo, the capital of premodern Japan, has been assumed to be not as a result of natural increase but that of in-migration although this assumption has never been verified. To obtain information on natural fertility in Edo, we analyzed stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in 46 adult and 84 subadult human skeletons excavated from the Hitotsubashi site (1657-1683 AD: the early Edo period), Tokyo, Japan and reconstructed their breastfeeding period, one of the most important determinants of fertility. Adult females are significantly more depleted in (15) N by 0.

Urinary liver type fatty acid binding protein in diabetic nephropathy.

Deterioration of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is largely determined by the degree of tubulointerstitial changes rather than the extent of histological changes in the glomeruli. Therefore, a tubular marker that accurately reflects tubulointerstitial damage may be an excellent biomarker for early detection or prediction of DN. Liver-type fatty-acid binding protein (L-FABP) is a 14 kDa small molecule that is expressed in the cytoplasm of human proximal tubules.

Renal liver-type fatty acid binding protein attenuates angiotensin II-induced renal injury.

To investigate the role of human liver-type fatty acid binding protein (hL-FABP) in angiotensin (Ang) II-induced renal injury, Ang II was infused systemically into hL-FABP chromosomal transgenic (Tg) and wild-type (WT) mice (Tg-Ang II and WT-Ang II) for 28 days. Control mice were injected with saline only (Tg-control and WT-control). hL-FABP was expressed in proximal tubules of Tg mice.

Estimation of fetal age at death from the basilar part of the occipital bone.

The purposes of this study are to examine documented fetal skeletal remains of Japanese, to measure the basilar part of the occipital bone, and to develop diagnostic standards for estimating fetal age at death which can be applied to poorly preserved skeletons. The sample is composed of 272 Japanese individuals of the early to middle twentieth century, whose ages were recorded in months from gestations of 5 to 11 months. The measurement items used here are the length, breadth, and index of the basilar part.

Using multidetector row computed tomography to evaluate baggy eyelid.

Background: Baggy eyelids, formed by intraorbital fat herniation in the lower eyelids, are a sign of aging observed in the midface. This study aimed to identify the cause of baggy eyelids by evaluating the relationship between orbicularis oculi muscle thickness, orbital fat prolapse length, and age using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT).

Methods: The 34 patients in the study ranged in age from 20 to 79 years.

Depiction of the thoracic duct by magnetic resonance imaging: comparison between magnetic resonance imaging and the anatomical literature.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare thoracic duct (TD) configuration depicted by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with TD configuration described in the anatomical literature.

Materials And Methods: MRI Scans were acquired with a three-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin echo (TSE) MRI with a two-dimensional prospective acquisition correction (PACE) technique in 63 patients. We found with MRI that TD displacement occurred more on the left side than that reported in the anatomical literature, and this tendency was more marked in elderly patients.

Diagnostic localization of ectopic parathyroid lesions: developmental consideration.

Parathyroid glands arise from the third and fourth pharyngeal pouches. Parathyroid lesions sometimes develop ectopically. The aim of this article is to illustrate the knowledge of pharyngeal apparatus development to assist with diagnostic localization of ectopic parathyroid lesions.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-4 gene silencing in lung adenocarcinomas.

Gene silencing by promoter hypermethylation plays an important role in molecular pathogenesis. We previously reported that insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein-4 (IGFBP-4), which inhibits IGF-dependent growth, is expressed via early growth response-1 (EGR-1) and is often silenced in cultivated lung cancer cells. The purpose of the present study was to clarify clinicopathological factors associated with IGFBP-4 gene silencing in lung adenocarcinomas.

Reliability of metric determination of sex based on long-bone circumferences: perspectives from Yuigahama-minami, Japan.

The purpose of this study is to develop new standards to determine the sex of fragmentary human skeletal remains from archaeological sites in Japan. In order to accomplish this, we measured the long-bone circumferences of Japanese skeletons from the medieval period and provided metric diagnosis of sex using discriminant function analysis. We discuss whether the osteometric approach provides the criterion for sex assessment of human skeletal remains.

Weapon-related traumas of human skeletons from Yuigahama Chusei Shudan Bochi, Japan.

The Yuigahama Chusei Shudan Bochi site (AD: twelfth to thirteenth centuries), located along the seashore of the southern end of Kamakura City in Japan, and has yielded a mass grave containing hundreds of human crania. The purpose of this study is to document cut marks on crania made by an edged weapon, paying specific attention to individuals who may exhibit scratch marks, and to understand the variability of weapon-related traumas in the medieval period in Japan. The observation leads to tentative findings regarding the identification and interpretation of weapon-related traumas of human skeletal remains.