Introgressive hybridization in the west Pacific pen shells (genus Atrina): Restricted interspecies gene flow within the genome.

A compelling interest in marine biology is to elucidate how species boundaries between sympatric free-spawning marine invertebrates such as bivalve molluscs are maintained in the face of potential hybridization. Hybrid zones provide the natural resources for us to study the underlying genetic mechanisms of reproductive isolation between hybridizing species. Against this backdrop, we examined the occurrence of introgressive hybridization (introgression) between two bivalves distributed in the western Pacific margin, Atrina japonica and Atrina lischkeana, based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing.

Imaging Findings in a Case of Bacteremia Caused by Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Associated with a Congenital Venous Malformation.

Non-typhoidal Salmonella infection is a typical food-poisoning disease, which rarely causes bacteremia, except in immunocompromised individuals. We report the case of a healthy adult in whom a varicose vein associated with a lower-leg venous malformation was considered the source of Salmonella bacteremia.

Efficacy of a moisturizer for pruritus accompanied by xerosis in patients undergoing dialysis: A multicenter, open-label, randomized verification study.

Xerosis and pruritus are common in patients undergoing dialysis. These symptoms are treated with moisturizers, but limited evidence supports the efficacy of such treatment. Our exploratory study suggested the effectiveness of a heparinoid-containing product for xerosis in dialysis patients.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviors of Women Related to Pregnancy, and Early Childhood Caries Prevention: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study.

Objective: Health education interventions during pregnancy can influence maternal oral health (OH), maternal OH-behaviors and children's OH. Interventions that can be delivered at anytime and anywhere, for example mobile-health (mHealth) provides an opportunity to address challenges of health education and support activation of women in underserved and rural communities to modify their health behavior. This pilot study was undertaken as a part of a mHealth initiative to determine knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to pregnancy and ECC prevention among women attending obstetrics/gynecology (OB/GYN) practices at a large rurally-based clinic.

Repeat Pregnancy after Prior Aortic Valve-in-Valve Replacement: A Cautionary Tale.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) within a severely stenotic native aortic valve or previously placed surgical biologic aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is a rare occurrence in pregnant patients. The short- and long-term procedural outcomes for future pregnancies in these women or any woman of child bearing age who have received prior TAVR or TAVR in SAVR, are unknown. We describe the first result of a repeat pregnancy outcome in a woman with a history of prior TAVR in SAVR.

Efficacy of a Moisturizer for Pruritus Accompanied With Asteatosis in Dialysis Patients: An Open-Label, Randomized, Exploratory Study.

Background: In dialysis patients, skin disorders (dryness and itching) are frequently observed and treated with a moisturizer, in the absence of clear evidence of efficacy.

Study Design: An open-label, randomized, before/after, parallel-group, comparative/exploratory study.

Setting & Participants: 12 Japanese patients with chronic kidney failure undergoing maintenance hemodialysis who presented with dry skin and itching.

Kinetics of carnitine concentration after switching from oral administration to intravenous injection in hemodialysis patients.

Carnitine has high dialyzability and is often deficient in dialysis patients. This deficiency is treated by either intravenous (IV) or oral supplementation of carnitine. In this study, the mode of carnitine administration was changed from oral to IV in 17 hemodialysis (HD) patients, and the treatment was discontinued after 1 year.

Amplified Emission and Field-Effect Transistor Characteristics of One-Dimensionally Structured 2,5-Bis(4-biphenylyl)thiophene Crystals.

One-dimensional (1D) structures of 2,5-bis(4-biphenylyl)thiophene (BP1T) crystals are fabricated for light amplification and field-effect transistor (FET) measurements. A strip-shaped 1D structure (10 µm width) made by photolitography of a vapor-deposited polycrystalline film shows amplified spontaneous emission and lasing oscillations under optical pumping. An FET fabricated with this 1D structure exhibits hole-conduction with a mobility of µh = 8.

Isolated low-normal amniotic fluid volume in the early third trimester: association with adverse perinatal outcomes.

Aims: To test if an isolated finding of low-normal amniotic fluid index (AFI) in the early third trimester in low-risk patients is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies that had ultrasound studies between 28.0 and 31.

Protective effect of N-acetylcysteine on liver damage during chronic intrauterine hypoxia in fetal guinea pig.

Chronic exposure to hypoxia during pregnancy generates a stressed intrauterine environment that may lead to fetal organ damage. The objectives of the study are (1) to quantify the effect of chronic hypoxia in the generation of oxidative stress in fetal guinea pig liver and (2) to test the protective effect of antioxidant treatment in hypoxic fetal liver injury. Pregnant guinea pigs were exposed to either normoxia (NMX) or 10.

N-Terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide as a predictor of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in hemodialysis patients without fluid overload.

Background/aims: The diagnostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (EF; HF-PEF) was evaluated in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

Method: In total, 83 patients were analyzed. Left-ventricular (LV) function was assessed using trans-thoracic Doppler echocardiography, and indices of hydration status were assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Inhibitory effect of corticotropin-releasing factor on food intake in the bullfrog, Aquarana catesbeiana.

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and CRF-related peptides exert hypophysiotropic and anorexigenic effects in mammals and teleost fish. In anuran amphibians, CRF acts as a potent stimulator of thyrotropin release from the pituitary. According to our recent study, CRF also acts as an anorexigenic factor for the cessation of food intake in the metamorphosing bullfrog larvae.

Changes in the distribution of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-like immunoreactivity in the larval bullfrog brain and the involvement of CRF in the cessation of food intake during metamorphosis.

In submammalian vertebrates, corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) acts as an anorexigenic neuropeptide as well as a potent stimulator of corticotropin and thyrotropin release from the pituitary. As a step for demonstrating the involvement of CRF in the feeding regulation of anuran larvae, which are known to stop feeding toward the metamorphic climax, we studied firstly the changes in the distribution of CRF-like immunoreactivity (CRF-LI) in the brain of metamorphosing bullfrog larvae. Neuronal cell bodies showing CRF-LI were invariably present in the thalamic regions throughout larval development.

Spontaneous rupture of uterine surface varicose veins in pregnancy: a case report.

Background: Spontaneous rupture of uterine surface varicose veins is rare but may become a serious complication of pregnancy.

Case: A 40-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 0-0-1-0, presented with worsening generalized abdominal pain after occasional nausea, vomiting and diarrhea over the previous 2 days. After a 4-hour observation period, sudden onset of severe, prolonged fetal heart rate decelerations was recognized along with frequent uterine contractions.

Prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 9.

Fetal trisomy 9, especially its nonmosaic form, is a rare chromosomal abnormality and there are only 8 cases reported to have been sonographically detected in the prenatal period. We report a case of nonmosaic fetal trisomy 9, mimicking trisomy 13 on sonographic findings at 32 weeks' gestation. Although the incidence of trisomy 9 is rare, diagnosing trisomy 9 is important because the sonographic features are similar to those of trisomies 13 and 18, and cannot to be identified by routine fluorescencein situ hybridization.

Detection of erythropoietin in human seminal plasma.

Objective: To examine the presence of erythropoietin (EPO) in ejaculates and the association between EPO levels in seminal plasma and semen parameters.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: University hospital in Japan.

The natural history of antenatal nuchal cords.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the null hypotheses that nuchal cords occur with equal frequency throughout gestation, the presence of an antenatal nuchal cord is usually a random or chance event, nuchal cords do not usually persist, and nuchal cords do not usually produce evidence of acute fetal compromise before labor.

Study Design: A prospective subject-, examiner-, and physician-blinded study design was used. The fetuses were examined serially at 24 to 26, 30 to 32, and 36 to 38 weeks' gestation and during labor and delivery.

The effect of nuchal cord on amniotic fluid and cord blood erythropoietin at delivery.

Objective: We investigated the effect of a nuchal cord on fetal hypoxia by using amniotic fluid and cord blood erythropoietin as markers of chronic and acute hypoxia, respectively.

Methods: A total of 167 full-term pregnancies without maternal complications or fetal prelabor complications except fetal growth restriction of unknown cause were studied prospectively. Of these, 47 had a nuchal cord at delivery, and 62 had one or more complications during labor and delivery (nonreassuring fetal heart rate pattern, birth weight less than 2500 g, Apgar score at 1 minute less than 7, presence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid, oligohydramnios), and 26 had both nuchal cord and at least one of the intrapartum complications.

Pregnancy outcome of embryonic/fetal pleural effusion in the first trimester.

Objective: To investigate the incidence of embryonic/fetal pleural effusion in the first trimester and its pregnancy outcome.

Methods: A total of 965 viable singleton pregnancies confirmed by sonography between 7 and 10 weeks were examined to estimate the incidence of embryonic/fetal pleural effusion. When initial transvaginal sonography showed pleural effusion, serial ultrasound examinations were performed.

Fractalkine (FRK) levels in amniotic fluid and its production during pregnancy.

Fractalkine is a new CX(3)C chemokine that has chemoattractant activity for T cells, monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells. Western blot analysis revealed that fractalkine protein was detected as a 95 kDa band in both the amniotic fluid and the amnion during the second and third trimesters. Immunohistochemistry using an anti-fractalkine polyclonal antibody revealed positive staining of epithelial cells in amnion and trophoblasts in both the second and third trimesters.

Detection of oxidative stress in seminal plasma and fractionated sperm from subfertile male patients.

Objectives: Oxidative stress in the reproductive system is thought to affect the fertilizing ability of sperm. Since 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and lipid peroxides are widely used as markers to quantify oxidative stress, we compared 8-OHdG and lipid peroxide concentrations in seminal plasma and spermatozoa from subfertile and fertile men.

Study Design: Semen obtained from 37 men of subfertile couples (21 men with normozoospermia and 16 with asthenozoospermia) and from eight fertile volunteers were examined.

Diagnosis of ureterocele with transvaginal sonography.

We report here the case of a 49-year-old Japanese woman who presented to the clinic for uterine cervical cancer screening and who had a history of repeated cystitis. Normal imaging demonstrated no abnormalities of the genital organs; however, transvaginal ultrasound revealed ureterocele. Given the lack of ureterocele-related symptoms and the absence of hydronephrosis, the patient was followed up using repeat sonographic studies and intravenous pyelography.

Cervical fluid oncofetal fibronectin as a predictor of early ectopic pregnancy. Is it affected by blood contamination?

Objective: To evaluate (1) the diagnostic usefulness of oncofetal fibronectin (fFN) in the cervical fluid in unruptured ectopic pregnancy, and (2) the contribution of maternal blood contamination of the specimen to the test results.

Study Design: A total of 111 cases in the first trimester of pregnancy, including 12 cases of ectopic pregnancy, 26 of spontaneous abortion and 73 of viable intrauterine pregnancy, were studied. fFN was determined with a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit with a threshold of 50 ng/mL in cervical fluid.

Estimation of neonatal body composition: isotope dilution versus total-body electrical conductivity.

The objective of the study is to evaluate neonatal body composition determined by the isotope dilution method compared with the total-body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) method. An oral dose of 18O- and 2H-labeled water was given to 40 healthy term newborns, and 26 infants successfully completed the protocol. The isotope concentrations in urine samples were measured by gas-isotope ratio mass spectrometry.