Exploration of risk factors and an identification signature for bacteremia in acute cholecystitis.

Background: Acute cholecystitis (AC) is one of the most common abdominal emergencies worldwide. Biliary infections can easily induce bacteremia, leading to severe general conditions including systemic inflammation and blood coagulation abnormalities. However, bacteremia in AC has not been investigated so far.

Rspo3-mediated metabolic liver zonation regulates systemic glucose metabolism and body mass in mice.

The unique architecture of the liver consists of hepatic lobules, dividing the hepatic features of metabolism into 2 distinct zones, namely the pericentral and periportal zones, the spatial characteristics of which are broadly defined as metabolic zonation. R-spondin3 (Rspo3), a bioactive protein promoting the Wnt signaling pathway, regulates metabolic features especially around hepatic central veins. However, the functional impact of hepatic metabolic zonation, regulated by the Rspo3/Wnt signaling pathway, on whole-body metabolism homeostasis remains poorly understood.

An Autopsy Case of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis Infectious Endocarditis Accompanied by Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome.

A 66-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis and hemodialysis was referred with a 1-week history of pain and rash on the left lower leg. On an examination, the patient was in shock. She was administered catecholamine support for septic shock and ampicillin/sulbactam for severe cellulitis.

Risk of severe COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients during the period from wild-type to Omicron variant: real-world evidence from Japan.

Background: Many studies have reported that the Omicron variant is less pathogenic than the Delta variant and the wild-type. Epidemiological evidence regarding the risk of severe COVID-19 from the wild-type to the Omicron variant has been lacking.

Methods: Study participants were COVID-19 patients aged 18 and older without previous COVID-19 infection who were notified to the Nara Prefecture Chuwa Public Health Center from January 2020 to March 2023, during the periods from the wild-type to the Omicron variant.

Genetic and biochemical analysis of severe hypertriglyceridemia complicated with acute pancreatitis or with low post-heparin lipoprotein lipase mass.

Severe hypertriglyceridemia is a pathological condition caused by genetic factors alone or in combination with environmental factors, sometimes leading to acute pancreatitis (AP). In this study, exome sequencing and biochemical analyses were performed in 4 patients with hypertriglyceridemia complicated by obesity or diabetes with a history of AP or decreased post-heparin LPL mass. In a patient with a history of AP, SNP rs199953320 resulting in LMF1 nonsense mutation and APOE rs7412 causing apolipoprotein E2 were both found in heterozygous form.

Understanding impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on glycemic control for patients with diabetes in Japan.

Objective: This study evaluated the changes in the status of glycemic control and lipid management in patients with diabetes under COVID-19 containment restrictions, in order to better understand the impacts of events causing lifestyle restrictions. Patient characteristics with worsened glycemic control were also assessed.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective and observational cohort study using the electronic health records of 5,169 patients with diabetes seeking medical care in two healthcare centers.

Association between the gut microbiome and organic acid profiles in a Japanese population with HIV infection.

Introduction: An increased incidence of metabolic syndrome has been observed in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. In contrast, gut dysbiosis is involved in various pathogeneses, including vascular endothelial disorders. Organic acids, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), are essential for maintaining gut homeostasis.

Association between vaccination status and severe health consequences among community-dwelling COVID-19 patients during Omicron BA.1/BA.2 and BA.5-predominant periods in Japan.

Background: Many previous studies have reported that COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness decreased over time and declined with newly emerging variants. However, there are few such studies in Japan. Using data from a community-based retrospective study, we aimed to assess the association between vaccination status and severe COVID-19 outcomes caused by the Omicron variant, considering the length of time since the last vaccination dose.

Association between vaccination status and COVID-19-related health outcomes among community-dwelling COVID-19 patients in Nara, Japan.

Background: Many previous studies have reported COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, but there are few studies in Japan. This community-based, retrospective observational study investigated the association between vaccination status and COVID-19-related health outcomes in COVID-19 patients by SARS-CoV-2 variant type.

Methods: The study participants were 24,314 COVID-19 patients aged 12 or older whose diagnoses were reported to the Nara Prefecture Chuwa Public Health Center from April 2021 to March 2022, during periods when the alpha, delta, and omicron variants of COVID-19 were predominant.

The current state of laboratory mycology in Asia/Pacific: A survey from the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) and International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM).

Introduction: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) in Asia/Pacific are a particular threat to patients with malignancies, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or undiagnosed/untreated human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Adequate and early access to diagnostic tools and antifungals is essential for IFI clinical management and patient survival.

Methods: Details on institution profile, self-perception on IFI, and access to microscopy, culture, serology, antigen detection, molecular testing, and therapeutic drug monitoring for IFI were collected in a survey.

A case of perforated immune-related colitis complicated by cytomegalovirus infection during treatment of immune-related adverse effect in lung cancer immunotherapy.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be used for lung cancer treatment, the activated immune response may cause immune-related adverse effects (irAEs). We present here a case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) enterocolitis during steroid therapy for an irAE. A 70-year-old man diagnosed with small-cell lung carcinoma (limited disease) received radiotherapy plus two chemotherapy cycles of cisplatin and etoposide.

Cytotoxic lesions of the corpus callosum after COVID-19 vaccination.

A 23-year-old previously healthy man (Patient 1) and a 33-year-old woman with a past history of depression (Patient 2) developed neurological symptoms approximately 1 week after receipt of the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and deteriorated over the next week. Patient 1 reported nausea, headache, a high fever, and retrograde amnesia. Patient 2 reported visual disturbance, headache, dysarthria, a left forearm tremor, dysesthesia of the mouth and distal limbs, and visual agnosia.

Tocilizumab and Baricitinib for Recovery From Acute Exacerbation of Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema Secondary to COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report.

Pneumonia secondary to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is exacerbated by a disproportionate increase in the systemic inflammatory response and cytokine storm due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Herein, we report the successful treatment of severe COVID-19 pneumonia using a combination of tocilizumab and baricitinib in a patient with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE). A 67-year-old male with type 2 diabetes mellitus and CPFE presented with fever and dyspnea and was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Improvement of peripheral neuropathy in a patient with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-negative eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis by additional mepolizumab.

Background: Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a vasculitis characterized by abnormally high eosinophils and frequent peripheral neuropathy. Mepolizumab is an approved therapy for EGPA, but its efficacy against peripheral neuropathy remains unknown.

Case Presentation: A 41-year-old woman was admitted in the hospital with dyspnea and neuropathy.

Diagnostic value of standard deviation score of log-transformed serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis insufficiency.

Serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels reflect the state of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion. However, it is difficult to use serum DHEA-S to diagnose hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis insufficiency due to its non-normal and highly skewed distribution. In this study, we focused on HPA insufficiency caused by hypothalamic and/or pituitary dysfunction and evaluated the usefulness of the standard deviation score of log-transformed DHEA-S (ln DHEA-S SD score), which was calculated from the established age- and sex-specific reference values.

Three-dimensional measurement for spherical and nonspherical shapes of contact lenses.

In recent years, with the development of precise lathe-cutting equipment, special shaped contact lenses (CL) have been crafted. However, while it is possible to manufacture such a lens, its shape evaluation has not been well-established. We conducted a basic optical experiment using special lenses to measure a spherical lens and nonspherical mold.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori among residents and their environments in the Nara prefecture, Japan.

Background: Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori, specifically cagA-positive strains, is associated with gastric cancer. Thus, measures to prevent H. pylori infection are required.

Measurement algorithm for real front and back curved surfaces of contact lenses.

The optical measurement algorithm for the real front and back surfaces of contact lenses from their center to periphery accurately and simultaneously is proposed. It is an algorithm that makes light incident vertically along the curved surfaces of contact lenses under the condition that the difference of curvature radii between the front and back surfaces is small enough within the NA of the optical probe. For this purpose, we adopted time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) with translation and rotation mechanisms.

Intensive care management of a patient with necrotizing fasciitis due to non-O1/O139 Vibrio cholerae after traveling to Taiwan: a case report.

Background: Vibrio cholerae are oxidase-positive bacteria that are classified into various serotypes based on the O surface antigen. V. cholerae serotypes are divided into two main groups: the O1 and O139 group and the non-O1/non-O139 group.

Filifactor alocis brain abscess identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing: A case report.

We report a clinical case of Filifactor alocis brain abscess in an 85-year-old man who had decayed teeth 1 week prior. In this case, the abscess was surgically drained after empirical antibiotics had been initiated. Although the causative organism could not be identified by culture, F.

Case of endobronchial metastasis from breast cancer accompanied with Cunninghamella bertholletiae tracheobronchial mycetoma.

Cunninghamella is a member of the class Zygomycetes. Cunninghamella species include ubiquitous filamentous fungi; infections caused by Cunninghamella species are less frequent but have higher mortality rates than infections caused by Mucorales group members such as Rhizopus and Mucor. Herein, we reported a rare fatal case of endobronchial metastasis from breast cancer accompanied with Cunninghamella bertholletiae tracheobronchial mycetoma.

Exosomes Expressing Thyrotropin Receptor Attenuate Autoantibody-Mediated Stimulation of Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Production.

Exosomes or small extracellular vesicles secreted from cells are nanovesicles with a diameter of 40-150 nm, which play a number of roles in both physiologic and pathologic processes. In Graves' disease (GD), autoantibodies bind to the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) on the surface of thyroid follicular epithelial cells and stimulate thyroid growth and thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion via cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production. The present study aimed to confirm the existence of TSHR in exosomes secreted from thyroid cells and to define the role of TSHR exosomes in GD.