Material flow cost accounting (MFCA) for the circular economy: An empirical study of the triadic relationship between MFCA, environmental performance, and the economic performance of Japanese companies.

The purpose of this study is to address the question of whether material flow cost accounting (MFCA) can contribute to the circular economy. Because MFCA is an environmental management accounting tool that simultaneously assesses company material and financial flows, it is expected to contribute to the circular economy by assisting companies to achieve both environmental and economic goals through resource efficiency. In short, the expected linkages between MFCA, company environmental and economic goals, and the circular economy are inputs, outputs, and outcomes.

Complement activation is associated with crescent formation in IgA nephropathy.

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is common chronic glomerulonephritis with variable prognosis, ranging from minor urinary abnormalities to end-stage renal disease. The revised Oxford classification of IgAN explains that cellular/fibrocellular crescents are associated with poor renal prognosis, proposing an extension to the MEST-C score. C3 immunofluorescent staining follows a distribution similar to IgA staining.

Introductory Biology in Social Context: The Effects of an Issues-Based Laboratory Course on Biology Student Motivation.

We investigated the effects of a laboratory curriculum developed using the socio--scientific issues (SSI) framework to contextualize scientific and socially relevant issues for students. Using self-determination theory and hierarchical linear modeling, we examined the effects of the SSI curriculum relative to a control curriculum on student motivation in a large introductory biology course for life science majors. The SSI group had a significant increase in motivation for engaging in the laboratory work relative to motivation of the control group.

Effects of preoperative plasma exchange therapy with albumin replacement fluid on blood coagulation in patients undergoing ABO-incompatible living-donor kidney transplantation using rotational thromboelastometry.

Background: ABO-incompatible living-donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) requires immunotherapy and plasma exchange therapy (PEX). PEX with albumin replacement fluid reportedly decreases fibrinogen levels. However, no reports have described the effects of PEX with albumin replacement fluid on blood coagulation parameters and blood loss during the perioperative period.

S100P in Duodenal Fluid Is a Useful Diagnostic Marker for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: The development of an effective screening method for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is of paramount importance. This study assessed the diagnostic utility in pancreatic diseases of duodenal markers during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) or endoscopic ultrasonography.

Methods: This study prospectively enrolled 299 consecutive participants, including 94 patients with PDACs, 144 patients with other pancreatic diseases, and 61 normal individuals as control subjects.

[A case of poorly differentiated mucinous carcinoma of the gallbladder that exhibited a peculiar morphology].

A 65-year-old female presented with an elevated lesion that was identified in the gallbladder fundus via abdominal ultrasound during a medical checkup. The tumor was a pedunculated lesion, measuring 30mm in diameter, that exhibited a blood flow pattern with gradual dense staining throughout the equilibrium phase on the abdominal contrast computed tomography and a high signal intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Histopathological findings revealed the proliferation of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, including signet ring cells, throughout the tumor along with the formation of a mucous lake.

The potential role of perivascular lymphatic vessels in preservation of kidney allograft function.

Background: Lymphangiogenesis occurs in diseased native kidneys and kidney allografts, and correlates with histological injury; however, the clinical significance of lymphatic vessels in kidney allografts is unclear.

Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed 63 kidney transplant patients who underwent protocol biopsies. Lymphatic vessels were identified by immunohistochemical staining for podoplanin, and were classified according to their location as perivascular or interstitial lymphatic vessels.

A Cyclized Helix-Loop-Helix Peptide as a Molecular Scaffold for the Design of Inhibitors of Intracellular Protein-Protein Interactions by Epitope and Arginine Grafting.

The design of inhibitors of intracellular protein-protein interactions (PPIs) remains a challenge in chemical biology and drug discovery. We propose a cyclized helix-loop-helix (cHLH) peptide as a scaffold for generating cell-permeable PPI inhibitors through bifunctional grafting: epitope grafting to provide binding activity, and arginine grafting to endow cell-permeability. To inhibit p53-HDM2 interactions, the p53 epitope was grafted onto the C-terminal helix and six Arg residues were grafted onto another helix.

Histological Analysis in ABO-Compatible and ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplantation by Performance of 3- and 12-Month Protocol Biopsies.

Background: ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) kidney transplantation (KTx) is an established procedure to expand living donor sources. Although graft and patient survival rates are comparable between ABO-compatible (ABO-C) and ABO-I KTx, several studies have suggested that ABO-I KTx is associated with infection. Additionally, the histological findings and incidence of antibody-mediated rejection under desensitization with rituximab and plasmapheresis remain unclear.

Macrocyclization and labeling of helix-loop-helix peptide with intramolecular bis-thioether linkage.

Conformationally constrained peptides have been developed as an inhibitor for protein-protein interactions (PPIs), and we have de novo designed cyclized helix-loop-helix (cHLH) peptide with a disulfide bond consisting of 40 amino acids to generate molecular-targeting peptides. However, synthesis of long peptides has sometimes resulted in low yield according to the respective amino acid sequences. Here we developed a method for efficient synthesis and labeling for cHLH peptides.

Temporal serum creatinine increase and exacerbation of tubulointerstitial inflammation during the first two months in resolving polyomavirus BK nephropathy.

Aim: Polyomavirus BK nephropathy (BKVN) is an important complication in kidney transplantation. After immunosuppressive agents are reduced, some patients experience a temporal increase in serum creatinine (sCr) before viral clearance. The histological characteristics of re-biopsies were therefore investigated to evaluate the time course of remission.

De novo myeloperoxidase-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA)-associated glomerulonephritis 31 years after living-donor kidney transplantation.

A 61-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of an unexpected rise in serum creatinine (sCr) level with proteinuria and microhematuria. She had undergone living-donor kidney transplantation 31 years before for end-stage renal disease caused by chronic glomerulonephritis (GN). On admission, her sCr was 1.

Living donor kidney transplantation preceding pancreas transplantation reduces mortality in type 1 diabetics with end-stage renal disease.

Background: Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK) is a definitive treatment for type 1 diabetics with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Because of the shortage of deceased donors in Japan, the mortality rate during the waiting period is high. We evaluated mortality risk in patients with type 1 diabetes waiting for SPK, and the benefit of living-donor kidney transplantation (LDK) preceding pancreas transplantation, which may reduce mortality in patients awaiting SPK.

Outcome of renal transplantation in patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy: a single-center experience.

Background: Renal transplantation has been established as a treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetic nephropathy. However, few studies have focused on the outcome after renal transplantation in patients with ESRD and type 2 diabetic nephropathy. To investigate the effect of renal transplantation on ESRD with type 2 diabetic nephropathy, we retrospectively analyzed patients who received renal transplantation at our facility.

[A case of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor presenting with main pancreatic duct invasion].

A 52-year-old male visited a local clinic with a subjective complaint of pain in the left side of his abdomen. Abdominal CT revealed the presence of a pancreatic body tumor. On EUS, the tumor presented hypoechoic signals with an obscure boundary, which continued from the pancreatic parenchyma to the inside of the main pancreatic duct.

Living-donor kidney transplant in T-cell and B-cell flow cytometry crossmatch-positive patients.

Objectives: Complement-dependent cytotoxic crossmatch is an important indicator for kidney transplant. However, there is controversy about treatment for flow cytometry crossmatch-positive cases.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective study of 127 living-donor kidney transplant recipients from May 2007 to July 2011.

Early disappearance of urinary decoy cells in successfully treated polyomavirus BK nephropathy.

Background: Polyomavirus BK nephropathy (BKVN) is an important infectious complication in kidney transplant patients. Regular screening using polymerase chain reaction for BK virus DNA in plasma and urinary cytology is effective for early diagnosis of BKVN. However, methods of follow-up and therapeutic targets are not well described.

Protocol biopsy findings in living donor kidney transplant patients treated with once-daily or twice-daily tacrolimus formulation.

Background: Once-daily extended-release tacrolimus (Tac-QD) has been shown to have equivalent efficacy and safety to the twice-daily formulation (Tac-BID) in kidney transplant patients. However, detailed comparison of allograft pathology found on a protocol biopsy (PB) in Tac-QD- versus Tac-BID-based regimens has not been described.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 119 de novo living donor kidney transplant patients treated with Tac-QD (n = 90) or Tac-BID (n = 29) and their 3- and 12-month PB results.

Labor resource use for endoscopic gastric cancer screening in Japanese primary care settings: a work sampling study.

Objective: Endoscopic gastric cancer is screened in primary care settings, but how much resources are required to deliver this service remains unknown. This study determines how much time and human resources are used for endoscopic gastric cancer and for each component of the procedure.

Materials And Methods: Upper endoscopic procedures were prospectively observed using a work sampling technique.

Subclinical nephrosclerosis is linked to left ventricular hypertrophy independent of classical atherogenic factors.

Recently, cardio-renal interactions have been considered to be important and it has been demonstrated that mild renal dysfunction is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). However, the correlation between LVH and subclinical renal damage is unclear. We investigated this association by assessing pretransplant biopsies from living kidney donors with normal renal function.

Impact of flow cytometry crossmatch B-cell positivity on living renal transplantation.

Background: Various studies have reported poorer graft survival among individuals displaying T-cell-positive flow cytometry crossmatches (FCXM). Good outcomes have been observed in immunologically high-risk patients with the use of rituximab, plasmapheresis, and γ-globulin. Because the relevance of FCXM B-cell-positivity (BCXM (+)) alone remains controversial, we examined its impact on living donor renal transplantations.

Renal interstitial fibrosis in 0-hour biopsy as a predictor of post-transplant anemia.

Background/aims: Anemia is common in kidney transplant patients and may cause adverse cardiovascular events. Several studies have reported some predictors of post-transplant anemia. However, associations between the pathological findings in the 0-hour biopsy and anemia have not been well described.

Effect of cell permeable peptide of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase inhibitor on the attenuation of renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in pigs.

The outcomes of organ transplantation have improved due to better immunosuppressive drugs, surgical techniques, and management of complications. However, ischemia-reperfusion injury remains a challenge affecting graft survival. In this study, we employed injection of a protein transduction domain (PTD) to inhibit the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway thereby attenuating ischemia-reperfusion injury in a porcine model.

Decreased expression of calcium-sensing receptor and parafibromin in secondary hyperparathyroidism with an abnormal whole PTH/intact PTH ratio.

A 34-year-old female hemodialysis patient with an abnormal whole parathyroid hormone (PTH)/intact PTH ratio (ratio = 1.14) underwent parathyroidectomy for advanced secondary hyperparathyroidism. The abnormal PTH ratio indicated a relative increase in the serum N-terminus PTH, a new molecular form of PTH.