Increased Insulin Secretion from Insulin-Secreting Cells by Construction of Mixed Multicellular Spheroids.

Purpose: We previously have shown that multicellular spheroids containing insulin-secreting cells are an effective therapy for diabetic mice. Here we attempted to increase insulin secretion by incorporating other cell types into spheroids.

Materials And Methods: Multicellular spheroids of mouse MIN6 pancreatic β cells were formed in microwells alone and with aortic vascular endothelial MAEC cells or embryo fibroblast NIH3T3 cells.

[Successful Administration of Regorafenib to a Metastatic Colon Cancer Patient with Impaired Performance Status by Reducing the Initial Dose].

A 59-year-old woman had recurrences in the spleen and lung 10 years after radical excision of cecal cancer. After 27 months of treatment with 5-fluorouracil/Leucovorin, oxaliplatin, irinotecan, bevacizumab, and anti-EGFR antibodies, multiple bone metastases and a left adrenal metastasis developed, and the patient's performance status (PS) deteriorated to grade 3. Regorafenib was administered at 80 mg/day.

Impact of atrial fibrillation ablation on cardiac sympathetic nervous system in patients with and without heart failure.

Background/objectives: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) might influence the cardiac autonomic nervous system. To investigate the impact of catheter ablation on the sympathetic nervous function in AF patients with and without heart failure (HF) using cardiac iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-mIBG) scintigraphy, and the association of this effect with AF recurrence.

Methods: Forty consecutive patients (median age, 65 (54-69) years; male, 29) with paroxysmal (n=22) and persistent (n=18) AF who were scheduled for ablation were enrolled.

Consolidated bioprocessing of cellulose to isobutanol using Clostridium thermocellum.

Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) has the potential to reduce biofuel or biochemical production costs by processing cellulose hydrolysis and fermentation simultaneously without the addition of pre-manufactured cellulases. In particular, Clostridium thermocellum is a promising thermophilic CBP host because of its high cellulose decomposition rate. Here we report the engineering of C.

Abundant epicardial adipose tissue surrounding the left atrium predicts early rather than late recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation.

Purpose: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) surrounding the left atrium has been reported to have a pro-arrhythmic influence on atrial myocardium and to play an important role in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of this study was to explore whether the abundance of EAT correlates with early and late recurrences of AF after ablation.

Methods: We included 53 consecutive patients with drug-refractory AF scheduled for ablation.

Reconstructive Osteotomy for Ankle Malunion Improves Patient Satisfaction and Function.

Treatment of chronic symptoms caused by a malunion is a difficult problem in orthopedic surgery. We encountered a case of ankle malunion at our hospital about 1 year after the first operation. The patient had been unable to walk with weight-bearing but regained the ability to walk after reconstructive osteotomy of the fibula.

Total Hip Arthroplasty for Rapidly Destructive Coxarthrosis in a Patient with Severe Platelet Deficiency due to Liver Cirrhosis and Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Rapidly destructive coxarthrosis (RDC) causes rapid and extreme destruction of the hip joint, which was reported by Postel and Kerboull. RDC is commonly unilateral and occurs mostly in elderly women. Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is characterized by a low platelet count that is the result of both immune-mediated platelet destruction and suppression of platelet production.

Multiple actions of a D₃ dopamine receptor agonist, PD128907, on GABAergic inhibitory transmission between medium spiny neurons in mouse nucleus accumbens shell.

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a crucial role in pathophysiological responses, such as reward-related behaviors, addiction, depression and schizophrenia, through activation of dopaminergic system in the midbrain area. Principal cells in the NAc are medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which constitute the majority (90-95%) of NAc neuron populations in rodents. MSNs are mutually connected to form networks of lateral inhibition.

[Menstrual cycle length and source of its variation in female university students majoring in nursing sciences].

Objectives: To acquire fundamental knowledge on menstrual cycle and its intraindividual variation in healthy Japanese female students and their association with biological attributes, lifestyle and food habit.

Methods: We asked female students of a nursing school to keep a diary of their menstruation over 5 consecutive months and to fill a questionnaire on their biological attributes, lifestyle and consumption frequency of some food items during the period from November 2012 to January 2014.

Results: The mean±standard deviation (SD) of cycle lengths of 180 women (20.

Influence of Sterilization and Storage Period on Elution of Polyvinylpyrrolidone from Wet-Type Polysulfone Membrane Dialyzers.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of the sterilization and storage period on elution of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) from wet-type polysulfone (PSu) membrane dialyzers. APS-15SA (APS) dialyzers sterilized by gamma-radiation and RENAK PS-1.6 (RENAK) dialyzers sterilized by autoclaving were compared in this study.

Cellular aggregate capture by fluidic manipulation device highly compatible with micro-well-plates.

This paper proposes a capture device to manipulate and transport a cellular aggregate in a micro-well. A cellular aggregate (a few hundreds μm in diameter) is currently manipulated by a pipette. The manual manipulation by a pipette has problems; low reliability, low throughput, and difficulty in confirmation of task completion.

Effects of rTMS of pre-supplementary motor area on fronto basal ganglia network activity during stop-signal task.

Stop-signal task (SST) has been a key paradigm for probing human brain mechanisms underlying response inhibition, and the inhibition observed in SST is now considered to largely depend on a fronto basal ganglia network consisting mainly of right inferior frontal cortex, pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), and basal ganglia, including subthalamic nucleus, striatum (STR), and globus pallidus pars interna (GPi). However, causal relationships between these frontal regions and basal ganglia are not fully understood in humans. Here, we partly examined these causal links by measuring human fMRI activity during SST before and after excitatory/inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of pre-SMA.

A giant solitary fibrous tumor of the mesentery: a case report and literature review.

We report on an extremely rare case of a giant solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the mesentery in a 65-year-old male who was admitted to our hospital because of lower abdominal pain and abdominal fullness. Computed tomography demonstrated a well-defined solid mass of 25 × 11 cm located in the lower abdomen, which was completely resected during surgery. Histopathologically, this lesion had a heterogeneous cell population, mainly comprising spindle cells with fibrous collagen proliferation, and various other cell populations exhibiting patternless growth.

KCC2-mediated regulation of respiration-related rhythmic activity during postnatal development in mouse medulla oblongata.

GABA acts as inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult central nervous system but as excitatory neurotransmitter during early postnatal development. This shift in GABA's action from excitation to inhibition is caused by a decrease in intracellular chloride concentration ([Cl(-)]i), which in turn is caused by changes in the relative expression levels of the K(+)-Cl(-) co-transporter (KCC2) and the Na(+), K(+)-2Cl(-) co-transporter (NKCC1) proteins. Previous studies have used slices containing the medullary pre-Bötzinger complex (pre-BötC) to record respiration-related rhythmic activity (RRA) from the hypoglossal nucleus (12 N).

Seasonality of child and adolescent injury mortality in Japan, 2000-2010.

Objective: Injury is the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in Japan. Despite this, until now there has been comparatively little research on this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to examine if there was seasonal variation in child and adolescent injury mortality in Japan in 2000-2010.

Decreased fronto-temporal interaction during fixation after memory retrieval.

Previous studies have revealed top-down control during memory retrieval from the prefrontal cortex to the temporal cortex. In the present functional MRI study, we investigated whether the fronto-temporal functional interaction occurs even during fixation periods after memory retrieval trials. During recency judgments, subjects judged the temporal order of two items in a study list.

Eluted substances from hemodialysis membranes elicit positive skin prick tests in bioincompatible patients.

Recently, hypotension and malaise during hemodialysis using polysulfone (PS) membranes have been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the bioincompatibility of eluted substances from PS hemodialysis membranes that can induce hypotension, malaise, and anaphylactic shock. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) elution from five hemodialysis membranes was measured in an in vitro experimental circulation.

Generation of alveolar epithelial spheroids via isolated progenitor cells from human pluripotent stem cells.

No methods for isolating induced alveolar epithelial progenitor cells (AEPCs) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have been reported. Based on a study of the stepwise induction of alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), we identified carboxypeptidase M (CPM) as a surface marker of NKX2-1(+) "ventralized" anterior foregut endoderm cells (VAFECs) in vitro and in fetal human and murine lungs. Using SFTPC-GFP reporter hPSCs and a 3D coculture system with fetal human lung fibroblasts, we showed that CPM(+) cells isolated from VAFECs differentiate into AECs, demonstrating that CPM is a marker of AEPCs.

Association of antimüllerian hormone levels with menstrual-cycle type and dysmenorrhea in young asymptomatic women.

Objective: To examine the association between antimüllerian hormone (AMH) levels and menstrual-cycle and lifestyle characteristics among young Japanese women.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: University.

Site-selective C-H borylation of quinolines at the C8 position catalyzed by a silica-supported phosphane-iridium system.

Site-selective C-H borylation of quinoline derivatives at the C8 position has been achieved by using a heterogeneous Ir catalyst system based on a silica-supported cage-type monophosphane ligand SMAP. The efficient synthesis of a corticotropin-releasing factor1 (CRF1) receptor antagonist based on a late-stage C-H borylation strategy demonstrates the utility of the C8 borylation reaction.

Osteonecrosis of femoral head occurred after stent placement of femoral artery.

We present a case of osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH) that occurred after stent angiography of femoral artery for the treatment of arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) of left inferior limb in a 76-year-old woman. No case of late collapse of femoral head as a complication of endovascular procedure such as stent placement has been previously documented. We considered that ONFH occurred after detaining stent at a junction of left deep femoral artery for the treatment of the ischemia of left lateral and medial femoral circumflex artery.

Particulate matter modifies the association between airborne pollen and daily medical consultations for pollinosis in Tokyo.

Pollen from Japanese cedar (sugi) and cypress (hinoki) trees is responsible for the growing prevalence of allergic rhinitis, especially pollinosis in Japan. Previous studies have suggested that air pollutants enhance the allergic response to pollen in susceptible individuals. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study to examine the potential modifying effects of PM2.

Self-terminated long-lasting ventricular fibrillation: What is the mechanism?

A 60-year-old woman with dilated cardiomyopathy was referred to our hospital due to recurrent syncope. The electrocardiogram recorded by an implantable loop recorder during a syncopal episode revealed an episode of ventricular fibrillation lasting almost 3 min that terminated spontaneously. A detailed analysis of the rhythm strip showed that the chaotic rhythm became an organized ventricular rhythm with a cycle length of 220 ms for the last 14 s before it terminated.