Double-balloon endoscopy for duodenal diverticulitis with calculus after intestinal reconstruction: A case report.

Small-bowel diverticulosis is relatively common, but there is no set treatment strategy for duodenal diverticulitis with stone impaction. A woman aged in her 70s presented with a chief complaint of abdominal pain, and she had been reconstructed by the Roux-en-Y method after total gastrectomy. We performed an enhanced computed tomography which revealed edematous wall thickening of the duodenum.

Habitual intake of carbonated drinks is associated with subjective difficulty in swallowing in community-dwelling older adults: a survey-based cross-sectional study.

Carbonated drinks have been reported to increase muscle activity during swallowing compared with water. Older adults who habitually consume carbonated drinks may use their swallowing-related muscles to a greater extent, thereby preserving their swallowing function. This study investigated the relationship between habitual carbonated drink intake, amount of carbonated drink consumed, and subjective difficulty in swallowing in community-dwelling older adults.

Effect of Simultaneous Dual-Task Training on Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Older Adults with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: No previous study has examined the effect of dual-task training using changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) as an outcome.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effects of simultaneous dual-task training of exercise and cognitive tasks on rCBF using SPECT in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Methods: In this non-randomized control trial, 40 older adults with aMCI participated from May 2016 to April 2018.

The Relationship between Sarcopenia and Respiratory Muscle Weakness in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

An association between respiratory muscle weakness and sarcopenia may provide a clue to the mechanism of sarcopenia development. We aimed to clarify this relationship among community-dwelling older adults. In total, 117 community-dwelling older adults were assessed and classified into 4 groups: robust, respiratory muscle weakness, sarcopenia, and respiratory sarcopenia.

Examination of Rehabilitation Intensity According to Severity of Acute Stroke: A Retrospective Study.

Objectives: To investigate the intensity and effectiveness of rehabilitation in acute stroke patients according to the severity of functional impairments in them.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 294 patients with acute hemispheric stroke admitted to three acute-care hospitals who subsequently underwent an inpatient rehabilitation program. Stroke severity was classified according to neurological deficits and trunk dysfunction.

Phosphate bound to calcareous sediments hampers skeletal development of juvenile coral.

To test the hypothesis that terrestrial runoff affects the functions of calcareous sediments in coral reefs and hampers the development of corals, we analysed calcareous sediments with different levels of bound phosphate, collected from reef areas of Okinawajima, Japan. We confirmed that phosphate bound to calcareous sediments was readily released into ambient seawater, resulting in much higher concentrations of phosphorous in seawater from heavily polluted areas (4.3-19.

Changes in Smad1/5/9 expression and phosphorylation in astrocytes of the rat hippocampus after transient global cerebral ischemia.

Smad proteins are known to transduce the actions of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family including TGF-βs, activins, and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). We previously reported that Smad1/5/9 immunoreactivity was observed in astrocytes of various rat brain regions including the hippocampus, suggesting that Smad1/5/9 may be associated with the physiology of astrocytes. However, the Smad1/5/9 expression and activation in the hippocampal astrocytes after global cerebral ischemia has not been yet elucidated.

Preventive Effect of the Japanese Traditional Herbal Medicine Boiogito on Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis in Rats.

Background: Considering the anti-inflammatory properties of the Japanese traditional Kampo medicine Boiogito (BO), we aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of BO to prevent the development of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in rats with surgically induced KOA.

Methods: Destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) was performed to induce osteoarthritis in the right knees of 12-week-old Wistar rats under general anesthesia. The rats were orally administered 3% BO in standard powder chow for 4 weeks after surgery (controls: = 6; sham group: = 6; DMM group: = 5; DMM + BO group: = 5).

Development of a novel acetyl glucose-modified gefitinib derivative to enhance the radiosensitizing effect.

Various radiosensitizers are being developed to increase the radiation sensitivity of hypoxic cancer cells, which show resistance to radiation. Previously, we demonstrated that an acetyl glucose-modified nitroimidazole derivative showed a high radiosensitizing effect by inhibiting glucose uptake and glycolysis. Based on this finding, we designed and synthesized novel sugar hybrid radiosensitizers, wherein acetyl glucose was introduced into gefitinib.

Factors Influencing Sitting Ability During the Acute Post-Stroke Phase: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study in Japan.

Objectives: Sitting ability during the acute phase after stroke is a useful indicator of functional outcomes; however, factors that affect this ability have not been evaluated. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and evaluate factors that affect sitting ability in the acute phase after stroke.

Materials And Methods: This multicenter prospective cohort study included hemispheric stroke patients who underwent an inpatient rehabilitation program after acute stroke from five acute care hospitals.

Relationship between tongue muscle quality and swallowing speed in community-dwelling older women.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tongue muscle quality index, which was represented as tongue muscle pressure divided by tongue muscle mass, and swallowing speed in community-dwelling older women.

Methods: The inclusion criteria for this cross-sectional study were that participants be community-dwelling older women aged 65 years and above without dysphagia. The exclusion criteria were stroke and Parkinson's disease that directly cause dysphagia.

Impact of unilateral spatial neglect with or without other cognitive impairments on independent gait recovery in stroke survivors.

Objective: To investigate the impact of unilateral spatial neglect with or without other cognitive impairments on recovery of independent gait in stroke survivors.

Design: A prospective cohort study.

Subjects: Ninety-four stroke survivors in an inpatient rehabilitation ward.

Relationship between characteristics of skeletal muscle and oral function in community-dwelling older women.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between oral function and sarcopenia staging, including dynapenia and presarcopenia, in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in community-dwelling older women aged 65 years and above. We measured oral muscle strength using maximum tongue pressure, oral muscle performance using oral diadochokinesis, and subjective swallowing difficulties using the Eating Assessment Tool.

Mutations in bassoon in individuals with familial and sporadic progressive supranuclear palsy-like syndrome.

Clinical diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is sometimes difficult because various phenotypes have been identified. Here, we report a mutation in the bassoon (BSN) gene in a family with PSP-like syndrome. Their clinical features resembled not only those of PSP patients but also those of individuals with multiple system atrophy and Alzheimer's disease.

Distribution of Smad mRNA and proteins in the rat brain.

Smad proteins are known to transduce the action of TGF-β superfamily proteins including TGF-βs, activins, and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). In this study, we examined the expression of Smad1, -2, -3, -4, -5, and -8 mRNA in the rat brain by means of RT-PCR and in situ hybridization (ISH). In addition, we examined the nuclear accumulation of Smad1, -2, -3, -5, and -8 proteins after intracerebroventricular injection of TGF-β1, activin A, or BMP6 with immunohistochemistry to investigate whether TGF-β, activin, and/or BMP activate Smads in the rat brain.

Program Code Generator for Cardiac Electrophysiology Simulation with Automatic PDE Boundary Condition Handling.

Clinical and experimental studies involving human hearts can have certain limitations. Methods such as computer simulations can be an important alternative or supplemental tool. Physiological simulation at the tissue or organ level typically involves the handling of partial differential equations (PDEs).

[Sustained remission over 10 years after rituximab-monotherapy in a patient with primary duodenal follicular lymphoma].

A 79-year-old man received gastrointestinal endoscopy for reexamination of a gastric submucosal tumor in May 2002 and whitish granular mucosa was found near the ampulla of Vater of the duodenum, though biopsy specimens showed only lymphocyte infiltrations. In December 2002, a second gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed an irregular granular elevated lesion around the ampulla of Vater and biopsy specimens showed pathological findings of follicular lymphoma. No other abnormal findings raising suspicion of tumor formation were observed on systemic examinations and the diagnosis of duodenal follicular lymphoma was confirmed.

Ultra-high level of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor at diagnosis predicts poor outcome for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and displays an aggressive clinical course with poor outcome. To identify prognostic factors for AITL, we retrospectively analyzed 36 patients with AITL. The median age was 74 years with 83% of the patients having advanced stage.

Code generator for distributed parameter biological model simulation with PDE numerical schemes.

The physiological simulation at the tissue and organ level typically involves the handling of partial differential equations (PDEs). Boundary conditions and in cases like pharmacokinetics, distributed parameters add to the complexity of the PDE solution. These factors make most PDE solutions and their corresponding program codes tailored for specific problems.

[A case of hemosuccus pancreaticus caused by rupture of an aneurysm of the splenic artery].

Hemorrhage through the pancreatic duct into the duodenum, the so-called "hemosuccus pancreaticus", is a rare cause of gastrointestinal bleeding. A 75-year-old man, who was treated with anticoagulation agents for an old myocardial infarction, was admitted to our hospital for sudden tarry stools and abdominal pain. His hemoglobin level slightly dropped to 12.

A program code generator for multiphysics biological simulation using markup languages.

To cope with the complexity of the biological function simulation models, model representation with description language is becoming popular. However, simulation software itself becomes complex in these environment, thus, it is difficult to modify the simulation conditions, target computation resources or calculation methods. In the complex biological function simulation software, there are 1) model equations, 2) boundary conditions and 3) calculation schemes.