Weight loss improves the liver pathophysiological status of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. However, there are few studies that investigate the accurate relationships between nutritional intake and disease progression in NAFLD patients. A total of 37 biopsy-confirmed NAFLD patients were enrolled in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously developed electrolyzed water (EW) using carbon electrodes and estimated its ability to inhibit the proliferation of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. In this study, we found that EW-containing media could not only inhibit HeLa cell proliferation, but were also capable of promoting the proliferation of normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF). In addition, the developed EW could reduce cytochrome c, as demonstrated by the cytochrome c reduction assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile the role of quantum theory becomes increasingly important through molecular computing and quantum cognition, it is still unclear how quantum mechanics can be involved in macroscopic phenomena. We previously argued the origin of quantum logic in terms of lattice theory; however, we do not refer to Hilbert space very much. Here, we show the psychological origin of quantum logic (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic magnesium (Mg) deficiency induces and exacerbates various cardiovascular diseases. We previously investigated the mechanisms underlying decline in cardiac function caused by chronic Mg deficiency and the effectiveness of Mg supplementation on this decline using the Langendorff-perfused isolated mouse heart model. Herein, we used the Langendorff-perfused isolated rat heart model to demonstrate the chronic Mg-deficient rats (Mg-deficient group) had lower the heart rate (HR) and left ventricular pressure (LVDP) than rats with normal Mg levels (normal group).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Dolutegravir (DTG), a novel HIV-integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), is usually used with multiple antiretrovirals (ARVs) for treatment of HIV. DTG is now approved as Tivicay tablets in over 120 countries and Triumeq combination tablets (DTG/abacavir [ABC]/lamivudine [3TC]) in over 90 countries. In Japan, these formulations have been marketed since 2014 and 2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaparoscopic resection has gradually been adopted for neuroblastoma patients; however, some authors reported that, due to its technically demanding procedures, this operation should be performed only by highly experienced surgeons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic resection of abdominal neuroblastoma by pediatric surgical trainees. In this multicenter, retrospective study, including 18 children with abdominal neuroblastoma indicated for 19 laparoscopic resections (1 with bilateral neuroblastomas) from 1999 to 2018, the clinical data were retrospectively reviewed and compared between trainee and attending surgeons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Combining radiotherapy (RT) with DNA damage response inhibitors may lead to increased tumor cell death through radiosensitization. DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) plays an important role in DNA double-strand break repair via the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway. We hypothesized that in addition to a radiosensitizing effect from the combination of RT with AZD7648, a potent and specific inhibitor of DNA-PK, combination therapy may also lead to modulation of an anticancer immune response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne of the two major clades of the endemic American Amaryllidaceae subfam. Amaryllidoideae constitutes the tetraploid-derived ( = 23) Andean-centered tribes, most of which have 46 chromosomes. Despite progress in resolving phylogenetic relationships of the group with plastid and nrDNA, certain subclades were poorly resolved or weakly supported in those previous studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClearance of intracellular infections caused by Typhimurium (STm) requires IFN-γ and the Th1-associated transcription factor T-bet. Nevertheless, whereas IFN-γ mice succumb rapidly to STm infections, T-bet mice do not. In this study, we assess the anatomy of immune responses and the relationship with bacterial localization in the spleens and livers of STm-infected IFN-γ and T-bet mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow can one defend free will against determinism? Since quantum mechanics entails non-locality, it enables the co-existence of free will and determinism. Is non-locality in cognition possible, or must quantum mechanics be rejected? Here, we define free will, determinism and locality in terms of a binary relation between objects and representations, and we verify that the three concepts constitute a trilemma. We also show that non-locality in cognition is naturally found in decision making without any assumption of quantum mechanics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn atherosclerosis progression, atherosclerotic plaques develop upon accumulated foam cells derived from macrophages that take up modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL). CD36 and CD204 are the principal scavenger receptors responsible for the uptake of modified LDL. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exacerbates atherosclerosis by enhancing the expression of scavenger receptors and thus increasing the uptake of modified LDL into macrophages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 65-year-old man with multiple lymphadenopathy presented to our hospital and was diagnosed with StageIVA blastoid-variant mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), with a Ki-67 index of 93%. Partial response was achieved after four courses of CHASER (cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, dexamethasone, etoposide, and rituximab) chemotherapy, and complete response was achieved after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Six months after ASCT, the MCL relapsed with occurrence of tumors one on the left upper arm and one in the cerebrum, which were proved to be resistant to the conventional chemotherapy and progressed rapidly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 66-year-old male presented with fever and erythema at our hospital, and leukoerythroblastosis, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and multiple low-density lesions in the moderately enlarged spleen were detected. Skin tissue revealed CD8 T cells with the expression of cytotoxic molecule markers involving fat lobules, and subcutaneous panniculitis T-cell lymphoma (SPTCL) was diagnosed. The bone marrow displayed no infiltration of lymphoid tumor cells, but hyperplasia of granulocytes and megakaryocytes with grade 2 stromal fibrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType 2 diabetes is characterized by reduced contractile force production and increased fatigability of skeletal muscle. While the maintenance of Ca homeostasis during muscle contraction is a requisite for optimal contractile function, the mechanisms underlying muscle contractile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes are unclear. Here, we investigated skeletal muscle contractile force and Ca flux during contraction and pharmacological stimulation in type 2 diabetic model mice ( db/db mice).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe developed electrolyzed water (EW) using carbon electrodes and investigated the ability of the developed EW to inhibit the proliferation of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. We observed that EW-containing media inhibited HeLa cell proliferation. Many very small black dots were produced in EW and these were associated with the inhibitory effect on the cell proliferation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a main component of the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall and is associated with a greater risk of atherosclerosis development in periodontal disease. LPS has been reported to increase both CD36 and CD204 expression and enhance the uptake of modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL). However, the signaling pathways by which LPS enhances these expression levels and function have not been fully elucidated, although the clarification of these signaling pathways is important for identifying therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are common progenitors of both adipocytes and osteoblasts. We recently suggested that increased [Ca] caused by bone resorption might accelerate adipocyte accumulation in response to treatment with both insulin and dexamethasone. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which high [Ca] enhances adipocyte accumulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously reported brown adipocytes can proliferate even after differentiation. To test the involvement of mature adipocyte proliferation in cell number control in fat tissue, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice over-expressing cell-cycle inhibitory protein p27 specifically in adipocytes, using the aP2 promoter. While there was no apparent difference in white adipose tissue (WAT) between wild-type (WT) and Tg mice, the amount of brown adipose tissue (BAT) was much smaller in Tg mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremise Of The Study: The Bahamas archipelago is formed by young, tectonically stable carbonate banks that harbor direct geological evidence of global ice-volume changes. We sought to detect signatures of major changes on gene flow patterns and reconstruct the phylogeographic history of the monophyletic complex across the Bahamas.
Methods: Nuclear molecular markers with both high and low mutation rates were used to capture two different time scale signatures and test several gene flow and demographic hypotheses.
In this study, we investigated the effects of a short-term and long-term high-fat diet (HFD) on morphological and functional features of fast-twitch skeletal muscle. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD (60% fat) for 4 weeks (4-week HFD) or 12 weeks (12-week HFD). Subsequently, the fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus muscle was isolated, and the composition of muscle fiber type, expression levels of proteins involved in muscle contraction, and force production on electrical stimulation were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimary esophageal lymphoma is an extremely rare disease. We report a 76-year-old woman with esophageal lymphoma who achieved remission after (HP) eradication. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed a mass in the lower esophagus, and she was diagnosed with stage IE mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDexmedetomidine (DEX) is a sedative used for monitored anesthesia care (MAC). DEX has been used frequently for MAC because of its less respiratory depressant effect We used DEX in four patients with severe complications who needed surgery under MAC. We started MAC with continuous infusion of 0.
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