Development of RT h-CLAT, a Rapid Assessment Method for Skin Sensitizers Using THP-1 Cells as a Biosensor.

In recent years, in vitro skin sensitization assays have been recommended as animal-free alternatives for the safety assessment of cosmetics and topical drugs, and these methods have been adopted in OECD test guidelines. However, existing assays remain complex and costly. To address this, we recently developed a more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate method for evaluating skin sensitizers by using immune cell-derived THP-1 cells as a biosensor, coupled with an RT-PCR-based assay.

Protein aggregation in the frozen state induced by dropping stress.

The formation of protein aggregates, which can be immunogenic and lower the efficacy and safety of protein drugs, has been an issue in biopharmaceutical development for more than a decade. Although protein drugs are often shipped as frozen material, the effect of the accidental dropping of frozen proteins, which can occur during shipping and handling, on the physical stability has not been studied. Here, a frozen Fc fusion protein was subjected to dropping stress and the increase in the aggregate concentration was evaluated.

Effect of obesity on pharmacokinetics of transdermal fentanyl: Single-center retrospective study and animal study.

A retrospective study and an animal study were conducted to investigate factors affecting the transdermal fentanyl dose to achieve adequate pain relief in patients switched from other opioids. In the retrospective study, patient factors were included as gender, age, body mass index (BMI), and serum albumin concentration. In obese (BMI ≥25) patients, the post-titration dose of transdermal fentanyl was significantly lower than in normal (BMI 18.

Furosemide with adjunctive acetazolamide vs furosemide only in critically ill patients: A pilot two-center randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Furosemide is the most commonly used diuretic in intensive care units (ICU). We aimed to evaluate the physiological effects of adjunctive acetazolamide with furosemide on diuresis and the prevention of potential furosemide-induced metabolic alkalosis.

Materials And Methods: We performed a two-center, pilot, open-label, randomized trial.

Impact of ABCB1 single-nucleotide variants on early, extremely severe neutropenia induced by paclitaxel/nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel in patients with gastric cancer.

Aims: Paclitaxel and nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel can cause early, extremely severe neutropenia, occasionally leading to fatal outcomes. As paclitaxel is a substrate of P-glycoprotein, this study aimed to investigate the impact of ABCB1 single-nucleotide variants, which encode P-glycoprotein, on early, extremely severe neutropenia in patients receiving paclitaxel/nab-paclitaxel plus ramucirumab as second-line therapy for unresectable advanced/recurrent gastric cancer.

Methods: We analysed patients treated at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital from January 2018 to August 2023, with DNA samples stored in the Cancer BioBank Aichi.

A Preliminary Study of the Impact of Intensive Hand Therapy after Arthroscopic Partial Trapeziectomy with Suture-Button Suspensionplasty for Thumb Carpometacarpal Arthritis.

Thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) arthritis is a painful and debilitating condition, which in severe cases may be treated by surgery. Previous studies have emphasised the importance of rehabilitation following surgery to achieve optimal results. This study aimed to investigate whether intensive hand therapy is effective in improving hand functions after arthroscopic partial trapeziectomy with suture-button (SB) suspensionplasty in patients with thumb CMC arthritis.

Learning Curves and Surgical Outcomes of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Performed by an Attending Surgeon and Trainee Surgeons.

Background: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a commonly performed procedure for bariatric and metabolic surgery. However, few reports exist concerning the learning curves and surgical outcomes of LSG among trainee surgeons. This study aimed to investigate the learning curves and surgical outcomes of LSG for one attending surgeon and trainee surgeons.

Severely Hyperammonemic Acute Liver Failure due to Paracetamol Overdose: The Impact of High-Intensity Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy.

Introduction: Paracetamol (acetaminophen)-induced acute liver failure (ALF) with severe hyperammonemia (ammonia >100 µmol⋅L-1) is a life-threatening condition. A strategy based on high-intensity continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) without early (up to day seven) transplantation may enable clinicians to safely identify which patients can recover and survive and which patients require transplantation.

Methods: We conducted a single-center, retrospective cohort study of patients with severely hyperammonemic paracetamol-induced ALF.

Balloon angioplasty for cerebral vasospasm in preschool children.

Background: Subarachnoid hemorrhage evolving with cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia may increase morbidity and mortality. Treating vasospasm with balloon percutaneous angioplasty (PTA) in adults is well known, but data in preschool children are scarce. In addition, the smaller diameters and fragility of the vessels in childhood might lead to serious complications.

Spinal Neurocutaneous Melanosis.

Neurocutaneous melanosis is characterized by melanin-producing cells within the skin, leptomeninges, or brain parenchyma. It is a severe manifestation of congenital melanocytic nevus syndrome and can develop malignant melanomas. The disorder is commonly present in pediatric patients within the first two years of life and has a poor prognosis.

Distributional hypothesis as isomorphism between word-word co-occurrence and analogical parallelograms.

Most of the modern natural language processing (NLP) techniques are based on the vector space models of language, in which each word is represented by a vector in a high dimensional space. One of the earliest successes was demonstrated by the four-term analogical reasoning task: what is to C as B is to A? The trained word vectors form "parallelograms" representing the quadruple of words in analogy. This discovery in NLP offers us insight into our understanding of human semantic representation of words via analogical reasoning.

Hippo pathway in cancer cells induces NCAM1αSMA fibroblasts to modulate tumor microenvironment.

Cancer cells adeptly manipulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) to evade host antitumor immunity. However, the role of cancer cell-intrinsic signaling in shaping the immunosuppressive TME remains unclear. Here, we found that the Hippo pathway in cancer cells orchestrates the TME by influencing the composition of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).

Persistent Multiple Colonic Ulcers and Repeated Acute Bloody Diarrhea in an Elderly Patient with Transthyretin Amyloidosis: A Case Report.

The clinical gastrointestinal manifestations of transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis) are usually non-specific, and colonic bleeding or ulcers are unusual. Here, we report the case of an elderly Japanese man with ATTR amyloidosis who presented with rare gastrointestinal symptoms. An 84-year-old Japanese man was referred to our hospital because of anemia and positive fecal occult blood test results.

Cold-induced degradation of core clock proteins implements temperature compensation in the circadian clock.

The period of circadian clocks is maintained at close to 24 hours over a broad range of physiological temperatures due to temperature compensation of period length. Here, we show that the quantitative control of the core clock proteins TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1 [TOC1; also known as PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR 1 (PRR1)] and PRR5 is crucial for temperature compensation in . The double mutant has a shortened period at higher temperatures, resulting in weak temperature compensation.

Drug-free remission of immune thrombocytopenic purpura following resection of perihilar cholangiocarcinoma: a case report.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a rare autoimmune disorder. Although secondary ITP, caused by various underlying diseases, including some malignant tumors, has been reported, instances of ITP resolving after successful treatment of the underlying cause are uncommon and noteworthy. Herein, we present a case of a patient with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (pCCA) and ITP who achieved drug-free remission of ITP following tumor resection.

Perfusate hemoglobin during normothermic liver machine perfusion as biomarker of early allograft dysfunction: A pilot study.

Background: Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) aims to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury in donor livers and its clinical manifestation, early allograft dysfunction (EAD) by maintaining perfusion and oxygenation. However, there is limited data on which NMP perfusate biomarkers might be associated with such EAD and the role of perfusate hemoglobin has not been assessed.

Methods: We performed a pilot retrospective analysis of adult donor livers undergoing NMP between 2020 and 2022 at our center.

Upper back, neck, and shoulder pain during labor epidural analgesia: a quality improvement initiative.

Background: Severe upper back/interscapular, neck and shoulder pain during labor epidural analgesia (PLEA) is not uncommon. The objective of this quality initiative was to evaluate the incidence, demographic associations and management of PLEA.

Methods: An eight-month, single-center quality improvement initiative was performed for the detection and management of PLEA.

Characterization of the membrane vesicle fraction from Acetobacter sp. WSS15.

A bacterium that produces membrane vesicles (MVs), strain WSS15, was isolated from a traditional vinegar in Japan called Kurozu. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that this bacterium belongs to the genus Acetobacter. MVs and peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (Pal) were detected in the MV fraction of strain WSS15.