A case of Sjögren's syndrome in which diffuse cystic lung lesions led to an accurate diagnosis.

Key Clinical Message: Even in the absence of other symptoms or other pulmonary manifestations suggesting Sjögren's syndrome (SS), it is necessary to include SS in the differential diagnosis of diffuse cystic lung disease (CLD).

Abstract: A case of SS that presented initially with diffuse CLD is reported. This case is considered rare because diffuse pulmonary cysts were observed in the early stage with few symptoms, only cysts were observed without other lung lesions on imaging, cyst formation was histologically considered to be alveolar loss, and airway lesions not observed on imaging were suspected based on lung function testing.

Energy Transfer on Cytoskeleton of Red Blood Cell Ghosts and their Efficiency Control by KCl Concentration-induced Cell Shrinkage.

Lipid bilayer membranes such as liposomes have been utilized as platforms for bioinspired artificial photosynthesis. Embedding functional compounds, including chromophores and catalysts, into two-dimensional lipid membranes allows their high local concentration and proximity, resulting in enhanced reactivity compared to that of homogeneous solutions. The control of photoreactions by the physical and chemical properties of membranes, such as fluidity and phase separation, has also been well studied in recent years.

Anti-spike protein antibody responses to BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine: A single-center survey in a COVID-19 non-epidemic area in Japan.

Background: There are a few reports on antibody responses after a two-dose BNT162b2 vaccination in non-epidemic areas. We evaluated this phenomenon.

Methods: A total of 344 healthcare workers were vaccinated, and the serum anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) antibody concentrations before and after two weeks following the two-dose BNT162b2 vaccination were measured using electro chemiluminescence immunoassay system.

A Case of Lymphomatosis Cerebri Presenting with Rapid Progression of Dementia: A Literature Review.

Lymphomatosis cerebri is an atypical form of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), which frequently causes rapid progression of dementia. A 68-year-old woman exhibited rapidly progressing disorientation and a mini-mental state examination score of 9. The fluid-attenuated inversion recovery of a magnetic resonance image (MRI) demonstrated focal areas of high-signal intensity in the right frontal lobe with a small enhancement, which was histologically diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell type lymphoma.

Use of Ultrasonographic Shear Wave Measurements to Diagnose Thyroid Metastasis from Breast Carcinoma.

A metastatic thyroid tumor (MTT) arising from breast carcinoma (BC) is rare and sometimes difficult to diagnose. We present a case of MTT from BC; we suspected anaplastic thyroid carcinoma at initial presentation. The patient was a 58-year-old female with a hard nodule in the right anterior neck and a history of breast cancer.

Bladder metastasis with additional metastases in multiple other organs 4 years after radical nephrectomy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma rarely metastasizes to the bladder, and its biological behavior is not yet fully understood.

Case Presentation: In our case (54-year-old Japanese woman), computed tomography evaluation suggested the presence of a bladder metastasis, associated with additional metastases in the lungs, mediastinal lymph nodes, ribs, and renal bed, 4 years after radical nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. The histological findings of the metastatic bladder tumor were consistent with those of clear cell carcinoma.

Peroral Cholangioscopy-Guided Targeted Biopsy versus Conventional Endoscopic Transpapillary Forceps Biopsy for Biliary Stricture with Suspected Bile Duct Cancer.

Background: The recent improvement of peroral cholangioscopy (POCS) maneuverability has enabled the precise, targeted biopsy of bile duct lesions under direct cholangioscopic vision. However, as only small-cup biopsy forceps can pass through the scope channel, the resulting small sample size may limit the pathological diagnosis of biopsy specimens. This study compared the diagnostic abilities of POCS-guided biopsy and conventional fluoroscopy-guided biopsy for bile duct cancer.

Prediction of blood pressure change during surgical incision under opioid analgesia using sympathetic response evoking threshold.

Opioid inhibition of nociceptive stimuli varies in individuals and is difficult to titrate. We have reported the vascular stiffness value (K) as a standard monitor to quantify sympathetic response with high accuracy. On the contrary, among individuals, a considerable variation in the rate of change in K for constant pain has been observed.

Clinical Utility of Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology for Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Trachea with Thyroid Invasion: A Case Report.

Background: Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea (ACCT) is a rare cancer; ACCT with thyroid invasion is particularly rare. We first suspected anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) but diagnosed ACC after performing fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Tracheal origin was confirmed postoperatively.

Cardiorespiratory synchronisation and systolic blood pressure correlation of peripheral arterial stiffness during endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.

Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) is known as an effective measure to evaluate peripheral sympathetic activity; however, it requires invasive measurement with the microneurography method. In contrast, peripheral arterial stiffness affected by MSNA is a measure that allows non-invasive evaluation of mechanical changes of arterial elasticity. This paper aims to clarify the features of peripheral arterial stiffness to determine whether it inherits MSNA features towards non-invasive evaluation of its activity.

Peripheral arterial stiffness during electrocutaneous stimulation is positively correlated with pain-related brain activity and subjective pain intensity: an fMRI study.

Brain activity associated with pain perception has been revealed by numerous PET and fMRI studies over the past few decades. These findings helped to establish the concept of the pain matrix, which is the distributed brain networks that demonstrate pain-specific cortical activities. We previously found that peripheral arterial stiffness [Formula: see text] responds to pain intensity, which is estimated from electrocardiography, continuous sphygmomanometer, and photo-plethysmography.

Cerebellar high-grade glioma with H3 K27M mutation: illustrative case.

Background: Diffuse midline glioma H3 K27M-mutant is a distinct subtype of glial tumors newly introduced in the revised fourth edition of the World Health Organization . They are aggressive pediatric tumors with a poor prognosis but have also been reported in adults.

Observations: The authors present the case of a man in his 60s who presented with rotatory vertigo, taste disorder, and right facial paralysis.

A retrospective study of 323 total laparoscopic hysterectomy cases for various indications and a case report treating caesarean scar pregnancy.

Background: The application of laparoscopic surgeries has been increasing, and various uterine diseases in addition to leiomyoma/adenomyoma have become indications for total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). Therefore, data acquisition and analysis of TLH procedures, including TLH for rare uterine diseases, have become important for improving surgical procedures and patient selection. To determine the prevalence of and risk factors for the occurrence of intraoperative and postoperative complications of TLH, we performed a multivariate analysis of the records in our hospital.

Retraction Note to: Functional analysis of newly identified RYR1 variants in patients susceptible to malignant hyperthermia.

The authors have retracted this article because they did not have permission to use the data in Tables 1 and 2.

SMARCA4-deficient lung tumour that presented with haemoptysis and progressed rapidly.

The case of a heavy ex-smoking man in his early 70s who presented with haemoptysis and died following rapid progression is presented. The tumour excised by surgery was mostly composed of monotonous large rhabdoid cells showing prominent nucleoli and eosinophilic cytoplasm. On immunohistochemistry with SMARCA4 (BRG-1), the tumour cells showed significant loss of expression.

Recurrent probabilistic neural network-based short-term prediction for acute hypotension and ventricular fibrillation.

In this paper, we propose a novel method for predicting acute clinical deterioration triggered by hypotension, ventricular fibrillation, and an undiagnosed multiple disease condition using biological signals, such as heart rate, RR interval, and blood pressure. Efforts trying to predict such acute clinical deterioration events have received much attention from researchers lately, but most of them are targeted to a single symptom. The distinctive feature of the proposed method is that the occurrence of the event is manifested as a probability by applying a recurrent probabilistic neural network, which is embedded with a hidden Markov model and a Gaussian mixture model.

Propofol induces the elevation of intracellular calcium via morphological changes in intracellular organelles, including the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria.

Propofol, most frequently used as a general anesthetic due to its versatility and short-acting characteristics, is thought to exert its anesthetic actions via GABA receptors; however, the precise mechanisms of its adverse action including angialgia remain unclear. We examined the propofol-induced elevation of intracellular calcium and morphological changes in intracellular organelles using SHSY-5Y neuroblastoma cells, COS-7 cells, HEK293 cells, and HUVECs loaded with fluorescent dyes for live imaging. Although propofol (>50 μM) increased intracellular calcium in a dose-dependent manner in these cells, it was not influenced by the elimination of extracellular calcium.

Functional analysis of newly identified RYR1 variants in patients susceptible to malignant hyperthermia.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate whether the three ryanodine receptor type 1 (RYR1) variants (p.Ser2345Thr, p.Ser2345Arg, and p.

Rotational thromboelastometry-guided perioperative management of coagulation in a patient with Heyde's syndrome undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: Changes in coagulability during the hyperacute phase within 24 h after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for Heyde's syndrome, or aortic stenosis complicated by gastrointestinal angiodysplasia and acquired coagulation dysfunction, have not been clarified. We evaluated perioperative changes in coagulability using rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM).

Case Presentation: A female patient with Heyde's syndrome in her 80s underwent TAVI.

Unconstrained Vital Sign Monitoring System Using an Aortic Pulse Wave Sensor.

This paper proposes a novel unconstrained monitoring system that measures heart and respiratory rates and evaluates autonomic nervous activity based on heart rate variability. The proposed system measures the aortic pulse waves (APWs) of a patient via an APW sensor that comprises a single microphone integrated into a mattress. Vital signs (i.

TAFRO syndrome as a cause of glomerular microangiopathy: a case report and literature review.

Background: TAFRO syndrome is a systemic inflammatory disorder that manifests as thrombocytopenia (T), anasarca (A), fever (F), reticulin fibrosis (R), and organomegaly (O). Renal dysfunction is frequently complicated with TAFRO syndrome, however, it is challenging to perform kidney biopsy in patients with TAFRO syndrome in the presence of thrombocytopenia. Renal histology in TAFRO syndrome mainly shows membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN)-like lesions or thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA)-like glomerulopathy.

Estimation of Arterial Viscosity Based on an Oscillometric Method and Its Application in Evaluating the Vascular Endothelial Function.

This paper proposes an algorithm for estimating the arterial viscosity using cuff pressures and pulse waves measured by an automatic oscillometric sphygmomanometer. A change in the arterial viscosity during the enclosed-zone flow-mediated dilation test is calculated as an index for evaluating the vascular endothelial function %η. In all, 43 individuals participated in this study.

Anti-interleukin 5 antibody is effective for not only severe asthma and eosinophilic pneumonia but also eosinophilic bronchiolitis.

A 60-year-old female with severe bronchial asthma developed persistent dyspnoea and an abnormal lung shadow. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) demonstrated patchy ground-glass opacities and diffuse, small nodular shadows. Elevated percentages of eosinophils were observed in the blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.

SKF-10047, a prototype Sigma-1 receptor agonist, augmented the membrane trafficking and uptake activity of the serotonin transporter and its C-terminus-deleted mutant via a Sigma-1 receptor-independent mechanism.

The serotonin transporter (SERT) is functionally regulated via membrane trafficking. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the SERT C-terminal deletion mutant (SERTΔCT) showed a robust decrease in its membrane trafficking and was retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), suggesting that SERTΔCT is an unfolded protein that may cause ER stress. The Sigma-1 receptor (SigR1) has been reported to attenuate ER stress via its chaperone activity.

Postoperative thoracic and low back pain following endovascular aortic repair associated with stenting location.

Background: We have noted that patients frequently complain of thoracic or low back pain after undergoing an endovascular aortic repair, which we speculated was caused by the indwelling stent.

Methods: We investigated the patients who underwent an elective thoracic or abdominal endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR or EVAR) and noted the location of stent, and postoperative pain. The incidence of either thoracic or low back pain at individual vertebra levels was determined, after which we fitted the sigmoidal function to the discrete data to obtain a cut-off line.