Publications by authors named "Masashi Yamaguchi"

Background: The reverse-wiring technique (RWT) using a hairpin-bend wire is useful for percutaneous coronary intervention of a bifurcation lesion with an extremely angulated side branch (SB); however, it is not necessarily effective in some anatomical situations. We report a novel SB wiring technique, the U-turn wiring technique (UWT), that is useful for wiring an extremely angled SB proximal to the ectasia.

Case Summary: In the first case, the bare wire took a U-turn in the ectasia of the diagonal branch and crossed towards the angled left anterior descending artery, but a coronary dissection occurred in the diagonal branch due to the continuous wire-pushing force.

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  • Understanding the in-vivo dynamics of pneumococci is crucial for investigating carriage in patients with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).
  • This study compared genomic and morphological differences between a capsular strain from blood and a non-capsular strain from sputum in a patient with IPD.
  • Findings indicated the blood strain was encapsulated while the sputum strain was non-encapsulated with a higher biofilm-forming capacity, suggesting a potential morphological change in Streptococcus pneumoniae during infection.
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  • Sandwich freezing, a technique that sandwiches specimens between copper disks for rapid freezing, is effective for observing the ultrastructure of living yeast and bacteria.
  • Recent findings indicate its success in preserving cell images from glutaraldehyde-fixed cultured cells and various tissues.
  • This study uniquely applies sandwich freezing to Arabidopsis plant tissues, demonstrating excellent preservation of cellular structure for the first time in plant observation.
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  • SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) are effective in treating acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and their impact on unstable coronary plaque is being studied in patients with type 2 diabetes.* -
  • The study analyzed data from 109 patients, comparing those treated with SGLT2is to those who were not, focusing on changes in coronary plaque using optical coherence tomography (OCT) images.* -
  • Results showed that SGLT2is significantly improved plaque stability and reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events compared to the non-SGLT2i group.*
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With only four classes of antifungal drugs available for the treatment of invasive systemic fungal infections, the number of resistant fungi is increasing, highlighting the urgent need for novel antifungal drugs. Ergosterol, an essential component of cell membranes, and its synthetic pathway have been targeted for antifungal drug development. Sterol-C4-methyl monooxygenase (Erg25p), which is a greater essential target than that of existing drugs, represents a promising drug target.

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  • The study investigates the optimal percent oversizing (%OS) for the SAPIEN3 Ultra (S3U) transcatheter aortic valve to minimize paravalvular regurgitation (PVR) while assessing the risk of conduction disturbances (CD).
  • It compared 350 patients with the S3U against 606 patients using the original SAPIEN3 (S3), finding significantly lower rates of PVR in the S3U group across various %OS levels.
  • The findings suggest that a minimal %OS (0% to 5%) is optimal for the S3U, balancing the risks of PVR and CD more effectively than the S3.
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The fungal cell wall is the initial barrier for the fungi against diverse external stresses, such as osmolarity changes, harmful drugs, and mechanical injuries. This study explores the roles of osmoregulation and the cell-wall integrity (CWI) pathway in response to high hydrostatic pressure in the yeast . We demonstrate the roles of the transmembrane mechanosensor Wsc1 and aquaglyceroporin Fps1 in a general mechanism to maintain cell growth under high-pressure regimes.

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Mitochondrial dysfunction or morphological abnormalities in human pathogenic fungi are known to contribute to azole resistance; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In this study, we investigated the link between mitochondrial morphology and azole resistance in , which is the second most common cause of human candidiasis worldwide. The ER-mitochondrial encounter structure (ERMES) complex is thought to play an important role in the mitochondrial dynamics necessary for mitochondria to maintain their function.

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  • * Researchers examined 140 patients with severe AS, analyzing a total of 164 vascular segments and categorizing them into four groups based on their FFR and iFR measurements.
  • * They found that 29.3% of cases exhibited discordance, predominantly negative discordance (where iFR is lower but FFR is higher), particularly in the left anterior descending artery and when peak velocity was 5.0 m/s or more.
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Sandwich freezing is a method of rapid freezing by sandwiching specimens between two metal disks and has been used for observing exquisite the close-to-native ultrastructure of living yeast and bacteria. Recently, this method has been found to be useful for preserving cell images of glutaraldehyde-fixed animal and human tissues. In the present study, this method was applied to observe the fine structure of mouse glomerular capillary loops.

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The uptake of cholesterol from the host is closely linked to the proliferation of pathogenic fungi and protozoa during infection. For some pathogenic fungi cholesterol uptake is an important strategy for decreasing susceptibility to antifungals that inhibit ergosterol biosynthesis. In this study, we show that , which encodes an enzyme that demethylates 4,4-dimethylzymosterol, is required for cholesterol uptake from host serum.

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This retrospective study was aimed (i) at elucidating the correlation between fatty liver diagnoses based on the plain computed tomography (CT) value and those based on the attenuation coefficient (AC) value determined with the ultrasound-guided attenuation parameter (UGAP) and (ii) at evaluating the diagnostic power of AC values. We included 125 patients who underwent blood tests, abdominal ultrasonography and abdominal CT at our department between April 2020 and March 2021. Hepatic fat infiltration was categorized as S0 (<5%), S1 (≥5 and 30<%), S2 (≥30 and <50%) or S3 (≥50%).

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Background: Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare cause of fulminant heart failure (HF). The most common presentation is progressive hemodynamic deterioration, and a few cases present with idiopathic complete atrioventricular block (cAVB). The prognosis of GCM is poor, and GCM patients usually die of HF and ventricular arrhythmia unless cardiac transplantation is performed.

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Chemical fixation has been used for observing the ultrastructure of cells and tissues. However, this method does not adequately preserve the ultrastructure of cells; artifacts and extraction of cell contents are usually observed. Rapid freezing is a better alternative for the preservation of cell structure.

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  • The study investigates the feasibility of accessing coronary arteries after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) using the LOTUS valve, focusing on the relationship between the valve placement and coronary artery openings.* -
  • Out of 41 patients analyzed with MDCT, 53.7% had at least one unfavorable coronary access (CA), with notable challenges observed particularly in the left and right coronary arteries, leading to significantly lower success rates in coronary cannulation.* -
  • The research concludes that assessing unfavorable CA through a post-TAVR MDCT algorithm is crucial for predicting difficulties in coronary access, indicating a high risk for unsuccessful procedures in certain patients.*
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We present the case of a 56-year-old woman diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). She has continuously taken 600 mg/day of ursodeoxycholic acid. Edema of the lower limbs manifested on July 20, 20XX; after 2 weeks, she manifested rapid weight gain and nettle rash on the limbs and trunk.

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  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) poses treatment challenges for patients on hemodialysis (HD), and previous research did not include these patients when evaluating cryoballoon ablation (CBA) versus radiofrequency ablation (RFA).
  • A retrospective study from 2011 to 2019 compared outcomes in HD patients who underwent CBA and RFA, measuring freedom from atrial tachyarrhythmia or antiarrhythmic drug prescription after one year.
  • The study found that 68.2% of CBA patients were free from complications compared to 58.4% of RFA patients, suggesting CBA may offer better outcomes for HD patients with AF.
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We have been using sandwich freezing of living yeast and bacteria followed by freeze-substitution for observing close-to-native ultrastructure of cells. Recently, sandwich freezing of glutaraldehyde-fixed cultured cells and human tissues have been found to give excellent preservation of ultrastructure of cells and tissues. These studies, however, have been conducted using a handmade sandwich freezing device and have been limited in a few laboratories.

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We herein report the cytokine expression at different stages for three patients who developed cardiac complications after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Case 1 with biopsy-proven myocarditis showed increased levels of interleukin (IL)-8, monocyte chemotactic and activating factor, and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) when he developed Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Case 2 with subclinical myocarditis showed predominant activation of IL-8 during the progressive clinical course.

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Background: The Bayesian penalized likelihood (BPL) algorithm Q.Clear (GE Healthcare) allows fully convergent iterative reconstruction that results in better image quality and quantitative accuracy, while limiting image noise. The present study aimed to optimize BPL reconstruction parameters for F-NaF PET/CT images and to determine the feasibility of F-NaF PET/CT image acquisition over shorter durations in clinical practice.

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