Review Article: Diagnostic Paradigm Shift in Spine Surgery.

Meticulous clinical examination is essential for spinal disorders to utilize the diagnostic methods and technologies that strongly support physicians and enhance clinical practice. A significant change in the approach to diagnosing spinal disorders has occurred in the last three decades, which has enhanced a more nuanced understanding of spine pathology. Traditional radiographic methods such as conventional and functional X-rays and CT scans are still the first line in the diagnosis of spinal disorders due to their low cost and accessibility.

[A Case of Robot-Assisted Total Pelvic Exenteration for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer with Vaginal Invasion].

A 66-year-old woman presented with discharge of necrotic tissue and bleeding from the vagina during uterine cancer screening. She was diagnosed with lower rectal cancer cT4b(vagina)N3M0, cStage Ⅲc. As the tumor protruded into the lumen from the posterior vaginal wall, preservation of the anterior vaginal wall was challenging.

Sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation mimicking a splenic metastasis from rectal cancer: A case report.

Sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation (SANT) is a rare, benign lesion of the spleen. Preoperative diagnosis of SANT without pathological examination poses significant challenges, particularly in patients with a previous history of malignancy. The present study describes the case of a 53-year-old woman that presented to our institution with general fatigue and anemia.

Respiratory Muscle Strength as a Predictor of Exacerbations in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background And Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is closely related to skeletal muscle dysfunction, and the evaluation of respiratory muscle function has recently been recommended. We aimed to investigate the effects of respiratory muscle dysfunction on clinical outcomes.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with COPD whose respiratory muscle strength was measured between June 2015 and December 2021.

Spatial transcriptomics in autoimmune rheumatic disease: potential clinical applications and perspectives.

Spatial transcriptomics is a cutting-edge technology that analyzes gene expression at the cellular level within tissues while integrating spatial location information. This concept, which combines high-plex RNA sequencing with spatial data, emerged in the early 2010s. Spatial transcriptomics has rapidly expanded with the development of technologies such as in situ hybridization, in situ sequencing, in situ spatial barcoding, and microdissection-based methods.

Previous Infection as a Risk Factor of COPD Exacerbations Leading to Hospitalization.

() and () are associated with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD); however, their role in the pathogenesis of COPD is unknown. We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of patients with AECOPD (modified British Medical Research Council scale score, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] classification, pre-admission antibiotic and inhalant usage, sputum culture and epidemic influenza virus antigen test) for association with admission frequency. Among 169 eligible patients, pathogens were and were not detected in 64 and 105, respectively.

[A Case of Stage Ⅳ Rectal Cancer with Four Pneumonectomies after Resection of the Primary Tumor, Surviving without Recurrence for 14 Years after the Final Pneumonectomy].

A 77-year-old male patient with cT4N1aM1(PUL1), cStage Ⅳ rectal cancer underwent low anterior resection in Y20XX with a plan to perform pneumonectomy after resection of the primary tumor. The pathological diagnosis was pT3N0M1 (PUL1), pStage Ⅳ mucinous adenocarcinoma ly1, v1, pPM0, pDM0. A thoracoscopic left lung S4 segmentectomy was performed Y+2 months later and a thoracoscopic right upper lung partial lobectomy was performed Y+6 months later.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided cryobiopsy of a rare epicardial tumour.

Background: Cardiac tumors are rare, and a nonsurgical diagnosis is preferred for determining appropriate treatment strategies.

Research Question: Can Endobronchial ultrasound-guided cryobiopsy (EBUS-cryo) be useful for diagnosing cardiac tumors?

Study Design And Methods: This paper presents a case report on the successful diagnosis of a rare cardiac tumor using EBUS-cryo. A 60-year-old woman was referred to our hospital after echocardiography revealed an epicardial tumor compressing the bilateral atria.

Pre-folding purification procedures for inclusion body-derived non-tagged cationic recombinant proteins with multiple disulfide bonds for efficient refolding.

The production of disulfide-containing recombinant proteins often requires refolding of inclusion bodies before purification. A pre-refolding purification step is crucial for effective refolding because impurities in the inclusion bodies interfere with refolding and subsequent purification. This study presents a new pre-refolding procedure using a reversible S-cationization technique for protein solubilization and purification by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography.

Relationship between floating toe score and performance in track and field athletes.

This study explored the relationship between floating toes and athletic performance among collegiate track and field athletes. A total of 422 athletes (sprinters, jumpers, and distance runners) and 136 controls participated in this study. Plantar surface images were captured using a specially designed foot scanner during standing to calculate the floating toe score.

Myeloid Cells Induce Infiltration and Activation of B Cells and CD4+ T Follicular Helper Cells to Sensitize Brain Metastases to Combination Immunotherapy.

Brain metastasis is a poor prognostic factor in patients with cancer. Despite showing efficacy in many extracranial tumors, immunotherapy with anti-PD-1 mAb or anti-CTLA4 mAb seems to be less effective against intracranial tumors. Promisingly, recent clinical studies have reported that combination therapy with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA4 mAbs has a potent antitumor effect on brain metastasis, highlighting the need to elucidate the detailed mechanisms controlling the intracranial tumor microenvironment (TME) to develop effective immunotherapeutic strategies.

C-arm Free Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Discectomy: A Technical Note.

This report presents a new unilateral biportal endoscopic (UBE) technique for lumbar disc herniation without C-arm guidance. Lumbar disc herniation requires surgical intervention when conservative methods fail. Shifts towards minimally invasive percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, including uniportal and biportal approaches, have been hindered by challenges such as steep learning curves and reliance on radiation-intensive C-arm guidance.

Predicting Surgical Site Infections in Spine Surgery: Association of Postoperative Lymphocyte Reduction.

Objective: Postoperative lymphopenia is reported as an excellent indicator to predict surgical-site infection (SSI) after spine surgery. However, there is still controversy concerning which serological markers can predict spinal SSI. This study aims to evaluate excellent and early indicators for detecting SSI, focusing on spine instrumented surgery.

Characteristics of Cerebrovascular Response to Intrinsic Vasoactive Substances in Sika Deer () and the Possible Effects of Gravity on Adrenergic Responses.

Gravity may exert species-specific effects on quadrupedal vasoreactivity, reflecting variations in the vertical displacement of the cardiocranial axis from the dorsal plane. Deer show markedly displaced cardiocranial axes compared to their closest phylogenetic relatives, but their relative cerebrovascular responses remain unelucidated. Accordingly, we investigated the responses to noradrenaline (NA), acetylcholine (ACh), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), histamine, angiotensin (Ang) II, and bradykinin (BK) in cervine basilar arterial rings.

Oxygen Delivery During Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Pediatric Patients With Congenital Heart Disease: Association With Postoperative Acute Kidney Injury.

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the distribution of nadir oxygen delivery (DO), mean DO, and area under ideal DO (AUiDO) among categorized age groups of pediatric patients and their associations with postoperative cardiac surgery-associated (CSA) acute kidney injury (AKI) and clinical outcomes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: A tertiary teaching hospital.

Case report on ureteral amyloidosis that was incidentally diagnosed in a patient with malignant lymphoma.

Herein, we report a rare case of localized ureteral amyloidosis in a patient with malignant lymphoma. A 73-year-old female patient visited our institution for a comprehensive examination and treatment of malignant lymphoma. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed left hydronephrosis and a left lower ureteral mass.

Semen extender triggers a mild physiological inflammatory response in the uterus without disrupting sperm-uterine immune crosstalk in vitro in cattle.

Artificial insemination (AI) in cattle involves introducing frozen-thawed sperm, a minimal amount of seminal plasma, and a significant volume of semen extender (SE) into the uterus. Previous studies have demonstrated that sperm interact with bovine endometrial epithelia via TLR 2/1, triggering a weak inflammatory response to clear the endometrium. This study investigated the impact of the major component of the insemination dose, egg yolk-based SE, on the uterine immune response in vitro.

Clinical outcomes and return-to-play in dynamic anterior glenohumeral capsular ligament tensioning procedure for overhead-throwing athletes with traumatic shoulder dislocation on the throwing side.

Background: Although arthroscopic Bankart repair for shoulder instability after a traumatic shoulder dislocation is a standard procedure, return-to-play rates for overhead-throwing athletes with shoulder instability on the throwing side have been reported to be lower than those in nonoverhead athletes or in nonthrowing shoulders. A recent technical report showed that the dynamic anterior glenohumeral capsular ligament tensioning (DAGHT) procedure in abducted external rotation, which mimics the late cocking phase of the throwing motion during surgery, may provide optimal tensioning of the anterior glenohumeral ligament. This study compared clinical outcomes and return-to-play after arthroscopic Bankart repair between DAGHT and a conventional procedure for overhead-throwing athletes with traumatic dislocation on the throwing side.

Application of 3D printing in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers: current status and new insights.

Background And Aims: Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a serious complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), affecting around 25% of individuals with DM. Primary treatment of a DFU involves wound off-loading, surgical debridement, dressings to provide a moist wound environment, vascular assessment, and appropriate antibiotics through a multidisciplinary approach. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is considered an innovative tool for the management of DFUs.

Subsequent development of cholangiocarcinoma caused by exposure to 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane in the printing company in Osaka, Japan.

After the report of 17 patients with occupational cholangiocarcinoma caused by long-term exposure to high concentrations of 1,2-dichloropropane and/or dichloromethane in a printing company in Osaka in 2014, additional five patients were diagnosed to have such cholangiocarcinoma. Cholangiocarcinoma was detected during regular health examination or follow-up for liver dysfunction in four of the five patients. Nearly all five patients presented with clinicopathological findings such as an elevated γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity at the diagnosis, regional dilatation of intrahepatic bile ducts without tumor-induced obstruction, chronic bile duct injury, and precancerous/early cancerous lesions (biliary intraepithelial neoplasia and intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct) at various sites of the bile duct.

Prognostic Awareness and Knowledge of Acute Exacerbation in Patients Dying with Interstitial Lung Disease: A Nationwide Survey.

Accurate prognostic awareness (PA) and knowledge of the disease are critical for decision-making regarding treatment options, advance care planning, and end-of-life care. However, they have not been investigated in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). To determine the prevalence of patients with ILD who have accurate PA and/or knowledge of acute exacerbation and whether accurate PA is associated with end-of-life medical interventions and quality of dying and death.

Relationship between postoperative biliary complications and biliary anatomical aspects in performing right anterior- or central bisectionectomy: Single-center retrospective observational study.

Aim: Central liver resections are considered to be high-risk procedures due to postoperative biliary complications. However, anatomical aspect-related causes are underreported. Focusing upon right anterior sectionectomy (H58) and central bisectionectomy (H458), we assessed risk factors for postoperative biliary complications.

Dynamic Anterior Glenohumeral Capsular Ligament Tensioning During Arthroscopic Shoulder Stabilization in Overhead-Throwing Athletes.

Although the most common surgical treatment for traumatic anterior shoulder instability is arthroscopic Bankart repair (ABR), which has shown good postoperative results, a potential risk of postoperative external rotation deficit exists. For overhead-throwing athletes, recovery of postoperative range of motion during abduction and external rotation is essential to return to preinjury performance levels. We consider that the key to returning to play after ABR on the dominant side in overhead-throwing athletes is to simultaneously gain anterior stability and mobility of the shoulder.

Tasurgratinib in patients with cholangiocarcinoma or gastric cancer: Expansion part of the first-in-human phase I study.

Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are a highly conserved family of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases with multiple roles in the regulation of key cellular processes. Specific FGFR mutations have been observed in several types of cancers, including gastric carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma. Dose escalation data of 24 Japanese patients with solid tumors treated with Tasurgratinib (previously known as E7090), a potent, selective FGFR1-3 inhibitor, was reported in a phase I, first-in-human, single-center study.