Brain Natriuretic Peptide Counteracting the Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone System in Accelerated Malignant Hypertension.

We describe 2 patients, a 52-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man, with rapidly progressive hypertension and marked elevation of brain natriuretic peptide who exhibited polyuria, natriuresis, hypokalemia, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and left ventricular dysfunction together with retinopathy and nephropathy, which were attenuated in a short time span of 1-2 months with normalization of blood pressure after the antihypertensive treatment. The possible role of brain natriuretic peptide in the pathophysiology of accelerated malignant hypertension was discussed and a review of the literature was completed.

A multicenter phase II prospective clinical trial of glucocorticoid for patients with untreated IgG4-related disease.

Objective: Although glucocorticoids are effective for patients with IgG4-related disease, the treatment has not yet been standardized. Therefore, the treatment strategy should be established.

Patients And Methods: Patients who fulfilled the comprehensive diagnostic criteria for definite IgG4-related disease were started on prednisolone (0.

Sibutramine provokes apoptosis of aortic endothelial cells through altered production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.

Overdose administration of sibutramine, a serotonin-noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor, is considered to elicit severe side effects including hypertension, whose pathogenic mechanism remains unclear. Here, we found that 48-h incubation with >10μM sibutramine provokes apoptosis of human aortic endothelial (HAE) cells. Treatment with the lethal concentration of sibutramine facilitated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), altered expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress response genes (heat shock protein 70 and C/EBP homologous protein), and inactivated 26S proteasome-based proteolysis.

Photoelectron Holographic Atomic Arrangement Imaging of Cleaved Bimetal-intercalated Graphite Superconductor Surface.

From the C 1s and K 2p photoelectron holograms, we directly reconstructed atomic images of the cleaved surface of a bimetal-intercalated graphite superconductor, (Ca, K)C, which differed substantially from the expected bulk crystal structure based on x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Graphene atomic images were collected in the in-plane cross sections of the layers 3.3 Å and 5.

Prescription trends in children with pervasive developmental disorders: a claims data-based study in Japan.

Background: The only drug approved for pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) in Japan is pimozide. Several psychotropic drugs are also prescribed for offlabel use in Japan, but details regarding their prescription and use are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to clarify the use of drug treatment in Japanese children with PDD.

Serum Ferritin, Insulin Resistance, and β-cell Dysfunction: A Prospective Study in Normoglycemic Japanese Men.

The present cohort study investigated the relationship between serum ferritin levels and indices of insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction in a normoglycemic population without iron overload disorders. The study participants included 575 normoglycemic Japanese men aged 35-57 years with serum ferritin levels of 400 μg/L or less. Insulin resistance and β-cell dysfunction were estimated at baseline and after 3 years by the homeostasis model assessments of insulin resistance and β-cell function (HOMA-IR and HOMA-β, respectively).

Randomized Comparison of Subcuticular Sutures Versus Staples for Skin Closure After Open Abdominal Surgery: a Multicenter Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The incisional surgical site infection (SSI) is an extremely common complication following open abdominal surgery and imposes a considerable treatment and cost burden.

Method: We conducted a multicenter open-label randomized controlled trial at three Tokyo Metropolitan medical institutions. We enrolled adult patients who underwent either an elective or an emergency open laparotomy.

Human CalDAG-GEFI deficiency increases bleeding and delays αIIbβ3 activation.

Affinity regulation of integrin αIIbβ3 for fibrinogen by inside-out signaling plays a critical role in hemostasis. Calcium and diacylglycerol (DAG)-regulated guanine nucleotide exchange factor I (CalDAG-GEFI) was identified as a Rap1-activating molecule, and its role in inside-out αIIbβ3 activation was established in CalDAG-GEFI-deficient mice. However, little information regarding CalDAG-GEFI in human platelets is available.

Influenza A Virus Hemagglutinin is Required for the Assembly of Viral Components Including Bundled vRNPs at the Lipid Raft.

The influenza glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), which are associated with the lipid raft, have the potential to initiate virion budding. However, the role of these viral proteins in infectious virion assembly is still unclear. In addition, it is not known how the viral ribonucleoprotein complex (vRNP) is tethered to the budding site.

Ab initio molecular dynamics of solvation effects on reactivity at electrified interfaces.

Using ab initio molecular dynamics as implemented in periodic, self-consistent (generalized gradient approximation Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof) density functional theory, we investigated the mechanism of methanol electrooxidation on Pt(111). We investigated the role of water solvation and electrode potential on the energetics of the first proton transfer step, methanol electrooxidation to methoxy (CH3O) or hydroxymethyl (CH2OH). The results show that solvation weakens the adsorption of methoxy to uncharged Pt(111), whereas the binding energies of methanol and hydroxymethyl are not significantly affected.

CS-3150, a Novel Nonsteroidal Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist, Shows Preventive and Therapeutic Effects On Renal Injury in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate/Salt-Induced Hypertensive Rats.

The present study was designed to assess both preventive and therapeutic effects of (S)-1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-4-methyl-N-[4-(methylsulfonyl) phenyl]-5-[2-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl]-1H-pyrrole-3-carboxamide (CS-3150), a novel nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, on renal injury in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)/salt-induced hypertensive rats (DOCA rats). From 7 weeks of age, DOCA was subcutaneously administered once a week for 4 weeks to uninephrectomized rats fed a high-salt diet. In experiment 1, CS-3150 (0.

Dietary carbohydrate intake, presence of obesity and the incident risk of type 2 diabetes in Japanese men.

Aims/introduction: The present cohort study assessed the risk among Japanese men for developing type 2 diabetes, based on the percentage of energy intake from carbohydrates and degree of obesity.

Participants And Methods: The participants were 2,006 male factory employees, and the macronutrient intake of each patient was measured using a self-administered diet history questionnaire. The incidence of diabetes was determined in annual blood examinations over a 10-year period.

Pitx2 promotes heart repair by activating the antioxidant response after cardiac injury.

Myocardial infarction results in compromised myocardial function and heart failure owing to insufficient cardiomyocyte self-renewal. Unlike many vertebrates, mammalian hearts have only a transient neonatal renewal capacity. Reactivating primitive reparative ability in the mature mammalian heart requires knowledge of the mechanisms that promote early heart repair.

Polycistronic Expression of the Influenza A Virus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase by Using the Thosea asigna Virus 2A-Like Self-Processing Sequence.

The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of influenza A virus consists of three subunits, PB2, PB1, and PA, and catalyses both viral RNA genome replication and transcription. Cotransfection of four monocistronic expression vectors for these subunits and nucleoprotein with an expression vector for viral RNA reconstitutes functional viral ribonucleoprotein complex (vRNP). However, the specific activity of reconstituted RdRp is usually very low since the expression level and the ratio of the three subunits by transfection are uncontrollable at single-cell levels.

Fluorescence Visualization of the Enteric Nervous Network in a Chemically Induced Aganglionosis Model.

Gastrointestinal motility disorders, severe variants in particular, remain a therapeutic challenge in pediatric surgery. Absence of enteric ganglion cells that originate from neural crest cells is a major cause of dysmotility. However, the limitations of currently available animal models of dysmotility continue to impede the development of new therapeutics.

PtdIns4KIIα generates endosomal PtdIns(4)P and is required for receptor sorting at early endosomes.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIα (PtdIns4KIIα) localizes to the trans-Golgi network and endosomal compartments and has been implicated in the regulation of endosomal traffic, but the roles of both its enzymatic activity and the site of its action have not been elucidated. This study shows that PtdIns4KIIα is required for production of endosomal phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PtdIns(4)P) on early endosomes and for the sorting of transferrin and epidermal growth factor receptor into recycling and degradative pathways. Depletion of PtdIns4KIIα with small interfering RNA significantly reduced the amount of vesicular PtdIns(4)P on early endosomes but not on Golgi membranes.

Difference in the impact of homebound status on functional decline between independent older men and women: A 2 year follow-up study.

Aim: To investigate the association between homebound status and functional decline over a 2 year follow-up period and the sex difference in its association.

Methods: The study subjects were 2956 independently living older individuals (1267 men, 1679 women). Homebound persons were defined as individuals who left home less than once a week.

The impact of a single-nucleotide mutation of bgl2 on cellulase induction in a Trichoderma reesei mutant.

Background: The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei (anamorph of Hypocrea jecorina) produces increased cellulase expression when grown on cellulose or its derivatives as a sole carbon source. It has been believed that β-glucosidases of T. reesei not only metabolize cellobiose but also contribute in the production of inducers of cellulase gene expression by their transglycosylation activity.

A high performance Trichoderma reesei strain that reveals the importance of xylanase III in cellulosic biomass conversion.

The ability of the Trichoderma reesei X3AB1strain enzyme preparations to convert cellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars is enhanced by the replacement of xyn3 by Aspergillus aculeatus β-glucosidase 1 gene (aabg1), as shown in our previous study. However, subsequent experiments using T. reesei extracts supplemented with the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 xylanase III (XYN III) and GH Family 11 XYN II showed increased conversion of alkaline treated cellulosic biomass, which is rich in xylan, underscoring the importance of XYN III.

Epidemiology of pediatric allergic diseases in the Ogasawara Islands.

Background: The Ogasawara Islands, away from mainland Japan, belong to a subtropical area. Although the daily eating habits and food are relatively similar to that on the mainland, the living environment is quite different. The prevalence of allergic diseases in the Ogasawara Islands is unknown.

Has the safety of diabetes therapy improved? Lessons from an analysis of diabetic medication-induced severe hypoglycemic cases in an emergency department from 2005 to 2013.

Aims: We investigated the incidence and clinical characteristics of diabetic medication-induced severe hypoglycemia (DMISH) in an emergency department (ED) from 2005 to 2013.

Methods: The observation was performed in two separate periods (1 July 2005-31 October 2006 and 1 July 2012-31 October 2013) in the ED of Asahikawa Red Cross Hospital.

Results: The number of DMISH cases (48 during 2005-2006, and 47 during 2012-2013) and their proportions of all emergency visits (0.

Reappraisal of adhesive strapping as treatment for infantile umbilical hernia.

Background: Most umbilical hernias spontaneously close by 3-5 years of age; therefore, surgical repair is considered only in children whose hernias have not closed by this point. At present, adhesive strapping is not the preferred treatment for umbilical hernias because of the lack of supporting evidence regarding its efficacy, and its association with skin complications. This aim of this study was to examine umbilical hernia closure on ultrasonography, and reassess the merits of adhesive strapping.

Development of coronary artery lesions in indolent Kawasaki disease following initial spontaneous defervescence: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: No standard treatment protocol exists for Kawasaki disease (KD) after spontaneous defervescence that does not use intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). Moreover, some cases present an indolent course and later develop coronary artery lesions (CALs). We aimed herein to assess the short-term prognosis of KD after defervescence and to clarify the characteristics of indolent KD.

Up-Regulation of Carbonyl Reductase 1 Renders Development of Doxorubicin Resistance in Human Gastrointestinal Cancers.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is widely used for the treatment of a wide range of cancers such as breast and lung cancers, and malignant lymphomas, but is generally less efficacious in gastrointestinal cancers. The most accepted explanation for the DOX refractoriness is its resistance development. Here, we established DOX-resistant phenotypes of human gastric MKN45 and colon LoVo cells by continuous exposure to incremental concentrations of the drug.