Cardiac calcified amorphous tumor as a potential cause of cerebral infarction: A clinical case report.

We report the case of a 62-year-old male on long-term hemodialysis who was admitted to our hospital due to acute cerebral infarction associated with a cardiac calcified amorphous tumor (CAT). The patient presented with recurrent episodes of syncope and retrograde amnesia. Brain MRI identified multiple acute cerebral infarctions, while transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) revealed a 2.

Cefiderocol susceptibility of 146 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strains clinically isolated from blood in two Japanese hospitals over a 10-year period.

Previous reports focusing on cefiderocol susceptibility against Stenotrophomonas maltophilia have included a large number of noninvasive or colonized isolates, and data focusing on invasive S. maltophilia strains are still lacking. We retrospectively investigated the cefiderocol susceptibility of stored S.

Syk inhibitors reduce tau protein phosphorylation and oligomerization.

Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk), a non-receptor-type tyrosine kinase, has a wide range of physiological functions. A possible role of Syk in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been proposed. We evaluated the localization of Syk in the brains of patients with AD and control participants.

A pentavalent peptide vaccine elicits Aβ and tau antibodies with prophylactic activity in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau protein are targets for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) immunotherapies, which are generally focused on single epitopes within Aβ or tau. However, due to the complexity of both Aβ and tau in AD pathogenesis, a multipronged approach simultaneously targeting multiple epitopes of both proteins could overcome limitations of monotherapies. Herein, we propose an active AD immunotherapy based on a nanoparticle vaccine comprising two Aβ peptides (1-14 and pyroglutamate pE3-14) and three tau peptides (centered on phosphorylated pT181, pT217 and pS396/404).

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Rescues Cav1.2-L-Type Ca Channel Decline Caused by Saturated Fatty Acids via Both Free Fatty Acid Receptor 4-Dependent and -Independent Pathways in Cardiomyocytes.

Dietary intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) exerts antiarrhythmic effects, although the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the possible beneficial actions of EPA on saturated fatty acid-induced changes in the L-type Ca channel in cardiomyocytes. Cardiomyocytes were cultured with an oleic acid/palmitic acid mixture (OAPA) in the presence or absence of EPA.

Integrated Spatial Multi-Omics Study of Postmortem Brains of Alzheimer's Disease.

Pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation and aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides into extracellular plaques of the brain. Clarification of the process of how soluble Aβ starts to assemble into amyloid fibrils is an essential step in elucidating the pathogenesis of AD. In our previous study, Aβ proteoforms including full-length Aβ40 and Aβ42/43 with N- and C-terminal truncated forms were visualized in postmortem brains from AD patients with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-based mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI).

All-optical presynaptic plasticity induction by photoactivated adenylyl cyclase targeted to axon terminals.

Intracellular signaling plays essential roles in various cell types. In the central nervous system, signaling cascades are strictly regulated in a spatiotemporally specific manner to govern brain function; for example, presynaptic cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) can enhance the probability of neurotransmitter release. In the last decade, channelrhodopsin-2 has been engineered for subcellular targeting using localization tags, but optogenetic tools for intracellular signaling are not well developed.

A case of varicella due to primary varicella zoster virus infection followed by respiratory disease on the background of an immunocompromised condition.

We encountered an immunocompromised patient with severe respiratory disease immediately after the onset of varicella. Varicella zoster virus infection may be associated with more severe immunosuppressive condition.

Excitatory subtypes of the lateral amygdala neurons are differentially involved in regulation of synaptic plasticity and excitation/inhibition balance in aversive learning in mice.

The amygdala plays a crucial role in aversive learning. In Pavlovian fear conditioning, sensory information about an emotionally neutral conditioned stimulus (CS) and an innately aversive unconditioned stimulus is associated with the lateral amygdala (LA), and the CS acquires the ability to elicit conditioned responses. Aversive learning induces synaptic plasticity in LA excitatory neurons from CS pathways, such as the medial geniculate nucleus (MGN) of the thalamus.

The long-term effects of reproductive health education among primary and secondary school students: a longitudinal quasi-experimental study in rural Tanzania.

Background: Adolescent pregnancy remains a major global health issue, increasing the risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth in mothers and babies. In Tanzania, adolescent pregnancy threatens girls' education and makes it difficult for them to obtain a proper job; hence, the majority fall into poverty. Previous studies have developed and conducted reproductive health education for adolescent students; however, they evaluated only the effect immediately after education.

The astrocytic TRPA1 channel mediates an intrinsic protective response to vascular cognitive impairment via LIF production.

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) refers to cognitive alterations caused by vascular disease, which is associated with various types of dementia. Because chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) induces VCI, we used bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) mice as a CCH-induced VCI model. Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), the most redox-sensitive TRP channel, is functionally expressed in the brain.

Cytoplasmic Kinase Network Mediates Defense Response to in Arabidopsis.

Plants defend against folivores by responding to folivore-derived elicitors following activation of signaling cascade networks. In Arabidopsis, HAK1, a receptor-like kinase, responds to polysaccharide elicitors (Frα) that are present in oral secretions of larvae to upregulate defense genes (e.g.

Electrophysiological evaluation of an anticancer drug gemcitabine on cardiotoxicity revealing down-regulation and modification of the activation gating properties in the human rapid delayed rectifier potassium channel.

Gemcitabine is an antineoplastic drug commonly used in the treatment of several types of cancers including pancreatic cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. Although gemcitabine-induced cardiotoxicity is widely recognized, the exact mechanism of cardiac dysfunction causing arrhythmias remains unclear. The objective of this study was to electrophysiologically evaluate the proarrhythmic cardiotoxicity of gemcitabine focusing on the human rapid delayed rectifier potassium channel, hERG channel.

Proteomic profile of nuclei containing p62-positive inclusions in a patient with neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.

Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions in the neurons, glial cells, and other somatic cells. Although CGG repeat expansions in NOTCH2NLC have been identified in most East Asian patients with NIID, the pathophysiology of NIID remains unclear. Ubiquitin- and p62-positive intranuclear inclusions are the pathological hallmark of NIID.

Parabrachial-to-parasubthalamic nucleus pathway mediates fear-induced suppression of feeding in male mice.

Feeding behavior is adaptively regulated by external and internal environment, such that feeding is suppressed when animals experience pain, sickness, or fear. While the lateral parabrachial nucleus (lPB) plays key roles in nociception and stress, neuronal pathways involved in feeding suppression induced by fear are not fully explored. Here, we investigate the parasubthalamic nucleus (PSTN), located in the lateral hypothalamus and critically involved in feeding behaviors, as a target of lPB projection neurons.

Surgical Management of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Complications in Patients Unsuitable for Transvenous Lead Extraction.

Background: Although surgical approaches for infected or failing cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) leads are more invasive than transvenous approaches, they are still required for patients considered unsuitable for transvenous procedures. In this study, surgical management with transvenous equipment for CIED complications was examined in patients unsuitable for transvenous lead extraction.

Methods and results: We retrospectively examined 152 consecutive patients who underwent CIED extraction between April 2009 and December 2021 at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Nippon Medical School.

Universal admission screening for COVID-19 using quantitative antigen testing and questionnaire screening to prevent nosocomial spread.

Background: In this study, we investigated diagnostic accuracy of quantitative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen testing and whether universal screening was effective to prevent a nosocomial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: All adult patients admitted to an acute-care hospital in Tokyo, Japan, after receiving LUMIPULSE SARS-CoV-2 Ag using a nasopharyngeal swab and a brief questionnaire to evaluate symptoms and exposures from December 3, 2020 to March 20, 2021 were included.

Results: Of the 5191 patients, 53 were antigen-positive, 19 were inconclusive and 5119 were negative.

Protein Kinase C Regulates Expression and Function of the Cav3.2 T-Type Ca Channel during Maturation of Neonatal Rat Cardiomyocyte.

Two distinct isoforms of the T-type Ca channel, Cav3.1 and Cav3.2, play a pivotal role in the generation of pacemaker potentials in nodal cells in the heart, although the isoform switches from Cav3.

Corticocortical innervation subtypes of layer 5 intratelencephalic cells in the murine secondary motor cortex.

Feedback projections from the secondary motor cortex (M2) to the primary motor and sensory cortices are essential for behavior selection and sensory perception. Intratelencephalic (IT) cells in layer 5 (L5) contribute feedback projections to diverse cortical areas. Here we show that L5 IT cells participating in feedback connections to layer 1 (L1) exhibit distinct projection patterns, genetic profiles, and electrophysiological properties relative to other L5 IT cells.

Open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair in a patient with myasthenia gravis.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular junction disorder and rarely coexists with aortic aneurysms requiring open repair. A 66-year-old patient with MG underwent extended thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair 16 years after onset of type-B acute aortic dissection. At 62 years, the patient was diagnosed with MG (MGFA class IIIa) from positive anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody without thymoma.

Serial change in perfusion-metabolism mismatch after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: Myocardial ischemia is known to suppress fatty acid metabolism and favor glucose metabolism. However, changes in myocardial metabolism after coronary revascularization are not fully elucidated.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with coronary artery disease were retrospectively enrolled.