Current Situation for Pharmacists in Japanese Veterinary Medicine: Exploring the Pharmaceutical Needs and Challenges of Veterinary Staff to Facilitate Collaborative Veterinary Care.

While veterinary pharmacy is common overseas, it has yet to gain traction in Japan. To clarify the actual situation in Japan, two surveys were conducted, targeting 4017 facilities (2000 pharmacies/drug stores, 2000 veterinary medical facilities, and 17 university-affiliated veterinary hospitals). We received 324 responses from pharmacy staff and 217 from veterinary hospital staff.

Elucidation of physiological functions of sphingolipid-related molecules by chemical approaches.

Sphingolipids (SLs), found in all animals, plants, and fungi and in certain prokaryotic organisms, exhibit essential physiological functions that cannot be replicated by other lipids. Although SLs and their related biomolecules behave as lipid mediators, skin barrier systems and epitopes, their detailed biological functions have not yet been revealed, unlike those of proteins and nucleic acids, because the biosynthesis of SLs is not governed by the central dogma. Recently, SLs have been widely studied in relation to diseases such as obesity, dementia, and neuron agenesis and have attracted attention as molecules related to unmet medical needs.

Rapidly progressive brain atrophy in ventilated patients: a retrospective descriptive study.

The relationship between mechanical ventilation-induced brain volume changes and ICU-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) is not clear. We assessed brain volume change in ventilated patients and identified associations with changes in extremity muscle strength. Patients admitted to the ICU due to the need for ventilation, and who underwent at least two head CT scans during hospitalization, were included.

Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm After Sutureless Repair for Post-Myocardial Infarction Oozing-Type Left Ventricular Free Wall Rupture.

A 66-year-old male patient underwent repair using the sutureless technique for an oozing-type cardiac rupture associated with myocardial infarction of the anterior left ventricular wall. On postoperative day 10, echocardiography revealed a thrombus in the apex region, and anticoagulation therapy was started with warfarin. The thrombus disappeared two months postoperatively.

Solitary Peutz-Jeghers polyp harboring a focus of high-grade dysplasia in the colon: a case report and literature review.

A solitary Peutz-Jeghers (PJ) polyp is a rare hamartomatous lesion without an associated PJ syndrome. However, little is known regarding malignancy arising in solitary PJ polyps. Here, we report a case of a solitary colonic PJ polyp with focal dysplasia.

Association between sore throat and early immune responses against COVID-19 before and after the emergence of the Omicron variant.

Background: Sore throat is a prevalent symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), particularly when caused by the Omicron variants. However, the association between sore throat and immune responses to different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of immune responses associated with sore throat in patients with COVID-19 before and after the emergence of Omicron.

Assessing the stability of daptomycin in icodextrin-based peritoneal dialysis solution.

Background: The stability of antimicrobials in peritonitis during peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions is a critical factor influencing treatment success. This study investigated the stability of daptomycin (DAP) when combined with icodextrin-based PD solution, by measuring DAP concentrations and observing any structural changes.

Methods: A dose of DAP (350 mg) was dissolved in 7 mL of saline in a clean bench.

Two Acute Stroke Patients Whose Lower Back and Lower Limb Pain Hampered Their Rehabilitation: The Effectiveness of Peripheral Nerve Blocks.

Lower back and lower limb pain can hamper the rehabilitation of cerebral stroke patients. We report that peripheral nerve blocks enabled two patients to continue rehabilitation. Case 1 was an 83-year-old female with left hemiparesis due to cerebral infarction of the right basal ganglia.

Zig-Zag Skin Incision for Treatment of Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome.

Background: Tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS) is a common entrapment neuropathy of the posterior tibial nerve. Surgery can be performed less invasively under local anesthesia. We adopted zig-zag skin incision to prevent postoperative wound complications.

A Review of Cinnamic Acid's Skeleton Modification: Features for Antibacterial-Agent-Guided Derivatives.

Antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a significant danger to global health, and the need for more effective antimicrobial resistance (AMR) control has been highlighted. Cinnamic acid is abundant in plant products and is a potential starting material for further modification, focusing on the development of new antimicrobial compounds. In the following review, we describe the classification of critical antibacterial-guided reactions applied to the main skeleton structure of cinnamic acid derivatives over the last decade.

Hemoglobinopathy as a Rare Differential Disease for Low Oxygen Saturation by Pulse Oximetry: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Pulse oximetry is used to screen for respiratory failure in dyspnea patients. However, pulse oximetry can yield false-positive results in certain situations. Unstable hemoglobinopathy is a disease in which mutations in the globin-encoding gene result in abnormal globin chain production, causing low percutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO) levels due to changes in hemoglobin absorbance and oxygen affinity.

Dynamic predictive templates in perception.

Hallucinations are vivid and transient experiences of objects, such as images or sounds, that occur in the absence of a corresponding stimulus. To understand the neurocomputational mechanisms of hallucinations, cognitive neuroscience has focused on experiments that induce false alarms (FAs) in healthy participants, psychosis-prone individuals, and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. FAs occur when participants make decisions about difficult-to-detect stimuli and indicate the presence of a signal that was, in fact, not presented.

Colorectal Post-polypectomy Bleeding in Outpatient versus Inpatient Treatment: Propensity Score Matching Analysis.

Objectives: Delayed bleeding is the most frequent adverse event associated with endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and hot snare polypectomy (HSP) of colorectal polyps. However, whether the incidence of delayed bleeding differs between outpatient and inpatient treatment is unknown. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate delayed bleeding rates between outpatient and inpatient endoscopic treatments and clarify the safety of outpatient treatment.

Chemiluminescence method for evaluating photooxidative degradation of dispensed drugs: a potential new drug information tool.

Background: Dispensed drugs stored by patients are often in single-dose packages (SDPs) or are crushed and mixed after being removed from a press-through package (PTP) sheet. Information on their stability is extremely limited. To address this, we explored using chemiluminescence (CL) measurements to detect oxidative degradation.

Reliability of PainDETECT for Evaluating Low Back Pain Caused by Cluneal Nerve Entrapment.

Background: Superior/middle cluneal nerve entrapment (CN-E) is an elicitor of low back pain (LBP). The painDETECT questionnaire is used to characterize CN-E symptoms.

Methods: Nineteen consecutive patients with LBP caused by CN-E (superior CN-E = 7; middle CN-E = 12) participated in a Japanese language painDETECT questionnaire survey before surgery.

A Case of Esophagogastric Junction Cancer Treated with Pain Control by Administering Methadone Tablets Through a Gastrostomy.

Methadone is used to treat intractable cancer pain when other opioid analgesics are ineffective. Methadone tablets may be difficult to administer in cases of gastrointestinal passage obstruction. However, changing the route of methadone tablet administration is possible.

A Patient with Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Associated with the Flexor Digitorum Accessorius Longus Muscle.

The flexor digitorum accessorius longus muscle (ALM) can be overlooked as the eliciting factor in patients with tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS), an entrapment neuropathy of the posterior tibial nerve that elicits sole numbness and pain. Most elicitations are idiopathic, however, mass lesions within the tarsal tunnel can be also implicated. We report an 80-year-old woman whose flexor digitorum ALM led to the onset of bilateral TTS.

Low pre-infection levels of neutralizing antibody in breakthrough infections after bivalent BA.4-5 vaccine and practical application of dried blood spots.

The level of neutralizing antibodies required to confer protection against COVID-19 breakthrough infections (BIs) is unclear, and the ability to know the immune status of individuals against the rapidly changing endemic variants is limited. We assessed longitudinal serum anti-RBD antibody levels and neutralizing activities (NTs) against Omicron BA.5 and XBB.

RNF213-Related Vasculopathy: Various Systemic Vascular Diseases Involving RNF213 Gene Mutations: Review.

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a cerebrovascular disorder that is predominantly observed in women of East Asian descent, and is characterized by progressive stenosis of the internal carotid artery, beginning in early childhood, and a distinctive network of collateral vessels known as "moyamoya vessels" in the basal ganglia. Additionally, a prevalent genetic variant found in most MMD cases is the p.R4810K polymorphism of RNF213 on chromosome 17q25.

Clinical phenotype of anaerobic bacteremia unaccompanied by detectable abscess lesion: a 10-year retrospective, multicenter, observational-cohort study.

Purpose: Despite the importance of abscess lesions in clinical decisions regarding anaerobic bacteremia (AB), their impact on clinical characteristics remains unclear. Herein, we aimed to elucidate the clinical factors associated with AB that were unaccompanied by detectable abscess lesions during the initial phase of infection.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective observational study involving patients with culture-proven AB at six tertiary hospitals in Japan between January 2012 and March 2022.