Ultrasound-Assessed Lesion Morphology and Drug-Coated Balloon Treatment for de novo Dysfunctional Arteriovenous Fistula in Hemodialysis Patients.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ultrasound-assessed lesion morphology on the outcomes of drug-coated balloon (DCB) versus plain old balloon angioplasty (POBA) treatment for de novo dysfunctional arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) lesions.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study enrolled 114 consecutive patients (mean age, 73 ± 10 years; male, 69%) with de novo dysfunctional AVF lesions who underwent percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) using DCB (n = 48) and POBA (n = 66). The morphology of the stenotic lesions, evaluated using ultrasonography, was classified into intimal hyperplasia and shrinking types.

Use of a fluoropolymer-based paclitaxel-eluting stent for arteriovenous graft outflow vein stenosis in hemodialysis patients.

We implanted a fluoropolymer-based paclitaxel-eluting stent (FP-PES) in four hemodialysis patients with refractory outflow venous stenosis of their arteriovenous graft. The mean observation period after FP-PES implantation was 11.5 ± 4.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura developed during the conservative treatment of anti-phospholipase A receptor antibody-positive idiopathic membranous nephropathy: a case report.

Background: Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN) is one of the major glomerulonephritis that cause nephrotic syndrome. The phospholipase A receptor (PLAR) has recently been identified as an endogenous antigen of idiopathic MN. Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a disorder characterized by schistocytes, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and organ dysfunction which occurs as a result of thrombi.

Hitomi X-ray studies of Giant Radio Pulses from the Crab pulsar.

To search for giant X-ray pulses correlated with the giant radio pulses (GRPs) from the Crab pulsar, we performed a simultaneous observation of the Crab pulsar with the X-ray satellite Hitomi in the 2 - 300 keV band and the Kashima NICT radio observatory in the 1.4 - 1.7 GHz band with a net exposure of about 2 ks on 25 March 2016, just before the loss of the Hitomi mission.

Genetic diversity of Theileria orientalis in tick vectors detected in Hokkaido and Okinawa, Japan.

In the present study, we investigated the possible tick vectors that can transmit Theileria orientalis in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Questing ticks collected from three different districts, Taiki, Otofuke, and Shin-Hidaka, of Hokkaido included Ixodes persulcatus, Haemaphysalis megaspinosa, Haemaphysalis douglasi, and Ixodes ovatus, while all the ticks collected from Yonaguni island of Okinawa were identified as Haemaphysalis longicornis. When the ticks were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for T.

Expression and immunological characterization of the heat shock protein-70 homologue from Babesia bigemina.

The Babesia bigemina heat shock protein-70 gene (BbigHSP-70) was cloned from cDNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. The length of the gene is 1947 bp and the predicted polypeptide is 649 amino acids long with a calculated molecular weight of 70.85 kDa.

Epidemiological survey of Theileria orientalis infection in grazing cattle in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan.

Theileria orientalis is one of the benign species of Theileria that is widely distributed in Japan and is sometimes responsible for serious economic losses in the livestock industry. In the present study, we surveyed the current status of T. orientalis infection in grazing cattle in the eastern areas of Hokkaido (Taiki, Otofuke, Shintoku, and Shin-Hidaka districts) using molecular methods, as well as traditional methods, of diagnosis.

Babesia: the protective effects of killed Propionibacterium acnes on the infections of two rodent Babesia parasites in mice.

In the present study, we investigated the protective effects of killed Propionibacterium acnes on the infections of two rodent Babesia parasites in mice. Pre-treatment with "EqStim" (a commercially available immunostimulant containing killed P. acnes) showed significant resistance to both infections.