Applying a Motivational Instructional Design Model to Stroke Rehabilitation: A Feasibility Study on Occupational and Swallowing Therapies.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of poststroke interventions using a motivational instructional design model with occupational therapy (OT) and swallowing therapy (ST) and the model's potential physical and mental health effects.

Design: An open-label, single-arm, feasibility study on the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction model.

Setting: Two convalescent rehabilitation wards.

Use of Pinching Nose Maneuver in a Patient With Severe Dysphagia Caused by Pseudobulbar Palsy.

Swallowing disorders resulting from pseudobulbar palsy are characterized by deficiencies in the oral preparatory and oral stages of the swallowing process. In certain cases, obstruction can occur when the tongue base comes into contact with the palate, impeding the intraoral bolus flow into the pharyngeal cavity. In this report, we discuss a case of severe pseudobulbar palsy, in which an intraoral bolus flowed into the pharyngeal cavity with pinching the nose.

Paneth-like cells produced from OLFM4 stem cells support OLFM4 stem cell growth in advanced colorectal cancer.

Tumor tissues consist of heterogeneous cells that originate from stem cells; however, their cell fate determination program remains incompletely understood. Using patient-derived organoids established from patients with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), we evaluated the potential of olfactomedin 4 (OLFM4) stem cells to produce a bifurcated lineage of progenies with absorptive and secretory properties. In the early phases of organoid reconstruction, OLFM4 cells preferentially gave rise to secretory cells.

Evaluation of Austenite-Ferrite Phase Transformation in Carbon Steel Using Bayesian Optimized Cellular Automaton Simulation.

Austenite-ferrite phase transformation is a crucial metallurgical tool to tailor the properties of steels required for particular applications. Extensive simulation and modeling studies have been conducted to evaluate the phase transformation behaviors; however, some fundamental physical parameters still need to be optimized for better understanding. In this study, the austenite-ferrite phase transformation was evaluated in carbon steels with three carbon concentrations during isothermal annealing at various temperatures using a developed cellular automaton simulation model combined with Bayesian optimization.

Noise-robust optimization of quantum machine learning models for polymer properties using a simulator and validated on the IonQ quantum computer.

Quantum machine learning for predicting the physical properties of polymer materials based on the molecular descriptors of monomers was investigated. Under the stochastic variation of the expected predicted values obtained from quantum circuits due to finite sampling, the methods proposed in previous works did not make sufficient progress in optimizing the parameters. To enable parameter optimization despite the presence of stochastic variations in the expected values, quantum circuits that improve prediction accuracy without increasing the number of parameters and parameter optimization methods that are robust to stochastic variations in the expected predicted values, were investigated.

Thermo-Statistical Effects of Inclusions on Vesicles: Division into Multispheres and Polyhedral Deformation.

The construction of simple cellular models has attracted much attention as a way to explore the origin of life or elucidate the mechanisms of cell division. In the absence of complex regulatory systems, some bacteria spontaneously divide through thermostatistically elucidated mechanisms, and incorporating these simple physical principles could help to construct primitive or artificial cells. Because thermodynamic interactions play an essential role in such mechanisms, this review discusses the thermodynamic aspects of spontaneous division models of vesicles that contain a high density of inclusions, with their membrane serving as a boundary.

Quantitative comparison of anticancer drug dispersal before and after introducing appropriate preparation procedures during anticancer drug preparation.

Background: In Japan, engineering controls for preparing injectable anticancer drugs are inadequate and compliance with appropriate preparation procedures is vital. In this study, we evaluated the effects of adherence to appropriate anticancer drug formulation and packaging procedures on reducing anticancer drug dispersal in clinical practice, especially in Japan.

Methods: We quantitatively evaluated the effectiveness of implementing procedures that were experimentally verified to help reduce the amount of anticancer drug dispersed during preparation based on procedures described in the "Anticancer Drug Preparation Manual.

[Investigation and Improvement of Techniques That Affect the Amount of Dispersal during Preparation of Anticancer Drugs].

Many healthcare workers who handle anticancer drugs are at risk for occupational exposure. However, there are no established permissible limits for occupational exposure to anticancer drugs; thus, in this study, we aimed to search for and improve procedures that have a greater impact on the amount of spatter for handling anticancer drugs in vials, which are frequently used, based on the quantitative evaluation of the amount of exposure. We used sodium riboflavin phosphate (FMN) as a simulated anticancer drug and measured the amount of FMN dispersed to the handling area by the wiping method and the amount of FMN dispersed in both gloves using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FL).

Integration of human inspection and artificial intelligence-based morphological typing of patient-derived organoids reveals interpatient heterogeneity of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogenous disease, and patients have differences in therapeutic response. However, the mechanisms underlying interpatient heterogeneity in the response to chemotherapeutic agents remain to be elucidated, and molecular tumor characteristics are required to select patients for specific therapies. Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) established from CRCs recapitulate various biological characteristics of tumor tissues, including cellular heterogeneity and the response to chemotherapy.

Timing of re-dosing based on population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamics target attainment analysis of cefmetazole in subjects undergoing lower gastrointestinal surgery.

Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate the population pharmacokinetics of prophylactic cefmetazole sodium (CMZ) based on the serum concentrations and establish a pharmacodynamics target concentration exceeding the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to design the re-dosing interval.

Methods: Serum (n = 362) samples from 107 individuals were analyzed using a nonlinear mixed-effects model. The pharmacodynamics index obtained was regarded as the probability of maintaining CMZ serum trough exceeding the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2 mg/L.

Investigation of d-allulose effects on high-sucrose diet-induced insulin resistance via hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps in rats.

d-Allulose, a C-3 epimer of d-fructose, is a rare sugar that has no calories. Although d-allulose has been reported to have several health benefits, such as anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects, there have been no reports evaluating the effects of d-allulose on insulin resistance using a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (HE-clamp). Therefore, we investigated the effects of d-allulose on a high-sucrose diet (HSD)-induced insulin resistance model.

A protocol for efficient CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knock-in in colorectal cancer patient-derived organoids.

Patient-derived organoids (PDOs) recapitulate the cellular heterogeneity of the original colorectal tumor tissue. Here, we describe a protocol to generate genetically modified PDOs to investigate cancer stem cells. This protocol uses the CRISPR-Cas9 system to knock-in the IRES-EGFP-P2A-iCaspase9 cassette into the 3' UTR of the potential cancer stem cell marker gene, which allows us to investigate their potential for self-replication and pluripotency.

Comparative Analysis of Patient-Matched PDOs Revealed a Reduction in OLFM4-Associated Clusters in Metastatic Lesions in Colorectal Cancer.

Metastasis is the major cause of cancer-related death, but whether metastatic lesions exhibit the same cellular composition as primary tumors has yet to be elucidated. To investigate the cellular heterogeneity of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), we established 72 patient-derived organoids (PDOs) from 21 patients. Combined bulk transcriptomic and single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis revealed decreased gene expression of markers for differentiated cells in PDOs derived from metastatic lesions.

Eicosapentaenoic acid enhances skeletal muscle hypertrophy without altering the protein anabolic signaling pathway.

This study aimed to examine the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by muscle overload and the associated intracellular signaling pathways. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to oral treatment with either EPA or corn oil for 6 weeks. After 4 weeks of treatment, the gastrocnemius muscle of the right hindlimb was surgically removed to overload the plantaris and soleus muscles for 1 or 2 weeks.

Evaluation of the RAS signaling network in response to MEK inhibition using organoids derived from a familial adenomatous polyposis patient.

RAS signaling is a promising target for colorectal cancer (CRC) therapy, and a variety of selective inhibitors have been developed. However, their use has often failed to demonstrate a significant benefit in CRC patients. Here, we used patient-derived organoids (PDOs) derived from a familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) patient to analyze the response to chemotherapeutic agents targeting EGFR, BRAF and MEK.

Effects of intramammary infusion of Bifidobacterium breve on mastitis pathogens and somatic cell response in quarters from dairy cows with chronic subclinical mastitis.

The present study assessed the effects of intramammary infusion of Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) on mastitis-causing pathogens and on the somatic cell counts (SCC) in lactating cows with chronic subclinical mastitis. The bacteriological cure rates of 42 quarters from 42 cows infected with Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium bovis, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and environmental streptococci were 18.

Higher and Lower Muscle Echo Intensity in Elderly Individuals Is Distinguished by Muscle Size, Physical Performance and Daily Physical Activity.

This study was performed to identify factors that discriminate muscle echo intensity (EI) among parameters of body composition, physical function and daily physical activity in elderly individuals. A total of 209 men and women (73.7 ± 2.

Effect of particles with repulsive interactions enclosed in both rigid spherical shells and flexible fluid vesicles studied by Monte Carlo simulation.

Experimental observations indicate that the repulsion of particles is a factor that induces the transformation of vesicles containing multiple particles. Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations are performed with two models in which repulsive particles are enclosed inside a vesicle. The distribution of the particles and the effective bending coefficient and surface tension of the membrane are analyzed.

Emergence of Haemophilus influenzae with low susceptibility to quinolones and persistence in tosufloxacin treatment.

Background: The use of non-β-lactam agents has increased in Japan due to the prevalence of β-lactam-resistant pathogens. This study aimed to clarify the recent trend of antimicrobial susceptibility and molecular epidemiological features in Haemophilus influenzae.

Methods: Fifty-seven Haemophilus influenzae isolated from a Japanese teaching hospital in 2017 were characterised, and the data were compared with those of a previous study.

IFN/STAT signaling controls tumorigenesis and the drug response in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is caused by genetic alterations, and comprehensive sequence analyses have revealed the mutation landscapes. In addition to somatic changes, genetic variations are considered important factors contributing to tumor development; however, our knowledge on this subject is limited. Familial adenomatous polyposis coli (FAP) is an autosomal-dominant inherited disease caused by germline mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene.

Isolation of multidrug-resistant Haemophilus influenzae harbouring multiple exogenous genes from a patient diagnosed with acute sinusitis.

In paediatric patients, β-lactams and macrolides are widely used to treat acute otitis media and sinusitis, which are often caused by either Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae. However, resistant isolates have emerged and are becoming more prevalent. H.