Low switched memory B cells are associated with no humoral response after SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosters in kidney transplant recipients.

Introduction: The humoral response after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and boosters in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) is heterogeneous and depends on immunosuppression status. There is no validated immune measurement associated with serological response in clinical practice. Multicolor flow cytometric immunophenotyping could be useful for measuring immune response.

Social distancing and changes in drug use: Results from a cross-sectional study during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 has led to measures of social distancing and quarantine worldwide. This stressful period may lead to psychological problems, including changes in substance use. In addition, sociodemographic factors are linked to changed levels of drug use and abuse observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are also associated with increased anxiety, depression, and other disorders.

Comparison of antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 after two doses of inactivated virus and BNT162b2 mRNA vaccines in kidney transplant.

Background: Antibody response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after mRNA or adenoviral vector-based vaccines is weak in kidney transplant (KT) patients. However, few studies have focused on humoral response after inactivated virus-based vaccines in KT. Here, we compare antibody response following vaccination with inactivated virus (CoronaVac®) and BNT162b2 mRNA.

Recurrent urinary retention due to clots caused by a congenital renal arteriovenous malformation that forms a complex vascular network: Report of two cases.

Introduction: Repeated urinary retention due to clots caused by congenital renal arteriovenous malformation is rare.

Case Presentation: A 40-year-old woman (case 1) and a 66-year-old man (case 2) experienced recurrent urinary retention due to clots. Neither patient had a history of renal trauma nor was taking any medications.

Effects of neonatal dopaminergic lesion on oral cocaine self-administration in rats: Higher female vulnerability to cocaine consumption.

The dopaminergic system is associated with cocaine-seeking behaviors, being influenced by other neurotransmitters such as GABA and deregulated by chronic cocaine self-administration. Administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to neonatal rats produces a depletion of brain dopamine, mainly, that results in behavioral alterations in adulthood. This model can be applied to better understanding of the role of the dopaminergic system in cocaine use and how its behavioral effects can modulate drug intake.

Low-cost apparatus for cigarette smoke exposure in rats.

Background: The effects of tobacco smoke on the central nervous system are usually studied with isolated nicotine, ignoring other compounds present in cigarette smoke. The few studies that use in vivo whole-body cigarette smoke exposure are usually performed in expensive commercial apparatus.

New Method: We presented a feasible, safe, and low-cost apparatus for cigarette smoke exposure in rodents.

Hepatic and renal damage by alcohol and cigarette smoking in rats.

Chronic use of alcohol and tobacco cigarettes is associated to millions of deaths per year, either by direct or indirect causes. However, few studies have explored the additional risks of the combined use of these drugs. Here we assessed the effect of the combined use of alcohol and cigarette smoke on liver or kidney morphology, and on biochemical parameters in chronically treated rats.

Effect of continual quality improvement of palliative care consultation teams by iterative, customer satisfaction survey-driven evaluation.

Background: Current consensus recognizes the benefits of early intervention in palliative care consultation teams (PCCTs). As consultants, we should now attempt to improve the quality of our teams by utilizing a method mainly used in the business field. We aimed to investigate the effects of iterative evaluation of customer satisfaction surveys, filled by physicians and ward nurses in this study, for quality improvement of PCCTs.

SARS-CoV-2 genomic characterization and clinical manifestation of the COVID-19 outbreak in Uruguay.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and declared by the World Health Organization a global public health emergency. Among the severe outbreaks across South America, Uruguay has become known for curtailing SARS-CoV-2 exceptionally well. To understand the SARS-CoV-2 introductions, local transmissions, and associations with genomic and clinical parameters in Uruguay, we sequenced the viral genomes of 44 outpatients and inpatients in a private healthcare system in its capital, Montevideo, from March to May 2020.

[Usefulness of Fluorescent Urine Cytology in the Diagnosis of Urothelial Carcinoma].

Five-aminolevulinic acid, an amino acid that is metabolized in the cytoplasm to become protoporphyrin IX, is used in photodynamic diagnosis in various carcinomas because it accumulates in higher concentrations in tumor tissue than in normal tissue. 5-Aminolevulinic acid-induced fluorescent urine cytology is more sensitive than conventional urine cytology only in low grade urothelial carcinoma (UC), but it showed a tendency for higher sensitivity in high grade UC. To increase the number of patients and reconsider our previous findings, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of preoperative urine cytology and fluorescent urine cytology in 343 patients diagnosed as having UCs pathologically (215 bladder cancers, 128 upper tract UCs) and 197 non-cancer patients at Osaka Rosai Hospital from March 2013 to December 2019.

SARS-CoV-2 genomic characterization and clinical manifestation of the COVID-19 outbreak in Uruguay.

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and declared by the World Health Organization a global public health emergency. Among the severe outbreaks across South America, Uruguay has become known for curtailing SARS-CoV-2 exceptionally well. To understand the SARS-CoV-2 introductions, local transmissions, and associations with genomic and clinical parameters in Uruguay, we sequenced the viral genomes of 44 outpatients and inpatients in a private healthcare system in its capital, Montevideo, from March to May 2020.

The role of allopregnanolone in depressive-like behaviors: Focus on neurotrophic proteins.

Allopregnanolone (3α,5α-tetrahydroprogesterone; pharmaceutical formulation: brexanolone) is a neurosteroid that has recently been approved for the treatment of postpartum depression, promising to fill part of a long-lasting gap in the effectiveness of pharmacotherapies for depressive disorders. In this review, we explore the experimental research that characterized the antidepressant-like effects of allopregnanolone, with a particular focus on the neurotrophic adaptations induced by this neurosteroid in preclinical studies. We demonstrate that there is a consistent decrease in allopregnanolone levels in limbic brain areas in rodents submitted to stress-induced models of depression, such as social isolation and chronic unpredictable stress.

[Late Recurrence of Seminoma Diagnosed by Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration in a Retroperitoneal Lymph Node].

The patient was a 43-year-old man. At 30 years of age, he underwent high-inguinal orchiectomy for a right testicular tumor and was diagnosed with seminoma pT1N0M0. The patient had been followed without additional treatment and had dropped out 7 years after surgery.

Eosinopenia as a diagnostic marker of bloodstream infection in a general internal medicine setting: a cohort study.

Background: Little is known about the potential use of the eosinophil count as a predictive marker of bloodstream infection. In this study, we aimed to assess the reliability of eosinopenia as a predictive marker of bloodstream infection.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed in the outpatient department and general internal medicine department of a tertiary university hospital in Japan.

Safety and efficacy of outpatient follow-up for referred patients with undiagnosed fever: A retrospective cohort study.

Fever is one of the most common symptoms seen in patients. The work-up and follow-up of fever in an outpatient-only setting is a reasonable option for stable patients referred for unexplained fever; however, the safety and efficacy of outpatient follow-up for those patients remain unclear. We conducted this study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of outpatient follow-up for referred patients with unexplained fever.

Combined use of alcohol and cigarette increases locomotion and glutamate levels in the cerebrospinal fluid without changes on GABA or NMDA receptor subunit mRNA expression in the hippocampus of rats.

Interactions on neurotransmitter systems in the reward pathways may explain the high frequency of combined use of alcohol and cigarettes in humans. In this study, we evaluated some behavioral and neurochemical changes promoted by chronic exposure to alcohol and cigarette smoke in rats. Adult rats were administered with 2 g/kg alcohol (v.

Difficult differentiation of a somatic symptom disorder from anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES): a case report.

Background: Somatization is regarded as psychological or emotional distress in the form of physical symptoms that are otherwise medically unexplained.

Case Presentation: We report a case of a patient with a somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and depression who was later diagnosed with anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) when Carnett's test was positive and block anesthesia using trigger point injections dramatically improved the symptom of abdominal pain.

Conclusion: We concluded that the differentiation of SSDs, such as psychogenic pain, from ACNES is very difficult.

Correlations between subunits of GABA and NMDA receptors after chronic alcohol treatment or withdrawal, and the effect of taurine in the hippocampus of rats.

Chronic use of alcohol and its withdrawal impairs the delicate balance between GABAergic and glutamatergic systems. This imbalance includes changes in GABA receptors - importantly in GABA subtypes - and glutamate receptors, especially in NMDA subtypes. A better comprehension of the different roles of GABAR and NMDAR subunits could be helpful to define new strategies to counteract the deleterious effects observed during alcohol withdrawal.

Renal cell carcinoma in a horseshoe kidney treated with robot-assisted partial nephrectomy.

Horseshoe kidney is one of the most common congenital renal fusion anomalies and the incidence of renal cell carcinoma in horseshoe kidney is predicted to be approximately 5.2/100000 individuals. Because horseshoe kidney merges malformations and vascular changes, open surgery is the standard for treatment.

High diagnostic efficacy of 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced fluorescent urine cytology for urothelial carcinoma.

Background: In general, urine cytology is often problematic because of its low sensitivity, especially for low-grade urothelial carcinoma (UC) in clinical practice. To improve the sensitivity, we focused on 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), because recent studies suggested that 5-ALA-induced urine cytology can be used for photodynamic diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of 5-ALA-induced fluorescent urine cytology for UC.