Regional variations and relationships among cytokine profiles, white blood cell counts, and blood mercury concentrations in Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) pups.

The Steller sea lion (SSL) population west of 144°W longitude experienced a significant population decline. While there appears to be a stable or increasing population trend in rookeries in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Southeast Alaska (SEA), some rookeries within the Aleutian Islands (AI) have failed to recover. Previous studies found regional differences in whole blood total mercury concentrations ([THg]) showing more than 20% of AI pups had [THg] above critical thresholds for increased risk of immunological effects and other adverse outcomes.

Severe Liver Injury Associated with Glecaprevir Plus Pibrentasvir Therapy in a Patient with Treatment-naïve Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

A 49-year-old man underwent treatment with glecaprevir plus pibrentasvir (G/P) for chronic hepatitis C infection. Six weeks later, he was admitted to our hospital because of jaundice and fatigue with no accompanying skin rash. A laboratory examination and evaluation of the patient's history resulted in a diagnosis of acute liver injury.

Effects of different surgical procedures for meniscus injury on two-year clinical and radiological outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions. -TMDU MAKS study.

Background: The treatment of meniscus injuries combined with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction would be important to improve outcomes after ACL reconstruction. However, the effects of treatment methods for meniscus after ACL reconstruction have not been thoroughly investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of treatment methods for meniscus on clinical and radiological outcomes at 2 years after ACL reconstruction.

Molecular and clinical characterization of the equine-like G3 rotavirus that caused the first outbreak in Japan, 2016.

Since 2013, equine-like G3 rotavirus (eG3) strains have been detected throughout the world, including in Japan, and the strains were found to be dominant in some countries. In 2016, the first eG3 outbreak in Japan occurred in Tomakomai, Hokkaido prefecture, and the strains became dominant in other Hokkaido areas the following year. There were no significant differences in the clinical characteristics of eG3 and non-eG3 rotavirus infections.

Structural Alteration of Rice Pectin Affects Cell Wall Mechanical Strength and Pathogenicity of the Rice Blast Fungus Under Weak Light Conditions.

Pectin, a component of the plant cell wall, is involved in cell adhesion and environmental adaptations. We generated OsPG-FOX rice lines with little pectin due to overexpression of the gene encoding a pectin-degrading enzyme [polygalacturonase (PG)]. Overexpression of OsPG2 in rice under weak light conditions increased the activity of PG, which increased the degradation of pectin in the cell wall, thereby reducing adhesion.

A novel classification of glucose profile in pregnancy based on continuous glucose monitoring data.

Aim: To investigate the glucose profile of women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) by simultaneously analyzing several factors of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data.

Methods: CGM was conducted for 2 weeks in the second trimester of pregnant women whose random blood glucose level was ≥100 mg/dl. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was performed around day 7, and the index of hyperglycemia, relative hypoglycemia, and indices of glucose variability were extracted from CGM data.

Surgical Site Infection Following Primary Definitive Fusion for Pediatric Spinal Deformity: A Multicenter Study of Rates, Risk Factors, and Pathogens.

Study Design: A retrospective multicenter study.

Objective: To determine the surgical site infection (SSI) rate, associated risk factors, and causative pathogens in pediatric patients with spinal deformity.

Summary Of Background Data: There have been no extensive investigations of the risk factors for SSI in Japan.

High Serum Folate Concentrations Are Associated with Decreased Risk of Mortality among Japanese Adults.

Background: Folate and vitamin B-12 are essential nutrients for normal cell growth and replication, but the association of serum folate and vitamin B-12 concentrations with mortality risk remains uncertain.

Objective: This study was performed to investigate the associations of serum folate and vitamin B-12 concentrations with mortality risk and test whether the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism modifies these associations.

Methods: A total of 3050 Japanese community residents aged ≥40 y were prospectively followed-up for mortality between 2002 and 2012.

Fibroblast activation protein targeted near infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR PIT) overcomes therapeutic resistance in human esophageal cancer.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have an important role in the tumor microenvironment. CAFs have the multifunctionality which strongly support cancer progression and the acquisition of therapeutic resistance by cancer cells. Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a novel cancer treatment that uses a highly selective monoclonal antibody (mAb)-photosensitizer conjugate.

A simple technique of vaginal cuff closure to prevent tumor cell spillage in laparoscopic radical hysterectomy for uterine cervical cancer.

Introduction: The Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) trial, a prospective randomized phase III clinical trial reported in 2018, unexpectedly showed inferior oncologic outcomes in laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) for cervical cancer compared with those in open surgery. It was proposed that the spillage of tumor cells into the peritoneal cavity might cause the inferiority of LRH. It has been suggested, based on retrospective studies, that transvaginal closure of the vaginal cuff before the colpotomy part of the surgery may prevent this.

Value of adjuvant chemotherapy and informed microscopic examination for occult gynecologic cancer detected upon risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy after chemotherapy for BRCA1/2-associated breast cancer: a case report.

BRCA1/2 mutation carriers are at high risk for type II ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer. Although risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy plays an important role in the prevention of these BRCA1/2-associated gynecological cancers, occult ovarian, fallopian tube, or peritoneal cancer is discovered upon risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in 1-4% of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Notably, around 30% of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers who undergo risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy have undergone adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

New Vascular-Access Intervention Assistance Plate Provides Good Operability and Safety by Preventing Accidental Falls: First Experience of 1,872 Cases.

Vascular-access interventions are necessary for the continuation of hemodialysis, and they are performed under X-ray guidance. During interventions, patients' accidental falls from the bed are a serious problem, and spe-cialized fixation systems for hemodialysis patients to prevent their falls from the bed have been lacking. We developed a new fixation plate made of polypropylene homopolymer and tested its ability to prevent such falls retrospectively.

Mercury concentrations in Baja California Sur fish: Dietary exposure assessment.

Total mercury concentrations ([THg]) in muscle were determined in commercial finfish and elasmobranchs from Baja California Sur (BCS), Mexico to evaluate dietary Hg exposure for BCS communities, including the relationship of trophic ecology, length and mass with [THg] that might drive future consumption advice (e.g., recommend limited consumption of large fish for some species).

Thrombus Migration and Fragmentation After Intravenous Alteplase Treatment: The INTERRSeCT Study.

Background And Purpose: There is interest in what happens over time to the thrombus after intravenous alteplase. We study the effect of alteplase on thrombus structure and its impact on clinical outcome in patients with acute stroke.

Methods: Intravenous alteplase treated stroke patients with intracranial internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery occlusion identified on baseline computed tomography angiography and with follow-up vascular imaging (computed tomography angiography or first run of angiography before endovascular therapy) were enrolled from INTERRSeCT study (Identifying New Approaches to Optimize Thrombus Characterization for Predicting Early Recanalization and Reperfusion With IV Alteplase and Other Treatments Using Serial CT Angiography).

Assessment of clinical outcomes associated with mercury concentrations in harbor seal pups (Phoca vitulina richardii) in central California.

Monomethyl mercury (MeHg) from the diet can cause mild to severe neurotoxicosis in fish-eating mammals. Chronic and low-level in utero exposure also can be neurotoxic, as documented in laboratory animal studies and epidemiologic investigations. In free-ranging animals, it is challenging to study low-level exposure related neurotoxicosis, and few studies have investigated the relationship between mercury (Hg) and adverse outcomes in wild populations.

Isotopic (δ N) relationship of pregnant females and their embryos: Comparing placental and yolk-sac viviparous elasmobranchs.

Nitrogen stable isotopes ratios (δ N) were determined for selected tissues (muscle, liver, blood and yolk) of pregnant females and their embryos of a placental viviparous species, the Pacific sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon longurio), and a yolk-sac viviparous species, the speckled guitarfish (Pseudobatos glaucostigmus). The R. longurio embryo tissues were N enriched compared to the same tissues in the pregnant female, using the difference in δ N (Δδ N) between embryo and adult.

Impact of Rigid Fixation of the Pubic Symphysis for Spinopelvic Fixation in Two Cases of Lumbosacral Agenesis.

Introduction: In patients with lumbosacral agenesis (SA), Renshaw type III or IV, lumbosacral instability is the primary cause of major clinical complications. Although they are usually treated with spinopelvic fusion, nonunion at the spinopelvic junction is a major complication due to the congenital sacropelvic abnormalities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a combination of lumbosacral fixation and rigid fixation at the pubic symphysis could lead to postoperative bone union in patients with SA (Renshaw type III).

Incidence and Risk Factors for Unplanned Return to the Operating Room Following Primary Definitive Fusion for Pediatric Spinal Deformity: A Multicenter Study with Minimum 2-year Follow-Up.

Study Design: A retrospective multicenter cohort study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the incidence and risk factors for UPROR within minimum 2-year follow-up in primary definitive fusion for pediatric spinal deformity.

Summary Of Background Data: Several previous reports have elucidated the incidence of complications after pediatric scoliosis surgery; however, there has been no study that described the incidence and risk factors for unplanned return to the operating room (UPROR) with long-term follow-up in surgery for pediatric scoliosis with every etiology.

Emotional Loneliness Is Associated With a Risk of Dementia in a General Japanese Older Population: The Hisayama Study.

Objectives: To investigate the association of loneliness and its component subscales with the risk of dementia in a general Japanese older population.

Method: A total of 1,141 community-dwelling Japanese residents aged ≥65 years without dementia were prospectively followed up for a median 5.0 years.

A New Global Spinal Balance Classification Based on Individual Pelvic Anatomical Measurements in Patients With Adult Spinal Deformity.

Study Design: A retrospective study.

Objective: This study aims to establish a new, easy-to-implement global spinal balance (GSB) classification based on individual pelvic anatomical measurements in adult spinal deformity patients, and to validate this classification in terms of patients' quality of life (QOL).

Summary Of Background Data: Coronal (central sacral vertical line) and sagittal (C7 sagittal vertical axis [C7 SVA]) lines are standard parameters to evaluate GSB.

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy Is More Prevalent in Type B than Type A Aortic Dissection.

Objectives: Several factors determining differences between types A and B aortic dissection (AD) have been reported; however, little data exist examining their differences in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). We compared the prevalence of LVH in patients with types A and B AD.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 334 patients with acute AD (227 type A; 107 type B).