Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Encephalopathy Presenting with Nonconvulsive Status Epilepticus in an Immunosuppressive State.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is occasionally accompanied by central nervous system (CNS) complications, particularly in immunosuppressed patients. However, the symptoms and clinical features of EBV infection in the CNS are rather heterogeneous and remain unknown. We herein describe the first reported adult case manifesting nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE), possibly associated with reactivation of EBV in an immunosuppressive state.

Prostaglandin D metabolite is not a useful clinical indicator for assessing atopic dermatitis.

Prostaglandin D (PGD ) plays an important role in atopic dermatitis (AD), and 11,15-dioxo-9α-hydroxy-2,3,4,5-tetranorprostan-1,20-dioicacid (PGDM) is a major metabolite of PGD . We investigated the relationship between urinary PGDM levels and severity of paediatric AD. In total, 31 patients with AD and 21 healthy controls (HCs) without AD were recruited, and urinary PGDM levels were measured.

Small-Diameter Synthetic Vascular Graft Immobilized with the REDV Peptide Reduces Early-Stage Fibrin Clot Deposition and Results in Graft Patency in Rats.

Early-stage hemocompatibility is indispensable for manufacturing tissue-engineered vascular grafts used in regenerative medicine. In this study, we report the blood response and patency of small-diameter synthetic vascular grafts modified with the Arg-Glu-Asp-Val (REDV) peptide. Vascular grafts were prepared by casting REDV-conjugated poly(depsipeptide--caprolactone) on a stainless-steel mandril (diameter: 1.

Bottom-up synthesis of titanophosphate nanosheets by the aqueous solution process.

The synthesis of titanophosphate nanosheets in aqueous sols was examined by the bottom-up process. The nanosheets were formed by mixing titanium iso-propoxide, phosphoric acid, and tetraalkylammonium hydroxide (NROH) aqueous solutions, followed by diluting with water and heating at 80 °C, forming translucent aqueous sols of titanophosphate nanosheets with the same crystal structure as layered titanium phosphate TiO(HPO)·2HO. Whether the nanosheets were crystallized depended on the reactions during the mixing of reagents before the water dilution.

A high normal ankle--brachial index is associated with electrocardiography-determined left ventricular hypertrophy: the Okinawa Peripheral Arterial Disease Study (OPADS).

Objectives: We aimed to determine if the ankle--brachial index (ABI) increased with age as a result of increased arterial stiffness and wave reflection, and whether this was associated with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in 13 396 participants aged 19-89 years who attended a health check-up. Brachial and ankle blood pressures were measured by an automatic oscillometric method.

Therapeutic drug monitoring in peritoneal dialysis: A case of nontuberculous mycobacterium catheter-related infection treated with amikacin.

The pharmacokinetics of amikacin makes it difficult to predict the appropriate dosing to avoid harmful side effects in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The implementation of therapeutic drug monitoring may be useful in controlling amikacin serum concentrations in patients receiving CAPD.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis confined to extrahepatic bile duct causing sclerosing cholangitis in child: a case report.

Background: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is an abnormal accumulation of Langerhans cells in various organs that sometimes induces organ dysfunction. LCH can affect the liver, resulting in sclerosing cholangitis and biliary cirrhosis. However, liver and bile duct involvement is usually observed in the disseminated form of LCH.

Association between blood lead exposure and mental health in pregnant women: Results from the Japan environment and children's study.

Objective: Although environmental lead exposure has decreased, several studies have shown that low-level lead exposure can result in adverse psychological symptoms. However, few studies have examined lead neurotoxicity in pregnant women. We investigated the association between lead exposure and psychological symptoms in pregnant women, and between socio-economic status and blood lead levels.

Sequentially addressable dielectrophoretic array for high-throughput sorting of large-volume biological compartments.

Droplet microfluidics has become a powerful tool in precision medicine, green biotechnology, and cell therapy for single-cell analysis and selection by virtue of its ability to effectively confine cells. However, there remains a fundamental trade-off between droplet volume and sorting throughput, limiting the advantages of droplet microfluidics to small droplets (<10 pl) that are incompatible with long-term maintenance and growth of most cells. We present a sequentially addressable dielectrophoretic array (SADA) sorter to overcome this problem.

Impact of swimming school attendance in 3-year-old children with wheeze and rhinitis at age 5 years: A prospective birth cohort study in Tokyo.

Background: In Japan, swimming school attendance is promoted as a form of therapy or as a prophylactic measure against asthma in young children. However, the putative beneficial effects have not been sufficiently verified.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to clarify whether or not swimming school attendance at age 3 years affects the onset and/or improvement of wheeze and rhinitis at age 5 years.

Trousseau syndrome with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma that could be removed radically after endovascular treatment: Report of a case.

Background: Trousseau syndrome is a poor prognosis. We report a case of Trousseau syndrome treated by radical resection after endovascular treatment.

Case: A 59-year-old woman presented to our department reporting spontaneous dizziness and pain of the upper abdomen.

Intelligent image-activated cell sorting 2.0.

The advent of intelligent image-activated cell sorting (iIACS) has enabled high-throughput intelligent image-based sorting of single live cells from heterogeneous populations. iIACS is an on-chip microfluidic technology that builds on a seamless integration of a high-throughput fluorescence microscope, cell focuser, cell sorter, and deep neural network on a hybrid software-hardware data management architecture, thereby providing the combined merits of optical microscopy, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), and deep learning. Here we report an iIACS machine that far surpasses the state-of-the-art iIACS machine in system performance in order to expand the range of applications and discoveries enabled by the technology.

Usefulness of the SAGE score to predict elevated values of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity in Japanese subjects with hypertension.

The score based on the office systolic blood pressure, age, fasting blood glucose level, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (SAGE score) has been proposed as a useful marker to identify elevated values of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). The present cross-sectional study was conducted to examine whether the SAGE score is also a useful marker to identify subjects with elevated brachial-ankle PWV values in Japanese subjects with hypertension. We measured the brachial-ankle PWV and calculated the SAGE score in a total of 1019 employees of a Japanese company with hypertension and 817 subjects with hypertension derived from a multicenter study cohort.

A high normal ankle-brachial index is associated with biopsy-proven severe renal small artery intimal thickening and impaired renal function in chronic kidney disease.

A significant relationship has been established between central hemodynamics and renal microvascular damage. We hypothesized that the increase in the ankle-brachial index (ABI) with age is due to increased arterial stiffness and wave reflection and is thus associated with the pathogenesis of the renal small artery in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We recruited 122 patients with CKD (stages 1-5) who underwent renal biopsy and ABI measurements between 2010 and 2013.

Cellular attachment behavior on biodegradable polymer surface immobilizing endothelial cell-specific peptide.

Small-caliber artificial blood vessels with inner diameters of smaller than 4 mm have not been put into practical use because of early thrombus formation and graft occlusion. To realize small-caliber artificial blood vessels with anti-thrombus property and long-term patency, one of the promising approaches is endothelialization of the lumen by tissue engineering approaches. Integrin α4β1 on the endothelial cell membrane is known to act as a receptor for Arg-Glu-Asp-Val (REDV) tetra-peptide, and this peptide can be used as a specific ligand to introduce endothelial cell attachment onto the surfaces of polymer scaffold.

Modification of decellularized vascular xenografts with 8-arm polyethylene glycol suppresses macrophage infiltration but maintains graft degradability.

Because acellular vascular xenografts induce an immunological reaction through macrophage infiltration, they are conventionally crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA). However, the GA crosslinking reaction inhibits not only the host immune reaction around the graft but also the graft's enzymatic degradability, which is one of the key characteristics of acellular grafts that allow them to be replaced by host tissue. In this study, we used an 8-arm polyethylene glycol (PEG) to successfully suppress macrophage infiltration, without eliminating graft degradation.

Japanese guidelines for atopic dermatitis 2020.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a disease characterized by relapsing eczema with pruritus as a primary lesion, which is frequently encountered in clinical practice. Skin barrier dysfunction leads to enhanced skin irritability to non-specific stimuli and epicutaneous sensitization. In the lesion site, a further inflammation-related reduction in skin barrier function, enhanced irritability and scratching-related stimuli deteriorate eczema, leading to vicious cycle of inflammation.

Impact of Donor Age on the Outcome of Living-donor Liver Transplantation: Special Consideration to the Feasibility of Using Elderly Donors.

Background: The use of elderly donors (≥60 y) in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to determine the safety of surgery for elderly donors and the impact of donor age on LDLT outcomes.

Methods: We, retrospectively, reviewed 470 cases of LDLT at Kumamoto University Hospital from December 1998 to March 2017.

Luseogliflozin, a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor, preserves renal function irrespective of acute changes in the estimated glomerular filtration rate in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Acute decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a typical finding after initiating sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, is associated with maintaining renal function in type 2 diabetes. However, the relationship between the magnitude of acute decline in eGFR and the course of eGFR thereafter is not known. A pooled analysis of four 52-week phase III trials of luseogliflozin 2.