A simple method for the automatic classification of body parts and detection of implanted metal using postmortem computed tomography scout view.

Information on medical devices embedded in the body is important in the identification of an unidentified body. Computed tomography (CT) is a powerful imaging modality; however, metallic artifacts deteriorate the image quality because of the reconstruction method. On the contrary, CT scout view is less affected by metallic artifacts compared to CT.

Spatial Transcriptomics of Nematodes Identifies Sperm Cells as a Source of Genomic Novelty and Rapid Evolution.

Divergence of gene function and expression during development can give rise to phenotypic differences at the level of cells, tissues, organs, and ultimately whole organisms. To gain insights into the evolution of gene expression and novel genes at spatial resolution, we compared the spatially resolved transcriptomes of two distantly related nematodes, Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus, that diverged 60-90 Ma. The spatial transcriptomes of adult worms show little evidence for strong conservation at the level of single genes.

CIPK23 regulates blue light-dependent stomatal opening in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Phototropins (phot1 and phot2) are plant blue light receptor kinases that function to mediate phototropism, chloroplast movement, leaf flattening, and stomatal opening in Arabidopsis. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms associated with phototropin receptor activation by light. However, the identities of phototropin signaling components are less well understood by comparison.

Arenophile-Mediated Photochemical Dearomatization of Nonactivated Arenes.

Aromatic compounds are one of the most abundant classes of organic molecules and find utility as precursors for alicyclic hydrocarbon building blocks. While many established dearomatization reactions are exceptionally powerful, dearomatization with concurrent introduction of functionality, dearomative functionalization, is still a largely underdeveloped field. This review aims to provide an overview of our recent efforts and progress in the development of dearomative functionalization of simple and nonactivated arenes using arenophile-arene cycloaddition platform.

Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis With Simultaneously Acquired Drug Resistance to Bedaquiline and Delamanid.

This study is the first to report a clinical case of simultaneously acquired resistance to bedaquiline (BDQ) and delamanid (DLM). Whole genome sequencing revealed 2 nucleotide insertions (Rv0678 and fbiC) in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolate. The minimum inhibitory concentrations for BDQ and DLM were 0.

Characterization of the endoplasmic reticulum-resident peroxidases GPx7 and GPx8 shows the higher oxidative activity of GPx7 and its linkage to oxidative protein folding.

Oxidative protein folding occurs primarily in the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum, enabled by a diverse network comprising more than 20 members of the protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family and more than five PDI oxidases. Although the canonical disulfide bond formation pathway involving Ero1α and PDI has been well-studied so far, the physiological roles of the newly identified PDI oxidases, glutathione peroxidase-7 (GPx7) and -8 (GPx8), are only poorly understood. We here demonstrated that human GPx7 has much higher reactivity with HO and hence greater PDI oxidation activity than human GPx8.

Effects of pentosan polysulfate on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and cyclin-dependent kinases expression in canine articular chondrocytes.

Pentosan polysulfate (PPS) is a semi-synthetic sulfated polysaccharide compound which has been shown the benefits on therapeutic treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) and has been proposed as a disease modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs). This study investigated the effects of PPS on cell proliferation, particularly in cell cycle modulation and phenotype promotion of canine articular chondrocytes (AC). Canine AC were treated with PPS (0-80 µg/ml) for 24, 48 and 72 hr.

Current status of surgery for clinical stage IA lung cancer in Japan: analysis of the national clinical database.

Purpose: As the number of cases of early lung cancer in Japan grows, an analysis of the present status of surgical treatments for clinical stage IA lung cancer using a nationwide database with web-based data entry is warranted.

Methods: The operative and perioperative data from 47,921 patients who underwent surgery for clinical stage IA lung cancer in 2014 and 2015 were obtained from the National Clinical Database (NCD) of Japan. Clinicopathological characteristics, surgical procedure, mortality, and morbidity were analyzed, and thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) were compared.

Clinical Impacts of EGFR Mutation Status: Analysis of 5780 Surgically Resected Lung Cancer Cases.

Background: To elucidate the clinical, pathologic, and prognostic impacts of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation and mutation subtypes in early-stage lung cancer, the study investigators conducted a retrospective analysis of the Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry database (a nationwide database for patients with surgically resected lung cancer; n = 18,973).

Methods: Of 13,951 patients classified as having nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer in the database, 5780 patients (41.0%) had been tested for an EGFR mutation and were included in this study.

Key prognostic factors for EGFR-mutated non-adenocarcinoma lung cancer patients in the Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry Database.

Introduction: The efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for EGFR-mutated non-adenocarcinoma (ADC) non-small cell lung cancer patients is not well established. Herein, we investigated key prognostic factors influencing the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs in these patients.

Methods: A total of 12,320 lung cancer patients pathologically diagnosed in 2012 at teaching hospitals in Japan were retrospectively selected.

The suppressive effect on CD4 T cell alloresponse against endothelial HLA-DR via PD-L1 induced by anti-A/B ligation.

While donor-specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies are a frequent cause for chronic antibody-mediated rejection in organ transplantation, this is not the case for antibodies targeting blood group antigens, as ABO-incompatible (ABO-I) organ transplantation has been associated with a favorable graft outcome. Here, we explored the role of CD4 T cell-mediated alloresponses against endothelial HLA-D-related (DR) in the presence of anti-HLA class I or anti-A/B antibodies. CD4 T cells, notably CD45RA-memory CD4 T cells, undergo extensive proliferation in response to endothelial HLA-DR.

Manumycin polyketides act as molecular glues between UBR7 and P53.

Molecular glues are an intriguing therapeutic modality that harness small molecules to induce interactions between proteins that typically do not interact. However, such molecules are rare and have been discovered fortuitously, thus limiting their potential as a general strategy for therapeutic intervention. We postulated that natural products bearing one or more electrophilic sites may be an unexplored source of new molecular glues, potentially acting through multicovalent attachment.

Radiobiological model-based approach to determine the potential of dose-escalated robust intensity-modulated proton radiotherapy in reducing gastrointestinal toxicity in the treatment of locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer of the head.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the potential of escalated dose radiation (EDR) robust intensity-modulated proton radiotherapy (ro-IMPT) in reducing GI toxicity risk in locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer (LAUPC) of the head in term of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) predictive model.

Methods: For 9 patients, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) was compared with ro-IMPT. For all plans, the prescription dose was 59.

Left upper lobectomy is a risk factor for cerebral infarction after pulmonary resection: a multicentre, retrospective, case-control study in Japan.

Purpose: The anatomical site of resected lobes may influence postoperative cerebral infarction. The objective of the current study was to determine if left upper pulmonary lobectomy is a risk factor for postoperative cerebral infarction.

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study in patients undergoing pulmonary lobectomy from 2004 to 2013 in Japan.

Survival and prognostic factors in elderly patients receiving second-line chemotherapy for relapsed small-cell lung cancer: Results from the Japanese Joint Committee of Lung Cancer Registry.

Objectives: Most patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) experience relapse because of the emergence of drug-resistant tumor cells. Therefore, second-line therapy is subsequently required to prolong their survival. However, it is unclear whether second-line chemotherapy can provide a survival benefit to elderly patients with relapsed SCLC.

Visible-Light-Induced Dearomatizations.

The dearomatization of aromatic compounds is an important synthetic strategy used in accessing complex three-dimensional structures from simple aromatic precursors. This minireview aims to provide an overview of recent advancements in this area, with a specific focus on visible-light-mediated dearomative transformations. Compared to the conventional high-energy ultraviolet (UV) light-promoted processes, not only these new approaches offer milder reaction conditions to accommodate wider variety of substrates with sensitive functionalities, but also enable the use of photocatalysts and other promoters, significantly expanding the reaction space.

Serum Procalcitonin Levels Predict Mortality Risk in Patients With Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Single-Center Prospective Observational Study.

Globally, tuberculosis is the leading infectious cause of death; discovering biomarkers that predict a high mortality risk may improve treatment outcomes. We prospectively enrolled 252 pulmonary tuberculosis patients who were not coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus and initiated antituberculosis treatment, measured serum procalcitonin levels (PCT), and assessed mortality risk. PCT serum levels higher than 0.

Enhancement of guinea pig cytomegalovirus infection by two endogenously expressed components of the pentameric glycoprotein complex in epithelial cells.

A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying cell tropisms and the efficiency of viral infection is critical for the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs for viral diseases. In this study, we worked on the entry mechanisms of guinea pig cytomegalovirus and found that endogenous expression of a combination of two components (GP131 and GP133) of the pentameric glycoprotein complex, which is required for non-fibroblast cell tropisms, enhanced viral infection more than 10-fold. In addition, D138A alteration in GP131 increased this enhancement by an additional 10-fold.

Utility of urinary type I collagen cross-linked N-telopeptide as a prognostic indicator in breast cancer patients with bone metastases.

Background: Breast cancer patients with bone metastases are usually managed with bone modifying agents, such as zoledronic acid and denosumab, and some bone turnover markers (BTMs) have been recognized as prognostic indicators in such patients. Although several studies have demonstrated the validity of BTMs as prognostic markers in patients treated with zoledronic acid, few studies have reported the utility of BTMs with denosumab treatment. In this study, we evaluated whether urinary N-telopeptide of type I collagen (u-NTX) can be a prognostic indicator in patients treated with denosumab.

Type I IFN response associated with mTOR activation in the TAFRO subtype of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease.

The TAFRO clinical subtype of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD-TAFRO) is a rare hematologic illness involving episodic disease flares of thrombocytopenia, anasarca, fever, reticulin myelofibrosis, renal dysfunction, and organomegaly (TAFRO) and progressive multiple organ dysfunction. We previously showed that the mTOR signaling pathway is elevated in lymph nodes of iMCD-TAFRO patients and that an mTOR inhibitor is effective in a small cohort of patients. However, the upstream mechanisms, cell types, and mediators involved in disease pathogenesis remain unknown.

Alterations in characteristics of canine articular chondrocytes in non-passaged long-term monolayer culture: Matter of differentiation, dedifferentiation and redifferentiation.

This study investigated the effects of culture time on phenotype stability of canine articular chondrocytes (CACs) in non-passaged long-term monolayer culture. Third passage (P3) CACs isolated from four cartilage samples were seeded at three different initial seeding densities (0.2 × 10, 1.

PRMT5 Is Required for T Cell Survival and Proliferation by Maintaining Cytokine Signaling.

Arginine methylation is a post-translational modification that regulates many biological processes. However, the role of arginine methylation in immune cells is not well studied. Here we report an essential role of protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) in T cell homeostasis and activation-induced expansion.

[Comparison of O-ring and General Linacs for Treatment Planning of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy].

Purpose: Novel linac improvements in speed of gantry, collimator, leaf and dose rate may increase the time-efficiency of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) delivery, however remains to be investigated. In this study, a fast-rotating O-ring linac (Halcyon) with fast moving leaves is compared with a general linac (TrueBeam: TB) in terms of plan quality for VMAT of C-shape, prostate, multi target and, head and neck (H&N) cases from AAPM TG-119.

Materials And Methods: For the four test cases, VMAT planning was performed using single to four-arc VMAT on a Halcyon and using single to three-arc VMAT on a TrueBeam.