Association Between the Development of Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Blood NAD Levels.

Background: Hearing loss prevalence increases with age, affecting over 25% of the global population aged 60 years or older. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between the development of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and the blood levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD).

Methods: A single-center, observational study was conducted at Kawagoe Otology Institute in Japan.

Fabrication of a Cancer Cell Aggregate Culture Device That Facilitates Observations of Nutrient and Oxygen Gradients.

Three-dimensional cell culture spheroids are commonly used for drug evaluation studies because they can produce large quantities of homogeneous cell aggregates. As the spheroids grow, nutrients supplied from outer spheroid regions render the inner spheroid areas hypoxic and hyponutrient, which makes them unobservable through confocal microscopy. In this study, we fabricated a cancer cell aggregate culture device that facilitates the observation of nutrient and oxygen gradients.

Factors influencing the development of infantile traumatic brain injury with a biphasic clinical course and late reduced diffusion.

Background: Infantile traumatic brain injury (TBI) with a biphasic clinical course and late reduced diffusion (TBIRD) has been reported as a type of TBI. However, it remains uncertain which pediatric patients with TBI develop TBIRD.

Methods: Patients with TBI who were admitted to our hospital and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between December 2006 and October 2022 were included in this study.

Chronological Change of the Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Japan: A Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) treatment has progressed, and patients are rapidly aging in Japan. Consequently, dynamic changes must have emerged in the clinical practice of SAH. This study aimed to elucidate chronological changes of aneurysmal SAH and the prognostic factors in the previous quarter century in Japan.

Neurochemistry evaluated by magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a patient with FBXO28-related developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.

Background: Mutations in the FBXO28 gene, which encodes FBXO28, one of the F-box protein family, may cause developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). FBXO28-related DEE is radiologically characterized by cerebral atrophy, delayed/abnormal myelination, and brain malformation; however, no neurochemical analyses have been reported.

Case Report: A female Japanese infant presented with severe psychomotor delay, epileptic spasms, and visual impairment.

MR vessel wall enhancement in a pediatric focal cerebral arteriopathy.

Background: Focal cerebral arteriopathy (FCA) is a common cause of childhood arterial ischemic stroke in previously healthy children. Although its mechanisms are poorly understood, recent studies have suggested inflammatory processes. Magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (VWI) is a potential imaging biomarker of inflammation.

Stabilization and quantitative measurement of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in human whole blood using dried blood spot sampling.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a coenzyme essential for energy production. Recently, associations between NAD and aging-related diseases have been reported, and NAD precursors that increase NAD concentration in the body have been acknowledged as anti-aging supplements. However, there have been only a few studies on the link between aging or aging-related diseases and human blood NAD concentration because NAD and its precursors are unstable in blood and difficult to measure.

Phase Transformation of Metastable CuZnGeO with a Wurtz-Kesterite Structure at Elevated Temperatures.

The thermal stability and high-temperature phase transformation of metastable CuZnGeO were investigated in an Ar atmosphere by thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis, and high-temperature X-ray diffraction. Three Cu-deficient CuZnGeO phases with a wurtzite-related structure were observed, with varying amounts of copper deficiency. The metastable CuZnGeO was stable at approximately 275 °C and transformed into intermediate phases.

Droplet-based valveless microfluidic system for phage-display screening against spheroids.

In this study, we proposed a droplet-based valveless microfluidic system that has the necessary functions to perform the binding, washing, eluting, and collecting processes of phage-display screening against spheroids, which can be expected to present a similar repertoire and number of membrane proteins as . Although spheroids have much larger sizes than single cells, spheroids are difficult to manipulate through manual operation. The proposed microfluidic system actively controls the position and velocity of droplets using a camera, three air pumps, and three liquid pumps to perform the processes for phage-display screening.

Disulfiram Produces Potent Anxiolytic-Like Effects Without Benzodiazepine Anxiolytics-Related Adverse Effects in Mice.

Disulfiram is an FDA approved drug for the treatment of alcoholism. The drug acts by inhibiting aldehyde dehydrogenase, an enzyme essential to alcohol metabolism. However, a recent study has demonstrated that disulfiram also potently inhibits the cytoplasmic protein FROUNT, a common regulator of chemokine receptor CCR2 and CCR5 signaling.

Breast carcinoma metastasis to the cheek: a case report.

Background: Breast carcinoma is a common tumor in women, but it rarely metastasizes to the oral region. Furthermore, metastases to the oral region occur mainly to the maxillary and mandibular bone and rarely to soft tissue.

Case Presentation: We describe a case of breast cancer metastasis to the buccal area.

Chlorophyll and Pheophytin Dephytylating Enzymes Required for Efficient Repair of PSII in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

The Chlorophyll Dephytylase1 (CLD1) and pheophytinase (PPH) proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana are homologous proteins characterized respectively as a dephytylase for chlorophylls (Chls) and pheophytin a (Phein a) and a Phein a-specific dephytylase. Three genes encoding CLD1/PPH homologs (dphA1, dphA2 and dphA3) were found in the genome of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and shown to be conserved in most cyanobacteria. His6-tagged DphA1, DphA2 and DphA3 proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified to near homogeneity, and shown to exhibit significant levels of dephytylase activity for Chl a and Phein a.

Direct evaluation of hole effective mass of SnS-SnSe solid solutions with ARPES measurement.

Valence band dispersions of single-crystalline SnSSe solid solutions were observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The hole effective masses, crucial factors in determining thermoelectric properties, were directly evaluated. They decrease slightly with increasing Se content in the low Se composition range but sharply in the high Se composition range.

Anhydrous Silicophosphoric Acid Glass: Thermal Properties and Proton Conductivity.

Anhydrous silicophosphoric acid glass with an approximate composition of H Si P O was synthesized and its thermal and proton-conducting properties were characterized. Despite exhibiting a glass transition at 192 °C, the supercooled liquid could be handled as a solid up to 280 °C owing to its high viscosity. The glass and its melt exhibited proton conduction with a proton transport number of ∼1.

Microvalve with Trapezoid-Shaped Cross-Section for Deep Microchannels.

Simple microfluidic systems for handling large particles such as three-dimensional (3D) cultured cells, microcapsules, and animalcules have contributed to the advancement of biology. However, obtaining a highly integrated microfluidic device for handling large particles is difficult because there are no suitable microvalves for deep microchannels. Therefore, this study proposes a microvalve with a trapezoid-shaped cross-section to close a deep microchannel.

High-Light-Induced Stress Activates Lipid Deacylation at the Sn-2 Position in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis Sp. PCC 6803.

Cyanobacterial mutants defective in acyl-acyl carrier protein synthetase (Aas) produce free fatty acids (FFAs) because the FFAs generated by deacylation of membrane lipids cannot be recycled. An engineered Aas-deficient mutant of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 grew normally under low-light (LL) conditions (50 µmol photons m-2 s-1) but was unable to sustain growth under high-light (HL) conditions (400 µmol photons m-2 s-1), revealing a crucial role of Aas in survival under the HL conditions.

Paediatric primary cough headache with internal jugular phlebectasia.

Primary cough headaches (PCHs) are mainly observed in people aged >40 years, but cough-induced headaches are potentially symptomatic in children. We report a case of a child diagnosed with PCH without an intracranial disease. A 7-year-old boy presented with cough due to pertussis and powerful cough-induced headaches.