The Utility of Vascular Access Intervention via the Distal Radial Artery Approach in Hemodialysis Patients With Vascular Dysfunction.

Background: Although case reports exist on vascular access intervention through the distal radial artery approach, there is a dearth of clinical studies reporting its safety and clinical outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the safety and long-term outcomes of vascular access intervention utilizing the distal radial artery approach.

Methods: Patients who underwent forearm arteriovenous fistula vascular access intervention at our hospital were divided into two groups: The distal radial artery approach (DRA group, N = 46) and the outflow vein approach (Vein group, N = 122).

Optical coherence tomography findings in acute myocardial infarction patients with familial moyamoya disease.

Unlabelled: It has been reported that patients with moyamoya disease have a high prevalence of coronary artery disease. On the other hand, the pathology of coronary artery disease is not fully understood. We were able to evaluate vascular properties using optical coherence tomography in a case of acute myocardial infarction that occurred in a relatively young woman with moyamoya disease.

Observation of a critical charge mode in a strange metal.

Understanding the strange metallic behavior that develops at the brink of localization in quantum materials requires probing the underlying electronic charge dynamics. Using synchrotron radiation-based Mössbauer spectroscopy, we studied the charge fluctuations of the strange metal phase of β-YbAlB as a function of temperature and pressure. We found that the usual single absorption peak in the Fermi-liquid regime splits into two peaks upon entering the critical regime.

Investigation of the Structure of Atomically Dispersed NiN Sites in Ni and N-Doped Carbon Electrocatalysts by Ni Mössbauer Spectroscopy and Simulations.

Ni and nitrogen-doped carbons are selective catalysts for CO reduction to CO (COR), but the hypothesized NiN active sites are challenging to probe with traditional characterization methods. Here, we synthesize Ni-enriched model catalysts, termed NiPACN, in order to apply Ni Mössbauer spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation (Ni-SR-MS) to characterize the structure of these atomically dispersed NiN sites. First, we demonstrate that the COR results and standard characterization techniques (SEM, PXRD, XPS, XANES, EXAFS) point to the existence of dispersed Ni active sites.

Usefulness of Balloon-Assisted Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Thrombin Injection to Femoral Artery Pseudoaneurysm by Transradial Artery Approach.

Balloon-Assisted Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Thrombin Injection (BATI) is useful for iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm. In previous reports, BATI for pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery was performed by contralateral transfemoral approach. It has been reported that patients with obesity, hypertension, and diabetes have more hemorrhagic complications at the puncture site of the femoral artery.

The Thermal Stability of the Collagen Triple Helix Is Tuned According to the Environmental Temperature.

Triple helix formation of procollagen occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) where the single-stranded α-chains of procollagen undergo extensive post-translational modifications. The modifications include prolyl 4- and 3-hydroxylations, lysyl hydroxylation, and following glycosylations. The modifications, especially prolyl 4-hydroxylation, enhance the thermal stability of the procollagen triple helix.

[Case of Recurrent Breast Cancer with BRCA2 Mutation Successfully Treated with Olaparib Therapy].

A 70-year-old woman was diagnosed with cT2N2M0 left triple negative breast cancer. She received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Around 30 months after the surgery, she developed carcinomatous pericardial tamponade, carcinomatous pleurisy, and metastatic thyroid cancer due to the breast cancer.

Peptide precursors that acquire denatured collagen-hybridizing ability by O-to-N acyl migration at physiological pH.

Here, we report peptide probes with either single or cyclic double stranded collagen-like sequences that spontaneously acquire collagen-hybridizing ability at physiological pH. These peptides have ester bonds derived from O-acyl isopeptide units that are converted to amide bonds via intramolecular O-to-N acyl migration by a pH shift. The peptides that do not require pre-treatment for disassembly will be useful as prodrugs in theranostic treatments targeting unfolded collagen.

Long-Term Performance of Right Ventricular Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Leads in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) implanted with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) may show a large decrease in R-wave amplitude during long-term follow-up. However, it is unclear whether this decrease is higher in these patients than in those without structural heart disease. This study investigated ICD-lead intracardiac parameters over a long duration in patients with ARVC and HCM and compared these parameters with those of a control group.

Development of a collagen-like peptide polymer via end-to-end disulfide cross-linking and its application as a biomaterial.

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the animal kingdom and has a unique triple-helical structure. It not only provides mechanical strength to tissues, but also performs specific biological functions as a multifaceted signaling molecule. Animal-derived collagen is therefore widely used as a biocompatible material in vitro and in vivo.

A Strategy for Discovering Heterochiral Bioactive Peptides by Using the OB2 P Library and SPOTs Method.

d-Amino acid containing peptides are promising as drug lead compounds because of their expected higher stability in vivo. A heterochiral random peptide library called the one-bead-2 -peptide (OB2 P) library, which can display 2 peptide diastereomers per bead, has been developed. Through screening of the OB2 P library and subsequent binding assay among the peptide diastereomers synthesized in parallel by means of the SPOTs method, new heterochiral mimotopes for the anti-β-endorphin monoclonal antibody have been obtained.

Impact of the preprocedural nutrition status on the clinical outcomes of patients after pacemaker implantation for bradycardia.

Background: Malnutrition is associated with a poor prognosis in heart failure, angina pectoris, and peripheral artery disease. However, the clinical importance of the preprocedural nutrition status of patients requiring pacemaker implantation (PMI) for bradycardia is unclear.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 521 patients (median 79 years) who underwent their first PMI between January 1, 2012 and June 30, 2017.

Hemorrhagic shock due to branch injury of the left internal thoracic artery two days after pericardiocentesis.

Pericardiocentesis is a definitive strategy to remove pericardial effusion. In this report, we present a rare case of a 23-year-old man with sudden delayed hemorrhagic shock due to branch bleeding of the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) two days after undergoing pericardiocentesis. Angiography, embolization, and drainage were effective.

Comparison of direct oral anticoagulants and warfarin regarding midterm adverse events in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing catheter ablation.

Background: Oral anticoagulants, including direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), are usually required in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients who are at a high risk of thromboembolism (TE), even if they had undergone catheter ablation (CA). Although several studies have reported the safety and efficacy of DOACs around CA in AF patients, there are only limited data regarding the midterm incidence of TE and bleeding complications post-CA among AF patients treated with warfarin or DOACs.

Methods: We studied 629 AF patients (mean age: 65.

Early Transfer of Patients with Acute Heart Failure from a Core Hospital to Collaborating Hospitals and Their Prognoses.

Japan is facing problems associated with "heart failure (HF) pandemics" and bed shortages in core hospitals that can accommodate patients with acute HF. The prognosis is currently unknown for acute HF patients who were transferred from core hospitals to collaborating hospitals during the very early treatment phase and whose treatment strategies are in place.We enrolled 166 acute HF patients who were hospitalized between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015, and compared the conditions of transferred patients (n = 53, median duration before transfer = 6 days) and nontransferred patients (n = 113).

Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Fused with Tandem Collagen-Binding Domains from Collagenase ColG Increases Bone Formation.

Basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (bFGF) accelerates bone formation during fracture healing. Because the efficacy of bFGF decreases rapidly following its diffusion from fracture sites, however, repeated dosing is required to ensure a sustained therapeutic effect. We previously developed a fusion protein comprising bFGF, a polycystic kidney disease domain (PKD; s2b), and collagen-binding domain (CBD; s3) sourced from the class II collagenase, ColH, and reported that the combination of this fusion protein with a collagen-like peptide, poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly), induced mesenchymal cell proliferation and callus formation at fracture sites.

Cyclic Peptides for Efficient Detection of Collagen.

We report here a new class of collagen-binding peptides, cyclic collagen-mimetic peptides (cCMPs), that efficiently hybridize with the triple-helix-forming portions of collagen. cCMPs are composed of two parallel collagen-like (Xaa-Yaa-Gly) strands with both termini tethered by covalent linkages. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and western blotting analysis showed that cCMPs exhibit more potent affinity toward collagen than reported collagen-binding peptides and can specifically detect different collagen polypeptides in a mixture of proteins.

Treatment Outcomes of Anticoagulant Therapy and Temporary Inferior Vena Cava Filter Implantation for Pregnancy Complicated by Venous Thrombosis.

: Although deep vein thrombosis (DVT) followed by pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) is a critical complication during pregnancy, there have been few reports about its intrapartum management. We evaluated intrapartum management by using a temporary inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) in pregnant women with PE/DVT. : Eleven women with PE/DVT during pregnancy between January 2004 and December 2016 were included.

Assessment of the Safety and Efficacy of Edoxaban for the Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism Secondary to Active Malignancy.

: To assess the safety and efficacy of edoxaban for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) secondary to active malignancy. : We enrolled 48 patients with newly diagnosed VTE secondary to active malignancy that was treated with oral edoxaban for 1 year between September 2014 and August 2015. We retrospectively examined the presence or absence of recurrent symptomatic VTE, VTE-related mortality, and bleeding events.

Effect of Optimizing Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy Before Discharge on Mortality and Heart Failure Readmission in Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is recommended for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, the prognostic impact of medication optimization at the time of discharge in patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) is unclear. We analyzed 534 patients (73 ± 13 years old) with HFrEF.

Development of a carboplatin derivative conjugated with a collagen-like triple-helical peptide.

Aim: The development of a platinum anticancer agent that has improved efficacy by efficient delivery to a tumor and that suppresses side effects has been investigated. Arginine-rich triple-helical peptides are promising drug carriers because of their stability in body fluids and cell-penetrating activity.

Results: We synthesized a carboplatin derivative conjugated with an arginine-rich triple-helical peptide.