Densification of hydroxyapatite/zirconia nanocomposites fabricated via low-temperature mineralization sintering process and their mechanical properties.

Hydroxyapatite/zirconia (HAP/ZrO) composites were fabricated via the low-temperature mineralization sintering process (LMSP) at an extremely low temperature of 130 °C to enhance the mechanical properties of HAP and broaden its practical applications. For this purpose, 5-20 vol% calcia-stabilized ZrO were introduced into HAP, and HAP/ZrO nanoparticles, mixed with simulated body fluid, were densified under a uniaxial pressure of 800 MPa at 130 °C. At 10 vol% ZrO, the relative density of the HAP/ZrO composite was determined to be 88.

Treatment Patterns, Characteristics, and Probable Acute Medication Overprescription Among Patients With Migraine in Japan: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of Health Insurance Claims Data.

Objective This study aimed to investigate prescription patterns for migraine patients aged 18 years and older using the REZULT database, managed by Japan System Techniques Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan.

Anesthesia management for cesarean delivery in patients with an arterial switch operation: a single center case series (2015-2023).

Background: Arterial switch operation (ASO) for dextro-transposition of the great arteries was developed four decades ago, and women with ASO have reached childbearing age. Although over 40% of the pregnant women who received ASO gave birth via cesarean delivery, detailed information about anesthesia management has not been reported. This study aimed to evaluate anesthesia and perioperative outcomes in pregnant women with ASO undergoing cesarean delivery.

Post-transplant TKIs for Ph+ ALL: practices to date and clinical significance.

Post-transplant tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) show promise in preventing relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL). However, their real-world use and efficacy remain unclear. A comprehensive study across seven centers included Ph+ALL patients who underwent allo-HCT between 2002 and 2022.

Photoperiodic plasticity of pigment-dispersing factor immunoreactive fibers projecting toward prothoracicotropic hormone neurons in flesh fly Sarcophaga similis larvae.

Larvae of the flesh fly, Sarcophaga similis exhibit photoperiodic responses to control pupal diapause. Although the external coincidence model is applicable to S. similis photoperiodism, it remains unknown how the circadian clock system integrates day-length information.

Pharmacovigilance Pregnancy Data in a Population of Japanese Patients With Chronic Inflammatory Disease Exposed to Certolizumab Pegol.

Aim: Uncontrolled chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) before, during, and after pregnancy, as well as some CID medications, can increase the risk of impaired fertility in addition to adverse maternal/pregnancy outcomes in women of childbearing age. We report pregnancy outcomes from prospectively reported pregnancies in Japanese women treated with certolizumab pegol (CZP).

Methods: Data from July 2001 to November 2020 on CZP-exposed pregnancies from the CZP Pharmacovigilance safety database were reviewed.

Schlafen 11 Expression in Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Association With Clinical Outcomes.

Background: Schlafen 11 (SLFN-11) has been identified as a sensitizer of tumor cells to DNA-damaging agents. However, the relationship between SLFN-11 expression and clinical outcomes in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains unexplored. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the impact of SLFN-11 expression on survival in patients with limited-stage (LS) SCLC.

Benefits of Continuous Outpatient Orthopedic Consultations for Both Upper and Lower Body on the Mortality Rates of Hemodialysis Patients.

Background: The purpose of the present observational study was to examine whether there is a difference in prognosis for hemodialysis patients with or without continued orthopedic outpatient visits over five years.  Methods: One hundred and thirteen hemodialysis patients who visited the dialysis center of Takagi Hospital, Okawa, Japan, as of December 2017 were included in this study. Data were collected from the medical records until December 2022.

Asian Thoracic Oncology Research Group expert consensus statement on the peri-operative management of non-small cell lung cancer.

The peri-operative management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in earlier stage disease has seen significant advances in recent years with the incorporation of immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapy. However, many unanswered questions and challenges remain, including the application of clinical trial data to routine clinical practice. Recognising the unique demographic profile of Asian patients with NSCLC and heterogeneous healthcare systems, the Asian Thoracic Oncology Research Group (ATORG) convened a consensus meeting in Singapore on 26 April 2024 to discuss relevant issues spanning diagnostic testing to post-neoadjuvant treatment considerations and future directions.

Transfemoral Compared to Transapical Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Chronic Dialysis-Dependent Patients.

Patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD) represent a high-risk population in terms of both development of and death by cardiovascular diseases. Outcome data of ESRD patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) treated by transcatheter aortic valve implantation (AVI) are scarce. We aim to compare the outcome of ESRD patients undergoing transfemoral (TF) or transapical (TA) AVI.

Modified Damus-Kaye-Stansel Anastomosis to Prevent Coronary Obstruction Between the Great Arteries.

The conventional Damus-Kaye-Stansel procedure may cause coronary artery compression when the coronary arteries are situated between the great arteries. We have performed a modified Damus-Kaye-Stansel procedure utilizing a "flap-bridging technique," in which an inverted U-shaped flap incised from the aorta is bridged to the main pulmonary trunk, creating sufficient space between the great arteries, in an 8-month-old boy who was a Fontan candidate with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries. This modified approach yielded favorable outcomes without coronary events and can effectively prevent coronary obstruction in cases where the coronary arteries run between the great arteries.

Determinants of Caregiver Burden Among Spouses of Patients With Kidney Failure: A Qualitative Study.

Rationale & Objective: Spousal caregivers participate extensively in the care of patients with kidney failure. Although previous studies suggested that these caregivers experience a high burden, a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of this burden and strategies to alleviate it are needed. Therefore, this study sought to explore the contributing and alleviating determinants of burden in spousal caregivers of patients with kidney failure.

Three-dimensional spiral-shaping method of microcatheter for paraclinoid aneurysms: assessment using silicone models.

Selecting an appropriate microcatheter tip shape for paraclinoid aneurysms is difficult. Therefore, we devised an original simple and uniform three-dimensional (3D) spiral-shaping method of microcatheter and validated the characteristics and usefulness of this method for coil embolization of paraclinoid aneurysms using patient-specific silicone models. These silicone models were produced based on clinical data from four patients with four paraclinoid aneurysms that underwent endovascular treatment using the 3D spiral-shaping method.

Sternotomy or thoracotomy for neonatal repair of coarctation of the aorta with aortic arch hypoplasia.

Objective: For neonatal repair of coarctation of the aorta, patients may either undergo thoracotomy with extended end-to-end anastomosis or sternotomy for aortic arch reconstruction with cardiopulmonary bypass. The objective of this study was to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of the 2 approaches in patients with arch hypoplasia.

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective cohort study from July 2005 through May 2022 of patients who underwent neonatal repair for isolated coarctation of the aorta with additional arch hypoplasia.

Expanding the concept of ID conversion in TogoID by introducing multi-semantic and label features.

Background: TogoID ( https://togoid.dbcls.jp/ ) is an identifier (ID) conversion service designed to link IDs across diverse categories of life science databases.

Exploring Hyperkalemia Risk in Frail Older Patients Using RAAS Inhibitors.

Purpose: Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASi) are widely used in treatment of cardiovascular and renal disease. While effective, they pose a risk of hyperkalemia. In the general population, risk factors for hyperkalemia include chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and use of medication affecting potassium balance.

International Validation of Echocardiographic AI Amyloid Detection Algorithm.

Background: Diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is often missed or delayed due to confusion with other causes of increased left ventricular wall thickness. Conventional transthoracic echocardiographic measurements like global longitudinal strain (GLS) has shown promise in distinguishing CA, but with limited specificity. We conducted a study to investigate the performance of a computer vision detection algorithm in across multiple international sites.

Equilibrium of monomers, dimers, and polymeric aggregates in the α-aryl-propionic acid-type analgesics naproxen, ketoprofen, and ibuprofen: Comparative study with oxicam-type meloxicam and piroxicam.

Hydrophobicity is associated with drug transport across membranes and is expressed as the partition coefficient log P for neutral drugs and the distribution coefficient log D for acidic and basic drugs. The log P and log D predictions are deductively (or with artificial intelligence) estimated as the sum of the partial contributions of the scaffold and substituents of a single molecule and are used widely and affirmatively. However, their predictions have not always been comprehensively accurate beyond scaffold differences.

Initiation of Psychotropic Drugs in Spouses of Patients With Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease: A Matched Cohort Study.

Objectives: The diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) can cause emotional stress not only to the patients themselves but also to their spouses. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of psychiatric disorders in spouses of EOAD patients, using psychotropic drug initiation as a surrogate indicator.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using a Japanese claims database, with spouses of EOAD patients (exposed spouses) matched with spouses of non-EOAD individuals (reference spouses) up to a 1:10 ratio.

Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

Identification of deposits from modern and ancient large tsunamis by means of environmental DNA.

We examined the potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) for identifying tsunami deposits in the geological record using lake-bottom sediments in the Tohoku region, Japan. The presence of eDNA from marine organisms in a lacustrine event deposit provides very strong evidence that the deposit was formed by an influx of water from the ocean. The diverse DNA assemblage in the deposit formed by the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami included DNA of marine origin indicating that eDNA has potential as an identifying proxy for tsunami deposits.

Immune-Complex Mediated Mesangial Proliferative Glomerulonephritis with Full-House Pattern Observed During Treatment of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

This study reports a rare case of immune-complex mediated mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (ICGN) with a full-house pattern in a 56-year-old Japanese man, observed during the treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Because of persistent complement deficiency and worsening of kidney function, he was treated with prednisolone, and his urinary findings improved markedly. However, as the complement titers were still low, mycophenolate mofetil was also prescribed, which normalized complement levels.

Consumption of Sodium and Its Ratio to Potassium in Relation to All-Cause, Cause-Specific, and Premature Noncommunicable Disease-Specific Mortality in Middle-Aged Japanese Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Reducing premature noncommunicable disease (NCD)-specific mortality is a global challenge. Sodium is thought to increase risk of NCDs via an effect of salt per se or high-salt foods on hypertension-induced cardiovascular disease (CVD) and gastrointestinal cancer. Further, relative risk of CVD is reportedly more closely associated with sodium-to-potassium ratio than that with sodium alone.