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.

Severity and prognosis of COVID-19 complicated by autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

Background: The prognosis of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was poor although its survival rate has been improved after the occurrence of the Omicron strain. Autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (APAP), a lung disease caused by macrophage dysfunction induced by anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-neutralizing autoantibodies, is characterized by the deposition of proteinaceous material in the alveolar spaces. The clinical course of COVID-19 in patients with APAP remains unclear and this study aimed to clarify it.

The liver-to-spleen ratio is a risk factor predicting oxygen demand in COVID-19 patients.

Background: We aimed to investigate risk factors predicting oxygen demand in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Patients admitted to Shizuoka General Hospital with COVID-19 from August 2020 to August 2021 were included. First, we divided patients into groups with and without oxygen demand.

Molecular Aggregation Dynamics via a Liquid-like Cluster Intermediate during Heterogeneous Evaporation as Revealed by Hyperspectral Camera Fluorescence Imaging.

A hyperspectral camera (HSC) is a camera with great potential to obtain spectral information at each pixel, together with spatial imaging. HSC fluorescence imaging enables the molecular aggregation dynamics of the evaporative crystallization process to be followed in real-time. The key intermediate liquid-like cluster state for the two-step nucleation mechanism is visualized by the fluorescence color changes of mechanochromic luminescent dibenzoylmethanatoboron difluoride derivatives.

Effectiveness of a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine for the prevention of pneumococcal pneumonia in the elderly with chronic respiratory diseases: a case-control study of a single center.

Background: The effectiveness of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) in preventing pneumococcal pneumonia has been controversial.

Methods: To evaluate the effectiveness of the PPSV23 in elderly outpatients with chronic respiratory diseases, we carried out a case-control study, including 4128 outpatients aged ≥ 65 years, in the respiratory department.

Results: There were 320 vaccinated patients, of which 164 were diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia.

Nerve fiber analysis of the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve in human adult subjects.

Purpose: Fibers of the glossopharyngeal part of the superior constrictor muscle are connected with fibers of the transverse lingual muscle, forming a ring of muscle at the base of the tongue. This group of muscles constrict the midpharyngeal cavity during retrusive movement of the tongue. The purpose of this study is to identify the contribution of the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve to the neuro-motor control of three muscles: the glossopharyngeal part of the superior pharyngeal constrictor muscle, the palatopharyngeal and the palatoglossus muscles.

Ontogeny of Cheliped Laterality and Mechanisms of Reversal of Handedness in the Durophagous Gazami Crab, .

The paired claws in Gazami crabs, , are bilaterally asymmetrical, and asymmetry is remarkable on the distal two segments of the first pereiopod, that is, the dactylus and propodus. Shells are exclusively cracked by use of the right chela, representing handedness. In Gazami crabs, handedness is reversed after autotomy of the right chela.

Subacute invasive pulmonary aspergillosis after chemoradiotherapy for lung cancer.

Subacute invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (SIPA), a rapidly progressive fungal infection of less than three months arising from pre-existing lung lesions, generally afflicts moderately immunocompromised patients. We herein report the case of a 69-year-old man who developed SIPA following chemoradiotherapy for lung cancer and treated with antifungal therapy. He presented with fever, and computed tomography revealed a cavity with surrounding consolidation.

Improved cough- and sputum-related quality of life after initiation of treatment in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: Cough and sputum are the major symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). However, the relationship between these symptoms and treatment for TB is not fully understood. The aim of this prospective study was to clarify the cough- and sputum-related quality of life (QOL) in patients with pulmonary TB before and after initiation of treatment.

Efficacy and Safety of Amrubicin in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients Beyond Third-Line Therapy.

Background: There are no standard cytotoxic treatments for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients beyond third-line therapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of amrubicin in pretreated NSCLC patients.

Methods: The records of NSCLC patients who received amrubicin monotherapy as a third or later line of chemotherapy at Shizuoka General Hospital between April 2007 and March 2015 were retrospectively reviewed.

Metastatic pulmonary malignant melanoma showing a ring-shaped and halo signs.

Classically, metastatic tumours are solid, multiple, well-circumscribed, and rarely cavitary. This rare case of metastatic pulmonary malignant melanoma showed a ring-shaped ground-glass opacity and then the halo sign, depending on the disease progression.

Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia after radiation therapy for squamous cell lung cancer.

Reports of chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) after radiation therapy are limited to breast cancer. We herein describe a case of CEP after radiation therapy for lung cancer. The patient was a 65-year-old man who had asymptomatic peripheral blood eosinophilia but no history of asthma or allergy.

Severe acute asthma caused by Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection.

Asthma exacerbation is associated with respiratory infections, including those by viruses and atypical bacteria. We herein report a case of severe acute asthma in an adult caused by Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) infection.

Anhydrobiosis Affects Thermal Habituation in the Bdelloid Rotifer, Adineta sp.

The bdelloid rotifer of the genus Adineta is a freshwater metazoan characterized by anhydrobiosis, a highly stable state of suspended animation induced by desiccation. This study investigated the influence of anhydrobiosis on the thermal habituation by use of an index, Activity Ratio (AR = the number of active rotifers at each experimental temperature/ number of active rotifers at the 25°C stage). In the first experiment, rotifers were divided into two groups: one group was cultivated at 25°C throughout experiment, and another group was transferred to 15°C for two days.

Forced oscillation technique as a predictor of FEV1 improvement in asthma.

The usefulness of the forced oscillation technique (FOT) for predicting the treatment outcomes in untreated asthmatic patients is unknown. We investigated whether FOT could predict an improvement in FEV1 following treatment. FOT, spirometry, and fractional exhaled nitric oxide were performed in 31 outpatients before and after undergoing a minimum of two months combination therapy of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2-agonists.

Chela asymmetry in a durophagous crab: predominance of right-handedness and handedness reversal is linked to chela size and closing force.

The swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus is a durophagous brachyuran. Right-handed crabs are predominant, but left-handed crabs are also found in nature. Left-handedness may arise from loss of the right crusher.

Association of the forced oscillation technique with negative expiratory pressure in COPD.

Expiratory flow limitation (EFL) during tidal breathing is common in patients with severe COPD, and a major determinant of dynamic hyperinflation and exercise limitation. The negative expiratory pressure (NEP) technique has been the gold standard to detect EFL, while the forced oscillation technique (FOT) has also been reported to detect it. However, the association of FOT with NEP is not fully understood.