Efficacy and safety of a novel multihole fully covered self-expandable metallic stent for malignant distal biliary obstruction: Multicenter retrospective study.

Objectives: Covered self-expandable metallic stents (CSEMS) are effective for managing malignant distal biliary obstruction (MDBO). However, migration is a significant problem, which requires prevention. The novel multihole fully CSEMS (MHSEMS), which features multiple small holes on the covered membrane, is expected to prevent migration.

Case Report: Long-term suppression of relapses by dimethyl fumarate in a relapsing pediatric patient with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease manifesting as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, unilateral optic neuritis, and seizure episodes.

Background: Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated diseases (MOGAD), which has been recognized as a distinct entity in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, often presents with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) symptoms in pediatric patients. Appropriate treatment based on accurate diagnosis is challenging in relapsing pediatric patients with MOGAD.

Case Presentation: An 11-year-old girl experienced relapses four times, exhibiting brainstem symptoms, an ADEM episode, seizures, and optic neuritis (ON).

[Mechanism of Microglial Surveillance and Protection against Alexander Disease Pathology].

Alexander disease, also known as primary astrocyte disease, is a neurological disorder caused by mutations in the astrocyte-specific gene GFAP. The most prominent pathological finding is Rosenthal fiber formation within the astrocyte cytoplasm, which is primarily composed of GFAP and heat shock proteins (α-B crystalline, HPS27). Although astrocyte-derived changes may have widespread effects on the central nervous system, resulting in pathological changes and clinical manifestations, the etiological mechanisms of the disease remain underexplored.

[Efficacy and safety of ferric carboxymaltose in patients with inflammatory bowel disease].

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a prevalent complication in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) is a new intravenous iron formation that has been available for IDA in Japan since 2020. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of FCM in patients with IBD and IDA.

"Latent Preference Representation in the Human Brain for Scented Products: Effects of Novelty and Familiarity".

Decoding latent preferences for novel products is crucial for understanding decision-making processes, especially when subjective evaluations are unclear. Brain activity in regions like the medial orbitofrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) correlates with subjective preferences. However, whether these regions represent preferences toward novel products and whether coding persists after familiarity remain unclear.

Disease-Associated Factors at the Endoplasmic Reticulum-Golgi Interface.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi interface is essential for directing the transport of proteins synthesized in the ER to the Golgi apparatus via the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment, as well as for recycling proteins back to the ER. This transport is facilitated by various components, including COPI and COPII coat protein complexes and the transport protein particle complex. Recently, the ER-Golgi transport pathway has gained attention due to emerging evidence of nonvesicular transport mechanisms and the regulation of trafficking through liquid-liquid phase separation.

Comprehensive invitro evaluation of the inhibitory effects of relatively high molecular weight peptides on drug-drug interaction-associated four liver transporters and its association with physicochemical properties.

In recent years, advances in peptide synthesis have enabled the construction of relatively high molecular weight (Mw; >1 kDa) peptides using various types of amino acids (AAs), including proteinogenic/natural and nonnatural AAs. This advancement helps in obtaining peptides with improved stability, cell membrane permeability, and/or target-binding affinity. However, drug-drug interaction (DDI) information for these peptides remains scarce.

Relationship of sleep and activity, assessed via a wristwatch-type pulsimeter with an accelerometer, with health status in community-dwelling older adults: A preliminary study.

Wearable devices have the potential to promote a healthy lifestyle; however, studies on the use of wearable devices in monitoring health in older adults are limited. We aimed to investigate the relationship of sleep and activity data with health status among older adults. Fifty-five community-dwelling older adults were asked to wear a wristwatch-type wearable device (the Pulsense [PS]) and measure home blood pressure (HBP) over a period of 5-7 consecutive days.

Various Methods to Detect Small GTPase Activation: From Radioisotope-Based Methods to the Small GTPase ActIvitY ANalyzing (SAIYAN) System.

Small GTPases act as molecular switches regulating various cellular processes by cycling between the GDP- and GTP-bound states. Several methods, including radioisotope-based nucleotide exchange assays, effector-binding pull-down assays, and fluorescence-based biosensor methods, have been developed to assess the activation of small GTPases. In vitro techniques mainly provide quantitative insights, whereas live-cell imaging approaches facilitate the real-time monitoring of the activation dynamics of small GTPases.

Altered development and lignin deposition in rice p-COUMAROYL ESTER 3-HYDROXYLASE loss-of-function mutants.

The aromatic composition of lignin greatly influences the potential utility of lignocellulosic biomass. Previously, we generated transgenic rice plants with altered lignin aromatic composition and enhanced biomass utilization properties by suppressing the expression of p-COUMAROYL ESTER 3-HYDROXYLASE (C3'H). While RNAi-derived C3'H-knockdown lines displayed relatively normal growth with substantially augmented levels of p-hydroxyphenyl-type lignin units, genome-edited C3'H-knockout lines exhibited severely impaired growth phenotype, leading to arrested seedling development.

Effect of sunlight aging on physicochemical properties and sorption capacities of environmental microplastics: implications for contamination by PAHs.

This study investigates the effects of ultraviolet (UV) aging on the physicochemical properties and adsorption capacity of three plastics commonly detected in the environment: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS). One set of plastic samples was exposed to Xe-based simulated sunlight for up to 5 days and another set to outdoor conditions for up to 69 days. The physicochemical properties and ability of the pristine and aged plastic particles to adsorb pyrene, a representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), are evaluated.

Somatosensory training: a systematic review and meta-analysis with methodological considerations and clinical insights.

Somatosensory training, which involves repetitive somatosensory stimulation, has been employed to enhance somatosensory performance by modulating excitability in the primary somatosensory cortex. This process, known as perceptual learning, can benefit stroke patients with somatosensory deficits. However, its effectiveness in both healthy individuals and stroke patients has not been thoroughly investigated.

Arabidopsis research in 2030: Translating the computable plant.

Plants are essential for human survival. Over the past three decades, work with the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana has significantly advanced plant biology research. One key event was the sequencing of its genome 25 years ago, which fostered many subsequent research technologies and datasets.

Analysis of SMN protein in umbilical cord blood and postnatal peripheral blood of neonates with SMA: a rationale for prompt treatment initiation to prevent SMA development.

Background: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe genetic neuromuscular disease caused by insufficient functional survival motor neuron protein (SMN). The SMN expression level in the spinal cord is highest during the 2nd trimester of the foetal period. We previously reported the SMN spot analysis in peripheral blood using imaging flow cytometry (IFC) as a biomarker of functional SMN protein expression.

Awake brain MRSI reveals anesthetic sensitivity and regional aging effects on [C]bicarbonate metabolism in mice.

Abnormalities and alterations in the glycolytic pathway in the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases and brain aging have received much attention, as clinical applications of proton-based magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have recently illuminated the elevation of lactate concentrations in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Hyperpolarized [1-C]pyruvate MRS has shown promise for neurological applications because it enables the real-time detection of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation flux. In studies of the mouse brain using hyperpolarized [1-C]pyruvate, there are few reports that the signal of [C]bicarbonate, a product of oxidative phosphorylation metabolized from [1-C]pyruvate, was detected using MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) that allows spatial mapping of metabolism, although there have been reports of [C]bicarbonate signals being detected by pulse-acquire sequences in the entire brain.

A Case of ABO-Incompatible Kidney Transplantation for a False-Positive T and B-Cell Crossmatch Test Due to Anti-A Antibodies.

The recipient was a 50-year-old man with blood type O who was referred to our department for a pre-emptive ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation (KTx), with his wife as the donor whose blood was type A. However, both of the T and B cell complement-dependent crossmatch and flow cytometric crossmatch tests showed positive results. Even though donor-specific antibodies were negative by Luminex, we did not recommend transplantation and he had received dialysis therapy for 3 years.

Pancreatic Mixed Acinar-neuroendocrine Carcinoma in a Patient With a Germline Variant: A Case Report and Genomic Literature Review.

Background/aim: Cowden syndrome (CS)/PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) is a hereditary disorder caused by germline variants. While patients with CS/PHTS have increased risk of various cancers, pancreatic cancer is not typically associated with this syndrome. We report a rare case of pancreatic mixed acinar-neuroendocrine carcinoma in a patient with a germline variant, aiming to understand its molecular characteristics and clinical implications.

Clinical and Molecular Genetic Analyses of a Girl With Isolated Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus due to Contiguous Gene Deletion Involving AVPR2 and L1CAM.

Loss-of-function mutations of AVPR2 and L1CAM result in nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) and L1 syndrome. These diseases are inherited in an X-linked recessive manner. Females with heterozygous variants can be affected owing to skewed X-chromosome inactivation (XCI).

Biomechanical and radiographic advantages of double-level osteotomy over single-level osteotomy for medial knee osteoarthritis with double-level deformity: A retrospective analysis.

Background: Double-level osteotomy is hypothesized to provide superior biomechanical outcomes compared to single-level osteotomy for medial knee osteoarthritis with double-level deformity. However, its advantages remain underexplored.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 20 knees treated with medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy alone or combined with lateral closed wedge distal femoral osteotomy.

Improved Assessment of Juxtacortical Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis Using Highly-accelerated High-resolution Double Inversion Recovery MR Imaging with Deep Learning-based Reconstruction.

Purpose: Recently, a novel deep learning (DL)-based technique for reconstructing highly undersampled MR data (DL-Speed, DLS) has been developed, which demonstrated superior performance over compressed sensing. This study aimed to achieve high-resolution double inversion recovery (DIR) imaging using DLS (DLS-DIR) and compare its diagnostic performance in the detection of juxtacortical multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions with that of conventional DIR (C-DIR).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed MRI data from 25 patients with MS who underwent a comprehensive imaging protocol, including 3D fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), C-DIR, and DLS-DIR.

Association of pre-admission exercise habit with post-discharge outcomes for older patients with heart failure.

Aims: The benefits of exercise in patients with heart failure are well documented. However, to date, the association between exercise habits and prognosis is yet to be evaluated. In this study, we investigated the association between pre-hospital exercise habits and post-discharge prognosis in older adult patients with heart failure.

Bridging Gaps in Oncology: Comparative Analysis of Development and Approval Pathways for Anticancer Drugs and Companion Diagnostic in the United States and Japan.

Companion diagnostics (CDxs) are essential in personalized medicine for oncology, where specific genetic mutations drive treatment decisions. Some differences remain in the regulatory frameworks and approval processes for CDx between the United States (U.S.

Low-dose obinutuzumab for steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome complicated by recurrent rituximab-induced serum sickness and anti-rituximab antibodies.

Background: Rituximab-induced serum sickness (RISS) is a rare drug complication in patients with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS).

Case-diagnosis/treatment: A 7-year-old boy with SDNS exhibited RISS recurrence 8 days after the third rituximab dose. At that time, the patient's antirituximab antibody (ARA) level was extremely high at > 5000 ng/mg, and his serum rituximab drug level was undetectable at < 0.