A Case of an Extremely Preterm Infant with Intussusception Triggered by Acquired Cytomegalovirus Infection.

Intussusception is a common cause of intestinal obstruction in infants aged 6-18 months. However, intussusception in preterm neonates (IPN) is an exceedingly rare disorder. The etiology of IPN remains unclear, but common prenatal injuries, such as those causing intestinal hypoxia/hypoperfusion, dysmotility, and strictures, have been proposed as possible contributing factors.

Psychophysiological responses of shame in young children: A thermal imaging study.

Shame can be defined as the emotional response to one's violations of rules being exposed to others. However, it is difficult to objectively measure this concept. This study examined the psychophysiological indicators of shame in young children using behavioral methods and thermography, which measures facial temperatures that reflect blood flow changes related to emotions.

Sequential processing facilitates Hebb repetition learning in visuospatial domains.

Exposure to the same information improves auditory/verbal short-term memory performance, but such improvement is not always observed in visual short-term memory. In this study, we demonstrate that sequential processing makes visuospatial repetition learning efficient in a paradigm that employs a similar design previously used for an auditory/verbal domain. When we presented sets of color patches simultaneously in Experiments 1-4, recall accuracy did not increase with repetition; however, once color patches were presented sequentially in Experiment 5, accuracy did increase rapidly with repetition, even when participants engaged in articulatory suppression.

Visual memory of a co-actor's target during joint search.

Studies on joint action show that when two actors turn-takingly attend to each other's target that appears one at a time, a partner's target is accumulated in memory. However, in the real world, actors may not be certain that they attend to the same object because multiple objects often appear simultaneously. In this study, we asked participant pairs to search for different targets in parallel from multiple objects and investigated the memory of a partner's target.

The contextual cueing effect disappears during joint search in preschool children.

During preschool years, children's interacting with others increases. One of the involved developmental skills is task co-representation, through which children aged 5 years and older represent a partner's task in a similar way to their own task. In adults, task co-representation makes participants attend to and form memories of objects relevant to both their own task and their partner's task; however, it is unclear whether children can also form such memories.

COVID-19 school and kindergarten closure relates to children's social relationships: a longitudinal study in Japan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led children to experience school closures. Although increasing evidence suggests that such intense social quarantine influences children's social relationships with others, longitudinal studies are limited. Using longitudinal data collected during (T1) and after (T2) intensive school closure and home confinement, this study investigated the impacts of social quarantine on children's social relationships.

The neurobehavioral relationship between executive function and creativity during early childhood.

Increasing evidence from behavior and neuroimaging research indicates that executive function (EF) is related to creativity. However, most of these studies focused on adult and adolescent populations. The relationship between EF and creativity is unknown when EF undergoes rapid development during early childhood, due to the preschoolers' marginal skills of expressing their ideas, orally or in writing.

A novel gradient and multilayered sheet with a silk fibroin/polyvinyl alcohol core-shell structure for bioabsorbable arterial grafts.

Bioabsorbable arterial grafts can potentially improve patency and neovessel formation; however, their application in clinical settings has not been realized. In this study, we developed bioabsorbable gradient sheets based on silk fibroin (SF) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with a core-shell nanofibrous structure. This gradient sheet was expected to promote vascular remodeling while we maintained its physical properties and a gradual degrading process from the luminal surface.

Learning of spatial configurations of a co-actor's attended objects in joint visual search.

Regarding the effects of joint action on visual memory, previous research has focused on the memory of a single object that a participant and their co-actor attended together (i.e., a shared situation), while the literature on memory has demonstrated that spatial regularity composed of multiple objects can also be learned.

Development of Cognitive Shifting from Others' Behavior in Young Children: A Near-infrared Spectroscopy Study.

This study examined the neural correlates of cognitive shifting when 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 45) engage in a social Dimensional Change Card Sort, where they sorted cards according to one dimension (execution phase) after observing another person sorting cards according to another dimension (observation phase) using near-infrared spectroscopy. Analyses using ANOVA revealed that older children who successfully performed the task exhibited significant lateral prefrontal activation during both phases, whereas younger children who failed the task exhibited the prefrontal activation only during the execution phases. The lateral prefrontal regions may play a role in cognitive shifting from others' behaviors.

Inhibitory effects of ASP6537, a selective cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitor, on thrombosis and neointima formation in rats.

Introduction: Percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), such as balloon angioplasty and stent placement, are effective in the treatment of coronary artery disease. PCI has drawbacks, however, including acute thrombosis after the procedure and restenosis of the vascular lumen due to abnormal neointimal hyperplasia. ASP6537 is a selective COX-1 inhibitor that has been investigated as a possible candidate for clinical development as an antiplatelet agent.

Additive antithrombotic effect of ASP6537, a selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 inhibitor, in combination with clopidogrel in guinea pigs.

Clopidogrel (Plavix, Sanofi-Aventis), the adenosine diphosphate P2Y receptor antagonist, is reported to be effective in the prevention of cardiovascular events and is often used in combination with aspirin, particularly in high-risk patients. ASP6537 is a reversible cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 inhibitor that is under investigation as an anti-platelet agent. First, we investigated the reversibility of the antiplatelet effect of ASP6537 and its interaction with ibuprofen to compare the usability of ASP6537 with that of aspirin.

Adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy after surgical resection for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Background/aims: The aim of this study was determine the effectiveness of adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy for patients with resected pancreatic cancer.

Methodology: Patients with pancreatic carcinoma who underwent pancreatic resection without adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy (n = 11) or with adjuvant S-1 chemotherapy (n = 10) were included. S-1 was administered orally at a dose of 40 mg/m2 twice daily for 28 consecutive days followed by a 14-day pause.

Hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in super-elderly patients aged 80 years and older in the first decade of the 21st century.

Purpose: We evaluated the preoperative and postoperative characteristics and prognosis of super-elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Four hundred and thirty-one patients who underwent hepatic resection for HCC were classified into three groups according to their age at the time of surgery: super-elderly (≥80 years; n = 20), elderly (70-80 years; n = 172) and younger (<70 years; n = 239). We compared the clinical characteristics, preoperative and postoperative factors and prognosis among the groups to evaluate whether liver resection is appropriate for super-elderly patients.

Changes in laboratory test results and diagnostic imaging presentation before the detection of occupational cholangiocarcinoma.

Objectives: A cholangiocarcinoma outbreak among workers of an offset color proof-printing department in a printing company was recently reported. It is important to understand the clinical course leading to occupational cholangiocarcinoma development for investigation of the carcinogenesis process and for surveillance and early detection. We evaluated the changes in laboratory test results and diagnostic imaging presentation before the detection of cholangiocarcinoma.

Histologically proven hepatocellular carcinoma associated with burned-out nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

A 64-year-old Japanese man was referred to our hospital because of liver dysfunction. He had no history of alcohol intake, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, and he was negative for hepatitis viral markers. His body mass index was 30.

Case series of 17 patients with cholangiocarcinoma among young adult workers of a printing company in Japan.

Background: An outbreak of cholangiocarcinoma occurred among workers in the offset color proof-printing department at a printing company in Japan. The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted in 13 Japanese hospitals between 1996 to 2013.

[Cholangiocarcinoma developing in printing company workers: a new type of occupational cancer].

The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma among the past or present workers in the department of offset color proof-printing at a printing company in Osaka was extremely high. The workers were relatively young and were exposed to several chemicals including organic solvents such as dichloromethane and 1,2-dichloropropane. Although the exact cause of cholangiocarcinoma in the patients remain unknown, it is likely that the development of cholangiocarcinoma was triggered during exposure to these chemicals.

Adjuvant therapy after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis virus.

The outcome after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unsatisfactory because of the high rate of recurrence of HCC, including intrahepatic metastasis originating from the primary carcinoma and multicentric carcinogenesis after surgery. The rate of recurrence, particularly of multicentric carcinogenesis after surgery, is affected by persistent active hepatitis and hepatic fibrosis caused by chronic hepatitis B or C. In patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related HCC, a high viral load is a strong risk factor for HCC recurrence.

ASP6537, a novel highly selective cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitor, exerts potent antithrombotic effect without "aspirin dilemma".

Introduction: Aspirin inhibits both the cyclooxygenase (COX)-1-dependent production of thromboxane A2 (TXA2) in platelets and COX-2-dependent production of anti-aggregatory prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) in vessel walls, resulting in "aspirin dilemma." Our objective is to investigate whether ASP6537 can overcome aspirin dilemma and exert a potent antithrombotic effect without a concurrent ulcerogenic effect.

Methods: We evaluated the inhibitory effects of ASP6537 on recombinant human COX-1 (rhCOX-1) and rhCOX-2 activities using a COX-1/2 selectivity test.

Effect of interferon therapy on first and second recurrence after resection of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim:   Several investigators have shown that interferon (IFN) therapy can suppress the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative treatment. We investigated the effect of IFN therapy on the first and second HCC recurrence following hepatic resection of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC.

Methods:   Subjects included 166 patients who had undergone curative resection for a single HCV-related HCC.

A plastid protein NUS1 is essential for build-up of the genetic system for early chloroplast development under cold stress conditions.

During early chloroplast differentiation, the regulation of the plastid genetic system including transcription and translation differs greatly from that in the mature chloroplast, suggesting the existence of a stage-dependent mechanism that regulates the chloroplast genetic system during this period. The virescent-1 (v(1)) mutant of rice (Oryza sativa) is temperature-conditional and develops chlorotic leaves under low-temperature conditions. We reported previously that leaf chlorosis in the v(1) mutant is caused by blockage of the activation of the chloroplast genetic system during early leaf development.

Pathological study for the effects of in utero and postnatal exposure to diesel exhaust on a rat endometriosis model.

Previous studies have shown that prenatal and postnatal exposure to diesel exhaust (DE), which is known to be one of the main constituents of air pollution, enhances the persistence of endometriosis in a rat model. The aim of this study is to investigate the pathological changes induced by DE exposure in a rat model of endometriosis. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to DE or clean air beginning on gestational day 2 and neonatal rats were persistently exposed to DE or clean air.