Hydrogen is a promising combustion improver for use with ammonia fuels, but a cost-effective method for easily producing hydrogen from ammonia at a high rate has yet to be developed. Here, we show that microwave irradiation instantly triggers oxidative decomposition of ammonia over a Co/CeZrO catalyst to produce hydrogen at a high rate. The microwave irradiation rapidly heats the inside of the catalyst from room temperature to the catalytic auto-ignition temperature of ammonia, thus initiating exothermic oxidative decomposition of ammonia to produce hydrogen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Microplastics have been detected in the atmosphere as well as in the ocean, and there is concern about their biological effects in the lungs. We conducted a short-term inhalation exposure and intratracheal instillation using rats to evaluate lung disorders related to microplastics. We conducted an inhalation exposure of polypropylene fine powder at a low concentration of 2 mg/m and a high concentration of 10 mg/m on 8-week-old male Fischer 344 rats for 6 h a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Ventricular arrhythmia (VA) is a life-threatening condition associated with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). Right bundle branch block (RBBB) is a common conduction disorder in CS; however, its association with VA remains unknown.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between RBBB and VA in patients with CS.
There is growing evidence suggesting an association between severe acute respiratory coronavirus syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and various extrapulmonary diseases since the advent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, case reports of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus (FT1D) following SARS-CoV-2 infection are limited. We encountered a 44-year-old Japanese woman who developed FT1D accompanied by subclinical thyrotoxicosis caused by autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) approximately one week after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is a curative treatment option for multiple myeloma (MM), but few patients are eligible due to its high risk of treatment-related toxicity and relapse. Here, we report the feasibility and efficacy of allo-SCT after myeloablative conditioning with 8 Gy of total body irradiation (TBI) for reducing relapse of MM. We retrospectively analyzed data from 30 consecutive patients who received allo-SCT for MM after 8 Gy of TBI at Japanese Red Cross Medical Center between 2012 and 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Impella (Abiomed, Danvers, MA, USA) is a percutaneous ventricular assist device commonly used in cardiogenic shock, providing robust hemodynamic support, improving the systemic circulation, and relieving pulmonary congestion. Maintaining adequate left ventricular (LV) filling is essential for optimal hemodynamic support by Impella. This study aimed to investigate the impact of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and right ventricular (RV) function on Impella-supported hemodynamics in severe biventricular failure using cardiovascular simulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo retrospectively analyze whether the second revision of the international staging system (R2-ISS) influenced prognosis at treatment initiation in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receiving anti-CD38 antibody-based triplet treatments. High-risk chromosomal abnormalities were examined from diagnosis to treatment initiation and considered positive if detected once. R2-ISS was recalculated at the initiation of treatment and defined as "dynamic R2-ISS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStatistical combinations of searches for charginos and neutralinos using various decay channels are performed using 139 fb^{-1} of pp collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Searches targeting pure-wino chargino pair production, pure-wino chargino-neutralino production, or Higgsino production decaying via standard model W, Z, or h bosons are combined to extend the mass reach to the produced supersymmetric particles by 30-100 GeV. The depth of the sensitivity of the original searches is also improved by the combinations, lowering the 95% C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPosterior thoracic para-aortic lymph node (TPAN) metastasis is a distant metastasis of esophageal cancer. Several case reports have shown that radical esophagectomy and lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN improve the prognosis of patients with cStage IVB esophageal cancer and solitary posterior TPAN metastasis; however, the true value of this procedure is unclear. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of lymphadenectomy for posterior TPAN after induction chemotherapy in esophageal cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBimodal convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are frequently combined with patient information or several medical images to enhance the diagnostic performance. However, the technologies that integrate automatically generated clinical measurements within the images are scarce. Hence, we developed a bimodal model that produced automatic algorithm for clinical measurement (aaCM) from radiographic images and integrated the model with CNNs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe early period of the COVID-19 pandemic limited access to HIV services for children and adolescents living with HIV (C/ALHIV). To determine progress in providing care and treatment services, we describe viral load coverage (VLC) and suppression (VLS) (<1000 copies/ mL) rates during the COVID-19 pandemic in 12 United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)-supported countries. Data for children (0-9 years) and adolescents (10-19 years) on VLC and VLS were analyzed for 12 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries between 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and 2020 (during COVID-19).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF-ε4 allele[s] is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA) in anti-amyloid beta therapy, and is also associated with cerebrovascular risk factors such as hyperlipidemia or atherosclerosis. During AD clinical trials, -ε4 carriers may experience neuropsychiatric adverse events (AEs) related to these risks, complicating the differentiation of ARIA from cerebrovascular events based on symptoms. This study aimed to examine the hypothetical impact of considering the -ε4 allele's risk for non-ARIA AEs during AD clinical trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of Oncostatin M receptor (OSMR) subunit gp130 knockdown on insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism-related signaling pathways and glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells. siRNA-mediated gp130 knockdown was conducted in C2C12 muscle cells, and insulin was added and incubated for 1 h. The cells were cultivated to analyze the mRNA levels of gp130, phosphorylation of STAT3, and glucose metabolism-regulated signaling pathways, and OSM levels in the culture medium were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStone, MH, Hornsby, G, Mizuguchi, S, Sato, K, Gahreman, D, Duca, M, Carroll, K, Ramsey, MW, Stone, ME, and Haff, GG. The use of free weight squats in sports: a narrative review-squatting movements, adaptation, and sports performance: physiological. J Strength Cond Res 38(8): 1494-1508, 2024-The squat and its variants can provide numerous benefits including positively affecting sports performance and injury prevention, injury severity reduction, and rehabilitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[I]β-methyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid ([I]BMIPP), which is used for nuclear medicine imaging of myocardial fatty acid metabolism, accumulates in cancer cells. However, the mechanism of accumulation remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the accumulation and accumulation mechanism of [I]BMIPP in cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcetaminophen (APAP) is an over-the-counter (OTC) drug known worldwide for its safety and efficacy. However, in Japan, OTC drug overdose has become a prominent social problem in recent years due to stricter regulations for other drugs, especially among young people, and APAP is an increasing cause of acute liver injury due to overdose. This report describes three consecutive cases of acute liver failure in young women (22, 22 and 19 years old) due to APAP overdose in December 2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) is reportedly associated with the malignant potential of cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the association between FDG accumulation and tumor metabolism in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Patients And Methods: A prognostic analysis of data from 131 patients with PDAC who underwent FDG-PET/CT before curative-intent pancreatic surgery was performed.
The dimorphic yeast possesses an excellent ability to utilize -alkane as a sole carbon and energy source. Although there are detailed studies on the enzymes that catalyze the reactions in the metabolic processes of -alkane in , the molecular mechanism underlying the incorporation of -alkane into the cells remains to be elucidated. Because adsorbs -alkane, we postulated that incorporates -alkane through direct interaction with it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo reduce the risk of the adsorption of granular activated carbon in the gastrointestinal tract, we successfully produced a hollow-type spherical bacterial cellulose (HSBC) gel containing activated carbon with a particle size of 6 μm. In this study, the aim of which was to develop an effective formulation, we evaluated the stability of activated-carbon-encapsulating HSBC gels under various pH conditions. Activated-carbon-encapsulating HSBC gels (ACEGs) retained the activated carbon without leaking when subjected to agitation in acidic or basic environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective This study assessed the impact of dietary therapy and reduced body weight on the loss of skeletal muscle in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Methods This was a single-center retrospective observational study. We enrolled 129 patients with MASLD who had undergone dietary therapy at our facility.
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