Pre-Reconstruction Processing with the Cycle-Consist Generative Adversarial Network Combined with Attention Gate to Improve Image Quality in Digital Breast Tomosynthesis.

The current study proposed and evaluated "residual squeeze and excitation attention gate" (rSEAG), a novel network that can improve image quality by reducing distortion attributed to artifacts. This method was established by modifying the Cycle Generative Adversarial Network (cycleGAN)-based generator network using projection data for pre-reconstruction processing in digital breast tomosynthesis. Residual squeeze and excitation were installed in the bridge of the generator network, and the attention gate was installed in the skip connection between the encoder and decoder.

Sphingobium yanoikuyae Bacteremia, Japan.

We report a case of Sphingobium yanoikuyae bacteremia in an 89-year-old patient in Japan. No standard antimicrobial regimen has been established for S. yanoikuyae infections.

Polymethylmethacrylate Membrane Dialyzer: Historic but Modern.

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) hollow fiber membranes are one of the synthetic polymer hollow fiber membranes used to the hollow fiber artificial kidney. A PMMA hollow fiber membrane (PMMA membrane) has unique properties including the uniform structure and the adsorption property. Hemodialyzers using PMMA membranes, Filtryzer®, were approved in Japan in 1977 and have been used worldwide for over 40 years and so is a historical hemodialyzer.

Proxy evaluation of dignity expectations and satisfaction of older patients with dementia by family members and nurses.

Aim: Develop a proxy evaluation questionnaire for patients' family members and nurses to evaluate dignity expectations and satisfaction of patients with dementia.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Method: A proxy questionnaire draft was prepared with 30 items on expectations for dignity and 23 items on satisfaction with dignity.

Cellulitis with persistent bacteremia caused by in a patient with mantle-cell lymphoma.

is an organism occasionally isolated in humans but rarely causes bacteremia. We report the first case of cellulitis with bacteremia due to in a patient undergoing mantle-cell lymphoma. A 51-year-old man presented with a two-month history of fever and bilateral leg pain and redness.

Preliminary evidence that different mechanisms underlie the anger superiority effect in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Previous studies have demonstrated that angry faces capture humans' attention more rapidly than emotionally positive faces. This phenomenon is referred to as the anger superiority effect (ASE). Despite atypical emotional processing, adults and children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been reported to show ASE as well as typically developed (TD) individuals.

Characterization of the intronic VNTR polymorphisms found in a paralog of chicken serotonin transporter gene.

Polymorphisms in the neurotransmitter-related genes can be a major source of behavioral variations. We searched for polymorphic sites in chicken neurotransmitter-related genes and identified two variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) loci encompassing the paralog of chicken serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT). Both intronic VNTR were highly polymorphic across chicken breeds and the other Galliformes species, even though predominant alleles were considerably different among breeds.

Involvement of the parasympathetic nervous system in the initiation of regeneration of pancreatic β-cells.

The mechanism that initiates regeneration of pancreatic β-cells is not clear at present. The vagal nerve is implicated in the regulation of gastrointestinal functions, glucose metabolism and proliferation of pancreatic β-cells under physiological conditions. To elucidate the triggering mechanism of the regeneration of pancreatic β-cells, we examined the involvement of the vagal nerve.

[Arbekacin sulfate concentrations in peripheral lymph and in serum after intravenous injection: report of four cases].

Antibiotic levels in serum are commonly used to guide antibiotic therapy. The antibiotic levels in peripheral lymph are a more accurate reflection of the efficacy of antibiotic penetration into the tissues of patients with complicated skin and soft-tissue infections. The pharmacokinetics of arbekacin sulfate (ABK) in peripheral lymph after systemic administration has not been studied.

Essential roles of clinical nurse instructors in Japan: a Delphi study.

In Japan, the clinical nurse instructor is a staff nurse who teaches in clinical practicums. However, there is no consensus on the essential roles that clinical nurse instructors are expected to perform. We conducted a three-round Delphi survey to clarify the essential roles of the clinical nurse instructor in clinical practicums in undergraduate nursing education.

Conophylline suppresses pancreatic stellate cells and improves islet fibrosis in Goto-Kakizaki rats.

Activin A is a differentiation factor for β-cells and is effective to promote β-cell neogenesis. Activin A is also an autocrine activator of pancreatic stellate cells, which play a critical role in fibrogenesis of the pancreas. Conophylline (CnP) is a natural compound, which reproduces the effect of activin on β-cell differentiation and promotes β-cell neogenesis when administered in vivo.

Extracellular matrix modulates insulin production during differentiation of AR42J cells: functional role of Pax6 transcription factor.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates differentiation of pancreatic β-cells during development. However, the mechanism by which ECM proteins modulate differentiation is not totally clear. We investigated the effect of ECM proteins on differentiation β-cells in vitro.

Identification of differentially expressed genes during proliferative response of the liver induced by follistatin.

The liver mass is controlled strictly and maintained constant in normal and pathological situations. An exception is observed after an administration of follistatin, which induces proliferation in intact liver. In the present study, we identified genes differentially expressed in proliferating liver caused by overexpression of follistatin-288.

Expression of the TRPM8-immunoreactivity in dorsal root ganglion neurons innervating the rat urinary bladder.

The neurochemical phenotypes of the transient receptor potential melastatin-8 (TRPM8)-immunoreactive afferent neurons innervating the rat urinary bladder were examined by using a highly sensitive tyramide signal amplification method, combined with wheat-germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) retrograde tracing. TRPM8-immunoreactivity was detected in a small proportion of the WGA-HRP-labeled bladder afferent neurons in the dorsal root ganglia of the Th13-L1 (1.14%) and the L6-S1 (1.

Administration of conophylline and betacellulin-delta4 increases the beta-cell mass in neonatal streptozotocin-treated rats.

The present study was conducted to examine the effect of administration of conophylline (CnP) and betacellulindelta4 (BTCdelta4) on the beta-cell mass in neonatal streptozotocin-treated rats (neonatal STZ rats). STZ (100 microg/g) was injected into neonatal rats, and then CnP (2 microg/g) and/or BTCdelta4 (200 pmol/g) were administered to neonatal STZ rats for 1 week. The plasma glucose concentration was monitored, and an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (ipGTT) was performed on day 8 and at 8 weeks after the STZ injection.

Reversal of streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia by continuous supply of betacellulin in mice.

Previous studies have shown the efficacy of betacellulin (BTC) to promote beta-cell regeneration. Because of its short half-life, however, the effect of BTC may have been underestimated. This study was conducted to assess the effect of continuous administration of BTC on beta-cell regeneration.

Sweet taste receptor expressed in pancreatic beta-cells activates the calcium and cyclic AMP signaling systems and stimulates insulin secretion.

Background: Sweet taste receptor is expressed in the taste buds and enteroendocrine cells acting as a sugar sensor. We investigated the expression and function of the sweet taste receptor in MIN6 cells and mouse islets.

Methodology/principal Findings: The expression of the sweet taste receptor was determined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.

A betacellulin mutant promotes differentiation of pancreatic acinar AR42J cells into insulin-producing cells with low affinity of binding to ErbB1.

Betacellulin (BTC) is one of the members of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) ligand family of ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases. It is a differentiation factor as well as a potent mitogen. BTC promotes the differentiation of pancreatic acinar-derived AR42J cells into insulin-producing cells.

A simple method to induce differentiation of murine bone marrow mesenchymal cells to insulin-producing cells using conophylline and betacellulin-delta4.

The present study was conducted to establish a method to induce differentiation of bone marrow (MB)-derived mesenchymal cells into insulin-producing cells. When mouse BM-derived mesenchymal cells were cultured for 60 days in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum and 25 mM glucose, they expressed insulin. Addition of activin A and betacellulin (BTC) accelerated differentiation, and immunoreactive insulin was detected 14 days after the treatment.

Percentages of positive cores, cancer length and Gleason grade 4/5 cancer in systematic sextant biopsy are all predictive of adverse pathology and biochemical failure after radical prostatectomy.

Aim: We investigated whether the quantitative parameters of systematic sextant biopsies were predictive of either adverse pathological findings or disease recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP).

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated a total of 117 men with untreated prostate cancer whose needle biopsies were matched with RP specimens. The pretreatment parameters of the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), the PSA density, the percentage of positive biopsy cores, the percentage of cancer length and the percentage of Gleason grade 4/5 cancer in the biopsy were determined and compared with the pathological features of prostate cancer in RP specimens.

Immunological evaluation of neoadjuvant peptide vaccination before radical prostatectomy for patients with localized prostate cancer.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and immune responses of pre-operative personalized peptide vaccine for patients with localized prostate cancer.

Method: Ten human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A24(+) patients with localized prostate cancer received weekly personalized peptide vaccine for six times with positive peptides (up to four kinds of peptides) from 16 kinds of vaccine candidates, followed by a retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP). Eight patients with localized prostate cancer receiving RRP served as the control group.

In vitro transdifferentiation of mature hepatocytes into insulin-producing cells.

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of pancreatic duodenal homeobox transcription factor PDX-1, especially its super-active version (PDX-1/VP16), induces the expression of pancreatic hormones in murine liver and reverses streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia. Histological analyses suggest that hepatocytes are the major source of insulin-producing cells by PDX-1 gene transfer, although the conversion of cultured hepatocytes into insulin-producing cells remains to be elucidated. The present study was conducted to address this issue.

Differentiation of adult hepatic stem-like cells into pancreatic endocrine cells.

To apply cell transplantation for treatment of diabetes mellitus, a sufficient number of beta-cell sources are required. In the present study, we examined whether an epithelial cell line obtained from normal adult rat liver, namely hepatic stem-like (HSL) cells, which can be converted to both hepatocytes and billiary epithelial cells, could be a potential beta-cell source. The growth speed of HSL cells was rapid and these cells were easily expanded in vitro.