Internal Structure Dependence of Biodegradation for Polyamide 4 Thin Films in Seawater.

Recently, polyamides have been widely used in various fields due to their excellent durability, thermal stability, and other advantageous properties. However, polyamide products that end up in oceans have become a source of microplastics. For this reason, the development of highly degradable polyamides is greatly desired.

Successful use of gadolinium contrast medium for flow-diverter stent placement in a patient with hypersensitivity to iodinated contrast: A case report.

Gadolinium contrast medium can serve as an alternative to iodinated contrast medium when the latter is unsuitable. In this report, we describe a case of a carotid-ophthalmic aneurysm in which angiograms were obtained using gadolinium contrast medium for flow-diverter stent placement due to the patient's history of bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated contrast medium. To enhance the visibility of gadolinium contrast medium, which typically provides lower contrast compared to iodinated contrast medium, we employed a contrast-enhancing and noise-reducing protocol on our image-guided therapy system.

Surface Depth Analysis of Chemical Changes in Random Copolymer Thin Films Composed of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Silicon-Based Monomers Induced by Plasma Treatment as Studied by Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Neutron Reflectivity Measurements.

In this study, a silicon-based copolymer, poly(tris(trimethylsiloxy)-3-methacryloxypropylsilane)--poly(,-dimethyl acrylamide), thin film was subjected to plasma surface treatment to make its surface hydrophilic (biocompatible). Neutron reflectivity (NR) measurement of the plasma-treated thin film showed a decrease in the film thickness (etching width: ∼20 nm) and an increase in the scattering length density (SLD) near the surface (∼15 nm). The region with a considerably high SLD adsorbed water (DO) from its saturated vapor, indicating its superior surface hydrophilicity.

Difference in structural changes of surfactant aggregates near solid surface under shear flow versus those in the bulk.

In water, the nonionic surfactant pentaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E5) forms multi-lamellar vesicles upon application of shear, attributed to buckling instability of the surfactant layers. In the standard setup for applying shear, a pair of solid substrates is moved in opposite directions, and a non-slip condition at the solid surface is assumed. Based on theoretical predictions, the effective viscosity of the fluid surrounding the membrane is modified in this process, and this confinement may affect membrane fluctuation.

Endovascular treatment for aggressive vertebrobasilar stenosis due to giant cell arteritis: illustrative cases.

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) infrequently presents with progressive symptomatic vertebrobasilar stenosis. Vertebrobasilar GCA is often refractory to medical treatments and can lead to short-term ischemic stroke recurrence, which is associated with a poor prognosis. Endovascular treatment (EVT) is a therapeutic option; however, the optimal timing and indications for its application remain unclear.

Proposal for individual treatment by tubal occlusion factor based on the results of salpingoscopic salpingoplasty.

Aim: As a treatment for tubal infertility, falloposcopic tuboplasty (FT) is one of the options for patients who wish to conceive naturally. Based on the results of FT, we propose an appropriate time of transitioning to assisted reproductive technology (ART) for tubal infertility.

Objects And Methods: We examined the outcomes of cases of tubal infertility during the period from June 1999 through March 2021 who were performed tuboplasty at our hospital using the FT catheter system under laparoscopy.

Neutron scattering studies on dynamics of lipid membranes.

Neutron scattering methods are powerful tools for the study of the structure and dynamics of lipid bilayers in length scales from sub Å to tens to hundreds nm and the time scales from sub ps to s. These techniques also are nondestructive and, perhaps most importantly, require no additives to label samples. Because the neutron scattering intensities are very different for hydrogen- and deuterium-containing molecules, one can replace the hydrogen atoms in a molecule with deuterium to prepare on demand neutron scattering contrast without significantly altering the physical properties of the samples.

Detailed dynamical features of the slow hydration water in the vicinity of poly(ethylene oxide) chains.

Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is a well-known biocompatible polymer and has widely been used for medical applications. Recently, we have investigated the dynamic behavior of hydration water in the vicinity of PEO chains at physiological temperature and shown the presence of slow water with diffusion coefficient one order of magnitude less than that of bulk water. This could be evidence for the intermediate water that is critical for biocompatibility; however, its detailed dynamical features were not established.

Seasonal variations of the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its markers using big-data of health check-ups.

Background: It is crucial to understand the seasonal variation of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) for the detection and management of MetS. Previous studies have demonstrated the seasonal variations in MetS prevalence and its markers, but their methods are not robust. To clarify the concrete seasonal variations in the MetS prevalence and its markers, we utilized a powerful method called Seasonal Trend Decomposition Procedure based on LOESS (STL) and a big dataset of health checkups.

Water Fraction Dependence of the Aggregation Behavior of Hydrophobic Fluorescent Solutes in Water-Tetrahydrofuran.

This work investigates the water fraction dependence of the aggregation behavior of hydrophobic solutes in water-tetrahydrofuran (THF) and the elucidation of the role of THF using fluorescence microscopy, dynamic light scattering, neutron and X-ray scattering, and photoluminescence measurements. On the basis of the obtained results, the following model is proposed: hydrophobic molecules are molecularly dispersed in the low-water-content region (10-20 vol %), while they form mesoscopic particles upon increasing the water fraction to ∼30 vol %. This abrupt change is due to the composition fluctuation of the water-THF binary system to form hydrophobic areas in THF, followed by THF-rich droplets where hydrophobic solutes are incorporated and form loose aggregates.

Activities and Challenges of Sports Pharmacist: A Questionnaire Survey.

We conducted a questionnaire survey with sports pharmacists, who engage in anti-doping, to elucidate the activities and challenges they face in their daily work. A total of 218 responses were obtained with the cooperation of the four prefectural pharmacists' associations. We found that 46.

Clinical, imaging, and molecular features of radiation-induced glioblastomas developing more than 20 years after radiation therapy for intracranial germinomatous germ cell tumor: illustrative cases.

Background: Germinomatous germ cell tumor is highly sensitive to chemoradiotherapy; patients are expected to survive for decades. Many radiation-induced malignant gliomas (RIMGs) occur >10 years after radiotherapy. Standard therapy for RIMGs has not been established because of the lesion's rarity, the patient's shorter survival period, and the risk of radiation necrosis by repeat radiation.

Lymphocyte stimulation test for diagnosing hen's egg yolk-induced enterocolitis syndrome.

Background: There is currently little research into factors predicting the results of an initial diagnostic oral food challenge (OFC) test for food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES).

Objective: The present study aimed to identify predictors of the diagnosis of hen's egg yolk-induced FPIES (HEY-FPIES).

Methods: The present monocentric study was performed at Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Medical Center and included patients who underwent hen's egg yolk OFC (HEY-OFC) between March 2018 and March 2023 to assess for HEY-FPIES.

Quasi-elastic neutron scattering reveals the relationship between the dynamical behavior of phospholipid headgroups and hydration water.

The dynamics of hydration water (HW) in 1,2-dimyristoyl--glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DMPE) was investigated by means of quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) and compared with those observed in 1,2-dimyristoyl--glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC). The headgroup dynamics of DMPE was investigated using a mixture of tail-deuterated DMPE and DO, and the QENS profiles were interpreted as consisting of three modes. The fast mode comprised the rotation of hydrogen atoms in -NH and -CH- groups in the headgroup of DMPE, the medium-speed mode comprised fluctuations in the entire DMPE molecule, and the slow mode comprised fluctuations in the membrane.

Management of autoimmune factor XIII deficiency in a frail, elderly patient.

Autoimmune factor XIII/13 deficiency (aFXIII deficiency) is a rare hemorrhagic disorder, for which typical guideline-directed treatment is aggressive immunosuppressive therapy. Approximately 20% of patients are over 80 years old; however, and optimum management of such patients has not reached consensus. Our elderly patient had massive intramuscular hematoma, and aFXIII deficiency was diagnosed.

Preoperative three-dimensional multifusion imaging aiding successful microvascular decompression of a cerebellopontine angle lipoma: associated hemifacial spasm. Illustrative case.

Background: Cerebellopontine angle (CPA) lipoma-associated hemifacial spasm (HFS) is rare. As the removal of CPA lipomas has a high risk of worsening the neurological symptoms, surgical exploration is warranted only in selected patients. Preoperative identification of the lipoma affected site of the facial nerve, and offending artery are crucial for patient selection and successful microvascular decompression (MVD).

Neutron reflectivity study on the nanostructure of PMMA chains near substrate interfaces based on contrast variation accompanied with small molecule sorption.

In the case of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin films on a Si substrate, thermal annealing induces the formation of a layer of PMMA chains tightly adsorbed near the substrate interface, and the strongly adsorbed PMMA remains on the substrate, even after washing with toluene (hereinafter called adsorbed sample). Neutron reflectometry revealed that the concerned structure consists of three layers: an inner layer (tightly bound on the substrate), a middle layer (bulk-like), and an outer layer (surface) in the adsorbed sample. When an adsorbed sample was exposed to toluene vapor, it became clear that, between the solid adsorption layer (which does not swell) and bulk-like swollen layer, there was a "buffer layer" that could sorb more toluene molecules than the bulk-like layer.

Skin-to-Renal Pelvis Distance Predicts Costovertebral Angle Tenderness in Adult Patients with Acute Focal Bacterial Nephritis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine whether the distance between the skin and the renal pelvis affects the detection of costovertebral angle (CVA) tenderness in patients with acute focal bacterial nephritis (AFBN).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of our patients between April 2013 and June 2019 who were diagnosed as having AFBN. Diagnosis was based on ultrasound or computed tomography with contrast, revealing at least one wedge-shaped area of decreased vascularity and confirmation of fever not attributable to another condition.

Gradient boosting decision tree becomes more reliable than logistic regression in predicting probability for diabetes with big data.

We sought to verify the reliability of machine learning (ML) in developing diabetes prediction models by utilizing big data. To this end, we compared the reliability of gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) and logistic regression (LR) models using data obtained from the Kokuho-database of the Osaka prefecture, Japan. To develop the models, we focused on 16 predictors from health checkup data from April 2013 to December 2014.

Association between functional recovery and medication adherence in schizophrenia.

Aim: Medication adherence is important for achieving functional recovery from schizophrenia and is commonly assessed using the Drug Attitude Inventory-30 (DAI-30). Subscales of the DAI-30, including "awareness of the need for medication," "awareness of the effects of psychiatric drugs," and "impression of medication," have been used to assess medication adherence. To determine which of these subscales are associated with the prognosis of schizophrenia, this study followed patients with schizophrenia to identify the prognosis and examine the subscales related to "recovery.