Quality of skeletal muscles during allogeneic stem-cell transplantation: a pilot study.

Objectives: This study investigated the muscle fat fraction (FF) and muscle-related parameters before and after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).

Methods: Fat and water signals were derived from the in-phase and out-of-phase MR signal intensities of the pelvis and thigh using the two-point Dixon technique. They were analysed using Synapse Vincent, and muscle quality was evaluated using the FF.

Andexanet Alfa for Edoxaban Reversal and Associated Thromboelastography Changes in Surgical Pulmonary Embolectomy.

Andexanet alfa neutralizes factor Xa inhibitors in critical bleeding situations. However, in cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), heparin resistance induced by andexanet alfa should be a concern, and the lack of point-of-care monitoring of plasma concentration of factor Xa inhibitors makes it difficult to decide when to administer andexanet alfa. A 69-year-old man underwent emergency surgery for acute pulmonary thromboembolism.

Skeletal muscle mass during chemotherapy for haematological malignancies: a retrospective study.

Objective: This study investigated whether baseline or alteration in muscle mass affects complications during chemotherapy or overall survival (OS) in haematological malignancies.

Methods: Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) was evaluated by bioimpedance analysis before and after chemotherapy in patients with haematological malignancies, and the association between muscle mass and clinical data was retrospectively analysed.

Results: Exactly 104 patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 62.

Impact of sarcopenia defined by carina-level skeletal muscle mass on the long-term prognosis of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Sarcopenia, defined using abdominal computed tomography (CT), has been used as a prognostic marker for patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, no consensus on the impact of sarcopenia as defined using chest CT exists. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of sarcopenia, defined using CT at the carina-level, on the long-term prognosis of patients with IPF.

Characteristics of the stand-to-sit motion in healthy older women : Evaluation of sitting impact by measurement of ground reaction forces.

Objectives : The aims of this study were to examine the biomechanics of StandTS movements in older adults and to identify their optimal StandTS motion by measuring sitting impact forces. Methods : Healthy older women (n = 17) and healthy young women (n = 18) were asked to perform SitTS and StandTS motions at a natural speed using a chair. We measured the ground reaction forces from the participants' feet and the chair, the angle of the trunk and ankle, vertical velocity, and postural muscle activities using a force plate, motion analyzer, and electromyography, respectively.

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and patient falls: impact of lower extremity muscle strength.

Objectives: Patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) have a higher risk of falls than those receiving other therapies for haematological disorders. This study aimed to investigate the impact of pretransplant lower extremity muscle strength (LEMS) on post-transplant falls.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, patients aged ≥18 years who underwent allo-HSCT were included.

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation-clinical outcomes: impact of leg muscle strength.

Objectives: Muscle strength decline is reported to predict mortality in many cancers. However, there is little knowledge of the relation between muscle strength decline and clinical outcomes of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). This study aimed to determine the impact of pre-transplant lower extremity muscle strength (LEMS) on post-transplant overall survival (OS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM).

The effect of home-based preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation before lung resection: A retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the effect of home-based preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation (HBPPR) on the incidence of postoperative complications, length of stay (LOS), and duration of intercostal catheterization in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who underwent lung resection.

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 144 patients who underwent lung resection were recruited, 51 of whom received HBPPR, comprising respiratory muscle training and was supervised (for patients undergoing it for the first time). Patients continued these programs for 2-4 weeks during the preoperative waiting period, in their homes.

Impact of preoperative 6-minute walk distance on long-term prognosis after esophagectomy in patients with esophageal cancer.

Background: The 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) is a simple way of assessing exercise capacity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between preoperative 6MWD and long-term prognosis after esophagectomy.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study involved 108 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer between 2013 and 2020.

Watch-and-wait strategy for type A intramural haematoma and acute aortic dissection with thrombosed false lumen of the ascending aorta: a Japanese single-centre experience.

Objectives: In this study, we investigated the early and midterm outcomes of initial watch-and-wait strategy for Stanford type A intramural haematoma and acute aortic dissection with thrombosed false lumen of the ascending aorta in patients with a maximum aortic diameter of ≤50 mm, pain score of ≤3/10 and no ulcer-like projection in the ascending aorta.

Methods: Inpatient and outpatient records were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: Of the 81 patients with type A intramural haematoma and acute aortic dissection with the thrombosed false lumen of the ascending aorta between April 2011 and April 2019, a watch-and-wait strategy was selected in 46 patients.

Gait and posture assessments of a patient treated with deep brain stimulation in dystonia using three-dimensional motion analysis systems.

Kinesiologic analysis of gait disorders, postural instabilities and abnormal movements is quite difficult to assess objectively by clinical observation, such as by specific scale and video recordings. In this study, we reported one of the aspects of the usefulness of three-dimensional motion analysis (Vicon Systems, Oxford, United Kingdom), which can measure inclusive data of movement disorders and substitute for conventional assessments. A 49-year-old man who had various dystonic symptoms, mainly on his left side of the body, responded well to deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Synthesis of unnatural alkaloid scaffolds by exploiting plant polyketide synthase.

HsPKS1 from Huperzia serrata is a type III polyketide synthase (PKS) with remarkable substrate tolerance and catalytic potential. Here we present the synthesis of unnatural unique polyketide-alkaloid hybrid molecules by exploiting the enzyme reaction using precursor-directed and structure-based approaches. HsPKS1 produced novel pyridoisoindole (or benzopyridoisoindole) with the 6.

Relationship between Barthel Index scores during the acute phase of rehabilitation and subsequent ADL in stroke patients.

The Barthel Index (BI) cannot be used to measure initial stroke severity or by extension, to stratify patients by severity in acute stroke trials because most patients are bedbound in the first few hours after stroke, either by their deficit or by medical directive. Our objectives were to clarify the threshold of acute BI for use in the prediction of subsequent independence in activities of daily living (ADL) and to assist in the definition of acute stroke rehabilitation goals. Subjects comprised 78 patients out of 191 inpatients admitted with acute stroke at our hospital during 2006-2007.

Trimeric structure and conformational equilibrium of M-ficolin fibrinogen-like domain.

Ficolins are pathogen-recognition molecules in innate immune systems. The crystal structure of the human M-ficolin recognition domain (FD1) has been determined at 1.9 A resolution, and compared with that of the human fibrinogen gamma fragment, tachylectin-5A, L-ficolin and H-ficolin.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of a plant type III polyketide synthase that produces benzalacetone.

Benzalacetone synthase (BAS) from Rheum palmatum is a plant-specific type III polyketide synthase that catalyzes the one-step decarboxylative condensation of 4-coumaroyl-CoA with malonyl-CoA to produce the diketide 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-but-3-en-2-one. Recombinant BAS expressed in Escherichia coli was crystallized by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belong to space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 54.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of an octaketide-producing plant type III polyketide synthase.

Octaketide synthase (OKS) from Aloe arborescens is a plant-specific type III polyketide synthase that produces SEK4 and SEK4b from eight molecules of malonyl-CoA. Recombinant OKS expressed in Escherichia coli was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belonged to space group I422, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 110.

Structure of the biotin carboxylase domain of pyruvate carboxylase from Bacillus thermodenitrificans.

The biotin carboxylase (BC) domain of pyruvate carboxylase (PC) from Bacillus thermodenitrificans (BC-bPC) was crystallized in an orthorhombic form (space group P2(1)2(1)2(1)), with unit-cell parameters a = 79.6, b = 116.0, c = 115.

Expression, purification and crystallization of a human tau-tubulin kinase 2 that phosphorylates tau protein.

Tau-tubulin kinase 2 (TTBK2) is a Ser/Thr kinase that putatively phosphorylates residues Ser208 and Ser210 (numbered according to a 441-residue human tau isoform) in tau protein. Functional analyses revealed that a recombinant kinase domain (residues 1-331) of human TTBK2 expressed in insect cells with a baculovirus overexpression system retains kinase activity for tau protein. The kinase domain of TTBK2 was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of an acridone-producing novel multifunctional type III polyketide synthase from Huperzia serrata.

Polyketide synthase 1 (PKS1) from Huperzia serrata is a plant-specific type III polyketide synthase that shows an unusually versatile catalytic potential, producing various aromatic tetraketides, including chalcones, benzophenones, phlorogulucinols and acridones. Recombinant H. serrata PKS1 expressed in Escherichia coli was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method.

Structural insight into chain-length control and product specificity of pentaketide chromone synthase from Aloe arborescens.

The crystal structures of a wild-type and a mutant PCS, a novel plant type III polyketide synthase from a medicinal plant, Aloe arborescens, were solved at 1.6 A resolution. The crystal structures revealed that the pentaketide-producing wild-type and the octaketide-producing M207G mutant shared almost the same overall folding, and that the large-to-small substitution dramatically increases the volume of the polyketide-elongation tunnel by opening a gate to two hidden pockets behind the active site of the enzyme.

Trivalent recognition unit of innate immunity system: crystal structure of trimeric human M-ficolin fibrinogen-like domain.

Ficolins are a kind of pathogen-recognition molecule in the innate immune systems. To investigate the discrimination mechanism between self and non-self by ficolins, we determined the crystal structure of the human M-ficolin fibrinogen-like domain (FD1), which is the ligand-binding domain, at 1.9A resolution.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of a novel plant type III polyketide synthase that produces pentaketide chromone.

Pentaketide chromone synthase (PCS) from Aloe arborescens is a novel plant-specific type III polyketide synthase that catalyzes the formation of 5,7-dihydroxy-2-methylchromone from five molecules of malonyl-CoA. Recombinant PCS expressed in Escherichia coli was crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals belonged to space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 73.

Overexpression, purification and preliminary crystallographic analysis of human M-ficolin fibrinogen-like domain.

Ficolins, which are comprised of a collagen-like domain and a fibrinogen-like domain, are a kind of pattern-recognition molecule for pathogens in the innate immunity system. To investigate the molecular mechanism of the discrimination between self and non-self by ficolins, human M-ficolin fibrinogen-like domain (FD1), which contains the ligand-binding site, was overexpressed in Pichia pastoris, purified and crystallized using the vapour-diffusion method at 293 K. The crystals belong to the monoclinic space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 55.