Clinical Significance of Residual Lymph Node Metastasis in Predicting Recurrence After Preoperative Chemotherapy and Surgery for Gastric Cancer.

Background/aim: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is gaining recognition for its potential to improve survival outcomes, with combined neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies under investigation. However, the prognostic significance of post-chemotherapy pathological staging (ypStage) on recurrence-free survival (RFS) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of ypStage, ypT, ypN classification, and histological response rate in predicting recurrence after gastrectomy.

Impact of Perioperative Rehabilitation on Postoperative Length of Hospital Stay for Patients With Gastric Cancer.

Background/aim: Perioperative rehabilitation is effective in preventing postoperative complications and is associated with a shorter length of hospital stay after gastrectomy. However, its impact on short-term outcomes in patients without post-gastrectomy complications has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of perioperative rehabilitation beyond preventing postoperative complications.

Association of Physiological Reserve Obtained from Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing and Frailty with All-Cause Mortality in Patients on Hemodialysis.

Key Points: This study analyzed the prognostic value of reserves obtained from cardiopulmonary exercise testing in patients on hemodialysis. Each reserve (cardiac, autonomic, and muscular) was associated with mortality, with muscle reserve having the highest prognostic accuracy. Patients with physical frailty also had a fairly good prognosis if their physiological reserve is preserved by exercise testing.

Determinants of Longitudinal Changes in Exercise Capacity in Patients With Independent Functioning on Hemodialysis.

Objective: Patients with chronic kidney disease reportedly have decreased muscle oxygen utilization, which most substantially decreases exercise capacity, followed by cardiac reserve. However, determinants of longitudinal changes in exercise capacity in patients on hemodialysis (HD) and the effects of long-term exercise interventions (EI) are unknown. This study was conducted to clarify these concerns.

Comparison of Survival Between ypStage and pStage in Gastric Cancer.

Background/aim: In East Asia, the standard treatment for resectable advanced gastric cancer involves gastrectomy and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy; nevertheless, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is also expected to improve survival rates. However, it remains unclear whether the same criteria can be used to select adjuvant chemotherapy for patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or how survival varies between post-chemotherapy pathological Stage (ypStage) and pathological Stage without chemotherapy (pStage). This study evaluated the long-term outcomes of ypStage and pStage in gastric cancers and investigated the optimal intensity of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients who have received preoperative chemotherapy.

Induction of stearoyl-CoA desaturase confers cell density-dependent ferroptosis resistance in melanoma.

Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death that is induced by inhibiting glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), which eliminates lipid peroxidation. Ferroptosis induction is influenced by the cell environment. However, the cellular states altering ferroptosis susceptibility remain largely unknown.

Association of Postexercise Vagal Dysfunction With Protein-Energy Wasting and Noncardiovascular Outcomes in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Postexercise vagal dysfunction is linked to noncardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients, but the mechanism is unknown. This study aimed to determine the association of cardiovagal neuropathy with systemic inflammation, protein-energy wasting, and noncardiovascular hospitalization.

Methods: This 2-center retrospective cohort study analyzed data from 280 hemodialysis patients who underwent exercise test.

Comparison of intradialytic continuous and interval training on hemodynamics and dialysis adequacy: A crossover randomized controlled trial.

Aim: Circulating blood volume (BV) during exercise changes depending on the intensity and duration, and post-exercise hypotension is observed after continuous exercise. We investigated the safety and efficacy of both interval and continuous IDE at anaerobic threshold (AT) levels with respect to hemodynamic stability and dialysis efficiency.

Methods: In this crossover randomized controlled trial, 16 patients on haemodialysis were subjected to three trial arms, including non-IDE, interval-IDE, and continuous-IDE arms.

Transmission Cycle of Shimokoshi-Type Orientia tsutsugamushi in Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

To demonstrate the transmission cycle of Shimokoshi-type Orientia tsutsugamushi in Shimane Prefecture, field rodents were captured from areas where four human infections caused by the pathogen have been reported. The rodents were investigated for the transmission cycle of the pathogen based on the pathogen's genome, antibodies against the pathogen, and the vector of the pathogen (Leptotrombidium palpale). In addition, the vector was captured from the soil in the study area.

Intramuscular and abdominal fat measured by computed tomography and mortality of hemodialysis patients.

Background: In hemodialysis patients, high body mass index is associated with low mortality while abdominal obesity relates to increased mortality. We aimed to investigate the association between muscle mass, intramuscular fat and abdominal fat measured by abdominal computed tomography (CT), and mortality in this patients population.

Methods: This two-center retrospective cohort study included hemodialysis patients who underwent abdominal CT between January 2013 and December 2018.

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of Mucinous Gastric Cancer.

Background/aim: Mucinous gastric carcinoma (MGC) has a poor prognosis. Due to the differences in clinicopathology factors between MGC and non-MGC (NMGC), it is difficult to compare them. In this study, we compared the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of MGC and NMGC patients.

Co-infection of tick-borne bacterial pathogens in ticks in Inner Mongolia, China.

Tick-borne infectious diseases pose a serious health threat in certain regions of the world. Emerging infectious diseases caused by novel tick-borne pathogens have been reported that are causing particular concern. Several tick-borne diseases often coexist in the same foci, and a single vector tick can transmit two or more pathogens at the same time, which greatly increases the probability of co-infection in host animals and humans and can lead to an epidemic of tick-borne disease.

Association of medial arch support of foot orthoses with knee valgus angle at initial contact during cutting maneuvers in female athletes: a controlled laboratory study.

Background: The effect of medial arch support foot orthoses on kinematics and kinetics of the knee joint has remained unknown.

Methods: Sixteen female collegiate-level athletes volunteered to participate. Participants were asked to perform a 30° sidestep cut using orthoses of 3 different medial arch heights, comprising of the following: (1) "low," a full flat foot orthosis without arch support, (2) "mid," a commercially available foot orthosis with general height arch support, and (3) "high," a foot orthosis with double the commercially available height for arch support to observe the effect on the knee when overcorrected.

Serologic Evidence of Human Exposure to Ehrlichiosis Agents in Japan.

In retrospective analyses, we report 3 febrile patients in Japan who had seroconversion to antibodies against Ehrlichia chaffeensis antigens detected by using an immunofluorescence and Western blot. Our results provide evidence of autochthonous human ehrlichiosis cases and indicate ehrlichiosis should be considered a potential cause of febrile illness in Japan.

An equation to predict peak heart rate for prescribing exercise intensity in middle-aged to older patients requiring hemodialysis.

Purpose: Exercise prescription based on a population-specific physiological response can help ensure safe and effective physical interventions. However, as a facile approach for exercise prescription in hemodialysis population that is based on their exercise capacity has not yet been established, the aim of our study was to develop a unique prediction formula for peak heart rate (HR) that can be used in this population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study measured physical function and HR at peak exercise and anaerobic threshold (AT) during cardiopulmonary exercise tests in 126 individuals.

Impact of grip strength and gait speed on exercise tolerance in patients with pulmonary hypertension without left heart disease.

Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) suffer from poor exercise tolerance due to impaired oxygenation and/or reduced cardiac output. However, the relationship between exercise tolerance and physical function remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between exercise tolerance and physical function in patients with PH.

Distribution of Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee Classification in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis in Japan.

Coronal plane alignment of the knee (CPAK) has recently been proposed as a simple and universal classification system to determine the suitability of a particular phenotype of the knee to a specific alignment strategy for knee replacement surgery. Although racial differences may affect knee alignment, there are no reports on the racial distribution of this classification system. We aimed to clarify the distribution of CPAK classification in patients with osteoarthritis who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Japan.

Serological and molecular survey of tick-borne zoonotic pathogens including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus in wild boars in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan.

Background: Miyazaki Prefecture is one of the hotspots of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) cases and related deaths in Japan since 2013 and other pathogens of tick-borne diseases (TBDs). Japanese spotted fever and scrub typhus are also endemic in this region.

Objectives: A total of 105 wild boars, hunted in 2009, were serologically examined as sentinels for TBDs to indirectly demonstrate the potential hazard of ticks transmitting pathogens to humans in the studied area.

Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Diagnostic Aid for Hypermobile Lateral Meniscus.

Background: Hypermobile lateral meniscus is difficult to diagnose with imaging due to its absence of tears or anomalies. We aimed to clarify the accuracy of the preoperative diagnosis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: The preoperative MRI status of the posterosuperior popliteomeniscal fascicle (sPMF), anteroinferior popliteomeniscal fascicle (iPMF), and popliteal hiatus were examined retrospectively on sagittal images in the hypermobile lateral meniscus group ( = 22) and an age- and gender-matched control group ( = 44).