Sucrose-preferring gut microbes prevent host obesity by producing exopolysaccharides.

Commensal bacteria affect host health by producing various metabolites from dietary carbohydrates via bacterial glycometabolism; however, the underlying mechanism of action remains unclear. Here, we identified Streptococcus salivarius as a unique anti-obesity commensal bacterium. We found that S.

Impact of Antiplatelet Medication Continuation on Surgical Outcomes after Minimally Invasive Posterior Lumbar Decompression Surgery: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Spinal surgeons face a dilemma regarding the continuation or discontinuation of antiplatelet agents during the perioperative period. Guidelines recommend considering the balance between thrombotic and bleeding risks.

Assessment of retinal pigment epithelium tears in eyes with submacular hemorrhage secondary to age-related macular degeneration.

To assess retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) tears in eyes which underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for submacular hemorrhage (SMH) secondary to age-related macular degeneration and to investigate the prognostic factors of visual outcomes. This study was a retrospective, observational case series that included 24 eyes of 24 patients who underwent PPV with subretinal tissue plasminogen activator and air for SMH. RPE tears were investigated using spectral-domain or swept-source optical coherence tomography images with raster scan, combined confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope near-infrared images and color fundus photographs.

Spatial accuracy of dose delivery significantly impacts the planning target volume margin in linear accelerator-based intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery.

The impact of three-dimensional (3D) dose delivery accuracy of C-arm linacs on the planning target volume (PTV) margin was evaluated for non-coplanar intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). A multi-institutional 3D starshot test using beams from seven directions was conducted at 22 clinics using Varian and Elekta linacs with X-ray CT-based polymer gel dosimeters. Variability in dose delivery accuracy was observed, with the distance between the imaging isocenter and each beam exceeding 1 mm at one institution for Varian and nine institutions for Elekta.

Immunotherapy-extended survival in patients with recurrent pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma following surgery.

Objective: Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma is a relatively rare and aggressive subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with a poor prognosis and early recurrence, and is resistant to conventional therapies. This study investigated the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in improving the survival outcomes of patients with pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma with postoperative recurrence.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 71 patients with pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma who underwent pulmonary resection at Tokyo Medical University Hospital between 2008 and 2022.

Usefulness of Novel Image-Enhanced Endoscopy for Predicting Maintenance of Clinical Remission in Ulcerative Colitis.

Purpose: The performance of endoscopic evaluation of ulcerative colitis (UC) using conventional scoring, including Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) and ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS), is not satisfactory. Recently, the usefulness of novel image-enhanced endoscopy (IEE) such as texture and color enhancement imaging (TXI) and red dichromatic imaging (RDI) has been reported in the endoscopic evaluation of UC. We evaluated the performance of IEEs in UC, particularly focusing on the correlation with MES and UCEIS, and prediction of relapse.

The natural history of CDKL5 deficiency disorder into adulthood.

Knowledge of the natural history of deficiency disorder (CDD) is limited to the results of cross-sectional analysis of largely pediatric cohorts. Assessment of outcomes in adulthood is critical for clinical decision-making and future precision medicine approaches but is challenging because of the diagnostic gap and duration of follow-up that would be required for prospective studies. We aimed to delineate the natural history retrospectively from adulthood.

Relationship Between an SNP and Relapse After Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Unrelated bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a curative treatment for hematological malignancies. While HLA mismatch is a recognized risk factor in unrelated BMT, the significance of non-HLA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) remains uncertain. Cytokines play key roles in several aspects of unrelated BMT.

Insulin Receptor Substrate-2 Regulates the Secretion of Growth Factors in Response to Amino Acid Deprivation.

Insulin receptor substrates (IRSs) are well-known mediators of the insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I signaling pathways. We previously reported that the protein levels of IRS-2, a molecular species of IRS, were upregulated in the livers of rats fed a protein-restricted diet. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological role of IRS-2, whose level increases in response to protein restriction in cultured hepatocyte models.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Epidemiological Trends in Pediatric Cervical Abscess-Forming Infections.

Abscess-forming cervical bacterial infections are rare and serious infections. We retrospectively examined the trends in abscess-forming cervical bacterial infections in children who required inpatient treatment in three periods before (January 2016 to June 2020), during (July 2020 to December 2022) and after the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2023 to June 2024). The study included 96 patients with superficial cervical abscesses and 111 patients with deep cervical abscesses (34 with retropharyngeal abscesses, 51 with peritonsillar abscesses, and 26 with deep neck abscesses).

Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback.

Alexithymia is a psychological trait characterized by difficulty expressing emotions. Previous studies reported that individuals with higher alexithymia have a decreased sense of interoception, which is the sense of monitoring and controlling internal organs. Thus, we hypothesized that internal organ activity (cardiac activities in the present study) was easily affected by false feedback in individuals with severe alexithymia.

Impaired myocardial perfusion and myocardial inflammation of acute myopericarditis associated with COVID-19.

Unlabelled: Myocarditis and pericarditis, or myopericarditis, is a rare, albeit life-threatening, cardiac complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although most patients recover from myocardial inflammation within weeks of the acute infection, there are concerns about acute and long-term myocardial injury. Coronary microvascular dysfunction and myocardial inflammation in the affected myocardium might be key factors in developing acute COVID-19-associated myopericarditis.

Myeloablative conditioning in cord blood transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia patients is efficacious only until age 55.

Umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT) is accepted as an effective treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC), rather than myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimens allowed elderly patients to be treated safely. However, appropriate intensities of conditioning regimens are still unclear, especially for middle-aged patients. To compare outcomes after RIC and MAC regimens, we analyzed AML patients aged 16 years or older in the Japanese registry database, who underwent single cord unit CBT between 2010-2019.

Gemcitabine-Based Chemotherapy for Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Identifying the Appropriate Dose and Schedule.

Background In 2024, reimbursement for gemcitabine-docetaxel therapy (GEM-DOC; gemcitabine 900 mg/m on days 1 and 8 and docetaxel 70 mg/m on day 8 every 21 days, GEM 900-DOC 70) to treat recurrent/metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) was made in Japan. Methods We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of advanced/metastatic STS patients who underwent off-label gemcitabine-containing chemotherapy at the Cancer Institute Hospital of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research between February 2007 and October 2019. Results Of 115 enrolled patients, 51 were treated with GEM-DOC (26 patients received the dose as previously stated) and the other 64 with gemcitabine monotherapy.

Endoscopic radial incision and cutting using balloonassisted enteroscopy for small intestinal stenosis related to Crohn's disease: a pilot study.

Background/aims: Radial incision and cutting (RIC) is an alternative dilation method for stenosis of the lower gastrointestinal tract. However, its safety and efficacy for the small intestine requiring balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE) remain limited. Therefore, this pilot study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of RIC using BAE.

Single-molecule microscopy reveals that importin α slides along DNA while transporting cargo molecules.

Importin α is a crucial player in the nucleocytoplasmic transport of nuclear localization signal (NLS)-containing cargo proteins and is suggested to bind to DNA directly. We hypothesized that importin α, after binding to DNA, may move along DNA via sliding or hopping. We investigated the movement dynamics of importin αs fused to AcGFP along DNA using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy and single-tethered DNA arrays.

Tucatinib and trastuzumab in HER2-mutated metastatic breast cancer: a phase 2 basket trial.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2, also known as ERBB2) signaling promotes cell growth and differentiation, and is overexpressed in several tumor types, including breast, gastric and colorectal cancer. HER2-targeted therapies have shown clinical activity against these tumor types, resulting in regulatory approvals. However, the efficacy of HER2 therapies in tumors with HER2 mutations has not been widely investigated.

The incidence and risk factor for febrile urinary tract infection after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical cystectomy in bladder cancer patients.

Introduction: Febrile urinary tract infections are major complications of radical cystectomy; however, their characteristics after robot-assisted radical cystectomy remain unclear. Thus, we investigated the rate, severity, pathogens, and risk factors of febrile urinary tract infections after robot-assisted radical cystectomy.

Patients And Methods: Patients who underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy at three institutions between April 2018 and March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.

Screening of Aβ and phosphorylated tau status in the cerebrospinal fluid through machine learning analysis of portable electroencephalography data.

Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) through pathological markers is typically costly and invasive. This study aims to find a noninvasive, cost-effective method using portable electroencephalography (EEG) to detect changes in AD-related biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A total of 102 patients, both with and without AD-related biomarker changes (amyloid beta and phosphorylated tau), were recorded using a 2-minute resting-state portable EEG.

Managing emotions in everyday life: Why a toolbox of strategies matters.

Emerging research indicates that people use multiple strategies to manage their emotions in everyday life. Yet, we know little about what these strategy combinations look like, how they function, or how individual differences influence these phenomena. We addressed these issues in two, 2-week daily diary studies performed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic ( = 422; data collected April and September 2020).

Spontaneous resumption of severe infranodal conduction disturbances that followed COVID-19 vaccination.

We report reversible severe infranodal conduction disturbances that followed COVID-19 vaccination in a young woman. Right and left bundle branch conduction were impaired and recovered at different times, resulting in reversible paroxysmal complete atrioventricular block.

Open-Door Cervical Laminoplasty Using Instrumentation of Every Level Versus Alternate Levels: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: In the setting of cervical open-door laminoplasty, the question of whether or not every opened laminar level should be instrumented has not been sufficiently investigated. We postulated that the surgical outcomes of open-door laminoplasty with instrumentation of every second opened level (skip-fixation) might not be inferior to those of laminoplasty with instrumentation of every opened level (all-fixation). The purpose of the present study was to test the noninferiority of laminoplasty with skip-fixation in improving myelopathy at 2 years postoperatively compared with all-fixation.

Potential of spectral imaging generated by contrast-enhanced dual-energy CT for lung cancer histopathological classification - A preliminary study.

Purpose: The potential of spectral images, particularly electron density and effective Z-images, generated by dual-energy computed tomography (DECT), for the histopathologic classification of lung cancer remains unclear. This study aimed to explore which imaging factors could better reflect the histopathological status of lung cancer.

Method: The data of 31 patients who underwent rapid kV-switching DECT and subsequently underwent surgery for lung cancer were analyzed.