Implementing a Quality Intervention to Improve Confidence in Outpatient Venous Thromboembolism Management.

Introduction: Guidelines recommend that patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) represented by low-risk deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) receive initial treatment at home versus at the hospital, but a large percentage of these patients are not managed at home. This study assessed the effectiveness of a quality intervention on provider knowledge and confidence in evaluating outpatient treatment for patients with VTE in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: A pilot program to overcome obstacles to outpatient VTE treatment in appropriate patients was initiated at Baylor Scott & White Health Temple ED.

Safety and efficacy of 5-aminolevulinic acid phosphate/iron in mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019: A randomized exploratory phase II trial.

Background: 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), a natural amino acid that is marketed alongside sodium ferrous citrate (SFC) as a functional food, blocks severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proliferation in vitro and exerts anti-inflammatory effects. In this phase II open-label, prospective, parallel-group, randomized trial, we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 5-ALA in patients with mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019.

Methods: This trial was conducted in patients receiving 5-ALA/SFC (250/145 mg) orally thrice daily for 7 days, followed by 5-ALA/SFC (150/87 mg) orally thrice daily for 7 days.

Clinical Evaluation of Short (6 mm) and Longer Implants Placed Side by Side in Posterior Partially Edentulous Area: A 3-Year Observational Study.

Background: Short implants have been proposed as an alternative solution for the rehabilitation of atrophic posterior region.

Purpose: To compare the clinical outcomes between 6 mm short implants and conventional implants placed under similar conditions of bone quality and occlusal loading.

Materials And Methods: Nine patients received atone 6 mm implant and one standard-length (8 mm length or longer) implants in a total of 10 partially edentulous areas.

Multimodal single-cell analyses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of COVID-19 patients in Japan.

SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread worldwide. Patients with COVID-19 show distinct clinical symptoms. Although many studies have reported various causes for the diversity of symptoms, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood.

Earliest histopathological changes in COVID-19 pneumonia with comprehensive gene expression analyses: A case series study.

Aims: In COVID-19 pneumonia, early detection and appropriate treatment are essential to prevent severe exacerbation. Therefore, it is important to understand the initiating events of COVID-19 pneumonia. However, at present, the literature about early stage disease has been very limited.

Comparison of the levels of neopterin, CRP, and IL-6 in patients infected with and without SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Neopterin (NP) is a biomarker for activated cellular immunity and is elevated in diseases including viral and bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. However, the clinical assessment of neopterin has not been used for these disorders because the physiological significance of measuring NP is obscure. It would be important to compare the NP profiles with those of other inflammation markers especially in relatively early phase of patients to reveal the significance of NP measurements in pathological states.

An autopsy case of COVID-19-like acute respiratory distress syndrome after mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

We report the first case with COVID-19-like acute respiratory distress syndrome after mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. An 88-year-old woman developed dyspnea several hours after vaccination with the second dose of mRNA-1273. She was hospitalized on day nine due to worsening dyspnea.

Intradermal Hepatitis B Vaccination in Non-responder People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Japan.

We performed a pilot study to assess the immunogenicity and safety of intradermal hepatitis B (HB) virus vaccines in people living with HIV (PLWH). This single-center prospective study was conducted in Yokohama, Japan. Adult PLWH with serum antibodies against HB surface antigen (anti-HBs) <10 mIU/mL at all time points after standard HB vaccination were included.

High titer of antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein among patients receiving neutralizing antibody cocktail therapy with REGN-COV.

Purpose: Casirivimab/imdevimab (REGN-COV), a cocktail of neutralizing antibodies against the receptor-binding domain of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein, was shown to be an effective treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis measure for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We assessed the antibody titers among patients who received REGN-COV with the purpose of evaluating this therapeutic and prophylactic option from the serological point of view.

Methods: We collected serological data of patients with COVID-19 who were treated with REGN-COV 1200 mg (casirivimab 600 mg/imdevimab 600 mg).

Gap junctional intercellular communication attenuates osteoclastogenesis induced by activated osteoblasts.

Osteoblasts participate in both bone formation through the synthesis of extracellular matrix and osteoclast differentiation through the expression of osteoclast differentiation factor. Osteoblasts communicate with each other via gap junctions (GJ), which enable small molecules, such as cAMP, to move to adjacent cells. Therefore, we focused on the role of cAMP propagation between osteoblasts via GJ in the osteoclast-supporting activity of osteoblasts.

Pseudoprogression of lung large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma resembling pancreatic cancer during durvalumab therapy.

A 74-year-old Asian man was referred for numb and painful sensation in the right upper limb. He was diagnosed with lung large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and started receiving durvalumab therapy as second-line treatment. Sixteen days after the first dose, laboratory examination revealed increased liver enzyme levels and a marked inflammatory response.

Recovery from severe persistent COVID-19 without evidence of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in a man with mantle cell lymphoma treated with rituximab.

Lymphoma has been reported to worsen the prognosis of COVID-19 partly because it disturbs the normal production of antibodies. We treated a man with mantle cell lymphoma treated with rituximab, who developed severe COVID-19 with viral shedding that lasted for 78 days. He stayed in the intensive care unit for 28 days and did not respond to any treatment against COVID-19.

Staged Sinus Floor Elevation Using Novel Low-Crystalline Carbonate Apatite Granules: Prospective Results after 3-Year Functional Loading.

The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes of staged sinus floor elevation (SFE) using novel low-crystalline carbonate apatite (COAp) granules. Patients who needed SFE for implant placement were recruited into this clinical trial. A staged procedure (lateral window technique using COAp granules, followed by implant placement after 7 ± 2 months) was employed in 13 patients.

Antibody response after COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 on health care workers in Japan.

Background: Vaccination is one of the most important tools to control the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is little information on the antibody response in humans after the COVID-19 vaccination.

Methods: This single-center, prospective study was conducted in Yokohama, Japan.

On-admission SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia as a single potent predictive marker of critical condition development and mortality in COVID-19.

Background: This study aimed to clarify how SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia is related to COVID-19 critical condition development and mortality in comparison with other predictive markers and scoring systems.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Yokohama Municipal Citizen's Hospital and National Institute of Infectious Diseases. We recruited adult patients with COVID-19 admitted between March 2020 and January 2021.

The U-shaped association of serum iron level with disease severity in adult hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease that leads to severe respiratory failure (RF). It is known that host exposure to viral infection triggers an iron-lowering response to mitigate pathogenic load and tissue damage. However, the association between host iron-lowering response and COVID-19 severity is not clear.

Ether-Functionalized Pyrrolidinium-Based Room Temperature Ionic Liquids: Physicochemical Properties, Molecular Dynamics, and the Lithium Ion Coordination Environment.

The physicochemical properties of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) consisting of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide (TFSA ) combined with 1-hexyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium (Pyr ), 1-(butoxymethyl)-1-methylpyrrolidinium (Pyr ), 1-(4-methoxybutyl)-1-methyl pyrrolidinium (Pyr ), and 1-((2-methoxyethoxy)methyl)-1-methylpyrrolidinium (Pyr ) were investigated using both experimental and computational approaches. Pyr TFSA, which contains two ether oxygen atoms, showed the lowest viscosity, and the relationship between its physicochemical properties and the position and number of the ether oxygen atoms was discussed by a careful comparison with Pyr TFSA and Pyr TFSA. Ab initio calculations revealed the conformational flexibility of the side chain containing the ether oxygen atoms.

Efficacy of a novel membrane comprising a copolymer of L-lactic acid and glycolic acid in osteoblasts in vitro.

In guided bone regeneration (GBR), a barrier membrane is applied to provide a space for bone regeneration to promote cell adhesion, cell proliferation, and bone regeneration by inducing cell migration to the surface of the bone-deficient site. We prepared a non-woven absorbable membrane for GBR comprised of a copolymer of L-lactic acid and glycolic acid (PLLGA) using the dry spinning method. A thin and dense membrane comprising unsintered hydroxyapatite (uHA) and poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) was used for comparison.

Identification of B.1.346 Lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in Japan: Genomic Evidence of Re-entry of Clade 20C.

SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing of samples from COVID-19 patients is useful for informing infection control. Datasets of these genomes assembled from multiple hospitals can give critical clues to regional or national trends in infection. Herein, we report a lineage summary based on data collected from hospitals located in the Tokyo metropolitan area.