Regression of bilateral persistent primitive ophthalmic artery: a case report.

Purpose: We report a case of regression of a 2-year-old girl with bilateral primitive ophthalmic arteries (POAs).

Case Report: The patient presented with a headache and had no visual impairment or visual field abnormalities. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) revealed arteries originating bilaterally from the cavernous internal carotid artery segments, diagnosed as persistent POAs.

Possible involvement of up-regulated salt-dependent glucose transporter-5 (SGLT5) in high-fructose diet-induced hypertension.

Excessive fructose intake causes a variety of adverse conditions (e.g., obesity, hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance and uric acid overproduction).

Topical Infection of Cordyceps militaris in Silkworm Larvae Through the Cuticle has Lower Infectivity Compared to Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae.

Topical infection of entomopathogenic fungi in insects occurs when the fungal conidia attach to the insect's surface (cuticle), germinate, and then form appressoria that penetrate the cuticle and enter their bodies. In this study, we inoculated silkworm larvae with three entomopathogenic fungi, Cordyceps militaris, Beauveria bassiana, and Metarhizium anisopliae, and investigated their mechanisms of infection. Attachment of the conidia of the three entomopathogenic fungi to the surface of silkworm larvae was observed under a microscope.

Effect of the thyroid transcription factor 1 expression and treatment discontinuation due to adverse events on progression-free survival in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer treated with pembrolizumab plus pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy: a Japanese four-hospital, retrospective study.

Although a significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) has been reported in the thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) positive patients under treatment for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NS-NSCLC), including immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, the association between TTF-1 expression and adverse event occurrence remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of TTF-1 and its adverse events on PFS during pembrolizumab plus pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy for NS-NSCLC. Patients who received the pembrolizumab plus pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy from 1/1/2018 to 12/31/2022 and whose TTF-1 expression was measured were included in the study.

Involvement of α-klotho in growth hormone (GH) signaling.

Growth hormone (GH) exerts multiple effects on different organs directly or via its main mediator, insulin-like growth factor1 (IGF1). In this study, we focused on the novel relationship between GH action and the antiaging hormone α-klotho. Immunofluorescent staining of α-klotho was observed in the renal distal tubules and pituitary glands of somatostatin- and GH-positive cells in wild-type (WT) mice.

The Potential Role of Preoperative Posterior Cerebral Artery Involvement in Predicting Postoperative Transient Neurological Deficits and Ischemic Stroke After Indirect Revascularization in Patients With Moyamoya Disease.

Objective: Transient neurological deficits (TNDs) are known to develop after direct bypass for Moyamoya disease and may be risk factors for subsequent stroke. However, the factors involved in the development of TNDs and stroke after indirect revascularization alone, including their association with subsequent stroke, remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue.

Potential Utility of Urinary Follistatin as a Non-Invasive Indicator of Acute Tubular Damage in Patients with Acute Kidney Injury.

Activin A is known to impede tubular repair following renal ischemia, whereas exogenous follistatin, an activin A antagonist, has been shown to ameliorate kidney damage in rats. Despite these findings, the precise role of endogenous follistatin in the kidney has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the localization of follistatin in the normal human kidney and its potential utility as a marker for acute kidney injury (AKI).

Characteristics of donor vessels and cerebral blood flow in the chronic phase after combined revascularization surgery for moyamoya disease.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze whether the development of donor vessels after combined revascularization surgery for moyamoya disease (MMD) is related to cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 11 adult (12 hemispheres) and 13 pediatric (19 hemispheres) patients who underwent combined revascularization in our department. The total vessel cross-sectional area (TVA) was the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the superficial temporal, middle meningeal, and deep temporal arteries imaged using time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography.

Serum level of full-length connective tissue growth factor reflects liver fibrosis stage in patients with Fontan-associated liver disease.

Background: Chronic liver disease leads to liver fibrosis, and an accurate diagnosis of the fibrosis stage is crucial for medical management. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is produced by endothelial cells and platelets and plays a central role in inducing fibrosis in various organs. In the present study, we tested the validity of measuring the serum levels of two types of CTGF to estimate the biopsy-confirmed liver fibrosis stage.

Applicability of artificial intelligence-based computer-aided detection (AI-CAD) for pulmonary tuberculosis to community-based active case finding.

Background: Artificial intelligence-based computer-aided detection (AI-CAD) for tuberculosis (TB) has become commercially available and several studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of AI-CAD for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in clinical settings. However, little is known about its applicability to community-based active case-finding (ACF) for TB.

Methods: We analysed an anonymized data set obtained from a community-based ACF in Cambodia, targeting persons aged 55 years or over, persons with any TB symptoms, such as chronic cough, and persons at risk of TB, including household contacts.

Higher abundance of Campylobacter in the oral microbiome of Japanese patients with moyamoya disease.

Genetic factors alone cannot explain the pathophysiology of moyamoya disease (MMD), and environmental factors such as an immune response are thought to be involved. Oral and gut microbiomes have attracted attention as environmental factors in the pathophysiology of some vascular and autoimmune diseases. However, the relationship between MMD and these microbiomes is yet to be thoroughly investigated.

Effect of thin-split encephalomyosynangiosis on transient neurological events in revascularization surgery for pediatric patients with moyamoya disease.

Objective: Transient neurological events (TNEs) are among the most important events after revascularization surgery in pediatric patients with moyamoya disease (MMD). Although hemodynamic changes and crying are representative factors of TNEs, brain compression by encephalomyosynangiosis (EMS) is another important cause of TNEs. Therefore, the authors assumed that making the EMS as thin as possible reduces the frequency of TNEs.

Tubule-Derived Follistatin Is Increased in the Urine of Rats with Renal Ischemia and Reflects the Severity of Acute Tubular Damage.

Activin A, a member of the TGF-beta superfamily, is a negative regulator of tubular regeneration after renal ischemia. Activin action is controlled by an endogenous antagonist, follistatin. However, the role of follistatin in the kidney is not fully understood.

The preoperative focal cerebral blood flow status may be associated with slow flow in the bypass graft after combined surgery for moyamoya disease.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between early postoperative slow flow in bypass grafts and preoperative focal cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients who underwent combined surgery for moyamoya disease (MMD).

Methods: The subjects were 18 patients (22 surgeries) who underwent single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) before surgery. The CBF value of the middle cerebral artery territory was extracted from the SPECT data, and the value relative to the ipsilateral cerebellar CBF (relative CBF, or RCBF) was calculated.

Angiographic characteristics of improper watershed shift after STA-MCA bypass in a patient with moyamoya disease: illustrative case.

Background: In patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) who receive superficial temporal artery (STA) to middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass, hypoperfusion remote from the anastomosis site rarely occurs. Watershed shift due to direct bypass has been proposed as the mechanism; however, no report has confirmed this phenomenon using angiography.

Observations: A 48-year-old man presented with transient weakness in his left arm.

Spatially separate cerebral infarction in the posterior cerebral artery territory after combined revascularization of the middle cerebral artery territory in an adult patient with moyamoya disease and fetal-type posterior communicating artery: illustrative case.

Background: Remote cerebral infarction after combined revascularization of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory is rare in patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) with a fetal-type posterior communicating artery (PCoA).

Observations: A 57-year-old woman developed numbness in her right upper limb and transient motor weakness and was diagnosed with MMD. She also had a headache attack and a scintillating scotoma in the right visual field.

Paradoxical symptomatic cerebral blood flow decreases after combined revascularization surgery for patients with pediatric moyamoya disease: illustrative case.

Background: Transient neurological deficits (TNDs) develop after cerebral revascularization in patients with moyamoya disease (MMD). The authors report a rare pediatric MMD case with extensive decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) and prolonged TNDs after combined revascularization.

Observations: A 9-year-old boy presented with transient left upper limb weakness, and MMD was diagnosed.

Correlation between albuminuria and interstitial injury marker reductions associated with SGLT2 inhibitor treatment in diabetic patients with renal dysfunction.

Background: We investigated the effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) administration focusing on its involvement in tubulo-interstitial disorders in diabetic kidney.

Methods: Enrolled patients with diabetic kidney disease received a mean dose of 52.3 mg of an SGLT2i (ipragliflozin) daily.

The usefulness and safety of dexmedetomidine for postoperative sedation in pediatric patients with moyamoya disease.

Objective: After revascularization surgery in pediatric patients with moyamoya disease (MMD), resting and avoiding crying is important. However, this inaction is often difficult because of pain or anxiety. Dexmedetomidine (DEX), which has sedative and analgesic properties, may be useful in reducing those uncomfortable conditions; however, its common side effects include bradycardia and hypotension, which have a risk of decreasing the cerebral blood flow.

Changes in cerebral blood flow in the postoperative chronic phase after combined cerebral revascularization for moyamoya disease with ischaemic onset.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combined revascularization for ischaemic-onset moyamoya disease (MMD) on cerebral haemodynamics by comparing cerebral blood flow (CBF) during the postoperative chronic phase with preoperative CBF. A retrospective cohort of 24 MMD patients (representing 31 surgeries) who received single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) before and more than 6 months after surgery was investigated. The CBF value of each vascular territory was extracted from SPECT data, and the value relative to the ipsilateral cerebellar value (relative CBF, or RCBF) was calculated.

ZnGeO Passivating Interlayers for BaSi Thin-Film Solar Cells.

BaSi is a promising absorber material for next-generation thin-film solar cells (TFSCs). For high-efficiency TFSCs, a suitable interlayer should be found for every light absorber. However, such an interlayer has not been studied for BaSi.

Reduced Relaxant Response to Adenine in the Superior Mesenteric Artery of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

We investigated the vascular response to nucleobase adenine using freshly isolated superior mesenteric arteries of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and its control, Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. Endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent relaxations were assessed in isolated segments in an organ bath. The releases of the metabolites of thromboxane A and prostaglandin I were also detected.

Toxicity of Jegosaponins A and B from Siebold et al. Zuccarini in Prostate Cancer Cells and Zebrafish Embryos Resulting from Increased Membrane Permeability.

(1) Background: Screening of medicinal herbs is one of the most powerful approaches to identifying novel therapeutic molecules against many human diseases. To avoid potential harmful effects during medicinal use, toxicity testing is necessary in the early stages of drug discovery. The objective of this study was to identify the cytotoxic mechanisms of jegosaponin A and B from Siebold et al.

Extracellular Uridine Nucleotides-Induced Contractions Were Increased in Femoral Arteries of Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

Introduction: Femoral arterial dysfunction including abnormal vascular responsiveness to endogenous ligands was often seen in arterial hypertension. Extracellular nucleotides including uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP) and uridine 5'-triphosphate (UTP) play important roles for homeostasis in the vascular system including controlling the vascular tone. However, responsiveness to UDP and UTP in femoral arteries under arterial hypertension remains unclear.