Inhibition of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 reduces shedding and transmission during co-infection with influenza.

Transmission is the first step for a microorganism to establish colonization in the respiratory tract and subsequent development of infectious disease. is a leading pathogen that colonizes the mucosal surfaces of the human upper respiratory tract and causes subsequent transmission and invasive infections especially in co-infection with influenza A virus. Host factors contributing to respiratory contagion are poorly understood.

Factors affecting the antimicrobial changes during treatment for acute otitis media in Japan: A retrospective cohort study using classification and regression trees (CART) analysis.

Objectives: Factors that affect the change of first-line antimicrobial agents were investigated to further promote their appropriate use.

Methods: This descriptive study used an electronic medical records database. Total 16,353 of the 199,896 patients enrolled between 1996 and 2019 met the inclusion criteria and formed the overall pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) cohort.

Chondroma Arising from the Temporomandibular Joint: A Case Report.

Periarticular chondromas are common in the humerus and femur but rarely occur in the temporomandibular joint. We report a case of a chondroma in the anterior part of the ear. One year prior to his visit, a 53-year-old man became aware of swelling in the right cheek region which gradually increased in size.

Bactericidal effect of lascufloxacin on HEp-2 cell-internalized group A Streptococcus.

Introduction: Although amoxicillin (AMPC) is recommended as first-line therapy for acute pharyngotonsillitis caused by group A streptococci (GAS), it often fails to eradicate infections. Internalization and subsequent intracellular survival of GAS are considered major mechanisms for penicillin therapeutic failure. It is, therefore, desirable to administer drugs that exert bactericidal effects on extracellular and intracellular GAS.

A rare case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa enteritis induced by pembrolizumab.

A 72-year-old male had pseudomonal enteritis related to pembrolizumab. Chemotherapy for hypopharyngeal carcinoma with lung metastasis comprised cisplatin, 5-FU, and pembrolizumab. On day 14 of chemotherapy treatment he had a sudden prominent abdominal bulge, decreased consciousness, and drop in blood pressure in septic shock.

Respiratory quinolones can eradicate amoxicillin-induced mature biofilms and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in biofilms.

Objectives: Biofilm is thought to be involved in the persistent bacterial infections caused by nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of antibiotics against NTHi biofilms.

Methods: A 96-wells pin replicator assay was applied for evaluation of antimicrobial efficacies against NTHi biofilms.

The Roles of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 and 4 in Pneumococcal Nasal Colonization and Subsequent Development of Invasive Disease.

Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, neuronal stimulations widely known to be associated with thermal responses, pain induction, and osmoregulation, have been shown in recent studies to have underlying mechanisms associated with inflammatory responses. The role of TRP channels on inflammatory milieu during bacterial infections has been widely demonstrated. It may vary among types of channels/pathogens, however, and it is not known how TRP channels function during pneumococcal infections.

Non-ellipsometric detection of terahertz radiation using heterodyne EO sampling in the Cherenkov velocity matching scheme.

A new electro-optic (EO) sampling scheme, which we refer to as "heterodyne EO sampling", for detection of pulsed terahertz (THz) waves is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In this heterodyne EO sampling scheme, the intensity change in the optical probe pulse induced by a THz field in a nonlinear crystal is measured without any polarization optics. Applied in combination with the non-collinear Cherenkov velocity matching technique, this method allows one to detect pulsed THz waves efficiently and easily using a simpler optical setup as compared to the conventional ellipsometric EO sampling method.

Efficient electro-optic sampling detection of terahertz radiation via Cherenkov phase matching.

We experimentally demonstrate an efficient electro-optic sampling scheme based on Cherenkov phase matching of broadband terahertz radiation with 800-nm femtosecond probe beam in a 0.5 mm-thick LiNbO3 crystal coupled to a Si prism. The electro-optic signal from a Cherenkov-phase-matched LiNbO3 crystal is found to be comparable to that with a 4 mm-thick ZnTe crystal using a collinear phase matching.

Magnetic resonance and computed tomography-based scoring system for the differential diagnosis of vertebral fractures caused by osteoporosis and malignant tumors.

Background: Previous reports have described magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings alleged to be specific for vertebral fractures caused by malignant lesions. Using such findings for differential diagnosis is often difficult, especially during the early phase of the fracture. With the relative inaccuracy of any single imaging finding, a validated scoring system based on a combination of imaging findings might lead to enhanced diagnostic accuracy.

Neurogenic bladder in patients with cervical compressive myelopathy.

We examined the urinary disturbances in 56 consecutive patients with cervical compressive myelopathy using the latest International Continence Society classification. Of the 56 patients with cervical compressive myelopathy, 29 (52%) had some urinary subjective complaints, whereas the remaining 27 (48%) had none. Urologic examination indicated that 8 of these 29 (28%) patients with urinary complaints had urologic disorders other than neurogenic bladder.

Surgical treatment with instrumentation for severely destructive spondyloarthropathy of cervical spine.

Nine patients with severely destructive spondyloarthropathy and marked neurologic deficits associated with dialysis-related amyloidosis underwent posterior decompression and fusion by means of instrumentation at our institute. All patients showed segmental kyphosis, six patients vertebral ankylosis, and eight patients spondylolisthesis. Spondylolisthesis at two levels was noted in three patients.

Enhancement of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2)-induced new bone formation by concurrent treatment with parathyroid hormone and a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, pentoxifylline.

We investigated the enhancement of new bone |formation elicited ectopically by recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), using parathyroid hormone (PTH) and a phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDEi), pentoxifylline (PTX), in an animal model. Collagen sponge sheet discs containing rhBMP were implanted onto the back muscles of mice. PTX alone (200 mg/kg body weight [BW]), PTH(1-34) (10 microg/kg BW), PTX plus PTH (200 mg/kg BW and 10 microg/kg BW, respectively), or vehicle (control) were injected subcutaneously daily for 3 weeks after implantation.

Anterior thoracic spinal fusion in dogs by injection of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 and a synthetic polymer.

The purpose of this study was to achieve spinal fusion in the absence of bone graft material using a new, injectable, and semi-liquid synthetic polymer (polylactic acid polyethylene glycol [PLA-PEG] block copolymer) containing recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). Twenty-seven skeletally mature beagles underwent anterior thoracic spinal fusion at T9-T10. Group I (n = 9) was injected with 1 mL of PLA-PEG block copolymer carrier alone into space under the vertebral pleura and the anterior longitudinal ligament.

Multilevel subtotal corpectomy and interbody fusion using a fibular bone graft for cervical myelopathy due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

A retrospective study of the outcomes of multilevel anterior decompression and interbody fusion for cervical myelopathy due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) was performed to both investigate the long-term results and assess the cause of late deterioration. Twenty-seven patients (mean age, 58.1 years) underwent this procedure and were followed for at least 5 years.

Clinical outcome and survival after palliative surgery for spinal metastases: palliative surgery in spinal metastases.

Background: The authors sought to identify treatment-related factors that influenced survival after surgical treatment for metastatic spinal tumors and to evaluate the relationship between survival and postoperative ambulation time as a factor related to quality of life.

Methods: The medical records of 81 patients with metastatic spinal tumors who underwent palliative surgery at the study institution were assessed. Univariate analysis for factors influencing survival used the Kaplan-Meier log rank statistic and multivariate analysis used the Cox proportional hazards model.

Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine increases after spinal instrumentation surgery.

We investigated the effects of instrumentation on postoperative inflammatory reaction and identified standard changes in serum cytokine concentrations after spinal surgery. Pro-inflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8] and anti-inflammatory cytokines [IL-10, IL-1 receptor antagonist (ra), and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors (sTNF-R) I and II] were assayed in serum from seven patients with lumbar spinal posterior decompression, six with spinal decompression and posterolateral fusion without instrumentation and seven with spinal decompression and posterolateral fusion with instrumentation. All cytokines after spinal instrumentation increased significantly more than in other groups on postoperative days 0 and 1.

Involvement of phosphodiesterase isozymes in osteoblastic differentiation.

The cyclic monophosphate nucleotides (cyclic adenosine monophosphate [cAMP] and cyclic guanosine monophosphate [cGMP]) are found ubiquitously in mammalian cells and act as second messenger transducers to effect the intracellular actions of a variety of hormones, cytokines, and neurotransmitters. In turn, these nucleotides also modulate the signal transduction processes regulated by a range of cytokines and growth factors. Previously, we have reported that pentoxifylline, a nonselective phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor, can promote osteoblastic differentiation by elevating intracellular cAMP levels and, consequently, enhance bone formation in vivo and in vitro.