Usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid presepsin (soluble CD14 subtype) as a new marker in the diagnosis of neurosurgical postoperative meningitis.

Objective: To determine the usefulness of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) presepsin in the diagnosis of neurosurgical postoperative meningitis (POM).

Methods: The study included patients admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery, Toho University Medical Center Omori Hospital from May 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022 with suspected meningitis after neurosurgery who clinically required CSF sampling and patients who underwent CSF sampling for examination of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). Participants were divided into a POM and a postoperative non meningitis (PONM) group based on the POM diagnostic criteria established for this study.

Synthesis and Mesomorphic Properties of Liquid Crystals with 5-(4-Alkoxyphenylethynyl)tropolone.

New troponoid liquid crystals with 5-(4-alkoxyphenylethynyl)tropolone cores were synthesized. The 5-(4-alkoxyphenylethynyl)tropolones were obtained by the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of 5-iodotropolone with 4-alkoxyphenylacetylenes. The 2-alkoxy-5-(4-alkoxyphenylethynyl)tropones (1A) showed enantiotropic smectic phases, such as smectic A, C, and B.

Secondary Attack Rate among Non-Spousal Household Contacts of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Tsuchiura, Japan, August 2020-February 2021.

Household secondary attack rate (HSAR) by risk factor might have a higher transmission rate between spouses. We investigated risk factors for the HSAR among non-spousal household contacts of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We studied household contacts of index cases of COVID-19 in Tsuchiura, Japan, from August 2020 through February 2021.

Complete whole-genome sequence of the novel Pseudomonas species strain TUM18999, isolated from a patient with a burn wound in Japan.

Objectives: Pseudomonas is a Gram-negative bacterial genus with numerous member species. In this study, using whole-genome sequencing, we characterized a novel Pseudomonas sp. strain TUM18999, isolated as a pathogen from a human patient.

Identification of Adverse Drug Event-Related Japanese Articles: Natural Language Processing Analysis.

Background: Medical articles covering adverse drug events (ADEs) are systematically reported by pharmaceutical companies for drug safety information purposes. Although policies governing reporting to regulatory bodies vary among countries and regions, all medical article reporting may be categorized as precision or recall based. Recall-based reporting, which is implemented in Japan, requires the reporting of any possible ADE.

Performance evaluation of an Indoxyl Sulfate Assay Kit "NIPRO".

Background The relationship between renal disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently known as cardiorenal syndrome. Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is one of the uremic toxins that accelerates the progression of cardiorenal syndrome. This report presents a new method for measuring IS in a simpler way.

Purification and enzymatic characterization of a novel β-1,6-glucosidase from Aspergillus oryzae.

In this study, among the 10 genes that encode putative β-glucosidases in the glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) with a signal peptide in the Aspergillus oryzae genome, we found a novel gene (AO090038000425) encoding β-1,6-glucosidase with a substrate specificity for gentiobiose. The transformant harboring AO090038000425, which we named bglH, was overexpressed under the control of the improved glaA gene promoter to form a small clear zone around the colony in a plate assay using 4-methylumbelliferyl β-d-glucopyranoside as the fluorogenic substrate for β-glucosidase. We purified BglH to homogeneity and enzymatically characterize this enzyme.

Purification and enzymatic characterization of secretory glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) aryl β-glucosidases screened from Aspergillus oryzae genome.

By a global search of the genome database of Aspergillus oryzae, we found 23 genes encoding putative β-glucosidases, among which 10 genes with a signal peptide belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 3 (GH3) were overexpressed in A. oryzae using the improved glaA gene promoter. Consequently, crude enzyme preparations from three strains, each harboring the genes AO090038000223 (bglA), AO090103000127 (bglF), and AO090003001511 (bglJ), showed a substrate preference toward p-nitrophenyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (pNPGlc) and thus were purified to homogeneity and enzymatically characterized.

Synthesis and properties of cholesteryl 4-(Alkanoylamino)benzoates: liquid crystals and organogelators.

As a new liquid crystal and organogelator, cholesteryl 4-(alkanoylamino)benzoates were prepared. Cholesteryl 4-(alkanoylamino)benzoates had enantiotropic cholesteric and chiral smectic C phases. Furthermore cholesteryl 4-(alkanoylamino)benzoates gelled organic liquid such as 1-decanol, linalool, geraniol, nerol, citronellol, linalyl acetate, lavender oil, orange oil, and rose oil.

LRRK2 I2020T mutation is associated with tau pathology.

Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are the most common cause of autosomal-dominant familial Parkinson's disease (FPD). The variable pathological features of LRRK2-linked FPD include Lewy bodies, degeneration of anterior horn cells associated with axonal spheroids, neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa (TDP-43) positive inclusion bodies. Furthermore, abnormal hyperphosphorylation of microtubule associated protein tau, in part generated by catalysis of protein kinases, has been reported to be involved in progressive neurodegeneration in a number of diseases, including FPD.

Morphology and rheology of an immiscible polymer blend subjected to a step electric field under shear flow.

We have investigated the structural change of an immiscible polymer blend in shear flow when subjected to a step electric field. During the process three-dimensional images were successfully constructed with a confocal scanning laser microscope and at the same time the transient shear stress was also measured. The interface tensor was calculated from the images.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with multiple organized thrombi accompanied by unusual cholesterin deposition: autopsy case after long-term follow up.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is characterized by a reduction in the platelet count and systemic thromboembolism during heparin therapy. Herein is reported a case of HIT with characteristic thrombus formation. A 68-year-old man who had been treated for hypertension for 27 years suffered a brain infarction and was treated with heparin.

Chromosome analysis of human refrozen embryos following fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Purpose: Several recent reports have discussed refrozen and thawed embryo transfer; however, the process may cause a degree of chromosomal damage and subtle genomic mutation. In view of this possibility, the purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of aneuploidy in refrozen embryos.

Methods: In order to investigate the incidence of aneuploidy and mosaicism observed in chromosome 1, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used on surviving embryos that first underwent one freeze-thaw cycle, then were allowed to develop to the blastocyst stage, and subsequently survived a second freeze-thaw cycle.

Functional characterization of 17 CYP2D6 allelic variants (CYP2D6.2, 10, 14A-B, 18, 27, 36, 39, 47-51, 53-55, and 57).

Cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) is an enzyme of potential importance for the metabolism of drugs used clinically, and it exhibits genetic polymorphism with interindividual differences in metabolic activity. To date, 21 CYP2D6 allelic variants have been identified in the Japanese population. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional characterization of CYP2D6 variants identified in Japanese subjects.

Functional characterization of 23 allelic variants of thiopurine S-methyltransferase gene (TPMT*2 - *24).

Objective: Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is an enzyme responsible for the detoxification of the widely used thiopurine drugs. TPMT is genetically polymorphic and is associated with large interindividual variations in thiopurine drug toxicity and therapeutic efficacy. In this study, we performed an in-vitro analysis of TPMT variant alleles, namely, TPMT*2, *3A, *3B, *3C, *5, *6, *7, *8, *9, *10, *11, *12, *13, *14, *16, *17, *18, *19, *20, *21, *22, *23, and *24.

Stripe formation in an immiscible polymer blend under electric and shear-flow fields.

We found a stripe formation in an emulsion of a liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) and a machine oil (OIL) in electric and shear fields. Through the simultaneous measurement with a confocal scanning laser microscope and a rheometer, it was clearly shown that the formation of stripes, which are periodically arrayed, leads to the increase of the shear stress. The droplets, which are one component of the emulsion, start to be connected at low electric fields and then change into the stripes with the increase of electric field.

A new NCN pincer ruthenium complex and its catalytic activity for enantioselective hydrogenation of ketones.

New bis(oxazolinyl)phenyl-ruthenium(II) complexes, which were synthesized by C-H bond activation with RuCl(3).3H(2)O in zinc powder and 1,5-cyclooctadine followed by ligand exchange reaction with sodium acetylacetonate or acetylacetone, exhibited enantioselective hydrogenation of ketones in up to 90% ee.

Functional characterization of human xanthine oxidase allelic variants.

Objective: Xanthine oxidase (XO) catalyzes the oxidation of endogenous and exogenous purines and pyrimidines. In this study, we speculated that individual variations in XO activity are caused by genetic variations in the XO gene.

Methods: To investigate the genetic variations in XO in 96 Japanese participants, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography was used.

[Role of clinical data in NST: from the viewpoint of the clinical laboratory].

Serum albumin (Alb) sampling is used for patients who object to screening by NST. As Alb is decreased by malnutrition, it is available for nutritional assessment, reflecting the long-term nutritive condition. Recently, Alb was correlated with nutritional assessment proteins with RTP, like RBP, TTR and Tf.

A novel single nucleotide polymorphism of the human methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene in Japanese individuals.

The genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) have been associated with increased toxicity of methotrexate (MTX), a folic acid antagonist that is widely used to treat cancer and immunosuppressive disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. In this study, we analyzed all the exons and exon/intron junctions of the MTHFR gene from 200 Japanese individuals. We detected a novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 148C>T (Arg46Trp) in exon 1.