C1 Lateral Mass Screw Insertion Caudally From the C2 Nerve Root to Avoid Craniocervical Fusion in a Patient With Atlantoaxial Subluxation Associated With Ponticulus Posticus: A Case Report.

This report describes the case of a 78-year-old female patient with a rare complex upper cervical spine disorder combined with atlantoaxial subluxation (AAS), ponticulus posticus (PP), and high-riding vertebral artery (HRVA), treated with posterior C1-C3 screw fixation. To avoid vertebral artery injury during screw insertion, a C1 lateral mass screw (LMS) on the PP side was inserted from the caudal side of the C2 nerve root. Preoperative three-dimensional CT angiography is important for selecting the optimal posterior screw entry point and trajectory among several screw options.

Long-term in vivo performance of silicone membrane lungs coated with novel methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymers: A pilot study.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the long-term durability, oxygenation, and pressure loss of newly developed, methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-polymer-coated, nonporous silicone hollow fiber-membrane lungs in vivo using a pulmonary artery-to-left-atrium paracorporeal configuration.

Methods: An extracorporeal circuit from the pulmonary artery (device inflow) to the left atrium (device outflow) was established using dedicated composite vascular grafts in three healthy female goats for the prototype lung testing.

Results: Duration of testing the prototype lungs was 52, 57, or 100 days.

Quantifying the Reversibility of Clofazimine-induced Pigmentation in a Patient with Mycobacterium abscessus Pulmonary Disease.

A 45-year-old woman with Mycobacterium abscessus pulmonary disease was treated with multidrug therapy, including clofazimine, at Fukujuji Hospital. Six months after clofazimine initiation, the treatment was discontinued at the patient's request due to hyperpigmentation. Pigmentation is a critical side effect of clofazimine.

Quantitative Threshold of Intraoperative Radiological Parameters for Suspecting Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion Cage Malposition Triggering Contralateral Radiculopathy.

Background: This study aimed to clarify the quantitative threshold of intraoperative radiological parameters for suspecting posterior malposition of the oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) cage triggering contralateral radiculopathy.

Methods: We measured the sagittal center and axial rotation angle (ARA) of the cage using postoperative computed tomography (CT) in 130 patients (215 cages) who underwent OLIF. The location of the cage tip was determined from axial magnetic resonance imaging in selected cases based on CT simulations to assess whether the cage was in contact with the contralateral exiting nerve or whether the surgical instruments could contact the nerve during intradiscal maneuvers.

Contrasting seasonality of the incidence of incisional surgical site infection after general and gastroenterological surgery: an analysis of 8436 patients in a single institute.

Background: While seasonality of hospital-acquired infections, including incisional SSI after orthopaedic surgery, is recognized, the seasonality of incisional SSI after general and gastroenterological surgeries remains unclear.

Aim: To analyse the seasonality and risk factors of incisional SSI after general and gastroenterological surgeries.

Methods: This was a retrospective, single-institute, observational study using univariate and multivariate analyses.

Investigating the effect of prescribing status and patient characteristics on the therapeutic outcomes in patients with diabetes using a leftover drug adjustment protocol.

Treatment for diabetes includes anti-diabetic medication in addition to lifestyle improvements through diet and exercise. In Japan, protocol-based pharmacotherapy management allows drug treatment to be provided through cooperation between physicians and pharmacists, based on a protocol that is prepared and agreed upon in advance. However, there are no studies to clarify the relationship between patient characteristics and therapeutic effects after pharmacist intervention in protocol-based pharmacotherapy management for patients with diabetes.

Thick mesopancreas is a novel predictor of surgical outcomes of patients who undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Purpose: Mesopancreas resection is a crucial but difficult procedure when performing pancreaticoduodenectomy. This study evaluated the influence of mesopancreas thickness on surgical outcomes in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Methods: We measured the thickness of the fat tissue on the right side of the superior mesenteric artery from the dorsal margin of the confluence of the superior mesenteric vein and portal vein to the ventral margin of the left renal vein on preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography and defined it as the mesopancreas thickness.

Superiority trial for the development of an ideal method for the closure of midline abdominal wall incisions to reduce the incidence of wound complications after elective gastroenterological surgery: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The recent guidelines from the European and American Hernia Societies recommend a continuous small-bite suturing technique with slowly absorbable sutures for fascial closure of midline abdominal wall incisions to reduce the incidence of wound complications, especially for incisional hernia. However, this is based on low-certainty evidence. We could not find any recommendations for skin closure.

Beyond Symptoms: Radiologic identification of asymptomatic Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary infections.

Background: Although international nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) guidelines highlight symptom presence at diagnosis, the clinical characteristics of asymptomatic Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary infection (MAC-PI) patients remain understudied. We clarified the clinical characteristics and course of asymptomatic MAC-PI patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 200 consecutive patients with MAC-PIs and adequate available data who newly met the microbiological and radiological criteria for NTM-PD at Fukujuji Hospital from January 2018 to June 2020.

Contrast dependence of scattering profiles for poly(ethylene glycol) in water: Investigation by small-angle neutron scattering with 3He spin filter and small-angle x-ray scattering.

The small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were performed for deuterated and non-deuterated poly(ethylene glycol) (d-PEG and h-PEG, respectively) in D2O and a D2O/H2O mixed solvent (Mix) to compare the scattering profiles. To determine the coherent scattering intensity of SANS, a 3He spin filter was utilized. The scattering profiles determined by the SANS measurements were analyzed in terms of the wormlike chain model with touched beads along the contour of the chain.

Patient-derived organoids recapitulate glioma-intrinsic immune program and progenitor populations of glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly lethal human cancer thought to originate from a self-renewing and therapeutically-resistant population of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). The intrinsic mechanisms enacted by GSCs during 3D tumor formation, however, remain unclear, especially in the stages prior to angiogenic/immunological infiltration. In this study, we performed a deep characterization of the genetic, immune, and metabolic profiles of GBM organoids from several patient-derived GSCs (GBMO).

Is health literacy of adolescent athletes' parents whose children belonged to sports clubs related to their children's intention to receive medications, vaccines, supplements, and energy drinks? A cross-sectional study.

Background: Adolescent athletes' values ​regarding health behaviors, including their attitudes toward doping, are largely derived from those of their parents. Therefore, clarifying the factors that affect parents' intentions regarding their children's medicine intake and nutrition can help elucidate the process of forming values ​​of healthy behaviors in young athletes.

Methods: Between March 8 and March 9, 2021, an online questionnaire survey was conducted via an Internet research company; data from 2,000 residents in Japan were collected.

Physical activity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Longitudinal change and minimal clinically important difference.

Background And Objective: Reference values of physical activity to interpret longitudinal changes are not available in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This study aimed to define the minimal clinical important difference (MCID) of longitudinal changes in physical activity in patients with IPF.

Methods: Using accelerometry, physical activity (steps per day) was measured and compared at baseline and 6-months follow-up in patients with IPF.

NRIP1 regulates cell proliferation in lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Nuclear receptor interacting protein 1 (NRIP1) is a transcription cofactor that regulates the activity of nuclear receptors and transcription factors. Functional expression of NRIP1 has been identified in multiple cancers. However, the expression and function of NRIP1 in lung adenocarcinoma have remained unclear.

A postoperative body weight increase is a novel risk factor for incisional hernia of midline abdominal incision after elective gastroenterological surgery.

Purpose: Midline abdominal incisions (MAIs) are widely used in both open and minimally invasive surgery. Incisional hernia (IH) accounts for most long-term postoperative wound complications. This study explored the risk factors for IH due to MAI in patients with clean-contaminated wounds after elective gastroenterological surgery.

Multiple bacterial culture positivity reflects the severity and prognosis as bronchiectasis in Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease.

Background: Bacterial coinfections are observed in 19-66% of patients with Mycobacterium avium complex pulmonary disease (MAC-PD) during the entire duration of the disease. The impact of bacterial coinfection at diagnosis on the clinical course of MAC-PD has not been reported.

Methods: Among 558 patients diagnosed with MAC-PD between January 2016 and December 2020, 218 patients who underwent sputum culture tests twice or more within one year before and after diagnosis were included.

Guar-Based Injectable Hydrogel for Drug Delivery and In Vitro Bone Cell Growth.

Injectable hydrogels offer numerous advantages in various areas, which include tissue engineering and drug delivery because of their unique properties such as tunability, excellent carrier properties, and biocompatibility. These hydrogels can be administered with minimal invasiveness. In this study, we synthesized an injectable hydrogel by rehydrating lyophilized mixtures of guar adamantane (Guar-ADI) and poly-β-cyclodextrin (p-βCD) in a solution of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) maintained at pH 7.