Pilot study for hepatitis virus screening among employees as an effective approach to encourage employees who screened positive to receive medical care in Japan.

Aim: Countermeasures against hepatitis B and C virus (HBV, HCV) infection at work sites in Japan have not yet been implemented. This study aimed to determine the status of viral hepatitis infection among employees in Japan.

Methods: We undertook a workplace-based cross-sectional study from 2011 to 2016 in Hiroshima, Japan.

Copper diethyldithiocarbamate as an inhibitor of tissue plasminogen activator synthesis in cultured human coronary endothelial cells.

Recent developments have shown that organic-inorganic hybrid molecules have the potential to provide useful tools for analyzing biological systems. In the case of fibrinolysis, which is the phenomenon whereby fibrin is degraded by plasmin that has been converted from plasminogen via tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) secreted from vascular endothelial cells, we hypothesized that there may be organic-inorganic hybrid molecules that could be used to analyze the mechanisms by which endothelial fibrinolysis is regulated. In our present study, we found that a copper complex - copper diethyldithiocarbamate (Cu10) - reduces t-PA activity in a conditioned medium of cultured human coronary endothelial cells by inhibiting the t-PA synthesis without changing the synthesis of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, which is a t-PA inhibitor.

Large correction in opening wedge high tibial osteotomy with resultant joint-line obliquity induces excessive shear stress on the articular cartilage.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyse the resultant stress induced by joint-line obliquity after HTO for varus knee deformity using a three-dimensional (3D) finite element model analysis.

Methods: The geometrical bone data used in this study were derived from commercially available human bone digital anatomy media. The 3D knee models were developed using 3D computer-aided design software.

Filter-Based Extracellular Vesicle mRNA Isolation and High-Throughput Gene Expression Analysis.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous group of membrane-encapsulated particles with different ranges of size, density, and cargo. Various types of RNA including mRNA are enclosed within EVs and can serve as novel biomarkers for disease detection and patient management. Ultracentrifugation, precipitation , antibody-based capture and filter-based methods are available as in-house laboratory procedures or commercially available kits to isolate EVs.

Human exposure to hydrogen sulphide concentrations near wastewater treatment plants.

The hydrogen sulphide (HS) levels from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Curitiba, Brazil have been quantified for the first time. HS generated by anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in WWTPs is a cause for concern because it is an air pollutant, which can cause eye and respiratory irritation, headaches, and nausea. Considering the requirement for WWTPs in all communities, it is necessary to assess the concentrations and effects of gases such as HS on populations living and/or working near WWTPs.

Reduced prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen positivity among pregnant women born after the national implementation of immunoprophylaxis for babies born to hepatitis B virus-carrier mothers in Japan.

Aim: We aimed to estimate hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positivity among birth year-stratified pregnant women in Hiroshima, Japan, and compare prevalence rates between women born before and after implementation of a national immunoprophylactic vaccination program for babies born to hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier mothers in Japan.

Methods: Pregnant women who gave birth at all delivery hospitals/clinics in Hiroshima prefecture between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 were eligible. Lists collected from each institution included survey items such as age (pregnant woman's birth year) and HBsAg and hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody (anti-HCV) test results, which were posted anonymously and non-consolidated from medical records.

Labeling of Cytoskeletal Proteins in Living Cells Using Biotin Ligase Carrying a Fluorescent Protein.

Labeling with fluorescent proteins is now widely exploited for elucidating the functions and roles of target proteins in living cells. Previously, we developed a protein labeling method by combining a fluorescent protein with a biotinylation reaction from archaeon Sulfolobus tokodaii. Biotinylation from S.

A Divergent Approach to Indoles and Oxazoles from Enamides by Directing-Group-Controlled Cu-Catalyzed Intramolecular C-H Amination and Alkoxylation.

A directing-group-controlled, copper-catalyzed divergent approach to indoles and oxazoles from enamides has been developed. The picolinamide-derived enamides undergo the intramolecular aromatic C-H amination in the presence of a Cu(OPiv) catalyst and an MnO oxidant to form the corresponding indoles in good yields. On the other hand, simpler aryl- or alkyl-substituted enamides are converted to the 2,4,5-trisubstituted oxazole frameworks via vinylic C-H alkoxylation under identical conditions.

Clustering infection of hepatitis B virus genotype B4 among residents in Vietnam, and its genomic characters both intra- and extra-family.

Vietnam has a high rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and a high mortality rate from hepatocellular carcinoma. We performed a detailed genetic analysis of 48 residents and four families from Binh Thuan Province, a southern coastal area of Vietnam. The route of infection and genomic characteristics related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were studied in HBV spread among carriers that we detected in our previous hepatitis survey.

A seroepidemiological survey of the effect of hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B and C virus infections among elementary school students in Siem Reap province, Cambodia.

Aim: This study aimed to survey the prevalence and incidence of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among elementary school students in Siem Reap province, Cambodia and to evaluate the effects of a national infant HBV vaccination program introduced in 2001.

Methods: Students in 3rd grade during the 2011, 2012, and 2013 academic years were enrolled in this study; at the time of the second examination, in the 2014-2015 academic year, the students were in 5th or 6th grade. The incidence and prevalence rates of HBV and HCV infection were estimated and full HBV sequences were analyzed.

The HIV care cascade in Buenos Aires, Argentina: results in a tertiary referral hospital.

Objective: To determine rates of retention, antiretroviral therapy (ART) use, and viral suppression in an adult cohort from a public tertiary referral hospital in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Methods: HIV-positive ART-naïve patients ≥ 18 years old starting care 2011-2013 contributed data until the end of 2014. Three outcomes were assessed in 2014: retention in care, ART use, and viral suppression.

Relationship between white blood cell count elevation and clinical response after G-CSF priming chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia.

We retrospectively analyzed the relationship between white blood cell (WBC) count elevation after priming and clinical response in 115 patients with AML (61 untreated and 54 relapsed or refractory) treated with low-dose cytarabine, aclarubicin, and G-CSF priming. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the ratio of maximum WBC count to pretreatment WBC count (WBCratio) was most strongly associated with complete remission (CR) in previously untreated patients among several parameters we analyzed in this study; however, the prediction accuracy was not clinically significant considering the area under the curve of 0.694.

Prognostic value of the soluble interleukin-2 receptor level after patients with follicular lymphoma achieve a response to R-CHOP.

Objectives: Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a clinically and biologically heterogeneous disease. Therefore, it is important to identify factors that can predict its clinical outcome.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the usefulness of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) levels after R-CHOP (posttreatment sIL-2R) in 72 patients with newly diagnosed FL who had either a complete response (CR) or partial response.

Heterologous production of kasugamycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic from Streptomyces kasugaensis, in Streptomyces lividans and Rhodococcus erythropolis L-88 by constitutive expression of the biosynthetic gene cluster.

Kasugamycin (KSM), an aminoglycoside antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces kasugaensis cultures, has been used against rice blast disease for more than 50 years. We cloned the KSM biosynthetic gene (KBG) cluster from S. kasugaensis MB273-C4 and constructed three KBG cassettes (i.

Induction of Syndecan-4 by Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Molecules with a 1,10-Phenanthroline Structure in Cultured Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Organic-inorganic hybrid molecules constitute analytical tools used in biological systems. Vascular endothelial cells synthesize and secrete proteoglycans, which are macromolecules consisting of a core protein and glycosaminoglycan side chains. Although the expression of endothelial proteoglycans is regulated by several cytokines/growth factors, there may be alternative pathways for proteoglycan synthesis aside from downstream pathways activated by these cytokines/growth factors.

Development of acute myeloid leukemia in patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is rare. We experienced a 65-year-old man who developed AML with aberrant CD7 expression and monoallelic CEBPA mutation during watchful waiting for CLL. He failed to achieve complete response (CR) by standard induction therapy for AML.

[A Case of Interstitial Pneumonitis Induced by Lapatinib plus Letrozole].

Lapatinib is an orally bioavailable dual inhibitor of the intracellular domain of both the HER2 protein and the epidermal growth factor receptor. This dual inhibitor can effectively prevent the downstream signal transduction initiated by a tyrosine kinase, thereby reducing the proliferation rate of tumor cells. Lapatinib was demonstrated to be beneficial in patients with HER2-positive locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer.

High-Dose Methotrexate and Cytarabine-Based Multi-Agent Chemotherapy (Modified Bonn Protocol) for Systemic Lymphoma with CNS Involvement.

The prognosis of patients with systemic lymphoma with central nervous system (CNS) involvement is very poor and there is no established standard therapy. We retrospectively analyzed 18 patients (4 untreated and 14 relapsed) with systemic lymphoma with CNS involvement who received methotrexate and cytarabine-based multiagent chemotherapy (modified Bonn protocol). Complete and partial responses were achieved in 56 and 22% of the patients, respectively.

Selectivity of Human TLR9 for Double CpG Motifs and Implications for the Recognition of Genomic DNA.

TLR9 acts as a first-line host defense against pathogens recognizing DNA comprising unmethylated CpG motifs present in bacteria and viruses. Species- and sequence-specific recognition differences were demonstrated for TLR9 receptors. Activation of human (h)TLR9 requires a pair of closely positioned CpG motifs within oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs), whereas mouse TLR9 is effectively activated by an ODN with a single CpG motif.

CD25 as an adverse prognostic factor in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Objectives: CD25 has been reported to be highly expressed in leukemia stem cells and correlated with adverse outcomes in young patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the significance of CD25 expression in elderly patients with AML has not yet been investigated.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 154 newly diagnosed AML patients aged 60 years or over by flow cytometry.

Transforming Growth Factor-β Modulates the Expression of Syndecan-4 in Cultured Vascular Endothelial Cells in a Biphasic Manner.

Proteoglycans are macromolecules that consist of a core protein and one or more glycosaminoglycan side chains. Previously, we reported that transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β ) regulates the synthesis of a large heparan sulfate proteoglycan, perlecan, and a small leucine-rich dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, biglycan, in vascular endothelial cells depending on cell density. Recently, we found that TGF-β first upregulates and then downregulates the expression of syndecan-4, a transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan, via the TGF-β receptor ALK5 in the cells.

An adenylyl cyclase with a phosphodiesterase domain in basal plants with a motile sperm system.

Adenylyl cyclase (AC), which produces the signalling molecule cAMP, has numerous important cellular functions in diverse organisms from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Here we report the identification and characterization of an AC gene from the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. The encoded protein has both a C-terminal AC catalytic domain similar to those of class III ACs and an N-terminal cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) domain that degrades cyclic nucleotides, thus we designated the gene MpCAPE (COMBINED AC with PDE).

Amelioration of fatty liver index in patients with type 2 diabetes on ipragliflozin: an association with glucose-lowering effects.

In this study, we investigated the ameliorating effects of ipragliflozin on fatty liver in patients with type 2 diabetes. The factors that influenced the amelioration of fatty liver were also examined. Analysis included data of 21 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes obtained from our prospective observational study.

Enantioseparation Using Cellulose Tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) as Chiral Stationary Phase for HPLC: Influence of Molecular Weight of Cellulose.

The cellulose oligomers with different degrees of polymerization (DP), 7, 11, 18, 24, 26, 40 and 52, were prepared by hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose with phosphoric acid. These oligomers including the starting microcrystalline cellulose (DP 124) were converted to tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) (CDMPC) derivatives by the reaction with an excess of 3,5-dimethylphenyl isocyanate to be used as the chiral stationary phase (CSP) in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The structures of the CDMPC derivatives were investigated by infrared spectroscopy (IR), ¹H-NMR, circular dichroism (CD) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and the DPs of the derivatives estimated by SEC agreed with those estimated by ¹H-NMR.