Display of PETase on the Cell Surface of Escherichia coli Using the Anchor Protein PgsA.

Enzymatic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is attracting attention as a new technology because of its mild reaction conditions. However, the cost of purified enzymes is a major challenge for the practical application of this technology. In this study, we attempted to display the surface of the PET-degrading enzyme, PETase, onto Escherichia coli using the membrane anchor, PgsA, from Bacillus subtilis to omit the need for purification of the enzyme.

Effect of statins on hearing outcome in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: Statins have been reported to improve vascular endothelial function and microcirculation, reduce oxidative stress, and exert anti-inflammatory and protective effects against inner ear damage. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of statins on hearing prognosis in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL).

Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 149 patients diagnosed with ISSNHL.

Classification of the HCN isomerization reaction dynamics in Ar buffer gas via machine learning.

The effect of the presence of Ar on the isomerization reaction HCN ⇄ CNH is investigated via machine learning. After the potential energy surface function is developed based on the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ level ab initio calculations, classical trajectory simulations are performed. Subsequently, with the aim of extracting insights into the reaction dynamics, the obtained reactivity, that is, whether the reaction occurs or not under a given initial condition, is learned as a function of the initial positions and momenta of all the atoms in the system.

Novel Utility of Leucine-Rich Alpha-2-Glycoprotein as a Biomarker in Ulcerative Colitis: A Predictor of Endoscopic Remission Independent of Symptoms.

Introduction: Leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein (LRG) is a potential biomarker for disease activity and reflects mucosal healing in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). However, only a few studies have described a detailed sensitivity analysis of LRG in predicting mucosal healing in patients. This study aimed to evaluate the association between LRG and the endoscopic activity of UC and its predictability for mucosal healing and explore the utility and clinical application of LRG.

Progression of albuminuria and podocyte injury in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis inhibited by enhanced glycosphingolipid GM3 via valproic acid.

Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, characterized by decreased numbers of podocytes in glomeruli, is a common cause of refractory nephrotic syndrome. Recently, we showed that enhanced glycosphingolipid GM3 expression after administration of valproic acid, an upregulator of ST3GAL5/St3gal5, was effective in preventing albuminuria and podocyte injury. We also revealed the molecular mechanism for this preventive effect, which involves GM3 directly binding nephrin that then act together in glycolipid-enriched membrane (GEM) fractions under normal conditions and in non-GEM fractions under nephrin injury conditions.

Beyond the three P's: adrenal involvement in MEN1.

Adrenal lesions (ALs) are often detected in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). However, they are not well described in MEN1, making their clinical management unclear. This study examined the prevalence and outcomes of ALs found in MEN1.

Standalone Percutaneous Vertebroplasty for Hyperextension Injuries of the Ankylosed Thoracolumbar Spinal Kyphosis.

Hyperextension injuries of the ankylosed thoracolumbar spine, particularly those with preexisting kyphotic deformity, present significant therapeutic challenges. The authors viewed that such injuries without displacement or fractures of the posterior elements are reasonable candidates for standalone percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). In such cases, the posterior tension band is spared; thus, fractures are unstable not in the lateral direction, which would lead to the translation of the fracture, but in the vertical direction.

SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in a veterinary health system provides insight into transmission risks.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2 in companion and exotic animals in a veterinary healthcare system.

Sample: A total of 341 animals were sampled by a combination of oral and nasal swabs. Serum from whole blood was collected from a subset of animals (86 canines, 25 felines, and 6 exotic animals).

Systemic sarcoidosis presenting as a rare combination of interstitial nephritis with necrotizing vasculitis and urinary retention due to prostate involvement: a case report.

Background: Sarcoidosis affects multiple organs and exhibits diverse clinical manifestations. Although tubulointerstitial nephritis is a known feature of renal involvement, necrotizing vasculitis is rare. Furthermore, prostate involvement with urinary retention is unusual in patients with sarcoidosis.

Trastuzumab deruxtecan in previously treated patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer: updated survival results from a phase II trial (DESTINY-Breast01).

Background: Primary analysis of the multicenter, open-label, single-arm, phase II DESTINY-Breast01 trial (median follow-up 11.1 months) demonstrated durable antitumor activity with trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) previously treated with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1). We report updated cumulative survival outcomes with a median follow-up of 26.

Effect of COVID-19 on the Activity Level of Elderly people with Dementia.

Measures against physical and social frailty after the COVID-19 epidemic in elderly people with dementia are required. However, there are no studies that have systematically examined the level of activity maintained by elderly people with dementia. In this study, we developed an ICT-based steps monitoring system and investigated changes in the number of steps taken by 13 community-dwelling elderly people with dementia from before the COVID-19 epidemic to during the epidemic.

Mint3-depletion-induced energy stress sensitizes triple-negative breast cancer to chemotherapy via HSF1 inactivation.

Given the lack of therapeutic targets, the conventional approach for managing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) involves the utilization of cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents. However, most TNBCs acquire resistance to chemotherapy, thereby lowering the therapeutic outcome. In addition to oncogenic mutations in TNBC, microenvironment-induced mechanisms render chemoresistance more complex and robust in vivo.

Rehabilitation facilitates functional improvement following intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells in the chronic phase of cerebral ischemia in rats.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the potential facilitating effects of daily rehabilitation for chronic cerebral ischemia following the intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in rats. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) was occluded by intraluminal occlusion using a microfilament (MCAO). Eight weeks after MCAO induction, the rats were used as a chronic cerebral ischemia model.

Brain-Specific Angiogenesis Inhibitor 3 Is Expressed in the Cochlea and Is Necessary for Hearing Function in Mice.

Mammalian auditory hair cells transduce sound-evoked traveling waves in the cochlea into nerve stimuli, which are essential for hearing function. Pillar cells located between the inner and outer hair cells are involved in the formation of the tunnel of Corti, which incorporates outer-hair-cell-driven fluid oscillation and basilar membrane movement, leading to the fine-tuned frequency-specific perception of sounds by the inner hair cells. However, the detailed molecular mechanism underlying the development and maintenance of pillar cells remains to be elucidated.

Establishment of human intestinal organoids derived from commercially available cryopreserved intestinal epithelium and evaluation for pharmacokinetic study.

Human intestinal organoids (HIOs) have been reported to exert their functions in a way that mimics living organs, and HIOs-derived monolayers are expected to be applied to in vitro intestinal pharmacokinetic studies. However, HIOs are established from human tissue, which raises issues of availability and ethics. In the present study, to solve these problems, we have established intestinal organoids using commercially available cryopreserved human intestinal epithelial cells (C-IOs), and compared their functions with biopsy-derived human intestinal organoids (B-IOs) from a pharmacokinetic point of view.

Disease-Modifying Drugs Extend Survival in Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloid Polyneuropathy.

Hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis is a rare, fatal systemic disease, associated with polyneuropathy and cardiomyopathy, that is caused by mutant transthyretin (TTR). In addition to liver transplantation, several groundbreaking disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) such as tetrameric TTR stabilizers and TTR gene-silencing therapies have been developed for ATTRv amyloid polyneuropathy. They were based on a working hypothesis of the mechanisms of ATTRv amyloid formation.

Interareal Synaptic Inputs Underlying Whisking-Related Activity in the Primary Somatosensory Barrel Cortex.

Body movements influence brain-wide neuronal activities. In the sensory cortex, thalamocortical bottom-up inputs and motor-sensory top-down inputs are thought to affect the dynamics of membrane potentials ( ) of neurons and change their processing of sensory information during movements. However, direct perturbation of the axons projecting to the sensory cortex from other remote areas during movements has remained unassessed, and therefore the interareal circuits generating motor-related signals in sensory cortices remain unclear.

Incidence, clinical course, and risk factors in the development of femoral pseudoaneurysm after atrial fibrillation ablation.

Background: Previous studies have revealed the risk factors for femoral pseudoaneurysms (FPA). Most data on FPA are based on coronary and peripheral interventions, with limited studies focusing on atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. However, patient backgrounds, anticoagulation regimens, and vascular access methods differ.

Remission of hypersensitivity by simple weight load stimuli in a complex regional pain syndrome mouse model.

Painful sensitivity of the hand or foot are the most common and debilitating symptoms of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Physical therapy is standard treatment for CRPS, but evidence supporting its efficacy is minimal and it can be essentially impossible for CRPS patients to actively exercise the painful limb. Using the well-characterized distal tibial fracture CRPS mouse model, we compared the therapeutic effects of several weeks of daily hindlimb loading versus rotarod walking exercise.

Three-year changes in sex judgment using color fundus parameters in elementary school students.

Purpose: In a previous cross-sectional study, we reported that the sexes can be distinguished using known factors obtained from color fundus photography (CFP). However, it is not clear how sex differences in fundus parameters appear across the human lifespan. Therefore, we conducted a cohort study to investigate sex determination based on fundus parameters in elementary school students.

Retrograde transgastric jejunostomy for nutritional management and aspiration prevention in cases with severe malignant esophageal strictures.

Locally advanced esophageal cancer often presents with dysphagia and can be complicated by aspiration pneumonia. Therefore, nutritional management is important to prevent pneumonia. Enteral nutrition via gastrostomies is common in esophageal cancer patients.

Safety and Clinical Effects of a Muse Cell-Based Product in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Results of a Phase 2 Clinical Trial.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by progressive loss of motor neurons. Multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells are unique endogenous stem cells that show therapeutic effects on motor function in ALS mouse models. We conducted a single-center open phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and clinical effects of repeated intravenous injections of an allogenic Muse cell-based product, CL2020, in patients with ALS.