Hollow hydroxyapatite microspheres/chitosan composite as a sustained delivery vehicle for rhBMP-2 in the treatment of bone defects.

Composite scaffold comprised of hollow hydroxyapatite (HA) and chitosan (designated hHA/CS) was prepared as a delivery vehicle for recombinating human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). The in vitro and in vivo biological activities of rhBMP2 released from the composite scaffold were then investigated. The rhBMP-2 was firstly loaded into the hollow HA microspheres, and then the rhBMP2-loaded HA microspheres were further incorporated into the chitosan matrix.

Electrolyte disorders assessment in solid tumor patients treated with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies: a pooled analysis of 25 randomized clinical trials.

The role of anti-epithelial growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies (anti-EGFR MoAbs) in treatment-related electrolyte disorders is still controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the incidences and overall risks of all-grade and grade 3/4 electrolyte disorder events. We searched relevant clinical trials from PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Knowledge databases, meeting proceedings of American Society of Clinical Oncology and the European Society of Medical Oncology, as well as ClinicalTrials.

Is the internal jugular vein or femoral vein a better approach site for endomyocardial biopsy in heart transplant recipients?

Scheduled serial endomyocardial biopsies are executed by an internal jugular vein (IJV) or femoral vein (FV) approach to survey acute rejection after heart transplantation (HTx). However, a better approach site is needed. A total of 379 sessions consisting of 329 IJV approaches and 50 FV approaches in 48 HTx recipients executed at 75 ± 127 days (41182 days) after HTx between September 2007 and April 2014 at University of Tokyo Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.

Prognostic and biological significance of microRNA-127 expression in human breast cancer.

The purpose of this study was to determine the expression of miR-127 and analyze its prognostic and biological significance in breast cancer (BC). A quantitative reverse transcription PCR assay was performed to detect the expression of miR-127 in 15 pairs of BC and corresponding noncancerous tissues. The expression of miR-127 was detected in another 110 BC tissues and its correlations with clinicopathological factors of patients were examined.

Initial evidence demonstrating the association between the vascular status in surgically resected renal parenchymal pathology and sexual function.

Our goal is to evaluate the association between histopathology of glomerulosclerosis (GS) and atherosclerosis (AS) in the nephrectomized normal parenchyma together with patients' background, and erectile dysfunction (ED) of patients treated with radical nephrectomy (RN) for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). ED was assessed with the International Index of Erectile Function in 65 patients who were less than age 70 years at the time of questionnaire. Glomeruli status was assessed by the extent of global GS.

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in an initial Japanese series: the impact of prior abdominal surgery on surgical outcomes.

Objectives: To evaluate the influence of prior abdominal surgery on surgical outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in an early single center experience in Japan.

Methods: We reviewed medical records of patients with localized prostate cancer who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy from October 2010 to September 2013 at Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago, Tottori, Japan. Patients with prior abdominal surgery were compared with those with no prior surgery with respect to total operative time, port-insertion time, console time, positive surgical margin and perioperative complication rate.

Low blood pressure, low serum cholesterol and anemia predict early necessity of ventricular assist device implantation in patients with advanced heart failure at the time of referral from non-ventricular assist device institutes.

Background: The timing of ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation is always a matter of debate, especially when a patient is referred from a non-VAD institute. We focused on objective noninvasive parameters at the time of admission to a VAD implant center and analyzed the factors predicting the necessity of early VAD. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively analyzed advanced heart failure (HF) patients referred since January 2011, including patients less than 65 years old.

Phylogenetically driven sequencing of extremely halophilic archaea reveals strategies for static and dynamic osmo-response.

Organisms across the tree of life use a variety of mechanisms to respond to stress-inducing fluctuations in osmotic conditions. Cellular response mechanisms and phenotypes associated with osmoadaptation also play important roles in bacterial virulence, human health, agricultural production and many other biological systems. To improve understanding of osmoadaptive strategies, we have generated 59 high-quality draft genomes for the haloarchaea (a euryarchaeal clade whose members thrive in hypersaline environments and routinely experience drastic changes in environmental salinity) and analyzed these new genomes in combination with those from 21 previously sequenced haloarchaeal isolates.

Low Blood Pressure, Low Serum Cholesterol and Anemia Predict Early Necessity of Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in Patients With Advanced Heart Failure at the Time of Referral From Non-Ventricular Assist Device Institutes.

Background:The timing of ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation is always a matter of debate, especially when a patient is referred from a non-VAD institute. We focused on objective noninvasive parameters at the time of admission to a VAD implant center and analyzed the factors predicting the necessity of early VAD.Methods and Results:We retrospectively analyzed advanced heart failure (HF) patients referred since January 2011, including patients less than 65 years old.

Detection of mild traumatic brain injury in rodent models using shear wave elastography: preliminary studies.

Objectives: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause adverse physiologic changes in fluid content within the brain, which may lead to changes in tissue elasticity (eg, stiffness). This study evaluated the ability of ultrasonic shear wave elastography to observe these changes in the brain after TBI in vivo.

Methods: Mice and rats received a mild TBI or sham surgery and were imaged acutely or 24 hours after injury using shear wave elastography, and the hemispheric stiffness values were compared.

The reporting quality of parallel randomised controlled trials in ophthalmic surgery in 2011: a systematic review.

Purpose: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) represent a gold standard for evaluating therapeutic interventions. However, poor reporting clarity can prevent readers from assessing potential bias that can arise from a lack of methodological rigour. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials statement for non-pharmacological interventions 2008 (CONSORT NPT) was developed to aid reporting.

Anatomical dimensions using preoperative magnetic resonance imaging: impact on the learning curve of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of anatomical dimensions as measured using preoperative magnetic resonance imaging on the outcomes of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 100 consecutive robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy procedures that were carried out by a single surgeon at the Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Yonago, Japan. Preoperative clinical data and anatomical measurements, including the calculated prostate volume pelvic cavity index, were determined based on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, and their effects on console time, estimated blood loss and surgical margin status were compared.

Systematically labeling developmental stage-specific genes for the study of pancreatic β-cell differentiation from human embryonic stem cells.

The applications of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cells in regenerative medicine has encountered a long-standing challenge: how can we efficiently obtain mature cell types from hPSCs? Attempts to address this problem are hindered by the complexity of controlling cell fate commitment and the lack of sufficient developmental knowledge for guiding hPSC differentiation. Here, we developed a systematic strategy to study hPSC differentiation by labeling sequential developmental genes to encompass the major developmental stages, using the directed differentiation of pancreatic β cells from hPSCs as a model. We therefore generated a large panel of pancreas-specific mono- and dual-reporter cell lines.

The Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632 facilitates the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

The selective in vitro expansion and differentiation of multipotent stem cells are critical steps in cell-based regenerative therapies, but technical challenges have limited cell yield and thus the success of these potential treatments. The Rho GTPases and downstream Rho kinases (Rho coiled-coil kinases or ROCKs) are central regulators of cytoskeletal dynamics during the cell cycle and thus help determine the balance between stem cells self-renewal, lineage commitment, and apoptosis. Here, we examined if suppression of ROCK signaling enhances the efficacy of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) differentiation into neurons and neuroglial cells.

Never in mitosis gene A-related kinase 6 promotes cell proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma via cyclin B modulation.

Never in mitosis gene A-related kinase (Nek) 6 is a recently identified Nek that is required for mitotic cell cycle progression; however, the role and mechanism of Nek6 activity during hepatocarcinogenesis is not well known. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential roles and internal mechanism of Nek6 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. In the present study, Nek6 was found to be overexpressed in HCC samples and cell lines by florescent real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis.

The Efficacy of Target Biopsy of Suspected Cancer Lesions Detected by Magnetic Resonance Imaging and/or Transrectal Ultrasonography during Initial Prostate Biopsies: Comparison of Outcomes between Two Physicians.

Background: The efficacy of adding target prostate biopsy (PBx) of suspected cancer lesions identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) to initial systematic PBx was evaluated. Moreover, the outcomes were compared between 2 physicians.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 238 patients who underwent first-time PBx in our hospital.

Predictive value of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 expression for platinum-based chemotherapy and survival in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis.

Purpose: The predictive value of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) gene for survival and response to platinum-based chemotherapy in gastric cancer (GC) remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to clarify the precise estimation of the prognostic and predictive effect of ERCC1.

Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) before March 2014.

Hydronephrosis after retroperitoneal laparoscopic dismembered Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty in adult patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction: A longitudinal analysis.

Objective: We evaluated the improvement of hydronephrosis longitudinally after laparoscopic dismembered Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty in adult patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction.

Material And Methods: Sixteen patients underwent laparoscopic pyeloplasty at our institution between January 2006 and June 2012. Hydronephrosis was assessed by ultrasound and intravenous pyelography at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after pyeloplasty.

Increased urine aquaporin-2 relative to plasma arginine vasopressin is a novel marker of response to tolvaptan in patients with decompensated heart failure.

Background: Preserved function of the renal collecting duct may be essential for response to the vasopressin V2receptor antagonist, tolvaptan (TLV), but the predictors of response to TLV are unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty consecutive patients with stage D decompensated heart failure (HF) who had received TLV on a de novo basis were retrospectively enrolled (TLV(+) group). Among them, 41 patients were responders defined according to urine volume (UV) increase after TLV initiation.

Standardized metadata for human pathogen/vector genomic sequences.

High throughput sequencing has accelerated the determination of genome sequences for thousands of human infectious disease pathogens and dozens of their vectors. The scale and scope of these data are enabling genotype-phenotype association studies to identify genetic determinants of pathogen virulence and drug/insecticide resistance, and phylogenetic studies to track the origin and spread of disease outbreaks. To maximize the utility of genomic sequences for these purposes, it is essential that metadata about the pathogen/vector isolate characteristics be collected and made available in organized, clear, and consistent formats.

miR-124 exhibits antiproliferative and antiaggressive effects on prostate cancer cells through PACE4 pathway.

Introduction: PACE4 plays an important role in prostate cancer (PCa) proliferation and aggression, which might provide a useful target against prostate cancer. In this study, we had strived to find some key miRNAs to decrease malignancy and invasiveness of PCa through regulating PACE4 expression.

Methods: Clinically pathological analysis of immunohistochemistry/in situ hybridization was carried out to detect the relationship between PACE4 expression/miRNAs and the malignancy of prostate mass.

The role of staging MRI in predicting apical margin positivity for robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: To investigate the association between apical margin positivity and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients who have undergone robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RARP).

Patients And Methods: From September 2010 through November 2012, we treated 84 Japanese men with clinically localized prostate cancer with RARP. The excised specimens, which were divided into right and left fragments, were evaluated for the presence of positive surgical margins (PSMs) and preoperative MRI findings.

[Outcomes after surgery for refractory constipation patients complicated with megacolon].

Objective: To explore the efficacy of different procedures for refractory constipation complicated with megacolon.

Methods: Clinical data of 112 patients of refractory constipation complicated with megacolon undergoing surgery in our institute from June 2007 to January 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Of these 112 patients, the duration of constipation ranged from 4 to 22 years.

Programmed death 1 deficiency induces the polarization of macrophages/microglia to the M1 phenotype after spinal cord injury in mice.

The inflammatory response following spinal cord injury (SCI) involves the activation of resident microglia and the infiltration of macrophages. Macrophages and microglia can be polarized into the classically activated proinflammatory M1 phenotype or the alternatively activated anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) is a critical immune inhibitory receptor involved in innate and adaptive immune responses.

Palmitoylation-dependent membrane localization of the rice resistance protein pit is critical for the activation of the small GTPase OsRac1.

Nucleotide binding domain and leucine-rich repeat (NLR)-containing family proteins function as intracellular immune sensors in both plants and animals. In plants, the downstream components activated by NLR family proteins and the immune response mechanisms induced by these downstream molecules are largely unknown. We have previously found that the small GTPase OsRac1, which acts as a molecular switch in rice immunity, is activated by Pit, an NLR-type resistance (R) protein to rice blast fungus, and this activation plays critical roles in Pit-mediated immunity.