Automated non-invasive laser speckle imaging of the chick heart rate and extraembryonic blood vessels and their response to Nifedipine and Amlodipine drugs.

Using our recently developed laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to visualize blood vessels and monitor blood flow noninvasively, we test the utility of the developing chick heart as a functional model for drug screening. To this end, we examined the effects of antihypertensive agents Nifedipine and Amlodipine, belonging to the L-type calcium channel antagonist family, on blood flow visualized noninvasively through the intact shell. Guided by the live view mode, the drugs were injected through the shell and ventral to HH16-19 chick embryos.

Long-term outcome of chemoimmunotherapy for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer according to key clinical trial eligibility: 3-year outcomes from a prospective cohort study.

Background: Chemoimmunotherapy is the standard first-line treatment for extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC); however, its real-world long-term outcomes associated with patient backgrounds are still unclear. We explored this association using an updated large real-world prospective cohort with a minimum follow-up of 3 years.

Methods: This prospective cohort study, conducted across 32 hospitals, enrolled patients with ES-SCLC receiving carboplatin, etoposide, and atezolizumab between September 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020.

Dithienonaphthobisthiadiazole synthesized by thienannulation of electron-deficient rings: an acceptor building unit for high-performance π-conjugated polymers.

The development of building units for π-conjugated polymers is a driving force in advancing the field of organic electronics. In this study, we designed and synthesized dithienonaphthobisthiadiazole (TNT) as a thiophene-fused acceptor (A) building unit and two TNT-based π-conjugated polymers named PTNT2T and PTNT1-F. We found that the microwave-assisted thiophene annulation reaction (thienannulation) of arylethynylated naphthobisthiadiazole (NTz) C-H functionalization effectively produced TNT moieties.

Development and validation of the prediction score for augmented renal clearance in critically Ill Japanese adults.

Background: Augmented renal clearance (ARC) decreases the therapeutic concentration of drugs excreted by the kidneys in critically ill patients. Several ARC prediction models have been developed and validated; however, their usefulness in Japan has not been comprehensively investigated. Thus, we developed a unique ARC prediction model for a Japanese mixed intensive care unit (ICU) population and compared it with existing models.

Female sex hormones inversely regulate acute kidney disease susceptibility throughout life.

While epidemiological and experimental studies have demonstrated kidney-protective effects of estrogen and female sex in adulthood, some epidemiological data showed deterioration of kidney function during puberty when estrogen production increases. However, molecular mechanisms explaining these conflicting phenomena remain unknown. Here, we showed that the pubertal sex hormone surge in female mice increases susceptibility to kidney ischemia reperfusion injury partly via downregulation of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) expression in proximal tubules.

Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome and its impact on the treatment outcomes of small-cell lung cancer: A single-center retrospective analysis.

Introduction: Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) is associated with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, the frequency and characteristics of PNS and the efficacy of anticancer treatment for these patients have not been investigated in the Japanese/Asian population previously. Therefore, we aimed to better understand PNS by evaluating real-world data from patients with PNS complicated by SCLC.

Efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors plus platinum-based chemotherapy as 1st line treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring HER2 mutations: Results from LC-SCRUM-Asia.

Introduction: HER2 mutations are reported to occur in 2%-5% of all cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The clinical outcomes in patients with HER2-mutant NSCLC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) plus platinum-based chemotherapy as 1st line treatment still remain unclear.

Methods: Using the large-scale clinico-genomic database of LC-SCRUM-Asia, the clinico-genomic characteristics and therapeutic outcomes of patients with HER2-mutant NSCLC were investigated.

Final Analysis Data and Exploratory Biomarker Analysis of a Randomized Phase 2 Study of Osimertinib Plus Bevacizumab Versus Osimertinib Monotherapy for Untreated Patients With Nonsquamous NSCLC Harboring EGFR Mutations: The WJOG9717L Study.

Introduction: EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been the standard treatment for patients with NSCLC who have sensitive mutations. This study revealed final analysis survival data, biomarkers, and resistance mechanisms of osimertinib plus bevacizumab or osimertinib monotherapy in previously untreated patients with advanced -positive nonsquamous NSCLC.

Methods: We previously reported the primary results of a randomized, open-label, phase 2 study comparing osimertinib plus bevacizumab with osimertinib monotherapy for this population.

Exploring the impact of baseline platelet count on linezolid-induced thrombocytopenia: a retrospective single-center observation study.

Background: Patients treated with linezolid (LZD) frequently develop thrombocytopenia, and previous studies have identified the risk factors for this condition. However, the relationship between the development of LZD-induced thrombocytopenia and baseline platelet count has varied according to different reports.

Aim: To explore the relationship between platelet count and the development of LZD-induced thrombocytopenia.

Calcineurin-mediated dephosphorylation stabilizes E2F1 protein by suppressing binding of the FBXW7 ubiquitin ligase subunit.

The transcription factor E2F1 serves as a regulator of the cell cycle and promotes cell proliferation. It is highly expressed in cancer tissues and contributes to their malignant transformation. Degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome system may help to prevent such overexpression of E2F1 and thereby to suppress carcinogenesis.

The association between milk and dairy products intake and insomnia symptoms among Japanese adults in community-based cohort.

To examine the association between habitual intake of milk and dairy products and insomnia. Cross-sectional study by using cohort study data among 60,633 participants (22,721 men and 37,912 women) aged 20-74 years in eastern Japan. The data of milk and dairy products intake, sleep status and other lifestyle habits were collected by self-administered questionnaires.

Durvalumab with etoposide and carboplatin for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer and interstitial lung disease: A multicenter, open-label prospective trial.

Objectives: Certain guidelines recommend caution when administering immunotherapy in patients with pre-existing interstitial lung disease (ILD) owing to the high incidence of pneumonitis induced by anti-cancer therapy. A prospective clinical trial assessing the safety of chemoimmunotherapy in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and pre-existing ILD is warranted. Therefore, this study evaluated the safety and efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy in patients with extensive-stage (ES)-SCLC and mild idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP).

Baseline eosinophil proportion is a useful predictor of immune-related adverse events following immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment for recurrent metastatic head and neck cancer.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) occasionally cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in various organs. However, predictors of irAEs remain unidentified.

Objectives: We evaluated the predictors of irAEs and compared the outcomes of ICIs with and without irAEs in patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers (R/M HNCs).

Manipulating conductivity and noise for transitioning between stochastic and inverse stochastic resonances in liquid-crystal electroconvection.

Noise can play a constructive role in nature and various engineering systems. Over the past four decades, noise-induced stochastic resonances (SRs) have been extensively documented, showing enhancement in system performance. Additionally, inverse SR has been observed in various systems.

Dynamic Pathology of Enteric Neural Network using Curcumin-assisted Multiphoton Laser Imaging in Hirschsprung Disease.

Objective: In living tissue, it has been difficult to make microscopic-level observations without damaging the tissue.

Summary Background Data: We have invented a novel intravital fluorescent observation method (IFOM) for real-time tissue observation, combining multi-photon laser scanning microscopy (MPLSM) with curcumin vital staining (CVS-IFOM). The aim of this study was to use CVS-IFOM to analyze the enteric nervous system (ENS) in mice and human patients with hypoganglionosis and Hirschsprung disease.

CD34 distribution in C-fiber low threshold mechanoreceptors in the mouse dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord.

CD34 is a well-known cell marker of hematopoietic stem/ progenitor cells, endothelial cells, and fibrocytes. In the peripheral nervous system, a certain type of primary sensory neuron C-fiber low threshold mechanoreceptors (C-LTMRs) are reported to express CD34 mRNA. Here, we investigated the distribution of CD34 protein among putative C-LTMRs (pC-LTMR) using pC-LTMR markers such as VGLUT3 and TH in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord.

Automated non-invasive laser speckle imaging of the chick heart rate and extraembryonic blood vessels and their response to nifedipine and amlodipine drugs.

Unlabelled: Using our recently developed laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) to visualize blood vessels and monitor blood flow, here we test the utility of the chick embryo for drug screening. To this end, we examined the effects of antihypertensive agents Nifedipine and Amlodipine, belonging to the L-type calcium channel antagonist family, on blood flow visualized noninvasively through the intact shell. Guided by the live view mode, the drugs were injected through the shell and ventral to HH16-19 chick embryos.

Temporal dynamics of N-hydroxypipecolic acid and salicylic acid pathways in the disease response to powdery mildew in wheat.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is a major staple crop worldwide, and its yields are significantly threatened by wheat powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici).