Enhancing healthcare planning using population data generated from mobile phone networks in Futaba County after the Great East Japan earthquake.

After the Great East Japan Earthquake, planning appropriate healthcare resource allocation was crucial. However, accurately estimating medical care demand was challenging due to substantial population fluctuations caused by extensive evacuations, compounded by the inaccuracy of conventional Resident Resister data in this context. This study employs population data generated from mobile phone network from 2019 to 2020 to conduct a detailed temporal and spatial population estimation in Futaba County, originally a complete evacuation zone.

A Multicenter, Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Adjunctive Brexpiprazole 2 mg Daily in Japanese Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

Background And Objective: Inadequate response to antidepressant monotherapy is common among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The efficacy and safety of adjunctive brexpiprazole 2 mg/day has recently been confirmed during the 6-week, randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2/3 (BLESS) study, which evaluated brexpiprazole at 1 mg/day and 2 mg/day versus placebo as adjunctive therapy to antidepressant therapies in 740 Japanese patients with MDD and an inadequate response to antidepressant monotherapy. This study evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of adjunctive fixed-dose brexpiprazole 2 mg/day in Japanese patients with MDD.

Pathway-based prediction of the therapeutic effects and mode of action of custom-made multiherbal medicines.

Multiherbal medicines are traditionally used as personalized medicines with custom combinations of crude drugs; however, the mechanisms of multiherbal medicines are unclear. In this study, we developed a novel pathway-based method to predict therapeutic effects and the mode of action of custom-made multiherbal medicines using machine learning. This method considers disease-related pathways as therapeutic targets and evaluates the comprehensive influence of constituent compounds on their potential target proteins in the disease-related pathways.

Dynamic glycolytic reprogramming effects on dendritic cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors exhibit resistance to chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and even immunotherapy. Dendritic cells use glucose to support their effector functions and play a key role in anti-tumor immunity by promoting cytotoxic CD8 T cell activity. However, the effects of glucose and lactate levels on dendritic cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are unclear.

Tumor-associated neutrophils upregulate Nectin2 expression, creating the immunosuppressive microenvironment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) constitute an abundant component among tumor-infiltrating immune cells and have recently emerged as a critical player in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression. This study aimed to elucidate the pro-tumor mechanisms of TAN and identify a novel target for effective immunotherapy against PDAC.

Methods: Microarray and cytokine array analyses were performed to identify the mechanisms underlying the function of TANs.

Adult-onset Acute Flaccid Myelitis Accompanied by Rhombencephalitis Which First Presented with Prominent Psychiatric Symptoms and Dysautonomia Mimicking Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis.

A 44-year-old woman with a subacute onset of an altered mental status, urinary retention, and fluctuating blood pressure was initially diagnosed with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis, meeting the criteria of Graus et al. Cardiac arrest occurred, which required pacemaker placement. She subsequently showed profound flaccid limb paralysis, with magnetic resonance imaging demonstrating focal necrotic lesions localized in the anterior horn of the longitudinal segments of the spinal cord and in the pontine tegmentum.

Higher Frequency of Premature Atrial Contractions Correlates With Atrial Fibrillation Detection after Cryptogenic Stroke.

Background: Covert atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major cause of cryptogenic stroke. This study investigated whether a dose-dependent relationship exists between the frequency of premature atrial contractions (PACs) and AF detection in patients with cryptogenic stroke using an insertable cardiac monitor (ICM).

Methods: We enrolled consecutive patients with cryptogenic stroke who underwent ICM implantation between October 2016 and September 2020 at 8 stroke centers in Japan.

Association between the controlling nutritional status score and outcomes in ischemic stroke patients with active cancer.

Background: The effect of nutritional status on survival in ischemic stroke patients with active cancer remains unclear.

Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated ischemic stroke patients with active cancer admitted to a university hospital in Japan between 2006 and 2016. Patients were followed for 2 years after stroke.

Lentinula Edodes Mycelia extract regulates the function of antigen-presenting cells to activate immune cells and prevent tumor-induced deterioration of immune function.

Immune cell activation is essential for cancer rejection; however, the tumor microenvironment leads to deterioration of immune function, which enables cancer cells to survive and proliferate. We previously reported that oral ingestion of Lentinula Edodes Mycelia (L.E.

Clinicopathologic Features and Genetic Alterations in Mixed-Type Ampullary Carcinoma.

Mixed-type ampullary carcinoma is a subtype that combines intestinal-type (I-type) and pancreatobiliary-type (PB-type) lesions, but few studies have examined its clinicopathologic features and genetic alterations. The differences in genetic alterations between mixed type and other subtypes, as well as the genetic differences between I-type and PB-type lesions in the mixed type, remain unclear. In this study, we compared the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of 110 ampullary carcinomas classified by hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining as follows: 63 PB-type, 35 I-type, and 12 mixed-type carcinomas.

Single-cell RNA-seq analysis identifies distinct myeloid cells in a case with encephalitis temporally associated with COVID-19 vaccination.

Recently accumulating evidence has highlighted the rare occurrence of COVID-19 vaccination-induced inflammation in the central nervous system. However, the precise information on immune dysregulation related to the COVID-19 vaccination-associated autoimmunity remains elusive. Here we report a case of encephalitis temporally associated with COVID-19 vaccination, where single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis was applied to elucidate the distinct immune signature in the peripheral immune system.

Thioredoxin-interacting protein is essential for memory T cell formation via the regulation of the redox metabolism.

CD4 memory T cells are central to long-lasting protective immunity and are involved in shaping the pathophysiology of chronic inflammation. While metabolic reprogramming is critical for the generation of memory T cells, the mechanisms controlling the redox metabolism in memory T cell formation remain unclear. We found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism changed dramatically in T helper-2 (Th2) cells during the contraction phase in the process of memory T cell formation.

RNF43 as a predictor of malignant transformation of pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasm.

Mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) of the pancreas rarely progresses to invasive carcinoma, but few studies have analyzed genomic alterations involved in its malignant transformation. The relationships of ring finger protein 43 (RNF43) mutations with cytological atypia, RNF43 protein expression, and Wnt signaling proteins in MCN remain unclear. This study included 106 MCN cases, classified into 89 low-grade dysplasia (LG), 9 high-grade dysplasia (HG), and 8 invasive carcinoma (INV).

The long term participation trend for the colorectal cancer screening after the 2011 triple disaster in Minamisoma City, Fukushima, Japan.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is a well-established cancer screening method, and its effectiveness depends on maintaining a high participation rate in the target population. In this study, we analyzed the trends in CRC screening participation rates over 10 years in Minamisoma City, where residents were forced to evacuate after the 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan. The immunochemical fecal occult blood test is provided as municipal CRC screening.

Accuracy of post-publication Financial Conflict of Interest corrections in medical research: A secondary analysis of pharmaceutical company payments to the authors of the CREATE-X trial report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In June 2017, Japanese and Korean authors published the results of the CREATE-X trial in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). After we identified their inadequate disclosures of Financial Conflict of Interests (FCOIs), the authors made a post-publication correction of their FCOIs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the post-publication corrections by the Japanese authors of the CREATE-X trial.