Effect on DNA stability of a novel pellet storing method for liquid-based cytology specimens fixed using an alcohol-based preservation solution: Studies using EGFR mutation detection on a lung adenocarcinoma cell line.

Introduction: Liquid-based cytology (LBC) specimens of lung cancer are increasingly being used for genetic analyses. Preservation conditions of specimens until DNA extraction are important because they can affect DNA quality. We investigated whether a novel method of storing residual LBC specimens as pellets using an alcohol-based preservation solution would improve DNA stability.

INTRAMUSCULAR MIDAZOLAM AND BUTORPHANOL ADMINISTERED PRIOR TO INTRAVENOUS ALFAXALONE PROVIDES SAFE AND EFFECTIVE ANESTHESIA IN GENTOO PENGUINS ().

General anesthesia is a crucial tool in health care and clinical practice involving wildlife, including penguins. A balanced general anesthetic technique that combines multiple drugs is beneficial for achieving sufficient anesthesia while minimizing the side effects of individual agents. However, only a few studies have explored the use of multimodal anesthesia in penguins.

Questionnaire-based survey on the extent of lymph node dissection during interval debulking surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with advanced ovarian cancer in the Gynecologic Cancer Study Group of JCOG.

Background: The significance of lymph node dissection (LND) in primary debulking surgery (PDS) for advanced ovarian cancer was demonstrated in the LION trial. However, the role and the current practices of LND during interval debulking surgery (IDS) remains unclear. We aimed to conduct a survey of the current LND practices.

Genetic and pharmacologic enhancement of SUMO2 conjugation prevents and reverses cognitive impairment and synaptotoxicity in a preclinical model of Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Amyloid beta oligomers (Aβos) are toxic to synapses and key to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amyloid pathology, representing a target for therapeutic strategies.

Methods: Amyloid and small ubiquitin modifier 2 (SUMO2) transgenics were analyzed by electrophysiology and behavioral testing. A recombinant analogue of SUMO2, SBT02, was generated and assessed for brain penetration and the ability to mitigate amyloid pathology.

Effects of snowmelt runoff on bacterial communities and antimicrobial resistance gene concentrations in an urban river in a cold climate region.

Urban rivers are essential for human activities and ecosystems. Urban runoff is a major source of various pollutants in urban rivers. In this study, we investigated the effect of rainfall and snowmelt subsequently causing urban runoff in a cold climate region on bacterial community structures and antimicrobial resistance gene concentrations in an urban river in Sapporo city, Japan, which has an average snowfall of 4.

Combination of medical therapy and percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty versus medical therapy alone for patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis: systematic review and meta-analysis.

We investigated whether the combination of medical therapy plus percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) provides superior clinical outcomes compared to those afforded by medical therapy alone in patients with hypertension due to atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The evaluated outcomes included: (1) cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality, (2) the incidence of CVD events, (3) changes in blood pressure (BP), (4) suppression of renal function decline, (5) changes in the number of antihypertensive drugs used, and (6) serious adverse events. Nine RCTs involving 2275 patients were analyzed, revealing that the combination therapy significantly reduced the number of antihypertensive drugs compared to medical therapy alone (mean difference: -0.

Comprehensive analysis of calcification frequency and patterns in ovarian tumours using non-contrast CT.

Objectives: To investigate the frequency and patterns of calcification in ovarian tumours and evaluate their association with various histological types and malignancy grades.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who underwent non-contrast CT between March 2015 and March 2024 and had pathologically confirmed ovarian tumours. CT scans were reviewed for the presence and patterns of calcification (punctate, linear, coarse, and amorphous) by three radiologists.

A Phase II Trial of Trastuzumab Combined With Irinotecan in Patients With Advanced HER2-positive Chemotherapy-refractory Gastric Cancer (OGSG1203 HERBIS-5): Final Results.

Background/aim: Irinotecan is a key drug for patients with advanced gastric cancer. We assessed the efficacy and safety of combination chemotherapy with trastuzumab and irinotecan in patients with advanced human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2)-positive chemotherapy-refractory gastric cancer.

Patients And Methods: Eligibility criteria included unresectable or recurrent HER2-positive gastric cancer patients who were refractory to at least one regimen of chemotherapy.

Dose Reduction of -TKIs for -positive Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

Background/aim: The gene was the first driver gene discovered in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has improved patient prognosis, but often at reduced doses. Conventional dose determination methods for cytotoxic antitumor drugs were not applicable to -TKIs and were determined differently. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of patients undergoing -TKI dose reduction, and the impact of such dose reduction on survival.

The significance of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for evaluating circadian blood pressure variations affected by alcohol consumption.

Possible diurnal blood pressure variation change due to alcohol consumption. • Normally, blood pressure declines by around 10-20% at night compared to daytime (nocturnal decline, orange line). • In the acute phase of alcohol consumption, blood pressure declines from the original blue line due to vasodilation caused by alcohol and then increases (orange arrow, and brown line).

Does Adding a Modality Really Make a Positive Impacts in Incomplete Multi-modal Brain Tumor Segmentation?

Previous incomplete multi-modal brain tumor segmentation technologies, while effective in integrating diverse modalities, commonly deliver under-expected performance gains. The reason lies in that the new modality may cause confused predictions due to uncertain and inconsistent patterns and quality in some positions, where the direct fusion consequently raises the negative gain for the final decision. In this paper, considering the potentially negative impacts within a modality, we propose multi-modal Positive-Negative impact region Double Calibration pipeline, called PNDC, to mitigate misinformation transfer of modality fusion.

Prion Positivity Detected by Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) in the Cadaver of an Elderly Woman Subjected to Forensic Autopsy.

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders. Previous studies have indicated the presence of "prion carriers" who remain asymptomatic, but scrapie prion protein (PrP) has begun to accumulate in the brain. Indeed, we identified an undiagnosed case of prion disease in a cadaver used for the anatomical practice of medical students.

A Case of Pleuroparenchymal Fibroelastosis.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a rare fibrotic lung disease with a poor prognosis. Some patients with PPFE have prominent lesions in one upper lobe. Due to the unilateral nature of lesions, similarities between some patients of PPFE and unilateral upper field pulmonary fibrosis (unilateral upper-PF) have been indicated.

A case of relapsed pan-colonic ulcerative colitis accompanied with gastroduodenal lesions immediately after COVID-19.

Some patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) suffer from complicated UC-associated upper gastrointestinal lesions. However, the trigger of these lesions has not been clarified. Herein, we present a 28-year-old man with relapsed pan-colonic UC accompanied by gastroduodenal lesions immediately after contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Spontaneous Remission in a Patient with Anti-OJ Autoantibodies-positive Anti-synthetase Syndrome Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection and mRNA Vaccination: A Case Report.

Anti-synthetase syndrome (ASyS) is a subset of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies characterized by a triad of myositis, interstitial lung disease, and arthritis. Patients with ASyS are generally treated with glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, or both. We encountered a 53-year-old woman who developed anti-OJ autoantibodies-positive anti-synthetase syndrome following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and Cov-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination.

Acquired human speech sounds replace conspecific syllables in the song of Budgerigars Melopsittacus undulatus.

The psittacine budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus, a parrot species known to be a vocal learner, produces long and complex songs composed of different syllable types. Budgerigars can imitate heterospecific sounds as new song syllables, including human speech, but it is unclear how the imitative sounds affect the proportion of different syllables or high-order song structure, such as temporal pattern, which is characteristic of the budgerigar song. We analyzed recordings of songs from six adult male budgerigars with or without imitations of Japanese words to identify whether songs with imitations differed in structure from those without imitations.

High-dose radiation preferentially induces the clonal expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells over mature T and B cells in mouse bone marrow.

Radiation induces clonal hematopoiesis (CH) involving high-frequency somatic mutations in hematopoietic cells. However, the effects of radiation on clonal expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells and lymphocytes remain elusive. Here, we investigate CH mutations and T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) sequences within the bone marrow cells of mice 18 months after irradiation (3 Gy) and age-matched controls.

Evolving treatments and prognosis in Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer: 20 years of progress of novel therapies.

Background: Advancements in pharmacotherapy, including molecular targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors, have revolutionized the treatment for Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) over the past two decades. However, differences in drug approval timelines across countries raise important questions about their impact on survival rates. This study investigates trends in overall survival (OS), patient characteristics, and the association between OS improvements and the introduction of new drugs.

Effect of basic-fibroblast growth factor on tympanic membrane perforation in a mouse model of blast injury.

Background: Tympanic membrane perforation (TMP) caused by blast injury result in poor TMP closure and pathological regeneration of the tympanic membrane (TM). TM regeneration therapy using basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has demonstrated good outcomes for chronic otitis media.

Aims/objectives: To investigate the efficacy of bFGF treatment in the management of blast-induced TMP.

Assessment of safety and patency of 7-mm covered metal stents for preoperative biliary drainage in pancreatic cancer: Prospective multicenter study.

Background And Study Aims: For preoperative biliary drainage of pancreatic cancer (PC), a 10-mm diameter metal stent (MS) is commonly used; however, the rate of pancreatitis is high. It is hypothesized that smaller-diameter MS may reduce the rate of pancreatitis. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter prospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 7-mm MS.

Theoretical Estimation Based on CT Images and Experiments on the Sound Absorption Coefficient of Foam Materials with Removed Membrane.

The structure of foam sound absorbers is not strictly regular, and it is difficult to create a geometric model. In this study, a method for estimating the sound absorption properties of foam sound absorbers with the membrane removed was proposed based on computed tomography (CT) scan images: the circumference of the structure and the cross-sectional area of the voids in the foam cross-section were determined from CT scans of foam materials. The propagation constant and characteristic impedance at the voids were obtained by approximating the foam material cross-section as the clearance between two planes, and the transfer matrix method was used to calculate the normal incident sound absorption coefficient.

Quality of life of patients with pustular psoriasis is inferior to that of patients with plaque psoriasis in Japan: A multicenter study with questionnaires, the short Form-36, and other patient-reported outcomes.

Generalized pustular psoriasis is a rare but severe form of psoriasis, accounting for 7.5% of all psoriasis cases. We investigated whether the disease burden and quality of life of patients with generalized pustular psoriasis were lower than those of patients with psoriasis vulgaris in Japan.

Feasibility of Proton Beam Therapy for Para-Aortic Lymph Node Recurrence in Patients With Gynecologic Cancer After Pelvic Irradiation: A Case Series.

Aim: Irradiation of para-aortic lymph node recurrences in patients with prior pelvic irradiation raises concerns about overlapping irradiated fields, which should be minimized to reduce severe adverse events. We report six gynecologic cancer patients treated with proton beam therapy for para-aortic lymph node recurrence after pelvic irradiation.

Methods: Six patients who received proton beam therapy for para-aortic lymph node recurrence after pelvic irradiation between 2010 and 2022 were included.

Keratinocyte-driven dermal collagen formation in the axolotl skin.

Type I collagen is a major component of the dermis and is formed by dermal fibroblasts. The development of dermal collagen structures has not been fully elucidated despite the major presence and importance of the dermis. This lack of understanding is due in part to the opacity of mammalian skin and it has been an obstacle to cosmetic and medical developments.

Quality-adjusted survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with fruquintinib plus best supportive care: results from FRESCO-2.

Background: Treatment toxicity and disease-related symptoms of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) can adversely affect quality of life (QoL). Maintaining QoL is an important treatment goal alongside improving survival outcomes. Quality-adjusted time without symptoms of disease or toxicity (Q-TWiST) measures the quality of patients' survival by assessing the proportion of survival time that is free of symptoms/toxicity.