Effect of changes in skin properties due to diabetes mellitus on the titration period of transdermal fentanyl: single-center retrospective study and diabetic animal model study.

Background: In the dose titration of transdermal fentanyl to prevent unrelieved pain, it is important to consider not only dose adjustment, but also the titration period, which is influenced by the time required to reach the steady state. Many patients with cancer pain experience comorbidities that might affect the skin properties and influence transdermal absorption. We hypothesized that skin changes due to diabetes mellitus (DM) would affect the titration period of transdermal fentanyl.

Effect of obesity on pharmacokinetics of transdermal fentanyl: Single-center retrospective study and animal study.

A retrospective study and an animal study were conducted to investigate factors affecting the transdermal fentanyl dose to achieve adequate pain relief in patients switched from other opioids. In the retrospective study, patient factors were included as gender, age, body mass index (BMI), and serum albumin concentration. In obese (BMI ≥25) patients, the post-titration dose of transdermal fentanyl was significantly lower than in normal (BMI 18.

Unilateral lattice corneal dystrophy with c.1501C>A (p.P501T) and c.1733T>C (p.L578P) variants in the transforming growth factor-beta induced gene: a case report.

Background: Corneal dystrophies (CDs) significantly affect quality of life. However, their progression and characteristics remain unclear. This study aimed to report a case of a unilateral variant of lattice corneal dystrophy (LCD) with c.

Diameter-dependent classification of dermal vasculature using optical coherence tomography angiography.

Background: Dermal blood vessels beneath the epidermis play critical roles in epidermal homeostasis and are functionally divided into several types, such as capillaries. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is a powerful tool for the non-invasive assessment of dermal vasculature. However, the classification of vessel types has been limited.

High-affinity tuning of single fluorescent protein-type indicators by flexible linker length optimization in topology mutant.

Genetically encoded Ca indicators (GECIs) are versatile for live imaging of cellular activities. Besides the brightness and dynamic range of signal change of GECIs, Ca affinity is another critical parameter for successful Ca imaging, as the concentration range of Ca dynamics differs from low nanomolar to sub-millimolar depending on the celltype and organism. However, ultrahigh-affinity GECIs, particularly the single fluorescent protein (1FP)-type, are lacking.

Biphenotypic Cells and α-Synuclein Accumulation in Enteric Neurons of Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 Knockout Mice.

Background: Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 is a molecule that is responsible for familial Parkinson's disease. Our previous findings revealed that leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 is expressed in the enteric nervous system. However, which cells in the enteric nervous system express leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 and whether leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 is associated with the structure of the enteric nervous system remain unclear.

Characterization of the collagen network of human cheek skin using ultrasonic microscopy.

Dermal collagen is the most abundant component of human skin and has a network structure that regulates the mechanical properties of the skin. Therefore, non-invasive characterization of the collagen network would be beneficial for the evaluation of skin conditions. The microscopic substructures of the network, which are individual bundles and fibers, have been optically investigated.

High IL2RA/CD25 expression is a prognostic stem cell biomarker for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia without a core-binding factor.

CD25 is an aberrant marker expressed on the leukemic stem cell (LSC) surface and an immunotherapy target in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the clinical prevalence and significance of CD25 expression in pediatric AML are unknown. High IL2RA/CD25 expression in pediatric AML showed a stem cell-like phenotype, and elevated CD25 expression was associated with lower overall survival (p < .

Interleukin-13 Mediates Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory-Drug-Induced Small Intestinal Mucosal Injury with Ulceration.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are antipyretics and analgesics, cause gastrointestinal disorders, such as inflammation and ulcers. To prescribe NSAIDs more safely, it is important to clarify the mechanism of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal mucosal injury. However, there is a paucity of studies on small intestinal mucosal damage by NSAIDs, and it is currently unknown whether inflammation and ulceration also occur in the small intestine, and whether mediators are involved in the mechanism of injury.

Correlation between the efficacy of picosecond-domain laser treatment for solar lentigo and the vascularity in the upper dermis using optical coherence tomography angiography in Asian women.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to noninvasively confirm the characteristics of the dermal vasculature in patients with solar lentigo (SL) and determine any association with the efficacy of picosecond-domain laser (PSL) treatment.

Methods: Thirteen facial SL lesions in 11 Asian female patients were included in this study and evaluated over 12 weeks. An Nd:YAG laser was used at 532 nm and 750 ps.

Microrheology near jamming.

The jamming transition is a nonequilibrium critical phenomenon, which governs characteristic mechanical properties of jammed soft materials, such as pastes, emulsions, and granular matters. Both experiments and theory of jammed soft materials have revealed that the complex modulus measured by conventional macrorheology exhibits a characteristic frequency dependence. Microrheology is a new type of method to obtain the complex modulus, which transforms the microscopic motion of probes to the complex modulus through the generalized Stokes relation (GSR).

TP53 and RB1 alterations characterize poor prognostic subgroups in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia.

Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a poor prognostic subtype of pediatric leukemia. However, the detailed characteristics of many genetic abnormalities are yet to be established in this disease. Although TP53 and RB1 are established as representative tumor suppressor genes in various cancers, alterations of these two genes, especially RB1, have not been characterized in pediatric AML.

A Comparison of the Corneal Thickness Following Descemet's Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty and Descemet's Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To compare the central corneal thickness before and after Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK), and to evaluate the recipient corneal thickness following DSAEK.

Methods: The corneal thickness was compared between two groups of eyes following DMEK and DSAEK, performed by a single surgeon between 2015 and 2017. We evaluated the recipient corneal thickness and central corneal thickness pre- and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months using anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

Relationship between arthritis of the second and third tarsometatarsal joints and incongruity of the first tarsometatarsal joint in patients with hallux valgus.

Objectives: Hallux valgus is associated with tarsometatarsal arthritis; its pathophysiology remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the relationship between arthritis of the second and third tarsometatarsal joints and incongruity of the first tarsometatarsal joint in the sagittal plane.

Methods: Forty-three patients (64 feet) with hallux valgus who underwent surgery at University Hospital Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine were included and divided into two groups: control (without second and third tarsometatarsal joint degeneration) and osteoarthritis (with second and third tarsometatarsal joint degeneration).

Low-frequency vibrational states in ideal glasses with random pinning.

Glasses exhibit spatially localized vibrations in the low-frequency regime. These localized modes emerge below the boson peak frequency ω_{BP}, and their vibrational densities of state follow g(ω)∝ω^{4} (ω is frequency). Here, we attempt to address how the localized vibrations behave through the ideal glass transition.

Gap junctional intercellular communication attenuates osteoclastogenesis induced by activated osteoblasts.

Osteoblasts participate in both bone formation through the synthesis of extracellular matrix and osteoclast differentiation through the expression of osteoclast differentiation factor. Osteoblasts communicate with each other via gap junctions (GJ), which enable small molecules, such as cAMP, to move to adjacent cells. Therefore, we focused on the role of cAMP propagation between osteoblasts via GJ in the osteoclast-supporting activity of osteoblasts.

Effects of Food and Temperature on Reproductive Dormancy as Revealed by Quantification of a GFP-Tagged Yolk Protein in the Ovary.

When exposed to harsh environmental conditions, such as food scarcity and/or low temperature, females enter reproductive dormancy, a metabolic state that enhances stress resistance for survival at the expense of reproduction. Although the absence of egg chambers carrying yolk from the ovary has been used to define reproductive dormancy in this species, this definition is susceptible to false judgements of dormancy events: e.g.

Japanese travel behavior trends and change under COVID-19 state-of-emergency declaration: Nationwide observation by mobile phone location data.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japan government could not impose strong restrictions such as lockdowns. Since there has been no such nation-wide behavioral analysis, we calculated indicators of nation-wide behavioral change using data based on mobile phone network.This study shows empirical facts and findings on behavioral changes under COVID-19 "state-of-emergency" declarations in Japan that are obtained by using mobile terminal network operational data.

Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of the minor clone of KIT D816V in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia especially showing RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcripts.

KIT D816V mutation within exon 17 has been particularly reported as one of the poor prognostic factors in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with RUNX1-RUNX1T1. The exact frequency and the prognostic impact of KIT D816V minor clones at diagnosis were not examined. In this study, the minor clones were examined and the prognostic significance of KIT D816V mutation in pediatric patients was investigated.

JRAB/MICAL-L2 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation to form tubular recycling endosomes.

Elongated tubular endosomes play essential roles in diverse cellular functions. Multiple molecules have been implicated in tubulation of recycling endosomes, but the mechanism of endosomal tubule biogenesis has remained unclear. In this study, we found that JRAB/MICAL-L2 induces endosomal tubulation via activated Rab8A.

Effects of Fiber Stiffening to a Soft Actuator with PEDOT/PSS Electrode Films on Actuation Cycling Stability.

In this work, we fabricated a fiber-stiffened soft actuator with PEDOT/PSS films as electrode. Embedding nylon fibers in the soft actuator successfully suppressed twisting deformations, resulting in a large and persistent actuation displacement. We evaluated the effects of the fiber spacing (1, 2, 3 and 4 mm) on the displacement and assessed the actuation displacement as a function of applied voltage (0.