[Case of Long-Term Response to Radiotherapy for Intramedullary Spinal Cord Metastasis from Ovarian Cancer after Surgery].

Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis(ISCM)often causes spinal cord neuropathy and should be treated as an oncologic emergency. However, it recurs in most cases after treatment, ISCM is a disease with a very unfavorable prognosis. Herein, we report a successfully treated case of ISCM with emergent and high-dose radiotherapy.

Metacontrast masking is ineffective in the first 6 months of life.

Metacontrast masking is one of the most widely studied types of visual masking, in which a visual stimulus is rendered invisible by a subsequent mask that does not spatially overlap with the target. Metacontrast has been used for many decades as a tool to study visual processing and conscious perception in adults. However, there are so far no infant studies on metacontrast and it remains unknown even whether it occurs in infants.

Impact of augmented renal clearance on anticoagulant therapy in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019: A retrospective cohort study.

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the impact of augmented renal clearance (ARC) on anticoagulation therapy in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult patients with severe COVID-19 with ARC who had been treated at our hospital between 2020 and 2021. We measured the estimated glomerular filtration rate calculated by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration formula (eGFR) every morning, and ARC condition was defined as eGFR ≥ 130 mL/min/1.

Cold-induced vasodilation response in a Japanese cohort: insights from cold-water immersion and genome-wide association studies.

Background: Cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) occurs after blood vessels in the skin are constricted due to local cold exposure. Although many CIVD studies have been conducted, the underlying molecular mechanisms are yet to be clarified. Therefore, we explored genetic variants associated with CIVD response using the largest-scale dataset reported to date in a CIVD study involving wavelet analysis; thus, the findings improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate the CIVD response.

Recognition of humans from biological motion in infants.

Infant studies have suggested that the detection of biological motion (BM) might be an innate capacity, based on newborns' spontaneous preference for BM. However, it is unclear if, like adults, infants recognize humans from BM and are able to build the representation of bodies and faces. To address this issue, we tested whether exposure to BM influences subsequent face recognition in 3- to 8-month-old infants.

Midline fasciotomy for severe acute pancreatitis with abdominal compartment syndrome: Case report.

Introduction and Importance: The abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is defined as new-onset organ failure induced by sustained elevated intra-abdominal pressure (IAP). Surgical decompression to decrease IAP may be performed in addition to supportive therapy.

Case Presentation: A 42-year-old woman with a history of type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, alcohol disorder (130 g of daily alcohol intake), and schizophrenia presented to the emergency department with worsening abdominal pain and anorexia for 2 days.

Analysis of spatial point patterns in electron-counting images.

In this study, the spatial counting statistics of free electron beams, which were released via field emission from cold metal and propagated through a vacuum region, were investigated to examine the normal functioning of the counting equipment for electron correlation spectroscopy. The beam electrons were recorded separately according to the locations of individual events as they reached the direct detection transmission Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. We examined the spatial point patterns arising from the locations of the individual events of each primary electron being detected in the case of electrons in a state in which the wave function is constant on the sensor.

Enhanced oxidative stress and presence of ventricular aneurysm for risk prediction in cardiac sarcoidosis.

Objective: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the major cause of death in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). We aimed to identify the prognostic markers for sustained ventricular tachycardia (sVT) and SCD in patients with CS.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational cohort study for patients with CS diagnosed according to the Japanese or Heart Rhythm Society guidelines between June 2008 and March 2020 in our hospital.

Measuring the Concentration of Serum Syndecan-1 to Assess Vascular Endothelial Glycocalyx Injury During Hemodialysis.

Glycocalyx is present on the surface of healthy endothelium, and the concentration of serum syndecan-1 can serve as an injury marker. This study aimed to assess endothelial injury using serum syndecan-1 as a marker of endothelial glycocalyx injury in patients who underwent hemodialysis. In this single-center, retrospective, observational study, 145 patients who underwent hemodialysis at the Gifu University Hospital between March 2017 and December 2019 were enrolled.

Perception of invisible masked objects in early infancy.

Recurrent loops in the visual cortex play a critical role in visual perception, which is likely not mediated by purely feed-forward pathways. However, the development of recurrent loops is poorly understood. The role of recurrent processing has been studied using visual backward masking, a perceptual phenomenon in which a visual stimulus is rendered invisible by a following mask, possibly because of the disruption of recurrent processing.

Low-frequency oscillations of finger skin blood flow during the initial stage of cold-induced vasodilation at different air temperatures.

Background: Cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) is known to be influenced by the ambient temperature. Frequency analysis of blood flow provides information on physiological regulation of the cardiovascular system, such as myogenic, neurogenic, endothelial nitric oxide (NO) dependent, and NO-independent activities. In this study, we hypothesized that the major origin of CIVD occurs prior to the CIVD event and investigated finger skin blood flow during the initial stage of CIVD at different ambient temperatures using frequency analysis.

Development of Center-Surround Suppression in Infant Motion Processing.

Motion direction of a large high-contrast pattern is more difficult to perceive than that of a small one [1]. This counterintuitive perceptual phenomenon is considered to reflect surround suppression, a receptive field property observed in the visual cortex [2-5]. Here, we demonstrate that this phenomenon can be observed in human infants.

N-C-H···O Hydrogen bonds in protein-ligand complexes.

In the context of drug design, C-H···O hydrogen bonds have received little attention so far, mostly because they are considered weak relative to other noncovalent interactions such as O-H···O hydrogen bonds, π/π interactions, and van der Waals interactions. Herein, we demonstrate the significance of hydrogen bonds between C-H groups adjacent to an ammonium cation and an oxygen atom (N-C-H···O hydrogen bonds) in protein-ligand complexes. Quantum chemical calculations revealed details on the strength and geometrical requirements of these N-C-H···O hydrogen bonds, and a subsequent survey of the Protein Data Bank (PDB) based on these criteria suggested that numerous protein-ligand complexes contain such N-C-H···O hydrogen bonds.

Size-contrast illusion induced by unconscious context.

The present study examined whether the Ebbinghaus illusion can be induced by surrounding contexts that are suppressed from conscious perception. We employed continuous flash suppression to render the contextual stimuli invisible. The surrounding contexts were presented to one eye and the masking stimulus was presented to the other eye, followed by the presentation of the two center test stimuli to both eyes.

The reference frame of the tilt aftereffect measured by differential Pavlovian conditioning.

We used a differential Pavlovian conditioning paradigm to measure tilt aftereffect (TAE) strength. Gabor patches, rotated clockwise and anticlockwise, were used as conditioned stimuli (CSs), one of which (CS+) was followed by the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), whereas the other (CS-) appeared alone. The UCS was an air puff delivered to the left eye.

Surround-contingent motion aftereffect.

We investigated whether motion aftereffects (MAE) can be contingent on surroundings. Random dots moving leftward and rightward were presented in alternation. Moving dots were surrounded by an open circle or an open square.

Surround-contingent tilt aftereffect.

We investigated whether aftereffects can be contingent on surroundings. Gabor patches tilted clockwise and counterclockwise were presented in alternation. Each patch was surrounded by an open circle or an open square.

Activated hepatic stellate cells are dependent on self-collagen, cleaved by membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase for their growth.

Stellate cells are distributed throughout organs, where, upon chronic damage, they become activated and proliferate to secrete collagen, which results in organ fibrosis. An intriguing property of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is that they undergo apoptosis when collagen is resolved by stopping tissue damage or by treatment, even though the mechanisms are unknown. Here we disclose the fact that HSCs, normal diploid cells, acquired dependence on collagen for their growth during the transition from quiescent to active states.

Distinction of gases with a semiconductor sensor depending on the scanning profile of a cyclic temperature.

A gas-sensing system based on a dynamic nonlinear response is reported to improve the selectivity in the sensor response toward sample gases. A cyclic temperature composed of fundamental and second harmonics was applied to a SnO(2) semiconductor gas sensor and the resulting conductance of the sensor was analyzed by fast Fourier transformation (FFT). The dynamic nonlinear responses to the gas species were further characterized depending on the scanning profile of the temperature.

Optically active seleninate esters: isolation, absolute configuration, racemization mechanism, and transformation into chiral selenoxide.

Optically active seleninate esters were obtained for the first time by chromatographic resolution on an optically active column. The absolute configurations of the optically active seleninate esters were determined by comparing their chiroptical properties with those of two analogous sulfinate esters, the absolute configuration of one of which is known and that of the other was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The optically active seleninate esters were found to racemize in solution.

Optically active seleninamides: isolation, absolute configuration, and racemization mechanism.

Optically active seleninamides were obtained for the first time by chromatographic resolution on an optically active column. The absolute configurations of the optically active seleninamides were determined by comparing their chiroptical properties with those of analogous sulfinamides, the stereochemistry of which was determined by transformation into chiral sulfoxides of known configurations. The optically active seleninamides were found to racemize in solution.

Optical resolution and racemization mechanism of a tellurinic acid.

[reaction: see text] Optically active tellurinic acid was obtained for the first time by chromatographic resolution of racemic 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzenetellurinic acid (1) using a chiral column. Optically active tellurinic acid (+)-1 was stable toward racemization in hexane, although racemization occurred in hexane/2-propanol. The kinetic studies for the racemization, oxygen exchange reaction using H(2)(18)O, and theoretical studies clarified that the racemization of the optically active tellurinic acid in solution proceeds via a hypervalent tellurane formed by addition of water remaining in solvent.