Current Status of and Barriers to Primary Palliative Care Recognized by Critical Care Specialist Nurses: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Survey in Japan.

To investigate the current state of primary palliative care practice in Japanese critical care settings, identify care perceived as equivalent to primary palliative care, and explore the barriers. We employed a quantitative descriptive questionnaire survey with a nationwide cross-sectional design involving 740 critical care specialist nurses. Questionnaires were received from 384 nurses, yielding a response rate of 51.

Evaluation of electrical activity at the carpal tunnel area in response to median nerve elbow stimulation using magnetoneurography.

Objective: To develop a magnetic field measurement method in the carpal tunnel area in response to electrical median nerve stimulation at the elbow and evaluate its usefulness.

Methods: Five healthy subjects participated. The magnetic field recording evoked by median nerve electrical stimulation at the elbow with electrical intensity that minimized the pronator quadratus and flexor carpi radialis muscle response was measured with 132-channel superconducting quantum interference device magnetoneurography.

Intensive care unit interventions to improve quality of dying and death: scoping review.

Background: Intensive care units (ICUs) have mortality rates of 10%-29% owing to illness severity. Postintensive care syndrome-family affects bereaved relatives, with a prevalence of 26% at 3 months after bereavement, increasing the risk for anxiety and depression. Complicated grief highlights issues such as family presence at death, inadequate physician communication and urgent improvement needs in end-of-life care.

Discovery of Novel Bicyclic Pyrazoles as Potent PIP5K1C Inhibitors.

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) is generated by phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinases (PIP5Ks) from phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P). Structurally diverse and selective inhibitors against PIP5Ks are required to further elucidate the therapeutic potential for PIP5K inhibition, although the effects of PIP5K inhibition on various diseases and their symptoms, such as cancer and chronic pain, have been reported. Our medicinal chemistry efforts led to novel and potent PIP5K1C inhibitors.

Discrimination between healthy participants and people with panic disorder based on polygenic scores for psychiatric disorders and for intermediate phenotypes using machine learning.

Objective: Panic disorder is a modestly heritable condition. Currently, diagnosis is based only on clinical symptoms; identifying objective biomarkers and a more reliable diagnostic procedure is desirable. We investigated whether people with panic disorder can be reliably diagnosed utilizing combinations of multiple polygenic scores for psychiatric disorders and their intermediate phenotypes, compared with single polygenic score approaches, by applying specific machine learning techniques.

Assessing ulnar neuropathy at the elbow using magnetoneurography.

Objective: To measure neuromagnetic fields of ulnar neuropathy patients at the elbow after electrical stimulation and evaluate ulnar nerve function at the elbow with high spatial resolution.

Methods: A superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer system recorded neuromagnetic fields of the ulnar nerve at the elbow after electrical stimulation at the wrist in 16 limbs of 16 healthy volunteers and 21 limbs of 20 patients with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. After artifact removal, neuromagnetic field signals were processed into current distributions, which were superimposed onto X-ray images for visualization.

Optical manipulation and fusion of aqueous droplets containing inorganic and organic solutes in air using the dual-beam laser trapping technique.

The comparative evaluation of two aerosol droplets of different chemical compositions using the dual-beam laser trapping technique can be employed for highly sensitive and accurate measurements of the water activities of such droplets. However, it is technically difficult to load droplets of different chemical compositions into adjacent optical traps that are only a few tens of micrometers apart. To overcome this challenge, a chamber with an overhanging roof was created.

Association between immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced myocarditis and concomitant use of thiazide diuretics.

Although an association has been reported between diuretics and myocarditis, it is unclear whether the risk of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced myocarditis is affected by concomitant diuretics. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of concomitant diuretics on ICI-induced myocarditis. This cross-sectional study used disproportionality analysis and a pharmacovigilance database to assess the risk of myocarditis with various diuretics in patients receiving ICIs via the analysis of data entered into the VigiBase database through December 2022.

Quality indicators for palliative care in intensive care units: a systematic review.

Background: Establishing appropriate quality assessment indicators for palliative care in intensive care units (ICUs) is vital. This systematic review summarizes the existing quality indicators (QIs) for palliative care in ICUs. It assesses the methodological quality of QI development to pave the way for more valid QIs.

Bepridil monotherapy failed to prevent coronary vasospasm in a Brugada syndrome patient.

Coronary vasospasm sometimes coexists with Brugada syndrome (BrS) and is reportedly associated with poor prognosis. Although calcium channel blockers are considered first-line drugs to prevent coronary vasospasm, they also have the potential to induce ST elevation and ventricular fibrillation (VF) in BrS. Therefore, the optimal medication for such a complicated case is still underdetermined.

Content-based image retrieval for the diagnosis of myocardial perfusion imaging using a deep convolutional autoencoder.

Background: Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) plays a crucial role in the optimal treatment strategy for patients with coronary heart disease. We tested the feasibility of feature extraction from MPI using a deep convolutional autoencoder (CAE) model.

Methods: Eight hundred and forty-three pairs of stress and rest myocardial perfusion images were collected from consecutive patients who underwent cardiac scintigraphy in our hospital between December 2019 and February 2022.

Current status of palliative care delivery and self-reported practice in ICUs in Japan: a nationwide cross-sectional survey of physician directors.

Background: It is currently unknown how widespread is the practice of palliative care in intensive care units (ICUs) in Japan. This study aimed to determine evaluate the delivery and self-reported practice of palliative care in ICUs in Japan.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was sent to the physician directors of all 873 ICUs in Japan in August 2020.

Discovery of Brain-Penetrant Glucosylceramide Synthase Inhibitors with a Novel Pharmacophore.

Inhibition of glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) is a major therapeutic strategy for Gaucher's disease and has been suggested as a potential target for treating Parkinson's disease. Herein, we report the discovery of novel brain-penetrant GCS inhibitors. Assessment of the structure-activity relationship revealed a unique pharmacophore in this series.

Moderately Oxidizing Thioxanthylium Organophotoredox Catalysts for Radical-Cation Diels-Alder Reactions.

Moderately oxidizing thioxanthylium photoredox catalysts that operate under irradiation with green light have been developed. These catalysts exhibit relatively moderate excited-state reduction potentials [(C*/C) = 1.75-1.

Development of the temperature-dependent interatomic potential for molecular dynamics simulation of metal irradiated with an ultrashort pulse laser.

Laser ablation is often explained by a two-temperature model (TTM) with different electron and lattice temperatures. To realize a classical molecular dynamics simulation of the TTM, we propose an extension of the embedded atom method to construct an interatomic potential that is dependent on the electron temperature. This method is applied to copper, and its validity is demonstrated by comparison of several physical properties, such as the energy-volume curve, phonon dispersion, electronic heat capacity, ablation threshold, and mean square displacement of atoms, with those of finite-temperature density functional theory.

Association between on-road driving performance test and usual walking speed or sustainable attention in the elderly; Preliminary survey.

Objective: An increase in older drivers has been widely recognized in Japan; accordingly, screening to prevent traffic accidents is a crucial issue for safe driving. As a preliminary study, we examined the association between on-road driving performance and cognition or physical performance in older individuals.

Methods: The survey was conducted in 2020, and the participants were recruited in Katagami City, Akita, Japan.

Attitudes of Physicians toward Palliative Care in Intensive Care Units: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey in Japan.

Context: Palliative care is an essential component of comprehensive care for patients with critical illnesses. In Japan, little is known about palliative care in intensive care units (ICUs), and palliative care approaches are not widespread.

Objective: This study aimed to better understand the attitudes of physicians toward palliative care and the utilization and needs of specialized palliative care consultations in ICUs in Japan.

A new brain-penetrant glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor as potential Therapeutics for Gaucher disease.

Gaucher disease (GD), the most common lysosomal storage disorders, is caused by GBA gene mutations resulting in glycosphingolipids accumulations in various tissues, such as the brain. While suppressing glycosphingolipid accumulation is the central strategy for treating peripheral symptoms of GD, there is no effective treatment for the central nervous system symptoms. As glycosphingolipid biosynthesis starts from ceramide glycosylation by glucosylceramide synthase (GCS), inhibiting GCS in the brain is a promising strategy for neurological GD.

Cumulative Adverse Event Reporting of Anaphylaxis After mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) Injections in Japan: The First-Month Report.

Introduction: In mid-February, the nationwide immunization plan for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in Japan (at first primarily focused on health professionals) using an mRNA-based vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech). During the phase-in period from February to March, attention was focused on post-vaccination anaphylaxis and anaphylactoid symptoms from the viewpoint of ensuring the safety of the vaccination program.

Objective: The aim of this report was to provide an update on the status of anaphylaxis and anaphylactoid symptoms occurring after vaccination for COVID-19, as reported under the Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) reporting system in Japan.

New Series of Potent Allosteric Inhibitors of Deoxyhypusine Synthase.

Deoxyhypusine synthase (DHPS) is the primary enzyme responsible for the hypusine modification and, thereby, activation of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A), which is key in regulating the protein translation processes associated with tumor proliferation. Although DHPS inhibitors could be a promising therapeutic option for treating cancer, only a few studies reported druglike compounds with this inhibition property. Thus, in this work, we designed and synthesized a new chemical series possessing fused ring scaffolds designed from high-throughput screening hit compounds, discovering a 5,6-dihydrothieno[2,3-]pyridine derivative () with potent inhibitory activity; furthermore, the X-ray crystallographic analysis of the DHPS complex with demonstrated a distinct allosteric binding mode compared to a previously reported inhibitor.