Metastatic Status and Dissection Effect of Regional/Extraregional Lymph Nodes in Japanese Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Canal: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: Squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is a rare condition. Standard treatment includes chemoradiotherapy, with surgical treatment reserved for limited cases. In the future, the decrease in surgical frequency makes it more difficult to pathologically assess the depth of tumor invasion and lymph node status; therefore, those studies based on relatively recent surgical cases may offer valuable insights into diagnosing and treating SCCA.

Predictive role of ABC transporters in the efficacy of enfortumab vedotin for urothelial carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter expression and therapeutic efficacy of enfortumab vedotin (EV), an antibody-drug conjugate targeting Nectin-4, in urothelial cancer, as only a few studies have been conducted on this topic.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study included 20 patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), including bladder and upper urinary tract cancers, who were treated with EV at Dokkyo Medical University Hospital between 2022 and 2024. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples.

Help-seeking for depression among Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan and factors related to their intentions to seek help from a psychiatrist: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Foreign workers are at risk for depression, and Vietnamese people tend to be reluctant to seek professional mental health care. Although Vietnamese people are the largest population among foreign workers in Japan, evidence concerning their help-seeking experiences and strategies to promote help-seeking in this population is lacking. This study aimed to identify the percentage of Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan who have sought help from healthcare professionals for depressive symptoms and to explore the factors related to their intentions to seek help from a psychiatrist.

PARP inhibition-associated heterochromatin confers increased DNA replication stress and vulnerability to ATR inhibition in SMARCA4-deficient cells.

DNA replication stress (RS), a prevalent feature of various malignancies, arises from both genetic mutations and genotoxic exposure. Elevated RS levels increase the vulnerability of cancer cells to ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related kinase inhibitors (ATRis). Here, we screened for DNA damage response inhibitors that enhance ATRi-induced cytotoxicity using SWI/SNF complex-deficient cells and identified a potent synergy between ATRi and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor (PARPi), particularly in SMARCA4-deficient cells.

Targeting of retrovirus-derived / causes late-onset obesity, reduced social response and increased apathy-like behaviour.

Retrotransposon Gag-like (RTL) 8A, 8B and 8C are eutherian-specific genes derived from a certain retrovirus. They cluster as a triplet of genes on the X chromosome, but their function remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that and play important roles in the brain: their double knockout (DKO) mice not only exhibit reduced social responses and increased apathy-like behaviour, but also become obese from young adulthood, similar to patients with late Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a neurodevelopmental genomic imprinting disorder.

Optimized human dedifferentiated fat cells from the buccal fat pad-derived osteoinductive extracellular vesicles promote osteoblast differentiation.

Background/purpose: Bone reconstruction in the maxillofacial region typically relies on autologous bone grafting, which presents challenges, including donor site complications and graft limitations. Recent advances in tissue engineering have identified highly pure and proliferative dedifferentiated fat cells (DFATs) as promising alternatives. Herein, we explored the capacity for osteoblast differentiation and the osteoinductive characteristics of extracellular vesicles derived from DFATs (DFAT-EVs).

Relationship between oral health literacy and changes in self-assessment of oral health during COVID-19.

Background/purpose: Health literacy is thought to play a major role in implementing health behaviors, such as preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between oral health literacy (OHL), dietary literacy (DL), and changes in oral health and eating habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials And Methods: The self-assessment questionnaire, including questions on oral and dietary conditions for each period of the COVID-19 pandemic, sources of information, OHL, DL, and frequency of COVID-19 prevention measures, was administered using a web research company.

Oral care methods to reduce salivary bacteria in infants undergoing cardiac surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Background/purpose: Complications, such as postoperative pneumonia, can occur after pediatric cardiac surgery; however, studies on related changes in perioperative oral bacterial counts are scarce. Herein, we investigated the changes in oral bacterial counts before and after surgery in infants who underwent cardiac surgery, as well as after oral care using an antiseptic mouthwash.

Materials And Methods: A total of 102 infants who underwent congenital heart disease surgery were enrolled in this study.

Association and relevant factors between objective masticatory performance and subjective masticatory ability among community-dwelling older adults.

Background/purpose: Dentists often focus on masticatory performance (MP) rather than masticatory ability (MA) and treatment expectations when evaluating older adults. This study aimed to determine if MA aligns with MP and to explore influencing factors.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling, including one thousand community-dwelling adults aged 60 and older.

Evaluating the image recognition capabilities of GPT-4V and Gemini Pro in the Japanese national dental examination.

Background/purpose: OpenAI's GPT-4V and Google's Gemini Pro, being Large Language Models (LLMs) equipped with image recognition capabilities, have the potential to be utilized in future medical diagnosis and treatment, ands serve as valuable educational support tools for students. This study compared and evaluated the image recognition capabilities of GPT-4V and Gemini Pro using questions from the Japanese National Dental Examination (JNDE) to investigate their potential as educational support tools.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 160 questions from the 116th JNDE, administered in March 2023, using ChatGPT-4V, and Gemini Pro, which have image recognition functions.

Epidemiology of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: a descriptive study using a Japanese national administrative claims database.

https://bit.ly/3Z7uBkg.

Anatomic variations in origin and coursing of the transverse cervical artery: morphogenesis and relation to the high arch-shaped subclavian artery.

This case report presents an atypical transverse cervical artery with its detailed anatomy, morphogenesis, and association with the high arch-shaped subclavian artery. The atypical arteries, related arteries, and adjacent cervical and brachial plexuses were macroscopically examined in a 98-year-old Japanese female cadaver donated to The Nippon Dental University for medical education and research. The atypical deep branch of the transverse cervical artery originated from the internal thoracic artery and passed through between the C5 and C6 roots, in close contact with the C5 and C6 junction, to reach the dorsal side of the brachial plexus.

Erector Spinae Muscle to Epicardial Visceral Fat Ratio on Chest CT Predicts the Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Background: Chest computed tomography (CT) is a valuable tool for diagnosing and predicting the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and assessing extrapulmonary organs. Reduced muscle mass and visceral fat accumulation are important features of a body composition phenotype in which obesity and muscle loss coexist, but their relationship with COVID-19 outcomes remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between the erector spinae muscle (ESM) to epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) ratio (ESM/EAT) on chest CT and disease severity in patients with COVID-19.

Relationship Between p.R4810K and Echocardiographic Findings in Patients with Cerebrovascular Diseases: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: RING finger protein 213 () p.R4810K is an established risk factor for moyamoya disease and intracranial artery stenosis in East Asian people. Recent evidence suggests its potential association with extracranial cardiovascular diseases, including pulmonary hypertension.

Nationwide multi-centric prospective study for the identification of biomarkers to predict the treatment responses of nivolumab through comprehensive analyses of pretreatment plasma exosome mRNAs from head and neck cancer patients (BIONEXT study).

Background: Nivolumab paved a new way in the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic (RM) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (RM-HNSCC). However, the limited rates of long-term survivors (< 20%) demand a robust prognostic biomarker. This nationwide multi-centric prospective study aimed to identify a plasma exosome (PEX) mRNA signature, which serves as a companion diagnostic of nivolumab and provides a biological clue to develop effective therapies for a majority of non-survivors.

Factors Associated With Rebleeding and Early Mortality Following Transcatheter Arterial Embolization for Spontaneous Muscle Hematoma: A Single-Center Experience Including the Period of the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic.

Objectives We aim to investigate factors associated with rebleeding and mortality within one month of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for spontaneous muscle hematoma (SMH) and the impact of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This retrospective analysis included 33 patients who underwent TAE for SMH at a single center between 2012 and 2022. After 2020, eight of these patients had the COVID-19 infection.

The Impact of Multidisciplinary Team Intervention for Early Mobilization of Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Stroke Care Unit: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To investigate the impact of multidisciplinary team (MDT) intervention for early mobilization (EM) of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: A retrospective uncontrolled before-after observational study was conducted to assess patient outcomes before and after introducing MDT in the stroke care unit (SCU). Participants admitted to the SCU from April 2017 to September 2023 were categorized into conventional (April 2017 to June 2020) and MDT (July 2020 to September 2023) groups.

Relationship Between an SNP and Relapse After Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation.

Unrelated bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a curative treatment for hematological malignancies. While HLA mismatch is a recognized risk factor in unrelated BMT, the significance of non-HLA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) remains uncertain. Cytokines play key roles in several aspects of unrelated BMT.

Neurofilament Light Chain Levels in Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid Do Not Correlate with Survival Times in Patients with Prion Disease.

Prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), are deadly neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the buildup of abnormal prion proteins in the brain. This accumulation disrupts neuronal functions, leading to the rapid onset of psychiatric symptoms, ataxia, and cognitive decline. The urgency of timely diagnosis for effective treatment necessitates the identification of strongly correlated biomarkers in bodily fluids, which makes our research crucial.

Emergence of Carbapenem-Resistant Harboring Isolated from River Water in Ghana.

, known for carrying the gene and linked to various diseases, is widely distributed. However, its prevalence in Ghana is unknown, mainly due to misidentification or inadequate research. In this study, for the first time, we characterized from Densu river water in Ghana.

Glucose Supplementation Enhances the Bactericidal Effect of Penicillin and Gentamicin on Persisters.

: is a leading cause of infective endocarditis (IE), which causes diverse clinical symptoms and even death. Recurrence after treatment is a crucial problem in IE, possibly caused by the presence of "persister" cells, a small bacterial population that can survive antimicrobials. In this study, the residual risk for penicillin G (PCG) and gentamicin (GM), used for treating IE, to induce persisters, was investigated.

Association between oral health-related quality of life and physical frailty among community-dwelling older adults: A 2-year longitudinal study.

Background: Frailty is a major health concern among older adults, and its association with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) remains underexplored in longitudinal studies.

Objective: To investigate the association between baseline OHRQoL and physical frailty incidence at a 2-year follow-up in community-dwelling older adults.

Design: Prospective longitudinal study.

Does Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head Increase Early Complication Rates After Total Hip Arthroplasty? A Japanese Nationwide Medical Claims Database Study.

Background: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) and osteoarthritis (OA) are two common diagnoses for patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). The early surgical complications in THA for ONFH compared to OA are inconsistently reported. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate whether THA for ONFH was associated with early postoperative complications in comparison to THA for OA using a large database of Japanese patients.

C-type natriuretic peptide suppresses VEGFa gene expression by attenuating IL6-STAT3 signal pathway in primary synovial fibroblasts from rat knee.

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) can be a new disease-modifying anti-osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD) candidate because intraarticular injection of CNP attenuates both articular cartilage degradation and persistent pain in a rat knee arthritis model. This study aimed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms by which CNP protects the knee joint from osteoarthritic changes. Gene expression analyses indicated that CNP did not interfere with the expression of IL1β -responsive genes in rat primary synovial fibroblasts or the monocytic cell line, RAW264.

Treatment of peri-implant mucositis using an Er:YAG laser or an ultrasonic device: a randomized, controlled clinical trial.

Purpose: The study assessed the clinical outcomes following treatment of peri-implant mucositis using Er:YAG laser or an ultrasonic device over six months. Patients' experience of pain, aesthetics, and Quality of life were further assessed.

Methods: One dental implant, per included patient, diagnosed with peri-implant mucositis underwent treatment with an Er:YAG laser (test) or an ultrasonic scaler (control) randomly.