Infective Endocarditis With Origin in Orbital Vascular Malformation and Maxillary Sinusitis: A Case Report and Review of Four Patients in the Literature.

Infective endocarditis is a life-threatening disease and the early diagnosis is crucial for a better outcome. We report an old adult who developed infective endocarditis in association with new-onset maxillary sinusitis as well as proptosis, which was caused by an orbital mass lesion in the background of pre-existing orbital vascular malformation. A 74-year-old woman was found incidentally to have right orbital vascular (venous) malformation by head magnetic resonance imaging when she was hospitalized for left dorsal pontine infarction.

Perspectives of traditional herbal medicines in treating retinitis pigmentosa.

Medicinal plants, also known as herbs, have been discovered and utilized in traditional medical practice since prehistoric times. Medicinal plants have been proven rich in thousands of natural products that hold great potential for the development of new drugs. Previously, we reviewed the types of Chinese traditional medicines that a Tang Dynasty monk Jianzhen (Japanese: Ganjin) brought to Japan from China in 742.

Efficient single-channel current measurements of the human BK channel using a liposome-immobilized gold probe.

The human BK channel (hBK) is an essential membrane protein that regulates various biological functions, and its dysfunction leads to serious diseases. Understanding the biophysical properties of hBK channels is crucial for drug development. Artificial lipid bilayer recording is used to measure biophysical properties at the single-channel level.

Cue modality modulates interaction between exogenous spatial attention and audiovisual integration.

Exogenous spatial attention attenuates audiovisual integration (AVI). Previous studies on the effects of exogenous spatial attention on AVI have focused on the inhibition of return (IOR) effect induced by visual cues and the facilitation effect induced by auditory cues, but the differences between the effects of exogenous spatial attention (induced by visual and auditory cues) on AVI remain unclear. The present study used the exogenous spatial cue-target paradigm and manipulated cue stimulus modality (visual cue, auditory cue) in two experiments (Experiment 1: facilitation effect; Experiment 2: IOR effect) to examine the effects of exogenous spatial attention (evoked by cues in different modalities) on AVI.

Axillary Reactive Lymphoid Hyperplasia, Likely Due to Unicentric Castleman Disease, and the Concurrent Presence of Orbital Mucosa-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (MALT) Lymphoma: A Six-Year Follow-Up Study.

Castleman disease is a lymphadenopathy of unknown cause at a single site, which is designated as unicentric Castleman disease, or at multiple sites designated as multicentric Castleman disease. We present a patient who showed axillary reactive lymphoid hyperplasia, likely due to unicentric Castleman disease, and orbital extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma in a six-year follow-up. A 76-year-old man had a painless left axillary mass for an unknown period and also left complete blepharoptosis with no other systemic symptoms.

The Modulatory Effect of Exogenous Orienting on Audiovisual Emotional Integration: An ERP Study.

Background: In this study, we explored the interplay between exogenous orienting attention and emotional audiovisual integration (AVI) via electroencephalography (EEG).

Methods: We designed a 2 (cue validity: valid, invalid) × 3 (emotion types: happiness, neutral and sadness) × 3 (modality: visual, auditory, audiovisual) discrimination task on the basis of the cue-target paradigm. Twenty-two participants (average age: 21.

Microdetection of Nucleocapsid Proteins via Terahertz Chemical Microscope Using Aptamers.

In the detection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), several methods have been employed, including the detection of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA), nucleocapsid (N) proteins, spike proteins, and antibodies. RNA detection, primarily through polymerase chain reaction tests, targets the viral genetic material, whereas antigen tests detect N and spike proteins to identify active infections. In addition, antibody tests are performed to measure the immune response, indicating previous exposure or vaccination.

Standardization of radiation therapy quality control system through mutual quality control based on failure mode and effects analysis.

The advancement of irradiation technology has increased the demand for quality control of radiation therapy equipment. Consequently, the number of quality control items and required personnel have also increased. However, differences in the proportion of qualified personnel to irradiation techniques have caused bias in quality control systems among institutions.

The tubulin polymerization inhibitor gambogenic acid induces myelodysplastic syndrome cell apoptosis through upregulation of Fas expression mediated by the NF-κB signaling pathway.

The development of an effective treatment for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is needed due to the insufficient efficacy of current therapies. Gambogenic acid (GNA) is a xanthone constituent of gamboge, a resin secreted by Hook. f.

Impaired emotional multimodal integration in inhibition of return in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children. Previous studies have shown that children with ADHD have impaired processing of emotional stimuli, but it is unclear whether their ability to integrate multimodal emotional stimuli is impaired and at which processing pathway this impairment exists. The present study investigated the ability of children with ADHD to integrate emotional audiovisual stimuli under different emotional conditions, and the effect of audiovisual integration on IOR to reveal the impaired processing pathway of their emotional audiovisual integration.

Presumed Choroidopathy of IgG4-Related Disease Discovered During 16-Year Follow-Up of a Patient With Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease is characterized by infiltration with IgG4-producing plasma cells in different organs and the elevation of serum IgG4. We present a patient with polycystic kidney disease in long-term follow-up who developed bilateral lacrimal gland enlargement and presumed IgG4-related choroidopathy at different time points. A 45-year-old woman developed bilateral upper eyelid swelling.

Personality and Health-Related Quality of Life of Older Chinese Adults: Cross-Sectional Study and Moderated Mediation Model Analysis.

Background: Personality has an impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older adults. However, the relationship and mechanisms of the 2 variables are controversial, and few studies have been conducted on older adults.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between personality and HRQoL and the mediating and moderating roles of sleep quality and place of residence in this relationship.

Audiovisual integration and sensory dominance effects in older adults with subjective cognitive decline: Enhanced redundant effects and stronger fusion illusion susceptibility.

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) refers to individuals' perceived decline in memory and/or other cognitive abilities relative to their previous level of performance. Sensory decline is one of the main manifestations of decline in older adults with SCD. The efficient integration of visual and auditory information, known as audiovisual integration, is a crucial perceptual process.

Effectiveness of sensing gloves-applied virtual reality education system on hand hygiene practice: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: We developed a virtual reality (VR) education system and evaluated its clinical utility for promoting hand hygiene practices.

Methods: This prospective, 2-week, randomized controlled study conducted at Okayama University Hospital, Japan, from November 2023 to January 2024, involved 22 participants (18 medical students and 4 residents). A fully immersive 360° VR system (VIVE Pro Eye) using a head-mounted display and sensing gloves was used to develop 3 health care tasks in a virtual patient room-Environmental Cleaning, Gauze Exchange, and Urine Collection.

The allocentric nature of ground-surface representation: A study of depth and location perception.

When observers perceive 3D relations, they represent depth and spatial locations with the ground as a reference. This frame of reference could be egocentric, that is, moving with the observer, or allocentric, that is, remaining stationary and independent of the moving observer. We tested whether the representation of relative depth and of spatial location took an egocentric or allocentric frame of reference in three experiments, using a blind walking task.

Uncovering a Latent Bioactive Interleukin-6 Glycoform.

A bioinspired semisynthesis of human-interleukin-6 bearing N-glycan at Asn143 (143glycosyl-IL-6) was performed by intentional glycosylation effects and protein folding chemistry for regioselective peptide-backbone activation. 143Glycosyl-IL-6 is a genetically coded cytokine, but isolation was difficult owing to a tiny amount. IL6-polypeptide (1-141-position) with an intentionally inserted cysteine at 142-position was expressed in E.

Anterior Uveitis After Discontinuation of Janus Kinase Inhibitor, Ruxolitinib.

Primary myelofibrosis shows widespread fibrosis in the bone marrow and is part of myeloproliferative neoplasms in which gene mutations in hematopoietic stem cells lead to abnormal clonal expansion of one or more lineage of myeloid and erythroid cells and megakaryocytes. Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are the main therapeutic regimen for primary myelofibrosis which harbors gene mutations, resulting in continuous activation of JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Since JAK inhibitors modulate immunological state, the administration would have a potential for uveitis.

The audiovisual competition effect induced by temporal asynchronous encoding weakened the visual dominance in working memory retrieval.

Converging evidence suggests a facilitation effect of multisensory interactions on memory performance, reflected in higher accuracy or faster response time under a bimodal encoding condition than a unimodal condition. However, relatively little attention has been given to the effect of multisensory competition on memory. The present study adopted an adaptive staircase test to measure the point of subjective simultaneity (PSS), combined with a delayed matched-to-sample (DMS) task to probe the effect of audiovisual competition during the encoding stage on subsequent unisensory retrieval.

Tactile temporal predictions: The influence of conditional probability.

Predicting the timing of incoming information allows brain to optimize information processing in dynamic environments. However, the effects of temporal predictions on tactile perception are not well established. In this study, two experiments were conducted to determine how temporal predictions interact with conditional probabilities in tactile perceptual processing.

Comparing health care outcomes before and after employing nurse practitioners in cardiovascular hospitals in Japan: A retrospective chart review.

Background: There are approximately 872 certified nurse practitioners (NPs) in Japan as of April 2024. However, research on the results of their specific activities is still scarce.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare health care outcomes before (i.