Characterization and Detection Strategy Exploration in Cryptogenic Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Insights From a Super-Aged Region in Japan.

Background And Aim: In recent years, there has been a rise in cryptogenic hepatocellular carcinoma (c-HCC) cases in Japan, posing a detection challenge due to an unknown etiology. This study aims to enhance diagnostic strategies for c-HCC by analyzing its characteristics and exploring current opportunities for detection.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from April 2012 to March 2022, enrolling 372 newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients.

Wristwatch pulse wave monitoring: assessing daily activity post-catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) leads to impaired exercise capacity, and catheter ablation (CA) for AF improves exercise capacity. However, the precise changes in daily activities after CA for AF remain unclear. The authors aimed to evaluate the changes in daily activities following CA for AF using a wristwatch-type pulse wave monitor (PWM), which tracks steps and exercise time, estimates burnt daily calories, and records sleep duration, in addition to establishing the rhythm diagnosis of AF or non-AF.

Kawasaki disease preceded by acute appendicitis treated with intravenous immunoglobulin without surgery.

Graphical Abstract.

Electronic dynamics created at conical intersections and its dephasing in aqueous solution.

A dynamical rearrangement in the electronic structure of a molecule can be driven by different phenomena, including nuclear motion, electronic coherence or electron correlation. Recording such electronic dynamics and identifying its fate in an aqueous solution has remained a challenge. Here, we reveal the electronic dynamics induced by electronic relaxation through conical intersections in both isolated and solvated pyrazine molecules using X-ray spectroscopy.

Assessing time series correlation significance: A parametric approach with application to physiological signals.

Correlation coefficients play a pivotal role in quantifying linear relationships between random variables. Yet, their application to time series data is very challenging due to temporal dependencies. This paper introduces a novel approach to estimate the statistical significance of correlation coefficients in time series data, addressing the limitations of traditional methods based on the concept of effective degrees of freedom (or effective sample size, ESS).

Association between prophylactic intermittent non-invasive positive pressure ventilation and incidence of pneumonia in patients with cervical spinal cord injury: a retrospective single-center cohort study.

Background: Patients with cervical spinal cord injuries (CSCIs) have a high incidence of respiratory complications. The effectiveness of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) in preventing respiratory complications such as pneumonia in acute CSCIs remains unclear. We evaluated whether intermittent NPPV (iNPPV) could prevent pneumonia in patients with acute CSCIs.

Refractory Severe Anti-SRP Myopathy that Improved with Long-term Rehabilitation Therapy: A Case Report.

Background: Immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) is a type of autoimmune myositis. Anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) antibodies are highly specific to this disease.

Case: A 76-year-old woman presented with a 4-month history of acute progressive limb muscle weakness and dysphagia.

Attention induction based on pathologist annotations for improving whole slide pathology image classifier.

We propose a method of to improve an attention mechanism in a whole slide image (WSI) classifier. Generally, only some regions in a WSI are useful for lesion classification, and the WSI classifier is required to find and focus on such regions for the classification. Multiple instance learning and hierarchical representation learning are widely employed for WSI processing and both use attention mechanisms to automatically find the useful regions and then conduct the class prediction.

Case report: Cancer-free survival after chemotherapy, targeted immunotherapy combination with proton therapy following space making technique in a patient with cholangiocarcinoma after choledochal cyst resection.

Choledochal cysts (CCs) are rare cystic dilations of the intrahepatic and/or extrahepatic bile ducts. Malignancies arising during follow-up after excision of CCs have been reported in both children and adults, with no typical time frame for malignancy development. We present a case of a patient diagnosed with CCs 36 years ago, who underwent resection and subsequently developed cancer.

Case report: Adult case of A20 haploinsufficiency suspected as neuro-Behçet disease.

Patients with A20 haploinsufficiency (HA20) presenting with central nervous system (CNS) symptoms are rare, and available reports are limited. Here, we describe a patient with HA20, previously followed up as Behçet disease, who presented with CNS symptoms in adulthood. A 38-year-old Japanese male who had been followed up for incomplete Behçet disease at another hospital since 28 years of age presented to our hospital with acute-onset diplopia and persistent hiccups that were severe enough to cause vomiting.

Rapid access to functionalized nanographenes through a palladium-catalyzed multi-annulation sequence.

Nanographenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exhibit many intriguing physical properties and have potential applications across a range of scientific fields, including electronics, catalysis, and biomedicine. To accelerate the development of such applications, efficient and reliable methods for accessing functionalized analogs are required. Herein, we report the efficient synthesis of functionalized small nanographenes from readily available iodobiaryl and diarylacetylene derivatives a one-pot, multi-annulation sequence catalyzed by a single palladium catalyst.

Natural pigments: innovative extraction technologies and their potential application in health and food industries.

Natural pigments, or natural colorants, are frequently utilized in the food industry due to their diverse functional and nutritional attributes. Beyond their color properties, these pigments possess several biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and neuroprotective effects, as well as benefits for eye health. This review aims to provide a timely overview of the potential of natural pigments in the pharmaceutical, medical, and food industries.

A Cross-sectional Survey of Physicians to Understand Biomarker Testing and Treatment Patterns in Patients with Prostate Cancer in the USA, EU5, Japan, and China.

Background And Objective: Treatment landscape in advanced prostate cancer (PC) is evolving. There is limited understanding of the factors influencing decision-making for genetic/genomic testing and the barriers to recommending testing and treatment in international real-world clinical practice following the approval of poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) for metastatic castration-resistant PC (mCRPC). This work aims to assess genetic/genomic testing patterns and methods, including for homologous recombination repair mutation (HRRm), and treatment decisions among physicians caring for patients with PC across the USA, Europe, and Asia.

Integrating machine learning with advanced processing and characterization for polycrystalline materials: a methodology review and application to iron-based superconductors.

In this review, we present a new set of machine learning-based materials research methodologies for polycrystalline materials developed through the Core Research for Evolutionary Science and Technology project of the Japan Science and Technology Agency. We focus on the constituents of polycrystalline materials (i.e.

Bioinformatic approach to explain how Mg from seawater may be incorporated into coral skeletons.

Corals have been used as geochemical proxies since the 1970s, playing a prominent role in paleoceanography. However, it has not been well elucidated how aqueous ions sourced from seawater are transported and precipitated in coral skeletons. There are limited foundational methods to differentiate and quantify biogenic and abiogenic effects during skeletal formation.

Biomechanical comparison of all-inside meniscal suture configurations for posterior root tear: Three conventional stitches versus delta-grip stitch.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the biomechanical properties of four meniscal suture configurations-two simple sutures (TSS), two cinch sutures, a locking loop stitch (LLS), and a delta-grip stitch (DGS)-for transtibial pullout repair of medial meniscus posterior root tears (MMPRTs) using porcine menisci.

Methods: Forty porcine menisci were randomly assigned to each suture configuration with all-inside repair. All specimens were subjected to cyclic loading for 1000 cycles, followed by a load-to-failure test.

Impact of peer interaction on maternal health service utilization in rural northwest China.

Background: Effective use of health services by pregnant and postpartum woman (PPWs) is crucial to maternal and child health. Most maternal deaths are attributed to inadequate maternal health services, especially in rural areas. As a vulnerable group, rural PPWs can effectively prevent and reduce maternal and infant health risk factors through whole-process health management and ensure the health and safety of mothers and infants.

Receptor discordance after nipple-sparing mastectomy.

Background: Recent studies have shown that receptor status of breast cancer change between primary tumor and recurrence, which may influence treatment strategy and prognosis, but there are few reports on receptor discordance between primary tumors and local recurrence (LR) after nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM).

Patients And Methods: We collected 74 patients who had LR after NSM for newly diagnosed stages 0 to 3 breast cancer between 2008 and 2016 at 14 institutions. We classified into 4 subtypes based on hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).

Orthodontic Treatment of Anterior Open Bite Caused by a Car Accident.

This article outlines the orthodontic treatment of a 21-year-old female patient with an open bite and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) that developed after a severe car accident. The treatment plan utilized temporary anchorage devices (TADs) for upper molar intrusion to correct the open bite without resorting to orthognathic surgery. Over a period of 3 years, the treatment achieved a stable occlusion, normalized molar relationships, and improved esthetics.

Influence of alexithymia severity in the healthy population on the susceptibility to false interoceptive feedback.

Alexithymia is a psychological trait characterized by difficulty expressing emotions. Previous studies reported that individuals with higher alexithymia have a decreased sense of interoception, which is the sense of monitoring and controlling internal organs. Thus, we hypothesized that internal organ activity (cardiac activities in the present study) was easily affected by false feedback in individuals with severe alexithymia.

Laparoscopic and endoscopic co-operative surgery for a non-ampullary duodenal tumor after living-donor liver transplantation: a case report.

Superficial duodenal epithelial tumors were previously considered rare. Laparoscopic and endoscopic cooperative surgery for duodenal tumors (D-LECS) has been developed to achieve successful endoscopic treatment. Patients who have undergone living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) may have severe abdominal adhesions, and immunosuppressive agents (IAs) may affect the degree of postoperative abdominal adhesions and wound healing, but their effects remain unclear.

Chromosome segregation errors during early embryonic development.

Background: Mitosis maintains a genome's genetic information in daughter cells by accurately segregating chromosomes. However, chromosome aberrations are common during early mammalian embryogenesis. Chromosomal abnormalities during the early stages of embryogenesis result in the formation of mosaic embryos, wherein cells with normal genomes coexist with cells exhibiting abnormal genomes.