Exploring the Role of Ccn3 in Type III Cell of Mice Taste Buds.

Different taste cells express unique cell-type markers, enabling researchers to distinguish them and study their functional differentiation. Using single-cell RNA-Seq of taste cells in mouse fungiform papillae, we found that Cellular Communication Network Factor 3 (Ccn3) was highly expressed in Type III taste cells but not in Type II taste cells. Ccn3 is a protein-coding gene involved in various biological processes, such as cell proliferation, angiogenesis, tumorigenesis, and wound healing.

Understanding stress-induced transmission of peripherally derived factors into the brain and responses in non-neuronal cells.

Stress is a significant cause of mental disorders, for which effective treatments remain limited due to an insufficient understanding of its pathogenic mechanisms. Recent research has increasingly focused on non-neuronal cells to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying psychopathology. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on how non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system, including microglia, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, respond to peripherally derived stress-related factors and how these responses contribute to the development of mental disorders.

Nitrided Ti-6Al-4V: A Catalyst for Increase Mineralization and Osteogenic Marker Expression.

Plasma nitriding is one of the surface modifications that show more effectiveness than other methods. In this study, the plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) technique was performed on the surface of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V, Ti64) using a mixture of nitrogen (N) and argon (Ar), resulting in a plasma-nitrided surface (TiN-Ti64). The surface composition of the TiN-Ti64 was verified through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Comparisons of echocardiographic findings of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units before and after the omicron variant propagation.

Purpose: Few investigational reports have evaluated the status of cardiovascular manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the Omicron dominance period. In this study, we aimed to investigate the cardiac function parameters and clinical outcomes of patients with COVID-19 before and after the Omicron variant (OV) propagation.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 88 adult patients with COVID-19 who underwent clinically indicated standard transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in intensive care wards.

Effect of maternal exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy on the neonatal intestinal microbiome and health.

Antibiotics are widely used during pregnancy. Recent epidemiological studies suggest that maternal exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of various diseases in offspring; host-microbiome interactions are considered to be involved in pathogenesis, as antibiotic-induced perturbations (dysbiosis) of the maternal microbiome can be transmitted to offspring. We reviewed the current status of antibiotic usage during pregnancy, transmission of maternal antibiotic-induced dysbiosis to offspring, and several diseases in offspring reported to be associated with maternal antibiotic exposure.

Clinical impact of a subtype of urothelial carcinoma in nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the oncological outcomes of the subtype of urothelial carcinoma (SUC), including divergent differentiation and histologic subtype, in comparison with those of pure urothelial carcinoma (PUC) in nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated patients who were initially treated with transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) between March 2005 and August 2020 at a single institution. Patients with PUC and SUC were compared in terms of recurrence-free survival (RFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).

Conjugate Position of Glucuronide and Sulfate in Piceatannol Derivatives Affects the Stability and Hydrolytic Resistance of the Conjugate in Biological Matrices.

Piceatannol, a stilbene compound, undergoes a comprehensive phase II metabolism mediated by UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) and sulfotransferases (SULTs) in humans. Despite their well-documented beneficial effects on health, their detailed pharmacokinetic fate, including the metabolite structure and properties, is poorly understood. Thus, we determined the structure of seven glucuronides and six sulfates transformed from piceatannol and its methylated derivatives in recombinant yeast cells expressing UGTs or SULTs.

Relationships between trunk tissue distribution, metabolic risk factors and physical performance in young people-A pilot study.

The present study examined the relationships between trunk tissue distribution, metabolic risk factors, and physical performance in young Japanese individuals using cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Thirty-six healthy Japanese men (n = 20, body mass index [BMI]: 20.8 ± 2.

A position and wave spectra dataset of Marginal Ice Zone dynamics collected around Svalbard in 2022 and 2023.

Sea ice is a key element of the global Earth system, with a major impact on global climate and regional weather. Unfortunately, accurate sea ice modeling is challenging due to the diversity and complexity of underlying physics happening there, and a relative lack of ground truth observations. This is especially true for the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ), which is the area where sea ice is affected by incoming ocean waves.

A FSH-secreting pituitary adenoma discovered after ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: a case report, illustrating pitfalls in the interpretation of serum FSH levels.

Background: Most cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) are caused by infertility treatment using human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). OHSS is widely known to have a "spoke-wheel" appearance on imaging, presenting as bilateral symmetric enlargement of ovaries with multiple cysts of varying sizes. When this spoke-wheel appearance is observed in patients not undergoing infertility treatment, tumor-derived hormones such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and hCG should be measured.

Longitudinal changes following the introduction of socially assistive robots in nursing homes: a qualitative study with ICF framework and causal loop diagramming.

Background: Socially assistive robots introduced in nursing care settings have multidimensional psychological impacts on care recipients and caregivers. This study aims to explore the longitudinal changes induced by socially assistive robots, focusing on a chain of human behaviors.

Methods: In this qualitative study, nine participants from two nursing homes who had experience in manipulating socially assistive robots were interviewed in a semi-structured focus group using a topic guide to explore the changes in care recipients and caregivers.

Development of a Drug Safety Signal Detection Reference Set Using Japanese Safety Information.

Introduction: One of the main objectives of pharmacovigilance activities is to confirm unknown adverse drug reactions (ADRs), and data-mining methods have been developed to detect signals that are candidates for ADRs. Reference sets have been developed to evaluate the performance of the data-mining methods. However, reference sets generated in previous studies are not based on Japanese safety information; therefore, they are not suitable for use in evaluation studies in Japan because some drugs have not been approved or marketed for a long time in Japan.

SHIP-1 regulates the differentiation and function of Tregs via inhibiting mTORC1 activity.

Cell metabolism is crucial for orchestrating the differentiation and function of regulatory T cells (Tregs). However, the underlying mechanism that coordinates cell metabolism to regulate Treg activity is not completely understood. As a pivotal molecule in lipid metabolism, the role of SHIP-1 in Tregs remains unknown.

Interactively Fusing Global and Local Features for Benign and Malignant Classification of Breast Ultrasound Images.

Objective: Breast ultrasound (BUS) is used to classify benign and malignant breast tumors, and its automatic classification can reduce subjectivity. However, current convolutional neural networks (CNNs) face challenges in capturing global features, while vision transformer (ViT) networks have limitations in effectively extracting local features. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a deep learning method that enables the interaction and updating of intermediate features between CNN and ViT to achieve high-accuracy BUS image classification.

Metabolic analysis reveals the contribution of mechanosensitive channel MscM to extracellular release of glutamate in glycogen-deficient Synechococcus elongatus.

In bacteria, mechanosensitive channels mediate extracellular release of osmolytes, including glutamate, functioning as safety valves upon osmotic downshift. In cyanobacteria, the role of mechanosensitive channels has not been completely elucidated. Recently, the glycogen-deficient ΔglgC mutant of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 was found to release glutamate extracellularly, giving rise to a hypothesis that the role of mechanosensitive channels in cyanobacteria is conserved.

Clinical course and management of pediatric gastroduodenal perforation beyond neonatal period.

Background: The treatments and outcomes of pediatric gastroduodenal perforations have rarely been described.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 515 patients aged 28 days to 17 years who were hospitalized for gastroduodenal perforation between July 2010 and March 2021 using a nationwide inpatient database. We compared characteristics, treatments, and outcomes for pediatric gastroduodenal perforation between children aged <7 years (n = 38) and ≥7 years (n = 477).

Disruption of RNA-binding proteins in neurological disorders.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are multifunctional proteins essential for the regulation of RNA processing and metabolism, contributing to the maintenance of cell homeostasis by modulating the expression of target genes. Many RBPs have been associated with neuron-specific processes vital for neuronal development and survival. RBP dysfunction may result in aberrations in RNA processing, which subsequently initiate a cascade of effects.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Ambient Mass Spectrometry with Blood Plasma in a Murine Glioma Model Using Machine Learning.

Objective: Malignant glioma progresses rapidly and shows poor prognosis, but clinically applicable blood plasma-based biochemical tumor markers remain lacking. This study aimed to develop a diagnostic system using probe electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PESI-MS) and a machine-learning logistic regression model to detect plasma changes at various time points in a murine glioma model.

Methods: We used a syngeneic intracranial orthotopic murine model with GL261 glioma cells.

Efficacy and Safety of Sodium Zirconium Cyclosilicate in the Management of Hyperkalemia in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced and Mildly Reduced Ejection Fraction and Chronic Kidney Disease Treated with Spironolactone: rational for and design of the REGISTA-K trial.

Background: To evaluate whether sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) enables the uptitration of spironolactone without increasing the risk of hyper- and hypokalemia in patients with heart failure with reduced and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF and HFmrEF) and moderate/severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) who developed hyperkalemia during treatment with suboptimal spironolactone dose.

Methods: The REGISTA-K is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial that examined the efficacy and safety of SZC in uptitrating spironolactone without the occurrence of hyperkalemia or hypokalemia. A total of 266 patients with HFrEF and HFmrEF and hyperkalemia will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either SZC or placebo after treating hyperkalemia with SZC at 25 sites in Japan.

Knowledge Mapping and Emerging Trends in Cognitive Impairment Associated with Chronic Pain: A 2000-2024 Bibliometric Study.

Chronic pain is commonly recognized as a distressing symptom or a standalone disease, with over half of those affected experiencing cognitive impairment, which significantly impacts their quality of life. Despite a recent surge in literature on cognitive impairment associated with chronic pain, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in this field has yet to be conducted. In this study, we performed a bibliometric analysis on this topic.

The effects of plasma exchange and glucocorticoids on early kidney function among patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis in the PEXIVAS trial.

Therapeutic plasma exchange (PLEX) is an adjunctive treatment for patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis and kidney involvement. Little is known about the effect of PLEX on early changes in kidney function. This post-hoc analysis of the PEXIVAS trial investigated the effects of PLEX on changes in kidney function within 12 months.