Association between the number of remaining teeth and pseudarthrosis after lumbar interbody fusion: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Pseudarthrosis is a major complication after posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and transforaminal interbody fusion (TLIF), and its risk factors need to be identified. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the number of remaining teeth (NRT) and pseudarthrosis.

Methods: NRT, preoperative bone density of the proximal femur (percentages of young adult mean; % YAM), and preoperative procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) (μg/L) were retrospectively investigated in 63 patients (24 male and 39 female, mean age: 71.

Predictive risk factors for early-stage renal dysfunction: An analysis of specific health checkup data for the general Japanese population.

Background And Aims: Early prevention of chronic kidney disease is critical. We aimed to identify predictive risk factors for early-stage renal dysfunction.

Methods And Results: This retrospective study analyzed specific health checkup data from the general Japanese population.

Ivabradine reduces neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury by inhibiting excitatory synaptic transmission in the spinal dorsal horn.

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) can lead to severe neuropathic pain and increased risk of myocardial infarction and heart failure; therefore, the use of analgesics against SCI-induced pain should be minimized because of their adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. Ivabradine, a blocker of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation (HCN) channels, is used as a bradycardic agent, but recent studies focused on it as an analgesic agent for peripheral neuropathic pain. However, the analgesic effects of ivabradine on central neuropathic pain, such as SCI-induced pain, have not been examined.

First-in-Human Trial of Photodynamic Therapy for Spinal Cord Malignant Astrocytoma: Study Protocol.

Our extensive basic research on photodynamic therapy (PDT) application in models of intracranial malignant astrocytoma led to its clinical application for intracranial malignant astrocytoma in Japan. Having considered the safety and effectiveness of this pathology, we initiate a first-in-human clinical study of PDT for spinal cord malignant astrocytoma. This study has an open-label, single-arm design.

Motion detection: Specific thalamocortical connections revealed.

Inferring the direction of image motion is an important component of visual processing. A study with in vivo dual electrophysiological recording now reveals that the sensitivity of visual cortical neurons to the direction of motion is established by specific neural connections from the visual thalamus.

Exploration of factors affecting denosumab-induced hypocalcemia in male patients with osteoporosis using a hospital-based administrative claims database.

Objectives: Factors affecting denosumab-induced hypocalcemia in male patients with osteoporosis remain unclear because of the small patient population. Nevertheless, it is important to explore male-specific risk factors. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the development of denosumab-induced hypocalcemia in male patients with osteoporosis and compare them with those in female patients with osteoporosis.

Prospects of bovine milk small extracellular vesicles in veterinary medicine.

Extracellular vesicles (EV), including exosomes or small EV (sEV) derived from biological fluids, such as milk, have garnered increasing interest in veterinary medicine because of their role in the pathophysiology and understanding of the disease status of the host. Bovine milk serves as a rich source of sEV, containing diverse cargoes of nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids, which play a critical role in intercellular communication and regulation of host status. Although it is more difficult to isolate and purify sEV from bovine milk than from human breast milk, challenges persist in enabling the enrichment and analysis of sEV populations, facilitating the elucidation of their functional roles and prognostic potential in cattle diseases.

Quantitative association of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and clinically confirmed cases in different areas of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village.

International mass gathering events, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, face the risk of cross-border transmission of infectious diseases. We previously reported that wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), which has attracted attention as a COVID-19 surveillance tool, was implemented in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Village to gain a comprehensive understanding of COVID-19 incidence in the village. In the present study, we explored the quantitative association of wastewater viral load and clinically confirmed cases in various areas of the village.

Effects of preoperative beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, arginine, and glutamine supplementation on cardiac surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: In older patients undergoing cardiac surgery, physical function is a critical determinant of postoperative outcomes. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation has been shown to promote muscle protein anabolism and inhibit catabolism, thereby preventing muscle weakness. However, its efficacy in older patients undergoing cardiac surgery remains unknown.

Atractylenolide Ⅲ partially alleviates tunicamycin-induced damage in porcine oocytes during in vitro maturation by reducing oxidative stress.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is widely used to address infertility and enhance reproductive outcomes in livestock. Among various ART techniques, in vitro maturation (IVM) is commonly used to obtain high-quality oocytes but is susceptible to oxidative stress. In traditional Chinese medicine, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Bai Zhu) is used to enhance maternal and fetal health.

Development of a mertansine-specific DNA aptamer and novel high-throughput sandwich enzyme-linked oligonucleotide assay for quantification and characterization of trastuzumab emtansine.

We developed a novel DNA aptamer, D8#24S1, which specifically recognizes mertansine (DM1), the cytotoxic payload of the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), and applied it for T-DM1 analysis. D8#24S1 was obtained through SELEX and was shown to specifically recognize DM1 with high affinity (dissociation constant, K = 84.2 nM).

Long-term exercise training reduced the sound-induced flash illusion in multisensory illusions owing to the cerebellum.

Sound-induced flash illusion (SiFI) is an auditory-dominant multisensory illusion that can be used to assess multisensory integration. Although previous studies have shown that one-time intervention exercise training does not significantly affect SiFI, the long-term improvement of SiFI with exercise training remains controversial. In the present study, the classical SiFI paradigm was used to investigate the effects of long-term exercise training on the SiFI.

Lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin levels as a predictive factor of future exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a pulmonary and systemic inflammatory disease, and the management of systemic comorbidities is important. We previously reported that a lower mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) at admission was an independent prognostic factor for death in patients with COPD exacerbation. This study aimed to determine the association between MCHC levels and prognosis in patients with stable COPD.

Fine-tuning probes for fluorescence polarization binding assays of bivalent ligands against polo-like kinase 1 using full-length protein.

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is an important cell cycle regulator that is a recognized target for development of anti-cancer therapeutics. Plk1 is composed of a catalytic kinase domain (KD), a flexible interdomain linker and a polo-box domain (PBD). Intramolecular protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between the PBD and KD result in "auto-inhibition" that is an essential component of proper Plk1 function.

Factors Associated With the Absence of Cervical Spine Instability in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A >10-Year Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

Objective: To identify factors associated with the absence of cervical spine instability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Cervical spine instability was defined as the presence of at least one of the following: atlantoaxial subluxation, vertical subluxation of the axis, or subaxial subluxation. In 2001-2002, 634 enrolled outpatients with "classical" or "definite" RA underwent a radiographic cervical spine checkup.

Age-associated interplay between zinc deficiency and Golgi stress hinders microtubule-dependent cellular signaling and epigenetic control.

Golgi abnormalities have been linked to aging and age-related diseases, yet the underlying causes and functional consequences remain poorly understood. This study identifies the interaction between age-associated zinc deficiency and Golgi stress as a critical factor in cellular aging. Senescent Golgi bodies from human fibroblasts show a fragmented Golgi structure, associated with a decreased interaction of the zinc-dependent Golgi-stacking protein complex Golgin45-GRASP55.

In toto biological framework: Modeling interconnectedness during human development.

Recent advancements in pluripotent stem cell and synthetic tissue technology have brought significant breakthroughs in studying early embryonic development, particularly within the first trimester of development in humans. However, during fetal stage development, investigating further biological events represents a major challenge, partly due to the evolving complexity and continued interaction across multiple organ systems. To bridge this gap, we propose an "in toto" biological framework that leverages a triad of technologies: synthetic tissues, intravital microscopy, and computer vision to capture in vivo cellular morphodynamics, conceptualized as single-cell choreography.

Efficacy of pembrolizumab in microsatellite-stable, tumor mutational burden-high metastatic colorectal cancer: genomic signatures and clinical outcomes.

Background: Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), shows significant survival benefits in patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), but its efficacy in microsatellite-stable (MSS) mCRC is limited. Although ICIs are effective in tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) solid tumors, the impact on MSS-TMB-H mCRC, a rare subset within MSS mCRC, remains unclear.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using clinical and genomic data from the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) repository in Japan.

Comprehensive determination of elements ranging from uranium to americium by hybrid measurement of fluorescent and spontaneously emitted characteristic X-rays.

Natural uranium isotopes have extremely long half-lives; therefore, analytical methods based on the number of atoms, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, are suitable for uranium detection. However, XRF measurements cannot be used to detect the major isotopes of americium when present in amounts barely detectable using radiation measurements, owing to their relatively short half-lives. Because of α-decay-induced internal conversion, where orbital electrons are emitted instead of γ-rays, these nuclides emit characteristic X-rays.