Prevention of liver cancer in the era of next-generation antivirals and obesity epidemic.

Preventive interventions are expected to substantially improve the prognosis of patients with primary liver cancer, predominantly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma. HCC prevention is challenging in the face of the evolving etiological landscape, particularly the sharp increase in obesity-associated metabolic disorders, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Next-generation anti-HCV and HBV drugs have substantially reduced, but not eliminated, the risk of HCC and have given way to new challenges in identifying at-risk patients.

Impacts of donor age and HLA mismatch on HCT outcomes differ according to the donor CMV serostatus in unrelated allo-HCT.

In unrelated allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), older and/or HLA-mismatched donors are known risk factors for survival outcomes. In healthy individuals, cytomegalovirus (CMV) seropositivity is associated with impaired adaptive immune systems. We assessed whether the adverse effects of donor risk factors are influenced by the donor CMV serostatus.

Antiseizure Medications in Poststroke Seizures: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Background And Objectives: The most effective antiseizure medications (ASMs) for poststroke seizures (PSSs) remain unclear. We aimed to determine outcomes associated with ASMs in people with PSS.

Methods: We systematically searched electronic databases for studies on patients with PSS on ASMs.

Accelerating the Future of Oncology Drug Development: The Role of Consortia in the Delivery of Precision Oncology Early Phase Clinical Trials.

Purpose: Over the past 15 years, the landscape of early phase clinical trials (EPCTs) has undergone a remarkable expansion in both quantity and intricacy. The proliferation of sites, trials, sponsors, and contract research organizations has surged exponentially, marking a significant shift in research conduct. However, EPCT operations suffer from numerous inefficiencies, such as cumbersome start-up processes, which are particularly critical when drug safety and the recommended phase II dose need to be established in a timely manner.

Influence of Axial Rotation Between the Femoral Neck and Ankle Joint on Kinematics in Normal Knees: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The effect of axial rotation between the femoral neck and ankle joint (total rotation [TR]) on normal knees is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the TR effect on normal knee kinematics.

Methods: Volunteers were divided into groups large (L), intermediate (I), and small (S), using hierarchical cluster analysis based on TR in the standing position.

The mosquito evolves two types of prophenoloxidases with diversified functions.

Insect phenoloxidase, presented as an inactive precursor prophenoloxidase (PPO) in hemolymph, catalyzes melanin formation, which is involved in wound healing, pathogen killing, reversible oxygen collection during insect respiration, and cuticle and eggshell formation. Mosquitoes possess 9 to 16 PPO members across different genera, a number that is more than that found in other dipteran insects. However, the reasons for the redundancy of these PPOs and whether they have distinct biochemical properties and physiological functions remain unclear.

Ankle muscle strength and activation are associated with walking patterns in preschool and school-age children.

Walking patterns can differ between children and adults, both kinematically and kinetically. However, the detailed nature of the ankle pattern has not been clarified. We investigated musculature, biomechanics, and muscle activation strategies and their relevance to walking performance in preschool (PS) and school children (SC), with adults (AD) as reference.

Maternal Gut Inflammation Aggravates Acute Liver Failure Through Facilitating Ferroptosis via Altering Gut Microbial Metabolism in Offspring.

Microbial transmission from mother to infant is important for offspring microbiome formation and health. However, it is unclear whether maternal gut inflammation (MGI) during lactation influences mother-to-infant microbial transmission and offspring microbiota and disease susceptibility. In this study, it is found that MGI during lactation altered the gut microbiota of suckling pups by shaping the maternal microbiota in the gut and mammary glands.

The Association Between COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake and Information-Seeking Behaviors Using the Internet: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic, declared in March 2020, profoundly affected global health, societal, and economic frameworks. Vaccination became a crucial tactic in combating the virus. Simultaneously, the pandemic likely underscored the internet's role as a vital resource for seeking health information.

Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome System Implementation in Outpatient Cardiovascular Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The integration of patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments in cardiovascular care has encountered considerable obstacles despite their established clinical relevance.

Objective: To assess the impact of a physician- and patient-friendly electronic PRO (ePRO) monitoring system on the quality of cardiovascular care in clinical practice.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This open-label, multicenter, pilot randomized clinical trial was phase 2 of a multiphase study that was conducted from October 2022 to October 2023 and focused on the implementation and evaluation of an ePRO monitoring system in outpatient clinics in Japan.

Clinical utility of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte evaluation by two different methods in breast cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the clinical utility of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) evaluated by "average" and "hot-spot" methods in breast cancer patients.

Methods: We examined 367 breast cancer patients without neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) by average and hot-spot methods to determine the consistency of TIL scores between biopsy and surgical specimens. TIL scores before NAC were also compared with the pathological complete response (pCR) rate and clinical outcomes in 144 breast cancer patients that received NAC.

Tetraspanins CD63 and CD81 as potential prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer.

Exosome markers, CD63 and CD81, belong to the tetraspanin family and are expressed in solid tumors. It has been reported that these tetraspanin family members are prognostic factors in some cancers. However, the expression of CD63 and CD81 in pathological breast cancer specimens has not been reported.

Differentially Expressed Nedd4-binding Protein Ndfip1 Protects Neurons Against Methamphetamine-induced Neurotoxicity.

To identify factors involved in methamphetamine (METH) neurotoxicity, we comprehensively searched for genes which were differentially expressed in mouse striatum after METH administration using differential display (DD) reverse transcription-PCR method and sequent single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis, and found two DD cDNA fragments later identified as mRNA of Nedd4 (neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated 4) WW domain-binding protein 5 (N4WBP5), later named Nedd4 family-interacting protein 1 (Ndfip1). It is an adaptor protein for the binding between Nedd4 of ubiquitin ligase (E3) and target substrate protein for ubiquitination. Northern blot analysis confirmed drastic increases in Ndfip1 mRNA in the striatum after METH injections, and in situ hybridization histochemistry showed that the mRNA expression was increased in the hippocampus and cerebellum at 2 h-2 days, in the cerebral cortex and striatum at 18 h-2 days after single METH administration.

Successful staged surgery for advanced esophageal cancer after conversion pancreatoduodenectomy with pancreaticogastrostomy.

Background: Complex surgery during initial cancer treatment can limit surgical options when planning management of a secondary malignancy. Subtotal esophagectomy and pancreatoduodenectomy are the most invasive and difficult procedures in gastroenterological surgery. Surgical cases in which subtotal esophagectomy was performed after pancreatoduodenectomy with pancreaticogastrostomy are extremely rare and challenging procedures due to the resulting complicated anatomical changes.

Machine learning validation of a simple prediction model for the correlation between advanced age and clinical outcomes in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Adverse effects of advanced age and poor initial neurological status on outcomes of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) have been documented. While a predictive model of the non-linear correlation between advanced age and clinical outcome has been reported, no previous model has been validated. Therefore, we created a prediction model of the non-linear correlation between advanced age and clinical outcome by machine learning and validated it using a separate cohort.

Clinical outcome of BCG treatment for patients with urothelial carcinoma of the prostatic urethra: Implications for early cystectomy.

Purposes: This study aimed to clarify the clinical outcomes of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) of the prostatic urethra.

Methods: Between August 2003 and January 2023, 428 patients with non-muscle-invasive UC received BCG treatment (Tokyo strain, 80 mg, ≥ 5 times) in our hospital; 39 had UC of the prostatic urethra. We evaluated the cumulative incidence of intravesical recurrence, progression (muscle-invasive bladder cancer [MIBC] or metastasis), and subsequent radical cystectomy after BCG treatment in patients with UC of the prostatic urethra.

Cluster analysis identifies the differential impact of disease activity and severity on functional status and patient satisfaction in rheumatoid arthritis: the FRANK registry.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the differential impact of disease activity and severity on functional status and patient satisfaction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using cluster analysis on data from the FRANK registry.

Methods: Data from 3,619 RA patients in the FRANK registry were analysed. Patients were grouped using hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses based on age, physician's global assessment (PhGA), patient's pain assessment (PtPA), and Steinbrocker stage.

CD9/SOX2-positive cells in the intermediate lobe of the rat pituitary gland exhibit mesenchymal stem cell characteristics.

Adult tissue stem cells of the anterior pituitary gland, CD9/SOX2-positive cells, are believed to exist in the marginal cell layer (MCL) bordering the residual lumen of the Rathke's pouch. These cells migrate from the intermediate lobe side of the MCL (IL-MCL) to the anterior lobe side of the MCL and may be involved in supplying hormone-producing cells. Previous studies reported that some SOX2-positive cells of the anterior lobe differentiate into skeletal muscle cells.

Challenges in detecting various peri-implant bone defects on modified intraoral oblique radiographic projections: evaluation of an artificial mandibular model.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of oblique radiographic projection using the intraoral paralleling technique in detecting various peri-implant bone defects.

Methods: Artificial mandibular models with appropriate radiopacity were created. An alveolar bone model without bone defects and models with 12 types of peri-implant bone defects (buccal, circumferential, and mixed types with different widths and depths) were created.

Utilizing convolutional neural network (CNN) for orchard irrigation decision-making.

Efficient agricultural management often relies on farmers' experiential knowledge and demands considerable labor, particularly in regions with challenging terrains. To reduce these burdens, the adoption of smart technologies has garnered increasing attention. This study proposes a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based model as a decision-support tool for smart irrigation in orchard systems, focusing on persimmon cultivation in mountainous regions.