Characteristics and long-term health outcomes of the first domestic COVID-19 outbreak cases in Da Nang, Vietnam: a longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Vietnam experienced the first COVID-19 domestic outbreak due to the Wuhan strain (B.1.1) in Da Nang from July 2020.

Human PBMC-based humanized mice exhibit myositis features and serve as a drug evaluation model.

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a group of autoimmune disorders characterized by immune cell infiltration of muscle tissue accompanied by inflammation. Treatment of IIMs is challenging, with few effective therapeutic options due to the lack of appropriate models that successfully recapitulate the features of IIMs observed in humans. In the present study, we demonstrate that immunodeficient mice transplanted with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) exhibit the key pathologic features of myositis observed in humans and develop graft-versus-host disease.

Aortic valve repair with sinus plication for a regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve: a case report.

Background: Repair of the regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve is an attractive alternative to valve replacement. Although good long-term outcomes have been reported, postoperative aortic stenosis remains a major late cause of repair failure in bicuspid aortic valves. Sinus plication is effective for creating a more symmetrical commissural angle, leading to a decrease in the mean transvalvular pressure gradient.

Creatinine production rate is an integrative indicator to monitor muscle status in critically ill patients.

Background: Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of muscle status significantly impact clinical outcomes in critically ill patients. Comprehensive monitoring of baseline muscle status and its changes is crucial for risk stratification and management optimization. However, repeatable and accessible indicators are lacking.

Construction of a prognostic model for gastric cancer based on immune infiltration and microenvironment, and exploration of MEF2C gene function.

Background: Advanced gastric cancer (GC) exhibits a high recurrence rate and a dismal prognosis. Myocyte enhancer factor 2c (MEF2C) was found to contribute to the development of various types of cancer. Therefore, our aim is to develop a prognostic model that predicts the prognosis of GC patients and initially explore the role of MEF2C in immunotherapy for GC.

Area of Residual Tumor Measurement After Preoperative Chemotherapy as an Objective and Quantitative Method for Predicting the Prognosis of Gastric Cancer: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Background: Pathological regression grade after chemotherapy evaluated by surgically resected specimens is closely related with prognosis. Since usefulness of measuring the area of the residual tumor (ART) has been reported, this study aimed to evaluate the utility of ART in predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC) who received preoperative chemotherapy.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study examined the relationship between ART and survival outcomes.

Slight thermal stress exerts genetic diversity selection at coral (Acropora digitifera) larval stages.

Background: Rising seawater temperatures increasingly threaten coral reefs. The ability of coral larvae to withstand heat is crucial for maintaining reef ecosystems. Although several studies have investigated coral larvae's genetic responses to thermal stress, most relied on pooled sample sequencing, which provides population-level insights but may mask individual genotype variability.

Artificial dural regeneration matrix as a substitute for autologous tissue in indirect bypass in Moyamoya disease: Investigation of a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.

Indirect bypass using autologous tissue is effective in Moyamoya disease, especially among pediatric patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of indirect bypass using DuraGen (absorbable artificial dura mater composed of collagen matrix), as a substitute for autologous tissue in a rat model of chronic cerebral hypoperfusion. Male Wistar rats were subjected to bilateral internal carotid artery occlusion and divided into three groups: a control group without bypass surgery, a group wherein indirect bypass was performed using the temporalis muscle (encephalo-myo-synangiosis [EMS] group), and a group wherein DuraGen was used (Dura group).

Changes in swallowing response on patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancer.

Purpose: Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) often causes dysphagia. The risk of dysphagia increases during CRT tends to become more severe after finishing CRT, and persists for a few weeks thereafter. Thus, understanding the changes in swallowing physiology during and immediately after CRT is essential.

Little influence of the abandoned sac on seroma formation following laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal repair of lateral inguinal hernia.

Background: The impact of completely reducing or transecting a hernia sac on seroma formation in laparoscopic surgery for lateral inguinal hernias remains debated. To date, no studies have compared the incidence of seroma in hernia sacs left untouched versus other surgical approaches. Abandoning the hernia sac involves avoiding manipulation of the inguinal canal, unlike the manipulation required for transection or reduction of the hernia sac.

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome as paraneoplastic syndrome of Waldenström macroglobulinemia: a case report.

Reports of glomerulonephritis associated with lymphoproliferative disorders are common, but reports of minimal change disease (MCD) accompanying non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are rare. Here, we present a case of a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with primary Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) during MCD treatment. Her kidney biopsy revealed endothelial cell injury in parts of the MCD.

Association of falls with risk of dementia and all-cause mortality: a cohort study of Japanese older adults with a 9-year follow-up.

Objective: Many risk factors affect dementia and all-cause mortality. However, whether falls are a risk factor for dementia and all-cause mortality is unclear. The study examines the association of falls with the risk of dementia and all-cause mortality, and whether dementia mediates the association of falls with all-cause mortality.

Serum laminin γ2 monomer as a novel diagnostic and prognostic marker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: The identification of effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers is critical to improving the outcomes of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We explored the potential of serum levels of laminin γ2 monomer (LG2m) as a biomarker in PDAC.

Methods: This study included two cohorts.

Chronic kidney disease is a major risk factor for mortality in triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy patients.

Triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy (TGCV) is a rare cardiovascular disorder caused by defective intracellular lipolysis of triglyceride, resulting in heart failure and diffuse narrowing atherosclerosis. Recently, the registry of TGCV patients in Japan revealed that the 3-year overall survival rate was 80.1% and the 5-year overall survival rate was 71.

Effectiveness and safety of hypofractionated gamma knife radiosurgery for large meningiomas and those adjacent to the optic pathway and brainstem: preliminary therapeutic outcomes.

Recent technologic advancements have facilitated the use of hypofractionated Gamma Knife-based radiosurgery (HF-GKRS) to treat large lesions or those in eloquent areas. This study aimed to analyze the preliminary results of HF-GKRS for these meningiomas, and to determine its effectiveness and safety. This single-center retrospective study analyzed data of patients who underwent HF-GKRS for large meningiomas or those in eloquent areas with > 6 months of follow-up.

Triple mosaic variants of PURA in a patient with multiple congenital anomalies.

In monogenic diseases, double mosaic variants of the same gene have rarely been identified. Here, we report the case of triple mosaic variants in PURA, a gene responsible for a neurodevelopmental syndrome (OMIM# 616158). Whole-exome sequencing identified three somatic PURA variants in our case with a similar neurodevelopmental syndrome: NM_005859.

A high fraction of inspired oxygen does not mitigate atelectasis-induced lung tissue hypoxia or injury in experimental acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Although alveolar hyperoxia exacerbates lung injury, clinical studies have failed to demonstrate the beneficial effects of lowering the fraction of inspired oxygen (FO) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Atelectasis, which is commonly observed in ARDS, not only leads to hypoxemia but also contributes to lung injury through hypoxia-induced alveolar tissue inflammation. Therefore, it is possible that excessively low FO may enhance hypoxia-induced inflammation in atelectasis, and raising FO to an appropriate level may be a reasonable strategy for its mitigation.

White light-emitting electrochemical cells based on metal-free TADF emitters.

The attainment of white emission from a light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) is important, since it enables illumination and facile color conversion from devices that can be cost-efficient and sustainable. However, a drawback with current white LECs is that they either employ non-sustainable metals as an emitter constituent or are intrinsically efficiency limited by that the emitter only converts singlet excitons to photons. Organic compounds that emit by thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) can address these issues since they can harvest all excitons for light emission while being metal free.

Schlafen 11 Expression in Patients With Small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Association With Clinical Outcomes.

Background: Schlafen 11 (SLFN-11) has been identified as a sensitizer of tumor cells to DNA-damaging agents. However, the relationship between SLFN-11 expression and clinical outcomes in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains unexplored. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the impact of SLFN-11 expression on survival in patients with limited-stage (LS) SCLC.

Experimental bilayer zirconia systems after aging: Mechanical, optical, and microstructural characterization.

Objectives: To characterize two experimental zirconia bilayer materials compared to their monolithic controls, before and after hydrothermal aging.

Methods: Commercial zirconia powders were utilized to fabricate two bilayer materials: 3Y-TZP+ 5Y-PSZ (3Y+5Y/BI) and 4Y-PSZ+ 5Y-PSZ (4Y+5Y/BI), alongside control groups 3Y-TZP (3Y/C), 4Y-PSZ (4Y/C), and 5Y-PSZ (5Y/C). Compacted specimens were sintered (1550 °C- 2 h, 3 °C/min), and half of them underwent hydrothermal aging (134 °C-20h, 2.

Motor involvement in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TAR DNA-binding protein of 43 kDa type C.

The degeneration of pyramidal tracts has been reported in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 (TAR DNA-binding protein 43) pathology (FTLD-TDP) type C. Herein, we examined the detailed pathology of the primary motor area and pyramidal tracts in the central nervous system in four autopsy cases of FTLD-TDP type C, all of which were diagnosed by neuropathological, biochemical, and genomic analyses. Three patients showed right dominant atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes, while the other patient showed left dominant atrophy.

Absolute number of three populations of interneurons and all GABAergic synapses in the human hippocampus.

The human hippocampus, essential for learning and memory, is implicated in numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders, each linked to specific neuronal subpopulations. Advancing our understanding of hippocampal function requires computational models grounded in precise quantitative neuronal data. While extensive data exist on the neuronal composition and synaptic architecture of the rodent hippocampus, analogous quantitative data for the human hippocampus remain very limited.

Efficacy of Magnifying Texture and Color Enhancement Imaging With Indigo Carmine as an Alternative to Crystal Violet for Colorectal Tumors.

Background: Pit pattern diagnosis using crystal violet staining for colorectal tumors is useful for qualitative and depth diagnosis. However, due to its reported carcinogenic potential, the use of crystal violet has been restricted. This study was aimed at investigating the efficacy of texture and color enhancement imaging (TXI) magnification in pit pattern diagnosis.

Health Impacts of PM Emissions from Brake Pad Wear: A Comprehensive Study on Pulmonary, Metabolic, and Microbiota Alterations.

The environmental impact of harmful particles from tire and brake systems is a growing concern. This study investigated the health impacts of PM emissions from brake pad wear on adult C57BL/6 mice. The mice were exposed to brake pad particles via intratracheal infusion, and various health parameters were assessed.