Evaluating the Reliability and Consistency of Treadmill Gait Analysis Using an RGB-D Camera: Effects of Assistance and No Assistance.

This study aimed to assess the intraday reliability of markerless gait analysis using an RGB-D camera versus a traditional three-dimensional motion analysis (3DMA) system with and without a simulated walking assistant. Gait assessments were conducted on 20 healthy adults walking on a treadmill with a focus on spatiotemporal parameters gathered using the RGB-D camera and 3DMA system. The intraday reliability of the RGB-D camera was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC 1, 1), while its consistency with the 3DMA system was determined using ICC (2, 1).

Trends in Rheumatoid Hand Surgery: Indications, Techniques, and Outcomes.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes persistent synovitis and arthritis, resulting in joint deformity and destruction throughout the body. As RA medications have evolved over the past 30 years, the surgical indications and techniques for RA joint deformities have changed. The aim of this review article is to summarize the recent trend of surgery for rheumatoid hand/finger deformities in previous reports and to present our recent surgical methods and outcomes for these deformities.

The Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of -Associated Hearing Loss in 15,684 Hearing Loss Patients.

belongs to the unconventional myosin superfamily, and the myosin IIIa protein localizes on the tip of the stereocilia of vestibular and cochlear hair cells. Deficiencies in have been reported to cause the deformation of hair cells into abnormally long stereocilia with an increase in spacing. is a rare causative gene of autosomal recessive sensorineural hearing loss (DFNB30), with only 13 cases reported to date.

Liquid Biopsy and Multidisciplinary Treatment for Esophageal Cancer.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths globally. Surgery is the standard treatment for resectable EC after preoperative chemoradiotherapy or chemotherapy, followed by postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in certain cases. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and computed tomography (CT) are predominantly performed to evaluate the efficacy of these treatments, but their sensitivity and accuracy for evaluating minimal residual disease remain unsatisfactory, thereby requiring the development of alternative methods.

The Unseen Aftermath: Associations Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Shifts in Mortality Trends in Japan.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare systems globally, potentially altering mortality trends for non-COVID-19 diseases, particularly in aging populations like Japan's. Assessing these impacts is essential for responsive healthcare planning. We analyzed Japanese vital registration mortality records from January 2018 to December 2021 for adults aged 25 and older, excluding COVID-19-related deaths.

Validity and Advantages of Three-Dimensional High-Frequency Ultrasound in Dermatological Evaluation.

High-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) has been reported to be useful for the diagnosis of cutaneous diseases; however, its two-dimensional nature limits the value both in quantitative and qualitative evaluation. Three-dimensional (3D) visualization might help overcome the weakness of the currently existing HFUS. 3D-HFUS was newly developed and applied to various skin tumors and inflammatory hair diseases to assess its validity and advantages for dermatological use.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with chondroblastoma undergoing surgery with various adjuvant procedures: a retrospective study of 59 cases.

Background: Chondroblastoma is classified as a benign bone tumor. However, postoperative local recurrence remains a concern. We analyzed the factors contributing to chondroblastoma local recurrence and the clinical challenges associated with treating these patients.

Case review of perivascular epithelioid cell tumor occurring in patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome.

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) belong to a family of rare mesenchymal tumors composed of histologically and immunohistochemically distinctive perivascular epithelioid cells. Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), an autosomal dominant cancer predisposition syndrome, is caused by a germline variant of the tumor suppressor gene TP53. Here, we report the case of a 20-year-old woman with LFS who developed a PEComa of the liver.

Clinical evaluation of corneal ulcer with a portable and smartphone-attachable slit lamp device: Smart Eye Camera.

Corneal ulcer is one of the most important ophthalmic emergencies. A portable, recordable, and smartphone-attachable slit-lamp device called the "Smart Eye Camera" (SEC) is introduced to compare evaluating corneal ulcers between the SEC and the conventional slit-lamp. A total of 110 participants were included in the study, consisting of 55 patients with corneal ulcers and 55 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers as controls.

Isolation and Total Synthesis of Ukabamide, an Antitrypanosomal Lipopeptide from a Marine sp. Cyanobacterium.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is one of the most lethal of the neglected tropical diseases. While the discovery of a novel antitrypanosomal drug is highly desired, the creation of a superior lead compound is challenging. Herein we report ukabamide (), which was isolated from a marine sp.

Real-world effectiveness of mepolizumab in Japanese asthma patients with diverse backgrounds: Improvements in rhinosinusitis imaging (J-Real-Mepo).

Background: Although randomized controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated the efficacy of mepolizumab for asthma, they have excluded certain patient subgroups. To bridge the gap between RCT and real-world practice, the effectiveness of mepolizumab in a diverse population, including those potentially excluded from RCT, was assessed. Its effects on imaging findings and symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with asthma were also assessed.

Development and application of 3D cardiac tissues derived from human pluripotent stem cells.

Recently human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) have become an attractive platform to evaluate drug responses for cardiotoxicity testing and disease modeling. Moreover, three-dimensional (3D) cardiac models, such as engineered heart tissues (EHTs) developed by bioengineering approaches, and cardiac spheroids (CSs) formed by spherical aggregation of hPSC-CMs, have been established as useful tools for drug discovery and transplantation. These 3D models overcome many of the shortcomings of conventional 2D hPSC-CMs, such as immaturity of the cells.

Comparison of actionable alterations in cancers with kinase fusion, mutation, and copy number alteration.

Kinase-related gene fusion and point mutations play pivotal roles as drivers in cancer, necessitating optimized, targeted therapy against these alterations. The efficacy of molecularly targeted therapeutics varies depending on the specific alteration, with great success reported for such therapeutics in the treatment of cancer with kinase fusion proteins. However, the involvement of actionable alterations in solid tumors, especially regarding kinase fusions, remains unclear.

Clinical Impact of Neoadjuvant Therapy for Resectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Background: Neoadjuvant therapy is recommended for treating resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); however, its appropriate use in patients with resectable PDAC remains debatable.

Objective: This study aimed to identify independent poor prognostic factors and evaluate the clinical significance of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with resectable PDAC.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed consecutive patients diagnosed with resectable PDAC at our institute between January 2003 and December 2022.

Should the Definition of Low Birth Weight Be Same in Every Ethnicity Considering the DOHaD Concept?

Low birth weight (LBW) is a significant concern not only because of its association with perinatal outcomes, but also because of its long-term impact on future health. Despite the physical differences among individuals of different ethnicities, the definition of LBW remains the same for all ethnicities. This study aimed to explore and discuss this issue.

Muscarinic receptor agonists and positive allosteric modulators in animal models of psychosis: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Muscarinic receptor agonism and positive allosteric modulation is a promising mechanism of action for treating psychosis, not present in most D2R-blocking antipsychotics. Xanomeline, an M1/M4-preferring agonist, has shown efficacy in late-stage clinical trials, with more compounds being investigated. Therefore, we aim to synthesize evidence on the preclinical efficacy of muscarinic receptor agonists and positive allosteric modulators in animal models of psychosis to provide unique insights and evidence-based information to guide drug development.

Spectrum of gastric neoplasms in Helicobacter pylori-naïve patients.

Chronic Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is the largest etiological factor for gastric cancer, but in recent years the reports of Hp-naïve gastric neoplasms (HpNGNs) have increased as the Hp-infected population in Japan has been declining. The histopathologic spectrum of HpNGNs differs significantly from that of conventional Hp-infected gastric neoplasms. Molecularly, the former harbor considerably fewer genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, reflecting the absence of chronic inflammatory conditions in the gastric mucosa.

From bench to bedside: US-Japan Collaborative Workshop on the NVU.

The joint workshop between U.S. and Japanese researchers, supported by The U.

Distributed representations of temporally accumulated reward prediction errors in the mouse cortex.

Reward prediction errors (RPEs) quantify the difference between expected and actual rewards, serving to refine future actions. Although reinforcement learning (RL) provides ample theoretical evidence suggesting that the long-term accumulation of these error signals improves learning efficiency, it remains unclear whether the brain uses similar mechanisms. To explore this, we constructed RL-based theoretical models and used multiregional two-photon calcium imaging in the mouse dorsal cortex.

Transcriptome Concordance Between Borderline Tumors and Endometrioid Carcinoma: An Integrative Genomic Analysis.

Background: Borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) differ from ovarian carcinomas in their clinical presentation and behavior, yet their molecular characteristics remain poorly understood. This study aims to address this gap by integrating whole-exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to compare BOTs with high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC), endometrioid carcinoma (EC), and clear-cell carcinoma (CCC).

Objective: To elucidate the molecular features of BOTs and evaluate their similarities and differences in comparison to HGSC, EC, and CCC.

Elective Treatment Strategy for Knee Prosthetic Joint Infection.

Introduction: Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a complication, rarely encountered in daily clinical practice, but its treatment is frequently unsuccessful. In this report, we describe the treatment strategy used at our hospital, which has provided stable therapeutic results.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of infections following knee arthroplasty at our hospital between April 2005 and December 2022.

Osteoclast visualization: Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity staining using NewFuchsin compatible with non-aqueous mounting and tissue clearing.

Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining is widely used to stain osteoclasts in histological bone sections. The red dye formed by the conventional TRAP enzymatic reaction using naphthol AS-MX (or AS-BI) phosphate and fast red-violet (or garnet) chromogens is readily soluble in alcohol or xylene and requires air-drying prior to cover slipping or the use of an aqueous mounting medium. However, the use of an aqueous mounting medium makes it difficult to store stained specimens for a long time.

Optimal Delivery of Pain Management in Schwannomatosis: A Literature Review.

Non-NF2 schwannomatosis is a rare syndrome characterized by multiple benign schwannomas that primarily affect nerve sheaths, with chronic, treatment-resistant pain as the most common symptom. No protocol has been established for pain management, and pharmacotherapies, including molecular target therapies, are being evaluated. Neuromodulation therapies such as scrambler therapy and surgical options are also employed; however, surgery may lead to persistent or recurrent pain caused by nerve damage or tumor recurrence.