Scoping review of initiation criteria for inhaled nitric oxide in preterm infants (born <34 weeks) after 7 days of age.

Objectives: Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is a known treatment for pulmonary hypertension (PH) associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants after 7 days of age (postacute phase). However, a consensus regarding the optimal criteria for initiating iNO therapy in this population in the postacute phase is currently lacking. This study, therefore, aimed to identify the criteria for initiating iNO therapy, alongside the associated clinical and echocardiographic findings, in this population.

Induction of phospholipase A2 group 4C by HCV infection regulates lipid droplet formation.

Background & Aims: Hepatic steatosis, characterized by lipid accumulation in hepatocytes, is a key diagnostic feature in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study aimed to clarify the involvement of phospholipid metabolic pathways in the pathogenesis of HCV-induced steatosis.

Methods: The expression and distribution of lipid species in the livers of human liver chimeric mice were analyzed using imaging mass spectrometry.

Corticosteroid therapy and long-term outcomes in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between corticosteroid therapy and long-term outcomes in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis, stratified by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at diagnosis.

Methods And Results: This study conducted a analysis of the ILLUstration of the Management and prognosIs of JapaNese PATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis, a retrospective multicentre registry. Cardiac sarcoidosis was diagnosed based on the 2016 Japanese Circulation Society and 2014 Heart Rhythm Society criteria.

Approaches for difficult-to-induce-seizures electroconvulsive therapy cases (DEC): a Japanese expert consensus.

Background: Seizure threshold increases with age and the frequency of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Therefore, therapeutic seizures can be difficult to induce, even at maximum stimulus charge with available ECT devices. Such cases are known as difficult-to-induce-seizures electroconvulsive therapy cases (DECs).

Clinical effect of ventricular entry during resection of IDH-wildtype glioblastoma: A multi-institutional analysis.

Purpose: Glioblastomas contacting the subventricular zone (SVZ) are associated with poor prognosis and the impact of ventricular entry (VE) during resection remains controversial. Since glioblastomas with SVZ involvement often require VE, both SVZ involvement and VE are confounding factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of VE during glioblastoma resection by comparing patients with and without SVZ involvement.

Radiologic Parameters Predicting the Histologic Invasiveness of Pure Ground-Glass Nodules.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of combined computed tomography (CT) and fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) for predicting histologic invasiveness of pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs).

Methods: The study analyzed 91 patients who underwent resection of pGGNs and examined the correlation of pathologic invasiveness with preoperative CT and FDG PET findings.

Results: Overall, 24, 36, and 31 patients had adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAD), respectively.

Detection of Eimeria oocysts in chicken feces using flotation recovery with sucrose or saturated saline solution.

Purpose: Flotation methods are widely used to detect oocysts/cysts of protozoans and eggs of helminths, except trematodes. However, details regarding the concentration and recovery rates of these parasites are poorly understood.

Methods: Using Eimeria tenella oocysts as a model parasite, the present study evaluated three check points: (1) the proportion of parasites that remain floating in flotation solution (sucrose or saturated saline) during centrifugation, (2) the proportion of oocysts that naturally float after addition of flotation solution after centrifugation, and (3) the rate of recovery on cover slips after completion of the flotation protocol.

Advance Care Planning Initiatives in Critical Care Centers in Japan: A Case Report.

This report examines the promotion of advance care planning (ACP) for patients admitted to critical care centers and discharged to home. Emergency transport experience allows patients and their families to realistically discuss her ACP.

Hypertriglyceridemia and younger age are associated with effectiveness of growth hormone therapy on hepatic steatosis.

Adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) is often accompanied with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Although some studies reported that MASLD is ameliorated by growth hormone replacement therapy (GHRT), the characteristics of AGHD that are associated with an improvement of hepatic steatosis by GHRT remain unknown. We aimed to investigate whether GHRT affects hepatic lipid accumulation as well as biochemical parameters, and investigated the association between these parameters (UMIN000044989).

Real-World Efficacy and Safety of Atezolizumab for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Japan: A Retrospective Multicenter Analysis.

Atezolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), was used in a phase III clinical trial, i.e., the OAK trial, of previously treated patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Annual report on National Clinical Database 2021 for gastroenterological surgery in Japan.

Aim: The Japanese National Clinical Database, which covers more than 95% of the surgeries performed in Japan, is the largest nationwide database. This is the 2021 annual report of the Gastroenterological Section of the National Clinical Database, which aims to present the short-term outcomes of cases registered in 2021 and discuss significant changes and insights into gastroenterological surgeries observed over the decade.

Methods: We reviewed the data of patients registered in the National Clinical Database between 2012 and 2021.

Risk factors for local recurrence in patients with clinical stage II/III low rectal cancer: A multicenter retrospective cohort study in Japan.

Background: Identifying risk factors for local recurrence (LR) is pivotal in optimizing rectal cancer treatment. Total mesorectal excision (TME) and lateral lymph node dissection (LLND) are the standard treatment for advanced low rectal cancer in Japan. However, large-scale studies to evaluate risk factors for LR are limited.

Genetic landscape in undiagnosed patients with syndromic hearing loss revealed by whole exome sequencing and phenotype similarity search.

There are hundreds of rare syndromic diseases involving hearing loss, many of which are not targeted for clinical genetic testing. We systematically explored the genetic causes of undiagnosed syndromic hearing loss using a combination of whole exome sequencing (WES) and a phenotype similarity search system called PubCaseFinder. Fifty-five families with syndromic hearing loss of unknown cause were analyzed using WES after prescreening of several deafness genes depending on patient clinical features.

A Prospective Phase II Trial of First-line Osimertinib for Patients with EGFR Mutation-positive Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and Poor Performance Status (OPEN/TORG2040).

Introduction: Osimertinib is the first-line treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have EGFR mutations and favorable performance status (PS). Despite increasing clinical data on osimertinib, evidence in patients with an impaired PS remains limited. Therefore, a multicenter phase II trial (OPEN/TORG2040) was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-line osimertinib for patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC and poor PS.

Prognostic Impact of Preoperative Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Older Adult Patients With Gastric Cancer.

Background/aim: The effect of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD), a risk factor for postoperative mortality, in older adult patients with gastric cancer has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of low preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) on short- and long-term outcomes in older adult patients with gastric cancer.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 237 older adult patients with gastric cancer (≥75 years old) who underwent preoperative echocardiography and curative gastrectomy.

High levels of REV7 expression are associated with poor prognosis and chemoresistance in gastric adenocarcinoma.

REV7 is a multifunctional protein essential for promoting cellular tolerance to DNA damage. REV7 expression is associated with disease progression and prognosis in several human malignant tumors. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and biological significance of REV7 in gastric adenocarcinoma (GAD).

Multi-omics analysis-based clinical and functional significance of a novel prognostic and immunotherapeutic gene signature derived from amino acid metabolism pathways in lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Studies have shown that tumor cell amino acid metabolism is closely associated with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) development and progression. However, the comprehensive multi-omics features and clinical impact of the expression of genes associated with amino acid metabolism in the LUAD tumor microenvironment (TME) are yet to be fully understood.

Methods: LUAD patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database were enrolled in the training cohort.

PLK1 overexpression suppresses homologous recombination and confers cellular sensitivity to PARP inhibition.

The overexpression of Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) is associated with poor clinical outcomes in various malignancies, making it an attractive target for anticancer therapies. Although recent studies suggest PLK1's involvement in homologous recombination (HR), the impact of its overexpression on HR remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of PLK1 overexpression on HR using bioinformatics and experimental approaches.

S100A4 contributes to colorectal carcinoma aggressive behavior and to chemoradiotherapy resistance in locally advanced rectal carcinoma.

To investigate the functional role of S100A4 in advanced colorectal carcinoma (Ad-CRC) and locally advanced rectal carcinoma (LAd-RC) receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT). We analyzed histopathological and immunohistochemical sections from 150 patients with Ad-CRC and 177 LAd-RC patients treated with NCRT. S100A4 knockout (KO) HCT116 cells were also used.

Prognostic role of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis: insights from ILLUMINATE-CS.

Aims: The prognostic role of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) as a biomarker in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) has yet to be fully determined, especially when compared with B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).

Methods And Results: In this post-hoc analysis of the ILLUMINATE-CS (ILLUstration of the Management and prognosIs of JapaNese pATiEnts with Cardiac Sarcoidosis), which is a multicentre retrospective observational study, we analysed 103 patients (62.2 ± 10.