NBF2, an Algal Fiber-Rich Formula, Reverses Diabetic Dyslipidemia and Hyperglycemia In Vivo.

, known as Aonori in Japan, is an edible alga species that is mass-cultivated in Japan. Supplementation with Aonori-derived biomaterials has been reported to enhance metabolic health in previous studies. This was an experimental study that evaluated the metabolic health effects of NBF2, a formula made of algal and -derived biomaterials, on obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Ganglioside GD2 Enhances the Malignant Phenotypes of Melanoma Cells by Cooperating with Integrins.

Gangliosides have been considered to modulate cell signals in the microdomain of the cell membrane, lipid/rafts, or glycolipid-enriched microdomain/rafts (GEM/rafts). In particular, cancer-associated gangliosides were reported to enhance the malignant properties of cancer cells. In fact, GD2-positive (GD2+) cells showed increased proliferation, invasion, and adhesion, compared with GD2-negative (GD2-) cells.

Preoperative AminoIndex Cancer Screening (AICS) abnormalities predict postoperative recurrence in patients undergoing curative resection for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: AminoIndex™ Cancer Screening (AICS (lung)) was developed as a screening test for lung cancer using a multivariate analysis of plasma-free amino acid (PFAA) profiles. According to the developed index composed of PFAA, the probability of lung cancer was categorized into AICS (lung) ranks A, B, and C in order of increasing risk. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the preoperative AICS (lung) rank and surgical outcomes in patients who underwent curative resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Can irritable bowel syndrome be detected by ultrasound?

Functional gastrointestinal disease is one in which gastrointestinal symptoms persist chronically or recurrently. This disease is challenging because it does not have an organic cause that can be detected in routine laboratory tests. Among them, the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is a type of functional gastrointestinal tract disease, include abnormal bowel movements associated with abdominal pain.

Immunohistochemically Detected Expression of ATRX, TSC2, and PTEN Predicts Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Grade 1 and 2 Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors.

Objective: The goal of this retrospective study was to clarify the clinical implications of immunohistochemically detected protein expression for genes that are frequently mutated in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs).

Background: The clinical management of PNETs is hindered by their heterogenous biological behavior. Whole-exome sequencing recently showed that 5 genes (DAXX/ATRX, MEN1, TSC2, and PTEN) are frequently mutated in PNETs.

A summary of the Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Voice Disorders, 2018 in Japan.

Objective: To develop a summary of the first version of the Clinical Practice Guideline of Voice Disorders for Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment in Japan by the Clinical Practice Guideline Committee of the Japan Society of Logopedics and Phoniatrics and The Japan Laryngological Association. The 2018 recommendations, based on a review of the scientific literature, are intended to serve as clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis, management, and treatment of voice disorders in Japan.

Methods: A summary of the original version of the Clinical Practice Guideline of Voice Disorders for Diagnosis, Management, and Treatment in Japan was described.

Three-Dimensional Organoids Reveal Therapy Resistance of Esophageal and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells.

Background & Aims: Oropharyngeal and esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, especially the latter, are a lethal disease, featuring intratumoral cancer cell heterogeneity and therapy resistance. To facilitate cancer therapy in personalized medicine, three-dimensional (3D) organoids may be useful for functional characterization of cancer cells . We investigated the feasibility and the utility of patient-derived 3D organoids of esophageal and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Periostin deletion suppresses late-phase response in mouse experimental allergic conjunctivitis.

Background: To investigate the potential roles of periostin (POSTN), an extracellular matrix preferentially expressed in Th2-skewed conditions in the pathophysiology of allergic conjunctivitis.

Methods: The roles of POSTN in ragweed-induced experimental allergic conjunctivitis (RW-EAC) were evaluated using both POSTN-knockout (KO) and congenic BALB/c wild-type mice. Histological analysis was carried out to enumerate eosinophils/basophils in the conjunctival tissue.

Lack of 17β-estradiol reduces sensitivity to insulin in the liver and muscle of male mice.

The importance of estrogens for glucose homeostasis has been demonstrated by clinical, pharmacological, and experimental studies. Male mice lacking the aromatase gene (ArKO mice), which encodes an enzyme involved in estrogen synthesis, develop glucose- and insulin-intolerance. However, it remains unclear whether insulin signaling is actually impaired in the liver and muscle of ArKO mice.

Assessment of physicians' proficiency in reading chest radiographs for pneumoconiosis, based on a 60-film examination set with two factors constituting eight indices.

Two hundred and thirty-three individuals read chest x-ray images (CXR) in the Asian Intensive Reader of Pneumoconiosis (AIR Pneumo) workshop. Their proficiency in reading CXR for pneumoconiosis was calculated using eight indices (X1-X8), as follows: sensitivity (X1) and specificity (X2) for pneumoconiosis; sensitivity (X3) and specificity (X4) for large opacities; sensitivity (X5) and specificity (X6) for pleural plaques; profusion increment consistency (X7); and consistency for shape differentiation (X8). For these eight indices, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe's multiple comparison were conducted on six groups, based on the participants' specialty: radiology, respiratory medicine, industrial medicine, public health, general internal medicine, and miscellaneous physicians.

Clinical Severity Classification using Automated Conjunctival Hyperemia Analysis Software in Patients with Superior Limbic Keratoconjunctivitis.

Purpose: Digitization of clinical observation is necessary for assessing the severity of superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis (SLK). This study aimed to use a novel quantitative marker to examine hyperemia in patients with SLK.

Materials And Methods: We included six eyes of six patients with both dry eye disease and SLK (SLK group) and eight eyes of eight patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS group).

ASC amino acid transporter 2, defined by enzyme-mediated activation of radical sources, enhances malignancy of GD2-positive small-cell lung cancer.

Ganglioside GD2 is specifically expressed in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) cells, leading to enhancement of malignant phenotypes, such as cell proliferation and migration. However, how GD2 promotes malignant phenotypes in SCLC cells is not well known. In this study, to reveal the mechanisms by which GD2 increases malignant phenotypes in SCLC cells, we used enzyme-mediated activation of radical sources combined with mass spectrometry in GD2 SCLC cells.

Contributions of Interleukin-33 and TSLP in a papain-soaked contact lens-induced mouse conjunctival inflammation model.

Introduction: Pathological changes of severe chronic allergic conjunctivitis are driven not only via acquired immunity but also via innate immunity. Type 2 immune response-initiating cytokines may play some roles as innate immunity-dependent components of the ocular surface inflammation. To investigate the involvement of type 2 immune response-initiating cytokines in innate immunity-dependent, papain-induced conjunctival inflammation model using IL-25-, IL-33-, and TSLP receptor (TSLPR)-knockout (KO) mice with reference to basophils and ILC2.

Clinical effects of chemoradiotherapy in pursuit of optimal treatment of locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer.

Objective: The treatment of locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer remains extremely challenging, particularly as the efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) remains unclear.

Methods: We studied 93 patients (8.0%) with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer without distant metastases from among a total group of 1168 patients who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer from March 2005 to November 2015 at the Kochi Health Sciences Center, Kochi, Japan.

Urinary exosome-derived microRNAs reflecting the changes of renal function and histopathology in dogs.

MicroRNAs act as post-transcriptional regulators, and urinary exosome (UExo)-derived microRNAs may be used as biomarkers. Herein, we screened for UExo-derived microRNAs reflecting kidney disease (KD) status in dogs. Examined dogs were divided into healthy kidney control (HC) and KD groups according to renal dysfunction.

CYP24A1-induced vitamin D insufficiency promotes breast cancer growth.

Vitamin D plays a critical role in tissue homeostasis by regulating the expression of genes affecting cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The vitamin D 24-hydroxylase CYP24A1 functions in vitamin D target tissues to degrade the hormonal form of vitamin D. Existing knowledge regarding dysregulated CYP24A1 expression supports its candidacy as a putative oncogene.

Lichen amyloidosus as a sweat gland/duct-related disorder: resolution associated with restoration of sweating disturbance.

Background: Although a number of pathological processes resulting in amyloid deposition have been described in lichen amyloidosus (LA), no attention has been paid to the involvement of sweat glands/ducts in the pathogenesis of LA. According to recent studies, follicular structures are usually spared in serial histological sections of LA, and deposits of amyloid are likely to be confined to areas that display xerosis, suggesting that decreases in skin wetness by sweating disturbance seem to initiate LA.

Objectives: To investigate whether sweating disturbance could represent an early event that triggers LA, and whether resolution of LA could be induced by restoring the sweating disturbance.

Sleep Duration Associated with the Lowest Risk of Depression/Anxiety in Adolescents.

Study Objectives: To investigate sleep duration associated with the least depression/anxiety in adolescence.

Methods: Grades 7-12 Japanese students (n = 18,250, aged 12-18 y) from public junior high/high schools were studied in a cross-sectional design. Due to missing/implausible data, 15,637 out of the 18,250 students were statistically analyzed.

Neogenin, Defined as a GD3-associated Molecule by Enzyme-mediated Activation of Radical Sources, Confers Malignant Properties via Intracytoplasmic Domain in Melanoma Cells.

To investigate mechanisms for increased malignant properties in malignant melanomas by ganglioside GD3, enzyme-mediated activation of radical sources and subsequent mass spectrometry were performed using an anti-GD3 antibody and GD3-positive (GD3+) and GD3-negative (GD3-) melanoma cell lines. Neogenin, defined as a GD3-neighbored molecule, was largely localized in lipid/rafts in GD3+ cells. Silencing of neogenin resulted in the reduction of cell growth and invasion activity.

Phenotypic characterization and clinical outcome in ampullary adenocarcinoma.

Background: Although various features of ampullary adenocarcinoma have been reported, the impact of genetic alterations and rare subtypes on clinical outcome remains unclear.

Methods: We determined the expression of proteins, including MUC1, MUC2, p53, p16, Smad/Dpc4, and β-catenin, and genetic mutations such as KRAS, BRAF, and GNAS mutations in 69 patients with ampullary adenocarcinoma to clarify their relationships with clinicopathological findings and subtypes.

Results: Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that abnormal p53 labeling was significantly associated with a shorter overall survival.

Surgical Management in Patients with Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: We have revisited prognostic outcomes and recurrence patterns in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) who underwent complete surgical resection at a single institution.

Patients And Methods: Patients who underwent curative surgical treatment were divided into two groups: those with high-risk GISTs (high-risk group) and those with very low-, low-, and intermediate-risk GISTs (lower-risk group).

Results: A total of 109 patients who underwent surgery as an initial treatment for GIST were studied.

Characterization of Ovarian Responses to Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin of Aromatase-Deficient Mice With or Without 17β-Estradiol Supplementation.

Aromatase is an enzyme catalyzing the final step of 17β-estradiol (E2) biosynthesis. Aromatase-deficient (ArKO) mice displayed vital roles of E2 at various tissue sites, including ovary. Here, we report attenuated responses of ArKO ovary to equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), an alternative to FSH.

Inhibition of Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP)-response Element-binding Protein (CREB)-binding Protein (CBP)/β-Catenin Reduces Liver Fibrosis in Mice.

Wnt/β-catenin is involved in every aspect of embryonic development and in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, and is also implicated in organ fibrosis. However, the role of β-catenin-mediated signaling on liver fibrosis remains unclear. To explore this issue, the effects of PRI-724, a selective inhibitor of the cAMP-response element-binding protein-binding protein (CBP)/β-catenin interaction, on liver fibrosis were examined using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)- or bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced mouse liver fibrosis models.