Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

Diet-related quality of life may directly and indirectly affect health-related quality of life through protein intake and frailty in patients with osteoporosis: Results from a prospective cohort study.

Aim: We aimed to examine the direct and indirect associations between diet-related quality of life (DRQOL) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with osteoporosis.

Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted using data from a 1-year prospective cohort survey of 532 consecutive patients with osteoporosis. The DRQOL was assessed using a short version of the Diet-Related Quality of Life Scale.

An exploratory cluster-randomized controlled trial on mindfulness yoga's effectiveness in school-refusing children: reductions in SCAS-C physical injury fears and pulse rate.

Introduction: School refusal is one of the serious problems with children's mental health, and various studies have examined its prevalence and factors among students. Although many studies suggested that anxiety and depression are deeply associated with school refusal, there is little agreement as to effective interventions. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mindfulness yoga intervention in children with school refusal.

Prophylactic Clip Closure in Preventing Delayed Bleeding After Colorectal Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection on anticoagulants: A multicenter retrospective cohort study in Japan.

Background And Study Aims: Prophylactic clip closure after colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) among patients on anticoagulants is of uncertain effectiveness in reducing delayed bleeding (DB) risk. We aimed to assess the effect of prophylactic clip closure in preventing DB after colorectal ESD among patients on anticoagulants.

Patients And Methods: We used the ABCD-J study database, a large-scale multicenter study analyzing DB among 34,455 colorectal ESD cases from 47 Japanese institutions.

Non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis/idiopathic portal hypertension: APASL recommendations for diagnosis and management.

Since the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) published guidelines on non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis/idiopathic portal hypertension in 2007, there has been a surge in new information, especially with the introduction of the term porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD). Non-cirrhotic intra-hepatic causes of portal hypertension include disorders with a clearly identifiable etiology, such as schistosomiasis, as well as disorders with an unclear etiology such as non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis (NCPF), also termed idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH). This entity is being increasingly recognized as being associated with systemic disease and drug therapy, especially cancer therapy.

Impact of late Quaternary climate change on the demographic history of Japanese field voles and hares revealed by mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences.

The mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of the Japanese field vole (Microtus montebelli), an herbivorous rodent, was subjected to an analysis of sequence variation with the objective of elucidating the population histories of this species. Construction of a phylogenetic tree revealed the existence of several region-specific lineages in Honshu and Kyushu, which were evenly separated from each other. In consideration of the documented time-dependent evolutionary rates of rodents, the estimated divergence times indicate that the region-specific lineages of M.

Evaluating the effects of 5-aminosalicylic acid on tofacitinib treatment in ulcerative colitis.

Background And Aim: Tofacitinib and aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) are commonly used to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). However, evidence on the effect of concomitant 5-ASA use in patients receiving tofacitinib is limited. This study investigated the effects of 5-ASA combined with tofacitinib in UC patients.

Predictors of Immediate Deterioration of the Child-Pugh Classification From A to B After Transcatheter Arterial Chemo-Embolization for Treatment-Naive Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictors of deterioration of the Child-Pugh classification 1 month after transcatheter arterial chemo-embolization (TACE) in patients with treatment-naive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Between 2010 and 2020, consecutive patients who underwent conventional TACE using epirubicin as the initial treatment were enrolled. Patients with Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage-0, A or B and Child-Pugh class A were included.

Active state structures of a bistable visual opsin bound to G proteins.

Opsins are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that have evolved to detect light stimuli and initiate intracellular signaling cascades. Their role as signal transducers is critical to light perception across the animal kingdom. Opsins covalently bind to the chromophore 11-cis retinal, which isomerizes to the all-trans isomer upon photon absorption, causing conformational changes that result in receptor activation.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor expression correlates with programmed death ligand 1 expression and poor survival in non-small cell lung cancer.

The insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) has been associated with growth and metastasis in various cancers. However, its role in postoperative recurrence and prognosis in lung cancer lacks clear consensus. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between IGF1R and postoperative recurrence as well as long-term survival in a large cohort.

Postmenopausal Shrinkage of Uterine Myomas: A Retrospective Study of 97 Cases Monitored Annually for 10 Years.

Introduction and aim Both patients and gynecologists are concerned about how much and how quickly myomas shrink after menopause. This study aimed to elucidate clinical findings that may be associated with postmenopausal shrinkage of uterine myomas. Materials and methods This study included 97 patients who underwent menopause by August 2012, had myoma nodules with the longest diameter between 50 mm and 160 mm, and visited our specialized myoma clinic annually for at least 10 years after menopause.

Regular exercise suppresses steatosis-associated liver cancer development by degrading E2F1 and c-Myc via circadian gene upregulation.

Regular exercise is believed to suppress cancer progression. However, the precise molecular mechanisms by which exercise prevents cancer development remain unclear. In this study, using a steatosis-associated liver cancer mouse model, we found that regular exercise at a speed of 18 m/min for 20 min daily suppressed liver cancer development.

Structure-based validation of recombinant light-harvesting complex II.

Light-harvesting complex II (LHCII) captures sunlight and dissipates excess energy to drive photosynthesis. To elucidate this mechanism, the individual optical properties of pigments in the LHCII protein must be identified. In vitro reconstitution with apoproteins synthesized by and pigment-lipid mixtures from natural sources is an effective approach; however, the local environment surrounding each pigment within reconstituted LHCII (rLHCII) has only been indirectly estimated using spectroscopic and biochemical methods.

Restriction of reaction sites on metal-sulfide cores induced by steric repulsion of bis-N-heterocyclic carbene ligands in trinuclear complexes bearing triply bridging sulfide ligands.

Mixed-ligand and mixed-metal trinuclear complexes bearing two {Pt-bisNHC-C1} moieties, [{Pt(bisNHC-C1)}(ML)(μ-S)] (ML = Pt(bisNHC-C2), = 2; ML = Pt(bisNHC-C3), = 2; ML = Rh(cod), = 1; ML = RhCp*, = 2), where bisNHC-C1, bisNHC-C2 and bisNHC-C3 represent methylene-, ethylene- and propylene-bridged bis-NHC ligands, respectively, were synthesised and structurally characterised. Reactions of these complexes with a half eq. of Ag(i) ions were examined using H and Pt NMR spectroscopy.

Role of Fyn expression in predicting the sensitivity to platinum‑based chemotherapy in patients with ovarian serous carcinoma.

Ovarian serous carcinoma is a gynecological malignancy associated with a high mortality rate, which is commonly diagnosed in the first instance at a late stage and has a propensity to develop resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy. Identifying reliable biomarkers for platinum sensitivity is critical for improving patient outcomes. The present retrospective study included 64 patients with high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stages III or IV).

Cleaner fish with mirror self-recognition capacity precisely realize their body size based on their mental image.

Animals exhibiting mirror self-recognition (MSR) are considered self-aware; however, studies on their level of self-awareness remain inconclusive. Recent research has indicated the potential for cleaner fish (Labroides dimidiatus) to possess a sophisticated level of private self-awareness. However, as this study revealed only an aspect of private self-awareness, further investigation into other elements is essential to substantiate this hypothesis.