Combination of taking neuropsychiatric medications and psychological distress in pregnant women, with behavioral problems in children at 2 years of age: The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study.

Aim: To examine the association of the combination of taking neuropsychiatric medications from the onset of pregnancy to mid-pregnancy and maternal psychological distress at mid-pregnancy, with children's behavioral problems.

Methods: Neuropsychiatric medication use from the onset of pregnancy to mid-pregnancy was defined by the self-reported name of the neuropsychiatric medication in the questionnaire in early and mid-pregnancy. Maternal psychological distress was defined by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) ≥13 on the questionnaire in mid-pregnancy.

Reprogramming the Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Immune Microenvironment by Chemotherapy and CTLA-4 Blockade Enhances Anti-PD-1 Therapy.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) has limited therapeutic options and a dismal prognosis. Adding blockade of the anti-programmed cell death protein (PD)-1 pathway to gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy has recently shown efficacy in biliary tract cancers but with low response rates. Here, we studied the effects of anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 when combined with anti-PD-1 and gemcitabine/cisplatin in orthotopic murine models of ICC.

quantification of programmed death-ligand-1 expression heterogeneity in tumors using fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Cancer patient selection for immunotherapy is often based on programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression as a biomarker. PD-L1 expression is currently quantified using immunohistochemistry, which can only provide snapshots of PD-L1 expression status in microscopic regions of specimens. imaging using targeted agents can capture dynamic variations of PD-L1 expression in entire tumors within and across multiple subjects.

Phenotype-genotype correlation in aldosterone-producing adenomas characterized by intracellular cholesterol metabolism.

Aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) is histologically composed of clear and compact tumor cells. KCNJ5- mutated APAs were reported to be associated with higher plasma aldosterone concentration and more abundant clear tumor cells containing lipid droplets than non-KCNJ5- mutated APAs. However, the association among cholesterol uptake and/or synthesis, cellular morphology and genotypes has remained unknown.

Hydrocolloid dressing as a prophylactic use for hand-foot skin reaction induced by multitargeted kinase inhibitors: protocol of a phase 3 randomised self-controlled study.

Introduction: Although topical use of moisturisers is slightly effective for the prevention and avoiding the aggravation of hand-foot syndrome induced by multikinase inhibitors, there is still room for improvement. Hydrocolloid dressing is a type of wound dressing often used for wounds such as decubitus ulcers. The purpose of this study is to verify the usefulness of application of hydrocolloid dressings as prophylaxis against development of hand-foot syndrome induced by multikinase inhibitors by comparing the effects of this dressing and standard supportive care (moisturising care alone) within the same individuals.

Complications of Endovascular Treatments for Brain Arteriovenous Malformations: A Nationwide Surveillance.

Background And Purpose: Embolization is widely performed to treat brain arteriovenous malformations, but little has been reported on factors contributing to complications. We retrospectively reviewed a nationwide surveillance to identify risk factors contributing to complications and short-term clinical outcomes in the endovascular treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations.

Materials And Methods: Data for endovascular treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations were extracted from the Japanese nationwide surveillance.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus targets B cells in lethal human infections.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging hemorrhagic fever caused by a tick-borne banyangvirus and is associated with high fatality. Despite increasing incidence of SFTS and serious public health concerns in East Asia, the pathogenesis of lethal SFTS virus (SFTSV) infection in humans is not fully understood. Numbers of postmortem examinations to determine target cells of the viral infection have so far been limited.

IgA tetramerization improves target breadth but not peak potency of functionality of anti-influenza virus broadly neutralizing antibody.

Mucosal immunoglobulins comprise mainly secretory IgA antibodies (SIgAs), which are the major contributor to pathogen-specific immune responses in mucosal tissues. These SIgAs are highly heterogeneous in terms of their quaternary structure. A recent report shows that the polymerization status of SIgA defines their functionality in the human upper respiratory mucosa.

Intranasal inactivated influenza vaccines for the prevention of seasonal influenza epidemics.

Introduction: Intranasal influenza vaccines are expected to confer protection among vaccine recipients by successful induction of mucosal immune response in the upper respiratory tract. Though only live attenuated influenza virus vaccines (LAIVs) are licensed and available for intranasal use in humans today, intranasal inactivated influenza vaccines (IIVs) are currently under reconsideration as a promising intranasal influenza vaccine.

Areas Covered: This review addresses the history of intranasal IIV research and development, along with a summary of the studies done so far to address the mechanism of action of intranasal IIVs.

Poor oral intake causes enteral nutrition dependency after concomitant chemoradiotherapy for pharyngeal cancers.

Purpose: To identify precipitating factors responsible for enteral nutrition (EN) dependency after concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) of head and neck cancers and to examine their statistical correlations.

Methods: Factors related to feeding condition, nutritional status, disease, and treatment of 26 oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer patients who received definitive CCRT were retrospectively investigated by examining their medical records. The days of no oral intake (NOI) during hospitalization and the months using enteral nutrition after CCRT were counted as representing the feeding condition, and the changes in body weight (BW) were examined as reflecting nutritional status.

Twenty-nine-gauge dual-chandelier retroillumination for the non-open-sky continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis in the penetrating keratoplasty triple procedure.

We describe a technique for the penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) triple procedure that uses 29-gauge dual-chandelier illumination during creation of a non-open-sky continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC). The chandeliers are inserted through the pars plana into the vitreous cavity through the bulbar conjunctiva at the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions. We compared this approach with that of a core vitrectomy, in which a single 25-gauge port is inserted into the vitreous cavity transconjunctivally through the upper temporal pars plana.

[Functional Parcellation of Frontal Higher Order Motor Cortex].

Motor areas in the frontal cortex are classified into medial and lateral functional groups. The dorsal premotor areas in the lateral groups are involved in motor guidance based on behavioral rules. The ventral premotor cortex contributes to motor guidance relying on spatial aspects of sensory information.

Molecular differences in the microsatellite stable phenotype between left-sided and right-sided colorectal cancer.

Differences in the pathogenesis of microsatellite stable (MSS) sporadic colorectal cancers (CRCs) between left-sided CRC (LC) and right-sided CRC (RC) have not been clarified. To identify pathogenesis-related genomic differences between MSS CRCs within the two locations, we performed a comprehensive molecular analysis using crypt isolation with samples from 92 sporadic CRCs. Microsatellite instability (MSI; high and low/negative) and DNA methylation status (low methylation epigenome; intermediate methylation epigenome [IME] or high methylation epigenome [HME]) were determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) microsatellite analysis and PCR-bisulfite pyrosequencing, respectively.

Temporal dynamics of norovirus determined through monitoring of municipal wastewater by pyrosequencing and virological surveillance of gastroenteritis cases.

Norovirus is a leading etiological agent of viral gastroenteritis. Because of relatively mild disease symptoms and frequent asymptomatic infections, information on the ecology of this virus is limited. Our objective was to examine the genetic diversity of norovirus circulating in the human population by means of genotyping the virus in municipal wastewater.

Efficacy of chandelier illumination for combined cataract operation and penetrating keratoplasty.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe a method for non-open-sky continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC) with chandelier retroillumination for penetrating keratoplasty triple procedure and report its effectiveness in decreasing intraoperative complications and enabling successful primary intraocular lens (IOL) insertion in patients with moderate or dense central corneal opacities.

Methods: Seventeen eyes of 17 patients were enrolled in this study, divided into a chandelier group, including 7 eyes of 7 patients, and a nonchandelier group, including 10 eyes of 10 patients. In each group, time to achieve CCC (in seconds), open-sky time (in seconds), and operation time (in minutes) were measured, and the rates of successful CCC completion, rupture of the posterior capsule or zonule of Zinn, and successful IOL insertion were recorded.

Effects of chemotherapy on patients with recurrent cervical cancer previously treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy: a retrospective multicenter survey in Japan.

Background: Predictive factors of the efficacy of chemotherapy for Japanese patients with recurrent cervical cancer who have been previously treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) are currently unknown, and hence we aimed to investigate this.

Methods: We retrospectively studied the prognostic outcomes of patients with recurrent cervical cancer treated with CCRT between 2002 and 2010 at four medical facilities.

Results: A total of 64 patients were included in this study.

The balance between 4-hydroxynonenal and intrinsic glutathione/glutathione S-transferase A4 system may be critical for the epidermal growth factor receptor phosphorylation of human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas.

Oxidative stress might participate in the carcinogenesis of human esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (hESCC). 4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) is a major product of membrane lipid peroxidation with short life. It might act as an important mediator through the generation of adducts and activate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling.

Optical coherence tomography for the staging of tumor infiltration in superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive technology that can produce high-resolution cross-sectional images in real-time without acoustic coupling, enabling precise assessment of tumor invasion in superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (SESCCs).

Objective: To elucidate the usefulness of in vivo OCT for the staging of SESCCs.

Design: A single-center, prospective study in 2 phases: phase I to establish the OCT criteria classified into 3 categories (epithelium or lamina propria mucosa [EP/LPM], muscularis mucosa [MM], submucosa [SM]) and phase II to evaluate these criteria.

Calpain-mediated degradation of G-substrate plays a critical role in retinal excitotoxicity for amacrine cells.

The role of neuronal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated intracellular signaling has been elucidated in both physiological and pathological conditions. However, the details of relative vulnerability for excitotoxicity remain unknown. Retinal excitotoxicity is involved in various diseases leading to irreversible blindness.

Specific genetic characteristics in patients with familial moyamoya disease.

Improved screening for familial moyamoya disease in the Japanese population is important to establish preventive medical protocols, because delayed surgical intervention increases the risk of severe neurologic deficit in young patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic background of patients with familial moyamoya disease, because of the dominant prevalence of moyamoya disease in the mongoloid population. The nucleotide sequences of the noncoding D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA, corresponding to positions 93-110 and 326-307 of the Cambridge Reference Sequence, were studied.

Health-related quality of life after intensity modulated radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer: comparison with conventional and conformal radiotherapy.

Objective: No previous studies have reported the longitudinal health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). We compared HRQOL after IMRT with that after conventional and after conformal radiation therapy (XRT).

Methods: A total of 110 patients underwent XRT (34 patients underwent conventional radiation therapy and 76 underwent conformal radiation therapy) and 30 underwent IMRT for clinically localized prostate cancer between 2000 and 2002.

Retinal G-substrate, potential downstream component of NO/cGMP/PKG pathway, is located in subtype of retinal ganglion cells and amacrine cells with protein phosphatases.

The aim of this study was to determine the distribution and function of G-substrate, a specific substrate of the nitric oxide (NO)-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) signaling pathway, in normal rat retina and in G-substrate knockout mice. The retinas of adult wild-type rats and mice and G-substrate knockout mice were studied immunohistologically to characterize the upstream and downstream components of the NO-cGMP-PKG pathway. Immunoblot analysis showed that the molecular weight of retinal G-substrate was similar to that of cerebellar G-substrate.

Quantifying alterations of macular thickness before and after panretinal photocoagulation in patients with severe diabetic retinopathy and good vision.

Purpose: To investigate the alterations of macular thickness during and after panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) in patients with severe diabetic retinopathy and good vision, and to compare the outcomes of weekly and biweekly treatments.

Design: Prospective, comparative interventional case series.

Participants: Thirty-six patients with severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy or non-high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy whose visual acuity was 20/20 or better before PRP.