Nomograms Predicting Survival, Recurrence and Beneficiary Identification of Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Treatment-naïve Patients with Rectal Cancer who Underwent Upfront Curative Resection: A multi-institutional study.

Objective: To create and validate nomograms predicting overall survival and recurrence in treatment-naïve rectal cancer (RC) patients who underwent upfront surgery.

Background: Although multidisciplinary treatment is standard for locally advanced RC, understanding surgical efficacy is important for determining indications for perioperative adjuvant therapy.

Methods: RC patients who underwent upfront surgery at the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum institutions were analyzed.

Artificial Intelligence Assessment of Chest Radiographs for COVID-19.

Background: The sensitivity of reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is limited for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Chest computed tomography (CT) is reported to have high sensitivity; however, given the limited availability of chest CT during a pandemic, the assessment of more readily available imaging, such as chest radiographs, augmented by artificial intelligence may substitute for the detection of the features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia.

Methods: We trained a deep convolutional neural network to detect SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia using publicly available chest radiography imaging data including 8,851 normal, 6,045 pneumonia, and 200 COVID-19 pneumonia radiographs.

Clinical course and management of pediatric gastroduodenal perforation beyond neonatal period.

Background: The treatments and outcomes of pediatric gastroduodenal perforations have rarely been described.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 515 patients aged 28 days to 17 years who were hospitalized for gastroduodenal perforation between July 2010 and March 2021 using a nationwide inpatient database. We compared characteristics, treatments, and outcomes for pediatric gastroduodenal perforation between children aged <7 years (n = 38) and ≥7 years (n = 477).

High molecular weight hyaluronic acid alleviates ovariectomy-induced bone loss in mice.

Background: The rapid decline in ovarian function associated with menopause promotes osteoclast differentiation and increases bone resorption, disrupting of bone homeostasis and increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a polysaccharide ubiquitously present in the connective tissues. Recent reports indicate that high-molecular-weight HA (HMW-HA) promotes osteoblast proliferation, enhances alkaline phosphatase activity and mineral deposition, and promotes the expression of bone differentiation markers, such as Runx2 and osteocalcin.

Machine Learning Prediction for Postdischarge Falls in Older Adults: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

Objectives: The study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict early postdischarge falls in older adults using data that are easy to collect in acute care hospitals. This may reduce the burden imposed by complex measures on patients and health care staff.

Design: This prospective multicenter study included patients admitted to and discharged from geriatric wards at 3 university hospitals and 1 national medical center in Japan between October 2019 and July 2023.

The COVID-19 pandemic-induced behavioral restrictions and their impact on child and adolescent psychiatric units-Infection control or freedom.

Aim: This study examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-induced behavioral restrictions on child psychiatric inpatients in Japan, particularly focusing on limitations placed on outings and overnight stays as infection-control measures.

Methods: Data were collected from inpatients from the children's mental health registry between January 2016 and December 2022. The clinical data, such as age, gender, diagnosis, result of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, frequency of outings and overnight stays before and after the pandemic, were compared.

Feasibility of Atrial Substrate Mapping During Atrial Pacing and Its Impact on the Omnipolar Voltage and the Peak-Frequency of Electrograms.

Introduction: Atrial pacing maps are often used as substitutes for sinus rhythm (SR) maps to expedite mapping procedures. However, the impact of this method on electrophysiological parameters has not been systematically examined. This study aimed to elucidate the advantages and limitations of atrial pacing maps.

Impact of board-certified intensive care training facilities on choice of adjunctive therapies and prognosis of severe respiratory failure: a nationwide cohort study.

Background: Patients with severe respiratory failure have high mortality and need various interventions. However, the impact of intensivists on treatment choices, patient outcomes, and optimal intensivist staffing patterns is unknown. In this study, we aimed to evaluate treatments and clinical outcomes for patients at board-certified intensive care training facilities compared with those at non-certified facilities.

BMI trajectory of 8,155,894 Japanese adults from exhaustive health checkup data: the contributions of age-related changes in height and weight.

This study aimed to clarify the trajectory of BMI alongside age-related changes in height and weight among Japanese adults. Data from annual health checkups between 2015 and 2020 by the Japan Health Insurance Association were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 4,777,891 men and 3,378,003 women (age 35-69 years) were stratified into 14 subgroups based on sex and 5-year age categories.

Inadequate Efficacy of Biologics for Treating Proximal Ileal Lesions in Crohn's Disease; A Prospective Multicenter Study.

Background & Aims: Although biologic therapy has revolutionized the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD), surgery remains unavoidable in cases involving ileal complications. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of biologics on proximal ileal lesions using balloon-assisted enteroscopy (BAE).

Methods: This open-label multicenter prospective study was conducted at tertiary referral centers in Japan.

Primary Cardiac Lymphoma With Dramatic Response to Chemotherapy Diagnosed by Transvenous Biopsy.

Primary cardiac lymphoma is a rare disease with the potential to be fatal. This case reports a patient who developed primary cardiac lymphoma resulting in cardiac tamponade. Despite a compromised general condition, the lymphoma was diagnosed through a transvenous tumor biopsy.

Corrigendum: Metabolic dysregulation and decreased capillarization in skeletal muscles of male adolescent offspring rats exposed to gestational intermittent hypoxia.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.

Assessing diagnostic accuracy of intravascular imaging for functionally significant coronary stenosis: updated findings from a meta-analysis.

Background: Accurate discrimination of functionally significant coronary stenosis using intravascular imaging remains uncertain, particularly with regard to vessel size. This meta-analysis evaluates the diagnostic performance of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for identifying functionally significant coronary stenosis as confirmed by fractional flow reserve (FFR).

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar identified studies that assessed the diagnostic accuracy of IVUS and OCT by minimal luminal area (MLA) with FFR as the reference standard.

Identification of risk factors for gastrointestinal immune-related adverse events associated with immune check point inhibitors.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) toxicities are among the most common and potentially severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs), and data on risk factors remain limited. This study aimed to identify risk factors for GI-irAEs in patients treated with ICIs.

Research Design And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with any type of malignant tumor who received ICIs between January 2020 and January 2022.

Clinical Utility of the Novel Oncological Criteria of Resectability for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Introduction: Introduction of new systemic therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has led to the development of new oncological criteria of resectability for the resectability of HCC. This study was aimed at validating the prognosticating ability and clinical utility of the resectability classification based on the novel criteria in real-world clinical practice.

Methods: This study was conducted in 1,822 patients who had undergone curative resection for HCC (population 1) and 107 patients with unresectable disease who had received lenvatinib therapy (population 2).

Mesoscale functional architecture in medial posterior parietal cortex.

The posterior parietal cortex () in mice has various functions including multisensory integration, vision-guided behaviors, working memory, and posture control. However, an integrated understanding of these functions and their cortical localizations in and around the PPC and higher visual areas (), has not been completely elucidated. Here we simultaneously imaged the activity of thousands of neurons within a 3 × 3 mm field-of-view, including eight cortical areas around the PPC, during behavior with a two-photon mesoscope.

Health insurance in rural Tanzania promotes self-care for among patients with non-communicable diseases via their disease management behaviours.

Background: The rise of hypertension (HTN) and diabetes mellitus (DM) in Tanzania underscores the importance of self-care practices (SCP) for disease management. Despite the proven effectiveness of SCP, financial barriers in resource-limited rural areas hinder continuous care. Health insurance (HI) emerges as a critical solution to alleviate financial constraints and support SCP.

The Safety and Anti-Reflex Effect of Robotic Double-Tract Reconstruction After Proximal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.

Purpose: Double-tract reconstruction (DTR) is one of the major procedures following proximal gastrectomy (PG) with anti-reflex function for the esophagus. Although many studies demonstrated the feasibility of laparoscopic DTR, there is a lack of research on robotic DTR. We aimed to assess the safety and feasibility of robotic DTR following PG.

Paroxysmal delta waves of awake EEG in childhood adrenoleukodystrophy: Possible indicator of the hematopoietic stem cell therapy (HSCT).

Background: Childhood cerebral type of Adrenoleukodystrophy (CC-ALD) is fatal without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We consider whether EEGs showing focal paroxysmal delta waves can be a candidate of early detector of the apparent ALD and HSCT therapy.

Methods: Twenty-two male children with ALD (5-16 years; 10.

Axial elongation in nonpathologic high myopia: Ocular structural changes and glaucoma diagnostic challenges.

Axial elongation continues in highly myopic adult eyes, even in the absence of pathologic changes such as posterior staphyloma or chorioretinal atrophy. This ongoing axial elongation leads to structural changes in the macular and peripapillary regions, including chorioretinal thinning, reduced vascular perfusion and optic disc tilting and rotation, among others. These alterations can affect the acquisition and interpretation of optical coherence tomography, optical coherence tomography angiography and fundus photographs, potentially introducing artifacts and diminishing the accuracy of glaucoma diagnosis in highly myopic eyes.

Generation of chimeric antigen receptor-macrophages by using human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Cancer immunotherapy using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) cells shows high therapeutic efficacy against several types of leukemia. Among acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALLs), B cell-derived ALL can be cured by CAR-expressing T cells (CAR-Ts); however, CAR-T cells cannot be simply applied for T cell-derived ALL (T-ALL) because antigens expressed by T-ALL cells, but not by CAR-T cells, have not yet been identified. To apply CAR-T therapy for T-ALL, gene editing of CAR-T cells is required to avoid attacking CAR-T cells themselves.

Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation for ventricular tachycardia: a review of clinical trials and emerging roles of imaging.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a severe arrhythmia commonly treated with implantable cardioverter defibrillators, antiarrhythmic drugs and catheter ablation (CA). Although CA is effective in reducing recurrent VT, its impact on survival remains uncertain, especially in patients with extensive scarring. Stereotactic arrhythmia radioablation (STAR) has emerged as a novel treatment for VT in patients unresponsive to CA, leveraging techniques from stereotactic body radiation therapy used in cancer treatments.

A complex of NLRP3 with caspase-4 is essential for inflammasome activation by Tannerella forsythia infection.

Periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of periodontal tissue, is often associated with a group of pathogenic bacteria known as the "red complex," including Tannerella forsythia (T. forsythia). Previous papers showed that T.

Discordant Diagnosis of Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction by Microvascular Resistance Reserve: Transthoracic Doppler Echocardiography vs Bolus Thermodilution Method.

Background: Epicardial stenosis and coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) may coexist in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). Microvascular resistance reserve (MRR) has been demonstrated to be a valid cross-modality metric using continuous saline infusion thermodilution and intracoronary Doppler flow velocity methods. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and diagnostic concordance of CMD defined by MRR using two methods-stress transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (S-TDE) and the invasive bolus thermodilution method (B-Thermo)-in patients with functionally significant epicardial stenosis.