Efferocytosis-Driven M2 Macrophage Impairs Fibrotic Encapsulation and Promotes Echinococcus multilocularis Growth in Cotton Rats (Sigmodon hispidus).

Alveolar echinococcosis, caused by Echinococcus multilocularis, exhibits significant species-dependent susceptibility. This study compared the early hepatic tissue responses to E. multilocularis in highly susceptible cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and laboratory mice (DBA/2 and AKR/N).

A Case of Hypopituitarism Accompanied with Delusion: The Effects of Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Hypopituitarism can cause various psychiatric disorders. We herein report the case of a 60-year-old female with hypopituitarism who presented with severe hyponatremia, impaired consciousness, and delusional disorder. Brain imaging revealed a pituitary macrotumor with hemorrhaging, and the laboratory findings suggested panhypopituitarism.

Early knee-ankle-foot orthosis wear shortens hospital stays and improves activities of daily living in patients with stroke.

Background: After a stroke, activities of daily living (ADL) are often limited. Therefore, recovery of ADL and shortening of length of stay (LOS) are major challenges for patients with stroke. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the number of days from stroke onset to knee-ankle-foot orthosis (KAFO) wearing and ADL, LOS, and functional independence measure (FIM) motor subitems at discharge.

Antioxidant Effects of Extract Protect RAW 264.7 Cells from Cisplatin-induced Cytotoxicity.

Background/aim: (BP) is a medicinal plant that exerts antioxidant and antiallergic effects and is used to treat various diseases. Cisplatin (CDDP) is used for a variety of malignancies, but its use is limited by its side effects. In this study, the effect of BP on reducing CDDP toxicity was examined using RAW264.

Body composition and absenteeism risk among employees.

Background & Aims: Presenteeism, defined as reduced work performance owing to illness or symptoms, and absenteeism, defined as absence from work owing to illness or injury, pose significant challenges to worker productivity. This study aimed to examine the association between the risk of absenteeism and body composition, including skeletal muscle mass index and fat mass index (FMI), among employees.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 55 employees from four companies between May and July 2024.

Depressive Symptoms Can Attenuate Rehabilitation Effects in Fracture Patients.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between depressive symptoms on admission and improvement in activities of daily living (ADLs) among patients with fractures admitted to a recovery rehabilitation unit.

Methods: This retrospective observational study enrolled patients with fractures who were admitted to a rehabilitation hospital between August 2018 and October 2020 in Okinawa City, Japan. Based on Geriatric Depression Scale scores, patients were divided into two groups: one group with depressive symptoms and another group without depressive symptoms.

Muscle mass at admission and increased muscle mass during hospitalization as predictors for improved walking function in patients with stroke.

Background & Aims: The muscle mass at hospital admission that contributes the most to improved walking ability and the muscle mass to focus on during hospitalization have not yet been fully investigated. This study examined the effects of site-specific muscle mass measurements at admission and their increase during hospitalization on walking ability (walking independence and walking speed) of patients with cerebral infarction at discharge from the hospital.

Methods: This study included patients with cerebral infarction aged ≥65 years.

Rare pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma variants and other malignant epithelial tumors: a comprehensive clinical and radiologic review.

Over 95% of pancreatic carcinomas are classified as conventional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (cPDAC), while less than 5% consist of rare histological subtypes. Some of these rare histological subtypes, such as colloid carcinoma, medullary carcinoma, and undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells, are associated with a relatively better prognosis compared to cPDAC, whereas others, including signet ring cell carcinoma/poorly cohesive carcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, large cell carcinoma with rhabdoid phenotype, and undifferentiated carcinoma, have a worse prognosis. Other malignant pancreatic epithelial tumors (MPET) include acinar cell carcinoma, pancreatoblastoma, and solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm that should also be differentiate from PDACs.

Enrichment of Porphyromonas gingivalis in colonic mucosa-associated microbiota and its enhanced adhesion to epithelium in colorectal carcinogenesis: Insights from in vivo and clinical studies.

Objectives: The oral-gut axis is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Previous studies have demonstrated the transmission of oral microbiota to the gut, disrupting gut microbial balance and creating a protumorigenic microenvironment conducive to CRC progression. Fusobacterium nucleatum is a putative periodontal pathogen recognized as a specific bacterium that promotes CRC development.

Prediction of the wall-invasion pattern of advanced gallbladder carcinoma using extracellular volume fraction.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the utility of extracellular volume (ECV) fraction for predicting wall-invasion patterns in advanced gallbladder carcinoma (GBCA).

Materials And Methods: Patients who had surgically resected GBCA at a single institution were retrospectively evaluated. All patients underwent computed tomography (CT) before the surgery.

Chronological change of gallbladder fossa nodularity in the liver as observed in patients with alcoholic liver disease: cross-sectional and longitudinal observation.

Purpose: To confirm the concept that gallbladder fossa nodularity (GBFN) as observe in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) develops in a biphasic fashion as the cirrhotic process progresses, by clarifying the sequential or chronological change of GBFN both in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively recruited 52 ALD patients who had both quadruple phase CT and gadoxetate-enhanced MRI (EOB-MRI) within 6 months between 2013 and 2020, and GBFN were morphologically classified into grades 0-3, as previously described. As a cross-sectional study, correlation coefficients (rho values) between mALBI grades and GBFN grades were compared for monophasic vs biphasic models.

Association between Undernutrition at Admission and Improvement in Balance Function Post-stroke.

Introduction: The prognosis for activities of daily living (ADL) ability after stroke is negatively influenced by undernutrition and impaired balance. However, the association between undernutrition and balance improvement has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the influence of undernutrition on balance function improvement in patients with stroke.

Functional Assessment for Control of the Trunk Predicts Independent Walking in Patients with Stroke.

Introduction: This study examined the association of trunk function evaluated using Functional Assessment for Control of Trunk (FACT) with independent walking. It aimed to determine the effectiveness of the FACT cutoff score in predicting independent walking at hospital discharge.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients with cerebral infarction.

Luciferase-based bioluminescence revealed the facilitated diffusion of D-luciferin mediated by SLC17A3.

SLC17A3 localized to the apical membrane of the renal proximal tubules has been implicated in the urinary excretion of drugs and endogenous/exogenous metabolites transported into the tubules by OAT1 and OAT3. Because SLC17A3 mediates the facilitated diffusion of organic anions, which requires a sensitive and rapid assay, no system has been established to evaluate its transport activity in mammalian cells. In this study, we demonstrated that the exposure of cells expressing click beetle luciferase (bLuc) and SLC17A3 to D-luciferin produces marked bioluminescence, which enables the evaluation of SLC17A3 function.

Narrowing the region of candidate genes that control the development of protoscoleces of Echinococcus multilocularis in the mouse liver.

Alveolar echinococcosis is a zoonosis caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus multilocularis. In previous studies, QTL analysis using C57BL/6 N (B6) and DBA/2 (D2) which differ in susceptibility suggested the presence of genes on chromosome 1 that control protoscolex development. In this study, we constructed several congenic mice with different chromosome 1 regions substituted to confirm the presence of responsible genes and to narrow down the regions where the responsible genes exist.

Heterogeneous development of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients; assessment by extracellular volume fraction map generated from routine clinical CT data.

Objectives: To clarify the heterogeneous development of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) using extracellular volume fraction (ECV) map obtained from routine clinical CT data.

Methods: Between November 2012 and July 2020, patients with CHC were retrospectively recruited who had undergone four-phase CT and MR elastography (MRE) within one year. Patients were divided into 4 grades to represent different cirrhotic/fibrotic stage, using two different methods; one based on liver stiffness measured by MRE (MRE model), and the other by mALBI grades (mALBI model).

Relationship between skeletal muscle mass change and swallowing function improvement among stroke patients with dysphagia during rehabilitation.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between changes in skeletal muscle mass and improvements in swallowing function in stroke patients with dysphagia during rehabilitation.

Methods: The study included 145 patients with a stroke or dysphagia. The two groups were divided into two groups: those with improved skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) at discharge and those without.

Global longitudinal strain is a surrogate marker for time constant of isovolumic relaxation in post-Fontan operation patients with single right ventricle and preserved ejection fraction.

Background: The time constant of isovolumic relaxation is an established index of ventricular relaxation, a major component of diastolic function, even in a single right ventricle. However, the specific echocardiographic parameters for estimating diastolic dysfunction are insufficient for a single right ventricle. This study aimed to investigate the echocardiographic indices associated with time constant of isovolumic relaxation in post-Fontan operation patients with a single right ventricle.

Improved trunk muscle quality in patients with stroke increases improvements in activities of daily living.

Background: This study aimed to determine whether an increased trunk muscle quality index (TMQI) is associated with activities of daily living (ADL) in patients ≥ 65 years of age with cerebral infarction in a convalescent rehabilitation ward.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients aged ≥ 65 years who were admitted for post-stroke rehabilitation in Okinawa, Japan, between May 2018 and December 2022. The TMQI was calculated at admission and discharge using bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Impact of the quality and diversity of reference products on creative activities in online communities.

In creativity research, an important unresolved issue relates to identifying the kind of information an individual should be exposed to in order to be highly creative. We aimed to gain insights into this issue; we collected and statistically analyzed three datasets related to three large online communities (namely Cities: Skylines, SCP-wiki, and Archive of Our Own) engaged in mod development and novel writing to examine whether the quality and diversity of other people's products referred to have a positive effect on product generation. Our analysis revealed the following three findings: (1) the quality diversity of reference products generated by others has the most positive impact on the quality of generated products when it is neither high nor low, (2) the content diversity of reference products generated by others has a negative impact on the quality of generated products, and (3) the quality of reference products generated by others has a negative impact on the quality of generated products when it is extremely high.

Is there a relationship between forest fires and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon?

The Brazilian Legal Amazon is an extensive territory in which different factors influence the dynamics of forest fires. Currently, the Brazilian government has two tools in the public domain and free of charge, PRODES and BDQueimadas, to monitor and make decisions to combat deforestation and forest fires. This work aimed to evaluate and correlate the forest fire alerts and deforestation in the Amazon Forest in the state of Pará.