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We previously reported novel benzyl-ether derivatives with an imidazole ring and a hydroxyl group (A-01) or carboxyl group (B-01) and esters (2 esters of A-01, and 7 esters of B-01) as pharmacokinetics (PK) boosters. This study demonstrates how these ester compounds embody the concept of a safe pharmacokinetic booster, with potent and transient inhibition of CYP3A4-mediated drug metabolism. As a model CYP3A4 substrate and CYP3A4 enzyme, midazolam (MDZ) and rat liver microsomes were used. A-01 inhibited MDZ metabolism significantly, while B-01 induced only slight inhibition. Although rat liver microsomes hydrolyzed the ester compounds over time, several ester compounds strongly inhibited MDZ metabolism. Due to the significant activity of A-01, A-01 esters affected MDZ metabolism, irrespective of hydrolysis state. Time-dependent inhibition evaluation indicated that the B-01 ester inhibition is not mechanism-based, as hydrolysis eliminated MDZ metabolism inhibition. We report that the B-01 esters significantly inhibit CYP3A4-mediated drug metabolism, and upon hydrolysis this property is eliminated. In conclusion, B-01 ester compounds may be safe PK boosters with antedrug characteristics., (Copyright © 2024 The Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: It is known that several complications are caused by local surgery after radiotherapy. Clinical reports that describe the postoperative complications associated with surgery after carbon ion radiotherapy are sparse. This study aimed to elucidate local surgery feasibility after carbon ion radiotherapy specifically for primary bone sarcomas., Methods: The medical, surgical, and irradiation records of patients who had local surgery at the area irradiated with carbon ion beams between 2004 and 2018 were reviewed retrospectively to evaluate the feasibility and indication of local surgery after CIRT., Results: There were eight patients who had 10 local surgeries at the irradiated sites among the 42 carbon ion radiotherapy patients. There were seven males and one female with a median age of 50 years (range 26-73 years). The reasons for surgery were three for skin toxicity and associated infection, five for bone collapse, and associated implant failure, and two for tumor regrowth. All surgical fields included the area of more than 60 Gy (RBE) irradiated dose. All three surgical cases caused by skin toxicity and associated infection had Grade I wound complication after surgery according to the Clavien-Dindo Classification., Conclusion: Local surgery after CIRT appeared feasible in selected patients with primary bone sarcoma, especially for the patients with bone collapse and associated implant failure. However, infection and prescribed irradiation dose at the incision site must be carefully evaluated., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interests The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article., (Copyright © 2023 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Health-related patient-reported outcomes (HR-PROs) are crucial for assessing the quality of life among individuals experiencing low back pain. However, manual data entry from paper forms, while convenient for patients, imposes a considerable tallying burden on collectors. In this study, we developed a deep learning (DL) model capable of automatically reading these paper forms., Methods: We employed the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire, a globally recognized assessment tool for low back pain. The questionnaire comprised 25 low back pain-related multiple-choice questions and three pain-related visual analog scales (VASs). We collected 1305 forms from an academic medical center as the training set, and 483 forms from a community medical center as the test set. The performance of our DL model for multiple-choice questions was evaluated using accuracy as a categorical classification task. The performance for VASs was evaluated using the correlation coefficient and absolute error as regression tasks., Result: In external validation, the mean accuracy of the categorical questions was 0.997. When outputs for categorical questions with low probability (threshold: 0.9996) were excluded, the accuracy reached 1.000 for the remaining 65 % of questions. Regarding the VASs, the average of the correlation coefficients was 0.989, with the mean absolute error being 0.25., Conclusion: Our DL model demonstrated remarkable accuracy and correlation coefficients when automatic reading paper-based HR-PROs during external validation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Trabectedin binds covalently to the DNA minor groove and causes DNA to bend toward the main groove, then trabectedin regulates the transcription of the involved genes in cell proliferation or acts on the mononuclear phagocyte system in tumors, which contributes to its antitumor effects. Several clinical trials confirmed the efficacy of trabectedin for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS) although clinically useful biomarkers remained unidentified. This study aimed to identify prognostic factors of trabectedin treatment, especially focusing on the systemic inflammatory, immune response, and nutritional status., Methods: This study included 44 patients with advanced STS treated with trabectedin from January 2018 to August 2022. We evaluated the associations of clinical factors that influence the efficacy of trabectedin treatment with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), focusing on systemic inflammatory, immune response, and nutritional status represented by the absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), prognostic nutrition index (PNI), and C-reactive protein (CRP) using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test., Results: ALC, LMR, PNI, NLR, PLR, and SIRI demonstrated no association with PFS. Patients with CRP of ≥0.3 had a significantly shorter PFS than those with CRP of <0.3 (median PFS: 863 vs. 105 days, P = 0.045). PNI of ≥44 (median: 757 days vs. 232 days, P = 0.021) and CRP of <0.3 (median: 877 days vs. 297 days, P = 0.043) were significantly good prognostic factors in terms of OS., Conclusions: The study results indicate pretreatment PNI and CRP levels as prognostic factors for trabectedin treatment in advanced STS., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Because of the high incidence of major perioperative adverse events, spine surgery in dialysis patients should be recommended carefully after consideration of its risks and benefits. However, the benefits of spine surgery in dialysis patients remain unclear because of the lack of long-term outcomes. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the long-term outcomes of spine surgery in dialysis patients, focusing on activities of daily living (ADLs), life expectancy, and risk factors for postoperative mortality., Methods: Data for 65 dialysis patients who underwent spine surgery at our institution and were followed up for a mean duration of 6.2 years were retrospectively reviewed. ADLs, number of surgeries, and survival times were recorded. The postoperative survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and risk factors for postoperative mortality were investigated using a generalized Wilcoxon test and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model., Results: Compared with preoperative ADLs, ADLs significantly improved at discharge after surgery and at the final follow-up. However, 16 of the 65 patients (24.6%) underwent multiple surgeries, and 34 (52.3%) died during the follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the survival rate after spine surgery was 95.4% at 1 year, 86.2% at 3 years, 69.6% at 5 years, 59.7% at 7 years, and 28.7% at 10 years, and the overall median survival time was 99 months. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that a dialysis period of ≥10 years was a significant risk factor., Conclusions: Spine surgery in dialysis patients improved and maintained ADLs in the long term and did not shorten life expectancy. However, dialysis patients undergoing spine surgery require multiple surgeries more frequently, and a dialysis period of ≥10 years is a significant risk factor for postoperative mortality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in this study or the findings reported., (Copyright © 2023 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although high-sensitivity cardiac troponins may be sensitive and easily repeatable markers of disease activity in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), the association between longitudinal cardiac troponin trajectory and adverse events remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify whether longitudinal cardiac troponin levels were associated with adverse events in patients with CS., Methods: We examined 63 consecutive CS-initiated prednisolone (PSL) patients with available longitudinal high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (cTnT) data between December 2013 and March 2023. The area under the cTnT trajectory, which reflected cumulative cTnT release, was calculated to assess the association between longitudinal cTnT levels and adverse events. Patients were divided into two groups according to the median area under the cTnT trajectory per month. The primary outcome was a composite of sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, worsening heart failure, and sudden cardiac death (SCD)., Results: In total, 463 cTnT measurements were collected over a median follow-up period of 30.4 (interquartile range [IQR] 15.6-34.2) months. The primary outcome was observed in 12 (19%) patients. A higher area under the cTnT trajectory was significantly associated with an increased incidence of the primary outcome (P = 0.027), while cTnT levels before and one month after initiation of PSL, and these changes were not related to adverse events (P = 0.179, 0.096, and 0.95, respectively)., Conclusions: Longitudinal cTnT trajectory following PSL initiation was associated with adverse cardiac events in patients with CS, suggesting that longitudinal measurement of cTnT would be useful for the early identification of high-risk patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

γ-Glutamyl transpeptidase is one of the key enzymes involved in glutamate production during high-salt fermentation of soy sauce and miso by koji mold, Aspergillus oryzae. However, the activity of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase from A. oryzae (AOggtA) is markedly reduced in the presence of NaCl, thus classifying it as a non-salt-tolerant enzyme. In contrast, the homologous protein from the xerophilic mold, A. sydowii (ASggtA) maintains its activity under high-salt conditions. Therefore, in this study, a chimeric enzyme, ASAOggtA, was designed and engineered to improve salt-tolerance in AOggtA by swapping the N-terminal region, based on sequence and structure comparisons between salt-tolerant ASggtA and non-salt-tolerant AOggtA. The parental AOggtA and ASggtA and their chimera, ASAOggtA, were heterologously expressed in A. oryzae and purified. The chimeric enzyme inherited the superior activity and stability from each of the two parent enzymes. ASAOggtA showed > 2-fold greater tolerance than AOggtA in the presence of 18% NaCl. In addition, the chimera showed a broader range of pH stability and greater thermostability than ASggtA. AOggtA and ASAOggtA were sy over the range pH 3.0 to pH 10.5. Thermal stability was found to be in the order AOggtA (57.5 °C, t 1/2 = 32.5 min) > ASAOggtA (55 °C, t 1/2 = 20.5 min) > ASggtA (50 °C, t 1/2 = 12.5 min). The catalytic and structural characteristics indicated that non-salt-tolerant AOggtA would not undergo irreversible structural changes in the presence of NaCl, but rather a temporary conformational change, which might result in reducing the substrate binding and catalytic activity, on the basis of kinetic properties. In addition, the chimeric enzyme showed hydrolytic activity toward L-glutamine that was as high as that of AOggtA. The newly-designed chimeric ASAOggtA might have potential applications in high-salt fermentation, such as miso and shoyu, to increase the content of the umami-flavor amino acid, L-glutamate., Competing Interests: Declarations of Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Malignant giant-cell tumors are extremely rare bone sarcomas that transform from conventional giant-cell tumors during long periods of treatment. Owing to their rarity, no further analysis of their molecular pathogenesis exists, and thus, no standard treatment has been established. Recently, organoid culture methods have been highlighted for recapturing the tumor microenvironment, and we have applied the culture methods and succeeded in establishing patient-derived organoids (PDO) of rare sarcomas. This study aimed to investigate the genomic characteristics of our established novel organoids from human malignant giant-cell tumors. At our institute, we treated a patient with malignant giant-cell tumor. The remaining sarcoma specimens after surgical resection were cultured according to the air-liquid interface organoid-culture method. Organoids were xenografted into NOD-scid IL2Rgnull mice. The developed tumors were histologically and genomically analyzed to compare their characteristics with those of the original tumors. Genetic changes over time throughout treatment were analyzed, and the genomic status of the established organoid was confirmed. Organoids from malignant giant-cell tumors could be serially maintained using air-liquid interface organoid-culture methods. The tumors developed in xenografted NOD-scid IL2Rgnull mice. After several repetitions of the process, a patient-derived organoid line from the malignant giant-cell tumor was established. Immunohistochemical analyses and next-generation sequencing revealed that the established organoids lacked the H3-3A G34W mutation. The xenografted organoids of the malignant giant-cell tumor had phenotypes histologically and genetically similar to those of the original tumor. The established organoids were confirmed to be derived from human malignant giant-cell tumors. In summary, the present study demonstrated a novel organoid model of a malignant giant-cell tumor that was genetically confirmed to be a malignant transformed tumor. Our organoid model could be used to elucidate the molecular pathogenesis of a malignant giant-cell tumor and develop novel treatment modalities., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Introduction: Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) exerts biological actions through its transport pathway involving intracellular synthesis, extracellular transport, and receptor binding. This study aimed to determine the localization of the components of the PGE 2 -transporting pathway in human dental pulp and explore the relevance of PGE 2 receptors (EP2/EP4) to angiogenesis and dentinogenesis., Methods: Protein localization of microsomal PGE 2 (mPGES)synthase, PGE 2 transporters (multidrug resistance-associated protein-4 [MRP4] and prostaglandin transporter [PGT]), and EP2/EP4 was analyzed using double immunofluorescence staining. Tooth slices from human third molars were cultured with or without butaprost (EP2 agonist) or rivenprost (EP4 agonist) for 1 week. Morphometric analysis of endothelial cell filopodia was performed to evaluate angiogenesis, and real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate angiogenesis and odontoblast differentiation markers., Results: MRP4 and PGT were colocalized with mPGES and EP2/EP4 in odontoblasts and endothelial cells. Furthermore, MRP4 was colocalized with mPGES and EP4 in human leukocyte antigen-DR-expressing dendritic cells. In the tooth slice culture, EP2/EP4 agonists induced significant increases in the number and length of filopodia and mRNA expression of angiogenesis markers (vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor-2) and odontoblast differentiation markers (dentin sialophosphoprotein and collagen type 1)., Conclusions: PGE 2 -producing enzyme (mPGES), transporters (MRP4 and PGT), and PGE 2 -specific receptors (EP2/EP4) were immunolocalized in various cellular components of the human dental pulp. EP2/EP4 agonists promoted endothelial cell filopodia generation and upregulated angiogenesis- and odontoblast differentiation-related genes, suggesting that PGE 2 binding to EP2/EP4 is associated with angiogenic and dentinogenic responses., (Copyright © 2023 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the treatments for soft tissue sarcoma (STS) similar to those for other cancers. However, treatment is even more difficult in older patients because of aging-related weakness. The influence of aging-associated factors on prognosis in the patients with STS has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to clarify the factors that impact prognosis in older patients with STS., Materials and Methods: The present study retrospectively analyzed the data of 262 (≥60 years old) patients with STS. Moreover, this study investigated (1) tumor-associated parameters (e.g., tumor site, tumor size, depth, histological grade [Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte le Cancer], American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC, eighth edition] stage, and histotype); (2) treatment-related factors (i.e., presence of surgery, neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant radiotherapy, and surgical margin); and (3) patient-dependent counterparts (e.g., age, gender, performance status [PS], body mass index [BMI], and Charlson comorbidity index [CCI]). Statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of each factor on overall survival (OS)., Results: Among the 262 patients, 217 and 45 were 60-79 and ≥80 years old, respectively. A comparison of the sociodemographic background showed no significant difference other than surgical margin and PS between those groups. According to univariate analysis, the significant factors to impact OS were age, stage, tumor size, depth, surgical margin, PS, BMI, and CCI. Multivariate analysis indicated that advanced stage, poor PS, and low BMI were negative prognostic factors for OS. Intriguingly, multivariate analysis demonstrated that CCI was a not significant factor for OS in this study., Discussion: While AJCC stage is a well-known determinant, this study suggests that physicians should be alerted to poor PS and low BMI in older patients with STS., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Novel cyclic naphthalene diimides, 8 and 12, containing ferrocene in the cyclic linker were synthesized as G-quartet (G4) specific electrochemical ligands via the reaction of 1,1'-ferrocenedipropanoic acid and the terminal amine moieties of naphthalene diimides with varying linker lengths. The redox potentials of 8 and 12 were ca. 0.2 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), and the background current in an electrolyte was successfully suppressed. Both 8 and 12 bound to TA-core, representing human telomere G4, with K = 4.4 and 38 × 10 5  M -1 , respectively. The current response of 12 to an electrode immobilized with G4 was the highest among the acyclic derivatives, suggesting its potential application in electrochemical telomerase assays., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Halorhodospira (Hlr.) halochloris is a unique phototrophic purple bacterium because it is a triple extremophile-the organism is thermophilic, alkalophilic, and halophilic. The most striking photosynthetic feature of Hlr. halochloris is that the bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) b-containing core light-harvesting (LH1) complex surrounding its reaction center (RC) exhibits its LH1 Q y absorption maximum at 1016 nm, which is the lowest transition energy among phototrophic organisms. Here we report that this extraordinarily red-shifted LH1 Q y band of Hlr. halochloris exhibits interconvertible spectral shifts depending on the electrostatic charge distribution around the BChl b molecules. The 1016 nm band of the Hlr. halochloris LH1-RC complex was blue-shifted to 958 nm upon desalting or pH decrease but returned to its original position when supplemented with salts or pH increase. Resonance Raman analysis demonstrated that these interconvertible spectral shifts are not associated with the strength of hydrogen-bonding interactions between BChl b and LH1 polypeptides. Furthermore, circular dichroism signals for the LH1 Q y transition of Hlr. halochloris appeared with a positive sign (as in BChl b-containing Blastochloris species) and opposite those of BChl a-containing purple bacteria, possibly due to a combined effect of slight differences in the transition dipole moments between BChl a and BChl b and in the interactions between adjacent BChls in their assembled state. Based on these findings and LH1 amino acid sequences, it is proposed that Hlr. halochloris evolved its unique and tunable light-harvesting system with electrostatic charges in order to carry out photosynthesis and thrive in its punishing hypersaline and alkaline habitat., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Diagnosing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is challenging. Although the H 2 FPEF score and HFA-PEFF algorithm have been proposed for diagnosing HFpEF, previous validation studies were conducted in stable chronic heart failure (HF). Moreover, information on their applicability in the Asian population is limited. We sought to investigate these scores' diagnostic performance for HFpEF in Japanese patients recently hospitalized due to acute decompensated HF., Methods: We examined patients with HFpEF recently hospitalized with acute decompensated HF from a nationwide HFpEF-specific multicenter registry (HFpEF group) and control patients who underwent echocardiography to investigate the cause of dyspnea in our hospital (Non-HFpEF group)., Results: The studied population included 372 patients (194 HFpEF group and 178 Non-HFpEF group; HFpEF prevalence, 52%). A high H 2 FPEF score (6-9 points) could diagnose HFpEF with a high specificity of 97% and a positive predictive value (PPV) of 94%, and a low H 2 FPEF score (0-1 point) could rule out HFpEF with a high sensitivity of 97% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 93%. HFpEF could be diagnosed with a high HFA-PEFF score (5-6 points) (specificity, 84%; PPV, 82%) or ruled out with a low HFA-PEFF score (0-1 point) (sensitivity, 99%; NPV, 89%). The H 2 FPEF score was significantly superior to the HFA-PEFF score in diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve: 0.89 vs. 0.82, respectively, p = 0.004)., Conclusions: The H 2 FPEF and the HFA-PEFF scores had acceptable diagnostic accuracy in diagnosing HFpEF in Japanese patients., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Only a few studies have addressed clinical outcomes of revision surgery for adjacent segment disease. The purpose of this study was to elucidate clinical outcomes of second (repeat) posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) by focusing on the relationship between clinical outcomes and spinopelvic parameters and predisposing factors requiring subsequent corrective long fusion after repeat PLIF., Methods: We analyzed the data of 47 patients ≥40 years old who underwent repeat PLIF after single-segment PLIF owing to adjacent segment disease. The correlation between clinical outcomes and radiographic parameters was investigated. Patient demographics and radiographic parameters were compared between patients with and without subsequent corrective long fusion., Results: Japanese Orthopaedic Association score at final follow-up was 13.4, and the recovery rate was 37.2%. All sagittal parameters except pelvic tilt and C7-central sacral vertical line at final follow-up showed weak to moderate (|r| = 0.30-0.56) correlation with clinical scores. Finally, 11% of patients required subsequent long corrective fusion. Pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis (PI-LL) mismatch (cutoff value of 27.5°) and thoracic kyphosis (cutoff value of 12.5°) before repeat PLIF were identified as predisposing factors for subsequent long corrective fusion., Conclusions: The clinical outcomes of repeat PLIF were inferior to outcomes of primary PLIF. Once PI-LL mismatch occurs after initial PLIF, it will be difficult to resolve the PI-LL mismatch during the second PLIF. To stop the chain of reoperations in patients whose preoperative PI-LL exceeds 27.5° before repeat PLIF, corrective long fusion may be a surgical option to consider., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Several studies using bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung injury rat model revealed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to pulmonary fibrosis. Conversely, microRNAs (miRNAs) are considered as useful markers of various diseases. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the EMT state through focusing on alveolar epithelial cells and identify the miRNAs that can be used as markers to predict pulmonary fibrosis using a BLM-induced lung injury rat model. Intratracheal administration of BLM increased hydroxyproline, a component of collagen, in lung tissues at day 14, but not at day 7. However, BLM induced EMT at day 7, which was accompanied with increased mRNA expression of α-smooth muscle actin, a representative EMT marker, in alveolar epithelium, thereby suggesting that EMT occurs prior to pulmonary fibrosis in alveolar epithelial cells. Using this rat model, the expression levels of several EMT-associated miRNAs were examined, and miR-222 was found to be upregulated in alveolar epithelial cells as well as bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from day 3. Our findings indicate that EMT in alveolar epithelial cells may occur before pulmonary fibrosis, and miR-222 may be used as a potential marker for early prediction of pulmonary fibrosis., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Although concomitant foraminotomy has been reported to increase the risk of postoperative upper limb palsy (ULP) in cervical laminoplasty, the specific effects of concomitant foraminotomy on ULP remain uncertain. This study aimed to clarify the effect of concomitant foraminotomy on ULP in cervical laminoplasty., Methods: We identified 19 patients who developed ULP after laminoplasty with concomitant foraminotomy for radiculomyelopathy with nerve root impingement (laminoplasty with concomitant foraminotomy group [F-group]) from 4080 patients who underwent primary cervical laminoplasty at 27 affiliated institutions between 2012 and 2018. An age- and sex-matched control group comprised patients who developed ULP after laminoplasty without concomitant foraminotomy (n = 76, 4:1 ratio with F-group). Collected data included the time of onset and distribution of ULP (side and level). The site of foraminotomy was recorded in the F-group., Results: The F-group showed a significantly higher incidence of ULP than the candidates for the control group (15.1% vs. 3.1%, P < 0.001). The site of foraminotomy was consistent with the distribution of ULP in 79% (15 of 19 patients) of the F-group. The F-group showed a significantly higher proportion of preoperative upper-limb muscle weakness (74% vs. 37%, P = 0.005) and early-onset ULP occurring by postoperative day 1 (63% vs. 33%, P = 0.02) compared with the control group., Conclusions: Our results indicate that the foraminotomy procedure in the stenotic foramen is directly involved in ULP. Combined with a previous report suggesting that early-onset ULP is associated with thermal nerve damage, our results indicate that thermal nerve damage partly explains the increased incidence of ULP in the F-group., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Redox-active quinones play essential roles in efficient light energy conversion in type-II reaction centers of purple phototrophic bacteria. In the light-harvesting 1 reaction center (LH1-RC) complex of purple bacteria, Q B is converted to Q B H 2 upon light-induced reduction and Q B H 2 is transported to the quinone pool in the membrane through the LH1 ring. In the purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides, the C-shaped LH1 ring contains a gap for quinone transport. In contrast, the thermophilic purple bacterium Thermochromatium (Tch.) tepidum has a closed O-shaped LH1 ring that lacks a gap, and hence the mechanism of photosynthetic quinone transport is unclear. Here we detected light-induced Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) signals responsible for changes of Q B and its binding site that accompany photosynthetic quinone reduction in Tch. tepidum and characterized Q B and Q B H 2 marker bands based on their 15 N- and 13 C-isotopic shifts. Quinone exchanges were monitored using reconstituted photosynthetic membranes comprised of solubilized photosynthetic proteins, membrane lipids, and exogenous ubiquinone (UQ) molecules. In combination with 13 C-labeling of the LH1-RC and replacement of native UQ 8 by ubiquinones of different tail lengths, we demonstrated that quinone exchanges occur efficiently within the hydrophobic environment of the lipid membrane and depend on the side chain length of UQ. These results strongly indicate that unlike the process in Rba. sphaeroides, quinone transport in Tch. tepidum occurs through the size-restricted hydrophobic channels in the closed LH1 ring and are consistent with structural studies that have revealed narrow hydrophobic channels in the Tch. tepidum LH1 transmembrane region., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Postoperative recovery of activities of daily living after surgery in elderly patients often takes a longer time because of their frailty. However, it is unclear how long it takes for patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) to recover their abilities to live their daily lives in their home after corrective fusion surgery. This study aimed to investigate the length of hospital stay required to perform activities of daily living (ADL) in patients undergoing two-stage corrective fusion surgery for ASD in our institution and to detect factors associated with the length of hospital stay., Methods: Thirty-four consecutive female ASD patients (median age, 70 years) who underwent two-stage corrective fusion surgery (lateral lumbar interbody fusion at the first stage and posterior corrective fusion at the second stage) from T9 or T10 to the pelvis were included. The length of hospital stay from admission to return home was determined, and correlations between length of hospital stay and demographics, skeletal muscle mass, operative invasion and perioperative complications, and spino-pelvic alignment were investigated., Results: The median length of hospital stay was 51 days, exceeding 100 days in 25% of cases. Age at surgery (ρ = 0.545, p = 0.001), estimated glomerular filtration rate (ρ = -0.603, p < 0.001), age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (ρ = 0.437, p = 0.01), and preoperative pelvic incidence (ρ = 0.356, p = 0.04) were correlated with length of hospital stay. Preoperative skeletal muscle mass, preoperative spinal imbalance, perioperative changes in spino-pelvic alignment, operative invasion, and perioperative complications were not correlated with length of hospital stay., Conclusions: After >50 days, ADL performance of each patient reached the extent required for daily living to return home after two-stage corrective fusion surgery for ASD. Factors related to length of hospital stay were age and indices related to frailty., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Trainees require extensive experience to perform radical hysterectomy. Before starting training during an actual operation, trainees should be familiar with the pelvic anatomy and should simulate surgical procedures. Many simulators are available for virtual reality training of laparoscopic operations, but they are very expensive. The materials required to construct our model included sponges and colored wires sold in home improvement stores that allowed for superior cost effectiveness. The model represented almost all peripheral vessels and nerves around the uterus, including the minor vessels. Attaching and detaching the vessels was easy, facilitating reconstruction of the dissected vessels. The wires were easy to bend, ensuring high operability. This model allows for the simulation of laparoscopic radical hysterectomy in a dry box. Our model was superior to a 2-dimensional picture for the memorization of branching and positional relationships of the blood vessels. Comparison of our model with actual operative videos showed that the dry box provided an identical surgical view of an actual laparoscopic radical hysterectomy. We developed a peripheral bloodstream model of the uterus for repeated simulation of laparoscopic radical hysterectomy with an actual surgical view using a dry box., (Copyright © 2019 AAGL. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: We conducted a finite element study to assess the effectiveness of a novel pedicle screw design with two alterations in the distal and proximal portions., Methods: Finite element (FE) models of 24 vertebrae were constructed using computed tomographic data. Pull-out strength of 4 different pedicle screws were compared. The basic screw design was a dual threaded one (PS0), in which the proximal portion is double-threaded (cortical thread), and the distal portion is single-threaded (cancellous thread). In PS1, the inter-thread double-core shape was added to PS0 in the distal portion. Compared to PS0, in PS2, the proximal portion was elongated by 5 mm. PS3 had both PS1 and PS2 features. In addition, the 24 vertebrae were classified into 3 groups based on volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) of the vertebral body: low <120 mg/cm 3 , moderate 120-170 mg/cm 3 , and high >170 mg/cm 3 ., Results: The mean pull-out strengths (±SD) were 1137 ± 500 N, 1188 ± 520 N, 1191 ± 512 N, and 1242 ± 538 N for PS0, PS1, PS2, and PS3, respectively. In PS1, there was significant difference in the incremental ratio of pull-out strength to PS0 between the low and high vBMD groups (3.7 ± 1.6% vs. 5.0 ± 1.0%, p = 0.006). In PS2, there was a significant difference in the incremental ratio to PS0 between the moderate and high vBMD groups (7.6 ± 4.0% vs. 3.3 ± 1.8%, p < 0.001). In PS3, there was a significant difference in the incremental ratio to PS0 between the moderate and high vBMD groups (12.1 ± 4.8% vs. 8.5 ± 2.1%, p = 0.003)., Conclusions: The two design alterations showed the combined additive effect in the PS3 design. The moderate vBMD group has a balanced bone property to reflect the combined effects of the PS1 and PS2 design alterations., (Copyright © 2019 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Therapeutic mouthwash (MW) is an adjunctive tool along with a regular oral hygiene routine of daily tooth brushing and daily flossing. Previous systematic reviews have demonstrated that it is effective against dental biofilm and gingival inflammation, for prevention of dental caries, and for managing one's bad breath condition according to the active ingredients. MWs prevent the microorganisms from bacterial adhesion that corresponds to the initial step in biofilm formation. This review summarized the current state of evidence such as anti-biofilm, anti-gingivitis and cariostatic properties of MWs by evaluating systematic reviews from the past six years. The anti-biofilm property has been proven to be effective, with strong evidence of three main clinical efficacies. The most commonly studied active agent was chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), followed by essential oil (EO) and cetylpyridinium chloride. All the systematic reviews are in complete agreement that CHX and EO provide statistically significant improvements in terms of plaque and gingival indices. These effects have held up over the years as the number of studies has increased. While the use of fluoride MW is proven to be effective in improving the oral health of both children and adults, the quality of evidence is still regarded as low.

Background: There have been few reports on the incidence and risk factors of the complications after spinal fixation surgery for osteoporotic vertebral collapse (OVC) with neurological deficits. This study aimed to identify the incidence and risk factors of the complications after OVC surgery., Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study, a total of 403 patients (314 women and 89 men; mean age 73.8 years) who underwent spinal fixation surgery for OVC with neurological deficits between 2005 and 2014 were enrolled. Data on patient demographics were collected, including age, sex, body mass index, smoking, steroid use, medical comorbidities, and surgical procedures. All postoperative complications that occurred within 6 weeks were recorded. Patients were classified into two groups, namely, complication group and no complication group, and risk factors for postoperative complications were investigated by univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: Postoperative complications occurred in 57 patients (14.1%), and the most common complication was delirium (5.7%). In the univariate analysis, the complication group was found to be older (p = 0.039) and predominantly male (p = 0.049), with higher occurrence rate of liver disease (p = 0.001) and Parkinson's disease (p = 0.039) compared with the no-complication group. In the multivariate analysis, the significant independent risk factors were age (p = 0.021; odds ratio [OR] 1.051, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.007-1.097), liver disease (p < 0.001; OR 8.993, 95% CI 2.882-28.065), and Parkinson's disease (p = 0.009; OR 3.636, 95% CI 1.378-9.599)., Conclusions: Complications after spinal fixation surgery for OVC with neurological deficits occurred in 14.1%. Age, liver disease, and Parkinson's disease were demonstrated to be independent risk factors for postoperative complications., (Copyright © 2019 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: This study aimed to develop a technique to create sequential slices, allowing the fluorescent visualization of bacterial viability in all parts of an infected dentin., Methods: Cylindrical dentin blocks were prepared from freshly extracted human teeth with a single-rooted canal. Each block was immersed in 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and 17% EDTA for 5 minutes before being infected with Enterococcus faecalis. The bacteria were allowed to develop inside dentin specimens for 28 days under anaerobic conditions. The specimens were exposed in 2% NaOCl for either 2 minutes or 20 minutes at 20°C, 37°C, and 45°C, respectively. After staining with calcein AM (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA) and propidium iodide, the samples were cryoembedded, mounted on an adhesive film, and sectioned at a thickness of 10 μm along the running of the dentinal tubules. Stacks of fluorescent images were collected in the z dimension using confocal laser scanning microscopy, and the maximum affected distance from a root canal was measured from the 3-dimensional reconstructed image. The reliability of this technique was verified by comparison with a dye bleaching test., Results: Horizontal sequential sections preserving 3-dimensional bacterial distribution and their viabilities could be made without decalcification. The treatment time contributed to the penetration of NaOCl into dentinal tubules, whereas temperature did not significantly affect the penetration. The judgment by confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis was consistent with that of a dye bleaching test., Conclusions: The horizontal sectioning method has the advantage of creating sequential sections, allowing information to be imaged at every portion., (Copyright © 2019 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Low back pain results in more global disabilities than any other condition, and intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is commonly involved in the etiology. Supplementation of IVDs with reparative cells is a rational strategy to address such clinical problems. We have previously developed a scaffold-free tissue-engineered construct (TEC) as a novel cell therapy system for repair of articular cartilage and meniscus. We now show the regenerative potential of adipose mesenchymal stem cells derived TEC (ADSC-TEC) for IVD degeneration using a rat tail model of total nucleotomy. The regenerative efficacy of ASDC-TEC was investigated structurally and biomechanically up to 6 months after implantation. ADSC-TEC implantation into IVDs preserved the disc height, endplate, and annulus fibrosus structure, and showed similar biomechanical characteristics to the sham group at postoperative 6 weeks. The structure of regenerated IVD was maintained until 6 months. Furthermore, ADSC-TEC implantation attenuated the impact of age-related biomechanical deterioration when assessed at 6 months post-implantation. These results demonstrate that use of ADSC-TECs can be an effective treatment for IVD degeneration. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: We developed adipose mesenchymal stem cell-derived scaffold-free tissue engineered construct (ADSC-TEC) as a novel cell therapy system. The ADSC-TEC implantation into a rat total-nucleotomized disc space regenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs) histologically and biomechanically. The regenerative capacity of the ADSC-TEC was exerted by its trophic effects on annulus fibrosus cells and the load-sharing effect at intervertebral space. Interestingly, the regenerated IVDs by the ADSC-TEC was less susceptible to the age-related deterioration than the IVDs of normal rats. Thus, the application of ADSC-TEC into the degenerated disc can be an alternative therapy for various disease associated with structural and functional failure of IVDs., (Copyright © 2019 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Biologic agents (BAs) enabled not only a reduction of disease activity but also a slowing down of structural damage to the joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the incidence of cervical lesions in patients with RA is still high., Purpose: To elucidate the predictors for the progression of two different cervical lesions in patients with RA under BA treatment., Methods: Of 151 subjects who received more than two years of continuous BA treatment, 101 subjects who had cervical X-ray images taken at baseline and final visit were enrolled. The mean disease duration and mean radiography interval were 10.6 years and 4.4 years, respectively. The existence and progression of cervical lesions (atlanto-axial subluxation [AAS], vertical subluxation [VS], and subaxial subluxation [SS]) were investigated. And predictors for the AAS or VS progression were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: The incidence of cervical lesions at baseline were no pre-existing cervical lesion (none) in 50 cases (50%), AAS only in 32 (32%), both AAS and VS in 12 (12%), and VS only in 7 cases (7%). In the none group, only 4 cases of AAS progression (8%) was observed during the follow-up. In contrast, in the groups with pre-existing cervical lesions, a high incidence of VS progression was observed (63% in the AAS only group, 58% in the AAS + VS group, and 71% in the VS only group). Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that the DAS-CRP value at baseline (odds ratio [OR] = 9.23) and matrix metaloprotease-3 level at baseline (OR = 1.01) were significant predictors for the progression of AAS, and pre-existing AAS (OR = 18.38) was a sole significant predictor for the progression of VS., Conclusions: Cervical lesions progressed irrespective of disease activity after AAS development. Strict disease control before the development of AAS is crucial for preventing further progression and development of cervical lesions., (Copyright © 2018 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Object: This study aims to clarify the clinical potential of Hounsfield unit (HU), measured on computed tomography (CT) images, as a predictor of pedicle screw (PS) loosening, compared to bone mineral density (BMD)., Methods: A total of 206 screws in 52 patients (21 men and 31 women; mean age 68.2 years) were analyzed retrospectively. The screws were classified into two groups depending on their screw loosening status on 3-month follow-up CT (loosening screw group vs. non-loosening screw group). Preoperative HU of the trajectory was evaluated by superimposing preoperative and postoperative CT images using three-dimensional image analysis software. Age, sex, body mass index, screw size, BMD of lumbar, and HU of screw trajectory were analyzed in association with screw loosening. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed, and the thresholds for PS loosening risk factors were evaluated using a continuous numerical variable and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to determine the diagnostic performance, and values > 0.75 were considered to represent good performance., Results: The loosening screw group contained 24 screws (12%). Multivariate analysis revealed that the significant independent risk factors were not BMD but male sex [P = 0.028; odds ratio (OR) 2.852, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.120-7.258] and HU of screw trajectory (P = 0.006; OR 0.989, 95% CI 0.980-0.997). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the AUC for HU of screw trajectory for women was 0.880 (95% CI 0.798-0.961). The cutoff value was 153.5. AUC for men was 0.635 (95% CI 0.449-0.821), which was not considered to be a good performance., Conclusions: Low HU of screw trajectories was identified as a risk factor of PS loosening for women. For female patients with low HU, additional augmentation is recommended to prevent PS loosening., (Copyright © 2018 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Lateral inter-body fusion (LIF) using cages with a large bone grafting space can lead to a shortage of autologous grafting materials. The use of artificial bone is an option to increase the volume of grafting materials. However, the rate of bony fusion for these materials compared to that of autologous bone is unclear., Methods: The bone fusion rate for artificial bone (HAp/Col) and autologous iliac bone (IBG) graft among 23 patients who had undergone LIF (total 66 disc levels) combined with multilevel posterior corrective fusion for the treatment of adult spinal deformity was retrospectively evaluated. To allow comparison, one of the two separate bone grafting holes in each LIF cage was filled with HAp/Col and the other, with IBG. The change in Hounsfield units (HU) inside the implanted holes at 1-year post surgery (PO1Y) from baseline and immediately after surgery and bony fusion between adjacent vertebrae, defined by the extent of trabecular continuity at PO1Y, were evaluated using computed tomography. Differences between the convex and concave sides as well as effects of the side of approach were investigated., Results: HU values increased significantly for IBG, from 228.9 at baseline to 286.1 at PO1Y (p < 0.001), with no change for HAp/Col. The fusion rate was higher for IBG (71.2%) than for HAp/Col (19.7%; p < 0.001). A significant effect of the location of the holes on fusion rate was identified for HAp/Col but not IBG. No effects of the side of approach were identified., Conclusions: A higher rate of fusion in LIF cages was obtained with IBG than with HAp/Col, with no effect of location of implantation (convex or concave) for IBG. Therefore, exclusive use of artificial bone, particularly on the convex side, should be avoided during LIF., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The JOA (Japan Orthopaedic Association) score has been a standard outcome measure to evaluate cervical myelopathy in Japan. Despite its reliability and convenience, there can be a rating bias in the JOA score. The current study was conducted to delineate the rater's bias of the JOA score by comparing it with a new objective outcome measure., Methods: Two hundred and thirty four operative candidates with cervical myelopathy were included in the study. The patients were divided into four groups according to the surgeon (92 patients in group A, 60 patients in group B, 38 patients in group C and 44 patients in group D). Each patient's preoperative JOA score was exclusively recorded by the surgeon himself, while JOACMEQ (Japanese Orthopaedic Association Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire) was recorded by each patient. Disease severity, the most important prognostic factor, was equalized between patient groups by a special statistical method called inverse-probability weighting (IPW). To define similarity of the two groups, Cohen's d was used., Results: After the adjustment, the differences of the JOA score were only 0.1 between groups A and D and 0 between groups B and C. The values of Cohen's d were also very small both between groups A and D (3%), and between groups B and C (0.3%). The averaged JOA scores of groups A and D were higher by 0.4-0.8 than those of groups B and C, while the averaged JOA scores were almost the same both between groups A and D, and between groups B and C. Surgeons A and D had the same tendency to give higher JOA scores than surgeons B and C did., Conclusions: The current study confirmed there is a definite rater's bias in the JOA score. JOACMEQ is to be applied as a more reliable outcome measure to evaluate myelopathy patients., (Copyright © 2018 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) has become a general surgical method for degenerative lumbar diseases. Although many reports have focused on single-level PLIF, few have focused on 2-level PLIF, and no report has covered the fusion status of 2-level PLIF. The purpose of this study is to investigate clinical outcomes and fusion for 2-level PLIF by using a combination of dynamic radiographs and multiplanar-reconstruction computed tomography scans., Methods: This study consisted of 48 consecutive patients who underwent 2-level PLIF for degenerative lumbar diseases. We assessed surgery duration, estimated blood loss, complications, clinical outcomes as measured by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score, lumbar sagittal alignment as measured on standing lateral radiographs, and fusion status as measured by dynamic radiographs and multiplanar-reconstruction computed tomography. Patients were examined at a follow-up point of 4.8 ± 2.2 years after surgery. Thirty-eight patients who did not undergo lumbosacral fusion comprised the lumbolumbar group, and 10 patients who underwent lumbosacral fusion comprised the lumbosacral group., Results: The mean Japanese Orthopaedic Association score improved from 12.1 to 22.4 points by the final follow-up examination. Sagittal alignment also was improved. All patients had fusion in the cranial level. Seven patients had nonunion in the caudal level, and the lumbosacral group (40%) had a significantly poorer fusion rate than the lumbolumbar group (97%) did., Conclusions: Surgical outcomes of 2-level PLIF were satisfactory. The fusion rate at both levels was 85%. All nonunion was observed at the caudal level and concentrated at L5-S level in L4-5-S PLIF., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rhamnogalacturonan (RG) I is one of the main components of pectins in the plant cell wall. We recently reported two RG I-degrading enzymes, endo-RG and exo-RG lyases, secreted by Penicillium chrysogenum 31B. Here, our aims were to purify a RG rhamnohydrolase (PcRGRH78A) from the culture filtrate of this strain and to characterize this enzyme. On the basis of the internal amino acid sequences, the encoding gene, Pcrgrh78A, was cloned and overexpressed in Aspergillus oryzae. The deduced amino acid sequence of PcRGRH78A is highly similar to an uncharacterized protein belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 78. Pfam analysis revealed that PcRGRH78A contains a bacterial α-l-rhamnosidase (PF05592) domain. PcRGRH78A shows optimal activity at 45°C and pH 5. The specificity of PcRGRH78A toward rhamnose (Rha)-containing substrates was compared with that of a P. chrysogenum α-l-rhamnosidase (PcRHA78B) belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 78. PcRGRH78A specifically hydrolyzes RG oligosaccharides that contain Rha at their nonreducing ends, releasing the Rha, but has no activity toward naringin, hesperidin, or rutin. In contrast, PcRHA78B effectively degrades p-nitrophenyl α-l-rhamnopyranoside and the three flavonoids, but not RG oligosaccharides. When galactosyl RG oligosaccharides were used as the substrate, PcRGRH78A released Rha in 3.5-fold greater amounts in the presence of β-galactosidase than in its absence, indicating that PcRGRH78A preferentially acts on Rha residues without the galactose moiety at nonreducing ends. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a gene encoding a RG rhamnohydrolase., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Seven ferrocenyl naphthalene diimide (FND) ligands were synthesized. Each had a higher affinity for tetraplex DNA than for either single- or double-stranded DNA. The FND binding affinities were >10 5 M -1 in 0.10M AcOH-AcONa or AcOH-AcOK (pH5.5) containing 0.10M NaCl or KCl. The FNDs with the highest binding affinities for tetraplex DNA showed 23- or 8-times higher preference for tetraplex DNA than for single- or double-stranded DNA, respectively. The current signals generated from the seven FNDs bound to the tetraplex DNA immobilized on the electrode were found to correlate with the binding affinities of these ligands for the tetraplex DNA. Furthermore, using the telomerase repeat amplification protocol assay, the FND ligands could be categorized into three groups: (a) inhibiting both telomerase and Taq polymerase, (b) inhibiting telomerase alone, and (c) inhibiting neither telomerase nor Taq polymerase., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

An ideal antibiofilm strategy is to control both in the quality and quantity of biofilm while maintaining the benefits derived from resident microflora. Vizantin, a recently developed immunostimulating compound, has also been found to have antibiofilm property. This study evaluated the influence on biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans in the presence of sulfated vizantin and biofilm development following bacterial adhesion on a hydroxyapatite disc coated with sulfated vizantin. Supplementation with sulfated vizantin up to 50 μM did not affect either bacterial growth or biofilm formation, whereas 50 μM sulfated vizantin caused the biofilm to readily detach from the surface. Sulfated vizantin at the concentration of 50 μM upregulated the expression of the gtfB and gtfC genes, but downregulated the expression of the gtfD gene, suggesting altered architecture in the biofilm. Biofilm development on the surface coated with sulfated vizantin was inhibited depending on the concentration, suggesting prevention from bacterial adhesion. Among eight genes related to bacterial adherence in S. mutans, expression of gtfB and gtfC was significantly upregulated, whereas the expression of gtfD, GbpA and GbpC was downregulated according to the concentration of vizantin, especially with 50 μM vizantin by 0.8-, 0.4-, and 0.4-fold, respectively. These findings suggest that sulfated vizantin may cause structural degradation as a result of changing gene regulation related to bacterial adhesion and glucan production of S. mutans., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

1'-Acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) is naturally obtained from the rhizomes and seeds of Alpinia galangal. Here, we examined the effect of ACA on learning and memory in senescence-accelerated mice prone 8 (SAMP8). In mice that were fed a control diet containing 0.02% ACA for 25 weeks, the learning ability in the Morris water maze test was significantly enhanced in comparison with mice that were fed the control diet alone. In the Y-maze test, SAMP8 mice showed decreased spontaneous alterations in comparison with senescence-accelerated resistant/1 (SAMR1) mice, a homologous control, which was improved by ACA pretreatment. Serum metabolite profiles were obtained by GC-MS analysis, and each metabolic profile was plotted on a 3D score plot. Based upon the diagram, it can be seen that the distribution areas for the three groups were completely separate. Furthermore, the contents of β-hydroxybutyric acid and palmitic acid in the serum of SAMP8-ACA mice were higher than those of SAMP8-control mice and SAMR1-control mice. We also found that SAMR1 mice did not show histological abnormalities, whereas histological damage in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in SAMP8-control mice was observed. However, SAMP8-ACA mice were observed in a similar manner as SAMR1 mice. These findings confirm that ACA increases the serum concentrations of β-hydroxybutyric acid and palmitic acid levels and thus these fuels might contribute to the maintenance of the cognitive performance of SAMP8 mice., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to report the clinical outcomes for patients with osteoid osteoma (OO) treated by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using a three-dimensional (3D) navigation system., Methods: We performed RFA using a 3D navigation system on 32 patients with clinically and radiologically diagnosed OO. This study included 25 males and 7 females with a median age of 20 years (range, 10-39 years). The median duration of follow-up was 18 months (range, 1-65 months). We investigated technical specifications, tumor localization, technical success, clinical success, biopsy success, complications, incomplete treatment, and recurrences., Results: Eighteen tumors were located in the femur, seven in the tibia, two in the humerus, and one each in the fibula, scapula, patella, lumbar vertebra, and acetabula. All procedures were technically successful, and pain relief was achieved in all patients. However, local recurrence developed in one patient, needing additional RFA. The clinical success rate was 96.8%. Biopsy showed OO in 12 patients (37%). Complications occurred in three patients (9%), two cases of fractures and one of osteomyelitis., Conclusions: A 3D navigation provides real-time imaging and enables us to set the RFA needle in the correct position, particularly in case of OO-aroused complex anatomical structures. Our initial results indicated that radiofrequency ablation using a 3D navigation system is feasible and safe for patients with OO., (Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a cytokine which is essential for oocyte and embryo development, embryonic stem cell, and induced pluripotent stem cell maintenance. Leukemia inhibitory factor improves the maturation of oocytes in the human and the mouse. However, feline LIF (fLIF) cloning and effects on oocytes during IVM have not been reported. Thus, we cloned complete cDNA of fLIF and examined its biological activity and effects on oocytes during IVM in the domestic cat. The aminoacid sequence of fLIF revealed a homology of 81% or 92% with that of mouse or human. The fLIF produced by pCold TF DNA in Escherichia coli was readily soluble and after purification showed bioactivity in maintaining the undifferentiated state of mouse embryonic stem cells and enhancing the proliferation of human erythrocyte leukemia cells. Furthermore, 10- and 100-ng/mL fLIF induced cumulus expansion with or without FSH and EGF (P < 0.05). The rate of metaphase II oocytes was also improved with 100-ng/mL fLIF (P < 0.05). We therefore confirmed the successful production for the first time of biologically active fLIF and revealed its effects on oocytes during IVM in the domestic cat. Feline LIF will further improve reproduction and stem cell research in the feline family., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Short-segment posterior spinal instrumentation for thoracolumbar burst fracture provides superior correction of kyphosis by an indirect reduction technique, but it has a high failure rate. We investigated the clinical and radiological results of temporary short-segment pedicle screw fixation without augmentation performed for thoracolumbar burst fractures with the goal of avoiding treatment failure by waiting to see if anterior reconstruction was necessary., Methods: We studied 27 consecutive patients with thoracolumbar burst fracture who underwent short-segment posterior instrumentation using ligamentotaxis with Schanz screws and without augmentation. Implants were removed approximately 1 year after surgery. Neurological function, kyphotic deformity, canal compromise, fracture severity, and back pain were evaluated prospectively., Results: After surgery, all patients with neurological deficit had improvement equivalent to at least 1 grade on the American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale and had fracture union. Kyphotic deformity was reduced significantly, and maintenance of the reduced vertebra was successful even without vertebroplasty, regardless of load-sharing classification. Therefore, no patients required additional anterior reconstruction. Postoperative correction loss occurred because of disc degeneration, especially after implant removal. Ten patients had increasing back pain, and there are some correlations between the progression of kyphosis and back pain aggravation., Conclusion: Temporary short-segment fixation without augmentation yielded satisfactory results in reduction and maintenance of fractured vertebrae, and maintenance was independent of load-sharing classification. Kyphotic change was caused by loss of disc height mostly after implant removal. Such change might have been inevitable because adjacent endplates can be injured during the original spinal trauma. Kyphotic change after implant removal may thus be a limitation of this surgical procedure., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)