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Impella (Abiomed Inc., Danvers, MA, USA) assisted off-pump coronary artery bypass has been increasingly reported in recent years. However, there have been no reports of the procedures performed for acute myocardial infarction in which the patient is hemodynamically unstable. We report a case of a 73-year-old man with cardiogenic shock due to extensive ST elevation acute myocardial infarction that worsened despite Impella CP® support. Because of the fragile myocardium in the acute phase of myocardial infarction, Impella assisted off-pump coronary artery bypass graft causes a high risk of myocardial injury, but we were able to safely perform the procedure by ingenious techniques. When performing Impella-assisted off-pump coronary artery bypass for extensive acute myocardial infarction patients, the high risk of mechanical complications due to myocardial fragility must be considered. The position of Impella should be carefully monitored intraoperatively, and elevation of cardiac apex should be kept to a minimum to prevent myocardial damage caused by Impella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For acute cholecystitis with high surgical risk, endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) has shown high clinical and technical success rates. Dilation of the punctured fistula is a technically challenging aspect of EUS-GBD. Over-dilation makes stent insertion easier; however, it increases the risk of bile leakage. Currently, the endoscopic devices available for EUS-GBD are limited, which presents device-related shortcomings. When the stent cannot pass through the dilated fistula, the deployment of a conventional double-pigtail plastic stent requires discarding of the stent and re-puncturing of the gallbladder. Recently, a novel integral double-pigtail plastic stent tied with a pusher catheter that allows the stent to be pulled back on insertion failure was developed. Here, we describe a patient in whom EUS-GBD was successfully performed using this novel stent that enables adjustment during dilation, making EUS-GBD safer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a protein crystallization technique using a 0.0–2.0 w/v% agarose gel solution combined with a stirring technique for the purpose of controlling the crystal number in the gelled solutions. To confirm the stirring effect in the gelled solution, we investigated the nucleation probability and growth rate of the crystals produced using this method. The stirring operation by a rotary shaker affected the behavior of protein molecules in the gelled solution, and both a significant decrease in the nucleation rate and an enhancement of the crystal growth rate were achieved by the method. As a result, we concluded that the proposed technique, the stirring technique in a gel solution, was effective for generating protein crystals of sufficient and increased mechanical stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a serious neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the selective death of motor neurons. While the fundamental cause of the disorder is still unclear, the first identified risk gene, Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase ( SOD1 ), has led to the proposal of several mechanisms that are relevant to its pathogenesis. These include excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, ER stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, axonal transport disruption, prion-like propagation, and non-cell autonomous toxicity of neuroglia. Recent evidence suggests that the toxicity of the misfolded wild-type SOD1 (SOD1 WT ) is involved in the pathogenesis of sporadic cases. Yet to what extent SOD1 contributes to neurotoxicity in ALS cases generally is unknown. This review discusses the toxic mechanisms of mutant SOD1 (SOD1 mut ) and misfolded SOD1 WT in the context of ALS as well as the potential implication of these mechanisms in SOD1 mutation-negative ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people would like to live long with healthy body and mind. If you help people live well, you should take psychological stress into account. In this paper, we will support people in the situation of shopping activities. We propose the Shopping Chat Method and let a participant perform shopping along this method. Finally, we consider how to extract “novel” information about shopping activities from participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an embodied conversational agent based on the willingness to communicate (WTC) model in L2 to help increase WTC in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) by providing users with various daily conversation contexts. To simulate realistic and efficient conversations, we adopted a semantic approach in the response generation and created a system with flexible and adaptable domain knowledge, user's intent detection, and mixed-initiative conversation strategy. Our evaluation of the proposed system demonstrated its potential to increase WTC in the EFL context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used for cell therapy in various experimental disease models. However, the regenerative potential of MSCs from different tissue sources and the influence of the tissue niche have not been investigated. In this study, we compared the regenerative potential of dental pulp, bone marrow and adipose tissue-derived CD31− side population (SP) cells isolated from an individual porcine source. Pulp CD31− SP cells expressed the highest levels of angiogenic/neurotrophic factors and had the highest migration activity. Conditioned medium from pulp CD31− SP cells produced potent anti-apoptotic activity and neurite outgrowth, compared to those from bone marrow and adipose CD31− SP cells. Transplantation of pulp CD31− SP cells in a mouse hindlimb ischemia model produced higher blood flow and capillary density than transplantation of bone marrow and adipose CD31− SP cells. Motor function recovery and infarct size reduction were greater with pulp CD31− SP cells. Pulp CD31− SP cells induced maximal angiogenesis, neurogenesis and pulp regeneration in ectopic transplantation models compared to other tissue sources. These results demonstrate that pulp stem cells have higher angiogenic, neurogenic and regenerative potential and may therefore be superior to bone marrow and adipose stem cells for cell therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: The presence of malignant lymph nodes (+ypNodes) in the surgical specimen after preoperative chemoradiation (trimodality) in patients with oesophageal cancer (EC) portends a poor prognosis for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Currently, none of the clinical variables highly correlates with +ypNodes. We hypothesised that a combination of clinical variables could generate a model that associates with high likelihood of +ypNodes after trimodality in EC patients. Methods: We report on 293 consecutive EC patients who received trimodality therapy. A multivariate logistic regression analysis that included pretreatment and post-chemoradiation variables identified independent variables that were used to construct a nomogram for +ypNodes after trimodality in EC patients. Results: Of 293 patients, 91 (31.1%) had +ypNodes. OS (p =0.0002) and DFS (p <0.0001) were shorter in patients with +ypNodes compared to those with –ypNodes. In multivariable analysis, the significant variables for +ypNodes were: baseline T-stage (odds ratio [OR], 7.145; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.381–36.969; p =0.019), baseline N-stage (OR, 2.246; 95% CI, 1.024–4.926; p =0.044), tumour length (OR, 1.178; 95% CI, 1.024–1.357; p =0.022), induction chemotherapy (OR, 0.471; 95% CI, 0.242–0.915; p =0.026), nodal uptake on post-chemoradiation positron emission tomography (OR, 2.923; 95% CI, 1.007–8.485; p =0.049) and enlarged node(s) on post-chemoradiation computerised tomography (OR, 3.465; 95% CI, 1.549–7.753; p =0.002). The nomogram after internal validation using the bootstrap method (200 runs) yielded a high concordance index of 0.756. Conclusion: Our nomogram highly correlates with the presence of +ypNodes after chemoradiation, however, considerably more refinement is needed before it can be implemented in the clinic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To evaluate fresh blood imaging (FBI), a magnetic resonance imaging technique that does not use contrast, for identifying hemangiomas and feeding arteries in the oral and maxillofacial regions. Study Design: For 16 patients with hemangiomas, FBI visualizations of hemangiomas and feeding arteries in the oral and maxillofacial regions were compared with those from 3-dimensional (3D) phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (PC-MRA). Comparisons were based on the conspicuities of blood vessels and the 3D relationships of hemangiomas with the surrounding blood vessels. Results: The conspicuity of hemangiomas, feeding arteries, and blood vessels were significantly better with FBI than with PC-MRA. After differentiating arteries from veins, 3D visualizations of hemangiomas and arteries or veins could be performed with FBI. Conclusions: FBI is a useful method in oral and maxillofacial regions for identifying the relationships between hemangiomas and the surrounding arteries or veins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fermented papaya preparation (FPP) (a product of yeast fermentation of Carica papaya Linn) is a food supplement. Studies in chronic and degenerative disease conditions (such as thalassemia, cirrhosis, diabetes and aging) and performance sports show that FPP favorably modulates immunological, hematological, inflammatory, vascular and oxidative stress damage parameters. Neuroprotective potential evaluated in an Alzheimer''s disease cell model showed that the toxicity of the β-amyloid can be significantly modulated by FPP. Oxidative stress trigger apoptotic pathways such as the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38-mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) are preferentially activated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress resulting in cell differentiation and apoptosis. FPP modulated the H2O2-induced ERK, Akt and p38 activation with the reduction of p38 phosphorylation induced by H2O2. FPP reduces the extent of the H2O2-induced DNA damage, an outcome corroborated by similar effects obtained in the benzo[a]pyrene treated cells. No genotoxic effect was observed in experiments with FPP exposed to HepG2 cells nor was FPP toxic to the PC12 cells. Oxidative stress-induced cell damage and inflammation are implicated in a variety of cancers, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular dysfunctions, neurodegenerative disorders (such as stroke, Alzheimer''s disease, and Parkinson''s disease), exercise physiology (including performance sports) and aging. These conditions could potentially benefit from functional nutraceutical/food supplements (as illustrated here with fermented papaya preparation) exhibiting anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunostimulatory (at the level of the mucus membrane) and induction of antioxidant enzymes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Oxidative and nitrosative stress mechanisms are widely implicated in the biological and pathological processes involved in aging, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Although this has continued to fuel suggestions of the benefits of antioxidant functional foods, in vivo methods for assessing the integrity of this remain limited. A novel electron spin resonance (ESR) technique for evaluating oxidative stress and location of its damage in the brain of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) has been described [Lee, M.-C., et al. (2004). Assessment of oxidative stress in the SHR brain using electron spin resonance (ESR) imaging and in vivo L-Band ESR. Hypertension Research, 27, 485–492]. The reconstructed 2D ESR images of the distribution of a blood brain barrier-permeable nitroxyl spin probe, 3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (MC-PROXYL) was used to investigate the ability of fermented papaya preparation (FPP, a product of yeast fermentation of Carica papaya Linn.) to modulate oxidative stress of SHR brain. Supplementation (5–7 months) with FPP (50mg/rat/day) significantly increased the decay of the ESR images of the MC-PROXYL, suggesting that FPP may have up-regulated the redox defense activity in the SHR brain. Herein is an in vivo noninvasive technique for the study of oxidative stress and its modulation by dietary factors (that may be intended for applications as neuroprotectants in chronic degenerative disease involving loss of brain function). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Lateral medullary infarction mainly impairs the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. We aimed to investigate the utility of the assessment tools of swallowing function in patients with lateral medullary infarction and to determine the factors that could predict the outcomes of swallowing function.Materials and Methods: 15 patients with lateral medullary infarction who were admitted to Suiseikai Kajikawa Hospital between August 1, 2016, and March 31, 2020 (age 62.7 ± 14.8 years, 5 women) were enrolled in this prospective study. The diagnosis was made using brain magnetic resonance imaging. We analyzed the factors associated with severe swallowing dysfunction, which was defined as the necessity for tube feeding on the 90th day from admission, with multiple logistic regression analysis.Results: Multivariate analyses identified the repetitive saliva swallowing test, modified water swallowing test, and vertical spread of stroke lesions as independent significant factors affecting severe swallowing dysfunction (p = 0.002, 0.016, and 0.011, respectively). The sub-scores of the pharyngeal phase of the Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability were also significantly associated with severe swallowing dysfunction (p < 0.001). However, tongue pressure, severe passage pattern abnormality on videofluoroscopic examination, and vertebral artery dissection were not significantly associated with swallowing dysfunction.Conclusions: Since lateral medullary infarction presents with swallowing dysfunction mainly in the pharyngeal phase, tools that can be used to evaluate the pharyngeal phase of swallowing, such as repetitive saliva swallowing test and modified water swallowing test, are moreuseful than tongue pressure measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HMRS) in determining the progression of neurological symptoms resulting in acute ischemic stroke in patients with lenticulostriate artery (LSA) infarction.Materials and Methods: 1HMRS was performed within 72 h after neurological symptom onset. Voxel of interest was placed in tissue that included the pyramidal tract and identified diffusion weighted echo planar spin-echo sequence (DWI) coronal images. Infarct volume in DWI was calculated using the ABC/2 method. 1HMRS data (tNAA, tCr, Glx, tCho, and Ins) were analyzed using LCModel. Progressive neurological symptoms were defined as an increase of 1 or more in the NIHSS score. Patients who underwent 1HMRS after progressive neurological symptoms were excluded.Results: In total, 77 patients were enrolled. Of these, 19 patients had progressive neurological symptoms. The patients with progressive neurological symptoms were significantly more likely to be female and had higher tCho/tCr values, higher rates of axial slices ≥ 3 slices on DWI, higher infarct volume on DWI, higher maximum diameter of infarction of axial slice on DWI, and higher SBP on admission compared to those without. Multivariable logistic analysis revealed that higher tCho/tCr values were independently associated with progressive neurological symptoms after adjusting for age, sex, and initial DWI infarct volume (tCho/tCr per 0.01 increase, OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.52, P = 0.022).Conclusions: Increased tCho/tCr score were associated with progressive neurological symptoms in patients with LSA ischemic stroke. Quantitative evaluation of 1HMRS parameters may be useful for predicting the progression of neurological symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cement clinker phases are produced through the pyro processing of cement kiln bypass dust. • Clinker phase formation is enhanced by the intrinsic constituents within CBPD. • Alite is formed at 1200 °C which is much lower than conventional. • The chloride salt is removed from the clinker through heating. The valorisation of cement kiln bypass dust (CBPD) is explored for sustainable production of cementitious clinker phases. CBPD can replace the calcareous component in cement manufacture and allow for a reduction in CO 2 emissions, as the calcium component in CBPD is mostly decarbonised. CBPD was heated with/out the addition of alumina or silica at temperatures of 900 – 1100 °C to produce clinker phases. Belite and mayenite formed at temperatures as low as 900 °C, while alite formation was achieved at 1200 °C, which is significantly lower than is conventional (~1450 °C). Alite is thermodynamically stable only above 1250 °C; thus, the reduced temperature is potentially owing to the presence of chloride found in the CBPD (as KCl) which was also simultaneously removed through pyro processing at 1100 – 1200 °C. The investigation also confirmed that the formation of belite is enhanced in the presence of molten KCl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of highly dielectric polyrotaxane derivatives consisting of axle polyethylene glycol (PEG) and threated α-cyclodextrins (CDs) were synthesized by modifying the hydroxyl groups of CDs with cyanoethyl or dicyanobutyl groups. We found that the introduction of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) side chain with a number of hydroxyl groups and subsequent cyanoethylation give particularly high dielectric constant (23.4), which is comparable to those of commercially available highly dielectric polymeric materials. We also succeeded in preparing a highly dielectric ( ε ′ ∼ 16 at 10 kHz) and flexible (Young's modulus ∼ 3.4 MPa) elastomer film without any inorganic filler, which is a desirable material for insulator of dielectric elastomer actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A triphenylamine with three benzothiophene rings was designed and successfully synthesized in 87% yield. The compound showed absorption at 386 nm and blue emission at around 442 nm, with a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.57. The compound showed high thermostability. The radical cation obtained by one-electron oxidation was stable in solution and showed a significant absorption in the NIR-II region (λ max = 1213 nm). DFT calculations confirmed the experimental data. A triphenylamine with three benzothiophenes was synthesized. The radical cation obtained by one-electron oxidation was stable in solution and showed a significant absorption in the NIR-II region (λ max = 1213 nm). [Display omitted] • A novel triphenylamine with three benzothiophenes. • The corresponding radical cation obtained by one-electron oxidation does not decompose even in solution at room temperature. • The radical cation showed a significant absorption in the near-infrared region (λ max = 1213 nm). • π-Extended triarylamine derivatives are a promising group for organic near-infrared absorption materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increase of crop yield is always the desired goal, manipulation of genes in relation to plant growth is a shortcut to promote crop yield. The plasma membrane (PM) H+-ATPase is the plant master enzyme; the energy yielded by ATP hydrolysis pumps H+ out of cells, establishes the membrane potential, maintains pH homeostasis and provides the proton-motive force required for transmembrane transport of many materials. PM H+-ATPase is involved in root nutrient uptake, epidermal stomatal opening, phloem sucrose loading and unloading, and hypocotyl cell elongation. In this review, we summarize the recent progresses in roles of PM H+-ATPase in nutrient uptake and light-induced stomatal opening and discuss the pivotal role of PM H+-ATPase in crop yield improvement and its potential application in agricultural production by modulating the expression of PM H+-ATPase in crops. • Structure and post-translational regulatory of PM H+-ATPase. • Contribution of PM H+-ATPase in nutrient uptake and stomatal opening. • Increase of rice grain yield in the paddy field by PM H+-ATPase overexpression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) contain subsets of progenitor/stem cells with high angiogenic, neurogenic and regenerative potential useful for cell therapy. It is essential to develop a safe and efficacious method to isolate the clinical-grade DPSCs subsets from a small amount of pulp tissue without using conventional flow cytometry. Thus, a method for isolation of DPSCs subsets based on their migratory response to optimized concentration of 100 ng/ml of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was determined in this study. The DPSCs mobilized by G-CSF (MDPSCs) were enriched for CD105, C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR-4) and G-CSF receptor (G-CSFR) positive cells, demonstrating stem cell properties including high proliferation rate and stability. The absence of abnormalities/aberrations in karyotype and lack of tumor formation after transplantation in an immunodeficient mouse were demonstrated. The conditioned medium of MDPSCs exhibited anti-apoptotic activity, enhanced migration and immunomodulatory properties. Furthermore, transplantation of MDPSCs accelerated vasculogenesis in an ischemic hindlimb model and augmented regenerated pulp tissue in an ectopic tooth root model compared to that of colony-derived DPSCs, indicating higher regenerative potential of MDPSCs. In conclusion, this isolation method for DPSCs subsets is safe and efficacious, having utility for potential clinical applications to autologous cell transplantation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

From the helium (He) plasma irradiations to tungsten performed in the Magnum-PSI device, the effects of deposition of metals on the helium-plasma induced fiberform nanostructures (fuzz) are discussed. It was found that fuzz was not formed at the center of the plasma cylinder if there were significant metallic impurities from the source. Deposition of metallic impurities (mainly molybdenum and copper) counteracted the growth of fuzz. In addition to the effects of metals from the source, we installed a sputtering source near the sample to replicate the deposition environment in fusion devices. The thickness of fuzzy layer was ∼ 7 µm, which was about five times greater than that without deposition, at the He flux of 1.3 × 10 26 m − 2 , suggesting that the growth rate of fuzz layer was significantly accelerated due to the deposition of tungsten. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The celiac lymph node axis acts as a gateway for metastatic systemic spread. The need for prophylactic celiac nodal coverage in chemoradiation therapy for esophageal cancer is controversial. Given the improved ability to evaluate lymph node status before treatment via positron emission tomography (PET) and endoscopic ultrasound, we hypothesized that prophylactic celiac node irradiation may not be needed for patients with localized esophageal carcinoma. Methods and Materials: We reviewed the radiation treatment volumes for 131 patients who underwent definitive chemoradiation for esophageal cancer. Patients with celiac lymph node involvement at baseline were excluded. Median radiation dose was 50.4 Gy. The location of all celiac node failures was compared with the radiation treatment plan to determine whether the failures occurred within or outside the radiation treatment field. Results: At a median follow-up time of 52.6 months (95% CI 46.1–56.7 months), 6 of 60 patients (10%) without celiac node coverage had celiac nodal failure; in 5 of these patients, the failures represented the first site of recurrence. Of the 71 patients who had celiac coverage, only 5 patients (7%) had celiac region relapse. In multivariate analyses, having a pretreatment-to-post-treatment change in standardized uptake value on PET >52% (odds ratio [OR] 0.198, p = 0.0327) and having failure in the clinical target volume (OR 10.72, p = 0.001) were associated with risk of celiac region relapse. Of those without celiac coverage, the 6 patients that later developed celiac failure had a worse median overall survival time compared with the other 54 patients who did not fail (median overall survival time: 16.5 months vs. 31.5 months, p = 0.041). Acute and late toxicities were similar in both groups. Conclusions: Although celiac lymph node failures occur in approximately 1 of 10 patients, the lack of effective salvage treatments and subsequent low morbidity may justify prophylactic treatment in distal esophageal cancer patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]