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Abstract Objectives Serial pancreatic juice aspiration cytological examination (SPACE) via endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is a useful diagnostic method for early‐stage pancreatic cancer, such as carcinoma in situ that are difficult to diagnose by endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration (EUS‐FNA). However, the diagnostic accuracy of SPACE is low, which is attributed to problems regarding specimen treatment. Hence, we evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of liquid‐based cytology (LBC) in pancreatic juice cytology for pancreatic cancer. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 24 patients with suspected pancreatic cancer that was difficult to diagnose by endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration who underwent SPACE using LBC between April 2017 and April 2021. Results The most common reason for performing SPACE was localized stenosis of the main pancreatic duct without a mass. Eleven patients were diagnosed with malignancy after surgical resection, nine of whom had pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Ten patients were diagnosed as benign after a follow‐up of more than 1 year. The nine cases of malignancy were diagnosed before surgical resection by SPACE using LBC, with a sensitivity of 81.8% and specificity of 100%. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 91.7%. A total of 152 LBC examinations were performed via SPACE, with an adequate sample collection rate of 88.9%. No adverse events, including acute pancreatitis, occurred after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Conclusion SPACE with LBC offers good diagnostic efficacy in patients with pancreatic cancer that is difficult to diagnose by endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) can be used for lung cancer treatment, the activated immune response may cause immune-related adverse effects (irAEs). We present here a case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) enterocolitis during steroid therapy for an irAE. A 70-year-old man diagnosed with small-cell lung carcinoma (limited disease) received radiotherapy plus two chemotherapy cycles of cisplatin and etoposide. The tumor exhibited complete response but recurred after 3 years. After treatment with two cycles of carboplatin, etoposide, and atezolizumab, an inhibitors of programmed cell death receptor-1, he was switched to atezolizumab every 3 weeks for maintenance therapy. Diarrhea occurred after nine atezolizumab doses. With a strong suspicion of ICI-induced colitis, we administered methylprednisolone 500 mg for 3 days, followed by oral prednisolone 40 mg/day. Total colonoscopy during the treatment revealed mucosal inflammation of the total colon, suggesting immune-related colitis. Biopsies from the ulceration revealed crypt abscess with highly infiltrative plasma cells and lymphocytes. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining showed positivity for CMV. With no improvement in watery diarrhea, the prednisolone dose was increased to 80 mg/day on the 11th day, and ganciclovir was additionally administered twice daily on the 26th day. On the 28th day, the patient had abdominal pain, and abdominal computed tomography revealed free air, resulting in the diagnosis of colon perforation. He underwent subtotal colectomy followed by ileostomy as emergency surgery. A colon specimen revealed colitis with CMV infection. We describe colon perforation in a patient with CMV enterocolitis complicated by refractory immune-related colitis.

Abstract Background The incidence of acute epidural hematoma not accompanied by fracture is low, and it mostly occurs right below the impact point in children. Acute epidural hematoma on the contralateral side of the impact point without fracture is very rare. Case presentation Case 1: a 52-year-old Japanese woman fell and was bruised in the left occipital region, and acute epidural hematoma developed in the right frontal region. No fracture line was observed in the right frontal region on head computed tomography or during surgery, and the source of bleeding was the middle meningeal artery. Case 2: a 56-year-old Japanese man fell down the stairs and was bruised in the right occipital region, and acute epidural hematoma developed in the right occipital supra- and infratentorial regions and left frontal region. Separation of the lambdoid suture was noted in the right occipital region, but no fracture line was present in the left frontal region on either head computed tomography or during surgery, and the source of bleeding was the middle meningeal artery. Conclusions Two rare cases of frontal contrecoup acute epidural hematoma without facture near the hematoma were reported. It is possible that the dura mater detaches from the inner surface of the skull due to cavitation theory-related negative pressure and blood vessels in the dura mater are damaged, causing contrecoup acute epidural hematoma even though no fracture occurs, for which careful course observation is necessary.

Abstract Background The combination of budesonide + formoterol (BFC) offers the advantages of dose adjustment in a single inhaler according to asthma symptoms. We analyzed the relationship between asthma symptoms in terms of peak expiratory flow (PEF) and dose adjustment by the patient. Methods Twenty-eight patients with asthma who used BFC for alleviation of their symptoms (12 men, 16 women; 60 years old) were instructed that the inhaled BFC dose could be increased to a maximum of 8 inhalations per day according to symptom severity. Patients measured and recorded PEF every morning and evening in their asthma diary along with their symptoms and the dose of drugs taken. Results Sixteen of the 28 patients increased their dose for asthma symptoms. The time to recovery from the asthma symptoms was significantly shorter when cough was the only symptom present compared with dyspnea or wheeze (1.4 vs. 5.3 or 6.6 days, p

Signal processing in electronic devices is in the THz regime. Here the authors measure NIR lightwave-field-induced multiple dipole oscillations in Cr:Al2O3 in the time domain reaching PHz scale by using an isolated attosecond pulse and this method shows potential for higher speed signal processing.

To establish an efficient method of enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis, we investigated the effect of casein peptide supplementation. The aim of this study was to examine whether oral casein peptide ingestion enhances exercise-induced mitochondrial adaptation in high fat diet-induced obese diabetes mice. Mice received either casein peptide or water (0.2 mg/g body weight, 7 times/week) and were subjected to treadmill running (20–25 m/min × 60 min, 5 times/week for 6 weeks) 30 min later. In plantaris muscle (higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers), casein peptide treatment did not impact mitochondrial adaptation. However, in soleus muscle (higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers) and heart, casein peptide supplementation with exercise increased mitochondrial enzyme activity (citrate synthase and β-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase activity). To clarify the mechanisms underlying mitochondrial adaptation enhancement, we investigated the acute effects of pre-exercise casein peptide ingestion on the phosphorylation status of cellular signaling cascades associated with mitochondrial adaptations. We observed that casein peptide ingestion boosted exercise-induced AMPK phosphorylation in soleus, but not plantaris muscle. Thus, our present investigation suggested that casein peptide ingestion enhanced exercise-induced mitochondrial adaptation in slow twitch muscle, but not fast twitch muscle in high fat diet-induced obese-diabetes mice.

Thiamin (vitamin B1) has often been used as a reagent to prevent fatigue. There are two possibilities concerning the anti-fatigue effect of thiamin: 1) an ergogenic effect in a non-thiamin deficient state and 2) a supplementary effect under the condition of an increasing need for thiamin due to exercise. Thiamin is a coenzyme of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), which is a mitochondrial enzyme for oxidation of carbohydrate-derived substrate to generate ATP. In a thiamin deficiency, oxidation of carbohydrate is decreased due to the reduced activity of PDH. Thus a supplement of thiamin improves carbohydrate metabolism in the thiamin-deficient state. Some reports have indicated that concentrations of thiamin in tissues are decreased by exercise, i.e. the need for thiamin intake is increased. However, direct evidence supporting the hypothesis of whether or not the thiamin requirement is increased by exercise is lacking. Although it is well documented that thiamin plays an important role in the normal function of PDH reactions, whether carbohydrate metabolism is activated by supplemental thiamin during and after exercise in a normal thiamin state is unclear. This review deals with the possibility of the administration of thiamin in preventing exercise-induced fatigue by focusing on two considerations: 1) whether the need for thiamin is increased with exercise and 2) the effect of thiamin not only on carbohydrate metabolism, but also on lipid metabolism at rest and during exercise under normal dietary conditions.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of chronic quercetin treatment on mitochondrial biogenesis, endurance exercise performance and activation levels of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in rat skeletal muscle. Rats were assigned to a control or quercetin group and were fed for 7 days. Rats treated with quercetin showed no changes in the protein levels of citrate synthase or cytochrome C oxidase IV or those of sirtuin 1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α or phosphorylated AMPK. After endurance swimming exercise, quercetin-treated rats demonstrated no differences in blood and muscle lactate levels or glycogen utilization speed compared to control rats. These results indicate that quercetin treatment does not stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle and does not influence metabolism in a way that might enhance endurance exercise capacity. On the other hand, the AMPK phosphorylation level immediately after exercise was significantly lower in quercetin-treated muscles, suggesting that quercetin treatment might provide a disadvantage to muscle adaptation when administered with exercise training. The molecular results of this study indicate that quercetin treatment may not be advantageous for improving endurance exercise performance, at least after high-dose and short-term therapy.

Human parvovirus (HPV) B19 is linked to a variety of clinical manifestations, such as erythema infectiosum, nonimmune hydrops fetalis, and transient aplastic anemia. Although a few cases have shown HPVB19 infection as a possible causative agent for hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia (HAAA) in immunocompetent patients, most reported cases of HAAA following transient hepatitis did not have delayed remission. Here we report a rare case of severe aplastic anemia following acute hepatitis with prolonged jaundice due to HPVB19 infection in a previously healthy young male. Clinical laboratory examination assessed marked liver injury and jaundice as well as peripheral pancytopenia, and bone marrow biopsy revealed severe hypoplasia and fatty replacement. HPVB19 infection was diagnosed by enzyme immunoassay with high titer of anti-HPVB19 immunoglobulin M antibodies. Immunosuppressive therapy was initiated 2 months after the onset of acute hepatitis when liver injury and jaundice were improved. Cyclosporine provided partial remission after 2 months of medication without bone marrow transplantation. Our case suggests that HPVB19 should be considered as a hepatotropic virus and a cause of acquired aplastic anemia, including HAAA.

Fatigue limit is well predicted by tensile strength or hardness, and the relationship is often analyzed by linear regression using the minimum squared approximation. However, the prediction of the number of cycles to failure at a given stress amplitude, meaning the estimate of the S--N curve, has not been realized. Therefore, we aim to investigate the estimability of the S--N curve using the random forest method based on the data described in the NIMS fatigue data sheet. The random forest method is a machine learning algorithm and an ensemble learning algorithm that integrates weak learners of multiple decision tree models to improve generalization ability. It was clarified that the machine learning of the multiple decision tree model is excellent in fatigue limit prediction. The S--N curve can be accurately estimated by combining the prediction of fatigue limit and the number of cycles to failure at a given stress amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six optically active (Z)-7-decen-4-olide derivatives (1a-1f) were synthesized in 99% enantiomeric excess using diastereomeric resolution. The odour properties of the racemic and optically active 1a-1f were evaluated in terms of their orthonasal aromas. All of the stereoisomers had different odour characteristics and thresholds. Decen-4-olides (1a-1c) had a strong fruity note, whereas undecen-4-olide (1d and 1e) and dodecen-4-olide (1f) had a strong green note. For 7-alken-4-olides (1a, 1d, and 1f), the (R)-enantiomer had a lower odour threshold than the (S)-enantiomer. In contrast, no difference in the odour threshold was observed for the enantiomers of the 8-alken-4-olides (1b and 1e). Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli; ATCC 25922) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus; ATCC 29213) were investigated. Although the no differences in the antimicrobial activity of the stereoisomers was observed, 1d and 1e showed slight antimicrobial activity against E. coli, whereas only 1f showed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. No antimicrobial activity was exhibited by (R)-1f, whereas (S)-1f exhibited strong antimicrobial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to understand the urban characteristics of Tama New Town and develop a disaster-resistant community that aligns with those characteristics. This paper reports on the implementation of a "resident questionnaire on disaster prevention consciousness" among residents around Tama University, based on the Resilience Assessment Grid (RAG) concept used in Resilience Engineering. The RAG defines the four capabilities of a resilient organization as "Resilient Local residents = Anticipating + Watch over (Monitoring) + Preparation (Responding) + Learning." We quantified the resilience potential of the community and found that Preparation (Responding) scored lower than the other items. Our findings can inform the design and management of a disaster-resistant community that is better prepared to anticipate, monitor, respond to, and learn from disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]