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Shinsuke Inoue,1,2 Mitsuhiro Kamiya,2 Makoto Nishihara,1 Young-Chang P Arai,1,3 Tatsunori Ikemoto,1,3 Takahiro Ushida1,3 1Multidisciplinary Pain Center, 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 3Institute of Physical Fitness, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Aichi Medical University, Aichi, Japan Abstract: We conducted a cross-sectional, Internet-based survey with a nationally representative sample of Japanese adults to assess the prevalence and characteristics of failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Data regarding the residual symptoms and patient satisfaction from an online survey of 1842 lumbar surgery patients revealed the prevalence of FBSS to be 20.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 18.8–22.6). The prevalence of low back pain, dull ache, numbness, cold sensations, and paresthesia after surgery was 94.0%, 71.1%, 69.8%, 43.3%, and 35.3%, respectively. With a logistic regression model, severe residual low back pain (numerical rating scale 8–10), higher pain intensity, and multiple low back surgeries were strongly associated with FBSS, with odds ratios of 15.21 (95% CI, 7.79–29.7), 1.40 (95% CI, 1.32–1.49), and 1.87 (95% CI, 1.25–2.81), respectively. Respondents with FBSS had significantly lower EuroQol-5D (P

Momoko Yamagata,1 Tome Ikezoe,1 Midori Kamiya,1 Mitsuhiro Masaki,2,3 Noriaki Ichihashi1 1Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 2Department of Physical Therapy, 3Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan Purpose: Sample entropy (SampEn) is an analysis to evaluate movement complexity of the center of pressure (COP). A lower value of SampEn indicates lower complexity of COP variability, that is, rigidity, and lower degrees of freedom. Previous studies reported the association of increased SampEn with improved standing balance ability in young subjects. However, no studies have examined these relationships among older adults. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between SampEn and standing balance ability in older adults.Subjects and methods: The subjects were 33 institutionalized older adults (aged 82.2±6.5 years). COP during static standing was measured. The standard deviation (SD) values of COP and SampEn in the sagittal and frontal planes were calculated using time series data. One-leg standing test (OLST), functional reach (FR) test, and lateral reach (LR) test were also measured to evaluate standing balance ability.Results: OLST, FR, and LR were 6.5±8.3 s, 19.8±5.9 cm, and 18.2±6.4 cm, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that SampEn in the sagittal plane significantly correlated with OLST (r=-0.35) and FR (r=-0.36). However, SampEn in the frontal plane and SD of COP in both sagittal and frontal planes had no relationship with any of the clinical balance tests.Conclusion: Lower SampEn implies rigidity for postural control. In the present study, it was found that lower SampEn in the sagittal plane was related to a higher balance function, which suggests that older adults utilized body rigidity to maintain postural stability as a compensative strategy. Keywords: older adults, posture, balance, standing, complexity, entropy

This article presents the outcomes of fetoscopic laser photocoagulation (FLP) for Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) in a single-center experience in Japan. The study analyzed 179 TTTS cases that underwent FLP between 2015 and 2023. The FLP procedures were performed under anesthesia, and the coagulation technique involved a modified sequential method combined with the Solomon method. The study found that the survival rates for both twins and at least one twin were high, with a low rate of intrauterine fetal death. The outcomes of this study were comparable to previous research, indicating a high survival rate for at least one infant. [Extracted from the article]

This article evaluates the usefulness of the QUiPP App in identifying women at risk of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) before 34 weeks' gestation. The study included 40 admitted patients, and the QUiPP App was used to assess the risk of delivery within 14 days. The results showed that the app had a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 76.5% in predicting delivery within 14 days. The group with negative test results had a higher rate of full-term delivery, suggesting that the app could help avoid unnecessary hospitalization. Overall, the QUiPP App could be a valuable tool in clinical decision-making in Japan, even without the availability of the cervicovaginal fluid quantitative fetal fibronectin (qfFN) test. [Extracted from the article]

Pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis is a druggable metabolic dependency of cancer cells, and chemotherapy agents targeting pyrimidine metabolism are the backbone of treatment for many cancers. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is an essential enzyme in the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway that can be targeted by clinically approved inhibitors. However, despite robust preclinical anticancer efficacy, DHODH inhibitors have shown limited single-agent activity in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials. Therefore, novel combination therapy strategies are necessary to realize the potential of these drugs. To search for therapeutic vulnerabilities induced by DHODH inhibition, we examined gene expression changes in cancer cells treated with the potent and selective DHODH inhibitor brequinar (BQ). This revealed that BQ treatment causes upregulation of antigen presentation pathway genes and cell surface MHC class I expression. Mechanistic studies showed that this effect is (1) strictly dependent on pyrimidine nucleotide depletion, (2) independent of canonical antigen presentation pathway transcriptional regulators, and (3) mediated by RNA polymerase II elongation control by positive transcription elongation factor B (P-TEFb). Furthermore, BQ showed impressive single-agent efficacy in the immunocompetent B16F10 melanoma model, and combination treatment with BQ and dual immune checkpoint blockade (anti-CTLA-4 plus anti-PD-1) significantly prolonged mouse survival compared to either therapy alone. Our results have important implications for the clinical development of DHODH inhibitors and provide a rationale for combination therapy with BQ and immune checkpoint blockade.

An optical link system (OLS) is to be used in the data acquisition (DAQ) system for the Silicon Vertex Detector of the KEK B-factory experiment (BELLE collaboration). In this study we report the 10-bit, or channel (ch), OLS in which CMOS ICs are used as the transceiver circuitry for both transmitting and receiving, infrared LEDs are used as photo transmitting devices, and Si PIN photodiodes (PDs) are used as photo-receiving devices. We have obtained a 32 Mbps/ch data rate, at around 5 dB of dynamic range, with less than 8 nsec of jitters and an error rate of less than [10.sup.-9]. The scheme we proposed in this study has been confirmed assuming it will be used in the readout system.