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Introduction We report a case of megaureter in a functional solitary kidney in which surgery was performed after bladder capacity was increased by home bladder cycling. Case presentation A 6‐day‐old girl with a left megaureter, a right multicystic dysplastic kidney, and bladder hypoplasia underwent percutaneous left nephrostomy for obstructive renal failure. At 8 months, home bladder cycling was initiated to increase bladder capacity before the planned ureterocystoneostomy. Surgery was performed after bladder capacity increased. The left ureter was compressed by the left umbilical ligament, so ureteral end‐to‐end anastomosis was performed at 1 year and 4 months. At 2 years and 8 months, cystometry showed age‐appropriate bladder capacity and improved bladder compliance. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of bladder hypoplasia treated by home bladder cycling.

Abstract Acetate is a short‐chain fatty acid (SCFA) that is produced by microbiota in the intestinal tract. It is an important nutrient for the intestinal epithelium, but also has a high plasma concentration and is used in the various tissues. Acetate is involved in endurance exercise, but its role in resistance exercise remains unclear. To investigate this, mice were administered either multiple antibiotics with and without oral acetate supplementation or fed a low‐fiber diet. Antibiotic treatment for 2 weeks significantly reduced grip strength and the cross‐sectional area (CSA) of muscle fiber compared with the control group. Intestinal concentrations of SCFAs were reduced in the antibiotic‐treated group. Oral administration of acetate with antibiotics prevented antibiotic‐induced weakness of skeletal muscle and reduced CSA of muscle fiber. Similarly, a low‐fiber diet for 1 year significantly reduced the CSA of muscle fiber and fecal and plasma acetate concentrations. To investigate the role of acetate as an energy source, acetyl‐CoA synthase 2 knockout mice were used. These mice had a shorter lifespan, reduced skeletal muscle mass and smaller CSA of muscle fiber than their wild type littermates. In conclusion, acetate derived from the intestinal microbiome can contribute to maintaining skeletal muscle performance.

We herein report a case of successful laparoscopically assisted transperineal repair of anterior enterocele dehiscence with small bowel evisceration after robot-assisted radical cystectomy. A 75-year-old woman underwent robot-assisted radical cystectomy with anterior vaginectomy and urethrectomy for bladder cancer (pTisN0M0). Vaginal reconstruction was performed using the posterior vaginal wall. Four months after surgery, she presented with small bowel evisceration due to anterior enterocele dehiscence. She underwent laparoscopically assisted transperineal repair. The anterior enterocele dehiscence did not occur at the vaginal closure site but instead between the vaginal wall and posterior pubic bone. No recurrence had developed at 2 months postoperatively.

Abstract Wood properties (annual ring width, tracheid length, microfibril angle [MFA], basic density, and air-dry density) and mechanical properties (modulus of elasticity [MOE], modulus of rupture [MOR], bending work, and compressive strength) in 34-year-old Chamaecyparis obtusa trees of six half-sib families were measured from pith to bark to clarify radial variations in inheritance of these traits and the relationships between wood properties and mechanical properties. In addition, within-tree and among-family differences in the load–deflection curves were discussed. Radial variations of all wood properties were fitted to linear or nonlinear mixed-effects models with random effects of families. The MFA was correlated with MOE in all radial positions, whereas air-dry density correlated with all mechanical properties in mature wood. Radial variations in broad-sense heritability differed between wood properties. A relatively higher broad-sense heritability was recognized in almost all wood properties for mature wood. Based on the results, it was concluded that mechanical properties in mature wood can be effectively improved using MFA and air-dry density as criteria. In addition, the types of load–deflection curve in mature wood differed from those in juvenile wood, suggesting that not only elastic properties, but also plastic properties in C. obtusa are affected by genetic controls, especially in mature wood.

A 72-year-old man visited our hospital due to pollakiuria and lower abdominal pain. Urinary cytology was positive, and cystoscopy revealed diffuse edematous nonpapillary tumor. We performed transurethral biopsy, and clinical stage T3 plasmacytoid variant of urothelial carcinoma (PUC) was diagnosed. Although we planned for radical cystectomy, peritoneal dissemination and lung and pelvic lymph node metastases appeared 3 weeks after the initial visit. We also planned for chemotherapy; however, the metastases rapidly progressed, and he died 7 weeks after the biopsy. PUC is rare and shows an aggressive clinical course and poor prognosis.

We herein report an extremely rare case of urodynia caused by bladder wall adhesion to the anterior abdominal wall after vesicoscopic ureteral reimplantation for vesicoureteral reflux with resolution of the urodynia by laparoscopic adhesiotomy. A 13-year-old girl who had undergone vesicoscopic cross-trigonal ureteral reimplantation for bilateral grade IV vesicoureteral reflux subsequently experienced severe urodynia for 5 years until her self-report to the attending physician. Magnetic resonance imaging suggested that bladder wall adhesion to the anterior abdominal wall may have caused the urodynia. Therefore, laparoscopic adhesiotomy of the bladder was performed. Notably, her urodynia disappeared immediately after surgery.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive, and fatal cardiovascular/lung disease. The incidence rate is affected by age. Monocrotaline (MCT, 60 mg/kg)-treated rats are widely used as an experimental PAH model. Here, we found that young rats died at a mean of 23.4 days after MCT injection, whereas adult rats survived for over 42 days. However, young (7-week-old) and adult (20-week-old) MCT-treated rats developed PAH, and had upregulated Ca2+-sensing receptor and transient receptor potential canonical subfamily 6 channel expression in pulmonary arteries. The present study provides novel information for elucidating the mechanism underlying the age difference in PAH patients.

Introduction: This study was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of lymph node dissection (LND) during robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) compared with open radical cystectomy (ORC). Methods: From October 2003 to December 2021, 122 patients underwent LND during RARC and 103 patients underwent LND during ORC at Tokushima University Hospital and Tokushima Prefectural Central Hospital. We investigated the safety and efficacy of LND during RARC by comparing the surgical and oncological outcomes between the two groups. Results: The patients were significantly older in the RARC than the ORC group. The operative time was significantly shorter and the estimated blood loss was significantly lower in the RARC than the ORC group. Although the lymph node yield was significantly higher in the RARC than the ORC group, there was no significant difference in lymph node positivity between the groups. There was no significant difference in the incidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis between the two groups. The 5-year survival rates (overall survival, cancer-specific survival, and recurrence-free survival) were not different between the RARC and ORC groups. Conclusion: This study suggests that the surgical and oncological safety and efficacy of LND during RARC are greater than those of LND during ORC. We believe that LND during RARC is a higher-quality procedure than LND during ORC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D-Aspartate is found in the nervous and reproductive system and participates in various physiological roles. While several lines of evidence suggest that this amino acid has an endogenous origin, the enzyme responsible for mammalian D-Asp biosynthesis has not yet been identified. We show that mammalian serine racemase (SRR), the primary enzyme responsible for brain D-Ser production, catalyses Asp racemization via a two-base mechanism. We observed that overexpression of SRR in rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells resulted in an increase in intracellular D-Asp compared with control cells, demonstrating that SRR functions as an Asp racemase in the cells. To investigate the impact of endogenous SRR on endogenous D-Asp levels in the cells, we generated SRR-knockout (SRR-KO) PC12 cells. The SRR-KO cells exhibited decreased intracellular D-Ser levels, but production levels of D-Asp were unaffected. In contrast, SRR-KO mice showed significantly decreased D-Asp levels in their frontal cortices and hippocampi, where SRR is normally highly expressed, while D-Asp levels in the cerebellum and testes remained unchanged. Our results indicate that SRR indeed acts as a D-Asp biosynthetic enzyme in some organs and/or tissues, and also provide evidences that there should be some additional enzyme for D-Asp synthesis in mammals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]