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In animal pharmacokinetic studies the biological half-lives of cefotetan were 13.0 min in mice, 15.9 min in rats, 30.5 min in rabbits, 55.5 min in dogs and 77.9 min in rhesus monkeys. The acute intravenous LD50 values (g/kg) were 6.4 and 5.0 in male and female mice, respectively, and 8.5 and 6.8 in male and female rats, respectively. Six-month repeated dose studies of 30 to 1000 mg/kg per day intraperitoneally in rats and 100 to 600 mg/kg per day intravenously in rhesus monkeys showed no notable organ toxicity. A teratogenicity study in rats indicated that cefotetan had no adverse effects on fetal and postnatal development. The nephrotoxicity of cefotetan in rabbits was considerably less than that of cefazolin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global obesity epidemic is a significant public health issue, often leading to metabolic disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Collagen peptides (CP) and their bioactive component, Prolyl-hydroxyproline (Pro-Hyp), have shown potential in reducing adipocyte size, with unclear mechanisms concerning brown adipocyte differentiation., Methods: We investigated the effects of Pro-Hyp on the differentiation of brown adipocytes in C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal stem cells, focusing on its impact on adipocyte size, gene expression related to brown fat function, and mitochondrial activity., Results: Pro-Hyp treatment decreased adipocyte size and upregulated brown fat-specific genes, including C/EBPα, PGC-1α, and UCP-1. Remarkably, it did not alter PPARγ expression. Pro-Hyp also elevated mitochondrial activity, suggesting enhanced brown adipocyte functionality. A Pro-Hyp responsive element was identified in the PGC-1α gene promoter, which facilitated the binding of the Foxg1 transcription factor, indicating a novel regulatory mechanism., Conclusion: Pro-Hyp promotes brown adipocyte differentiation, potentially offering a therapeutic strategy for obesity management. This study provides a molecular basis for the anti-obesity effects of CP, although further in vivo studies are needed to confirm these findings and to investigate the potential impact on beige adipocyte differentiation., Competing Interests: AK-M was employed by Nitta Gelatin Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Nomura, Kimira, Kobayashi, Shiobara, Osawa, Kataoka-Matsushita, Shimizu, Wada and Mano.)

Aims: We aimed to assess the difficulty in taking solid oral dosage forms (SODFs) among older people with dysphagia and clarify the relationship between difficulty in swallowing SODFs and swallowing function., Methods and Results: Outpatients from a dysphagia clinic aged ≥65 years were asked yes-or-no questions about the applicability of eight items regarding difficulty in taking SODFs. Additionally, a videofluorographic swallowing study (VFSS) was performed to assess their swallowing function. The Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used to analyze the relationship between difficulty in taking SODFs and swallowing function., Results: Among the 93 participants, the average number of SODFs consumed was 5.8 ± 3.1. In the questionnaire, the average number of "yes" answers was 2.2 ± 2.2, and 65 patients (71.0%) answered "yes" to at least one question. Additionally, no significant relationship was observed between the perceived difficulty in swallowing SODFs and VFSS findings., Conclusion: Approximately 70% of participants reported subjective difficulty in taking SODFs, showing that patients uniformly reported perceived difficulty in taking SODFs regardless of actual swallowing function. The results of this study suggest that patients must be questioned thoroughly about their SODFs use, regardless of the objective severity of their dysphagia., (© 2023 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The genetic and molecular basis of flagellar motility has been investigated for several decades, with innovative research strategies propelling advances at a steady pace. Furthermore, as the phenomenon is examined in diverse bacteria, new taxon-specific regulatory and structural features are being elucidated. Motility is also a straightforward bacterial phenotype that can allow undergraduate researchers to explore the palette of molecular genetic tools available to microbiologists. This study, driven primarily by undergraduate researchers, evaluated hundreds of flagellar motility mutants in the Gram-negative plant-associated bacterium Agrobacterium fabrum. The nearly saturating screen implicates a total of 37 genes in flagellar biosynthesis, including genes of previously unknown function., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Calvopina-Chavez et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The freshwater planarian is a model organism used to study tissue regeneration that occupies an important position among multicellular organisms. Planarian genomic databases have led to the identification of genes that are required for regeneration, with implications for their roles in its underlying mechanism. Coenzyme Q (CoQ) is a fundamental lipophilic molecule that is synthesized and expressed in every cell of every organism. Furthermore, CoQ levels affect development, life span, disease and aging in nematodes and mice. Because CoQ can be ingested in food, it has been used in preventive nutrition. In this study, we investigated the role of CoQ in planarian regeneration. Planarians synthesize both CoQ9 and rhodoquinone 9 (RQ9). Knockdown of Smed-dlp1, a trans-prenyltransferase gene that encodes an enzyme that synthesizes the CoQ side chain, led to a decrease in CoQ9 and RQ9 levels. However, ATP levels did not consistently decrease in these animals. Knockdown animals exhibited tissue regression and curling. The number of mitotic cells decreased in Smed-dlp1 (RNAi) animals. These results suggested a failure in physiological cell turnover and stem cell function. Accordingly, regenerating planarians died from lysis or exhibited delayed regeneration. Interestingly, the observed phenotypes were partially rescued by ingesting food supplemented with α-tocopherol. Taken together, our results suggest that oxidative stress induced by reduced CoQ9 levels affects planarian regeneration and tissue homeostasis., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We recently experienced one each of 2 types of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). Case 1 (juvenile-onset type): A 30-year-old woman presenting with bloody sputum and large tumors with cavities on her chest Xray film, was referred to our hospital. She had been diagnosed with laryngeal papillomatosis when she was three years old. According to our bronchoscopical examination biopsy, she was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung in addition to papillomatosis of the trachea and bronchus. Although chemotherapy was performed, she died 2 years after the diagnosis of lung cancer without any distinct treatment efficacy. Case 2 (adult-onset type): A 43 year-old woman presenting with fever and dry cough visited our hospital. Chest CT revealed that there was narrowing of bilateral main bronchi and hilar lymphadenopathy. Bronchoscopic examination revealed diffuse papilloma distributed extensively from the trachea to bilateral main bronchi. However, she recovered spontaneously in 6 months and has remained stable without recurrence. Both cases were diagnosed with RRP based on the separation of HPV in case 1 and pathological findings of koilocytosis in case 2. Case 1 was complicated with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung in the clinical course, presumably due to occurrence of malignant conversion of papillomatosis. Since RRP is a rare but refractory disease, novel effective treatment is necessary.

We encountered a rare case of lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP) complicated with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SjS), followed by chest CT scanning for a long period of time. A 54-year-old man with hemoptysis was admitted to our hospital in December, 2001. A diagnosis of SjS was made based on elevation of anti-SS-B/La antibody titer in serum in combination with diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca and xerostomia on a Schirmer test and a lip biopsy, respectively. Subsequent histopathological diagnosis by open lung biopsy showed LIP. Chest CT in September, 1995 at previous hospital revealed ground-glassed opacity (GGO), small nodules, thickened bronchovascular bundles and cyst formation in lungs. Chest CT was performed every year until 2008, when remarkable progression from thickened bronchovascular bundles accompanied by nodular opacities to an air-space consolidation in the right lower lobe was observed. Also, appearance of cyst formation in the right middle lobe, nodular lesions and GGO in the left lower lobe were noticed. Although the nodular opacities and GGO improved after an administration of corticosteroid (PSL 0.5 mg/kg/day), little improvement in the consolidations and cyst formation was demonstrated. In conclusion, it was suggested that differences among CT findings of LIP may be important for evaluating of efficacy of treatment by steroid agents for LIP associated with SjS.