OBITUARY : Juro Ishida (1908-1994)

Volume: 11Start Page: 631End Page: 63

Local Change of an Exogastrula-Inducing Peptide (EGIP) in the Pluteus Larva of the Sea Urchin Anthocidaris crassispina

Volume: 11Start Page: 157End Page: 16

Clinical Characteristics of Patients with SARS-CoV-2 N501Y Variants in General Practitioner Clinic in Japan

The clinical characteristics of patients with N501Y mutation in SARS-CoV-2 variants (N501YV) is not fully understood, especially in the setting of general practice. In this retrospective cohort study, COVID-19 patients admitted to one general practitioner clinic between 26 March and 26 May 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The characteristics, clinical symptoms and radiological findings before treatment were compared between N501YV and wild-type 501N. Twenty-eight patients were classified as wild-type 501N and 24 as N501YV. The mean (±standard deviation) age was 37.4 (±16.1) years, with no significant difference between groups. Among clinical symptoms, prevalence of fever of 38 degrees Celsius (°C) or higher was significantly higher in the N501YV group than in the wild-type 501N group (p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that fever of 38 °C or higher remained significantly associated with N501YV (adjust odds ratio [aOR]: 6.07, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.68 to 21.94). For radiological findings, the lung involvement area was significantly larger in patients infected with N501YV (p = 0.013). In conclusion, in the N501YV group, fever of 38 °C or higher and extensive pneumonia were more frequently observed compared to the wild-type 501N group. There was no significant difference in terms of other demographics and clinical symptoms

Effects of Exogastrula-Inducing Peptides on Cell Proliferation in Embryos of the Sea Urchin Anthocidaris crassispina

Volume: 10Start Page: 793End Page: 80

Circulating IGF-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) levels are elevated in patients with endometriosis or undergoing diabetic hemodialysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-7 (IGFBP7) is a secretory protein with a molecular mass of approximately 30 kDa. It is abundantly expressed in the uterine endometrium during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. Decreased IGFBP7 expression has been observed in some cancers and leiomyomata.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To determine whether serum IGFBP7 levels reflect changes in uterine IGFBP7 expression in humans during the menstrual cycle, and to examine whether serum IGFBP7 levels are altered in patients with various disorders, we developed a novel, dual-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Firstly, concentrations of IGFBP7 released into the medium were determined in cultured endometrial stromal and glandular cells. Blood samples were collected from women who had normal menstrual cycles and who had been diagnosed with endometriosis. Serum from hemodialysis patients and gastrointestinal cancers was also used to determine the IGFBP7 levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using this new ELISA, we demonstrated that cultured uterine cells secrete IGFBP7 into the medium. Patients with endometriosis and those with type II diabetes mellitus undergoing hemodialysis had significantly higher serum concentrations of IGFBP7 than the relevant control subjects. There were no differences in serum IGFBP7 levels in women at different stages of the menstrual cycle. Furthermore, serum IGFBP7 levels in patients with colorectal, esophageal, or endometrial cancer were not different than normal healthy subjects.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our observations suggest that IGFBP7 is associated with the pathophysiology of endometriosis and diabetes mellitus, and that serum IGFBP7 levels do not reflect enhanced uterine expression of IGFBP7 mRNA during the menstrual cycle.</p

Short-term outcomes associated with the use of a new powered circular stapler for rectal reconstructions: a retrospective study comparing it to manual circular staplers using inverse probability of treatment weight analysis

Abstract Background The most common postoperative complication in malignant rectal surgery is anastomotic leakage (AL). AL after anterior or low anterior resection in rectal tumors is a fatal postoperative complication. Recently, the first automated suture circular stapler, which is expected to reduce the incidence of AL, (J&J). Materials and methods This study included a total of 248 rectal tumor patients who underwent double stapler technique (DST) anastomotic procedures in the department of gastroenterological surgery /pediatric surgery at Gifu University School of Medicine from January 2017 to December 2021. The experience of a single institution utilizing the The Echelon circular™ stapler (ECP stapler:Manual VS Automatic) in rectal surgery cases was evaluated retrospectively from maintained database. Result One hundred thirty-nine patients (58.4%) were performed by manual circular stapling, 99 patients (41.6%) by powerd circular stapling. Diverting stoma was performed in 45 cases (32.4%) by manual circular stapling, 42 patients (42.4%) by powerd circular stapling Postoperative complications were occurred clavien-dindo grade II or higher in 57 cases (23.9%) and grade III or higher in 20 cases (8.4%). Anastomotic leakage occurred in 14 patients (5.9%) within all grades. After IPTW, the variables of patient characteristics was SMD ≤ 0.2 (Table.3), and there was a significant difference in anastomotic leakage (Odds Ratio (OR), 0.57; 95% Confidence Interval(CI), 0.34–0.98; p = 0.041). In addition, there was no significant difference in postoperative complications in grade II or higher (OR, 0.88; 95%CI, 0.65–1.19; p = 0.417) and grade III or higher (OR, 0.46; 95%CI, 0.29–0.74; p = 0.001) were significantly remarkable lower in powered circular stapling group. Conclusion In this IPTW comparison of patients undergoing rectal reconstructions, the ECP trial cohort had lower risks of several surgical complications AL and statistically signifcant lower rates of ileus/bowel obstruction, infection, and bleeding as Clavien-Dindo ≥ grade II and III as compared with for whom manual circular staplers were used