Single Balloon Enteroscopy-Assisted ERCP Using Rendezvous Technique for Sharp Angulation of Roux-en-Y Limb in a Patient with Bile Duct Stones

The acute angulation of Roux-en-Y (R-Y) limb precludes endoscopic access for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) even using a balloon enteroscopy. Here, we describe a case of successful single balloon enteroscopy (SBE)-assisted ERCP using a rendezvous technique in a patient with sharply angulated R-Y limb in a 79-year-old woman who had bile duct stones. Method. At first, a guidewire was passed antegradely through the major papilla after the needle puncture using percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage technique. A hydrophilic guidewire with an ERCP catheter was antegradely advanced beyond the Roux limb. After a guidewire was firmly grasped by a snare forceps, it was pulled out of the body, resulting that the enteroscope could advance to the papilla. After papillary dilation, complete removal of bile duct stones was achieved without any procedure-related complication. In conclusion, although further study is needed, SBE-assisted ERCP using a rendezvous technique may have a potential for selected patients

Suppression of Propionibacterium acnes

Purpose. Macrophages serve as sweepers of microbes and inflammation-derived wastes and regulators of inflammation. Some traditional Japanese medicines are reported to have adjuvant effects by modifying macrophages. Our aim was to characterize the actions of jumihaidokuto (JHT) for treatment of skin inflammations including acne vulgaris, in which Propionibacterium acnes has pathogenic roles. Methods. Dermatitis was induced in rat ears by intradermal injection of P. acnes. JHT or prednisolone (PDN) was given orally, and ear thickness and histology were evaluated. The effects of constituents and metabolites of JHT on monocytes were tested by cell-based assays using the human monocytic THP-1 cell. Results. JHT and PDN suppressed the ear thickness induced by P. acnes injection. Histological examinations revealed that JHT, but not PDN, promoted macrophage accumulation at 24 h after the injection. PDN suppressed the macrophage chemokine MCP-1 in the inflamed ears, while JHT did not affect it. The JHT constituents liquiritigenin and isoliquiritin increased expression of CD86 (type-1 macrophage marker) and CD192 (MCP-1 receptor) and enhanced phagocytosis by THP-1. Conclusions. JHT suppressed dermatitis, probably by enhancing type-1 macrophage functions, with an action different from PDN. JHT may be a beneficial drug in treatment of skin inflammation induced by P. acnes

Early development and neurogenesis of Temnopleurus reevesii

Sea urchins are model non-chordate deuterostomes, and studying the nervous system of their embryos can aid in the understanding of the universal mechanisms of neurogenesis. However, despite the long history of sea urchin embryology research, the molecular mechanisms of their neurogenesis have not been well investigated, in part because neurons appear relatively late during embryogenesis. In this study, we used the species Temnopleurus reevesii as a new sea urchin model and investigated the detail of its development and neurogenesis during early embryogenesis. We found that the embryos of T. reevesii were tolerant of high temperatures and could be cultured successfully at 15–30°C during early embryogenesis. At 30°C, the embryos developed rapidly enough that the neurons appeared at just after 24 h. This is faster than the development of other model urchins, such as Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus or Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. In addition, the body of the embryo was highly transparent, allowing the details of the neural network to be easily captured by ordinary epifluorescent and confocal microscopy without any additional treatments. Because of its rapid development and high transparency during embryogenesis, T. reevesii may be a suitable sea urchin model for studying neurogenesis. Moreover, the males and females are easily distinguishable, and the style of early cleavages is intriguingly unusual, suggesting that this sea urchin might be a good candidate for addressing not only neurology but also cell and developmental biology

GALAXY CRUISE: Deep Insights into Interacting Galaxies in the Local Universe

We present the first results from GALAXY CRUISE, a community (or citizen) science project based on data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP). The current paradigm of galaxy evolution suggests that galaxies grow hierarchically via mergers, but our observational understanding of the role of mergers is still limited. The data from HSC-SSP are ideally suited to improve our understanding with improved identifications of interacting galaxies thanks to the superb depth and image quality of HSC-SSP. We have launched a community science project, GALAXY CRUISE, in 2019 and collected over 2 million independent classifications of 20,686 galaxies at z < 0.2. We first characterize the accuracy of the participants' classifications and demonstrate that it surpasses previous studies based on shallower imaging data. We then investigate various aspects of interacting galaxies in detail. We show that there is a clear sign of enhanced activities of super massive black holes and star formation in interacting galaxies compared to those in isolated galaxies. The enhancement seems particularly strong for galaxies undergoing violent merger. We also show that the mass growth rate inferred from our results is roughly consistent with the observed evolution of the stellar mass function. The 2nd season of GALAXY CRUISE is currently under way and we conclude with future prospects. We make the morphological classification catalog used in this paper publicly available at the GALAXY CRUISE website, which will be particularly useful for machine-learning applications.Comment: 23 pages, 22 figures, PASJ in press. Data available at https://galaxycruise.mtk.nao.ac.jp/en/for_researchers.htm

Inter-rater reliability of the AFTD-pitting test among elderly patients in a long-term medical facility

BACKGROUND and AIM: The pitting test has been reported in various methods as a standard for evaluating chronic oedema, but a unified method has not been determined. This makes it difficult to accurately specify the prevalence of oedema. The present study aimed to evaluate inter-rater reliability of the AFTD-pitting test, which included 4 factors: Anatomical locations of oedema; Force required to pit; the amount of Time; and the Definition of oedema. The present study is the first stage of an international epidemiological study of chronic oedema.METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study was performed at a long-term care hospital in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The inter-rater reliability of the pitting test for evaluating oedema using the AFTD-pitting test was tested for 34 locations on the body, with 10 seconds of pitting with a similar force to that of the reference rater and assessed using the modified Fukazawa method. One reference rater and four raters evaluated oedema in five patients. Then, the agreement rate and Cohen-s kappa coefficient were calculated.RESULTS: All protocols were completed by four raters for five bedridden patients. Agreement among the four raters was high, at >0.85, and the kappa coefficient showed almost perfect, moderate, and fair agreement for one (0.81), four (0.51-0.60) rater, respectively.CONCLUSION: The inter-rater reliability of four nurses who applied the AFTD-pitting test was high, and the kappa coefficient showed at least fair agreement. Therefore, the AFTD-pitting test is a useful method to assess whole-body chronic oedema

Attitudes toward and current status of disclosure of secondary findings from next-generation sequencing: a nation-wide survey of clinical genetics professionals in Japan

The management of secondary findings (SFs), which are beyond the intended purpose of the analysis, from clinical comprehensive genomic analysis using next generation sequencing (NGS) presents challenges. Policy statements regarding their clinical management have been announced in Japan and other countries. In Japan, however, the current status of and attitudes of clinical genetics professionals toward reporting them are unclear. We conducted a questionnaire survey of clinical genetics professionals at two time points (2013 and 2019) to determine the enforcement of the SF management policy in cases of comprehensive genetic analysis of intractable diseases and clinical cancer genome profiling testing. According to the survey findings, 40% and 70% of the respondents stated in the 2013 and 2019 surveys, respectively, that they had an SF policy in the field of intractable diseases, indicating that SF policy awareness in Japan has changed significantly in recent years. Furthermore, a total of 80% of respondents stated that their facility had established a policy for clinical cancer genome profiling testing in the 2019 survey. In both surveys, the policies included the selection criteria for genes to be disclosed and the procedure to return SFs, followed by recommendations and proposals regarding SFs in Japan and other countries. To create a better list of the genes to be disclosed, further examination is needed considering the characteristics of each analysis

Development of an atmospheric Cherenkov imaging camera for the CANGAROO-III experiment

A Cherenkov imaging camera for the CANGAROO-III experiment has been developed for observations of gamma-ray induced air-showers at energies from 10$^{11}$ to 10$^{14}$ eV. The camera consists of 427 pixels, arranged in a hexagonal shape at 0.17$^\circ$ intervals, each of which is a 3/4-inch diameter photomultiplier module with a Winston-cone--shaped light guide. The camera was designed to have a large dynamic range of signal linearity, a wider field of view, and an improvement in photon collection efficiency compared with the CANGAROO-II camera. The camera, and a number of the calibration experiments made to test its performance, are described in detail in this paper.Comment: 25 pages, 29 figures, elsart.cls, to appear in NIM-