Risk Factors for Bleeding After Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Gastric Cancer in Elderly Patients Older Than 80 Years in Japan.

Introduction:As the aging of people in a society advances, the number of elderly patients older than 80 years in Japan with gastric cancer continues to increase. Although delayed ulcer bleeding is a major adverse event after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), little is known about characteristic risk factors for bleeding in elderly patients undergoing ESD. This study aimed to evaluate risk factors for delayed bleeding after ESD for gastric cancer in elderly patients older than 80 years.Methods:We retrospectively evaluated the incidence of delayed bleeding after ESD in 10,320 patients with early-stage gastric cancer resected by ESD between November 2013 and January 2016 at 33 Japanese institutions and investigated risk factors for delayed bleeding in elderly patients older than 80 years.Results:The incidence of delayed bleeding in elderly patients older than 80 years was 5.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.6%-6.9%, 95/1,675), which was significantly higher than that in nonelderly (older than 20 years and younger than 80 years) patients (4.5%, 4.1%-5.0%, 393/8,645). Predictive factors for ESD-associated bleeding differed between nonelderly and elderly patients. On multivariate analysis of predictive factors at the time of treatment, risk factors in elderly patients were hemodialysis (odds ratio: 4.591, 95% CI: 2.056-10.248, P < 0.001) and warfarin use (odds ratio: 4.783, 95% CI: 1.689-13.540, P = 0.003).Discussion:This multicenter study found that the incidence of delayed bleeding after ESD in Japanese patients older than 80 years was high, especially in patients receiving hemodialysis and taking warfarin. Management of ESD to prevent delayed bleeding requires particular care in patients older than 80 years

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Hardware Accelerators for Regular Expression Matching and Approximate String Matching

This paper introduces hardware accelerators for regular expression matching and approximate string matching. The hardware for regular expression matching accepts a subclass of regular expressions, and achieves a high throughput string matching for a wide range of patterns. In addition, since the hardware is pattern-independent, we can update patterns immediately without reconfiguring the hardware. Therefore, it is useful for applications that require quick pattern updating, such as network intrusion detection. The hardware for approximate string matching calculates the edit distance as a degree of similarity between two strings at high speed. Therefore, it accelerates processing for text retrieval in database, analysis of DNA, protein sequences in bioinformatics, and so on.APSIPA ASC 2009: Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association, 2009 Annual Summit and Conference. 4-7 October 2009. Sapporo, Japan. Panel session: Panel Discussion 3. Hardware Software Co-research for Efficient Information Processing (7 October 2009)

Ammonia production from amino acid-based biomass-like sources by engineered Escherichia coli

Abstract The demand for ammonia is expected to increase in the future because of its importance in agriculture, industry, and hydrogen transportation. Although the Haber–Bosch process is known as an effective way to produce ammonia, the process is energy-intensive. Thus, an environmentally friendly ammonia production process is desired. In this study, we aimed to produce ammonia from amino acids and amino acid-based biomass-like resources by modifying the metabolism of Escherichia coli. By engineering metabolic flux to promote ammonia production using the overexpression of the ketoisovalerate decarboxylase gene (kivd), derived from Lactococcus lactis, ammonia production from amino acids was 351 mg/L (36.6% yield). Furthermore, we deleted the glnA gene, responsible for ammonia assimilation. Using yeast extract as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen, the resultant strain produced 458 mg/L of ammonia (47.8% yield) from an amino acid-based biomass-like material. The ammonia production yields obtained are the highest reported to date. This study suggests that it will be possible to produce ammonia from waste biomass in an environmentally friendly process

Anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibody positive hepatitis B virus-associated membranous nephropathy remitted with entecavir after relapse with lamivudine

Background: Phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) is thought to be an intrinsic antigen of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN), and has been widely used for the differentiation from secondary membranous nephropathies. However, the positive expression of PLA2R in the patients with hepatitis B virus associated membranous nephropathy (HBV-MN) is controversial in Asian countries, because co-localization of PLA2R and HBV antigens in glomeruli have been reported. Case Presentation: We report a case of anti PLA2R antibody positive HBV-MN that was remitted with entecavir after a relapse during treatment with lamivudine. In a renal biopsy of the case, we could confirm the co-localized glomerular deposition of HBV surface antigen (HBs-Ag) and PLA2R using double staining of immunofluorescence. We also could observe the relapse of nephrotic syndrome correlated with the increased titer of HBs-Ag, and the remission with the decrease of HBs-Ag by the change of antiviral agents. Conclusions: Our case demonstrated that the renal manifestation of HBV-MN clearly responded to antiviral agents. Furthermore, the co-localized glomerular depositions of PLA2R and HBs-Ag in HBV-MN may be concerned with the etiology of MN patients with chronic HBV infection

Association between decrease in frequency of going out and oral function in older adults living in major urban areas

Aim To examine the association between a decrease in the frequency of going out and oral function in independent older adults living in the urban area of Tokyo. Methods The participants analyzed were 785 older adults from the "Takashimadaira Study" (344 men and 441 women, age 77.0 +/- 4.6 years). This study investigated the following items: decrease in frequency of going out; basic characteristics (sex, age); physical factors, such as oral function (difficulty chewing, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth); body pain; the Japan Science and Technology Agency Index of Competence; physical activities; psychological factors, such as the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 score; and social and environmental factors, such as the presence or absence of participation in organization activities. Results To investigate the factors associated with a decrease in frequency of going out, logistic regression analysis showed an association with age (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.13), difficulty chewing (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.52-3.83), dry mouth (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.07-2.64), body pain (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.14-2.78), Japan Science and Technology Agency Index of Competence scores (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99), physical activities (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-1.00), Geriatric Depression Scale-15 scores (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.05-1.21) and organization activities (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.22-3.07). Covariance structural analyses showed that both "difficulty chewing" and "dry mouth" significantly affected "decrease in frequency of going out." In addition, decrease in frequency of going out was significantly affected by " Geriatric Depression Scale-15 scores" through oral function. Conclusions The relationship between oral function and decrease in frequency of going out was clarified, after the multifaceted factors were adjusted. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; center dot center dot: center dot center dot-center dot center dot

MOESM1 of Ammonia production from amino acid-based biomass-like sources by engineered Escherichia coli

Additional file 1: Table S1. Primers

Two male sterility-inducing cytoplasms of beet (Beta vulgaris) are genetically distinct but have closely related mitochondrial genomes: implication of a substoichiometric mitochondrial DNA molecule in their evolution

I-12CMS(2) and I-12CMS(3) are sugar beet lines with different sources of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) derived from wild beets in Turkey and Pakistan, respectively. We established that I-12CMS(2) has a genetically distinct cytoplasm, but its mitochondrial genome is very similar to I-12CMS(3). Male fertility was assessed in F1 hybrids produced with a common pollen parent. Fertility in the F1's carrying the I-12CMS(3) cytoplasm exceeded that of the F1's with the I-12CMS(2) cytoplasm. Organization of the I-12CMS(2) and I-12CMS(3) mitochondrial genomes were compared based on their physical maps. Mitochondrial genomes of the two strains were largely collinear, except for a large deletion in the noncoding region of I-12CMS(2). Because a mitochondrial orf129 in the I-12CMS(3) cytoplasm is associated with a male sterility phenotype and preservation of orf129 was evident in I-12CMS(2), I-12CMS(2) orf129 was investigated in detail. I-12CMS(2) plants contained three to five times more ORF129 protein than did I-12CMS(3) plants. A single nucleotide substitution, present in the putative promoter region of orf129, appeared to be responsible for the differential accumulation of orf129 transcript. A long N-terminal extension of atp6 is a common feature of some beet CMSs and is found in I-12CMS(2), but the amino acid sequence is unique. I-12CMS(3) mitochondria, but not I-12CMS(2) mitochondria, were found to be heteroplasmic. This heteroplasmy is characterized by a substoichiometric DNA molecule(s) that has at least two I-12CMS(2)-type mitochondrial loci, suggesting the possibility that the I-12CMS(2) mitochondrial genome might have evolved from such a substoichiometric DNA molecule in I-12CMS(3) mitochondria