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Proton pump inhibitors are commonly utilized for the treatment of gastric acid-related diseases, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, and Helicobacter pylori infection, and for the prevention of low-dose aspirin or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug-induced peptic ulcers. Vonoprazan is a first-in-class potassium-competitive acid blocker, which has distinct advantages compared to other conventional proton pump inhibitors in terms of the efficacy for acid suppression. Due to its strong gastric acid suppression capabilities, vonoprazan serves as an effective drug for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease and H. pylori infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers instructions for endoscopic mucosa–submucosal clip closure method for patients who with high risk of delayed bleeding orperforation after endoscopic resection.

Anal cystic lesions are extremely rare. From October 2011 to August 2023, 3 (0.12%) of the 2498 anal surgery cases performed in our hospital had cystic lesions. They were 38, 56, and 69 years old, all male, and cystic lesions were located anterior to the anus. The cysts were elastic and soft, and the preoperative diagnosis was thrombosed external hemorrhoids or cysts, but histopathologic examination revealed epidermal cysts in two cases and teratoma in one case. Teratomas in the anus show similar histological features to tailgut cysts and retrorectal cyst-hamartomas, and are thought to be rare cysts caused by the remnants of cloaca. They are usually located in the retrorectal space; cases located in the perianal region are extremely rare, and only four cases including ours have been reported in Japan. We present each case and report a case of teratoma in the anal region with a review of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study clarifies the involvement of gender and pre-existing diabetes mellitus (DM) in the clinical characteristics of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Methods: The clinical records of patients diagnosed with PMR in our department between January 2011 and June 2021, especially in terms of gender and DM were retrospectively analysed. Results: We identified 89 patients with the median age of 75.37 cases were men and 52 cases were women. Pre-existing DM was found in 21 patients (23.6%). Male PMR patients exhibited a higher complication rate of pre-existing DM and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at diagnosis (p = .04 and p < .01, respectively) than female patients, and men were more common in the patient group with pre-existing DM (p = .04). The CRP levels of male PMR patients without pre-existing DM were higher than female PMR patients without pre-existing DM. Conclusion: Male PMR patients might have a varying pathophysiology from female patients in terms of high inflammation levels accompanied by a high prevalence rate of pre-existing DM and need a gender-specific approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we show a novel simple method to prepare a sponge-like porous keratin hydrogel through the extraction of wool keratin in a solution containing guanidine hydrochloride and 2-mercaptoethanol followed by dialysis for both aggregation of keratin and recrosslink. The gel had a highly porous structure and a fast-swelling property in rehydration after freeze-drying. It had also high mechanical strength both in the tensile test and the measurement of dynamic viscoelasticity. Three types of animal cells, PC12 cells, HOS cells and murine embryonic fibroblasts, well attached and grew on the surface of the porous hydrogel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Advanced Pancreatic Cancer (PC) causes nutritional deterioration and weight loss due to a decrease in digestive and absorption capacity associated with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. Therefore, we conducted a prospective cohort study to evaluate the effectiveness of an elemental diet (ED). Methods: We conducted two-centers, prospective consecutive observational study to assess the outcomes of patients with unresectable PC who underwent first-line chemotherapy. We enrolled patients receiving chemotherapy for unresectable PC from January 2017 to December 2019 and prescribed an oral ED (ED group). From December 2014 to December 2016, 43 patients before the introduction of ED therapy in our institutions were retrospectively studied as a historical cohort. Data on the nutritional markers at baseline and 3 months were extracted, and serial changes were compared between the 2 groups. Results: A comparison of the background of the two groups revealed that the clinical stage was significantly worse and serum CA19-9 levels were significantly higher in the ED group. The serial changes at 3 months in body mass index, serum CEA, and serum CA19-9 were not statistically significant. The serum albumin level tended to show a much greater decrease in the historical cohort (P=0.15). Furthermore, the serum total protein level and prognostic nutrition index were significantly decreased in the historical cohort (P=0.02, <0.005, respectively). Conclusion: This prospective study demonstrated that ED tended to improve the nutritional status during chemotherapy for unresectable PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elderly are known to have an inadequate immune response to influenza vaccine. Mekabu fucoidan (MF), a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from seaweed, was previously shown to have an immunomodulatory effect. We therefore investigated antibody production after influenza vaccination in elderly Japanese men and women with and without oral MF intake. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study was conducted with 70 volunteers >60 y of age. They were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups, consuming either MF (300 mg/d) or placebo for 4 wk, and then given a trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine. Serum was sampled at 5 and 20 wk after vaccination to measure the hemagglutination inhibition titer and natural killer cell activity. The MF group had higher antibody titers against all 3 strains contained in the seasonal influenza virus vaccine than the placebo group. Titers against the B/Brisbane/60/2008 (B) strain increased substantially more in the MF group than in the placebo group over the product consumption period. The immune response against B antigen met the European Union Licensure criteria regarding the geometric mean titer ratio in the MF group (2.4), but not in the placebo group (1.7). In the MF group, natural killer cell activity tended to increase from baseline 9 wk after MF intake (P = 0.08). However, in the placebo group no substantial increase was noted at 9 wk, and the activity decreased substantially from 9 to 24 wk. In the immunocompromised elderly, MF intake increased antibody production after vaccination, possibly preventing influenza epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular mechanisms of CO2 physical absorption are significant for the development of higher-performance CO2 absorbents. In this study, the free energy profiles for CO2 approaching several types of ethylene glycol (EG)-based solvent molecules and their derivatives (diols, ethers, and alkanes, etc.) were evaluated using molecular dynamics simulations. A desolvation barrier appeared in the free energy profiles in the pure component solvent, corroborating the negative contribution of a void effect on CO2 affinities. The profiles in vacuum were also estimated to investigate the functional group effects in a constituent solvent molecule. The profiles for the EG-based solvent molecules showed similar minimum values to their derivative diols, while the values for their derivative ethers and alkanes were markedly higher. CO2 solubility is certainly determined by two major factors: the specific CO2 affinities of the constituent hydroxyl groups and a steric void effect near an absorbed CO2 molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fermented brown rice by Aspergillus oryzae (FBRA) is known to have the potential to prevent chemical carcinogenesis of the colon, liver, esophagus, urinary bladder, stomach and lungs in rodents. The present study examined the possible chemopreventive effects of FBRA on N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl) amine (BOP)-induced pancreatic tumorigenesis in hamsters. Five-week-old male Syrian golden hamsters were divided into seven groups. Groups 1-5 were subcutaneously injected with BOP (10 mg/kg body weight) four times during week 6 to induce pancreatic tumors, while groups 6 and 7 were injected with saline. Groups 2 and 3 were fed diets containing 5 and 10% FBRA, respectively, during the initiation phase. By contrast, groups 4 and 5 were fed diets containing 5 and 10% FBRA, respectively, during the post-initiation phase. Group 6 received a diet containing 10% FBRA throughout the experiment, and group 7 was kept on the basal diet alone and served as the untreated control. At the termination of the study (week 22), oral intake of 10% FBRA (group 5) during the post-initiation phase was identified to have significantly reduced the multiplicity (number of lesions/animal) of ductal adenocarcinoma [pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (PanIN3); carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma] in comparison with group 1 control hamsters (0.24±0.44 vs. 0.71±0.72; P<0.05). Treatment with 10% FBRA in the post-initiation phase inhibited the progression of normal/precancerous lesions (PanIN1, mild hyperplastic lesions; and PanIN2, papillary hyperplasia) to ductal adenocarcinomas. Furthermore, dietary exposure to 10% FBRA during the initiation (group 3) and post-initiation phases (group 5) significantly reduced the multiplicity of PanIN2 (group 3, 0.55±0.69; group 5, 0.45±0.69; versus group 1, 1.26±1.24; P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). A significant reduction of Ki-67 positivity of PanIN2 in group 5 was also confirmed (group 5, 0.05±0.03; group 1, 0.22±0.12; P<0.01). Using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling, augmentation of apoptosis by FBRA exposure in the non-lesional ductal epithelium and proliferative lesions was not evident. These findings indicate that FBRA exhibits inhibitory effects on BOP-induced pancreatic tumorigenesis in hamsters due to the reduced proliferation rate of tumor cells. Thus, FBRA may be a promising chemopreventive agent in human pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the spatial distributions and 14C ages of sessile marine organisms in the submarine cave Ginama at Okinawa, Japan. The cave is the northernmost and only known submarine cave with an air chamber in the northwestern Pacific region. The upper limit of living individuals of the coralline sponges Acanthocaetetes wellsi and the bivalve Pycnodonte taniguchii in the cave is located at a depth of approximately 10 m relative to the surface of the pool in the cave. Low temperatures and low salinities prevent these organisms fromcolonizing water depths shallower than 10 m. On the other hand, the upper limit of fossil individuals, dated between 5117 and 387 cal yr BP, is at a depth of 2.5 m, implying that at present the influence of fresh water on the cave pool is stronger than it has been at other times in the past 5000 years. This increase in the flux of fresh water may be explained by continuous cavern-forming activities such as dissolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study related to the purification and immobilization of subunit of porcine hair keratin. The study mentions that immobilization of keratin for its use as cell culture was done by using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The study further informs about the culturing of PC12 cells on crude keratin.

In vivo transplantation of undifferentiated embryonic stem (ES) cells can produce teratomas with uncontrolled cell proliferation. Although ES cells may be attractive candidates for human cell-replacement therapy in the future, the major limitation of its application to the therapy is teratoma formation. In the present study, ES cells containing herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) transgene for a suicide gene expression under the control of the Oct-4 promoter was used for ablation of undifferentiated ES cells, which may produce teratomas, using three-dimensional cell culture system allowing a multilayer cell construct. Selective ablation of undifferentiated ES cells expressing HSV-tk gene under the control of Oct-4 promoter was achieved by ganciclovir treatment. Surviving ES cells after ganciclovir treatment expressed several neuron-associated markers such as synaptophysin, β-tubulin, vesicular glutamate transporter 1, syntaxin, protein kinace C and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) but not Oct-4. Coexpression of synaptophysin as a marker of neuronal synapse and GFAP as that of glial fibers in the surviving ES cells revealed finely structured neuronal network. Furthermore, decrease of Ki-67 proliferative index was detected in the surviving ES cells. In conclusion, selective ablation of undifferentiated ES cells by a suicide gene decreases proliferative activity and induces neuron-like differentiation in ES cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ApcMin/ mouse, a mouse model for human familial adenomatosis polyposis, contains a truncating mutation in the Apc gene and spontaneously develops intestinal tumors. Our previous study revealed two distinct stages of tumorigenesis in the colon of ApcMin/ mouse: microadenomas and macroscopic tumors. Microadenomas already have lost their remaining allele of the Apc and all microadenomas show accumulation of β-catenin, indicating that activation of the canonical Wnt pathway is an initiating event in the tumorigenesis. This study shows that expression of nuclear β-catenin in macroscopic tumors is further upregulated in comparison with that in microadenomas. Furthermore, transcriptional activity of β-catenin/T-cell factor (Tcf) signaling, assessed using β-catenin/Tcf reporter transgenic mice, is higher in the macroscopic tumors than that in microadenomas. In addition, the expression level of Dickkopf-1, which is known to be a negative modifier of the canonical Wnt pathway, was reduced only in colon tumors. These results suggest that activation of β-catenin/Tcf transcription plays a role not only in the initiation stage but also in the promotion stage of colon carcinogenesis in ApcMin/ mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]