Little is known about the role of Aspergillus precipitating antibody (APAb) in patients with Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease (MAC-LD).
We investigated the clinical characteristics of ...patients with MAC-LD positive for APAb.
We conducted a cross-sectional study targeting patients with MAC-LD. APAb was checked in all participants. Clinical variables included laboratory data, pulmonary function, high-resolution computed tomography findings, and health-related quality of life.
We analyzed 109 consecutive patients. Their median age was 68 years, and the median duration of MAC-LD was 4.8 years. Twenty (18.3%) patients tested positive for APAb. APAb-positive patients had significantly longer duration of MAC-LD (9.4 vs. 4.0 years, P = 0.017), more severe bronchiectasis evaluated by modified Reiff score (6.5 vs. 4, P = 0.0049), and lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (%FEV1) (75.1% vs. 86.2%, P = 0.013) than APAb-negative patients. Analysis of covariance adjusted for background factors and underlying pulmonary disease revealed that %FEV1 was also significantly lower in patients with APAb (P = 0.045). Ten patients were newly diagnosed with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (N = 5) or allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (N = 5).
APAb is associated with lower pulmonary function, and observed especially in patients with longer duration of MAC-LD and severe bronchiectasis, even in the absence of cavitary lesions.
•18% MAC-LD patients tested positive for Aspergillus precipitating antibody (APAb).•APAb was observed in patients with severe bronchiectasis.•APAb was associated with lower pulmonary function in MAC-LD patients.•9.2% of MAC-LD patients were newly diagnosed as CPA or ABPA.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Nowadays popular films warrant serious study because they may be inextricably bound up with “our” points of view. Among other perspectives, the horror film may mirror the chaotic “real” world. And ...one of the reasons why this genre is seen as distinctively American is that many of these movies have been, simply, commercially successful.Surveying some influential theoretical works on the American horror film and the general direction of horror films themselves, we can recognize that the nature of the horror film is to visually express our contradictory selves that are tom apart by the frightening real.The origin of the American horror film is the so-called first sound horror cycle or “Golden Horror” of 1931-1936. Despite the rule of the “Production Code” and the “Hollywood System,” horror films of that era directly expressed the uncanny of “our” lives and seemed to breathe the same atmosphere of the Depression. Mad Love (1935), directed by Karl Freund, who had created some of the masterpieces of German Expressionist cinema as a cinematographer, is one of the classic Hollywood horror films. Judging that this would be the clearest vehicle for expressing the conflict pursued by the genre, I want to attempt a textual analysis of the film and examine the visual nature of the horror genre.
Recent advances in the design of photostimulable phosphor (PSP) plates for computed radiography (CR) systems have made it possible to manufacture plates made of BaFI:Eu phosphor material in the ...cassette form. The image quality of this plate, six BaF(Br,I):Eu plates, and one BaFBr:Eu plate were evaluated in terms of presampling modulation transfer function (MTF), normalized Wiener spectra
(
WS
N
),
and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). Compared with the best-performing BaF(Br,I):Eu plate, the BaFI:Eu plate provided DQE that was higher, at spatial frequencies of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 cycles/mm, by 12% (21.8 versus 19.4), 13% (18.8 versus 16.7), and 11% (12.0 versus 10.8), respectively. Since presampling MTF values of the two plates were comparable, the BaFI:Eu plate’s higher DQE is attributable to total
WS
N
conversely being lower by 17%
8.65×10
−5
(
mm
2
)
versus
10.38×10
−5
(
mm
2
),
17%
5.85×10
−5
(
mm
2
)
versus
7.03×10
−5
(
mm
2
),
and 12%
2.82×10
−5
(
mm
2
)
versus
3.19×10
−5
(
mm
2
)
at the specified frequencies, respectively, primarily due to the contribution of x-ray quantum
WS
N
.
This jibes with the high x-ray absorption provided by the 27%-higher x-ray attenuation coefficients (7.54 versus 6.07, at 60 KeV) that BaFI offers over
BaF
(
Br
0.85
,
I
0.15
),
a result of the high atomic number of BaFI’s exclusively iodine halide content. The results were consistent with earlier studies of several of these same plates and indicate that BaFI:Eu is a promising avenue to lower image noise and higher overall CR system image quality.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
An association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the ABO blood group has been reported. However, such an association has not been studied in the Japanese population on a large scale. ...Little is known about the association between COVID-19 and ABO genotype. This study investigated the association between COVID-19 and ABO blood group/genotype in a large Japanese population. All Japanese patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were recruited through the Japan COVID-19 Task Force between February 2020 and October 2021. We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 1790 Japanese COVID-19 patients whose DNA was used for a genome-wide association study. We compared the ABO blood group/genotype in a healthy population (
n
= 611, control) and COVID-19 patients and then analyzed their associations and clinical outcomes. Blood group A was significantly more prevalent (41.6% vs. 36.8%;
P
= 0.038), and group O was significantly less prevalent (26.2% vs. 30.8%;
P
= 0.028) in the COVID-19 group than in the control group. Moreover, genotype OO was significantly less common in the COVID-19 group. Furthermore, blood group AB was identified as an independent risk factor for most severe diseases compared with blood group O aOR (95% CI) = 1.84 (1.00–3.37). In ABO genotype analysis, only genotype AB was an independent risk factor for most severe diseases compared with genotype OO. Blood group O is protective, whereas group A is associated with the risk of infection. Moreover, blood group AB is associated with the risk of the “most” severe disease.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Objective: While improving health literacy can enhance health among older adults, surmountable barriers preclude full utilization. The purpose of this study was to prospectively measure health ...literacy changes in older adults with chronic conditions exposed to home monitoring-based telenursing (HMBTN) by examining its link with their experiences of HMBTN, self-care, symptoms, and health status. Methods: In this study, a prospective fully longitudinal mixed methods design was employed. Eighteen older adults with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and non-small cell lung cancer were included in a 12-week HMBTN intervention. Health literacy, self-care, and symptoms were assessed quantitatively, interviews were conducted to understand experiences with HMBTN, and healthcare/telenursing care records were reviewed to collect health status at baseline, mid-term, and after HMBTN. The findings were converged twice to facilitate the drawing of interpretations and super-meta-inferences throughout the study. Results: Sixteen participants completed the 12-week HMBTN intervention program. Their scores for applying (p = .031) and understanding health literacy (p =.039), and self-care activities (p =.002) significantly improved. Qualitatively, their ambivalent feelings about and expectations for HMBTN at baseline changed as they made positive lifestyle adjustments through usage. Increased motivation, sense of confidence, and better understanding of symptoms involving self-management were linked to improvements in health literacy. Conclusions: Improvements in the applying and understanding domains of health literacy among older adults with chronic conditions were linked to their proficiency in utilizing new technologies to make appropriate lifestyle changes. Furthermore, they developed a sense of confidence through their daily HMBTN.
Uniparental disomy denotes a situation when an individual has inherited two copies of a specific chromosome from a single parent. Uniparental disomy has been demonstrated to be involved in the ...pathogenesis of recessively inherited diseases in rare cases. Here we report a patient of Japanese origin with Herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa (OMIM no. 226700), who died at the age of 8 mo from complications of the disease. The mutation analysis revealed that the proband was homozygous for a nonsense mutation C553X in the LAMC2 gene encoding the γ2 chain of laminin 5. The father was a heterozygous carrier of this mutation whereas the mother had two normal alleles of this gene. The patient showed homozygosity for 15 known intragenic polymorphisms in the LAMC2 gene. Furthermore, genotype analysis, performed from the parents and the proband, using 16 microsatellite markers spanning the entire chromosome 1, revealed that the patient was homozygous for all markers tested, and that these alleles originated from the father. Among the 16 markers, eight were fully informative for the absence of the maternal chromosome 1 in the proband, suggesting that the patient had complete paternal isodisomy of this chromosome. Thus, the Herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa phenotype in this patient is caused by homozygous LAMC2 mutation C553X that is of paternal origin and results from nondisjunction and uniparental disomy involving monosomy rescue. This is a novel mechanism resulting in Herlitz junctional epidermolysis bullosa and has implications for assessment of the risk in subsequent pregnancies.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Fluorescence imaging is a very useful method for visualizing molecules and cells, but when tissues are measured", decrease in resolution due to increased scattering and absorption of light in ...proportion to tissue thickness (problem 1)" and "decrease in signal to noise(S/N)ratio of positive signal due to tissue autofluorescence(problem 2)"are problems to be solved. In this paper, to develop a technology to improve the analysis accuracy of drug efficacy mechanisms in preclinical trial of drug discovery, we performed development of a supporting technology for drug discovery of antibody drug conjugates by imaging living tumor tissues, while solving problem 1. This technology is expected to lead to an improvement in the success rate of clinical trials. Next, to develop a diagnostic method to predict the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with antibody drugs for breast cancer, we performed development of fluorescence imaging of pathological tissues using fluorescent nanoparticles with ultra-high brightness, while solving problem 2. This diagnostic technology makes it possible to evaluate the expression level of the target protein of antibody drug with high quantitative and wide range sensitivity. This improved the accuracy of drug efficacy prediction. Therefore, patients who are expected to have a low drug efficacy will be able to select anticancer drugs with different mechanisms of action. These results of this study showed the reduction of drug discovery costs and improvement of individualized medicine. Thus, this study will greatly contribute to the development of precision medicine.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by diffuse interstitial inflammation and fibroblast proliferation with accelerated remodeling of extracellular matrix, which result in ...irreversible destruction of the lung's architecture.
To elucidate the production levels, tissue localization, and activation of matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) in the lungs of patients with IPF.
Bronchoalveolar lavage analysis was performed in 17 IPF patients and 6 healthy volunteers. Levels of MMP-7 in blood were assayed in 23 IPF patients and 20 controls. Histologic and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on paraffin sections of the lung tissues from patients with IPF, interstitial pneumonia associated with rheumatoid arthritis, or nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.
The proMMP-7 levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from IPF patients were significantly higher than those from healthy controls, although there was no difference in the serum levels between the 2 groups. By immunohistochemistry, proMMP-7 was localized mainly to the hyperplastic alveolar and metaplastic bronchiolar epithelial cells in the lung tissues from IPF patients. Active MMP-7 was immunolocalized on alveolar macrophages and hyperplastic epithelial cells, which were also immunostained with antibody against CD151, a molecule associated with activation of proMMP-7. Immunoblot analysis indicated the overproduction of proMMP-7 together with a small amount of active MMP-7 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from IPF patients. The MMP-7 activity was detected in a cross-linked carboxymethylated transferrin film assay.
proMMP-7 is excessively produced by hyperplastic alveolar and metaplastic bronchiolar epithelial cells and activated locally in the lungs of IPF patients, suggesting that MMP-7 may contribute to the pathology of IPF.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Professor Yasushi Nakano, based in the Faculty of Economics, Keio University in Japan, is carrying out interconnected research studies geared towards improving the quality of life for people with ...visual impairments, which specifically includes university students in Japan. A particular
goal for Nakano is creating a high-quality higher-education environment in which students with visual impairments can flourish. As part of this, he and his team are working to create an accessible textbook system and accessible test conditions for students with visual impairments.
There is no proven management for mild cases of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) pulmonary disease, who do not immediately receive treatment and are managed with observation alone, because its long ...term-natural course, factors predictive of deterioration, and the effect of treating the disease remain unclear. Thus, we sought to investigate the natural course of mild cases of MAC pulmonary disease.
We conducted a multicenter retrospective study. Sixty-five patients with mild MAC pulmonary disease in whom treatment was withheld for at least 6 months after diagnosis were retrospectively recruited after a review of 747 medical records. Longitudinal changes in clinical features were evaluated by using a mixed effects model.
Mean follow-up was 6.9 ± 5.7 years. During the follow-up period, 15 patients (23%) required treatment and 50 (77%) were managed with observation alone. At diagnosis, 65 patients had nodular bronchiectatic disease without fibrocavitary lesions. Among clinical features, mean body mass index (BMI), forced expiratory volume in 1 second as percent of forced vital capacity (%FEV1), nodular lung lesions, and bronchiectasis worsened significantly in the observation group during follow-up. In the treatment group, BMI, and %FEV1 were stable, but bronchiectasis significantly worsened. At diagnosis, the polyclonal MAC infection rate in the treatment group was higher than that in the observation group. Other microbiological factors, such as insertion sequences, did not differ significantly between the groups.
Mild MAC pulmonary disease progresses slowly but substantially without treatment. Treatment prevents the deterioration of the disease but not the progression of bronchiectasis. Polyclonal MAC infection is a predictor of disease progression.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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