The aim of this study is to determine the process of periodontal tissue regeneration and the metabolic activity of osteoblasts after implantation of bone ceramic and collagen gel compound materials ...(BC). Bone defects were artificially prepared in the alveolar septa of the bilateral upper first and second molars of Wistar rats. Subsequently, BC were implanted into the defective sites on the left side, and the gingival flaps were closed. At the defective sites on the right side, as a control, gingival flaps were closed without implantation. Rats were sacrificed 1, 3, 5, 7 or 14 weeks after implantation, and prepared tissue sections were observed both pathologically and autoradiographically using 3H-Proline. The results obtained were as follows: Pathological Findings One week after BC implantation, inflammatory cellular infiltration of the surrounding gingival connective tissue was relatively mild. Three weeks after implantation, BC were present in fibrous connective tissues, and some directly bound to the marices of regenerated bone. Observation 5 weeks after implantation revealed that BC had become embedded in the regenerated bone matrices and that there was giant cell reaction to foreign bodies at the margin of BC located in connective tissue. BC were directly bound to the regenerated bone matrices without intermediary fibrous tissues 7 and 14 weeks after implantation. Connective tissues showed high grade regeneration of collagen fiber bundles, in an arrangement that tended to be fixed in mesial and distal directions. Autoradiographic Findings There was no uptake of 3H-Proline into the regenerated bone matrices or the gingival connective tissue surrounding BC, while uptake of 3H-Proline into the entire area around the root apex and in the vicinity of the alveolar septum was observed with time (weeks) after BC implantation. These results suggest that BC provide nuclei for bone regeneration through inclusion in newly-generated periodontal bone tissue, although it is difficult to produce definite induction of bone tissue by BC alone. It is also apparent that these are useful bone implantation materials for restoration of the physiological morphology of alveolar bone in periodontal surgical treatment.
To determine an effective in vitro culture method of rabbit immature ovarian follicles, preantral follicles (200 to 299 microm in diameter) were cultured by the whole follicle culture method and by ...the open type culture method. The use of tuna matrix collagen (MC) as a medium material to maintain 3-dimensional structure of the follicles was also investigated for the open type culture method. In the whole follicle culture method, the diameter of the preantral follicles increased from 252.8+-2.7 microm to 395.6+-9.6 microm. However, culture for oocyte maturation was not possible because most of the oocytes had degenerated. In the open culture method, in which oocyte-granulosa cell complexes (OGs) collected from preantral follicles were cultured, the rates of the oocytes that resumed meiosis were 1.6%, 5.4%, and 73.7% in 0, 0.3, and 3 mg/ml of MC supplementation, respectively. Morphologically, the addition of MC was found to show a beneficial effect for maintenance of the three-dimensional structure of the follicles. In conclusion, open type culture with MC supplementation seems to be a most appropriate culture method for rabbit immature follicles.
Background:Since cardiovascular disease accounts for one-quarter of deaths in the Japanese population, we developed a nationwide database using the administrative case-mix Diagnostic Procedure ...Combination (DPC) system (ie, theJapaneseRegistryOfAll cardiac and vascularDiseases (JROAD)-DPC) to reveal the current status of cardiovascular medicine in Japan.Methods and Results:The JROAD-DPC database included 704,593 health records’ data of 2012 from 610 certificated hospitals of the Japanese Circulation Society. The 35,824 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 108,665 patients with heart failure (HF) were admitted to hospitals. Increased hospital case volume was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality rates for both AMI and HF (P for trend <0.001). Although there was little variation among AMI patients in terms of aspirin use at discharge (median prescription rate, 83.0%; interquartile range IQR, 76.9–88.0%), there were wide variations in the proportions of patients prescribed β-blockers (BB) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARB) at discharge (BB, 41.4%, IQR 27.6–55.7%; ACEI/ARB, 52.0%, IQR 40.3–62.3%). In patients with HF, there were between-hospital variations in medications at discharge (BB, 38.1%, IQR, 27.8–47.6%; ACEI/ARB, 41.0%, IQR 31.7–49.1%).Conclusions:A nationwide administrative database of patients with cardiovascular diseases (JROAD-DPC) provided useful information that will contribute to improved quality of medical care, especially in the aging society of Japan, where HF has become an important health problem. (Circ J 2016; 80: 2327–2335)
A rapid and simple alternative test to real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is required for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to help curb the ...spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In the present study, we compared the RT-PCR method with chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) and reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). We observed that the number of SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies and the CLEIA antigen quantification values were highly correlated. The detection limit for antigen quantification was 42.8 RNA copies for saliva samples and 23.4 copies for nasopharyngeal swab samples. For both purified RNA and purification-free crude RNA, the number of RNA copies and RT-LAMP threshold time (Tt) values were inversely correlated. RT-LAMP with purified RNA detected low copy numbers of RNA (5–50 copies), whereas fewer than 250 RNA copies could not be detected using crude RNA. CLEIA antigen quantification is potentially useful for large-scale screening, as it is compatible with high-throughput testing. RT-LAMP with crude RNA samples is applicable for rapid point-of-care testing because it can directly use patient specimens. It is important to select a diagnostic method that is simple and rapid when compared with RT-PCR, depending on the situation.
Recent work has shown that irradiation with light possessing orbital angular momentum (OAM) and an associated phase singularity, that is an optical vortex, twists a variety of materials. These ...include silicon, azo‐polymer, and even liquid‐phase resins to form various helically structured materials. This article provides a review of the unique helical‐structured materials created and the novel fundamental phenomena enabled by this interaction between both the spin angular momentum and the OAM of light with matter. Such light‐induced helical‐structured materials will potentially lead to advanced photonic devices, for instance, metamaterials for ultrasensitive detection and reactions for chiral chemical composites.
Irradiation with light possessing orbital angular momentum and an associated phase singularity, that is an optical vortex, twists a variety of materials. Such light‐induced helical‐structured materials will potentially lead to advanced photonic devices, for instance, metamaterials for ultrasensitive detection and reactions for chiral chemical composites.
We investigated the near-band-edge optical responses and photocarrier dynamics of encapsulated long-term stable CH3NH3SnI3 (MASnI3) thin films and solar-cell devices. The MASnI3 thin film prepared ...with SnF2 exhibited a bandgap of 1.25 eV, while the film without SnF2 had a significantly blueshifted absorption edge. On the contrary, the PL peak energies were not influenced by the addition of SnF2. These observations indicate that the blueshift of the absorption edge in the SnF2-free MASnI3 sample is due to the Burstein–Moss shift induced by a significant unintentional hole doping. Furthermore, time-resolved photoluminescence measurements revealed that by adding SnF2 the photocarrier lifetime of the film increased by one order of magnitude, which enables improved device performance of solar cells. We clarified that in the MASnI3 solar cells the short-circuit current stays significantly below the ideal value due to a large nonradiative recombination rate in the perovskite layer, resulting in a small photocarrier-injection efficiency into the charge-transport layers.
Background: We aimed to validate a claims-based diagnostic algorithm to identify hospitalized patients with acute major cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) from health insurance claims in Japan.Methods ...and Results: This retrospective multicenter validation study was conducted at 4 institutes, including Japanese Circulation Society-certified and uncertified hospitals in Japan. Data on patients with CVDs in departmental lists or with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes for CVDs hospitalized between April 2018 and March 2019 were extracted. We examined the sensitivity and positive predictive value of a diagnostic algorithm using ICD-10 codes, medical examinations, and treatments for acute coronary syndrome (ACS), acute heart failure (HF), and acute aortic disease (AAD). We identified 409 patients with ACS (mean age 70.6 years; 24.7% female), 615 patients with acute HF (mean age 77.3 years; 46.2% female), and 122 patients with AAD (mean age 73.4 years; 36.1% female). The respective sensitivity and positive predictive value for the algorithm were 0.86 (95% confidence interval CI 0.82–0.89) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.92–0.97) for ACS; 0.74 (95% CI 0.70–0.77) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.76–0.83) for acute HF; and 0.86 (95% CI 0.79–0.92) and 0.83 (95% CI 0.76–0.89) for AAD.Conclusions: The validity of the diagnostic algorithm for Japanese claims data was acceptable. Our results serve as a foundation for future studies on CVDs using nationwide administrative data.
Background:There is insufficient evidence regarding the optimal treatment method for distal deep vein thrombosis (DVT), including indications for anticoagulation therapy. Treatment results of ...patients with distal DVT were evaluated to clarify the risk factors that result in extension of distal DVT to the proximal vein and indications for anticoagulation therapy.Methods and Results:Among 430 patients with DVT between January 2018 and December 2019, 253 were diagnosed with distal DVT; 41 patients who had already started anticoagulation therapy were excluded, and the remaining 212 were included as study subjects. Anticoagulation therapy was not started immediately; conservative treatment with compression stockings was performed. Ultrasonography after 2 weeks revealed thrombus disappearance in 39 patients (21%), and thrombus reduction in 38 patients (20%). In contrast, extension of thrombus to the proximal vein was noted in 12 patients (6.3%) and anticoagulation therapy was commenced. After 3 months, the thrombus had disappeared in 75 patients (52%). No patient developed pulmonary thromboembolism during follow-up. With respect to the risk factors for extension to proximal vein during conservative treatment, active cancer (P=0.03), prolonged bed rest (P<0.01), and D-dimer level >8µg/mL (P=0.01) were identified.Conclusions:It is reasonable to consider anticoagulation therapy in distal DVT patients with active cancer, prolonged bed rest or high D-dimer level.
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