Negative impact of behavior restriction amidst a clustered COVID-19 infection on immobility syndrome in older patients negative for COVID-19: report from a chronic care hospital in Japan.

Previous studies have reported on associations between immobility syndrome and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the aggravation of this syndrome in older patients negative for COVID-19 infection amidst behavior restriction due to a clustered COVID-19 infection. Patients hospitalized one month before a clustered COVID-19 infection occurred in our hospital were recruited. Rehabilitation therapy was suspended for 25 days during behavior restriction. The ability of daily living of the patients was evaluated with the functional independence measure and Barthel index. Chronological changes in the functional independence measure and Barthel index scores were evaluated monthly, beginning one month before the clustered COVID-19 infection to one month after re-initiation of rehabilitation therapy. Patients with minimum scores in the functional independence measure (18) and Barthel index (0) prior to the clustered COVID-19 infection were excluded. Functional independence measure scores of 73 older patients and the Barthel index scores of 48 patients were analyzed. The mean total functional independence measure score amidst the behavior restriction significantly changed from 36.3 to 35.1 (p = 0.019), while statistical significance was not detected in the mean motor subtotal (from 21.6 to 20.9 with p = 0.247) or cognitive subtotal functional independence measure scores (from 14.6 to 14.2 with p = 0.478). During the behavior restriction, the mean Barthel index scores declined from 25.8 to 23.2 without statistical significance (p = 0.059). Behavior restriction due to a clustered COVID-19 infection may aggravate immobility syndrome in older patients who are negative for COVID-19.

I Will Get Myself Vaccinated for Others: The Interplay of Message Frame, Reference Point, and Perceived Risk on Intention for COVID-19 Vaccine.

The purpose of this study is to seek an effective strategy to promote COVID-19 vaccination among young adults. Given that COVID-19 is less deadly for young adults, this study explores whether highlighting potential benefits or disadvantages that others may experience as a result of one's vaccination increases young adults' intention to get vaccinated, particularly for those who have low perceived risk of COVID-19. To test this idea, we conducted an experiment and analyzed the effect of interaction between message frame (gain vs. loss) and reference point (self vs. others) on intention for vaccination by one's perceived risk (low vs. high). The results show that for those with low perceived risk of COVID-19, messages about potential negative consequences to others (e.g., family, friends, community members) from one's failure to get vaccinated led to message elaboration and favorable attitude toward vaccination, which in turn promoted one's intention to get vaccinated. We discuss practical implications of the findings for message strategies that target populations experiencing COVID-19 disparities.

Predictive value of clinical examination parameters for cardiovascular adverse events during treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) requires management of long-term use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Although cardiovascular adverse events (CAEs) caused by off-target effects of TKIs can be life-threatening, the optimal method of monitoring for CAEs has not been established. Here, we comprehensively evaluated the clinical utility of various cardiovascular parameters, including ankle-brachial blood pressure index (ABI), cardiac ankle vascular index (CAVI), and carotid ultrasonography and electrocardiogram measurements, for monitoring and predicting CAEs in 74 patients with CML receiving TKIs. Based on concordance statistics, the predictive value of established risk factor models was significantly improved by addition of both ABI and CAVI, as follows: model 1 (hypertension, smoking history, and dyslipidemia), 0.680 versus 0.817 (p = 0.041); model 2 (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus), 0.685 vs. 0.830 (p = 0.047); and model 3 (age, hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus) 0.737 versus 0.818 (p = 0.044). However, no single cardiovascular parameter independently improved the predictive value of established risk factor models. In conclusion, addition of combined assessment of ABI and CAVI to established risk factors can improve prediction of future CAEs and may enable better clinical management of patients with CML receiving TKIs.

Radial mycotic aneurysm complicated with infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus sanguinis.

Peripheral mycotic aneurysm is a rare complication of infective endocarditis. We herein report the case of a 61-year-old man with a mycotic aneurysm in the left brachial artery, that appeared during treatment with antibiotics against infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus sanguinis. After confirming the collateral blood flow on arteriography, we resected the aneurysm and performed valvuloplasty, annuloplasty and coronary artery bypass grafting. The patient has been in good condition without complications, such as motor dysfunction or neuropathy.

Intrinsic and spontaneous neurogenesis in the postnatal slice culture of rat hippocampus.

Organotypic slice culture preserves the morphological and physiological features of the hippocampus of live animals for a certain time. The hippocampus is one of exceptional regions where neurons are generated intrinsically and spontaneously throughout postnatal life. We investigated the possibility that neurons are generated continuously at the dentate granule cell layer (GCL) in slice culture of the rat hippocampus. Using 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling and retrovirus vector transduction methods, the phenotypes of the newly generated cells were identified immunohistochemically. At 4 weeks after BrdU exposure, BrdU-labelled cells were found in the GCL and were immunoreactive with a neuronal marker, anti-NeuN. There were fibrils immunoreactive with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocyte marker, in the layer covering the GCL and occasionally encapsulated BrdU-labelled nuclei. When the newly divided cells were marked with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) using a retrovirus vector, these cells had proliferative abilities throughout the following 4-week cultivation period. Four weeks after the inoculation, the EGFP-expressing cells consisted of various phenotypes of both early and late stages of differentiation; some were NeuN-positive cells with appearances of neurons in the GCL and some were immunoreactive with anti-Tuj1, a marker of immature neurons. Some EGFP-expressing cells were immunoreactive with anti-GFAP or anti-nestin, a marker of neural progenitors. The present study suggests that slice cultures intrinsically retain spontaneous neurogenic abilities for their cultivation period. The combination of slice culture and retrovirus transduction methods enable the newly divided cells to be followed up for a long period.

Structural basis of protein-bound endogenous aldehydes. Chemical and immunochemical characterizations of configurational isomers of a 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-histidine adduct.

4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), a major racemic product of lipid peroxidation, reacts with histidine to form a stable HNE-histidine Michael addition-type adduct possessing three chiral centers in the cyclic hemiacetal structure. In the present study, we characterized configurational isomers of a HNE-N(alpha)-acetylhistidine adduct by NMR spectroscopy and by molecular orbital calculations. In addition, we raised monoclonal antibodies against (R)-HNE-histidine and (S)-HNE-histidine adducts, characterized their specificities, and examined in vivo localizations of each adduct under oxidative stress. To facilitate structural characterization of the configurational isomers of an HNE-histidine adduct, we prepared the (R)-HNE-histidine and (S)-HNE-histidine adducts by incubating N(alpha)-acetylhistidine with each HNE enantiomer, both of which provided two peaks (Ra and Rb from (R)-HNE-histidine and Sa and Sb from (S)-HNE-histidine adducts) in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The NMR analysis showed that each peak was a mixture of two diastereomers. In addition, the analysis of the nuclear Overhauser effect enabled the determination of configurations of the eight isomers. The relative amounts of these isomers in the NMR analysis correlated with the relative energies calculated by molecular orbital methods. On the other hand, using (R)-HNE-modified and (S)-HNE-modified keyhole limpet hemocyanins as the antigens, we raised the monoclonal antibodies, mAbR310 and mAbS412, which enantioselectively recognized the (R)-HNE-histidine and (S)-HNE-histidine adducts, respectively. Among the mixtures (Ra, Rb, Sa, and Sb) of diastereomers, mAbR310 showed the highest immunoreactivity to Rb (the mixture of 2R,4S,5R and 2S,4S,5R isomers), whereas mAbS412 preferentially recognized Sa (the mixture of 2R,4S,5S and 2S,4S,5S isomers). The presence of (R)-HNE and (S)-HNE epitopes in vivo was immunohistochemically examined in the kidney of rats exposed to the renal carcinogen, ferric nitrilotriacetate, by which nuclear and cytosolic stainings with mAbR310 and mAbS412, respectively, were detected.