Publications by authors named "Ai Hayashi"
Background: Rodent-borne orthohantaviruses are the causative agents of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Apart from the classic rodent-borne hantaviruses, numerous species of hantaviruses have been identified in shrews and bats; however, their antigenicity and pathogenicity are unknown. This study focused on developing a serological method to detect antibodies against bat- and shrew-borne hantaviruses.
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- - Pigs are the main carriers of the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), but a 2016 outbreak on Tsushima Island affected residents who did not farm pigs, prompting a study to assess the risk of JEV.
- - A survey of 560 residents in early 2017 revealed high seroprevalence rates of neutralizing antibodies against two JEV strains, with notable levels in older individuals and those who spent time outdoors.
- - Although wild boar samples tested negative for JEV RNA, they showed the presence of neutralizing antibodies, indicating that the virus can still be transmitted on the island and that wild boars may act as amplifying hosts.
Article Synopsis
- A retrospective case-control study was conducted to evaluate personalized health guidance interventions for individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity at Takagi Hospital from January 2017 to October 2021.
- The study involved 108 participants who received health guidance, split into two groups: one without diabetes medication and one with medication, while controls matched for age and sex did not receive guidance.
- Results showed that those who received health guidance, especially without pharmacotherapy, showed significant improvements in health metrics such as weight and blood pressure, indicating that personalized health interventions can be beneficial for managing diabetes and obesity.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates different hantaviruses found in small mammals like shrews and moles in Poland, including Boginia virus, Seewis virus, and Nova virus.
- Researchers analyzed lung tissue samples from a large number of shrews and moles collected over several years to identify hantavirus RNA using advanced techniques.
- The findings revealed distinct lineages of hantaviruses based on geographic regions and support the idea that these viruses have adapted specifically to their host species.
Article Synopsis
- Japan's COVID-19 response led to significantly lower seroprevalence rates compared to countries like the US and UK, with infection-induced antibodies found in only 2.2% of participants in December 2021 and 3.5% by February-March 2022.
- The study evaluated sociodemographic factors linked to past infections, highlighting that urban residents, older age groups, and individuals in high-contact jobs had increased infection rates.
- Most vaccinated individuals produced antibodies, especially among those receiving booster shots, indicating a strong immune response despite the low overall infection rates.
Aims: The current study evaluated patient demographics and clinical characteristics that associated with HbA1c reduction following addition of one oral antidiabetic drug (OAD) to DPP4i monotherapy.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using CoDiC database. Adult T2DM patients treated with sitagliptin monotherapy for ≥ 6 months and adding one OAD were extracted.
Article Synopsis
- The Ah receptor (AhR) is a protein that activates genes in response to various chemicals by moving into the nucleus after binding to a ligand.
- Current methods to study AhR activity struggle to track its movement into the nucleus, which is crucial for understanding its function.
- A new mouse cell line expressing a fluorescently tagged AhR allows researchers to visualize and quantify AhR's location in living cells, enhancing the study of AhR signaling and its interactions with different ligands.
To investigate medication adherence to oral antihyperglycemic agents and its associated factors in Japanese type 2 diabetic patients, a questionnaire survey was conducted in 983 adult patients receiving once-daily (QD) or twice-daily (BID) dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4 inhibitor) or BID biguanides (BG) as monotherapy at 502 pharmacies in Japan. The percentage of patients with good adherence (the proportion of days in which patients took all pills as prescribed in the past 7 days ≥80%) was high (≥90%) in any dosing regimen with no significant difference among the groups. The following factors were identified as associating with good adherence: the longer duration of type 2 diabetes (≥1 year) (p=0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed to identify potential predictors of medication adherence and persistence with statin-ezetimibe combinational lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) as a separate pill combination in a real-world setting in Japan.
Methods and results: Patients newly switched to statin-ezetimibe combinational LLT from statin monotherapy were identified within a Japanese national pharmacy claims database during January 2015 to April 2018. Adherence and persistence were measured by the proportion of days covered (PDC), time to treatment discontinuation and persistence rate at 1 year.
Background: To understand the recent management status in Japan, we determined the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal attainment (GA) rate of patients initiating statin monotherapy for dyslipidemia.
Methods and results: Dyslipidemic patients undergoing either primary prevention with high cardiovascular risk or secondary prevention (defined by 2012 Japan Atherosclerosis Society Guidelines) were retrospectively analyzed from a hospital-based claims database. In both groups, the LDL-C levels and GA rates of patients treated with intensive or standard statin monotherapy for ≥4 weeks (January 2012-August 2016) were evaluated.
Objective: Monosomy 1p36 syndrome is the most commonly observed subtelomeric deletion syndrome. Patients with this syndrome typically have common clinical features, such as intellectual disability, epilepsy, and characteristic craniofacial features.
Method: In cooperation with academic societies, we analyzed the genomic copy number aberrations using chromosomal microarray testing.
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that mediates the biological and toxicological effects of structurally diverse chemicals through its ability to bind specific DNA recognition sites (dioxin responsive elements (DREs)), and activate transcription of adjacent genes. While the DRE has a highly conserved consensus sequence, it has been suggested that the nucleotide specificity of AhR DNA binding may be ligand-dependent. The upstream regulatory regions of the murine Bax and human paraoxonase 1 (PON1) genes reportedly contain unique DRE-like sequences that respond to AhRs activated by some ligands but not others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aryl hydrocarbon (dioxin) receptor (AhR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that produces a wide range of biological and toxic effects in many species and tissues. Whereas the best-characterized high-affinity ligands include structurally related halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the AhR is promiscuous and can also be activated by structurally diverse exogenous and endogenous chemicals. However, little is known about how these diverse ligands actually bind to and activate the AhR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn order to determine whether shredded rubber mulches (RM) pose water quality risks when used in stormwater best management practices (BMPs) such as bioretention basins, batch leaching tests were conducted to identify and quantify constituents in leachates from RM such as metal ions, nutrients, total organic carbon (TOC), and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity (determined by the chemically activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX) bioassay) at varied temperature and initial pH values. The results indicate that aqueous extracts of RM contain high concentrations of zinc (Zn) compared with wood mulches (WM), and its concentration increased at lower pH and higher temperature. Although methanol extracts of RM displayed high AhR activity, none of the aqueous extracts of RM had significant activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: With the striking increase in the number of elderly people in Japan, dementia has not only become a medical but also a social issue.
Methods: We studied the prevalence of dementing disorders in a rural island town of Japan (Ama-cho), using a door-to-door 2-phase design.
Results: Of the 120 persons screened as having cognitive impairment, 104 people were diagnosed as having dementia.