Publications by authors named "HIRAYAMA J"

The teleost scale is a unique calcified tissue that contains osteoclasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes and the bone matrix, similar to mammalian bone. Here, the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on osteoblasts and osteoclasts in goldfish scales were investigated. Scales were treated with LIPUS, which is equivalent to use under clinical conditions (30 mW/cm for 20 min), then cultured at 15˚C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Quality control (QC) of carbapenem susceptibility testing for Gram-negative bacteria faces challenges due to limited measuring ranges and the lack of suitable QC strains. This study aimed to select and evaluate QC strains for meropenem antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) through a pilot external quality assessment (EQA).

Methods: Candidate QC strains for meropenem AST were selected based on primary AST data and genomic information from the Japan Antimicrobial Resistant Bacterial Bank.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Cardiac symptoms can affect individuals who had mild COVID-19 and no prior heart issues, and cardiac MRI can detect these hidden issues linked to long-term heart problems.
  • This study tests a new treatment combining low-dose prednisolone and losartan against a placebo in people with post-COVID heart inflammation, with assessments like cardiac MRI and exercise testing.
  • The main goal is to see if the treatment improves left ventricular ejection fraction after 16 weeks, while also monitoring changes in symptoms and safety over a year for 280 participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) noninvasively promote fracture healing, prevent osteoporosis, promote diaphyseal growth, enhance differentiation, and stimulate cell division. However, no good model systems for analyzing bone regeneration have been reported. In this study, we examined the in vivo regeneration of scales having osteoblasts and osteoclasts using a new magnetic field generator for exposing aquatic animals to EMFs at a sine-wave frequency of 60 Hz.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The doubly protonated Lindqvist-type niobium oxide cluster [H(NbO)], created using microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis, acts as a superbase catalyst for Knoevenagel and crossed aldol condensation reactions, with high pK values indicating strong basicity.
  • - Uniquely, [H(NbO)] retains its superbase capabilities even in the presence of water, contrary to typical expectations that water diminishes the basicity of metal oxides and organic superbases.
  • - Density functional theory calculations suggest that the basicity of [H(NbO)] is maintained due to negatively charged surface oxygens that remain even after proton adsorption, along with the presence of un-protonated basic sites
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have received widespread attention as effective, noninvasive, and safe therapies across a range of clinical applications for bone disorders. However, due to the various frequencies of devices, their effects on tissues/cells are vary, which has been a bottleneck in understanding the effects of EMFs on bone tissue. Here, we developed an model system using zebrafish scales to investigate the effects of extremely low-frequency EMFs (ELF-EMFs) on fracture healing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Melatonin is a molecule ubiquitous in nature and involved in several physiological functions. In the brain, melatonin is converted to N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK) and then to N1-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK), which has been reported to strongly enhance long-term object memory formation. However, the synthesis of AMK in brain tissues and the underlying mechanisms regarding memory formation remain largely unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Lock dance, or locking, is one of the popular old-school street dance styles featuring sharp, sudden, and isolated body movements through intricate control and coordination of joints and muscles. This work aims to understand the complex lock dance motions based on kinematic motor synergy analysis. Lock dance motions performed by three experienced dancers were measured with a markerless human motion capture technique.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: We aim to investigate the quantity and quality of scientific evidence dealing with comprehensive health issues of working women in occupational health.

Methods: This scoping review of original articles that investigated comprehensive health issues of working women aged 19-64 years in Japan was published in PubMed (1967-2022) and Igaku Chuo Zasshi (or Ichu-shi, 1982-2022). Using identical broad search terms, we first identified 17 122 English and 6154 Japanese articles.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Deep ocean water (DOW) is the water obtained from depth of >200 m below the surface of Earth's oceans and is characterized by rich nutrients and cleanliness [1,2]. We have recently reported that DOW suppresses the high-density-induced increase of plasma cortisol levels (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Functional MRI (fMRI) has been instrumental in understanding how cognitive processes are spatially mapped in the brain, yielding insights about brain regions and functions. However, in case the orthogonality of behavioral or stimulus timing is not guaranteed, the estimated brain maps fail to dissociate each cognitive process, and the resultant maps become unstable. Also, the brain mapping exercise can not provide temporal information on the cognitive process.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Controlling the geometric structures of metal clusters through structural isomerization allows for tuning of their electronic state. In this study, we successfully synthesized butterfly-motif [PdAu(PPh)] (PdAu8-B, B means butterfly-motif) and [PtAu(PPh)] (PtAu8-B) by the structural isomerization from crown-motif [PdAu(PPh)] (PdAu8-C, C means crown-motif) and [PtAu(PPh)] (PtAu8-C), induced by association with anionic polyoxometalate, [MoO] (Mo6) respectively, whereas their structural isomerization was suppressed by the use of [NO] and [PMoO] as counter anions. DR-UV-vis-NIR and XAFS analyses and density functional theory calculations revealed that the synthesized [PdAu(PPh)][MoO] (PdAu8-Mo6) and [PtAu(PPh)][MoO] (PtAu8-Mo6) had PdAu8-B and PtAu8-B respectively because PdAu8-Mo6 and PtAu8-Mo6 had bands in optical absorption at the longer wavelength region and different structural parameters characteristic of the butterfly-motif structure obtained by XAFS analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Melatonin, a neurohormone nocturnally produced by the pineal gland, is known to regulate the circadian rhythm. It has been recently reported that variants of melatonin receptors are associated with an increased risk of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes, suggesting that melatonin may be involved in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Insulin is a key hormone that regulates circulating glucose levels and cellular metabolism after food intake in many tissues, including the brain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Deep ocean water (DOW) exerts positive effects on the growth of marine organisms, suggesting the presence of unknown component(s) that facilitate their aquaculture. We observed that DOW suppressed plasma cortisol (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study is the first to demonstrate that deep ocean water (DOW) has physiological significant effects on squid. After 36 h of rearing squids, those reared with DOW had significantly higher total and free cholesterol levels and lower alanine transaminase activity in hemolymph as compared with those reared with surface sea water (SSW). SSW rearing also resulted in 6.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Isophorone diamine (IPDA) showed the best performance, effectively reacting with CO even in the presence of a solvent.
  • * IPDA demonstrated excellent reusability, maintaining its efficiency for over 100 hours under direct air capture conditions, indicating its potential for practical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Beard worms from the family Siboglinidae, are peculiar animals and are known for their symbiotic relationships with sulfur bacteria. Most Siboglinids inhabit the deep-sea floor, thus making difficult to make any observations in situ. One species, Oligobrachia mashikoi, occurs in the shallow depths (24.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study characterizes Integrator complex subunit 15 (INTS15) as a key gene involved in an autosomal-dominant eye disease, identified through genetic analysis in a large family.
  • Mutant mice lacking a specific part of INTS15 exhibited eye malformations similar to those seen in affected humans, indicating its role in ocular development.
  • The research highlights INTS15's critical function in RNA processing and gene splicing related to eye and brain development, and its importance for axonal growth in retinal cells, establishing a connection between transcription mechanisms and hereditary disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We conducted a prospective, randomized two-arm, parallel group, and open label trial to investigate whether the use of LINE would increase HPV vaccine intention among not completely vaccinated university students. In June 2020, we recruited students aged between 18 and 35 years from four universities in Japan. Among the 357 enrollees (female, 53%), 178 and 179 participants were randomized into the LINE and Mail groups, respectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Exposure to the space environment induces a number of pathophysiological outcomes in astronauts, including bone demineralization, sleep disorders, circadian clock dysregulation, cardiovascular and metabolic dysfunction, and reduced immune system function. A recent report describing experiments aboard the Space Shuttle mission, STS-132, showed that the level of melatonin, a hormone that provides the biochemical signal of darkness, was decreased during microgravity in an in vitro culture model. Additionally, abnormal lighting conditions in outer space, such as low light intensity in orbital spacecraft and the altered 24-h light-dark cycles, may result in the dysregulation of melatonin rhythms and the misalignment of the circadian clock from sleep and work schedules in astronauts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Transfusion of cold-stored platelet concentrates (CS-PCs) appears effective in massively bleeding patients. However, few studies have evaluated their in vivo hemostatic function in severe thrombocytopenia.

Study Design And Methods: The in vivo function of plasma-depleted human PCs was evaluated in rabbits with a blocked reticuloendothelial system and busulfan-induced thrombocytopenia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • In Japan, a lack of active recommendation for the HPV vaccine between 2013 and 2021 resulted in less than 1% vaccine coverage due to concerns about adverse reactions.
  • A study conducted in Akita Prefecture found that out of 318 college students surveyed, only 6% expressed an intention to get vaccinated, highlighting low awareness about the HPV vaccine and its benefits.
  • Factors influencing vaccine intention included perceived susceptibility and logistical support for males, while for females, greater knowledge about the vaccine increased their intention, though concerns about side effects reduced it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

ALK-positive histiocytosis is an emerging histiocytic entity that can involve a single organ or multiple organs. This disease frequently involves the central nervous system, and the importance of immunohistochemical and genetic analyses is emphasized for the accurate diagnosis of this rare entity. However, radiological findings of this disease have not been sufficiently described.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF