Effect of COVID-19 Infection on Presenteeism: A Cohort Study Using Large Health Insurance-Based Data in Japan.

Objective: Presenteeism occurs when employees attend work despite experiencing problems and ill-health that require sick leave. This study examined whether presenteeism worsened following COVID-19 infection.

Methods: We used the DeSC, a large health insurance claims database.

Impact of COVID-19 Infection on Health-Related Quality of Life in the Japanese Population: A Large Health-Insurance-Based Database Study.

Evidence for acute or long-term coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is relatively limited. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 infection on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the Japanese population. Eligible study participants were 13,365 employees and their dependents who answered questionnaires at baseline and 18 months later and who had at least 6 months of continuous enrolment before and after baseline.

Participation in the Setouchi Triennale and the Health of Residents in Naoshima: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Arts festivals have become increasingly popular in various parts of Japan in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between arts festival activities participation at the Setouchi Triennale and the health of residents in the town of Naoshima. This was a cross-sectional study.

Effects of Tanden Breathing on Constipation: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Tanden breathing, an ancient health technique, involves expiratory abdominal pressure breathing is practiced in Japan. In this study we examined the ability of Tanden breathing to relieve constipation. The study was designed as a stratified-block randomized controlled trial enrolling 20 participants.

Clinical moderators of response to nalmefene in a randomized-controlled trial for alcohol dependence: An exploratory analysis.

Background: Nalmefene is the only medication marketed to reduce the consumption of alcohol in patients with alcohol dependence, but it remains unclear which patients could most benefit from it. This study aimed to identify clinical moderators that affect treatment response to nalmefene in patients with alcohol dependence.

Methods: In a multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind, phase 3 study of nalmefene on Japanese patients with alcohol dependence, the relationship between the reduction of heavy drinking days (HDD) and total alcohol consumption (TAC) at 12 and 24 weeks of treatment and baseline variables of the participants were analyzed in a linear regression and multiple adjusted analysis.

Daytime Dynamo Electrodynamics With Spiral Currents Driven by Strong Winds Revealed by Vapor Trails and Sounding Rocket Probes.

We investigate the forces and atmosphere-ionosphere coupling that create atmospheric dynamo currents using two rockets launched nearly simultaneously on 4 July 2013 from Wallops Island (USA), during daytime Sq conditions with ΔH of -30 nT. One rocket released a vapor trail observed from an airplane which showed peak velocities of >160 m/s near 108 km and turbulence coincident with strong unstable shear. Electric and magnetic fields and plasma density were measured on a second rocket.

[A case of cervical necrotizing soft tissue infection].

We treated a 62-year-old woman with a cervical necrotizing soft tissue infection of the Streptococcus milleri group. Numerous spot gas images were recognized from the right pharynx to the neck in CT at initial diagnosis, but we chose conservative treatment because abscess findings were not clear. The inflammation improved temporarily, but we operated through an outside incision because symptoms recurred and cervical skin became necrotic after one week.

[Mitochondrial benzodiazepine receptors (MBR) in association with neurological disorders].

Ro 5-4864, a specific agonist of the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PBR), elicited convulsions 2.6 times more potently in EL mice (an animal model of epilepsy) than in DDY mice (control animal). A binding assay revealed a 50% higher density of [3H] Ro 5-4864 binding sites in the mitochondrial fraction (i.

Technical devices in jejunal pouch reconstruction following total gastrectomy, including postoperative results.

Background/aims: Either straight Roux-en-Y anastomosis or jejunal interposition used to be adopted following total gastrectomy. However, dissatisfaction with regard to postoperative quality of life has prompted the development of new techniques. The purpose of this study is to describe and assess the authors' technical devices in jejunal pouch (J-pouch) reconstruction following total gastrectomy and the results of these operations.

Reduction in nitric oxide synthase activity with development of an epileptogenic focus induced by ferric chloride in the rat brain.

Intracortical injection of iron ion has been shown to induce recurrent seizures and epileptic discharges in electrocorticograms. The importance of the effects of NO on seizure control systems and their regulation is suggested. In this paper, we examined the changes in nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in the epileptogenic focus induced by intracortical injection of iron ion at 5 min, 10 min, 1 h, 3 h and 3 days.

Age-related increase in nitric oxide synthase activity in senescence accelerated mouse brain and the effect of long-term administration of superoxide radical scavenger.

The levels of nitric oxide (NO) and NO synthase (NOS) activities were compared in the brains of young adult (3 months old), aged (11 months old) and TJ-960 administered (11 months old) senescence accelerated mice (SAM), of which the SAMP8 substrain is inferior in acquisition of learning due to the abnormality of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the cerebral cortex. TJ-960, which is based on the Kampo (Japanese traditional herbal medicine) prescription Sho-saiko-to-go-keishi-ka-shakuyaku-to, acts as a superoxide radical scavenger and attenuates the deterioration of neuronal activity associated with aging. We administered TJ-960 orally for 5 months.

Seizures induced by alpha-guanidinoglutaric acid, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, are controlled by L-arginine.

We evaluated the effect of manipulation of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis on epileptiform discharges recorded from immobilized rats during intracerebroventricular injection of alpha-guanidinoglutaric acid (GGA), an endogenous convulsant and a NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, alone or in combined with a NOS substrate, l-arginine (ARG). GGA alone, or combined with 50 mM ARG, resulted in prolonged electrographical seizures while co-injection of either 100 or 200 mM of ARG with GGA caused significantly protection. These data show that ARG inhibited epileptiform discharges in a dose-dependent fashion, suggesting that the discharges initiated by inhibition of NOS with the intrinsic convulsant GGA are abated by increasing the concentration of the NOS substrate ARG.

Nitric oxide synthase inhibited by audouine in the rat brain.

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) synthesizes nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine (Arg) which has a guanidino group in its molecule. Audouine, a derivative of Arg, is the diguanidino compound. In this study, the effects of audouine on rat brain NOS activity were investigated by measuring nitrite and nitrate formation.

What is the most appropriate variable for estimation of mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure by transesophageal pulsed Doppler echocardiography?

Unlabelled: Although left ventricular (LV) inflow and pulmonary venous (PV) flow variables estimated by transesophageal Doppler echocardiography (TEE) reflect pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), they are also affected by changes in cardiac function. The purpose of the present study was to detect the most appropriate variable for the estimation of PCWP by TEE in patients (pts) with ischemic heart disease. Several variables of LV inflow and left upper PV flow were compared with PCWP in 36 pts (six with angina pectoris and 30 with old myocardial infarction).

Inhibitory effect of arcaine on nitric oxide synthase in the rat brain.

Nitric oxide is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) from L-Arg, which contains a guanidino group. Arcaine is the diguanidino compound and a derivative of Arg. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of arcaine on rat brain NOS activity, using nitrite and nitrate as indicators.

Structure-activity relationships of arginine analogues on nitric oxide synthase activity in the rat brain.

Nitric oxide (NO) is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) from L-arginine (Arg) which has a guanidino group in its molecule. We examined the effect of 23 different Arg analogues on NOS activity in the rat brain. Though homoarginine, epsilon-guanidinocaproic acid and canavanine act as substrates of NOS, production of NO from them was lower than that from Arg.

alpha-Guanidinoglutaric acid, an endogenous convulsant, as a novel nitric oxide synthase inhibitor.

The effects of alpha-guanidinoglutaric acid (GGA), the levels of which were increased in the cobalt-induced epileptic focus tissue in the cerebral cortex of cats, on brain nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity were observed. GGA inhibited NOS activity in a linear mixed manner (Ki = 2.69 microM) and was as effective as NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (MeArg; Ki = 3.

Application of automated flow injection analysis to determine nitrite and nitrate in mouse brain.

Nitric oxide level in the mouse brain was estimated by determination of nitrite and nitrate using an automated flow injection analyser for NOx. Different experimental conditions were examined to determine which produced reproducible results. After pretreatment of tissue specimens by the ZnSO4-NaOH method for deproteinization, reproducible and constant values were obtained.

Clinicopathologic features of gastric cancer infiltrating the lower esophagus.

A total of 211 patients with gastric cancer in the upper third of the stomach were clinicopathologically evaluated. Of the 211 patients, 82 had esophageal infiltration and 129 did not. These two groups were compared.

[Diagnosis of ischemic heart disease by dipyridamole-stress two-dimensional echocardiography].

The diagnostic usefulness of dipyridamole-stress two-dimensional echocardiography was assessed in 82 patients consisting of 27 patients with angina pectoris, 42 with myocardial infarction, and 13 control subjects. Two-dimensional echocardiographic monitoring was performed during dipyridamole infusion: 0.56 mg/kg for 4 minutes, then discontinuation for 4 minutes, followed by a final infusion of 0.

Endoscopic and clinicopathological features of primary gastric lymphoma.

Thirty-three patients with primary gastric lymphoma over a period of 32 years were studied. Endoscopic findings indicated that there were many cases of multiple lymphoma in the stomach, or with extensive tumor-infiltration, and that it was necessary to carefully inspect the entire stomach to determine the scope of resection and improve diagnostic accuracy. It is also particularly important not to damage the tissue during biopsy and to take deep large specimens from the ulcer margin, surrounding wall, and area of erosion.