Seasonal variation in vascular dehydration risk: insights from the Kobe Orthopedic and Biomedical Epidemiologic (KOBE) study.

Background: Dehydration, a risk factor for ischemic cerebrovascular diseases, is common in summer; however, the incidence of ischemic diseases is not necessarily higher in summer. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the relationships between serum osmolarity, hematocrit, daily non-alcohol drink (NAD) intake and factors such as season and age as risk factors for dehydration.

Method: Participants (703 women and 306 men) in the follow-up survey, in 2012 and 2013, of the Kobe Orthopedic and Biomedical Epidemiologic (KOBE) Study, consisting of healthy individuals living in Kobe, Japan, were categorized into two groups based on the examination month: the warmer and colder seasons.

Equol Nonproducing Status as an Independent Risk Factor for Acute Cardioembolic Stroke and Poor Functional Outcome.

: Equol has protective effects against coronary artery disease and dementia by strongly binding to estrogen receptor beta, whereas the intake of soy isoflavone alone does not always confer such protective effects. Equol production is completely dependent on the existence of equol-producing gut microbiota. The effects of equol-producing status on the cerebrovascular diseases remain unclear.

Primary Prevention of Coronary and Other Cardiovascular Diseases: A Focused Review.

In 2022, the Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS) updated its prevention guidelines, the "Japan Atherosclerosis Society (JAS) Guidelines for Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases 2022" (JAS2022GL), expanding its scope from coronary artery disease (CAD) to atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVDs), including atherothrombotic stroke. The following year, the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) updated its guidelines for primary prevention entitled "JCS 2023 Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Coronary Artery Disease" (JCS2023GL). Since those publications, scientific advancements in relevant fields have continued.

Comparison of Publications on Heated Tobacco Products With Conventional Cigarettes and Implied Desirability of the Products According to Tobacco Industry Affiliation: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Heated tobacco products (HTPs) have been advertised as "reduced-harm" tobacco products compared to conventional cigarettes (CC); however, no direct evidence supporting HTPs being desirable for human health exists. A previous systematic review reported that evidence on HTPs published in 2017 or earlier was primarily drawn from industry-related papers. We aimed to investigate whether tobacco industry-affiliated studies are more likely to conclude that HTPs are more desirable than CC.

Endovascular and Percutaneous Embolotherapy for the Body and Extremity Arteriovenous Malformations.

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) consist of abnormal communications between the arteries and veins. They can involve any part of the body and extremity and grow in proportion to age and in response to hormonal influence or trauma. When symptoms progress from Schöbinger clinical stage II to III, transcatheter and/or direct puncture embolization are less-invasive and repeatable options for symptom palliation.

Appendicular Muscle Mass Index was Stronger than Body Mass Index in Association with Atherosclerosis in the Community-Dwelling Elderly.

Aims: Low muscle mass is associated with advanced atherosclerosis. However, only very few studies on the elderly have investigated a dose-response relationship between muscle mass and atherosclerosis. Furthermore, whether the relationship between muscle mass and atherosclerosis is stronger than that between body mass index (BMI) and atherosclerosis among the elderly population remains to be determined.

Determinants of double product: a cross-sectional study of urban residents in Japan.

Background: The current study aimed to investigate the determinants of high double product (DP) by evaluating the association between resting DP, which is calculated as systolic blood pressure (SBP) multiplied by heart rate (HR), and blood test results and lifestyle factors.

Methods: This research included 973 participants in the baseline survey of the KOBE study, which included a cohort of urban residents. The possible DP determinants were identified by examining the association between lifestyle factors and laboratory findings and DP by analyzing covariance adjusted for sex and age.

Marital status, household size, and lifestyle changes during the first COVID-19 pandemic: NIPPON DATA2010.

Stay-at-home strategies taken during the COVID-19 pandemic changed our lifestyle drastically. Although marital status and household size are important social determinants of health that affect lifestyle, their impacts on lifestyle during the pandemic are still unclear. We aimed to evaluate the association between marital status, household size, and lifestyle changes during the first pandemic in Japan.

[Determinants of salt taste threshold among urban residents: the KOBE study].

Objectives　Though having a high salt taste threshold has been associated with hypertension, its exact determinants remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the determinants of salt taste threshold in a community-based population and to determine the relationship between salt taste thresholds and the simultaneous presence of multiple determinants.Methods　Of the 1,117 participants of the baseline survey of the Kobe study, a cohort study of healthy urban residents, aged 40-74 years, with no history of cancer or cardiovascular diseases, nor undergoing treatment for hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidemia, was conducted.

Body weight and lifestyle changes under the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: a cross-sectional study from NIPPON DATA2010.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on people's lifestyles such as causing body weight changes. This study examined associations among lifestyle changes and body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic among the Japanese population.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Association between successful smoking cessation and preferred smoking time.

Introduction: We examined the relationship between preferred daily smoking times and typical situations in which smoking occurs and aimed to determine the association between successful smoking cessation and preferred smoking time.

Methods: We conducted an internet survey and categorized participants based on their selected smoking status: 'successful smoking cessation', 'failed smoking cessation', or 'currently smoking'. Ultimately, 3637 people (1854 men, 1789 women) aged 30-59 years were included in the study.

Association between visceral fat accumulation and decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate based on cystatin C in the Japanese urban population: the KOBE study.

Although metabolic syndrome, including visceral fat accumulation, causes kidney and cardiovascular diseases, the impact of visceral fat accumulation on mild decreased renal function remains unclear. This study examines the association between visceral fat area (VFA) measured by bioimpedance methods and the estimated glomerular filtration rate based on serum cystatin C (eGFRcys) in the Japanese urban population. This community-based cross-sectional study enrolled 952 individuals (287 men, 665 women) who participated in the second follow-up survey of the Kobe Orthopedic and Biomedical Epidemiological (KOBE) study.

Effect of Chronic Kidney Disease or Anemia or Both on Cardiovascular Mortality in a 25-Year Follow-Up Study of Japanese General Population (From NIPPON DATA90).

The relation between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the general population is well elucidated. In patients with CKD, anemia is associated with adverse outcomes. However, the effects of CKD and anemia on CVD in the general population remains poorly explored, especially in Asian populations.

Comparison of reduced field-of-view DWI and full field-of view DWI for the differentiation between non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and muscle invasive bladder cancer using VI-RADS.

Purpose: To evaluate whether reduced field-of-view (rFOV) DWI sequence improves the differentiation between non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) using VI-RADS.

Material And Methods: Eighty-nine patients underwent bladder MRI with full field-of-view (fFOV) DWI and rFOV DWI sequence. Images were independently evaluated by 2 radiologists.

Postural and visual aftereffects to a slanted floor in lying and sitting positions.

After lying on a slanted floor for a while with the eyes closed, we may perceive it to be less slanted than at the beginning. After viewing a slanted floor while lying on a flat base, we may perceive it to be more horizontal. We investigated these postural and visual adaptations and their interactions with participants lying and sitting on the floor.

Food phytochemicals, epigallocatechin gallate and myricetin, covalently bind to the active site of the coronavirus main protease .

SARS-CoV-2 main protease is a possible target for protection against viral infection. This study examined the inhibitory effect of food phytochemicals on the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 by determining a cleaved product after chromatographic separation. First, 37 phytochemicals, including glycosides and metabolites, were screened at 20 µM; epigallocatechin gallate, myricetin, theaflavin, herbacetin, piceatannol, myricitrin, and isothiocyanates inhibited the enzyme in varying degrees.

Risk Classification for Metabolic Syndrome and the Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in Japan With Low Prevalence of Obesity: A Pooled Analysis of 10 Prospective Cohort Studies.

Background It is uncertain whether risk classification under the nationwide program on screening and lifestyle modification for metabolic syndrome captures well high-risk individuals who could benefit from lifestyle interventions. We examined the validity of risk classification by linking the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods and Results Individual-level data of 29 288 Japanese individuals aged 40 to 74 years without a history of CVD from 10 prospective cohort studies were used.

Uric acid and incident atrial fibrillation of 14 years population-based cohort study: The Suita Study.

Background: Higher baseline uric acid (UA) was significantly associated with higher atrial fibrillation (AF) incidence in Japanese women. However, no prospective study is evident in the association between UA and incident AF in Japanese urban residents.

Methods: A total of 6863 participants (aged 30-79 years; 47% men) without prior AF were followed for 13.

Comparing Pathological Risk Factors for Dementia between Cognitively Normal Japanese and Americans.

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative showed that Japanese had significantly lower brain Aβ burden than Americans among a cognitively normal population. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare vascular disease burden, Aβ burden, and neurodegeneration between cognitively normal elderly Japanese and Americans. Japanese and American participants were matched for age (±4-year-old), sex, and Apolipoprotein E () genotype.

A frame at a different depth than a photograph enhances the apparent depth in the photograph.

Two experiments showed that a photo frame placed at a distance from the photo itself enhances the apparent depth of contents within the photo. In Experiment 1, 32 observers rated the apparent depth of 60 successively presented photos of scenes with pictorial depth cues. In a separate block of trials, the photos were presented either with a frame in front of each photo or without a frame.

Enhanced degradation of 4-aminobenzenesulfonate by a co-culture of Afipia sp. 624S and Diaphorobacter sp. 624L.

Two strains, Afipia sp. 624S and Diaphorobacter sp. 624L, were isolated from an enrichment culture with 4-aminobenzenesulfonate (4-ABS) as the only carbon source.