Publications by authors named "Iwamoto A"

The mushroom is consumed worldwide and has high industrial value because of its rich content of bioactive compounds such as ergothioneine and eritadenine. Currently, mainstream artificial cultivation methods for this mushroom typically use synthetic logs. However, browning of the stem's interior (stem browning) has been observed during the cultivation in some strains.

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Background: The inflammatory response plays a crucial role in tumor development. Inflammatory markers are recognized prognostic factors in many types of cancer, including gastric cancer. However, the correlation between inflammatory markers and prognosis in remnant gastric cancer (RGC) remains unclear.

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Breastfeeding practices during hospitalisation may influence subsequent breastfeeding practices; however, this association has not been well studied in Japan. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during hospitalisation and that under 6 months and describe the change in breastfeeding patterns from the first to the sixth month based on the breastfeeding status during hospitalisation. This nationwide cross-sectional internet survey conducted in Japan included 1,433 postpartum women of < 6 months who underwent live singleton deliveries between January 2021 and August 2021.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study compared two methods of helping couples have babies: ICSI (a special sperm injection) and cIVF (traditional fertilization).
  • Researchers looked at a large group of patients who couldn't get pregnant for a few years to see which method worked better and if it cost less.
  • The results showed that both methods had similar success rates for pregnancies, but ICSI had a higher rate of miscarriages in some cases, with a few differences in how many embryos they could create or use.
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The gut microbiota of infants in low- to middle-income countries is underrepresented in microbiome research. This study explored the faecal microbiota composition and faecal cytokine profiles in a cohort of infants in a rural province of Cambodia and investigated the impact of sample storage conditions and infant environment on microbiota composition. Faecal samples collected at three time points from 32 infants were analysed for microbiota composition using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and concentrations of faecal cytokines.

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Background: Migrants are individuals who move to a different country from their usual place of residence. Japan's migrant population, particularly technical interns and students, has been growing. Even before the pandemic, previous studies have highlighted difficulties faced by migrants in utilizing healthcare services.

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Mechanical forces play a crucial role in plant development, including floral development. We previously reported that the phyllotactic variation in the staminate flowers of Ceratophyllum demersum may be caused by mechanical forces on the adaxial side of floral primordia, which may be a common mechanism in angiosperms. On the basis of this result, we developed a novel experimental system for analysis of the effects of mechanical forces on the floral meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana, aiming to induce morphological changes in flowers.

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Autopolyploidization, which refers to a polyploidization via genome duplication without hybridization, promotes growth in autotetraploids, but suppresses growth in high polyploids (autohexaploids or auto-octoploids). The mechanism underlying this growth suppression (i.e.

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Purpose: This study investigated the prognostic value of the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) in patients undergoing curative gastrectomy for remnant gastric cancer (RGC).

Methods: This multicenter retrospective study included 105 patients with RGC of ≥ 65 years of age who underwent curative gastrectomy at 10 institutions in Japan between January 2000 and December 2016. Postoperative complications, overall survival (OS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) were analyzed.

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Isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection (ISMAD) is a rare cause of acute abdominal conditions. Most cases of ISMAD have a favorable prognosis, and only a few cases of ISMAD-associated intestinal necrosis have been reported. A 75-year-old male was referred to our department because of abdominal pain and portal venous gas detected on imaging.

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Article Synopsis
  • Prostaglandins are compounds that affect biological rhythms by activating specific receptors, but the relationship between the prostaglandin F receptor and these rhythms is not well understood.
  • Research on mutant mice showed that their locomotor period lengths were longer in constant dark conditions compared to normal mice, along with altered expression of clock genes in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and liver.
  • The study suggests that plasma levels of prostaglandin F exhibit a circadian rhythm, which may influence the expression of clock genes, indicating that drugs targeting this pathway could impact biological clock cycles.
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  • - Chronic metabolic stress can increase traits associated with cancer stem cells (CSCs) and contribute to chemoresistance, mainly due to issues in sugar metabolism and protein modification processes.
  • - Research indicates that production of a substance called hyaluronan under chronic stress conditions exacerbates these CSC-like traits, while low doses of specific compounds can mimic this effect by disrupting sugar metabolism.
  • - Enhancing sugar assembly and blocking Notch signaling can reduce CSC characteristics and improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs like cisplatin, revealing a new way that metabolic stress helps cancer cells survive.
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Ruthenium complexes bearing bis pyrazole (pzH) ligands, -[Ru(bpy)(R-pzH)] (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, R = -H, -Cl), were examined as photoactivated anticancer prodrugs. A dicationic pyrazole complex deprotonated to give monocationic pyrazole-pyrazolate complexes, [Ru(bpy)(R-pz)(R-pzH)], in an aqueous solution with p values of 9.5 and 7.

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Introduction: There is still no effective treatment for heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (HFpEF), and therapies to improve prognosis are urgently needed. Clinical studies in patients with HFpEF have shown that statins and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors may reduce their mortality rate. However, the mechanisms underlying the effects of statins on HFpEF remain unknown.

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Background: In Cambodia, stillbirths and their underlying factors have not been systematically studied. This study aimed to assess the proportion and trends in stillbirths between 2017 and 2020 in a large maternity referral hospital in the country and identify their key determinants to inform future prevention efforts.

Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis with a nested case-control study of women giving birth at the National Maternal and Child Health Centre (NMCHC) in Phnom Penh, 2017-2020.

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Global migration has been increasing since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has clearly shown a lack of preparedness for the next public health emergency when it comes to vulnerable populations including migrants. To include the issues of migration and health in the current global health agenda, it is important to establish/strengthen a network for collaboration among various stakeholders from both the migrant-sending and host countries of migrants especially in the Asian-Pacific region.

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Background: The number of elderly patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) has been increasing worldwide. Complications are common in elderly patients who undergo colonoscopy, raising doubts about whether colonoscopy should be performed in the same way in this age group as in younger patients. The aim of this study was to determine the safety of full bowel preparation and colonoscopy in elderly patients with UC.

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While adult sex ratio (ASR) is a crucial component for population management, there is still a limited understanding of how its fluctuation affects population dynamics. To demonstrate mechanisms that hinder population growth under a biased ASR, we examined changes in reproductive success with ASR using a decapod crustacean exposed to female-selective harvesting. We examined the effect of ASR on the spawning success of females.

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Objectives: This study aimed to review the progress and challenges of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out for migrants in Japan and discuss the approaches to address the challenges and better prepare for future waves of COVID-19 and other pandemics.

Methods: We conducted a literature review using an assessment framework which we developed building upon existing frameworks and tools on access to health services and COVID-19 vaccination among migrants.

Results: COVID-19 vaccination coverage among foreigners might be lower than that of nationals although the data on foreigners were not widely available.

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Whole-mount fluorescent in situ hybridization (WM-FISH) is an effective tool to observe chromosome behavior in tissues or organs. However, it is difficult to obtain a precise spatial profile of fluorescent signals in roots using conventional WM-FISH mainly because of the severe damage caused during the processing. To address this problem, we established a novel WM-FISH analysis for intact roots of Arabidopsis thaliana and successfully obtained a precise spatial profile of nuclear size and centromere signals.

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How mitochondria regulate the expression of their genes is poorly understood, partly because methods have not been developed for stably transforming mitochondrial genomes. In recent years, the disruption of mitochondrial genes has been achieved in several plant species using mitochondria-localized TALEN (mitoTALEN). In this study, we attempted to disrupt the NADH dehydrogenase subunit7 (NAD7) gene, a subunit of respiratory chain complex I, in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) using the mitoTALEN method.

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Agar and gellan gum have been considered to have different effects on polyploidy-dependent growth in plants. We aim to demonstrate that agar and gellan gum differently affect the change in root elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana by polyploidization and examined the physico-chemical parameters in each gelling agent to elucidate key factors that caused the differences. Each polyploid strain was cultured vertically on agar and gellan gum solidified medium under fixed conditions.

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Purpose: To assess public support for insurance coverage of infertility treatment among marginalized patient groups.

Methods: A cross-sectional, web survey-based study using a national sample of 1226 US adults. Participants responded to questions measuring their beliefs and attitudes towards support for infertility treatment insurance coverage among specific patient populations.

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Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine which markers are the most useful as first- and second-line pre-treatment markers in patients with unresectable or recurrent gastric cancer (URGC).

Methods: This study included 101 URGC patients who were treated with first- and second-line chemotherapy. Several prognostic scores based on nutrition and inflammation were analyzed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine the most useful prognostic marker.

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