Role of balloon dilation test in identifying suitable candidates for gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy.

Background: Predicting successful outcomes of gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy (G-POEM) is essential for identifying patients who are most likely to benefit from the procedure. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the balloon dilation test (BDT) in optimizing patient selection for G-POEM.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from February 2021 to December 2023, including patients with refractory gastroparesis unresponsive to conventional medical treatments.

Continuous high-soy protein soymilk intake affects ordinary walking speed in the Japanese pre-frail and frail elderly: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: To investigate whether continuous intervention using soymilk containing high soy protein improves physical frailty, a randomized controlled trial was conducted among the Japanese pre-frail and frail elderly.

Methods: Japanese pre-frail and frail elderly participants (n = 73) were randomly assigned to the high-soy protein and control groups, who then ingested soymilk containing 14.5 g/200 ml and 3.

Neurological confirmation of periplanone-D exploitation as a primary sex pheromone and counteractions of other components in the smoky brown cockroach Periplaneta fuliginosa.

The smoky brown cockroach, Periplaneta fuliginosa, is a peridomestic pest inhabiting broad regions of the world from temperate to subtropical zones. In common with other related species such as the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, female-emitted sex pheromone components, named periplanones, are known to be key volatiles that elicit long-range attraction and courtship rituals in males. How periplanones are processed in the nervous system has been entirely unexplored in P.

Association between physical multimorbidity in middle adulthood and mortality: findings from two large cohort studies in Japan.

Background: While previous literature suggests that multimorbidity is linked to a higher risk of mortality, evidence is scarce among individuals in middle adulthood. We aimed to examine the association between physical multimorbidity and all-cause mortality among individuals aged 40-64 years at baseline in Japan.

Methods: Data were obtained from two cohort studies, the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study (JPHC) and the Japan Epidemiology Collaboration on Occupational Health Study (J-ECOH).

Refining breast cancer genetic risk and biology through multi-ancestry fine-mapping analyses of 192 risk regions.

Genome-wide association studies have identified approximately 200 genetic risk loci for breast cancer, but the causal variants and target genes are mostly unknown. We sought to fine-map all known breast cancer risk loci using genome-wide association study data from 172,737 female breast cancer cases and 242,009 controls of African, Asian and European ancestry. We identified 332 independent association signals for breast cancer risk, including 131 signals not reported previously, and for 50 of them, we narrowed the credible causal variants down to a single variant.

Influence of foveal glial tissue after macular hole surgery on outer retinal restoration and visual acuity.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of foveal glial tissue on the anatomical and functional results after macular hole (MH) surgery.

Methods: This study included 141 consecutive eyes that underwent successful vitrectomy for full-thickness MH between January 2015 and December 2022. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the length of outer retinal defects were evaluated preoperatively and at 6 months postoperatively.

Consumption of Sodium and Its Ratio to Potassium in Relation to All-Cause, Cause-Specific, and Premature Noncommunicable Disease-Specific Mortality in Middle-Aged Japanese Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Reducing premature noncommunicable disease (NCD)-specific mortality is a global challenge. Sodium is thought to increase risk of NCDs via an effect of salt per se or high-salt foods on hypertension-induced cardiovascular disease (CVD) and gastrointestinal cancer. Further, relative risk of CVD is reportedly more closely associated with sodium-to-potassium ratio than that with sodium alone.

Association between in-hospital weight change and 28-day mortality in adults with gram-negative rod bacteremia.

Background: Body weight and fluid balance are critical parameters in the monitoring of patient status, as low body weight and fluid overload are associated with increased mortality in sepsis cases. While body weight reflects nutritional and fluid status, fluid balance is a major indicator of clinical stability. However, limited research has comprehensively evaluated the combined impact of in-hospital weight change and fluid balance on mortality in bacteremia patients, especially those undergoing treatment outside of ICUs.

U-73122, a phospholipase C inhibitor, impairs lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus virion infectivity.

Lassa virus (LASV) is an Old World (OW) mammarenavirus that causes Lassa fever, a life-threatening acute febrile disease endemic in West Africa. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a worldwide-distributed, prototypic OW mammarenavirus of clinical significance that has been largely neglected as a human pathogen. No licensed OW mammarenavirus vaccines are available, and the current therapeutic option is limited to the off-label use of ribavirin, which offers only partial efficacy.

First Stability Characterization for a CZT Detection System in an ee Collider Environment.

The SIDDHARTA-2 collaboration has developed a novel X-ray detection system based on cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT, CdZnTe), marking the first application of this technology at the DAΦNE electron-positron collider at INFN-LNF. This work aims to demonstrate the stability of the detectors' performance in terms of linearity and resolution over short and long periods, thereby establishing their suitability for precise spectroscopic measurements within a collider environment. A reference calibration spectrum is presented in association with findings from assessments of linearity and resolution stability.

Association of plasma branched-chain amino acid levels with colorectal cancer risk in a nested case-control study.

Background: Intake of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) has been suggested to have a prophylactic effect against carcinogenesis in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the possible effect of plasma BCAA concentration has not been fully evaluated.

Methods: We conducted a prospective case-control study within a cohort of four public health center areas for which blood sample and questionnaire data from a 5-year follow-up survey were available.

Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and the risk of thyroid cancer in Japan: The JPHC Study.

Background: Although cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are established causes of cancer, most cohort studies and meta-analyses have reported inverse associations with thyroid cancer (TC) risk. However, epidemiological evidence for this possibility is limited in Asia, where TC histologic type differs from the West. Here, we examined the association between cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption and risk of TC in Japanese.

Surgical outcome and contributing presurgical evaluations in children with magnetic resonance imaging-negative epilepsy and periodic seizure cycles.

Background: The identification of surgical candidates is a critical issue in patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-negative drug-resistant focal epilepsy and latent accompanying resectable lesions, such as focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). Recently, periodic seizure cycles have been associated with FCD in both patients with MRI-positive and MRI-negative epilepsy. We investigated the presurgical evaluation and postsurgical outcome of patients with MRI-negative epilepsy with FCD and a history of periodic seizure cycles.

Plasma uric acid levels and risk of dementia in a population-based cohort study.

Background: Given the opposing properties of uric acid (UA), which are intracellular prooxidant action and extracellular antioxidant action, the association of circulating UA levels with dementia remains controversial. We aimed to ascertain whether both lower and higher plasma UA levels are associated with the risk of incident dementia among middle-aged and older population.

Methods: 1685 participants (530 men and 1155 women) aged 40-69 years at baseline (1990-1993) were randomly selected for plasma UA measurement from base cohort participants who responded to the baseline questionnaire and provided blood samples.

Predictive Factors for Swallowing Function Decline in Older Adults With Alzheimer's Disease: A 1-Year Longitudinal Study.

Background: By 2060, the global burden of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), is expected to increase significantly, necessitating effective palliative care strategies. Dysphagia, a common condition among people with dementia, leads to malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, and a reduced quality of life.

Objective: This study aimed to identify oral health management factors that could predict a decline in swallowing function in older adults with AD.

Differences in Uniquely Identified Peptides Between ddaPASEF and diaPASEF.

Recent advancements in mass spectrometry-based proteomics have made it possible to conduct comprehensive protein analysis. In particular, the emergence of the data-independent acquisition (DIA) method powered by machine learning has significantly improved protein identification efficiency. However, compared with the conventional data-dependent acquisition (DDA) method, the degree to which peptides are uniquely identified by DIA and DDA has not been thoroughly examined.

Machine learning evaluation of intensified conditioning on haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Background: The advantage of intensified myeloablative conditioning (MAC) over standard MAC has not been determined in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients.

Methods: To evaluate heterogeneous effects of intensified MAC among individuals, we analyzed the registry database of adult ALL patients between 2000 and 2021. After propensity score matching, we applied a machine-learning Bayesian causal forest algorithm to develop a prediction model of individualized treatment effect (ITE) of intensified MAC on reduction in overall mortality at 1 year after HSCT.

Propranolol and landiolol inhibit cell proliferation enhanced by noradrenaline in human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Previous clinical data have shown that perioperative β-blocker administration can improve lung cancer prognosis, possibly by blocking autonomic nervous system responses. This study aimed to investigate the anticancer mechanisms of the β-blockers propranolol and landiolol for human lung adenocarcinoma cells treated with noradrenaline. A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were exposed to each of the following alone or in combination for 2 h: medium only for naïve control; noradrenaline at a dose of 10 μmol/L; propranolol at 10 nmol/L; and landiolol at 1000 nmol/L.

jPOST environment accelerates the reuse and reanalysis of public proteome mass spectrometry data.

jPOST (https://jpostdb.org/) comprises jPOSTrepo (https://repository.jpostdb.

Identification of cancer driver mutations in liquid-based cytology samples for the screening of endometrial diseases.

Background: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death among women and early detection is crucial for its successful treatment. We previously showed that cytological examination combined with genetic analysis using liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples improved the diagnostic sensitivity of EC.

Methods: Among 218 individuals who underwent endometrial screening by LBC, 208 samples were analysed by cancer-panel sequencing.

Weight Loss and Number of Present Teeth in Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in Niigata.

Background And Objectives: Weight loss is a critical health issue among the older population. This study aimed to explore the association between weight loss and oral health in older adults.

Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Uonuma Chronic Kidney Disease Cohort Study.