Publications by authors named "Kimura Makoto"

Background: Ischemic priapism is a rare pathological condition, and delayed intervention can result in irreversible sequelae. Most cases are attributed to the use of antipsychotics. The blockade of α1-adrenergic receptors is thought to be associated with the disease onset, although data supporting this hypothesis are lacking.

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Silica polymorphs occur under various pressures and temperature conditions, and their characteristics can be used to better understand the complex metamorphic history of planetary materials. Here, we conducted isothermal heating experiments of silica polymorphs in basaltic eucrites to assess their formation and stability. We revealed that each silica polymorph exhibits different metamorphic responses: (1) Quartz recrystallizes into cristobalite when heated at ≥ 1040 °C.

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Ryugu is the C-type asteroid from which material was brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 mission. A number of individual grains and fine-grained samples analysed so far for noble gases have indicated that solar wind and planetary (known as P1) noble gases are present in Ryugu samples with concentrations higher than those observed in CIs, suggesting the former to be more primitive compared to the latter. Here we present results of analyses of three fine-grained samples from Ryugu, in one of which Xe concentration is an order of magnitude higher than determined so far in other samples from Ryugu.

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The compound 15-deacetylcalonectrin (15-deCAL) is a common pathway intermediate in the biosynthesis of trichothecenes. This tricyclic intermediate is metabolized to calonectrin (CAL) by trichothecene 15--acetyltransferase encoded by . Unlike other trichothecene pathway gene mutants, the Δ mutant produces lower amounts of the knocked-out enzyme's substrate 15-deCAL, and instead, accumulates higher quantities of earlier bicyclic intermediate and shunt metabolites.

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Aim: The spread of the novel coronavirus infection (coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]) has caused behavioral changes and mental illness in patients and their attendants during its early phase. The present study aimed to examine the association between precautionary behaviors against COVID-19 and psychosocial factors in outpatients with pre-existing disease and their attendants.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional paper-based questionnaire survey in Chiba University Hospital on 1019 patients and 513 attendants, and a web-based questionnaire survey in Japan on 3981 individuals from the general population.

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Article Synopsis
  • Trichothecene biosynthesis starts with the transformation of farnesyl pyrophosphate into trichodiene, which is then oxygenated into isotrichotriol, followed by a non-enzymatic cyclization into isotrichodermol (ITDmol), a tricyclic precursor.* -
  • Enzymes encoded by specific genes lead to several modifications of ITDmol, resulting in the formation of various toxic trichothecene metabolites; disruptions in these genes cause the accumulation of different tricyclic forms.* -
  • The study found that the deletion of certain genes, particularly Tri3p, hampers the expected non-enzymatic transformations and leads to an accumulation of certain bicyclic
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Article Synopsis
  • Most genetic studies have struggled to identify specific genetic factors distinguishing treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) patients from those who respond to treatment, but evidence suggests a difference in dopamine levels between the two groups.
  • A genetic analysis involving 435 TRS patients, 539 non-TRS patients, and 489 healthy controls revealed distinct genotype distributions related to dopamine-related genes, indicating TRS patients had a higher proportion of the A allele of rs3756450.
  • The findings imply that certain genetic variants affecting dopamine levels may play a role in determining patients' responses to antipsychotic medications, potentially aiding in the classification of TRS versus non-TRS individuals.
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Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a global issue, and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs in outpatient settings is crucial. Japan has also focused on outpatient oral antimicrobial stewardship programs and difficulties in standardizing prescriptions have led to overprescription in primary emergency medical centers. There is a lack of research investigating the antibiotic prescription status of pediatric primary emergency medical centers and the benchmark prescription rates in pediatric outpatient settings.

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Background: Although findings from both animal and clinical research indicate that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) contributes to the pathogenesis of various psychiatric disorders (including depression), the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We investigated the levels of the tight-junction proteins claudin-5 and aquaporin-4 (AQP-4) in astrocytes of learned helplessness (LH) rats (an animal model of depression) and non-LH rats (a model of resilience).

Methods: We administered inescapable mild electric shock to rats and then identified the LH and non-LH rats by a post-shock test.

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Background: Antimicrobial prescription rates tend to be high in outpatient settings and Primary Emergency Medical Centers (PECs) in Japan encounter difficulties in implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). While a nudge-based ASP publishing monthly newsletters reduces inappropriate prescription of oral third-generation cephalosporins (3GCs), which requires considerable effort. Therefore, developing more preferable ASP models in PECs is essential.

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Among the genes involved in the biosynthesis of trichothecene ( genes), and encode a transcription factor with unique CysHis zinc finger domains and a regulatory protein with no consensus DNA-binding sequences, respectively. Although various chemical factors, such as nitrogen nutrients, medium pH, and certain oligosaccharides, are known to influence trichothecene biosynthesis in , the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of and genes is poorly understood. Particularly, culture medium pH is a major regulator in trichothecene biosynthesis in , but it is susceptible to metabolic changes posed by nutritional and genetic factors.

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Background: Whether femoral bowing or its direction has a mechanical effect on the proximal femur is unclear. This study aimed to define the changes in stress distribution in the proximal femur associated with femoral bowing using finite element analysis.

Methods: We created four femoral models: original, entire lateral bowing, entire anterior bowing, and the middle of both (50% anterolateral bowing) from computed tomography data of women with standard bowing.

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Introduction: While the effects of the Japanese action plan formulated in 2016 have gradually appeared, the appropriate use of antimicrobials in outpatient settings is still important. We conducted a previous study to recommend appropriate antimicrobial use via monthly newsletters at a pediatric primary emergency medical center (PEC). As a result, the rate of inappropriate prescription of oral third-generation cephalosporins (3GCs) decreased by 67.

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Prochloraz has been used to control Fusarium fujikuroi, the causative pathogen of rice bakanae disease. Linkage analysis of FfCYP51 genes in the progenies obtained from crossing prochloraz moderately resistant and sensitive strains suggested that the FfCYP51B gene is involved in prochloraz resistance. Sequence comparison revealed that the prochloraz-resistant strain had an F511S or S312T/F511S substitution in FfCYP51B compared with the sensitive strains.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of desmopressin orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) in reducing nighttime urination (nocturia) in male patients while analyzing factors that predict improvements.
  • Conducted at 27 institutions in Japan, the research included 118 male patients and found a persistence rate of about 51.3% after 12 weeks, with many discontinuing treatment due to adverse events, primarily hyponatremia.
  • Results showed significant reductions in nighttime frequency of urination, particularly for patients with larger nighttime urine volumes, indicating that desmopressin ODT is useful for male patients with nocturnal polyuria in real-world settings.
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Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) enables preferential utilization of easily metabolizable carbon sources, implying the presence of mechanisms to ensure discriminatory gene repression depending on the ambient carbon sources. However, the mechanisms for such hierarchical repression are not precisely understood. In this report, we examined how deletion of pkaA and ganB, which encode cAMP signaling factors, and creA, which encodes a well-characterized repressor of CCR, affects CCR of hemicellulase genes in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans.

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Background: Dopamine supersensitivity psychosis (DSP) is an unstable psychotic state in patients with schizophrenia due to an upregulation of dopamine D2 receptors induced by antipsychotic medication. Long-acting antipsychotic injectable (LAI) could be advantageous for controlling the dopamine supersensitivity state, but it is not known if long-term treatment with LAI might ultimately lead to development or exacerbation of DSP.

Methods: The present study included 58 patients who had been treated with LAI for at least 3 years, with medical records for the 3 years before its introduction.

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The His-Asp phosphorelay signal transduction from histidine kinase (HK) to the response regulator (RR) is an important mechanism for adaptation to environmental changes. Aspergillus nidulans expresses 15 different HKs, which may be involved in different types of adaptations. As reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a key signal of environmental changes, some HKs might be involved in ROS generation through transcriptional regulation.

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Al-Mg ages were determined for 14 anorthite-bearing chondrules from five different unequilibrated ordinary chondrites (UOCs) with low petrologic subtypes (3.00-3.05).

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The t-type trichothecene producers and protect themselves against their own mycotoxins by acetylating the C-3 hydroxy group with Tri101p acetylase. To understand the mechanism by which they deal with exogenously added d-type trichothecenes, the Δ mutants expressing all but the first trichothecene pathway enzymes were fed with trichodermol (TDmol), trichothecolone (TCC), 8-deoxytrichothecin, and trichothecin. LC-MS/MS and NMR analyses showed that these C-3 unoxygenated trichothecenes were conjugated with glucose at C-4 by α-glucosidic linkage.

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Magnesium stable isotope ratios and minor element abundances of five olivine particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 were examined by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Wild 2 olivine particles exhibit only small variations in δMg values from -1.0 / ‰ to 0.

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species complex produces type B trichothecenes oxygenated at C-7. In axenic liquid culture, mainly accumulates one of the three types of trichothecenes, namely 3-acetyldeoxyinvalenol, 15-acetyldeoxyinvalenol, or mixtures of 4,15-diacetylnivalenol/4-acetylnivalenol, depending on each strain's genetic background. The acetyl groups of these trichothecenes are slowly deacetylated to give deoxynivalenol (DON) or nivalenol (NIV) on solid medium culture.

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Background: The excessive blockade of dopamine D2 receptors (DRD2s) with long-term antipsychotic treatment is known to induce a dopamine supersensitivity state (DSS). The mechanism of DSS is speculated to be a compensatory up-regulation of DRD2s, but an excess blockade of DRD2s can also cause glutamatergic neuronal damage. Herein, we investigated whether antipsychotic-induced neuronal damage plays a role in the development of DSS.

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Background: Plain computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are useful for diagnosing adverse local tissue reactions after metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (THA), but metal artifacts can hamper radiological assessments near the implants. We sought to clarify the usefulness of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) CT and MRI in the periprosthetic region, which is difficult to assess after THA due to metal artifacts.

Methods: We performed preoperative 18F-FDG-PET/CT and 18F-FDG-PET/MRI, as well as plain CT and MRI, in 11 metal-on-metal THA patients who underwent revision surgery.

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