Publications by authors named "Masaki Yoshida"

Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) play a crucial role in suppressing the onset of autoimmunity by eliminating autoreactive T cells and promoting the development of regulatory T cells in the thymus. Although mTECs undergo turnover in adults, the molecular mechanisms behind this process remain unclear. This study describes the direct and indirect roles of receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) and CD40 signaling in TECs in the adult thymus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective To compare the efficacy of vibegron for urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) in patients with overactive bladder (OAB). Methods We performed a post hoc analysis of a phase 3 study of vibegron in Japanese patients with OAB. Based on the patterns recorded in the three-day bladder diary, only female patients were categorized into UUI and MUI populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The research involves creating trigonal planar Cu(I) iodide complexes using specific disilane ligands and studying how methyl group positions on the pyridine ring impact their structure and properties.
  • Characterization methods included NMR, elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction, revealing different conformations of ligand coordination with Cu(I) that affected emission colors—blue-green for one complex and green-yellow for another.
  • The complexes demonstrated significant light emission properties, with high quantum yields and thermally activated delayed fluorescence at room temperature, showing unique optical behaviors analyzed through advanced computational methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Asthma is a serious inflammatory airway disease, and accurate postmortem diagnosis is essential for legal and insurance reasons, especially to distinguish it from other sudden death causes.
  • A study investigating serum TARC and IgE levels in autopsy cases found significantly higher TARC and IgE levels in fatal asthma cases compared to those from acute myocardial infarction and traumatic deaths.
  • The combination of TARC and IgE measurements improved diagnostic specificity for asthma, making them valuable forensic biomarkers when confirming asthma as a cause of death.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The glassy dynamics of dense active matter have recently become a topic of interest due to their importance in biological processes such as wound healing and tissue development. However, while the liquid-state properties of dense active matter have been studied in relation to the glass transition of active matter, the solid-state properties of active glasses have yet to be understood. In this work, we study the structural fluctuations in the active glasses composed of self-propelled particles.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The self-assembly of d transition metal complexes like Pt(ii) and Pd(ii) is crucial for creating advanced materials used in optoelectronics and sensing, but understanding their electronic behaviors when excited is still unclear.
  • - This study compares the excited-state behavior of self-assembled Pt(ii) and Pd(ii) complexes, revealing that while both have similar structures, their thermal responses differ significantly.
  • - The Pt(ii) complex displays a dramatic thermochromic luminescence shift when heated, while the Pd(ii) complex shows increased luminescence efficiency when cooled, highlighting their contrasting properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To clarify the infection control measures required in the event of a new infectious disease outbreak, we conducted a questionnaire survey on the infection control measures implemented against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: An invitation to participate in this survey was sent to the heads of 2689 facilities affiliated with the members of the Japanese Society for Infection Prevention and Control in February 2023, requesting responses to the online survey using Google Forms by March 2023.

Results: Six hundred and forty-five facilities, including 20 clinics and 625 hospitals, participated in the survey.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The development of Zn-based phosphorescent materials, associated with a ligand-centered (LC) transition, is extremely limited. Herein, we demonstrated dual emissions including fluorescence and phosphorescence in luminescent tetranuclear Zn(II) clusters [ZnL(μ-OMe)X] ( = methyl-5-iode-3-methoxysalicylate; X = I, Br, Cl), incorporating iodine-substituted ligands. Single-crystal X-ray structural analyses and variable-temperature emission spectra studies revealed the presence of iodine substitutions, and intermolecular halogen interactions produced the internal/external heavy-atom effects and yielded strong green phosphorescence with a long emission lifetime (λ = 510-522 nm, Φ = 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the 2010s, several unusual rotavirus strains emerged, causing epidemics worldwide. This study reports a comprehensive molecular epidemiological study of rotaviruses in Japan based on full-genome analysis. From 2014 to 2019, a total of 489 rotavirus-positive stool specimens were identified, and the associated viral genomes were analyzed by next-generation sequencing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections present diverse clinical manifestations upon infecting individuals, with respiratory infections predominating in children. We surveyed pediatric hospitalizations due to respiratory HAdV infections across 18 hospitals in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, from July 2019 to March 2024, recording 473 admissions. While hospitalizations remained below five cases per week from July 2019 to September 2023, a notable surge occurred in late October 2023, with weekly admissions peaking at 15-20 cases from November to December.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the potential of a newly developed small electrode to accurately record muscle activity during swallowing.

Material And Methods: This study included 31 healthy participants. The participants underwent swallowing trials with three types of material.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Fluconazole is commonly used to treat and prevent fungal infections caused by Candida and Cryptococcus species. Although there have been reports of fatal arrhythmias induced by fluconazole, such as torsades de pointes, there have been minimal reports of mild, non-fatal arrhythmias associated with it, which may have been overlooked in clinical practice. We encountered a case of frequent premature ventricular contractions induced by fluconazole during the treatment of HIV-related pulmonary cryptococcosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Porous molecular crystals (PMCs) have gained significant importance as next-generation functional porous materials. However, the selective crystallisation of the PMC phase remains a challenge. Herein, we have systematically controlled the stability of the luminescent PMC phase prepared using the luminescent Pt(II) complex [Pt(pbim)(N^O)] (pbim = 2-phenylbenzimidazolate, N^O = N-heteroaryl carboxylate) with Pt⋯Pt electronic interactions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study examined the carbon storage regulator (Csr) system in the bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida SWSY-1.411, finding that its CsrA protein is highly similar to that of E. coli.
  • The analysis revealed that the Csr system influences key biological processes like glycogen biosynthesis, biofilm formation, and motility, which mirrors the functions seen in E. coli.
  • Deficiencies in csr homologs in A. salmonicida impacted biofilm formation and motility but did not affect glycogen accumulation or protease production, highlighting the specific regulatory roles of the Csr system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A coordination polymer, [Cu(SCN)(iqi)] (iqi = isoquinoline), containing copper(I) thiocyanate and a nitrogen-containing π-conjugated ligand, iqi, has been synthesized and its physical properties were evaluated. This coordination polymer has a two-dimensional (2D) sheet structure consisting of copper(I) thiocyanate and shows photoluminescence derived from MLCT and photoconductive properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in February 2020, incidences of various infectious diseases decreased notably in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. However, Japan began gradually easing COVID-19 infection control measures in 2022. Here, we conducted a survey of children hospitalized with human metapneumovirus (hMPV), influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus infections in 18 hospitals across Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, spanning from July 2019 to June 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Colloidal quantum dots are sub-10 nm semiconductors treated with liquid processes, rendering them attractive candidates for single-electron transistors operating at high temperatures. However, there have been few reports on single-electron transistors using colloidal quantum dots due to the difficulty in fabrication. In this work, we fabricated single-electron transistors using single oleic acid-capped PbS quantum dot coupled to nanogap metal electrodes and measured single-electron tunneling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Invited for the cover of this issue is the group of Masaki Yoshida and Masako Kato at Hokkaido University/Kwansei Gakuin University. The image depicts the changes in the assembly of Pt complexes with humidity on layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles, resulting in a drastic emission color change from green to orange. Read the full text of the article at 10.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study aimed to identify factors associated with the response to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: This study was conducted at the Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. IgG antibodies against spike and nucleocapsid proteins were detected using Abbott SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant assays.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In a previous study, we demonstrated an association between a low response to rubella vaccination and a decreased acquisition of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike immunoglobulin G (anti-S IgG) shortly after the second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine. The present study aimed to explore whether this association persists in terms of long-term antibody retention following the second dose of BNT162b2. Through multivariable analysis, we found a significant association between a low response to rubella vaccination and reduced anti-S IgG titers approximately eight months after the second dose of BNT162b2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tri(-butyl)phosphine and terminal alkynes undergo 1,2-phosphorus-migrative [3 + 2] cycloaddition in the presence of a proton source under photocatalytic conditions. The reaction exhibits broad functional group tolerance and affords substituted cyclic phosphonium salts, which are amenable to further derivatization by Wittig olefination. Theoretical studies suggest that the phosphorus 1,2-migration of a β-phosphonioalkyl radical proceeds through a phosphine radical cation-alkene complex as a pseudointermediate, and the two fragments in the intermediate are bound to each other through multiple noncovalent interactions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Controlled self-assembly of Pt complexes is key to the development of optical and stimuli-responsive materials, but designing and precisely controlling them is still difficult owing to weak intermolecular interactions. Herein, we report the successful water-vapor-induced assembly of an anionic Pt complex [Pt(CN) (ppy)] (Hppy=2-phenylpyridine) electrostatically loaded onto cationically charged layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles consisting of Mg and Al ions. When the Pt complexes were densely loaded onto the LDH nanoparticles, the assembly was maintained, even in dilute aqueous media.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Many reports have reported a reduction in respiratory infectious diseases and infectious gastroenteritis immediately after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but data continuing into 2022 are very limited. We sought to understand the current situation of various infectious diseases among children in Japan as of July 2022 to improve public health in the post-COVID-19 era.

Methods: We collected data on children hospitalized with infectious diseases in 18 hospitals in Japan from July 2019 to June 2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF