Publications by authors named "Nagasaki T"

Background: Asthma is a heterogeneous disease with variable response to treatment. Genetic backgrounds are involved in the severity of type 2 asthma, but their effects on responses to biologics remain unknown. This study aimed to clarify the role of genetic factors in response to biologics in patients with severe asthma.

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The purpose of this study was to construct an artificial intelligence object detection model to detect the articular disk from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) magnetic resonance (MR) images using YOLO series. The study included two experiments using datasets from different MR imaging machines. A total of 536 MR images were retrospectively examined.

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Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has been utilized as a reliable biomarker for diagnosis, treatment response, and prediction of future risks in asthma care, that potentially ensures the efficacy of FeNO-guided asthma management. As previous systematic reviews reported limited efficacy with this approach, we evaluated the efficacy of FeNO-guided management in monitoring adults with asthma.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses Statement and the Minds Manual for Guideline Development, we updated a Cochrane systematic review in 2016 by adding six papers reporting randomized controlled trials with a treatment duration ≥12 weeks published between June 2016 and July 2022, and conducted a sub-analysis of two groups stratified by the strategy used: the FeNO-alone and FeNO with symptom score groups.

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Background: Sensitization to mucus plugs, and bacterial colonization may coexist and relate to a refractory phenotype during follow-up in asthma with bronchiectasis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA).

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the features of -sensitized refractory asthma with bronchiectasis and determine the refractory phenotype in this population and ABPA.

Methods: This study included cases of the oldest available -specific IgE data and chest computed tomography images from a nationwide survey of refractory asthma with bronchiectasis.

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In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies on neurological symptoms induced as paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) or neurological immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Herein, we report a 68-year-old male patient with small-cell lung cancer who developed memory impairment and autonomic nervous system dysfunction after three courses of carboplatin, etoposide, and durvalumab therapy. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed hyperintense areas restricted to the bilateral temporal lobes.

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Objectives: Peritoneal metastasis indicates a poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Studies have shown improved prognosis in patients after removal of peritoneal dissemination, and this surgery is recommended if not excessively invasive. The aim of this study was to examine clinical outcomes and prognostic factors for R0 resected CRC with synchronous peritoneal metastasis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Perovskite-type proton-conducting oxides have defects that cause static disorder, and this study explores that disorder in specific compounds through density functional theory (DFT) simulations.
  • The disorder increases with higher dopant concentration and larger ionic radii of dopants, affecting the distribution and stability of hydrogen atoms in the material.
  • Key results include a correlation between O-H bond length and stretching wavenumber, and agreement of simulated IR absorption spectra with experimental data, illustrating the usefulness of the statistical approach for understanding structural disorder.
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Key Points: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids prevent AKI to CKD transition and renal fibrosis. Eicosapentaenoic acid metabolites 18-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid, 17,18-epoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, and 17,18-dihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid have antifibrotic effects.

Background: AKI is an established risk factor for developing CKD.

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Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have excellent biocompatibility and long retention times in the circulation and have consequently been expected to be useful as drug-delivery systems. However, their applications have been limited because of the inability to introduce hydrophobic compounds to EVs without the use of harmful organic solvents. Herein, we developed an organic-solvent-free drug-loading technique based on the host exchange reaction.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and various complications have been reported. Furthermore, there have been increasing reports of endocrinopathy related to COVID-19 following the pandemic. We report a 49-year-old healthy woman who developed rapid onset of polydipsia and polyuria three weeks after COVID-19.

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Purpose: Lateral pelvic lymph node (LPLN) metastasis of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) is rare, with unknown oncological features. We investigated the oncological impact of LPLN metastasis in patients with rectal NETs.

Methods: This study included 214 patients with rectal NETs who underwent curative surgery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Metabolic homeostasis relies on multiple pathways to supply nutrients during fasting and stress, regulated by organs like the liver and kidney.
  • Research shows that serine and glycine metabolism is crucial for maintaining retinal amino acids, especially in individuals with macular telangiectasia (MacTel) who have genetic issues affecting SGOC enzymes.
  • A mouse model with reduced serine synthesis exhibits faster retinal degeneration due to dietary restrictions, but serine supplementation can reverse retinopathy and neuropathy, suggesting potential therapies for neuro-retinal conditions.
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness and reversibility. Despite considerable advances in asthma treatment based on our understanding of its pathophysiology, asthma exacerbations remain challenging. To reduce asthma exacerbations, it is essential to identify triggers, patients' risk factors, and underlying mechanisms.

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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease characterised by fat accumulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and impaired liver regeneration. In this study, we found that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is induced in both MASH patients and in a MASH mouse model. Further, hepatic carbon monoxide (CO) levels in MASH model mice were >2-fold higher than in healthy mice, suggesting that liver HO-1 is activated as MASH progresses.

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With their low immunogenicity and excellent deliverability, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising platforms for drug delivery systems. In this study, hydrophobic molecule loading techniques were developed via an exchange reaction based on supramolecular chemistry without using organic solvents that can induce EV disruption and harmful side effects. To demonstrate the availability of an exchanging reaction to prepare drug-loading EVs, hydrophobic boron cluster carborane (CB) was introduced to EVs (CB@EVs), which is expected as a boron agent for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT).

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Background: Cytoreductive surgery and chemotherapy reportedly improve the prognosis of patients with metachronous peritoneal metastases. However, the types of peritoneal metastases indicated for cytoreductive surgery remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the category of cases for which cytoreductive surgery would be effective and report the prognosis associated with cytoreductive surgery for metachronous peritoneal metastases.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates how different airway microbiomes might contribute to mucus plugging in patients with asthma, COPD, and asthma-COPD overlap (ACO).
  • It evaluated the sputum microbiome and mucus plug scores in a sample of patients, finding higher mucus scores linked to specific bacteria in ACO and COPD.
  • The research suggests that the presence of certain bacteria, particularly Proteobacteria and Haemophilus, may play a significant role in mucus plugging, especially in patients with ACO and those with varying levels of eosinophilic inflammation.
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Phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase, phosphoribosylaminoimidazole succinocarboxamide synthetase (PAICS) is a purine biosynthetic enzyme. It has been found to be overexpressed in various types of cancer and is related to cell proliferation, invasion, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and efficient tumor growth. In this study, we describe a rat monoclonal antibody (mAb) 6A10, which was generated as an antigen of human PAICS.

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Aspiration pneumonia is the leading cause of death in patients with Parkinson's disease. The incidence of silent aspiration is high in such patients owing to decreased pharyngeal and laryngeal sensation; thus, interventions for this condition may help prevent pneumonia. In this single-arm, open-label study, we used a cervical percutaneous interferential current stimulation device to activate pharyngeal and laryngeal sensory nerves.

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Background: Coordination among lip, cheek and tongue movements during swallowing in patients with mandibular prognathism remains unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the temporal sequences of tongue pressure and maxillofacial muscle activities during swallowing in patients with mandibular prognathism and compared characteristics with those of healthy volunteers.

Methods: Seven patients with mandibular prognathism (mandibular prognathism group) and 25 healthy volunteers with individual normal occlusion (control group) were recruited.

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Sarcopenia is characterized by loss of muscle strength and muscle mass with aging. The growing number of sarcopenia patients as a result of the aging population has no viable treatment. Exercise maintains muscle strength and mass by increasing peroxisome growth factor activating receptor γ-conjugating factor-1α (PGC-1α) and Akt signaling in skeletal muscle.

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 Sleep restfulness is closely associated with mortality. Thus, it is an important sleep-related symptom in the general population. However, it is rarely evaluated in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome.

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Artificial superlattice films made of Pb(ZrTi)O and Pb(ZrTi)O were investigated for their polarization states and piezoelectric properties theoretically and experimentally in this study. The developed theory predicts nontrivial polarization along neither [001] nor [111] directions in (111)-epitaxial monodomain superlattice films with uniform compressive strain. Such films were achieved via pulsed laser deposition.

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Background And Aims: Conversion to laparotomy is among the serious intraoperative complications and carries an increased risk of postoperative complications. In this cohort study, we investigated whether or not the Endoscopic Surgical Skill Qualification System (ESSQS) affects the conversion rate among patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer.

Methods: We performed a retrospective secondary analysis of data collected from patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for cStage II and III rectal cancer from 2014 to 2016 across 56 institutions affiliated with the Japan Society of Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery.

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Although a lot of effort has been put into creating drugs and combination therapies against chronic hepatitis, no effective treatment has been established. Type-I interferon is a promising therapeutic for chronic hepatitis due to its excellent anti-inflammatory effects through interferon receptors on hepatic macrophages. To develop a type-I IFN equipped with the ability to target hepatic macrophages through the macrophage mannose receptor, the present study designed a mouse type-I interferon-mannosylated albumin fusion protein using site-specific mutagenesis and albumin fusion technology.

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