Characteristics and outcomes of heart failure in Japan: A hospital-based administrative database analysis.

Aims: Epidemiological and outcome studies on patients in Japan with heart failure (HF) categorized by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) are currently limited. The aim of this non-interventional database study was to provide further information on these patients.

Methods And Results: Administrative claims data and electronic medical records from hospitals participating in the Voluntary Hospitals in Japan (VHJ) organization were used.

Effects of smoking cessation on endothelial function as assessed by flow-mediated total dilation.

Background: In assessing the effects of smoking cessation on endothelial function, low-flow-mediated constriction (L-FMC) may provide complementary information to flow-mediated dilation (FMD). However, the value of flow-mediated total dilation (FMTD), an index that incorporates L-FMC into FMD, remains underreported. We aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking cessation on endothelial function, as assessed by FMD and FMTD, and clarify its associated clinical factors.

Clinical evaluation of bone quality of particulate cancellous bone and marrow, and implant prosthetic rehabilitation.

This study aimed to subjectively evaluate bone quality in the particulate cancellous bone and marrow (PCBM) graft area and to assess the survival rates of implants. A retrospective review was conducted based on patient age, sex, diagnosis, reconstructed site, number of implants, prosthetic type, and duration of follow-up. Images from computed tomography (CT) before implant insertion were obtained and used in this study.

Salivary metabolites as potential predictive biomarkers for lung surgery complications: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Saliva is often used as a tool for identifying systemic diseases because of the noninvasive nature of its collection. Moreover, salivary metabolites can be potential predictive factors for postoperative survival. We conducted the present study to establish whether salivary metabolites can function as predictive biomarkers for lung surgery complications.

Factors influencing delayed referral of oral cancer patients from family dentists to the core hospital.

Background/purpose: Most oral cancer (OC) cases are identified by family dentists in Japan. However, a significant number of patients with OC in Japan are referred to core hospitals at advanced stages. Therefore, identifying the factors that contribute to delayed referrals from family dentists to core hospitals is crucial for detecting OC in its earlier stages.

Associations between subjective well-being, number of teeth, and self-rated mastication in Japanese adults: A cross-sectional study.

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the risk factors for low levels of subjective well-being (SWB) in the general population of Japan, specifically, the impact of the number of teeth and self-rated mastication. The surveyed population consisted of individuals aged between 40 and 79 years from Yamagata prefecture, Japan. A postal self-administered questionnaire survey of respondents lifestyles, medical history, oral health, and dietary intake, was conducted from 2017 to 2021.

Measures of oral health-related quality of life in patients with bone graft and implant prosthetic rehabilitation at the anterior of mandible/maxilla among young and middle-aged adults: a retrospective pilot study.

Objectives: Dental implants are believed to contribute to improved masticatory function and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL), but the details remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of dental implant prosthetic rehabilitation after bone graft at the anterior mandible/maxilla based on OHRQOL, particularly in young and middle-aged patients.

Methods: This retrospective study included 11 patients who received bone grafts at the anterior mandible/maxilla and dental implant surgery.

Association of health behaviors, dietary habits, and oral health with weight gain after 20 years of age in community-dwelling Japanese individuals aged 40 years and older: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This cross-sectional study investigated the factors associated with weight gain ≥ 10 kg after 20 years of age in the general Japanese population, with a focus on the number of teeth.

Materials And Methods: We included individuals aged ≥ 40 years from Yamagata prefecture, Japan from 2017-2021. A postal survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire; 5,940 participants were included in the final analysis.

Salivary metabolomics for oral leukoplakia with and without dysplasia.

Purpose: Oral leukoplakia (OL) is a common potentially malignant oral disorder. Therefore, there is a need for simple screening methods for OL before its transformation into oral cancer. Furthermore, because invasive open biopsy is the sole method to determine if an OL lesion is dysplastic, there is also a clinical need for non-invasive methods to differentiate dysplastic OL from non-dysplastic OL.

Evaluation of radiographic characteristics and surgical removal of 147 mesiodens.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiographic characteristics and surgical removal of mesiodens among patients who had attended the Department of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial-Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata University. This study included 121 patients in the final analysis. We retrospectively reviewed medical records including patient age, sex, mesiodens number, direction, position, opportunity for detection, surgical approach and operating time.

Association of the number of teeth and self-rated mastication with self-rated health in community-dwelling Japanese aged 40 years and older: the Yamagata cohort study.

Self-rated health (SRH) is a predictive factor for health-related prognoses such as mortality. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the risk factors for poor SRH in the general population of Japan, focusing on the combination of the number of teeth and self-rated mastication. Individuals aged at least 40 years in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, were surveyed from 2017 to 2021.

Association between the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis and surgical site infection after orthognathic surgery in Japan.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) after orthognathic surgery, focusing on the duration of prophylactic antibiotic administration in Japan.

Study Design: The study included 181 patients who underwent orthognathic surgery at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Yamagata University Hospital between 2012 and 2021. The clinical parameters of SSI were retrospectively investigated using patient charts.

A Cross-Sectional Survey on the Association between Dental Health Conditions and University Personality Inventory Scores among University Students: A Single-Center Study in Japan.

This study examined the association between dental health conditions and scores on the University Personality Inventory (UPI) among university students in Japan. Participants were freshmen at Yamagata University between 2010 and 2019. Dental check-ups, including dental caries, periodontal disease, malocclusion, and temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and mental health screening using the UPI were performed; 12,433 students were included in the final analysis.

Salivary Metabolomics for Prognosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

This study aimed to identify salivary metabolomic biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) based on comprehensive metabolomic analyses. Quantified metabolomics data of unstimulated saliva samples collected from patients with OSCC (n = 72) were randomly divided into the training (n = 35) and validation groups (n = 37). The training data were used to develop a Cox proportional hazards regression model for identifying significant metabolites as prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival.

Characterization of the interaction between Trypanosoma brucei Pex5p and its receptor Pex14p.

The interaction of Trypanosoma brucei (Tb) Pex5p and its receptor TbPex14p is essential for the translocation of newly synthesized matrix proteins into the glycosome. Here, we reveal that only the third WXXXF/Y motif of TbPex5p is involved in the interaction and that negative charge of the fourth amino acid is important. We suggest that Phe35 and Phe52 of TbPex14p interact with Trp318 and Phe322 in the third motif and that the Lys56 adjacent to Phe35/Phe52 associates with the fourth Glu in the motif to make the complex.

Tracheoplasty using a metallic fusiform centrally-doubled coiled stent for a major tracheal defect in rabbits.

Background/purpose: The long-term survival rate of rabbits treated with a fusiform metallic coil for a large tracheal wall defect is 60%. In the present study, the central half of a simple coil was covered by a double coil to prevent the ingrowth of the surrounding connective tissue and to provide a sutureless fixation of the coil to obtain a further increase in the survival rate.

Study Design: The anterior half of the tracheal wall was removed for a longitudinal length of 6 tracheal rings to make a large tracheal defect.

Risk of subsequent biliary malignancy in patients undergoing cyst excision for congenital choledochal cysts.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study was to elucidate the risk of subsequent biliary malignancy in patients undergoing cyst excision for congenital choledochal cysts.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 94 patients who had undergone cyst excision for congenital choledochal cysts was conducted. The median age at the time of cyst excision and median follow-up time after cyst excision were 7 years and 181 months, respectively.

Two cases of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome with anorectal anomalies and growth retardation.

Clinical features associated with the deletion of 22q11.2 are highly variable. Most are diagnosed by cardinal congenital heart disease or hypoparathyroidism.

Effects of neuromodulation with sacral magnetic stimulation for intractable bowel or bladder dysfunction in postoperative patients with anorectal malformation: a preliminary report.

Background And Purpose: The effects of neuromodulation with sacral magnetic stimulation (SMS) were examined in postoperative patients with bowel or bladder dysfunction.

Patients And Methods: SMS was performed at the S3 level using a MagPro® instrument (Medtronic Inc., USA) while the patients were under light sedation.

Usefulness of bFGF spray in the treatment of perianal abscess and fistula-in-ano.

Purpose: Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a newly identified recombinant agent that promotes wound healing through an augmented neovascularization. This study examined the effect of bFGF in the treatment of perianal abscesses.

Patients And Methods: Nine consecutive males with an average age of 5.

Mortality and morbidity of patients with neuroblastoma who survived for more than 10 years after treatment--Niigata Tumor Board Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the utility of treatment strategies in neuroblastoma (NB), the survival of the NB patients was retrospectively examined.

Methods: During the past 40 years from 1967 to 2006, 103 NB patients not detected by the mass screening program were treated. The patients were divided into 3 groups; the period of aggressive surgery (AS group: 43 patients) from 1967 to 1984, the period of aggressive chemotherapy (AC group: 40 patients), from 1985 to 1996, and the period of mega-chemotherapy with stem cell transplantation since 1997.

Removal of a hydrogenated amorphous carbon film from the tip of a micropipette electrode using direct current corona discharge.

Micropipette electrodes are fabricated by coating glass micropipettes first with metal and then with hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) as an electrical insulator. Furthermore, at the tip of the micropipette electrode, the deposited a-C:H film needs to be removed to expose the metal-coated surface and hollow for the purposes of electrical measurement and injection. This paper describes a convenient and reliable method for removing the a-C:H film using direct current corona discharge in atmospheric air.

A 2-year-old boy with a stage III yolk sac tumor occurring in an intra-abdominal retained testis.

A major complication of retained testes is an occurrence of malignancy later in life. We, herein, report the case of a 2-year-old boy who presented with a huge yolk sac tumor with retroperitoneal lymph nodes metastasis that originated in a left intra-abdominal undescended testis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a huge round tumor connecting to the left retroperitoneal lymph nodes with metastasis extending from the left pelvic region to the left renal hilum.

Mother-to-daughter occurrence of biliary atresia: a case report.

We herein report a case of mother-to-daughter occurrence of biliary atresia (BA). The mother underwent a Kasai hepatic portoenterostomy at the age of 64 days with a diagnosis of type III BA. Her postoperative course was uneventful, with a good bile discharge, and she became pregnant at the age of 20 years.