Publications by authors named "Narita H"

Chronotropic incompetence (CTI), the inability of the heart to increase its rate with increased activity, leads to exercise intolerance and predicts overall mortality. We previously reported that cardiac β-adrenergic receptor downregulation occurs in patients with CTI without heart failure (HF), indicating postsynaptic sympathetic nervous dysfunction. However, cardiac presynaptic sympathetic nervous system function in CTI is not fully understood.

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  • On-site infection diagnosis requires compact, sensitive assays that are easy to use, but current technologies often need skilled technicians.
  • The D-strip is a new Point-of-Care Testing (PoCT) platform that merges digital enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) with lateral flow assay (LFA), offering high sensitivity and minimal user intervention.
  • The D-strip provides results in 15 minutes with a limit of detection for SARS-2-CoV that is significantly better than conventional LFAs, positioning it as a promising tool for testing outside clinical labs.
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Antiferromagnetic magnons possess a distinctive feature absent in their ferromagnetic counterparts: the presence of two distinct handedness modes, the right-handed (RH) and left-handed (LH) precession modes. The magnon handedness determines the sign of spin polarization carried by the propagating magnon, which is indispensable for harnessing the diverse functionalities in magnonic devices, such as data encoding, magnon polarization-based logic systems, and quantum applications involving magnons. However, the control of coherently propagating magnon handedness in antiferromagnets has remained elusive.

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  • * Imaging tests revealed multiple brain and lung nodules, and blood tests indicated symptoms consistent with hemophagocytic syndrome.
  • * A bone marrow examination confirmed the presence of Toxoplasma gondii, leading to treatment; however, the patient ultimately developed multiple organ failure and died shortly after admission.
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Introduction: This is a case of a 32-year-old woman who developed postpartum depression (PPD). She became anxious and depressive about caring for her child, and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) test showed a score of 9 at 2 weeks after delivery, and at 7 months postpartum, she presented with major melancholic depression followed by mild cognitive decline without any neurological symptoms except cluttering speech.

Case Presentation: Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging showed confluent fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensities in the periventricular and frontal deep white matter, with multiple spotty calcifications in the frontal white matter by cerebral CT.

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  • Most follicular lymphomas (FLs) are typically slow-progressing with good outcomes, but some patients face disease worsening within 24 months (POD24), leading to poorer results.
  • This study aimed to identify predictive risk factors for POD24 and analyze the microenvironment characteristics in FL patients experiencing POD24.
  • The research found that higher Ki-67 expression significantly correlates with POD24 events, and those patients also showed a decrease in certain immune cells, suggesting implications for targeted treatment approaches.
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  • Delta brushes are spontaneous neural activities in preterm infants' brains, linked to the development of subplate neurons.
  • This study examined how these delta brushes affect blood flow (haemodynamics) using simultaneous EEG and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in five preterm infants at different ages.
  • The findings revealed that positive responses in blood oxygen levels predominated during these activities, particularly in the temporal regions, suggesting strong connectivity in the developing brain, especially related to the insula.
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  • The study investigates how sleep states and breathing patterns affect functional connectivity (FC) in the brains of preterm infants compared to term infants, focusing on transitions from preterm to term ages.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 63 preterm and 44 term infants using electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy to compare FC during active and quiet sleep, and how these patterns relate to neurodevelopmental outcomes.
  • Results indicated that preterm infants exhibited higher FC in both sleep states, especially during active sleep, and certain patterns of FC were linked to negative neurodevelopmental indicators in these infants.
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  • This study compares two chemotherapy regimens used in patients undergoing umbilical cord blood transplantation: Flu/Mel/Bu2 (lower busulfan dose) and Flu/Mel/Bu4 (higher busulfan dose).
  • Researchers analyzed data from 87 adult patients to see if there were differences in nonrelapse mortality, relapse rates, progression-free survival, and overall survival between the two regimens.
  • The results showed no significant differences in outcomes, suggesting that the Flu/Mel/Bu2 regimen is a safe and effective option, particularly for older patients.
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  • Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the most prevalent congenital infection in developed nations, and while there’s no established standard therapy yet, management evidence is growing.
  • The first edition of the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection" was published in Japan in 2023, outlining key clinical questions related to cCMV.
  • The guidelines cover 20 clinical questions on aspects like prenatal risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, along with recommendations and consensus rates to aid healthcare providers in managing cCMV patients.
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  • Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) shows varied clinical and genetic characteristics, but differences between primary extranodal and nodal DLBCL, especially involving double-expressor lymphoma (DEL), remain unclear.
  • The study analyzed 61 primary extranodal and 128 nodal DLBCL cases, finding that nodal DLBCL had higher BCL2 expression, while DEL was linked to poor outcomes in extranodal cases.
  • Results indicated that DEL significantly impacted progression-free and overall survival in primary extranodal DLBCL patients, establishing it as a crucial adverse prognostic factor.
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One of the most significant research areas in veterinary medicine is the search for carbapenem substitutes for the treatment of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E). This study applied a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) strategy in validating optimal latamoxef (LMX) therapeutic regimens against canine ESBL-E infections. Five dogs were administered a bolus dose of 40 mg/kg LMX intravenously to measure serum drug concentrations and determine PK indices using the noncompartmental model.

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The separation of adjacent rare earth elements (REEs) is a challenging issue due to their chemical similarity. We have investigated the separation of adjacent REEs using four types of adsorbents consisting of silica gel modified with diglycolamic acid with different functional groups at the amide position. For all the adsorbents, the adsorption ratio of REEs increased with the increase in atomic number from La to Sm and then became constant for heavy REEs.

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  • The study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease-Heart Failure (NAT: PD-HF) specifically for Japanese patients with heart failure who might require palliative care.!
  • It involved 106 patients with chronic heart failure and collected data from their caregivers and healthcare providers, utilizing a translated and culturally adapted version of the tool.!
  • Results indicated strong reliability statistics, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82, and high user feedback, as most participants found the tool easy to understand and believed it could enhance care quality.!
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The critical current in a superconductor (SC) determines the performance of many SC devices, including SC diodes which have attracted recent attention. Hitherto, studies of SC diodes are limited in the DC-field measurements, and their performance under a high-frequency current remains unexplored. Here, we conduct the first investigation on the interaction between the DC and terahertz (THz) current in a SC artificial superlattice.

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Polycyclic π-conjugated compounds that contain tricoordinate boron atoms at their periphery represent an attractive class of materials with electron-accepting character. Their molecular design generally requires the introduction of a bulky aryl group onto the boron atom, where it provides predominantly kinetic stabilization. The addition of extra functionality to the aryl group on the boron atom can be expected to further expand the potential utility of this class of materials.

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Background: Various factors contribute to the development of infection-related acute encephalopathy (AE) in children, such as infectious agents and chronic underlying disorders. We studied underlying disorders in children with AE to identify predisposing factors of AE.

Methods: We investigated underlying disorders or past histories in patients with two types of AE from the database in the Tokai area of Japan between 2009 and 2022: 204 patients with AE with reduced subcortical diffusion (AED) and 137 with clinically mild encephalopathy with a reversible splenial lesion (MERS).

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Embedding two boron atoms into a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) leads to the formation of a neutral analogue that is isoelectronic to the corresponding dicationic PAH skeleton, which can significantly alter its electronic structure. Based on this concept, we explore herein the identification of near-infrared (NIR)-emissive PAHs with the aid of an in silico screening method. Using perylene as the PAH scaffold, we embedded two boron atoms and fused two thiophene rings to it.

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  • GTPCH1-deficient dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD) is a condition that starts in childhood, causing issues with posture and movement, but can improve significantly with levodopa treatment.
  • Researchers conducted a three-dimensional gait analysis (3DGA) on three patients receiving levodopa to measure various aspects of their walking patterns before and after treatment.
  • Results showed that treatment could lead to improvements in some patients, particularly in foot alignment and gait consistency, although the effects varied individually, highlighting the need for tailored evaluations in treatment.
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  • Kuruma shrimp (Penaeus japonicus) adjust their levels of alanine, a free amino acid, to maintain osmotic pressure in response to changes in environmental salinity.
  • The study involved cloning the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) gene, crucial for alanine production, revealing it as a 3,301 bp sequence that encodes a protein of 514 amino acids with conserved activity-related residues.
  • Expression analysis showed that ALT1 mRNA levels in the shrimp significantly increased at higher salinities, particularly at 40‰, indicating its role in boosting alanine concentration in order to manage osmotic balance.
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To maintain fertility, male mice re-repress transposable elements (TEs) that were de-silenced in the early gonocytes before their differentiation into spermatogonia. However, the mechanism of TE silencing re-establishment remains unknown. Here, we found that the DNA-binding protein Morc1, in cooperation with the methyltransferase SetDB1, deposits the repressive histone mark H3K9me3 on a large fraction of activated TEs, leading to heterochromatin.

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  • * Researchers examined 91 patients with blood cancers and found that those with certain FOXP3 genotypes (FOXP3-3279C/A or FOXP3-3279A/A) are at a significantly higher risk for severe chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).
  • * The findings suggest that this genetic marker could help predict which patients are more likely to experience severe cGVHD after transplantation, aiding in better patient management.
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Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced thrombocytopenias are rare immune-related adverse events (irAE), but ICI-related thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is extremely rare. A 79-year-old woman with non-small cell lung cancer received maintenance therapy with the anti-human PD-L1 monoclonal antibody durvalumab. Four weeks after the last infusion, she developed overt TTP.

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Background: Despite the anticipated efficacy of escitalopram in treating depression and anxiety in individuals with preexisting cardiovascular conditions, persistent concerns regarding its adverse effects have emerged. In this systematic review, we aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular safety profile of escitalopram compared with that of placebo in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease.

Methods: We used a predefined search strategy in PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.

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