Publications by authors named "Takaaki Shimizu"

The VNAR (Variable New Antigen Receptor) is the smallest single-domain antibody derived from the variable domain of IgNAR of cartilaginous fishes. Despite its biomedical and diagnostic potential, research on VNAR has been limited due to the difficulties in obtaining and maintaining immune animals and the lack of research tools. In this study, we investigated the Japanese topeshark as a promising immune animal for the development of VNAR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bulimia nervosa (BN) and the binge-eating/purging subtype of anorexia nervosa (b/p AN) are characterized by binge eating and unsafe compensatory behaviors, such as laxatives or diuretic abuse, self-induced vomiting, and excessive exercise. BN often causes miscellaneous physical complications that can lead to death. However, there have been very few prior reports on the physical complications of chronic BN.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thermally enhanced bioremediation is a promising approach to shorten the bioremediation period of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE). To clarify the influence that temperature has on stepwise PCE dechlorination and associated microorganisms, this study conducted dechlorination experiments using contaminated soil and groundwater under five distinct temperature conditions (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Indigo Naturalis, also known as Qing Dai (QD) is a compound obtained from Indigofera tinctoria, Isatis tinctoria, and Polygonum tinctoria and is known to ameliorate refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) by an unknown mechanism. QD maintains both homeostasis and the integrity of colon epithelia in mice that have experimentally induced colitis. The primary component of QD, indigo, comprises 42.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Calciphylaxis is characterized by marked vascular calcification and painful skin ulcers, and it has a poor prognosis.

Case Presentation: The patient was a 72-year-old male. He was referred for penile pain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Many studies have investigated insomnia and the factors associated with this condition in hemodialysis (HD) patients, although the influence of HD duration has not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study, we investigated the factors, especially the duration of HD, associated with insomnia in HD patients.

Patients And Methods: A total of 138 patients undergoing HD were recruited, and the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess the quality of sleep.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To better understand the infiltration performances of high concentration PCB oils (KC-300 and KC-1000 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) mixtures), representative dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL), under both saturated and unsaturated conditions, we conducted experiments on a sand column filled with Toyoura Standard Sand. When PCB oil with the volume comparable to the total porosity in the column was supplied, the residual PCB concentrations under PCB-water conditions were 4.9×10(4)mgkg(-1) in KC-300 and 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

FTY720 (1) is a novel immunosuppressant (immunomodulator), derived from ISP-I (2: myriocin and thermozymocidin). To clarify the pharmacokinetic properties of 1, antibodies against 1 were prepared and a competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was developed. Two kinds of haptens, 3 and 4, for 1 were synthesized and coupled to ovalbumin (OVA).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Genetic variation among river populations of the Japanese spinous loach, Cobitis takatsuensis, on Shikoku Island, was demonstrated by allozyme electrophoresis based on 40 presumed loci representing 20 enzymes and one non-enzymatic protein. Complete allelic replacement was not evident between populations in any one river system, but existed between populations in different river systems. The maximum genetic distance among populations reached 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF