Publications by authors named "Takamasa Yoshida"

Article Synopsis
  • A study examined the link between malnutrition and oral health in older adults (aged 85+) using the GLIM criteria for diagnosing malnutrition, involving 519 participants from Tokyo.
  • Findings revealed that 17.1% of participants were malnourished and had significant issues in oral health such as decreased maximum occlusal force, meal enjoyment, and various specific oral health problems.
  • Cox regression analysis indicated specific oral health declines and problems (like difficulty in eating and maintaining teeth) were strongly associated with increased malnutrition risk among the elderly.
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Background/aim: Acid-electrolyzed functional water (FW) is an efficient bactericide and gargling with FW might be an effective method of oral care. We investigated the possible use of FW as a mouth wash by an in vitro study.

Materials And Methods: The bactericidal effect of FW against different species of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans) was evaluated using the numbers of colony-forming units (CFU).

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Background: Exercise-induced impairment of blood fluidity is considered to be associated with thrombosis development. However, the effects of L-arginine on blood fluidity after exercise remain unclear.

Objective: We investigated the mechanisms of impaired blood fluidity after high-intensity exercise, and examined whether L-arginine improves exercise-induced blood fluidity impairment in vitro.

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Background/aim: Surgery remains the standard treatment for salivary gland carcinoma (SGC). Our study investigated the association between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) status in recurrent/metastatic SGC and the effectiveness of treatment with cisplatin/carboplatin and 5-fluorouracil plus cetuximab (EXTREME).

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively collected 19 SGCs from patients treated with the EXTREME regimen.

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Article Synopsis
  • - A study evaluated the effectiveness of PD-1 inhibitor therapy in 36 patients with recurrent or metastatic salivary gland carcinoma, revealing an objective response rate of only 11.1%.
  • - Only patients with specific histopathological subtypes, particularly salivary duct carcinoma, showed positive responses, all of whom also had high PD-L1 expression.
  • - The results suggest that while PD-1 therapy has limited overall efficacy for this cancer type, it may benefit certain patients, especially those with positive PD-L1 in salivary duct carcinoma.
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Objective: Concave deformities and gustatory sweating are the most common complications that cause substantial patient dissatisfaction after parotidectomy. Various surgical methods to prevent these complications have been described. However, effective techniques have not been established, especially in patients with medium- to large-sized parotidectomy defects.

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Sensory processing is essential for motor control. Climbing fibers from the inferior olive transmit sensory signals to Purkinje cells, but how the signals are represented in the cerebellar cortex remains elusive. To examine the olivocerebellar organization of the mouse brain, we perform quantitative Ca imaging to measure complex spikes (CSs) evoked by climbing fiber inputs over the entire dorsal surface of the cerebellum simultaneously.

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Excitable cochlear hair cells convert the mechanical energy of sounds into the electrical signals necessary for neurotransmission. The key process is cellular depolarization via K entry from K -enriched endolymph through hair cells' mechanosensitive channels. Positive 80 mV potential in endolymph accelerates the K entry, thereby sensitizing hearing.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Essential tremor, the most common movement disorder, may be linked to issues in the cerebellar system, and research showed that mice without the netrin-G2 molecule displayed tremors similar to this condition, although measuring these tremors was challenging.
  • - A new tremor detection device was created to effectively measure the intensity and frequency of these tremors, allowing for a better characterization of tremors in both the knockout mice and those induced by low doses of harmaline.
  • - Findings revealed that while some medications reduced tremor frequency in netrin-G2 KO mice, they didn't affect the intensity, and stress significantly worsened tremor symptoms, indicating that the mechanisms behind different tremor types may vary and require more thorough analysis.*
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Objectives: To evaluate the effects of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) on the inner ear using the G width (the width between the bimodal peaks of the conductance (G) tympanogram at 2,000 Hz), which reflects the inner ear pressure and/or the existence of endolymphatic hydrops.

Materials And Methods: We selected five patients (10 ears) from the patients with CKD who were hospitalized for creation of arteriovenous fistula prior to initiation of HD (non-HD group), and we selected seven patients (14 ears) from the patients with CKD who were undergoing HD (the HD group). As a control group, we selected 80 healthy individuals (160 ears); these were mainly the medical staff of the hospital.

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Multisensory integration (MSI) is a fundamental emergent property of the mammalian brain. During MSI, perceptual information encoded in patterned activity is processed in multimodal association cortex. The systems-level neuronal dynamics that coordinate MSI, however, are unknown.

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Light-gated ion channels and transporters have been applied to a broad array of excitable cells including neurons, cardiac myocytes, skeletal muscle cells and pancreatic β-cells in an organism to clarify their physiological and pathological roles. Nonetheless, among nonexcitable cells, only glial cells have been studied by this approach. Here, by optogenetic stimulation of a different nonexcitable cell type in the cochlea of the inner ear, we induce and control hearing loss.

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The cochlear lateral wall-an epithelial-like tissue comprising inner and outer layers-maintains +80 mV in endolymph. This endocochlear potential supports hearing and represents the sum of all membrane potentials across apical and basolateral surfaces of both layers. The apical surfaces are governed by K equilibrium potentials.

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Real-time recording of the kinetics of systemically administered drugs in in vivo microenvironments may accelerate the development of effective medical therapies. However, conventional methods require considerable analyte quantities, have low sampling rates and do not address how drug kinetics correlate with target function over time. Here, we describe the development and application of a drug-sensing system consisting of a glass microelectrode and a microsensor composed of boron-doped diamond with a tip of around 40 μm in diameter.

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Objective: This study aimed to verify cutoff values for G width (the width of bimodal peaks for the waveform obtained when measuring conductance at 2000Hz) in Japanese individuals diagnosed with Ménière's disease (MD) using multifrequency tympanometry (MFT) and to determine the relationship between the G width and ability to hear low-pitched sounds using measurements over time.

Methods: The study included 51 patients with clinically diagnosed MD, who had not undergone endolymphatic sac surgery, but had no other known ear disease (57 ears in patients aged 22-80 years were affected, and 45 ears in patients aged 18-83 years were unaffected; mean age: 53.3±16.

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The cochlea of the mammalian inner ear contains an endolymph that exhibits an endocochlear potential (EP) of +80 mV with a [K(+)] of 150 mM. This unusual extracellular solution is maintained by the cochlear lateral wall, a double-layered epithelial-like tissue. Acoustic stimuli allow endolymphatic K(+) to enter sensory hair cells and excite them.

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Eukaryotic cells exhibit negative resting membrane potential (RMP) owing to the high K(+) permeability of the plasma membrane and the asymmetric [K(+)] between the extracellular and intracellular compartments. However, cochlear fibrocytes, which comprise the basolateral surface of a multilayer epithelial-like tissue, exhibit a RMP of +5 to +12 mV in vivo. This positive RMP is critical for the formation of an endocochlear potential (EP) of +80 mV in a K(+)-rich extracellular fluid, endolymph.

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Objective: Eyelid carcinomas are rare, and the management strategy of regional lymph node metastasis linked to eyelid carcinomas has not been standardized to date. The aim of the present study was to analyze the patterns of regional metastasis and to assess the optimal extent of surgical treatment for lymph node metastasis of eyelid carcinoma.

Methods: This study was a retrospective review of patient data from a single institution.

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Stria vascularis of the mammalian cochlea transports K(+) to establish the electrochemical property in the endolymph crucial for hearing. This epithelial tissue also transports various small molecules. To clarify the profile of proteins participating in the transport system in the stria vascularis, membrane components purified from the stria of adult rats were analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

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Unidirectional K(+) transport across the lateral cochlear wall contributes to the endocochlear potential (EP) of +80 mV in the endolymph, a property essential for hearing. The wall comprises two epithelial layers, the syncytium and the marginal cells. The basolateral surface of the former and the apical membranes of the latter face the perilymph and the endolymph, respectively.

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  The endocochlear potential (EP) of +80 mV in the scala media, which is indispensable for audition, is controlled by K+ transport across the lateral cochlear wall. This wall includes two epithelial barriers, the syncytium and the marginal cells. The former contains multiple cell types, such as fibrocytes, which are exposed to perilymph on their basolateral surfaces.

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Introduction: To prevent postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) after total (pharyngo)laryngectomy, simultaneous coverage of pharyngeal anastomosis with vascularised flaps such as pectoralis major muscle, anterolateral thigh or radial forearm, has been reported to be effective. As an alternative to the invasive methods using distant flaps, we used the infrahyoid myofascial flap (IHMFF), which was harvested from the same operation field of (pharyngo)laryngectomy, for covering the site of pharyngeal anastomosis. Herein, we describe the safety and effectiveness of our minimally invasive method for preventing PCF.

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Article Synopsis
  • Neuronal activity affects calcium ion (Ca2+) levels in astrocytes, and researchers created a special mouse model to study the significance of these changes by using an "IP3 sponge" to reduce Ca2+ signaling in astrocytes.
  • The reduced Ca2+ signaling was linked to less coverage of synapses by astrocytes in the hippocampus, leading to increased glutamate “spillover” and enhanced receptor activity in nearby neurons.
  • Behavioral tests indicated that these changes negatively impacted the mice's memory, specifically their spatial reference memory and contextual fear responses.
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