Dairy consumption has a partial inverse association with systolic blood pressure and hypertension in populations with high salt and low dairy diets: cross-sectional data analysis from the Iwaki Health Promotion Project.

The prevalence of hypertension in Japan remains high, owing to the high salt content of the typical Japanese diet. Dairy-based foods may reduce blood pressure and hypertension risk. However, dairy consumption is low in Japan, and the relationships between dairy intake and blood pressure or the mechanisms by which dairy products affect blood pressure are not fully understood.

Differences in health care expenditure due to the comorbidity status of periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus.

Background: To investigate the differences in health care expenditure (HCE) due to the comorbidity status of periodontal disease (PD) and diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods: This cohort study used health care claims and oral health screening data to identify participants with PD or DM and followed them for 1 year to assess their HCE. PD and DM were determined based on PD screening and medical claims data, respectively.

Outcome of basal cell carcinoma excision with 2 mm surgical margin in Japanese patients: A retrospective study of one-step surgery.

Background: Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin malignancy. The standard treatment is surgical excision with predetermined margins. Some argue that the currently recommended surgical margins are excessive, and it is questionable whether such wide surgical margins should be applied to all lesions.

Periodontal Care Is Associated With a Lower Risk of Dialysis Initiation in Middle-Aged Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A 6-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study Based on a Nationwide Healthcare Database.

Objective: To investigate the association between dental attendance with periodontal care and the risk of dialysis initiation in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used data from the Japan Medical Data Center (JMDC) claims database (January 2015 to August 2022). Patients with T2D, aged 40-74, were included.

Physcomitrium LATERAL SUPPRESSOR genes promote formative cell divisions to produce germ cell lineages in both male and female gametangia.

The evolution of green plants from aquatic to terrestrial environments is thought to have been facilitated by the acquisition of gametangia, specialized multicellular organs housing gametes. Antheridia and archegonia, responsible for producing and protecting sperm and egg cells, undergo formative cell divisions to produce a cell to differentiate into germ cell lineages and the other cell to give rise to surrounding structures. However, the genes governing this process remain unidentified.

Imaging Lipidomics and Metallomics of Brown Rice Cultivars Used for Sake Production.

Many previous studies have reported various phospholipids and elements that affect sake production; however, it seems to be challenging to investigate individual types in each rice variety due to their high diversity, not to mention their distribution patterns. Since its introduction, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has gained attention in various fields as a simple compound visualization technique. The current study highlights the progress of powerful MSI in comprehensively analyzing phospholipids and minerals in brown rice for sake production.

Association between NF-E2-related factor 2 polymorphism and age-related hearing loss in the general Japanese population from the Iwaki health promotion project.

Background: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the () gene might be associated with several diseases. In the animal models, NRF2 has been reported to be associated with the age-related hearing loss (ARHL). However, the effect of SNPs on ARHL in the general population has not been reported.

Longitudinal association between posterior occlusal contact and dementia development in a large retrospective cohort study using a Japanese claims database.

This study examines the association between posterior occlusal contact and the risk of dementia development in the Japanese population, utilizing Eichner classification to evaluate occlusal status. Data from Japanese health insurance claims were analyzed for the period from April 2016 to March 2022. Participants had undergone specific health checkups, had no prior history of dementia, and were classified according to their dental occlusal contact.

Transport-of-intensity phase imaging using commercially available confocal microscope.

Significance: Confocal microscopy is an indispensable tool for biologists to observe samples and is useful for fluorescence imaging of living cells with high spatial resolution. Recently, phase information induced by the sample has been attracting attention because of its applicability such as the measurability of physical parameters and wavefront compensation. However, commercially available confocal microscopy has no phase imaging function.

Infrared laser-induced gene expression in single cells characterized by quantitative imaging in Physcomitrium patens.

A spatiotemporal understanding of gene function requires the precise control of gene expression in each cell. Here, we use an infrared laser-evoked gene operator (IR-LEGO) system to induce gene expression at the single-cell level in the moss Physcomitrium patens by heating a living cell with an IR laser and thereby activating the heat shock response. We identify the laser irradiation conditions that provide higher inducibility with lower invasiveness by changing the laser power and irradiation duration.

Association of visceral fat area with early-stage locomotive syndrome across various age groups: a cross-sectional study.

The association between visceral fat area (VFA) and locomotive syndrome (LS) has been extensively studied in the older population; however, the association between VFA and early-stage LS (stage 1 [LS1]) remains unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated this association across different age groups. The study involved 1,236 (524 male and 712 female) participants (aged 20-85 years).

Food group intakes and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein among community-dwelling Japanese adults: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Healthy dietary patterns have been linked to lower levels of chronic inflammation. The present study aimed to investigate the associations between food group intakes and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) among community-dwelling adults.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Public Periodontal Screening Increases Subsequent Regular Dental Visits: The Life Study.

Introduction: A public oral health screening, periodontal disease screening, has been implemented in Japan, but it remains unclear whether screening encourages subsequent regular dental visits. This study aimed to examine whether people who underwent periodontal disease screening were more likely to regularly visit dentists after undergoing the screening than before using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach.

Methods: This study used health care claims data of municipality residents who underwent periodontal disease screening in 2017 or 2018.

Secondhand tobacco exposure assessed using urinary cotinine among 10-year-old children in Japan: An 11-year repeated cross-sectional study.

Introduction: The emergence of heated tobacco products (HTPs) has made it important to monitor HTP-generated aerosols in addition to combustible cigarette (CC) smoke as a source of secondhand tobacco (SHT) exposure. We investigated the trend of SHT exposure in school-aged children and assessed whether SHT exposure depended on household tobacco use status.

Methods: This repeated cross-sectional study from 2011 to 2021 (15,927 participants) was based on data from an annual survey of fourth-grade students (aged 10 years) in Kumagaya City, Japan.

Association between social jetlag and weight and fat reduction in dieting.

Unlabelled: Objectives: Social jetlag (SJL), the discrepancy between an individual's inherent circadian rhythm and external social schedule, is associated with obesity. This study aimed to investigate whether SJL also influences body weight and body fat loss during dieting. Methods: This was an observational study from 2015 to 2018 with participants who had joined an exercise and nutrition program at a private personal training gym.

Cell Proliferation, Chondrogenic Differentiation, and Cartilaginous Tissue Formation in Recombinant Silk Fibroin with Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Binding Peptide.

Regeneration of articular cartilage remains a challenge for patients who have undergone cartilage injury, osteochondritis dissecans and osteoarthritis. Here, we describe a new recombinant silk fibroin with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) binding peptide, which has a genetically introduced sequence PLLQATLGGGS, named P7. In this study, we cultured a human mesenchymal cell line derived from bone marrow, UE6E7-16, in wild-type fibroin sponge (FS) and recombinant silk fibroin sponge with P7 peptide (P7 FS).

Effects of Inappropriate Nurturing Experiences, Depressive Rumination, and Trait Anxiety on Depressive Symptoms.

Background: Prior research has shown that inappropriate childhood nurturing experiences (low care and high overprotection), trait anxiety, and depressive rumination are risk factors for depression. However, no studies to date have analyzed the overall association between these factors and depressive symptoms. In the present study, we hypothesized that depressive rumination mediates the impacts of inappropriate childhood nurturing experiences on depressive symptoms, and that these mediating effects are moderated by trait anxiety, and tested these hypotheses in adult volunteers.

Moderation by better sleep of the association among childhood maltreatment, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms in the adult volunteers: A moderated mediation model.

Background: Previously, we demonstrated that childhood maltreatment could worsen depressive symptoms through neuroticism. On the one hand, some studies report that sleep disturbances are related to childhood maltreatment and neuroticism and worsens depressive symptoms. But, to our knowledge, no reports to date have shown the interrelatedness between childhood maltreatment, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms, and sleep disturbance in the one model.

Effects of childhood experiences of parental attitude, depressive rumination, and sleep disturbances on adulthood depressive symptoms.

Aim: Various factors are thought to be involved in the development of depression, but the mechanisms are not yet clear. Although several reports have demonstrated that parental attitude experienced in childhood, depressive rumination, and sleep disturbances each influence depressive symptoms, and the association between two of these four variables, to our knowledge, no reports to date have investigated the association among the four variables.

Methods: A questionnaire survey was administered to 576 adults who agreed to participate in this study between April 2017 and April 2018.