Aberrant Expression Levels of Androgen Receptor and SRD5A2 in Epididymal Epithelial Cells of Crossbred Infertile Cattle-Yak.

Although yaks and cattle belong to the same subfamily and have the same number of chromosomes, hybrid males are sterile because of the inactivation or abnormality of gene expression related to the production of healthy normal sperm. Recently, the analysis of gene expression not only in the testis but also in the epididymis has offered hints about the mechanism of infertility, because the epididymis supports the maturation of sperm in acquiring the capacity of fertilisation. Sperm maturation processes have been thought to be androgen-dependent, and the androgen receptor (AR) can be activated by dihydrotestosterone converted from plasma testosterone by the 5α-reductase isoform 2 (SRD5A2) in epididymal cells.

Suppressive Effects of Kouboku on Methyl Mercaptan Production and Biofilm Formation in Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Porphyromonas gingivalis, the bacterium responsible for periodontitis, produces several pathogenic factors, including methyl mercaptan, which contribute to the disease. Kouboku (Magnoliaceae), a Chinese herbal medicine, has been shown to suppress methyl mercaptan production from P. gingivalis.

Association between Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Events in a Japanese Population with and without Obesity: The Shizuoka Kokuho Database Study.

Aim: The accumulation of metabolic risk factors, namely high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia, has been associated with cardiovascular diseases. However, little evidence is available on the prognostic significance of metabolic risk factor accumulation in nonobese individuals. This study investigated this issue by analyzing prefecture-wide health checkup and health insurance data in Japan.

Factors Associated With Inadequate Gestational Weight Gain: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

Inadequate gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with birth weight and premature birth and is a primary problem in Asia, particularly in Japan. This study aimed to identify the risk factors associated with inadequate GWG, focusing on women's target GWG and advised GWG by healthcare professionals. A questionnaire for women in their second trimester inquired about their target GWG and advice regarding GWG by healthcare professionals.

Prognostic significance of the Questionnaire for Medical Checkup of Old-Old for the incidence of functional disability: The Shizuoka Kokuho Database study.

Aim: In the Japanese health checkup system for older adults aged ≥75 years, the Questionnaire for Medical Checkup of Old-Old (QMCOO) was adopted after 2020. However, the prognostic significance of this questionnaire for the incidence of functional disability is uncertain. The current study aimed to validate the prognostic significance of the QMCOO, and to develop a simple risk score for functional disability by analyzing health insurance claims data including annual health checkup data.

Impact of premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder on maternal antenatal depression.

In this study, we aimed to determine the association of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) with maternal antenatal depression. This cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based observational study included 212 pregnant women between gestational ages 24 weeks and 28 weeks 6 days. PMS and PMDD were measured using the PMDD Scale, and maternal antenatal depression was evaluated using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

The Apparent Lack of the Risk of Intussusception Immediately After Rotavirus Vaccination Among Japanese Infants.

Rotavirus vaccines carry a small risk of intussusception mainly 1-7 days after vaccination in the United States of America, Europe, Australia, and Latin America where the background rate of intussusception is relatively low. Such risks are undetectable in Africa and India where the background rate is the lowest. Because few studies were carried out in high-background-rate countries such as Japan, we examined how intussusception occurred in infants living in Akita prefecture, Japan, while the vaccines were sold in the private market.

Antimicrobial Combinations as Novel Indicators for Clostridioides difficile infection development: Population-Based, Nested Case-Controlled Study in Japan-The Shizuoka Kokuho Database Study.

Background: Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of antimicrobial-associated colitis. While antimicrobial stewardship has reduced the incidence of C. difficile infection (CDI), managing CDI is challenging because knowledge about preventing it is limited among healthcare professionals.

KEGG: biological systems database as a model of the real world.

KEGG (https://www.kegg.jp/) is a database resource for representation and analysis of biological systems.

Performance Evaluation of Commonly Used Portable Hemoglobin Sensors in Comparison to Clinical Test Results.

Telehealth systems in underserved countries leverage various low-cost portable medical sensors to transmit patients' vital information to remote doctors, facilitating timely diagnoses and interventions. However, the potential risks associated with inaccurate data pose considerable threats to the health of individuals. This study focuses on identifying high-quality portable hemoglobin sensors, employing the Japanese clinical pathology laboratory as a gold standard.

Heat Shock Related Protein Expression in Abdominal Testes of Asian Elephant ().

The abdominal testes of Asian elephants show normal spermatogenesis. Heat shock in cryptorchid testes elevates heat shock factor (HSF) expression, leading to germ cell apoptosis, while increased heat shock proteins (HSPs) levels provide protection. To investigate how heat shock affects elephant spermatogenic cells, focusing on heat shock-related molecules and the cell death mechanism, immunohistochemistry and TUNEL staining were employed to assess the immunoexpression of several heat shock-related molecules and the status of apoptosis in elephant fibroblasts (EF) induced by heat shock stimulus.

Comparison between the sodium chloride content and labeled salt value of industrially prepared Japanese single dishes.

Salt intake reduction is a global concern. In particular, Japanese consume higher amounts of salt than those of other ethnicities. The sodium content is mentioned on the label of industrially prepared dishes with an intention of reducing salt intake.

Effect of an Internet-based mental health promotion intervention among immigrant Chinese women: A quasi-experimental study.

Background: Owing to a lack of social support, child-rearing Chinese women in Japan experience mental health disorders, such as depression and parenting stress. Effective interventions to improve the mental health of these women are lacking. This study aimed to develop an Internet-based mental health promotion intervention for this subsection of the population and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

Association Between Gestational Weeks, Initial Maternal Perception of Fetal Movement, and Individual Interoceptive Differences in Pregnant Women: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Interoception encompasses the conscious awareness of homeostasis in the body. Given that fetal movement awareness is a component of interoception in pregnant women, the timing of initial detection of fetal movement may indicate individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity.

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine whether the association between the gestational week of initial movement awareness and interoception can be a convenient evaluation index for interoception in pregnant women.

Metabolically healthy obesity and risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, a matched cohort study: the Shizuoka study.

Background: Metabolically healthy obesity is not always a benign condition. It is associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. We investigated the prognostic significance of metabolically healthy obesity by comparing clinical profile-matched metabolically healthy obesity and non-obesity groups.

Additive association of blood pressure and short stature with stroke incidence in 450,000 Japanese adults: the Shizuoka study.

Short stature was suggested to be a risk factor for cardiovascular events. Because short stature increases central blood pressure, this study aimed to investigate a longitudinal association between short stature, blood pressure, and incidence of cardiovascular disease by the analysis of insurance-based real-world dataset. We analyzed data from 463,844 adults aged 40 or older with a mean age of 66.

[Optimal search conditions for identification of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia from Japanese National Health Insurance data].

This study investigated which conditions could be used to identify patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) from a National Health Insurance claims dataset. During April 2012 and September 2018, 1,789,462 employees were enrolled in the dataset for Shizuoka Prefecture residents. The number of patients with the ICD-10 code for CML was 761.

Association of Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acid Intake with Low Birth Weight in the Second Trimester: The Japan Pregnancy Eating and Activity Cohort Study.

This study examined the association of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake during the second trimester with low birth weight (LBW) in pregnant Japanese women and was conducted in conjunction with the Japan Pregnancy Eating and Activity Cohort (J-PEACH) study. The study included 504 pregnant women from four Japanese sites. During the second trimester (14-27 weeks), the participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire assessing the frequency of DHA and EPA supplement intake in the past month, as well as a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ).

Longitudinal analysis of long-term outcomes of colorectal cancer after laparotomy and laparoscopic surgery: The Shizuoka study.

Background: Long-term cancer prognosis after initial surgical procedures is an unlikely endpoint for clinical trials. Medical claim databases may aid in addressing this issue regardless of limited information on disease and patient background. However, the long-term prognosis (especially regarding long-term care needs) following surgical procedures remains unclear.