Significance of a histone-like protein with its native structure for the diagnosis of asymptomatic tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis causes the highest mortality among all single infections. Asymptomatic tuberculosis, afflicting one third of the global human population, is the major source as 5-10% of asymptomatic cases develop active tuberculosis during their lifetime. Thus it is one of important issues to develop diagnostic tools for accurately detecting asymptomatic infection.

Usefulness of Carotid Arterial Strain Values for Evaluating the Arteriosclerosis.

Aim: We investigated the clinical usefulness of carotid arterial strain and the strain rate for evaluating the progression of arteriosclerosis measured using a two-dimensional speckle-tracking method in carotid ultrasonography.

Methods: We enrolled 259 participants (age: 64±12 years; men: 149; women: 110) in this retrospective analysis. The circumferential strain and the strain rate were measured in bilateral common carotid arteries, and the lowest values were used for the analyses.

Factors associated with depressive symptoms in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A prospective cohort study.

Aim: To identify the association between possible factors and depression among post-percutaneous coronary intervention patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: Sixty-eight post-percutaneous coronary intervention patients with acute coronary syndrome were enrolled between January 2016 - June 2017.

Dyspnea and the Varying Pathophysiologic Manifestations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Evaluated by Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing With Arterial Blood Analysis.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) show varying mechanisms of exertional dyspnea with different exercise capacities. To investigate the pathophysiologic conditions related to exertional dyspnea, 294 COPD patients were evaluated using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) with arterial blood analyses, with the patients classified into two groups according to their exercise limitation: the leg fatigue group ( = 58) and the dyspnea group ( = 215). The dyspnea group was further subdivided into four groups based on peak oxygen uptake ( in mL/min/kg): group A (< 11), group B (11 to < 15), group C (15 to < 21), and group D (≥21).

Generation of orthotopically functional salivary gland from embryonic stem cells.

Organoids generated from pluripotent stem cells are used in the development of organ replacement regenerative therapy by recapitulating the process of organogenesis. These processes are strictly regulated by morphogen signalling and transcriptional networks. However, the precise transcription factors involved in the organogenesis of exocrine glands, including salivary glands, remain unknown.

Dihydro-sphingosine 1-phosphate interacts with carrier proteins in a manner distinct from that of sphingosine 1-phosphate.

Dihydro-sphingosine 1-phosphate (DH-S1P) is an analog of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), which is a potent lysophospholipid mediator. DH-S1P has been proposed to exert physiological properties similar to S1P. Although S1P is known to be carried on HDL via apolipoprotein M (apoM), the association between DH-S1P and HDL/apoM has not been fully elucidated.

Japanese orthopaedic association cervical myelopathy evaluation questionnaire (JOACMEQ): Part 5. Determination of responsiveness.

Background: In 1999, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association decided to develop a new Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ). The final version of the JOACMEQ, comprising 24 questions and five domains (cervical spine function (CF); upper extremity function (UF); lower extremity function (LF); bladder function (BF); and quality of life (QOL)), was established after three nationwide investigations. The fourth investigation, reported in this paper, was performed to confirm the responsiveness of the questionnaire.

Anterior cruciate ligament-derived mesenchymal stromal cells have a propensity to differentiate into the ligament lineage.

Introduction: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) consists of various components, such as collagen, elastin fibres, and fibroblasts. Because ACL has a poor regenerative ability, ACL reconstruction need require the use of autologous tendons. In recent years, tissue-resident stem cells have been studied to promote ACL regeneration as an alternatively method.

Quality control guidelines for clinical-grade human induced pluripotent stem cell lines.

Use of clinical-grade human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines as a starting material for the generation of cellular therapeutics requires demonstration of comparability of lines derived from different individuals and in different facilities. This requires agreement on the critical quality attributes of such lines and the assays that should be used. Working from established recommendations and guidance from the International Stem Cell Banking Initiative for human embryonic stem cell banking, and concentrating on those issues more relevant to iPSCs, a series of consensus workshops has made initial recommendations on the minimum dataset required to consider an iPSC line of clinical grade, which are outlined in this report.

Safety and effectiveness of long-term use of darbepoetin alfa in non-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease: a post-marketing surveillance study in Japan.

Background: This post-marketing surveillance (PMS) study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of long-term darbepoetin alfa (darbepoetin) for the treatment of renal anemia in Japanese non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients.

Methods: Patients were treated with darbepoetin and followed up for 3 years. Adverse events (AEs), adverse drug reactions (ADRs), hemoglobin (Hb) levels, and renal function were assessed.

Development of the End-of-Life Care Nursing Attitude Scale for Japanese Geriatrics.

This study aimed to develop an end-of-life (EOL) care nursing attitude scale for Japanese geriatric nurses (ELNAS-JG). The items of the ELNAS-JG were developed to cover important topics related to EOL care (eg, motivation for providing EOL care, pain and symptom management, and decision-making support care for older adults). Participants were 1663 nurses employed in 32 institutions across Japan.

Reliability and validity of the practice environment scale of the nursing work index for Japanese hospital nurses.

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) for hospital nurses in Japan.

Design: A cross-sectional mail survey.

Methods: Participants in this study were 1,219 full-time ward nurses from 27 hospitals in Japan, using 31 items of the Japanese version of the PES-NWI questionnaire, from December 2008-March 2009.

Association Between Advanced Care Management and Progression of Care Needs Level in Long-Term Care Recipients: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Long-term care insurance systems in Japan started a special senior care program overseen by qualified care managers (also known as advanced care managers). However, the relationship between advanced care management and outcomes in long-term care recipients remains unknown.

Objective: We aimed to compare the outcome of long-term care recipients using facilities with advanced care management and conventional care management, in terms of care needs level progression.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics and occurrence of infection in Japan.

Purpose: is a pathogen that causes pneumonia and urinary tract infection. Hypervirulent strains often show hypermucoviscosity, are of the K1 or K2 serotype, and harbor the and genes. However, the differences in the prevalence of with these hypervirulent characteristics between the infection and colonization status are not well understood.

Public awareness and experiences associated with epilepsy in Japan, 2013-2017.

Background: Public attitudes and stigma toward epilepsy may limit people with epilepsy (PWE) in seeking treatment and participating in social activities. The prevalence of epilepsy is approximately 0.8% in Japan, similar to rates reported in other countries.

P-Selectin Glycoprotein Ligand-1 (PSGL-1) Expressing CD4 T Cells Contribute Plaque Instability in Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Background: Adhesion molecules have essential roles in the development of atherosclerosis. We investigated whether P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1)-expressing CD4 T cells contribute to plaque instability in acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods and results: We studied the adhesion molecules on CD4 T cells from consecutive patients with ACS treated with thrombus-aspirating device and compared them with healthy controls (n=48 each).

Vowel-speech versus pure-tone processing in healthy subjects.

To investigate the characteristics of speech perception, we evaluated the differences in mismatch negativity (MMN) between vowel change and frequency change. Additionally, we examined the effects of gender, age, and educational length on MMN. Forty healthy adults (21 females), who were native Japanese speakers, participated in the study.

RelA/DTD-mediated regulation of spore formation and toxin production by Clostridium perfringens type A strain SM101.

RelA is a global regulator for stationary phase development in the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The relA gene forms a bicistronic operon with the downstream dtd gene. In this study, we evaluated the significance of RelA and DTD proteins in spore formation and toxin production by an important gastrointestinal pathogen Clostridium perfringens.

β4 and β6 Integrin Expression Is Associated with the Subclassification and Clinicopathological Features of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a heterogeneous group of cancers of the intrahepatic biliary tract. However, few studies have evaluated integrin expression according to an ICC subgroup. We immunohistochemically investigated α6β4 (β4) and αvβ6 (β6) integrin expressions in 48 ICCs, and evaluated their relationship with clinical and pathological parameters and ligand expression, as well as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1.

Chymase released from hypoxia-activated cardiac mast cells cleaves human apoA-I at Tyr and compromises its cardioprotective activity.

ApoA-I, the main structural and functional protein of HDL particles, is cardioprotective, but also highly sensitive to proteolytic cleavage. Here, we investigated the effect of cardiac mast cell activation and ensuing chymase secretion on apoA-I degradation using isolated rat hearts in the Langendorff perfusion system. Cardiac mast cells were activated by injection of compound 48/80 into the coronary circulation or by low-flow myocardial ischemia, after which lipid-free apoA-I was injected and collected in the coronary effluent for cleavage analysis.

Measurement of plasma choline in acute coronary syndrome: importance of suitable sampling conditions for this assay.

Blood choline has been proposed as a predictor of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), however different testing procedures might affect the choline concentration because the lysophospholipase D activity of autotaxin (ATX) can convert lysophosphatidylcholine to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and choline in human blood. Although the influences of ATX on LPA levels are well known in vivo and in vitro, those on choline have not been elucidated. Therefore, we established suitable sampling conditions and evaluated the usefulness of plasma choline concentrations as a biomarker for ACS.

Validation and application of a novel cholesterol efflux assay using immobilized liposomes as a substitute for cultured cells.

Estimation of the function as well as the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is required to predict the risk of cardiovascular disease development. Cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) is the key metric for determining the antiatherosclerotic function of HDL. However, the assay methods currently used to calculate CEC are not ideal for clinical use as they require the culture of cells.

The inhibitory effects of essential oil constituents against germination, outgrowth and vegetative growth of spores of Clostridium perfringens type A in laboratory medium and chicken meat.

C. perfringens type A is the causative agent of C. perfringens type A food poisoning (FP) and non-food-borne (NFB) human gastrointestinal diseases.

Identification of novel hyper- or hypomethylated CpG sites and genes associated with atherosclerotic plaque using an epigenome-wide association study.

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Although previous studies have identified various CpG sites and genes whose methylation is associated with atherosclerosis in populations with European or Mexican ancestry, the genome‑wide pattern of DNA methylation in the atherosclerotic human aorta is yet to be elucidated in Japanese individuals. In the present study, a genome‑wide analysis of DNA methylation at ~853,000 CpG sites was performed using 128 postmortem aortic intima specimens obtained from 64 Japanese patients.

The development and validation of the Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire: Japanese version.

Aim: To develop and test the validity and reliability of a Japanese version of the Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire.

Methods: The Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire was translated into Japanese, and a back-translation was performed. In March 2016, the survey was conducted among 843 nurses in 2 university hospitals in Japan.