Relationship between oral hypofunction and medical expenditure in older adults in Japan.

This study aimed to analyze the impact of poor oral function on medical expenditures among older adults. We diagnosed oral hypofunction based on dental data obtained from oral health examinations and examined its association with several annual medical expenditures. Compared to individuals without oral hypofunction, those with oral hypofunction incurred higher total, outpatient medical, inpatient medical, dental, dispensing medical, and lifestyle-related medical expenditures.

Titin fragment is a sensitive biomarker in Duchenne muscular dystrophy model mice carrying full-length human dystrophin gene on human artificial chromosome.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive disorder caused by mutations of the dystrophin gene, which spans 2.4 Mb on the X chromosome. Creatine kinase (CK) activity in blood and titin fragment levels in urine have been identified as biomarkers in DMD to monitor disease progression and evaluate therapeutic intervention.

Foot trajectory as a key factor for diverse gait patterns in quadruped robot locomotion.

Four-legged robots are becoming increasingly pivotal in navigating challenging environments, such as construction sites and disaster zones. While substantial progress in robotic mobility has been achieved using reinforcement learning techniques, quadruped animals exhibit superior agility by employing fundamentally different strategies. Bio-inspired controllers have been developed to replicate and understand biological locomotion strategies.

Physics-informed deep learning quantifies propagated uncertainty in seismic structure and hypocenter determination.

Subsurface seismic velocity structure is essential for earthquake source studies, including hypocenter determination. Conventional hypocenter determination methods ignore the inherent uncertainty in seismic velocity structure models, and the impact of this oversight has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we address this issue by employing a physics-informed deep learning (PIDL) approach that quantifies uncertainty in two-dimensional seismic velocity structure modeling and its propagation to hypocenter determination by introducing neural network ensembles trained on active seismic survey data, earthquake observation data, and the physical equation of wavefront movement.

Maternal asthma imprints fetal lung ILC2s via glucocorticoid signaling leading to worsened allergic airway inflammation in murine adult offspring.

The root of asthma can be linked to early life, with prenatal environments influencing risk. We investigate the effects of maternal asthma on the offspring's lungs during fetal and adult life. Adult offspring of asthmatic mothers show an increase in lung group 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) number and function with allergen-induced lung inflammation.

Nonlinear exposure-response associations of daytime, nighttime, and day-night compound heatwaves with mortality amid climate change.

Heatwaves are commonly simplified as binary variables in epidemiological studies, limiting the understanding of heatwave-mortality associations. Here we conduct a multi-country study across 28 East Asian cities that employed the Cumulative Excess Heatwave Index (CEHWI), which represents excess heat accumulation during heatwaves, to explore the potentially nonlinear associations of daytime-only, nighttime-only, and day-night compound heatwaves with mortality from 1981 to 2010. Populations exhibited high adaptability to daytime-only and nighttime-only heatwaves, with non-accidental mortality risks increasing only at higher CEHWI levels (75th-90th percentiles).

Neutrophil adhesion to vessel walls impairs pulmonary circulation in COVID-19 pathology.

Microthrombus formation is associated with COVID-19 severity; however, the detailed mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated mouse models with severe pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection by using our in vivo two-photon imaging system. In the lungs of SARS-CoV-2-infected mice, increased expression of adhesion molecules in intravascular neutrophils prolonged adhesion time to the vessel wall, resulting in platelet aggregation and impaired lung perfusion.

A Descriptive Comparative Analysis of Safety Concerns Outlaid in the Risk Management Plans of the European Union and Japan.

Purpose: This study aimed to obtain a better understanding of the characteristics of the risk management plans (RMP) and the background regulatory policies governing them, in the European Union (EU) and Japan. This was done by descriptively comparing the safety concerns (SCs) listed in the RMP and examining their relationships with product labeling.

Methods: Information regarding SCs was collected from the published RMP of both the EU and Japan for the targeted products-all of which were commonly approved in both regions.

[Mycology, chemical components, bioactivities, and fermentation process regulation of Sanghuang: a review].

Sanghuang, a famous ethnomedicine widely used in China, Japan, Korea and other countries for a long history, is produced from the dried fruiting bodies of the medical fungi belonging to Sanghuangporus. With abundant bioactive natural chemicals including polysaccharides, flavonoids, triterpenoids, and polyphenols, Sanghuang exhibits anticancer, antioxidant, blood glucose-and lipid-lowering, liver protecting, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and gout symptom-relieving effects, thus demonstrating broad application and development prospects in the pharmaceutical and food fields. However, the sustainable development of Sanghuang resources is limited by the scarce stock of wild resources, the diverse original fungi of cultivated Sanghuang, the inconsistency of local standards of Sanghuang materials or products, and the lagging application of Sanghuangporus mycelia.

Functional expression mechanisms of food-derived components based on target proteins.

Food-derived polyphenols and some alkaloids have reported bioactivities related the prevention of systemic metabolic disorders such as obesity, glucose intolerance, and dyslipidemia. For food-derived components to exert their functions in vivo, it is essential the interaction with biological factors such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. However, it is still unclear whether bioactive components in foods express functions related to their target factors.

Robust detection of pathogenic variants that cause primary ciliary dyskinesia using RNA-seq of nasal mucosa.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD, OMIM 244400) is a rare genetic disorder that affects motile cilia and is characterised by impaired mucociliary clearance of the airway epithelium, which results in chronic upper and lower airway infections. While short-read next-generation sequencing technology has been used for the genetic testing of PCD, its effectiveness is limited in identifying variants in the gene because of the nearly identical pseudogene As we confirmed that the gene was not expressed in airway cells, we obtained nasal mucosa biopsy specimens for total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) with library enrichment using exome oligos. Among the 34 nasal samples from patients suspected of having PCD, three aberrant splicing patterns in were identified in two samples.

The impact of clinical phenotypes of coronary artery disease on outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation: A post-hoc analysis of GLORIA-AF registry.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) often coexist, but the impact of clinical phenotypes of CAD on outcomes in AF patients in the non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant drugs (NOACs) era is less well understood.

Methods: This was a post-hoc of the GLORIA-AF registry, a global, multicenter, prospective AF registry study. Patients were divided into three groups: prior history of myocardial infarction (MI)/unstable angina group (Group 1); stable angina group (Group 2); and a control group without stable angina or history of MI/unstable angina.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Diabetic Complications and Advances in Management Strategies.

Diabetes mellitus, particularly type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is a pervasive chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide. It predisposes individuals to a range of severe microvascular and macrovascular complications, which drastically impact the patient's quality of life and increase mortality rates owing to various comorbidities. This extensive review explores the intricate pathophysiology underlying diabetic complications, focusing on key mechanisms, such as atherosclerosis, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction.

Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Intracerebroventricular Administration of Maresin-1 on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Depression-Like Behaviors in Mice.

Enhanced inflammatory and immune responses have been observed in patients with major depressive disorder, pointing to anti-inflammatory substances as potential seeds for developing novel antidepressants. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolites, such as resolvin D and E series, maresins, and protectins (collectively known as specialized pro-resolving mediators) demonstrate anti-inflammatory effects. This study examined the antidepressant-like effects of maresin-1 (MaR1) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like behaviors in mice.

Expert consensus on sequential surgery after immune-targeted conversion therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in China.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a significant global health burden, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, where it is a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. In China alone, HCC accounts for approximately 367,700 new cases and 316,500 deaths annually; over 50% of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, limiting curative treatment options and resulting in poor survival outcomes. Systemic therapies combining immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with antiangiogenic targeted drugs have shown promise in converting unresectable HCC into resectable cases, potentially transforming clinical outcomes.

Comparing the effectiveness of four antihistamines with olopatadine in healthy Thoroughbred horses.

We compared the antihistamine effect of four new antihistamines with olopatadine, which is used to treat equine allergic diseases. Six healthy Thoroughbred horses received oral doses of olopatadine (50 mg), levocetirizine (50 mg), bilastine (200 mg), rupatadine (100 mg), and desloratadine (50 mg) at >2-week intervals. The effects were investigated by measurement of the wheal area induced by histamine intradermal injection, and inhibition rate was compared with positive and negative controls.

[Comparison of sickness absences across industries: A cross-sectional study using the JILPT Data Archive].

Objectives: Assessing the risk of employee health problems according to firm characteristics (e.g., industry) can be used by companies to identify groups of workers with health problems and develop health-related policies.

Comprehensive assessment of the impact of blood pressure, body mass index, smoking, and diabetes on healthy life expectancy in Japan: NIPPON DATA90.

Background: Healthy life expectancy (HLE) is a population health indicator that is widely used in developed countries, but little is known about its relationships with combinations of non-communicable disease risk factors. This study was conducted to examine HLE at age 65 according to combinations of blood pressure levels, body mass index, smoking status, and diabetes mellitus (DM) in a Japanese population.

Methods: In a nationwide cohort study (NIPPON DATA90), data on these risk factors were obtained from participants in 1990 through physical examinations, blood tests, interviews, and questionnaires.

Characteristics and outcomes of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest among students under school supervision in Japan: a descriptive epidemiological study (2008-2021).

Background: A comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurring under school supervision is lacking. We aimed to comprehensively describe the characteristics and outcomes of OHCA among students in elementary schools, junior high schools, high schools, and technical colleges in Japan.

Methods: OHCA data from 2008-2021 were obtained from the SPIRITS study, which provides a nationwide database of OHCAs occurring under school supervision across Japan.

Comparison of Oncology Drug Lag in Japan and South Korea Based on the Interval between the U.S. Approval and the Local Approval.

Drug lag is a serious issue for patients with life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Japan and Korea have been facing a large drug lag, despite having a large market and a good clinical trial environment. We analyzed drug lags for anticancer drugs between these countries, using the information on 82 anticancer drugs approved in the United States between 2017 and 2022.

Chemical biology research in RIKEN NPDepo aimed at agricultural applications.

This review outlines research on chemical biology using mainly microbial metabolites for agricultural applications. We established the RIKEN Natural Products Depository (NPDepo), housing many microbial metabolites, to support academic researchers who focus on drug discovery. We studied methods to stimulate secondary metabolism in microorganisms to collect various microbial products.