Association between Physical Frailty and Sleep Disturbances among Patients on Hemodialysis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Among patients on hemodialysis (HD), physical frailty and sleep disturbances are not only common but also associated with adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between physical frailty and sleep disturbances in patients on HD.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2017 to March 2021, with outpatients receiving HD 3 times a week at two dialysis facilities in Japan.

Prognostic Utility of Skeletal Muscle Mass Metrics in Patients With Heart Failure.

Background: Sarcopenia is associated with risks of various adverse outcomes, and the assessment of skeletal muscle mass is necessary for its diagnosis. However, heart failure (HF) is a syndrome characterised by fluid retention, which affects muscle mass measurements. Different measurement methods have been reported to have different prognostic implications.

Prevalence of Accommodative Microfluctuations in Eyes after Cataract Surgery.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the existence of accommodative microfluctuations in eyes after cataract surgery.

Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study included 1160 eyes of 713 patients (mean age: 72.5 ± 8.

Trajectory of Abdominal Skeletal Muscle Changes During Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients With Aortic Disease.

Objective: This study focused on routine computed tomography imaging for aortic disease management and evaluated the trajectory of skeletal muscle changes through inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehabilitation.

Design: Prospective observational study included patients who underwent abdominal computed tomography three times (baseline, postacute care, and follow-up). The area and density of the all-abdominal and erector spine muscles and intramuscular adipose tissue were measured.

Increase in and Expression in Synovium of Hip Osteoarthritis Patients Who Are Overweight.

While research suggests that increasing body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for hip osteoarthritis (HOA), the mechanisms of this effect are not fully understood. Tryptases are among the main proteases found in mast cells (MCs) and contribute to OA pathology. , which encodes β-tryptase, is increased in the synovium of overweight and obese knee OA patients.

Predictive value of cholinesterase in patients with heart failure: A new blood biochemical marker of undernutrition.

Background And Aims: This study was conducted to verify whether serum cholinesterase (ChE) is useful in predicting prognosis and discriminating undernutrition status compared to existing low-nutrition indices of blood chemical tests in patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: A total of 1617 patients (1204 older patients) with HF who evaluated ChE during hospitalization were recruited for this study. The primary outcome was all-cause death, and multivariate survival analysis was performed.

Structure-function relationship between magnetic resonance imaging lesion areas and visual field defects in initial optic neuritis with altitudinal hemianopsia.

Purpose: To study the spatial association of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancement (CE) areas with visual field defect (VFD) asymmetry in initial cases of optic neuritis (ON) with altitudinal hemianopsia (AH) with reference to nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) with AH.

Study Design: Multicenter, cross-sectional study.

Methods: The present study comprised 19 ON patients and 20 NAION patients with AH who underwent orbital contrast fat-suppressed MRI.

Efficacy and safety of single-dose ivermectin in mild-to-moderate COVID-19: the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled CORVETTE-01 trial.

Background: To investigate whether ivermectin inhibits SARS-CoV-2 proliferation in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 using time to a negative COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

Methods: CORVETTE-01 was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study (August 2020-October 2021) conducted in Japan. Overall, 248 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 using RT-PCR were assessed for eligibility.

Impact of liver fibrosis on the relative abundance of a urease-positive Streptococcus salivarius group from saliva in patients with chronic liver disease.

Aim: We performed genomic analysis to study the relative abundance of a urease-positive Streptococcus salivarius group isolated from the saliva of patients with chronic liver disease.

Methods: Male and female patients with chronic liver disease aged over 20 years were included. First, we assessed the frequency and type of the S.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Progression of Aortic Valve Stenosis: Bioinformatic Analysis of Signal Pathways and Hub Genes.

The calcification of the aortic valve causes increased leaflet stiffness and leads to the development and progression of stenotic aortic valve disease. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying stenotic calcification remain poorly understood. Herein, we examined the gene expression associated with valve calcification and the progression of calcific aortic valve stenosis.

An agroecological structure model of compost-soil-plant interactions for sustainable organic farming.

Compost is used worldwide as a soil conditioner for crops, but its functions have still been explored. Here, the omics profiles of carrots were investigated, as a root vegetable plant model, in a field amended with compost fermented with thermophilic Bacillaceae for growth and quality indices. Exposure to compost significantly increased the productivity, antioxidant activity, color, and taste of the carrot root and altered the soil bacterial composition with the levels of characteristic metabolites of the leaf, root, and soil.

Symptoms and risk factors of depression and PTSD in the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal survey conducted from 2020 to 2022 in Japan.

Background: The present study aimed to explore changes in depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the general population during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate risk factors and adaptive/nonadaptive strategies.

Methods: A web-based longitudinal survey was conducted across five timepoints from 2020 to 2022 in Japan. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), PTSD was measured using Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IESR), and coping strategies were measured using Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE).

Prognostic value of liver damage assessed through direct bilirubin levels and skeletal muscle weakness in patients with heart failure.

Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) often exhibit signs of liver dysfunction such as high bilirubin concentrations, leading to physical dysfunction and poor prognosis. Nevertheless, the relationship between direct bilirubin (DB), a fractionated form of total bilirubin, and dynapenia remains unclear, as does their effect on prognosis.

Objectives: This study investigated the association between DB concentrations and dynapenia in patients with HF.

Health care providers' perspectives on providing end-of-life psychiatric care in cardiology and oncology hospitals: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

Background: Psychological distress is a major concern for patients with end-stage heart failure (HF). However, psychiatric care for patients with HF is not as organized as that for patients with cancer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate and compare the barriers faced by health care providers of cardiology and oncology hospitals in providing end-of-life psychiatric care to patients with HF and cancer, respectively.

The interaction between physical frailty and prognostic impact of heart failure medication in elderly patients.

Aims: Frailty is highly prevalent and associated with poor prognoses in elderly patients with heart failure (HF). However, the potential effects of physical frailty on the benefits of HF medications in elderly patients with HF are unclear. We aimed to determine the influence of physical frailty on the prognosis of HF medications in elderly patients with HF with reduced and mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFr/mrEF).

Jietacin Derivative Inhibits TNF-α-Mediated Inflammatory Cytokines Production via Suppression of the NF-κB Pathway in Synovial Cells.

Synovial inflammation plays a central role in joint destruction and pain in osteoarthritis (OA). The NF-κB pathway plays an important role in the inflammatory process and is activated in OA. A previous study reported that a jietacin derivative (JD), (Z)-2-(8-oxodec-9-yn-1-yl)-1-vinyldiazene 1-oxide, suppressed the nuclear translocation of NF-κB in a range of cancer cell lines.

Protocols and Features of Goal-Setting-Based Intervention for Frail Older Adults in Community Exercise Facilities.

Appropriate goal setting for frail older adults is important because it drives effective rehabilitation. However, more insights into the types and degrees of frailty and goal-setting trends should be obtained. We conducted a multicenter prospective study to qualitatively examine the relation between each frailty domain (physical, social, and cognitive) and the goals of 201 subjects (median age: 79, 43.

Introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents alters frequencies of anti-GPIIb/IIIa antibody-producing B cells in chronic hepatitis C patients with thrombocytopenia.

The pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) conceivably involves autoimmunity; however, the dynamics of autoantibodies and other autoimmune mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we examined the changes in the frequency of anti-glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antibody-producing B cells and the levels of plasma B-cell-activating factor (BAFF), a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), and interleukin (IL)-21 following treatment of CHC with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA). We recruited 28 patients with CHC who underwent treatment with DAA for 8-12 weeks and subsequently tested negative for serum hepatitis C virus RNA.

Overlapping states of AWGS muscle dysfunction and inverse feasibility of ADL recovery by rehabilitation in older inpatients.

Rehabilitation based on guided walking is effective to recover activity of daily living (ADL) in frail older adults, even octogenarians. However, muscle dysfunction obviously reflects disability, and few studies have focused on ADL recovery by rehabilitation. We employed the state of muscle dysfunctions proposed by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) in 2019 and attempted to clarify the relation between the overlapping dysfunctions and the feasibility of ADL recovery after rehabilitation.

Computational estimation of sediment symbiotic bacterial structures of seagrasses overgrowing downstream of onshore aquaculture.

Coastal seagrass meadows are essential in blue carbon and aquatic ecosystem services. However, this ecosystem has suffered severe eutrophication and destruction due to the expansion of aquaculture. Therefore, methods for the flourishing of seagrass are still being explored.

Study Design of the Japanese Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry (J-CARRY) - Protocol for a Prospective, Multicenter, Open Registry.

Guidelines for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) highly recommend cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on the basis of abundant evidence of its effectiveness. However, the current understanding and dissemination of CR in Japan are far from sufficient. The Japanese Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry (J-CARRY) is an academic society-led prospective multicenter observational registry conducted by the Registration and Facility Accreditation System Committee of the Japanese Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Increased Synovial mRNA Expression and Proportion of CD14 Subsets in Early-Stage Hip Osteoarthritis: Propensity Matched Score Analysis.

The pathophysiology of early-stage hip osteoarthritis (EOA) is not fully understood. Although a previous study in an age-unmatched cohort reported that the number of macrophages was increased in knee EOA compared to late OA (LOA), it remained unclear whether increased macrophages in EOA accurately reflect EOA pathology. We investigated the differences in expression levels between EOA and LOA using age-unmatched and -matched cohorts.