Frailty and Clinical Outcomes of Older Patients Admitted to an Emergency Department in Japan.

Introduction Medical advances and improved living standards have increased life expectancy, and the percentage of older adults is growing rapidly. The proportion of older adults visiting the emergency department (ED) is also increasing. Frailty is recognized as a significant risk factor for adverse outcomes.

Convenient screening of the reproductive toxicity of favipiravir and antiviral drugs in .

Reproductive toxicity is one of the major concerns in drug development. Thus, we have developed its screening system using which has a life cycle of three days and similar coding genes as humans. Antiviral nucleoside analogs used for acute infections are known to cause reproductive toxicity, contraindicated for pregnant women, and are used for comparing their reproductive toxicity in and experimental animals.

The Ile35 Residue of the ALS-Associated Mutant SOD1 Plays a Crucial Role in the Intracellular Aggregation of the Molecule.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease with an unknown pathogenesis. It has been reported that mutations in the gene for Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1) cause familial ALS. Mutant SOD1 undergoes aggregation and forms amyloid more easily, and SOD1-immunopositive inclusions have been observed in the spinal cords of ALS patients.

HNF4α is required for Tkfc promoter activation by ChREBP.

Triokinase/FMN cyclase (Tkfc) is involved in fructose metabolism and is responsible for the phosphorylation of glyceraldehyde to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate. In this study, we showed that refeeding induced hepatic expression of Tkfc in mice. Luciferase reporter gene assays using the Tkfc promoter revealed the existence of 2 hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α)-responsive elements (HNF4RE1 and HNF4RE2) and 1 carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein (ChREBP)-responsive element (ChoRE1).

Validity and Reproducibility of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Dietary Assessment in Japanese People.

A 76-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed to investigate nutritional epidemiology in urban residents in Japan. The authors prepared two food models-a life-size three-dimensional model and a life-size two-dimensional photograph-to assess the FFQ portion size. The validity of the FFQ was verified using the two food models by comparing them with 16-d weighted dietary records (WDRs).

Experimental Evidence of the Diarrheal Activity of sp. in Sika Deer ().

Recently, the wild deer population has been increasing in Japan, causing serious feeding-related damage to the agricultural and forestry industries. In conjunction with the government's promotion of hunting for population control, the effective utilization of resources and promotion of the game meat industry as a sixth sector of industrialization are desired by local governments. However, several cases in which patients showed intestinal symptoms such as diarrhea due to the consumption of sika deer meat infected with protozoan spp.

Successful echocardiography-guided medical management of severe early post-implant right ventricular failure in a patient with left ventricular assist device support: a case report.

Background: Post-implant right heart failure (RHF) has been recognized as a crucial prognostic factor in patients receiving left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), and its management has long attracted attention from cardiologists and surgeons.

Case Presentation: This report described an 18-year-old female with acutely deteriorating heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy who underwent paracorporeal pulsatile-flow LVAD and developed early post-implant RHF. At postoperative day (POD) six, she was almost asymptomatic at rest on 2.

Impact of Different Therapeutic Strategies With Left Ventricular Assist Devices on Health-Related Quality of Life During Prolonged Device-Based Support.

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation improves survival and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with heart failure. However, the impact of LVADs or different LVAD-based therapeutic strategies on long-term HRQoL has not been investigated. We evaluated the long-term HRQoL of Japanese patients who were treated with different LVAD-based therapeutic strategies.

Novel Scoring System to Risk Stratify Patients Receiving Durable Left Ventricular Assist Device From J-MACS Registry Data.

Background: Recently, destination therapy (DT) was approved in Japan, and patients ineligible for heart transplantation may now receive durable left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Several conventional risk scores are available, but a risk score that is best to select optimal candidates for DT in the Japanese population remains unestablished.

Methods and results: A total of 1,287 patients who underwent durable LVAD implantation and were listed for the Japanese registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (J-MACS) were eligible for inclusion.

Specific Binding and Endocytosis of Liposomes to HEK293T Cells via Myrisoylated Pre-S1 Peptide Bound to Sodium Taurocholate Cotransporting Polypeptide.

(1) Background: Sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) functions as a key receptor for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Analyzing HBV and NTCP interaction is an important issue not only for basic research but also for the development of anti-HBV therapeutics. We developed here a novel model system to analyze the interaction of NTCP with liposomes instead of HBV.

The Relationship Between Epidemiological Factors and the Parasite Load of in Yezo-Deer () in Hokkaido, Japan.

Several cases of gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting due to the consumption of -infected venison have been reported in Japan. However, the control of case incidence is difficult, as epidemiological information concerning in venison in Japan is insufficient. We examined the prevalence and parasite load of in 89 samples of Yezo-deer () venison in Hokkaido by quantifying the copy numbers of the 18S rRNA gene of , followed by a statistical analysis that considered the sampling area, age, and sex to clarify the parameters related to the parasite load.

Quality improvement of gluten-free rice flour bread through the addition of high-temperature water during processing.

Recently, there has been an increase in the demand for gluten-free bread due to health reasons. One of the flours used to produce gluten-free bread is rice flour; flour characteristics are very important for breadmaking. Although a study has shown that the addition of high-temperature water can improve the quality of rice flour bread, studies are yet to consider different rice properties.

Mite allergen avoidance decreases allergic symptoms in children in Ishinomaki city of Japan after natural disasters.

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in children, evaluated the mite allergen levels in their bedding after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and assessed changes in allergic symptoms in children and their families after allergen avoidance practices.

Methods: We performed a survey for the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) comprising 1109 children, aged 7-8 years, living in Ishinomaki, Japan. We collected responses from 464 children, and in 2016, measured the level of group 1 ( 1) in the bedding of 202 of these children.

Effect of the addition of high-temperature water on the properties of batter and bread made from gluten-free rice flour.

Increasing number of individuals worldwide are consuming gluten-free products, for example, bread, for health and other reasons. However, gluten-free products are currently expensive and/or their preparation involves the use of specialist machinery or food additives. In this study, we focused on the thickening effect of starch gelatinization and attempted to develop a novel method for gluten-free rice flour bread production without the use of additives.

Fosphenytoin Alleviates Herpes Simplex Virus Infection-Induced Provoked and Spontaneous Pain-Like Behaviors in Mice.

In this study, we investigated the effects of fosphenytoin (fPHT), a water-soluble prodrug of phenytoin, on the pain responses of a mouse herpes zoster (HZ) pain model. Transdermal herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) inoculation induced mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia of the hind paw and spontaneous pain-like behaviors, such as licking the affected skin. Intravenous injection of fPHT (15 and 30 mg/kg) alleviated HSV-1-induced provoked pain (allodynia and hyperalgesia).

Effect of universal varicella vaccination and behavioral changes against coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the incidence of herpes zoster.

Background: Since 2014, universal varicella vaccination has reduced the varicella and herpes zoster (HZ) incidence in vaccine recipients and increased the incidence in the child-rearing generation until 2017.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the future epidemiologic trends of HZ after the disappearance of varicella epidemics and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: The Miyazaki Dermatologist Society has been monitoring and analyzing the incidence of HZ patients after universal vaccination since 1997.

Structure-based prediction of the IgE epitopes of the major dog allergen Can f 1.

Allergy to dogs has become increasingly prominent worldwide. Seven dog allergens have been identified, including Canis familiaris allergen 1-7 (Can f 1-7). Although Can f 1 is a major dog allergen sensitized to 50-75% of dog-allergic subjects, its IgE epitopes have not been identified.

Amenamevir, a Helicase-Primase Inhibitor, for the Optimal Treatment of Herpes Zoster.

Acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir are used for the treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infections. Helicase-primase inhibitors (HPIs) inhibit replication fork progression that separates double DNA strands into two single strands during DNA synthesis. The HPIs amenamevir and pritelivir have novel mechanisms of anti-herpetic action, and their once-daily administration has clinical efficacy for genital herpes.