Self-measurement of blood pressure at home using a cuff device for change in blood pressure levels: systematic review and meta-analysis.

The effect of self-measurement of blood pressure (BP) at home (home BP measurement, HBPM) has been evaluated over the past decade. This meta-analysis included the latest studies to determine whether HBPM reduced BP (PROSPERO ID: CRD42023442225). PubMed, Cochrane Library Database, and IchuShi-Web were searched for randomized controlled trials after the year 2000 which demonstrated the effect of HBPM on BP change compared with usual care (UC).

Impact of in-hospital cardiac rehabilitation on hospital-associated disability after transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: Hospital-associated disability (HAD), a decline in the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) during hospitalization, is a modifiable target in integrated care for older adults. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of inpatient cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on the development of HAD in older patients with aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Methods: Older patients undergoing TAVI were extracted from the Japanese nationwide database (JROAD-DPC) from April 2014 to March 2021 and were divided into patients receiving inpatient CR (CR group) and a non-CR group.

Shallow corals acclimate to mesophotic depths while maintaining their heat tolerance against ongoing climate change.

Global warming poses a significant threat to coral reefs. It has been assumed that mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs, 30 to 150 m depths) may serve as refugia from ocean warming. This study examined the acclimation capacity and thermal tolerance of two shallow coral species, Porites cylindrica and Turbinaria reniformis, transplanted to mesophotic depths (40 m) for 12 months.

Clinical Characteristics of Steatotic Liver Disease Categories in a Large Cohort of Japanese Health Checkup Participants.

Background And Aims: The clinical characteristics and risk factors involved in the development of liver fibrosis in the subtypes of steatotic liver disease (SLD) remain unknown. We examined the clinical characteristics of SLD subtypes using a large Japanese cohort.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis (total n = 108,446).

Validation of British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines for acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding from 8,956 cases in Japan.

Background And Aims: We sought to validate the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) guidelines for acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (ALGIB).

Methods: We analyzed 8,956 patients with ALGIB in CODE BLUE-J study and categorized them into four groups based on BSG guidelines. Outcomes included 30-day rebleeding, 30-day mortality, blood transfusion, therapeutic intervention, and severe bleeding.

Association between improved dysphagia and increased trunk muscle mass in older patients with stroke undergoing convalescent rehabilitation.

Objective: The association between dysphagia and activities of daily living in patients with stroke has been reported, but the effect of improved dysphagia on the increase in trunk muscle mass is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between improved dysphagia and increased trunk muscle mass in older patients with stroke.

Research Methods & Procedures: This retrospective, case-control study enrolled patients with stroke aged ≥65 years.

Tritium concentration in monthly precipitation in Okinawa and Kagoshima, southern Japan.

This study aimed at understanding the background concentration level of tritium in precipitation in southern Japan, where precipitation samples were collected monthly in 2022 in Okinawa and Kagoshima. Tritium concentration in monthly precipitation collected in Okinawa since 2014 ranged from 0.05 to 0.

Surgical simulation of curved periacetabular osteotomy in four types of developmental dysplasia of the hip using finite element analysis and identification of the optimal rotation angle of the osteotomized bone.

Background: Patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) undergo curved periacetabular osteotomy (CPO) to prevent progressive osteoarthritis. The acetabulum's morphology varies with in each DDH type. Therefore, developing a three-dimensional preoperative plan is important in CPO.

Bright middle cerebellar peduncle sign in multiple system atrophy with predominant cerebellar ataxia is more apparent in double-inversion recovery imaging than in conventional imaging.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder that presents as parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, and autonomic dysfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of MSA are reported to be the atrophy of the putamen/pons/cerebellum, hot cross bun sign, and bright middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) sign. Here, we assessed the sensitivity of detecting the bright MCP sign in patients with MSA cerebellar variant (MSA-C) using a double inversion recovery (DIR) procedure, comparing it to the sensitivity of detection by T2-weighted image (T2WI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences on conventional MRI.

The Trojan seahorse: citizen science pictures of a seahorse harbour insights into the distribution and behaviour of a long-overlooked polychaete worm.

Symbiotic marine invertebrates can be small, hidden or difficult to find, hampering the understanding of their distribution and ecological roles. is a polychaete inhabiting the gorgonian , where it lives in high densities within the host's coenenchyme and occupies burrows formed by host tissue near coral polyps. This study provides the first records of since its description in 1956, from colonies of Anthogorgiidae in southern Japan.

Chemical profiling of fungal metabolites via the OSMAC approach: Novel identification of Brianthein W from an endophytic fungus, Hypomontagnella monticulosa Zg15SU.

In the previous report, we reported that originating from the rhizome of was known to produce a marine-derived natural product. An OSMAC-based approach was designed by modifying the nutritional composition of the growth medium to investigate any possible new metabolites produced by the strain. The culture filtrate and biomass were conditioned through the use of three basal media, namely, Czapek-dox, potato dextrose, and Wickerham broth medium.

Assessment of marine litter interactions with urban coral reefs in Okinawa, Japan.

This study assessed different reef zones (lagoon, reef crest, reef slope) in three urban locations around Okinawa Island (Mizugama, Ginowan, Sunabe) and two marine protected areas around nearby Aka Island (Hizushi, Sakubaru) for marine litter pollution and litter interactions with reef organisms. A total reef area of 2250 m was surveyed by scuba diving, and 46 marine litter items were recorded. Litter density ranged from 0.

Impact of late Quaternary climate change on the demographic history of Japanese field voles and hares revealed by mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences.

The mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of the Japanese field vole (Microtus montebelli), an herbivorous rodent, was subjected to an analysis of sequence variation with the objective of elucidating the population histories of this species. Construction of a phylogenetic tree revealed the existence of several region-specific lineages in Honshu and Kyushu, which were evenly separated from each other. In consideration of the documented time-dependent evolutionary rates of rodents, the estimated divergence times indicate that the region-specific lineages of M.

Diagnosis of Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Using Wideband Tympanometry.

Wideband tympanometry (WBT) has the potential to distinguish various mechanical middle ear and inner ear pathologies noninvasively. This study investigated the diagnostic value of WBT in the diagnosis of enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). The absorbance and resonance frequency (RF) of patients with EVA (40 ears, 25 patients) and matched population controls (39 ears, 28 subjects) were compared, alongside receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

Characterization of Free and Glycosidically Bound Volatile and Non-Volatile Components of Shiikuwasha ( Hayata) Fruit.

Shiikuwasha, a citrus fruit native to Okinawa, Japan, has various cultivation lines with distinct free volatile and non-volatile components. However, the glycosylated volatiles, which are sources of hidden aromas, remain unknown. This study aimed to characterize the chemical profiles of free and glycosidically bound volatile as well as non-volatile components in the mature fruits of six Shiikuwasha cultivation lines: Ishikunibu, Izumi kugani-like, Kaachi, Kohama, Nakamoto seedless, and Ogimi kugani.

Complete resection of a recurrent bronchogenic cyst tightly adhered to the left atrium using cardiopulmonary bypass: a case report.

Background: Most surgeons agree that symptomatic mediastinal bronchogenic cysts should be resected, and complete resection is considered mandatory to avoid recurrence. However, a symptomatic mediastinal bronchogenic cyst sometimes adheres to a vital organ, making complete resection hazardous. In such case, surgical resection using cardiopulmonary bypass should be performed to achieve complete resection.

Healthcare administrators and hypertension at small-to-medium worksites in Okinawa, Japan.

This longitudinal study investigated whether the presence of a person in charge of healthcare at a worksite, termed a healthcare administrator (HA), and not limited to licensed staff, facilitated visits to medical facilities for treatment of newly-identified hypertension after a health checkup. The study included employees at small-to-medium companies in Okinawa, Japan who had systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, no history of hypertension in the last year, and not taking antihypertensive medication. Pre-existing data on worksite characteristics, employees' health checkups, and health insurance claims were collected.

Metabolic RNA Labeling and Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification for Measurement of Nascent RNA Translation.

Regulation of gene expression in response to various biological processes, including extracellular stimulation and environmental adaptation, requires nascent mRNA synthesis and translation. Simultaneous analysis of the coordinated regulation of dynamic mRNA synthesis and translation using the same experiment remains a major challenge in the field. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for the simultaneous measurement of transcription of nascent mRNA and its translation at the gene level during the acute unfolded protein response (UPR) in HEK293 cells by combining 4-thiouridine metabolic mRNA labeling with translational ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) using a monoclonal antibody against evolutionarily conserved ribosomal P-stalk proteins (P-TRAP).

Termites and subsocial roaches inherited many bacterial-borne carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) from their common ancestor.

Termites digest wood using Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes (CAZymes) produced by gut bacteria with whom they have cospeciated at geological timescales. Whether CAZymes were encoded in the genomes of their ancestor's gut bacteria and transmitted to modern termites or acquired more recently from bacteria not associated with termites is unclear. We used gut metagenomes from 195 termites and one Cryptocercus, the sister group of termites, to investigate the evolution of termite gut bacterial CAZymes.

Sharing sleeping sites disrupts sleep but catalyses social tolerance and coordination between groups.

Sleeping refuges-like other important, scarce and shareable resources-can serve as hotspots for animal interaction, shaping patterns of attraction and avoidance. Where sleeping sites are shared, individuals balance the opportunity for interaction with new social partners against their need for sleep. By expanding the network of connections within animal populations, such night-time social interactions may have important, yet largely unexplored, impacts on critical behavioural and ecological processes.

Evolution of Size-Fecundity Relationship in Medaka Fish From Different Latitudes.

In most fishes, the number of offspring increases with maternal body size. Although this size-fecundity relationship often varies among species as a result of the coevolution of life-history traits, the genetic basis of such size-fecundity relationships remains unclear. We explored the genetic basis underlying this size-fecundity relationship in two small medaka species, Oryzias latipes and O.