Maternal and perinatal outcomes in women aged 50 years and older: A nationwide cross-sectional study.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnancies among women aged50-54 and 55-59, to refine risk assessments and inform evidence-based counseling and perinatal management guidelines.

Methods: A nationwide registry maintained by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology identified pregnancies between January 2013 and December 2022. Analyses included women aged 45-59 years with assisted reproductive technology pregnancies, excluding triplet or higher-order multiple gestations.

Altered Ground Reaction Force and Dynamic Stability During a Single-Leg Stabilization Task in Female Athletes With Lateral Ankle Sprain History and Dysfunctional Breathing Patterns.

Context: Female athletes frequently experience lateral ankle sprains (LAS) during unilateral jump-landing activities and face a significant risk of recurrent ankle injury. LAS has been associated with reduced diaphragm contractility and altered breathing mechanics. The diaphragm and breathing mechanics are crucial for mitigating landing impact, which is typically impaired in individuals with LAS.

Direct Hemoperfusion with Polymethylmethacrylate for Hemodialysis Patients with Dialysis-Related Amyloidosis.

Introduction: Dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA) is a serious complication in patients undergoing long-term dialysis that leads to conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and destructive spondyloarthropathy. Improved removal of the precursor protein β-microglobulin (β-m) is considered an effective treatment strategy for DRA. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) membranes have the capacity to adsorb β-m in dialysis filters, suggesting that direct hemoperfusion with PMMA in addition to standard dialysis may enhance β-m removal.

Association of Medication Profiles, Including Polypharmacy, Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy, and Potentially Inappropriate Medications, With All-Cause Mortality in Older Adults With Heart Failure, With or Without Frailty and Disability.

Background: Polypharmacy, driven by guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) and medications for comorbidities, including potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), is common in older adults with heart failure (HF). Although medication profiles affect survival, the effects of frailty and disability status remain underexplored.

Methods And Results: This retrospective study assessed polypharmacy (≥5 medications), the use of GDMT, and PIMs based on the Beers Criteria.

Extended δN Formalism: Nonspatially Flat Separate-Universe Approach.

The δN formalism is a powerful approach to compute nonlinearly the large-scale evolution of the comoving curvature perturbation ζ. It assumes a set of FLRW patches that evolve independently, but in doing so, all the gradient terms are discarded, which are not negligibly small in models beyond slow roll. In this Letter, we extend the formalism to capture these gradient corrections by encoding them in a homogeneous-spatial-curvature contribution assigned to each FLRW patch.

Polyacrylic acid-polyvinylpyrrolidone complex for achieving hemostasis after hemodialysis: study protocol for an open-label crossover randomized controlled trial (PAA-PVP study).

Background: Achieving rapid and secure hemostasis of the vascular access point is important for patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD). We developed a polyacrylic acid-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PAA-PVP) complex that absorbs moisture such as blood or sterilizing solution, forms a hydrogel, and adheres to the body's surface, thereby exerting a powerful hemostatic effect. This study aims to compare the effect of PAA-PVP complex versus a conventional non-woven fabric pad on hemostasis at the needle puncture vascular access site in patients on HD.

Causes of applying Long-Term Care Insurance certification for patients with heart failure with systolic dysfunction.

Aim: The number of patients with heart failure with disability and the use of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) has been increasing in the Japanese aging society. This study investigated the main causes of LTCI demands for better care management.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective study including patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in seven hospitals in Niigata City from 2011 to 2016.

Topographically driven vigorous vertical mixing supports mesoscale biological production in the Tsugaru Gyre.

The Tsugaru Strait is a critical conduit linking the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean and is characterized by a vigorous eastward current. Here, we use high-resolution surface current data acquired from a high-frequency radar system in conjunction with direct turbulence measurements to show that the large increase in chlorophyll-a within a hundred kilometre-scale anticyclonic gyre is driven by the intensification of turbulence, extraordinarily high diffusive nitrate fluxes and divergent flow fields limited to a very narrow area. Enhanced mixing and nutrient fluxes are caused by the presence of a distinct topographic feature-an underwater seamount-within the path of the Tsugaru Strait water flow.

Psychological support for people with hemophilia and HIV who suffer from cancer: A first national survey.

Psychological support is necessary for people with hemophilia and HIV (PHH) who suffer from cancers. Most PHH are infected with not only HIV but also hepatitis C virus due to non-heat-treated blood coagulation factor products. PHH have a high risk of carcinogenesis, including liver cancer.

Kinetics of the Oxidation of the [2Fe-2S] Cluster in SoxR by Redox-Active Compounds as Studied by Pulse Radiolysis.

SoxR containing a [2Fe-2S] cluster required for its transcription activity functions as a bacterial stress-response sensor that is activated through oxidation by redox-active compounds (RACs). SoxR from (EcSoxR) is activated by nearly all RACs nonspecifically. In contrast, nonenteric SoxRs such as (PaSoxR), and (ScSoxR) activate their target genes in response to RAC including endogenously produced metabolites.

Stair-descent phenotypes in community-dwelling older adults determined using high-level balance tasks.

Background: Falls on stairs are a major cause of severe injuries among older adults, with stair descent posing significantly greater risks than ascent. Variations in stair descent phenotypes may reflect differences in physical function and biomechanical stability, and their identification may prevent falls.

Aims: This study aims to classify stair descent phenotypes in older adults and investigate the biomechanical and physical functional differences between these phenotypes using hierarchical cluster analysis.

Propulsive and braking contribution of the lower limbs, trunk, and upper limbs during underwater undulatory swimming calculated from vortices distribution: A simulation study.

Swimmers propel their bodies forward by generating vortices around themselves, which produce fluid force during underwater undulatory swimming (UUS). This study aimed to investigate the propulsive and braking contributions of the vortices of the lower limbs, trunk, and upper limbs during UUS. The kinematic data and three-dimensional digital model were collected from nine male swimmers.

Differences in Ocular Biometry Between Short-Axial and Normal-Axial Eyes in the Elderly Japanese.

Purpose: Among patients with angle-closure glaucoma, it is common to have a short-axial eye, which also makes it difficult to select an appropriate intraocular lens. Previous studies have focused on the ocular biometry of the long-axial eye, whereas only a few reports have focused on the short-axial eye. This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of the short-axial eye on ocular biometry among the elderly Japanese.

MicroRNA in neuroexosome as a potential biomarker for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) is a complication of chronic inflammation caused by HIV infection that impairs cognitive and motor functions. HAND can occur at any age, regardless of the duration of infection, even in people living with HIV (PLWH) whose blood viral load is controlled by antiretroviral therapy. The diagnosis of HAND requires a battery of neuropsychological tests, which is time-consuming and burdensome, limiting its effectiveness for screening PLWH.

Risk Factor Analysis of Mechanical Complications in Surgical Treatment of Thoracolumbar Deformity with Osteoporotic Vertebral Fracture.

Adult spinal deformity (ASD) with osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF) often requires vertebral body resection and replacement. However, postoperative mechanical complications (MC) have been unsolved issues. This study retrospectively investigated the risk of MC following anterior-posterior spinal fusion (APF) with vertebral body resection and replacement for OVF with ASD.

Oligodendrocyte differentiation on murine decellularized brain tissue.

Loss of oligodendrocytes causes severe neurological damage. Oligodendrogenesis is the production of new oligodendrocytes throughout life and includes several developmental stages starting from oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). The GPR17-expressing cell population, an important intermediate stage in oligodendrocyte development, acts as a reservoir responding to brain injury and ischemia.

Repeated inhalation of GM-CSF by nonhuman primates induces bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue along the lower respiratory tract.

Background: Repeated inhalation of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was recently approved in Japan as a treatment for autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. However, the detailed physiological and pathological effects of repeated inhalation in the long term, especially at increasing doses, remain unclear.

Methods: In this chronic safety study, we administered 24 cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) aged 2-3 years with aerosolized sargramostim (a yeast-derived recombinant human GM-CSF [rhGM-CSF]) biweekly for 26 weeks across four dosing groups (0, 5, 100, and 500 µg/kg/day).

Simulating vortex generation to investigate the propulsive and braking mechanisms of breaststroke kick using computational fluid dynamics on a breaststroke swimmer.

Swimmers primarily increase their forward velocity through lower limb motion in breaststroke, making the breaststroke kick crucial for optimizing race times. Recent studies have highlighted the generation of vortices around the swimmer's entire body to propel forward during swimming. However, the investigation of vortex generation during breaststroke kicks remains unexplored.

Differences in coagulation responses to vascular injury between uninterrupted dabigatran and apixaban: A clinical prospective randomized study.

Background: The coagulation response during vascular injury with uninterrupted administration of direct oral anticoagulants has not been elucidated.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate differences in coagulation responses after vascular injury between uninterrupted direct thrombin inhibitor and direct factor Xa inhibitor recipients.

Methods: Patients scheduled for catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation were randomly assigned to receive dabigatran or apixaban in this prospective, randomized, comparative, parallel-group study.

[Advancing the drug discovery ecosystem for innovative medicines].

Axcelead Drug Discovery Partners (Axcelead DDP) Inc is the first integrated drug discovery solution provider in Japan. Leveraging drug discovery platforms and knowledge inherited from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. alongside the latest science and technology, our experienced scientists with rich track records promote drug discovery research and contribute to co-creation of innovative drugs together with customers.

Effect of empagliflozin on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: the EMPA-ICD trial.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and cardiovascular death with type 2 diabetes; however, their effect on arrhythmias is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of empagliflozin on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A total of 150 patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (ICD/CRT-D) were randomized to once-daily empagliflozin or placebo for 24 weeks.

Statistical Anisotropy of Primordial Gravitational Waves from Generalized δN Formalism.

In this Letter, we demonstrate how to use the generalized δN formalism, which enables us to compute the evolution of all the large-scale fluctuations, including gravitational waves, solely by solving the evolution of the background homogeneous Universe. Using the Noether charge density, we derive an analytic formula which describes the mapping between the fluctuations at the horizon crossing and the sourced gravitational waves at the end of inflation. This formula can apply also to an inflation model with an anisotropic background.