Lip incompetence and myofunctional therapy

Lip incompetence, which is a state in which the upper and lower lips are constantly apart, is thought to induce mouth breathing that may result in the development of gingivitis and periodontal disease. In the orthodontic field, lip incompetence has major problems for diagnosis, when determining the treatment goal and at the time of retention. We have been performing studies on lip incompetence and have obtained the following results : (1) it is possible to predict to some extent the state of lip closure during sleep by examination only in an awake state, (2) anterior teeth are positioned forward in individuals with lip incompetence, and (3) a training method called Button Pull is effective as a myofunctional therapy for improving lip incompetence, but there remains a need to clarify the background

Bariatric Surgery on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Japan

Article信州医学雑誌 59(4): 273-279(2011)departmental bulletin pape

Pathological Role of Tonsillar B Cells in IgA Nephropathy

Although impaired immune regulation along the mucosa-bone marrow axis has been postulated to play an important role, the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is unknown; thus, no disease-specific therapy for this disease exists. The therapeutic efficacy of tonsillectomy or tonsillectomy in combination with steroid pulse therapy for IgAN has been discussed. Although randomized control trials for these therapies are ongoing in Japan, the scientific rationale for these therapies remains obscure. It is now widely accepted that abnormally glycosylated IgA1 and its related immune complex (IC) are probably key molecules for the pathogenesis, and are thus considered possible noninvasive biomarkers for this disease. Emerging evidence indicates that B cells in mucosal infections, particularly in tonsillitis, may produce the nephritogenic IgA. In this paper, we briefly summarize characteristics of the nephritogenic IgA/IgA IC, responsible B cells, and underlying mechanisms. This clinical and experimental information may provide important clues for a therapeutic rationale

Near-optimal stochastic MIMO signal detection with a mixture of t-distribution prior

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems will play a crucial role in future wireless communication, but improving their signal detection performance to increase transmission efficiency remains a challenge. To address this issue, we propose extending the discrete signal detection problem in MIMO systems to a continuous one and applying the Hamiltonian Monte Carlo method, an efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. In our previous studies, we have used a mixture of normal distributions for the prior distribution. In this study, we propose using a mixture of t-distributions, which further improves detection performance. Based on our theoretical analysis and computer simulations, the proposed method can achieve near-optimal signal detection with polynomial computational complexity. This high-performance and practical MIMO signal detection could contribute to the development of the 6th-generation mobile network.Comment: to be published in the 2023 IEEE Global Communications Conference (GLOBECOM

Human intestinal spirochetosis accompanied by human immunodeficiency virus infection:a case report

We present a middle-aged, heterosexual Japanese man with mixed infections including human intestinal spirochetosis, which led us to the detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The patient had syphilis without related physical or neurological findings. An examination for the serum antibody for HIV performed 9 years previously was negative. In a complete medical checkup at the present time, human intestinal spirochetosis and unspecified entamebic cysts were suggested by histological examination of colonic biopsy material and parasitic examination of the intestinal fluid, respectively. Moreover, a serological test for the antibody for HIV was positive. In specimens obtained by colonoscopy, Brachyspira aalborgi was diagnosed by ultrastructural study and the polymerase chain reaction method for bacterial 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid. Although HIV infection remains at low prevalence in Japan, we recommend examination for HIV infection in patients with human intestinal spirochetosis, especially when other co-infections are apparent.</p

Aldosterone to Potassium Ratio after Adrenocorticotropin Stimulation in Unilateral Primary Aldosteronism Diagnosis

Article信州医学雑誌 68(3): 159-168(2020)journal articl

Pretreatment serum FGF-23 levels predict the efficacy of calcitriol therapy in dialysis patients

Pretreatment serum FGF-23 levels predict the efficacy of calcitriol therapy in dialysis patients.BackgroundThe predictor for the result of calcitriol therapy would be useful in the clinical practice of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23) is a newly found circulating phosphaturic factor. Its circulating level is elevated in uremia.MethodsDialysis patients with plasma intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels greater than 300 pg/mL were included in the study. Calcitriol was intravenously injected three times a week. The patients whose plasma iPTH levels dropped below 300 pg/mL within 24 weeks were defined as those who had been successfully treated. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system that detects human FGF-23 was applied.ResultsSixty-two patients were analyzed. The pretreatment FGF-23 levels were related to the iPTH levels, calcium × phosphate product levels, and history of active vitamin D therapy. The pretreatment FGF-23, iPTH, and calcium levels were lower in the patients who would be successfully treated with calcitriol. A logistic regression study revealed that the pretreatment iPTH and FGF-23 levels significantly affected the therapy results. Analyses using a receiver-operated curve revealed that FGF-23 was the best screening test for identifying patients with future refractory response to calcitriol therapy. The treatment would be successful in 88.2% of those with FGF-23 ≤9860 ng/L and iPTH ≤591 pg/mL, while it would be successful in only 4.2% of those with FGF-23 >9860 ng/L and iPTH >591 pg/mL.ConclusionPretreatment serum FGF-23 levels were a good indicator in predicting the response to calcitriol therapy. The measurement of serum FGF-23 levels, especially in combination with iPTH levels, is a promising laboratory examination for the clinical practice of secondary hyperparathyroidism

Programs for calculating the statistical powers of detecting susceptibility genes in case–control studies based on multistage designs

Motivation: A two-stage association study is the most commonly used method among multistage designs to efficiently identify disease susceptibility genes. Recently, some SNP studies have utilized more than two stages to detect disease genes. However, there are few available programs for calculating statistical powers and positive predictive values (PPVs) of arbitrary n-stage designs

Comprehensive analysis of gene expression of isolated pancreatic islets during pretransplant culture

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pretransplant culture on the survival of panThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pretransplant culture on the survival of pancreatic islet grafts, and to determine the biological characteristics of isolated islets during pretransplant culture. Methods: The survival of islets from Wistar rats, transplanted to diabetic C57BL/B6 mice, was compared between fresh islets and cultured islets. A comprehensive gene expression analysis was employed to investigate biological processes during pretransplant culture, and in vitro validation studies were performed. Results: Survival of cultured xenografts was significantly prolonged as compared to that of fresh islets (fresh:12.5 ± 1.9 days, 1-day cultured:16.0 ± 1.3 days (p= 0.017), 3-day cultured:17.0 ± 2.6 days (p= 0.014)). Comprehensive gene expression analysis identified significant upregulation of annotated functions associated with inflammation in cultured groups. Six proinflammatory genes, including heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and IL-6, were significantly upregulated during culture. Validation studies revealed significantly higher levels of IL-6 in the supernatant of cultured islets and HO-1 in the cultured islets when compared with fresh islets. Conclusion: Transplantation of cultured islets induced significant but minimal prolongation of graft survival in xenogeneic combinations. Comprehensive analysis of gene expression in cultured islets showed biological processes associated with proinflammation during culture