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Katsuya Tamaki,1,2,* Norihiro Saito,1,* Hirofumi Tomita1,3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki City, Aomori, 036-8562, Japan; 2Tamaki Dental Clinic, Keison-Kai, Akita City, 010-0925, Japan; 3Department of Cardiology and Nephrology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki City, Aomori, 036-8562, Japan*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Norihiro Saito, Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, 5 Zaifu-cho, Hirosaki City, Aomori, 036-8562, Japan, Tel +81-172-33-5111, Email norihiro@hirosaki-u.ac.jpBackground: Persistent idiopathic dentoalveolar pain (PDAP), previously referred to as atypical odontalgia, is a chronic dental pain that occurs without signs of pathology. PDAP is considered a diagnosis of exclusion, and its definition is currently under refinement and remains ambiguous. The metabolite known as 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) has garnered significant interest as a potential indicator for both depression and chronic psychogenic pain. We investigated the characteristics of patients with PDAP and hypothesized that serum 3HB could support the diagnosis of PDAP.Subjects and Methods: Forty-one patients with PDAP and 167 patients with odontogenic toothache were investigated regarding depression and anxiety scales in addition to the general dental evaluation. Blood tests including high-sensitivity CRP, HbA1c, and 3HB were performed for all patients. Associations between PDAP and patients’ varying characteristics were investigated using hierarchical multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results: There were more females, current smokers, patients with orofacial pain (such as temporomandibular joint pain, glossalgia, and headache), and people with elevated 3HB levels among patients with PDAP than among control participants. Multivariate logistic regression analyses predicting patients with PDAP identified the female sex (odds ratio [OR]: 4.16), current smoking (OR: 14.9), glossalgia (OR: 19.8) a high CES-D score (≥ 16) (OR: 5.98), and elevated serum 3HB (≥ 80 μmol/L) (OR: 18.4) factors significantly associated with PDAP.Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that serum 3HB levels could be elevated in patients with PDAP compared to other types of odontogenic pain, although 3HB was not specific to PDAP. Based on our findings, five factors - female sex, current smoking, depressive tendencies, chronic orofacial pains, and high serum 3HB levels - could be useful for diagnosing PDAP.Keywords: persistent idiopathic dentoalveolar pain, atypical odontalgia, 3-hydroxybutyrate, temporomandibular disorder, orofacial pain

Atsushi Kimura,1 Kohei Yamaguchi,2 Haruka Tohara,2 Yusuke Sato,3 Naoko Sawada,3 Yasuhide Nakagawa,3 Yukako Matsuda,4,5 Motoharu Inoue,5 Yuji Wada,6 Kazuhiro Tamaki3,4 1College of Risk Management, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan; 2Department of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; 3Geriatric Health Services Facility Nanohana, Medical Corporation Kanjinkai, Tokyo, Japan; 4Nanohana Dentistry Clinic, Medical Corporation Kanjinkai, Tokyo, Japan; 5Department of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Nihon University of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan; 6College of Gastronomy Management, Ritsumeikan University, Shiga, JapanCorrespondence: Atsushi Kimura, College of Risk Management, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, 1548513, Japan, Tel +81 3 6453 1600, Fax +81 3 6453 1630, Email kimura.atsushi@nihon-u.ac.jp Kazuhiro Tamaki, Geriatric Health Services Facility Nanohana, Medical Corporation Kanjinkai, Nishitama-Gun, Tokyo, 1901212, Japan, Tel +81 42 568 5111, Fax +81 42 568 5127, Email tamakikazuhiro@g.kanjinkai.netPurpose: Past research has shown that exposure to the image of a slim person reduces food consumption among young adults. However, it remains unknown whether this paradigm could be adapted and applied to increase food intake among older adults with dementia by exposing them to the image of a higher-weight person to mitigate weight loss and malnutrition. The present study explored whether weight-related visual cues affect the amount of food consumed by older adults with dementia.Participants and Methods: In the experiment, twenty-one elderly people with dementia living in a nursing home were visually exposed to one of four conditions (a cartoon image of a normal-weight chef, a higher-weight chef, a flower or no image) during real-life daily lunch situations over the course of four weeks, during which each condition was presented for one week.Results: Results demonstrate that participants finished their meals more frequently when they were exposed to the image of the higher-weight chef than when they were not exposed to any images.Conclusion: These results suggest that exposure to a cartoon chef character representing a stereotyped social group related to body weight activates the stereotype and increases stereotype-consistent behavior in older adults with dementia. The present findings will contribute to understanding the effect of visual information on eating behavior and to designing eating environments which facilitate sufficient nutrition intake among older adults with dementia.Keywords: nudge, body weight, dementia, food consumption, dining environment

Yosuke Wada,1,2 Kensaku Shojima,1 Kayoko Tamaki,1 Takara Mori,1,3 Hiroshi Kusunoki,1,4 Masaaki Onishi,5 Shotaro Tsuji,5,6 Ryota Matsuzawa,7 Koutatsu Nagai,7 Kyoko Sano,8 Kana Hashimoto,9 Masashi Goto,10 Yasuyuki Nagasawa,1 Ken Shinmura1,10 1Department of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan; 2Roppou Clinic, Toyooka, Hyogo, Japan; 3Amagasaki Medical COOP Honden Clinic, Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan; 4Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Dental University, Hirakata, Japan; 5Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan; 6Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tatsuno City Hospital, Tatsuno, Japan; 7Department of Physical Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo Medical University, Kobe, Japan; 8Takarazuka Rehabilitation Hospital, Takarazuka, Japan; 9School of Pharmacy, Hyogo Medical University, Kobe, Japan; 10Department of General Medicine and Community Health Science, Hyogo Medical University, Sasayama Medical Center, Tambasasayama, JapanCorrespondence: Ken Shinmura, Department of General Internal Medicine, Hyogo Medical University, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan, Tel +81-798-45-6865, Fax +81-798-45-6977, Email ke-shimmura@hyo-med.ac.jpPurpose: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between timed up-and-go (TUG) test time and changes in frailty status in a longitudinal cohort study of rural Japanese older adults.Patients and Methods: This prospective cohort study included 545 community-dwelling older adults. Initial and 2-year follow-up surveys were conducted. We compared the number of the Japanese version of the Cardiovascular Health Study components during the follow-up period and classified the participants into three groups: the favorable change, unchanged as prefrail, and unfavorable change groups. Associations between changes in frailty status and TUG time in the first survey were examined. The predictive ability of the TUG test was determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results: The favorable change group comprised 315 individuals (57.8%), the unchanged as prefrail group 105 (19.2%), and the unfavorable change group 125 (22.9%). TUG time was associated with the favorable and unfavorable changes after adjustment for covariates (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68– 0.92, P=0.001 and OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09– 1.49, P=0.002). The ROC curve of TUG time as a predictor of unfavorable changes showed an area under the curve of 0.59. A cut-off point of TUG was calculated as 6.3 s with 49.6% sensitivity and 66.0% specificity.Conclusion: TUG time in the first survey was significantly associated with changes in frailty status 2 years later. However, its predictive value as a stand-alone test is limited and has the potential to predict future changes in the frailty status in older adults in combination with other tests.Keywords: frailty, cardiovascular health study, older adults, physical function, timed up-and-go test

Toshihiko Kaise,1 Eishin Sakihara,2 Kentaro Tamaki,3 Hiroaki Miyata,4 Norimichi Hirahara,4 Oksana Kirichek,5 Ryosuke Tawara,1 Shoko Akiyama,1 Masayuki Katsumata,1 Mei Haruya,6 Takeo Ishii,7 Edgar P Simard,8 Bruce E Miller,8 Ruth Tal-Singer8 1Japan Development, GSK, Tokyo, Japan; 2Lifestyle Related Disease Medical Center, Naha Medical Association, Okinawa, Japan; 3Department of Breast Surgery, Nahanishi Clinic, Okinawa, Japan; 4Health Policy and Management, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; 5Value Evidence and Outcomes, GSK, Stockley Park, UK; 6Government Affairs and Market Access, GSK, Tokyo, Japan; 7Medical Japan, GSK, Tokyo, Japan; 8Value Evidence and Outcomes, GSK, Collegeville, PA, USACorrespondence: Toshihiko KaiseJapan Development, GSK, Tokyo, JapanTel +81 80 5927 9500Fax +81 3 4231 5993Email toshihiko.kaise@gsk.comPurpose: Many individuals with obstructive airway disease (OAD), including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, remain undiagnosed, despite the potential for reducing disease burden through early detection and treatment. OCEAN aimed to determine the prevalence of, and characteristics associated with, impaired lung function in a Japanese population, with the goal of improving strategies for early OAD detection.Methods: OCEAN was an observational, cross-sectional study in sequentially recruited Japanese individuals ≥ 40 years of age undergoing routine health examinations. Participants completed screening questionnaires and spirometry testing. Airflow limitation was defined as forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) < 0.7 by pre-bronchodilator spirometry. Preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm) was defined as FEV1/FVC ≥ 0.7 and FEV1 < 80% predicted. The primary endpoint was prevalence of spirometry-based airflow limitation and PRISm. The characteristics of study participants were reported as secondary endpoints.Results: Overall, 2518 individuals were included; 79% were < 60 years of age (mean 52.0 years). Airflow limitation and PRISm were observed in 52 (2.1%) and 420 (16.7%) participants, respectively. FEV1 in the PRISm group was between that in the no airflow limitation/PRISm and airflow limitation groups, FVC was similar in the PRISm and airflow limitation groups. The PRISm group had higher mean body mass index and a higher proportion of comorbid metabolic disease compared with the airflow limitation group. The prevalence of airflow limitation and PRISm was highest among current smokers (3.9% and 21.3%, respectively) versus former or never smokers.Conclusion: A significant proportion of Japanese individuals < 60 years of age attending their annual health examination had impaired lung function (airflow limitation and PRISm); prevalence was highest among current smokers. These findings support screening of current or former smokers ≥ 40 years of age using patient-reported questionnaires to inform the need for spirometry to confirm an OAD diagnosis.Keywords: CAPTURE, CAAT, PRISm, COPD-Q, Japan, airflow limitation

Atsushi Kimura,1 Kohei Yamaguchi,2,3 Haruka Tohara,3 Yusuke Sato,4 Naoko Sawada,4 Yasuhide Nakagawa,4 Yukako Matsuda,2,5 Motoharu Inoue,2,5 Kazuhiro Tamaki2,4 1College of Risk Management, Nihon University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan; 2Dentistry Nanohana Clinic, Medical Corporation Kanjinkai, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo, Japan; 3Department of Gerodontology and Oral Rehabilitation, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; 4Geriatric Health Services Facility Nanohana, Medical Corporation Kanjinkai, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo, Japan; 5Department of Dysphasia Rehabilitation, Nihon University of Dentistry, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, JapanCorrespondence: Atsushi KimuraCollege of Risk Management, Nihon University, 3-34-1 Shimouma, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-8513, JapanTel +81 3 6453 1600Fax +81 3 6453 1630Email kimura.atsushi@nihon-u.ac.jpKazuhiro TamakiGeriatric Health Services Facility Nanohana, Medical Corporation Kanjinkai, 454 Tonogaya, Mizuho-machi, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo 190-1212, JapanTel +81 42 568 5111Fax +81 42 568 5127Email tamakikazuhiro@g.kanjinkai.netPurpose: The previous study demonstrated that the addition of a sauce is an effective means of influencing the consumption of finger foods among French elderly people with dementia. However, it is unclear the relative importance of low-level sensory factors such as flavor and a semi-solid nature and high-level cognitive factors such as memory stimulation and familiarity to the effect of the addition of sauce on food intake. The present study investigated whether the addition of sauce affects finger-snack intake among Japanese elderly people with dementia who were not familiar with sauce dipping.Patients And Methods: A total of 21 patients with dementia who were recruited in a nursing home in Tokyo received a plate of cut baumkuchen (a very thinly layered German roll cake), which had pieces of baumkuchen both with and without sauce, at their afternoon snack time. The amount of food intake and the first choice between options were measured for each participant. We used chocolate (in Experiment 1, n = 21) and agave (Experiment 2, n =14) syrups as sauce samples.Results: Results of both experiments demonstrate that snack consumption was greater for the with-sauce options than for the without-sauce options. A 90.5% of the participants in Experiment 1 and 64.3% of participants in Experiment 2 ate more snacks with sauce than without sauce.Conclusion: These findings imply that low-level sensory factors such as flavor and a semi-solid nature contribute relatively more strongly to the enhancement of food consumption with the addition of sauce than do high-level cognitive factors such as memory stimulation and familiarity, because Japanese elderly people are not always familiar with the custom of wiping up the sauce with food.Keywords: food consumption, dementia, under nutrition, food improvement, sauce

Koutatsu Nagai,1 Kayoko Tamaki,2 Hiroshi Kusunoki,2 Yosuke Wada,3 Shotaro Tsuji,4 Masako Ito,5 Kyoko Sano,5 Manabu Amano,6 Soji Shimomura,7 Ken Shinmura2 1Department of Physical Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo University of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan; 2Department of General Medicine, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan; 3Department of Rehabilitation, Hyogo College of Medicine Sasayama Medical Center, Sasayama, Japan; 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine Sasayama Medical Center, Sasayama, Japan; 5Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation, Hyogo University of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan; 6School of Pharmacy, Hyogo University of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan; 7Department of General Medicine and Community Health Science, Hyogo College of Medicine Sasayama Medical Center, Sasayama, Japan Objectives: Recently, isotemporal substitution has been developed to substitute activity time for an equivalent amount of another activity. This study employed this method to demonstrate the effects of replacing sedentary behavior (SB) time with an equivalent amount of light-intensity physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) on the risk for different severities of frailty.Methods: A total of 886 older adults (average age 73.6 years, female 70%) participated in this cross-sectional study. Frailty status was assessed according to the cardiovascular health study criteria.Main outcome measures: Wrist-worn accelerometers were used to measure SB, LPA, and MVPA. Isotemporal substitution models were applied to show the estimated effects of substituting 30 min of SB with an equal amount of time spent in LPA or MVPA on the risk for pre-frailty and frailty.Results: The physical activity level and SB were not associated with the incidence of pre-frailty. However, a 16% (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.78–0.90) and 42% (OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.37–0.92) decrease in frailty risk was noted when SB was substituted with LPA and MVPA, respectively, in the crude model. In the adjusted model, the significant effect was sustained for LPA (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.80–0.92) but not for MVPA (OR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.47–1.17).Conclusions: This study indicates that replacing 30 min of SB with an equivalent amount of LPA decreases the risk for frailty in older adults. Moreover, increasing LPA seems more feasible than increasing MVPA in older adults, with substantial benefit. Keywords: isotemporal substitution, frailty, physical activity, sedentary behavior

Yoshihito Sakanishi, Ayumi Usui-Ouchi, Kazunori Tamaki, Keitaro Mashimo, Rei Ito, Nobuyuki Ebihara Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu City, Chiba, Japan Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the short-term outcomes for patients who received intravitreal aflibercept (IVA) with or without intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) for macular edema (ME) due to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Patients and methods: Patients received IVA for ME due to BRVO. Patients who initially received IVA were defined as the treatment-naïve group and those who were switched from IVR to IVA after ME recurrence were defined as the switching group. Patient outcomes were examined at 1 week and 1 month postinjection. Results: Both groups comprised 27 eyes from 27 patients. There was a significant decrease in central macular thickness (CMT) at 1 week and 1 month postinjection in both groups. There was also a significant improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 1 week and 1 month postinjection in the treatment-naïve group and 1 month in the switching group. Younger age was associated with a good BCVA at 1 month postinjection in the switching group, and the absence of epiretinal membrane was associated with a reduction in CMT at 1 month postinjection in the switching group. Conclusion: IVA is temporarily effective for treating ME due to BRVO regardless of a history of IVR use. Keywords: BRVO, IVR, IVA, switch

The growth and yield of 13 red and green leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars were evaluated under two types of white LED irradiation. There was a difference in growth under the two types white LEDs, specifically in the fresh total weight, fresh leaf weight and dry weight in all cultivars. In addition, the main stem elongation was confirmed for red and green lettuce cultivars under all treatments, but some cultivars promoted the growth of the main stem and the others were inhibited by treatment with farred light applied at the end of the day (EODFR). Furthermore, the EODFR treatment affected the characteristic reactions due to white LED light quality in each of the cultivars. These results showed that it is necessary to investigate the selection of white LEDs with and without EODFR treatment for each lettuce cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot, anoxic fluids are emitted by submarine hydrothermal springs at mid-ocean, precipitating certain sulphide and oxide phases. Plumes are then dispersed along surfaces where they are readily detected. These characteristics were used to prospect for and identify hydrothermal venting along the southwest Indian ridge (SWIR). Evidence for hydrothermal plumes were reported at six locations, indicating that heat and chemical fluxes from slow-spreading ridges could be greater than previously thought.