We conducted a survey to clarify the evaluation methods of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) for the elderly with senile dementia in an adult day care center. AAT was implemented for a total of six biweekly sessions. The AAT group consisted of seven subjects and the control group numbered 20 subjects. In a comparison between Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) scores at baseline and those measured three months later, the average MMSE score before AAT (baseline) was 11.43 (+/- 9.00), and three months later it was 12.29(+/- 9.69). In the AAT group, the average score on Nishimura's Activities of Daily Living (N-ADL) at baseline was 28.43(+/- 14.00), and after ATT it was 29.57(+/- 14.47). In the AAT group, the average baseline score on behavioral pathology of Alzheimer's disease (Behave-AD) was 11.14(+/- 4.85), and three months after AAT it was 7.29(+/- 7.11) (p < 0.05). In the control group, the average baseline score was 5.45(+/- 3.27) and three months later it was 5.63(+/- 3.59). The evaluation of salivary CgA, as a mental stress index, showed a decreasing tendency in the AAT group. Our findings demonstrate the usefulness of using several methods for evaluation of the changes in patients given AAT.

Background: Vonoprazan-based Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) treatment is highly effective in eradicating the target bacteria; however, its post-1-year impact on gut microbiota is unknown. This study evaluated the impact of vonoprazan-based H. pylori therapy on gut microbiota 1-year post-therapy and investigated the relationship between body weight changes and post-therapy gut microbiota perturbations. Materials and Methods:Between March and May 2019, 43 patients with H. pylori infections received either vonoprazan/amoxicillin (VA) or vonoprazan/amoxicillin/ clarithromycin (VAC) therapy. Fecal samples were collected prior to treatment and 1 year after treatment. The alpha and beta diversities and the bacterial taxa composition ratios were determined using polymerase chain reaction amplification of the V3-V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. The correlation between body weight changes and relative abundances of genera post-therapy was also analyzed.Results: Among the 43 patients, 18 received VA therapy and 21 received VAC therapy. One year after treatment, the alpha diversity was significantly higher in both the treatment groups (p < .001, using observed operational taxonomic units and Chao1 index), and beta diversity was significantly different in both the groups (p = .001, using unweighted UniFrac distance) compared with baseline findings. Significant positive correlations were found between body weight changes and the relative abundances of Coprococcus spp. (p = .037) and Odoribacter spp. (p = .022) post-therapy. Conclusion: Vonoprazan-based H. pylori therapies are associated with long-term impacts on gut microbiota, including effects on bacterial species richness, and potentially affect metabolism by altering the microbiota. Trial registration number: UMIN000040025.

Objectives: Remimazolam, an ultra-short-acting benzodiazepine, has been used for procedural sedation in the United States. We conducted an investigator-initiated clinical trial to determine the appropriate dose of remimazolam required for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy in Japanese subjects. Methods:In this single-center, open-label, uncontrolled, phase II trial, a three-stage cohort investigated the appropriate initial and additional doses of remimazolam required for gastrointestinal endoscopy. This study was designed with advice from the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency. The initial and additional doses were 2 mg and 1 mg/dose, 3 mg and 1 mg/dose, and 5 mg and 2 mg/dose in cohorts 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Each cohort included 10 cases of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and colonoscopy. The primary end-point was the success rate of sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.Results: Sedation was successful in all gastrointestinal endoscopies in cohorts 1 and 2. In cohort 1, sedation was achieved in five (25.0%) and 10 (50.0%) participants with the initial dose and total dose (initial dose + additional dose ≤ the initial dose of the next cohort), respectively, before endoscopy. In cohort 2, sedation was achieved in 11 (55.0%) and 18 (90.0%) participants with the initial dose and total dose, respectively, before endoscopy. No patient in either cohort lost consciousness or required flumazenil or manual ventilation. Conclusion:Initial and additional doses of 3 mg and 1 mg/dose of remimazolam, respectively, were shown to be effective and safe for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy in Japanese patients.

This paper presents a minimax design method of stable IIR digital filters with an arbitrary magnitude and a phase responses using successive projection (SP) method. Because a design of IIR filters generally results in a complex approximation problem, the complex approximation problem is converted into the real approximation problem and its problem is solved by using SP method. Then, we use the implications of Rouche's theorem to mod@ SP method in such way that a constraint on the maximum pole radious can be incorporated. Hence, the filters obtained can be guaranteed to be stable and are optimum in the Chebyshev sense.

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In order to discover new matrices suitable for the analyses of low molecular-weight compounds using positive-ion mode matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS), 5-(3-trifluoromethylbenzylidene)thiazolidine-2,4-dione (3-CF3-BTD) was synthesized, and its effectiveness was compared with that when commercially available α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid was used. 3-CF3-BTD was sufficiently sensitive to analyze neurotransmitters, i.e., dopamine, serotonin, histamine, and epinephrine, in amounts of several picomoles. Similar to vacuum MALDI experiments, atmospheric-pressure MALDI-MS measurements using 3-CF3-BTD as a matrix also detected dopamine.

Background: Chronic constipation is a significant factor in poor bowel preparation for colonoscopy. Macrogol 4000 plus electrolytes (Movicol, EA Pharma, Tokyo, Japan), containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and electrolytes, have been used recently to treat patients with constipation. However, prospective studies on the use of macrogol 4000 for bowel cleansing for colonoscopy are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of macrogol 4000 in addition to PEG administered in patients with chronic constipation.Methods: This single-center, single-arm prospective study enrolled patients with chronic constipation who were scheduled to undergo colonoscopy. The primary endpoint was the proportion of good bowel preparation assessed using the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS) (6 or more points). The secondary endpoints were the time from when pPEG (MoviPrep, EA Pharma, Tokyo, Japan) was taken until colonoscopy could be started, amount of PEG taken, number of defecations, whether additional PEG doses were taken, and adverse events. Endoscopy-related endpoints included cecal intubation rate, insertion time, observation time, adenoma detection rate (ADR), and polyp detection rate (PDR). The tolerability of PEG and macrogol 4000 was assessed using a questionnaire.Results: Forty patients were included in the analysis. The median BBPS was 7 (range, (3–9)) and ³6 points in 37 cases (92.5%). The median time until colonoscopy can be started was 210 min (90–360 min), the median volume of PEG taken was 1500 mL (1000–2000 mL), and the median number of defecations was 7 (3-20). No adverse events were observed. Fourteen patients required an additional dose of PEG. Cecal intubation was achieved in all cases, the median insertion time was 6.0 min (range, 2.3–22 min), and the median observation time was 8.8 min (range, 4.0–16.0 min). The ADR and PDR were 60.0% and 75.0%, respectively. A greater proportion of patients rated the tolerability of macrogol 4000 as good compared with that of PEG (95.0% vs. 50.0%, p < 0.01).Conclusions: Intake of macrogol 4000 in addition to PEG is effective and safe for colonoscopy in patients with chronic constipation.

Background Chronic constipation is a significant factor in poor bowel preparation for colonoscopy. Macrogol 4000 plus electrolytes (Movicol, EA Pharma, Tokyo, Japan), containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and electrolytes, have been used recently to treat patients with constipation. However, prospective studies on the use of macrogol 4000 for bowel cleansing for colonoscopy are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of macrogol 4000 in addition to PEG administered in patients with chronic constipation. Methods This single-center, single-arm prospective study enrolled patients with chronic constipation who were scheduled to undergo colonoscopy. The primary endpoint was the proportion of good bowel preparation assessed using the Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS) (6 or more points). The secondary endpoints were the time from when pPEG (MoviPrep, EA Pharma, Tokyo, Japan) was taken until colonoscopy could be started, amount of PEG taken, number of defecations, whether additional PEG doses were taken, and adverse events. Endoscopy-related endpoints included cecal intubation rate, insertion time, observation time, adenoma detection rate (ADR), and polyp detection rate (PDR). The tolerability of PEG and macrogol 4000 was assessed using a questionnaire. Results Forty patients were included in the analysis. The median BBPS was 7 (range 3–9) and ≥ 6 points in 37 cases (92.5%). The median time until colonoscopy can be started was 210 min (90–360 min), the median volume of PEG taken was 1500 mL (1000–2000 mL), and the median number of defecations was 7 (3–20). No adverse events were observed. Fourteen patients required an additional dose of PEG. Cecal intubation was achieved in all cases, the median insertion time was 6.0 min (range 2.3–22 min), and the median observation time was 8.8 min (range 4.0–16.0 min). The ADR and PDR were 60.0% and 75.0%, respectively. A proportion of patients rated the tolerability of macrogol 4000 and PEG as 95.0% and 50.0%, respectively. Conclusions Intake of macrogol 4000 in addition to PEG is effective and safe for colonoscopy in patients with chronic constipation. Clinical trial registration statement This study was registered in the UMIN-CTR database (UMIN-ID000038315).