Amnesic Syndrome in a Mammillothalamic Tract Infarction

It is controversial whether isolated lesions of mammillothalamic tract (MTT) produce significant amnesia. Since the MTT is small and adjacent to several important structures for memory, amnesia associated with isolated MTT infarction has been rarely reported. We report a patient who developed amnesia following an infarction of the left MTT that spared adjacent memory-related structures including the anterior thalamic nucleus. The patient's memory deficit was characterized by a severe anterograde encoding deficit and retrograde amnesia with a temporal gradient. In contrast, he did not show either frontal executive dysfunction or personality change that is frequently recognized in the anterior or medial thalamic lesion. We postulate that an amnesic syndrome can develop following discrete lesions of the MTT

β-catenin activates TGF-β-induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition in adenomyosis

Uterine disease: Regulatory pathways identified A regulatory link between two proteins involved in the progression of a debilitating uterine condition highlights a potential therapeutic target. Adenomyosis involves the invasion of cells from the inner lining of the uterus (the endometrium) into the uterine muscle wall (the myometrium), resulting in heavy, prolonged periods and chronic pain. The aberrent activation of a protein called β-catenin triggers adenomyosis, but the precise mechanisms are unclear. A team led by Jung-Ho Shin at the Korea University Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea, and Jae-Wook Jeong, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, USA, used sequencing techniques in mice and human tissue samples to identify the pathways governed by β-catenin in adenomyosis. They found that the Tgf-β2 gene is directly regulated by β-catenin in the uterus. TGF-β2 levels were elevated in human adenomyosis lesions, suggesting the protein could be a therapeutic target

Analysis of the distribution of assimilation products and the characteristics of transcriptomes in rice by submergence during the ripening stage

Abstract Background Research on the submergence stress of rice has concentrated on the quiescence strategy to survive in long-term flooding conditions based on Submergence-1A (SUB1A). In the case of the ripening period, it is important that submergence stress can affect the quality as well as the survival of rice. Therefore, it is essential to understand the changes in the distribution of assimilation products in grain and ripening characteristics in submergence stress conditions. However, such studies have been insufficient at the physiological and molecular biological levels. Results We confirmed that the distribution rate of assimilation products in grain was decreased by submergence treatment. These results were caused by an increase in the distribution rate of assimilation products to the stem according to escape strategy. To understand this phenomenon at the molecular level, we analyzed the relative expression levels of genes related to sucrose metabolism, and found that the sucrose phosphate synthase gene (OsSPS), which induces the accumulation of sucrose in tissues, was decreased in the seeds and leaves, but not in the stems. Furthermore, the sucrose transporter gene (OsSUT) related to sucrose transport decreased in the seeds and leaves, but increased in stems. We also analyzed the biological metabolic processes related to starch and sucrose synthesis, carbon fixation, and glycolysis using the KEGG mapper with selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in seeds, stems, and leaves caused by submergence treatment. We found that the expression of genes for each step related to starch and D-glucose synthesis was down-regulated in the seeds and leaves but up-regulated in the stem. Conclusion The results of this study provide basic data for the development of varieties and corresponding technologies adapted to submergence conditions, through understanding the action network of the elements that change in the submergence condition, as well as information regarding useful DEGs

A Special Section on Selected Peer-Reviewed Articles from the International Conference on Advanced Electromaterials 2011 (ICAE2011)

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