Social influence on preference in situations with different levels of importance

One’s preferences are influenced by another individual’s preferences. The trustworthiness of those individuals can modulate changes in our preferences. Previous studies have examined this social influence in a single situation (e.g., the preference ratings for a T-shirt). Although it is possible that social influence on preference is affected by the importance of the situation, that remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we examined the influence of other individual’s preferences on individual preferences in various important situations. We tested two hypotheses: 1) situations of low importance are more likely to induce one’s own preference than situations of medium and high importance, 2) the influence of a trustworthy individual is larger than that of an untrustworthy individual in situations of low importance, while no difference is found in situations of medium and high importance. Forty-seven participants conducted a two times preference rating task in six situations (two situations for each of the three levels of importance). Preferences for individual characteristics (trustworthy or untrustworthy person) were also presented in the first preference rating task. The results showed that situations of high importance induced a bigger change in preference than situations of low and medium importance. On the other hand, no significant difference in preference change was found between the influence of trustworthy and untrustworthy individuals in each of the three important situations. These results imply that the influence of another individual's preferences on one’s preferences is different in various life situations.本研究は，科学研究費補助金（18K03177）の助成を受けて実施した

Carbon(sp2)-carbon(sp3) Bond-forming Cross-coupling Reactions Using Sulfur-Modified Au-Supported Nickel Nanoparticle Catalyst

We report a carbon(sp2)-carbon(sp3) bond-forming cross-coupling reactions by employing a nano-size nickel catalyst supported on sulfur-modified gold (SANi). This transformation demonstrates an efficient synthesis of functionalized aryl compounds, including heterocycles. Notably, the reactions proceeded in good yields with significantly low leaching of nickel from SANi. Moreover, SANi could be recycled several times without significant loss of catalytic activity.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ohta R., Shio Y., Akiyama T., et al. Carbon(sp2)-carbon(sp3) Bond-forming Cross-coupling Reactions Using Sulfur-Modified Au-Supported Nickel Nanoparticle Catalyst. Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/ajoc.202200229. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited

Methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorder with multiple pulmonary nodules and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy

As has been well recognized, methotrexate (MTX) leads to a state of immunosuppression and can provide a basis for the development of lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs). MTX-associated LPDs can affect nodal sites as well as extranodal sites, though the manifestation of an LPD in the form of multiple pulmonary nodules is rare. Here, we report two cases of MTX-associated LPD with multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules, which was a finding suggestive of lung cancer, and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. After withdrawal of MTX, the multiple bilateral pulmonary nodules and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy disappeared without chemotherapy in both cases. From these results, patients with pulmonary nodules and cervical lymphadenopathy should be examined for head and neck malignant tumors. Also, physicians should carefully check the administration of MTX. In patients with an MTX-associated LPD, we need to make an early diagnosis and consider discontinuing the administration of MTX as soon as possible

Leukocytapheresis Therapy Improved Cholestasis in a Patient Suffering from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis with Ulcerative Colitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an autoimmune disease of the hepatobiliary system for which effective therapy has not been established. Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) therapy is known to effective in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). In addition, effects of LCAP therapy were reported on some autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Here we report the case of a 29-year-old man with PSC associated with UC who was treated with LCAP therapy. He had a 16-year history of UC and a 12-year history of PSC. Although he was under treatment with prednisolone and ursodeoxycholic acid, exacerbation of UC and PSC-associated cholestasis were seen. Since he showed side effects of prednisolone, he was treated with LCAP. Not only improvement of UC, but also decreased serum alkaline phosphatase, γ-guanosine triphosphate and total bile acids, suggesting improvement of PSC-associated cholestaisis, were seen after treatment with LCAP. Our experience with this case suggests that LCAP therapy could be a new effective therapeutic strategy for patients with PSC associated with UC

Higher exercise tolerance early after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the predictive marker for higher probability of later social reintegration

同種造血幹細胞移植後における社会復帰の予測因子を発見 --移植後リハビリテーションがもつ重要性--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-04-09.As the proportion of long-term survivors after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is on the rise, it is essential to consider the significance of quality of life (QOL), including reintegration with society (returning to school or work). This retrospective cohort study aims to illustrate the precise epidemiology of social reintegration later after allo-HSCT and determine its predictive indicators. We enrolled 56 patients, and 40 patients (71%) attained social reintegration at 2 years post-HSCT. Reintegration failure markedly correlated with an inferior performance status and concurrent chronic graft-versus-host disease. In non-reintegrated patients, the physical function at discharge measured by the 6-min walking distance (6MWD) was markedly decreased. On the multivariate risk analyses, sex (female; odds ratio (OR) 0.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.01–0.54; p = 0.01), HCT-CI (≥ 2; OR 0.10; 95% CI 0.01–0.84; p = 0.03), and change in 6MWD (per 5% increase; OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.01–2.13; p = 0.04) were significant predictors of later social reintegration. This study suggests that a multidisciplinary strategy including rehabilitation is essential, especially in patients with poor predictive markers at an early phase, and we should consider suitable rehabilitation programs to prevent a decline in exercise tolerance and improve social reintegration and overall QOL in patients after allo-HSCT

Overcoming minimal residual disease using intensified conditioning with medium-dose etoposide, cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation in allogeneic stem cell transplantation for Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adults

BACKGROUND AIMS: An intensified conditioning regimen incorporating medium-dose etoposide (VP16) is an option for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, the prognostic impacts of the addition of VP16 to cyclophosphamide (CY) and total body irradiation (TBI) in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) ALL with regard to minimal residual disease (MRD) status have not been elucidated. METHODS: The authors retrospectively compared the outcomes of patients with Ph+ ALL who underwent allogeneic transplantation following VP16/CY/TBI (n = 101) and CY/TBI (n = 563). RESULTS: At 4 years, the VP16/CY/TBI group exhibited significantly better disease-free survival (DFS) (72.6% versus 61.7%, P = 0.027) and relapse rate (11.5% versus 21.1%, P = 0.020) and similar non-relapse mortality (16.0% versus 17.2%, P = 0.70). In subgroup analyses, the beneficial effects of the addition of VP16 on DFS were more evident in patients with positive MRD status (71.2% versus 48.4% at 4 years, P = 0.022) than those with negative MRD status (72.8% versus 66.7% at 4 years, P = 0.24). Although MRD positivity was significantly associated with worse DFS in patients who received CY/TBI (48.4% versus 66.7%, P < 0.001), this was not the case in those who received VP16/CY/TBI (71.2% versus 72.8%, P = 0.86). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the benefits of the addition of VP16 in Ph+ ALL patients, especially those with positive MRD status. VP16/CY/TBI could be a potential strategy to overcome the survival risk of MRD positivity

Abnormal phospholipids distribution in the prefrontal cortex from a patient with schizophrenia revealed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry

Schizophrenia is one of the major psychiatric disorders, and lipids have focused on the important roles in this disorder. In fact, lipids related to various functions in the brain. Previous studies have indicated that phospholipids, particularly ones containing polyunsaturated fatty acyl residues, are deficient in postmortem brains from patients with schizophrenia. However, due to the difficulties in handling human postmortem brains, particularly the large size and complex structures of the human brain, there is little agreement regarding the qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of phospholipids in brains from patients with schizophrenia, particularly if corresponding brain regions are not used. In this study, to overcome these problems, we employed matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), enabling direct microregion analysis of phospholipids in the postmortem brain of a patient with schizophrenia via brain sections prepared on glass slides. With integration of traditional histochemical examination, we could analyze regions of interest in the brain at the micrometric level. We found abnormal phospholipid distributions within internal brain structures, namely, the frontal cortex and occipital cortex. IMS revealed abnormal distributions of phosphatidylcholine molecular species particularly in the cortical layer of frontal cortex region. In addition, the combined use of liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry strengthened the capability for identification of numerous lipid molecular species. Our results are expected to further elucidate various metabolic processes in the neural system

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target