Pcdhβ deficiency affects hippocampal CA1 ensemble activity and contextual fear discrimination

Clustered protocadherins (Pcdhs), a large group of adhesion molecules, are important for axonal projections and dendritic spread, but little is known about how they influence neuronal activity. The Pcdhβ cluster is strongly expressed in the hippocampus, and in vivo Ca2+ imaging in Pcdhβ-deficient mice revealed altered activity of neuronal ensembles but not of individual cells in this region in freely moving animals. Specifically, Pcdhβ deficiency increased the number of large-size neuronal ensembles and the proportion of cells shared between ensembles. Furthermore, Pcdhβ-deficient mice exhibited reduced repetitive neuronal population activity during exploration of a novel context and were less able to discriminate contexts in a contextual fear conditioning paradigm. These results suggest that one function of Pcdhβs is to modulate neural ensemble activity in the hippocampus to promote context discrimination

Adult Intussusception Due to Endometriosis Arising from the Uterine Tube: Report of a Case

Introduction: Endometriosis is a rare cause of intussusceptions in adults. Although intestinal endometriosis sometimes arises as a consequence of direct involvement of the pelvic organs with endometrial tissue, there is no report that this type of endometriosis causes ileocecal intussusception. Case presentation: Computed tomography assessment of a 40-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain revealed ileocecal intussusceptions. The patient was managed by endoscopic reduction followed by laparoscopic resection. Adhesion between the right uterine adnexa and caecum was identified during surgery; therefore, combined resection of the uterine adnexa and ileocecum was performed. Pathological findings revealed that endometriosis, arising from the uterine tube and directly involving the cecal wall, had caused the intussusceptions. Conclusion: Although rare, endometriosis should be considered as part of a differential diagnosis of intussusception in adult women who present with abdominal pain. A preoperative diagnosis is sometimes difficult, therefore, surgical resection could be a reasonable strategy to achieve a precise diagnosis

Liver-kidney axis and plasma Pi rhythm

Circulating inorganic phosphate exhibits a remarkable daily oscillation based on food intake. In humans and rodents, the daily oscillation in response to food intake may be coordinated to control the intestinal absorption, renal excretion, cellular shifts, and extracellular concentration of inorganic phosphate. However, mechanisms regulating the resulting oscillation are unknown. Here we investigated the roles of the sodium phosphate cotransporter SLC34 (Npt2) family and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) in the daily oscillation of plasma inorganic phosphate levels. First, it is roughly linked to urinary inorganic phosphate excretion. Second, expression of renal Npt2a and Npt2c, and intestinal Npt2b proteins also exhibit a dynamic daily oscillation. Analyses of Npt2a, Npt2b, and Npt2c knockout mice revealed the importance of renal inorganic phosphate reabsorption and cellular inorganic phosphate shifts in the daily oscillation. Third, experiments in which nicotinamide and a specific Nampt inhibitor (FK866) were administered in the active and rest phases revealed that the Nampt/NAD+ system is involved in renal inorganic phosphate excretion. Additionally, for cellular shifts, liver-specific Nampt deletion disturbed the daily oscillation of plasma phosphate during the rest but not the active phase. In systemic Nampt+/- mice, NAD levels were significantly reduced in the liver, kidney, and intestine, and the daily oscillation (active and rest phases) of the plasma phosphate concentration was attenuated. Thus, the Nampt/ NAD+ system for Npt2 regulation and cellular shifts to tissues such as the liver play an important role in generating daily oscillation of plasma inorganic phosphate levels

A case of accidental ingestion of a partial denture base removed by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

Summary.The majority of accidental ingestions and aspirations of dental foreign bodies occur during dental treatment.However,most of them are naturally excreted without any problem although the time to excretion varies.Among dental foreign bodies,removable partial dentures involve the risk of causing perforation of the digestive tract due to the morphology of the clasp;therefore,improper treatment or measures may cause serious complications.Now,there are increasing opportunities to proactively use an endoscope to remove foreignsubstances from the gastrointestinal tract.We report a case of accidental ingestion of a removable partial denture,extracted by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.It is important to remove blunt foreign substances by endoscopy at an early stage.Simultaneously,it is imperative to enhance cooperation between dentistry and medicine and take appropriate measures

How can gender be identified from heart rate data? Evaluation using ALLSTAR heart rate variability big data analysis

Abstract Objective A small electrocardiograph and Holter electrocardiograph can record an electrocardiogram for 24 h or more. We examined whether gender could be verified from such an electrocardiogram and, if possible, how accurate it would be. Results Ten dimensional statistics were extracted from the heart rate data of more than 420,000 people, and gender identification was performed by various major identification methods. Lasso, linear regression, SVM, random forest, logistic regression, k-means, Elastic Net were compared, for Age < 50 and Age ≥ 50. The best Accuracy was 0.681927 for Random Forest for Age < 50. There are no consistent difference between Age < 50 and Age ≥ 50. Although the discrimination results based on these statistics are statistically significant, it was confirmed that they are not accurate enough to determine the gender of an individual

Immunocytochemical Detection of Prolactin and Growth Hormone Cells in the Pituitary during Early Development of the Japanese Eel, Anguilla japonica(Endocrinology)

Volume: 9Start Page: 1061End Page: 106