Die besondere Bedeutung von Musik für autistische Kinder

Die Arbeit umfasst eine emprische Untersuchung über die Musikpräferenz von 60 autistischen Kindern. Im Zentrum des Interesses stand das generelle Interesse der Kinder an Musik, ihre Vorlieben für eine bestimmte musikalische Aktivität, für Instrumente und Musikgenres und das Verhältnis zwischen Musikgeschmack und Verhaltensweisen. In dieser Untersuchung wurde folgendes festgestellt; Obwohl alle Kinder auf die eine oder andere Art sprachliche Probleme haben, zeigen sie eine starke Neigung zu text-orientierter Musik. Kinderlieder und Werbungsmusik (Werbungsgesang) wird von den Kindern bevorzugt. Bei der Untersuchung des Verhältnisses von Musikgeschmack und Verhaltensweisen wurde festgestellt, dass die autistischen Kinder mit antisozialen Verhaltensweisen (hyperaktiv, widerspenstig) eine Vorliebe für Werbungsmusik und Techno-elektrische Musik, also für anregende Musik, haben, während die nicht antisoziale autistischen Kinder eine starke Neigung zu Kinderliedern haben

REX-1 Expression and p38 MAPK Activation Status Can Determine Proliferation/Differentiation Fates in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: REX1/ZFP42 is a well-known embryonic stem cell (ESC) marker. However, the role of REX1, itself, is relatively unknown because the function of REX1 has only been reported in the differentiation of ESCs via STAT signaling pathways. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) isolated from young tissues and cancer cells express REX1. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: Human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (hUCB-MSCs) and adipose tissue-derived MSCs (hAD-MSCs) strongly express REX1 and have a lower activation status of p38 MAPK, but bone marrow-derived MSCs (hBM-MSCs) have weak REX1 expression and higher activation of p38 MAPK. These results indicated that REX1 expression in hMSCs was positively correlated with proliferation rates but inversely correlated with the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. In hUCB-MSCs, the roles of REX1 and p38 MAPK were investigated, and a knockdown study was performed using a lentiviral vector-based small hairpin RNA (shRNA). After REX1 knockdown, decreased cell proliferation was observed. In REX1 knocked-down hUCB-MSCs, the osteogenic differentiation ability deteriorated, but the adipogenic potential increased or was similar to that observed in the controls. The phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in hUCB-MSCs significantly increased after REX1 knockdown. After p38 MAPK inhibitor treatment, the cell growth in REX1 knocked-down hUCB-MSCs almost recovered, and the suppressed expression levels of CDK2 and CCND1 were also restored. The expression of MKK3, an upstream regulator of p38 MAPK, significantly increased in REX1 knocked-down hUCB-MSCs. The direct binding of REX1 to the MKK3 gene was confirmed by a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings showed that REX1 regulates the proliferation/differentiation of hMSCs through the suppression of p38 MAPK signaling via the direct suppression of MKK3. Therefore, p38 MAPK and REX-1 status can determine the cell fate of adult stem cells (ASCs). These results were the first to show the role of REX1 in the proliferation/differentiation of ASCs

DHP-Derivative and Low Oxygen Tension Effectively Induces Human Adipose Stromal Cell Reprogramming

BACKGROUND AND METHODS: In this study, we utilized a combination of low oxygen tension and a novel anti-oxidant, 4-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-derivative (DHP-d) to directly induce adipose tissue stromal cells (ATSC) to de-differentiate into more primitive stem cells. De-differentiated ATSCs was overexpress stemness genes, Rex-1, Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog. Additionally, demethylation of the regulatory regions of Rex-1, stemnesses, and HIF1alpha and scavenging of reactive oxygen species were finally resulted in an improved stem cell behavior of de-differentiate ATSC (de-ATSC). Proliferation activity of ATSCs after dedifferentiation was induced by REX1, Oct4, and JAK/STAT3 directly or indirectly. De-ATSCs showed increased migration activity that mediated by P38/JUNK and ERK phosphorylation. Moreover, regenerative efficacy of de-ATSC engrafted spinal cord-injured rats and chemical-induced diabetes animals were significantly restored their functions. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our stem cell remodeling system may provide a good model which would provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying ATSC proliferation and transdifferentiation. Also, these multipotent stem cells can be harvested may provide us with a valuable reservoir of primitive and autologous stem cells for use in a broad spectrum of regenerative cell-based disease therapy

Preparative Synthesis of dTDP-L-Rhamnose Through Combined Enzymatic Pathways

dTDP-L-rhamnose, an important precursor of O-antigen, was prepared on a large scale from dTMP by executing an one-pot reaction in which six enzymes are involved. Two enzymes, dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose 3,5-epimerase and dTDP-4-keto-rhamnose reductase, responsible for the conversion of dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy- D-glucose to dTDP-L-rhamnose, were isolated from their putative sequences in the genome of Mesorhizobium loti, functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, and their enzymatic activities were identified. The two enzymes were combined with an enzymatic process for dTDP-4- keto-6-deoxy-D-glucose involving TMP kinase, acetate kinase, dTDP-glucose synthase, and dTDP-glucose 4,6- dehydratase, which allowed us to achieve a preparative scale synthesis of dTDP-L-rhamnose using dTMP and glucose-1-phosphate as starting materials. About 82% yield of dTDP-L-rhamnose was obtained based on initial dTMP concentration at 20 mM dTMP, 1 mM ATP, 10 mM NADH, 60 mM acetyl phosphate, and 80 mM glucose-1- phosphate. From the reaction with 20 ml volume, approximately 180 mg of dTDP-L-rhamnose was obtained in an overall yield of 60% after two-step purification, that is, anion exchange chromatography and gel filtration for desalting. The purified product was identifiedbyHPLC, ESI-MS,andNMR,showingabout95%purity

Quantum Optical Induced-Coherence Tomography by a Hybrid Interferometer

Quantum interferometry based on induced-coherence phenomena has demonstrated the possibility of undetected-photon measurements. Perturbation in the optical path of probe photons can be detected by interference signals generated by quantum mechanically correlated twin photons propagating through a different path, possibly at a different wavelength. To the best of our knowledge, this work demonstrates for the first time a hybrid-type induced-coherence interferometer that incorporates a Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer for visible photons and a Michelson-type interferometer for infrared photons, based on double-pass pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion. This configuration enables infrared optical measurements via the detection of near-visible photons and provides methods for characterizing the quality of measurements by identifying photon pairs of different origins. The results verify that the induced-coherence interference visibility is approximately the same as the heralding efficiencies between twin photons along the relevant spatial modes. Applications to both time-domain and frequency-domain quantum-optical induced-coherence tomography for three-dimensional test structures are demonstrated. The results prove the feasibility of practical undetected-photon sensing and imaging techniques based on the presented structure

Myoepithelial carcinoma with contralateral invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast

Adenomyoepithelioma (AME) is a rare benign tumor composed of myoepithelial cells (MECs) which are located beneath the epithelial cells of exocrine glands, especially in breast and salivary glands. These tumor cells show biphasic proliferation of epithelial and MECs. Malignant AME is characterized by distant metastasis, local recurrence, cytologic atypia, high mitotic activity and infiltrating tumor margins. A 51-year-old woman presented with an 8 months growth in the left breast. She underwent core-needle biopsy and consecutively mammotome assisted biopsy at a local clinic. After resection, she complained about re-growing remnant lesion and a newly developed solid mass in the right breast. Finally, the remnant mass in the left breast was diagnosed with myoepithelial carcinoma. Concurrently, contralateral breast mass was diagnosed with invasive micropapillary carcinoma. Herein we report an unusual case of synchronous myoepithelial carcinoma and invasive micropapillary carcinoma of the breast with a review of literatures

Body Acupuncture for Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms: A Randomized Placebo-controlled Trial

This study evaluated whether improvements in nicotine withdrawal symptoms (NWS), depression and anxiety are greater for body acupuncture than for sham acupuncture. Smoking volunteers from the public were randomized to receive six sessions of either real or sham acupuncture for 2 weeks. The primary outcome measure was NWS measured by the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Score, and the secondary measures were scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Eighty volunteers were randomized into real acupuncture (n = 38) and sham acupuncture (n = 42) groups, of which 46 subjects (22 and 24 in the real and sham acupuncture groups, respectively) completed the treatment and the 2-week follow-up. An intention-to-treat analysis revealed that the NWS did not differ significantly between the real and sham acupuncture groups immediately after the treatment (12.2 ± 9.7 and 12.8 ± 7.7, respectively; mean ± SD) and at the 2-week follow-up (11.7 ± 10.2 and 12.6 ± 7.8). Both groups also showed similar improvements in BDI and BAI scores. These results indicate that the real acupuncture treatment tested in this trial was no more effective than sham acupuncture at reducing NWS, depression and anxiety for smoking cessation

Green Tea Consumption and Stomach Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES: Green tea has been suggested to have a chemopreventive effect against various cancers including stomach cancer. The aim of this study is to elucidate the relationship between green tea consumption and stomach cancer risk by meta-analysis. METHODS: Eighteen observational studies were identified using MEDLINE, THE COCHRANE LIBRARY, RISS, and a manual search. Summary relative risks/odds ratios (RR/ORs) for the highest versus non/lowest green tea consumption levels were calculated on the basis of fixed and random effect models. Subgroup analyses were used to examine heterogeneity across the studies. RESULTS: The combined results indicate a reduced risk of stomach cancer with intake of green tea (RR/OR=0.86, 95% CI=0.74-1.00). Subgroup analysis with six studies that reported differences between the highest and lowest consumption levels equal to or greater than five cups/day revealed a statistically significant protective effect (RR/OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.53-0.87). CONCLUSION: Green tea appears to play a protective role against the development of stomach cancer. The results also suggest that a higher level of green tea consumption might be needed for a clear preventive effect to appear. This conclusion, however, should be interpreted with caution because various biases can affect the results of a meta-analysis.ope