Dark Rearing Promotes the Recovery of Visual Cortical Responses but Not the Morphology of Geniculocortical Axons in Amblyopic Cat

Monocular deprivation (MD) of vision during early postnatal life induces amblyopia, and most neurons in the primary visual cortex lose their responses to the closed eye. Anatomically, the somata of neurons in the closed-eye recipient layer of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) shrink and their axons projecting to the visual cortex retract. Although it has been difficult to restore visual acuity after maturation, recent studies in rodents and cats showed that a period of exposure to complete darkness could promote recovery from amblyopia induced by prior MD. However, in cats, which have an organization of central visual pathways similar to humans, the effect of dark rearing only improves monocular vision and does not restore binocular depth perception. To determine whether dark rearing can completely restore the visual pathway, we examined its effect on the three major concomitants of MD in individual visual neurons, eye preference of visual cortical neurons and soma size and axon morphology of LGN neurons. Dark rearing improved the recovery of visual cortical responses to the closed eye compared with the recovery under binocular conditions. However, geniculocortical axons serving the closed eye remained retracted after dark rearing, whereas reopening the closed eye restored the soma size of LGN neurons. These results indicate that dark rearing incompletely restores the visual pathway, and thus exerts a limited restorative effect on visual function

JASTRO IC/IS Guideline for Gynecologic Cancers

It has been postulated that the combination of intracavitary and interstitial brachytherapy (IC/IS) is effective and safe for large and irregularly shaped uterine cervical cancer patients. However, due to its invasiveness compared to conventional intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT), it has to be said that the implementation speed of IC/IS is slow. Until now, there have been no guidelines for required equipment, human resources, and procedural guide focusing solely on IC/IS. The purpose of this guideline is to provide radiation oncologists and medical physicists who wish to start IC/IS with practical and comprehensive guidance for a safe IC/IS introduction and to help accelerate the spread of the utilization of IC/IS nationwide. This is the English translation of the Japanese IC/IS Guidelines, and it was created in an effort to share the Japanese approach to the management of locally advanced uterine cervical cancer worldwide

VLBI Astrometry of AGB Variables with VERA -- A Semiregular Variable S Crateris --

We present a distance measurement for the semiregular variable S Crateris (S Crt) based on its annual parallax. With the unique dual beam system of the VLBI Exploration for Radio Astrometry (VERA) telescopes, we measured the absolute proper motion of a water maser spot associated with S Crt, referred to the quasar J1147-0724 located at an angular separation of 1.23$^{\circ}$. In observations spanning nearly two years, we have detected the maser spot at the LSR velocity of 34.7 km s$^{-1}$, for which we measured the annual parallax of 2.33$\pm$0.13 mas corresponding to a distance of 430$^{+25}_{-23}$ pc. This measurement has an accuracy one order of magnitude better than the parallax measurements of HIPPARCOS. The angular distribution and three-dimensional velocity field of maser spots indicate a bipolar outflow with the flow axis along northeast-southwest direction. Using the distance and photospheric temperature, we estimate the stellar radius of S Crt and compare it with those of Mira variables.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Vol.60, No.5, October 25, VERA special issue

女性投てき選手の筋厚と筋力

本研究では, 女性投てき選手を対象に筋厚と等尺性最大随意筋力の測定を行い, 筋厚と筋力の左右差および筋厚と筋力の関係について検討した。筋厚は超音波Bモード法で測定した。測定部位は, 左右側の前腕屈筋群, 上腕の屈筋群と伸筋群, 大胸筋, 腹直筋, 背筋, 大腿の伸筋群と屈筋群, 前脛骨筋および足底筋群 (腓腹筋とヒラメ筋) であった。等尺性最大随意筋力は, 両側の上腕屈曲力と伸展力および大腿の屈曲力と伸展力であった。本研究から次のような結果が得られた。1) 筋厚においては, 上腕屈筋群及び大胸筋において5%水準で有意に右側 (利き側) の値が大きかった。その他の部位においては右側の方が左側に比べて大きな値を示したが, 有意な左右差はみられなかった。2) いずれの筋力についても, 統計的に有意な左右差は認められなかった。3) 筋厚と筋力の相関についてみたところ, 上腕屈筋群と上腕屈曲力の間には両側とも5%水準で有意な相関がみられた。また, 右側の大腿伸筋群と大腿伸展力の間においても1%水準で有意な相関関係が認められた。その他の筋厚と筋力の間には有意な関係はみられなかった。以上の結果より, 本研究の被験者の女性投てき選手の筋厚の傾向は, 右側 (利き側) が左側よりもより大きな値を示した。日常的に実施されているウエイトトレーニングは両側を使っているが, これ以外に日々の練習ではおもに利き手, 利き足側を有意に使用しているために筋厚に左右差が生じたものと考えられる。しかし, 筋力には左右差が認められなかった。この原因として, 利き手利き足側の筋厚は厚いにもかかわらず運動単位の強さや頻度が小さかったことが考えられる。In this study, muscle thickness and strength were measured in thirteen female throwers aged between 18 and 22 years old. The muscle thickness was measured by using B-scan ultrasound equipment. Measurement muscle groups were as follows : anterior forearm m., biceps m. of arm, triceps m. of arm, greater pectoral m., rectus m. of abdomen, erecter m. of spine, quadriceps m. of thigh, biceps m. of thigh, anterior tibial m. and triceps of calf on both sides. Maximum voluntary contractions were measured for upper arm contraction strength and upper arm extension strength, and for thigh contraction strength and thigh extension strength on both sides. In this study, the following results were obtained : 1) Muscle thickness of the right side (dominant side) was significantly greater than that of the other side in biceps and chest (p < 0.05). In other muscle groups, however, no significant difference was observed between right and left sides. 2) In all muscle groups, similar maximal strength was obtained from both sides. 3) A significant correlation of muscle thickness and muscle was observed between right quadriceps and right thigh extension strength (p < 0.01), and between upper arm contraction strength (p < 0.05), respectively

TEACCH-based group social skills training for children with high-functioning autism: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

[Background]Although social skills training programs for people with high-functioning autism (HFA) are widely practiced, the standardization of curricula, the examination of clinical effectiveness, and the evaluation of the feasibility of future trials have yet to be done in Asian countries. To compensate for this problem, a Japanese pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH)-based group social skills training for children with HFA and their mothers was conducted. [Methods]Eleven children with HFA, aged 5–6 years, and their mothers were randomly assigned to the TEACCH program (n=5) or a waiting-list control group (n=6). The program involved comprehensive group intervention and featured weekly 2-hour sessions, totaling 20 sessions over six months. The adaptive behaviors and social reciprocity of the children, parenting stress, and parent–child interactions were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and Interaction Rating Scale (IRS). [Results]Through this pilot trial, the intervention and evaluation of the program has been shaped. There were no dropouts from the program and the mothers’ satisfaction was high. The outcome measurements improved more in the program group than in the control group, with moderate effect sizes (SDQ, 0.71; PSI, 0.58; BDI-II, 0.40; and IRS, 0.69). This pilot trial also implied that this program is more beneficial for high IQ children and mothers with low stress than for those who are not. [Conclusion]We have standardized the TEACCH program, confirmed the feasibility of a future trial, and successfully estimated the positive effect size. These findings will contribute to a larger trial in the future and to forthcoming systematic reviews with meta-analyses

Stimulation with an Intermittent Fragrance Relieves the Sleepiness of a Driver

In this study, we showed that the presentation of an intermittent fragrance by using a driving simulator was effective in relieving the sleepiness of a driver. The driver who stepped on the simulator run continually for 52 minutes. We used an air cannon for intermittently presenting a peppermint fragrance to the driver at intervals of 24 min and 36 min. The driver performed a visual search task after the driving simulator was turned on. Additionally, we measured the perclos (extent to which the eyelids are closed), which is considered an index of sleepiness. The results of our study showed that the driver was not very efficient in performing the visual search task. The subject was relieved of sleepiness after the intermittent presentation of the fragrance at 36-min intervals. On the other hand, when the fragrance was presented continuously, the sleepiness increased at time, and over 48 min, the subject felt very sleepy. We showed that the intermittent presentation of an appropriate fragrance to a driver relieves the sleepiness of the driver