Interactive Visualization System for Psychological Topology

Recently, there is increasing interest in mental support activities, including mental health care, counseling, and mental training in workplaces, schools, and sports teams. As a background to these things, various analysis methods have been developed to clarify and visualize the subject’s mental state based on these data. We tried to reveal and visualize the transition patterns of the subjects’ mental states by analyzing their utterances. Furthermore, we developed an interactive system of visualization of psychological state to support visual understanding of psychological topology. Features have been implemented to enable multidimensional data to visualize the movements shown on the SOM map. In this paper, we describe the system that can interactively visualize psychological states

Evaluation of Haplotype Inference Using Definitive Haplotype Data Obtained from Complete Hydatidiform Moles, and Its Significance for the Analyses of Positively Selected Regions

The haplotype map constructed by the HapMap Project is a valuable resource in the genetic studies of disease genes, population structure, and evolution. In the Project, Caucasian and African haplotypes are fairly accurately inferred, based mainly on the rules of Mendelian inheritance using the genotypes of trios. However, the Asian haplotypes are inferred from the genotypes of unrelated individuals based on population genetics, and are less accurate. Thus, the effects of this inaccuracy on downstream analyses needs to be assessed. We determined true Japanese haplotypes by genotyping 100 complete hydatidiform moles (CHM), each carrying a genome derived from a single sperm, using Affymetrix 500 K Arrays. We then assessed how inferred haplotypes can differ from true haplotypes, by phasing pseudo-individualized true haplotypes using the programs PHASE, fastPHASE, and Beagle. We found that, at various genomic regions, especially the MHC locus, the expansion of extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH), which is a measure of positive selection, is obscured when inferred Asian haplotype data is used to detect the expansion. We then mapped the genome using a new statistic, XDiHH, which directly detects the difference between the true and inferred haplotypes, in the determination of EHH expansion. We also show that the true haplotype data presented here is useful to assess and improve the accuracy of phasing of Asian genotypes

Discovery of novel enzyme genes involved in the conversion of an arylglycerol-β-aryl ether metabolite and their use in generating a metabolic pathway for lignin valorization

Microbial conversions known as “biological funneling” have attracted attention for their ability to upgrade heterogeneous mixtures of low-molecular-weight aromatic compounds obtained by chemical lignin depolymerization. β-hydroxypropiovanillone (HPV) and its analogs can be obtained by chemoselective catalytic oxidation of lignin using 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone/tert-butyl nitrite/O2, followed by cleavage of arylglycerol-β-aryl ether with zinc. Sphingobium sp. strain SYK-6 can degrade HPV generated by the catabolism of arylglycerol-β-aryl ether through 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylate (PDC), a promising platform chemical. Therefore, production of PDC from HPV can be achieved using the HPV catabolic pathway. However, the pathway and genes involved in the catabolism of vanilloyl acetic acid (VAA) generated during HPV catabolism have not been investigated. In the present study, we isolated SLG_24960 (vceA), which encodes an enzyme that converts VAA into a coenzyme A (CoA) derivative of vanillate (vanilloyl-CoA) from SYK-6, by shotgun cloning. The analysis of a vceA mutant indicated that this gene is not required for VAA conversion in vivo, but it encodes a major enzyme catalyzing CoA-dependent VAA conversion in vitro. We also identified SLG_12450 (vceB), whose product can convert vanilloyl-CoA to vanillate. Enzyme genes besides vceA and vceB, which are necessary for the conversions of HPV to VAA and of vanillate to PDC, were introduced and expressed in Pseudomonas putida. The resulting engineered strain completely converted 1 mM HPV into PDC after 24 h. Our results suggest that the enzyme genes that are not required for the catabolic pathway in microorganisms but can be used for the conversion of target substrates are buried in microbial genomes. These genes are, thus, useful for designing metabolic pathways to produce value-added metabolites.PostprintPeer reviewe

Mood Stabilizers and Antipsychotics for Acute Mania: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Augmentation Therapy vs Monotherapy From the Perspective of Time to the Onset of Treatment Effects

Background: Existing meta-analytic evidence on bipolar mania treatment has revealed that augmentation therapy (AUG) with antipsychotics and mood stabilizers is more effective than monotherapy. However, the speed of the onset of treatment effects and subsequent changes in risk/benefit are unclear. Methods: We searched the Cochrane CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases until January 2021. Our primary outcomes were response and tolerability. We set 3 time points: 1, 3, and 6 weeks after randomization. Results: Seventeen studies compared AUG therapy and MS monotherapy (comparison 1), and 8 studies compared AUG therapy and antipsychotics monotherapy (comparison 2). In comparison 1, AUG therapy resulted in significantly more responses than monotherapy, with an odds ratio of 1.45 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17 to 1.80) at 3 weeks and 1.59 (95% CI: 1.28 to 1.99) at 6 weeks. Significant improvement was observed in the first week with a standardized mean difference of −0.25 (95% CI: −0.38 to −0.12). In comparison 2, AUG therapy was significantly more effective than monotherapy, with an odds ratio of 1.73 (95% CI: 1.25 to 2.40) at 3 weeks and 1.74 (95% CI: 1.11 to 2.73) at 6 weeks. Significant improvement was observed in the first week with an standardized mean difference of −0.23 (95% CI: −0.39 to −0.07). Regarding tolerability, there was no significant difference between AUG therapy and monotherapy at 3 and 6 weeks in both comparisons. Conclusions: Early AUG therapy should be considered, as it has shown efficacy from weeks 1 to 6, although attention to side effects is necessary for acute mania treatment

Genetic Relationships among Lancelet Populations in Seto Inland Sea Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences <Article>

Genetic relationships were examined among a total of 74 lancelets, Branchiostoma japonicum (Willey 1897), collected at 16 stations in the Seto Inland Sea on the basis of the sequence of the COI region of mitochondrial DNA. Genetic divergence was usually high at the stations near straits. Besides, there were no significant relationships between geographical and genetic distances of individual lancelets. As many as 62 haplotypes were recognized, among which only three comprised multiple individuals from distant stations, and the remaining ones comprised a single individual. In a dendrogram, some clusters were made up of individuals from nearby stations whereas other ones were made up of those from more or less distant stations. These results suggest that the high genetic heterogeneity of the lancelet population in the Seto Inland Sea is maintained by continuous genetic exchanges via a large-scale dispersion at long planktonic stages driven by tidal and constant currents in this region

Association between BRCA Gene Variants and the Response to Modified FOLFIRINOX in Patients with Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer

We investigated the effect of modified FOLFIRINOX (mFFX) in unresectable pancreatic cancer by retrospectively analyzing the cases of 43 patients who underwent BRCA testing (germline, n=11; somatic, n=26; both germline and somatic, n=6). The association between BRCA mutations and therapeutic effect was clarified. Six patients tested positive for germline pathogenic variants. Familial pancreatic cancer (33% vs. 3%, p=0.006) and peritoneal disseminated lesions (66% vs. 8%, p<0.001) were significantly more common in patients with germline pathogenic variants. The partial response (PR) rate was 100% in the germline BRCA-positive patients, and 27% in the germline BRCA-negative patients (p<0.001). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was not reached for any germline BRCA-positive patients but was 9.0 months for the germline BRCA-negative patients (p=0.042). Patients with stage IV BRCA-associated pancreatic cancer had better overall survival than those with non-BRCA-associated pancreatic cancer, although the difference was nonsignificant (not reached vs. 655 days, p=0.061). Our results demonstrate that a PR and prolonged PFS can be expected in germline BRCA-positive patients after treatment with mFFX. Our findings also suggest that germline BRCA pathogenic variants may be useful as biomarkers for the therapeutic effect of mFFX in patients with pancreatic cancer

Utility of a 21-gauge Menghini-type biopsy needle with the rolling method for an endoscopic ultrasound-guided histological diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis: a retrospective study

Background The histological diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) by an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided approach is still challenging. Methods We investigated the utility of the 21-gauge Menghini-type biopsy needle with the rolling method for the histological diagnosis of AIP, in comparison with conventional 22-gauge needles. Among total 28 patients, rate of definitive histological diagnosis, acquired sample area of tissue, rate of histopathological diagnosis of AIP, and adverse events were retrospectively analyzed. Results Definitive histological diagnoses were successfully accomplished in all 14 patients (100%) treated with a Menghini-type needle, and in 57% of cases (8/14) treated with conventional 22-gauge needles (P  Conclusion EUS-guided rolling method with the 21-gauge Menghini-type biopsy needle is useful for the histopathological diagnosis of AIP, due to its abundant acquisition of good-quality tissue from the pancreas.</br