Solitary myofibroma of the mandible in an adult with magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography findings: a case report

Myofibroma is a benign tumor composed of myoid spindle cells. The prevalence of myofibroma in the oral cavity is very low, with the mandible being the most common site. This report describes an adult case of myofibroma that arose on the mandible and includes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) findings. On the MRI T1-weighted images, the tumor appeared with signal iso-intensity and was highly and heterogeneously enhanced with contrast material. On the T2-weighted images, it appeared with increased signal intensity. (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET imaging showed abnormal strong accumulation of FDG in the left mandibular region. The tumor was removed by marginal resection of the left mandible under general anesthesia. Histopathological findings revealed that the tumor stroma contained abundant thin-walled vessels. The postoperative course was uneventful, and we found no evidence of recurrence at the postoperative 34-month follow-up

In Situ Hybridization Analysis of the Expression of Futsch, Tau, and MESK2 Homologues in the Brain of the European Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)

BACKGROUND: The importance of visual sense in Hymenopteran social behavior is suggested by the existence of a Hymenopteran insect-specific neural circuit related to visual processing and the fact that worker honeybee brain changes morphologically according to its foraging experience. To analyze molecular and neural bases that underlie the visual abilities of the honeybees, we used a cDNA microarray to search for gene(s) expressed in a neural cell-type preferential manner in a visual center of the honeybee brain, the optic lobes (OLs). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Expression analysis of candidate genes using in situ hybridization revealed two genes expressed in a neural cell-type preferential manner in the OLs. One is a homologue of Drosophila futsch, which encodes a microtubule-associated protein and is preferentially expressed in the monopolar cells in the lamina of the OLs. The gene for another microtubule-associated protein, tau, which functionally overlaps with futsch, was also preferentially expressed in the monopolar cells, strongly suggesting the functional importance of these two microtubule-associated proteins in monopolar cells. The other gene encoded a homologue of Misexpression Suppressor of Dominant-negative Kinase Suppressor of Ras 2 (MESK2), which might activate Ras/MAPK-signaling in Drosophila. MESK2 was expressed preferentially in a subclass of neurons located in the ventral region between the lamina and medulla neuropil in the OLs, suggesting that this subclass is a novel OL neuron type characterized by MESK2-expression. These three genes exhibited similar expression patterns in the worker, drone, and queen brains, suggesting that they function similarly irrespective of the honeybee sex or caste. CONCLUSIONS: Here we identified genes that are expressed in a monopolar cell (Amfutsch and Amtau) or ventral medulla-preferential manner (AmMESK2) in insect OLs. These genes may aid in visualizing neurites of monopolar cells and ventral medulla cells, as well as in analyzing the function of these neurons

HLA-DPB1*04:01 allele is associated with non-obstructive azoospermia in Japanese patients

Azoospermia is defined by absence of sperm in the semen and can either be caused by obstruction of the seminal tract (obstructive azoospermia) or by defects in spermatogenesis (non-obstructive azoospermia, NOA). Previous studies reported that specific alleles and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region were associated with NOA in East Asians. We attempt to expand upon previous findings by genotyping more HLA genes and to replicate SNP associations by focusing on Japanese NOA patients. HLA typing of six genes (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, -DQB1, and -DPB1) was done on 355 NOA patients using SSO-Luminex assay while genotyping of two previously reported SNPs (rs498422 and rs3129878) was done on 443 patients and 544 fertile males using TaqMan assay. Association was assessed with Chi squared and logistic regression tests. We found that HLA-DPB1*04:01 [corrected p value, Pc 7.13 9 10-6 ; odds ratio (OR) 2.52], DRB1*13:02 (Pc 4.93 9 10-4 , OR 1.97), DQB1*06:04 (Pc 8.94 9 10-4 , OR 1.91) and rs3129878 (p value 3.98 9 10-4 ; OR 1.32) showed significant association with NOA, however, these loci are in linkage disequilibrium with each other. The conditional logistic regression tests showed that DPB1*04:01 is independently associated with NOA, confirming the involvement of the HLA region in the etiology of NOA in Japanese patients

Development and Validation of the College Students' Intention of Seeking Counseling Inventory

The psychological barriers that hinder college students to undergo student counseling are called service gap. To clarify the factors affecting help-seeking behavior among college students,we need a reliable and valid instrument to measure college students' intention of seeking counseling. The purpose of this study was to develop Intention of Seeking Counseling Inventory for College Students,and examined its reliability and validity. The Inventory was developed, based on Cash, Begley,McCown,and Weise's Intention of Seeking Counseling Inventory (1975). Factor analysis suggested three-factor solution and sufficient internal consistency. The first subscale,Psychological and Interpersonal Concerns,included 10 items (α=.92). The second subscale,Academic Concerns, contained 4 items (α=.84). The third subscale,Health Concerns had 3 items(α=.78). Examination of the validity of the Inventory confirmed that it had comparatively high validity. Finally,implications for future research were discussed

The Relationship between Group Leaders' Benefit Finding and Their Evaluations of Supportive Functions in Community-based Self-help Groups for Cancer Survivors

The present study discussed the issues of supportive functions in communitybased self-help groups (SHGs) for cancer survivors. Two questionnaires were sent to 265 SHGs for cancer survivors. The purpose of study 1 was to clarify the current situations of activities in these SHGs and collaborations between SHGs and clinical psychologists. The results suggested that only a few SHGs had collaborated with clinical psychologists although most leaders of SHGs expected supports from clinical psychologists. We proposed the bidirectional exchange of information between SHGs and the community of clinical psychologists. In the study 2, we investigated the relations between group leaders' evaluations of supportive functions in their SHGs and the benefit finding in their cancer experiences. The results showed that the psychosocial and social supports from SHGs might be effective to help group leaders to find benefits in their cancer experiences

A research on supervised experiences of young clinical psychologists and graduate students in Chugoku district

The aim of the study was to clarify supervision (SV) experiences of inexperienced graduates of graduate programs for clinical psychology (M2) and clinical counselors with less than five years of clinical works after completing master's degree (CP) in Chugoku district of Japan. A questionnaire was administered to 570, and 70 M2 (41.2%) and 154 CP (38.5%) were returned the questionnaire with data available for analysis. The questionnaire covered frequency of SV, charge of SV, information of case, demographic information of supervisors (SVR), knowledge and skills attainment in SV, and current situations and issues of regional system of SV. The results showed the differences between M2 and CP. Access to SV was less than I expected. The finding suggested that both M2 and CP were embarrassed with lack of SVR and information of SVR, and they were dissatisfied in SVRs' ability and their special field. Implications for the certified graduate schools of clinical psychology and the prefecture association for clinical counselors are discussed for the expansion of the system of SV

A Review of Clinical Psychological Studies on Palliative Care in Japan

The purpose of this study was to review practical reports and Journals written by clinical psychologists working in End-of-Life Care in Japan and discuss issues that clinical psychologists must address. We categorized clinical psychological studies conducted by clinical psychologists working with cancer patients into 5 psychological services: (a) psychological assessment; (b) psychological intervention; (c) consultation; (d) grief therapy; and (e) program development, and we clarified the features of each service. A result of this study showed that there were many studies in psychological assessment and psychological intervention while there was less study in grief therapy and program development. Finally, importance of exploring studies in End-of-Life Care was discussed in terms of that clinical practices were based on clinical psychological studies