Task-Guided Selection of the Dual Neural Pathways for Reading

SummaryThe visual perception of words is known to activate the auditory representation of their spoken forms automatically. We examined the neural mechanism for this phonological activation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a masked priming paradigm. The stimulation sites (left superior temporal gyrus [L-STG] and inferior parietal lobe [L-IPL]), modality of targets (visual and auditory), and task (pronunciation and lexical decision) were manipulated independently. For both within- and cross-modal conditions, the repetition priming during pronunciation was eliminated when TMS was applied to the L-IPL, but not when applied to the L-STG, whereas the priming during lexical decision was eliminated when the L-STG, but not the L-IPL, was stimulated. The observed double dissociation suggests that the conscious task instruction modulates the stimulus-driven activation of the lateral temporal cortex for lexico-phonological activation and the inferior parietal cortex for spoken word production, and thereby engages a different neural network for generating the appropriate behavioral response

Clincal evaluation of spa effects for patients with respiratory disease and chronic pain disease

1998年1月より12月までの1年間に,温泉療法-主として温泉プール水泳ないし歩行訓練及び鉱泥湿布治療-を受けた158例の入院症例(呼吸器疾患78例,疼痛性疾患64例,その他16例)について退院時に臨床効果を5段階で評価してもらいそれぞれの入院期間との比較検討を行った｡対象症例の年齢は70才代が最も多く,次いで60才代,50才代,80才代であった｡地域分布では,鳥取県外の入院症例が72.2%を占め,県外である遠隔地としては,岡山県,兵庫県,広島県,大阪府,東京都,神奈川県からの入院が多く見られた｡臨床効果は,"非常に良くなった"と,"かなり良くなった"を有効と判定し,その有効率は呼 吸器疾患では78.2%であった｡一方,疼痛性疾患では,その有効率は50.0%であったが,"少し良くなった"症例を含めると,95.3%,その他の症例は68.8%であった｡入院期間別に検討すると,呼吸器疾患では入院1ケ月で72.7%,2ケ月では81.8%,3ケ月以上では76.5%であった｡一方,疼痛性疾患では,入院1ケ月で21.1%,2ケ月で60.0%,3ケ月で64.0%であり,呼吸器疾患と比べ,効果出現までの期間がやヽ長く,入院期間が長くなるほど,その効果は高くなる傾向が見られた｡Clinical evaluation of spatherapy, mainly swimming and walk training in a hot spring pool and fango therapy, was performed in 158 patients (78 with respiratory disease, 64 with chronic pain disease, and 16 with other diseases) who were admitted at our hospital to receive spa therapy from January to December in 1998. The number of patients over the age of 70 was largest, and the number of patients outside Tottori prefecture (72.2%) was larger than the number inside Tottori prefecture. Spa efficacy was assessed by 5 steps according to improvement of clinical symptoms; efficacy-marked, moderate,and slight, no efficacy, and worse. Spa therapy was evaluated as effective when their symptoms were markedly or moderately improved. The spa efficacy was 72.2% at 1 month, 81.8% at 2 months, and 76.5% at 3 months after spa therapy in patients with respiratory disease. In contrast, the, efficacy was 21.1% at 1 month, 60.0% at 2 months,and 64.0% at 3 months after the therapy in patients with chronic pain disease. The efficacy was higher as the term of admission was longer in patients with chronic pain disease

Application of hot spring pool training in outpatients with chronic diseases and its clinical evaluation

1996年4月より6月までの3ヵ月間に,三朝分院内の温泉プールで水泳ないし歩行訓練を受けた内科外来患者は延べ2109例(実数213例)で,外来患者総数(延べ6848例)に対する利用率は30.8%であった｡これらの対象症例について,リハビリテーション受診カードにより,性別,年令別,疾患別の検討を行った｡その結果,性別では女性が多く(72.3%),年齢別では50才以上の患者が多い(80.3%)傾向が見られた｡また,地域別検討では,鳥取県内からの患 者が多い(88.3%)傾向であった。さらに,1996年12月より1997年1月へかけて,アンケート調査を行い(集計数;64例)継続期間,利用回数,効果を感じた期間,効果のあった症状などについて疾患別に比較検討した｡その結果,慢性閉塞性肺疾患を主とした呼吸器疾患では,週に1～2回の利用回数(50.0%)で長期間(3年以上:52.9%)続けている患者が多い傾向であった｡また慢性関節リウマチ,腰痛などの慢性疼痛性疾患では,訓練期間は比較的短期間であっ たが（3年以下:52.9%),利用回数は週に3～5回(38.0%)と多い傾向が見られた。温泉プール訓練では,疾患本来の症状改善に加えて,全身状態の改善,精神的リラックス,気分転換などを感じていることが示唆された｡For three months from April to June in 1996, 2109(30.8%) of 6848 outpatients (the total number) had swimming and walking traning in a hot spring pool. Of the 213 patients (the actual number), the numbers of female patients (72.3%), of patients over the age of 50 (80.3%), and of those coming inside Tottori prefecture (88.3%) were larger in analysis by the consultation cards for rehabillitation. The results of questionnaire from the patients performed from December 1996 to January 1997 demonstrated that patients with chronic respiratory disease had pool training 1 to 2 times a week (50.0%) and for longer term (more than 3 years, 52.9%), and patients with chronic pain disease had the training 3 to 5 times a week (38.0%) and for shoter term (less than 3 years, 61.9%). It was suggested from the results that tha training in a hot spring pool improved subjective and objective symptoms of each disease, and, furthermore, brought about improvement of general condition, psychological relaxation, and a change of feeling

Evaiuation of spa therapy by questionnaire. Characteristics of patients from distant areas.

1999年4月～12月の9ケ月間の遠隔地からの入院患者80名（痔痛性疾患47例，呼吸器疾患33例）を対象に，岡大三朝分院に来院した動機，入院前の状態，温泉療法の効果，薬剤の変化，退院決定の動機等について退院前にアンケート調査を行い検討を加えた。対象症例の年齢は60才以上の高齢者力て多く，入院期間は1ケ月～2ケ月末満が多い傾向であった。入院前の状態では，今までの治療に不満，限界を感じて来院している症例が71例（88．7％）を占めていた。地域別では広島，大阪，京都，兵庫からの来院か多く，その他18都府県に及んでいた。アンケート結果では，疾患別による若干の傾向と，温泉療法に対する評価として症状の改善が見られ，また，使用薬剤の減量の可能性が示唆された。Clinical evaluation of spa therapy was examined in 80 patients with respiratory disease and with joint pain including lumber pain, who came from distant areas (outside Tottori prefecture) and were admitted at Misasa Hospital by questionnaire in relation to a motive of admission, effects of spa therapy, dose of medication, a motive of discharge. In many of these patients, the age was over 60 years and duration of their admission was from two to three months. Seventy-one- (88.7%) of the 80 patients were admitted at our hospital because they were not satisfactory for the treatment of asthma which they had before. The number of patients from Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo, prefectures was larger than the number from other distant areas. The results of the questionnaire suggest that improvement of symptoms and reduction of drugs used are ecpected by spa therapy

Azithromycin inhibits nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae-induced MUC5AC expression and secretion via inhibition of activator protein-1 in human airway epithelial cells.

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is one of the most common pathogens in chronic airway infections and exacerbation. The hallmark of chronic respiratory diseases, including cystic fibrosis, diffuse panbronchiolitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is mucin overproduction. Prolonged macrolide antibiotic therapy at low doses is known to improve clinical outcome in patients with chronic respiratory diseases via anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of macrolide therapy on NTHi-induction of the MUC5AC mucin in human airway epithelial cells. A 15-membered macrolide, azithromycin, but not a 14-membered macrolide, clarithromycin, inhibited NTHi-induction of MUC5AC at both the mRNA and protein levels through selective suppression of activation of the transcription factor activator protein-1. Our findings suggest that each macrolide affects MUC5AC production in different ways and that azithromycin is more suitable for the treatment of NTHi-induced respiratory infection

The Smallest Reported Malignant Struma Ovarii: A Case Report

Introduction: Malignant struma ovarii is a rare neoplasm. It is usually asymptomatic and not commonly diagnosed preoperatively. In addition, there is currently no established diagnostic and therapeutic approach for malignant struma ovarii. Case Report: A 66-year-old asymptomatic female was referred to our hospital. Computed tomography showed the presence of a well-defined mass with enhancement in the internal and peripheral areas. The patient underwent total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, and partial omentectomy. Histopathology revealed the presence of a papillary thyroid carcinoma arising from a 2.5-cm-diameter struma ovarii (malignant struma ovarii). According to the criteria of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the patient had stage IA disease. Subsequently, she underwent a thyroid scan with normal findings. At the 3-month follow-up, the patient was alive, in good clinical condition, and disease free. Conclusion: In this report, we present the smallest malignant struma ovarii reported so far in the literature. Because of the rarity of these tumors and the lack of firm prognostic factors, the treatment decision should be customized for each patient according to the pathological and clinical parameters

KOTONOHA : A Corpus Concordance System for Skewer-Searching NINJAL Corpora

National Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsPicolab Inc.National Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsThe National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, Japan (NINJAL, Japan), has developed several types of corpora. For each corpus NINJAL provided an online search environment, \u27Chunagon\u27, which is a morphological-information-annotation-based concor-dance system made publicly available in 2011. NINJAL has now provided a skewer-search system \u27Kotonoha\u27 based on the \u27Chunagon\u27 systems. This system enables querying of multiple corpora by certain categories, such as register type and period

Quality of life of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic : a 1-year follow-up study

This study aimed to reveal changes in the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents, and the interaction between their QOL and parental mental state during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Eighty-nine school-aged children and parents participated in surveys in May 2020 (T1) and May 2021 (T2). The parents completed questionnaires that assessed their QOL, depression, parenting stress, and living conditions. Children's temporary mood status was evaluated using the self-reported visual analog scale (VAS). Children's QOL and VAS at T2 were higher than their QOL at T1. Parents' QOL at T2 was lower than their QOL at T1. Severe parental depression at T1 had a synergistic effect on severe parenting stress and severe depressive state at T2. Additionally, children's high QOL at T1 had a synergistic effect on low parenting stress and children's high QOL at T2. Furthermore, children's low VAS scores and parents' low QOL at T2 were associated with deterioration of family economic status. Children and parents' QOL changed during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Improvement in children's QOL was influenced by reduced maternal depressive symptoms. Public support for parental mental health is important to avoid decreasing QOL.Peer reviewe