Diagnosis of Myocardial Viability by Fluorodeoxyglucose Distribution at the Border Zone of a Low Uptake Region

Purpose: In cardiac 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) examination, interpretation of myocardial viability in the low uptake region (LUR) has been difficult without additional perfusion imaging. We evaluated distribution patterns of FDG at the border zone of the LUR in the cardiac FDG-PET and established a novel parameter for diagnosing myocardial viability and for discriminating the LUR of normal variants. Materials and Methods: Cardiac FDG-PET was performed in patients with a myocardial ischemic event (n = 22) and in healthy volunteers (n = 22). Whether the myocardium was not a viable myocardium (not-VM) or an ischemic but viable myocardium (isch-VM) was defined by an echocardiogram under a low dose of dobutamine infusion as the gold standard. FDG images were displayed as gray scaled-bull’s eye mappings. FDG-plot profiles for LUR ( = true ischemic region in the patients or normal variant region in healthy subjects) were calculated. Maximal values of FDG change at the LUR border zone (a steepness index; Smax scale/pixel) were compared among not-VM, isch-VM, and normal myocardium. Results: Smax was significantly higher for n-VM compared to those with isch-VM or normal myocardium (ANOVA). A cut-off value of 0.30 in Smax demonstrated 100 % sensitivity and 83 % specificity for diagnosing n-VM and isch-VM. Smax less than 0.23 discriminated LUR in normal myocardium from the LUR in patients with both n-VM and isch-VM with a 94 % sensitivity and a 93 % specificity. Conclusion: Smax of the LUR in cardiac FDG-PET is a simple and useful parameter to diagnose n-VM and isch

Relationship between Protection against Cold and the Physiological Index during a Cold Environment

A snow cave is a bivouac shelter used in mountain climbing that is widely used as a shelter against the cold during winter. In the outdoors, wind velocity and air temperature have an influence on temperature change. It could stabilize body temperature if it can control the convection of ambient air. This paper could develop a theory focusing on the relation between physiological indexes and the protection against the cold while staying in a snow cave. For example, protection against the cold could be thermal insulation underwear, thermal insulation gloves, thermal insulation socks, a steam warmed temperature sheet and a rescue sheet. Measurement items were heart rate, blood pressure, rectal temperature, score of a subjective thermal sensation and the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. It was clarified that the protection against the cold could be effective for the decrease of the physiological index. These field studies suggest that they would enable the adaptation in the adjustment range of the autonomic nervous system given these protections against the cold

Effects of the prenatal and postnatal nurturing environment on the phenotype and gut microbiota of mice with polycystic ovary syndrome induced by prenatal androgen exposure: a cross-fostering study

The gut microbiome is implicated in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and prenatal androgen exposure is involved in the development of PCOS in later life. Our previous study of a mouse model of PCOS induced by prenatal dihydrotestosterone (DHT) exposure showed that the reproductive phenotype of PCOS appears from puberty, followed by the appearance of the metabolic phenotype after young adulthood, while changes in the gut microbiota was already apparent before puberty. To determine whether the prenatal or postnatal nurturing environment primarily contributes to these changes that characterize prenatally androgenized (PNA) offspring, we used a cross-fostering model to evaluate the effects of changes in the postnatal early-life environment of PNA offspring on the development of PCOS-like phenotypes and alterations in the gut microbiota in later life. Female PNA offspring fostered by normal dams (exposed to an abnormal prenatal environment only, fostered PNA) exhibited less marked PCOS-like phenotypes than PNA offspring, especially with respect to the metabolic phenotype. The gut microbiota of the fostered PNA offspring was similar to that of controls before adolescence, but differences between the fostered PNA and control groups became apparent after young adulthood. In conclusion, both prenatal androgen exposure and the postnatal early-life environment created by the DHT injection of mothers contribute to the development of PCOS-like phenotypes and the alterations in the gut microbiota that characterize PNA offspring. Thus, both the pre- and postnatal environments represent targets for the prevention of PCOS and the associated alteration in the gut microbiota in later life

Lunar Phase-Dependent Expression of Cryptochrome and a Photoperiodic Mechanism for Lunar Phase-Recognition in a Reef Fish, Goldlined Spinefoot

Lunar cycle-associated physiology has been found in a wide variety of organisms. Recent study has revealed that mRNA levels of Cryptochrome (Cry), one of the circadian clock genes, were significantly higher on a full moon night than on a new moon night in coral, implying the involvement of a photoreception system in the lunar-synchronized spawning. To better establish the generalities surrounding such a mechanism and explore the underlying molecular mechanism, we focused on the relationship between lunar phase, Cry gene expression, and the spawning behavior in a lunar-synchronized spawner, the goldlined spinefoot (Siganus guttatus), and we identified two kinds of Cry genes in this animal. Their mRNA levels showed lunar cycle-dependent expression in the medial part of the brain (mesencephalon and diencephalon) peaking at the first quarter moon. Since this lunar phase coincided with the reproductive phase of the goldlined spinefoot, Cry gene expression was considered a state variable in the lunar phase recognition system. Based on the expression profiles of SgCrys together with the moonlight's pattern of timing and duration during its nightly lunar cycle, we have further speculated on a model of lunar phase recognition for reproductive control in the goldlined spinefoot, which integrates both moonlight and circadian signals in a manner similar to photoperiodic response

本学看護学部における3年次OSCEの実施と今後の課題

本報告は、2013年4月に開設した当看護学部において、2015年8月に3年生に対して初めて行ったOSCE (客観的臨床能力試験)の準備から実施までの総括である。一連の記録やマニュアル等から経過を振り返り、今後の改善点を検討した結果、学生の基礎技術の習熟に資する自主練習環境の整備、模擬患者の効果的な導入、評価者役や模擬患者役として実習病院や近隣機関の関係者が教育に参加できるような協力関係の構築が課題として示された

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

A pristine record of outer Solar System materials from asteroid Ryugu’s returned sample

Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth’s water. Our best insight into their chemistry is currently provided by carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, but the meteorite record is biased: only the strongest types survive atmospheric entry and are then modified by interaction with the terrestrial environment. Here we present the results of a detailed bulk and microanalytical study of pristine Ryugu particles, brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Ryugu particles display a close compositional match with the chemically unfractionated, but aqueously altered, CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites, which are widely used as a proxy for the bulk Solar System composition. The sample shows an intricate spatial relationship between aliphatic-rich organics and phyllosilicates and indicates maximum temperatures of ~30 °C during aqueous alteration. We find that heavy hydrogen and nitrogen abundances are consistent with an outer Solar System origin. Ryugu particles are the most uncontaminated and unfractionated extraterrestrial materials studied so far, and provide the best available match to the bulk Solar System composition