Preliminary study of discrimination of human vocal commands in walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)

Walruses seem to use various acoustic signals in social context. So, the auditory faculty is seems to be important for walruses. Can walruses understand another animals' vocal information using auditory sense? This study tested whether a male walrus could discriminate human vocal words and perform different actions corresponding to each one under various conditions. The subject, a male walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) named Pou, was set on the ground, and the experimenter spoke one of the ten words to the subject under the following conditions; (1) The experimenter stood close to the subject and spoke each vocal stimulus wearing a black cloak and goggles so that the experimenter's eye and body movements would not influence the subject's behavior, (2) A wooden board was placed between the experimenter and the subject so that the subject could not see the experimenter, (3) A wooden board was placed between the experimenter and the subject so that the subject could not to see the experimenter, and the experimenter uttered each vocal stimulus through an audio speaker. Under each condition, when the subject performed the correct action corresponding to the vocal stimulus, he was rewarded with a piece of fish. As a result, the subject responded correctly to almost all the human vocal stimuli in every condition, including when the speaker was not visible. This means that he was indeed responding to the vocal words and not the experimenter's cues. This study demonstrated that walruses can hear and identify human vocal words using their auditory sense and can form correspondence between vocal words and their meanings

地域気象観測に基づく波浪の予測手法に関する検討

要旨あり時空間統計解析：新たなる分野横断的展開原著論

Usefulness of Pure Laparoscopic Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Severely Cirrhotic Patient

The number of patients undergoing laparoscopic hepatectomy has rapidly increased in recent years, and indications for this procedure are gradually expanding. Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy is reportedly useful in cases with severe liver cirrhosis. A 55-year-old woman under observation for liver cirrhosis was found to have hepatocellular carcinoma in liver segment III and was referred to our hospital for surgery. The tumor was located in the edge of liver segment III, where percutaneous ablation therapy was unsuitable. Since her hepatic functional reserve was poor, pure laparoscopic partial hepatectomy was performed. The postoperative course was favorable, with no ascites retention, edema or weight gain. The greatest advantage of pure laparoscopic hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with concomitant liver cirrhosis is that postoperative ascites retention is minimal, meaning that there is little risk of water-electrolyte imbalance associated with ascites retention or hypoproteinemia. This is believed to be because the abdominal incision is small and mobilization of the liver is minimized, reducing the destruction of the routes of collateral lymph flow and blood flow generated in patients with liver cirrhosis. Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy may be a treatment choice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and concomitant severe liver cirrhosis

Carotid Artery Revascularization Improves Cardiac Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Patients With Carotid Artery Stenosis

Background: The carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex controls the neural regulation of blood pressure. Baroreceptor disorders due to carotid sinus atherosclerosis have detrimental cardiovascular effects. This study investigated the medium-term effects of carotid artery revascularization (CAR) on sympathetic and cardiac function and systemic blood pressure variability in patients with carotid artery stenosis.Methods: This study included 21 consecutive patients (median age 70 years, 18 men) with carotid artery stenosis scheduled for CAR. 123I metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy, echocardiography, brain natriuretic peptide levels, 24-h Holter electrocardiography (ECG), and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring assessed approximately 3 months postoperatively were compared to preoperative data.Results: All 21 enrolled patients underwent CAR. Carotid artery stenting was done in three patients with cardiovascular risk or anatomical difficult for carotid endarterectomy. The mean common carotid artery end-diastolic velocity improved significantly (P < 0.01) by 1.6-fold, from 10.8 ± 3.2 to 16.1 ± 7.1 cm/s. In 123I-MIBG scintigraphy, the heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) count ratio was significantly higher than preoperatively (from 2.66 ± 0.48 to 2.86 ± 0.56, P = 0.03). Holter ECG analysis revealed a significant decrease in the low-frequency/high-frequency (LF/HF) ratio compared to preoperatively (from 2.17 ± 1.20 to 1.62 ± 0.68, P = 0.04). These findings suggest decreased myocardial sympathetic activation. In echocardiography, the tissue Doppler-derived e’ increased, and E/e’ decreased significantly (P < 0.05) from 11.7 ± 5.1 to 10.1 ± 4.0, suggesting an improved left ventricular diastolic capacity. The mean 24-h and nighttime blood pressures were unchanged.Conclusions: CAR in patients with carotid stenosis may provide medium-term improvement in cardiac sympathetic nerve activity and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction

Usefulness of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in a Patient With Takayasu\u27s Arteritis Associated With Antiphospholipid Syndrome

A 36-year-old woman was admitted for recurring chest pain and hemoptysis. Blood pressure in the right and left arms was equal, and no murmurs or bruits were heard. Body temperature was normal on admission and remained within the normal range during the hospital stay. C-reactive protein was slightly elevated (2.3 mg/dL) and lupus anticoagulant was positive. Angiography showed no abnormality of the aorta or its branches, but the left pulmonary artery showed occlusion at the proximal portion. Computed tomography (CT) revealed segmental wall thickening of the thoracic aorta. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18FDG PET) showed high uptake in the proximal portion of the left pulmonary artery and in the thoracic aorta with wall thickening on CT. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of Takayasu\u27s arteritis associated with antiphospholipid syndrome was made and high-dose steroid therapy (prednisolone 30 mg/day) was started. Two months later, the C-reactive protein level had decreased from 2.3 mg/dL to 1.1 mg/dL, and both the focal wall thickening and 18FDG uptake of the thoracic aorta were decreased. 18FDG PET was useful for evaluating the efficacy of the steroid therapy in addition to making a diagnosis of Takayasu\u27s arteritis associated with antiphospholipid syndrome

Reduction of Superoxide Dismutase 1 Delays Regeneration of Cardiotoxin-Injured Skeletal Muscle in KK/Ta-Ins2Akita Mice with Progressive Diabetic Nephropathy

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a major antioxidant enzyme for superoxide removal, and cytoplasmic SOD (SOD1) is expressed as a predominant isoform in all cells. We previously reported that renal SOD1 deficiency accelerates the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN) via increasing renal oxidative stress. To evaluate whether the degree of SOD1 expression determines regeneration capacity and sarcopenic phenotypes of skeletal muscles under incipient and advanced DN conditions, we investigated the alterations of SOD1 expression, oxidative stress marker, inflammation, fibrosis, and regeneration capacity in cardiotoxin (CTX)-injured tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of two Akita diabetic mouse models with different susceptibility to DN, DN-resistant C57BL/6-Ins2Akita and DNprone KK/Ta-Ins2Akita mice. Here, we report that KK/Ta-Ins2Akita mice, but not C57BL/6-Ins2Akita mice, exhibit delayed muscle regeneration after CTX injection, as demonstrated by the finding indicating significantly smaller average cross-sectional areas of regenerating TA muscle myofibers relative to KK/Ta-wild-type mice. Furthermore, we observed markedly reduced SOD1 expression in CTX-injected TA muscles of KK/Ta-Ins2Akita mice, but not C57BL/6-Ins2Akita mice, along with increased inflammatory cell infiltration, prominent fibrosis and superoxide overproduction. Our study provides the first evidence that SOD1 reduction and the following superoxide overproduction delay skeletal muscle regeneration through induction of overt inflammation and fibrosis in a mouse model of progressive DN