Paragonimus westermani infection mimicking recurrent lung cancer: A case report

AbstractHerein, we report a case of Paragonimus westermani infection, which required differentiation from recurrent lung cancer. A 66-year old Japanese man with a history of lung cancer who had undergone a lobectomy was referred to our clinic for treatment of cough, sputum, dyspnea, and a right pulmonary nodule. He had previously eaten seafood he visited China. P. westermani infection was confirmed by the presence of antibody against P. westermani antigen in the patient's serum and eggs in his sputum. Eventually, molecular identification by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing confirmed that the patient was infected with triploid forms of P. westermani

Efficacy of shared decision making on treatment satisfaction for patients with first-admission schizophrenia: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Shared decision making is a promising model for patient-centred medicine, resulting in better clinical outcomes overall. In the mental health field, interventions that consider the patient-centred perspective—such as patient quality of life, involvement in the treatment, treatment satisfaction, and working alliance—have increased and better clinical outcomes discovered for patients with schizophrenia. However, few studies have examined the efficacy of shared decision making for schizophrenia treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a shared decision making intervention compared to treatment as usual on patient satisfaction at discharge for first-admission patients with schizophrenia. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a randomised, parallel-group, two-arm, open-label, single-centre study currently being conducted in an acute psychiatric ward of Numazu Chuo Hospital, Japan. We are recruiting patients between 16 and 65 years old who are admitted to the ward with a diagnosis of schizophrenia without prior experience of psychiatric admission. Fifty-eight participants are being randomised into a shared decision making intervention group or a treatment as usual control group in a 1:1 ratio. The intervention program was developed based on a shared decision making model and is presented as a weekly course lasting the duration of the patients’ acute psychiatric ward stay. The primary outcome measure is patient satisfaction at discharge as assessed by the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire. Due to the study’s nature, neither the patient nor staff can be blinded. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of shared decision making for patients with early-treatment-stage schizophrenia. The intervention program in this study is innovative in that it includes both of the patient and staff who are involved in the treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT01869660

Influence of patient characteristics on duration of seclusion/restrain in acute psychiatric settings in Japan

Peer reviewe

Glacial fjord environment and ecosystem reconstructed from sediments deposited in Bowdoin Fjord, northwestern Greenland.

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OG] Polar Geosciences, Wed. 4 Dec. / 3F Seminar room, National Institute of Polar Researc

Synthesis of tertiary alkylphosphonate oligonucleotides through light-driven radical-polar crossover reactions

光エネルギーで新しい化学修飾核酸を合成 --核酸リン原子の第三級アルキル化に成功--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-11-01.Chemical modification of nucleotides can improve the metabolic stability and target specificity of oligonucleotide therapeutics, and alkylphosphonates have been employed as charge-neutral replacements for naturally-occurring phosphodiester backbones in these compounds. However, at present, the alkyl moieties that can be attached to phosphorus atoms in these compounds are limited to methyl groups or primary/secondary alkyls, and such alkylphosphonate moieties can degrade during oligonucleotide synthesis. The present work demonstrates the tertiary alkylation of the phosphorus atoms of phosphites bearing two 2’-deoxynuclosides. This process utilizes a carbocation generated via a light-driven radical-polar crossover mechanism. This protocol provides tertiary alkylphosphonate structures that are difficult to synthesize using existing methods. The conversion of these species to oligonucleotides having charge-neutral alkylphosphonate linkages through a phosphoramidite-based approach was also confirmed in this study

ERAD components Derlin-1 and Derlin-2 are essential for postnatal brain development and motor function

Derlin family members (Derlins) are primarily known as components of the endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation pathway that eliminates misfolded proteins. Here we report a function of Derlins in the brain development. Deletion of Derlin-1 or Derlin-2 in the central nervous system of mice impaired postnatal brain development, particularly of the cerebellum and striatum, and induced motor control deficits. Derlin-1 or Derlin-2 deficiency reduced neurite outgrowth in vitro and in vivo and surprisingly also inhibited sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP-2)-mediated brain cholesterol biosynthesis. In addition, reduced neurite outgrowth due to Derlin-1 deficiency was rescued by SREBP-2 pathway activation. Overall, our findings demonstrate that Derlins sustain brain cholesterol biosynthesis, which is essential for appropriate postnatal brain development and function