Influence of the Excessive Intake of Monosodium L-Glutamate on the Growth and the Livers of Albino Rats

It is already known that the excessive administration of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) will cause various symptoms, and that the overmuch ingestion of amino acids will also give rise to liver disturbances. In the present study, MSG was administered to albino rats orally at varied concentrations, and its influences on the animals\u27 growth and on their livers were examined. In the group given a 1 % MSG solution, the deviation of the body-weight began to enlarge on about the 30th day, because some of the individuals had an inclination to grow corpulent. The vitamin A content of the liver from this group was larger than that from the control group. In the examination of the liver tissue specimens, a little fatty degeneration assumed to be due to toxication was observed, but it seemed not to be so severe as to impede liver function. In the group given a 5% MSG solution, some were thinner than the individuals of the 1 % group. The vitamin A content of the liver from this group was smaller than that from the control group. In some individuals in this group, their body coats turned brown in some spots, with some hairs falling off. Some of the liver tissue cells were attacked by necrosis, showing secondary fatty degeneration. The degeneration was presumed to be caused by toxication. In the group given a 10 MSG solution, all the individuals died by the 5th day. Their body coats had turned brown with a great many hairs falling off

Genetic and clinical landscape of breast cancers with germline BRCA1/2 variants

遺伝性乳癌の遺伝学的・臨床学的特徴を解明 --BRCA1/2 変異乳癌は両アレルの不活化の有無により異なった特徴を持つ--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-10-26.The genetic and clinical characteristics of breast tumors with germline variants, including their association with biallelic inactivation through loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) and second somatic mutations, remain elusive. We analyzed germline variants of 11 breast cancer susceptibility genes for 1, 995 Japanese breast cancer patients, and identified 101 (5.1%) pathogenic variants, including 62 BRCA2 and 15 BRCA1 mutations. Genetic analysis of 64 BRCA1/2-mutated tumors including TCGA dataset tumors, revealed an association of biallelic inactivation with more extensive deletions, copy neutral LOH, gain with LOH and younger onset. Strikingly, TP53 and RB1 mutations were frequently observed in BRCA1- (94%) and BRCA2- (9.7%) mutated tumors with biallelic inactivation. Inactivation of TP53 and RB1 together with BRCA1 and BRCA2, respectively, involved LOH of chromosomes 17 and 13. Notably, BRCA1/2 tumors without biallelic inactivation were indistinguishable from those without germline variants. Our study highlights the heterogeneity and unique clonal selection pattern in breast cancers with germline variants

Optimization of prediction methods for risk assessment of pathogenic germline variants in the Japanese population

Predicting pathogenic germline variants (PGVs) in breast cancer patients is important for selecting optimal therapeutics and implementing risk reduction strategies. However, PGV risk factors and the performance of prediction methods in the Japanese population remain unclear. We investigated clinicopathological risk factors using the Tyrer-Cuzick (TC) breast cancer risk evaluation tool to predict BRCA PGVs in unselected Japanese breast cancer patients (n = 1, 995). Eleven breast cancer susceptibility genes were analyzed using target-capture sequencing in a previous study; the PGV prevalence in BRCA1, BRCA2, and PALB2 was 0.75%, 3.1%, and 0.45%, respectively. Significant associations were found between the presence of BRCA PGVs and early disease onset, number of familial cancer cases (up to third-degree relatives), triple-negative breast cancer patients under the age of 60, and ovarian cancer history (all P < .0001). In total, 816 patients (40.9%) satisfied the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for recommending multigene testing. The sensitivity and specificity of the NCCN criteria for discriminating PGV carriers from noncarriers were 71.3% and 60.7%, respectively. The TC model showed good discrimination for predicting BRCA PGVs (area under the curve, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.69-0.81). Furthermore, use of the TC model with an optimized cutoff of TC score ≥0.16% in addition to the NCCN guidelines improved the predictive efficiency for high-risk groups (sensitivity, 77.2%; specificity, 54.8%; about 11 genes). Given the influence of ethnic differences on prediction, we consider that further studies are warranted to elucidate the role of environmental and genetic factors for realizing precise prediction

Short lingual osteotomy without fixation: a new strategy for mandibular osteotomy known as “physiological positioning”

We describe the strategy of physiological positioning, which we regard as a new alternative treatment to conventional orthognathic operations, and treated 18 patients with skeletal mandibular prognathism using it. The positions of SNB, FMA, and Me were measured postoperatively to assess skeletal stability, changes in the angle and perpendicular length of the upper and lower central incisors were measured to assess dental stability, and we confirmed that both skeletal and dental stability were excellent. The width to which the jaw could be opened recovered early, and we saw only one case of disorder of the temporomandibular joint. Short lingual osteotomy with physiological positioning is an effective new approach to the treatment of deformities of the mandible

EGUIDE project and treatment guidelines

Aim: Although treatment guidelines for pharmacological therapy for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder have been issued by the Japanese Societies of Neuropsychopharmacology and Mood Disorders, these guidelines have not been well applied by psychiatrists throughout the nation. To address this issue, we developed the ‘Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE)’ integrated education programs for psychiatrists to disseminate the clinical guidelines. Additionally, we conducted a systematic efficacy evaluation of the programs. Methods: Four hundred thirteen out of 461 psychiatrists attended two 1‐day educational programs based on the treatment guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder from October 2016 to March 2018. We measured the participants’ clinical knowledge of the treatment guidelines using self‐completed questionnaires administered before and after the program to assess the effectiveness of the programs for improving knowledge. We also examined the relation between the participants’ demographics and their clinical knowledge scores. Results: The clinical knowledge scores for both guidelines were significantly improved after the program. There was no correlation between clinical knowledge and participant demographics for the program on schizophrenia; however, a weak positive correlation was found between clinical knowledge and the years of professional experience for the program on major depressive disorder. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that educational programs on the clinical practices recommended in guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder might effectively improve participants’ clinical knowledge of the guidelines. These data are encouraging to facilitate the standardization of clinical practices for psychiatric disorders

Smart cities in Japan and their application in developing countries

No abstract available

Smart cities in Japan and their application in developing countries

No abstract available