Unlike Glycerophosphocholine or Choline Chloride, Dietary Phosphatidylcholine Does Not Increase Plasma Trimethylamine-N-Oxide Levels in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Choline, betaine, and L-carnitine are transformed into trimethylamine (TMA) by gut microbiota, absorbed into the liver, and oxidized into trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) by flavin-containing monooxygenases. Elevated TMAO levels may negatively affect human health. As phosphatidylcholine (PC) is the main source of dietary choline, its intake or PC-rich foods may be harmful to human health; however, quantitative comparative information among dietary choline compounds (PC, glycerophosphocholine [GPC], and choline chloride [CC]) regarding in vivo generation of TMAO is lacking. Here, we compared the effects of PC, GPC, and CC on plasma TMAO levels in rats. Furthermore, we investigated their effects on gut microbiota at the genus level. Dietary PC did not affect plasma TMAO levels, whereas dietary GPC and CC significantly increased them. At the genus level, plasma TMAO levels were significantly negatively correlated with relative abundances of Anaerotruncus, Actinomyces, Enterococcus, Dialister, Clostridium XIVa, and Granulicatella; they were significantly positively correlated with that of Coprobacter. Moreover, the relative abundances of Anaerotruncus and Coprobacter were found to predict plasma TMAO levels. Therefore, dietary PC, unlike GPC or CC, does not increase plasma TMAO levels in rats. Furthermore, several gut microbes are associated with changes in plasma TMAO levels in rats fed with choline compounds

Evolution of the connection patterns of the cephalic lateral line canal system and its use to diagnose opsariichthyin cyprinid fishes (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)

The cephalic lateral line canal systems were compared among 12 species of the cyprinid tribe Opsariichthyini. All species were characterized by the separation of the supraorbital canal from both the infraorbital and the temporal canals, and the left side of the supratemporal canal from the right side of the canal. In species of Candidia, Opsariichthys, Parazacco, and Zacco, and Nipponocypris sieboldii the temporal canal was separated from the preoperculomandibular canal. In Nipponocypris temminckii and N. koreanus, the temporal canal was connected to the preoperculomandibular canal. Separation of the left and right sides of the supratemporal canal is a possible synapomorphy of the opsariichthyin cyprinids. Opsariichthys uncirostris and O. bidens are unique among the opsariichthyins in that the connection between the infraorbital and temporal canals is retarded. The variation in arrangement of the cephalic lateral line canal system can be used as diagnostic characters for the opsariichthyin species

Intramuscular lesions in musculoskeletal MRI as a favourable prognostic sign in patients with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis

Objectives Anti-differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibody-positive dermatomyositis, which has been described as clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis, complicates rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (ILD). Owing to the absence of significant muscle symptoms, musculoskeletal MRI is often not performed. In this study, we aimed to devise a simple evaluation method using musculoskeletal MRI findings to elucidate the relationship between MRI findings and ILD prognosis and development.Methods The medical records and MRI scans of the proximal muscles at the time of diagnosis were retrospectively reviewed for 28 patients with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis who were admitted to The Jikei University Hospital and The Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital between January 2008 and March 2022. Three observers evaluated nine proximal muscles for high signals on either short-tau inversion recovery images and/or fat-saturated gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images in the fascia and/or in the margins of the muscles in contact with the fascia (fascial pattern), and/or high signals in the muscles away from the fascia (intramuscular pattern), and a consensus was reached.Results Of the 28 patients, 15 presented with ‘radiological myositis’, where an intramuscular pattern was observed at any site. Patients with radiological myositis had significantly higher survival rates than those without radiological myositis, despite the lower rate of triple therapy with prednisolone, calcineurin inhibitors and cyclophosphamide. The spread of ILD on chest CT negatively and significantly correlated with the proportion of intramuscular lesions.Conclusion The detection of intramuscular lesions on musculoskeletal MRI using our novel evaluation method could be clinically useful as a favourable prognostic marker

Figure 3 from: Ito T, Fukuda T, Morimune T, Hosoya K (2017) Evolution of the connection patterns of the cephalic lateral line canal systems and their use as diagnostic characters in the opsariichthines (Teleostei, Cyprinidae). ZooKeys 718: 115-131. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.718.13574

The cephalic lateral line canal systems were compared among 12 species of the cyprinid tribe Opsariichthyini. All species were characterized by the separation of the supraorbital canal from both the infraorbital and the temporal canals, and the left side of the supratemporal canal from the right side of the canal. In species of Candidia, Opsariichthys, Parazacco, and Zacco, and Nipponocypris sieboldii the temporal canal was separated from the preoperculomandibular canal. In Nipponocypris temminckii and N. koreanus, the temporal canal was connected to the preoperculomandibular canal. Separation of the left and right sides of the supratemporal canal is a possible synapomorphy of the opsariichthyin cyprinids. Opsariichthys uncirostris and O. bidens are unique among the opsariichthyins in that the connection between the infraorbital and temporal canals is retarded. The variation in arrangement of the cephalic lateral line canal system can be used as diagnostic characters for the opsariichthyin species

Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma presenting as slow-growing multiple nodules over a long period

Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma is an uncommon slow-growing benign tumor that usually occurs in middle-aged women and generally presents as a solitary well-defined nodule. An 18-year-old woman was incidentally detected to have multiple lung nodules on chest radiography that slowly increased in size over a period of 7 years. Computed tomography images showed multiple well-defined nodules surrounded by numerous smaller nodules with a maximum diameter of 3 cm in the left lung. A percutaneous core needle biopsy was performed, but malignancy could not be excluded because of the high proportion of papillary structures. A video-assisted partial wedge resection was performed and the pathologic diagnosis was pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma. Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma presenting as multiple lung nodules is a rare but very important condition to include in the differential diagnosis of multiple lung nodules. There is a possibility of misdiagnosis of another type of tumor or malignancy on preoperative biopsy. We should be aware not only of the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features of pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma but also of the potential pitfalls in its diagnosis and management. Keywords: Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma, Pulmonary sclerosing hemangioma, Multiple nodules, Biops

Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacteria Preserved in a Permafrost Ice Wedge for 25,000 Years

Phylogenetic analysis of bacteria preserved within an ice wedge from the Fox permafrost tunnel was undertaken by cultivation and molecular techniques. The radiocarbon age of the ice wedge was determined. Our results suggest that the bacteria in the ice wedge adapted to the frozen conditions have survived for 25,000 years