Cognitive clustering in schizophrenia patients, their first-degree relatives and healthy subjects is associated with anterior cingulate cortex volume

Cognitive impairments are a core feature in schizophrenia patients (SCZ) and are also observed in first-degree relatives (FR) of SCZ. However, substantial variability in the impairments exists within and among SCZ, FR and healthy controls (HC). A cluster-analytic approach can group individuals based on profiles of traits and create more homogeneous groupings than predefined categories. Here, we investigated differences in the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) neuropsychological battery (six subscales) among SCZ, unaffected FR and HC. To identify three homogeneous and meaningful cognitive groups regardless of categorical diagnoses (SCZ, FR and HC), cognitive clustering was performed, and differences in the BACS subscales among the cognitive cluster groups were investigated. Finally, the effects of diagnosis and cognition on brain volumes were examined. As expected, there were significant differences in the five BACS subscales among the diagnostic groups. The cluster-analytic approach generated three meaningful subgroups: (i) neuropsychologically normal, (ii) intermediate impaired and (iii) widespread impaired. The cognitive subgroups were mainly affected by the clinical diagnosis, and significant differences in all BACS subscales among clusters were found. The effects of the diagnosis and cognitive clusters on brain volumes overlapped in the frontal, temporal and limbic regions. Frontal and temporal volumes were mainly affected by the diagnosis, whereas the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) volumes were affected by the additive effects of diagnosis and cognition. Our findings demonstrate a cognitive continuum among SCZ, FR and HC and support the concept of cognitive impairment and the related ACC volumes as intermediate phenotypes in SCZ

Estimation of cool summer damage in the Tohoku region based on the MRI AGCM

We analyzed the impact of climate change due to global warming on the risk of cool summer damage to paddy rice in the Tohoku region of Japan. We downscaled the atmospheric general circulation model of the Meteorological Research Institute(MRI AGCM) to 10 km, and we used monthly average temperatures and their standard deviations to correct the bias of the simulated temperatures. We did not use daily averaged temperatures to determine the risk of cool summer damage. Instead, we used the cooling degree calculated from the average daily temperature over a period of time(CDAT). We also used the standardized yield calculated from temperatures during the month preceding beading. An examination of the reproducibility of cooling damage occurring under the current climate was based on bias-corrected data which revealed that although the simulated risk of cool summer damage slightly underestimated both the CDAT and the standardized yield, the areal distributions of risk were similar to those in years of cool summer damage. We assumed that the heading stage occurred 15.6 days earlier than current climate because of the impact of temperature increase under the future climate and therefore calculated the CDAT and standardized yield by advancing the critical period by half a month. During the second- and third-coolest summers under the future climate scenario, the risk of cool summer damage decreased in the southern Tohoku region facing the Pacific Ocean and inAomori Prefecture on the Japan Sea side, but the risk of cool summer damage was almost the same as during the observed cool summer of 1980. In summary, our results revealed that under a future climate, simulated by the MRI AGCM, the risk of cool summer damage will persist in the Tohoku region; risk management for cool summer damage will therefore be essential, even though global temperatures rise

Article Antianxiety-Like Effects of Chimpi (Dried Citrus Peels) in the Elevated Open-Platform Test

molecule

Antianxiety-Like Effects of Chimpi (Dried Citrus Peels) in the Elevated Open-Platform Test

Dried citrus peels (Chimpi) is one of the most common natural medicines with qi (energy flow) rectifying and shi (dampness) drying actions, which originates from Citrus unshiu, and/or C. reticulata according to the definition of the pharmacopoeiae of Japan and China. In this study, the pharmacological effects of their extracts and major chemical constituents hesperidin and its aglycone hesperetin on anxiety were examined with an anxiety model of elevated open-platform test using ICR male mice (6-week-old) and total duration of freezing was decreased in fluoxetine-treated mice, which is a simple and highly sensitive to the effects of serotonergic anxiolytics. Moreover, yokukansankachimpihange (YKH), a combination of yokukansan with Chimpi and Hange (Pinellia) was also examined because Chimpi is considered to play a crucial part in this formula against anxious symptoms in dementia patients. The results showed that Chimpi and YKH possess a significant anxiolytic-like effect similar to that of fluoxetine, suggesting that they might be similar to fluoxetine in their pharmacological actions through the serotonergic neurotransmission pathway. Moreover, it also suggested that the major chemical constituent, hesperidin could be an active principle attributed to the antianxiety-like effects with a direct and indirect role via its aglycone hesperetin