Flavor Symmetry and Vacuum Aligned Mass Textures

The mass matrix forms of quarks and leptons are discussed in theory with permutation flavor symmetry. The structure of scalar potential is analyzed in case that electroweak doublet Higgs fields have non-trivial flavor symmetry charges. We find that realistic forms of mass matrices are obtained dynamically in the vacuum of the theory, where some of Higgs bosons have vanishing expectation values which lead to vanishing elements in quark and lepton mass matrices. Mass textures are realized in the true vacuum and their positions are controlled by flavor symmetry. An interesting point is that, due to the flavor group structure, the up and down quark mass matrices are automatically made different in the vacuum, which lead to non-vanishing generation mixing. It is also discussed that flavor symmetry is needed to be broken in order not to have too light scalars. The lower bounds of Higgs masses are derived from the experimental data of flavor-changing rare processes such as the neutral K meson mixing.Comment: 30pages, 2figures, some discussions are added, one reference is adde

Stigma in response to mental disorders: a comparison of Australia and Japan

BACKGROUND: There are few national or cross-cultural studies of the stigma associated with mental disorders. Australia and Japan have different systems of psychiatric health care, and distinct differences in cultural values, but enjoy similar standards of living. This study seeks to compare the nature and extent of stigma among the public in the two countries. METHODS: A household survey of the public was conducted in each country using similar methodologies. The Australian study comprised a national survey of 3998 adults aged over 18 years. The Japanese survey involved 2000 adults aged 20 to 69 from 25 regional sites distributed across the country. Interviewees reported their personal attitudes (personal stigma, social distance) and perceptions of the attitudes of others (perceived stigma, perceived discrimination) in the community with respect to four case vignettes. These vignettes described a person with: depression; depression with suicidal ideation; early schizophrenia; and chronic schizophrenia. RESULTS: Personal stigma and social distance were typically greater among the Japanese than the Australian public whereas the reverse was true with respect to the perception of the attitudes and discriminatory behaviour of others. In both countries, personal stigma was significantly greater than perceived stigma. The public in both countries showed evidence of greater social distance, greater personal stigma and greater perceived stigma for schizophrenia (particularly in its chronic form) than for depression. There was little evidence of a difference in stigma for depression with and without suicide for either country. However, social distance was greater for chronic compared to early schizophrenia for the Australian public. CONCLUSION: Stigmatising attitudes were common in both countries, but negative attitudes were greater among the Japanese than the Australian public. The results suggest that there is a need to implement national public awareness interventions tailored to the needs of each country. The current results provide a baseline for future tracking of national stigma levels in each country

Public beliefs about causes and risk factors for mental disorders: a comparison of Japan and Australia

BACKGROUND: Surveys of the public in a range of Western countries have shown a predominant belief in social stressors as causes of mental disorders. However, there has been little direct cross-cultural comparison. Here we report a comparison of public beliefs about the causes of mental disorders in Japan and Australia. METHODS: Surveys of the public were carried out in each country using as similar a methodology as feasible. In both countries, household interviews were carried out concerning beliefs about causes and risk factors in relation to one of four case vignettes, describing either depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, early schizophrenia or chronic schizophrenia. In Japan, the survey involved 2000 adults aged between 20 and 69 from 25 regional sites spread across the country. In Australia, the survey involved a national sample of 3998 adults aged 18 years or over. RESULTS: In both countries, both social and personal vulnerability causes were commonly endorsed across all vignettes. The major differences in causal beliefs were that Australians were more likely to believe in infection, allergy and genetics, while Japanese were more likely to endorse "nervous person" and "weakness of character". For risk factors, Australians tended to believe that women, the young and the poor were more at risk of depression, but these were not seen as higher risk groups by Japanese. CONCLUSION: In both Japan and Australia, the public has a predominant belief in social causes and risk factors, with personal vulnerability factors also seen as important. However, there are also some major differences between the countries. The belief in weakness of character as a cause, which was stronger in Japan, is of particular concern because it may reduce the likelihood of seeking professional help and support from others

Mitochondrial and apoptotic neuronal death signaling pathways in cerebral ischemia

AbstractMitochondria play important roles as the powerhouse of the cell. After cerebral ischemia, mitochondria overproduce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have been thoroughly studied with the use of superoxide dismutase transgenic or knockout animals. ROS directly damage lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids in the cell. Moreover, ROS activate various molecular signaling pathways. Apoptosis-related signals return to mitochondria, then mitochondria induce cell death through the release of pro-apoptotic proteins such as cytochrome c or apoptosis-inducing factor. Although the mechanisms of cell death after cerebral ischemia remain unclear, mitochondria obviously play a role by activating signaling pathways through ROS production and by regulating mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathways

Surgical Resection of Hepatic Cystic Echinococcosis Impaired by Preoperative Diagnosis

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a rare afferent infectious disease in Japan. This paper reports a case of a hepatic cyst being diagnosed after surgical resection. A 40-year-old Syrian male was admitted for evaluation of a hepatic cyst. Serum antibodies of echinococcosis were negative. Enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a large cystic lesion, 9 cm in diameter, in the left lateral sector of the liver, which had many honeycomb-like septa and calcified lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging of this lesion revealed high intensity in the T2 weighted image. We preoperatively diagnosed this lesion as cystadenocarcinoma or CE and performed a left hepatectomy. Pathological examination revealed the presence of protoscolices in the fluid of the cysts and led to a diagnosis of this lesion as CE. In conclusion, on seeing patients with huge hepatic cysts who come from an epidemic area, we should consider hepatic CE

A Clinical Evaluation of American Brachytherapy Society Consensus Guideline for Bulky Vaginal Mass in Gynecological Cancer

Objectives American Brachytherapy Society (ABS)-recommended interstitial brachytherapy (IBT) should be considered for bulky vaginal tumor thicker than 5 mm. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ABS consensus guideline for patients with severe vaginal invasion based on our long-term follow-up results.Methods/MaterialsThe study included 7 patients with vaginal cancer and 14 patients with cervical cancer invading to the lower vagina. Based on prebrachytherapy magnetic resonance imaging findings, patients received intracavitary brachytherapy (ICT) for vaginal tumors 5 mm or less or IBT for vaginal tumors less than 5 mm. Nine patients received ICT and the remaining 12 patients received IBT. For dosimetric comparison, an experimental recalculation as the virtual IBT for patients actually treated by ICT, and vice versa, was performed.Results The 5-year local control rate for all tumors was 89.4%. No differences in local control between ICT- and IBT-treated groups were observed (P = 0.21). One patient experienced a grade 3 rectal complication. There were no significant differences in the CTV D90 and rectum D2cc between the 2 groups (P = 0.13 and 0.39, respectively). In the dosimetric study of ICT-treated patients, neither the actual ICT plans nor the experimental IBT plans exceeded the limited dose for organs at risk, which were recommended in the guideline published from the ABS. In the IBT-treated patients, D2cc for bladder and rectum of the experimental ICT plans was significantly higher than for the actual IBT plans (P < 0.001 and <0.001, respectively), and 11 experimental ICT plans (92%) exceeded the limited dose for bladder and/or rectum D2cc.Conclusions Tumor control and toxicity after selected brachytherapy according to vaginal tumor thickness were satisfactory; IBT instead of ICT is recommended for patients with vaginal tumor thickness greater than 5 mm to maintain bladder and/or rectum D2cc

佐久鯉及び福島県産鯉の脂肪酸組成の比較

In our previous study, we have reported gustatory characteristics of carp grown in two different districts (Saku City in Nagano and Kooriyama City in Fukushima), by comparing odor and taste with instrumental analysis and sensory evaluations. In recent years, there were reports that tastiness of food was related to unsaturated long-chain fatty acids; arachidonic acid, an oleic acid, etc.In this study, the purpose of this work was to compare the fatty acid composition of two carps (Saku carp and Fukushima carp) and to examine their characteristics of tastiness.　As a result, Saku carp contained significantly higher amount of pulmitic acid, stearic acid, alpha-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid than Fukushima one. On the other hand, Fukushima carp contained significantly higher amount of myristic acid, EPA and DHA than Saku one. There was no significant difference between the two carps in the concentration of palmitoleic acid, an oleic acid, linoleic acid and icosenoic acid

トクシマ ダイガク ビョウイン ニオケル シュウジュツキ コウクウ キノウ カンリ ノ ゲンジョウ ト カダイ

It has been shown that oral hygiene affects the onset of perioperative complications. The usefulness of perioperative oral function management aiming at the outbreak decrease in treatment complications and an early discharge was recognized. As a result, perioperative oral function management fee was founded at revision of medical service fees in Fiscal year 2012. 　In this clinical study, we evaluated the implementation of perioperative oral function management in Tokushima University Hospital. We examined 781 patients, including 563 patients for surgery and 218 patients for chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The mean age of patients was 58.8 ± 12.4 years old. 　The implementation rate of perioperative oral function management was 9.7% in the patients of surgery, and 17.4% in those of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The highly required medical department was neurosurgery in the patients of surgery, and hematology in those of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The mean number of tooth present was 21.3 ± 7.1 in the patients of surgery, and 19.8 ± 7.2 in those chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The rate of dental treatment was required in 40.5% of total patients who received surgery, and in 51.4% of patients who received chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The rate of patients who received denture treatment attained to 11.9% of the whole patients receiving surgery, and 13.3% of patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy. 　It was revealed that there were many patients required potential demands in perioperative oral function management, and that there were many patients who need dental or denture treatment. We would like to develop perioperative oral function management by the interprofessional collaboration in health and social care