Effects of Pressure-induced Worry and Negative Thoughts on Verbal and Visuospatial Working Memory Capacity

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pressure-induced worry/negative thoughts on verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) capacity. Twenty-six participants performed two WM tasks (verbal: reading span; visuospatial: spatial span) under baseline and pressured conditions. The results indicated that spatial span declined when participants were under pressure, but reading span performance did not. These results suggest that pressure- induced worry and negative thoughts decrease visuospatial WM capacity. The rationale for pressure-induced worry and negative thoughts not affecting verbal WM is that the practice effect of reading span was not controlled in this study

Representation of Nature in Design : Shinzo Komuro and Christopher Dresser

Session VII : Inheritance of DesignShinzo Komuro (1870–1922) was the first educator to publish a design theory during the Meiji period. His colleagues at Tokyo Technical School focused on the South Kensington method of design education, while Komuro introduced the abstraction of botanical motifs as ‘Benka,’ translating from ‘conventional treatment.’ This methodology suggests composing design patterns based on sketches of natural objects. Although Komuro quotes Christopher Dresser’s design treatises from Principles of Decorative Design (1873) in Ippan Zuanho (The General Design Method), published in 1909, few studies have focused on Komuro’s adoption of Western design methodology, how Komuro imported the word Benka, and the meanings of this term [1]. This paper outlines how the doctrines of the Government School of Design were accepted in Japan; it further discusses how Komuro adopted and modified Dresser’s botanical representation. Consequently, the word Benka originated from its use in the Government School of Design, which Komuro later adapted to construct a systematic design teaching in Japan

Wild-Type Measles Virus with the Hemagglutinin Protein of the Edmonston Vaccine Strain Retains Wild-Type Tropism in Macaques

journal articl

Identification of baseline gene expression signatures predicting therapeutic responses to three biologic agents in rheumatoid arthritis: a retrospective observational study

Ranked gene list by GSEA (TCZ analysis). (XLSX 984 kb

Synchronous bilateral pheochromocytomas and paraganglioma with novel germline mutation in MAX: a case report

BackgroundRecent advance of genetic testing has contributed to the diagnosis of hereditary pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). The clinical characteristics of hereditary PPGL are varying among the types of mutational genes. It is still difficult to specify the pathognomonic symptoms in the case of rare genetic mutations. Here, we report the case of synchronous bilateral pheochromocytomas and paraganglioma with novel MYC associated factor X (MAX) gene mutation.Case presentationA 24-year-old female had hyperhidrosis and hypertension. Her urine test showed high normetanephrine and vanillylmandelic acid. Enhanced computed tomography revealed three enhanced masses in right adrenal gland, left adrenal gland, and left renal hilus. She was diagnosed with PPGL. Because 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy indicated the accumulations in the left adrenal gland mass and the left renal hilus mass and not in the right adrenal gland mass, we performed laparoscopic left adrenalectomy and extirpation of the left renal hilus mass to preserve the right adrenocortical function. However, her symptoms recurred shortly after the operation presumably due to unveiling of the activity of the right pheochromocytoma. Following right adrenalectomy as the second operation, the catecholamine levels declined to normal range. Her genetic testing indicated the novel germline mutation in MAX gene (c.70_73 del AAAC/p.Lys24fs*40).ConclusionsMAX germline mutation is recently identified as a rare cause of hereditary PPGL. The deletion mutation in MAX gene in this patient has never reported before. In the case of bilateral pheochromocytomas, the surgical indication should be decided considering each patient’s genetic background. Due to the possibility for other types of malignant tumors, close follow-up is essential for MAX mutation carriers