Effects of Assisted Reproduction Technology on Placental Imprinted Gene Expression

We used placental tissue to compare the imprinted gene expression of IGF2, H19, KCNQ1OT1, and CDKN1C of singletons conceived via assisted reproduction technology (ART) with that of spontaneously conceived (SC) singletons. Of 989 singletons examined (ART n = 65; SC n = 924), neonatal weight was significantly lower (P < .001) in the ART group than in the SC group, but placental weight showed no significant difference. Gene expression analyzed by real-time PCR was similar for both groups with appropriate-for-date (AFD) birth weight. H19 expression was suppressed in fetal growth retardation (FGR) cases in the ART and SC groups compared with AFD cases (P < .02 and P < .05, resp.). In contrast, CDKN1C expression was suppressed in FGR cases in the ART group (P < .01), while KCNQ1OT1 expression was hyperexpressed in FGR cases in the SC group (P < .05). As imprinted gene expression patterns differed between the ART and SC groups, we speculate that ART modifies epigenetic status even though the possibilities always exist

Scale space calibrates present and subsequent spatial learning in Barnes maze in mice

Animals are capable of representing different scale spaces from smaller to larger ones. However, most laboratory animals live their life in a narrow range of scale spaces like home-cages and experimental setups, making it hard to extrapolate the spatial representation and learning process in large scale spaces from those in conventional scale spaces. Here, we developed a 3-meter diameter Barnes maze (BM3), then explored whether spatial learning in the Barnes maze (BM) is calibrated by scale spaces. Spatial learning in the BM3 was successfully established with a lower learning rate than that in a conventional 1-meter diameter Barnes maze (BM1). Specifically, analysis of exploration strategies revealed that the mice in the BM3 persistently searched certain places throughout the learning, while such places were rapidly decreased in the BM1. These results suggest dedicated exploration strategies requiring more trial-and-errors and computational resources in the BM3 than in the BM1, leading to a divergence of spatial learning between the BM1 and the BM3. We then explored whether prior learning in one BM scale calibrates subsequent spatial learning in another BM scale, and found asymmetric facilitation such that the prior learning in the BM3 facilitated the subsequent BM1 learning, but notvice versa. Thus, scale space calibrates both the present and subsequent BM learning. This is the first study to demonstrate scale-dependent spatial learning in BM in mice. The couple of the BM1 and the BM3 would be a suitable system to seek how animals represent different scale spaces with underlying neural implementation. Significance Statement Animals are capable of representing different scale spaces. However, whether scale space calibrates goal-directed spatial learning remains unclear. The Barnes maze is a well-established experimental paradigm to evaluate spatial learning in rodents. Here, we developed a larger scale 3-meter diameter Barnes maze (BM3) then compared various navigation features in mice between the BM3 and a conventional 1-meter diameter Barnes maze (BM1). We demonstrated that spatial learning on the BM3 was established, but required more trial-and-error and computational resources than in the BM1, prompting mice to visit certain places persistently. Such learning experiences in the BM3 facilitated subsequent spatial learning in the BM1, but not vice versa. These results suggest that scale space calibrates present and subsequent spatial learning

Acquired laryngomalacia after craniotomy

Background : Laryngomalacia is a congenital abnormality of the larynx that commonly occurs in children and rarely in adults. We report the first case of acquired laryngomalacia mainly due to postoperative seizure and central pontine myelinolysis after scheduled craniotomy. Case presentation : A 69-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for elective craniotomy for craniopharyngioma. After the surgery, he developed refractory seizure and required intubation and mechanical ventilation in the intensive-care unit (ICU). After treatment for the seizure, he was extubated. However, immediately after extubation, he developed stridor and respiratory retraction. We performed fiberoptic laryngoscopy and confirmed that the epiglottis had collapsed into the posterior wall of the pharynx during inspiration, which was suspected to be laryngomalacia. He received invasive mechanical ventilation for two days following re-extubation. After the second extubation, he developed stridor again due to acquired laryngomalacia. Six days later, his respiratory condition had worsened, and he received re-intubation and tracheostomy. After ICU discharge, central pontine myelinolysis was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. Conclusions : Adult-onset laryngomalacia is a rare cause of upper airway obstruction but should be considered as a cause of postoperative extubation failure. We should not delay performing fiberoptic laryngoscopy to evaluate this pathology and provide optimal treatment

Amorphization Effect for Kondo Semiconductor CeRu₂Al₁₀

We measured the magnetic susceptibility , electrical resistivity , and specific heat of a sputtered amorphous (a-)CeRu2Al10 alloy. value for a-CeRu2Al10 alloy follows a Curie-Weiss paramagnetic behavior in the high-temperature region, and magnetic transition was not observed down to 2 K. The effective paramagnetic moment is 1.19 /Ce-atom. The resistivity shows a typical disordered alloy behavior, that is, small temperature dependence for the whole temperature range. We observed an enhancement of and in the low-temperature region of  K. The enhancement in is suppressed by applying a magnetic field. It is suggested that this behavior is caused by the Kondo effect