Genetic Influence on Resilience to Potentially Traumatic Events

Most individuals experience at least one potentially traumatic event (PTE), such as a natural disaster. When exposed to PTEs, some individuals are more vulnerable to develop psychopathology, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In contrast, others are less adversely affected by PTEs, who are often described as “resilient”. A concept analysis of resilience (Manuscript #1) revealed: the antecedent is PTE; the defining attributes are ego-resiliency, emotion regulation, heredity, and social support; and the consequences are none to mild psychopathological symptoms and positive adaptation. Based on a systematic review of genetic influence on resilience (Manuscript #2), the following 10 polymorphisms were identified as candidate genes associated with resilience and selected in this study: rs25531 in 5-HTTLPR, rs4680 in COMT, rs6265 in BDNF, rs1800955 in DRD4, rs1800497 in DRD2, rs53576 in OXTR, rs4606 in RGS2, rs1006737 in CACNA1C, rs9296158 in FKBP5, & rs7209436 in CRHR1. A total of 450 college students participated in this dissertation study (Manuscript #3), completed questionnaires, and donated their buccal cells to extract DNA for genotyping. The results indicated individuals exhibited lower resilience outcomes (i.e., more psychological distress and less positive adaptation) as they experienced more PTEs. However, the effect of PTEs on resilience outcomes was weaker among individuals with high ego-resiliency, strong emotion regulation flexibility, high perceived social support, and the Val allele(s) of rs4680 in COMT. Additionally, the effect of unfavorable physical and sexual experiences on resilience outcomes was weaker among individuals with the G allele(s) of rs4606 in RGS2, the T allele(s) of rs7209436 in CRHR1, and higher scores (i.e., more major alleles) of a Polygenic Susceptibility Score. Major limitation is the cross-sectional design of this study because it cannot assess resilience over the time. In a future study, additional candidate genes associated with resilience need to be investigated, preferably with a longitudinal design among individuals exposed to more specific PTEs. Furthermore, if collaboration with other researchers is possible, a systematic approach, such as Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS), can be considered

Role of the Serotonin Transporter Gene in Resilience to Stress and Trauma: An Integrative Review

Resilience is defined as a multi-dimensional dynamic concept of positive adaptation to stress and trauma. It is estimated that 38 - 52% of phenotypic variation in resilience among Americans is due to genetic variance. Among nine candidate genes associated with resilience, the promoter region of serotonin transporter gene (5- HTTLPR) is of increasing clinical interest. Accumulating evidence suggests those who carry the Short (S) allele of 5-HTTLPR may be at increased risk of developing psychopathology such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, little is known about whether S allele carriers are less resilient to stress and trauma compared to Long (L) allele carriers. The purpose of this poster was to conduct an integrative review on the role of 5-HTTLPR in resilience to stress and trauma. PubMed, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched in January 2014. The keywords used were combinations of the following: “serotonin transporter gene”, “5-HTTLPR”, and “resilience”. Twenty-six articles were identified and reviewed. The results were mixed: 17 studies suggested the S allele is associated with less resilience whereas 4 studies suggested the S allele is associated with more resilience. Potential causes for the inconsistent results were examined, such as the definition of resilience, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and gene by environment interaction. It is recommended that future studies should conceptualize and operationalize resilience more clearly, investigate SNP, and study both the negative and positive environments

Identification of Candidate Genes for Psychological Resilience to Develop an Additive Genetic Resilience Index: An Integrative Review

Problem: Most individuals experience at least one potentially traumatic event (PTE), such as tornado, in their lifetime. When exposed to PTEs, some individuals are more vulnerable to psychopathology, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In contrast, other individuals are better able to cope with PTEs and maintain their psychological health. Such individuals are often described as psychologically resilient. Resilience is heritable, influenced by multiple genes including the Serotonin-Transporter-Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTTLPR), the most studied candidate gene. Because resilience is polygenic, it is important to consider the influence of multiple genes in addition to 5-HTTLPR when studying the heritable component of resilience. Identifying additional candidate genes is the first step in constructing an Additive Genetic Resilience Index. Purpose: The purpose is to determine the polygenetic contributions of selected genes to resilience after exposure to stress and PTEs. Search: PubMed, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched in October 2014. The keywords included “resilience”, “serotonin transporter gene”, and “5-HTTLPR”. Inclusion criteria were: (1) human subjects approved research, (2) published in English, (3) peer-reviewed research articles, (4) both genotypes and resilience measured, and (5) 5-HTTLPR and additional gene(s) investigated. Results: Studies that examined 5-HTTLPR, additional gene(s), and resilience were selected (n = 8). Level of evidence was IV (i.e., well-designed case-control and cohort studies). Synthesis: Candidate genes for resilience in addition to 5-HTTLPR included: Catechol-O-Methyl Transferase (COMT), Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA), Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), Dopamine Receptor D2 (DRD2) and D4 (DRD4), Corticotropin Releasing Hormone Receptor 1 (CRHR1), and Oxytocin Receptor (OXTR) genes. The variants associated with resilience were: the L allele of 5-HTTLPR, Met allele of COMT, 3.5 or greater repeaters of MAOA, Val allele of BDNF, A1 allele of DRD2, S allele of DRD4, 1 or 2 copies of CRHR1, and G allele of OXTR. A notable gap is the lack of adult samples. Practice implications: An Additive Genetic Resilience Index can be developed to examine an association between psychological resilience and multiple candidate genes. A validated genetic resilience index will help identify individuals at greater heritable risk for psychological problems after exposure to PTEs

Polyamine Distribution Profiles within the Phyla Nematoda, Platyhelminthes, Annelida and Cnidaria

Cellular polyamines of nematodes of the phylum Nematoda, planarians, cestodes and trematodes of the phylum Platyhelminthes, earthworms, leeches and sandworms of the phylum Annelida, and hydras of the phylum Cnidaria, were analyzed by HPLC and GC to obtain phylogenetic informations and parasitic peculiarities on polyamine profiles in lower invertevrates. Spermidine and spermine were ubiquitously distributed in four zoo-parasitic nematodes. A plant parasite, Pratylenchus and a fungivore, Bursaphelenchus and two entomopathogens, Steinernema as well as free-living bacteriovores, Caenorhabditis and Dorylaimus, contained spermidine and lacked spermine. Zoo-parasitic cestodes Hymenolepis and Diphyllobothrium, and zoo-parasitic trematodes Paragonimus, Fasciola and Schistosoma, belonging to the phylum Platyhelminthes, ubiquitously contained spermidine and spermine, suggesting their dependence on host animals for uptake of spermine. Putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine and spermine were the major polyamines in freshwater, marine and land planarians (the phylum Platyhelminthes), and free-living earthworms, leeches and sandworms (the phylum Annelida). Hydras belonging to the phylum Cnidaria contained putrescine and spermidine alone. Homospermidine was distributed in a zoo-parasitic helminth of the phylum Nematoda and two zoo-parasitic tapeworms of the phylum Platyhelminthes as well as planarians, earthworms and leeches. Norspermidine and/or norspermine were found in two land planarians, a leech and a sandworm. This is the first report on the occurrence of these novel polyamines within lower invertebrates

大腸癌において、KRAS遺伝子変異は、regulator of calcineurin 2 蛋白質の発現抑制を誘導し、その結果、腫瘍が増殖する

広島大学(Hiroshima University)博士(医学)Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Sciencedoctora

Ti-Ni, Ni-Co-Mn-In, Cu-Al-Mn系形状記憶合金の極低温域における超弾性特性

要約のみTohoku University貝沼亮介課

Evaluating surgical skills from kinematic data using convolutional neural networks

The need for automatic surgical skills assessment is increasing, especially because manual feedback from senior surgeons observing junior surgeons is prone to subjectivity and time consuming. Thus, automating surgical skills evaluation is a very important step towards improving surgical practice. In this paper, we designed a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to evaluate surgeon skills by extracting patterns in the surgeon motions performed in robotic surgery. The proposed method is validated on the JIGSAWS dataset and achieved very competitive results with 100% accuracy on the suturing and needle passing tasks. While we leveraged from the CNNs efficiency, we also managed to mitigate its black-box effect using class activation map. This feature allows our method to automatically highlight which parts of the surgical task influenced the skill prediction and can be used to explain the classification and to provide personalized feedback to the trainee.Comment: Accepted at MICCAI 201