Animal Models of Middle Ear Cholesteatoma

Middle ear acquired cholesteatoma is a pathological condition associated with otitis media, which may be associated with temporal bone resorption, otorrhea and hearing loss, and occasionally various other complications. Cholesteatoma is characterized by the enhanced proliferation of epithelial cells with aberrant morphologic characteristics. Unfortunately, our understanding of the mechanism underlying its pathogenesis is limited. To investigate its pathogenesis, different animal models have been used. This paper provides a brief overview of the current status of research in the field of pathogenesis of middle ear acquired cholesteatoma, four types of animal models previously reported on, up-to-date cholesteatoma research using these animal models, our current studies of the local hybrid ear model, and the future prospect of new animal models of middle ear cholesteatoma

Cavum Septum Pellucidum and Cavum Vergae With Late-Onset Catatonia

Associations between large cavum septum pellucidum and functional psychosis disorders, especially schizophrenia, have been reported. We report a case of late-onset catatonia associated with enlarged CSP and cavum vergae. A 66-year-old woman was presented with altered mental status and stereotypic movement. She was initially treated with aripiprazole and lorazepam. After 4 weeks, she was treated with electroconvulsive therapy. By 10 treatments, echolalia vanished, and catatonic behavior was alleviated. Developmental anomalies in the midline structure may increase susceptibility to psychosis, even in the elderly.ArticleJOURNAL OF ECT. 29(3):E45-E46 (2013)journal articl

Obesity and the risk of diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Japanese men.

The morbidity of diabetes mellitus is increasing gradually in Japanese populations. It is important to clarify the risk factors of diabetes in Japanese populations in order to take adequate measures against the increasing morbidity of diabetes. In order to evaluate the link between past and concurrent obesity and diabetes in middle-aged Japanese men, we conducted a worksite-based historical cohort study in Okayama, Japan in 1999. Annual health examination data of middle-aged male workers in a worksite were collected. The relative risks of past and concurrent obesity for developing diabetes were calculated. Subjects with a past history of obesity at between 40 and 50 years of age had a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes by age 55 than did subjects in the normal weight group. These results suggest that, in order to prevent diabetes in middle-aged Japanese men, health guidance for normal weight maintenance should be provided not only for middle-aged men, but also for men under age 40.</p

Expression of β-nerve growth factor mRNA in rat glioma cells and astrocytes from rat brain

AbstractA 50-base synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide complementary to a portion of mouse nerve growth factor (NGF) mRNA was used as a probe for analysis of the expression of NGF gene. Northern blot analysis showed the presence of a major 1.3 kb transcript, which was identical in size to mouse NGF mRNA, in both C6Bu1 cells and rat astrocytes cultured from newborn rat brain. Further, the rearrangement of DNA sequence in and around the NGF gene locus of C6Bu1 cells was not detected by Southern blot analysis. These results indicate the expression of NGF mRNA in both C6Bu1 cells and astrocytes from rat brain, suggesting that astrocytes may produce NGF protein in the rat brain, especially in developing rat brain

Bony island within the articular cartilage of the knee in a child: a rare condition for early osteoarthritis

Articular cartilage is a specific type of connective tissue composed of hydrated proteoglycans within a matrix of collagen fibrils. In the elderly population, it shows degenerative changes that may results in osteoarthritis. The more severe form of osteoarthritis occasionally demonstrates bone formation within the cartilage, which is designated as a bony protuberance, however, such lesions are rare in children. This report presents the case of a 10-year-old boy with a bony protuberance within the articular cartilage of the knee. The patient initially complained of knee pain and he subsequently developed flexion contracture. Radiological and arthroscopic examinations revealed a bony protuberance in the articular cartilage and degenerative changes of the cartilage above it. He was successfully treated by the removal of the bony protuberance and osteochondral grafting. The bony protuberance may have caused cartilage degradation since the thickness of the cartilage above it was thinner than that around the lesion. The bony protuberance within the articular cartilage formed in the younger population may be a possible cause of osteoarthritis. This case is a noteworthy with regard to the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis

A crowdsourcing approach to collecting photo-based insect and plant observation records

Scientific field observation by members of the public is known as citizen science and has become popular all across the world. Citizen science is advantageous for collecting large amounts of scientific data and can be seen as a crowdsourcing approach to data collection. Information and communications technology is enhancing the availability of citizen science. Mobile devices, such as mobile phones, that have a digital camera with a global positioning system (GPS) are necessities for contemporary life and can be utilised as powerful observation tools in citizen science. A web-based system has been developed as a data collection tool for citizen science. Participants submit an e-mail with a photo taken by their mobile phones. The photos contain location information, which can be easily and automatically embedded if the mobile phone is equipped with GPS. Collaboration has been undertaken with regional event managers, such as museum curators and held citizen science events in each region and for various target taxonomic groups. All photos were stored in the data server and the organisms were taxonomically identified by citizen scientists, regional managers and the authors. In total, 154 species and 843 data records were collected in this project conducted from 2011 to 2016

AKARI Infrared Camera Survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud. I. Point Source Catalog

We present a near- to mid-infrared point source catalog of 5 photometric bands at 3.2, 7, 11, 15 and 24 um for a 10 deg2 area of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) obtained with the Infrared Camera (IRC) onboard the AKARI satellite. To cover the survey area the observations were carried out at 3 separate seasons from 2006 May to June, 2006 October to December, and 2007 March to July. The 10-sigma limiting magnitudes of the present survey are 17.9, 13.8, 12.4, 9.9, and 8.6 mag at 3.2, 7, 11, 15 and 24 um, respectively. The photometric accuracy is estimated to be about 0.1 mag at 3.2 um and 0.06--0.07 mag in the other bands. The position accuracy is 0.3" at 3.2, 7 and 11um and 1.0" at 15 and 24 um. The sensitivities at 3.2, 7, and 24 um are roughly comparable to those of the Spitzer SAGE LMC point source catalog, while the AKARI catalog provides the data at 11 and 15 um, covering the mid-infrared spectral range contiguously. Two types of catalog are provided: a Catalog and an Archive. The Archive contains all the detected sources, while the Catalog only includes the sources that have a counterpart in the Spitzer SAGE point source catalog. The Archive contains about 650,000, 140,000, 97,000, 43,000, and 52,000 sources at 3.2, 7, 11, 15, and 24 um, respectively. Based on the catalog, we discuss the luminosity functions at each band, the color-color diagram, and the color-magnitude diagram using the 3.2, 7, and 11 um band data. Stars without circumstellar envelopes, dusty C-rich and O-rich stars, young stellar objects, and background galaxies are located at distinct regions in the diagrams, suggesting that the present catalog is useful for the classification of objects towards the LMC.Comment: 59 pages, 12 figures, accepted for the Astronomical Journa

Cavum Septum Pellucidum and Cavum Vergae With Late-Onset Catatonia

Associations between large cavum septum pellucidum and functional psychosis disorders, especially schizophrenia, have been reported. We report a case of late-onset catatonia associated with enlarged CSP and cavum vergae. A 66-year-old woman was presented with altered mental status and stereotypic movement. She was initially treated with aripiprazole and lorazepam. After 4 weeks, she was treated with electroconvulsive therapy. By 10 treatments, echolalia vanished, and catatonic behavior was alleviated. Developmental anomalies in the midline structure may increase susceptibility to psychosis, even in the elderly.ArticleJOURNAL OF ECT. 29(3):E45-E46 (2013)journal articl

Comparative Study of Regulatory T Cell Function of Human CD25+CD4+ T Cells from Thymocytes, Cord Blood, and Adult Peripheral Blood

CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells suppress T cell activation and regulate multiple immune reactions in in vitro and in vivo studies. To define the regulatory function of human CD25+CD4+ T cells at various stages of maturity, we investigated in detail the functional differences of CD25+CD4+ T cells from thymocytes, cord blood (CB), and adult peripheral blood (APB). CB CD25+CD4+ T cells displayed low-FOXP3 protein expression level and had no suppressive activity. In contrast, CD25+CD4+ T cells from thymocytes or APB expressed high expression level of FOXP3 protein associated with significant suppressive activity. Although CB CD25+CD4+ T cells exhibited no suppressive activity, striking suppressive activity was observed following expansion in culture associated with increased FOXP3 expression and a shift from the CD45RA+ to the CD45RA− phenotype. These functional differences in CD25+CD4+ T cells from Thy, CB, and APB hence suggest a pathway of maturation for Treg in the peripheral immune system

Early and Definitive Diagnosis of Toxic Shock Syndrome by Detection of Marked Expansion of T-Cell-Receptor Vβ2-Positive T Cells

We describe two cases of early toxic shock syndrome, caused by the superantigen produced from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and diagnosed on the basis of an expansion of T-cell-receptor Vβ2-positive T cells. One case-patient showed atypical symptoms. Our results indicate that diagnostic systems incorporating laboratory techniques are essential for rapid, definitive diagnosis of toxic shock syndrome