sp. nov., a gut symbiont of the bordered plant bug .

Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, motile bacteria, designated strains F2 and PGU16, were isolated from the midgut crypts of the bordered plant bug , collected in Okinawa prefecture, Japan. Although these strains were derived from different host individuals collected at different times, their 16S rRNA gene sequences were identical and showed the highest similarity to MWAP64 (99.3 %).

Autophagy promotes organelle clearance and organized cell separation of living root cap cells in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The root cap is a multilayered tissue covering the tip of a plant root that directs root growth through its unique functions, such as gravity sensing and rhizosphere interaction. To maintain the structure and function of the root cap, its constituent cells are constantly turned over through balanced cell division and cell detachment in the inner and outer cell layers, respectively. Upon displacement toward the outermost layer, columella cells at the central root cap domain functionally transition from gravity-sensing cells to secretory cells, but the mechanisms underlying this drastic cell fate transition are largely unknown.

Heating system for in situ XANES measurements in the soft X-ray region of bulk samples at BL10/NewSUBARU.

A heating system for in situ XANES measurements in the soft X-ray region of bulk samples is newly developed and installed in BL10 at NewSUBARU. The system employs Joule heating, which can heat various bulk samples up to 250 ℃. For demonstration, the C K- and O K-XANES spectra of sugar (sucrose) whose melting point is approximately 150 ℃ are measured while heating from 27 to 180 ℃ under a vacuum pressure of 10 Pa.

Laparoscopic surgery for urachal remnants in pubescent children: a case series.

Background: Various techniques are applied in laparoscopic surgery for the treatment of urachal remnants, which are less invasive and associated with lower morbidity. We herein report a case series in which we treated urachal remnants and medial umbilical ligaments using a laparoscopic approach.

Case Presentation: From 2015 to 2019, seven patients (male, n = 5; female, n = 2) with a urachal remnant were treated by laparoscopic surgery in our institute.

[A Case of Gastric Cancer with Splenic Artery Aneurysm, Intraoperative ICG Fluorography Is Useful in Evaluating the Blood Flow of Stomach and Spleen].

An 81-year-oldwoman with advancedgastric cancer was referredto our hospital. Preoperative contrast-enhancedCT revealeda roundcalcification of the splenic hilum with 15mm in diameter as a splenic artery aneurysm. She underwent transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE)for the splenic artery aneurysm.

[A Case of Pancreatic Metastasis of Renal Cell Carcinoma].

A 69-year-old woman underwent right nephrectomy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Nine years later, a 2 cm, solitary tumor was detected in the pancreas tail using computed tomography, and the patient underwent distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. The pathological diagnosis was metastasis of renal cell carcinoma.

A retrospective study of predictive factors for effective aripiprazole augmentation of antidepressant therapy in treatment-resistant depression.

Background: Several studies have evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of aripiprazole for augmentation of antidepressant therapy for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Here, we investigated the efficacy of aripiprazole augmentation for TRD including both major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder and the clinical predictors of treatment efficacy in a Japanese population.

Methods: Eighty-five depressed Japanese patients who underwent aripiprazole augmentation therapy after failing to respond satisfactorily to antidepressant monotherapy were included in the study.

[Usefulness of Palliative Gastrojejunal Bypass Surgery].

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of gastrojejunal bypass surgery performed in patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal tract obstruction due to unresectable advanced cancer.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects were 21 patients who underwent gastrojejunal bypass surgery at our division between 2010 and 2014 for symptom palliation. We retrospectively evaluated the operative outcomes, whether chemotherapy was administered, the oral ingestion period, and survival time.

[Current status of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with p-Stage II and p-Stage III gastric cancer].

The results of the Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of S-1 for Gastric Cancer(ACTS-GC)demonstrated that postoperative chemotherapy using S-1 is a standard treatment in Japan for patients with p-Stage II and p-Stage III gastric cancer. We retrospectively reviewed the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy received by 47 patients with p-Stage II and p-Stage III gastric cancer between January 2007 and June 2012. Our hospital is a local university hospital with a high intensive care unit.

[Urgent gastrectomy in a patient who developed perforated gastric cancer during preoperative chemotherapy with S-1 plus cisplatin].

A 66 -year-old man presenting with a chief complaint of upper abdominal pain was diagnosed as having an advanced adenocarcinoma, type 2, of the lower third of the stomach after endoscopy was performed. An abdominal computed tomography( CT)scan revealed 4 lymph node metastases at the infrapyloric nodes(station No. 6)and the nodes around the proximal splenic artery(station No.

Treatment for perforated gastric ulcer: a multi-institutional retrospective review.

Background: The optimal treatment for patients with perforated gastric ulcer (PGU) remains controversial. This study therefore investigated the treatment status for this disease in clinical practice.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 183 patients with PGU from 1998 to 2007 across 15 institutions, and analyzed patient characteristics and short- and long-term outcomes according to treatments received.

Is early enteral nutrition better for postoperative course in esophageal cancer patients?

We retrospectively examined esophageal cancer patients who received enteral nutrition (EN) to clarify the validity of early EN compared with delayed EN. A total of 103 patients who underwent transthoracic esophagectomy with three-field lymphadenectomy for esophageal cancer were entered. Patients were divided into two groups; Group E received EN within postoperative day 3, and Group L received EN after postoperative day 3.

Cervical lymph node dissection for clinically submucosal carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.

Background: The purposes of this study were to clarify the risk factors for supraclavicular lymph node (SCLN) metastasis and the survival benefit from cervical lymph node (LN) dissections in patients with clinically submucosal (cT1b) carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus.

Methods: A total of 86 patients with this disease who underwent esophagectomy with 3-field lymph node dissection were retrospectively reviewed. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard model were used to identify the independent risk factors for SCLN metastasis and prognostic factors, respectively.

Risk factors influencing the pleural drainage volume after transthoracic oesophagectomy.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to clarify the factors influencing pleural drainage volume after transthoracic oesophagectomy and to determine criteria for the selection of patients who would benefit from the early removal of chest drains.

Methods: Clinicopathological characteristics of 155 patients who underwent transthoracic oesophagectomy were prospectively collected, and the daily drainage volume of each patient was retrospectively reviewed. Potential risk factors were compared between the high-output group (n = 39) and low-output group (n = 116), which were dichotomized using the 75th percentile of total pleural drainage volume of the total study population.

A placebo-controlled, double-blind study of the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole for the treatment of acute manic or mixed episodes in Asian patients with bipolar I disorder (the AMAZE study).

Objectives: To investigate the efficacy and safety of aripiprazole in Asian patients with manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder.

Methods: Subjects were randomised to aripiprazole (24 mg/day; reduced to 12 mg/day if needed for tolerability; n = 128) or placebo (n = 130) for 3 weeks in this multicentre, double-blind study. The primary efficacy measure was mean change from baseline in Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) Total score.

[Categorical and dimensional diagnostic approach to acute psychosis in view of operational diagnostic criteria].

"Acute psychosis" is the tentative diagnosis made for the patients presenting acute onset of delusion, hallucination, confusion and emotional instability. "Acute psychosis" was focused in view of operational diagnostic criteria, ie, DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10. The diagnostic categories in the DSM-IV-TR corresponding to "acute psychosis" were brief psychotic disorder, schizophreniform disorder, schizo-affective disorder and mood disorder with psychotic features.

International consensus statement on major depressive disorder.

Because considerable variability exists between countries in the management of major depressive disorder, experts in psychiatry gathered for the International Consensus Group on Depression to outline a universal treatment algorithm for this illness. The experts decided to adapt the existing treatment algorithm developed in Japan and discuss strategies for clinical issues that have been problematic in some countries. Specific recommendations were made by the consensus group for screening for, diagnosing, and treating depression, which include periodically screening all patients for depression, completing a differential diagnosis of depression, referring to a psychiatric specialist if needed, establishing a therapeutic alliance with patients and their families, choosing and optimizing the dose of appropriate antidepressants based on individual patient's needs, and incorporating nonpharmacologic treatment strategies as necessary.

Predictors of efficacy in lithium augmentation for treatment-resistant depression.

Background: Lithium augmentation is widely applied for treatment-resistant depression, however, the clinical predictors of its efficacy regarding polarity and bipolarity are unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively examined the predictive value of clinical variables in 79 depressed patients who underwent lithium augmentation after failure to respond to antidepressant monotherapy. Lithium augmentation efficacy was evaluated by Clinical Global Impression Improvement assessment 4 to 8 weeks after initiating lithium administration; subjects with scores of 1 and 2 were defined as responders, and those with scores of 3 to 7 as non-responders.

Management of patients with pregnancy-associated gastric cancer in Japan: a mini-review.

Gastric cancer associated with pregnancy is quite rare, and is most often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Furthermore, physicians are confronted with two conflicting issues in this condition: the need for early treatment of the maternal gastric cancer and the continuation of the pregnancy. To clarify the characteristics of pregnancy-associated gastric cancer and to obtain useful information that would help us choose the best treatment strategy for pregnancy-associated gastric cancer, we reviewed the existing literature, using the key words "pregnancy" and "gastric cancer".

[Premorbid personality].

Typus melancholicus has been considered to be a distinguishing premorbid personality trait of unipolar depressive patients in Japan and Germany where premorbid personality has been studied chiefly by categorical approach. However, from psychometric point of view the available evidence is inconclusive as to typus melancholicus as the specific premorbid personality of unipolar depression. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between typus melancholicus and unipolar course or between typus manicus and bipolar course that has been suggested by von Zerssen.

A promoter haplotype of the inositol monophosphatase 2 gene (IMPA2) at 18p11.2 confers a possible risk for bipolar disorder by enhancing transcription.

Lithium is an effective mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder patients and its therapeutic effect may involve inhibition of inositol monophosphatase activity. In humans, the enzyme is encoded by two genes, IMPA1 and IMPA2. IMPA2 maps to 18p11.