Changes in Psychological Condition during Cancer Chemotherapy.

Background: Psychological disorders are prevalent in cancer patients and their psychological condition can change during cancer chemotherapy and influence their quality of life and adherence to treatment.

Patients And Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The enrolled patients were assessed at the start of chemotherapy, after the first course of chemotherapy, and more than 2 months later by themselves and by medical staff using four different items.

Traditional Japanese medicine Kamikihito ameliorates sucrose preference, chronic inflammation and obesity induced by a high fat diet in middle-aged mice.

The high prevalence of obesity has become a pressing global public health problem and there exists a strong association between increased BMI and mortality at a BMI of 25 kg/m or higher. The prevalence of obesity is higher among middle-aged adults than among younger groups and the combination of aging and obesity exacerbate systemic inflammation. Increased inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) are hallmarks of obesity, and promote the secretion of hepatic C-reactive protein (CRP) which further induces systematic inflammation.

Transportation-induced nausea-like behavior in goats and the effects of anti-motion sickness medication.

This study investigated the nausea-like behavior induced by road transportation in goats, and the effects of an anti-motion sickness (MS) medication on this behavior. In the first experiment, 11 adult Shiba goats were road transported twice with either a saline (control) or a commercial anti-MS medication (Travelmin) injection at the first or second transportation. Almost all goats showed nausea-like behavior, which was defined as pointing their heads downward, closing their eyes, and staying relatively still.

Radial polarity in the first cranial neuromast of selected teleost fishes.

The neuromast is a sensory structure of the lateral line system in aquatic vertebrates, which consists of hair cells and supporting cells. Hair cells are mechanosensory cells, generally arranged with bidirectional polarity. Here, we describe a neuromast with hair cells arranged radially instead of bidirectionally in the first cranial neuromast of four teleost species: red seabream (Pagrus major), spotted halibut (Verasper variegatus), brown sole (Pseudopleuronectes herzensteini), and marbled sole (Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae).

The effects of cisplatin, an emetic agent, on behavior and plasma cortisol levels in goats.

Ruminants are not considered to experience nausea because they do not possess the emetic reflex. This study examined the effects of administration of cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloro platinum (II): CDDP), a common emetic agent, on the behavior of goats. In Experiment 1, adult Shiba goats received intravenous (IV) administration of CDDP.

Identification of a New Theca/Interstitial Cell-Specific Gene and Its Biological Role in Growth of Mouse Ovarian Follicles at the Gonadotropin-Independent Stage.

Theca/interstitial cells are responsible for the growth and maturation of ovarian follicles. However, little is known about the theca/interstitial cell-specific genes and their functions. In this study, we explored transcriptomes of theca/interstitial cells by RNA-seq, and the novel biological roles of a theca cell marker, asporin (Aspn)/periodontal ligament-associated protein 1 (PLAP-1).

The effect of avertin anesthesia and a mixture of three types of anesthetic agents on food intakeand body weight in high fat-induced obese maleand female mice.

Basic research on obesity is becoming more important due to an increasing number of obese people. Experiments using obesity-model animals often require surgical interventions, such as gastric operation, and proper selection of anesthesia is important. Avertin, an agent mainly composed of 2,2,2-Tribromoethanol, has been used as general anesthesia for a long time, without the use of narcotic drugs.

Invertebrate Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-Related Peptides and Their Receptors: An Update.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormones (GnRHs) play pivotal roles in reproductive functions via the hypothalamus, pituitary, and gonad axis, namely, HPG axis in vertebrates. GnRHs and their receptors (GnRHRs) are likely to be conserved in invertebrate deuterostomes and lophotrochozoans. All vertebrate and urochordate GnRHs are composed of 10 amino acids, whereas protostome, echinoderm, and amphioxus GnRH-like peptides are 11- or 12-residue peptide containing two amino acids after an N-terminal pyro-Glu.

Impact of sex, fat distribution and initial body weight on oxytocin's body weight regulation.

Obesity is considered as a worldwide problem in both males and females. Although many studies have demonstrated the efficiency of oxytocin (Oxt) as an anti-obesity peptide, there is no comparative study of its effect in males and females. This study aims to determine factors (sex, initial body weight, and fat distribution) that may affect the ability of Oxt to regulate body weight (BW).

Replacement of quinolines with isoquinolines affords target metal ion switching from Zn to Cd in the fluorescent sensor TQLN (N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-quinolylmethyl)-2,6-bis(aminomethyl)pyridine).

A quinoline-based heptadentate ligand, N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-quinolylmethyl)-2,6-bis(aminomethyl)pyridine (TQLN), exhibits a Zn-specific fluorescence increase at 428 nm, which is assigned to excimer emission (I/I = 38, I/I = 24%, ϕ = 0.069). In contrast, the isoquinoline counterpart 1-isoTQLN exhibits a Cd-specific fluorescence increase at 365 nm attributable to monomer emission (I/I = 83, I/I = 19%, ϕ = 0.

The significance of Ciona intestinalis as a stem organism in integrative studies of functional evolution of the chordate endocrine, neuroendocrine, and nervous systems.

Ascidians are the closest phylogenetic neighbors to vertebrates and are believed to conserve the evolutionary origin in chordates of the endocrine, neuroendocrine, and nervous systems involving neuropeptides and peptide hormones. Ciona intestinalis harbors various homologs or prototypes of vertebrate neuropeptides and peptide hormones including gonadotropin-releasing hormones (GnRHs), tachykinins (TKs), and calcitonin, as well as Ciona-specific neuropeptides such as Ciona vasopressin, LF, and YFV/L peptides. Moreover, molecular and functional studies on Ciona tachykinin (Ci-TK) have revealed the novel molecular mechanism of inducing oocyte growth via up-regulation of vitellogenesis-associated protease activity, which is expected to be conserved in vertebrates.

Nasal oxytocin administration reduces food intake without affecting locomotor activity and glycemia with c-Fos induction in limited brain areas.

Recent studies have considered oxytocin (Oxt) as a possible medicine to treat obesity and hyperphagia. To find the effective and safe route for Oxt treatment, we compared the effects of its nasal and intraperitoneal (IP) administration on food intake, locomotor activity, and glucose tolerance in mice. Nasal Oxt administration decreased food intake without altering locomotor activity and increased the number of c-Fos-immunoreactive (ir) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, the area postrema (AP), and the dorsal motor nucleus of vagus (DMNV) of the medulla.

Bis(2-quinolylmethyl)ethylenediaminediacetic acids (BQENDAs), TQEN-EDTA hybrid molecules as fluorescent zinc sensors.

Molecular hybrids of TQEN (N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-quinolylmethyl)ethylenediamine) and EDTA (ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid) were examined as fluorescent Zn(2+) sensors. Upon the addition of Zn(2+), N,N-BQENDA (N,N-bis(2-quinolylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N',N'-diacetic acid, 1a) exhibits a 30-fold emission enhancement at 456 nm (λex = 315 nm, ϕZn = 0.018) in buffer (HEPES, pH = 7.

GPCR Heterodimerization in the Reproductive System: Functional Regulation and Implication for Biodiversity.

A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) functions not only as a monomer or homodimer but also as a heterodimer with another GPCR. GPCR heterodimerization results in the modulation of the molecular functions of the GPCR protomer, including ligand binding affinity, signal transduction, and internalization. There has been a growing body of reports on heterodimerization of multiple GPCRs expressed in the reproductive system and the resultant functional modulation, suggesting that GPCR heterodimerization is closely associated with reproduction including the secretion of hormones and the growth and maturation of follicles and oocytes.

Angiotensin AT(1)-receptor blockers enhance cardiac responses to parasympathetic nerve stimulation via presynaptic AT(1) receptors in pithed rats.

In the present study, we investigated the effects of angiotensin AT1-receptor blockers, KT3-671 and losartan, on the cardiac vagal neurotransmission in pithed rats. The bradycardia induced by vagal nerve stimulation (VNS, at 5 Hz) was potentiated significantly and dose-dependently by KT3-671 and also losartan. This enhancement effect of KT3-671 (10 mg/kg) was slightly potent than that of losartan (10 mg/kg).

A conserved non-reproductive GnRH system in chordates.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a neuroendocrine peptide that plays a central role in the vertebrate hypothalamo-pituitary axis. The roles of GnRH in the control of vertebrate reproductive functions have been established, while its non-reproductive function has been suggested but less well understood. Here we show that the tunicate Ciona intestinalis has in its non-reproductive larval stage a prominent GnRH system spanning the entire length of the nervous system.

Insight into molecular and functional diversity of tachykinins and their receptors.

Tachykinins (TKs) and their structurally related peptides constitute the largest peptide superfamily in the animal kingdom. TKs have been shown to play various physiological roles not only as major brain/gut peptides but also as endocrine/paracrine hormones in chordates and exocrine factors in amphibians. Recent studies have also revealed that the biological roles of TKs as brain/gut peptides and endocrine/paracrine factors are essentially conserved in protochordates, and that alternative splicing mechanism in mammalian TK genes were established during the evolution of vertebrates.

Evidence for differential regulation of GnRH signaling via heterodimerization among GnRH receptor paralogs in the protochordate, Ciona intestinalis.

The endocrine and neuroendocrine systems for reproductive functions have diversified as a result of the generation of species-specific paralogs of peptide hormones and their receptors including GnRH and their receptors (GnRHR), which belong to the class A G protein-coupled receptor family. A protochordate, Ciona intestinalis, has been found to possess seven GnRH (tGnRH-3 to -8 and Ci-GnRH-X) and four GnRHR (Ci-GnRHR1 to -4). Moreover, Ci-GnRHR4 (R4) does not bind to any Ciona GnRH and activate any signaling pathways.

Localization and enzymatic activity profiles of the proteases responsible for tachykinin-directed oocyte growth in the protochordate, Ciona intestinalis.

We previously substantiated that Ci-TK, a tachykinin of the protochordate, Ciona intestinalis (Ci), triggered oocyte growth from the vitellogenic stage (stage II) to the post-vitellogenic stage (stage III) via up-regulation of the gene expression and enzymatic activity of the proteases: cathepsin D, carboxypeptidase B1, and chymotrypsin. In the present study, we have elucidated the localization, gene expression and activation profile of these proteases. In situ hybridization showed that the Ci-cathepsin D mRNA was present exclusively in test cells of the stage II oocytes, whereas the Ci-carboxypeptidase B1 and Ci-chymotrypsin mRNAs were detected in follicular cells of the stage II and stage III oocytes.

Effect of intracerebroventricular injections of prolactin-releasing peptide on prolactin release and stress-related responses in steers.

Some evidence suggests that there might be a species difference in the effect of intracerebroventricularly administered (ICV) prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) between rodents and sheep. We compared the levels of cortisol (CORT) and prolactin (PRL), rectal temperature (RT) and behavioral responses to ICV bovine PrRP (bPrRP) in steers. ICV bPrRP (0.

Peptidomic analysis of the central nervous system of the protochordate, Ciona intestinalis: homologs and prototypes of vertebrate peptides and novel peptides.

The phylogenetic position of ascidians as the chordate invertebrates closest to vertebrates suggests that they might possess homologs and/or prototypes of vertebrate peptide hormones and neuropeptides as well as ascidian-specific peptides. However, only a small number of peptides have so far been identified in ascidians. In the present study, we have identified various peptides in the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis.

[A case of castration-refractory prostate cancer showing marked decrease of serum PSA level after zoledronic acid treatment with estramustine phosphate and prednisolone].

A 66-year-old man was referred to our outpatient clinic for an elevated serum prostatic-specific antigen (PSA 4,319 ng/ mL). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple metastatic lesions in the bones. The patient had received androgen deprivation therapy, but six months after treatment, he was diagnosed as having prostate cancer refractory to hormones.

Light and electron microscopy study of the pecten oculi of the jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos).

In this study, the pecten oculi of a diurnally active bird, the Japanese jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), was examined using light and electron microscopy. In this species, the pecten consisted of 24-25 highly vascularized pleats held together apically by a heavily pigmented 'bridge' and projected freely into the vitreous body in the ventral part of the eye cup. Ascending and descending blood vessels of varying caliber, together with a profuse network of capillaries, essentially constituted the vascular framework of the pecten.

Categorical learning between 'male' and 'female' photographic human faces in jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos).

We trained jungle crows to discriminate among photographs of human face according to their sex in a simultaneous two-alternative task to study their categorical learning ability. Once the crows reached a discrimination criterion (greater than or equal to 80% correct choices in two consecutive sessions; binomial probability test, p<.05), they next received generalization and transfer tests (i.