Quantitative trait loci mapping of innate fear behavior in day-old F2 chickens of Japanese Oh-Shamo and White Leghorn breeds using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing.

Understanding the genetic mechanisms that underlie innate fear behavior is essential for improving the management and performance of the poultry industry. This study aimed to map QTL associated with innate fear responses in open field (OF) and tonic immobility (TI) tests, using an F2 chicken intercross population between 2 behaviorally distinct breeds: the aggressive Japanese Oh-Shamo (OSM) and the docile White Leghorn T-line (WL-T). Genome-wide QTL analysis for the OF and TI traits was conducted using 2,109 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers obtained through restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq).

Variability and magnitude of brain glutamate levels in schizophrenia: a meta and mega-analysis.

Glutamatergic dysfunction is implicated in schizophrenia pathoaetiology, but this may vary in extent between patients. It is unclear whether inter-individual variability in glutamate is greater in schizophrenia than the general population. We conducted meta-analyses to assess (1) variability of glutamate measures in patients relative to controls (log coefficient of variation ratio: CVR); (2) standardised mean differences (SMD) using Hedges g; (3) modal distribution of individual-level glutamate data (Hartigan's unimodality dip test).

Expression Analyses of Rich2/Arhgap44, a Rho Family GTPase-Activating Protein, during Mouse Brain Development.

Rho family small GTPases, such as Rho, Rac, and Cdc42, play essential roles during brain development, by regulating cellular signaling and actin cytoskeletal reorganization. Rich2/Arhgap44, a Rac- and Cdc42-specific GTPase-activating protein, has been reported to be a key regulator for dendritic spine morphology and synaptic function. Given the essential roles of Rac and Cdc42 in brain development, Rich2 is supposed to take part in brain development.

Development of a quantitative analysis method for assessing patient body surface deformation using an optical surface tracking system.

This study aimed to develop a new method to quantitatively analyze body shape changes in patients during radiotherapy without additional radiation exposure using an optical surface tracking system. This method's accuracy was evaluated using a cubic phantom with a known shift. Surface images of three-dimensionally printed phantoms, which simulated the head and neck shapes of real patients before and after treatment, were used to create a deformation surface area histogram.

Epigenome editing reveals core DNA methylation for imprinting control in the Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted domain.

The Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted domain is controlled by an imprinting control region (ICR) called IG-DMR that is hypomethylated on the maternal allele and hypermethylated on the paternal allele. Although several genetic mutation experiments have shown that IG-DMR is essential for imprinting control of the domain, how DNA methylation itself functions has not been elucidated. Here, we performed both gain and loss of DNA methylation experiments targeting IG-DMR by transiently introducing CRISPR/Cas9 based-targeted DNA methylation editing tools along with one guide RNA into mouse ES cells.

Association of Age, Antipsychotic Medication, and Symptom Severity in Schizophrenia With Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Brain Glutamate Level: A Mega-analysis of Individual Participant-Level Data.

Importance: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) studies indicate that altered brain glutamatergic function may be associated with the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the response to antipsychotic treatment. However, the association of altered glutamatergic function with clinical and demographic factors is unclear.

Objective: To assess the associations of age, symptom severity, level of functioning, and antipsychotic treatment with brain glutamatergic metabolites.

Chromatin integration labeling for mapping DNA-binding proteins and modifications with low input.

Cell identity is determined by the selective activation or silencing of specific genes via transcription factor binding and epigenetic modifications on the genome. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) has been the standard technique for mapping the sites of transcription factor binding and histone modification. Recently, alternative methods to ChIP have been developed for addressing the increasing demands for low-input epigenomic profiling.

Plasma levels of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol are associated with microstructural changes within the cerebellum in the early stage of first-episode schizophrenia: a longitudinal VBM study.

The aims of this study are to determine how the interval changes of the brain structures in the early stage of first-episode schizophrenia relate to the interval changes in the clinical data, including the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia and catecholaminergic measures (plasma homovanillic acid [HVA] and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol [MHPG]). Regional brain volumes and fractional anisotropy (FA)/mean diffusivity (MD) with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were measured at baseline and 6-month follow-up in a 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system in a cohort of 16 schizophrenic patients, who were in their first episode at the time of baseline MRI. At the time of baseline and follow-up MRI, all 16 patients underwent evaluations that included a psychopathological assessment (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS]) and peripheral catecholaminergic measures (plasma MHPG or HVA).

Initial clinical trial of a novel hemostat, TDM-621, in the endoscopic treatments of the gastric tumors.

Background And Aim: The feasibility of TDM-621, the synthetic infectious agent-free peptides, was tested in hemostasis of the bleeding after endoscopic treatments of the gastric tumors.

Methods: The patients who underwent endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) were enrolled in the present study. The subject of hemostasis was the oozing after the EMR or ESD.

[A case of postmenopausal breast cancer becoming HER2 positive after neoadjuvant hormone therapy].

A 75-year-old woman presented to a local doctor with a lump in the right breast. On physical examination, a tumor measuring 24mm was palpable in the BD area of her right breast. Mammography showed category 5 disease, and ultrasonography revealed a tumor measuring 24×16 mm.

[Three patients with local recurrence of ER-positive breast cancer for whom anastrozole was clinically effective].

We treated three postmenopausal female patients with unresectable local recurrence from breast cancer. All pathological diagnoses of the local recurrence lesions were ER-positive breast cancer. For treatment, we administered anastrozole to these three patients.

Six-month treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs decreased frontal-lobe levels of glutamate plus glutamine in early-stage first-episode schizophrenia.

Objective: To study the effects of treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs on brain levels of glutamate plus glutamine in early-stage first-episode schizophrenia.

Participants: Sixteen patients (eight males, eight females; aged 30 ± 11 years) completed the study.

Methods: We used administered 6 months of atypical antipsychotic drugs and used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to evaluate the results.

[International cooperation for prosthetics and orthotics in Myanmar].

"Effectiveness of the sole protection and the plantar ulcer treatment of Micro Cellular Rubber (MCR) sandals" was investigated as a part of research enterprise "Research concerning the diagnosis, treatment, and the prevention of disability of an effective Leprosy in Myanmar" of the international medical treatment cooperation for three years since 2007. Furthermore "Introduction of Orthotics for the footdrop" was recently attempted through those activities. We participated for two research items from 2007, and reported on the research content and the result.

No alterations of brain GABA after 6 months of treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs in early-stage first-episode schizophrenia.

We investigated the effects of atypical antipsychotic drugs on GABA concentrations in early-stage, first-episode schizophrenia patients. Sixteen (8 males, 8 females; age, 30±11 years old) patients were followed up for six months. We also included 18 sex- and age-matched healthy control subjects.

Critical examination of a correlation between brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations and a personality trait of extroversion in healthy volunteers as measured by a 3 Tesla proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

We hypothesized that brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels are associated with neuroticism, a trait associated with depression and anxiety disorders. We examined the correlation between brain GABA concentrations and the five factors included in the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) in healthy volunteers using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 3 T. Forty-one healthy subjects (21 males, 20 females; age: 35+/-7 years) were enrolled in this study.

Associations between plasma levels of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) and negative symptoms or cognitive impairments in early-stage schizophrenia.

Schizophrenic patients demonstrate a variety of cognitive deficits, including attention, executive functions, and working memory, even in the early stage of disease. In the present study, we examined the association between blood levels of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), homovanillic acid (HVA), or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and scores on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in patients with early-stage schizophrenia. We also investigated the association between frontal GABA levels using 1H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 3T and scores on the WCST in the same patients.

Gray and white matter volumetric and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses in the early stage of first-episode schizophrenia.

Purpose: To determine whether statistical analyses of quantitative MR imaging data, including morphological changes, mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA), could provide useful biomarkers in early stage of first-episode schizophrenia.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-three patients, who met all the criteria in the DSM-IV-TR category for schizophrenia excluding the duration of the disease (less than 6 months of follow-up), were examined by MR imaging during the initial consultation. Nineteen of the 23 patients were finally diagnosed to have schizophrenia after a 6-month follow-up, and they were included in this study as having been in the early stage of first-episode schizophrenia.