Social cognition in schizophrenia: similarities and differences of emotional perception from patients with focal frontal lesions

The structural and functional abnormalities of the frontal lobes, the region implicated in social information processing, have been suspected to underlie social cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. However, multiple structures, including the limbic/paralimbic areas that are also important for social cognition, have been reported to be abnormal in schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which the frontal lobe dysfunction accounts for social cognitive impairments in schizophrenia by comparing with patients who have focal frontal lobe injuries. Social cognitive abilities, focusing on affective aspects, were examined by an emotion intensity recognition task, which is sensitive to the amygdala function, and the emotion attribution tasks, which rely mainly on the frontal lobe function. Individuals with schizophrenia were impaired on the emotion intensity recognition task as well as on the emotion attribution tasks as compared with healthy subjects. By contrast, the frontal lobe-damaged group was defective in the emotion attribution tasks but not in the emotion intensity recognition task. Our results indicated that social cognitive impairments observed in schizophrenia can be accounted for partly by their frontal lobe pathology. Other aspects of social cognitive impairments could also be associated with the extra-frontal pathology, such as the amygdala.     

Domain shuffling and the evolution of vertebrates

The evolution of vertebrates has included a number of important events: the development of cartilage, the immune system, and complicated craniofacial structures. Here, we examine domain shuffling as one of the mechanisms that contributes novel genetic material required for vertebrate evolution. We mapped domain-shuffling events during the evolution of deuterostomes with a focus on how domain shuffling contributed to the evolution of vertebrate- and chordate-specific characteristics. We identified ∼1000 new domain pairs in the vertebrate lineage, including ∼100 that were shared by all seven of the vertebrate species examined. Some of these pairs occur in the protein components of vertebrate-specific structures, such as cartilage and the inner ear, suggesting that domain shuffling made a marked contribution to the evolution of vertebrate-specific characteristics. The evolutionary history of the domain pairs is traceable; for example, the Xlink domain of aggrecan, one of the major components of cartilage, was originally utilized as a functional domain of a surface molecule of blood cells in protochordate ancestors, and it was recruited by the protein of the matrix component of cartilage in the vertebrate ancestor. We also identified genes that were created as a result of domain shuffling in ancestral chordates. Some of these are involved in the functions of chordate structures, such as the endostyle, Reissner''s fiber of the neural tube, and the notochord. Our analyses shed new light on the role of domain shuffling, especially in the evolution of vertebrates and chordates.The question of how novel structures are created by changing genetic information is one of the most challenging issues in evolutionary biology. It is generally accepted that the morphological features of various multicellular animals are built on a common set of genes. Carroll et al. (2001) and Davidson (2006) proposed that the novel features emerged as a result of altered gene expression patterns. Novel genetic material has also contributed to the evolution of novel structures. Much attention has been focused on gene duplications as a mechanism for the evolution of novel genetic material. Particularly in the case of vertebrate evolution, whole genome duplications that occurred twice in ancestral vertebrates have been regarded as the main force driving the evolution of novel structures (Holland et al. 1994). As an additional mechanism, we focus here on domain shuffling (Chothia et al. 2003; Babushok et al. 2007). Several different molecular mechanisms for domain shuffling have been proposed. Since the domains are often correlated with exon boundaries, exon shuffling is believed to be one of the major forces driving domain shuffling (Liu and Grigoriev 2004). In addition, the introns at the boundaries of domains show a marked excess of symmetrical phase combinations, and, consequently, these domains may be inserted without changing the reading frame of ancestral genes (Kaessmann et al. 2002; Vibranovski et al. 2005). Some other mechanisms might have been involved in domain shuffling, such as the simple fusion of genes and recruitment of mobile elements (Babushok et al. 2007; Ekman et al. 2007).In contrast to thorough investigation of the mechanistic aspects of domain shuffling, the contribution of the new genes created by domain shuffling to the evolution of phenotype has not been sufficiently explored. Because domain shuffling occurs more frequently in metazoan lineages than in unicellular organisms, suggesting that domain shuffling played an important role in the evolution of multicellularity (Patthy 2003; Ekman et al. 2007), we reasoned that domain shuffling also contributed to the elaboration of metazoan body plans. In this study, we comprehensively investigated the domain shuffling events during deuterostome evolution. The complete amphioxus genome sequence provides sufficient deuterostome genomic sequences (Dehal et al. 2002; Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium 2006; Putnam et al. 2008) to map the domain shuffling events accurately. We listed gene models that were created by domain shuffling in the ancestors of vertebrates, and examined how domain shuffling contributed to the evolution of new genes for vertebrate-specific characteristics. The contribution of domain shuffling was also examined in the evolution of chordates.     

Peritoneal disseminated recurrence after total gastrectomy for perforated gastric malignant lymphoma--a case report

We reported a case of peritoneal disseminated recurrence after total gastrectomy for perforated gastric malignant lymphoma. A 73-year-old man underwent total gastrectomy for perforated gastric diffuse large B cell lymphoma on day 5 of RCHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy. He has rejected chemotherapy and received no additional treatment after gastrectomy. Computer tomography 13 months after surgery revealed peritoneal dissemination and abdominal lymph node metastasis. R-CHOP chemotherapy was performed, and after 4 courses of chemotherapy, peritoneal dissemination and metastatic abdominal lymph nodes disappeared. Chemotherapy was discontinued for a time, however, the tumors relapsed 2 months after stopping chemotherapy. He underwent chemotherapy with etoposide, but died of tumor progression 21 months after gastrectomy.     

Surgical resection for ruptured aneurysm of middle colic artery caused by segmental arterial mediolysis: a case report

Aneurysm of the middle colic artery is very uncommon. In this report, we describe a case of a ruptured aneurysm of the middle colic artery caused by segmental arterial mediolysis and its successful management by surgical resection. A 60-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our institution for the treatment of a ruptured aneurysm of the branch of the superior mesenteric artery suspected by computed tomography. Angiography revealed multiple wide and narrow mural irregularities and some aneurysms in the middle colic artery without extravasation. Transcatheter arterial embolization could not be accomplished because of difficulty in catheterization. Since radiological findings of the patient indicated worsening of the aneurysm, surgical resection was performed. Histopathological findings of the resected specimen were consistent with those of segmental arterial mediolysis. In cases where curative embolization cannot be accomplished, surgical resection is required. However, in a non-ruptured aneurysm, healing occurs gradually. Therefore, if the vital parameters of the patient are stable, conservative observation can be recommended.     

Effect of intermittent blood volume fluctuation of light resistance exercise after ingestion of the high-protein snacks on plasma branched-chain amino acid concentrations in young adults

The study investigated exercise patterns resulting in the more efficient promotion of amino acid utilization. High-protein snacks (HPS; 15 g protein, 18 g sugar) were ingested by 8 young adult subjects 3 h after the basal meal ingestion. Sixty minutes after the HPS ingestion, the subjects performed arm flex/extend exercises for 15 min. The difference between 2 exercise patterns was compared. Pattern 1: High-number long-interval (HL) arm flex/extend (3+3 s) exercise; the HL group performed 9 sets of 15 exercises with a 10 s interval between sets. Pattern 2: Low-number short-interval (LS) arm flex/extend (3+3 s) exercise; the LS group performed 27 sets of 5 exercises with a 3-4 s interval between sets (135 exercises during 15 min, respectively). The plasma branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) concentrations were measured before the HPS ingestion, before the exercise, and 60 and 90 min after the HPS ingestion. The plasma BCAA concentrations increased significantly after the HPS ingestion. In the HL group, BCAA concentration increased consistently during the period and 60 to 90 min after the HPS ingestion. During the same period in the LS group the BCAA concentration stopped increasing. After HPS ingestion, a significantly greater suppressive effect on plasma BCAA concentration was seen in the LS group compared to the HL group. Results confirmed that the intermittent blood volume fluctuation in muscle tissue during the exercise pattern performed by the LS group had an effect on the utilization of nutritional components (BCAA, glucose) from the blood, and showed the possibility that the group where the blood volume in the muscle tissue increased/lowered with higher frequency was a more effective exercise pattern for nutrient utilization.     

A case of video-assisted thoracoscopic radical esophagectomy for cancer in a patient with essential thrombocythemia

A 73-year-old man was diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia and treated with acetylsalicylic acid and hydroxyurea for 15 years. He was referred to our hospital for treatment of esophageal cancer detected by endoscopy. The cancer stage was T1N1M0, cStage IIB according to the classification of the Union for International Cancer Control, 7th edition. After administering two courses of preoperative chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil + cisplatin), the patient underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic radical esophagectomy. Hydroxyurea administration was discontinued during anticancer therapy and restarted to control the platelet count. Heparin was continuously infused during the perioperative period, and hydroxyurea was restarted through a jejunostomy tube on the postoperative day 2. No thrombosis or hemorrhage developed, and the patient was discharged from the hospital on the postoperative day 33. This is the first case report of video-assisted thoracoscopic radical esophagectomy for esophageal cancer in a patient with essential thrombocythemia.     

Isolated intrapancreatic Ig G4-related sclerosing cholangitis

Immunoglobulin G4-related sclerosing cholangitis(Ig G4-SC) is frequently associated with type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis(AIP). Association with AIP can be utilized in the diagnosis of Ig G4-SC. However, some cases of Ig G4-SC are isolated from AIP, which complicates the diagnosis. Most of the reported cases of isolated Ig G4-SC displayed hilar biliary strictures, whereas isolated Ig G4-SC with intrapancreatic biliary stricture is very rare. Recently, we have encountered 5 isolated intrapancreatic Ig G4-SC cases that were not associated with AIP, three of which were pathologically investigated after surgical operation. They all were males with a mean age of 74.2 years. The pancreas was not enlarged in any of these cases. No irregular narrowing of the main pancreatic duct was found. Bile duct wall thickening in lesions without luminal stenosis was detected by abdominal computed tomography in all five cases, by endoscopic ultrasonography in two out of four cases and by intraductal ultrasonography in all three cases. In three cases, serum Ig G4 levels were within the normal limits. The mean serum Ig G4 level measured before surgery was 202.1 mg/d L(4 cases). Isolated intrapancreatic Ig G4-SC is difficult to diagnose, especially if the Ig G4 level remains normal. Thus, this type of Ig G4-SC should be suspected in addition to cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatic cancer if stenosis of intrapancreatic bile duct is present.     

Suppression of Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) by RNA interference inhibits proliferation of EBV-positive Burkitt’s lymphoma cells

Purpose: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with the development of several lymphoid and epithelial malignancies, including Burkitt’s lymphoma. The EBV latent protein, EBV Nuclear Antigen 1 (EBNA1), is detectable in almost all types of EBV-associated tumors and is essential for replication and maintenance of the latent episome of EBV. We here examined whether the RNA interference (RNAi) technique could be employed to suppress expression of EBNA1 in EBV-positive Burkitt’s lymphoma cells. Methods: A Raji cell line expressing small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) against EBNA1 was established and EBNA1 mRNA level was determined by real-time RT-PCR analysis. We investigated the effects of EBNA1 silence on lymphoma cell growth and cell cycle progression. Results: Transfection of an EBNA1 RNAi plasmid resulted in substantial loss of EBNA1 mRNA and significantly inhibited proliferation of Raji cells relative to the control plasmid case. Suppression of EBNA1 was also associated with downregulation of EBV oncogene EBNA2, a decreased PCNA labeling index and increased G0/G1 fraction in cell cycle analysis. Conclusions: These findings point to potential therapeutic applications for vector-mediated siRNA delivery to control EBV-associated malignant disorders.     

Relationship between Doppler transmitral flow velocity pattern and plasma atrial and brain natriuretic peptide concentrations in anuric patients on maintenance hemodialysis

Plasma atrial (ANP) and brain (BNP) natriuretic peptide levels were compared to determine if transmitral flow velocity pattern is an instantaneous marker of body fluid balance in anuric patients on hemodialysis (HD). We measured plasma ANP and BNP levels and performed Doppler echocardiography in 38 anuric patients before and after HD. Patients with valvular disease, left ventricular systolic dysfunction having a fractional shortening < 0.3, arrhythmia, or left ventricular hypertrophy were excluded. The relationships between plasma ANP or BNP levels and the transmitral flow velocity pattern were evaluated. We also determined if the magnitude of the decrease in plasma ANP level was related to that in the early peak of transmitral flow velocity (peak E). The mean age of the subjects was 61.1 +/- 9.7 years. The ANP level of 213.6 +/- 146.1 pg/mL was related to peak E of 61 +/- 15 cm/s before HD (R = 0.504, P < 0.001), but not after HD. Plasma ANP level was not related to peak late transmitral flow velocity (peak A) or peak E/peak A before or after HD. BNP level was not related to the transmitral flow velocity pattern. The magnitude of decrease in hANP level during HD was significantly related to that in peak E (R = 0.342, P < 0.05). Before HD, peak E was related to the plasma ANP level, reflecting volume overload. Change in peak E showed a weak relationship with that of plasma ANP level in the same HD patient. The measurement of peak E during a HD session may potentially enable the assessment of hydration status during HD.