Soleus H‐reflex operant conditioning changes the H‐reflex recruitment curve

Introduction: Operant conditioning can gradually change the human soleus H‐reflex. The protocol conditions the reflex near M‐wave threshold. In this study we examine its impact on the reflexes at other stimulus strengths. Methods: H‐reflex recruitment curves were obtained before and after a 24‐session exposure to an up‐conditioning (HRup) or a down‐conditioning (HRdown) protocol and were compared. Results: In both HRup and HRdown subjects, conditioning affected the entire H‐reflex recruitment curve. In 5 of 6 HRup and 3 of 6 HRdown subjects, conditioning elevated (HRup) or depressed (HRdown), respectively, the entire curve. In the other HRup subject or the other 3 HRdown subjects, the curve was shifted to the left or to the right, respectively. Conclusions: H‐reflex conditioning does not simply change the H‐reflex to a stimulus of particular strength; it also changes the H‐reflexes to stimuli of different strengths. Thus, it is likely to affect many actions in which this pathway participates. Muscle Nerve 47: [?show $1534v]–[?show $1535v], 2013     

Multicenter-evaluation of optimal cell density to determine antimicrobial susceptibility for Haemophilus influenzae by the automated RAISUS system when the early-harvested bacterial cells were used

The fully automated microbial system, RAISUS (Nissui Pharmaceutical, Tokyo, Japan) can provide antimicrobial susceptibility test results for the isolates of Haemophilus influenzae. It is known that viable cell concentrations (colony forming unit/ml) of H. influenzae significantly vary depending on the incubation period. For the rapid reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility test results, we evaluated optimal cell density when we prepared the cell suspension using the early-harvested (6 hour incubation) cells for RAISUS. A total of 180 clinical isolates, comprising of 33 ampicillin-susceptible isolates, 114 beta-lactamase negative but ampicillin-resistant isolates and 33 beta-lactamase positive and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid susceptible or -resistant isolates, were included. All the isolates were genetically defined according to the detection of TEM gene and specific mutation (s) in fts I gene. The isolates were incubated on chocolate agar plates for 6 hours, and then the cell suspensions were prepared and adjusted to 0.5, 0.25 and 0.125 McFarland standards through serially dilutions. The respective cell suspensions were tested by the RAISUS AST panels. The % agreements between RAISUS and Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute standard microdilutions in ampicillin category interpretations were 66.7%(McFarland 0.5), 77.8% (McFarland 0.25) and 83.9%(McFarland 0.125). When the McFarland 0.125 cell suspensions were inoculated, the majority of discrep ant interpretations were minor errors (15.0%) and the occurrence of major error was 3.4%. There was no very major error throughout the study. Essential agreement in MIC determinations (with or within +/- 1 doubling dilution) for 11 beta-lactam antimicrobial agents tested improved to 95.2% by McFarland 0.125 when compared to 77.4% by McFarland 0.5. It was also demonstrated that the viable cell concentrations prepared from 6 hour incubation cultures were 2.5 to 6.5 times higher than those from 22 hour-incubations. With these results, it can be concluded that the early harvested cell suspension of H. influenzae is applicable to RAISUS antimicrobial susceptibility test with lower cell density (McFarland 0.125). With this adjustment, the antimicrobial susceptibility test for H. influenzae will be completed by RAISUS within 26 hours after primary isolation.     

Urinary iodine kinetics after oral loading of potassium iodine

We studied the kinetics of iodine in various forms, in order to establish appropriate guidelines of iodine prophylaxis for thyroid blockade at nuclear emergency in "iodine rich areas", such as Japan. First, the effect of equivalent dose of potassium iodide (KI) (solution vs. tablet) was evaluated with excretions of urinary iodine (UI) at Nagasaki, Japan, and it was revealed that there was no difference of iodine kinetics between solution and tablet. We also performed the same study at Gomel, Belarus, which was known to be an iodine deficient area, and obtained the same results. Second, the kinetics of iodine included in "iodine rich" food was also evaluated with excretions of UI. Interestingly, the ratio of UI excretion with iodine rich food was significantly lower than that with KI tablets until 6 h after the intake (ANOVA, p = 0.02). These results proved that 1) KI solution as well as its tablet is useful for prophylaxis and 2) prophylaxis by iodine rich food is not effective for rapid blockade of thyroid gland at nuclear emergency. Finally, we emphasized that the approach from social medicine is definitely important to establish an effective iodine prophylaxis.     

A case of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma with interstitial shadow which disappeared after injection of hydrocortisone]

A case of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) was reported. A 56-year-old woman was admitted because of high fever and systemic lymphademopathy. Her chest X-ray on admission showed mediastinal and bilateral hilar lymphademopathy (BHL) and interstitial shadows in both lower lung fields. Chest CT scan revealed thickening of interlobular septum and bronchovascular bundles. There was a remarkable elevation in serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor. A biopsy of cervical lymph nodes for histopathological examination revealed AITL. After intravenous injection of 200mg of hydrocortisone for 7 days, the interstitial shadows and BHL disappeared. It was suspected that interstitial shadow was caused by pulmonary infiltration of AITL.     

Normative data and psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire among Japanese school-aged children

Background

Although child mental health problems are among the most important worldwide issues, development of culturally acceptable mental health services to serve the clinical needs of children and their families is especially lacking in regions outside Europe and North America. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which was developed in the United Kingdom and is now one of the most widely used measurement tools for screening child psychiatric symptoms, has been translated into Japanese, but culturally calibrated norms for Japanese schoolchildren have yet to be established. To this end, we examined the applicability of the Japanese versions of the parent and teacher SDQs by establishing norms and extending validation of its psychometric properties to a large nationwide sample, as well as to a smaller clinical sample.

Methods

The Japanese versions of the SDQ were completed by parents and teachers of schoolchildren aged 7 to 15 years attending mainstream classes in primary or secondary schools in Japan. Data were analyzed to describe the population distribution and gender/age effects by informant, cut-off scores according to banding, factor structure, cross-scale correlations, and internal consistency for 24,519 parent ratings and 7,977 teacher ratings from a large nationwide sample. Inter-rater and test-retest reliabilities and convergent and divergent validities were confirmed for a smaller validation sample (total n?=?128) consisting of a clinical sample with any mental disorder and community children without any diagnoses.

Results

Means, standard deviations, and banding of normative data for this Japanese child population were obtained. Gender/age effects were significant for both parent and teacher ratings. The original five-factor structure was replicated, and strong cross-scale correlations and internal reliability were shown across all SDQ subscales for this population. Inter-rater agreement was satisfactory, test-retest reliability was excellent, and convergent and divergent validities were satisfactory for the validation sample, with some differences between informants.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that the Japanese version of the SDQ is a useful instrument for parents and teachers as well as for research purposes. Our findings also emphasize the importance of establishing culturally calibrated norms and boundaries for the instrument’s use.     

Diagnosis of bladder cancer using 18F-labeled α-methyl-phenylalanine tracers in a mouse model

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - Although 2-18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (18F-FDG) has established roles in the diagnosis of a variety of cancers, it has limited value in the detection of...     

Clinical characteristics and genetic analysis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: a Japanese retrospective study by the Kyushu–Yamaguchi Children’s Cancer Study Group

This present study sought to analyze acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) registered in Kyushu–Yamaguchi Children’s Cancer Study Group studies conducted between 1996 and 2007. Four of 357 patients, including two of 318 patients with B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) and two of 39 of those with T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), were identified. HLH was observed more frequently in the T-ALL patients than in the BCP-ALL patients (P = 0.061). The mean age of 13.0 years at the diagnosis of leukemia in the HLH + ALL group was significantly higher than the 6.05 years observed in the remaining ALL groups (P = 0.001). A female predisposition was noted, as all four patients were female (P = 0.043). In two of four patients, the leukemic cells exhibited deletions on the long arm of chromosome 6 (P = 0.003). Three patients suffered from HLH during maintenance therapy. Parvovirus B19 infection and cytomegalovirus reactivation were identified as causes of HLH in one and two patients, respectively. All four patients are currently in complete remission, although one developed relapse of leukemia after receiving maintenance therapy. Based on the genetic analyses, non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in UNC13D, syntaxin 11, and STXBP2 were identified in all patients. Clinicians should therefore be aware of the risk of HLH during maintenance therapy, especially in older T-ALL patients with SNPs in familial HLH causative genes.