A modified method of hepaticocholedochojejunal anastomosis

"Declive" latero-terminal and latero-lateral hepaticocholedocho-jejunoanastomosis with a loop of the small intestine isolated by the Roux method was carried out in 6 patients (5 females and 1 male) according to absolute indications. In this type of anastomosis, the longitudinal incision in the hepaticocholedochus is made not on the midline but latero-dorsally on its right supraduodenal circumference. The anastomosis is formed by means of a modified suture or a suture commonly used for bilio-digestive anastomoses; the needle is inserted through the wall of the bile duct 2-2.5 mm from the border of its opening and the sutures are placed at a similar distance from one another, the seromusculo-submucous sutures are applied 6-7 mm from the edge of the opening and at a distance of 3-3.5 mm from one another. Comparison with patients in whom heapticocholedochojejunoanastomosis was established by the routine method showed the results to be better in the modified method.     

The influence of affective state on sensory and emotional perception: Application of the Sense’n Feel™ method

Emotions play a key role in our daily life through their control over our thoughts and behaviors. While it is commonly accepted that depressive patients have emotional perception disorders, it is important to know how these disorders affect patients’ sensory perception to develop products to provide them with better support. In this study, we first examined the existence of modifications in the emotional perception of subjects with minor depressive symptoms (MDS, n = 80) compared with healthy controls (HC, n = 80) using a nonverbal method based on pictures to measure projected emotions and personality traits: the Sense'n Feel? method. The investigated stimuli were two unpleasant and two pleasant odors and one pleasant food product: a madeleine. Second, we investigated the hedonic, familiarity and intensity olfactory perceptions of the subjects using the same stimuli. No significant difference was found in any olfactory qualities between the two groups. Concerning the pleasant olfactory stimuli, however, we did note that the MDS subjects had a significantly lower score for the positive emotion of joy/happiness than the controls. Additionally, the MDS group's attribution of some positive personality traits for the three pleasant stimuli was significantly weaker than that in the HC group. These results could be explained by the affective state of the MDS subjects; they were more anxious and more alexithymic compared with the controls. Further research is needed to validate our study in clinically depressed individuals and to determine whether the modifications of the emotional olfactory perception are due to the disease and/or to neuropsychological alterations.     

Small genome of the fungus Escovopsis weberi,a specialized disease agent of ant agriculture

Many microorganisms with specialized lifestyles have reduced genomes. This is best understood in beneficial bacterial symbioses, where partner fidelity facilitates loss of genes necessary for living independently. Specialized microbial pathogens may also exhibit gene loss relative to generalists. Here, we demonstrate that Escovopsis weberi, a fungal parasite of the crops of fungus-growing ants, has a reduced genome in terms of both size and gene content relative to closely related but less specialized fungi. Although primary metabolism genes have been retained, the E. weberi genome is depleted in carbohydrate active enzymes, which is consistent with reliance on a host with these functions. E. weberi has also lost genes considered necessary for sexual reproduction. Contrasting these losses, the genome encodes unique secondary metabolite biosynthesis clusters, some of which include genes that exhibit up-regulated expression during host attack. Thus, the specialized nature of the interaction between Escovopsis and ant agriculture is reflected in the parasite’s genome.The highly evolved agricultural lifestyle of leaf-cutting ants has attracted particular attention because these ants cultivate a symbiotic fungus that serves as their major food source. These ants cut leaves, preprocess them into small pieces, and feed them to the cultivated fungus (1). The capacity of the cultivated fungus to break down plant material gives ant agriculturalists access to the vast nutrient stores locked within neotropical plants (Fig. 1A) (2–5). The symbiosis between fungus-growing ants and their cultivated fungi has persisted for at least 50 million years (6).Open in a separate windowFig. 1.Escovopsis weberi, a specialized mycoparasite of the fungus-growing ant symbiosis, has a small genome compared with other Pezizomycotina fungi. (A) Both fungus-growing ants and the mycoparasite E. weberi use the ants’ cultivated fungi as their primary food source. The ability of the cultivated fungi to efficiently break down plant material gives both consumers access to the biomass of neotropical plants. (B) Size and protein-coding gene content of genomes of diverse fungi in the Pezizomycotina. Bayesian phylogeny estimated using partial amino acid alignments of three genes (Rpb1, Rpb2, ef1-α). All posterior probabilities are greater than 0.95. Phylogeny is rooted with Sacchormyces cervesiae (not shown). (C) Relationship between genome size and gene content. A list of genomes included in this panel is in SI Appendix, Table S1.Like human agriculture, ant agriculture is hampered by disease. The ants’ fungal crops are attacked and consumed by fungal parasites of the genus Escovopsis (Ascomycota, Pezizomycotina: anamorphic Hypocreales) (Fig. 1A) (7), which have evolved in association with the ants and their cultivated fungi (8). Escovopsis infection can have detrimental impacts on garden health and, consequently, on the survival of ant colonies (9, 10). Such mycoparasitism, the phenomenon whereby one fungus is parasitic on another fungus, is rare. It is most well-known for species from the genus Trichoderma, some of which are used as biocontrol agents for fungal diseases and others of which attack human-cultivated fungi (11–13). In contrast to Trichoderma species, however, Escovopsis species grow poorly in their hosts’ absence (SI Appendix, Figs. S1 and S2).Escovopsis species have never been isolated outside of fungus-growing ant colonies, and different strains of Escovopsis are capable of attacking the fungi grown by different fungus-growing ant species (8, 14, 15). The long-term, specialized evolutionary history of the association between Escovopsis and their hosts provides a unique venue to explore the consequences of host specialization on pathogen genome evolution. Here, we assemble and annotate the genome of a strain of Escovopsis weberi. Consistent with expectations under an evolutionary transition toward using a narrow host range, and similar to many other specialized, host-associated microbes (16, 17), E. weberi exhibits gene loss. Contrasting other fungal pathogens, the large genomes of which are expanded with genetic elements that influence host adaptation (18), the genome size of Escovopsis is small compared with those of its closest sequenced relatives.     

Is the Newly Described Interstitial Network the Anatomical Basis of Acupuncture Meridians? A Commentary

A network passing through interstitial tissues of the human body has been recently described. Despite its functional importance is yet unknown, we try to briefly summarize the known data and to interpret it from the viewpoint of Traditional Chinese medicine. We consider the peculiarities of the interstitium to be the morphological basis of at least some of the known phenomena along acupuncture meridians.     

NAT2*5/*5 genotype (341T>C) is a potential risk factor for schistosomiasis-associated bladder cancer in Egyptians

Arylamine N-acetyl transferase (NAT2) displays extensive genetic polymorphisms that affect the rates of acetylation of drugs and genotoxic compounds such as amine carcinogens. To investigate whether the slow acetylator genotype is a risk factor for development of bladder cancer following schistosomal infection of the urinary tract, the authors determined the frequencies of 3 common polymorphisms in the NAT2 gene (341T>C, 590G>A, and 282C>T), which are associated with impaired acetylation activity, in control subjects (n=61; mean age 34.3+/-9.2 years) and in schistosomiasis-associated bladder cancer patients (n=55; 52+/-10.9 years) from the Egyptian population. Genotyping was carried out using rapid cycle PCR on the LightCycler, and subjects were assigned to a slow, intermediate, or rapid acetylator phenotype on the basis of the genotypes. The frequencies of the mutant alleles observed in the controls from the present study were similar to those reported previously for both the Egyptian population and other Arab populations. Patients showed a higher prevalence (78.2%) of slow acetylator phenotype than controls (67.2%), but this did not reach statistical significance (P=0.19). However, there were significantly more individuals who were carriers of 2 mutant 341T>C alleles (NAT2*5/*5 genotype) in the patient group compared with controls (odds ratio 2.6, CI 1.02-6.67, P=0.026). The alloenzyme encoded by this allele has been shown to display a large reduction in its catalytic activity. In conclusion, these data suggest that the NAT2*5/*5 genotype is a potential risk factor for development of urinary bladder cancer in patients with prior schistosomiasis infection.     

Rtt106p is a histone chaperone involved in heterochromatin-mediated silencing

Epigenetic inheritance of heterochromatin structure is an important cellular process whose mechanism remains elusive. In this article, we describe the identification of nine enhancers of the silencing defect of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae-PCNA mutant by screening a library of approximately 4,700 viable yeast deletion mutants. Of the nine mutants identified, six (hir1, hir3, sas2, sas4, sas5, and sir1) were previously known to reduce silencing synergistically with a mutation in Cac1p, the large subunit of chromatin assembly factor 1 (CAF-1). The predicted gene products that are affected in three other mutants (nam7, msh2, and rtt106) have not been implicated previously in silencing. Characterization of the rtt106Delta allele revealed that it synergistically reduced heterochromatin silencing when combined with a mutation in Cac1p but not with a mutation in Asf1p (a histone H3 and H4 chaperone). Moreover, Rtt106p interacted with histones H3 and H4 both in vitro and in vivo, and it displayed a nucleosome assembly activity in vitro. Furthermore, Rtt106p interacts with CAF-1 physically through Cac1p. These biochemical and genetic data indicate that Rtt106p is a previously uncharacterized histone chaperone connecting S phase to epigenetic inheritance.