Feasibility study on the use of 3D silicon microdosimeter detectors for microdosimetric analysis in boron neutron capture therapy.

This paper presents the feasibility study of a novel 3D mesa bridge microdosimeter and its use for BNCT dosimetry. The performance of the microdosimeter was studied using Monte Carlo simulation. The clinical BNCT field at Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) using both thermal and epithermal irradiation modes were used in this study. Results show that this microdosimeter can be utilised as an effective tool to measure microdosimetric spectrum in the BNCT field and experimental validation will follow once KUR is operational.

The influence of lithium on hippocampal volume in elderly bipolar patients: a study using voxel-based morphometry.

Recent studies have demonstrated that lithium (Li) exerts neuronal protective and regenerative effects both in vitro and in vivo. However, the effects of long-term Li treatment in the brain areas associated with memory impairment of elderly bipolar patients are still unknown. The aim of this study was to compare the hippocampal volumes of elderly bipolar patients using Li, elderly bipolar patients not using Li and healthy controls. Sociodemographic, clinical and magnetic resonance imaging data from 30 elderly euthymic bipolar patients who had been using Li for an average of >61 months; 27 elderly euthymic bipolar patients not taking Li for an average of 45 months; and 22 elderly healthy controls were analyzed. Volumetric differences in the hippocampus between groups were investigated with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) based on the Statistical Parametric Mapping technique. No statistical differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and course of bipolar disorder between the two bipolar groups were observed. Using small volume correction in the VBM analysis (analysis of variance (ANOVA)), one voxel cluster of statistical significance was detected in the left hippocampus (P<0.05 corrected for multiple comparisons, extent threshold >10 voxels). Post hoc unpaired t-tests revealed increased left hippocampal volume in the Li-treated group compared with the non-Li-treated group, and decreased left hippocampal volume in the non-Li group relative to controls. Additional exploratory two-group comparisons indicated trends toward reduced right-hippocampal volumes in the non-Li-treated group relative to both the Li-treated group and controls. The findings suggested that the use of Li may influence the volume of the hippocampus, possibly due to its neuroprotective effects.

Relaxation dynamics of photoexcited excitons in rubrene single crystals using femtosecond absorption spectroscopy.

The relaxation dynamics of an exciton in rubrene was investigated by femtosecond absorption spectroscopy. Exciton relaxation to a self-trapped state occurs via the coherent oscillation with 78 cm(-1) due to a coupled mode of molecular deformations with phenyl-side-group motions and molecular displacements. From the temperature dependence of the decay time of excitons, the energy necessary for an exciton to escape from a self-trapped state is evaluated to be ~35 meV (~400 K). As a result, a self-trapped exciton is stable at low temperatures. At room temperature, excitons can escape from a self-trapped state and, subsequently, they are dissociated to charged species. The exciton dissociation mechanism is discussed on the basis of the results.

Effect of age on bowel management in traumatic central cord syndrome.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective multicenter study. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the characteristics of bowel dysfunction in elderly people with traumatic central cord syndrome (TCCS). SETTING: A total of 28 Rosai hospitals in Japan. METHODS: The Rosai Hospital registry included 3006 persons with spinal cord injury during 1997-2007. The study subjects were 186 patients with TCCS (160 men, 26 women; mean age, 61.7±11.6 years, ±s.d.). Patients were divided according to age into the young group (<50 years, n=30), the middle-age group (50-69 years, n=112) and the elderly group (≥70 years, n=44). We assessed the differences in bowel management techniques (spontaneous, rectal medications and manual emptying) and activity of daily living (ADL) with respect to bowel care at discharge among the three groups. RESULTS: Continent spontaneous defecation was the most common bowel management method (50%, 93/186). The percentage of elderly subjects on continent spontaneous defecation (36.4%) was significantly less than that of the young group (66.7%; P<0.05). Furthermore, the percentage of elderly patients who required no bowel care (18.2%) was significantly less than those of the young (53.3%) and middle-age groups (41.1%; P<0.01). However, few differences in bowel care-related ADL were recognized among the three groups in patients who required manual emptying. CONCLUSION: The results identified significantly fewer patients aged ≥70 years with 'continent spontaneous defecation' or 'independent for bowel care' compared with younger patients. The results also highlighted the clinical importance of bowel dysfunction associated with TCCS especially in elderly people.

Osseous healing after a sagittal splitting ramus osteotomy.

The purpose of this study was to examine osseous healing in the cleavage between the bone fragments after sagittal splitting ramus osteotomy (SSRO) utilizing computed tomography (CT). The subjects were 13 patients with mandibular prognathism who underwent bilateral SSRO. CT was used to study the rami immediately after surgery, then 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery. Many concave type (the angle between the cleavage >90°) anterior borders developed into the stairway type (the angle between the cleavage <90°) 6-12 months after surgery. Few borders changed to the smooth type. Almost all of the stairway and concave posterior borders changed to the smooth type in the 6-12 months after surgery. Regarding the posterior borders 1 year after surgery, the cleavage of distal and proximal bone fragments demonstrated stable osseous healing (smooth type) in cases where the length and width between the bone fragments were large. In conclusion, the authors successfully demonstrated detailed osseous healing in the cleavage between the bone fragments after SSRO. Remodelling between bone fragments is a major mechanism of osseous healing after this procedure.

Incidence of symptomatic autonomic dysreflexia varies according to the bowel and bladder management techniques in patients with spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective, multicenter study. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between bowel and bladder management methods and symptomatic autonomic dysreflexia (AD) during hospitalization in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Twenty-eight Rosai hospitals in Japan. METHODS: The study subjects were 571 patients with SCI who had been admitted to 28 Rosai hospitals between April 1997 and March 2007 for rehabilitation therapy and fulfilled the following criteria: (1) SCI at or above sixth thoracic level, (2) discharged from hospital after more than 4 months of admission for initial injury and (3) lack of pressure ulcers, deep venous thrombosis, ureteral and renal stones or heterotopic ossification throughout hospitalization to exclude possible influence of these complications on cardiovascular reflexes. The study subjects were examined for the incidence of symptomatic AD according to age, sex, ASIA Impairment Scale, injury level, bowel and bladder management techniques at discharge. RESULTS: The Rosai Hospital registry included 3006 persons with SCI during 1997-2007, and 571 patients fulfilled the above criteria. The highest incidence of symptomatic AD was diagnosed in subjects using reflex voiding and in those using manual removal of stool. By contrast, the lowest incidence of symptomatic AD was in those on continent spontaneous voiding and continent spontaneous defecation. CONCLUSION: Medical staff should evaluate the presence of AD in patients with SCI at or above the T6 level under bladder and bowel management such as reflex voiding and manual removal of stool.

Lack of progression of brain abnormalities in first-episode psychosis: a longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: Some neuroimaging studies have supported the hypothesis of progressive brain changes after a first episode of psychosis. We aimed to determine whether (i) first-episode psychosis patients would exhibit more pronounced brain volumetric changes than controls over time and (ii) illness course/treatment would relate to those changes. METHOD: Longitudinal regional grey matter volume and ventricle:brain ratio differences between 39 patients with first-episode psychosis (including schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder) and 52 non-psychotic controls enrolled in a population-based case-control study. RESULTS: While there was no longitudinal difference in ventricle:brain ratios between first-episode psychosis subjects and controls, patients exhibited grey matter volume changes, indicating a reversible course in the superior temporal cortex and hippocampus compared with controls. A remitting course was related to reversal of baseline temporal grey matter deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support the hypothesis of brain changes indicating a progressive course in the initial phase of psychosis. Rather, some brain volume abnormalities may be reversible, possibly associated with a better illness course.

The effects of thalidomide on chemotactic migration of multiple myeloma cell lines.

We examined the effect of thalidomide and dexamethasone on the migration of multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines, U266, RPMI8226, and NCI-H929, using chemotaxis chamber plates. U266 underwent chemotactic migration in response to stromal-cell derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1alpha), and other cell lines underwent random migration in response to SDF-1alpha or monocyte chemotactic protein-1 alpha. Following preincubation with 1 mug/ml thalidomide, the cell lines showed reduced migratory capacity in response to SDF-1alpha. Concerning the corresponding receptors, CXC chemokine receptor 4 was detected only on the surface of U266, by flow cytometry, whereas chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 2 was not detected on all three cell lines. Moreover, decreased migration by thalidomide was not accompanied by altered expression of the corresponding receptors of each cell line. This is the first report to show the effects of thalidomide on the migration of MM cell lines. The results suggest that the inhibition of chemotactic migration might be one of the mechanisms of the success of thalidomide in controlling MM.

Hypomania induced by atypical antipsychotics among schizophrenic patients: report of three cases.

Induction of mania or hypomania related to the use of atypical antipsychotics among patients with no history of mood disorders has been previously reported. We reported the cases of three schizophrenic patients with no previous history of mood disorders (including no history of mania or hypomania episodes) who developed hypomania associated to the use of atypical antipsychotics.

Expression and role of MHC class I-related chain in myeloma cells.

BACKGROUND: The molecular mechanism of natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity to myeloma cells remains unclear. We investigated whether MHC class I-related chain (MIC), a ligand of NKG2D that is an activating NK cell receptor, is involved in the cytotoxicity of NK cells toward myeloma cells, and examined the effects of various drugs on the cytotoxicity. METHODS: Two human myeloma cell lines and fresh myeloma cells from 10 patients were used. MIC expression was examined by flow cytometry and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. NK cell cytotoxicity was examined using a 51Cr-release assay. The effects of various drugs, including thalidomide, all-trans retinoic acid, dexamethasone, IFN-alpha and incadronate, on the MIC expression and NK cell cytotoxicity were examined. RESULTS: MIC was highly expressed on the human myeloma cell lines U266 and RPMI-8226 and in myeloma cells of one of 10 patients examined. MIC expression on these cells was not changed by various drugs except IFN-alpha, by which MIC expression was down-regulated. Although MIC and HLA class I molecules were similarly expressed at high levels on both cell lines, U266 was sensitive to NK cells whereas RPMI-8226 was not. Furthermore, cytolysis by NK cells was not inhibited by the addition of anti-MIC Ab or decreased expression of MIC caused by IFN-alpha. DISCUSSION: MIC plays a role in the cytolysis by NK cells in multiple myeloma.

Allele frequencies of the six miniSTR loci in a population from Japan.

Allele frequencies and forensic parameters for the six miniSTR loci D1S1677, D2S441, D4S2364, D10S1248, D14S1434, and D22S1045 were investigated in a sample of 142 unrelated healthy Japanese individuals. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products contained within the six loci were less than 119 bp in size. The frequency distributions in the six short tandem repeat (STR) loci showed no deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations. The accumulated powers of discrimination and power of exclusion for the six loci were 0.999998 and 0.98, respectively. It was thus considered that due to the small PCR products and the moderate degree of polymorphism, analysis with use of the six miniSTR loci was highly beneficial for the forensic analysis of degraded DNA.

The size and prevalence of the cavum septum pellucidum are normal in subjects with panic disorder.

Panic disorder is thought to involve dysfunction in the septohippocampal system, and the presence of a cavum septum pellucidum might indicate the aberrant development of this system. We compared the prevalence and size of cavum septum pellucidum in 21 patients with panic disorder and in 21 healthy controls by magnetic resonance imaging. The length of the cavum septum pellucidum was measured by counting the number of consecutive 1-mm coronal slices in which it appeared. A cavum septum pellucidum of >6 mm in length was rated as large. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients (16 of 21 or 76.2%) and controls (18 of 21 or 85.7%) with a cavum septum pellucidum (P=0.35, Fisher's exact test, one-tailed), and no members of either group had a large cavum septum pellucidum. The mean cavum septum pellucidum rating in the patient and control groups was 1.81 (SD=1.50) and 2.09 (SD=1.51), respectively. There were also no significant differences between groups when we analyzed cavum septum pellucidum ratings as a continuous variable (U=196.5; P=0.54). Across all subjects there was a trend towards a higher prevalence of cavum septum pellucidum in males (100%, 10 of 10) than females (75%, 24 of 32; P=0.09, Fisher's exact test, one-tailed). Thus, we conclude that, while panic disorder may involve septo-hippocampal dysfunction, it is not associated with an increased prevalence or size of the cavum septum pellucidum.

The size and prevalence of the cavum septum pellucidum are normal in subjects with panic disorder

Panic disorder is thought to involve dysfunction in the septohippocampal system, and the presence of a cavum septum pellucidum might indicate the aberrant development of this system. We compared the prevalence and size of cavum septum pellucidum in 21 patients with panic disorder and in 21 healthy controls by magnetic resonance imaging. The length of the cavum septum pellucidum was measured by counting the number of consecutive 1-mm coronal slices in which it appeared. A cavum septum pellucidum of >6 mm in length was rated as large. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients (16 of 21 or 76.2 percent) and controls (18 of 21 or 85.7 percent) with a cavum septum pellucidum (P = 0.35, Fisher's exact test, one-tailed), and no members of either group had a large cavum septum pellucidum. The mean cavum septum pellucidum rating in the patient and control groups was 1.81 (SD = 1.50) and 2.09 (SD = 1.51), respectively. There were also no significant differences between groups when we analyzed cavum septum pellucidum ratings as a continuous variable (U = 196.5; P = 0.54). Across all subjects there was a trend towards a higher prevalence of cavum septum pellucidum in males (100 percent, 10 of 10) than females (75 percent, 24 of 32; P = 0.09, Fisher's exact test, one-tailed). Thus, we conclude that, while panic disorder may involve septo-hippocampal dysfunction, it is not associated with an increased prevalence or size of the cavum septum pellucidum.

Decreased left temporal lobe volume of panic patients measured by magnetic resonance imaging.

Reported neuroimaging studies have shown functional and morphological changes of temporal lobe structures in panic patients, but only one used a volumetric method. The aim of the present study was to determine the volume of temporal lobe structures in patients with panic disorder, measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Eleven panic patients and eleven controls matched for age, sex, handedness, socioeconomic status and years of education participated in the study. The mean volume of the left temporal lobe of panic patients was 9% smaller than that of controls (t21 = 2.37, P = 0.028). In addition, there was a trend (P values between 0.05 and 0.10) to smaller volumes of the right temporal lobe (7%, t21 = 1.99, P = 0.06), right amygdala (8%, t21 = 1.83, P = 0.08), left amygdala (5%, t21 = 1.78, P = 0.09) and left hippocampus (9%, t21 = 1.93, P = 0.07) in panic patients compared to controls. There was a positive correlation between left hippocampal volume and duration of panic disorder (r = 0.67, P = 0.025), with recent cases showing more reduction than older cases. The present results show that panic patients have a decreased volume of the left temporal lobe and indicate the presence of volumetric abnormalities of temporal lobe structures.

Decreased left temporal lobe volume of panic patients measured by magnetic resonance imaging

Reported neuroimaging studies have shown functional and morphological changes of temporal lobe structures in panic patients, but only one used a volumetric method. The aim of the present study was to determine the volume of temporal lobe structures in patients with panic disorder, measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Eleven panic patients and eleven controls matched for age, sex, handedness, socioeconomic status and years of education participated in the study. The mean volume of the left temporal lobe of panic patients was 9 percent smaller than that of controls (t21 = 2.37, P = 0.028). In addition, there was a trend (P values between 0.05 and 0.10) to smaller volumes of the right temporal lobe (7 percent, t21 = 1.99, P = 0.06), right amygdala (8 percent, t21 = 1.83, P = 0.08), left amygdala (5 percent, t21 = 1.78, P = 0.09) and left hippocampus (9 percent, t21 = 1.93, P = 0.07) in panic patients compared to controls. There was a positive correlation between left hippocampal volume and duration of panic disorder (r = 0.67, P = 0.025), with recent cases showing more reduction than older cases. The present results show that panic patients have a decreased volume of the left temporal lobe and indicate the presence of volumetric abnormalities of temporal lobe structures

Characterization of the portal signal in a nonsteady hyperglycemic state in conscious dogs.

To characterize the "portal signal" in a nonsteady hyperglycemic state, the kinetic relationship between net hepatic glucose balance (NHGB) and either hepatic glucose load (HGL) or plasma insulin level was determined during glucose infusion using a catheter technique in 36 conscious dogs. Glucose was infused intraportally (Po group) and peripherally (Pe group) at 39, 56, and 83 micromol x kg(-1) x min(-1) over 2 h. There was a linear relationship between mean NHGB and either mean HGL or plasma insulin levels at each rate in either delivery (HGL: Po r = 0.99, Pe r = 0.95; insulin: Po r = 99, Pe r = 0.79). The threshold levels for net hepatic glucose uptake were 3.8 and 11.7 mmol/l for plasma glucose and 65 and 392 pmol/l for plasma insulin, respectively. The slope of the regression line against the abscissa was four times larger in portal than in peripheral delivery (HGL: Po 0.20 vs. Pe 0.05, P < 0.05; insulin: Po 0.19 vs. Pe 0.04, P < 0.05). These results suggest that the portal signal overrules the threshold of glucose for hepatic uptake by increasing hepatic extraction rate in a nonsteady hyperglycemic state.