Similarity in Neuronal Firing Regimes across Mammalian Species

Mochizuki, Yasuhiro,Onaga, Tomokatsu,Shimazaki, Hideaki,Shimokawa, Takeaki,Tsubo, Yasuhiro,Kimura, Rie,Saiki, Akiko,Sakai, Yutaka,Isomura, Yoshikazu,Fujisawa, Shigeyoshi,Shibata, Ken-ichi,Hirai, Daich Society for Neuroscience 2016 The Journal of neuroscience Vol.36 No.21

<P>The architectonic subdivisions of the brain are believed to be functional modules, each processing parts of global functions. Previously, we showed that neurons in different regions operate in different firing regimes in monkeys. It is possible that firing regimes reflect differences in underlying information processing, and consequently the firing regimes in homologous regions across animal species might be similar. We analyzed neuronal spike trains recorded from behaving mice, rats, cats, and monkeys. The firing regularity differed systematically, with differences across regions in one species being greater than the differences in similar areas across species. Neuronal firing was consistently most regular in motor areas, nearly random in visual and prefrontal/medial prefrontal cortical areas, and bursting in the hippocampus in all animals examined. This suggests that firing regularity (or irregularity) plays a key role in neural computation in each functional subdivision, depending on the types of information being carried.</P>

Conversion of percutaneous cholecystostomy to transmural endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage in malignant biliary obstruction

Motoyasu Kan,Yusuke Hashimoto,Taro Shibuki,Gen Kimura,Kumiko Umemoto,Kazuo Watanabe,Mitsuhito Sasaki,Hideaki Takahashi,Hiroshi Imaoka,Izumi Ohno,Shuichi Mitsunaga,Masafumi Ikeda 소화기인터벤션의학회 2019 Gastrointestinal Intervention Vol.8 No.2

Background: In patients with distal malignant biliary obstruction, it is a challenge to manage acute cholecystitis secondary to cystic duct obstruc-tion associated with tumor progression or stent compression. Percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) has been used as the treatment option of choice, because of its ease of performance and safety, but because of the use of an external drainage tube, some patients experience a de-creased quality of life. We report the technical success and clinical success of conversion from PTGBD to endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) for the treatment of acute cholecystitis in patients with unresectable malignant biliary obstruction.Methods: We included the patients with cholecystitis secondary to unresectable malignant biliary obstruction who underwent conversion from PT-GBD to EUS-GBD in the study. After PTGBD for the treatment of acute cholecystitis, we performed EUS-GBD and a plastic stent or a self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) was placed for fistulostomy.Results: Fourteen patients (median age, 69 years; 9 males and 5 females) underwent conversion to EUS-GBD after clinical improvement of cholecys-titis by PTGBD. The technical success rate of the conversion from PTGBD to EUS-GBD was 100% (14/14). EUS-GBD was performed in a median of 9.5 days (range, 3–51 days) after PTGBD procedure, using mainly a plastic stent (13 patients) and a covered SEMS in one patient. The early (within 24 hours) adverse events rate was 14.3% (2/14), and the late (after 24 hours) adverse events rate was 7.1% (1/14). The rate of recurrence of cholecystitis was 28.6% (4/14). These patients underwent endoscopic re-intervention and there were no cases of further recurrence of cholecystitis. Conclusion: Conversion of PTGBD to EUS-GBD demonstrated a feasible and safe technique for acute cholecystitis in non-surgical candidates with malignant biliary obstruction.

Conversion of percutaneous cholecystostomy to transmural endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage in malignant biliary obstruction

Motoyasu Kan,Yusuke Hashimoto,Taro Shibuki,Gen Kimura,Kumiko Umemoto,Kazuo Watanabe,Mitsuhito Sasaki,Hideaki Takahashi,Hiroshi Imaoka,Izumi Ohno,Shuichi Mitsunaga,Masafumi Ikeda 소화기인터벤션의학회 2019 International journal of gastrointestinal interven Vol.8 No.2

Background: In patients with distal malignant biliary obstruction, it is a challenge to manage acute cholecystitis secondary to cystic duct obstruc-tion associated with tumor progression or stent compression. Percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) has been used as the treatment option of choice, because of its ease of performance and safety, but because of the use of an external drainage tube, some patients experience a de-creased quality of life. We report the technical success and clinical success of conversion from PTGBD to endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) for the treatment of acute cholecystitis in patients with unresectable malignant biliary obstruction.Methods: We included the patients with cholecystitis secondary to unresectable malignant biliary obstruction who underwent conversion from PT-GBD to EUS-GBD in the study. After PTGBD for the treatment of acute cholecystitis, we performed EUS-GBD and a plastic stent or a self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) was placed for fistulostomy.Results: Fourteen patients (median age, 69 years; 9 males and 5 females) underwent conversion to EUS-GBD after clinical improvement of cholecys-titis by PTGBD. The technical success rate of the conversion from PTGBD to EUS-GBD was 100% (14/14). EUS-GBD was performed in a median of 9.5 days (range, 3–51 days) after PTGBD procedure, using mainly a plastic stent (13 patients) and a covered SEMS in one patient. The early (within 24 hours) adverse events rate was 14.3% (2/14), and the late (after 24 hours) adverse events rate was 7.1% (1/14). The rate of recurrence of cholecystitis was 28.6% (4/14). These patients underwent endoscopic re-intervention and there were no cases of further recurrence of cholecystitis. Conclusion: Conversion of PTGBD to EUS-GBD demonstrated a feasible and safe technique for acute cholecystitis in non-surgical candidates with malignant biliary obstruction.

Anatomy of zebrafish cerebellum and screen for mutations affecting its development

Bae, Young-Ki,Kani, Shuichi,Shimizu, Takashi,Tanabe, Koji,Nojima, Hideaki,Kimura, Yukiko,Higashijima, Shin-ichi,Hibi, Masahiko Elsevier 2009 Developmental biology Vol.330 No.2

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>The cerebellum is important for the integration of sensory perception and motor control, but its structure has mostly been studied in mammals. Here, we describe the cell types and neural tracts of the adult zebrafish cerebellum using molecular markers and transgenic lines. Cerebellar neurons are categorized to two major groups: GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons. The Purkinje cells, which are GABAergic neurons, express parvalbumin7, carbonic anhydrase 8, and aldolase C like (zebrin II). The glutamatergic neurons are <I>vglut1</I><SUP><I>+</I></SUP> granule cells and <I>vglut2</I><SUP><I>high</I></SUP> cells, which receive Purkinje cell inputs; some <I>vglut2</I><SUP><I>high</I></SUP> cells are eurydendroid cells, which are equivalent to the mammalian deep cerebellar nuclei. We found <I>olig2</I><SUP><I>+</I></SUP> neurons in the adult cerebellum and ascertained that at least some of them are eurydendroid cells. We identified markers for climbing and mossy afferent fibers, efferent fibers, and parallel fibers from granule cells. Furthermore, we found that the cerebellum-like structures in the optic tectum and antero-dorsal hindbrain show similar Parvalbumin7 and Vglut1 expression profiles as the cerebellum. The differentiation of GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons begins 3?days post-fertilization (dpf), and layers are first detectable 5?dpf. Using anti-Parvalbumin7 and Vglut1 antibodies to label Purkinje cells and granule cell axons, respectively, we screened for mutations affecting cerebellar neuronal development and the formation of neural tracts. Our data provide a platform for future studies of zebrafish cerebellar development.</P>

The post-progression survival of patients with recurrent or persistent ovarian clear cell carcinoma: results from a randomized phase III study in JGOG3017/GCIG

Eiji Kondo,Tsutomu Tabata,Nao Suzuki,Daisuke Aoki,Hideaki Yahata,Yoshio Kotera,Osamu Tokuyama,Keiichi Fujiwara,Eizo Kimura,Fumitoshi Terauchi,Toshiyuki Sumi,Aikou Okamoto,Nobuo Yaegashi,Takayuki Enomo 대한부인종양학회 2020 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.31 No.6

Objective: In this study we sought to investigate the clinical factors that affect post progression survival (PPS) in patients with recurrent or persistent clear cell carcinoma (CCC). We utilized the JGOG3017/Gynecological Cancer InterGroup data to compare paclitaxel pluscarboplatin (TC) and irinotecan plus cisplatin (CPT-P) in the treatment of stages I to IV CCC. Methods: We enrolled 166 patients with recurrent or persistent CCC and assessed the impactof variables, including platinum sensitivity, treatment arm, crossover chemotherapy, primarystage, residual tumor at primary surgery, performance status, ethnicity, and tumor reductionsurgery at recurrence on the median of PPS in patients with recurrent or persistent CCC. Results: A total of 77 patients received TC, and 89 patients received CPT-P. The median PPSfor patients with platinum-resistant disease was 10.9 months, compared with 18.8 monthsfor patients with platinum-sensitive disease (hazard ratio [HR]=1.88; 95% confidence interval[CI]=1.30–2.72; log-rank p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the platinum sensitivity(resistant vs. sensitivity; HR=1.60; p=0.027) and primary stage (p=0.009) were identified asindependent predictors of prognosis factors for PPS in recurrent or persistent CCC. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that platinum sensitivity and primary stage are clinicalfactors that significantly affect PPS in patients with recurrent or persistent CCC as well as other histologic subtypes of ovarian cancer. PPS in patients with recurrent CCC shouldestablish the basis for future clinical trials in this population.

Patient self-reported symptoms using visual analog scales are useful to estimate endoscopic activity in ulcerative colitis

( Saya Tsuda ),( Reiko Kunisaki ),( Jun Kato ),( Mayu Murakami ),( Masafumi Nishio ),( Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa ),( Takeichi Yoshida ),( Hideaki Kimura ),( Masayuki Kitano ) 대한장연구학회 2018 Intestinal Research Vol.16 No.4

Background/Aims: In clinical practice, colonoscopy has been regarded as the gold standard for the evaluation of disease severity as well as mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis (UC). Some activity indices incorporating patient symptoms as parameters have been shown to reflect the endoscopic activity of UC. The aim of this study was to examine whether self-reported symptoms with visual analog scales (VAS) can predict endoscopic activity. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 150 UC patients who underwent colonoscopy with submission of VAS scores of 4 symptoms: general condition, bloody stools, stool form, and abdominal pain (0: no symptoms, 10: the most severe symptoms). Each VAS score was compared with colonoscopic activity assessed with the Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES). Results: All VAS scores were significantly correlated with the endoscopic severity (Spearman correlation coefficients of general condition, bloody stools, stool form, and abdominal pain: 0.63, 0.64, 0.58, and 0.43, respectively). Mucosal healing defined as MES 0 alone was predicted by VAS score <1.5 on general condition or 0 on bloody stools with sensitivity of 0.84 and 0.76 and specificity of 0.66 and 0.76, respectively. Additionally, VAS score <2.5 on stool form predicted active lesions in distal colorectum alone with sensitivity of 0.67 and specificity of 0.66, suggesting that this item could predict the indication of topical therapy. Conclusions: Self-reported VAS scores on symptoms were correlated with endoscopic activity of UC. To clarify the relationship between VAS and mucosal healing, further validation studies are needed. (Intest Res 2018;16:579-587)

Application of MIR-FEL Irradiation to Selectively Excite Phonons in Wide-gap Semiconductors

Kyohei Yoshida,Taro Sonobe,M. A. Bakr,Y. W. Choi,Ryota Kinjo,M. Omer,Masato Takasaki,Satoshi Ueda,Naoki Kimura,Keiichi Ishida,Kai Masuda,Toshiteru Kii,Hideaki Ohgaki 한국물리학회 2011 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.59 No.51

A mid-infrared free electron laser (MIR-FEL) (5 - 20 μm) facility (KU-FEL: Kyoto University Free Electron Laser) was constructed to aid in various energy science researchers at the Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University. In May 2008, the first power saturation at 13.2 μm was achieved. A pilot application to evaluate selective phonon excitation processes in solid materials by irradiating with MIR-FEL was implemented, and a preliminary experiment without FEL irradiation was conducted. N-doped silicon carbide (SiC) was selected as a sample material due to its unique electrical property where the lattice vibration and electronic structure are coupled. Two peaks at 1.8 - 2.4 eV and 2.4 - 2.8 eV, which showed strong temperature dependences in both their intensities and peak energy, were observed. These tendencies could be explained by a donor-acceptor pair luminescence (DAP) model with impurity and defects in the SiC sample. The results imply that we can verify the selective phonon excitation by investigating the change of PL spectrum introduced by MIR-FEL irradiation.