We have developed a new educational/clinical ontology named the “Haghighi-Koeda Mood Disorder Ontology”, which involves both medical and psychological approaches for mood disorders in order to promote the exchange of information between psychiatrists and psychologists. Data was gathered from more than 5000 articles published in journals and websites specialized in life science. We evaluated and selected articles which were related to 4 main categories of mood disorders. Using Protégé 3.4 beta, information related to mood disorders was classifi ed by class/ subclass tree in an ontological structure. Then we developed a web-based interface system on the internet enabling the implementation of the ontology. In addition, we have designed an online scale for automated diagnosis of mood disorder. 　For evaluating experiments, we compare this ontology with “Decisionbase™” of which content deals with mood disorders. Evaluation was in accordance with our selected criteria via the AHP (Analysis of Hierarchical Processing) method. The results demonstrated the noteworthy superiority of our ontology. We believe that combining knowledge of medical science with that in psychological fields is a key to improving the quality of diagnosis and promoting appropriate treaTMent in all psychiatric disorders.

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Background: Diffuse noxious inhibitory control (DNIC) is thought to be mediated by neural networks in supraspinal brain structures. The descending antinociceptive system (DAS) is an important component of the DNIC neural network, but the precise structure of the neural network and the related neurotransmitters have not been examined. Methods: The study was designed to examine whether systemic administration of the adrenergic agonists dexmedetomidine (DEX) and phenylephrine (PE) influences DNIC in the rat. Changes in the C-fiber reflex evoked by electromyographic activity were recorded following noxious tail immersion in hot water. Results: Inhibition of the C-fiber reflex by the conditioning stimuli was reduced from 77.1 ± 22.6% to 26.6 ± 38.2% with continuous administration of DEX, and restored to 58.3 ± 29.2% by intramuscular injection of atipamezole hydrochloride(APZ), a selective α 2- adrenoceptor antagonist. Inhibition of the C-fiber reflex was reduced from 75.6 ± 25.8% to 22.7 ± 38.9% with continuous administration of PE, and restored to 84.9 ± 9.7% by intramuscular injection of phentolamine mesylate (PT), an α - adrenoceptor antagonist. Conclusion: The results show that clinical doses of DEX and PE inhibit DNIC, thereby aff ecting and modulating the intrinsic pain inhibition system. These findings suggest that adrenergic neurons are involved in DNIC.

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The intramucosal lesion of gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (SIG) is known to form a layered structure (LS) that simulates mucin expression in ordinary gastric mucosa. In this study, we suspected the influence of background mucosa on the formation of LS and performed histopathological analysis. We examined 35 cases of intramucosal SIG with a maximum diameter of 30 mm or less. The LS patterns were classified into those with a layer of MUC6-positive cells (complete pattern, CP) and those lacking this layer (incomplete pattern, ICP). The relationship between LS patterns and the characteristics of the background mucosa, the expression of MUC2 (intestinal-type mucin antigen), MUC5AC (foveolar-type mucin antigen), and Ki-67 (the marker of cell proliferation activity) was examined by histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. Intestinal metaplasia in the background mucosa and MUC2 expression were frequently observed in cases with ICP. Ki-67-positive cells were much more and they were distributed more widely in the lesion of cases with ICP alone than in the other cases. Mucin expression and LS formation of gastric SIG are strongly influenced by its background mucosa. The cases completely lacking MUC6 expression may have higher malignant potential.

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Abnormal occlusal sensation induced by wearing oral appliance (OA) was assessed in this study Materials and Methods Twelve non-apneic healthy subjects with normal dental occlusion were used in this study. The 12 subjects slept wearing OAs at night. Occlusal sensation, biting force, occlusal contact area and muscle fatigue were evaluated every 15 minutes during 4 hours after removals of worn OAs when they waked up on the following morning. Same procedures were repeated on the same subjects after the sleep without OAs on the other day. Result The differences of occlusal sensation was statistically significant up to 75 minutes after removal of OAs (p<0.05). The diff erence of biting force was statistically significant immediately after removal of OAs (p<0.05). There were statistically significant correlations (p<0.05) between occlusal sensation and biting force in 9 of 12 subjects. Two of 12 subjects showed significant correlations (p<0.05) between occlusal sensation and muscle fatigue. Only one of 12 subjects showed significant correlation (p<0.05) between biting force and muscle fatigue. Conclusion Abnormal occlusal sensation is probably elicited by non-physiological displacement of TMJs, nonphysiological extension of the chewing muscles and/or continuous compression toward the periodontal membranes by using OAs for hours at night.

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Although evidence suggests that peripheral B cell death plays a role in maintenance of B cell homeostasis including elimination of self-reactive B cells, the site of B cell death in unimmunized peripheral lymphoid organs has not yet been studied. Here we demonstrate that cells exhibiting reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and those expressing active caspase 3, both of which are characteristic for apoptosis, are specifically accumulated in the marginal zone (MZ) B cell compartment compared to the other B cell subsets in normal unimmunized mouse spleen. These apoptotic MZ B cells exhibit increased expression of MHC class II and CD22, whose expression is shown to be increased upon B cell activation, but not other activation markers such as CD69 and CD86, suggesting that apoptotic MZ B cells are activated with partial expression of B-cellactivation- associated antigens. These results indicate that MZ is the major site of peripheral B cell apoptosis in unimmunized mice. Apoptosis of MHC class II^hi CD22^hi MZ B cells may contribute to B cell homeostasis.

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Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has been administered since the 1990s and is now one of the major treatments for breast cancer. It can achieve extremely positive results in some patients. Whether NAC affects immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) using an expander, however, remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective study was performed at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) hospital. Seventy-five cases of immediate breast reconstruction using an expander were performed in 69 patients between January 2001 and January 2007. The patients were evaluated for tumor size, histological type, sites of invasion, staging, lymph node metastasis, NAC regimen, response to NAC, type of immediate breast reconstruction (IBR), complications, and prognosis. Results: In patients treated with an expander, there was no significant difference in the complication rate between those who underwent NAC and those who did not. Conclusions: NAC did not increase the complication rate after IBR using an expander. However, for reconstruction using autologous tissue, more data are needed.

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The surface protein, UspA1, of Moraxella catarrhalis is involved in adherence to human epithelial cells. We examined the expression of uspA1 , and adherence to HEp-2 cells of clinical isolates. The uspA1 gene was detected in 204 of 208 isolates. The 4 uspA1 -negative isolates belonged to the 16S rRNA type II with an A to G substitution at nucleotide 445 of 16S rRNA. In 13 isolates of the 16S rRNA type II, transcription of uspA1 was decreased or absent. A relationship between the extent of uspA1 transcription and adherence to HEp-2 cells was found in 5 isolates of the type I. In contrast, the 16S rRNA type II strains still had considerable adherence to HEp- 2 cells. The type I uspA1 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli JM109 and the transformants adhered to HEp-2 cells at rates about 7 times higher than the host strain. These data indicated that the uspA1 was virtually ubiquitous in clinical isolates of M. catarrhalis and was responsible for adherence to HEp-2 cells of 16S rRNA type I isolates. However, the data also suggested that adherence of 16S rRNA type II strains to HEp-2 cells was attributed to factor(s) other than UspA1.

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Background: Leg length discrepancy (LLD) after total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a significant factor of patient dissatisfaction. Patients with dissociation between preoperative radiographic LLD and perceived LLD sometimes feel LLD postoperatively even if bilateral leg lengths are equal. There is no publication describing how to decide the amount of leg lengthening in such cases. Purpose : By examining the influence of preoperative lumbar lateral flexibility on postoperative perceived LLD, this study aims at creating a guideline for the optimal planning of leg lengthening in THA. Methods: In 59 cases undergoing primary unilateral THA, radiographic LLD, perceived LLD, pelvic tilting and lumbar lateral fl exibility were measured preoperatively. The amount of leg lengthening and the sequential change of the perceived LLD were measured postoperatively. Results: Twelve cases (20%) felt the perceived LLD at two years after surgery. All these cases felt the operative side longer than the non-operative side. In 32 cases with preoperative pelvic inclination to the affected side, postoperative perceived LLD was significantly greater if lumbar spine was rigid. In eight cases with pelvic tilting and rigid lumber spine, the amount of leg lengthening that exceeded preoperative perceived LLD aff ected the postoperative perceived LLD. Conclusions: In cases with preoperative pelvic inclination downward to the affected side and with rigid lumbar spine, amount of leg lengthening should not be excessively greater than preoperative perceived LLD. In other cases, lengthening the leg to the same length as the contralateral side rarely results in postoperative perceived LLD.

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