To clarify the recovery patterns of spontaneous activity and liver damage after different stressors, female Fischer 344 rats were treated with Propionibacterium aches (P, aches) or water immersion stress before lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. They were then examined for wheel running activity, serum corticosterone concentration, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, histological appearance of liver and plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) concentration.
The recovery in physical activity of P. aches-treated rats was faster than that of water immersion rats. One day after the stressors, serum corticosterone cancentration and ALT activity of P. acnes-treated rats were higher than that of water immersion rats. In addition, increases in serum ALT activity and plasma TNF- a, as well as massive necrosis of the liver in P. acnes-treated rats were observed seven days after stress treatment. The P. acnes-LPS rats also showed a reduction in survival rate after 24 hours. These results suggest that P. acnes stress causes serious inflammation when stimulated by LPS. Although rapid recovery in physical activity was not inhibited by P. acnes stress, it differed from the response of water immersion stress.

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid produced during fermentation of fibers and other substrates in the gastrointestinal tract. A recent study has shown that elevation of butyrate availability by dietary supplementation exerts favorable effects on glucose metabolism. However, it remains unclear whether butyrate intake affects insulin-sensitive glucose transporter (GLUT-4) protein content in skeletal muscle, which has been shown to be closely related to muscle glucose transport capacity and whole-body insulin sensitivity. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine the effects of dietary intake of butyrate on muscle GLUT-4 protein content and whole-body insulin sensitivity in rats. Seven-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were placed on a sodium butyrate diet (SB) or standard chow diet (CON) for 2 wks. Sodium butyrate was incorporated into the standard chow diet at 5 % wt/wt. After the 2-wk dietary intervention, insulin tolerance test (ITT) was performed to evaluate whole-body insulin sensitivity. GLUT-4 protein contents in soleus and epitrochlearis muscles were determined by western blot analysis. There were no significant differences in body weight, food intake and intra-abdominal fat weight between the SB and CON groups. GLUT-4 protein contents in soleus and epitrochlearis muscle were significantly lower in the SB than CON group. The SB group had less reduction in glycemia than did the CON group during ITT. These results suggest that dietary intake of sodium butyrate may decrease muscle GLUT-4 protein content and impair whole-body insulin sensitivity in rats.

To clarify the recovery patterns of spontaneous activity and liver damage after different stressors, female Fischer 344 rats were treated with Propionibacterium aches (P, aches) or water immersion stress before lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. They were then examined for wheel running activity, serum corticosterone concentration, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, histological appearance of liver and plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) concentration.
The recovery in physical activity of P. aches-treated rats was faster than that of water immersion rats. One day after the stressors, serum corticosterone cancentration and ALT activity of P. acnes-treated rats were higher than that of water immersion rats. In addition, increases in serum ALT activity and plasma TNF- a, as well as massive necrosis of the liver in P. acnes-treated rats were observed seven days after stress treatment. The P. acnes-LPS rats also showed a reduction in survival rate after 24 hours. These results suggest that P. acnes stress causes serious inflammation when stimulated by LPS. Although rapid recovery in physical activity was not inhibited by P. acnes stress, it differed from the response of water immersion stress.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this survey was to explore physicians' opinions to identify an adequate time range for clinical information to be provided with a referral that would help minimize wasteful retesting. METHODS: In 2011, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 193 physicians. Examining the degree of utilization of provided medical information, we determined the range of clinical information of referral documents. RESULTS: Less than three months of prescription history and blood sample test results in patient referral was most frequent. Less than one year of image information was most frequent. Most doctors answered there is no need to repeat the same type of blood test in their institute when they had information less than half a month old. Less than half to one month of image information was most frequent. Also, it appeared many doctors think “fundamentally they do not change their mind from their own medical department standpoint.” At the actual site, those who would even review referral clinical notes accounted for about 30% of all participants. CONCLUSIONS: Medical referral eventually takes place after the establishment of mutual communication and should consider the workflow and system environment of the receiver of the information.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Hematologic Tests ; Hospital Information Systems ; Humans ; Prescriptions ; Referral and Consultation* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of paclitaxel plus carboplatin (TC)-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) followed by consolidation chemotherapy in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIB/IVA cervical cancer patients. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of FIGO stage IIIB/IVA cervical cancer patients (n=30) who had been intended to be treated with TC-based CCRT followed by consolidation chemotherapy (TC-CCRT-group) from April 2012–May 2016. Patients who had been treated with CCRT involving a single platinum agent (CCRT-group; n=52) or definitive radiotherapy alone (RT-group; n=74) from January 1997–September 2012 were also identified and used as historical controls. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. RESULTS: Of the 30 patients included in the TC-CCRT-group, 22 patients (73.3%) completed the planned TC-based CCRT. The most frequently observed acute grade 3/4 hematological toxicities were leukopenia and neutropenia, and diarrhea was the most common acute grade 3/4 non-hematological toxicity. After a median follow-up of 35 months, 9 patients (30.0%) had developed recurrent disease. The patients' estimated 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 67.9% and 90.8%, respectively. In comparisons with historical control groups, the survival outcomes of TC-CCRT-group was significantly superior to CCRT-group in terms of OS (p=0.011) and significantly superior to RT-group in terms of both PFS (p=0.009) and OS (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: TC-based CCRT followed by consolidation chemotherapy is safe and effective. A randomized controlled study needs to be conducted to further evaluate the efficacy of this multimodal approach in this patient population.
Carboplatin* ; Chemoradiotherapy* ; Consolidation Chemotherapy* ; Diarrhea ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Leukopenia ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Neutropenia ; Obstetrics ; Paclitaxel* ; Platinum ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although studies using conventional animal models have shown that specific stressors cause irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it is unclear whether depression itself causes IBS. Our aim was to establish a rat model to determine if depression itself promotes the onset of IBS and to elucidate the role of gut microbiota in brain-gut axis pathogenesis during coincident depression and IBS. METHODS: Rat models of depression were induced using our shuttle box method of learned helplessness. Visceral hypersensitivity was evaluated by colorectal distension (CRD) to diagnose IBS. Gut microbiota compositions were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. In the subanalysis of rats without depression-like symptoms, rats with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were also examined. RESULTS: The threshold value of CRD in depressed rats was significantly lower than that in control rats. Microbial community analysis of cecal microbiota showed that the relative abundance of Clostridiales incertae sedis, the most prevalent microbe, was significantly lower in depressed rats than in control rats. The distribution pattern of the microbiota clearly differed between depressed rats and control rats. Neither visceral hypersensitivity nor the composition of gut microbiota was altered in rats with PTSD-like phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Our rat model of depression is useful for clarifying the effect of depression on IBS and suggests that depression itself, rather than specific stressors, promotes the onset of IBS. Further, we provided evidence that various psychiatric diseases, viz., depression and PTSD, are associated with unique gut microbiota profiles, which could differentially affect the onset and progression of coincident IBS.
Animals ; Clostridiales ; Depression ; Dysbiosis ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Helplessness, Learned ; Hypersensitivity ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome ; Methods ; Microbiota ; Models, Animal ; Phenotype ; Rats ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic