Search

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) present invasive thoughts and repetitive behaviors affecting 1-3% of the population, divided into 3-5 symptom dimensions. Self-contamination, a subtype within the contamination/washing dimension, remains poorly understood. This study aim is to investigate pathological features and treatment response in self-contamination subtype compared to other contamination subtype and checking symptoms., Method: Seventy-one OCD patients were categorized into self-contamination (n = 15), contaminated (n = 25), and checking symptom (control, n = 31) groups. OCD symptom severity was assessed using the Japanese version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) Symptom Checklist. Comorbidities were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Global functioning, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were measured using DSM-IV's Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAFS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale, respectively. Treatment involved a standardized combination of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavioral therapy, with treatment response assessed after 1 year., Results: Subjects in the self-contamination group showed significantly lower quality of life, GAFS scores, and higher comorbidities including major depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and olfactory reference disorder. Treatment response was notably poorer in the self-contamination group. Multiple regression analysis identified four poor treatment outcome predictors: score on the Y-BOCS and the SDS, duration of illness, and prevalence of ORD., Conclusion: The identification of the self-contamination subtype in OCD patients is crucial for understanding the pathophysiological and treatment response. Further research is needed to clarify the socio-cultural effects on the development of this putative subtype of OCD., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: All participants gave written informed consent to participate in this study. The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Hyogo medical university (approval ID:2080) and this study protocol complied with all the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki. Consent for publication: Not Applicable. Consent for publication of identifying images or other personal or clinical details of participants that compromise anonymity is not required as no such details are included in this study. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

In db/db mice, cutaneous wound healing was delayed, and excessive wound exudates enlarged the wound. However, the relationship between enlarged wounds and proinflammatory cytokine expression remains unknown. Therefore, we investigated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines Tnf-α and Il-6 in cutaneous wound healing with diabetes. In this study, 12 C57BL/6J mice (wild-type: WT) and 14 db/db mice were subjected to full-thickness wound injuries. Wound healing was assessed until day 14, and wound tissues were harvested on days 7, 9, 11, and 14. The wound areas increased for 4 days, gradually increased until day 9, and stabilized until day 14 in the db/db group, but increased for 3 days, rapidly decreased until day 12, and gradually decreased until day 14 in the WT group. On day 14, the wound area in the db/db group was significantly larger than that in the WT group (p < 0.01). The relative expressions of the Tnf-α and Il-6 in the db/db group were significantly higher than those in the WT group on days 7-14, and on days 11 and 14, respectively (p < 0.05). Our study showed that cutaneous wound healing was delayed with wound expansion and the expression of Tnf-α and Il-6 was high throughout the measurement time points in db/db mice. These abnormal expressions could influence impaired cutaneous wound healing in diabetic mellitus., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Objective: Hot environments negatively affect cattle productivity, and global warming also causes heat stress, thereby adversely impacting cattle production. Improving cattle management under such conditions is an urgent issue. Trehalose can ameliorate volatile fatty acid production and the diversity of ruminal microbiota in dairy cattle. However, no studies have evaluated on Japanese beef heifers. In this study, we investigated the effects of trehalose supplementation on the ruminal microbiota and productivity of Japanese Black heifers under heat-stressed conditions., Methods: Six cyclic Japanese Black heifers were divided into two groups: control and trehalose supplemented. The ruminal microbiota, pH, and volatile fatty acid production of these heifers were analyzed over 10 weeks in the summer in central Japan., Results: During the experimental period, the heifers in the control group showed significantly higher concentrations of ruminal acetic and propionic acids than those in the trehalose-supplemented group (p<0.05, two-way repeated measures ANOVA). The acetic/propionic acid ratio showed no significant difference between the two groups. The alpha diversity in the ruminal bacterial biota in the trehalose supplemented group was higher than that in the control group (p<0.05, two-way repeated measures ANOVA) along with a change in the beta diversity of the ruminal fungal biota (p<0.05, PERMANOVA). LEfSe analysis in ruminal microbiota identified specific microorganisms in the control and the trehalose-supplemented samples: 4 and 13 in bacteria; each one fungus; 5 and 4 protozoan families, respectively., Conclusion: Trehalose supplementation in the summer improved ruminal microbiota, especially the types of ruminal bacteria and fungi related to carbohydrate digestion, and maintained the balance of ruminal VFA production in Japanese Black heifers. Therefore, trehalose supplementation in feed could improve cattle production under heat-stressed conditions and in global-warming scenarios.

Formic acid (HCOOH) is one of the essential molecules for CO 2 utilization including methanol synthesis and hydrogen carriers. In this study, we have investigated the chemical processes of hydrogen and HCOOH on a dilute-alloy Pd-Cu(111) surface using high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The present Pd-Cu(111) surface was prepared at 500 K, and the observed core-level shifts of Pd 3d 5/2 indicate that Pd atoms were located at the surface and subsurface sites: 335.3 eV at the surface and 335.6 eV at subsurface sites, respectively. The coverage of surface Pd atoms was estimated to be 0.05 ML, indicating that the present Pd-Cu(111) surface acted as a single atom alloy catalyst. The observed C 1s and O 1s XPS spectra indicate that the surface chemistry of HCOOH on the present Pd-Cu(111) surface is almost equivalent to a bare Cu(111) surface; HCOOH is dissociated into monodentate formate and atomic hydrogen at 150-160 K, followed by conversion to bidentate formate species at 300 K, and finally it is decomposed and desorbed as CO 2 + ½H 2 at ∼450 K. The conversion ratio of adsorbed HCOOH to bidentate formate species on Pd-Cu(111) was 12%, almost the same as that on Cu(111). That monodentate formate species and atomic hydrogen aggregate around the Pd atom is supported by the observed core-level shift of Pd 3d 5/2 and systematic DFT calculations. The present DFT calculations also show that formate species are preferably adsorbed on the Cu site; thus, the Pd site is unoccupied by formate species at this stage. This implies that the present single atom alloy catalyst Pd-Cu(111) has an advantage during CO 2 hydrogenation, where the Pd site can act as the H 2 dissociation site without poisoning by formate intermediate species.

Trehalose (Tre) is composed of two molecules of D-glucose joined by an α,α-1,1 glucosidic linkage. Because Tre is utilized by the gut microbiome and enhances gut immunity in chickens, it is used as a feed ingredient. However, taste preference and metabolic dynamics of Tre in chickens are not fully understood. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the taste preference in chickens for Tre and the metabolism of this disaccharide. In a short-term drinking test, chickens preferred low concentrations of Tre solution while avoiding high concentrations. Instead, in a conditioned taste aversion test, chickens did not show taste aversion to Tre, implying that chickens do not have a sufficient taste for Tre. The initial feed intake rate increased when 0.5% Tre was added. Respiratory gas analysis revealed that intragastric administration of 1.0 M Tre weakly increased the respiratory quotient. Furthermore, approximately 50% of Tre was metabolized in chickens. These results suggest that chickens slightly taste the sweetness of Tre. Moreover, adding Tre to feed increases the chickens' initial appetite, and they use approximately 50% of Tre as an energy source. This information is relevant for using Tre alone or as a supplement in poultry feed., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: This study was supported by a joint research grant to Fuminori Kawabata by Hayashibara Co., Ltd., Japan. Kazuhisa Mukai is an employee of Hayashibara Co. Ltd. The company name has been changed to Nagase Viita Co., Ltd., (2025 Japan Poultry Science Association.)

There are differences in the responsiveness to differential diagnostic tests for Cushing's disease (CD), corticotroph tumor size, and the somatostatin receptor (SSTR) 5 expression in corticotroph tumors between CD patients. The differences in SSTR5 expression are particularly significant for identifying therapeutic targets for CD. However, prospective predictors of SSTR5 expression remain unclear. Thus, our objective was to elucidate the relationships among these clinical characteristics of CD, including SSTR5 expression. In 27 hospitalized patients with CD at Osaka University Hospital, Osaka, Japan, associations between corticotroph tumor diameter, the response of ACTH and cortisol to differential diagnostic tests for CD (CRH, desmopressin [DDAVP], and high-dose dexamethasone suppression test [HDDST]), the ACTH/cortisol index, and the SSTR5 immunoreactive score were retrospectively investigated. The response to differential diagnostic tests, ACTH/cortisol index, tumor diameter, and SSTR5 expression were significantly related (vs. tumor diameter [CRH: r = -0.54; DDAVP: r = -0.54; HDDST r = -0.67; ACTH/cortisol index: r = 0.76; SSTR5: r = -0.61], vs. CRH [DDAVP: r = 0.63, HDDST: r = 0.72, ACTH/cortisol index: r = -0.45; SSTR5: r = 0.56], vs. DDAVP [HDDST: r = 0.66; ACTH/cortisol index: r = -0.46; SSTR5: r = 0.76], vs. HDDST [ACTH/cortisol index: r = -0.62; SSTR5: r = 0.77], ACTH/cortisol index vs. SSTR5: r = -0.67). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the prediction of high SSTR5 expression via the CRH test, DDAVP test, HDDST, ACTH/cortisol index, and tumor diameter were 0.79, 0.87, 0.80, 0.71, and 0.71, respectively. Tests for differential diagnosis of CD, the ACTH/cortisol index, and the corticotroph tumor diameter have the potential for identifying SSTR5 expression in corticotroph tumors. These parameters may reflect the biological characteristics of corticotroph tumors.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the skeletal muscle transcriptomic response unique to rest duration during high-intensity interval exercise. Thoroughbred horses performed three 1-min bouts of exercise at their maximal oxygen uptake (10.7-12.5 m/s), separated by 15 min (long) or 2 min (short) walking at 1.7 m/s. Gluteus medius muscle was collected before and at 4 h after the exercise and used for RNA sequencing. We identified 1,756 and 1,421 differentially expressed genes in response to the long and short protocols, respectively, using DEseq2 analysis [false discovery rate (FDR) cutoff = 0.05, minimal fold change = 1.5]. The overall transcriptional response was partially aligned, with 43% ( n = 949) of genes altered in both protocols, whereas no discordant directional changes were observed. K-means clustering and gene set enrichment analyses based on Gene Ontology biological process terms showed that genes associated with muscle adaptation and development were upregulated regardless of exercise conditions; genes related to immune and cytokine responses were more upregulated following the long protocol, and protein folding and temperature response were highly expressed after the short protocol. We found that 11 genes were upregulated to a greater extent by the short protocol and one was by the long protocol, with GNA13 , SPART , PHAF1 , and PTX3 identified as potential candidates for skeletal muscle remodeling. Our results suggest that altered metabolic fluctuations dependent on the intermittent pattern of interval exercise modulate skeletal muscle gene expression, and therefore, rest interval length could be an important consideration in optimizing skeletal muscle adaptation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first study to address the comparison of transcriptional responses to high-intensity interval exercise with two different rest periods in skeletal muscle. The expression of genes related to metabolic adaptations altered in both conditions, while genes associated with immune and cytokine responses and protein folding and temperature response were varied with the length of the rest period. These results provide evidence for rest duration-specific transcriptional response to high-intensity interval training.

Background: The present study examined age differences in and the relationship between two indices of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression: the degree of emotion regulation and the habitual use of emotion-regulation strategies., Method: In total, 101 younger and 99 older participants were included in this study. The degree of emotion regulation was measured using an experimental task in which participants were presented with negative or positive pictures and required to regulate their emotions. Habitual use of emotion regulation strategies was measured using an emotion regulation questionnaire., Results: The results showed that younger adults regulated their emotions to a greater extent than older adults in both reappraisal and suppression. Younger adults were more likely to use reappraisal than were older adults, although there were no age differences in the use of suppression. No significant correlations were found between the degree of emotion regulation and the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies., Conclusion: These results suggest that age differences in emotion regulation depend on the regulation strategy and that the degree of emotion regulation and habitual use of emotion regulation strategies are independent and quite different indicators in nature.