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Aim: In Japan, day hospitals are a method of rehabilitation for psychiatric disorders, especially for recovering social functioning. Currently, 60% of day hospital users have schizophrenia, the majority of whom are long-term users (for over 1 year). However, they show no progress in community participation. This study aimed to investigate whether people with schizophrenia who use day hospitals can improve their social functioning and recovery levels, and alleviate psychiatric symptoms, when they engage in self-determination regularly., Methods: This study employed a multicenter randomized controlled design with a 3-month intervention. Participants were divided into two groups. The intervention group ( n  = 24) determined their daily goals in life and attended the day hospitals' programs, while the control group ( n  = 25) only participated in the day hospitals' programs. Participants' social functioning was assessed using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, psychiatric symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and recovery using the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS), before and after the intervention., Results: In the intergroup factors, there were no significant differences in GAF, PANSS, or RAS scores., Conclusion: The results suggest that participants' regular self-determination of their daily goals did not lead to significantly positive behavior in improving their social functioning. However, the social functioning and psychiatric symptoms of participants in day hospitals improved after 3 months., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.)

In the encystment process of the ciliate protist Colpoda cucullus, we observed that the cell total protein abundance was reduced at 12 h-1 d after the onset of encystment induction subsequent to the reduction in mRNA abundance. We analyzed the alteration of the expression levels of water-insoluble proteins by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween-80), and we identified proteins whose expression levels were altered in the encystment process by a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis. The expression level of a 60-kDa protein (p60; heat shock protein 60) was temporarily enhanced and that of a 55-kDa protein (p55; actin) and a 49-kDa protein (p49; actin) was enhanced in the Colpoda encystment process. In mature cysts, the expression level of p55 and p49 tended to be reduced, whereas the expression level of a 50-kDa protein (p50d; α-tubulin), a 25-kDa protein (p25; α-tubulin) and a 52-kDa protein (p52c; β-tubulin) was enhanced., (© 2013 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2013 International Society of Protistologists.)

Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the total proteins contained in encystment-induced Colpoda cucullus showed that a 50-kDa protein (p50) disappeared, whereas the expression of a 49-kDa protein (p49) was enhanced in early phase of morphogenetic transformation into the resting cyst (i.e. 2-5 h after the onset of encystment induction). Puromycin or actinomycin D inhibited the alteration in the expression of p50 and p49 by the induction of encystment. These results suggest that the encystment-specific alteration in expression of these proteins is performed by a transcriptional regulation. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis revealed that p50 is mitochondrial ATP synthase β chains, and that p49 is elongation factor 1α., (© 2012 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2012 International Society of Protistologists.)

Premise of the Study: We developed novel microsatellite markers in Arisaema serratum, a perennial herb that possesses pitfall flowers and exhibits labile sex expression, to facilitate research on parentage and pollination biology in this species., Methods and Results: By using procedures for enrichment of desired microsatellite-containing fragments and PCR-based isolation of microsatellite arrays, we detected 18 novel microsatellite loci. Thirteen were highly polymorphic: the number of alleles per locus ranged from six to 46, the observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.320 to 0.940, and the expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.440 to 0.976. Nine of the 13 markers successfully amplified regions in congeneric species., Conclusions: These highly polymorphic markers will facilitate further studies on the mode of pollination and other aspects of reproductive biology in A. serratum.

We employed an improved fixation procedure for electron microscopy using ruthenium red, and found a bundle of contractile tubules inside the axopodia of the heliozoon Actinophrys sol. Upon food uptake, the tubules shorten and transform into a mass of small granules when rapid axopodial contraction occurs, suggesting that these structures are involved in the process of axopodial contraction. The relationship between transformation of the contractile tubules and accompanying disassembly of the axonemal microtubules was studied by examining the ultrastructure of the contractile tubules after disassembly of the microtubules was artificially induced by cold or colchicine treatment. Granulation of the contractile tubules was induced by cold but not by colchicine treatment. During recovery from cold treatment, granular forms of the contractile tubules became re-elongated and their initial tubular appearance was restored. These results suggest that the contractile tubules in heliozoon axopodia play a role in repetitive cytoplasmic contraction.