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Takaki Tanifuji,1 Satoshi Okazaki,1 Ikuo Otsuka,1 Tadasu Horai,1 Yutaka Shinko,1 Saehyeon Kim,1 Ichiro Sora,1 Akitoyo Hishimoto1,2 1Department of Psychiatry, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan; 2Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, JapanCorrespondence: Akitoyo HishimotoDepartment of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa, Yokohama, 236-0004, JapanTel +81-45-787-2667Fax +81-45-783-2540Email hishipon@yokohama-cu.ac.jpBackground: Monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) decomposes dopamine and serotonin, and decreased MAO-A expression increases monoamine levels and is related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Previous studies have reported that variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), namely, upstream (u)VNTR, and some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MAOA gene are associated with schizophrenia.Methods: We investigated the two VNTRs and their related SNPs (rs6323 and rs1137070) in the MAOA gene promoter in 859 patients with schizophrenia and 826 healthy controls. Distal (d)VNTR and uVNTR were genotyped with fluorescence-based fragment polymerase chain reaction assays, and rs6323 and rs1137070 with TaqMan SNP genotyping assays.Results: Neither the genotype nor allelic frequency of the VNTRs or SNPs showed significant differences between the schizophrenia and control groups. On the other hand, analysis of the dVNTR-uVNTR-rs6323-rs1137070 haplotype showed significant association for nine repeats (9R)-3R-T-C in female patients (corrected p = 0.0006, odds ratio [confidence interval] = 2.17 [1.446– 3.257]).Conclusion: Our findings provide novel evidence that MAOA gene polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in females.Keywords: haplotype, monoamine oxidase A, polymorphism, schizophrenia, variable number of tandem repeats

Takashi Hirata, Akitoyo Hishimoto, Ikuo Otsuka, Satoshi Okazaki, Shuken Boku, Atsushi Kimura, Tadasu Horai, Ichiro Sora Department of Psychiatry, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan Background: Life expectancy is 10–20 years lower in patients with schizophrenia than in the general population. In addition, men with schizophrenia have an earlier age at onset, more pronounced deficit symptoms, poorer course, and poorer response to antipsychotic medications than women. Recent studies have indicated that loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in peripheral blood is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. In order to elucidate the pathophysiology of male-specific features, we investigated the association between LOY and schizophrenia. Materials and methods: The present study included 360 Japanese men (146 patients with schizophrenia vs 214 controls). The relative amount of Y chromosome was defined as the ratio of chromosome Y to chromosome X (Y/X ratio) based on the fluorescent signal of co-amplified short sequences from the Y-X homologous amelogenin genes (AMELY and AMELX). Results: There was no significant difference in the frequency of LOY between the schizophrenia and control groups. However, longer duration of illness was associated with LOY after controlling for age and smoking status in the schizophrenia group (P=0.007, OR =1.11 [95% CI =1.03–1.19]). Conclusion: According to our results, schizophrenia may not have a remarkable effect on blood LOY; however, LOY may be associated with disease course in patients with schizophrenia. Keywords: loss of chromosome Y, schizophrenia, disease duration

Tadasu Horai,1 Akitoyo Hishimoto,1 Ikuo Otsuka,1 Tatsuhiro So,2 Kentaro Mouri,1 Naofumi Shimmyo,1 Shuken Boku,1 Noriaki Okishio,3 Ichiro Sora1 1Department of Psychiatry, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan; 2So Mental Clinic, Kobe, Japan; 3Hyogo Mental Health Center, Kobe, Japan Background: Alcohol dependence induces low bone mineral density (BMD), predicting osteoporosis, while low and moderate alcohol consumption may even increase BMD. In recent years, undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b (TRACP-5b), bone turnover markers, have gained special interest as useful indicators of low BMD. However, it remains unclear whether other alcohol-related variables (eg, duration of abstinence and continuous drinking) are linked to aberrant BMD. In addition, no previous study has investigated whether ucOC or TRACP-5b is clinically useful to predict low BMD not only in the general population, but also in alcohol-dependent subjects.Patients and methods: We recruited 275 male alcohol-dependent subjects and collected information about their drinking habits, comorbid diseases, smoking history and walking exercise behavior. BMD in each subject was determined by ultrasonography. Serum liver enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP, ChE, γ-GTP and LDH), ucOC and TRACP-5b were measured in all subjects. T-scores were calculated according to BMD for all subjects.Results: The mean T-scores of our subjects were negatively shifted compared to the general population (-0.75±1.36 SD). We divided our subjects into a normal BMD group (n=137) and a low BMD group (n=138) according to their T-scores (T-score ≥-1 SD, normal BMD; T-score

Naofumi Shimmyo,1 Akitoyo Hishimoto,1 Ikuo Otsuka,1 Satoshi Okazaki,1 Shuken Boku,1 Kentaro Mouri,1 Tadasu Horai,1 Motonori Takahashi,2 Yasuhiro Ueno,2 Osamu Shirakawa,3 Ichiro Sora1 1Department of Psychiatry, 2Division of Legal Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Social Health Science, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka, Japan Background: Numerous studies suggest that inflammation plays a key role in suicidal behavior. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a proinflammatory cytokine, has received increasing attention in depression research. However, no study has investigated whether MIF has genetic involvement in completed suicide. In this study, we sought to explore the relationship between two functional polymorphisms on the MIF gene promoter (MIF-794CATT5–8 microsatellite and MIF-173G/C single-nucleotide polymorphism [SNP]) and completed suicide by using one of the largest samples of suicide completers ever reported.Methods: The subjects comprised 602 suicide completers and 728 healthy controls. We genotyped MIF-794CATT5–8 microsatellite by polymerase chain reaction–based size discrimination assay and MIF-173G/C SNP by TaqMan® SNP genotyping assay. The allele-, genotype-, or haplotype-based association analyses between the suicide completers and the controls were carried out with the χ2 test, the Cochran–Armitage trend test, or Fisher’s exact test.Results: Analyses of allele or genotype frequency distributions of the polymorphisms studied here did not reveal any significant differences between the suicide completers and the controls. Haplotype analysis also revealed no association with completed suicide.Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first study that has examined the genetic association between MIF and completed suicide. Our results suggest that the effects of MIF-794CATT5–8 microsatellite and MIF-173G/C SNP on the MIF gene promoter might not contribute to the genetic risk of completed suicide in the Japanese population. Keywords: MIF, suicide, microsatellite, SNP, haplotype, promoter region

Ikuo Otsuka,1 Yuichiro Watanabe,2 Akitoyo Hishimoto,1 Shuken Boku,1 Kentaro Mouri,1 Kyoichi Shiroiwa,1 Satoshi Okazaki,1 Ayako Nunokawa,2 Osamu Shirakawa,3 Toshiyuki Someya,2 Ichiro Sora1 1Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, 2Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Kinki University, Osaka, Japan Background: Cadherin13 (CDH13) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored cell adhesion molecule that plays a crucial role in morphogenesis and the maintenance of neuronal circuitry. CDH13 has been implicated in the susceptibility to a variety of psychiatric diseases. A recent genome-wide association study using Danish samples showed, for the first time, the involvement of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CDH13 (intronic SNP rs8057927) in schizophrenia. Here, we investigated the association between other SNPs of CDH13 and schizophrenia and tried to replicate the association for the SNP of rs8057927, in the Japanese population.Methods: Using TaqMan® SNP genotyping assays, five tag SNPs (rs12925602, rs7193788, rs736719, rs6565051, and rs7204454) in the promoter region of CDH13 were examined for their association with schizophrenia in two independent samples. The first sample comprised 665 patients and 760 controls, and the second sample comprised 677 patients and 667 controls. One tag SNP for rs8057927 was also examined for the association with schizophrenia in the first sample set.Results: A GACAG haplotype of the five SNPs in the promoter region of CDH13 was significantly associated with schizophrenia in the first sample set (P=0.016 and corrected P=0.098). A combined analysis of the GACAG haplotype with the second sample set enhanced the significance (P=0.0026 and corrected P=0.021). We found no association between rs8057927 and schizophrenia in the first sample set.Conclusion: Our results suggest that CDH13 may contribute to the genetic risk of schizophrenia. Further replication on the association of CDH13 with schizophrenia and functional studies are required to confirm the current findings. Keywords: CDH13, promoter region, haplotype, SNP

LaFeO3 perovskites both bare and containing 5 to 40 mol% of Cu(II) substituting Fe(III) have been prepared by the citrate auto-combustion synthesis method and used as heterogeneous photocatalysts for the degradation of 2-propanol in gas-solid regime under simulated solar light irradiation. The bare LaFeO3 resulted inactive, however the Cu(II) containing perovskite oxidized 2-propanol to propanone and eventually to CO2 and H2O. The most acive material resuted to be those with a 20% of Cu. Cu doping decreases the unit cell volume, and increases the distortion of (Fe/Cu)O6 octahedra, thus moving towards a configuration with four longer and two shorter bond lengths.

Treball realitzat en el context de l'assignatura de Comunicació Interculturaldel professor Miquel Rodrigo Alsina dintre del Màster Oficial Interdisciplinari dels Sistemes Cognitius i els Mitjans Interactius de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

The recent interest in the (Sr, Mg) doped LaGaO3 family compounds as electrolyte for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (IT-SOFCs) has suggested the study of the system alpha-Al2O3/La-0.8,Sr-0.2,Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-delta as a possible new ionic conductor composite. The studies concerning the electrical and in i micro structural characterization of the system alpha-Al2O3/La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-delta, in a wide compositions range, are reported and discussed.

International audience; Orthorhombic lanthanum orthoferrites La0.8Sr0.2Fe1-yCuyO3-w (y = 0 and 0.10) have been studied using X-rays and neutron powder diffraction (XRPD and NPD), magnetization measurements and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Rietveld refinements on XRPD and NPD data show that they adopt an orthorhombic ABO3 perovskite symmetry with La/Sr and Fe/Cu atoms randomly distributed on crystal A and B sites, respectively. The magnetic structure at room temperature is antiferromagnetic, with the Fe/Cu magnetic moments aligned along the a axis. Magnetization curves versus temperature show that the compounds exhibit an overall antiferromagnetic and a weak ferromagnetic behaviour in the range 5-298 K. 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements indicate that Fe3+ and Fe5+ ions coexist in both compounds, and the relative percentage of Fe5+ is almost the same at 77 and 170 K, rejecting a charge disproportion mechanism.

Al2O3/8YSZ composites with a wide range of alumina compositions, from 0 to 50 wt.%, have been prepared and characterised. The electrical properties and the microstructure were studied by complex impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques, respectively. Simple models derived from effective medium theories were used to predict the qualitative trend of electrical conductivity versus Al2O3 volume fraction and a comparison with the experimental data is reported.

In this work microstructure, porosity and hydration degree of cement-based solidified/stabilized wasteforms were studied before assessing their leaching behaviour. 2-Chloroaniline was chosen as a model liquid organic pollutant and included into cement pastes, which were also modified with different admixtures for concrete: a superplasticizer based on acrylic-modified polymer, a synthetic rubber latex and a waterproofing agent. An organoclay, modified with an ammonium quaternary salt (benzyl-dimethyl-tallowammonium, BDMTA), was added to the pastes as pre-sorbent agent of the organic matter. All the samples were dried up to constant weight in order to stop the hydration process at different times during the first 28 days of curing, typically, after 1 day (1 d), 7 days (7 d) and 28 days. Then, the microstructure of the hardened cement–clay pastes was investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The hydration degree and porosity were studied by thermal analysis (TG/DTA) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), respectively. For samples cured for 28 days a short-term leach test set by Italian regulation for industrial waste recycling (D.M. 5 February 1998) was performed. The best results showed a 5% release of the total initial amount of organic pollutant.

The main objective of the "PHYLES" project was to demonstrate that phytoremediation techniques can be used for the decontamination of lead-polluted soils in an economically sound and environmentally friendly manner. To be more specific, the project intended to demonstrate that soils with medium-large concentrations of lead (1000-1500 mg/kg) can be decontaminated in about 5 years (lowering lead concentration to 100 mg/kg). The phytoremediation costs were expected to be 2-3 times lower than those of more conventional techniques.

The nuclear and magnetic structures of ( Y 1 − x Ca x ) Ba 2 Fe 3 O 8 + δ with x=0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 have been investigated by neutron-powder diffraction at room temperature. The compound crystallizes with the symmetry of space group P4/mmm and has a structure similar to that of the superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (1:2:3). There are two types of Fe atoms in the unit cell, one having fivefold pyramidal coordination and the other octahedral coordination. The Ca and Y atoms are randomly distributed over the 1/2,1/2,1/2 position, which are exclusively occupied by Y in the 1:2:3 superconductor. Since the oxygen sites on the basal plane of the structure are fully occupied to achieve octahedral coordination for the iron atoms on this plane, the oxygen content is eight atoms per formula unit, the barium atoms are twelvefold coordinated, and the coordination polyhedron is a cuboctahedron. Extra oxygen atoms corresponding to δ=0.08 and 0.05 are located in the Y/Ca layer. The presence of these atoms produces disorder in the structure resulting in a shift of the oxygen atoms located near the plane of the pyramidal iron atoms. The charge compensation required by the substitution of Y3+ by Ca 2 + is achieved in these materials by elimination of the extra oxygen, rather than oxidation of the iron atoms. The magnetic structure is based on a unit cell related to that of the nuclear structure by the transformation of axes (1,-1,0/1,1,0/0,0,2). The magnetic origin of some of the observed diffraction peaks was established by polarized neutron diffraction measurements. As in YBa 2 Fe 3 O 8 , the iron moments are coupled antiferromagnetically within each ( FeO 2 ) layer as well as along the c axis of the structure, and they lie in the planes perpendicular to c. The magnetic moments of the two iron atoms are practically identical and have values at room temperature of 〈μ〉=3.50(3) μ B , 3.52(2) μ B , and 3.62(2) μ B for the three compositions x=0.05, 0.10, and 0.20, respectively. © 1994 American Physical Society

Thalamocortical neurons innervating the barrel cortex in neonatal rodents transiently store serotonin (5-HT) in synaptic vesicles by expressing the plasma membrane serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2). 5-HTT knock-out (ko) mice reveal a nearly complete absence of 5-HT in the cerebral cortex by immunohistochemistry, and of barrels, both at P7 and adulthood. Quantitative electron microscopy reveals that 5-HTT ko affects neither the density of synapses nor the length of synaptic contacts in layer IV. VMAT2 ko mice, completely lacking activity-dependent vesicular release of monoamines including 5-HT, also show a complete lack of 5-HT in the cortex but display largely normal barrel fields, despite sometimes markedly reduced postnatal growth. Transient 5-HTT expression is thus required for barrel pattern formation, whereas activity-dependent vesicular 5-HT release is not.