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Discoveries of new species often depend on one or a few specimens, leading to delays as researchers wait for additional context, sometimes for decades. There is currently little professional incentive for a single expert to publish a stand-alone species description. Additionally, while many journals accept taxonomic descriptions, even specialist journals expect insights beyond the descriptive work itself. The combination of these factors exacerbates the issue that only a small fraction of marine species are known and new discoveries are described at a slow pace, while they face increasing threats from accelerating global change. To tackle this challenge, this first compilation of Ocean Species Discoveries (OSD) presents a new collaborative framework to accelerate the description and naming of marine invertebrate taxa that can be extended across all phyla. Through a mode of publication that can be speedy, taxonomy-focused and generate higher citation rates, OSD aims to create an attractive home for single species descriptions. This Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA) approach emphasises thorough, but compact species descriptions and diagnoses, with supporting illustrations and with molecular data when available. Even basic species descriptions carry key data for distributions and ecological interactions (e.g., host-parasite relationships) besides universally valid species names; these are essential for downstream uses, such as conservation assessments and communicating biodiversity to the broader public.This paper presents thirteen marine invertebrate taxa, comprising one new genus, eleven new species and one re-description and reinstatement, covering wide taxonomic, geographic, bathymetric and ecological ranges. The taxa addressed herein span three phyla (Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata), five classes, eight orders and twelve families. Apart from the new genus, an updated generic diagnosis is provided for four other genera. The newly-described species of the phylum Mollusca are Placiphorella methanophila Vončina, sp. nov. (Polyplacophora, Mopaliidae), Lepetodrilus marianae Chen, Watanabe & Tsuda, sp. nov. (Gastropoda, Lepetodrilidae), Shinkailepas gigas Chen, Watanabe & Tsuda, sp. nov. (Gastropoda, Phenacolepadidae) and Lyonsiella illaesa Machado & Sigwart, sp. nov. (Bivalvia, Lyonsiellidae). The new taxa of the phylum Arthropoda are all members of the subphylum Crustacea: Lepechinella naces Lörz & Engel, sp. nov. (Amphipoda, Lepechinellidae), Cuniculomaera grata Tandberg & Jażdżewska, gen. et sp. nov. (Amphipoda, Maeridae), Pseudionella pumulaensis Williams & Landschoff, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Bopyridae), Mastigoniscus minimus Wenz, Knauber & Riehl, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Haploniscidae), Macrostylis papandreas Jonannsen, Riehl & Brandt, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Macrostylidae), Austroniscus indobathyasellus Kaiser, Kniesz & Kihara, sp. nov. (Isopoda, Nannoniscidae) and Apseudopsis daria Esquete & Tato, sp. nov. (Tanaidacea, Apseudidae). In the phylum Echinodermata, the reinstated species is Psychropotes buglossa E. Perrier, 1886 (Holothuroidea, Psychropotidae).The study areas span the North and Central Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the North, East and West Pacific Ocean and depths from 5.2 m to 7081 m. Specimens of eleven free-living and one parasite species were collected from habitats ranging from an estuary to deep-sea trenches. The species were illustrated with photographs, line drawings, micro-computed tomography, confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images. Molecular data are included for nine species and four species include a molecular diagnosis in addition to their morphological diagnosis.The five new geographic and bathymetric distribution records comprise Lepechinella naces Lörz & Engel, sp. nov., Cuniculomaera grata Tandberg & Jażdżewska, sp. nov., Pseudionella pumulaensis Williams & Landschoff, sp. nov., Austroniscus indobathyasellus Kaiser, Kniesz & Kihara, sp. nov. and Psychropotes buglossa E. Perrier, 1886, with the novelty spanning from the species to the family level. The new parasite record is Pseudionella pumulaensis Williams & Landschoff, sp. nov., found in association with the hermit crab Pagurus fraserorum Landschoff & Komai, 2018.

Key message Herein, we present the detection of two cystic lesions via the transesophageal route using endobronchial ultrasound and emphasize the fact that understanding the anatomy may enhance the diagnostic yield.

Abstract A woman in her mid‐60s with recurrent polychondritis was admitted to our hospital due to airway stenosis secondary to an uncovered metallic stent. She underwent a bronchoscopic intervention under general anaesthesia. During the procedure, the stent fracture was cauterized using Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC) cauterisation, performed with argon flow at 1 L/min and power set at 70 W. APC cauterisation caused the stent wire to flex circularly, gradually improving the stenosis. Tracheal dilatation was then performed using an airway balloon. Following the ballooning, a thin bronchoscope was easily passed through the lower trachea, and the left and right main bronchi were observed; therefore, the procedure was completed without any complications. APC coagulation and airway ballooning are viable choices for the temporary treatment of airway stenosis due to broken metallic stents.

Abstract An 86‐year‐old woman with leg edema and dyspnea on exertion was admitted to our hospital. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a mass in the anterior mediastinum with pericardial invasion. Histological examination with endobronchial ultrasound‐guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS‐TBNA) led to the diagnosis of Masaoka stage IVa type B2 thymoma. For palliation, radiotherapy (32 Gy/16 fractions) and prednisolone (30 mg/day) were administered and tapered. After treatment, both the pericardial effusion and tumour size decreased. Combination therapy with steroids and radiotherapy may be effective for treating thymomas.

Abstract A woman in her mid‐50s was admitted to our hospital with airway stenosis secondary to mediastinal lymph node enlargement. An AERO stent was placed under rigid bronchoscopy. Immediately after stent placement, tissue sampling was performed on the lymph nodes. Metastatic lesions were found to have an EGFR mutation (exon 19 deletion). Consequently, osimertinib treatment was initiated 15 days after stent placement. The tumour partially responded to osimertinib, and the airway stenosis improved. The patient underwent stent removal 66 days after stent placement. Our findings indicate that temporary oncological emergencies due to airway stenosis may be bridged by airway stenting.

Key message In patients presenting with abnormal pulmonary nodules, especially those with a history of asthma, allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis should be considered. Eosinophil counts and IgE levels should be checked in such patients.

How can we improve in-home care for the elderly with medical treatment needs? The purpose of this study is to investigate medical treatment and examine the use of home care services. We analyzed the long-term care insurance service payments data in City A (n=18,882) as of January 2019 and checked 12 medical treatment care needs items. The results showed that 10.1% (1913 of a total of 18,882) of people required medical treatment. The analysis was carried out by using a filter, “living in home” (n=15,320). We focused on urinary catheter and tube feeding. The study subjects are categorized into three groups: group 1 [both tubes (n=61)], group 2 [either tube (n=564)], and group 3 [no tube (n=14,698)]. The home help utilization rate was 27.9% in group 1, 29.9% in group 2, and 20.5% in group 3 (p

Abstract A 75‐year‐old woman with stage IVB (cT3N3M1c) extensive disease small‐cell lung cancer was treated with carboplatin, etoposide, and atezolizumab. Ten days after pegfilgrastim initiation, during the second chemotherapy cycle, she experienced back pain. Contrast‐enhanced computed tomography revealed soft tissue thickening around the descending aorta and brachiocephalic artery. She was diagnosed with atezolizumab and pegfilgrastim‐induced large‐vessel vasculitis (LVV) and was treated with prednisolone, which was tapered and discontinued after 14 weeks, with no symptom recurrence. LVV should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with nonspecific body pain when pegfilgrastim and immune checkpoint inhibitors are used in combination.

A 69-year-old man with refractory lung adenocarcinoma was treated with gemcitabine and vinorelbine. Dyspnea and hypertension developed after the 17th cycle of chemotherapy. Laboratory findings revealed intravascular hemolysis and renal dysfunction. Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) was confirmed by renal biopsy. Antihypertensive and steroid therapies were ineffective. After plasmapheresis, intravascular hemolysis and renal dysfunction gradually improved. However, the disease progressed, and he died 6 months after TMA diagnosis. Autopsy revealed similar pathological findings to those of the renal biopsy. It is important to discontinue gemcitabine at the onset of TMA and consider TMA when using gemcitabine for long periods.

We report the case of a 54-year-old man who was treated with nivolumab for recurrent squamous cell lung cancer. After 7 cycles of nivolumab treatment, the patient presented to our hospital with right eye vision loss. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed enhancement around the optic nerve sheath. This finding and his symptoms led to the diagnosis of optic perineuritis (OPN). Steroid pulse therapy was administered twice although there was no remarkable improvement in his visual field defect. The relationship between OPN and nivolumab is unclear. However, immune-related adverse events caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors should be considered.

This paper describes measurement methods of surface profiles that improve contact-type displacement sensor outputs by focusing on the contact point between the sphere tip of the sensor and the rough surface. We examined the geometry of a surface profile model and compared measurements using various methods with the measurement using a roughness meter. The spherical tip of the contact type displacement sensor touches the measurement surface and detects the displacement. The sphere tip radius of a typical contact-type displacement sensor ranges from 1–3 mm, causing the roughness curve to be “filtered” by the radius of the sphere. Three methods for estimating the valley portion of the surface profile are evaluated in this study: a) linear approximation of the concave portion of the surface profile, b) function approximation of the concave portion, and c) using the known nose radius of the machining tool. The following sphere tip radii were used to measure actual surface profiles: 0.25 mm, 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm. Given the conditions of the experimental model, we found that surface profiles with a roughness that approximates a predictable curve can be measured with a high degree of accuracy.

Abstract An 18‐year‐old man was admitted to our hospital with pneumonia 4 days after he initiated vaping. The patient did not show improvement after ceftriaxone and azithromycin treatment. The cell count of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) revealed 64% eosinophils and 18% lymphocytes. Based on the BALF findings, the patient met the current diagnostic criteria and was diagnosed with vaping‐induced acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP). AEP caused by nicotine‐free vaping is rare in Japan. Thus, in cases of AEP, the patient's history of cigarette smoking as well as vaping should be considered.

Recent advances in technology have enabled an unprecedented development of underwater research, extending from near shore to the deepest regions of the globe. However, monitoring of biodiversity is not fully implemented in political agendas and biological observations in the deep ocean have been even more limited in space and time.The Foresight Workshop on Advances in Ocean Biological Observations: a sustained system for deep-ocean meroplankton was convened to to foster advances in the knowledge on deep-ocean invertebrate larval distributions and improve our understanding of fundamental deep-ocean ecological processes such as connectivity and resilience of benthic communities to natural and human-induced disturbance. This Meroplankton Observations Workshop had two specific goals: 1) review the state-of-the-art instrumentation available for meroplankton observations; 2) develop a strategy to implement technological innovations for in-situ meroplankton observation. Presentations and discussions are summarised in this report covering: i) key challenges and priorities for advancing the knowledge of deep-sea larval diversity and distribution: ii) recent developments in technology and future needs for plankton observation, iii) data integration and oceanographic modelling; iv) synergies and added value of a sustained observation system for meroplankton; v) steps for developing a sustained observation system for deep-ocean meroplankton and plans to maximise collaborative opportunities.

BackgroundNintedanib is a multi-kinase inhibitor approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF); however, its efficacy and safety for patients with IPF and restricted pulmonary function remain unclear. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of nintedanib for patients with IPF and forced vital capacity (FVC) ≤ 50%.MethodsThis was a multi-center retrospective study performed by the Okayama Respiratory Disease Study Group. Patients were allocated into FVC ≤ 50% and FVC > 50% groups based on their predicted FVC. The primary endpoints were FVC changes from baseline after 6 and 12 months.Results45 patients were eligible for the study. 18 patients had FVC ≤ 50%, and 27 patients had FVC > 50%. Overall, 31 and 19 patients underwent pulmonary function tests at 6 and 12 months after initiating nintedanib, respectively. FVC changes from baseline at 6 and 12 months after initiating nintedanib were comparable between the two groups. Adverse events were seen in all patients, and the rates of patients who discontinued nintedanib were also comparable (38.9% vs. 37.0%, p = 1.000). Multiple regression analysis showed that age and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/FVC were negatively correlated with changes in FVC at 6 months after initiating nintedanib.ConclusionsOur data suggest that nintedanib can be a useful agent for IPF patients, including those with a low FVC, and that age and FEV1/FVC are predictive markers for changes in FVC following nintedanib treatment.

Growing evidence suggests that a broad range of behavioral anomalies in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be linked with morphological and functional alterations in the brain. However, the neuroanatomical underpinnings of ASD have been investigated using either structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and the relationships between abnormalities revealed by these two modalities remain unclear. This study applied a multimodal data-fusion method, known as linked independent component analysis (ICA), to a set of structural MRI and DTI data acquired from 46 adult males with ASD and 46 matched controls in order to elucidate associations between different aspects of atypical neuroanatomy of ASD. Linked ICA identified two composite components that showed significant between-group differences, one of which was significantly correlated with age. In the other component, participants with ASD showed decreased gray matter (GM) volumes in multiple regions, including the bilateral fusiform gyri, bilateral orbitofrontal cortices, and bilateral pre- and post-central gyri. These GM changes were linked with a pattern of decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in several white matter tracts, such as the bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculi, bilateral inferior fronto-occipital fasciculi, and bilateral corticospinal tracts. Furthermore, unimodal analysis for DTI data revealed significant reductions of FA along with increased mean diffusivity in those tracts for ASD, providing further evidence of disrupted anatomical connectivity. Taken together, our findings suggest that, in ASD, alterations in different aspects of brain morphology may co-occur in specific brain networks, providing a comprehensive view for understanding the neuroanatomy of this disorder.

We present the case of a 40-year-old man with previously treated thymic carcinoma, complaining of gradually worsening back pain. Computed tomography scans of the chest showed multiple pleural disseminated nodules with a pleural effusion in the right thorax. The patient was treated with carboplatin on day 1 plus nab-paclitaxel on day 1 and 8 in cycles repeated every 4 weeks. Objective tumor shrinkage was observed after 4 cycles of this regimen. In addition, the elevated serum cytokeratin 19 fragment level decreased, and the patient's back pain was relieved without any analgesics. Although he experienced grade 4 neutropenia and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) injection, the severity of thrombocytopenia and nonhematological toxicities such as reversible neuropathy did not exceed grade 1 during the treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the efficacy of combination chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel against thymic carcinoma. This case report suggests that nab-paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin can be a favorable chemotherapy regimen for advanced thymic carcinoma.

X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is a dominant inherited disorder characterized by renal phosphate wasting, aberrant vitamin D metabolism, and abnormal bone mineralization. Inactivating mutations in the gene encoding phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidases on the X chromosome (PHEX) have been found to be associated with XLH. Here, we report a 16-year-old female patient affected by hypophosphatemic rickets. We evaluated her serum fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels and conducted sequence analysis of the disease-associated genes of FGF23-related hypophosphatemic rickets: PHEX, FGF23, dentin matrix protein 1, and ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase 1. She was diagnosed with XLH based on her clinical features and family history. Additionally, we observed elevated FGF23 levels and a novel PHEX exon 9 mutation (c.947G>T; p.Gly316Val) inherited from her father. Although bioinformatics showed that the mutation was neutral, Gly316 is perfectly conserved among humans, mice, and rats, and there were no mutations in other FGF23-related rickets genes, suggesting that in silico analysis is limited in determining mutation pathogenicity. In summary, we present a female patient and her father with XLH harboring a novel PHEX mutation that appears to be causative of disease. Measurement of FGF23 for hypophosphatemic patients is therefore useful for the diagnosis of FGF23-dependent hypophosphatemia.

Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on autism spectrum condition (ASC) have identified dysfunctions in specific brain networks involved in social and non-social cognition that persist into adulthood. Although increasing numbers of fMRI studies have revealed atypical functional connectivity in the adult ASC brain, such functional alterations at the network level have not yet been fully characterized within the recently developed graph-theoretical framework. Here, we applied a graph-theoretical analysis to resting-state fMRI data acquired from 46 adults with ASC and 46 age- and gender-matched controls, to investigate the topological properties and organization of autistic brain network. Analyses of global metrics revealed that, relative to the controls, participants with ASC exhibited significant decreases in clustering coefficient and characteristic path length, indicating a shift towards randomized organization. Furthermore, analyses of local metrics revealed a significantly altered organization of the hub nodes in ASC, as shown by analyses of hub disruption indices using multiple local metrics and by a loss of "hubness" in several nodes (e.g., the bilateral superior temporal sulcus, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and precuneus) that are critical for social and non-social cognitive functions. In particular, local metrics of the anterior cingulate cortex consistently showed significant negative correlations with the Autism-Spectrum Quotient score. Our results demonstrate altered patterns of global and local topological properties that may underlie impaired social and non-social cognition in ASC.

Dispersal ability plays a key role in the maintenance of species in spatially and temporally discrete niches of deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments. On the basis of population genetic analyses in the eastern Pacific vent fields, dispersal of animals in the mid-oceanic ridge systems generally appears to be constrained by geographical barriers such as trenches, transform faults, and microplates. Four hydrothermal vent fields (the Kairei and Edmond fields near the Rodriguez Triple Junction, and the Dodo and Solitaire fields in the Central Indian Ridge) have been discovered in the mid-oceanic ridge system of the Indian Ocean. In the present study, we monitored the dispersal of four representative animals, Austinograea rodriguezensis, Rimicaris kairei, Alviniconcha and the scaly-foot gastropods, among these vent fields by using indirect methods, i.e., phylogenetic and population genetic analyses. For all four investigated species, we estimated potentially high connectivity, i.e., no genetic difference among the populations present in vent fields located several thousands of kilometers apart; however, the direction of migration appeared to differ among the species, probably because of different dispersal strategies. Comparison of the intermediate-spreading Central Indian Ridge with the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise and slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge revealed the presence of relatively high connectivity in the intermediate- and slow-spreading ridge systems. We propose that geological background, such as spreading rate which determines distance among vent fields, is related to the larval dispersal and population establishment of vent-endemic animal species, and may play an important role in controlling connectivity among populations within a biogeographical province.

Indian Ocean hydrothermal vents are believed to represent a novel biogeographic province, and are host to many novel genera and families of animals, potentially indigenous to Indian Ocean hydrothermal systems. In particular, since its discovery in 2001, much attention has been paid to a so-called 'scaly-foot' gastropod because of its unique iron-sulfide-coated dermal sclerites and the chemosynthetic symbioses in its various tissues. Despite increasing interest in the faunal assemblages at Indian Ocean hydrothermal vents, only two hydrothermal vent fields have been investigated in the Indian Ocean. Here we report two newly discovered hydrothermal vent fields, the Dodo and Solitaire fields, which are located in the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) segments 16 and 15, respectively. Chemosynthetic faunal communities at the Dodo field are emaciated in size and composition. In contrast, at the Solitaire field, we observed faunal communities that potentially contained almost all genera found at CIR hydrothermal environments to date, and even identified previously unreported taxa. Moreover, a new morphotype of 'scaly-foot' gastropod has been found at the Solitaire field. The newly discovered 'scaly-foot' gastropod has similar morphological and anatomical features to the previously reported type that inhabits the Kairei field, and both types of 'scaly-foot' gastropods genetically belong to the same species according to analyses of their COI gene and nuclear SSU rRNA gene sequences. However, the new morphotype completely lacks an iron-sulfide coating on the sclerites, which had been believed to be a novel feature restricted to 'scaly-foot' gastropods. Our new findings at the two newly discovered hydrothermal vent sites provide important insights into the biodiversity and biogeography of vent-endemic ecosystems in the Indian Ocean.

Individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC) are known to excel in some perceptual cognitive tasks, but such developed functions have been often regarded as "islets of abilities" that do not significantly contribute to broader intellectual capacities. However, recent behavioral studies have reported that individuals with ASC have advantages for performing Raven's (Standard) Progressive Matrices (RPM/RSPM), a standard neuropsychological test for general fluid intelligence, raising the possibility that ASC's cognitive strength can be utilized for more general purposes like novel problem solving. Here, the brain activity of 25 adults with high-functioning ASC and 26 matched normal controls (NC) was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural substrates of geometric reasoning during the engagement of a modified version of the RSPM test. Among the frontal and parietal brain regions involved in fluid intelligence, ASC showed larger activation in the left lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) during an analytic condition with moderate difficulty than NC. Activation in the left LOTC and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) increased with task difficulty in NC, whereas such modulation of activity was absent in ASC. Furthermore, functional connectivity analysis revealed a significant reduction of activation coupling between the left inferior parietal cortex and the right anterior prefrontal cortex during both figural and analytic conditions in ASC. These results indicate altered pattern of functional specialization and integration in the neural system for geometric reasoning in ASC, which may explain its atypical cognitive pattern, including performance on the Raven's Matrices test.

Background Strong feelings about and enthusiasm for nursing care are reflected in nurses' thoughts and behaviors in clinical practice and affect their profession. This study was conducted to identify the characteristics of core values in nursing care based on the experiences of nurses engaged in neonatal nursing through a process for recognizing the conceptualization of nursing.a Methods We conceptualized nursing care in 43 nurses who were involved in neonatal nursing using a reflection sheet. We classified descriptions on a sheet based on the Three-Staged Recognition scheme and analyzed them using a text-mining approach. Results Nurses involved in neonatal nursing recognized that they must take care of the "child," "mother," and "family." Important elements of nursing in nurses with less than 5 years versus 5 or more years of neonatal nursing experience were classified into seven clusters, respectively. These elements were mainly related to family members in both groups. In nurses with less than 5 years of experience, four clusters of one-way communication by nurses were observed in the analysis of the key elements in nursing. On the other hand, five clusters of mutual relationships between patients, their family members, and nurses were observed in nurses with 5 or more years of experience. Conclusion In conclusion, the core value of nurses engaged in neonatal nursing is family-oriented nursing. Nurses with 5 or more years of neonatal nursing experience understand patients and their family members well through establishing relationships and providing comfort and safety while taking care of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The insular cortex comprises multiple functionally differentiated sub-regions, each of which has different patterns of connectivity with other brain regions. Such diverse connectivity patterns are thought to underlie a wide range of insular functions, including cognitive, affective, and sensorimotor processing, many of which are abnormal in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although past neuroimaging studies of ASD have shown structural and functional abnormalities in the insula, possible alterations in the sub-regional organization of the insula and the functional characteristics of each sub-region have not been examined in the ASD brain. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired from 36 adult males with ASD and 38 matched typically developed (TD) controls. A data-driven clustering analysis was applied to rs-fMRI data of voxels in the left and right insula to automatically group voxels with similar intrinsic connectivity pattern into a cluster. After determining the optimal number of clusters based on information theoretic measures of variation of information and mutual information, functional parcellation patterns in both the left and the right insula were compared between the TD and ASD groups. Furthermore, functional profiles of each sub-region were meta-analytically decoded using Neurosynth and were compared between the groups. Results: We observed notable alterations in the anterior sector of the left insula and the middle ventral sub-region of the right insula in the ASD brain. Meta-analytic decoding revealed that whereas the anterior sector of the left insula contained two functionally differentiated sub-regions for cognitive, sensorimotor, and emotional/affective functions in TD brain, only a single functional cluster for cognitive and sensorimotor functions was identified in the anterior sector in the ASD brain. In the right insula, the middle ventral sub-region, which is primarily specialized for sensory- and auditory-related functions, showed a significant volumetric increase in the ASD brain compared with the TD brain. Conclusions: The results indicate an altered organization of sub-regions in specific parts of the left and right insula of the ASD brain. The alterations in the left and right insula may constitute neural substrates underlying abnormalities in emotional/affective and sensory functions in ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrothermal vent fields in the western Pacific Ocean are mostly distributed along spreading centers in submarine basins behind convergent plate boundaries. Larval dispersal resulting from deepocean circulations is one of the major factors influencing gene flow, diversity, and distributions of vent animals. By combining a biophysical model and deep-profiling float experiments, we quantify potential larval dispersal of vent species via ocean circulation in the western Pacific Ocean. We demonstrate that vent fields within backarc basins could be well connected without particular directionality, whereas basin-to-basin dispersal is expected to occur infrequently, once in tens to hundreds of thousands of years, with clear dispersal barriers and directionality associated with ocean currents. The southwest Pacific vent complex, spanning more than 4,000 km, may be connected by the South Equatorial Current for species with a longer-than-average larval development time. Depending on larval dispersal depth, a strong western boundary current, the Kuroshio Current, could bridge vent fields from the Okinawa Trough to the Izu- Bonin Arc, which are 1,200 km apart. Outcomes of this study should help marine ecologists estimate gene flow among vent populations and design optimal marine conservation plans to protect one of the most unusual ecosystems on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous autism research has hypothesized that abnormalities of functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may vary with the spatial distance between two brain regions. Although several resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies have extensively examined long-range (or distant) connectivity in the adult ASD brain, short-range (or local) connectivity has been investigated in less depth. Furthermore, the possible relationship between functional connectivity and brain activity level during the resting state remains unclear. Methods: We acquired rsfMRI data from 50 adults with high-functioning ASD and 50 matched controls to examine the properties of spontaneous brain activity using measures of local and distant connectivity together with a measure of the amplitude of brain activity, known as fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF). The two connectivity measures were calculated using a common graph-theoretic framework. We also examined the spatial overlaps between these measures and possible relationships of these disrupted functional measures with autistic traits assessed by the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Results: Compared to the controls, participants with ASD exhibited local over-connectivity in the right superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, accompanied by local under-connectivity in the bilateral fusiform gyri (FG) and right middle temporal gyrus (MTG). On the other hand, we did not find any significant alterations in distant connectivity. Participants with ASD also exhibited reduced fALFF in the right middle occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, and FG. Further conjunction and spatial overlap analyses confirmed that the spatial pattern of reduced fALFF substantially overlapped with that of local under-connectivity, demonstrating the co-occurrence of disrupted connectivity and spontaneous activity level in the right inferior occipital gyrus, posterior MTG (pMTG), and FG. Finally, within the ASD group, disrupted local connectivity in the right pMTG significantly correlated with the "social interaction" subscale score of the AQ. Conclusions: These findings revealed local functional disruptions in the occipital and temporal regions, especially the right FG and pMTG, in the form of co-occurrence of spontaneous brain activity level and local connectivity, which may underline social and communicative dysfunctions in adult ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barnacles of the genus Neoverruca are abundant near deep-sea hydrothermal vents of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, and are useful for understanding processes of population formation and maintenance of deep-sea vent faunas. Using next-generation sequencing, we isolated 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci from Neoverruca sp., collected in the Okinawa Trough. These microsatellite loci revealed 2-19 alleles per locus. The expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.286 to 1.000 and 0.349 to 0.935, respectively. Cross-species amplification showed that 9 of the 12 loci were successfully amplified for Neoverruca brachylepadoformis in the Mariana Trough. A pairwise FST value calculated using nine loci showed significant genetic differentiation between the two species. Consequently, the microsatellite markers we developed will be useful for further population genetic studies to elucidate genetic diversity, differentiation, classification, and evolutionary processes in the genus Neoverruca. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functions of the orbitofrontal cortex include diverse social, cognitive and affective processes, many of which are abnormal in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Recently, altered orbitofrontal sulcogyral patterns have been revealed in several psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, indicating a possibility that altered orbitofrontal sulcogyral morphology reflects abnormal neurodevelopment. However, the presence of sulcal alterations in ASD remains unexplored. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging, subtypes of the 'H-shaped' sulcus (Type I, II and III, in order of frequency), posterior orbital sulcus (POS) and intermediate orbital sulcus were identified in each hemisphere of adult males with ASD (n = 51) and matched normal controls (n = 55) based on the study by Chiavaras and Petrides. ASD showed a significantly altered distribution of H-shaped sulcal subtypes in both hemispheres, with a significant increase of Type III. A significant alteration in the distribution of sulcal subtypes was also identified in the right hemisphere POS of ASD. Categorical regression analysis revealed that Type I and II expressions predicted a reduced total Autism-Spectrum Quotient score. Furthermore, Type I expression was associated with a reduced 'attention to detail' subscale score. The results demonstrate that altered sulcogyral morphology can be a marker for abnormal neurodevelopment leading to the increased risk of developing autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty with verbal communication, which might be due to a lack of spontaneous orientation toward social auditory stimuli. Previous studies have shown that a single dose of oxytocin improves speech comprehension in autism. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether the orientation behaviors toward human sounds are different for neurotypical (NT) adults and adults with ASD and whether oxytocin has an effect on their orientation behaviors toward human sounds. Methods This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, within-subject, crossover design study of intranasal oxytocin versus placebo in 13 NT adults and 16 adults with ASD. Subjects were randomized to 24 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo on different days, and they were blind to the treatment. The participants then listened passively to human and non-human affective sounds while their skin conductance responses (SCRs) and the changes in peripheral blood vessel constriction were monitored as an indicator of spontaneous orientation. The monitored data were analyzed by a mixed-design ANOVA. Results Oxytocin enhanced the difference between the SCRs to human and non-human sounds in both the NT and ASD groups (F(1,56) = 6.046, p = 0.017). Further correlation coefficient analysis showed significant correlations between this SCR difference and the scores in the autism spectrum quotient 'attention to detail' and 'social skill' subscales and interpersonal reactivity index and social functioning scale in the ASD group. Oxytocin was well tolerated, and no serious adverse effects were reported. Conclusions The difference in SCRs implies that oxytocin nasal spray may enhance orientation behaviors toward human sounds in the presence of other environmental sounds in both ASD and NT adults. Trial registration UMIN-CTR Clinical Trial, Unique trial number: UMIN000005809 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]