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A 64-year-old woman experienced a broad brain infarction in the right middle cerebral artery territory with left hemiparesis and left unilateral spatial neglect. She was treated by endovascular thrombectomy and decompressive craniectomy. During the subacute phase of the brain infarction, she became alert and insisted, "My eldest daughter is at my feet and I can touch her body with my feet." The patient's abnormal experience was accompanied by visual information, such as her daughter's physical characteristics and clothing, which could not be directly confirmed, and a false ideation that she had two eldest daughters. Although the patient was aware that her experience was abnormal, she was unable to deny her strong beliefs regarding the experience. We concluded that a series of the patient's abnormal experiences consisted of both tactile hallucinations and delusions. In this case, the subjects of the delusions associated with the patient's tactile hallucinations were limited to close relatives. Finally, it was clinically important that introspection by the patient revealed details of the nature of her hallucinations.

A 71-year-old, right-handed woman was admitted to our hospital due to a sudden difficulty with conversation. On admission, she was alert, but had a euphoric mood, disorientation, and a disturbance of recent memory. Her speech was fluent. Her repetition and auditory word cognition were excellent, but she had a slight difficulty with naming visual objects. She frequently showed word-finding difficulty and irrelevant paraphasia during free conversation and a word fluency task. Her irrelevant paraphasia was observed more frequently when she was asked to explain her outbreak of anger at the hospital, i.e., it was situation-dependent. She also had anosognosia. MRI showed an infarct in the territory of the left tuberothalamic artery. Single-photon emission computed tomography revealed low-uptake lesions in the left thalamus and orbital frontal, medial frontal, and medial temporal lobes. The patient was diagnosed with non-aphasic misnaming. The clinical characteristics of patients with non-aphasic misnaming in the literature were reviewed. All of the patients with non-aphasic misnaming had word-finding difficulty and irrelevant paraphasia. Additionally, they had either emotional disturbance or anosognosia.

「とっておきの蔵出し症例」として, 脳血管障害で再帰性発話を呈した症例と, ジャルゴン様発話を呈した重度のアルツハイマー病の症例を報告した。再帰性発話については, その典型例や非典型例の発話記録を通して, 再帰性発話の成立基盤や病態機序について考察した。再帰性発話の背景に重度の失構音, 喚語困難や文構成障害, 自己発話のモニタリング障害があること, 再帰性発話は命題的発話あるいはその代用であり, 右半球仮説には疑義があることを述べた。重度アルツハイマー病の empty speech の背景には, 注意障害, 語彙や概念の不明瞭化などの言語周辺機能の低下とともに, 重度の喚語困難や文構成障害などの純粋な言語機能低下, 語間代に代表される反復傾向などが存在する。そして, 時には新造語ジャルゴンや再帰性発話様の発話も認められるが, 脳血管障害例における典型例とは異なることを指摘した。

Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery is considered to provide the benefits of laparoscopic surgery in various diseases. However, limited information is available regarding the feasibility of hand-assisted laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (HALDG)-a subset of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery-as a gastric cancer treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of HALDG compared with laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG). Consecutive patients who underwent HALDG (n=58) or LADG (n=90) for stage I gastric cancer between 2005 and 2016 were eligible. Operative time was significantly shorter and blood loss was significantly higher in HALDG than in LADG (P

An 80-year-old man was transferred to our institution with lower limb edema and worsening dyspnea following the administration of diuretic medication. Transthoracic echocardiography and computed tomography revealed a giant hepatic cyst (176×190 mm) compressing his right atrium and inferior vena cava (IVC). Laparoscopic cyst deroofing combined with omental packing and subsequent tube drainage immediately alleviated all his symptoms. The procedure was uneventful, and he was discharged without any complications on postoperative day 9; he had no recurrent symptoms or hepatic cysts at the postoperative 2-month follow-up. Therefore, a giant hepatic cyst can cause IVC syndrome, and laparoscopic deroofing is a beneficial approach for the treatment of accessible cysts.

Highlights • Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use is associated with the development of fundic gland polyps (FGPs). • Discontinuing PPI is associated with regression of FGPs, but not in patients with polycythaemia vera. • A rare case of non-respondent FGPs after discontinuing PPI use was successfully treated using APC. • The mechanism involved in the interaction between FGP and polycytheamia vera remains unknown., Introduction Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use is associated with the development of fundic gland polyps (FGPs); discontinuing PPIs is associated with regression of FGPs. Here, we report a rare case of non-respondent FGPs after discontinuation of PPI that were successfully treated using an argon plasma coagulator (APC). Presentation of case We present the case of a 68-year-old woman with a history of polycytheamia vera. She also had gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and had been taking 10 mg of omeprazole daily for the past three years. Esophagogastroduedenoscopy (GF) revealed over 100 pedunculated polyps in the gastric body and fundus. Histological examination of the specimens showed dilated oxyntic glands with flattened parietal and mucous cells. Based on these findings and the clinical history, a diagnosis of FGPs was made. Omeprazole use was then discontinued. Repeat GF performed 6 months and 1 year later showed a significant increase in the number and size of the polyps. APC treatment was performed every 6 months for 3 years. Further GF showed a significant decrease in the number and size of the FGPs 4 years after discontinuing PPI. Discussion We conclude that PPI use is a strong risk factor for the development of FGPs and discontinuing PPI is associated with regression of FGPs, but not in patients with polycythaemia vera. However, the mechanism involved in the interaction between FGP and polycytheamia vera remains unknown. Conclusion Non-respondent FGPs after discontinuation of PPI use may be successfully treated using APC.

Background and Purpose— Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a motor speech disorder, which is clinically characterized by the combination of phonemic segmental changes and articulatory distortions. AOS has been believed to arise from impairment in motor speech planning/programming and differentiated from both aphasia and dysarthria. The brain regions associated with AOS are still a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to address this issue in a large number of consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients. Methods— We retrospectively studied 136 patients with isolated nonlacunar infarcts in the left middle cerebral artery territory (70.5±12.9 years old, 79 males). In accordance with speech and language assessments, the patients were classified into the following groups: pure form of AOS (pure AOS), AOS with aphasia (AOS-aphasia), and without AOS (non-AOS). Voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping analysis was performed on T2-weighted images or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. Using the Liebermeister method, group-wise comparisons were made between the all AOS (pure AOS plus AOS-aphasia) and non-AOS, pure AOS and non-AOS, AOS-aphasia and non-AOS, and pure AOS and AOS-aphasia groups. Results— Of the 136 patients, 22 patients were diagnosed with AOS (7 patients with pure AOS and 15 patients with AOS-aphasia). The voxel-based lesion–symptom mapping analysis demonstrated that the brain regions associated with AOS were centered on the left precentral gyrus. Conclusions— Damage to the left precentral gyrus is associated with AOS in acute to subacute stroke patients, suggesting a role of this brain region in motor speech production.

Key Clinical Message Xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP) is an uncommon inflammatory disease of the kidney 1. Diffuse XGP is a rare condition which may spread into the pelvic cavity leading to fatal complications from a psoas muscle abscess and/or renocolic fistula 2. In diffuse type, nephrectomy and excision of the fistula is the recommended treatment.

Highlights • Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) is a newly recognized tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma. • It is proposed that PIVKA-II may be useful primarily as a prognostic biomarker, predicting rapid tumor progression and poorer prognosis. • PIVKA-II-producing colon cancer is an extremely rare subtype of colon cancer., Introduction Protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) is an abnormal protein, and several reports have demonstrated the efficacy of PIVKA-II in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We report an extremely rare case of adenocarcinoma of the colon with a high serum PIVKA-II level. Presentation of Case A 95-year-old woman presented with right lower quadrant pain and appetite loss. An abdominal computed tomography scan and ultrasonography showed an ascending colon tumor and multiple metastatic tumors in the liver. The serum level of PIVKA-II was extremely high, 11,900 ng/mL. Colonoscopic examination revealed a tumor accompanied by an ulcer in the ascending colon, which was highly suspicious for malignancy. Multiple biopsies showed well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the colon, which was evaluated as colon cancer, stage IV. PIVKA-II-productive colon cancer was confirmed. Chemotherapy with TS-1 was administered. The patient died 3 months after initial admission. Discussion The expression of PIVKA-II was detected in non-cancer areas, with non-specific expression observed in plasma cells in our case. There might be some possibility that hepatoid differentiation exists in other regions of the colon tumor or in the liver tumor, parenchymal cells or lung metastases, which were composed of PIVKA-II-positive and AFP-negative cells. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, high serum levels of PIVKA-II resulting from colon adenocarcinoma have not been reported previously. We report this rare case together with a review of the literature.

Key Clinical Message NOMI is mesenteric hypoperfusion with reactive vascular spasms. Changes in the color of the mucosa may reflect the severity of the ischemia of the colon and the severity of prognosis. Even with surgery, the mortality rate is 75%. Diagnosis requires a high degree of clinical suspicion.

Background Achalasia is a rare disease with a morbidity of 1 in 100,000, for which the exact mechanism of pathogenesis has not been clarified due to the small total number of patients. We herein report on our experience with two cases of familial achalasia in which the involvement of genetic inheritance was suspected. Case presentation These cases consist of a man in his thirties and his mother in her sixties. The son consulted the Department of Gastrointestinal Medicine at our institute with dysphagia, and an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a gastric submucosal tumor with a maximal diameter of approximately 50 mm. Achalasia was also strongly suspected due to the enlargement of the esophagus to the maximum transverse diameter of 55 mm by esophagography along with delayed clearance of barium. A detailed interview revealed prolonged mild dysphagia in his mother. Therefore, high-resolution manometry was carried out in both patients. As a result, peristaltic disorder was observed in the esophageal body in both the mother and son, leading to a definitive diagnosis of achalasia. For the son, total gastrectomy including the lower esophagus with Roux-en-Y reconstruction was performed. His postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged from hospital in remission on the 9th day following surgery and is currently undergoing follow-up as an outpatient. Conclusions We hereby report on a very rare case of familial achalasia that we experienced which may suggest a genetic element in the onset of achalasia, and reviewed the literature.

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We appreciate the letter by Terao et al1 on our recent publication. The posterior wall of the precentral gyrus corresponds to the primary motor cortex or Brodmann’s area 4 at its mid to dorsal parts and to the premotor cortex or Brodmann’s area 6 at its ventral part. The region associated with apraxia of speech in our study, which …

Rhabdomyolysis associated with fenofibrate monotherapy is extremely rare. Here, we report a rare case of rhabdomyolysis of the psoas muscle in an 82-year-old man with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). He was prescribed fenofibrate because of a hypertriglyceridemia. The patient reported generalized muscle pain and right abdominal pain while receiving fenofibrate monotherapy. An abdominal computed tomography scan and an abdominal ultrasound showed a large and low attenuation and high echogenicity, respectively, in the right middle abdominal area. Laboratory values included a serum creatine concentration of 4.1 mg/dl and a creatinine phosphokinase concentration of 5,882 IU/l. During laparotomy, a large hematoma and necrotic mass was identified in the right psoas muscle. Histological examination revealed that the resected specimens were of the psoas muscle with irregular fiber sizes, degenerating fibers surrounding the inflammatory reaction, and fiber necrosis that is typical for polymyositis. Based on these findings and the clinical history, a diagnosis of fenofibrate-induced rhabdomyolysis was made. To the best of our knowledge, no patient has ever been diagnosed with fulminant psoas rhabdomyolysis due to a fenofibrate monotherapy. This report details the rare case of rhabdomyolysis in a patient with CML associated with fenofibrate monotherapy and offers a review of the literature.

Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is a sensitive marker for pancreatic and hepatobiliary malignancies. The highest frequency of elevated serum CA 19-9 levels is found among patients with pancreatic cancer. CA 19-9 has recently been demonstrated to be a marker of digestive tract malignancies. We report the case of a patient with a gastric cancer and a very high serum CA 19-9 level. During laparotomy, a large mass was found in the antrum. A distal gastrectomy with D2 dissection of the lymph nodes was performed. Histological examination, including immunohistochemistry, revealed an adenocarcinoma of the stomach producing CA 19-9. To the best of our knowledge, no patient with an extremely high serum CA 19-9 level resulting from a gastric adenocarcinoma has been reported previously.

Skin hyperpigmentation disorders due to abnormal melanin production induced by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation are both a clinical and cosmetic problem. UV irradiation stimulates melanin production in melanocytes by increasing intracellular cAMP. Expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs), especially HSP70, is induced by various stressors, including UV irradiation, to provide cellular resistance to such stressors. In this study we examined the effect of expression of HSP70 on melanin production both in vitro and in vivo. 3-Isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX), a cAMP-elevating agent, stimulated melanin production in cultured mouse melanoma cells, and this stimulation was suppressed in cells overexpressing HSP70. IBMX-dependent transcriptional activation of the tyrosinase gene was also suppressed in HSP70-overexpressing cells. Expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), which positively regulates transcription of the tyrosinase gene, was up-regulated by IBMX; however, this up-regulation was not suppressed in HSP70-overexpressing cells. On the other hand, immunoprecipitation and immunostaining analyses revealed a physical interaction between and co-localization of MITF and HSP70, respectively. Furthermore, the transcription of tyrosinase gene in nuclear extract was inhibited by HSP70. In vivo, UV irradiation of wild-type mice increased the amount of melanin in the basal layer of the epidermis, and this increase was suppressed in transgenic mice expressing HSP70. This study provides the first evidence of an inhibitory effect of HSP70 on melanin production both in vitro and in vivo. This effect seems to be mediated by modulation of MITF activity through a direct interaction between HSP70 and MITF.

Irradiation with UV light, especially UVB, causes epidermal damage via the induction of apoptosis, inflammatory responses, and DNA damage. Various stressors, including UV light, induce heat shock proteins (HSPs) and the induction, particularly that of HSP70, provides cellular resistance to such stressors. The anti-inflammatory activity of HSP70, such as its inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB), was recently revealed. These in vitro results suggest that HSP70 protects against UVB-induced epidermal damage. Here we tested this idea by using transgenic mice expressing HSP70 and cultured keratinocytes. Irradiation of wild-type mice with UVB caused epidermal damage such as induction of apoptosis, which was suppressed in transgenic mice expressing HSP70. UVB-induced apoptosis in cultured keratinocytes was suppressed by overexpression of HSP70. Irradiation of wild-type mice with UVB decreased the cutaneous level of IkappaB-alpha (an inhibitor of NF-kappaB) and increased the infiltration of leukocytes and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the epidermis. These inflammatory responses were suppressed in transgenic mice expressing HSP70. In vitro, the overexpression of HSP70 suppressed the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and increased the level of IkappaB-alpha in keratinocytes irradiated with UVB. UVB induced an increase in cutaneous levels of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine, both of which were suppressed in transgenic mice expressing HSP70. This study provides genetic evidence that HSP70 protects the epidermis from UVB-induced radiation damage. The findings here also suggest that the protective action of HSP70 is mediated by anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-DNA damage effects.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between psychotic symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies and brain perfusion on single photon emission tomography. Based on factor analysis in 145 patients, psychotic symptoms were classified into five symptom domains (factor 1 to 4-related symptoms and delusions). The relationship between each symptom domain and brain perfusion was assessed in 100 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, while accounting for the effects of age, sex, dementia severity, parkinsonism and dysphoria. Factor 1 symptoms (Capgras syndrome, phantom boarder, reduplication of person and place and misidentification of person) represented misidentifications, and were significantly related to hypoperfusion in the left hippocampus, insula, ventral striatum and bilateral inferior frontal gyri. Factor 3 symptoms (visual hallucination of person and feeling of presence) represented hallucinations of person and were related to hypoperfusion in the left ventral occipital gyrus and bilateral parietal areas. Delusions of theft and persecution were associated with relative hyperperfusion in the right rostral medial frontal cortex, left medial superior frontal gyrus and bilateral dorsolateral frontal cortices. This study revealed that different psychotic symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies were associated with distinguishable cerebral networks. Visual hallucinations were related to dysfunction of the parietal and occipital association cortices, misidentifications were related to dysfunction of the limbic-paralimbic structures and delusions were related to dysfunction of the frontal cortices. Our findings provide important insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying psychotic symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.

全体的行動の変容である取り繕い反応，代表的な行動心理症状である物盗られ妄想，精神医学と神経心理学の接点ともなっている妄想性人物誤認などを中心に認知症の症候論を論じた。こうした症状は神経ネットワークの障害にだけは帰せられず，困難な状況に直面した患者の全人的反応であり，患者の心理状態を考慮した対応が必要である。神経心理学は認知障害の分析や認知症の疾患診断には必須であるが，認知症をもつ人の「こころ」に寄り添うためには神経心理学的アプローチだけでは限界があることを論じた。

発話開始困難と中断が目立つ非流暢性失語症を呈したが，その他の言語症状は軽微であった症例について，その非流暢性の原因を検討した。症例は83 歳，右利きの女性。左中前頭回後部から中心前回前部にかけての脳梗塞を発症，第１病日はごく軽度の失構音があり，非流暢性が著明であった。語列挙や文の構成障害がなく，発話衝動は保たれ，失構音は速やかに改善したにも関わらず，自由発話における発話開始困難と中断が遷延した。非流暢性発話の二大要因である失構音と言語発動性の低下を欠き，本症例における非流暢性の原因として，前頭葉由来の思考障害，思考の言語化の障害，選択肢が多い場合の語句の選択の困難さが考えられた。本症例の病巣は，多くの典型的 Broca 失語の病巣に含まれることから，本症例の非流暢性発話の原因が，典型的 Broca 失語の非流暢性発話の一因となっていることが予想される。

A femtosecond laser is a type of ultrashort-pulse laser. Femtosecond laser irradiation induces high-pressure plasma and shock waves at the surface of a target. Under some irradiation conditions, such shock waves are enough to deform the target plastically. Laser peen forming is a type of sheet metal forming using this deformation by shock waves. The author adopted laser peen forming using femtosecond laser for thin-sheet-metal bending. Generally, shock waves induced in air are much smaller than those induced in water, and thus; are unfavorable for plastic deformation. However, the shock waves induced by a femtosecond laser were enough to bend a thin sheet metal even in air. Elastic pre-bending was adopted during the process. Bending angle was increased by applying pre-bending. The effects of laser irradiation conditions on bending efficiency were investigated. The large spot diameter and high fluence improved bending efficiency.

要旨 【はじめに】 我々は 2005 年 1 月より胃病変に対して用手補助腹腔鏡下胃切除術 (HALG) を施行してきた．今回，当科の HALG の手術術式と成績を提示し，同法の有用性を検討する．【対象と術式】 2005 年 1 月から 2009 年 6 月までに胃病変に対して用手補助腹腔鏡下に施行した幽門側胃切除術/幽門保存胃切除術 (HALDG/HALPPG) 63 例， 胃全摘術 (HALTG) 19 例， 噴門側胃切除術 (HALPG) 13 例を対象とした．全ての術式でGelportTM を季肋下に装着し，12 mm ポート 2 本，5 mmポート 2 本を同一部位に挿入した．再建は小開腹創よりHALDG/HALPPG: Billroth-I または Roux-en-Y 法，HALTG: Roux-en-Y 法, HALPG: 空腸パウチ間置再建を施行した． 【結果】 手術時間は，HALDG: 209 分，HALTG: 251 分，HALPG: 229 分，出血量は 50 g, 134 g, 91 g， 術後入院日数は 13 日， 17 日， 14 日であった． 全ての症例で術中トラブルなく腹腔鏡下に手術を完遂した．【まとめ】 HALG は開腹手術に慣れた術者も受け入れ易く，胃病変に対して有用な手技の一つと考えられた．

A femtosecond laser is a type of ultrashort pulse laser. A focused femtosecond laser pulse induces high-pressure plasma and a shock wave at the surface of a target. In some cases, this shock wave is enough to deform the target plastically. Laser peen forming is a type of sheet metal forming using this deformation by shock wave. The authors adopted laser peen forming for thin-sheet-metal bending. A piece of sheet metal was bent by femtosecond laser scanning. An investigation was conducted into the influences of irradiation conditions and prebending on forming properties. When irradiating in air, bending angles increased with fluence. However, when irradiating in water, the exceedingly large fluence decreased the bending angles. The bending angles were increased by applying prebending during the irradiation. Selection of appropriate prebending directions and irradiation conditions allowed the bending direction to be controlled. Several pieces of sheet metal for springs were bent into various shapes that would be difficult to achieve using the usual press forming process.

A Paraconiothyrium sp. WL-2 of Mn-oxidizing fungus is highly tolerant to Mn2+ ions, and capable of oxidizing more than 380 mg dm−3 of Mn2+ ions, leading to the formation of a large amount of insoluble Mn(III, IV) oxides. The biogenic Mn oxides were characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-Infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, measurement of specific surface area, scanning electron microscopy, and measurement of zeta potential, in comparison with the synthetic Mn oxides. It was found that the biogenic Mn oxide is poorly crystalized birnessite, with higher porosity and much more weakly bounded Mn(II) on the surface than the synthetic Mn oxide. Cobalt(II) ions were sorbed and incorporated as Co(III) into the structure of the biogenic Mn oxide. Sorption efficiency in the biogenic Mn oxide was 5.6 times as high as that in the synthetic ones. Relation of the relased Mn2+ ions to the immobilized Co suggested that Mn(IV) is preferentially used as oxidants over Mn(III) in the biogenic Mn oxide, and emphasized that the existence of Mn(III) in the biogenic Mn oxide activates the geochemical cycles of Mn and the other involved elements in environments.

A sulfur-doped titanium dioxide thin film was prepared by pulsed laser deposition in the atmosphere controlled in carbon disulfide partial pressure. Optical and spectroscopic analyses demonstrated that the doped sulfur atom successfully triggered visible light sensitization by substituting with the lattice oxygen of titanium dioxide, which can absorb ultraviolet light only. As a result, photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of sulfur-doped titanium dioxide thin film was remarkably increased, compared with un-doped one. Moreover, an investigation on increase of the substrate temperature during laser ablation revealed that stabilization of sulfur atom in titanium dioxide was attained, resulting in high photocatalytic activity.

乳腺内視鏡手術は内視鏡手術手技により手術創の縮小化と移動を実現し整容性と手術効果の両面を満足させることができる乳房温存手術であり，日本で独自に開発された術式である．各術式は腋窩アプローチ法，傍乳輪アプローチ，外側アプローチ法，乳房下アプローチ法に分類され，それぞれ完全内視鏡手術と内視鏡補助手術が行われている．腫瘍径 2 cm 以上では何らかの乳房の変形が生じるため再建術の併用が必要と思われた．当科では現在セルロース，コラーゲンによる充填法を施行しており良好な成績を得ている．乳腺内視鏡手術は無作為比較試験による直接的証明はされていないものの従来法と同等の手術効果と安全性を持ちかつ整容性の面では優れている事から今後の普及が期待される術式である．しかしその最大の目的である整容性を保持するためには厳格に適応を守り，内視鏡手術特有の合併症について十分な対策を立てておく必要がある．

The authors propose a way of patterning the bars of monophonic melodies in hymns and finding keys from such patterns. The authors represent monophonic melody bars on a vector showing the duration of pitch chroma contained in each bar. In experiments, the authors patterned bars of 352 four/four beat hymns, defined the distance between the bar key and melody, and found they key from this, correctly 83.1% of the time. The authors also propose a way to determine the maximum likelihood of a contaminated normal distribution of distance between patterns using an EM algorithm. Key characteristics of hymns were then studied using this method.

Objectives: To explore the neural substrates corresponding to the perseverative errors in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Methods: The study examined the correlations between the WCST performances and the SPECT measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in subjects with neurodegenerative dementia. Negative non-linear correlations between the rCBF and the two different types of the perseverative errors ("stuck-in-set" and "recurrent" perseverative errors) were calculated on a voxel basis and volume-of-interest basis in the mixed groups of 72 elderly and dementia patients. Results: The stuck-in-set perseverative error was associated with the reduced rCBF in the rostrodorsal prefrontal cortex, whereas the recurrent perseverative error was related to the left parietal activity but not to the prefrontal activity. Conclusions: These findings augment evidence that the rostrodorsal prefrontal cortex crucially mediates attentional set shifting, and suggest that the stuck-in-set perseverative errors would be a true pathognomonic sign of frontal dysfunction. Moreover, this study shows that the recurrent perseverative errors may not be associated closely with the prefrontal function, suggesting that this error and the stuck-in-set error should be differentially estimated in the WCST.

An attempt was made to visualize minute intraductal lesions using helical CT in patients with abnormal nipple discharge.Galactography was performed, immediately followed by CT (ductal CT examination). Based on the image data obtained, ductal images were constructed on a workstation using a Pegasus viewer (ductal CT imaging). Since no criteria for diagnosis by this method are available, ductal CT images were diagnosed by reference to the known ductal fiberscopic findings.Ductal CT examination was performed in 10 cases, in 9 of whom ductal CT images were successfully constructed. Pathological examination was performed in 8 cases. It was possible to observe the structure of the luminal surface on the constructed ductoscopic images from all directions, but the color tone or the presence or absence of hemorrhage could not be observed.In the examination for abnormal nipple discharge, ductal CT examination was useful for intraductal observation. Currently, it is a method that allows for observation of the most minute intraductal lesions. However, some issues still remain unresolved. The results of this study suggest that further studies with more cases hold the promise of making ductal CT imaging a useful examination method.