Financial support for operating the DIC efficiently is scarce in Nepal resulting in operational problems. The performance of the medicine information services in the country should be evaluated periodically to ensure the good quality of the service. Steps should be taken by the government, private hospitals and regulatory bodies to sustain the already established DIC and to establish additional DICs in the future to provide quality health care service to the community. © 2020 Shrestha et al.Introduction The quantity and quality of published research from Nepal, though improving, are low. Among other factors, lack of knowledge about scientific writing is an important contributor. Thus, with the objective of improving knowledge about scientific writing, a one-day workshop was conducted, entitled, "SciPub-019-Getting your article published in scientific journals". Methods The knowledge and attitude of participants were evaluated both before and immediately after the workshop. Results Thirty-three individuals participated with most (48.5%) being pharmacists, followed closely by doctors. 66.7% of the participants were males and 72.7% of participants had published one article as of the workshop date while the rest had published two. On specific questions, there was a significant difference between the responses regarding the abstract being the first part of the paper to be written, before and after the workshop. There was also a significant difference between the overall responses of the participants. Conclusion Improvement in the knowledge of the participants about scientific writing and publication was noted. Workshops of similar nature should be regularly conducted to improve the knowledge of new researchers about scientific writing. © 2020 Jha et al.Background Laparoscopic aortomesenteric bypass may be performed to treat the chronic mesenteric ischemia patients who are not suitable for endovascular treatment. This study presents an initial experience with a limited series of laparoscopic mesenteric artery revascularization for the treatment of mesenteric ischemia. Methods Chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) patients with previous unsuccessful endovascular treatment or with arterial occlusion and extensive calcification precluding safe endovascular treatment were offered laparoscopic mesenteric revascularization. From October 2015 until November 2018, nine patients with CMI underwent laparoscopic revascularization. In addition to demographic data and perioperative results of the treatment, graft patency was assessed with Duplex ultrasound at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months, and annually thereafter.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/CP-690550.html  A descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Results All bypasses were constructed with an 8 mm ring enforced expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft in a retrograde faroscopic vascular surgery. © 2020 Kazmi et al.Introduction While patients' perspectives toward pharmacotherapy are expected to be directly influenced by their motivation and understanding of the treatment that they are currently receiving, no study has comprehensively investigated the impact of insight into illness and knowledge for the ongoing pharmacotherapy on the attitude towards drug treatment among patients with schizophrenia. Materials and Methods One hundred forty-eight Japanese outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition, were included (mean±SD age, 47.3±12.4 years; 90 men (60.8%)). Attitudes toward antipsychotic treatment and insight into illness were assessed with the Drug Attitude Inventory-10 (DAI-10) and the VAGUS, respectively. In addition, a multiple-choice questionnaire that was designed to examine patients' knowledge about therapeutic effects, types, and implicated neurotransmitters of antipsychotic drugs they were receiving was utilized. Results The mean±SD of DAI-10 et al.Background Visual learning plays an important role in general populations and patients with schizophrenia. Genetic influences on visual learning remain unknown. Two functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), Ser704Cys of the DISC1 gene and M24 (rs1421292) of the G72 gene, are strongly associated with pathogenesis and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. This study examined these two SNPs' effects on visual learning in schizophrenia patients. Methods Two hundred seventy-one patients (mean age, 37.0 years [SD = 9.3]; 159 men) with chronic schizophrenia were genotyped for the DISC1 Ser704Cys and G72 M24 SNPs and assessed for visual learning with Visual Reproduction II (delayed reproduction) of Wechsler Memory Scale - III (WMS-III). For comparison, verbal learning (using Word list II of WMS-III) and attention (by Continuous Performance Test) were also measured. Results The DISC1 Ser carriers excelled DISC1 Cys/Cys homozygotes in visual learning (p=0.004, effect size 0.43), but not in other cognitive functions. G72 M24 A-allele carriers and G72 M24 T/T homozygotes performed similarly (effect size 0.07). In SNP-SNP interaction analysis, the patients with Ser carrier_T/T had better visual learning than those with Cys/Cys_T/T (p=0.004, effect size 0.70) and those with Cys/Cys_A-allele carrier (p=0.003, effect size 0.65). Education had a positive effect (p=0.007), while negative symptoms had a negative effect (p less then 0.001) on visual learning. Conclusion The findings suggest that genetic variations in DISC1 Ser704Cys and G72 M24 affect visual learning in schizophrenia patients. The effect sizes of SNP-SNP interaction surpassed the sum (0.50) of effect sizes from two individual genes, suggesting synergistic DISC1-G72 interaction. © 2020 Chang et al.Introduction Recently, an increasing number of studies have focused on commensal microbiota. These microorganisms have been suggested to impact human health and disease. However, only a small amount of data exists to support the assessment of the influences that commensal microbiota exert on olfactory function. Methods We used a buried food pellet test (BFPT) to investigate and compare olfactory functions in adult, male, germ-free (GF) and specific-pathogen-free (SPF) mice, then examined and compared the metabolomic profiles for olfactory bulbs (OBs) isolated from GF and SPF mice to uncover the mechanisms associated with olfactory dysfunction. Results We found that the absence of commensal microbiota was able to influence olfactory function and the metabolic signatures of OBs, with 38 metabolites presenting significant differences between the two groups. These metabolites were primarily associated with disturbances in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, amino acid metabolism, and purine catabolism.