Espacios dinámicos con profundidad subjetiva. El espacio público en el monzón de Asia

The largest human agglomerations in the world, headed by Tokyo, are found in Asia, especially in monsoon climate zones. If we start from the premise that they are ‘cities’, there must be something that makes them work as cities. In the present paper this ‘something’ is defined as ‘public space’; taking Tokyo and Edo as an example, we explore this public space and how it differs from that of Europe’s squares and streets. The paper first analyzes the network of narrow alleys. The concept of oku is introduced to show how public space of subjective depth materializes in this web of narrow passageways. Second, the question of public space corresponding to the scale of Asian meg- acities is explored. Hiroba, the Japanese term for square, can be understood as a dynamic process rather than a static, physical place. The hiroba emerges by hiroba-ing through spontaneous citizen action. Seasonal festivals amplify the effect of hiroba-ing and have a magic that temporarily transforms spaces into huge meeting places accessible to all. The public space in monsoon Asia is a subjective space with a dynamic dimension toward oku that implies awe of nature.Las mayores aglomeraciones humanas del mundo, encabezadas por Tokio, se encuentran en Asia, especialmente bajo el clima monzónico. Si partimos de la premisa de que son «ciudades» también, debe existir algo que las hace serlo. En este artículo, ese algo se define como «espacio público» y, tomando Tokio y Edo como ejemplo, se explora el espacio público alternativo diferente a las plazas y calles europeas. En primer lugar, se pone el foco de atención en la red de callejones estrechos. A través de la introducción del concepto de oku, se revela que el espacio público de profundidad subjetiva se materializa como la red de callejones estrechos. Además de los callejones estrechos, grandes ciudades en Asia deberían tener otra forma de espacios públicos acordes a su escala enorme. Hiroba, el término japonés para plaza, se puede entender como un proceso dinámico más que un lugar físico y estático. La hiroba emerge por las acciones espontáneas de los ciudadanos de hacer-hiroba. Los festivales estacionales aumentan el efecto de hacer-hiroba y tienen la magia de transformar cualquier lugar tem- poralmente en lugares de encuentro accesibles para todos. El espacio público en Asia monzónica es un espacio subjetivo con dimensión dinámica hacia el oku que implica admiración por la naturaleza.Les majors aglomeracions humanes del món, encapçalades per Tòquio, es troben a Àsia, especialment sota el clima monsònic. Si partim de la premissa que són «ciutats» també, ha d’existir alguna cosa que les fa ser-ho. En aquest article, aquesta cosa es defineix com a «espai públic» i, prenent Tòquio i Edo com a exemple, s’explora l’espai públic alternatiu diferent a les places i carrers europeus. En primer lloc, es posa el focus d’atenció en la xarxa de carrerons estrets. A través de la introducció del concepte d’ oku, es revela que l’espai públic de profunditat subjectiva es materialitza com la xarxa de carrerons estrets. A més dels carrerons estrets, grans ciutats a Àsia haurien de tenir una altra forma d’espais públics acords a la seua escala enorme. Hiroba, el terme japonès per a plaça, es pot entendre com un procés dinàmic més que un lloc físic i estàtic, ja que emergeix per les accions espontànies dels ciutadans de fer-hiroba. Els festivals estacionals augmenten l’efecte de fer-hiroba i tenen la màgia de transformar qualsevol lloc temporalment en llocs de trobada accessibles a tothom. L’espai públic a l’Àsia monsònica és un espai subjectiu amb dimensió dinàmica cap a l’oku que implica admiració per la natura

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies of N-acetylglucosamine-phosphate mutase from Candida albicans

Preliminary X-ray diffraction studies on N-acetylglucosamine-phosphate mutase from C. albicans are reported

Transcriptional activation of a hybrid promoter composed of cytomegalovirus enhancer and β-actin/β-globin gene in glomerular epithelial cells in vivo

Transcriptional activation of a hybrid promoter composed of cytomegalovirus enhancer and β-actin/β-globin gene in glomerular epithelial cells in vivo. The aim of this study was to seek a promoter, transactivated selectively in renal cells in vivo by using transgenic (tg) mouse technology. We generated two kinds of tg mouse lines carrying a green fluorescence protein (GFP) cDNA driven either by cytomegalovirus enhancer and β-actin/β-globin promoter (CX-GFP) or by elongation factor la promoter (EF-GFP), and investigated the expression of GFP in the kidney. Microscopic examination of the renal tissues in CX-GFP-tg mice revealed that GFP was expressed only in glomeruli, mainly epithelial cells, but not in tubules, arteries and interstitium. Moreover, in situ hybridization demonstrated that GFP mRNA expression was localized in the glomerular cells. In contrast, GFP was not detectable in the kidney in any of the lines of EF-GFP-tg mouse. To exclude the possible involvement of the GFP cDNA as an enhancer, we constructed tg mice carrying the CX promoter driving a human CD4 cDNA. It was confirmed that the expression patterns of human CD4 in the kidney were quite similar to those of GFP in the kidney of CX-GFP-tg mice. These results strongly suggest that CX promoter could be transactivated in glomerular epithelial cells in vivo

Macrophage HIF-1α increases liver tumor

Aims/Introduction: Chronic inflammation of the liver is often observed with obesity or type 2 diabetes. In these pathological conditions, the immunological cells, such as macrophages, play important roles in the development or growth of liver cancer. Recently, it was reported that hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) is a key molecule for the acquisition of inflammatory M1 polarity of macrophages. In the present study, we examined the effects of altered macrophage polarity on obesity‐ and diabetes‐associated liver cancer using macrophage‐specific HIF‐1α knockout (KO) mice. Materials and Methods: To induce liver cancer in the mice, diethylnitrosamine, a chemical carcinogen, was used. Both KO mice and wild‐type littermates were fed either a high‐fat diet (HFD) or normal chow. They were mainly analyzed 6 months after HFD feeding. Results: Development of liver cancer after HFD feeding was 45% less in KO mice than in wild‐type littermates mice. Phosphorylation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 2 was also lower in the liver of KO mice. Those effects of HIF‐1α deletion in macrophages were not observed in normal chow‐fed mice. Furthermore, the size of liver tumors did not differ between KO and wild‐type littermates mice, even those on a HFD. These results suggest that the activation of macrophage HIF‐1α by HFD is involved not in the growth, but in the development of liver cancer with the enhanced oncogenic extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 2 signaling in hepatocytes. Conclusions: The activation of macrophage HIF‐1α might play important roles in the development of liver cancer associated with diet‐induced obesity and diabetes

Xanthomatous meningioma: a case report with review of the literature.

Xanthomatous meningioma is an extremely rare variant of meningioma that is characterized histopathologically by the presence of tumor cells with lipid-filled vacuolated cytoplasm. In this report, we describe the fifth documented case of xanthomatous meningioma and review its clinicopathological features. A 76-year-old Japanese male presented with dizziness. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a well-circumscribed tumor in the left parasagittal to frontal region with attachment of the dura mater. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen revealed proliferation of polygonal to spindle cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm and bland round to oval nuclei. Whorl formation and psammomas were scattered, and mitotic figures were rarely seen. A peculiar finding was the presence of extensive xanthomatous change continuing to the above-mentioned typical meningothelial meningioma. These tumor cells had clear vacuolated cytoplasm and bland round to oval nuclei. Immunohistochemically, xanthomatous cells were positive for epithelial membrane antigen. Accordingly, an ultimate diagnosis of xanthomatous meningioma was made. Our clinicopathological analysis revealed that xanthomatous meningioma affects children to young persons or the elderly, and four of five cases were located in the supratentorial region. Although the detailed mechanism underlying the xanthomatous change has not been clarified, this change is thought to result from a metabolic abnormality of the neoplastic meningothelial cells. Further, xanthomatous change has also been reported in atypical and anaplastic meningiomas. Therefore, it is important to recognize that xanthomatous change can occur in meningiomas, and to avoid misidentifying these cells as macrophages

Large-scale analysis of full-length cDNAs from the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivar Micro-Tom, a reference system for the Solanaceae genomics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Solanaceae family includes several economically important vegetable crops. The tomato (<it>Solanum lycopersicum</it>) is regarded as a model plant of the Solanaceae family. Recently, a number of tomato resources have been developed in parallel with the ongoing tomato genome sequencing project. In particular, a miniature cultivar, Micro-Tom, is regarded as a model system in tomato genomics, and a number of genomics resources in the Micro-Tom-background, such as ESTs and mutagenized lines, have been established by an international alliance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To accelerate the progress in tomato genomics, we developed a collection of fully-sequenced 13,227 Micro-Tom full-length cDNAs. By checking redundant sequences, coding sequences, and chimeric sequences, a set of 11,502 non-redundant full-length cDNAs (nrFLcDNAs) was generated. Analysis of untranslated regions demonstrated that tomato has longer 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions than most other plants but rice. Classification of functions of proteins predicted from the coding sequences demonstrated that nrFLcDNAs covered a broad range of functions. A comparison of nrFLcDNAs with genes of sixteen plants facilitated the identification of tomato genes that are not found in other plants, most of which did not have known protein domains. Mapping of the nrFLcDNAs onto currently available tomato genome sequences facilitated prediction of exon-intron structure. Introns of tomato genes were longer than those of Arabidopsis and rice. According to a comparison of exon sequences between the nrFLcDNAs and the tomato genome sequences, the frequency of nucleotide mismatch in exons between Micro-Tom and the genome-sequencing cultivar (Heinz 1706) was estimated to be 0.061%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The collection of Micro-Tom nrFLcDNAs generated in this study will serve as a valuable genomic tool for plant biologists to bridge the gap between basic and applied studies. The nrFLcDNA sequences will help annotation of the tomato whole-genome sequence and aid in tomato functional genomics and molecular breeding. Full-length cDNA sequences and their annotations are provided in the database KaFTom <url>http://www.pgb.kazusa.or.jp/kaftom/</url> via the website of the National Bioresource Project Tomato <url>http://tomato.nbrp.jp</url>.</p

Pronuclear injection-based mouse targeted transgenesis for reproducible and highly efficient transgene expression

Mouse transgenesis has proven invaluable for analysis of gene function and generation of human disease models. We describe here the development of a pronuclear injection-based targeted transgenesis (PITT) system, involving site-specific integration in fertilized eggs. The system was applied to two different genomic target loci to generate a series of transgenic lines including fluorescent mice, which reproducibly displayed strong, ubiquitous and stable transgene expression. We also demonstrated that knockdown mice could be readily generated by PITT by taking advantage of the reproducible and highly efficient expression system. The PITT system, which circumvents the problem of unpredictable and unstable transgene expression of conventional random-integration transgenic mice, reduces the time, cost and effort needed to generate transgenic mice, and is potentially applicable to both in vivo ‘gain-of-function’ and ‘loss-of-function’ studies

Dynamic spaces with subjective depth. The public space in monsoon Asia

Les majors aglomeracions humanes del món, encapçalades per Tòquio, es troben a Àsia, especialment sota el clima monsònic. Si partim de la premissa que són «ciutats» també, ha d’existir alguna cosa que les fa ser-ho. En aquest article, aquesta cosa es defineix com a «espai públic» i, prenent Tòquio i Edo com a exemple, s’explora l’espai públic alternatiu diferent a les places i carrers europeus.En primer lloc, es posa el focus d’atenció en la xarxa de carrerons estrets. A través de la introducció del concepte d’oku, es revela que l’espai públic de profunditat subjectiva es materialitza com la xarxa de carrerons estrets.A més dels carrerons estrets, grans ciutats a Àsia haurien de tenir una altra forma d’espais públics acords a la seua escala enorme. Hiroba, el terme japonès per a plaça, es pot entendre com un procés dinàmic més que un lloc físic i estàtic, ja que emergeix per les accions espontànies dels ciutadans de fer-hiroba. Els festivals estacionals augmenten l’efecte de fer-hiroba i tenen la màgia de transformar qualsevol lloc temporalment en llocs de trobada accessibles a tothom.L’espai públic a l’Àsia monsònica és un espai subjectiu amb dimensió dinàmica cap a l’oku que implica admiració per la natura.The largest human agglomerations in the world, headed by Tokyo, are found in Asia, especially in monsoon climate zones. If we start from the premise that they are ‘cities’, there must be something that makes them work as cities. In the present paper this ‘something’ is defined as ‘public space’; taking Tokyo and Edo as an example, we explore this public space and how it differs from that of Europe’s squares and streets.The paper first analyzes the network of narrow alleys. The concept of oku is introduced to show how public space of subjective depth materializes in this web of narrow passageways.Second, the question of public space corresponding to the scale of Asian megacities is explored. Hiroba, the Japanese term for square, can be understood as a dynamic process rather than a static, physical place. The hiroba emerges by hiroba-ing through spontaneous citizen action. Seasonal festivals amplify the effect of hiroba-ing and have a magic that temporarily transforms spaces into huge meeting places accessible to all.The public space in monsoon Asia is a subjective space with a dynamic dimension toward oku that implies awe of nature.Las mayores aglomeraciones humanas del mundo, encabezadas por Tokio, se encuentran en Asia, especialmente bajo el clima monzónico. Si partimos de la premisa de que son «ciudades» también, debe existir algo que las hace serlo. En este artículo, ese algo se define como «espacio público» y, tomando Tokio y Edo como ejemplo, se explora el espacio público alternativo diferente a las plazas y calles europeas.En primer lugar, se pone el foco de atención en la red de callejones estrechos. A través de la introducción del concepto de oku, se revela que el espacio público de profundidad subjetiva se materializa como la red de callejones estrechos.Además de los callejones estrechos, grandes ciudades en Asia deberían tener otra forma de espacios públicos acordes a su escala enorme. Hiroba, el término japonés para plaza, se puede entender como un proceso dinámico más que un lugar físico y estático. La hiroba emerge por las acciones espontáneas de los ciudadanos de hacer-hiroba. Los festivales estacionales aumentan el efecto de hacer-hiroba y tienen la magia de transformar cualquier lugar temporalmente en lugares de encuentro accesibles para todos.El espacio público en Asia monzónica es un espacio subjetivo con dimensión dinámica hacia el oku que implica admiración por la naturaleza