How Flow Changes Polymer Depletion in a Slit

A theoretical model is developed for predicting dynamic polymer depletion effects under the influence of fluid flow. The results are established by combining the two-fluid model and the self-consistent field theory. We consider a uniform fluid flow across a slit containing a solution with polymer chains. The two parallel and infinitely long walls are permeable to solvent only and the polymers do not adsorb to these walls. For a weak flow and a narrow slit in Theta-solvent conditions, an analytic expression is derived to describe the steady state polymer concentration profiles. In both Theta- and good-solvents, we compute the time evolution of the concentration profiles for various flow rates characterized by the Peclet number. The model reveals the interplay of depletion, solvent condition, slit width, and relative strength of the fluid flow.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Evaluation of anti-stress nutrients in the endothelial cells with fluorescence indicator

Oxidative stress has emerged as an important pathogenic factor in the development of long-term complications, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, nephropathy, and cancer. Taking many antioxidants from natural food may be effective to prevent us from those diseases. We have attempted to evaluate the effect of improvement by dietary antioxidants on the endothelial dysfunction induced by hyperglycemia. Fluorescence indicators for reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide were employed to the evaluation. The combination of those fluorescence indicators could be powerful tool to evaluate the effect of anti-stress nutrients on both oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction

Pain Evaluation During Colonoscopy by the Erythema Index of the Facial Image

[Background] Endoscopy of the digestive tract is useful but is associated with significant pain to the patient. Its safety and tolerability could be improved by an immediate and objective method to evaluate the pain level and give feedback to the examiner. However, under the current circumstances, it is difficult to measure and assess the pain level objectively.[Methods] We previously developed a discomfort assessment device that measures the changes in brain activity caused by changes in the pain level by extracting the changes in the erythema index from facial color data. In this study, to evaluate the usefulness of this discomfort assessment device, the association between the changes in the erythema index of facial images during colonoscopy and the subjective pain level during the examination were evaluated. For the recording of the subjective pain level during the examination, a subjective pain level recording device that we developed to measure grip strength over time was used. The subjective pain level, facial image, and percutaneous venous oxygen saturation during the examination were recorded in 30 patients who underwent colonoscopy at our hospital. [Results] The duration of colonoscopy was divided into the insertion section and the removal section. The subjective pain level was found to be significantly greater during the insertion section than during the removal section, and the changes in the erythema index of the facial images were significantly different between the two groups. [Conclusion] These findings indicate that the erythema index changes on facial images determined by the discomfort assessment device may facilitate objective evaluation of the pain level during colonoscopy

Paradoxical Regulation of Human FGF21 by Both Fasting and Feeding Signals: Is FGF21 a Nutritional Adaptation Factor?

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) has recently emerged as a metabolic hormone involved in regulating glucose and lipid metabolism in mouse, but the regulatory mechanisms and actions of FGF21 in humans remain unclear. Here we have investigated the regulatory mechanisms of the human FGF21 gene at the transcriptional level. A deletion study of the human FGF21 promoter (−1672 to +230 bp) revealed two fasting signals, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and glucagon signals, that independently induced human FGF21 gene transcription in mouse primary hepatocytes. In addition, two feeding signals, glucose and xylitol, also dose-dependently induced human FGF21 gene transcription and mRNA expression in both human HepG2 cells and mouse primary hepatocytes. FGF21 protein expression and secretion were also induced by high glucose stimulation. The human FGF21 promoter (−1672 to +230 bp) was found to have a carbohydrate-responsive element at −380 to −366 bp, which is distinct from the PPAR response element (PPRE). Knock-down of the carbohydrate response element binding protein by RNAi diminished glucose-induced human FGF21 transcription. Moreover, we found that a region from −555 to −443 bp of the human FGF21 promoter region exerts an important role in the activation of basic transcription. In conclusion, human FGF21 gene expression is paradoxically and independently regulated by both fasting and feeding signals. These regulatory mechanisms suggest that human FGF21 is increased with nutritional crisis, including starvation and overfeeding

Porphyromonas gingivalis SOD の活性中心金属の近位には，トレオニンがセリンよりも優先的に選択される:155位Gly をSer に変異させた影響

Summary In this study, we analyzed the cambialistic superoxide dismutases (SODs) of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg–SODs) with a mutation directed at glycine position 155 to introduce serine. Glycine 155 is a highly conserved outer sphere in manganese–containing SODs (Mn–SODs), even though threonine is substituted at this position in most iron–containing SODs (Fe–SODs). Conversion of glycine 155 may affect the metal–specific activity of SODs, including that of cambialistic Pg–SODs.Previously, we reported that a Pg–SOD Gly155Thr mutant exhibited a substantially changed metalspecific activity from that of a cambialistic type to an Fe–specific type. Although serine and threonine equally contribute to protein function, serine has never been observed at position 155 in SODs. In order to elucidate this phenomenon, we created a Pg–SOD mutant Gly155Ser. The specific Fedependent activity of this mutant was almost identical to the wild–type SOD, whereas the Mndependent activity exhibited a 60% reduction. The ultraviolet–visible absorption of Fe– and Mnreconstituted mutant SODs did not exhibit characteristic absorption spectra. Similar to the wild–typeSODs, the mutant SODs exhibited a single band with identical mobilities after separation by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. However, their behavior after anion–exchange chromatography differed from that of the wild–type SODs. Thus, Gly155 is considered to be an essential residue for maintaining the hydrogen–bond network for Mn–specific and Fe/Mn–tolerant activity. Gly155 was possibly retained instead of Ser during the evolution of SODs owing to its increased efficiency in maintaining a dimeric structure

Airway Obstruction due to Hematoma Following Internal Jugular vein Cannulation

A patient developed neck swelling and acute airway obstruction following an internal jugular vein cannulation. During laryngoscopy, glottic exposure was impossible because of a hematoma-induced anatomical distortion of standard laryngeal landmarks. Finally, a nasotracheal tube was intubated into the trachea fibreoptically. This life-threatening complication is rare, possible origin and mechanism for the sudden hematoma are discussed, as well as the airway management

CNVs in Three Psychiatric Disorders

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the similarities and differences in the roles of genic and regulatory copy number variations (CNVs) in bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: Based on high-resolution CNV data from 8708 Japanese samples, we performed to our knowledge the largest cross-disorder analysis of genic and regulatory CNVs in BD, SCZ, and ASD. RESULTS: In genic CNVs, we found an increased burden of smaller (500 kb) exonic CNVs in SCZ/ASD. Pathogenic CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders were significantly associated with the risk for each disorder, but BD and SCZ/ASD differed in terms of the effect size (smaller in BD) and subtype distribution of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. We identified 3 synaptic genes (DLG2, PCDH15, and ASTN2) as risk factors for BD. Whereas gene set analysis showed that BD-associated pathways were restricted to chromatin biology, SCZ and ASD involved more extensive and similar pathways. Nevertheless, a correlation analysis of gene set results indicated weak but significant pathway similarities between BD and SCZ or ASD (r = 0.25–0.31). In SCZ and ASD, but not BD, CNVs were significantly enriched in enhancers and promoters in brain tissue. CONCLUSIONS: BD and SCZ/ASD differ in terms of CNV burden, characteristics of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, and regulatory CNVs. On the other hand, they have shared molecular mechanisms, including chromatin biology. The BD risk genes identified here could provide insight into the pathogenesis of BD

ドッキョウ イカ ダイガク デ ハジメテ ノ ノウシ カラノ ゾウキ テキシュツ ジュツ ノ マスイ ケイケン

獨協医科大学で初めての脳死下臓器摘出術の麻酔を経験した.ドナーは50歳代の女性で,くも膜下出血による脳死であり,麻酔および摘出術は特に問題なく終了した.臓器摘出術の麻酔管理の主な要点は,各摘出臓器の機能を最大限に維持するための適切な循環および呼吸管理である.本症例におけるわれわれの経験は近い将来,獨協医科大学で行われるであろう臓器摘出術及び移植術の麻酔管理に有益な情報になると考えられた.We report the anesthetic management of the first case ofthe brain death for organ donation in Dokkyo Medical University.The donor was brain death after subarachnoidhemorrhage. Anesthesia and surgical procedure were doneuneventfully. The aims of anesthetic management are tomaintain optimal organ perfusion. We believe that this firstexperience will be helpful for the anesthetic management ofthe organ transplantation patient in the future of DokkyoMedical University

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection