Disappearance and alteration process of charcoal fragments in cumulative soils studied using Raman spectroscopy

AbstractRaman spectra of charcoal fragments in cumulative soils in central Japan, where grasslands have been sustained using intentional burning for ~1000years, were obtained and compared to those of fresh charcoal fragments after modern grass burning to clarify their disappearance and alteration process in the soils. Although the values of each Raman-spectrum parameter of the soil charcoal and fresh charcoal fragments are partially similar, certain differences indicating their alteration or disappearance were observed. Charcoal fragments with lower graphitization in soils altered chemically with age at decadal to century scale, suggested by changes in distance between defects or defect type of their chemical structures. Charcoal fragments with higher graphitization were found in fresh charcoal samples, whereas very few charcoal fragments were found in both young and old soils, indicating that these charcoal fragments disappeared instantly after they were formed. This fact implies that charcoal fragments with higher graphitization tend to not remain in soils, possibly owing to their physical properties such as fragility, density, and hydrodynamic behavior. Our findings suggest that charcoal's physical properties have a vital influence on charcoal residues in soils, as do charcoal's chemical properties

Position of meristems and the angles of the cell division plane regulate the uniqueness of lateral organ shape

花びらの形が葉と違う仕組みを解明. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-12-12.Leaf meristem is a cell proliferative zone present in the lateral organ primordia. In this study, we examined how cell proliferative zones in primordia of planar floral organs and polar auxin transport inhibitor (PATI)-treated leaf organs differ from those of non-treated foliage leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana, with a focus on the accumulation pattern of ANGUSTIFOLIA3 (AN3) protein, a key element for leaf meristem positioning. We found that PATI-induced leaf shape changes were correlated with cell division angle but not with meristem positioning/size or AN3 localisation. In contrast, different shapes between sepals and petals compared with foliage leaves were associated with both altered meristem position, due to altered AN3 expression patterns, and different distributions of cell division angles. A numerical simulation showed that meristem position majorly affected the final shape but biased cell division angles had a minor effect. Taken together, these results suggest that the unique shapes of different lateral organs depend on the position of the meristem in the case of floral organs and cell division angles in the case of leaf organs with different auxin flow

An approach for elucidating dermal fibroblast dedifferentiation in amphibian limb regeneration

Urodele amphibians, Pleurodeles waltl and Ambystoma mexicanum, have organ-level regeneration capability, such as limb regeneration. Multipotent cells are induced by an endogenous mechanism in amphibian limb regeneration. It is well known that dermal fibroblasts receive regenerative signals and turn into multipotent cells, called blastema cells. However, the induction mechanism of the blastema cells from matured dermal cells was unknown. We previously found that BMP2, FGF2, and FGF8 (B2FF) could play sufficient roles in blastema induction in urodele amphibians. Here, we show that B2FF treatment can induce dermis-derived cells that can participate in multiple cell lineage in limb regeneration. We first established a newt dermis-derived cell line and confirmed that B2FF treatment on the newt cells provided plasticity in cellular differentiation in limb regeneration. To clarify the factors that can provide the plasticity in differentiation, we performed the interspecies comparative analysis between newt cells and mouse cells and found the Pde4b gene was upregulated by B2FF treatment only in the newt cells. Blocking PDE4B signaling by a chemical PDE4 inhibitor suppressed dermis-to-cartilage transformation and the mosaic knockout animals showed consistent results. Our results are a valuable insight into how dermal fibroblasts acquire multipotency during the early phase of limb regeneration via an endogenous program in amphibian limb regeneration

Functional tooth restoration by next-generation bio-hybrid implant as a bio-hybrid artificial organ replacement therapy

Bio-hybrid artificial organs are an attractive concept to restore organ function through precise biological cooperation with surrounding tissues in vivo. However, in bio-hybrid artificial organs, an artificial organ with fibrous connective tissues, including muscles, tendons and ligaments, has not been developed. Here, we have enveloped with embryonic dental follicle tissue around a HA-coated dental implant, and transplanted into the lower first molar region of a murine tooth-loss model. We successfully developed a novel fibrous connected tooth implant using a HA-coated dental implant and dental follicle stem cells as a bio-hybrid organ. This bio-hybrid implant restored physiological functions, including bone remodelling, regeneration of severe bone-defect and responsiveness to noxious stimuli, through regeneration with periodontal tissues, such as periodontal ligament and cementum. Thus, this study represents the potential for a next-generation bio-hybrid implant for tooth loss as a future bio-hybrid artificial organ replacement therapy

Is the progression of treatment for patients with hemophilia leading to improvements in school or social life?: A questionnaire survey for mothers of children or adolescents who chiefly receive prophylactic treatment for hemophilia.

【背景】血友病患者の治療は進歩した。そこで治療の進歩による患者の学校・社会生活の詳細を明らかにするために，母親を対象に，若年世代の患者の学校・社会生活，母親の困り事について実態調査した。 【方法】血友病患者の母親を対象に，無記名自記式の質問紙調査を実施した。 【結果】母親27人の回答が得られ，息子である患者は30人だった。定期輸注実施は23人で，そのうち家庭で輸注を行う者は22人だった。通園経験のある者は27人だった。全ての行事に参加させた者が18人だった。宿泊行事中の定期輸注の実施について，中学生までは学校に支援依頼していた。患者８人は自己注射し，高校生以降の患者４人は，自室で一人の時に注射をしたという回答だった。母親の困り事は「血管確保の失敗と焦り」だった。 【結論】治療の進歩は患者の学校・社会生活を改善した。しかし継続的治療を支える家族の負担のもとに成立する。今後必要な医療支援として，患者の宿泊行事中の輸注において，患者が安心して注射できる場所についての助言が示された。Background: Hemostatic treatment for patients with hemophilia（ PWH） has improved. The aim of this study was to clarify school status and social life among young boys with hemophilia, as well as their mothers’ frustrations. Methods: A questionnaire survey was completed anonymously by mothers of hemophilic boys. Results: A total of 27 mothers of 30 PWHs completed the survey. Twenty-three PWHs had received prophylactic treatment, and 22 received home infusion therapy. Twenty-seven PWHs had attended preschool, and 18 had participated in all preschool/school events. When factor concentrates needed to be infused during overnight events, many mothers requested the assistance of medical staff until the PWHs were junior high school students. When they were high school students, eight PWHs were able to infuse themselves. Four PWHs were reported to infuse alone, hiding from the public eye. Mothers’ chief source of frustration was“ infusion failure on busy mornings.” Conclusion: This study indicates that the progress of treatment for PWHs may improve the school or social life of patients. However, these patients’ family support is also essential for the patients’ treatment. Medical support, such as advice about where to self-infuse during overnight events is needed for PWHs

ヒトIgA に対するイムノクロマトグラフィーの開発

Immunochromatography (ICG) strip test based on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) conjugated with gold nanoparticles was developed and its application for primary screening of IgA in human saliva was evaluated. Six mAbs were established against human secretory IgA. anocolloidal gold as the detection reagent was labelled with mAb ④. MAb ⑥ was immobilized on a nitrocellulose membrane as the capture reagent to prepare the ICG strip test. After reaction of mAb ④-nanocolloidal gold probe with IgA in saliva, resulting immune complex was vertically developed, captured by mAb ⑥ immobilized on the membrane and visualized as a gold band. In the optimized investigational conditions, the ICG strip test could distinguish human secretory IgA in the range from 1 to 20 μg/mL and was sufficiently sensitive to find out incomplete IgA deficiency from salivary screening. It took only 10 minutes to accomplish a detection of salivary IgA in this assay, compared to 5 hours by sandwich ELISA

Dietary Inflammatory Index Is Associated With Inflammation in Japanese Men

Background: Dietary components are known to affect chronic low-grade inflammation status. The dietary inflammatory index (DII®) was developed to measure the potential impact of a diet on an individual\u27s inflammatory status, and it has been validated mainly in Western countries. Objective: This study aimed to examine the validity of the energy-adjusted DII (E-DIITM) using high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) concentration in Japanese men and women. Methods: In total, 6,474 volunteers from a cancer-screening program (3,825 men and 2,649 women) completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and their hs-CRP concentrations were evaluated. E-DII scores were calculated on the basis of 30 food parameters derived from the FFQ. Higher E-DII scores reflect a greater pro-inflammatory potential of the diet. The associations between E-DII quartiles and hs-CRP concentration were assessed using regression models adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking status, and amount of physical activity. Results: Mean E-DII in men and women was + 0.62 ± 1.93 and −1.01 ± 2.25, respectively. The proportion of men and women who had hs-CRP concentration \u3e3 mg/L was 4.7 and 3.1%, respectively. A significant positive association was observed between E-DII score and hs-CRP concentration in men; geometric mean of hs-CRP concentration in the lowest and highest E-DII quartiles was 0.56 mg/L and 0.67 mg/L (Ptrend \u3c 0.01), respectively. The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of having an elevated hs-CRP concentration (\u3e3 mg/L) was 1.72 (1.10–2.67) in the highest E-DII quartile (Ptrend = 0.03) in men. However, no association was observed between E-DII score and hs-CRP concentration in women, except in those not taking prescription medications. Conclusions: DII was associated with inflammation status in Japanese men, but the association was limited in Japanese women