Impact of Hfq on the Intrinsic Drug Resistance of Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhimurium

Salmonella enterica is an important enteric pathogen, and its various serovars cause both systemic and intestinal diseases in humans and domestic animals. The emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella, leading to increased morbidity and mortality, has further complicated its management. Hfq is an RNA chaperon that mediates the binding of small RNAs to mRNA and assists in post-transcriptional gene regulation in bacteria. Although Hfq is related to important phenotypes including virulence in Salmonella, its role in the drug resistance of this organism is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Hfq in intrinsic drug resistance of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium. hfq Mutant was susceptible to acriflavine. Although there is a relationship between the production of the AcrB multidrug efflux pump and Hfq in Escherichia coli, the deletion of the drug efflux acrB did not impair the effect of hfq deletion on Salmonella susceptibility. In contrast, the deletion of another drug efflux gene, smvA, impaired the effect of hfq deletion on acriflavine susceptibility. These results indicate that Hfq regulates the intrinsic drug resistance, and it may influence drug susceptibility by regulating SmvA in Salmonella

シンタクホウ カイセイ ニ オケル サガイシンタク ノ モンダイテン

多胡圭一教授國井和郎教授退官記念

Urinary FSH in postmenopausal women

The change in follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) during the menopausal transition and associations of FSH with various diseases have been assessed by using blood samples. We examined cross-sectionally the variation of FSH levels, associations of estrone and estradiol with FSH, and associations of BMI with these hormones by using urinary samples from peri- and postmenopausal women in Japan. Of 4472 participants in the Urinary Isoflavone Concentration Survey of the Japan Nurses’ Health Study, we analyzed urinary levels of estrone, estradiol and FSH in 547 women aged from 45 to 54 years. Urinary FSH levels varied widely in postmenopausal women and the pattern of change in urinary FSH levels seems to be similar to that in blood FSH levels in previous studies. There were no significant differences in age, body mass index (BMI), estradiol, estrone and estradiol/estrone ratio among three groups according to the tertile of FSH. In postmenopausal women, there were significant associations of BMI with levels of estrone and estradiol, but there was no significant association of BMI with FSH. Studies using urinary samples will allow us to establish a study project as a large-scale population-based study to determine associations between FSH and various diseases after menopause

Positions of Point-Nodes in Borocarbide Superconductor YNi2B2C

To determine the superconducting gap function of YNi2B2C, we calculate the local density of states (LDOS) around a single vortex core with the use of Eilenberger theory and the band structure calculated by local density approximation assuming various gap structures with point-nodes at different positions. We also calculate the angular-dependent heat capacity in the vortex state on the basis of the Doppler-Shift method. Comparing our results with the STM/STS experiment, the angular-dependent heat capacity and thermal conductivity, we propose the gap-structure of YNi2B2C, which has the point-nodes and gap minima along . Our gap-structure is consistent with all results of angular-resolved experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Coordinated elevation of membrane type 1-matrix metalloproteinase and matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression in rat uterus during postpartum involution

BACKGROUND: The changes occurring in the rodent uterus after parturition can be used as a model of extensive tissue remodeling. As the uterus returns to its prepregnancy state, the involuting uterus undergoes a rapid reduction in size primarily due to the degradation of the extracellular matrix, particularly collagen. Membrane type-I matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is one of the major proteinases that degrades collagen and is the most abundant MMP form in the uterus. Matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2) can degrade type I collagen, although its main function is to degrade type IV collagen found in the basement membrane. To understand the expression patterns of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the rat uterus, we analyzed their activities in postpartum uterine involution. METHODS: We performed gelatin zymography, northern blot analysis and immunohistochemistry to compare the expression levels of MT1-MMP, MMP-2, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and the tissue inhibitors of MMPs-1 and 2 (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) in the rat uterus 18 h, 36 h and 5 days after parturition with their expression levels during pregnancy (day 20). RESULTS: We found that both MT1-MMP and MMP-2 localized mainly in the cytoplasm of uterine interstitial cells. The expression levels of MT1-MMP and MMP-2 mRNAs and the catalytic activities of the expressed proteins significantly increased 18 h and 36 h after parturition, but at postpartum day 5, their mRNA expression levels and catalytic activities decreased markedly. The expression levels of MMP-9 increased 18 h and 36 h after parturition as determined by gelatin zymography including the expression levels of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. CONCLUSION: These expression patterns indicate that MT1-MMP, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 may play key roles in uterine postpartum involution and subsequent functional regenerative processes

シシ ノ キシ モノガタリ ノ ヘイバンカ ノ カテイ : Ulrich Fuetrer ノ Iban ト Stockholm46 カミシャホンバン Ivens saga

Chretien de Troyesが1177年～81年頃に著したとされるYvain ou Le Chevalier au Lion (『イヴァン、または獅子の騎士』)はドイツ語圏では13世紀初頭にHartmann von AueによってIweinと呼ばれる作品へと翻案され、その後、1480年代に、Ulrich FuumletrerがIweinを翻案し、Ibanを著した。このChreacutetienの作品は13世紀にノルウェー語を経てアイスランド語へも翻案され、Ivens sagaと呼ばれる作品が生まれた。このIvens sagaは二つの羊皮紙写本(それぞれ1400年頃、および15世紀中頃のものとされる)と、17世紀以降のものとされる12の紙写本によって伝えられているが、この紙写本のうち、1690年頃に作成されたとされるStockholm46と呼ばれる紙写本のものは、羊皮紙写本や他の紙写本のものと比べ、内容面で多くの相違が見られる。この、Chreacutetienの作品のドイツ語圏とアイスランド語圏での第二翻案段階と言えるUlrich Fuetrer\u27sのIbanとStockholm46版&Ivens sagaは、ともに、その言語圏の第一翻案段階と比べ、物語が平板化しているのが特徴であるが、その点と不可分である登場人物の造形特徴における、それぞれの第一翻案段階との相違について、両者の間で比較し、それぞれの特徴を明らかにし、その背景を探る。Yvain, the Knight with the Lion which Chretien de Troyes composed in the late 1170s was used by the German poet Hartmann von Aue as the basis for his Iwein which is considered to be written in the early 1200s. Iwein was adapted by Ulrich Fuetrer for the literary audience in Germany in the late 1480s and his work is called Iban. And Chretien\u27s work was also translated into Norwegian and further into Icelandic. The Icelandic version is called Ivens saga. Ivens saga survives in two vellum manuscripts (from c. 1400 and the fifteenth century, respectively) and twelve paper manuscripts from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. But the version which the paper manuscript Stockholm46 (1690) contains has a quite different content from that of other manuscripts. This paper focuses on Fuetrer\u27s Iban and the Stockholm46-version of Ivens saga, above all on the differences between the changes made to the characters at the adaptation from their originals because both Fuetrer\u27s work and the Stockholm46-version of Ivens saga are more monotonous than their originals and one of the causes of this must be the changes made to the characters at the adaptation

Virtual Human Generative Model: Masked Modeling Approach for Learning Human Characteristics

Identifying the relationship between healthcare attributes, lifestyles, and personality is vital for understanding and improving physical and mental conditions. Machine learning approaches are promising for modeling their relationships and offering actionable suggestions. In this paper, we propose Virtual Human Generative Model (VHGM), a machine learning model for estimating attributes about healthcare, lifestyles, and personalities. VHGM is a deep generative model trained with masked modeling to learn the joint distribution of attributes conditioned on known ones. Using heterogeneous tabular datasets, VHGM learns more than 1,800 attributes efficiently. We numerically evaluate the performance of VHGM and its training techniques. As a proof-of-concept of VHGM, we present several applications demonstrating user scenarios, such as virtual measurements of healthcare attributes and hypothesis verifications of lifestyles.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Giantin Affects Golgi Stack Connection

Golgins are a family of Golgi-localized long coiled-coil proteins. The major golgin function is thought to be the tethering of vesicles, membranes, and cytoskeletal elements to the Golgi. We previously showed that knockdown of one of the longest golgins, Giantin, altered the glycosylation patterns of cell surfaces and the kinetics of cargo transport, suggesting that Giantin maintains correct glycosylation through slowing down transport within the Golgi. Giantin knockdown also altered the sizes and numbers of mini Golgi stacks generated by microtubule de-polymerization, suggesting that it maintains the independence of individual Golgi stacks. Therefore, it is presumed that Golgi stacks lose their independence following Giantin knockdown, allowing easier and possibly increased transport among stacks and abnormal glycosylation. To gain structural insights into the independence of Golgi stacks, we herein performed electron tomography and 3D modeling of Golgi stacks in Giantin knockdown cells. Compared with control cells, Giantin-knockdown cells had fewer and smaller fenestrae within each cisterna. This was supported by data showing that the diffusion rate of Golgi membrane proteins is faster in Giantin-knockdown Golgi, indicating that Giantin knockdown structurally and functionally increases connectivity among Golgi cisternae and stacks. This increased connectivity suggests that contrary to the cis-golgin tether model, Giantin instead inhibits the tether and fusion of nearby Golgi cisternae and stacks, resulting in transport difficulties between stacks that may enable the correct glycosylation of proteins and lipids passing through the Golgi

MRI of bone marrow abnormalities in hematological malignancies

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential for evaluating bone marrow. Bone marrow undergoes constant modification and its appearance on MRI changes in response. Knowledge of the types of changes and their origins is essential for analysis of MRI findings of bone marrow infiltration with hematological malignancies. This pictorial review describes the MRI pulse sequences used for imaging of bone marrow, and illustrates bone marrow changes due hematological malignancies, including changes following treatment