Library and Information Science Examination: A Report on Provisional Implementation in Japan / Hiroya Takeuchi, Akira Nemoto, Makiko Miwa... [et.al] al.

This paper aims to describe the details of the challenging Library and Information Science (LIS) examinations, which the Japan Society of Library and Information Science (JSLIS) has conducted annually on a trial basis since 2007, and discuss some of observations. For such purposes, its objective, coverage of subject areas, examination style and reporting of results to students are described. We also discuss our experiences and observations of the provisional implementation of the LIS examination over the past four years. The results of the examination indicated that senior students achieved higher scores than junior students in general, and that the students from university LIS faculties achieved generally higher scores than did those from the Shisho certificate courses, which cover a more limited subject area of LIS than LIS specialty programs. These results suggest that the examination is a good measure of student proficiency, which reflects the quality of the educational programs. The problems to be solved before full-scale implementation can be summarized as follows: 1) the lack of standard textbooks covering the scope of the examination; 2) the low economic base for an annual examination; 3) lack of awareness of the need for this examination in standardizing the curricula for LIS education; and 4) the lack of a mechanism to implement the examination nationwide to facilitate participation by students living far from examination venues

Regioselective glucosidation of trans-resveratrol in Escherichia coli expressing glucosyltransferase from Phytolacca americana

A glucosyltransferase (GT) of Phytolacca americana (PaGT3) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified for the synthesis of two O-β-glucoside products of trans-resveratrol. The reaction was moderately regioselective with a ratio of 4′-O-β-glucoside: 3-O-β-glucoside at 10:3. We used not only the purified enzyme but also the E. coli cells containing the PaGT3 gene for the synthesis of glycoconjugates. E. coli cell cultures also have other advantages, such as a shorter incubation time compared with cultured plant cells, no need for the addition of exogenous glucosyl donor compounds such as UDP-glucose, and almost complete conversion of the aglycone to the glucoside products. Furthermore, a homology model of PaGT3 and mutagenesis studies suggested that His-20 would be a catalytically important residue

Emerging concepts in biomarker discovery; The US-Japan workshop on immunological molecular markers in oncology

Supported by the Office of International Affairs, National Cancer Institute (NCI), the "US-Japan Workshop on Immunological Biomarkers in Oncology" was held in March 2009. The workshop was related to a task force launched by the International Society for the Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify strategies for biomarker discovery and validation in the field of biotherapy. The effort will culminate on October 28th 2009 in the "iSBTc-FDA-NCI Workshop on Prognostic and Predictive Immunologic Biomarkers in Cancer", which will be held in Washington DC in association with the Annual Meeting. The purposes of the US-Japan workshop were a) to discuss novel approaches to enhance the discovery of predictive and/or prognostic markers in cancer immunotherapy; b) to define the state of the science in biomarker discovery and validation. The participation of Japanese and US scientists provided the opportunity to identify shared or discordant themes across the distinct immune genetic background and the diverse prevalence of disease between the two Nations

Biosynthesis of High-Molecular-Weight Poly(d-lactate)-Containing Block Copolyesters Using Evolved Sequence-Regulating Polyhydroxyalkanoate Synthase PhaC(AR)

Bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase PhaC(AR) is a unique enzyme that can synthesize block copolymers.In thisstudy, poly(d-lactate) (PDLA)-containing block copolymerswere synthesized using PhaC(AR) and its mutated variants.Recombinant Escherichia coli harboring phaC (AR) and relevant genes were cultivated withsupplementation of the corresponding monomer precursors. Consequently,PhaC(AR) synthesized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-b-2 mol % PDLA [P(3HB)-b-PDLA]. The incorporationof the d-lactate (LA) enantiomer was confirmed by chiralgas chromatography. Previously identified beneficial mutations inPhaC(AR), N149D (ND), and F314H (FH), which increased activitytoward a medium-chain-length substrate 3-hydroxyhexanoyl (3HHx)-CoA,improved the incorporation of LA units. The combined pairwise mutationNDFH synergistically increased the LA fraction to 21 mol % in P(3HB)-b-PDLA. Interestingly, a large amount of LA units (51 mol%) was incorporated by copolymerization with 3HHx units, which yieldedP(3HHx)-b-PDLA. The block copolymerization of 3HHxand D-LA units was confirmed by NMR analyses and solvent fractionationof polymers. The PDLA crystal in P(3HHx)-b-PDLA wasdetected using differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-raydiffraction. Its mass-average molecular weight was 8.6 x 10(5). Thus, block copolymerization utilized high-molecular-weightPDLA as a component of PHAs. Newsynthetic method of block copolyester with isotacticPDLA segment from renewable resources using engineered polyester synthase