DFL2, a New Member of the Arabidopsis GH3 Gene Family, is Involved in Red Light-Specific Hypocotyl Elongation

A new GH3-related gene, designated DFL2, causes a short hypocotyl phenotype when overexpressed under red and blue light and a long hypocotyl when antisensed under red light conditions. Higher expression of this gene was observed in continuous white, blue and far-red light but the expression level was low in red light and darkness. DFL2 gene expression was induced transiently with red light pulse treatment. DFL2 transgenic plants exhibited a normal root phenotype including primary root elongation and lateral root formation, although primary root elongation was inhibited in antisense transgenic plants only under red light. The adult phenotypes of sense and antisense transgenic plants were not different from that of wild type. DFL2 promoter activity was observed in the hypocotyl. Our results suggest that DFL2 is located downstream of red light signal transduction and determines the degree of hypocotyl elongation.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Development of pericardial fat count images using a combination of three different deep-learning models

Rationale and Objectives: Pericardial fat (PF), the thoracic visceral fat surrounding the heart, promotes the development of coronary artery disease by inducing inflammation of the coronary arteries. For evaluating PF, this study aimed to generate pericardial fat count images (PFCIs) from chest radiographs (CXRs) using a dedicated deep-learning model. Materials and Methods: The data of 269 consecutive patients who underwent coronary computed tomography (CT) were reviewed. Patients with metal implants, pleural effusion, history of thoracic surgery, or that of malignancy were excluded. Thus, the data of 191 patients were used. PFCIs were generated from the projection of three-dimensional CT images, where fat accumulation was represented by a high pixel value. Three different deep-learning models, including CycleGAN, were combined in the proposed method to generate PFCIs from CXRs. A single CycleGAN-based model was used to generate PFCIs from CXRs for comparison with the proposed method. To evaluate the image quality of the generated PFCIs, structural similarity index measure (SSIM), mean squared error (MSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) of (i) the PFCI generated using the proposed method and (ii) the PFCI generated using the single model were compared. Results: The mean SSIM, MSE, and MAE were as follows: 0.856, 0.0128, and 0.0357, respectively, for the proposed model; and 0.762, 0.0198, and 0.0504, respectively, for the single CycleGAN-based model. Conclusion: PFCIs generated from CXRs with the proposed model showed better performance than those with the single model. PFCI evaluation without CT may be possible with the proposed method

RETARDED GROWTH OF EMBRYO1, a New Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Protein, Expresses in Endosperm to Control Embryo Growth1[W]

We have isolated two dominant mutants from screening approximately 50,000 RIKEN activation-tagging lines that have short inflorescence internodes. The activation T-DNAs were inserted near a putative basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene and expression of this gene was increased in the mutant lines. Overexpression of this bHLH gene produced the original mutant phenotype, indicating it was responsible for the mutants. Specific expression was observed during seed development. The loss-of-function mutation of the RETARDED GROWTH OF EMBRYO1 (RGE1) gene caused small and shriveled seeds. The embryo of the loss-of-function mutant showed retarded growth after the heart stage although abnormal morphogenesis and pattern formation of the embryo and endosperm was not observed. We named this bHLH gene RGE1. RGE1 expression was determined in endosperm cells using the β-glucuronidase reporter gene and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Microarray and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed specific down-regulation of putative GDSL motif lipase genes in the rge1-1 mutant, indicating possible involvement of these genes in seed morphology. These data suggest that RGE1 expression in the endosperm at the heart stage of embryo development plays an important role in controlling embryo growth

Sequence database of 1172 T-DNA insertion sites in Arabidopsis activation-tagging lines that showed phenotypes in T1 generation

Plant genomic resources harbouring gain-of-function mutations remain rare, even though this type of mutation is believed to be one of the most useful for elucidating the function of unknown genes that have redundant partners in the genome. An activation-tagging T-DNA was introduced into the genome of Arabidopsis creating 55 431 independent transformed lines. Of these T1 lines, 1262 showed phenotypes different from those of wild-type plants. We called these lines 'AT1Ps' (activation T1 putants). The phenotypes observed include abnormalities in morphology, growth rate, plant colour, flowering time and fertility. Similar phenotypes re-appeared either in dominant or semi-dominant fashion in 17% of 177 AT2P plants tested. Plasmid rescue or an adaptor-PCR method was used to identify 1172 independent genomic loci of T-DNA integration sites in the AT1P plants. Mapping of the integration sites revealed that the chromosomal distribution of these sites is similar to that observed in conventional T-DNA knock-out lines, except that the intragenic type of integration is slightly lower (27%) in the AT1P plants compared to that observed in other random knock-out populations (30-35%). Ten AT2P lines that showed dominant phenotypes were chosen to monitor expression levels of genes adjacent to the T-DNA integration sites by RT-PCR. Activation was observed in 7 out of 17 of the adjacent genes detected. Genes located up to 8.2 kb away from the enhancer sequence were activated. One of the seven activated genes was located close to the left-border sequence of the T-DNA, having an estimated distance of 5.7 kb from the enhancer. Surprisingly, one gene, the first ATG of which is located 12 kb away from the enhancer, showed reduced mRNA accumulation in the tagged line. Application of the database generated to Arabidopsis functional genomics research is discussed. The sequence database of the 1172 loci from the AT1P plants is available (http://pfgweb.gsc.riken.go.jp/index. html).publishersversionPeer reviewe

The guideline of the personal health data structure to secure safety healthcare : The balance between use and protection to satisfy the patients' needs

Purpose: To inform about the impact of a recent movement towards a policy to develop integrative networked Electronic Health Record (EHR) as a basis for cooperation among care teams and with patients and in support of safe patient care in Japan. Methods: The author headed a commission developing policy for Health Record (HR) structure and its computerization. It executed two questionnaire surveys as the basis for its work. One survey assessed the current state of computerization of Health Record in the hospitals certified by Japan Council for Quality Health Care (JCQHC). The other survey assessed the attitudes towards a specific EHR system in the Hiroshima university hospital and its affiliate hospitals. Results: The survey of the above hospitals showed that most have computer supported administrative procedures, but only few computer-based health records. The attitudes of the Hiroshima EHR users show that while they expect efficiency and quality improvements, there is also apprehension that the system in use might lower practical efficiency and compromise patient safety. Accordingly, health recording requirements and storage policy have been restructured and communicated to the hospitals. Conclusion: These insights led to the initiation of curricula educating "Health Information Technologist" which is promoted by Japan Association Medical Informatics and the criterion of Chart Review Promotion of JCQHC. They will also lead to recommendation for improved and advanced EHR

Molecular Evolution of the RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase and Capsid Genes of Human Norovirus Genotype GII.2 in Japan during 2004–2015

The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and capsid (VP1) genes of 51 GII.2 human norovirus (HuNoV) strains collected during the period of 2004–2015 in Japan were analyzed. Full-length analyses of the genes were performed using next-generation sequencing. Based on the gene sequences, we constructed the time-scale evolutionary trees by Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Time-scale phylogenies showed that the RdRp and VP1 genes evolved uniquely and independently. Four genotypes of GII.2 (major types: GII.P2-GII.2 and GII.P16-GII.2) were detected. A common ancestor of the GII.2 VP1 gene existed until about 1956. The evolutionary rates of the genes were high (over 10−3 substitutions/site/year). Moreover, the VP1 gene evolution may depend on the RdRp gene. Based on these results, we hypothesized that transfer of the RdRp gene accelerated the VP1 gene evolution of HuNoV genotype GII.2. Consequently, recombination between ORF1 (polymerase) and ORF2 (capsid) might promote changes of GII.2 antigenicity

Radiation-Induced Effects on Materials Properties of Ceramics: Mechanical and Dimensional Properties

International audienceIrradiation with energetic particles induces elastic displacement damage and electronic excitation in ceramic compounds, and evolve microstructure change. In this article, three types of ceramic compounds, (1) fluorite-type oxides (such as yttria stabilized cubic zirconia (YSZ), urania, and ceria), (2) silicon carbide, and (3) normal spinel structure oxides (such as magnesium aluminate spinel), were selected to provide their defect formation, accumulation, and microstructure evolution. All of these ceramics are of importance for nuclear applications, but have different nature of chemical bonding and structural complexity. This article clearly shows that the dimensional stability (swelling caused by the accumulation of point defects, amorphization, and the formation of voids) and the mechanical property change (nano-indentation hardness and elastic constant) are significantly different among the ceramics due to the difference in the recombination behavior of point defects, stability of defects including exchange at the anti-sites, response to electronic excitation, and so on, through a variety of experimental and computational techniques