Development of a hyperspectral imaging technique with internal scene scan for analysing the chemistry of food degradation

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) can provide valuable information about the spatial distribution of ingredients in an object, therefore the technique has been widely adopted in numerous applications, ranging from remote sensing and land planning, food quality control, to biomedical applications. However, HSI instruments are expensive, which has limited the technique to some high-end applications. In this study, we developed a cost-effective HSI technique with an internal scene-scan mechanism, which enables rapid acquisitions of a scene without moving the instrument or the tested object. The apparatus was characterised, revealing an imaging resolution of 0.4 mm in a field of view (FoV) of 10 cm and a spectral resolution of 1.3 nm in the 40–800 nm visible light region. We succeeded in applying our apparatus to analyse the oxidation processes of apple and meat, which demonstrated our design and relevant data analysis to be of high value to visualise chemistry related to food quality and safety

ヒト白血球抗原HLA-DQとナルコレプシー関連の分子機序に関する研究 : ハイポクレチンペプチドとナルコレプシー関連HLA-DQ分子の結合性

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 渡辺 知保, 東京大学准教授 野入 英世, 東京大学准教授 渡邊 洋一, 東京大学准教授 垣内 千尋, 東京大学准教授 大迫 誠一郎University of Tokyo(東京大学

Commensal microflora induce host defense and decrease bacterial translocation in burn mice through toll-like receptor 4

BACKGROUND: Major burn is associated with decreased gut barrier function and increased bacterial translocation (BT). This study is to investigate whether commensal microflora induce host defense and decrease BT in burn mice. METHODS: First, we treated Wild type (WT) mice with antibiotics in drinking water for 4 weeks to deplete gut commensal microflora. At week 3, drinking water was supplemented with lipopolysaccharide (LPS); a ligand for TLR4, to trigger TLRs in gut. The intestinal permeability, glutathione level, NF-κB DNA-binding activity, TLR4 expression of intestinal mucosa, BT to mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), and bacterial killing activity of peritoneal cells were measured after thermal injury. Second, lung of animals were harvested for MPO activity and TNFα mRNA expression assay. Third, WT animals were treated with oral antibiotics with or without LPS supplement after burn. At 48 hr after burn, TLR4 expression of intestinal mucosa and bacterial killing activity of cells were examined. Finally, bacterial killing activity and BT to MLNs after thermal injury in C3H/HeJ (TLR4 mutant) mice were measured. RESULTS: Burn induced BT to MLNs in WT mice. Commensal depletion decreased TLR4 expression as well as NF-κB activation of intestine, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity as well as TNFα expression of lung, and bacterial killing activity of peritoneal cells. Oral LPS supplement markedly reduced 81% of burn-induced BT and increased TLR4 expression, MPO activity of lung, as well as bacterial killing activity of peritoneal cells. LPS supplement did not change BT or bacterial killing activity in C3H/HeJ mice. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, commensal microflora induce TLR4 expression of intestine and bacterial killing activity of inflammatory cells in burn. TLR4 ligand increases bacterial killing activity and decreases burn-induced BT. Taken together with the abolition of LPS effect in TLR4 mutant mice, we conclude that commensal microflora induce host defense and decrease bacterial translocation in burn mice through toll-like receptor 4

Fabrication of a Miniature Zinc Aluminum Oxide Nanowire Array Gas Sensor and Application for Environmental Monitoring

A miniature n-type semiconductor gas sensor was fabricated successfully using zinc aluminum oxide nanowire array and applied to sense oxygen. The present study provided a novel method to produce zinc aluminum alloy nanowire 80 nm in diameter by the vacuum die casting technique and then obtain zinc aluminum oxide nanowire array using the thermal oxidation technique. The gas sensing properties were evaluated through the change of the sensitivity. The factors influencing the sensitivity of the gas sensor, such as the alloy composition, operating temperature, and oxygen concentration, were investigated further. Experimental results indicated that the maximum sensitivity could be acquired when the weight percentage of aluminum was 5% in zinc aluminum alloy at the operating temperature of 200°C

Effects of a Chinese Herbal Medicine, Guan-Jen-Huang (Aeginetia indica Linn.), on Renal Cancer Cell Growth and Metastasis

Aeginetia indica Linn. (Guan-Jen-Huang, GJH), a traditional Chinese herb, has the potential to be an immunomodulatory agent. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of GJH in the treatment of renal cancer. Concentration-effect curves for the influence of GJH on cellular proliferation showed a biphasic shape. Besides, GJH had a synergistic effect on cytotoxicity when combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)which may be due to the alternation of the chemotherapeutic agent resistance-related genes and due to the synergistic effects on apoptosis. In addition, treatment with GJH extract markedly reduced 786-O cell adherence to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and decreased 786-O cell migration and invasion. In a xenograft animal model, GJH extract had an inhibitory effect on tumor cell-induced metastasis. Moreover, western blot analysis showed that the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in 786-O cells was significantly decreased by treatment with GJH extract through inactivation of nuclear factor-κB (NF–κB). These results suggest that GJH extract has a synergistic effect on apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents and an inhibitory effect on cell adhesion, migration, and invasion, providing evidence for the use of water-based extracts of GJH as novel alternative therapeutic agents in the treatment of human renal cancer

Nervous Necrosis Virus Replicates Following the Embryo Development and Dual Infection with Iridovirus at Juvenile Stage in Grouper

Infection of virus (such as nodavirus and iridovirus) and bacteria (such as Vibrio anguillarum) in farmed grouper has been widely reported and caused large economic losses to Taiwanese fish aquaculture industry since 1979. The multiplex assay was used to detect dual viral infection and showed that only nervous necrosis virus (NNV) can be detected till the end of experiments (100% mortality) once it appeared. In addition, iridovirus can be detected in a certain period of rearing. The results of real-time PCR and in situ PCR indicated that NNV, in fact, was not on the surface of the eggs but present in the embryo, which can continue to replicate during the embryo development. The virus may be vertically transmitted by packing into eggs during egg development (formation) or delivering into eggs by sperm during fertilization. The ozone treatment of eggs may fail to remove the virus, so a new strategy to prevent NNV is needed

Serum repressing efflux pump CDR1 in Candida albicans

BACKGROUND: In the past decades, the prevalence of candidemia has increased significantly and drug resistance has also become a pressing problem. Overexpression of CDR1, an efflux pump, has been proposed as a major mechanism contributing to the drug resistance in Candida albicans. It has been demonstrated that biological fluids such as human serum can have profound effects on antifungal pharmacodynamics. The aim of this study is to understand the effects of serum in drug susceptibility via monitoring the activity of CDR1 promoter of C. albicans. RESULTS: The wild-type C. albicans cells (SC5314) but not the cdr1/cdr1 mutant cells became more susceptible to the antifungal drug when the medium contained serum. To understand the regulation of CDR1 in the presence of serum, we have constructed CDR1 promoter-Renilla luciferase (CDR1p-RLUC) reporter to monitor the activity of the CDR1 promoter in C. albicans. As expected, the expression of CDR1p-RLUC was induced by miconazole. Surprisingly, it was repressed by serum. Consistently, the level of CDR1 mRNA was also reduced in the presence of serum but not N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, a known inducer for germ tube formation. CONCLUSION: Our finding that the expression of CDR1 is repressed by serum raises the question as to how does CDR1 contribute to the drug resistance in C. albicans causing candidemia. This also suggests that it is important to re-assess the prediction of in vivo therapeutic outcome of candidemia based on the results of standard in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing, conducted in the absence of serum