<Articles>The King of Ayutthaya's Golden Letters to the Ming Emperor and the Shogun

This paper stems from an earlier Japanese-language article by Kimura Kanako, ‘Kangō to Purarāchasān: Den Seikin ‘Hō Senra koku shinkō so’ kara mita Min matsu no Shamu no kokusho [Kanhe and Phrarātchasān: Siamese diplomatic letters as seen in Tian Sheng-jin’s “Memorial on the tributary envoy from Siam” in the late Ming dynasty]’, in Kokusho ga musubu gaikō [Correspondence between Crowns: Diplomatic practices in the China seas, 1400–1850], ed. Matsukata Fuyuko (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 2019), pp. 269–296, with some additions and corrections.This article analyses the presentation of the ‘golden letters’ sent by the king of Ayutthaya to the Chinese Ming emperor and compares those which were sent to the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate. The differences in how the letters were wrapped and presented suggest that Ayutthaya may have held the Ming emperor in higher regard than the shogun. For example, the golden letter to the Ming Emperor was placed on the two-tiered tray. It was called phan wean fah in Thai, designed to be used by the king. On the other hand, the golden letter to the shogun was placed on the single-tiered tray. Furthermore, the Chinese-language letters accompanying these golden letters were also different from that of Ming and the Tokugawa shogunate. To the Ming, Ayutthaya generally used kanhe (勘合, tallies) and wrote the letter in the style of a biao (表), a ceremonial letter to the emperor from his vassal. In contrast, the Chinese-language letters to the Tokugawa shogunate were drafted as correspondence between equals. The golden letters were designed to convey the Ayutthaya king’s ideas; therefore, examining how they were presented is an important means of investigating how kings represented their authority. By analyzing the presentation of the golden letters, this article concludes that Ayutthaya held the Chinese dynasty in higher regard than Japan’s shogunate. Additional research into the golden letters sent to other polities can help clarify the nature of Ayutthaya’s foreign relations and the international order it established for itself

Improvement of the Anaerobic Digestion Performance for Fish Industry Waste Recycles

Poster Sessio

Interventional Evaluation of Monoammonium Glycyrrhizinate-Glycine/DL-Methionine Combination Tablets in Mild Alopecia Areata

Objective: Although monoammonium glycyrrhizinate/glycine/DL-methionine (MG) combination tablets have been widely used widely for the treatment of alopecia areata (AA), there are few studies on efficacious combinations with MG. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of MG plus 5% carpronium chloride (CC). Methods: In the present interventional study, MG tablets plus 5% carpronium chloride (CC) were compared with CC monotherapy in 31 patients with AA. Results: There were no significant differences in efficacy between the two groups, and the AA area at 8 and 12 weeks was significantly reduced in both. The results of subanalysis stratified by the presence of allergic factors as determined by IgE level showed that there were also significant decreases in the areas of AA 8 and 12 weeks after the start of the combination therapy in patients with allergic factors (p<0.05). No serious adverse events were observed in either group. Conclusion: It is suggested that combination therapy with MG and CC has better therapeutic effects than CC monotherapy, with a significant decrease in the area of AA from 4 weeks of treatment even in mild AA patients with allergic factors

Relationship of magnetic ordering and crystal structure in lanthanide ferromagnets Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho at high pressures

The pressure dependence of the magnetic ordering temperatures for the lanthanide ferromagnets Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho has been investigated in the pressure region up to 18 GPa by two types of magnetic measurements using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The present magnetic measurements enabled us to investigate the pressure dependence of the magnetization intensity at low magnetic fields as well as the magnetic ordering temperatures. Their results are interpreted in the light of such previous experiments as magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, electrical resistance, neutron diffraction, and Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements. All of the magnetic orderings in the above four elements were suppressed down to less than the detection level, being related to the structural transition. The ferromagnetic ordering in Gd, Tb, Dy, and Ho is stabilized in the hcp structure. The magnetic anomalies due to the helimagnetic ordering of Tb and Dy disappear at the Sm-to-dhcp transition and the hcp-to-Sm transition, respectively, while that of Ho disappears in the Sm-type phase near the Sm-to-dhcp transition

Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) modulates hyperphosphatemia in a rat model of chronic renal failure

In chronic renal failure, inorganic phosphate (Pi) retention speeds up the progression to end-stage renal disease. The current therapy for hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic renal failure consists of dietary Pi restriction combined with administration of Pi binders, but each therapy has practical problems. Thus, the discovery of foods or nutrients that inhibit Pi absorption may be useful for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia. In the present study, we investigated whether wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) is a useful food for the prevention of hyperphosphatemia in a rat model of renal failure. Feeding a diet containing 5% wakame significantly decreased plasma and urinary Pi levels and increased the amount of fecal Pi. In addition, wakame significantly reduced plasma blood urea nitrogen and plasma Pi levels in 5/6 nephrectomized rats fed a high-Pi diet. Biochemical analyses showed that the reduction of intestinal Pi absorption is the main reason for the decrease in plasma Pi levels in rats fed a diet containing wakame. In addition, feeding alginic acid and fucoidan, major components of wakame fiber, was effective in reducing plasma Pi levels in normal rats. Finally, we concluded that wakame may be a useful food for the prevention of hyperphosphatemia in rodents

Effects of Aliskiren Monotherapy versus Amlodipine Monotherapy in Hypertensive Patients with Obesity or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Renin-angiotensin system inhibitors have been reported to exert protective effects against organ damage and failure; however, the impact of the direct renin inhibitor as monotherapy has not been assessed. Here, we investigated the effects of 24-week monotherapy with aliskiren compared to amlodipine in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes or obesity. Methods: In this randomized intervention study, 62 adult hypertensive patients with visceral obesity (defined as a body mass index [BMI] greater than 25 kg/m2 and a visceral adipose tissue area [VFA] greater than 100 cm2) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (age 57 ± 13, 65% men, BMI 28.8 ± 4.8 kg/m2, VFA 134.8 ± 47.0 cm2, blood pressure 141 ± 16/86 ± 13 mm Hg) were randomized to receive 24-week treatment with aliskiren (max. 300 mg) or amlodipine (max. 10 mg). The primary outcome was the change in VFA at 24 weeks post-treatment. Results: Change in VFA did not differ significantly from baseline in either group. Systolic blood pressure significantly decreased at 12 weeks (−10 mm Hg, p = 0.001) and 24 weeks (−10 mm Hg, p = 0.001) in the amlodipine group and at 24 weeks (−11 mm Hg, p = 0.001) in the aliskiren group. Diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased at 24 weeks (−6 mm Hg, p = 0.009) only in the amlodipine group. Although the estimated glomerular filtration rates did not significantly change in either group, the logarithm of urinary albumin excretion significantly decreased at 24 weeks only in the aliskiren group (−0.60, p &lt; 0.001). The 24-week changes in the urinary albumin excretion significantly correlated with the changes in the plasma renin activity in the aliskiren group (r = 0.51, p = 0.008). Conclusion: Aliskiren monotherapy did not show any superiority to amlodipine monotherapy on VFA, estimated glomerular filtration rates, or urinary albumin excretion in obese or type 2 diabetic hypertensive patients

Differential lactate and cholesterol synthetic activities in XY and XX Sertoli cells

SRY, a sex-determining gene, induces testis development in chromosomally female (XX) individuals. However, mouse XX Sertoli cells carrying Sry (XX/Sry Sertoli cells) are incapable of fully supporting germ cell development, even when the karyotype of the germ cells is XY. While it has therefore been assumed that XX/Sry Sertoli cells are not functionally equivalent to XY Sertoli cells, it has remained unclear which specific functions are affected. To elucidate the functional difference, we compared the gene expression of XY and XX/Sry Sertoli cells. Lactate and cholesterol metabolisms, essential for nursing the developing germ cells, were down-regulated in XX/Sry cells, which appears to be caused at least in part by the differential expression of histone modification enzymes SMCX/SMCY (H3K4me3 demethylase) and UTX/UTY (H3K27me3 demethylase) encoded by the sex chromosomes. We suggest that down-regulation of lactate and cholesterol metabolism that may be due to altered epigenetic modification affects the nursing functions of XX/Sry Sertoli cells.This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant Number 21249018 and 16H05142 (K. Mo.), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan (MEXT) KAKENHI Grant Number 22132002 (K. Mo.), the Uehara Memorial Foundation, and Takeda Science Foundation (T.B.)

Combination of panobinostat with ponatinib synergistically overcomes imatinib-resistant CML cells

The major mechanism of imatinib (IM) resistance of CML is the reactivation of ABL kinase either through BCR-ABL gene amplification or mutation. We investigated the cytotoxicity of a pan-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor, ponatinib, and a pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor, panobinostat, against IM-resistant CML cells in vitro. Two different IM-resistant cell lines, K562/IM-R1 and Ba/F3/T315I were evaluated in comparison with their respective, parental cell lines, K562 and Ba/F3. K562/IM-R1 overexpressed BCR-ABL due to gene amplification. Ba/F3/T315I was transfected with a BCR-ABL gene encoding T315I-mutated BCR-ABL. Ponatinib inhibited the growth of both K562/IM-R1 and Ba/F3/T315I as potently as it inhibited their parental cells with an IC50 of 2-30 nM. Panobinostat also similarly inhibited the growth of all of the cell lines with an IC50 of 40-51 nM. This was accompanied by reduced histone deacetylase activity, induced histone H3 acetylation, and an increased protein level of heat shock protein 70, which suggested disruption of heat shock protein 90 chaperone function for BCR-ABL and its degradation. Importantly, the combination of ponatinib with panobinostat showed synergistic growth inhibition and induced a higher level of apoptosis than the sum of the apoptosis induced by each agent alone in all of the cell lines. Ponatinib inhibited phosphorylation not only of BCR-ABL but also of downstream signal transducer and activator of transcription 5, protein kinase B, and ERK1/2 in both K562/IM-R1 and Ba/F3/T315I, and the addition of panobinostat to ponatinib further inhibited these phosphorylations. In conclusion, panobinostat enhanced the cytotoxicity of ponatinib towards IM-resistant CML cells including those with T315I-mutated BCR-ABL