Clinical and Arthroscopic Findings of Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears of the Knee

Clinical, arthrographic, and arthroscopic findings in 53 patients with acutely torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs) were documented. Arthroscopy and instability tests under anesthesia were performed on all patients within 2 weeks after the initial injury. Twenty-three patients complained of extension blocks, and localized tenderness on the medial side was revealed in 26 patients at the initial examination. Aspiration from joints exhibited hemarthrosis in 52 patients. Arthroscopy revealed ACL ruptures in all patients. Four Segond's fractures, 26 meniscus tears (8 medial and 18 lateral), 1 osteochondral fracture, and 19 medial collateral ligament ruptures were revealed. Arthroscopy detected only 1 of the 5 ruptures of the posteromedial corner of the medial meniscus, which were noted on arthrography. Three ACL stumps were protruding among the femorotibial joint, which seemed to be restricting full extension. Statistical analysis showed that tenderness on the medial side was not revealed more frequently in knees with medial collateral ligament injuries than in the others. The volume of aspirated fluids in knees with no leakage in arthrography significantly increased over those with leakages (p < 0.05). Diagnosis of ACL injuries should be completed by clinical, arthrographic, and arthroscopic examinations

Tsunami run-up heights of the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake

Tsunami height survey was conducted immediately after the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake. Results of the survey show that the largest tsunami height was 4 m to the east of Cape Erimo, around Bansei-onsen, and locally at Mabiro. The results also show that the tsunami height distribution of the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake is clearly different from that of the 1952 Tokachi-oki earthquake, suggesting the different source areas of the 1952 and 2003 Tokachioki earthquakes. Numerical simulation of tsunami is carried out using the slip distribution estimated by Yamanaka and Kikuchi (2003). The overall pattern of the observed tsunami height distribution along the coast is explained by the computed ones although the observed tsunami heights are slightly smaller. Large later phase observed at the tide gauge in Urakawa is the edge wave propagating from Cape Erimo along the west coast of the Hidaka area.The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquak

Nucleophosmin/B23 activates Aurora A at the centrosome through phosphorylation of serine 89.: Activation of Aurora-A by Nucleophosmin

International audienceAurora A (AurA) is a major mitotic protein kinase involved in centrosome maturation and spindle assembly. Nucleophosmin/B23 (NPM) is a pleiotropic nucleolar protein involved in a variety of cellular processes including centrosome maturation. In the present study, we report that NPM is a strong activator of AurA kinase activity. NPM and AurA coimmunoprecipitate and colocalize to centrosomes in G2 phase, where AurA becomes active. In contrast with previously characterized AurA activators, NPM does not trigger autophosphorylation of AurA on threonine 288. NPM induces phosphorylation of AurA on serine 89, and this phosphorylation is necessary for activation of AurA. These data were confirmed in vivo, as depletion of NPM by ribonucleic acid interference eliminated phosphorylation of CDC25B on S353 at the centrosome, indicating a local loss of AurA activity. Our data demonstrate that NPM is a strong activator of AurA kinase activity at the centrosome and support a novel mechanism of activation for AurA

Data from: Roles of pathogens on replacement of tree seedlings in heterogeneous light environments in a temperate forest: a reciprocal seed sowing experiment

1. In forest communities, the Janzen–Connell (J-C) hypothesis proposes that species diversity is maintained by non-competitive distance- and/or density-dependent seedling mortality caused by host-specific natural enemies. However, the effects of pathogen associations from nearby conspecifics vs. heterospecifics remain unknown in spatially heterogeneous light environments. 2. Seeds of hardwood species Cornus controversa (Cornus) and Prunus grayana (Prunus) were sown beneath 6–7 Cornus and Prunus adults in both the forest understory (FU) and in gaps (Gap) created by felling all woody vegetation near the focal adults. Seedling growth, mortality, killing agents (e.g. pathogens that cause damping-off and leaf diseases), and root infection by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were investigated. 3. We found strong habitat effects on the expression of soil fungi beneath both tree species. Seedling mortality caused by soil-borne damping-off pathogens was greater in FU than in Gap, and AMF infection, which enhanced relative seedling growth rate, was greater in Gap than in FU. Seedling mortality caused by damping-off pathogens did not differ between Cornus and Prunus seedlings beneath the adults of conspecific or heterospecific adults in both FU and Gap, suggesting little distance-dependence or host preference in the fungus. 4. Beneath the adults of Cornus and Prunus, the most prevalent leaf diseases were zonate leaf blight and angular leaf spot caused by the airborne pathogenic fungi Haradamyces foliicola and Phaeoisariopsis pruni-grayanae, respectively. Although these pathogens attacked the seedlings of both species, conspecific seedlings (i.e. home) showed more severe leaf damage, earlier leaf shedding and/or less defensive behaviour (cell wall defence) relative to heterospecific seedlings (i.e. away), suggesting negative distance-dependent attack (i.e. host preference) for these leaf diseases. As a result, greater seedling mortality was observed for conspecific seedlings under both FU and Gap treatments. 5. Synthesis. In the temperate forest, the J-C hypothesis is largely mediated through the strong negative influence of airborne leaf diseases rather than through soil-borne damping-off pathogens. We found that airborne diseases demonstrated distance-dependent host preferences, which led to greater conspecific seedling damage regardless of environmental light conditions

Interaction between ROCK II and Nucleophosmin/B23 in the Regulation of Centrosome Duplication

Nucleophosmin (NPM)/B23 has been implicated in the regulation of centrosome duplication. NPM/B23 localizes between two centrioles in the unduplicated centrosome. Upon phosphorylation on Thr(199) by cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2)/cyclin E, the majority of centrosomal NPM/B23 dissociates from centrosomes, but some NPM/B23 phosphorylated on Thr(199) remains at centrosomes. It has been shown that Thr(199) phosphorylation of NPM/B23 is critical for the physical separation of the paired centrioles, an initial event of the centrosome duplication process. Here, we identified ROCK II kinase, an effector of Rho small GTPase, as a protein that localizes to centrosomes and physically interacts with NPM/B23. Expression of the constitutively active form of ROCK II promotes centrosome duplication, while down-regulation of ROCK II expression results in the suppression of centrosome duplication, especially delaying the initiation of centrosome duplication during the cell cycle. Moreover, ROCK II regulates centrosome duplication in its kinase and centrosome localization activity-dependent manner. We further found that ROCK II kinase activity is significantly enhanced by binding to NPM/B23 and that NPM/B23 acquires a higher binding affinity to ROCK II upon phosphorylation on Thr(199). Moreover, physical interaction between ROCK II and NPM/B23 in vivo occurs in association with CDK2/cyclin E activation and the emergence of Thr(199)-phosphorylated NPM/B23. All these findings point to ROCK II as the effector of the CDK2/cyclin E-NPM/B23 pathway in the regulation of centrosome duplication

Bayandala_JEcol_rawdata

Bayandala_JEcol_rawdat

Bayandala data

Table S1. Environmental conditions in the forest understory and gaps beneath adults of Cornus controversa and Prunus grayana. Table S2. Causes of seedling mortality (%) during the 2011 growing season in the forest understory (FU) and gap (Gap) beneath C. controversa and P. grayana adults in the reciprocal seed-sowing experiment. Table.S3-1. Proportion (%) of leaves damaged by zonate leaf blight, number of leaves attached to a seedling, proportion of seedlings showing cell wall defence against zonate leaf blight beneath adults of Cornus controversa. Table S3-2. Proportion (%) of leaf area damaged by angular leaf spot and the number of leaves attached to a seedling for both species in the forest understorey (FU) and gaps (Gap) beneath adults of Prunus grayana. Table S4. Seedling mass (g), RGR (g g-1 day-1) and percent infection of AMF (%) of Cornus controversa and Prunus grayana seedlings beneath the adults of each of the two species in forest understory (FU) and gaps (GAP