Repeated Point Loading Tests on Composite Slabs

Single span and double span composite slab specimens were tested by subjecting them to concentrated repeated point loading. From the test results, it was found that the control of concrete cracks caused by the negative moment over the interior support is important in the latter case

Distinct E2F-Mediated Transcriptional Mechanisms in Cell Proliferation, Endoreplication and Apoptosis

E2F and DP family proteins are evolutionally conserved transcription factors among higher eukaryotes. E2F and DP proteins typically form a heterodimeric complex, which controls cell proliferation by regulating expression of growth-related genes. In addition, E2F family proteins have roles in various cellular events that require the expression of context-specific genes. E2F proteins use distinct mechanisms to regulate context-specific genes in different circumstances. The primary goal of this chapter is to compare three distinct mechanisms of mammalian E2F-mediated transcriptional regulation that control cell proliferation, endoreplication and apoptosis. Briefly, E2F7 and E2F8 control endoreplication by suppressing the expression of their target genes. They do not require DP or pRb. In control of apoptosis, E2F1 regulates the expression of the tumor suppressor gene Arf by binding to a non-canonical E2F binding site, within the Arf promoter, in a DP-independent manner. Furthermore, we examine the functions of E2F and DP in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) to identify those mechanisms of E2F-mediated transcriptional regulation that have been evolutionarily conserved. The detailed mechanisms of how E2F protein regulates the expression of context-specific target genes will be instrumental in understanding how a single family of transcription factor regulates diverse pleiotropic cellular processes in an organism

Novel CLCN7 mutations in IARO

Osteopetrosis is a heritable disorder of the skeleton that is characterized by increased bone density on radiographs caused by defects in osteoclast formation and function. Mutations in >10 genes are identified as causative for this clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease in humans. We report two novel missense variations in a compound heterozygous state in the CLCN7 gene, detected through targeted exome sequencing, in a 15-year-old Japanese female with intermediate autosomal recessive osteopetrosis

The Key Role of E2F in Tumor Suppression through Specific Regulation of Tumor Suppressor Genes in Response to Oncogenic Changes

E2F, the principal target of the tumor suppressor pRB, plays crucial roles in tumor suppression. Upon dysfunction of pRB, E2F activates tumor suppressor genes such as ARF, an upstream activator of the tumor suppressor p53, resulting in the induction of apoptosis and tumor suppression. The E2F activity that activates the tumor suppressor genes is detected only in cancer cells and not in normal growing cells. The E2F activity can drive selective suicide gene expression and induce apoptosis specifically in cancer cells. Thus, the E2F activity provides a beneficial tool to specifically target cancer cells in cancer treatment

Spicule Dynamics over Plage Region

We studied spicular jets over a plage area and derived their dynamic characteristics using Hinode Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) high-resolution images. The target plage region was near the west limb of the solar disk. This location permitted us to study the dynamics of spicular jets without the overlapping effect of spicular structures along the line of sight. In this work, to increase the ease with which we can identify spicules on the disk, we applied the image processing method `MadMax' developed by Koutchmy et al. (1989). It enhances fine, slender structures (like jets), over a diffuse background. We identified 169 spicules over the target plage. This sample permits us to derive statistically reliable results regarding spicular dynamics. The properties of plage spicules can be summarized as follows: (1) In a plage area, we clearly identified spicular jet features. (2) They were shorter in length than the quiet region limb spicules, and followed ballistic motion under constant deceleration. (3) The majority (80%) of the plage spicules showed the cycle of rise and retreat, while 10% of them faded out without a complete retreat phase. (4) The deceleration of the spicule was proportional to the velocity of ejection (i.e. the initial velocity).Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

fRNAdb: a platform for mining/annotating functional RNA candidates from non-coding RNA sequences

There are abundance of transcripts that code for no particular protein and that remain functionally uncharacterized. Some of these transcripts may have novel functions while others might be junk transcripts. Unfortunately, the experimental validation of such transcripts to find functional non-coding RNA candidates is very costly. Therefore, our primary interest is to computationally mine candidate functional transcripts from a pool of uncharacterized transcripts. We introduce fRNAdb: a novel database service that hosts a large collection of non-coding transcripts including annotated/non-annotated sequences from the H-inv database, NONCODE and RNAdb. A set of computational analyses have been performed on the included sequences. These analyses include RNA secondary structure motif discovery, EST support evaluation, cis-regulatory element search, protein homology search, etc. fRNAdb provides an efficient interface to help users filter out particular transcripts under their own criteria to sort out functional RNA candidates. fRNAdb is available a

A Solution for Universal Classification of Species Based on Genomic DNA

Traditionally, organisms have been classified on the basis of their phenotype. Recently, genotype-based classification has become possible through the development of sequencing technology. However, it is still difficult to apply sequencing approaches to the analysis of a large number of species due to the cost and labor. In most biological fields, the analysis of complex systems comprising various species has become an important theme, demanding an effective method for handling a vast number of species. In this paper, we have demonstrated, using plants, fish, and insects, that genome profiling, a compact technology for genome analysis, can classify organisms universally. Surprisingly, in all three of the domains of organisms tested, the phylogenetic trees generated from the phenotype topologically matched completely those generated from the genotype. Furthermore, a single probe was sufficient for the genome profiling, thereby demonstrating that this methodology is universal and compact

Serum amyloid A-induced IL-6 production by rheumatoid synoviocytes

AbstractIn this study, we investigated the role of serum amyloid A protein (SAA) in the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) using rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS). Recombinant SAA stimulation induced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-6, from RA-FLS. The signaling events induced by SAA included the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kineases, p38 and JNK1/2 and the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). Inhibitor studies have shown SAA-induced IL-6 production to be down-regulated by NF-κB inhibition and partially inhibited by p38 or JNK inhibitors. Our findings demonstrate that SAA is a significant inducer of IL-6, which is critically involved in RA pathogenesis

How many times can patients tolerate reoperation?

The frequency of resection for the recurrence of colorectal cancer has not been investigated in previous studies. Likewise, the related postoperative complications and the limit for indicating surgical resection has not been reported. Herein, we reported the complications of a highly frequent surgical approach for rectal cancer recurrence, i.e., exceeding three reoperations, based on our clinical experience. We included 15 cases exceeding two operations for the local recurrence of colorectal cancer from 2014 to 2019. We examined the postoperative complications classified as Clavien–Dindo IIIb. The positive rates of the complications were 0 (0.0%), 0 (0.0%), 2 (13.3%), 3 (37.5%), and 0 (0.0%) for the primary, 1st recurrent, 2nd recurrent, 3rd recurrent, and 4th recurrent operation group (p = 0.027), respectively. It is important to exercise caution in handling cases exceeding two reoperations (exceeding three reoperations including the primary operation)