Antioxidant effects of antioxidant biofactor on reactive oxygen species in human gingival fibroblasts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of antioxidant biofactor (AOB) on reactive oxygen species (ROS). Generation of superoxide radical (O2•−) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) was determined using an electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-trapping method. AOB was added at different concentrations to these free radical generating systems. The generation of both O2•− and •OH was scavenged by the addition of AOB in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that AOB has strong antioxidant properties against these radicals. We further investigated the anti-oxidative effect of AOB on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). HGFs were treated for 3 h with α-MEM containing a combination of AOB and H2O2 (AOB + H2O2 group), containing H2O2 (H2O2 group), or containing AOB alone (AOB group). Non-stimulated HGFs were used as a control group. The number of surviving cells was in the order of the AOB group > control group > AOB + H2O2 group > H2O2 group. The level of expression of type I collagen mRNA and production of collagen were also in the order of the AOB group > control group > AOB + H2O2 group > H2O2 group. In conclusion, our results suggest that AOB may protect HGFs against oxidative stress by reducing stress-induced ROS

Simulation of soil liquefaction distribution in downtown Mashiki during 2016 Kumamoto earthquake using nonlinear site response

Several sites located between Road No.28 and Akitsu River in downtown Mashiki were liquefied during the mainshock of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. According to the building damage survey results, only a few buildings were damaged in areas proximate to the Akitsu River, where liquefaction occurred, however, serious building damage occurred in neighboring regions. Therefore, the effect of soil liquefaction on strong ground motions in Mashiki should be ascertained. Moreover, the distribution of visible and invisible liquefaction is required to be estimated as well. In this study, the distribution of depth of groundwater level in Mashiki was studied, which decreased from 14 to 0 m from northeast to southwest. Thereafter, the nonlinearities of the shallow layers at four borehole drilling sites were identified from the experimental data using the Ramberg-Osgood relationship. Subsequently, the dynamic nonlinear effective stress analysis of the one-dimensional soil column was performed to 592 sites in Mashiki between the seismological bedrock and ground surface to estimate the distribution of strong ground motions during the mainshock. First, the ground motions estimated by the nonlinear analysis corresponded to the ground motions observed at the Kik-net KMMH16. Second, the soil nonlinearity of shallow layers was considerably strong in the entire target area especially in the southern Mashiki, and the PGV distribution was similar to the building damage distribution after the mainshock. Furthermore, the estimated distribution of the soil liquefaction site was similar to the observed results, whereas certain invisible-liquefaction sites were estimated in the north and middle of the target area

Participatory Approach to Community Based Water Supply System

Water scarcity due to climate change as well as inappropriate water governance is one of the important topics in the world, particularly in developing countries. Most people who live close to the water resource are not always economically-advantaged. Moreover, it might be seems that people living close to 'economically-attractive water resource' are classified into lower category according to the standard of living in the country. Community based water supply system is one of strong alternatives to existing water supply system by the public sector. The community based water supply system works more effectively if it is based upon strong community network in the region. This study conducts an empirical research on community based water supply system in Indonesian rural area. In this paper, we propose a discrete-choice model which describes the mechanism of resident's spontaneous collaboration to access water. We formulate a hypothesis that households with better community tie have ability to organize "community based" management system. In order to test it, we formulate a spatial probit model which can consider the effect of social interaction upon their choices in water supply system. Traditionally, spatial models are estimated with maximum likelihood method, however, in this paper, we adopt Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method to estimate parameters due to the difficulty in estimation of discrete-choice model with spatial interaction term. Using dataset from a field survey in Indonesia which we conducted in 2008 the spatial probit model is empirically tested to show that social interaction in the community plays an important role on resident's spontaneous collaboration to manage community-based water supply system

The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of porcine liver proline-β-naphthylamidase swEvidence for the identity with carboxylesterase

AbstractA cDNA clone for porcine liver proline-β-naphthylamidase was isolated and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of 567 residues was highly homologous with those of carboxylesterases (EC 3.1.1.1) previously reported for other species. In addition, proline-β-naphthylamidase purified from porcine liver was shown to have strong activity towards p-nitrophenylacetate, a representative substrate for carboxylesterases. These results suggest that proline-β-naphthylamidase is identical with carboxylesterase

Stimulatory Effects of CO2 Laser, Er:YAG Laser and Ga-Al-As Laser on Exposed Dentinal Tubule Orifices

We investigated the effects of lasers irradiation on the exposed dentinal tubule. Human tooth specimens with exposed dentinal tubule orifices were used. Three types of lasers (CO2 laser, Er:YAG laser and Ga-Al-As laser) were employed. The parameters were 1.0 W in continuous-wave mode with an irradiation time of 30 s for the CO2 laser, 30 mJ in continuous-wave mode with an irradiation time of 60 s for the Er:YAG laser, and 1.0 W in continuous-wave mode with an irradiation time of 60 s for the Ga-Al-As laser. A non-irradiated group was used as a control. After laser irradiation, the dentinal surface of each sample was observed using SEM. Afterwards, all samples were immersed in methylene blue dye solution in order to evaluate the penetration of the dye solution and observe the change in dentinal permeability after laser irradiation. SEM observation showed that the control group had numerous exposed dentinal tubule orifices, whereas these orifices were closed in the laser-irradiated groups. There was consistent dye penetration into the pulp chamber in the control group, whereas no dye penetration was evident in the laser-irradiated groups. Therefore, laser appears to be a promising treatment for reducing permeation through exposed dentinal tubules

Stimulatory Effects of CO2 Laser, Er:YAG Laser and Ga-Al-As Laser on Exposed Dentinal Tubule Orifices

We investigated the effects of lasers irradiation on the exposed dentinal tubule. Human tooth specimens with exposed dentinal tubule orifices were used. Three types of lasers (CO2 laser, Er:YAG laser and Ga-Al-As laser) were employed. The parameters were 1.0 W in continuous-wave mode with an irradiation time of 30 s for the CO2 laser, 30 mJ in continuous-wave mode with an irradiation time of 60 s for the Er:YAG laser, and 1.0 W in continuous-wave mode with an irradiation time of 60 s for the Ga-Al-As laser. A non-irradiated group was used as a control. After laser irradiation, the dentinal surface of each sample was observed using SEM. Afterwards, all samples were immersed in methylene blue dye solution in order to evaluate the penetration of the dye solution and observe the change in dentinal permeability after laser irradiation. SEM observation showed that the control group had numerous exposed dentinal tubule orifices, whereas these orifices were closed in the laser-irradiated groups. There was consistent dye penetration into the pulp chamber in the control group, whereas no dye penetration was evident in the laser-irradiated groups. Therefore, laser appears to be a promising treatment for reducing permeation through exposed dentinal tubules