Characterization of active miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements in the peanut genome

Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs), some of which are known as active non-autonomous DNA transposons, are found in the genomes of plants and animals. In peanut (Arachis hypogaea), AhMITE1 has been identified in a gene for fatty-acid desaturase, and possessed excision activity. However, the AhMITE1 distribution and frequency of excision have not been determined for the peanut genome. In order to characterize AhMITE1s, their genomic diversity and transposition ability was investigated. Southern blot analysis indicated high AhMITE1 copy number in the genomes of A. hypogaea, A. magna and A. monticola, but not in A. duranensis. A total of 504 AhMITE1s were identified from the MITE-enriched genomic libraries of A. hypogaea. The representative AhMITE1s exhibited a mean length of 205.5 bp and a GC content of 30.1%, with AT-rich, 9 bp target site duplications and 25 bp terminal inverted repeats. PCR analyses were performed using primer pairs designed against both flanking sequences of each AhMITE1. These analyses detected polymorphisms at 169 out of 411 insertional loci in the four peanut lines. In subsequent analyses of 60 gamma-irradiated mutant lines, four AhMITE1 excisions showed footprint mutations at the 109 loci tested. This study characterizes AhMITE1s in peanut and discusses their use as DNA markers and mutagens for the genetics, genomics and breeding of peanut and its relatives

Characteristics of organic light-emitting devices consisting of dye-doped spin crossover complex films

Two organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) were fabricated to investigate the mechanism of electroluminescence (EL) switching accompanying the spin transition of [Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2 (dpp = 2,6-di(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine) observed in an OLED with the structure indium tin oxide (ITO)/[Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2:chlorophyll a/Al, consisting of a chlorophyll a (Chl a)-doped [Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2 film. One OLED consisted of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) between an ITO electrode and the active layer, and the other contained the electron transporting dye Nile Red (NR) as an emitting dopant material instead of the hole transporting Chl a. In both devices ITO/PVK/[Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2:Chl a/Al and ITO/[Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2:NR/Al, EL emission from the dye compound was observed, irrespective of the spin state of [Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2. It was determined that the EL switching accompanying the spin transition was dominated by a change in the molecular orbital level concerning electron transport in [Fe(dpp)2](BF4)2

Prognostic Impact of Histologic Subtype and Divergent Differentiation in Patients with Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with Enfortumab Vedotin: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

Subtype of urothelial carcinoma (SUC), defined here as urothelial carcinoma with any histologic subtype or divergent differentiation, is a clinically aggressive disease. However, the efficacy of enfortumab vedotin (EV) against SUC remains unclear. Hence, this study aimed to assess the oncological outcomes of patients with SUC treated with EV for metastatic disease. We retrospectively evaluated consecutive patients with advanced lower and upper urinary tract cancer who received EV after platinum-based chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockade therapy at six institutions. The objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between patients with pure urothelial carcinoma (PUC) and those with SUC. We identified 44 and 18 patients with PUC and SUC, respectively. Squamous differentiation was the most common subtype element, followed by glandular differentiation and sarcomatoid subtype. Although patients with SUC had a comparable ORR to those with PUC, the duration of response for SUC was short. Patients with SUC had poorer PFS than those with PUC; however, no significant difference was observed in OS. Multivariate analysis revealed that SUC was significantly associated with shorter PFS. Although the response of metastatic SUC to EV was similar to that of PUC, SUC showed faster progression than PUC

<it>In silico</it> polymorphism analysis for the development of simple sequence repeat and transposon markers and construction of linkage map in cultivated peanut

Abstract Background Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is an autogamous allotetraploid legume (2n = 4x = 40) that is widely cultivated as a food and oil crop. More than 6,000 DNA markers have been developed in Arachis spp., but high-density linkage maps useful for genetics, genomics, and breeding have not been constructed due to extremely low genetic diversity. Polymorphic marker loci are useful for the construction of such high-density linkage maps. The present study used in silico analysis to develop simple sequence repeat-based and transposon-based markers. Results The use of in silico analysis increased the efficiency of polymorphic marker development by more than 3-fold. In total, 926 (34.2%) of 2,702 markers showed polymorphisms between parental lines of the mapping population. Linkage analysis of the 926 markers along with 253 polymorphic markers selected from 4,449 published markers generated 21 linkage groups covering 2,166.4 cM with 1,114 loci. Based on the map thus produced, 23 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 15 agronomical traits were detected. Another linkage map with 326 loci was also constructed and revealed a relationship between the genotypes of the FAD2 genes and the ratio of oleic/linoleic acid in peanut seed. Conclusions In silico analysis of polymorphisms increased the efficiency of polymorphic marker development, and contributed to the construction of high-density linkage maps in cultivated peanut. The resultant maps were applicable to QTL analysis. Marker subsets and linkage maps developed in this study should be useful for genetics, genomics, and breeding in Arachis. The data are available at the Kazusa DNA Marker Database (http://marker.kazusa.or.jp).</p

延岡市の障害児の放課後および休日生活に関する実態調査

We investigated the after-school and holiday life of children with disabilities in Nobeoka city. The questionnaires were sent to 184 families of children with disabilities, through the pre-schools and schools for the handicapped children in which these children enrolled, 121 responses were accepted,、with a response rate of 65.8%. This survey included parents of 25 pre-school children, 49 primary school children, 29 junior high school students, and 18 high school students. The results showed that most children stayed at home with their mother after-school and during holidays. The children’s use of social resources was limited, and these resources available to the children were not sufficient. Social resources were not proper for the children with disabilities and their families. Child care was made by their family, mainly by the mother and their grandparents greatly contributed to the child care. It seems difficult for a mother of child with disabilities to work outside, particularly for family nuclei households. It was suggested that parents of children with disabilities expected to have safe environment, this facility should be staffed by volunteers and appropriate services in this region