Presence of Strepsiptera Parasites in the Independent-founding Wasp, Polistes satan

Although the paper wasp genus, Polistes, has been examined extensively, little is known about the occurrence of parasitism in this group. We detected the obligate parasitic insect group, Strepsiptera in the gaster of Polistes satan Bequaert adult females. By dissecting 161 adult females from 24 colonies, we identified a total of four stylopized wasps in three colonies during the wet season.

Analysis of Radioactive Elements in Testes of Large Japanese Field Mice Using an Electron Probe Micro-Analyser after the Fukushima Accident

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) accident drew global attention to the health risks of radiation exposure. The large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) are rodents endemic to, and distributed throughout, Japan. This wild rodent live in and around the ex-evacuation zone on the ground surface and/or underground. In this study, we evaluated the effect of chronic radiation exposure associated with FDNPP accident on the testes of large Japanese field mice. Morphological analysis and electron-prove X-ray microanalysis (EPMA) was undertaken on the testes. Morphological analysis of testes based on H&E staining showed that the spermatogenesis was observed normally in the breeding season of wild mice in the heavily contaminated area. However, caesium (Cs) was not detected in all testes of wild mice from FDNPP ex-evacuation zone. In conclusion, even if the testes and the process of spermatogenesis are hypersensitive to radiation, we could not detect radiation effects on the spermatogenesis and Cs in the examined large Japanese field mice testes following chronic radiation exposure associated with the FDNPP accident

トリプル ネガティブ ニュウガン ニオケル プロテアソーム カンレン インシ PAG1 ニヨル シンキ ゾウショク キコウ ノ カイメイ

Triple negative breast cancer （TNBC） is considered to be one of the most aggressive subtypes of all breast cancers. To identify novel potential therapeutic targets and clarify pathophysiological features for TNBC, we conducted Meta-gene profiling analysis based on gene-expression profiling of TNBC cases purified by lasermicrobeam microdissection, and found that proteasome-associated genes （PAGs） were commonly upregulated in various pathways including cell cycle regulation in TNBC. Depletion of PAGs with RNAi caused the upregulation of p27 and p21 proteins in MDA-MB-231 and HCC1937 cells, respectively, resulting in growth inhibition. Interestingly, immunocytochmical staining revealed that PAG1 was observed in the nucleoli and/or cytoplasm （n-PAG1 and c-PAG1） in TNBC cell line and clinical specimens. Immunohistochemical staining of 100 TNBCs showed that high level of n-PAG1 was significantly associated with poor disease free and overall survival of TNBC patients. These results indicate that n-PAG1 plays a critical role in nucleus during cell cycle progression and might be a novel prognostic indicator or an attractive molecular target of TNBC

The K–Cl Cotransporter KCC3 as an Independent Prognostic Factor in Human Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The objectives of the present study were to investigate the role of K–Cl cotransporter 3 (KCC3) in the regulation of cellular invasion and the clinicopathological significance of its expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Immunohistochemical analysis performed on 70 primary tumor samples obtained from ESCC patients showed that KCC3 was primarily found in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. Although the expression of KCC3 in the main tumor (MT) was related to several clinicopathological features, such as the pT and pN categories, it had no prognostic impact. KCC3 expression scores were compared between the MT and cancer nest (CN), and the survival rate of patients with a CN>MT score was lower than that of patients with a CN≤MT score. In addition, the survival rate of patients in whom KCC3 was expressed in the invasive front of tumor was lower than that of the patients without it. Furthermore, multivariate analysis demonstrated that the expression of KCC3 in the invasive front was one of the most important independent prognostic factors. The depletion of KCC3 using siRNAs inhibited cell migration and invasion in human ESCC cell lines. These results suggest that the expression of KCC3 in ESCC may affect cellular invasion and be related to a worse prognosis in patients with ESCC

Single-Cell Analysis Using Machine Learning Techniques and Its Application to Medical Research

In recent years, the diversity of cancer cells in tumor tissues as a result of intratumor heterogeneity has attracted attention. In particular, the development of single-cell analysis technology has made a significant contribution to the field; technologies that are centered on single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) have been reported to analyze cancer constituent cells, identify cell groups responsible for therapeutic resistance, and analyze gene signatures of resistant cell groups. However, although single-cell analysis is a powerful tool, various issues have been reported, including batch effects and transcriptional noise due to gene expression variation and mRNA degradation. To overcome these issues, machine learning techniques are currently being introduced for single-cell analysis, and promising results are being reported. In addition, machine learning has also been used in various ways for single-cell analysis, such as single-cell assay of transposase accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq), chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis, and multi-omics analysis; thus, it contributes to a deeper understanding of the characteristics of human diseases, especially cancer, and supports clinical applications. In this review, we present a comprehensive introduction to the implementation of machine learning techniques in medical research for single-cell analysis, and discuss their usefulness and future potential

Influence of Ionomer/Carbon Ratio on the Performance of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell

We have used fibrous carbon materials as polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) electrodes. We have examined the influence of the ionomer/carbon ratio on the performance of the PEFCs. The Marimo carbon is a kind of carbon with a spherical shape, and consists of carbon nanofilaments. Fibrous carbon materials have large specific surface areas without fine pores. The reactant gases and generated water can easily diffuse among the nanofilaments. The ionomer plays two roles; one is a proton transfer activity, and the other is binding the catalyst electrodes. An excess ionomer interferes with the diffusion of gases. The ionomer/carbon ratio should affect the performance of the PEFC, especially at a high current density