Notes on the Dancers in the Mocking of Christ at Staro Nagoričino

Η παρούσα μελέτη επιχειρεί να ερμηνεύσει την περίπλοκη χρήση ανατολικών στοιχείων στη βυζαντινή τέχνη, όπως το ένδυμα με τις μακριές στενές χειρίδες των παιδιών που χορεύουν στη σκηνή του Εμπαιγμού του Χριστού στο Staro Nagoričino. Εξετάζεται η υποδηλούμενη αρνητική σημασία του ενδύματος με τις στενές μακριές χειρίδες στη βυζαντινή τέχνη και διατυπώνεται η άποψη ότι τα παιδιά εδώ δεν εικονίζονται απλώς για να δώσουν ζωντάνια στη σκηνή, αλλά χρησιμεύουν ως άπιστοι της Ανατολής, που δεν μπορούν να ξεχωρίσουν τον Λυτρωτή. Ο διαβολικός χαρακτήρας των παιδιών ενισχύεται από το ανατολίτικο άρωμα των μακριών στενών χειρίδων που κρέμονται ελεύθερα. This study tries to interpret the intricate treatment of eastern elements in Byzantine art, such as the long narrow sleeved costume worn by the dancing children in the Mocking of Christ at Staro Nagoričino. It examines the negative implication of tight-fitting long sleeved clothing in Byzantine art and suggests that children here are not depicted merely to enliven the scene as genre, but serve as eastern infidels who cannot discern the Redeemer. The evil character of the children is heightened by the oriental flavour of the flapping long narrow sleeves

Notes on the Dancers in the Mocking of Christ at Staro Nagoričino

Η παρούσα μελέτη επιχειρεί να ερμηνεύσει την περίπλοκη χρήση ανατολικών στοιχείων στη βυζαντινή τέχνη, όπως το ένδυμα με τις μακριές στενές χειρίδες των παιδιών που χορεύουν στη σκηνή του Εμπαιγμού του Χριστού στο Staro Nagoričino. Εξετάζεται η υποδηλούμενη αρνητική σημασία του ενδύματος με τις στενές μακριές χειρίδες στη βυζαντινή τέχνη και διατυπώνεται η άποψη ότι τα παιδιά εδώ δεν εικονίζονται απλώς για να δώσουν ζωντάνια στη σκηνή, αλλά χρησιμεύουν ως άπιστοι της Ανατολής, που δεν μπορούν να ξεχωρίσουν τον Λυτρωτή. Ο διαβολικός χαρακτήρας των παιδιών ενισχύεται από το ανατολίτικο άρωμα των μακριών στενών χειρίδων που κρέμονται ελεύθερα. This study tries to interpret the intricate treatment of eastern elements in Byzantine art, such as the long narrow sleeved costume worn by the dancing children in the Mocking of Christ at Staro Nagoričino. It examines the negative implication of tight-fitting long sleeved clothing in Byzantine art and suggests that children here are not depicted merely to enliven the scene as genre, but serve as eastern infidels who cannot discern the Redeemer. The evil character of the children is heightened by the oriental flavour of the flapping long narrow sleeves

Ypk1/Ypk2 kinases maintain Rho1 at the plasma membrane by flippase-dependent lipid remodelling after membrane stresses

The plasma membrane (PM) is frequently challenged by mechanical stresses. In budding yeast, TORC2-Ypk1/Ypk2 kinase cascade plays a critical role in PM stress responses by reorganizing the actin cytoskeleton via Rho1 GTPase. However, the molecular mechanism by which TORC2-Ypk1/Ypk2 regulates Rho1 is not well defined. Here, we found that Ypk1/Ypk2 maintain PM localization of Rho1 under PM stress via spatial reorganization of the lipids including phosphatidylserine (PS). Genetic evidence suggests that this process is mediated by the Lem3-containing lipid flippase. We propose that TORC2-Ypk1/Ypk2-Lem3 axis-mediated lipid remodelling is a backup mechanism for PM anchoring of Rho1 after PM stress-induced acute degradation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2), which is responsible for Rho1 localization in a normal condition. Since all the signaling molecules studied here are conserved in higher eukaryotes, our findings may represent a general mechanism to cope with PM stress

細胞創傷治癒の分子基盤とその帰結

この世界で最初の細胞は、遺伝情報を司る核酸とそれ を包み込み環境変化から守る膜の成立により誕生した。したがって、細胞膜の傷を修復する「細胞創傷治癒」の仕組みは生命誕生の瞬間から必要とされただろう。細胞創傷治癒の欠損は筋ジストロフィー症など、さまざまな疾病に関与するが、そのメカニズムは未だ不明な点が多く残されている。筆者らは出芽酵母を用いて細胞創傷治 癒に関与する遺伝子を網羅的に同定した結果、プロテア ソームによるタンパク質分解が修復反応の開始に必須であること、細胞膜損傷が細胞周期チェックポイントを活性化すること、分裂寿命の短縮を誘導することなどを明らかにした。また細胞膜損傷チェックポイントや分裂寿命の短縮はヒト培養細胞まで進化的に保存されていることなどが明らかになりつつある

Experiences of husbands attending their wives’ childbirth

目的：本研究では，立ち会い分娩をした夫の体験を明らかにすることを目的とする． 方法：本研究に同意の得られた，初産婦の夫１１名を対象として，妻の産褥入院期間中に，インタビューガイドに基づき，入院から分娩後２時間までの体験についてインタビューを行い，質的記述的に分析した． 結果：立ち会い分娩における夫の体験として，１７１のエピソード，４４のコード，１６のサブカテゴリーが抽出され，【わが子を迎える喜びと感動が湧く】，【無力な自分にとにかくできることを手探りでやってみる】，【母親となる妻へ称賛の念を抱く】，【父親としての意識が芽生える】，【医療者にさまざまな感情を抱きながら，任せる】，【自分なりに分娩の様相を読み取ろうとする】の６つのカテゴリーが抽出された． 結論：夫は，わが子を迎える喜びと感動が湧く中で，自分の無力さを感じながら，それでも自分にできることを手探りでやろうとしている様子が伺えた．医療者には，苦しむ妻を前にして，自分の辛さや不安を表出することなく，ひたすら立ち会い続けている夫の心情を酌み取り，夫にとってもよい分娩体験となるような関わりが求められる．Objectives：To describe the experiences of husbands who attended their wives’ childbirth. Methods：Qualitative and descriptive analysis of narratives from eleven husbands of primipara women who consented to this study. A questionnaire was used as guide for participants based on the Guidelines for Interview Questions. Results：Six thematic categories were revealed from the narratives of husbands describing their experiences when they attended their wives’ childbirth. These are : ‘feeling pleasure and excitement to have my own baby’, ‘trying to do what I can do through trial and error although there may be little I can do’, ‘feeling respect for my wife who is becoming a mother’, ‘having a sense of being a father’, ‘trusting in healthcare professionals and having various feelings towards them’, and ‘trying to understand what childbirth is in my own way’. Conclusion：Although the husbands felt their helplessness, in this situation, they also felt the excitement of having their own baby- they were hopeful and tried to do what they could do through trial and error. Healthcare workers need to understand the husbands’ experiences while attending their wives’ childbirth, not showing their own hardships and anxiety in front of their wives who were experiencing the joys and pain of childbirth, and to help them to make the childbirth a wonderful experience for them and for their wives as well

Circadian protection against bacterial skin infection by epidermal CXCL14-mediated innate immunity

体内時計は夜間に自然免疫を発動 --皮膚ケモカインによる自然免疫機構--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-06-16.Biological clocks set for skin immunity. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-06-21.The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin and the body’s primary barrier to external pathogens; however, the early epidermal immune response remains to be mechanistically understood. We show that the chemokine CXCL14, produced by epidermal keratinocytes, exhibits robust circadian fluctuations and initiates innate immunity. Clearance of the skin pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in nocturnal mice was associated with CXCL14 expression, which was high during subjective daytime and low at night. In contrast, in marmosets, a diurnal primate, circadian CXCL14 expression was reversed. Rhythmically expressed CXCL14 binds to S. aureus DNA and induces inflammatory cytokine production by activating Toll-like receptor (TLR)9-dependent innate pathways in dendritic cells and macrophages underneath the epidermis. CXCL14 also promoted phagocytosis by macrophages in a TLR9-independent manner. These data indicate that circadian production of the epidermal chemokine CXCL14 rhythmically suppresses skin bacterial proliferation in mammals by activating the innate immune system

Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Regenerated from iPS Cells Have Therapeutic Efficacy in a Patient-Derived Xenograft Solid Tumor Model

Current adoptive T cell therapies conducted in an autologous setting are costly, time consuming, and depend on the quality of the patient's T cells. To address these issues, we developed a strategy in which cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are regenerated from iPSCs that were originally derived from T cells and succeeded in regenerating CTLs specific for the WT1 antigen, which exhibited therapeutic efficacy in a xenograft model of leukemia. In this study, we extended our strategy to solid tumors. The regenerated WT1-specific CTLs had a strong therapeutic effect in orthotopic xenograft model using a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line. To make our method more generally applicable, we developed an allogeneic approach by transducing HLA-haplotype homozygous iPSCs with WT1-specific TCR α/β genes that had been tested clinically. The regenerated CTLs antigen-specifically suppressed tumor growth in a patient-derived xenograft model of RCC, demonstrating the feasibility of our strategy against solid tumors

Cdk1-mediated DIAPH1 phosphorylation maintains metaphase cortical tension and inactivates the spindle assembly checkpoint at anaphase

Animal cells undergo rapid rounding during mitosis, ensuring proper chromosome segregation, during which an outward rounding force abruptly increases upon prometaphase entry and is maintained at a constant level during metaphase. Initial cortical tension is generated by the actomyosin system to which both myosin motors and actin network architecture contribute. However, how cortical tension is maintained and its physiological significance remain unknown. We demonstrate here that Cdk1-mediated phosphorylation of DIAPH1 stably maintains cortical tension after rounding and inactivates the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Cdk1 phosphorylates DIAPH1, preventing profilin1 binding to maintain cortical tension. Mutation of DIAPH1 phosphorylation sites promotes cortical F-actin accumulation, increases cortical tension, and delays anaphase onset due to SAC activation. Measurement of the intra-kinetochore length suggests that Cdk1-mediated cortex relaxation is indispensable for kinetochore stretching. We thus uncovered a previously unknown mechanism by which Cdk1 coordinates cortical tension maintenance and SAC inactivation at anaphase onset

A wide spectrum of clinical and brain MRI findings in patients with SLC19A3 mutations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>SLC19A3 (solute carrier family 19, member 3) is a thiamin transporter with 12 transmembrane domains. Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in <it>SLC19A3 </it>cause two distinct clinical phenotypes, biotin-responsive basal ganglia disease and Wernicke's-like encephalopathy. Biotin and/or thiamin are effective therapies for both diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted on the detailed clinical, brain MRI and molecular genetic analysis of four Japanese patients in a Japanese pedigree who presented with epileptic spasms in early infancy, severe psychomotor retardation, and characteristic brain MRI findings of progressive brain atrophy and bilateral thalami and basal ganglia lesions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Genome-wide linkage analysis revealed a disease locus at chromosome 2q35-37, which enabled identification of the causative mutation in the gene <it>SLC19A3</it>. A pathogenic homozygous mutation (c.958G > C, [p.E320Q]) in <it>SLC19A3 </it>was identified in all four patients and their parents were heterozygous for the mutation. Administration of a high dose of biotin for one year improved neither the neurological symptoms nor the brain MRI findings in one patient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our cases broaden the phenotypic spectrum of disorders associated with <it>SLC19A3 </it>mutations and highlight the potential benefit of biotin and/or thiamin treatments and the need to assess the clinical efficacy of these treatments.</p

Analysis of digital content for intercultural education in Japan -The current situation and new directions based on comparative cases from Korea, England, the U.S.A, France and Japan-

The purpose of this research is to analyze the current situation of digital content for intercultural education, to suggest new guidelines for intercultural education in Japan by comparing the cases of England, the U.S.A, France, Korea and international NGO. From this analysis and discussion, the authors suggest new guidelines for digital content in Japanese education. They are 1) to coordinate the digital content with the government\u27s curriculum guideline, 2) to motivate individuals to act as global citizens, 3) to work in closer cooperation with NGOs, and 4) to start from Japan\u27s own history, geographic situation and ethnic background. Following these suggested guidelines, we analyze NGO websites in order to create a Japanese web site for intercultural education. In analyzing NGO, the following 4 points are suggested: I) providing sufficient and reliable support for educators, 2) providing photos and video clips of children\u27s daily life, 3) introducing some methods for acting global citizens, 4) adding more information about existing NGOs