Structure of Yttrium and Phosphorus-Containing Microspheres Prepared by Spray Dry Method

Microspheres containing yttrium (Y) and/or phosphorus (P) around 25 µm are useful for radioembolization therapy because they are activated to β-emitter by neutron bombardment and infused in blood vessels in the neighborhood of tumors to irradiateβ-rays to the tumors. In this study, we attempt to prepare Y and P-containing microspheres by spray drying method. Starting solution containing yttrium nitrate and phosphoric acid in equimolar ratio was spray dried under various conditions. Microspheres 5-30 µm in size are obtained when the starting solution with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) binder was spray-dried at the atomizing pressure of 0.05 MPa. When the microspheres were heated at 1100ºC for 1 h, they precipitated Y-containing crystals such as yttrium phosphate (YPO4), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), yttrium polyphosphate (Y(PO3)3) and yttrium tetraphosphate (Y2P4O13) but most of them were ruptured. Without the PVA binder, small microspheres around 5 µm in size were formed but their shape remained even after the heat treatment. We found that the atomizing pressure of spray dryer remarkably affects the size of microspheres and PVA binder is essential to obtain microspheres around 25 µm, but addition of pH adjuster to starting solution is not essential. This study proposed the criterion of conditions to prepare Y and P-containing microspheres by spray drying method

First isolation of oleate-dependent Enterococcus faecalis small-colony variants from the umbilical exudate of a paediatric patient with omphalitis

An oleate-dependent Enterococcus faecalis isolate representing small-colony variants (SCVs) was isolated from the umbilical exudate of a 31-month-old Japanese male patient in Nagano Children's Hospital, Azumino, Japan. The patient had been suffering from recurrent omphalitis since early infancy. The initial E. faecalis SCV isolate formed small colonies on sheep blood agar plates and tiny colonies on chocolate and modified Drigalski agar, although no visible growth was observed in HK-semi solid medium after 48 h incubation in ambient air. Moreover, the SCV isolate, the colonial morphology of which was reminiscent of Streptococcus species, could not be identified using the MicroScan WalkAway-40 and API 20 Strep systems, both of which yielded profile numbers that did not correspond to any bacterial species, probably as a result of insufficient growth of the isolate. The SCV isolate was subsequently identified as E. faecalis based on its morphological, cultural and biochemical properties, and this was confirmed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene of the organism. Investigations revealed that the addition of oleate, an unsaturated fatty acid, enabled the isolate to grow on every medium with normal-sized colony morphology. Although it has long been known that long-chain fatty acids, especially unsaturated oleic acid, have a major inhibitory effect on the growth of a variety of microorganisms, including not only mycobacteria but also streptococci, this is, to the best of our knowledge, the first clinical isolation of an oleate-dependent E. faecalis SCV isolate. In addition, oleic acid might be considered to affect the cell membrane permeability of carbohydrates or antimicrobial agents such as beta-lactams.ArticleJOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY. 62:1883-1890 (2013)journal articl

CRMP5 (Collapsin Response Mediator Protein 5) Regulates Dendritic Development and Synaptic Plasticity in the Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

Collapsin response mediator protein 5 (CRMP5) is one of the CRMP members that expresses abundantly in the developing brain. To examine the in vivo function of CRMP5, we generated crmp5-deficient (crmp5(-/-)) mice. Anti-calbindin immunofluorescence studies of crmp5(-/-) mice revealed aberrant dendrite morphology; specifically, a decrease in the size of soma and diameter of primary dendrite of the cerebellar Purkinje cells at postnatal day 21 (P21) and P28, but not at P14. Coincidentally, CRMP5 is detected in Purkinje cells at P21 and P28 from crmp5(+/-) mice. In cerebellar slices of crmp5(-/-) mice, the induction of long-term depression of excitatory synaptic transmission between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells was deficient. Given that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays major roles in dendritic development, we tried to elucidate the possible roles of CRMP5 in BDNF signaling. The effect of BDNF to induce dendritic branching was markedly attenuated in cultured crmp5(-/-) neurons. Furthermore, CRMP5 was tyrosine phosphorylated when coexpressed with neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (TrkB), a receptor for BDNF, in HEK293T cells. These findings suggest that CRMP5 is involved in the development, maintenance and synaptic plasticity of Purkinje cells

Skeletal oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of Acropora coral primary polyps experimentally cultured at different temperatures

We investigated temperature and growth‐rate dependency of skeletal oxygen and carbon isotopes in primary polyps of Acropora digitifera (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) by culturing them at 20, 23, 27, or 31°C. Calcification was most rapid at 27 and 31°C. We obtained a δ18O‐temperature relationship (−0.18‰ °C−1) consistent with reported ranges for Porites, indicating that juvenile Acropora polyps can be used for temperature reconstruction. A growth‐rate dependency of skeletal isotopes was detected in the experimental polyps cultured at lower water temperatures, when the skeletal growth rate of these polyps was also low. The estimated upper calcification flux limit for a kinetic isotope effect to be observed in the δ18O‐growth rate relationship (∼0.4–0.7 g CaCO3 cm−2 yr−1) was similar to the calcification flux in Porites corresponding to a linear extension rate of 5 mm yr−1, the maximum rate at which the kinetic isotope effect is evident. This result suggests that the calcification flux can be used as a measure of growth rate‐related isotope fractionation, that is, the kinetic isotope effect, in corals of different genera and at different growth stages

Limitation in the Photosynthetic Acclimation to High Temperature in Canopy Leaves of Quercus serrata

As temperature dependence in many biological processes is generally a bell-shaped curve, warming may be benefitial at cooler climate but deterimental at warmer climate. Although warming responses are expected to vary between different temperature regimes even in the same species, such variations are poorly understood. We established open-top canopy chambers, in which average daytime leaf temperature was increased by ca. 1.0°C, at the canopy top of Quercus serrata in a deciduous forest in high (HL) and low (LL) latitude sites and studied temperature dependence of photosynthesis in the leaves across seasons. In control leaves, photosynthetic rates were higher in LL than in HL. Reponse to warming was different between HL and LL; an increase in growth temperature increased photosynthetic rates at higher leaf temperatures in HL but decreased in LL. Lower photosynthetic rate in the warming treatment in LL was partly explained by lower leaf mass per area and leaf nitrogen content per unit leaf area. Optimal temperature that maximizes photosynthetic rate (Topt) linearly increased with increasing growth temperature (GT) in HL, whereas it was saturating against GT in LL, suggesting that Topt in Q. serrata has an upper limit. The variation in Topt was explained by the activation energy of the maximum carboxylation rate (EaV). Our results suggest an upper limit in temperature acclimation of photosynthesis, which may be one of the determinants of southern limitation of the distribution

Seaweed intake and blood pressure levels in healthy pre-school Japanese children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few studies have examined whether dietary factors might affect blood pressure in children. We purposed to investigate whether seaweed intake is associated with blood pressure level among Japanese preschool children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The design of the study was cross-sectional and it was conducted in autumn 2006. Subjects were healthy preschoolers aged 3-6 years in Aichi, Japan. Blood pressure and pulse were measured once by an automated sphygmomanometer, which uses oscillometric methods. Dietary data, including seaweed intake, were assessed using 3-day dietary records covering 2 consecutive weekdays and 1 weekend day. Of a total of 533 children, 459 (86.1 percent) agreed to be enrolled in our study. Finally, blood pressure measurement, complete dietary records and parent-reported height and weight were obtained for 223 boys and 194 girls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When we examined Spearman's correlation coefficients, seaweed intake was significantly negatively related to systolic blood pressure in girls (<it>P </it>= 0.008). In the one-way analysis of covariance for blood pressure and pulse after adjustments for age and BMI, the boys with the lowest, middle and highest tertiles of seaweed intake had diastolic blood pressure readings of 62.8, 59.3 and 59.6 mmHg, respectively (<it>P </it>= 0.11, trend <it>P </it>= 0.038). Girls with higher seaweed intake had significantly lower systolic blood pressure readings (102.4, 99.2 and 96.9 mmHg for girls with the lowest, middle and highest tertiles of seaweed intake, respectively; <it>P </it>= 0.037, trend <it>P </it>= 0.030).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study showed that seaweed intake was negatively related to diastolic blood pressure in boys and to systolic blood pressure in girls. This suggests that seaweed might have beneficial effects on blood pressure among children.</p

Gene Organization in Rice Revealed by Full-Length cDNA Mapping and Gene Expression Analysis through Microarray

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a model organism for the functional genomics of monocotyledonous plants since the genome size is considerably smaller than those of other monocotyledonous plants. Although highly accurate genome sequences of indica and japonica rice are available, additional resources such as full-length complementary DNA (FL-cDNA) sequences are also indispensable for comprehensive analyses of gene structure and function. We cross-referenced 28.5K individual loci in the rice genome defined by mapping of 578K FL-cDNA clones with the 56K loci predicted in the TIGR genome assembly. Based on the annotation status and the presence of corresponding cDNA clones, genes were classified into 23K annotated expressed (AE) genes, 33K annotated non-expressed (ANE) genes, and 5.5K non-annotated expressed (NAE) genes. We developed a 60mer oligo-array for analysis of gene expression from each locus. Analysis of gene structures and expression levels revealed that the general features of gene structure and expression of NAE and ANE genes were considerably different from those of AE genes. The results also suggested that the cloning efficiency of rice FL-cDNA is associated with the transcription activity of the corresponding genetic locus, although other factors may also have an effect. Comparison of the coverage of FL-cDNA among gene families suggested that FL-cDNA from genes encoding rice- or eukaryote-specific domains, and those involved in regulatory functions were difficult to produce in bacterial cells. Collectively, these results indicate that rice genes can be divided into distinct groups based on transcription activity and gene structure, and that the coverage bias of FL-cDNA clones exists due to the incompatibility of certain eukaryotic genes in bacteria