Fatigue Status in Relation to Lifestyle in Healthy Japanese Adolescents

In order to investigate the prevalence of physical, mental, and chronic fatigue syndrome-(CFS-) related fatigue and its relation to lifestyle, 1,225 adolescents (591 males, 634 females) aged 11 to 16 years were asked to complete a self-reported questionnaire on fatigue status and lifestyle in the past one month. There was no gender difference in physical and mental fatigue scores, but CFS-related scores were significantly higher in females than in males. These scores were found to increase with the increase of age. After adjusting for age and gender, multiple regression analysis showed that physical and mental fatigue scores were associated with sleeping hours, extracurricular sports activity, food balance, the frequencies of snacks between regular meals, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, and visits to the nurse's room. This paper is the first large cross-sectional study on fatigue in healthy adolescents in Japan, albeit there were numerous such studies in Western countries

A microarray data-based semi-kinetic method for predicting quantitative dynamics of genetic networks

BACKGROUND: Elucidating the dynamic behaviour of genetic regulatory networks is one of the most significant challenges in systems biology. However, conventional quantitative predictions have been limited to small networks because publicly available transcriptome data has not been extensively applied to dynamic simulation. RESULTS: We present a microarray data-based semi-kinetic (MASK) method which facilitates the prediction of regulatory dynamics of genetic networks composed of recurrently appearing network motifs with reasonable accuracy. The MASK method allows the determination of model parameters representing the contribution of regulators to transcription rate from time-series microarray data. Using a virtual regulatory network and a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosomal protein gene module, we confirmed that a MASK model can predict expression profiles for various conditions as accurately as a conventional kinetic model. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated the MASK method for the construction of dynamic simulation models of genetic networks from time-series microarray data, initial mRNA copy number and first-order degradation constants of mRNA. The quantitative accuracy of the MASK models has been confirmed, and the results indicated that this method enables the prediction of quantitative dynamics in genetic networks composed of commonly used network motifs, which cover considerable fraction of the whole network

失語症の回復と脳の可塑性

特集 : 脳の可塑性とリハビリテーションへの応

Interdependence in the parent and adolescent child relationship

On the basis of Thibaut and Kelley's interdependence theory, this study attempted to clarify the structure of parent-child relationship, one of the most vital personal relationships. We created three hypothetical decision-making situations (vignettes) that would occur for the majority of relationships between parents and their adolescent children. Each situation can be conceptually described in terms of 2×2 matrix format, in which both a parent and a child have two behavioral alternatives to choose from. The subjects were first graders at junior- and senior-high school and their parents. Both the parent and the child expressed their own preferences for each of the possible four combinations of the behavioral alternatives as to the three vignettes. Control scores were calculated for reflexive control (RC), fate control (FC), and behavior control (BC). Results indicated that; (1) Interdependence patterns were quite stable across the three situations, suggesting that parent and child are interdependent more at the dispositional than the given matrix level; (2) The parents showed consistent interdependence patterns with almost no RC, but a high degree of BC. High school children, however, indicated much higher degrees of RC and FC compared with Junior High school children. These results suggest that children become more self-interested and try to exert their control as they get older, while the parents will basically be happy as long as it corresponds with what the children want to do

Bulk Density Effects on Soil Hydrologic and Thermal Characteristics: a Numerical Investigation

Soil bulk density (ρb) is commonly treated as static in studies of land surface dynamics. Magnitudes of errors associated with this assumption are largely unknown. Our objectives were to: i) quantify ρb effects on soil hydrologic and thermal properties, and ii) evaluate effects of ρb on surface energy balance and heat and water transfer. We evaluated six soil properties, volumetric heat capacity, thermal conductivity, soil thermal diffusivity, water retention characteristics, hydraulic conductivity, and vapor diffusivity, over a range of ρb, using a combination of six models. Thermal conductivity, water retention, hydraulic conductivity, and vapor diffusivity were most sensitive to ρb, each changing by fractions greater than the associated fractional changes in ρb. A 10% change in ρb led to 10-11% change in thermal conductivity, 6-11% change in saturated and residual water content, 49-54% change in saturated hydraulic conductivity, and 80% change in vapor diffusivity. Subsequently, three field seasons were simulated with a numerical model (HYDRUS-1D) for a range of ρb values. When ρb increased from 1.2 to 1.5 Mg m-3; 25% increase, soil temperature variation decreased by 2.1°C in shallow layers and increased by 1°C in subsurface layers. Surface water content differed by 0.02 m3 m-3 for various ρb values during drying events but differences mostly disappeared in the subsurface. Matric potential varied by \u3e100 m of water. Surface energy balance showed clear trends with ρb. Latent heat flux decreased 6%, sensible heat flux increased 9%, and magnitude of ground heat flux varied by 18% with a 25% ρb increase). Transient ρb impacted surface conditions and fluxes, and clearly it warrants consideration in field and modeling investigations

Reduction in BDNF from inefficient precursor conversion influences nest building and promotes depressive-like behavior in mice

Kojima, M.; Otabi, H.; Kumanogoh, H.; Toyoda, A.; Ikawa, M.; Okabe, M.; Mizui, T. Reduction in BDNF from Inefficient Precursor Conversion Influences Nest Building and Promotes Depressive-Like Behavior in Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 3984. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms2111398

The polyamine oxidase from lycophyte Selaginella lepidophylla (SelPAO5), unlike that of angiosperms, back-converts thermospermine to norspermidine

AbstractIn the phylogeny of plant polyamine oxidases (PAOs), clade III members from angiosperms, such as Arabidopsis thaliana PAO5 and Oryza sativa PAO1, prefer spermine and thermospermine as substrates and back-convert both of these substrates to spermidine in vitro. A clade III representative of lycophytes, SelPAO5 from Selaginella lepidophylla, also prefers spermine and thermospermine but instead back-converts these substrates to spermidine and norspermidine, respectively. This finding indicates that the clade III PAOs of lycophytes and angiosperms oxidize thermospermine at different carbon positions. We discuss the physiological significance of this difference

Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Foamy Histiocyte-Like Appearance: A Deceptively Clear Cell Carcinoma Appearing Variant

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) shows many pathological features, and it varies architecturally and cytologically. There have been many reports and discussions of the morphological features of HCC. A 63-year-old man was found to have a solitary tumor in liver segment 7 that was diagnosed as HCC. A partial resection of liver segment 7 was performed. Microscopically, the tumor lesion showed a moderately differentiated HCC. There was also a lesion with foamy histiocyte-like cells corresponding to the white lesion in the face of the cut tumor. Immunohistochemical staining showed that they were negative for CD68, S-100, vimentin, and HMB-45. The cytoplasm itself was negative on periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Sudan staining. Without immunohistological analysis, it is difficult to distinguish this HCC variant from clear cell carcinoma or metastases of renal cell carcinoma. It is important to recognize this type as a specific cytological variant of HCC that requires confirmation by immunohistochemistry. This report describes the case of a patient with a morphologically distinctive pattern of HCC with prominent cell cytoplasm that had a foamy histiocyte-like appearance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this HCC variant

Formation of a Five-Seven Pair Couple Defect in Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes under Bending Deformation

金沢大学理工研究域　数物科学系Simulations of double-walled carbon nanotubes under bending deformation using the tight-binding molecular dynamics method were carried out. Five- and seven-membered ring pair defects were formed after emission of several atoms from the tube structure. These defect pair couples have different structures corresponding to the number of emitted atoms and stabilize the resulting nanotubes. Our results imply that the defect pair couples represent one of the potential origins of the experimentally observed plastic deformations that have been shown to occur in double-walled carbon nanotubes. The various defects obtained by the simulations are discussed in relation to other defect types. © 2007 American Institute of Physics

Impact of lymph node dissection on clinical outcomes of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: Inverse probability of treatment weighting with survival analysis

Background: Lymph node metastasis (LNM) has been established as a critical risk factor for prognosis in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). The clinical implications of lymph node dissection (LND) have been debated. This study aimed to clarify the prognostic impact of LND by multicenter retrospective analysis. Methods: A total of 310 ICC patients who had undergone curative resection between 2000 and 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The prognostic impact of LND was estimated under an inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) approach using propensity scores. Results: LND was performed for 224 patients (72%), with LNM pathologically confirmed in 90 patients (40%). Prognosis was poorer for patients with LNM (median survival, 16.9 months) than for those without (57.2 months; P Conclusions: LND could have a significant role to play in improving oncologic outcomes. Therapeutic LND should be implemented on the basis of tumor location and tumor advancement