Effect of pre-germinated brown rice intake on diabetic neuropathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To study the effects of a pre-germinated brown rice diet (PR) on diabetic neuropathy in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The effects of a PR diet on diabetic neuropathy in STZ-induced diabetic rats were evaluated and compared with those fed brown rice (BR) or white rice (WR) diets with respect to the following parameters: blood-glucose level, motor-nerve conduction velocity (NCV), sciatic-nerve Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity, and serum homocysteine-thiolactonase (HTase) activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with diabetic rats fed BR or WR diets, those fed a PR diet demonstrated significantly lower blood-glucose levels (<it>p </it>< 0.001), improved NCV (1.2- and 1.3-fold higher, respectively), and increased Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity (1.6- and 1.7-fold higher, respectively). The PR diet was also able to normalize decreased serum homocysteine levels normally seen in diabetic rats. The increased Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity observed in rats fed PR diets was associated with elevations in HTase activity (r = 0.913, <it>p </it>< 0.001). The <it>in vitro </it>effect of the total lipid extract from PR bran (TLp) on the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and HTase activity was also examined. Incubation of homocysteine thiolactone (HT) with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) <it>in vitro </it>resulted in generation of HT-modified LDL, which possessed high potency to inhibit Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity in the sciatic nerve membrane. The inhibitory effect of HT-modified LDL on Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity disappeared when TLp was added to the incubation mixture. Furthermore, TLp directly activated the HTase associated with high-density lipoprotein (HDL).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PR treatment shows efficacy for protecting diabetic deterioration and for improving physiological parameters of diabetic neuropathy in rats, as compared with a BR or WR diet. This effect may be induced by a mechanism whereby PR intake mitigates diabetic neuropathy by one or more factors in the total lipid fraction. The active lipid fraction is able to protect the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase of the sciatic-nerve membrane from the toxicity of HT-modified LDL and to directly activate the HTase of HDL.</p

遠隔授業と対面授業、その課題と可能性 コロナ禍から新しい学びへ

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has compelled educators all over the world to make abrupt and drastic changes in their classes from elementary school through college. Japan has been noexception. Universities and colleges in Japan transformed their courses from traditional face-to-face to online lessons. This study explores how college students recognized such online lessons after experiencing one semester in 2020 and discusses the advantages and drawbacks of online lessons by comparison with face-to-face classes. The participants in this study were 128 college freshmen of English majors. We administered an originally designed questionnaire of 23 items comprised of a six-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. As the results of descriptive statistics and Kendall rank correlations, it was discovered that there was no significant correlation between the commuting hours and the preferences for online lessons. Instead, significant correlations between learner styles for individual/group-based learning and the preferences for online lessons were found. Blending face-to-face and online lessons is suggested as an implication for future college education to promote active learning and to offer more learner-friendly educational settings.論

Divergent ancestral lineages of newfound hantaviruses harbored by phylogenetically related crocidurine shrew species in Korea

AbstractSpurred by the recent isolation of a novel hantavirus, named Imjin virus (MJNV), from the Ussuri white-toothed shrew (Crocidura lasiura), targeted trapping was conducted for the phylogenetically related Asian lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura shantungensis). Pair-wise alignment and comparison of the S, M and L segments of a newfound hantavirus, designated Jeju virus (JJUV), indicated remarkably low nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarity with MJNV. Phylogenetic analyses, using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods, showed divergent ancestral lineages for JJUV and MJNV, despite the close phylogenetic relationship of their reservoir soricid hosts. Also, no evidence of host switching was apparent in tanglegrams, generated by TreeMap 2.0β

Exposure to PM2.5 and Lung Function Growth in Pre- and Early-Adolescent Schoolchildren: A Longitudinal Study Involving Repeated Lung Function Measurements in Japan.

Rationale: Epidemiological evidence indicates that ambient exposure to particulate matter ⩽2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) has adverse effects on lung function growth in children, but it is not actually clear whether exposure to low-level PM2.5 results in long-term decrements in lung function growth in pre- to early-adolescent schoolchildren. Objectives: To examine long-term effects of PM2.5 within the 4-year average concentration range of 10-19 μg/m3 on lung function growth with repeated measurements of lung function tests. Methods: Longitudinal analysis of 6,233 lung function measurements in 1,466 participants aged 8-12 years from 16 school communities in 10 cities around Japan, covering a broad area of the country to represent concentration ranges of PM2.5, was done with a multilevel linear regression model. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second, forced vital capacity (FVC), and maximal expiratory flow at 50% of FVC were used as lung function indicators to examine the effects of 10-μg/m3 increases in the PM2.5 concentration on relative growth per each 10-cm increase in height. Results: The overall annual mean PM2.5 level was 13.5 μg/m3 (range, 10.4-19.0 μg/m3). We found no association between any of the lung function growth indicators and increases in PM2.5 levels in children of either sex, even after controlling for potential confounders. Analysis with two-pollutant models with O3 or NO2 did not change the null results. Conclusions: This nationwide longitudinal study suggests that concurrent, long-term exposure to PM2.5 at concentrations ranging from 10.4 to 19.0 μg/m3 has little effect on lung function growth in preadolescent boys or pre- to early-adolescent girls

IGF-1 Induction by Acylated Steryl β-Glucosides Found in a Pre-Germinated Brown Rice Diet Reduces Oxidative Stress in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

BACKGROUND: The pathology of diabetic neuropathy involves oxidative stress on pancreatic β-cells, and is related to decreased levels of Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Acylated steryl β-glucoside (PR-ASG) found in pre-germiated brown rice is a bioactive substance exhibiting properties that enhance activity of homocysteine-thiolactonase (HTase), reducing oxidative stress in diabetic neuropathy. The biological importance of PR-ASG in pancreatic β-cells remains unknown. Here we examined the effects of PR-ASG on IGF-1 and glucose metabolism in β-cells exposed to oxidative stress. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, a pre-germinated brown rice (PR)-diet was tested in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Compared with diabetic rats fed control diets, the PR-diet fed rats showed an improvement of serum metabolic and neurophysiological parameters. In addition, IGF-1 levels were found to be increased in the serum, liver, and pancreas of diabetic rats fed the PR-diet. The increased IGF-1 level in the pancreas led us to hypothesize that PR-ASG is protective for islet β-cells against the extensive injury of advanced or severe diabetes. Thus we examined PR-ASG to determine whether it showed anti-apoptotic, pro-proliferative effects on the insulin-secreting β-cells line, INS-1; and additionally, whether PR-ASG stimulated IGF-1 autocrine secretion/IGF-1-dependent glucose metabolism. We have demonstrated for the first time that PR-ASG increases IGF-1 production and secretion from pancreatic β-cells. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that PR-ASG may affect pancreatic β-cells through the activation of an IGF-1-dependent mechanism in the diabetic condition. Thus, intake of pre-germinated brown rice may have a beneficial effect in the treatment of diabetes, in particular diabetic neuropathy

Glycine insertion makes yellow fluorescent protein sensitive to hydrostatic pressure

Fluorescent protein-based indicators for intracellular environment conditions such as pH and ion concentrations are commonly used to study the status and dynamics of living cells. Despite being an important factor in many biological processes, the development of an indicator for the physicochemical state of water, such as pressure, viscosity and temperature, however, has been neglected. We here found a novel mutation that dramatically enhances the pressure dependency of the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) by inserting several glycines into it. The crystal structure of the mutant showed that the tyrosine near the chromophore flipped toward the outside of the β-can structure, resulting in the entry of a few water molecules near the chromophore. In response to changes in hydrostatic pressure, a spectrum shift and an intensity change of the fluorescence were observed. By measuring the fluorescence of the YFP mutant, we succeeded in measuring the intracellular pressure change in living cell. This study shows a new strategy of design to engineer fluorescent protein indicators to sense hydrostatic pressure

コウレイシャ テンカン ノ モンシンヒョウ ニヨル ソウキ ハッケン : ニンチショウ トノ カンレン ニオイテ

本研究の目的は高齢者てんかんを問診票の活用により、物忘れ外来を含む高齢者複合施設における高齢者てんかんの実態を明らかにすることにある。物忘れ外来を含む高齢者複合施設を調査期間中に利用した417名を対象に、高齢者てんかん問診票を用い、てんかん有病率を算出した。また、新規に高齢者てんかんと判定された者の特徴を記述した。その結果、すでにてんかんの診断ありが7名（1.7%）、問診票の回答内容からてんかんの疑いありは33名（7.9%）、その中から医師の診断により新規に高齢者てんかんが判定された者は14名（3.0%）であった。施設別有病率では、物忘れ外来7名（5.0%）、ショートステイ利用者、グループホーム入所者は2割前後であった。新規に高齢者てんかんと判定された者の問診項目では、意識減損がもっとも多かった。さらに、新規にてんかんが判明したすべての者が何らかの認知症を有していた。本研究により物忘れ外来を含む高齢者複合施設において、高齢者てんかんが潜在していることが明らかとなり、これらの早期発見のため高齢者てんかんの問診票の必要性が示された

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target