Bovine Myoblast Differentiation

Satellite cells are involved in postnatal myogenesis and in muscle hypertrophy. A better understanding of the mechanisms of myogenesis is useful to improve the muscle production in farm animals. Herein, we show the cytokine effects on the myogenesis in bovine myoblast cultures. Acidic fibroblast growth factors (aFGF) and interleukin 1 (IL-1) stimulated the cell proliferation, and insulin-1ike growth factor-I (IGF-I) stimulated to form multinucleated myotubes. Thus, it was possible to regulate the bovine myoblast differentiation by aFGF, IL-1 and/or IGF-I. Using the culture system, the expression of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms was detailed in bovine myoblasts during the differentiation. It was immunohistochemically confirmed that bovine myoblasts expressed β/slow-type MyHC (MyHC-slow), fast-type MyHC (MyHC-fast) and developmental-type MyHC (MyHC-dev) isoforms. Furthermore, the expression of fast 2a and β/slow MyHC mRNA was recognized in the cultures of bovine myoblasts. The results support the existence of bovine myoblast phenotypes that express differentially MyHC isoforms

Pulmonary Macrophages Attenuate Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction via beta(3)AR/iNOS Pathway in Rats Exposed to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia

Chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) induces activation of the sympathoadrenal system, which plays a pivotal role in attenuating hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) via central beta(1)-adrenergic receptors (AR) (brain) and peripheral beta(2)AR (pulmonary arteries). Prolonged hypercatecholemia has been shown to upregulate beta(3)AR. However, the relationship between IH and beta(3)AR in the modification of HPV is unknown. It has been observed that chronic stimulation of beta(3)AR upregulates inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cardiomyocytes and that IH exposure causes expression of iNOS in RAW264.7 macrophages. iNOS has been shown to have the ability to dilate pulmonary vessels. Hence, we hypothesized that chronic IH activates beta(3)AR/iNOS signaling in pulmonary macrophages, leading to the promotion of NO secretion and attenuated HPV. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to IH (3-min periods of 4-21% O-2) for 8 h/d for 6 weeks. The urinary catecholamine concentrations of IH rats were high compared with those of controls, indicating activation of the sympathoadrenal system following chronic IH. Interestingly, chronic IH induced the migration of circulating monocytes into the lungs and the predominant increase in the number of proinflammatory pulmonary macrophages. In these macrophages, both beta(3)AR and iNOS were upregulated and stimulation of the beta(3)AR/iNOS pathway in vitro caused them to promote NO secretion. Furthermore, in vivo synchrotron radiation microangiography showed that HPV was significantly attenuated in IH rats and the attenuated HPV was fully restored by blockade of beta(3)AR/iNOS pathway or depletion of pulmonary macrophages. These results suggest that circulating monocyte-derived pulmonary macrophages attenuate HPV via activation of beta(3)AR/iNOS signaling in chronic IH

十分なポテンシャルパラメタ間相互依存性下で最適化したSi, Ge 半導体の非局所擬ポテンシャルの性質

Empirical pseudopotential|Nonlocal potential|Silicon|Germanium|Energy band structur

Demand variations and evacuation route flexibility in short-notice bus-based evacuation planning

The output of the models devised for bus-based evacuations often only provides the time required to complete the evacuation with known input resources along with the routes for each bus trip. The different techniques used to minimize the evacuation time aim to improve either the demand or the supply side of the mechanism. Great care must be exercised to avoid negative impacts of such improvement efforts. In this study, two important factors, variation in demand and evacuation route flexibility, are discussed with respect to their effects on the optimality of bus-based evacuation planning. The model of short-notice bus-based evacuation under dynamic demand conditions (SBED model) was used to highlight the importance of these factors in evacuation planning through a case study of Kawajma Town. The model was run to simulate different evacuee demand and bus route scenarios, and the results were analyzed. In terms of the number of evacuees, better results were observed in the fixed-demand case than in the continuous-demand case. In addition, the results indicate that introducing evacuation route flexibility into the model reduces resource use but necessitates more model run-time. Keywords: Bus-based evacuations, Demand variations, Evacuation route flexibility, Model run-tim