The circadian system alters thermoregulation depending on the time of day and feeding condition

The circadian rhythm of body temperature (Tb) is a well-known phenomenon. However, it is unknown how the circadian system affects thermoregulation. Food deprivation in mice induces a greater reduction of Tb particularly in the light phase. We examined the role of the clock gene and the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) during induced hypothermia. At 20C with fasting, mice increased their metabolic heat production in the dark phase and maintained T~b~, whereas in the light phase, heat production was less, resulting in hypothermia. Under these conditions, neuronal activity in the SCN, assessed by cFos expression, increased only in the light phase. The differences between the phases in Clock mutant mice were less marked. The neural network between the SCN and paraventricular nucleus appeared to be important in hypothermia. These findings suggest that the circadian system per se is influenced by both the feeding condition and environmental temperature and that it modulates thermoregulation

Circadian Body Temperature Rhythm and the Interaction with Energy State

We have revealed that circadian body temperature (Tb) rhythm is significantly influenced by fasting/fasting-related hormones. The effect of circadian mechanism and fasting/fasting-related hormones on thermoregulation was examined. Fasting decreases Tb during the light phase in rodents. For the regulation, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and clock genes, such as Cry and Clock, are necessary. In addition, ghrelin and several hypothalamic nuclei, that is, the medial preoptic area, paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and arcuate nucleus (ARC), play a key role in the Tb rhythm. During the light phase, fasting and ghrelin affect the hypothalamic areas. The activity of the SCN increases and that of the ARC decreases. The SCN sends inhibitory signals to the PVN, which may result in a lower heat production in the interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) and Tb. By contrast, during the dark phase, the activity of the SCN decreases and that of the ARC increases. The inhibitory signal from the SCN is less, and the PVN is activated. Heat production of the iBAT increases and Tb is maintained. There are functional and anatomical connections between the circadian and thermoregulation systems. The circadian system modulates thermoregulatory response to hypothermia and/or cold depending on time and feeding condition

Layout Optimization of the Beam Spot Locations Scanned by Electromagnets in Particle Beam Therapy

This paper presents a layout optimization method of the spot locations of pencil beam scanning for particle beam cancer therapy. With the pencil beam scanning technique, the particle beam is scanned from spot to spot in the tumor by using scanning magnets. To provide clinically ideal dose distributions and less-invasive treatment to the patients, both the spot locations and the number of particles given to each spot should be optimized. However, the spot layout is fixed with a lattice pattern in many prior studies. We propose the optimization method to derive the non-lattice spot layout to realize an acceptable dose distribution with a reduced number of spots. With the proposed method, a large enough number of spots were located densely at the initial state, and then the spots with the smallest contribution were removed one by one through iterations. The number of particles given to each spot was determined by solving a quadratic problem. Furthermore, we also propose the idea to accelerate the optimization process by simultaneously removing multiple spots. The algorithm was confirmed by numerical examples of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional cases. The dose quality with the optimized spot layout was better than that with the conventional lattice spot patterns, with all tested cases. In the optimized spot layout, the spots were located on the closed lines which were concentric to the target contour. We also confirmed the proposed method of multiple-remotion can accelerate the optimization process without violating the dose quality

Communication between Intellectuals and the Public in the 1950s : A Case Study of the Idea of a “National Culture”

In this study, the comprehension of the notion of national culture in the National Congress of Culture was analyzed. Furthermore, the function of communication and authority between intellectuals and people involved in Japanese social movements during the late 1950s was described. Progressive Japanese intellectuals’ activities in postwar social movements were included in Postwar Enlightenment. These intellectuals with liberal arts backgrounds enlightened people because they possessed rich cultural capital. In contrast, historical studies have argued that intellectuals refl ected their enlightenment in movements. However, one may question how the intellectuals’ reflections and enlightenment were connected. In theories of communication, Habermas argued that people can develop their personality and agree rationally through interactive communication while Bourdieu argued that enlightenment inevitably occurs when cultural capital and authority work together through a social space in which a group is passive, for example, a classroom with a teacher and students. Analyzing communication between intellectuals and people with these theories proves the communication and authority of postwar social movements. The National Meeting of Culture, which was hosted by the National Congress of Culture annually during the late 1950s and 1960s and allowed people of various social classes to interact, was examined in this study.一般論

Reactivity of IgE in fish-allergic patients to fish muscle collagen

ABSTRACTBackground: In addition to parvalbumin, the well- known major allergen in fish, collagen was recently identified as a new allergen in the muscle of bigeye tuna and in the skin of several species of fish. The aim of the present study was to evaluate fish muscle colla- gens for their reactivity with IgE in fish-allergic patients and antigenic cross-reactivity.Methods: Collagen was purified from the white muscle of five species of fish (Japanese eel, alfonsin, mackerel, skipjack and bigeye tuna) by acid extraction and salt precipitation, whereas parvalbumin was purified from bigeye tuna by gel filtration and reverse- phase HPLC. The IgE reactivities to collagen and parvalbumin were examined by ELISA, whereas antigenic cross-reactivity among fish muscle collagens was investigated by ELISA inhibition experiments.Results: When 15 sera from fish-allergic patients were subjected to ELISA using bigeye tuna collagen and parvalbumin, 10 sera reacted only to parvalbumin, two reacted only to collagen, two reacted to both collagen and parvalbumin and one reacted to neither collagen nor parvalbumin. The sera containing specific IgE to bigeye tuna collagen also reacted to collagens from the other four species of fish. In the ELISA inhibition experiments, bigeye tuna collagen inhibited the binding of IgE not only to bigeye tuna collagen, but also to that from the other four species of fish, suggesting cross-reactivity among the collagens from five species of fish.Conclusions: These results demonstrate that some Japanese fish-allergic patients have specific IgE to fish muscle collagen and that fish muscle collagen is a cross-reactive allergen among various species of fish

Distribution of 36Cl in the Yoro River Basin, Central Japan, and Its Relation to the Residence Time of the Regional Groundwater Flow System

This study investigates the potential of 36Cl in tracing young groundwater with residence times of up to ~50 years. Groundwater samples were obtained from 16 irrigation wells in paddy fields located within an upland–lowland system in the Yoro River basin, Central Japan. The 36Cl/Cl ratios were in the range of 17 to 362 × 10−15. Among the samples with higher Cl− concentrations (>10 mg/L), two samples showed high nitrate concentrations as well (>30 mg/L). Except for these samples, the distribution of 36Cl in groundwater was essentially consistent with previous tritium concentration data measured in 1982 and 1994, considering the time that has elapsed since these earlier measurements were performed. 36Cl/Cl values were less than 30 × 10−15 in lowland areas, with higher values in and around upland areas. The results indicate longer residence times in the regional groundwater flow system (>50 years) than those estimated in previous studies, especially in the area west of the Yoro River. The results demonstrate the ability of 36Cl to trace young groundwater flow, particularly because high values of bomb-derived 36Cl/Cl are easily discriminated from pre-bomb water with low 36Cl/Cl values. Because of its very long half-life (3.01 × 105 years), 36Cl remains even after tritium is no longer available

Validation of a dietary balance score

This study assessed the validity of dietary balance scores (DBSs) by investigating the association between DBSs and nutrient adequacy (NA) in two Japanese populations. The participants were 65 community-dwelling Japanese from Tokushima Prefecture and 2,330 community-dwelling Japanese from Aichi Prefecture. Based on food frequency questionnaires or 3-day dietary records, we obtained 18 food groups. The NA score integrates nine beneficial nutrients and two nutrients that should be limited. We calculated four different DBSs: DBS1 consisted of five food groups (score range : 0–20), DBS2 consisted of nine food groups (score range : 0–36), DBS3 consisted of eight food groups (score range : 0–32), and DBS4 consisted of 10 food groups (score range : 0–40). Both the Spearman rank correlation coefficient with NA and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) for the nine beneficial nutrients were then estimated to test the performance of each DBS in predicting nutrient intake. The results showed that DBS1 and DBS4 were positively correlated with NA, while the AUC-ROC showed that DBS4 could moderately discriminate individuals with adequate intake levels of all nine nutrients. These findings suggest DBSs (especially DBS4) are useful in assessing dietary balance in middle-aged and older community-dwelling Japanese

Influence of Diabetes Mellitus on Surgical Outcomes in Patients with Cervical Myelopathy: A Prospective, Multicenter Study

[Study Design] Multicenter, prospective study. [Purpose] To investigate the effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on surgical outcomes in patients with cervical myelopathy. [Overview of Literature] To date, few studies have investigated the influence of postoperative blood glucose or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels on surgical outcomes. [Methods] The participants were patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. The 61 cases were evaluated preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores and the JOA Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ). The study variables included fasting blood glucose and HbA1c levels measured preoperatively and at 1 week, 4 weeks, and 1 year postoperatively; the F-wave conduction velocity, latency, rate of occurrence, and M-wave latency in the ulnar and tibial nerves were measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. The patients were divided into a group without diabetes (N group, 42 patients) and a group with diabetes (DM group, 19 patients). We then assessed the associations between the surgical outcomes and each of the study variables. [Results] JOA scores significantly improved in both groups; however, no significant between-group differences were found. There was no significant improvement in the JOACMEQ scores, which assessed cervical function, upper and lower limb function, and bladder function in both groups. We then subdivided the DM group into those with a good control of HbA1c after 1 year (DMG group, 12 patients) and those with HbA1c deterioration after 1 year (DMB group, seven patients), prior to comparing the surgical outcomes. The JOACMEQ scores for upper and lower limb function significantly improved in the DMG group (p<0.01). Compared with the DMB group, there were no significant increases in upper or lower limb function scores in the DMG group. [Conclusions] Poor glycemic control might prevent postoperative functional recovery of the spinal cord