Characterization of galactose-dependent promoters from an oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpina 1S-4.

An inducible promoter is a useful tool for the controlled expression of a given gene. In this report, we describe galactose-dependent promoters for potential use in an oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpina. We cloned the putative promoter regions of two genes encoding galactose metabolic enzymes, GAL1 and GAL10, from the genome of M. alpina 1S-4. The β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene assay in M. alpina 1S-4 revealed that regulation of these promoters was dependent on the presence of galactose in the medium both with and without other sugars. With the GAL10 promoter, an approximately 50-fold increase of GUS activity was demonstrated by addition of galactose into the culture media at any cultivation phase. The 5' deletion analysis of the GAL10 promoter revealed that a promoter region of over 2, 000 bp length was required for its high-level activity and sufficient inducible response. Significantly, this is the first report of inducible promoters of zygomycetes. The GAL10 promoter will be a valuable tool for gene manipulation in M. alpina 1S-4

Selection and characterization of promoters based on genomic approach for the molecular breeding of oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpina 1S-4.

To express a foreign gene effectively, a good expression system is required. In this study, we investigated various promoters as useful tools for gene manipulation in oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpina 1S-4. We selected and cloned the promoter regions of 28 genes in M. alpina 1S-4 on the basis of expression sequence tag abundance data. The activity of each promoter was evaluated using the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. Eight of these promoters were shown to enhance GUS expression more efficiently than a histone promoter, which is conventionally used for the gene manipulation in M. alpina. Especially, the predicted protein 3 and the predicted protein 6 promoters demonstrated approximately fivefold higher activity than the histone promoter. The activity of some promoters changed along with the cultivation phase of M. alpina 1S-4. Seven promoters with constitutive or time-dependent, high-level expression activity were selected, and deletion analysis was carried out to determine the promoter regions required to retain activity. This is the first report of comprehensive promoter analysis based on a genomic approach for M. alpina. The promoters described here will be useful tools for gene manipulation in this strain

Correlation of histopathology with magnetic resonance imaging in Kienböck disease.

PURPOSE:Diagnosis and treatment remain controversial for Kienböck disease. A few reports have correlated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is essential for early diagnosis, and histopathology of Kienböck biopsy specimens, but histopathological correlations of whole lunate bones or histological slices compared with MRI images are lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare presurgical MRI scans with corresponding histological slices of Kienböck-diseased lunates.METHODS:We excised whole lunates at the time of surgery from 6 patients with Kienböck disease (stage IIIB) undergoing tendon-ball replacement or a Graner procedure. We stained paraffin-embedded, coronally sectioned specimens with hematoxylin-eosin and compared them with presurgical coronal scans using MRI with a 47-mm microscopy surface coil.RESULTS:Toward the center of the lunates, the signal intensity in the proton density-weighted images was reduced, whereas the dorsal and palmar sides of the lunates exhibited no changes in intensity. In correlation, histopathological findings revealed strongly disrupted trabeculae toward the center of the lunates and intact trabeculae in the dorsal side of the lunates. Likewise, the necrotic and vitalized bone exhibited low and high signal intensities, respectively, in the proton density-weighted images; however, in the fast-field echo images, there were no correlations with histopathological observations.CONCLUSIONS:Proton density-weighted MRIs but not fast-field echo images using a 47-mm microscopy coil reflected the extent and localization of the necrotic area in Kienböck-diseased lunates, as evidenced by comparison with histological analyses of the lunate specimens.CLINICAL RELEVANCE:Proton density-weighted MRIs accurately reflect the vascular status of the lunate and may help plan treatment on a case-by-case basis

Progress in development of the neutron profile monitor for the large helical device

The neutron profile monitor stably operated at a high-count-rate for deuterium operations in the Large Helical Device has been developed to enhance the research on the fast-ion confinement. It is composed of a multichannel collimator, scintillation-detectors, and a field programmable gate array circuit. The entire neutron detector system was tested using an accelerator-based neutron generator. This system stably acquires the pulse data without any data loss at high-count-rate conditions up to 8 × 105 counts per second

島根県が設置した大学・短期大学専攻科における 保健師教育の変遷；1998－2022年度

島根県における保健師養成が，島根県立総合看護学院から島根県立看護短期大学専攻科に替わった1998年度から，島根県立大学における2022年度迄の，保健師免許の取得に必要な基礎教育（以下，保健師教育と略す。）の変遷についてまとめた。1998年に島根県立看護短期大学に１年課程の専攻科を設置し，2014年度までの17年間，専攻科において保健師教育を担ってきた。その間，保健師助産師看護師学校養成所指定規則の改正はもとより多様な必要性から５回のカリキュラム改正を行っている。また，2005年には独立行政法人大学評価・学位授与機構が行う学士の学位授与申請が可能な認定専攻科となり，専攻科を閉じるまで継承した。2012年度からは，島根県立大学の学士課程における選択制で保健師教育を担い，３回のカリキュラム改正を行い，11年目を迎えた。この様に，度重なる組織変更等を経ながら保健師教育を担ってきたが，カリキュラムは学生の到達度を分析し学びの特徴を明らかにしながら検討してきた。また，専攻科の保健師国家試験受験資格を有する修了生は約500名余で，島根県内全ての自治体で保健師として活躍している。一方，学士課程による選択制では，２年次秋学期に保健師国家試験受験資格取得のための選抜試験を行っている

A 大学における保健師教育の特徴と課題 －「保健師に求められる実践能力と卒業時の到達目標と 到達度」の７年間の自己評価による検討

A 大学の学部選択制による保健師教育の特徴と課題を明らかにし，今後の保健師教育の充実について検討することを目的として，学生が４年次の公衆衛生看護学実習終了後に「保健師に求められる実践能力と卒業時の到達目標と到達度」を自己評価したデータ７年分を分析した。５つの実践能力のうち，実践能力Ⅰ・Ⅱ・Ⅲにおいて目標到達レベルへの到達者割合が80％以上の小項目数は，個人や家族を対象とした場合，2012 カリキュラム群 16.7％，2016 カリキュラム群 18.8％，集団や地域を対象とした場合では両群とも 26.5％であった。目標到達レベルが高く設定されている項目の到達者割合が低く，個人や家族を対象とした小項目「訪問・相談による支援を行う」は到達者割合が 10％未満であった。実践能力Ⅳ・Ⅴでは，社会資源の管理・活用に関する小項目の到達者割合はすべて 50％未満，施策化に関する評価も低く，到達者割合が 10％未満の項目があった。到達状況は全国的な傾向と同様と言えた。個人や家族を対象とした支援ならびに地域診断にもとづく保健活動の展開と施策化に関する能力を身につけるための教育の工夫がカリキュラム改正後も引き続いての課題であり，家庭訪問実習の前後の指導の工夫や，実習と講義・演習の科目を連動させた教育の展開が必要であると考えられる

Experimental and Theoretical Challenges in the Search for the Quark Gluon Plasma: The STAR Collaboration's Critical Assessment of the Evidence from RHIC Collisions

We review the most important experimental results from the first three years of nucleus-nucleus collision studies at RHIC, with emphasis on results from the STAR experiment, and we assess their interpretation and comparison to theory. The theory-experiment comparison suggests that central Au+Au collisions at RHIC produce dense, rapidly thermalizing matter characterized by: (1) initial energy densities above the critical values predicted by lattice QCD for establishment of a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP); (2) nearly ideal fluid flow, marked by constituent interactions of very short mean free path, established most probably at a stage preceding hadron formation; and (3) opacity to jets. Many of the observations are consistent with models incorporating QGP formation in the early collision stages, and have not found ready explanation in a hadronic framework. However, the measurements themselves do not yet establish unequivocal evidence for a transition to this new form of matter. The theoretical treatment of the collision evolution, despite impressive successes, invokes a suite of distinct models, degrees of freedom and assumptions of as yet unknown quantitative consequence. We pose a set of important open questions, and suggest additional measurements, at least some of which should be addressed in order to establish a compelling basis to conclude definitively that thermalized, deconfined quark-gluon matter has been produced at RHIC.Comment: 101 pages, 37 figures; revised version to Nucl. Phys.