Frequency analysis of electroencephalogram recorded from a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) with a novel method during transportation by truck

In order to obtain information regarding the correlation between an electroencephalogram (EEG) and the state of a dolphin, we developed a noninvasive recording method of EEG of a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and an extraction method of true-EEG (EEG) from recorded-EEG (R-EEG) based on a human EEG recording method, and then carried out frequency analysis during transportation by truck. The frequency detected in the EEG of dolphin during apparent awakening was divided conveniently into three bands (5–15, 15–25, and 25–40 Hz) based on spectrum profiles. Analyses of the relationship between power ratio and movement of the dolphin revealed that the power ratio of dolphin in a situation when it was being quiet was evenly distributed among the three bands. These results suggested that the EEG of a dolphin could be detected accurately by this method, and that the frequency analysis of the detected EEG seemed to provide useful information for understanding the central nerve activity of these animals

A pet-type robot AIBO-assisted therapy as a day care program for chronic schizophrenia patients

BackgroundAAT (Animal-assisted therapy) was developed to promote human social and emotional functioning as a day care program for psychiatric patients.AimsIn this study, we performed AAT using a pet-type robot, AIBO for schizophrenic patients.Methods After obtaining informed consent, we performed the AIBO-assisted therapy for three schizophrenic (ICD-10, F20.x2) patients (male: 1, female: 2) whose medication did not change over the 8 weeks study period in a ward.Results It was found that the AAT using AIBO may be useful for the patients with negative and general psychopathological symptoms such as “Anxiety” and “Uncooperativeness”.ConclusionWe make use of this result, and we want to develop the AAT program using a pet-type robot, AIBO which may be suitable for Japanese psychiatric patients

Microbial Community Composition of Two Environmentally Conserved Estuaries in the Midorikawa River and Shirakawa River

To provide a general overview of the microbial communities in environmentally conserved estuaries, the top 5 cm of sediment was sampled from the sandy estuary of the Shirakawa River and from the muddy estuary of the Midorikawa River. Higher amounts of organic matter were detected in the Midorikawa estuary sample than in the Shirakawa estuary sample. Measurement of redox potential revealed that the Shirakawa estuary was aerobic and the Midorikawa estuary was much less aerobic. Clone analysis was performed by targeting partial 16S rRNA gene sequences and using extracted DNA from the samples as a template. Various bacteria were detected, among which Gammaproteobacteria was dominant at both estuaries. Unclassified clones were detected in the Gammaproteobacteria group, mainly among samples from the Midorikawa estuary. Other detected bacterial groups were Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. All the Deltaproteobacteria clones were anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria. Those aerobic and anaerobic bacteria coexisted in the top 5 cm of the estuary sediments indicating the surface layer have active sulfur and carbon cycle. Abundance of aerobic Gammaproteobacteria may be an indicator for conserved estuaries

ウマ ノ ルイエキ オ モチイタ コルチゾール ノ ソクテイ

馬からもたらされる効果に関して，馬の揺れや体温，一体感などの人側から見た要因は多く検討されているが馬側の要因はほとんど解明されていない。生理的評価の一つとしてストレス反応を調べるために，サンプルとして血液が利用されること多いが，一方で穿刺による馬のストレスがある。そのため穿刺による侵襲的な方法ではなく，非侵襲的に採取可能なサンプルの有用性を明らかにすることは，馬の負荷を減らし，生理的な反応をより明らかにするために重要である。涙液は血液から生成され，たんぱく質や電解質が含まれている。本研究では涙液中のコルチゾールを測定し，その有用性を明らかにすることを目的とした。穿刺による採血と，シルマー法による涙液採取によって得られたサンプル内コルチゾールの濃度とその相関を求めた。得られた結果から，血漿と涙液のコルチゾールの値には，正の相関が得られた（rs＝0.5，P＜0.01）。これにより涙液は血液の変化を反映することが示唆され，十分に利用可能であることが明らかになった。採血に頼らず非侵襲的に採取できる涙液を用いることで，今後セラピーホースや障がい者乗馬を生理的に評価できる。Regarding the effects brought about by horses and/or riding, there are many studies of factors viewed from the human side, such as horse swing and matching, whereas the factors from the horse side have not been elucidated. As a method of sampling for physiological evaluations like stress reactions, blood is often used, in which sampling is accompanied by pain. Therefore, it is important to consider the usefulness of non-invasive sampling, in order to reduce the load on horses and to gain more physiological information about horses. Tears are produced from blood and contain proteins and electrolytes. In this study, we aimed to measure the concentration of cortisol in tears and to clarify the usefulness of tear sampling. The significant positive correlation of cortisol concentrations was obtained in blood sampling by puncture and in tears fluid by Schirmer method (rs＝0.5, P＜0.01), suggesting that tears fluid was fully available in horses. By using tears collected non-invasively, the physiological evaluations of horses would be possible in horse-facilitated activity and therapy in the future

動物の地震予知能力に関する研究 : イヌによる地震予知の可能性

1995年1月17日に阪神・淡路大震災が発生した。神戸市など震源地周辺で飼育されていたイヌのうち約20%が地震発生前に異常行動を示したことが地震発生後の調査によって報告された。本研究では，イヌの示した異常行動の原因は地震前に発生する電磁波を感知したためではないかとの仮説のもと，人工的に発生させた電磁波をイヌに照射し，照射後の行動および神経内分泌学的な変化を観察した。There were lots of reports concerning the unusual behavior of animals before the Great Hanshin Earthquake on January 17, 1995, although those cases were reported after the earthquake. About 20 % of dogs which were kept at Kobe and its neighboring areas showed unusual behavior: dogs that seldom barked howled; dogs that were always gentle bit their owners suddenly; dogs showed no appetite; dogs were severely frightened; dogs were eager to go out their homes, etc. We hypothesize that those dogs sensed extraordinary changes in their unusual environment, for example, an abnormal production of electromagnetic wave (EMW). In this study we exposed the unusual EMW, which was observed before the earthquake, to dogs, and examined the changes in their behavior and neuroendocrine parameters. Finally we have found dogs having the ability to sense the EMW observed before and at the Great Hanshin Earthquake

Characteristic Metabolism of Free Amino Acids in Cetacean Plasma: Cluster Analysis and Comparison with Mice

From an evolutionary perspective, the ancestors of cetaceans first lived in terrestrial environments prior to adapting to aquatic environments. Whereas anatomical and morphological adaptations to aquatic environments have been well studied, few studies have focused on physiological changes. We focused on plasma amino acid concentrations (aminograms) since they show distinct patterns under various physiological conditions. Plasma and urine aminograms were obtained from bottlenose dolphins, pacific white-sided dolphins, Risso's dolphins, false-killer whales and C57BL/6J and ICR mice. Hierarchical cluster analyses were employed to uncover a multitude of amino acid relationships among different species, which can help us understand the complex interrelations comprising metabolic adaptations. The cetacean aminograms formed a cluster that was markedly distinguishable from the mouse cluster, indicating that cetaceans and terrestrial mammals have quite different metabolic machinery for amino acids. Levels of carnosine and 3-methylhistidine, both of which are antioxidants, were substantially higher in cetaceans. Urea was markedly elevated in cetaceans, whereas the level of urea cycle-related amino acids was lower. Because diving mammals must cope with high rates of reactive oxygen species generation due to alterations in apnea/reoxygenation and ischemia-reperfusion processes, high concentrations of antioxidative amino acids are advantageous. Moreover, shifting the set point of urea cycle may be an adaption used for body water conservation in the hyperosmotic sea water environment, because urea functions as a major blood osmolyte. Furthermore, since dolphins are kept in many aquariums for observation, the evaluation of these aminograms may provide useful diagnostic indices for the assessment of cetacean health in artificial environments in the future

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

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

Effects of the Interaction with Dolphins on Physical and Mental conditions of the Elderly

The effects of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) on the physical and physiological health of old people have been well known. In general, dogs, cats and small animals have been used at the AAT for seniors. In this study we tried to clarify physical and mental effects of the interactions of old people and dolphins, with ten people aged from 50 to 60. The blood pressure and the heart rate were measured with a hemodynamometer before and after the activity with the dolphins. The psychological test was performed at the same time, using the Multiple Mood Scale. The results show that the positive emotions of the subjects were increased significantly, with concomitant decreases in the negative emotions. The means of the blood pressures were increased before approaching to dolphins and decreased gradually after the interaction with dolphins. These findings indicate that interactions with dolphins have a relaxed effect upon both mental and physical states of the participants in a short time