Integration of enzyme activities into metabolic flux distributions by elementary mode analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In systems biology, network-based pathway analysis facilitates understanding or designing metabolic systems and enables prediction of metabolic flux distributions. Network-based flux analysis requires considering not only pathway architectures but also the proteome or transcriptome to predict flux distributions, because recombinant microbes significantly change the distribution of gene expressions. The current problem is how to integrate such heterogeneous data to build a network-based model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To link enzyme activity data to flux distributions of metabolic networks, we have proposed Enzyme Control Flux (ECF), a novel model that integrates enzyme activity into elementary mode analysis (EMA). ECF presents the power-law formula describing how changes in enzyme activities between wild-type and a mutant are related to changes in the elementary mode coefficients (EMCs). To validate the feasibility of ECF, we integrated enzyme activity data into the EMCs of <it>Escherichia coli </it>and <it>Bacillus subtilis </it>wild-type. The ECF model effectively uses an enzyme activity profile to estimate the flux distribution of the mutants and the increase in the number of incorporated enzyme activities decreases the model error of ECF.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ECF model is a non-mechanistic and static model to link an enzyme activity profile to a metabolic flux distribution by introducing the power-law formula into EMA, suggesting that the change in an enzyme profile rather reflects the change in the flux distribution. The ECF model is highly applicable to the central metabolism in knockout mutants of <it>E. coli </it>and <it>B. subtilis</it>.</p

Exploring Galaxy Evolution from Infrared Number Counts and Cosmic Infrared Background

Recently reported infrared (IR) galaxy number counts and cosmic infrared background (CIRB) all suggest that galaxies have experienced a strong evolution sometime in their lifetime. We statistically estimate the galaxy evolution history from these data. We find that an order of magnitude increase of the far-infrared (FIR) luminosity at redshift z = 0.5 - 1.0 is necessary to reproduce the very high CIRB intensity at 140 um reported by Hauser et al. (1998). z \sim 0.75 and decreases to, even at most, a factor of 10 toward z \sim 5, though many variants are allowed within these constraints. This evolution history also satisfies the constraints from the galaxy number counts obtained by IRAS, ISO and, roughly, SCUBA. The rapid evolution of the comoving IR luminosity density required from the CIRB well reproduces the very steep slope of galaxy number counts obtained by ISO. We also estimate the cosmic star formation history (SFH) from the obtained FIR luminosity density, considering the effect of the metal enrichment in galaxies. The derived SFH increases steeply with redshift in 0 0.75. This is consistent with the SFH estimated from the reported ultraviolet luminosity density. In addition, we present the performance of the Japanese ASTRO-F FIR galaxy survey. We show the expected number counts in the survey. We also evaluate how large a sky area is necessary to derive a secure information of galaxy evolution up to z \sim 1 from the survey, and find that at least 50 - 300 deg^2 is required.Comment: 18 pages LaTeX, PASJ in press. Abstract abridge

MPC Builder for Autonomous Drive: Automatic Generation of MPCs for Motion Planning and Control

This study presents a new framework for vehicle motion planning and control based on the automatic generation of model predictive controllers (MPCs) named MPC Builder. In this framework, several components necessary for MPC, such as prediction models, constraints, and cost functions, are prepared in advance. The MPC Builder then generates various MPCs online in a unified manner according to traffic situations. This scheme enabled us to represent various driving tasks with less design effort than typical switched MPC systems. The proposed framework was implemented considering the continuation/generalized minimum residual (C/GMRES) method optimization solver, which can reduce computational costs. Finally, numerical experiments on multiple driving scenarios were presented.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

カンジダ特異的IgG(4)抗体と気管支喘息

Serum levels of Candida-specific IgG(4) antibodies were examined in 66 patients with bronchial asthma, relating to patient age and asthma severity. 1. The levels of Candida-specific IgG(4) antibodies were the highest in patients with 60+years of age, compared to the levels in cases with 0-39 and 40-59 years of age. 2. In cases with 40-59 years of age, the levels of Candida-specific IgG(4) were significantly higher in cases with long-term steroid therapy (severe intractable asthma) than in cases without steroid regimen. The results suggest that increased levels of Candida-specific IgG(4) were observed in relation to patient age and asthma severity.66例の気管支喘息症例を対象に，血清中カンジダ特異的lgG(4)抗体を測定し，その血中レベルと年齢および喘息の重症度との関連について検討を加えた。1．血清カンジダ特異的IgG(4)値は，0～39才，40～59才の年齢層にくらべ，60才以上の年齢層において高く，年齢によりその値が変動することが 示唆された。2．40～59才の年齢層では，血清カンジダ特異的IgG(4)は，ステロイド非使用例にくらべ，ステロイド依存性重症難治性喘息症例で有意の高値を示し，この年齢層では，カンジダ特異的IgG(4)抗体がその発症病態に関連している可能性が示唆された。以上，カンジダ特異的IgG(4)抗体の上昇は，高年齢層の症例（60才以上）では全般的に，また40～59才の年齢層で重症型喘息症例において観察されることが明らかにされた

Progress of Photodynamic Therapy in Gastric Cancer

Progress of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in gastric cancer and the clinical outcome are described in this paper. (1) We included the whole lesion and a 5 mm margin in the field for irradiation. Marking by injection of India-ink showing the irradiation field was performed beforehand. (2) We established the standard light dose to be 90 J/cm2 for an argon dye laser and 60 J/cm2 for a pulse wave laser. (3) The size of cancerous lesion curable by PDT was expanded from 3 cm in diameter, i.e. 7 cm2 in area to 4 cm in diameter, i.e. 13 cm2 by employing a new excimer dye laser model, which could emit 4mJ/pulse with 80 Hz pulse frequency. (4) The depth of cancer invasion which could be treated by PDT was increased from about 4 mm, i.e. the superficial part of the submucosal layer (SM-1) to more than 10 mm in depth, i.e. the proper muscular layer. These improvements owe much to the pulse laser, the photodynamic action induced by which permits deeper penetration than that of a continuous wave laser. (5) We employed a side-viewing fiberscope for gastric PDT to irradiate the lesion from an angle of 90°. (6) We designed a simple cut quartz fiber for photoradiation with a spiral spring thickened toward the end. (7) We developed an endoscopic device for photoradiation in PDT which achieves accurate and efficient irradiation. As a result of these improvements a higher cure rate was obtained even with a lower light dose of irradiation

7-Chloro-1,2-dihydro­furo[2,3-c]isoquinolin-5-amine

In the title compound, C11H9ClN2O, the fused-ring system is essentially planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.0323 (16) Å. In the crystal, mol­ecules are connected by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds forming a zigzag chain along the c axis. Mol­ecules are further stacked along the a axis through weak π–π inter­actions, the shortest distance between ring centroids being 3.6476 (8) Å

Age dependent changes of menstrual pain of the women

18～52歳の月経周期のある健康な女性193名を10代,20～24歳,25～34歳,35歳以上の4つのリプロダクティブステージに分類し,月経及び月経痛に関する実態調査を実施した｡結果①規則的な月経周期の割合は,リプロダクティブステージが進むにつれ増加し,経血量は減少傾向を示した｡②月経痛はリプロダクティブステージの進行と共に軽減し,鎮痛剤使用頻度,日常生活への影響が少なくなる傾向を認めた｡③各リブログクティブステージの特徴は,10代では月経痛の頻度や日常労作への影響が最も多く,血塊の出現率が最も高率であった｡20～24歳は10代と類似していたが,鎮痛剤使用頻度は最も高率であった｡25～34歳では最も安定した性成熟状態を示し,月経痛は｢時々あり｣が最も高率であったが,血塊の出現率が高かった｡35歳以上では月経痛のない人が最も高率であり,生活への支障が最も少なかったが,｢1日3回以上｣の鎮痛剤使用は他のリプロダクティブステージと変わらなかった｡以上の結果に加えてリプロダクティブステージにおける月経周期や経血量の特徴を考えあわせると,身体的な性成熟機能と心理社会的側面を考慮し,各リプ ロダクティブステージに適した月経痛への対応が必要であると考える｡PURPOSE: Menstruation and menstrual pain of the women at various reproductive stages were investigated. METHOD: Changes in menstruation and menstrual pain of women at various reproductive stages were investigated by self-reporting questionnaires. Subjects were 193 healthy women of 18~52 years old with regular menstrual cycles. According to their age the subjects were classified into four groups; teens, 20~24 years old, 25~34 years old, and older than 35 years old. RESULTS: The average age of total subjects was 26.3±8.8, and 27.5% of the women have had gave birth. As the age advances, menstrual pain tends to be reduced and the uses of pain-killer as well as disturbances of daily life during menstruation were decreased. Also, menstrual cycles become more regular and the amount of menstrual bleeding and blood clots were decreased. Taken together, our findings suggest that age of the patients, in addition to sexual maturation and psychosocial aspects, should be taken into account for the appropriate care of women with dysmenorrhea

Perimenstrual symptoms and it's management - Assessment with Menstrual Distress Questionnaire -

月経周期の変化に伴う多様で複雑な月経周辺期の症状を,出来るだけ単純で基本的に共通した変化として捉え,症状に適した対応を検討することを目的として本研究を行った｡月経を有する22～45歳の女性34名に対し,Menstrual Distress Questionnaireの即時的回答法を用いて月経周辺期を[痛み],[集中力],[行動変化],[自律神経反応],[水分貯留],[負の感情]から構成された35症状6領域で縦断的に追究し,以下の結果を得た｡ 1.月経周辺期の症状を縦断的に比較検討した結果,Moosのデータと近似した日本人のデータを示した｡ 2.月経周辺期における領域の推移では,身体的症状で構成される[痛み領域],[水分貯留領域]の2領域が精神的症状で構成される他の領域に比べ,常に上位を占めていた｡以上の事より,月経周辺期の生理的変化に伴う精神的愁訴は,身体的変化によって誘発されている可能性が示唆された｡Each of 34 women rated their experience of 46 symptoms on a six-point scale separately for the premenstrual, menstrual, and intermenstrual phases of her most recent menstrual cycle. The 46 symptoms were intercorrelated and factor analyzed separately for each phase. These symptoms were divided into six clusters of symptoms, such as pain, concentration, behavioral change, autonomic reaction, water retention, and negative affect. Pain and water retention were composed of physical symptoms, were always at higher position than three clusters of menstrual symptoms in perimenstrual change. Thus, mental symptoms in perimenstrual physiological changes were might be induced by physical changes

Immunohistochemical analysis of P-glycoprotein expression in diverse histological types of epithelial ovarian tumors.

P-glycoprotein is a transmembrane protein which acts as an energy-dependent drug efflux pump for a variety of anti-cancer drugs. The mdr-1 gene which encodes P-glycoprotein was successfully cloned in 1986. To investigate P-glycoprotein expression in diverse ovarian tumors, including benign, low malignant potential and malignant, immunohistochemical study was done using a monoclonal antibody (C 219). Overall, 8 out of the 59 epithelial ovarian tumors (13.6%) expressed P-glycoprotein. It was noted that 5 of the 12 mucinous tumors were found to express P-glycoprotein, while none of the 31 serous tumors were immunohistochemically positive. In 10 malignant ovarian tumors, P-glycoprotein immunostaining was examined both prior to and after chemotherapy. Nine of them did not express any P-glycoprotein before or after chemotherapy. However, one tumor expressed P-glycoprotein after six courses of multidrug resistance-related drug administration. These findings indicate that P-glycoprotein expression is not so common in ovarian tumors, regardless of their malignant potential. Nevertheless, the results suggest a strong association between P-glycoprotein expression and certain histological cell types in epithelial ovarian tumors. It is also possible that P-glycoprotein appears as a result of chemotherapy, but such a phenomenon can not occur unless chemotherapy is administered at high doses for a long period of time.</p

Evaluating object and region of concentric electrode in bio-electrical impedance measurement

Concentric electrode is easy to use and used widely for measuring bio-electrical impedance. But, its evaluating region was not investigated in detail. Then, the characteristics of concentric electrode were studied from various points of view. In case of use without electrode paste, impedance is determined with the contacting condition between electrode and skin surface over all frequency range. In case of use with electrode past, impedance is composed of stratum corneum in the frequency range of 20 Hz-1 kHz and is mainly composed of subcutaneous tissue in the range of 200 kHz-1 MHz. In the high frequency range, evaluating region of concentric electrode is the area less than the radius or the gap of center electrode