Relationship between salivary Chromogranin-A and stress induced by simulated monotonous driving

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of salivary Chromogranin-A (CgA), which is already used in general as a mental stress marker, for studying the stressful situation created by simulated monotonous driving. After informed consent, 25 healthy male and female subjects were studied under constant environment-controlled conditions. We measured the following physiological variables: blood pressure (BP), cardiac output, total peripheral resistance (TPR), normalized pulse volume (NPV) as an index of alpha-adrenergic sympathetic activity to the finger arteriolar vessels, levels of cortisol and CgA during monotonous driving. The induced stress led to the expected decreases in NPV and increases in TPR and BP caused by peripherally related sympathetic acceleration. However, CgA levels were found to fall gradually in accordance with the gradual increase of subjective rating of stress (SRS) and significantly (p < 0.01) decreased over the period of the simulated monotonous driving. Our hypothesis for the gradual decrease of CgA levels during the simulated monotonous driving is as follows. CgA, catestatin and catecholamines are co-released into the extra-cellular environment. Peripheral sympathetic activity was accelerated by stress resulting from the simulated monotonous driving. Upon peripheral vessel constriction, an increase in TPR then increased BP which, in turn, activated catestatin. Consequently, secretion of CgA was blocked by the co-secreted catestatin from chromaffin granules. The results obtained strongly indicate that, although CgA has been reported as a possible marker of stress, CgA levels are not increased in the stressful situation of simulated monotonous driving. © 2009 International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering

Cetaceans evolution:insights from the genome sequences of common minke whales

Background: Whales have captivated the human imagination for millennia. These incredible cetaceans are the only mammals that have adapted to life in the open oceans and have been a source of human food, fuel and tools around the globe. The transition from land to water has led to various aquatic specializations related to hairless skin and ability to regulate their body temperature in cold water. Results: We present four common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) genomes with depth of ×13 ~ ×17 coverage and perform resequencing technology without a reference sequence. Our results indicated the time to the most recent common ancestors of common minke whales to be about 2.3574 (95% HPD, 1.1521 - 3.9212) million years ago. Further, we found that genes associated with epilation and tooth-development showed signatures of positive selection, supporting the morphological uniqueness of whales. Conclusions: This whole-genome sequencing offers a chance to better understand the evolutionary journey of one of the largest mammals on earth

A Gene-Set Enrichment and Protein–Protein Interaction Network-Based GWAS with Regulatory SNPs Identifies Candidate Genes and Pathways Associated with Carcass Traits in Hanwoo Cattle

Non-synonymous SNPs and protein coding SNPs within the promoter region of genes (regulatory SNPs) might have a significant effect on carcass traits. Imputed sequence level data of 10,215 Hanwoo bulls, annotated and filtered to include only regulatory SNPs (450,062 SNPs), were used in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify loci associated with backfat thickness (BFT), carcass weight (CWT), eye muscle area (EMA), and marbling score (MS). A total of 15, 176, and 1 SNPs were found to be significantly associated (p &lt; 1.11 &times; 10&minus;7) with BFT, CWT, and EMA, respectively. The significant loci were BTA4 (CWT), BTA6 (CWT), BTA14 (CWT and EMA), and BTA19 (BFT). BayesR estimated that 1.1%~1.9% of the SNPs contributed to more than 0.01% of the phenotypic variance. So, the GWAS was complemented by a gene-set enrichment (GSEA) and protein&ndash;protein interaction network (PPIN) analysis in identifying the pathways affecting carcass traits. At p &lt; 0.005 (~2,261 SNPs), 25 GO and 18 KEGG categories, including calcium signaling, cell proliferation, and folate biosynthesis, were found to be enriched through GSEA. The PPIN analysis showed enrichment for 81 candidate genes involved in various pathways, including the PI3K-AKT, calcium, and FoxO signaling pathways. Our finding provides insight into the effects of regulatory SNPs on carcass traits

Insight into the Fecal Microbiota Signature Associated with Growth Specificity in Korean Jindo Dogs Using 16S rRNA Sequencing

Gut microbiomes are well recognized to serve a variety of roles in health and disease, even though their functions are not yet completely understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that the microbiomes of juvenile and adult dogs have significantly different compositions and characteristics. However, there is still a scarcity of basic microbiome research in dogs. In this study, we aimed to advance our understanding by confirming the difference in fecal microbiome between young and adult dogs by analyzing the feces of 4-month and 16-month-old Jindo dogs, a domestic Korean breed. Microbiome data were generated and examined for the two age groups using 16S rRNA analysis. Comparison results revealed that the 16-month-old group presented a relatively high distribution of Bacteroides, whereas the 4-month-old group presented a comparatively high distribution of the Lactobacillus genus. Microbial function prediction analyses confirmed the relative abundance of lipid metabolism in 4-month-old dogs. In 16-month-old dogs, glucose metabolism was determined using microbial function prediction analyses. This implies that the functional microbiome changes similarly to the latter in adults compared with childhood. Overall, we discovered compositional and functional variations between genes of the gut microbial population in juveniles and adults. These microbial community profiles can be used as references for future research on the microbiome associated with health and development in the canine population

Overview of the KoRIA Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

The Korea Rare Isotope Accelerator, currently referred to as KoRIA, is briefly presented. The KoRIA facility is aimed to enable cutting-edge sciences in a wide range of fields. It consists of a 70 kW isotope separator on-line (ISOL) facility driven by a 70 MeV, 1 mA proton cyclotron and a 400 kW in-flight fragmentation (IFF) facility. The ISOL facility uses a superconducting (SC) linac for post-acceleration of rare isotopes up to about 18 MeV/u, while the SC linac of IFF facility is capable of accelerating uranium beams up to 200 MeV/u, 8 p mu A and proton beams up to 600 MeV, 660 mu A. Overall features of the KoRIA facility are presented with a focus on the accelerator design.close5