Oxytocin signal and social behaviour: comparison among adult and infant oxytocin, oxytocin receptor and CD38 gene knockout mice.

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Oxytocin in the hypothalamus is the biological basis of social recognition, trust, love and bonding. Previously, we showed that CD38, a proliferation marker in leukaemia cells, plays an important role in the hypothalamus in the process of oxytocin release in adult mice. Disruption of Cd38 (Cd38 (-/-)) elicited impairment of maternal behaviour and male social recognition in adult mice, similar to the behaviour observed in Oxt and oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) gene knockout (Oxt (-/-) and Oxtr (-/-), respectively) mice. Locomotor activity induced by separation from the dam was higher and the number of ultrasonic vocalisation calls was lower in Cd38 (-/-) than Cd38( +/+) pups. However, these behavioural changes were much milder than those observed in Oxt (-/-) and Oxtr (-/-) mice, indicating less impairment of social behaviour in Cd38 (-/-) pups. These phenotypes appeared to be caused by the high plasma oxytocin levels during development from the neonatal period to 3-week-old juvenile mice. ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity was markedly lower in the knockout mice from birth, suggesting that weaning for mice is a critical time window of plasma oxytocin differentiation. Breastfeeding was an important exogenous source of plasma oxytocin regulation before weaning as a result of the presence of oxytocin in milk and the dam\u27s mammary glands. The dissimilarity between Cd38 (-/-) infant behaviour and those of Oxt (-/-) or Oxtr (-/-) mice can be explained partly by this exogenous source of oxytocin. These results suggest that secretion of oxytocin into the brain in a CD38-dependent manner may play an important role in the development of social behaviour

Влияние дыма лесных пожаров на течение болезней органов дыхания

In 1998 wood fire'in the Far East lasted from July to November and seized the territory of 2.1 rAillion of hectares. More than 1 million of residents have undergone td an influence of smoke from burning wood for long time. Though the mortality and morbidity from respiratory diseases did not increase in 1998, the authors revealed a number of quantitative changes in the course of principal respiratory diseases in the period of the smoke influence.Hospitalization of patients with pneumonia in Khabarovsk and Komsomolsk hospitals increased by 20-30%. This disease run more severe compared with the same period of 1997. Bilateral lung injury and dry cough were observed more often. A peculiar bronchopneumopathy with breathlessness, dry cough, crackles and wheezing on auscultation, bilateral bronchial wall thickening on chest radiography, absence of fever and intoxication, high efficacy of glucocorticosteroids and bronchodilators was noted in children aged 5-13 years.In 191 adult patients with lung obstructive disease the effect of traditional complex therapy was reliably worse assessed by the FEV1 dynamics. The increase of atmospheric CO concentration more than 3 mg/m3 was accompanied by an improvement of bronchial passability in asthmatic patients and its worsening in chronic obstructive bronchitis patients (p<0.05). This is thought to involve different obstruction mechanisms in these diseases.Лесные пожары на Дальнем Востоке в 1998 году продолжались с июля по ноябрь и охватили площадь до 2,1 млн га. Более 1 млн жителей региона длительное время подвергались воздействию продуктов горения леса. Несмотря на отсутствие роста заболеваемости и смертности от патологии органов дыхания в 1998 году, авторами выявлен ряд качественных изменений в течении основных заболеваний системы дыхания в период воздействия дыма.На 20-30% увеличилась госпитализация больных пневмонией в больницы г. Хабаровска и г. Комсомольска-на-Амуре. Заболевание носило более тяжелое течение, чем за тот же период 1997 года. Чаще отмечался двусторонний характер поражения легких и симптомы сухого кашля. У детей в возрасте 5-13 лет в период задымленности отмечено появление своеобразной бронхопневмопатии с симптомами одышки, сухого кашля, крепитацией и хрипами при аускультации, двусторонним усилением легочного рисунка на рентгенограмме, отсутствием лихорадки и интоксикации, высокой эффективностью лечения глюкокортикоидами и бронхолитиками.У 191 взрослого пациента с обструктивными заболеваниями легких в период задымленности отмечен достоверно более низкий эффект стандартной комплексной терапии по критерию ОФВ1. Повышение концентрации СО в атмосфере более 3 мг в 1 м3 сопровождалось улучшением бронхиальной проходимости у больных астмой и её снижением у пациентов с хроническим обструктивным бронхитом (р<0,05), что, вероятно, связано с различием механизмов обструкции при этих заболеваниях

Internet of Things for Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change

Our world is vulnerable to climate change risks such as glacier retreat, rising temperatures, more variable and intense weather events (e.g., floods, droughts, and frosts), deteriorating mountain ecosystems, soil degradation, and increasing water scarcity. However, there are big gaps in our understanding of changes in regional climate and how these changes will impact human and natural systems, making it difficult to anticipate, plan, and adapt to the coming changes. The IoT paradigm in this area can enhance our understanding of regional climate by using technology solutions, while providing the dynamic climate elements based on integrated environmental sensing and communications that is necessary to support climate change impacts assessments in each of the related areas (e.g., environmental quality and monitoring, sustainable energy, agricultural systems, cultural preservation, and sustainable mining). In the IoT in Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change chapter, a framework for informed creation, interpretation and use of climate change projections and for continued innovations in climate and environmental science driven by key societal and economic stakeholders is presented. In addition, the IoT cyberinfrastructure to support the development of continued innovations in climate and environmental science is discussed

Two genetic variants of CD38 in subjects with autism spectrum disorder and controls

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系The neurobiological basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains poorly understood. Given the role of CD38 in social recognition through oxytocin (OT) release, we hypothesized that CD38 may play a role in the etiology of ASD. Here, we first examined the immunohistochemical expression of CD38 in the hypothalamus of post-mortem brains of non-ASD subjects and found that CD38 was colocalized with OT in secretory neurons. In studies of the association between CD38 and autism, we analyzed 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and mutations of CD38 by re-sequencing DNAs mainly from a case-control study in Japan, and Caucasian cases mainly recruited to the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE). The SNPs of CD38, rs6449197 (p 70; designated as high-functioning autism (HFA)) in the U.S. 104 AGRE family trios, but not with Japanese 188 HFA subjects. A mutation that caused tryptophan to replace arginine at amino acid residue 140 (R140W; (rs1800561, 4693C>T)) was found in 0.6-4.6% of the Japanese population and was associated with ASD in the smaller case-control study. The SNP was clustered in pedigrees in which the fathers and brothers of T-allele-carrier probands had ASD or ASD traits. In this cohort OT plasma levels were lower in subjects with the T allele than in those without. One proband with the T allele who was taking nasal OT spray showed relief of symptoms. The two variant CD38 poloymorphysms tested may be of interest with regard of the pathophysiology of ASD. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society