Translation and validation of a Japanese version of the irritable bowel syndrome-quality of life measure (IBS-QOL-J)

AIMS: To compare quality of life (QOL) for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) between the U.S. and Japan, it is indispensable to develop common instruments. The IBS-QOL, which is widely used in Western countries, was translated into Japanese as there has been a lack of Japanese disease-specific QOL measures for IBS. METHODS: The original 34 items of the IBS-QOL were translated from English into Japanese through two independent forward translations, resolution, back translation, and resolution of differences. Forty nine patients who had GI symptoms but did not have any organic diseases (including 30 IBS patients diagnosed by Rome II criteria) were recruited from Tohoku University Hospital in Sendai, Japan and completed a Japanese version of the IBS-QOL (IBS-QOL-J) concomitant with a Japanese version of the IBS severity index (IBSSI-J) twice within 7–14 days. RESULTS: The IBS-QOL-J demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha; 0.96) and high reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient; 0.92, p < 0.001). Convergent analyses confirmed that the overall score of IBS-QOL-J was significantly correlated with overall severity of IBS symptoms on the IBSSI-J (r = -0.36, p = 0.01) and with the individual items on the IBSSI-J that assess interference with life in general (r = -0.47, p = 0.001) and dissatisfaction with bowel habits (r = -0.32, p < 0.05). Eight patients who reported continuous abdominal pain in the past 6 months had significantly lower scores in the IBS-QOL-J than those who did not (53.7 +- 12.7 vs. 73.6 +- 19.5, p < 0.01). Age, sex, education or marital status did not affect scores on the measure. CONCLUSION: The IBS-QOL-J is a reliable instrument to assess the disease-specific QOL for IBS. Considering cross-cultural comparison, this measure is likely to be a valuable tool to investigate the QOL in Japanese patients with IBS

Extraction of copper from complex carbonaceous sulfide ore by direct high-pressure leaching

The increase of impurities and complexity of copper ores are among the recent challenges in the mining industry. Complex carbonaceous sulfide ores are extremely difficult to treat due to their mineralogical complexity and impurities of organic carbon and carbonates. This study focuses on the development of a hydrometallurgical process for efficient copper extraction from complex carbonaceous sulfide ore which contains chalcopyrite, carbonates (dolomite and calcite), and carbonaceous gangue minerals. Characterization of the ore sample and leach residues was conducted using XRD and EPMA analysis, while ICP-OES was used for the determination of total dissolved metals in solution. High-pressure leaching of complex carbonaceous sulfide ore in oxygenated sulfuric acid solution was performed and the influence of leaching parameters such as sulfuric acid concentration, temperature, total pressure, and pulp density was studied. The extraction of copper increased with increasing temperature, sulfuric acid concentration, and total pressure. On the other hand, an increase in pulp density resulted in a decline in copper extraction due to an increased slurry viscosity and resistance in the diffusive mass transfer of reactants. Selective dissolution of copper from iron can be achieved by controlling free acidity in the pregnant leach solution (PLS). Under these leaching conditions: 100 g/L, 1 M H2SO4, 160 ◦C, 1.0 MPa total pressure, the highest copper and iron extractions achieved were 97.55% and 95.37%, respectively. Precipitation of copper from the PLS by NaSH sulfidization was investigated and more than 99.9% of copper was recovered at a Cu: NaSH molar ratio of 1:1.8

Lobe-Specific Calcium Binding in Calmodulin Regulates Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Activation

BACKGROUND: Human endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) requires calcium-bound calmodulin (CaM) for electron transfer but the detailed mechanism remains unclear. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a series of CaM mutants with E to Q substitution at the four calcium-binding sites, we found that single mutation at any calcium-binding site (B1Q, B2Q, B3Q and B4Q) resulted in ∼2-3 fold increase in the CaM concentration necessary for half-maximal activation (EC50) of citrulline formation, indicating that each calcium-binding site of CaM contributed to the association between CaM and eNOS. Citrulline formation and cytochrome c reduction assays revealed that in comparison with nNOS or iNOS, eNOS was less stringent in the requirement of calcium binding to each of four calcium-binding sites. However, lobe-specific disruption with double mutations in calcium-binding sites either at N- (B12Q) or at C-terminal (B34Q) lobes greatly diminished both eNOS oxygenase and reductase activities. Gel mobility shift assay and flavin fluorescence measurement indicated that N- and C-lobes of CaM played distinct roles in regulating eNOS catalysis; the C-terminal EF-hands in its calcium-bound form was responsible for the binding of canonical CaM-binding domain, while N-terminal EF-hands in its calcium-bound form controlled the movement of FMN domain. Limited proteolysis studies further demonstrated that B12Q and B34Q induced different conformational change in eNOS. CONCLUSIONS: Our results clearly demonstrate that CaM controls eNOS electron transfer primarily through its lobe-specific calcium binding

Diversity of polyisoprenoids in ten Okinawan mangroves

The distribution and occurrence of polyisoprenoids (dolichols and polyprenols) in the leaves and roots of nine true Okinawan mangroves and the leaves of one associate mangrove were analyzed using two-dimensional thin layer chromatography. In the leaves, the distribution of three types (I, II, and III) of polyprenols and dolichols were detected. (I) The predominance of dolichols over polyprenols (more than 90%) was observed in Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, B. gymnorrhiza (yellow leaves), and Rhizophora stylosa. (II) The occurrence of both polyprenols and dolichols is observed in Excoecaria agallocha, Kandelia obovata, K. obovata (yellow leaves), Lumnitzera racemosa, Pemphis acidula, and Sonneratia alba. (III) The predominance of polyprenols over dolichols (more than 90%) is observed in Heritiera littoralis and Hibiscus tiliaceus. However, in the roots, a type-I distribution was observed in A. marina, B. gymnorrhiza, E. agallocha, H. littoralis and S. alba. A type-II distribution was observed in K. obovata, L. racemosa, P. acidula, and R. stylosa with no type-III distribution. The chain-length distribution of dolichols in the leaves and roots was C50–C140 and C60–C120, respectively. A similar chain-length distribution of polyprenols of C45–C140 and C65–C85 was detected in the leaves and roots respectively. Taken together, sixteen out of twenty-one tissues indicated that dolichols are more abundant than polyprenols in both leaves and roots. The present study is the first to clarify the diversity of polyisoprenoids in both the leaves and roots of mangrove, suggesting the chemotaxonomic significance of polyisoprenoids in the mangrove tree species