Light for gestational ageで生まれた女性の妊娠はハイリスクか

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Rotated Japanese Character Recognition

We proposed a rotated character recognition method using eigen-subspace for alpha-numeric characters so far. We first construct an eigen-subspace for each category using the covariance matrix calculated from a sufficient number of rotated character patterns. Next, we can obtain a locus by projecting their rotated characters onto the eigen sub-space and interpolating between their projected points. An unknown character is also projected onto the eigen subspace of each category. A single projection and multiple projections of the input character image were proposed. Then, the verification is carried out by calculating the distance between the projected points of the unknown character and the locus. Then the multiple projections showed a higher accuracy at low dimensions than a single projection for alphanumeric 62 categories. This time, we applied it for the first class of Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) Kanji set which includes 2,965 categories. As the result, very high recognition accuracy over 99.8% was achieved by especially multiple projections of the input rotated images

The impact of building up the limb muscle mass by the resistance exercise with the intake of milk in middle-aged and elderly women

Background: In the rapidly aging Japanese society, the most serious disorder to prevent is sarcopenia for extending healthy life expectancy. Objective: This study was carried out to clarify whether five kinds of specific and simple resistance exercise performing at home for the short term (42 days) with theintake of whole milk could help to increase the limb muscle mass in middle-aged and elderly women. Participants and measurements: Subjects were 39 healthy women aged 50 to 80 years who gave the consent to participate in the present study. Body composition, physical fitness, food and nutrient intake were measured. Oral glucose-tolerance test (OGTT) was also performed. Groups and results: Subjects were categorized in two groups; Group I with the increase of the limb muscle mass after exercise and Group II with no increase. Body weight before exercise (Group I, 51.6±5.5 kg vs Group II, 58.5±10.3 kg), the body mass index (BMI) (21.7±2.5 kg/m2 vs 24.3±3.9 kg/m2), the limb muscle mass (14.4±1.3 kg vs 15.6±2.0 kg), the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) (6.0±0.5 kg/m2 vs 6.5±0.7 kg/m2), were all significantly high in Group II. The intake of milk before exercise in Group I (162.1±103.7 g/day) was significantly higher than in Group II (92.5±63.3 g/day). The blood glucose level at 30 min after glucose loading in Group I before exercise was significantly higher than that in Group Ⅱ (199.3 ± 31.1 mg/dl vs 177.0±34.1 mg/dl). Conclusion: The subjects in Group I could successfully increase the limb muscle mass, but the subjects in Group II, whose weight, BMI, the limb muscle mass were significantly high before exercise, could not increase the muscle mass by resistance exercise with the intake of milk. It was considered that the resistance exercise carried out in this study was not strong enough for Group II. We assumed that the BMI value could be the indicator of the strength of exercise for building up the muscle mass in middle-aged and elderly individuals

Metabolic Characterization of Antifolate Responsiveness and Non-responsiveness in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Cells

Antifolates are a class of drugs effective for treating malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The majority of antifolates inhibit enzymes involved in purine and pyrimidine synthesis such as dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), thymidylate synthase (TYMS), and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase (GART). In order to select the most suitable patients for effective therapy with drugs targeting specific metabolic pathways, there is a need for better predictive metabolic biomarkers. Antifolates can alter global metabolic pathways in MPM cells, yet the metabolic profile of treated cells has not yet been clearly elucidated. Here we found that MPM cell lines could be categorized into two groups according to their sensitivity or resistance to pemetrexed treatment. We show that pemetrexed susceptibility could be reversed and DNA synthesis rescued in drug-treated cells by the exogenous addition of the nucleotide precursors hypoxanthine and thymidine (HT). We observed that the expression of pemetrexed-targeted enzymes in resistant MPM cells was quantitatively lower than that seen in pemetrexed-sensitive cells. Metabolomic analysis revealed that glycine and choline, which are involved in one-carbon metabolism, were altered after drug treatment in pemetrexed-sensitive but not resistant MPM cells. The addition of HT upregulated the concentration of inosine monophosphate (IMP) in pemetrexed-sensitive MPM cells, indicating that the nucleic acid biosynthesis pathway is important for predicting the efficacy of pemetrexed in MPM cells. Our data provide evidence that may link therapeutic response to the regulation of metabolism, and points to potential biomarkers for informing clinical decisions regarding the most effective therapies for patients with MPM

A Crowdsourcing Approach for Finding Misidentifications of Bibliographic Records

Because there is no perfect technique for automatic identification of bibliographic records, cleaning the identification results manually is indispensable. However, to recruit human resources for the task is often difficult. This paper discusses a microtask-based crowdsourcing approach to the problem. An important issue is to design a good strategy for generating tasks to be assigned to workers, maintaining the quality and reducing the number of tasks. In this study, we explore a design space defined by two criteria to reduce the number of assigned microtasks for finding misidentifications caused by automatic identification techniques. We compare four task-generation strategies using bibliographic records of the National Diet Library. One of the strategies reduced 55.7% of tasks from the baseline strategy and statistic analysis showed that the quality of its result is comparable to those of the other three strategies.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Progress in the beginning stage of new reclamation work in early 19th-century Kashobara, in the southern part of Saijo Basin, Higashi-Hiroshima City, southwestern Japan: Analysis of “Kokugunshi-goyo-kakiagecho, Kamo-gun Kashobara”

本稿は，「国郡志御用書上帳　賀茂郡柏原　ひかへ」の分析を通して，19世紀初頭の東広島市西条盆地南部，柏原における新田開発初期の進捗過程の詳細を明らかにすることを目的とする。本史料は，1825（文政8）年に広島藩の地誌書として完成した『芸藩通誌』の編纂材料として，領内各郡村から藩へ提出された調査報告書である。開発の特徴として，1）入植を伴う新田開発は，広島藩からの指示によって始まったが，水利施設の増築という入植者からの要望が，割庄屋を通して藩へ申し入れられ，それが叶えられていること，2）入植者を増やす方策として，藩が入植者を経済的に支援し，年貢の免除や軽減を認めていることなど，入植者に配慮した藩の手厚い対応が垣間見られた。また，本稿では，水利施設に関する記載内容の合理的な解釈を，絵図や現実の地形条件に基づいて行った。文献史料と絵図・地形図などを組み合わせて活用する方法をとることで，当時の様子を精緻に再現できたところに，分野横断型の研究手法の意義を見出すことができた。We discuss progress during the beginning stage of new reclamation work in early 19th-century Kashobara, in the southern part of Saijo Basin, Higashi-Hiroshima City, through interpretation of the historical document “Kokugunshigoyo-kakiagecho, Kamo-gun Kashobara.” The document is a copy of a report wherein county leaders (Warijoya) wrote geographical descriptions of each village in their county as of the early 19th century, at the order of the Hiroshima Domain; then, in 1825, the Domain compiled the reports as a book entitled “Geihantushi.” This study highlights that 1) the Domain ordered local villagers to engage in reclamation work in local neighborhoods, while villagers demanded through the county leaders that the Domain build irrigation facilities for growing rice (such as ponds and canals), which the Domain agreed to and provided financial support for; and 2) the Domain further supported poor newcomers by reducing their taxes. This case reveals that the Domain treated the local people in the county with kindness, whereas many other Domains were well-known to have ruled farmers heavy-handedly. Although it is difficult to understand some complicated descriptions in the document, such as concerning embankments of the irrigation ponds, we can arrive at reasonable reconstructions by interpreting old drawings and considering the actual topography. This research is a good example of the advantages of cross-disciplinary methods

Efficacy of Prednisolone in Generated Myotubes Derived From Fibroblasts of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. This disease is caused by the mutation or deletion of the dystrophin gene. Currently, there are no effective treatments and glucocorticoid administration is a standard care for DMD. However, the mechanism underlying prednisolone effects, which leads to increased walking, as well as decreased muscle wastage, is poorly understood. Our purpose in this study is to investigate the mechanisms of the efficacy of prednisolone for this disease. We converted fibroblasts of normal human cell line and a DMD patient sample to myotubes by MyoD transduction using a retroviral vector. In myotubes from the MyoD-transduced fibroblasts of the DMD patient, the myotube area was decreased and its apoptosis was increased. Furthermore, we confirmed that prednisolone could rescue these pathologies. Prednisolone increased the expression of not utrophin but laminin by down-regulation of MMP-2 mRNA. These results suggest that the up-regulation of laminin may be one of the mechanisms of the efficacy of prednisolone for DMD

STING signalling is terminated through ESCRT-dependent microautophagy of vesicles originating from recycling endosomes

STING炎症シグナルの終結分子機構 --新規細胞内分解システムの発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-03-14.Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is essential for the type I interferon response against a variety of DNA pathogens. Upon emergence of cytosolic DNA, STING translocates from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi where STING activates the downstream kinase TBK1, then to lysosome through recycling endosomes (REs) for its degradation. Although the molecular machinery of STING activation is extensively studied and defined, the one underlying STING degradation and inactivation has not yet been fully elucidated. Here we show that STING is degraded by the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT)-driven microautophagy. Airyscan super-resolution microscopy and correlative light/electron microscopy suggest that STING-positive vesicles of an RE origin are directly encapsulated into Lamp1-positive compartments. Screening of mammalian Vps genes, the yeast homologues of which regulate Golgi-to-vacuole transport, shows that ESCRT proteins are essential for the STING encapsulation into Lamp1-positive compartments. Knockdown of Tsg101 and Vps4, components of ESCRT, results in the accumulation of STING vesicles in the cytosol, leading to the sustained type I interferon response. Knockdown of Tsg101 in human primary T cells leads to an increase the expression of interferon-stimulated genes. STING undergoes K63-linked ubiquitination at lysine 288 during its transit through the Golgi/REs, and this ubiquitination is required for STING degradation. Our results reveal a molecular mechanism that prevents hyperactivation of innate immune signalling, which operates at REs