Role of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe F-box DNA helicase in processing recombination intermediates.

In an effort to identify novel genes involved in recombination repair, we isolated fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe mutants sensitive to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and a synthetic lethal with rad2. A gene that complements such mutations was isolated from the S. pombe genomic library, and subsequent analysis identified it as the fbh1 gene encoding the F-box DNA helicase, which is conserved in mammals but not conserved in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. An fbh1 deletion mutant is moderately sensitive to UV, MMS, and ¿ rays. The rhp51 (RAD51 ortholog) mutation is epistatic to fbh1. fbh1 is essential for viability in stationary-phase cells and in the absence of either Srs2 or Rqh1 DNA helicase. In each case, lethality is suppressed by deletion of the recombination gene rhp57. These results suggested that fbh1 acts downstream of rhp51 and rhp57. Following UV irradiation or entry into the stationary phase, nuclear chromosomal domains of the fbh1¿ mutant shrank, and accumulation of some recombination intermediates was suggested by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Focus formation of Fbh1 protein was induced by treatment that damages DNA. Thus, the F-box DNA helicase appears to process toxic recombination intermediates, the formation of which is dependent on the function of Rhp51

A Numerical Method for Distinction between Blow-up and Global Solutions of the Nonlinear Heat Equation

The famous one-dimensional nonlinear heat equation is considered. To this equation a numerical method for distinction between blow-up and global solutions is proposed. Difficulty is in the treatment of the global solution which is defined in the infinite interval. The bounding transform is used to overcome this difficulty. Numerical experiments show the validity of our method

SOCS, Inflammation, and Autoimmunity

Cytokines play essential roles in innate and adaptive immunity. However, excess cytokines or dysregulation of cytokine signaling will cause a variety of diseases, including allergies, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and cancer. Most cytokines utilize the so-called Janus kinase–signal transducers and activators of transcription pathway. This pathway is negatively regulated by various mechanisms including suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins. SOCS proteins bind to JAK or cytokine receptors, thereby suppressing further signaling events. Especially, suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS1) and SOCS3 are strong inhibitors of JAKs, because these two contain kinase inhibitory region at the N-terminus. Studies using conditional knockout mice have shown that SOCS proteins are key physiological as well as pathological regulators of immune homeostasis. Recent studies have also demonstrated that SOCS1 and SOCS3 are important regulators of helper T cell differentiation and functions. This review focuses on the roles of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in T cell mediated inflammatory diseases

Nonextensive aspects of small-world networks

Nonextensive aspects of the degree distribution in Watts-Strogatz (WS) small-world networks, $P_{SW}(k)$, have been discussed in terms of a generalized Gaussian (referred to as {\it $Q$-Gaussian}) which is derived by the three approaches: the maximum-entropy method (MEM), stochastic differential equation (SDE), and hidden-variable distribution (HVD). In MEM, the degree distribution $P_Q(k)$ in complex networks has been obtained from $Q$-Gaussian by maximizing the nonextensive information entropy with constraints on averages of $k$ and $k^2$ in addition to the normalization condition. In SDE, $Q$-Gaussian is derived from Langevin equations subject to additive and multiplicative noises. In HVD, $Q$-Gaussian is made by a superposition of Gaussians for random networks with fluctuating variances, in analogy to superstatistics. Interestingly, {\it a single} $P_{Q}(k)$ may describe, with an accuracy of \mid P_{SW}(k)-P_Q(k)\mid \siml 10^{-2} , main parts of degree distributions of SW networks, within which about 96-99 percents of all $k$ states are included. It has been demonstrated that the overall behavior of $P_{SW}(k)$ including its tails may be well accounted for if the $k$-dependence is incorporated into the entropic index in MEM, which is realized in microscopic Langevin equations with generalized multiplicative noises.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, accepted in Physca A with some augmentation

商業スポーツクラブにおける顧客満足と関与に関する研究 : サービス評価と利用行動特性に着目して

The concepts of customer satisfaction and involvement have received substantial research attention by marketing researchers. Many researchers have mentioned about characteristics of highly satisfied customers : e.g., repeat purchases, frequent consumption and positive evaluation of cost. Some of these characteristics have also been regarded as the characteristics of highly involved customers. Few studies, however, have investigated customer satisfaction in relation to involvement. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and involvement in terms of service evaluation and use behavior at commercial sports clubs. Data for this study were obtained from 622 members of four commercial sports clubs in Aichi Prefecture. Each subject\u27s satisfaction, involvement, and evaluation of the club service were measured by the use of questionnaire. Respondents were classified into four categories based on the satisfaction and involvement scores, and compared for differences in their evaluation and use behavior. The results of the study were as follows : 1) A high-involved member visited the club more frequently, spent more time per visit, and had a more positive evaluation of the benefits and membership fee than the low-involved. 2) The high-satisfied members had a more positive view of service performance than those less satisfied. It was supposed that such characteristics as frequent visits, long time use, and positive evaluation of the benefits and membership fee were signs of the highly satisfied customer. The results of the study, however, suggest that the much involvement rather than great satisfaction contributed to these characteristics

Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein Inhibits High-Mobility Group Box-1-Mediated Pathways in Vascular Endothelial Cells through CLEC-1A

High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein has been postulated to play a pathogenic role in severe sepsis. Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG), a 75 kDa plasma protein, was demonstrated to improve the survival rate of septic mice through the regulation of neutrophils and endothelium barrier function. As the relalionship of HRG and HMGB1 remains poorly understood, we investigated the effects of HRG on HMGB1-mediated pathway in endothelial cells, focusing on the involvement of specific receptors for HRG. HRC potently inhibited the HMGB1 mobilization and effectively suppressed rHMGB1-induced inflammatory responses and expression of all three HMGB1 receptors in endothelial cells. Moreover, we first clarified that these protective effects of HRG on endothelial cells were mediated through C-type lectin domain family 1 member A (CLEC-1A) receptor. Thus, current study elueiates protective effects of HRG on vascular endothelial cells through inhintion of HMGB1-mediated pathways may contribute to the therapeutic effects of HRG on severe sepsis

Long-term prognostic value of cardiac autonomic nervous activity in postoperative patients with congenital heart disease

Background: Abnormal cardiac autonomic nervous activity (CANA) is not uncommon in postoperative patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods and results: We attempted to clarify the prognostic value of the CANA variables in postoperative CHD patients and prospectively evaluated the CANA variables in 292 consecutive biventricular and 91 Fontan repair patients. The CANA variables included the heart rate variability, arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), washout ratio of the myocardial metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy, and plasma norepinephrine level. With a follow-up of 10 ± 2 years, 98 total events that required hospitalization, including 13 deaths and 48 unscheduled cardiac events (UCEs), occurred. In all the CHD patients, all the CANA indices predicted the total events and UCEs. Of those, the NE level (p = 0.0004) and BRS (p = 0.0373) predicted the mortality. In a multivariate analysis, the BRS was an independent CANA-predictor for the total events (p = 0.007). In the biventricular patients, the plasma NE level, heart rate variability, and BRS predicted the total events and UCEs and the BRS was the only independent CANA-predictor for the total events (p = 0.0329). In the Fontan patients, the plasma NE level was the only predictor for the UCEs (p = 0.0242) and no other CANA variables were independent predictors of the total events or UCEs. Conclusions: All CANA variables, especially the BRS, were useful predictors for future clinical events in biventricular CHD patients, whereas no CANA variables, except for the plasma NE level, predicted future clinical events in the Fontan patients

Existence and Uniqueness of Quasiperiodic Solutions to Van der Pol type Equations

This paper is concerned with the existence and uniqueness of quasiperiodic solutions to Van der Pol type equations driven by two or more distinct frequency input signals from the viewpoint of numerical analysis. A numerical result given in the previous paper [13] is corrected

HIGH-DOSE-RATE AFTERLOADING INTRACAVITARY IRRADIATION AND EXPANDABLE METALLIC BILIARY ENDOPROSTHESIS FOR MALIGNANT BILIARY OBSTRUCTION

A double lumen catheter was developed as an applicator for the remote afterloading system (RALS) of ⁶⁰Co for the intracavitary irradiation of an obstructed common bile duct due to gallbladder cancer in 1 case and by cholangiocarcinoma in 7 cases. This was followed by the biliary endoprosthesis with expandable metallic stents to maintain patency. The mean survival period after treatment was not long (14 weeks). However, removal of the external drainage tube was possible in 7 of the 8 cases, and none of the 8 cases showed dislodgement or deformity of the stent, or obstruction of the bile duct in the stent-inserted area. This combination effectively provided palliation, and has considerable potential for malignant biliary obstruction