Royal Jelly Facilitates Restoration of the Cognitive Ability in Trimethyltin-Intoxicated Mice

Trimethyltin (TMT) is a toxic organotin compound that induces acute neuronal death selectively in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) followed by cognition impairment; however the TMT-injured hippocampal DG itself is reported to regenerate the neuronal cell layer through rapid enhancement of neurogenesis. Neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/NPCs) are present in the adult hippocampal DG, and generate neurons that can function for the cognition ability. Therefore, we investigated whether royal jelly (RJ) stimulates the regenerating processes of the TMT-injured hippocampal DG, and found that orally administered RJ significantly increased the number of DG granule cells and simultaneously improved the cognitive impairment. Furthermore, we have already shown that RJ facilitates neurogenesis of cultured NS/NPCs. These present results, taken together with previous observations, suggest that the orally administered RJ may be a promising avenue for ameliorating neuronal function by regenerating hippocampal granule cells that function in the cognition process

The Disappearance of Eggs and Larvae from the Nests of the Mischocyttarus (Monogynoecus) montei Zikán (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), Especially in Autumn and Winter: Can it Mean an Adaptive Cannibalism to Ensure the Survival of Colonies?

The aim of this study was to verify the disappearance of eggs and larvae from the nests of the Mischocyttarus (Monogynoecus) montei, especially in autumn and winter, and at the same time, to discuss about the cannibalism as the main reason for survival of the colonies during the unfavorable climatic conditions. Forty one colonies were studied during the seasons of the year, period from March in 1999 to September 2000. A total of 314 disappearances of immature individuals was counted, corresponding to 95 eggs (27,1 %) and 229 larvae (72,9 %). The results of Chi-Square test for Contingency tables showed that the disappearance of eggs and larvae were significantly higher (P < 0,05)  during the autumn and winter (x2egg= 14,53, G.L.egg= 3, Cegg= 0,38, x2larva= 443,15, G.L.larva= 3, Clarva= 0,81). In addition, the Spearman Correlation test revealed a significant negative correlation (P < 0,05) between the disappearance rate of larvae and fall in temperature (r = ­0,62), as well as between the rate and fall in rainfall (r= ­0,71), in autumn and winter. There were no significant correlation between the disappearance of eggs and any climatic factors. From total number of disappearances, small larvae disappeared from the cells at higher frequency (55,9%, n = 128) than medium (18,3%, n = 42) and large (25,8%, n = 49) size larvae. We suggest that these immatures (eggs and larvae) were cannibalized probably due to scarcity of prey and nectar under unfavorable climatic conditions, especially during the cold and dry periods of the year

Effect in supralethally irradiated rats of granulocyte colony- stimulating factor and lisofylline on hematopoietic reconstitution by syngeneic bone marrow or whole organ passenger leukocytes

We have previously shown the existence of migratory hematopoietic stem cells in adult solid organs. This study demonstrates that granulocyte colony- stimulating factor (G-CSF) and lisofylline, a phosphatidic acid inhibitor that suppresses hematopoiesis-inhibiting cytokines, can enhance the engraftment of organ-based hematopoietic stem cells. When syngeneic heart grafts or liver nonparenchymal cells were transplanted into lethally irradiated (9.5 Gy) Lewis rats, complete hematopoietic reconstitution and animal survival were significantly improved by treating the recipient with G- CSF or, to a lesser extent, with lisofylline. Pretreatment of hepatic nonparenchymal cell donors with G-CSF, but not lisofylline, also resulted in striking improvement of recipient survival which was associated with an augmented subpopulation of donor stem cells. The results suggest that these drugs can be used to enhance the chimerism that we postulate to be the basis of organ allograft acceptance

PD-L1 expression is associated with the spontaneous regression of patients with methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorders

Background Most patients with methotrexate-associated lymphoproliferative disorder (MTX-LPD) show diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) or classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) types. Patients with MTX-LPD often have spontaneous remission after MTX discontinuation, but chemotherapeutic intervention is frequently required in patients with CHL-type MTX-LPD. In this study, we examined whether programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression levels were associated with the prognosis of MTX-LPD after MTX discontinuation. Methods A total of 72 Japanese patients diagnosed with MTX-LPD were clinicopathologically analyzed, and immunohistochemical staining of PD-L1 was performed in 20 DLBCL-type and 24 CHL-type MTX-LPD cases to compare with the clinical course. Results PD-L1 was expressed in 5.0% (1/20) of patients with DLBCL-type MTX-LPD, whereas it was expressed in 66.7% (16/24) of the patients with CHL-type MTX-LPD in more than 51% of tumor cells. Most CHL-type MTX-LPD patients with high PD-L1 expression required chemotherapy owing to exacerbations or relapses after MTX discontinuation. However, no significant differences in clinicopathologic findings at diagnosis were observed between PD-L1 high- and low-expression CHL-type MTX-LPD. Conclusion PD-L1 expression was significantly higher in patients with CHL-type than DLBCL-type MTX-LPD, suggesting the need for chemotherapy in addition to MTX discontinuation in CHL-type MTX-LPD patients to achieve complete remission. No association was observed between PD-L1 expression levels and clinical findings at diagnosis, suggesting that PD-L1 expression in tumor cells influences the pathogenesis of CHL-type MTX-LPD after MTX discontinuation

Comparison between short-term food restriction and exercise on whole body glucose disposal in high-fat fed rats

High-fat diets induce whole-body insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of two interventions:3-day food restriction (66%of ad libitum fed) and 3-day exercise training (voluntary running wheels), on decreased insulin-mediated whole body glucose uptake in high-fat fed rats (5 mo old) using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp procedure. The control group was maintained on rat chow alone. After high-fat feeding for2wk, insulin-stimulated whole body glucose utilization was significantly decreased by26%. The exercise training was more effective than food restriction in lowering plasma concentrations of insulin and triacylglycerol and tissue concentrations of triacylglycerol in soleus muscles. Diminished whole-body glucose uptake resulting from high-fat feeding was reversed completely by exercise training, but only partially by food restriction. The time course of starvation on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was also observed in high-fat fed rats. Although the extension of starvation time to 48h resulted in decreased plasma glucose, insulin and triacylglycerol concentrations, whole body glucose uptake did not increase further. These findings suggest that short-term exercise has a higher restorative effect on insulin sensitivity in high-fat fed rats than food restriction, in spite of the same loss in body weight, presumably due in part to improved local lipid availability

Marker-less tracking system for multiple mice using Mask R-CNN

Although the appropriate evaluation of mouse behavior is crucial in pharmacological research, most current methods focus on single mouse behavior under light conditions, owing to the limitations of human observation and experimental tools. In this study, we aimed to develop a novel marker-less tracking method for multiple mice with top-view videos using deep-learning-based techniques. The following stepwise method was introduced: (i) detection of mouse contours, (ii) assignment of identifiers (IDs) to each mouse, and (iii) correction of mis-predictions. The behavior of C57BL/6 mice was recorded in an open-field arena, and the mouse contours were manually annotated for hundreds of frame images. Then, we trained the mask regional convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) with all annotated images. The mouse contours predicted by the trained model in each frame were assigned to IDs by calculating the similarities of every mouse pair between frames. After assigning IDs, correction steps were applied to remove the predictive errors semi-automatically. The established method could accurately predict two to four mice for first-look videos recorded under light conditions. The method could also be applied to videos recorded under dark conditions, extending our ability to accurately observe and analyze the sociality of nocturnal mice. This technology would enable a new approach to understand mouse sociality and advance the pharmacological research

1997年岡山県下に発生した集団食中毒患者から分離された腸管出血性大腸菌EHEC O157 : H7のパルスフィールドゲル電気泳動法による遺伝子解析

Thirteen enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 : H7 (EHEC) isolates derived from the patients of an outbreak in the R-hospital in Okayama Japan and one isolated from the ingredients of Japanese noodles in June 1997 were analyzed by molecular typing using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The PFGE patterns of the patients were almost the same as the patterns of the Japanese noodle ingredients. Therefore, the EHEC O157 : H7 derived from the food was considered to have caused the outbreak in the R-hospital. The molecular typing of isolates from the patients and the Japanese noodle ingredients was almost the same as that of isolates from outbreaks in Hiroshima and Fukuoka prefectures classified as type Ia in 1996 by PFGE analysis. These results indicate that EHEC O157 : H7 strains with a similar PFGE type Ia pattern have already spread throughout western Japan since last year.1997年6月に岡山県下のR-病院で腸管出血性大腸菌EHEC O157 : H7による集団食中毒が発生した｡その患者および食材である日本そばから分離されたEHEC O157 : H7の菌株をパルスフィールドゲル電気泳動法(PFGE)を使用して遺伝子解析を行った｡13名の患者から分離された菌株の遺伝子型は日本 そばから分離された菌株と一致した｡従って日本そばから分散されたEHEC O157 : H7が集団食中毒の原因であることが解った｡さらにこれらの菌株の遺伝子型は1996年に広島県および福岡県の西日本に集団食中毒が発生した菌株のタイプIa型と類似していた｡このことはこの遺伝子タイプの類似した菌株の感染が西日本で去年から広がっていることを示している

Statistical Mechanical Calculation of Anisotropic Step Stiffness of a Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Lattice Gas Model with Next-Nearest-Neighbor Interactions: Application to Si(111) Surface

We study a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice gas model with both nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor interactions in a staggered field, which describes the surface of stoichiometrically binary crystal. We calculate anisotropic step tension, step stiffness, and equilibrium island shape, by an extended random walk method. We apply the results to Si(111) 7$\times$7 reconstructed surface and high-temperature Si(111) 1$\times$1 surface. We also calculate inter-step interaction coefficient.Comment: revised on May 29 1999: RevTeX v3.1, 10 pages with 9 figures (one figure added

Toward standardization of “reasonable accommodation” for students with disabilities by evaluating its validity

障害学生支援における合理的配慮の妥当性評価を行い，その結果で基準案を作成することを目的とする。障害学生支援または保健管理に携わるスタッフ７名が，仮想事例５事例（聴覚，肢体不自由，発達障害２例，内部障害）に対して，合理的配慮例（授業の情報保障，欠席時の対応，履修基準に関わること，連絡，実習（教育実習，臨床実習），グループ学習・実験，試験，生活支援にも係ること，課外活動，研修会など計80例）について，合理的配慮として妥当性を評価した。妥当性は９段階評価で採点し，「１点：妥当でない ←→５点：中間 ←→９点：妥当」とし，それぞれのスタッフが独立して絶対評価した。さらに，回答者は，全員の１回目の集計結果を見て，再度回答し，デルファイ法に準じて集約を試みた。その結果いずれの仮想事例においても共通して妥当性が「中位」以上とされた事項は，「病院受診のための欠席時には講義の資料が欲しい」，「レポート課題の期限延長」，「重要事項，急な予定変更は，学生用電子掲示板システムへの掲示又は文書で明示」，「事前に作業工程，制限時間，注意事項等を文書で具体的に明示」，「申請，書類作成等に関する助言」，「就労移行支援事業所と連携した就労支援」，「支援関係学生教職員に啓発講習会を開催」であった。その他個々の事例に応じたものがあった。支援の対象も，内容・範囲もますます多様となり，障害学生支援を，より効果的に実施するためには，本人・関係者間での建設的な相談・対話が重要である。その前提として，支援者側はどのような支援が必要であるかの一般的知識と，必要度の定量的評価も知っておくことが有用と考えられた。The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the rational consideration of reasonable accommodations to be made for students with disabilities and to draft an appropriate standard. Seven health management or student support professionals involved in this study. Five fictional cases of disabilities (auditory impairment, physical disability, developmental disorder (2 cases), internal disability) and 80 examples of reasonable accommodations were prepared. The participants evaluated the validity of each example on a scale of 1 to 9. The results were revised and aggregated in accordance with the Delphi method. Examples of reasonable accommodations commonly evaluated as “moderately or highly valid” among the participants were as follows. “Providing lecture materials in absence due to hospital visit”, “Extending the deadline for submission of papers”, “Notification of schedule changes online or by sending notes”, “Prior notification in writing of processes, time limits, and precautions”, “Giving necessary advice on filling out application and other forms”, “Providing transition support for employment”, and “Holding workshops on disability support for faculty, staff, and students”. Constructive dialogue with students with disabilities is important to determine the most effective support methods. Moreover, it is also useful to know which reasonable accommodations are considered highly “valid” or “reasonable” based on quantitative evaluations.本研究の一部はJSPS科研費15K01683「心身の疾病・発達障害等のある学生への合理的配慮の基準に関する検討」の助成を受けた。また，本研究の一部は第46回中国四国大学保健管理研究集会（H28.8.26，広島市），第47回中国四国大学保健管理研究集会（H29.8.25，高知市），第55回全国大学保健管理研究集会（H29.11.29，沖縄県宜野湾市）において発表した