Ketogenic diet induces skeletal muscle atrophy via reducing muscle protein synthesis and possibly activating proteolysis in mice

Ketogenic diets (KD) that are very high in fat and low in carbohydrates are thought to simulate the metabolic effects of starvation. We fed mice with a KD for seven days to assess the underlying mechanisms of muscle wasting induced by chronic starvation. This diet decreased the weight of the gastrocnemius (Ga), tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus (Sol) muscles by 23%, 11% and 16%, respectively. The size of Ga, TA, Sol muscle fibers and the grip strength of four limbs also significantly declined by 20%, 28%, 16% and 22%, respectively. The muscle atrophy-related genes Mafbx, Murf1, Foxo3, Lc3b and Klf15 were upregulated in the skeletal muscles of mice fed with the KD. In accordance with the reduced expression of anabolic genes such as Igf1, surface sensing of translation (SUnSET) analyses of fast-twitch Ga, TA and Sol muscles revealed that the KD suppressed muscle protein synthesis. The mRNA expression of oxidative stress-responsive genes such as Sod1 was significantly increased in all muscles examined. In addition to hypercorticosteronemia, hypoinsulinemia and reduced IGF-1, oxidative stress might also be involved in KD-induced muscle atrophy. Feeding mice with a KD is a novel experimental animal model of muscle-wasting induced by chronic starvation

Prevention of Sugi (Cryptomeria Japonica D. Don) from Turning Black by Smoke Heating

Green sugi logs (tree A, normal heartwood color; tree B, heartwood color gradually turned to black after harvesting) were smoke-heated for 5, 10, 20, and 40 h to investigate the influence of smoke heating on the color change of heartwood. After the treatment, changes in color, pH, and content of norlignan were examined. The heartwood was also saturated with KHCO3 in order to examine the relationship between pH and changes in heartwood color. The results revealed that smoke heating the logs for at least 5 h prevented the heartwood from turning black; instead, the treated heartwoods turned yellowish-white. The pH value of the tree B decreased significantly from 7.4 to 6.5 after a 5-h smoke heating; from then on, the pH remained nearly constant with additional exposure. When smoke-heated, tree A- and tree B-heartwood specimens were saturated with a KHCO3 solution (pH 8.6), the brightness decreased, and the color turned black, suggesting that the blackening substances did not deteriorate when exposed to smoke heating. In the tree A heartwood, on the other hand, the contents of sequirin-C and agatharesinol barely changed before and after smoke heating. In the tree B heartwood, however, the amounts of agatharesinol and sequirin-C decreased significantly compared with those in the fresh heartwood before it turned black, whereas a large amount of norlignans, in particular, sequirin-C, was found in the smokeheated heartwood. The results obtained in the present study suggest that the chemical changes of norlignans accompanied with pH changes are closely involved in color changes in the sugi heartwood

Measurement of radon emanation and impurity adsorption from argon gas using ultralow radioactive zeolite

The amount of radioactive impurities contaminated in the detector gases is required to be kept at a very low level for rare event particle physics such as dark matter and neutrino observation experiments. Zeolite is a well-known adsorbent material and is one of the possible candidates for removing impurities from these gases. At the same time, the amount of radioactive impurities released from the adsorbent material needs to be sufficiently small. In this paper, a development of a new ultralow radioactive zeolite as a product of the selection of ultralow radioactive materials is reported. Results on the radon emanation and impurity adsorption from argon gas measurements are also described.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

A common brain network among state, trait, and pathological anxiety from whole-brain functional connectivity

Anxiety is one of the most common mental states of humans. Although it drives us to avoid frightening situations and to achieve our goals, it may also impose significant suffering and burden if it becomes extreme. Because we experience anxiety in a variety of forms, previous studies investigated neural substrates of anxiety in a variety of ways. These studies revealed that individuals with high state, trait, or pathological anxiety showed altered neural substrates. However, no studies have directly investigated whether the different dimensions of anxiety share a common neural substrate, despite its theoretical and practical importance. Here, we investigated a brain network of anxiety shared by different dimensions of anxiety in a unified analytical framework using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed different datasets in a single scale, which was defined by an anxiety-related brain network derived from whole brain. We first conducted the anxiety provocation task with healthy participants who tended to feel anxiety related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in their daily life. We found a common state anxiety brain network across participants (1585 trials obtained from 10 participants). Then, using the resting-state fMRI in combination with the participants' behavioral trait anxiety scale scores (879 participants from the Human Connectome Project), we demonstrated that trait anxiety shared the same brain network as state anxiety. Furthermore, the brain network between common to state and trait anxiety could detect patients with OCD, which is characterized by pathological anxiety-driven behaviors (174 participants from multi-site datasets). Our findings provide direct evidence that different dimensions of anxiety have a substantial biological inter-relationship. Our results also provide a biologically defined dimension of anxiety, which may promote further investigation of various human characteristics, including psychiatric disorders, from the perspective of anxiety

Extracellular cyclophilin A possesses chemotaxic activity in cattle

International audienceCyclophilin A (CyPA) was originally discovered in bovine thymocytes as a cytosolic binding protein of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A. Recent studies have revealed that in mice and humans, CyPA is secreted from cells in injured or infected tissues and plays a role in recruiting inflammatory cells in those tissues. Here we found that in cattle abundant level of extracellular CyPA was observed in tissues with inflammation. To aid in investigating the role of extracellular CyPA in cattle, we generated recombinant bovine CyPA (rbCyPA) and tested its biological activity as an inflammatory mediator. When bovine peripheral blood cells were treated with rbCyPA in vitro, we observed that rbCyPA reacts with the membranous surface of granulocytes, monocytes and lymphocytes. Chemotaxis analysis showed that the granulocytes migrate toward rbCyPA and the migration is inhibited by pre-treatment with an anti-bovine CyPA antibody. These results indicate that, as for mice and humans, extracellular CyPA possesses chemotactic activity to recruit inflammatory cells (e.g., granulocytes) in cattle, and could thus be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammation

Implementation and Evaluation of Teacher Training on Food Allergy Education in Kindergarten ― Aiming to Foster Children Leading Healthy Lives, Regardless of the Presence of Food Allergies ―

　本研究の目的は，幼稚園において食物アレルギーと共に生活する子供を育む方策を検討することである。本研究では，食物アレルギー教育に関する教員研修を行い，研修中の教員の反応と研修前後のアンケート調査の結果を基に，その効果を評価した。 　研修後には,食物アレルギーやその対応によって生じる子供達の心境へも目を向ける必要性の理解が深まった。また事例検討を通して，幼稚園においても幼児なりに食物アレルギーを理解して対応できるように伝える必要性があると明らかになり，実際に指導できそうな具体的な場面も挙げられた。さらに研修中，脈々と受け継がれてきた“教育観”と，現在の多様化した時代背景や子供達の実態，社会的なつながりを踏まえて更新される“教育観”の中で揺れ動く教員の姿が見られ，その揺らぎや葛藤自体が，個別のニーズを適切に受け入れ，多様性を尊重する教師の観念を磨くことにつながっていると考えられた。This study aims to explore strategies for nurturing kindergarten children with food allergies. Teacher training on food allergy education was conducted, and its effectiveness was evaluated based on teacher reactions and pre- and post-training surveys. The training deepened the understanding of the importance of addressing the emotional needs of children with food allergies. Case studies revealed the necessity of conveying this understanding to preschoolers and equipping them to respond appropriately. The study also observed teachers navigating between traditional and evolving educational perspectives, with observed fluctuations and conflicts contributing to refining teachers' beliefs tow ard embracing individual needs and diversity

ATF7IP2/MCAF2 directs H3K9 methylation and meiotic gene regulation in the male germline

H3K9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) plays emerging roles in gene regulation, beyond its accumulation on pericentric constitutive heterochromatin. It remains a mystery why and how H3K9me3 undergoes dynamic regulation in male meiosis. Here, we identify a novel, critical regulator of H3K9 methylation and spermatogenic heterochromatin organization: the germline-specific protein ATF7IP2 (MCAF2). We show that in male meiosis, ATF7IP2 amasses on autosomal and X-pericentric heterochromatin, spreads through the entirety of the sex chromosomes, and accumulates on thousands of autosomal promoters and retrotransposon loci. On the sex chromosomes, which undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI), the DNA damage response pathway recruits ATF7IP2 to X-pericentric heterochromatin, where it facilitates the recruitment of SETDB1, a histone methyltransferase that catalyzes H3K9me3. In the absence of ATF7IP2, male germ cells are arrested in meiotic prophase I. Analyses of ATF7IP2-deficient meiosis reveal the protein's essential roles in the maintenance of MSCI, suppression of retrotransposons, and global up-regulation of autosomal genes. We propose that ATF7IP2 is a downstream effector of the DDR pathway in meiosis that coordinates the organization of heterochromatin and gene regulation through the spatial regulation of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 deposition

National Examination Measures in the Field of Cognitive Disorder : Analysis of Issue of National Examination for the Past Ten Years of Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist and Speech-Language-Hearing Therapist

[目的]理学療法士(以下PT)・作業療法士(以下OT)・言語聴覚士(以下ST)の国家試験問題過去10年分から,高次脳機能障害分野に関する問題を分析し,国家試験対策の方法を検討することが目的である.[方法] 2002年から2011年のPT ・ OT ・STの過去10年分の国家試験問題から,高次脳機能障害分野の問題を抽出し,総出題数と最頻値,五肢選択形式,問題の深さ(Taxonomy),高次脳機能障害の分類について分析した.[結果]総出題数はPT41問・ OT70問・ST190問であり,最頻値はPT3問・ OT8問・ST20問であった.問題の深さに関しては,想起レベルがPT27問(66%)・ OT41問(59%)・ ST154問(81%)と最も多く、出題形式は五肢択一形式(以下Aタイプ)がPT31問(76%)・ OT55問(79%)・ST150問(79%)と出題される頻度が高かった.高次脳機能障害の出題分野については, STでは失語症に関する問題が120問(63%)と多かった.[結語]問題の傾向としてはAタイプ,想起レベルが多く,語句の意味や定義について正しい知識を身につけることが,国家試験対策の基本となることが再確認された

Quantitative and Qualitative Urinary Cellular Patterns Correlate with Progression of Murine Glomerulonephritis

The kidney is a nonregenerative organ composed of numerous functional nephrons and collecting ducts (CDs). Glomerular and tubulointerstitial damages decrease the number of functional nephrons and cause anatomical and physiological alterations resulting in renal dysfunction. It has recently been reported that nephron constituent cells are dropped into the urine in several pathological conditions associated with renal functional deterioration. We investigated the quantitative and qualitative urinary cellular patterns in a murine glomerulonephritis model and elucidated the correlation between cellular patterns and renal pathology