A Comprehensive Model for Packing and Hydration for Amyloid Fibrils of β2-Microglobulin

This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Young-Ho Lee, Eri Chatani, Kenji Sasahara, Hironobu Naiki and Yuji Goto. A Comprehensive Model for Packing and Hydration for Amyloid Fibrils of β2-Microglobulin. J. Biol. Chem. 2009; 284, 2169-2175. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Molecular cloning and tissue-specific expression of a new member of the regenerating protein family, islet neogenesis-associated protein-related protein1The sequence data reported in this paper have been deposited to DDBJ/EMBL/Genbank databases under the accession no. AB028625.1

AbstractIslet neogenesis-associated protein (INGAP) is a protein expressed during islet neogenesis. We have cloned a novel cDNA having a similar sequence to INGAP cDNA. The cDNA encodes 175 amino acids designated INGAP-related protein (INGAPrP). INGAP is expressed in cellophane-wrapped pancreas, but not in normal pancreas, whereas INGAPrP was abundantly expressed in normal pancreas

学校歯科健康診断の結果は児童虐待の早期発見のためのスクリーニング指標となるか

現在，小学校には児童虐待の早期発見努力義務が課され，関係機関と連携し虐待防止に取組むことが求められている。また，歯科医療関係者の児童虐待防止への関与が期待されている。 そこで，学校歯科健康診断の結果が児童虐待の早期発見のためのスクリーニング指標となりうるかどうかについて検討し，以下の結論を得た。 1. 学校歯科健康診断を受けた小学生総計3,569名（男児1,843名，女児1,726名）のうち，虐待を受けた児童（「虐待あり」群）は89名（男児43名，女児46名）であった。 2. 「虐待なし」群および「虐待あり」群のそれぞれ約90%が，乳歯の未処置歯数が2本以下であった。 3. 「虐待なし」群の95.00%, 「虐待あり」群の93.26%が，永久歯の未処置歯数が0本であった。 4. 「虐待なし」群の84.94%, 「虐待あり」群の87.64%が，歯垢状態のスコアが0であった。 5. 「虐待なし」群の87.04%, 「虐待あり」群の91.01%が，歯肉状態のスコアが0であった。 以上より，「虐待あり」群と「虐待なし」群との間で口腔内の状態に違いが認められないことから，学校歯科健康診断の結果だけで児童虐待のスクリーニング指標とすることは困難であることが示唆された。したがって，歯科医療関係者が児童虐待の早期発見・防止に貢献するためには，診療室での診察のようにある程度時間をかけて児童の口腔内や言動，保護者の様子などを観察できる状況が必要であると考えられた。Elementary schools in Japan are committed to early discovery of child abuse and required to cooperate with other institutions such as dental services to prevent such abuse. However, the extent to which dental practitioners cooperate with schools remains limited. In the present study, we investigated the use of school dental examination data for early discovery of child abuse. I) We examined the records of a total of 3569 elementary school students who underwent dental health examinations, of whom 89 were found to have been abused ( abuse group). 2) Approximately 90% of all children had 2 or less deciduous teeth with untreated cavities. 3) A total of 95% of the children in the non-abuse group and 93.26% of those in the abuse group had no untreated cavities in permanent teeth. 4) A plaque score of zero was noted in 87.64% of the abuse group and 84.94% of the non-abuse group. 5) As for gingival inflammation score, that was zero in 87.04% of children in the non-abuse group and 91.01 % of those in the abuse group. No differences were found between abused and non-abused children in terms of the condition of their oral cavity. Our findings suggest that data collected from school dental health examinations are not useful to screen for possible child abuse. An environment in which dental practitioners spend time not only observing the oral cavity, but also the behavior of children and attitudes of their guardians is needed for early discovery and prevention of child abuse

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of a Putative Nuclear Protein, SR-25

We cloned a full-length mouse cDNA and its human homologue encoding a novel protein designated as “SR-25.” In Northern blot analysis, SR-25 mRNA was expressed in all organs tested, and relatively abundant in testis and thymus. Deduced amino acid sequences of mouse SR-25 and human SR-25 showed 77.7% identity. SR-25 has a serine-arginine repeat (SR repeat) and two types of amino acid clusters: a serine cluster and a highly basic cluster. Based on the presence of many nuclear localizing signals and a similarity to RNA splicing proteins, SR-25 is strongly suggested to be a nuclear protein and may contribute to RNA splicing

DHPLC Denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatography オ モチイタ ダンジョ シキベツ

A novel method for sex identification using a denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) system is described. Among many methods for identifying sex, the most popular and credible system has been the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using the nucleotide primer sets of the amelogenin gene, which is shared on both the X and Y chromosomes. In this conventional method, the judgment depends on the detection of the size difference between the PCR products derived from the X and Y chromosomes. In this study, we adopted DHPLC to detect the difference by checking heteroduplex formation between the products, which enabled us to shorten the PCR products down to 45 bp and the separation time within 8 minutes. This new system may have a wide application in many different fields such as forensic medicine, prenatal diagnosis, inbreeding of animals and anthropology

Preliminary Survey to Establish Indicator for Screening of Primary School-age Children Who Require Welfare Assistance

小学校において被虐待児にみられる行動特徴から要保護児童をスクリーニングできる質問紙を作成するために，教職員にとって判断が容易で信頼性の高い回答が得られる項目を厳選するための基礎調査を行った。64名の小学校の教職員に，35項目からなる同じ内容の質問紙に2週間の間隔をあけ， 2回回答してもらった結果を照合し，質問内容の判断の容易さ回答の再現性，および文章表現について検討した。 1. 学校現場で教職員が判断するのが難しい質問項目は，「トイレの後に手を洗わない」，「行事の時の弁当が手作り弁当ではない」，「保護者と目を合わさず，おどおどする」，「家族関係に変化があった」，「年齢にそぐわない性的な言動がみられる」，「病気になっても病院に行かない」，および「過度な警戒心を持つ」であった。 2. 回答の信頼性の低い質問項目は「やせすぎている」，「行事の時の弁当が手作り弁当ではない」，「よく教室から離れる」，および「保護者と目を合わさず，おどおどする」であった。 3. 表現が不適切であると指摘された質間項目は「時々嘘をつく」，「友達をいじめる」，および「集団になじめないところがある」であった。 今後は，上記の質問項目を除いた質問項目からなる質問紙を作成し，実際に児童を対象とした調査を行い，要保護児童のスクリーニング指標としての有効性について検証する必要があると考えられる。We conducted a survey to select questions that teachers could easily and reliably answer as part of a basic research project to create a questionnaire based on characteristic behaviors exhibited by abused children at primary school for screening of those who may need welfare assistance. Questionnaires comprised of 35 items were sent to 64 primary school teachers, with the same questionnaire sent again 2 weeks later. Responses to both were compared to examine ease of assessing the contents of the questions, reproducibility of the responses, and written expressions. 1) Items that teachers found difficult to assess at school were "Does not wash hands after using the toilet," "Does not bring homemade lunch to events," "Does not meet guardian's eyes; appears apprehensive," "Has experienced a change in familial relations," "Uses sexual speech and behavior that is not age appropriate," "Does not see a doctor despite being sick," and "Is excessively wary." 2) Items that showed responses with low reliability were "ls too thin," "Does not bring homemade lunch to events," "Is often absent from the classroom," and "Does not meet guardian's eyes; appears apprehensive." 3) Items indicated to use inappropriate expressions were "Sometimes tells lies," "ls bullied by friends," and "Does not fit in with group in some ways." Next, use of a questionnaire that does not include the above items should be done with actual children to examine its effectiveness as an indicator for screening children who require welfare assistance

Linkage between prostate cancer incidence and different alleles of the human Y-linked tetranucleotide polymorphism DYS19

We studied the allele frequency distribution of the Y-chromosome linked tetranucleotide polymorphic microsatellite locus DYS19 in 90 prostate cancer Japanese patients from both Tokushima University hospital (Tokushima) and Saint Marianna University hospital (Kawasaki), Japan, comparing them to 99 matched male controls. Y-chromosomes from Japan as well as others from different geographical regions worldwide showed the five different alleles (A-E) with sizes varying from 186-202 bp, respectively. Comparison between DYS19 allelic frequency distribution among Japanese patients with prostate cancer and that of normal controls revealed significant differences regarding susceptibility or resistance to prostate cancer. We found that males with allele C of DYS19 are more susceptible to develop prostate cancer than males with other alleles (p=0.02). The Odds Ratio was 2.04 with a 95% confidence interval (0.75-2.42), compared with males having other alleles. In contrast, males with the D allele of DYS19 were less exposed to prostate cancer than other males (p=0.002); the Odds Ratio was 0.26 with a 95% confidence interval of (0.65-3.71). These findings support our hypothesis that male descendants from different Y-chromosomal origins are different regarding their susceptibility or resistance to develop prostate cancer (as a male-specific cancer)

イデン ソウダンシツ ト イデン カウンセリング

Genetic research has advanced rapidly which has enabled us to identify diseases in their early stages, making it easier to accurately predict the prognosis. On the other hand, public alarm is increasing with regard to ethical, legal and social issues. To alleviate and improve this situation, it is necessary to ensure that medical professionals have the relevant training and expertise in order to allay any public fears. For these reasons, the genetic counselling room was opened at Tokushima University Hospital. A Doctor and a Nurse are available for counselling every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. To date they have dealt with 50 cases which were based on various reasons and they encountered no major problems. To deliberate any matters in various aspects and prevent trouble, we make it a rule to decide anything by staff conference. To level up staff, we have performed study sessions. Furthermore, to raise our public profile, we have opened a homepage on the web and issued a brochure. With the expectation that genetic research will certainly advance and subsequently the necessity for counselling will also increase, it is necessary to continue developing our counselling system