Electrochemical Glycosylation as an Enabling Tool for the Stereoselective Synthesis of Cyclic Oligosaccharides

Electrochemical glycosylation of a linear oligosaccharide with a protecting-group-free primary hydroxyl group afforded cyclic oligo-saccharides, up to hexasaccharides, in high yields. Precursors of the cyclic oligosaccharides were prepared by automated electro-chemical assembly-a method for the automated electrochemical solution-phase synthesis of oligosaccharides. We demonstrated that electrochemical glycosylation is useful not only for intermolecular glycosylation but also for intramolecular glycosylation to synthesize cyclic oligosaccharides

The 3′-Phosphoadenosine 5′-Phosphosulfate Transporters, PAPST1 and 2, Contribute to the Maintenance and Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Recently, we have identified two 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS) transporters (PAPST1 and PAPST2), which contribute to PAPS transport into the Golgi, in both human and Drosophila. Mutation and RNA interference (RNAi) of the Drosophila PAPST have shown the importance of PAPST-dependent sulfation of carbohydrates and proteins during development. However, the functional roles of PAPST in mammals are largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether PAPST-dependent sulfation is involved in regulating signaling pathways required for the maintenance of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), differentiation into the three germ layers, and neurogenesis. By using a yeast expression system, mouse PAPST1 and PAPST2 proteins were shown to have PAPS transport activity with an apparent Km value of 1.54 µM or 1.49 µM, respectively. RNAi-mediated knockdown of each PAPST induced the reduction of chondroitin sulfate (CS) chain sulfation as well as heparan sulfate (HS) chain sulfation, and inhibited mESC self-renewal due to defects in several signaling pathways. However, we suggest that these effects were due to reduced HS, not CS, chain sulfation, because knockdown of mouse N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase, which catalyzes the first step of HS sulfation, in mESCs gave similar results to those observed in PAPST-knockdown mESCs, but depletion of CS chains did not. On the other hand, during embryoid body formation, PAPST-knockdown mESCs exhibited abnormal differentiation, in particular neurogenesis was promoted, presumably due to the observed defects in BMP, FGF and Wnt signaling. The latter were reduced as a result of the reduction in both HS and CS chain sulfation. We propose that PAPST-dependent sulfation of HS or CS chains, which is regulated developmentally, regulates the extrinsic signaling required for the maintenance and normal differentiation of mESCs

Peripheral Blood CD64 Levels Decrease in Crohn's Disease following Granulocyte and Monocyte Adsorptive Apheresis

Granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA) is reportedly useful as induction therapy for Crohn's disease (CD). However, the effects of GMA on CD64 have not been well characterized. We report here our assessment of CD64 expression on neutrophils before and after treatment with GMA in two patients with CD. The severity of CD was assessed with the CD activity index (CDAI). The duration of each GMA session was 60 min at a flow rate of 30 ml/min as per protocol. CD64 expression on neutrophils was measured by analyzing whole blood with a FACScan flow cytometer. In case 1, CD64 levels after each session of GMA tended to decrease compared to pretreatment levels, whereas in case 2, CD64 levels dropped significantly after treatment. The CDAI decreased after GMA in both cases 1 and 2. A significant correlation was noted between CDAI scores and CD64 levels in both cases. In conclusion, GMA reduced blood CD64 levels, which would be an important factor for the decrease of CDAI scores

Results of the search for inspiraling compact star binaries from TAMA300's observation in 2000-2004

We analyze the data of TAMA300 detector to search for gravitational waves from inspiraling compact star binaries with masses of the component stars in the range 1-3Msolar. In this analysis, 2705 hours of data, taken during the years 2000-2004, are used for the event search. We combine the results of different observation runs, and obtained a single upper limit on the rate of the coalescence of compact binaries in our Galaxy of 20 per year at a 90% confidence level. In this upper limit, the effect of various systematic errors such like the uncertainty of the background estimation and the calibration of the detector's sensitivity are included.Comment: 8 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses revtex4.sty The author list was correcte

Observation results by the TAMA300 detector on gravitational wave bursts from stellar-core collapses

We present data-analysis schemes and results of observations with the TAMA300 gravitational-wave detector, targeting burst signals from stellar-core collapse events. In analyses for burst gravitational waves, the detection and fake-reduction schemes are different from well-investigated ones for a chirp-wave analysis, because precise waveform templates are not available. We used an excess-power filter for the extraction of gravitational-wave candidates, and developed two methods for the reduction of fake events caused by non-stationary noises of the detector. These analysis schemes were applied to real data from the TAMA300 interferometric gravitational wave detector. As a result, fake events were reduced by a factor of about 1000 in the best cases. The resultant event candidates were interpreted from an astronomical viewpoint. We set an upper limit of 2.2x10^3 events/sec on the burst gravitational-wave event rate in our Galaxy with a confidence level of 90%. This work sets a milestone and prospects on the search for burst gravitational waves, by establishing an analysis scheme for the observation data from an interferometric gravitational wave detector

胃がん術後患者の身体症状とセルフケア能力の関連

本研究は，胃切除術後患者の身体症状とセルフケア能力との関係を明らかにすることを目的とした．Ａ大学病院外来通院中の胃切除術後患者57名を対象に，上部消化管がん患者の術後機能障害を査定する尺度及びセルフケア能力尺度を用いた無記名の自記式質問紙調査を実施した．有効回答は51部であった．術後に頻繁に生じていた身体症状は下痢障害19名（37.0％），活動力障害18名（35.0％）の順に多かった．セルフケア能力は，健康に関心を向ける能力，体調を整える能力が高かった．セルフケア能力と術後身体症状との関連は，健康のために選択する能力（rs ＝－ .34；p ＜ .05），生活を続ける能力（rs ＝－ .32；p ＜ .05），支援してくれる人をもつ能力（rs ＝－ .42；p ＜ .01）の得点がそれぞれ高いほど，活動力障害の得点は有意に低かった．胃がん術後患者が困難を抱える身体症状を軽減するためには，患者が自身のライフスタイルに合った健康管理方法を見つけ，それを選択し，継続して実施していけるようにセルフケア支援を行う必要性が示唆された．そのためには，患者個々の背景をふまえ，術後予測される症状を早期から説明し，入院前外来から退院後にかけて長期間にわたり継続したセルフケア支援を行うことが必要である．The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between physical symptoms and self-care ability of postgastrectomy patients. Fifty-seven post-gastrectomy patients attending the outpatient clinic of the Department of General Surgery at the A University Hospital underwent an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey regarding postoperative physical symptoms and self-care abilities. The number of valid responses was 51. In postoperative physical symptoms, frequency of diarrhea disorder and activity disorder were high. In self-care ability, “ability to pay attention to health” and “ability to regulate physical condition” were high. In order to alleviate the physical symptoms that patients have after gastric cancer surgery, it may be necessary to provide self-care support so that patients themselves can find a health management method that suits their lifestyle, and continue to implement it. To that end, based on the patient's background, the symptoms predicted after surgery should be explained to them from an early stage. It is necessary to provide continuous self-care support for a long period from pre-admission outpatient to after discharge

Cerium X-ray Spectra without Filtering and their Application to High-contrast Angiography

The cerium-target x-ray tube is useful in order to perform cone-beam K-edge angiography because K-series characteristic x rays from the cerium target are absorbed effectively by iodine-based contrast media. The x-ray generator consists of a main controller, an x-ray tube unit with a high-voltage circuit and an insulation transformer, and a personal computer. The tube is a glass-enclosed diode with a cerium target and a 0.5-mm-thick beryllium window. The maximum tube voltage and current were 65 kV and 0.4 mA, respectively, and the focal-spot sizes were 1.2×0.8 mm. Sharp cerium K-series characteristic x rays were observed without using a filter, and the x-ray intensity was 209μGy/s at 1.0 m from the source with a tube voltage of 60 kV and a current of 0.40 mA. Angiography was performed with a computed radiography system using iodine-based microspheres 15 μm in diameter. In angiography of non-living animals, we observed fine blood vessels of approximately 100 μm with high contrasts