Rupture and Rhythm: A Phenomenology of National Experiences

This article investigates how people make sense of ruptures in the flow of everyday life as they enter new experiential domains. Shifts in being-in-time create breaks in the natural attitude that offer the opportunity to register national—or, for example, religious, gender, or class—experiences. People interpret ruptures in perception and proprioception by drawing connections with domains in which similar or contrasting kinds of disruption are evident. Normalizing the transition, rhythm—as both cadence and overall flow—helps people adjust to new circumstances, align action, and smooth subsequent ruptures. Based on extensive qualitative fieldwork, I examine the specific case of how novice and experienced tea ceremony practitioners in Japan move into, interpret, and normalize action within tea spaces

Photoprotective Effects of Selected Amino Acids on Naproxen Photodegradation in Aqueous Media

It is important to develop a photostabilization strategy to ensure the quality of photosensitive compounds, including pharmaceuticals. This study focused on the protective effects of 20 amino acids on the photodegradation of naproxen (NX), a photosensitive pharmaceutical, to clarify the important nature of a good photostabilizer. Our previous report indicated the photodegradability of NX and the protective effects of some antioxidants on its photodegradation, therefore, this compound was used as a model compound. The degradation of NX in aqueous media during ultraviolet light (UV) irradiation and the protective effects of selected amino acids were monitored through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), equipped with a reverse-phase column. Addition of cysteine, tryptophan, and tyrosine induced the significant suppression of NX photodegradation after UV irradiation for 3 h (residual amount of NX; 15.35%, 6.82%, and 15.64%, respectively). Evaluation of the antioxidative activity and UV absorption spectrum showed that cysteine suppressed NX degradation through its antioxidative ability, while tryptophan and tyrosine suppressed it through their UV filtering ability. Furthermore, three amino acids at higher concentrations (more than 100 µmol/L) showed more protective effects on NX photodegradation. For 10 mmol/L, residual amounts of NX with cysteine, tryptophan, and tyrosine were 58.51%, 69.34%, and 82.40%, respectively. These results showed the importance of both photoprotective potencies (antioxidative potency and UV filtering potency) and stability to UV irradiation for a good photostabilizer of photosensitive pharmaceuticals

A Novel Function of CD82/KAI1 in Sialyl Lewis Antigen-Mediated Adhesion of Cancer Cells: Evidence for an Anti-Metastasis Effect by Down-Regulation of Sialyl Lewis Antigens.

We have recently elucidated a novel function for CD82 in E-cadherin-mediated homocellular adhesion; due to this function, it can inhibit cancer cell dissociation from the primary cancer nest and limit metastasis. However, the effect of CD82 on selectin ligand-mediated heterocellular adhesion has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we focused on the effects of the metastasis suppressor CD82/KAI1 on heterocellular adhesion of cancer cells to the endothelium of blood vessels in order to further elucidate the function of tetraspanins. The over-expression of CD82 in cancer cells led to the inhibition of experimentally induced lung metastases in mice and significantly inhibited the adhesion of these cells to human umbilical vein epithelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. Pre-treatment of the cells with function-perturbing antibodies against sLea/x significantly inhibited the adhesion of CD82-negative cells to HUVECs. In addition, cells over-expressing CD82 exhibited reduced expression of sLea/x compared to CD82-negative wild-type cells. Significant down-regulation of ST3 β-galactoside α-2, 3-sialyltransferase 4 (ST3GAL4) was detected by cDNA microarray, real-time PCR, and western blotting analyses. Knockdown of ST3GAL4 on CD82-negative wild-type cells inhibited expression of sLex and reduced cell adhesion to HUVECs. We concluded that CD82 decreases sLea/x expression via the down-regulation of ST3GAL4 expression and thereby reduces the adhesion of cancer cells to blood vessels, which results in inhibition of metastasis

Effects of CD82 on the expression of genes encoding glycosyltransferases (ST3GALs) related to sialyl Lewis synthesis.

<p>Total RNA was isolated from h1299 cells and analysed by real-time RT-PCR. mRNA levels of glycosyltransferase-encoding genes <i>(ST3GALs)</i> were corrected relative to the levels of <i>GAPDH</i> mRNA, with h1299/zeo set at 1. Data are shown as the mean ± SEM.</p

Effects of CD82 on the expression of sialyl Lewis antigens.

<p>Whole cell lysates (200 μg) of h1299 cells (h1299/zeo, zeo; h1299/CD82, CD82; h1299/CD82-sh.control, sh.cont; h1299/CD82-sh.CD82, sh.CD82) were resolved by 7.5% SDS-PAGE and analysed by immunoblotting with anti-sLe^a (A) or anti-sLe^x (B) antibodies. The same blots were stripped and re-probed for β-actin as a loading control. Experiments were repeated in triplicate, and the most representative data are shown.</p

Inhibitory effect of CD82 on cancer cell metastasis in a mouse metastasis model.

<p>The tail veins of nude mice were injected with 1.0 × 10⁶ h1299/zeo or h1299/CD82 cells. Eight weeks after injection, the mice were killed and the lungs recovered. Metastatic foci were counted by eye. The injection of h1299/zeo cells resulted in 100% lung metastasis (7/7), whereas h1299/CD82 cells showed a significantly lower rate of metastasis (28.5%; 2/7).</p

Effects of CD82 on the protein expression of glycosyltransferases related to sialyl Lewis synthesis.

<p>Whole cell lysates (300 μg) of h1299 cells (h1299/zeo, zeo; h1299/CD82, CD82; h1299/CD82-sh.control, sh.cont; h1299/CD82-sh.CD82, sh.CD82) were resolved by 10% SDS-PAGE and analysed by immunoblotting with anti-ST3GAL primary antibodies. The same blots were stripped and re-probed for β-actin and CD82. Experiments were repeated in triplicate, and the most representative data are shown.</p

Transferases increased in h1299/CD82 cells (Expression levels of possible regulators of sialyl Lewis antigens analysed by DNA microarray).

<p>Transferases increased in h1299/CD82 cells (Expression levels of possible regulators of sialyl Lewis antigens analysed by DNA microarray).</p