Forensic study of sex determination using PCR on teeth samples.

In this study, sex determination using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on tooth material was evaluated from the viewpoint of forensic medicine. The sensitivity of PCR for detection of the Y chromosome-specific alphoid repeat sequence and the X chromosome-specific alphoid repeat sequence was 0.5 pg of genomic DNA. Sex could be determined by PCR of DNA extracted from the pulp of 16 freshly extracted permanent teeth and dentine including the surface of the pulp cavity of 6 freshly extracted milk teeth. Sex could be determined using the pulp in all 20 teeth (10 male and 10 female) preserved at room temperature for 22 years. For the pulp of teeth stored in sea water, the sex could be determined in all 8 teeth immersed for 1 week and in 5 of 6 teeth immersed for 4 weeks. In the remaining 1 tooth, in which sex determination based on the pulp failed, the sex could be determined correctly when DNA extracted from the tooth hard tissue was examined. For teeth stored in soil, the sex could be determined accurately in all 8 teeth buried for 1 week, 7 of 8 teeth buried for 4 weeks, and in all 6 teeth buried for 8 weeks. When teeth were heated for 30 min, sex determination from the pulp was possible in all teeth heated to 100, 150, and 200 degrees C, and even in some teeth heated to 250 degrees C. When this method was applied to actual forensic cases, the sex of a mummified body estimated to have been discovered half a year to 1 year after death could be determined readily by examination of the dental pulp. In the skeletons of 2 bodies placed under water for approximately 1 year and approximately 11 years and 7 months, pulp tissues had been dissolved and lost, but sex determination was possible using DNA extracted from hard dental tissues. These results indicate that this method is useful in forensic practices for sex determination based on teeth samples.</p

ハハオヤ ノ ソウシンシコウ ガ ジセタセイ ノ ケンコウ ニ アタエル エイキョウ

若年女性とその母親を対象とし,母親の痩身志向が次世代の健康に与える影響について,意識調査と発育記録をもとに検討した。対象者の在胎週数は39.3週,出産までの母体重の増加量は10.0kg, 新生児の出生体重は3,108gであった。低出生体重児は5名(6.0%)出現したが,指標として示したKaup指数をはじめ若年女性のBMIおよび体脂肪率に母親の痩身志向の有無による差は認められなかった。胎児の在胎週数は37.8週を超える正規産であるが,低出生体重児の在胎週数は3,000グラム以上の出生体重児と比較して有意に短かいことが認められた。しかし,母体重増加量は他の群と比べ最も増加していた。低出生体重児が成長した現在のBMIは,BMI区分では正常であるが,体脂肪率は30%を超える「隠れ肥満」であり,他の群と比べて有意に高かった。若年女性のやせが著しく増加し,妊娠した時点で低栄養状態にある母親が増えている。健康の一次予防の観点から,母体の健康および体重管理の重要性が示唆された。The effect of a desire for slenderness among mothers on the health of their daughters was investigated in these young women and their mothers based on awareness survey results, as well as child development records. Subject pairs had the following average characteristics : daughters were born at a gestational age of 39.3 weeks with a neonatal birth weight of 3,108g and mothers had gestational weight gain of 10.0kg up to delivery. Although a total of five daughters (6.0%) born as low birth weight infants were included, no differences were observed on indices including the Kaup index, BMI, and body fat percentage in daughters of mothers with and without a desire for slenderness. Gestational ages (weeks) in the group of low birth weight infant were an average of 37.8 weeks, and ages were significantly shorter in the group of less than 2,500g in body weight than the group of more than 3,000g. But gestational weight gain was greater in the group of low birth weight infants than the other groups. It appeared that emaciation of young women increases remarkably, and the lower nutrition state in mothers increases at the time that they become pregnant. Current percentage of body fat in the group of low birth weight infants was greater than the other groups, although BMI in the group of low birth weight infant were "common" in the BMI category. From the viewpoint of primary prevention of adult diseases, the importance of the nutrient balance and body weight control in gestation has been clarified

In Vivo Diagnostic Imaging Using Micro-CT: Sequential and Comparative Evaluation of Rodent Models for Hepatic/Brain Ischemia and Stroke

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing need for animal disease models for pathophysiological research and efficient drug screening. However, one of the technical barriers to the effective use of the models is the difficulty of non-invasive and sequential monitoring of the same animals. Micro-CT is a powerful tool for serial diagnostic imaging of animal models. However, soft tissue contrast resolution, particularly in the brain, is insufficient for detailed analysis, unlike the current applications of CT in the clinical arena. We address the soft tissue contrast resolution issue in this report. METHODOLOGY: We performed contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) on mouse models of experimental cerebral infarction and hepatic ischemia. Pathological changes in each lesion were quantified for two weeks by measuring the lesion volume or the ratio of high attenuation area (%HAA), indicative of increased vascular permeability. We also compared brain images of stroke rats and ischemic mice acquired with micro-CT to those acquired with 11.7-T micro-MRI. Histopathological analysis was performed to confirm the diagnosis by CECT. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the models of cerebral infarction, vascular permeability was increased from three days through one week after surgical initiation, which was also confirmed by Evans blue dye leakage. Measurement of volume and %HAA of the liver lesions demonstrated differences in the recovery process between mice with distinct genetic backgrounds. Comparison of CT and MR images acquired from the same stroke rats or ischemic mice indicated that accuracy of volumetric measurement, as well as spatial and contrast resolutions of CT images, was comparable to that obtained with MRI. The imaging results were also consistent with the histological data. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the CECT scanning method is useful in rodents for both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of pathologic lesions in tissues/organs including the brain, and is also suitable for longitudinal observation of the same animals

Feeding Habits of Pinguipendid and Synodontid Fishes at Kuehierabu-jima

南西諸島口永良部島の磯水域においてトラギス科2種、オグロトラギス Parapercis polyophtalma、ワヌケトラギス Parapercis cephalopunctata、エソ科魚類4種、オキエソ Trachinocephalus myops ミナミアカエソ Synodus variegatus、マダラエソ Saurida gracilis、マエソ Saurida sp. の胃内容物を調査した。トラギス科・エソ科とも岩・死サンゴ岩盤上、転石、小石場、砂地に生息しており、海底に静止し近づいてきた餌に飛びついて捕らえる待ち伏せ型の摂餌方法をとる。双方の魚類とも主な餌生物は底生性の甲殻類、魚類であるが、ワヌケトラギスでは小型個体は底生性魚類も摂餌するが、成長に伴い甲殻類中心へと食性が変化するのに対し、オキエソでは成長に伴い甲殻類から表層性魚類ヘ、ミナミアカエソでは成長に伴い底生性魚類から表層性魚類へと食性が変化した。The guts contents of two species of penguipendid fishes, Parapercis polyophtalma and Parapercis cephalopunctata, and four species of synodontid fishes, Trachinocephalus myops, Synodus variegatus, Saurida gracilis and Saurida sp. in shallow reef water around Kuchierabu-jima Island, southern Japan, were analyzed. Both penguipendid and synodontid fishes commonly inhabit on rocks, dead coral, boulders, gravel, and sand paches in the reef. They are typical ambushers which rest immobile on the sea floor and suddenly attack prey which come within striking distance. They preyed mainly on demersal small crustaceans and small fishes. In penguipendid fish, although smaller fish of P. cephalopunctata preyed on fish and small crustaceans, larger ones preyed mainly on small crustaceans. In synodontid fish, feeding habits of T. myops changed with fish growth, from small crustaceans to pelagic fish, and that of S. variegatus changed with fish growth, from demersal fish to pelagic fish

Purification and characterization of M-177, a 177 kDa allergen, from the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae

A high molecular weight allergen, M-177, was recently discovered in the house dust mite, Dermatophagoides farinae (D. farinae). The aims of this study were to develop a conventional purification procedure for M-177 and then to analyze some of the immunochemical properties of M-177. Mite extracts obtained from purified mite bodies were a suitable material for preparing M-177, because the purified mite extract contained large amounts of M-177. The purification of this allergen from the extract was achieved by ethanol fractionation, anion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography. The purified antigen was immunochemically equivalent to that of a preparation obtained by a previous affinity method using an anti-Mag 3-immobilized column. The yield of this purification procedure was 36.8% of the initial amount of M-177 in the extract, 40-fold greater than that of the previous immunoaffinity method. Our purification method was useful for preparing this allergen. The purified M-177 reacted in skin tests in 11 of 16 miteallergic patients, compared to 10 of 16 with Der f 2. The amount of M-177 in the purified mite extract determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay inhibition was as much as 0.95% of the total protein, which was higher than the amounts of Der f 1 (0.52%) and Der f 2 (0.32%). The potent allergenic activity and large amount of M-177 in the mites indicate that it is an important mite allergen