Usefulness of Instructor Annotations on Flipped Learning Preparation Video System

Flipped learning is a method that flips in/out class activities to make lectures learner-centered. In flipped learning, comments from learners on preparation material are useful information for instructors to consider before deciding in-class topics. Thus, we arrive at the notion that receiving comments from instructors will be effective for learners watching the video. By including annotations from instructors, we propose to improve the quality of content for learners and thus enhance learners' motivation and study satisfaction. To achieve this, we introduced "Steering Mark," a tool that enables learners to easily grasp the overall structure of a video, to the video learning system. We examined the effectiveness and influence of Steering Mark through an experiment with 34 undergraduate learners. As a result, Steering Mark was found to be useful in improving the quality of video content for learners.Comment: The 2019 International Conference on Advanced Informatics: Concepts, Theory and Application

Organellar Glue: A Molecular Tool to Artificially Control Chloroplast–Chloroplast Interactions

細胞小器官を接着する新技術「オルガネラグルー」を開発 --オルガネラ間コミュニケーションの操作に期待--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-09-30.Organelles can physically interact to facilitate various cellular processes such as metabolite exchange. Artificially regulating these interactions represents a promising approach for synthetic biology. Here, we artificially controlled chloroplast–chloroplast interactions in living plant cells with our organelle glue (ORGL) technique, which is based on reconstitution of a split fluorescent protein. We simultaneously targeted N-terminal and C-terminal fragments of a fluorescent protein to the chloroplast outer envelope membrane or cytosol, respectively, which induced chloroplast–chloroplast interactions. The cytosolic C-terminal fragment likely functions as a bridge between two N-terminal fragments, thereby bringing the chloroplasts in close proximity to interact. We modulated the frequency of chloroplast–chloroplast interactions by altering the ratio of N- and C-terminal fragments. We conclude that the ORGL technique can successfully control chloroplast–chloroplast interactions in plants, providing a proof of concept for the artificial regulation of organelle interactions in living cells

Fully automated convolutional neural network-based affine algorithm improves liver registration and lesion co-localization on hepatobiliary phase T1-weighted MR images.

BackgroundLiver alignment between series/exams is challenged by dynamic morphology or variability in patient positioning or motion. Image registration can improve image interpretation and lesion co-localization. We assessed the performance of a convolutional neural network algorithm to register cross-sectional liver imaging series and compared its performance to manual image registration.MethodsThree hundred fourteen patients, including internal and external datasets, who underwent gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for clinical care from 2011 to 2018, were retrospectively selected. Automated registration was applied to all 2,663 within-patient series pairs derived from these datasets. Additionally, 100 within-patient series pairs from the internal dataset were independently manually registered by expert readers. Liver overlap, image correlation, and intra-observation distances for manual versus automated registrations were compared using paired t tests. Influence of patient demographics, imaging characteristics, and liver uptake function was evaluated using univariate and multivariate mixed models.ResultsCompared to the manual, automated registration produced significantly lower intra-observation distance (p < 0.001) and higher liver overlap and image correlation (p < 0.001). Intra-exam automated registration achieved 0.88 mean liver overlap and 0.44 mean image correlation for the internal dataset and 0.91 and 0.41, respectively, for the external dataset. For inter-exam registration, mean overlap was 0.81 and image correlation 0.41. Older age, female sex, greater inter-series time interval, differing uptake, and greater voxel size differences independently reduced automated registration performance (p ≤ 0.020).ConclusionA fully automated algorithm accurately registered the liver within and between examinations, yielding better liver and focal observation co-localization compared to manual registration

Risk prediction models for dementia constructed by supervised principal component analysis using miRNA expression data

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common subtype of dementia, followed by Vascular Dementia (VaD), and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have received a lot of attention as the novel biomarkers for dementia. Here, using serum miRNA expression of 1,601 Japanese individuals, we investigated potential miRNA biomarkers and constructed risk prediction models, based on a supervised principal component analysis (PCA) logistic regression method, according to the subtype of dementia. The final risk prediction model achieved a high accuracy of 0.873 on a validation cohort in AD, when using 78 miRNAs: Accuracy = 0.836 with 86 miRNAs in VaD; Accuracy = 0.825 with 110 miRNAs in DLB. To our knowledge, this is the first report applying miRNA-based risk prediction models to a dementia prospective cohort. Our study demonstrates our models to be effective in prospective disease risk prediction, and with further improvement may contribute to practical clinical use in dementia

A prospective compound screening contest identified broader inhibitors for Sirtuin 1

Potential inhibitors of a target biomolecule, NAD-dependent deacetylase Sirtuin 1, were identified by a contest-based approach, in which participants were asked to propose a prioritized list of 400 compounds from a designated compound library containing 2.5 million compounds using in silico methods and scoring. Our aim was to identify target enzyme inhibitors and to benchmark computer-aided drug discovery methods under the same experimental conditions. Collecting compound lists derived from various methods is advantageous for aggregating compounds with structurally diversified properties compared with the use of a single method. The inhibitory action on Sirtuin 1 of approximately half of the proposed compounds was experimentally accessed. Ultimately, seven structurally diverse compounds were identified

An oligodeoxyribonucleotide containing 5-formyl-2′-deoxycytidine (fC) at the CpG site forms a covalent complex with DNA cytosine-5 methyltransferases (DNMTs)

5-Methylcytosine (mC) is known to induce epigenetic changes. Ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes produce the further oxidized 5-substituted cytosine derivatives, 5-formylcytosine (fC) and 5-carboxylcytosine (caC). However, their roles are unclear thus far. Here, we synthesized oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) containing 5-formyl-2'-deoxycytidine and examined their interactions with DNA cytosine-5 methyltransferase (DNMT). We found that the ODN sequence containing fCpG formed a covalent complex with both bacterial and mouse recombinant DNMTs in the absence of any cofactors. The covalent bonding with DNMT suggests that the fCpG sequence in DNA may play a role in epigenetic regulation. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in a Child Presenting as Rapid Thyroid Enlargement

The majority of lymphomas of the head and neck in children present as an enlarged cervical lymph node; however, malignant lymphoma arising from the thyroid gland is extremely rare. We report a case of a 12-year-old child who was admitted to our hospital because of a history of rapidly progressive anterior neck swelling. Histopathological studies revealed this case to be T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. We performed chemotherapy and the patient has kept recurrence-free survival for 18 months after the beginning of the treatment. This is the 2nd case of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in the thyroid gland in a child

Subduction of the primordial crust into the deep mantle

The primordial crust on the Earth formed from the crystallization of the surface magma ocean during the Hadean. However, geological surveys have found no evidence of rocks dating back to more than 4 Ga on the Earth's surface, suggesting the Hadean crust was lost due to some processes. We investigated the subduction of one of the possible candidates for the primordial crust, anorthosite and KREEP crust similar to the Moon, which is also considered to have formed from the crystallization of the magma ocean. Similar to the present Earth, the subduction of primordial crust by subduction erosion is expected to be an effective way of eliminating primordial crust from the surface. In this study, the subduction rate of the primordial crust via subduction channels is evaluated by numerical simulations. The subduction channels are located between the subducting slab and the mantle wedge and are comprised of primordial crust materials supplied mainly by subduction erosion. We have found that primordial anorthosite and KREEP crust of up to ∼50 km thick at the Earth's surface was able to be conveyed to the deep mantle within 0.1-2 Gy by that mechanism

MyD88 Associated ROS Generation Is Crucial for Lactobacillus Induced IL-12 Production in Macrophage

It is well known that some strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can induce IL-12 which plays an important role in modulating immune responses. However, the mechanisms by which LAB induce IL-12 production remain unclear. Here, we examine the role of toll-like receptors (TLR’s) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in IL-12 production by LAB stimulated peritoneal macrophages. Our results indicate that a TLR is not necessary for IL-12 induction by LAB, whilst the universal adaptor protein, MyD88, is essential. Specific strains of LAB induced ROS that correlated with both the frequency of phagocytosis and IL-12 production. Reduction in IL-12 production by NADPH oxidase inhibitors or ROS scavengers demonstrates the crucial role of ROS in IL-12 induction. Interestingly, deficiency of TLR2, 4, 9 or MyD88 did not affect the phagocytosis of LAB strain KW3110, a potent IL-12 inducer, and ROS production was significantly reduced only in MyD88 deficient macrophages. These results suggest the existence of TLR-MyD88 independent LAB recognition and MyD88 related ROS induction mechanisms. We show here the importance of ROS for IL-12 induction and provide new insights into IL-12 induction by LAB