Potential role of vacuolar H+–adenosine triphosphatase in neointimal formation in cultured human saphenous vein

AbstractObjective: Vacuolar H+–adenosine triphosphatase plays a pivotal role in pH regulation and molecular transport across the vacuolar membranes and is involved in cell proliferation and transformation. In the present study, possible involvement of vacuolar H+–adenosine triphosphatase in neointimal formation was investigated in an organ culture model of human saphenous vein. Methods and results: Cultured saphenous vein segments developed neointimal formation and marked thickening of the media within 14 days. Neointimal formation and medial thickening were completely inhibited by 10 nmol/L bafilomycin A1, a selective inhibitor of vacuolar H+-adenosine triphosphatase, although structurally related macrolide antibiotics FK-506 and erythromycin were without an effect. The neointimal cells were positive for α-smooth muscle actin and vimentin but negative for desmin, indicative of myofibroblasts. The emergence of myofibroblasts was inhibited, and endothelial cells were preserved in the saphenous vein segments treated with bafilomycin A1. Uptake of bromodeoxyuridine, a proliferation marker, by myofibroblasts was abrogated in the saphenous vein segments treated with 10 nmol/L bafilomycin A1. Detection of apoptotic cells by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick end labeling concomitant with identification of desmin-expressing smooth muscle cells demonstrated that neointimal myofibroblasts, but not medial smooth muscle cells, that expressed desmin underwent apoptosis by treatment with bafilomycin A1. Conclusions: These results suggest that vacuolar H+–adenosine triphosphatase may be involved in myofibroblast growth that contributes to neointimal formation and medial thickening in cultured human saphenous vein. Increased sensitivity of myofibroblasts, but not endothelial cells, and differentiated smooth muscle cells to bafilomycin A1 may have potential therapeutic implications in the treatment for vein graft disease. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;119:998-1007

αハ ノ バイオ フィードバック ト オンガク ノ シュコウ

本研究では,α波バイオフィードバックと音楽の趣向について3つの実験を行った。第1実験では,α波のピーク周波数を測定した。音楽を聴いている状態でピーク周波数が高くなる傾向が見られたが,個人差が大きいために全体の傾向を把握するのは困難であった。第2実験では5秒間累積積分法を用いたα波バイオフィードバック訓練を行った。ここでは「好きな音楽」が呈示されたときのα波振幅は「嫌いな音楽」,「無音」よりも有意に増加した。しかし,全体的に見るとフィードバック訓練の効果は現れていなかった。これは次々と変わる音響条件が被験者の実験への集中力に何らかの影響を与え,結果としてα波阻止が生じたためと思われる。第3実験では「好きな曲」,「嫌いな曲」を事前に調査することで,被験者の音楽への態度を明確にし,第2実験と同様に5秒間累積積分法を用いてα波バイオフィードバック訓練を行った。条件間では開眼安静期2 (フィードバック訓練後の安静期)でのみしか有意差は認められなかったものの試行間でのフィードバック訓練の効果が認められた。また,一貫して「好きな曲」条件におけるα波振幅が他の条件よりも上回っていた。この結果より,α波の増強・リラクセーションの促進には,音楽の好み,つまり音楽に対する態度が重要な要因になることが明らかになった。The present study was to investigate the relationship between alpha brain wave and the preference for music. In Experiment 1, the peak frequency of alpha wave was measured during the periods of music-on and-off, the results showing that while the music-on condition was associated with higher peak frequency, no significant difference was obtained. In Experiment 2, two types of background music, preferred or non-preferred, were introduced during the alpha biofeedback training. It was suggested that the preferred music tended to increase alpha amplitude rather than the non-preferred music, although no biofeedback training effect was observed across the trial. In Experiment 3 the preference for music was predetermined by each subject. The preferred music increased the amount of alpha wave with the marked biofeedback training effect across the trial. Taking these findings together, it might be concluded that the positive psychological factors for perceiving the preferred music would promote relaxation

Visualizing Ribbon‐to‐Ribbon Heterogeneity of Chemically Unzipped Wide Graphene Nanoribbons by Silver Nanowire‐Based Tip‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Microscopy

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), a quasi-one-dimensional form of graphene, have gained tremendous attention due to their potential for next-generation nanoelectronic devices. The chemical unzipping of carbon nanotubes is one of the attractive fabrication methods to obtain single-layered GNRs (sGNRs) with simple and large-scale production. The authors recently found that unzipping from double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs), rather than single- or multi-walled, results in high-yield production of crystalline sGNRs. However, details of the resultant GNR structure, as well as the reaction mechanism, are not fully understood due to the necessity of nanoscale spectroscopy. In this regard, silver nanowire-based tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is applied for single GNR analysis and investigated ribbon-to-ribbon heterogeneity in terms of defect density and edge structure generated through the unzipping process. The authors found that sGNRs originated from the inner walls of DWNTs showed lower defect densities than those from the outer walls. Furthermore, TERS spectra of sGNRs exhibit a large variety in graphitic Raman parameters, indicating a large variation in edge structures. This work at the single GNR level reveals, for the first time, ribbon-to-ribbon heterogeneity that can never be observed by diffraction-limited techniques and provides deeper insights into unzipped GNR structure as well as the DWNT unzipping reaction mechanism

Screening for resistance against Pseudomonas syringae in rice-FOX Arabidopsis lines identified a putative receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase gene that confers resistance to major bacterial and fungal pathogens in Arabidopsis and rice

Approximately 20 000 of the rice-FOX Arabidopsis transgenic lines, which overexpress 13 000 rice full-length cDNAs at random in Arabidopsis, were screened for bacterial disease resistance by dip inoculation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The identities of the overexpressed genes were determined in 72 lines that showed consistent resistance after three independent screens. Pst DC3000 resistance was verified for 19 genes by characterizing other independent Arabidopsis lines for the same genes in the original rice-FOX hunting population or obtained by reintroducing the genes into ecotype Columbia by floral dip transformation. Thirteen lines of these 72 selections were also resistant to the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum higginsianum. Eight genes that conferred resistance to Pst DC3000 in Arabidopsis have been introduced into rice for overexpression, and transformants were evaluated for resistance to the rice bacterial pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. One of the transgenic rice lines was highly resistant to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Interestingly, this line also showed remarkably high resistance to Magnaporthe grisea, the fungal pathogen causing rice blast, which is the most devastating rice disease in many countries. The causal rice gene, encoding a putative receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase, was therefore designated as BROAD-SPECTRUM RESISTANCE 1. Our results demonstrate the utility of the rice-FOX Arabidopsis lines as a tool for the identification of genes involved in plant defence and suggest the presence of a defence mechanism common between monocots and dicots

Clarithromycin expands CD11b+Gr-1+ MDSC-like cells

Macrolides are used to treat various inflammatory diseases owing to their immunomodulatory properties; however, little is known about their precise mechanism of action. In this study, we investigated the functional significance of the expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC)-like CD11b+Gr-1+ cells in response to the macrolide antibiotic clarithromycin (CAM) in mouse models of shock and post-influenza pneumococcal pneumonia as well as in humans. Intraperitoneal administration of CAM markedly expanded splenic and lung CD11b+Gr-1+ cell populations in naïve mice. Notably, CAM pretreatment enhanced survival in a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced shock. In addition, adoptive transfer of CAM-treated CD11b+Gr-1+ cells protected mice against LPS-induced lethality via increased IL-10 expression. CAM also improved survival in post-influenza, CAM-resistant pneumococcal pneumonia, with improved lung pathology as well as decreased interferon (IFN)-γ and increased IL-10 levels. Adoptive transfer of CAM-treated CD11b+Gr-1+ cells protected mice from post-influenza pneumococcal pneumonia. Further analysis revealed that the CAM-induced CD11b+Gr-1+ cell expansion was dependent on STAT3-mediated Bv8 production and may be facilitated by the presence of gut commensal microbiota. Lastly, an analysis of peripheral blood obtained from healthy volunteers following oral CAM administration showed a trend toward the expansion of human MDSC-like cells (Lineage−HLA-DR−CD11b+CD33+) with increased arginase 1 mRNA expression. Thus, CAM promoted the expansion of a unique population of immunosuppressive CD11b+Gr-1+ cells essential for the immunomodulatory properties of macrolides

Decadal–centennial-scale solar-linked climate variations and millennial-scale internal oscillations during the Early Cretaceous

Understanding climate variability and stability under extremely warm ‘greenhouse’ conditions in the past is essential for future climate predictions. However, information on millennial-scale (and shorter) climate variability during such periods is scarce, owing to a lack of suitable high-resolution, deep-time archives. Here we present a continuous record of decadal- to orbital-scale continental climate variability from annually laminated lacustrine deposits formed during the late Early Cretaceous (123–120 Ma: late Barremian–early Aptian) in southeastern Mongolia. Inter-annual changes in lake algal productivity for a 1091-year interval reveal a pronounced solar influence on decadal- to centennial-scale climatic variations (including the ~ 11-year Schwabe cycle). Decadally-resolved Ca/Ti ratios (proxy for evaporation/precipitation changes) for a ~ 355-kyr long interval further indicate millennial-scale (~ 1000–2000-yr) extreme drought events in inner-continental areas of mid-latitude palaeo-Asia during the Cretaceous. Millennial-scale oscillations in Ca/Ti ratio show distinct amplitude modulation (AM) induced by the precession, obliquity and short eccentricity cycles. Similar millennial-scale AM by Milankovitch cycle band was also previously observed in the abrupt climatic oscillations (known as Dansgaard–Oeschger events) in the ‘intermediate glacial’ state of the late Pleistocene, and in their potential analogues in the Jurassic ‘greenhouse’. Our findings indicate that external solar activity forcing was effective on decadal–centennial timescales, whilst the millennial-scale variations were likely amplified by internal process such as changes in deep-water formation strength, even during the Cretaceous ‘greenhouse’ period

バイオ フィードバック クンレン ガ オヨボス コウドウ シヒョウ ヘノ エイキョウ

We have studied a series of EEG biofeedback experiment in order to understand the biofeedback training effect upon integrated EEG as well as upon subjective rating. For the next step of the study the effect of EEG biofeedback training upon behavioral measures has to be clarified in a systematic way. Although a number of its clinical application have been done, no parametric study has appeared so far. The purpose of the present study was to test the repeated trials upon time estimation being used as a behavioral measure in a future study. In Experiment 1 three different time intervals of 15, 30 and 45 sec were estimated 10 times by 28 college students. It was observed that the time estimations for the three intervals decreased as the trial proceeded. In Experiment 2 the effect of alpha and beta EEG biofeedback training was tested separately. The findings were that the alpha feedback training tended to increase time estimation, although the beta feedback tended to decrease the time. Taking these findings together it is suggested that the alpha feedback would relax central nervous system which leads to increased time estimation, and the beta feedback has the reverse effect