Impact of obesity on childhood kidney

Obese patients are known to have greater risks to develop hypertension, coronary vascular disease, and insulin resistance, and more attention has been recently paid to the impact of obesity on kidney. This study was conducted to investigate whether obese children have higher risk of renal injury as well as adults. Eighteen hundred and thirty school children aged 6–14 years with abnormal urinary findings on thrice occasions detected by the screening program for renal disease in Japan were enrolled. Of them, 27 children with nephritis or suspected nephritis diagnosed by persistent proteinuria with hematuria were compared to 588 without urinary abnormalities regarding their body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), and serum level of total cholesterol. BMI and systolic BP (mmHg) were significantly higher in the former than in the latter. As a result, obesity may be associated with the development of renal injury even in childhood

Replicated association of the single nucleotide polymorphism in EDG1 with marbling in three general populations of Japanese Black beef cattle

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Marbling, defined by the amount and the distribution of intramuscular fat and measured as beef marbling score (BMS), is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. We recently reported that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), namely, <it>c.-312A>G</it>, in the <it>endothelial differentiation</it>, <it>sphingolipid G-protein-coupled receptor</it>, <it>1 </it>(<it>EDG1</it>) gene was associated with the BMS level in the Japanese Black beef cattle population of Oita prefecture, with the <it>G </it>allele being associated with a high level of the BMS. Thus, the <it>c.-312A>G </it>SNP seems to be a candidate marker for marker-assisted selection. In this study, we investigated whether this association could be replicated in 3 other independent Japanese Black cattle populations and analyzed the effect of the SNP genotypes on the carcass traits other than the BMS.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Statistically significant differences in the BMS level were detected among the genotypes of the <it>c.-312A>G </it>SNP in the Japanese black beef cattle populations of Miyazaki (<it>P </it>= 0.0377) and Nagasaki (<it>P </it>= 0.0012) prefectures, and marginal difference was detected in the Kagoshima prefecture population (<it>P </it>= 0.0786). The <it>G </it>allele in the SNP was associated with an increase in the BMS level.</p> <p>The <it>G </it>allele also seemed to have a favorable influence, if any, on the carcass weight, rib eye area and rib thickness of the cattle populations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings suggest that the association of the <it>c.-312A>G </it>SNP with the BMS level in the Japanese Black beef cattle population was replicated in other beef cattle populations, and revealed favorable effects of the <it>G </it>allele on the beef productivity in the general Japanese Black beef cattle population. Thus, we concluded that the <it>c.-312A>G </it>SNP is useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase the BMS level in Japanese Black beef cattle.</p

Goblet Cell Hyperplasia and Muscular Layer Thickening in the Small Intestine of a Cynomolgus Monkey

We report here the interesting case of a 5-year-old male cynomolgus monkey with goblet cell hyperplasia and thickening of the muscular layer throughout the small intestine without exhibiting any clinical symptoms. Necropsy examination showed diffuse thickening of the intestinal wall from the jejunum to the ileum, with an appearance likened to a rubber tube. Histopathologically, marked thickening was observed in both the mucosal and muscular layers in the jejunum and ileum, and slight thickening was observed in the duodenum. Goblet cell hyperplasia with extension of the circular folds and villi was prominently observed. The mucosal surface was covered with a thick mucus layer containing desquamated mucosal epithelial cells, and both the inner and outer muscular layers were markedly thickened due to smooth muscle hypertrophy. Neither macroscopic nor histopathological examination identified any causative factors, such as infection, enteritis and intestinal stenosis, or obstruction that may have caused development of this lesion. Given these observations, this case may simply be considered of spontaneous goblet cell hyperplasia and muscular layer thickening in the small intestine of a cynomolgus monkey

1989年ロマ・プリータ地震の震度分布

1989年10月17日午後5時4分(現地時間)に発生したロマ・プリータ地震(M7.1)は、サンフランシスコの南東約110kmのサンアンドレアス断層上を震度として発生した。断層の長さは約40kmで、震度の深さ約18kmとされ、断層上で右横ずれ1.7m, 縦ずれ1.3mの断層運動が確認された。震度近傍地域の市街地の建築構造物の被害はもとより、震源より約100km程度離れた近代的な都市であるサンフランシスコ市やオークランド市において海岸部の埋立地を中心に大きな被害が発生し、特にベイブリッジや高架橋構造の高速道路の崩壊による多くの死傷者やライフライン系の被害など典型的な都市型の被害が生じた市民生活に大きな影響を及ぼした。この地震による人的被害は死者62人、負傷者約3800人であった。また、倒壊建物を含む被災建物数は約3万棟で被害総額は約59億ドルと報告されている。本地震の震度分布は震源近傍の地域において修正メルカリ震度階で震度8(気象庁震度階6程度)、サンフランスコ市やオークランド市においては同震度7(同5程度)であるが、同地域内において局所的に同震度9(同7程度)の大きな震度分布を示す地域があり、大被害地域となっている。一方、地震動の強震計観測記録はUSGS(米国地質調査所)とCDMG(カリフォルニア鉱山局)が設置した観測網により多数の地点で貴重な記録が観測されている。震源近傍の地域では、地盤上の水平動成分の最大加速度値が0.64g(Corralitos)、0.54g(Capitola) と大きな値を示し、上下動成分も0.5～0.6g の値を記録している。またオークランド市周辺地域で0.26g(Emeryville)、サンフランシスコ市周辺で0.24g(Golden Gate Bridge)、0.33g(San Francisco Intl. Airport) と報告されている。しかしながら、これらの資料だけからではサンフランシスコ市やオークランド市の市内における地域的に細かな震度分布を評価することは難しい。米国では、USGSが中心となって、地震の多発するカリフォルニア州のサンフンドレアズ断層に沿う地域、特にサンフランスシコ湾岸地域を対象として、同断層および平行して走るヘイワード断層上に発生する大地震を想定した震度分布予測のためのゾーニングマップが作成されている。これは、地震断層・地質地形・地盤などを考慮して作成されたものであり、特に今回のロマ・プリータ地震でのサンフランシスコ市やオークランド市における被害発生地域は、上記のゾーニングマップにおいて、震度が相対的に高いと予測されていた地域と符合しているように思われる。本報告では、特に大都市であるサンフランシスコ市においてサイスミックマイクロゾーニングの観点から、アンケートによるミクロな震度分布調査を行い、すでにUSGSにおいて作成されている既往の地盤分類に基づいたマイクロゾーニングマップとの対応について検討を行った。その結果、サンフランシスコ市におけるUSGS による震度分布は、一部の大被害発生地域の震度を除いてMM 震度で7～6 程度であったのに対して、地域的に詳しい震度分布のコンターが得られ、表層地盤の性質に対応していることが明かとなった

Demonstration of 2.65 / 3.3 Gbit per sec X Band Radiowave Down Link Communications from LEO Small Satellite

This paper reports our new communication system and downlink demonstrations with a small satellite of 2.65 Gbps data rate with 64 APSK modulation and 3.3Gbps data rate with 256 APSK modulation by utilizing two circular polarization channels of X band. We have developed an on-board X-band transmitter, an on-board dual circularly polarized-wave antenna with 17dBi gain and \u3e37dB Cross Polarization Discrimination (XPD) and a 10m ground station with 39dB/K of G/T and \u3e37dB XPD for low-crosstalk polarization multiplexing. Since there are not real- time demodulator systems in such high communication speed, the downlinked signals are stored in a data recorder at an antenna site. Afterwards, we decode downlinked signals by using our non-real-time software demodulator. The system was demonstrated in orbit the RAPid Innovative payload demonstration Satellite (RAPIS-1) of JAXA in 2019. We have achieved 2.65 Gbps and 3.3Gbps communication speed in the X-band for LEO satellite at 300 M symbols per second (Msps) and polarization multiplexing of 64APSK (coding rate 4/5) and 256APSK (coding rate 3/4) following DVB-S2X protocol with roll-off factor α=0.05. The communication speeds correspond to of frequency efficiency 8.4 bit/s/Hz and 10.8 bit/s/Hz of frequency utilization efficiency. As far as authors know, these direct downlink communication speeds and frequency utilization efficiencies are the highest ones at present in LEO satellites, excluding bent-pipe communication systems

Cost-Effectiveness of Total Colonoscopy in Screening of Colorectal Cancer in Japan

Introduction. In Japan, the cost-effectiveness of total colonoscopy (TCS) for primary screening of colorectal cancer (CRC) is unclear. We compared the cost of identifying a patient with CRC using two primary screening strategies: TCS (strategy 1) and the immunochemical fecal test (FIT) (strategy 2). Materials and Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the TCS screening database at our institution from February 2004 to August 2010 (strategy 1, n = 15,348) and the Japanese nationwide survey of CRC screening in 2008 (strategy 2, n = 5,267,443). Results. 112 and 6,838 CRC cases were detected in strategies 1 and 2, costing 2,124,000 JPY and 1,629,000 JPY, respectively. The rate of earlier-stage CRC was higher in strategy 1. Conclusions. The cost was higher using TCS as a primary screening procedure. However, the difference was not excessive, and considering the increased rate of detecting earlier CRC, the use of TCS as a primary screening tool may be cost-effective

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in titin gene with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle

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Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in akirin 2 gene with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle

Background: Marbling defined by the amount and distribution of intramuscular fat, so-called Shimofuri, is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. The c17-25 expressed sequence tag (EST) has been previously shown to possess expression difference in musculus longissimus muscle between low-marbled and high-marbled steer groups, and to be located within genomic region of a quantitative trait locus for marbling. Thus, the akirin 2 (AKIRIN2) gene containing the c17-25 EST sequence was considered as a positional functional candidate for the gene responsible for marbling. In this study, we explored single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the AKIRIN2 and analyzed association of the SNP with marbling. Findings: A SNP in the 3' untranslated region of the AKIRIN2, referred to as c.*188G>A, was the only difference detected between high- and low-marbled steer groups. The SNP was associated with marbling in 3 experiments using 100 sires (P = 0.041), 753 paternal half-sib progeny steers from 4 sires heterozygous for the c.*188G>A (P = 0.005), and 730 paternal half-sib progeny steers from 3 sires homozygous for the A allele at the c.*188G>A (P = 0.047), in Japanese Black beef cattle. The effect of genotypes of the SNP on subcutaneous fat thickness was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the AKIRIN2 SNP polymorphism is associated with marbling and may be useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase the levels of marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle

Wortmannin, a specific inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase, blocks osteoclastic bone resorption

AbstractThe biological role of phosphatidylinositol (PI)-3 kinase was examined in osteoclast-like multinucleated cells (OCLs) formed in co-cultures of mouse osteoblastic cells and bone marrow cells. The expression of PI-3 kinase in OCLs was confirmed by Western blot analysis. Wortmannin (WT), a specific inhibitor of PI-3 kinase, inhibited PI-3 kinase activity in OCLs both in vitro and in vivo. WT also inhibited pit-forming activity on dentine slices and disrupted a ringed structure of F-actin-containing dots (an actin ring) in OCLs in a dose-dependent manner. The inhibitory profiles of WT for pit and actin ring formation were similar to that for PI-3 kinase activity in OCLs. Electron microscopic analysis revealed that OCLs treated with WT did not form ruffled borders. Instead, numerous electron lucent vacuoles of differing sizes were found throughout the cytoplasm. These results suggest that PI-3 kinase is important in osteoclastic bone resorption