Neural Activity Affects Distribution of Glutamate Receptors during Neuromuscular Junction Formation inDrosophilaEmbryos

AbstractChanges in the distribution and density of transmitter receptors in the postsynaptic cell are required steps for functional synapse formation. We raised antibodies againstDrosophilaglutamate receptors (DGluR-II) and visualized the distribution of receptors during neuromuscular junction formation in embryos. In wild-type embryos, embryonic development is complete within 22 hr after egg lying (AEL) and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation begins at 13 hr AEL. At the time of initial synapse formation, DGluR-IIs appeared as clusters closely associated with some muscle nuclei. Subsequently, these nonjunctional clusters dispersed while DGluR-IIs accumulated at the junctional region. In a paralytic temperature-sensitive mutant,parats1,neural activity decreases drastically at restrictive temperatures. When neural activity was blocked throughout synaptogenesis by rearing embryos at a restrictive temperature prior to the beginning of synaptogenesis, 12 hr AEL, the dispersal of extrajunctional clusters was significantly suppressed and no accumulation of receptors at the junction was observed at 22 hr AEL. However, when neural activity was blocked later, by rearing embryos at a restrictive temperature from 13 hr AEL, DGluR-IIs did not accumulate at the NMJ, although extrajunctional clusters dispersed normally. These findings suggest that the neural activity differentially regulates dissipation of receptor clusters in the nonjunctional region and accumulation of receptors at the junctional region

A Case of Monostotic Fibrous Dysplasia of the Temporal Bone Asso­ciated with Epileptic Seizure

An 11-year-old male with monostotic fibrous dysplasia of the left temporal bone was reported. At the age of seven years, the patient began having epileptic attacks, and a bony swelling of the left temporal region was noticed by his mother. Roentgenologically, there were almost thorough osseous obstruction and osseous proliferation of the external auditory canal and pars petrosa, respectively. Audiologic examinations indicated gradual functional disturbance based on the affected internal ear. A total of 20 cases with monostotic fibrous dysplasia of the temporal bone reported between 1946 and 1980 was analyzed, and the association of fibrous dysplasia and epilepsy was discussed.</p

Proton beam therapy followed by pembrolizumab for giant ocular surface conjunctival malignant melanoma: A case report

The present study describes proton beam therapy as a clinical option to achieve local control of giant conjunctival melanoma in an aged person, instead of orbital exenteration. An 80‑year‑old woman with one‑year history of left‑eye injection and hemorrhage experienced rapid growth of the ocular surface black mass. At the initial visit, a black, elastic hard, hemorrhage‑prone, thickened mass in the size of 30x40 mm with a presumed wide stalk covered the total area of the lid fissure on the left side. Biopsy of the mass demonstrated anomalous melanin‑containing cells in fibrin and hemorrhage, which were positive for cocktail‑mix antibodies against tyrosinase, melanoma antigen recognized by T cells‑1 and human melanoma black‑45, indicative of malignant melanoma. One month after the initial visit, the patient underwent proton beam therapy at the total dose of 70.4 Gy (relative biological effectiveness) in 32 fractions (~10 min each) in one and a half months. One month after the end of proton beam therapy, 3.5 months from the initial visit, the patient was found by computed tomographic scan to have multiple metastatic lesions in bilateral lung fields. With the evidence of absent BRAF mutation, the patient underwent intravenous administration of pembrolizumab 77.2 mg every three weeks five times in total. Then, three months after proton beam therapy, ocular surface melanoma almost subsided and the clear cornea allowed visualization of the intraocular lens inside the eye. In three weeks, spontaneous corneal perforation was plugged with iris incarceration. The patient died suddenly of unknown cause 7.5 months from the initial visit. The local control of giant conjunctival melanoma was achieved by proton beam therapy, leading to patient's satisfaction and better quality of life. Proton beam therapy, followed by immune checkpoint inhibitors, would become the future standard of care for unresectable giant conjunctival melanoma

Lattice Boltzmann model for capillary interactions between particles at a liquid-vapor interface under gravity

A computational technique based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is developed to simulate the wettable particles adsorbed to a liquid-vapor interface under gravity. The proposed technique combines the improved smoothed-profile LBM for the treatment of moving solid particles in a fluid and the free-energy LBM for the description of a liquid-vapor system. Five benchmark two-dimensional problems are examined: (A) a stationary liquid drop in the vapor phase; a wettable particle adsorbed to a liquid-vapor interface in (B) the absence and (C) the presence of gravity; (D) two freely moving particles at a liquid-vapor interface in the presence of gravity (i.e., capillary flotation forces); and (E) two vertically constrained particles at a liquid-vapor interface (i.e., capillary immersion forces). The simulation results are in good quantitative agreement with theoretical estimations, demonstrating that the proposed technique can reproduce the capillary interactions between wettable particles at a liquid-vapor interface under gravity

ナンキョク ショウワキチ ダイ10 キョジュウトウ パネル ゴウハン ノ ケイネン ヘンカ ト セッチャク タイキュウセイ

日本に持ち帰られた第10居住棟合板の耐久性を接着という観点から評価した結果と、合板の接着耐久性と並び重要である枠材と合板の接着性能について報告する。木質パネルから試験体を採取し、含水率を測定した上で、単板接着力試験と合板-枠材圧縮せん断試験を行い、接着力を測定した。その結果、室内側合板の含水率は低いため接着力は高いが、それに対して屋外側合板は高含水率化しており接着力の低下が著しかったこと、また合板と枠材の接着力は単板間接着力よりも高く、本エポキシ樹脂が適当であること、屋外面鉄板の接着仕様については今後検討を要することなどが分かった。総じて、合板の接着力低下には水分が大きく関与し、パネルの耐久性向上には、融雪水の進入対策、結露対策、外壁鋼板の防錆対策等による木材の高含水率化の防止と、接着剤の耐水性向上が必要であると思われる。We herein report on an evaluation of durability of plywood of the old living hut built in 1969 brought back to Japan in terms of adhesiveness as well as adhesive strength between of wooden frame and plywood. Measuring water absorption percentage of test samples taken from wooden panel, we tested on adhesive bonding between veneers and compressed shearing of plywood and wooden frame ,and then measure their adhesive bonding. As a result, we conclude that plywood used for interior obtains high adhesive strength due to low water absorption percentage of the plywood on the other hand, the absorption strength of plywood for exterior is remarkably weakened because of the high water absorption percentage. In addition to that, since adhesive strength between panel plywood and wooden frame is stronger than that of between veneers, epoxy resin is suitable, yet we recognized that adhesion specs on metal panel for exterior should be reviewed in future. After all, weakened adhesive strength of plywood is mainly caused by moisture content in the plywood, and in order to improve panel durability, it is necessary to prevent wooden materials from rising moisture content with countermeasures of incoming of snow melting water, anti-condensation , and anti-rust of steel plate for exterior wall, as well as improve performance of water resisting adhesive

ASCA Observations of the Supernova Remnant IC 443: Thermal Structure and Detection of Overionized Plasma

We present the results of X-ray spatial and spectral studies of the ``mixed-morphology'' supernova remnant IC 443 using ASCA. IC 443 has a center-filled image in X-ray band, contrasting with the shell-like appearance in radio and optical bands. The overall X-ray emission is thermal, not from a synchrotron nebula. ASCA observed IC 443 three times, covering the whole remnant. From the image analysis, we found that the softness-ratio map reveals a shell-like structure. At the same time, its spectra require two (1.0 keV and 0.2 keV) plasma components; the emission of the 0.2 keV plasma is stronger in the region near the shell than the center. These results can be explained by a simple model that IC 443 has a hot (1.0 keV) interior surrounded by a cool (0.2 keV) outer shell. From the emission measures, we infer that the 0.2 keV plasma is denser than the 1.0 keV plasma, suggesting pressure equilibrium between the two. In addition, we found that the ionization temperature of sulfur, obtained from H-like K$\alpha$ to He-like K$\alpha$ intensity ratio, is 1.5 keV, significantly higher than the gas temperature of 1.0 keV suggested from the continuum spectrum. The same can be concluded for silicon. Neither an additional, hotter plasma component nor a multi-temperature plasma successfully accounts for this ratio, and we conclude that the 1.0 keV plasma is overionized. This is the first time that overionized gas has been detected in a SNR. For the gas to become overionized in the absence of a photoionizing flux, it must cool faster than the ions recombine. Thermal conduction from the 1.0 keV plasma to the 0.2 keV one could cause the 1.0 keV plasma to become overionized, which is plausible within an old (3$\times10^4$ yr) SNR.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Increased predominance of the matured ventricular subtype in embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes in vivo

Accumulating evidence suggests that human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes can affect “heart regeneration”, replacing injured cardiac scar tissue with concomitant electrical integration. However, electrically coupled graft cardiomyocytes were found to innately induce transient post-transplant ventricular tachycardia in recent large animal model transplantation studies. We hypothesised that these phenomena were derived from alterations in the grafted cardiomyocyte characteristics. In vitro experiments showed that human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) contain nodal-like cardiomyocytes that spontaneously contract faster than working-type cardiomyocytes. When transplanted into athymic rat hearts, proliferative capacity was lower for nodal-like than working-type cardiomyocytes with grafted cardiomyocytes eventually comprising only relatively matured ventricular cardiomyocytes. RNA-sequencing of engrafted hESC-CMs confirmed the increased expression of matured ventricular cardiomyocyte-related genes, and simultaneous decreased expression of nodal cardiomyocyte-related genes. Temporal engraftment of electrical excitable nodal-like cardiomyocytes may thus explain the transient incidence of post-transplant ventricular tachycardia, although further large animal model studies will be required to control post-transplant arrhythmia