SDOP-DB: a comparative standardized-protocol database for mouse phenotypic analyses

Summary: This article reports the development of SDOP-DB, which can provide definite, detailed and easy comparison of experimental protocols used in mouse phenotypic analyses among institutes or laboratories. Because SDOP-DB is fully compliant with international standards, it can act as a practical foundation for international sharing and integration of mouse phenotypic information

各地の深海底に存在する褐色変色域での微生物調査

BE11-P72ポスター要旨 / ブルーアース2011（2011年3月7日～8日, 東京海洋大学品川キャンパス）http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt05-18/ehttp://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt10-06_leg2/ehttp://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt10-13_leg2/ehttp://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/yokosuka/yk10-10/

Tarama Knoll: Geochemical and biological profiles of hydrothermal activity

Tarama Knoll is located about 60 km north of Tarama Island, Sakishima Islands, southwestern Japan. The knoll has an almost conical shape, with foot and summit depths of 2,000 and 1,490 m (total relief = 510 m) from the sea surface, respectively. This area has been identified as a possible active submerged volcano called “Tarama Knoll” (Otani et al. 2004). However, there are actually two separate knolls in the area. This knoll is located northeast of the other, which is named Tarama Hill. During the KT05-26 cruise on the R/V Tanseimaru, a methane anomaly was detected near the seafloor around the area and was considered to be of possible hydrothermal origin. Based on visual observation of the seafloor and its bathymetry, this knoll is considered a pumice cone. Dense turbid water is often observed around summit of the knoll, and a methane anomaly was detected in the water. These observations suggest that the turbid water is a hydrothermal plume. An iron-rich, red-brown sediment-covered area was discovered at a depth of 1,510–1,540 m on the southwestern slope near the summit. At the red-brown sediment area, a weak shimmering of clear fluid could be observed, and the fluid temperature reached 20 °C. Sampled shimmering fluid showed a high silica concentration (≥1 mM), indicating an interaction between the fluid and the surrounding rock. These chemical data support the occurrence of active hydrothermal circulation at Tarama Knoll

Decryption of sequence, structure, and functional features of SINE repeat elements in SINEUP non-coding RNA-mediated post-transcriptional gene regulation

Abstract RNA structure folding largely influences RNA regulation by providing flexibility and functional diversity. In silico and in vitro analyses are limited in their ability to capture the intricate relationships between dynamic RNA structure and RNA functional diversity present in the cell. Here, we investigate sequence, structure and functional features of mouse and human SINE-transcribed retrotransposons embedded in SINEUPs long non-coding RNAs, which positively regulate target gene expression post-transcriptionally. In-cell secondary structure probing reveals that functional SINEs-derived RNAs contain conserved short structure motifs essential for SINEUP-induced translation enhancement. We show that SINE RNA structure dynamically changes between the nucleus and cytoplasm and is associated with compartment-specific binding to RBP and related functions. Moreover, RNA–RNA interaction analysis shows that the SINE-derived RNAs interact directly with ribosomal RNAs, suggesting a mechanism of translation regulation. We further predict the architecture of 18 SINE RNAs in three dimensions guided by experimental secondary structure data. Overall, we demonstrate that the conservation of short key features involved in interactions with RBPs and ribosomal RNA drives the convergent function of evolutionarily distant SINE-transcribed RNAs

A novel NAC transcription factor, IDEF2, which recognizes the iron deficiency-responsive element 2, regulates genes involved in iron homeostasis

Iron (Fe) is essential for most living organisms, and thus Fe deficiency poses a major abiotic stress in crop production. Plants induce Fe utilization systems under conditions of low-Fe availability, but the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation under Fe deficiency remain largely unknown. We identified a novel transcription factor in rice and barley, IDEF2, which specifically binds to the Fe deficiency-responsive cis-acting element 2 (IDE2), using yeast one-hybrid screening. IDEF2 belongs to an uncharacterized branch of the NAC transcription factor family and exhibits novel properties of sequence recognition. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay and cyclic amplification and selection of targets (CASTing) experiment revealed that IDEF2 predominantly recognizes CA[A/C]G[T/C][T/C/A][T/C/A] within IDE2 as the core binding site. IDEF2 transcripts are constitutively present in rice roots and leaves. Repression of the function of IDEF2 by RNA interference (RNAi) and chimeric repressor gene-silencing technology (CRES-T) caused aberrant Fe distribution between shoots and roots in rice grown hydroponically under Fe-sufficient or deficient conditions. These results reveal novel cis-element/trans-factor interactions that are functionally associated with iron homeostasis

Impact of dapagliflozin on left ventricular diastolic function of patients with type 2 diabetic mellitus with chronic heart failure

Abstract Background The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of sodium glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on left ventricular (LV) diastolic function of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with heart failure (HF). Methods This trial was a prospective multicenter study of 58 T2DM patients with stable HF at five institutions in Japan. Patients who had been taking at least one antidiabetic drugs other than SGLT2 inhibitors started the administration of 5 mg/day of dapagliflozin. The physical examinations, blood tests, and echocardiography were performed at baseline and 6 months after administration of dapagliflozin. The primary endpoint was defined as a change in mitral inflow E and mitral e′ annular velocities (E/e′) between baseline and 6 months after the administration of dapagliflozin. The secondary end points consisted of a change in brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), LV mass index (LVMI) and left atrial volume index (LAVI). Results E/e′ significantly decreased from 9.3 to 8.5 cm/s (p = 0.020) 6 months after administration of dapagliflozin. LAVI and LVMI significantly decreased from 31 to 26 mL/m2 (p = 0.001), and from 75.0 to 67.0 g/m2 (p < 0.001), respectively, 6 months after administration of dapagliflozin. No significant change was observed in BNP (from 27.9 to 28.9 pg/mL; p = 0.132) 6 months after administration of dapagliflozin, except for a significant decrease from 168.8 to 114.3 pg/mL (p = 0.012) in patients with BNP ≥ 100 pg/mL. Conclusion This prospective multicenter trial showed the beneficial effect of SGLT2 inhibitors on LV diastolic functional parameters for T2DM patients with HF. Our findings may thus offer a new insight into the management of T2DM patients. Trial registration UMIN000019789, Registered 28 September 2014, Date of registration: 11/14/2015, Date of enrolment of the first participant to the trial: 6/15/2016, Date of enrolment of the last participant to the trial: 12/9/201

Clinical features of subclinical left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Left ventricular (LV) longitudinal systolic dysfunction has been identified even in asymptomatic patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and preserved LV ejection fraction (LVEF). However, its relevant clinical features have not been fully evaluated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe