Rapid estimation of direct economic losses caused by significant earthquakes: An evidence-based model and its applications

This paper presents a rapid or real-time estimation method of the economic value of direct stock damages caused by significant earthquakes in Japan. The result will contribute to both the government and private sectors’ early decision-making, particularly for provisional budget allocation. First, we developed a simple but evidence-based model for estimating stock losses explained by a representative earthquake hazard factor and an exposure factor, i.e., seismic intensity and existing stock of physical assets. The key characteristic of our estimation model is that the dependent variable is the prefectural damage amount. Still, the explanatory variables come from municipal sources: we overcome this data availability problem through our estimation process. Second, we carefully checked the model’s specification, estimation, and performance to be soundly applied to a real-time assessment of future earthquake events. We also explain the automated measuring of the prefectural direct loss value and its distribution to every 250 m mesh. Finally, we show two examples of the application of our model; one is the case of the 2018 Northern Osaka Earthquake, and the other is the anticipated Tokyo inland earthquake

N-Glycosylation plays a role in protein folding of human UGT1A9

金沢大学医薬保健研究域薬学系UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze the glucuronidation of a variety of xeno/endobiotics. UGTs are type I membrane proteins of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) with a glycosylated luminal domain. In the present study, we investigated the role of N-glycosylation in the function of human UGT1A9. Mutation analysis at the potential N-glycosylation sites at residues 71, 292, and 344 (from asparagine to glutamine) revealed that all of them were glycosylated, but the extent of glycosylation and/or size of the glycan differed. In comparison with the wild-type, these mutants showed decreased enzyme activities in parallel with the extent of the band shift in Western blot analysis. To evaluate the role of glycosylation in the enzyme activity, we produced unglycosylated UGT1A9 by treating HEK293 cells transiently transfected with expression plasmid with tunicamycin. The unglycosylated UGT1A9 was almost inactive, which was not an indirect effect of ER stress. To the contrary, the deglycosylated UGT1A9, which was produced by the treatment with Endo H under the non-denaturing condition, showed the same enzyme kinetics as the control. These results suggest that the glycosylation that occurs during translation is important for the folding of UGT1A9. The thermal stability analysis of the mutated and deglycosylated UGT1A9 proteins supported the findings. In conclusion, we found that the N-glycosylation has an important role in the folding of UGT1A9. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

A Hepatocellular Adenoma in a Diet-induced Obese Mouse

A hepatic nodule was noted in a C57BL/6J mouse with diet-induced obesity at 53 weeks of age. Macroscopically, a protruding yellowish white nodule was observed on the visceral surface of the left lateral lobe. Light microscopy demonstrated clear demarcation from the compressed adjacent parenchyma, with loss of the distinct lobular pattern. The proliferating cells of the lesion varied in shape and showed cellular atypia and prominent nucleoli along with vacuoles of various sizes. Some of the cells contained various-sized eosinophilic inclusion bodies in their cytoplasm, and electron microscopy revealed the presence of lipid droplets in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Eosinophilic inclusions were observed as electron dense granular material in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, with one or a few low density central cores. A diagnosis of hepatocellular adenoma was made based on these findings

Combined treatment with dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitor sitagliptin and elemental diets reduced indomethacin-induced intestinal injury in rats via the increase of mucosal glucagon-like peptide-2 concentration.

The gut incretin glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and the intestinotropic hormone GLP-2 are released from enteroendocrine L cells in response to ingested nutrients. Treatment with an exogenous GLP-2 analogue increases intestinal villous mass and prevents intestinal injury. Since GLP-2 is rapidly degraded by dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), DPP4 inhibition may be an effective treatment for intestinal ulcers. We measured mRNA expression and DPP enzymatic activity in intestinal segments. Mucosal DPP activity and GLP concentrations were measured after administration of the DPP4 inhibitor sitagliptin (STG). Small intestinal ulcers were induced by indomethacin (IM) injection. STG was given before IM treatment, or orally administered after IM treatment with or without an elemental diet (ED). DPP4 mRNA expression and enzymatic activity were high in the jejunum and ileum. STG dose-dependently suppressed ileal mucosal enzyme activity. Treatment with STG prior to IM reduced small intestinal ulcer scores. Combined treatment with STG and ED accelerated intestinal ulcer healing, accompanied by increased mucosal GLP-2 concentrations. The reduction of ulcers by ED and STG was reversed by co-administration of the GLP-2 receptor antagonist. DPP4 inhibition combined with luminal nutrients, which up-regulate mucosal concentrations of GLP-2, may be an effective therapy for the treatment of small intestinal ulcers

BioHackathon series in 2011 and 2012: penetration of ontology and linked data in life science domains

The application of semantic technologies to the integration of biological data and the interoperability of bioinformatics analysis and visualization tools has been the common theme of a series of annual BioHackathons hosted in Japan for the past five years. Here we provide a review of the activities and outcomes from the BioHackathons held in 2011 in Kyoto and 2012 in Toyama. In order to efficiently implement semantic technologies in the life sciences, participants formed various sub-groups and worked on the following topics: Resource Description Framework (RDF) models for specific domains, text mining of the literature, ontology development, essential metadata for biological databases, platforms to enable efficient Semantic Web technology development and interoperability, and the development of applications for Semantic Web data. In this review, we briefly introduce the themes covered by these sub-groups. The observations made, conclusions drawn, and software development projects that emerged from these activities are discussed