先新第三系中の鉛直回転軸を持つ摺曲（屈曲）

Various folds (bends) with subvertical/vertical axes are widely developed in the pre-Neogene terranes of Southwest Japan. They are variable in shape, conical folds, accordion folds, megakink bands and so on, and some of them are associated with strike-slip faults. Their size ranges from several meters to 10km or more in half-wavelength. Their deformation style indicate that they were produced under a brittle condition in a shallow level of the crust. They are superimposed on the pre-existing structures, and are regarded to have been formed mostly during the Middle Miocene contemporaneously at the time of the clockwise-rotation of Southwest Japan. The presence of them, thus, suggests that the upper crust of island arc is easily deformable around subvertical/vertical rotation axes to form various folds (bends) and locally strike-slip faults during its rotation

Genetic and chemical inhibition of IRF5 suppresses pre-existing mouse lupus-like disease

The transcription factor IRF5 has been implicated as a therapeutic target for the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, IRF5 activation status during the disease course and the effects of IRF5 inhibition after disease onset are unclear. Here, we show that SLE patients in both the active and remission phase have aberrant activation of IRF5 and interferon-stimulated genes. Partial inhibition of IRF5 is superior to full inhibition of type I interferon signaling in suppressing disease in a mouse model of SLE, possibly due to the function of IRF5 in oxidative phosphorylation. We further demonstrate that inhibition of IRF5 via conditional Irf5 deletion and a newly developed small-molecule inhibitor of IRF5 after disease onset suppresses disease progression and is effective for maintenance of remission in mice. These results suggest that IRF5 inhibition might overcome the limitations of current SLE therapies, thus promoting drug discovery research on IRF5 inhibitors

Data on the optimization of behavioral tasks for senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8)

This data article contains the supporting information for the research article entitled “Early onset of behavioral alterations in senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8)” [1]. Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8), which originally developed from AKR/J mice, shows learning and memory impairments at the age of 8–12 months. However, little information is still available on phenotypical characteristics of younger SAMP8. To fully understand the phenotype of younger SAMP8, we optimized two behavioral tasks for SAMP8. In the object recognition task, 4-month-old SAMP8 made significantly more contacts with the familiar objects compared to age-matched SAMR1, however, distance traveled for both strains of mice were comparable. In the fear conditioning task, conventionally-used CS–US combination failed to induce robust conditioned fear in both strains of mice. Keywords: SAMR1, SAMP8, Memory, Fear conditioning, Object recognitio

Remarkable changes in behavior and physiology of laboratory mice after the massive 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan.

A devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, 2011, followed by several long and intense aftershocks. Laboratory mice housed in the Tokyo, located approximately 330 km south of this earthquake's epicenter, displayed remarkable changes in a variety of behaviors and physiological measures. Although unusual pre-earthquake behaviors have been previously reported in laboratory animals, little is known about behavioral and physiological changes that occur after a great earthquake. In the present study, the effects of Tohoku earthquake on mice behavior were investigated. "Earthquake-experienced" mice displayed a marked increase in food consumption without gaining body weight in response to the earthquake. They also displayed enhanced anxiety, and in a formal fear memory task, showed significantly greater tone- and context-dependent conditioned freezing. Water maze performance of earthquake-experienced mice showed the quicker acquisition of the task, faster swim speed and longer swim distance than the naive mice. Serum corticosterone levels were elevated compared to the naive mice, indicating that the earthquake and aftershocks were stressful for the mice. These results demonstrate that great earthquakes strongly affect mouse behaviors and physiology. Although the effects of a variety of experimental manipulations on mouse behaviors in disease models or in models of higher cognitive functions have been extensively examined, researchers need to be aware how natural phenomena, such as earthquakes and perhaps other natural environmental factors, influence laboratory animal behaviors and physiology

Inhibitor-assisted refolding of protease: A protease inhibitor as an intramolecular chaperone

AbstractPleurotus ostrearus proteinase A inhibitor 1 (POIA1), which was discovered as a protease inhibitor, is unique in that it shows sequence homology to the propeptide of subtilisin, which functions as an intramolecular of a cognate protease. In this study, we demonstrate that POIA1 can function as an intramolecular chaperone of subtilisin by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The specific cleavage between POIA1 and the mature region of subtilisin BPN′ occurred in a refolding process of a chimera protein, and Bacillus cells transformed with a chimera gene formed a halo on a skim milk plate. The mutational analyses of POIA1 in the chimera protein suggested that the tertiary structure of POIA1 is required for such a function, and that an increase in its ability to bind to subtilisin BPN′ makes POIA1 a more effective intramolecular chaperone

18F-FDG-PET/CT assessment of Takayasu arteritis and effect of time-of-flight reconstruction: an observational study

Background: To assess the impact of time-offlight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) image reconstruction on assessment of Takayasu arteritis (TKA). We reviewed 14 patients (15 cases) who underwent TOF-PET/CT. PET images were reconstructed using ordered-subsets expectation maximisation ±TOF. Uptake in 10 vascular regions was assessed in each case using the four-point visual grading system (3, higher than liver uptake; 0, no uptake). Grades in the TOF-PET/CT and non-TOF-PET/CT groups were compared using the sign test. Relationships between visual grade and arterial FDG uptake pattern in the 10 regions and clinical findings were assessed. Additionally, qualitative summary score (PETVAS) and maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) were compared between 2 groups using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: Except for the highest visual grade, the grades in all 150 regions were significantly higher in the TOF-PET/CT group (p=0.003). FDG uptake pattern and region were not significant determinants of the effect of TOF reconstruction. PETVAS and SUVmax were significantly higher in the TOFPET/CT group (p=0.02, p<0.001 respectively). Conclusions: Visual grades, PETVAS, and SUVmax were significantly higher when assessed by TOF-PET/CT. The use of the same reconstruction algorithm before and after treatment is recommended when evaluating the response to treatment