Synthesis and α-amylase inhibitory activity of glucose–deoxynojirimycin conjugates

Inhibitors of α-amylase have attracted attention for their putative effects against diabetes mellitus. Although numerous studies have explored natural small molecule inhibitors, acarbose is currently the only compound with sufficient inhibitory potency and drug-like characteristics to be considered as a potential therapeutic agent. We have synthesized conjugates of the potent glucosidase inhibitor, 1-deoxynojirimycin, and glucose, with the aim of enhancing inhibitory activity against α-amylase. This synthetic conjugate showed increased inhibition of α-amylase compared to 1-deoxynojirimycin alone, suggesting that similar modifications of existing glucosidase inhibitors may yield more potent α-amylase inhibitors

Development of Technical Regulations for Fuel Cell Motorcycles in Japan—Hydrogen Safety

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are expected to play an important role in the future and thus have improved significantly over the past years. Hydrogen fuel cell motorcycles with a small container for compressed hydrogen gas have been developed in Japan along with related regulations. As a result, national regulations have been established in Japan after discussions with Japanese motorcycle companies, stakeholders, and experts. The concept of Japanese regulations was proposed internationally, and a new international regulation on hydrogen-fueled motorcycles incorporating compressed hydrogen storage systems based on this concept are also established as United Nations Regulation No. 146. In this paper, several technical regulations on hydrogen safety specific to fuel cell motorcycles incorporating compressed hydrogen storage systems are summarized. The unique characteristics of these motorcycles, e.g., small body, light weight, and tendency to overturn easily, are considered in these regulations. Document type: Articl

Investigation of biomarkers in a rare case of fulminant necrotizing enterocolitis in a preterm infant

We encountered a very rare case of fulminant necrotizing enterocolitis (F-NEC) in a preterm male baby. The course of NEC and sepsis in this case was clearly different from the usual course. After onset at 14 days of life, catheter-related bloodstream infection was first assumed, and antibiotics and γ-globulin administration were started. However, 12 hours after onset, the baby's abdominal distension increased remarkably, and his entire abdominal wall turned red to purple. Escherichia coli were isolated from the blood culture, but the catheter tip culture was negative. Exchange transfusion was performed 32 hours after onset, but no significant changes were observed in the baby's general condition, and he died 46 hours after onset. The acute phase reactants of CRP and α1-acid glycoprotein increased, but haptoglobin did not. Although IL-1β and TNFα increased as expected with sepsis, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and G-CSF however increased to a greater extent than expected. From the above, we diagnosed the development of intestinal necrosis as a result of widespread intestinal ischemia, and that sepsis was associated with this poor condition

The geomorphology, color, and thermal properties of Ryugu: Implications for parent-body processes

The near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid 162173 Ryugu is thought to have been produced from a parent body that contained water ice and organic molecules. The Hayabusa2 spacecraft has obtained global multi-color images of Ryugu. Geomorphological features present include a circum-equatorial ridge, east/west dichotomy, high boulder abundances across the entire surface, and impact craters. Age estimates from the craters indicate a resurfacing age of ≲ 106 years for the top 1-meter layer. Ryugu is among the darkest known bodies in the Solar System. The high abundance and spectral properties of boulders are consistent with moderately dehydrated materials, analogous to thermally metamorphosed meteorites found on Earth. The general uniformity in color across Ryugu’s surface supports partial dehydration due to internal heating of the asteroid’s parent body.Additional co-authors: N Namiki, S Tanaka, Y Iijima, K Yoshioka, M Hayakawa, Y Cho, M Matsuoka, N Hirata, N Hirata, H Miyamoto, D Domingue, M Hirabayashi, T Nakamura, T Hiroi, T Michikami, P Michel, R-L Ballouz, O S Barnouin, C M Ernst, S E Schröder, H Kikuchi, R Hemmi, G Komatsu, T Fukuhara, M Taguchi, T Arai, H Senshu, H Demura, Y Ogawa, Y Shimaki, T Sekiguchi, T G Müller, T Mizuno, H Noda, K Matsumoto, R Yamada, Y Ishihara, H Ikeda, H Araki, K Yamamoto, S Abe, F Yoshida, A Higuchi, S Sasaki, S Oshigami, S Tsuruta, K Asari, S Tazawa, M Shizugami, J Kimura, T Otsubo, H Yabuta, S Hasegawa, M Ishiguro, S Tachibana, E Palmer, R Gaskell, L Le Corre, R Jaumann, K Otto, N Schmitz, P A Abell, M A Barucci, M E Zolensky, F Vilas, F Thuillet, C Sugimoto, N Takaki, Y Suzuki, H Kamiyoshihara, M Okada, K Nagata, M Fujimoto, M Yoshikawa, Y Yamamoto, K Shirai, R Noguchi, N Ogawa, F Terui, S Kikuchi, T Yamaguchi, Y Oki, Y Takao, H Takeuchi, G Ono, Y Mimasu, K Yoshikawa, T Takahashi, Y Takei, A Fujii, C Hirose, S Nakazawa, S Hosoda, O Mori, T Shimada, S Soldini, T Iwata, M Abe, H Yano, R Tsukizaki, M Ozaki, K Nishiyama, T Saiki, S Watanabe, Y Tsud

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Spray Combustion Flows by using LES

特集1 乱流シミュレーションと流れの設計(TSFD

Mice with defects in HB-EGF ectodomain shedding show severe developmental abnormalities

Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is first synthesized as a membrane-anchored form (proHB-EGF), and its soluble form (sHB-EGF) is released by ectodomain shedding from proHB-EGF. To examine the significance of proHB-EGF processing in vivo, we generated mutant mice by targeted gene replacement, expressing either an uncleavable form (HBuc) or a transmembrane domain–truncated form (HBΔtm) of the molecule. HBuc/uc mice developed severe heart failure and enlarged heart valves, phenotypes similar to those in proHB-EGF null mice. On the other hand, mice carrying HBΔtm exhibited severe hyperplasia in both skin and heart. These results indicate that ectodomain shedding of proHB-EGF is essential for HB-EGF function in vivo, and that this process requires strict control

Development of Technical Regulations for Fuel Cell Motorcycles in Japan—Hydrogen Safety

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are expected to play an important role in the future and thus have improved significantly over the past years. Hydrogen fuel cell motorcycles with a small container for compressed hydrogen gas have been developed in Japan along with related regulations. As a result, national regulations have been established in Japan after discussions with Japanese motorcycle companies, stakeholders, and experts. The concept of Japanese regulations was proposed internationally, and a new international regulation on hydrogen-fueled motorcycles incorporating compressed hydrogen storage systems based on this concept are also established as United Nations Regulation No. 146. In this paper, several technical regulations on hydrogen safety specific to fuel cell motorcycles incorporating compressed hydrogen storage systems are summarized. The unique characteristics of these motorcycles, e.g., small body, light weight, and tendency to overturn easily, are considered in these regulations

Masticatory jaw movement of Exaeretodon argentinus (Therapsida: Cynodontia) inferred from its dental microwear.

Dental microwear of four postcanine teeth of Exaeretodon argentinus was analyzed using both two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) methods to infer their masticatory jaw movements. Results of both methods were congruent, showing that linear microwear features (scratches) were well aligned and mostly directed to the antero-posterior direction in all four teeth examined. These findings support the palinal masticatory jaw movement, which was inferred in previous studies based on the observation of gross morphology of wear facets. In contrast, the lack of detection of lateral scratches confirmed the absence of the lateral jaw movement that was also proposed by a previous study. Considering previous microwear studies on cynodonts, palinal jaw movements observed in Exaeretodon evolved within cynognathian cynodonts from the fully orthal jaw movement of its basal member. Although there are currently only three studies of dental microwear of non-mammalian cynodonts including the present study, microwear analysis is a useful tool for the reconstruction of masticatory jaw movement and its future application to various cynodonts will shed light on the evolutionary process of jaw movement towards the mammalian condition in more detail

The Inter-Relationship between Dietary and Environmental Properties and Tooth Wear: Comparisons of Mesowear, Molar Wear Rate, and Hypsodonty Index of Extant Sika Deer Populations

<div><p>In reference to the evolutionary trend of increasing cheek tooth height in herbivorous ungulates, the causes of dental abrasion have long been debated. Interspecific comparisons of extant ungulates have revealed that both phytoliths in grass and external abrasive matter may play important roles. Using analysis of extant sika deer living in various environments and showing continuous latitudinal variation in food habits from northern grazing to southern browsing, we quantitatively evaluated the influence of dietary and environmental properties on three dental variables: mesowear score (MS), molar wear rate, and M₃ hypsodonty index. We used 547 skulls and 740 mandibles from 16 populations of sika deer to obtain the dental measurements. We found that only graminoid proportion in diet correlated with MS and the molar wear rate, implying that phytoliths in grass abrade dental tissues. In contrast, annual precipitation in habitat was not correlated with any of the dental variables. We also found a significant correlation between the molar wear rate (selective pressure for high-crowned molars) and the M₃ hypsodonty index of extant sika deer, implying an evolutionary increment in molar height corresponding to the molar wear rate. Our intraspecific comparative analyses provide further support for use of mesowear analysis as a paleodiet estimation method; it not only reveals staple food types (graminoids or dicots) but also implies regional or seasonal variation in the diet of the species.</p></div