Investigation by Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Biomarker Candidates for Aging in the Hair Cortex

BACKGROUND: Human hair is one of the essential components that define appearance and is a useful source of samples for non-invasive biomonitoring. We describe a novel application of imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) of hair biomolecules for advanced molecular characterization and a better understanding of hair aging. As a cosmetic and biomedical application, molecules whose levels in hair altered with aging were comprehensively investigated. METHODS: Human hair was collected from 15 young (20±5 years old) and 15 older (50±5 years old) volunteers. Matrix-free laser desorption/ionization IMS was used to visualize molecular distribution in the hair sections. Hair-specific ions displaying a significant difference in the intensities between the 2 age groups were extracted as candidate markers for aging. Tissue localization of the molecules and alterations in their levels in the cortex and medulla in the young and old groups were determined. RESULTS: Among the 31 molecules detected specifically in hair sections, 2--one at m/z 153.00, tentatively assigned to be dihydrouracil, and the other at m/z 207.04, identified to be 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid (DHMA)--exhibited a higher signal intensity in the young group than in the old, and 1 molecule at m/z 164.00, presumed to be O-phosphoethanolamine, displayed a higher intensity in the old group. Among the 3, putative O-phosphoethanolamine showed a cortex-specific distribution. The 3 molecules in cortex presented the same pattern of alteration in signal intensity with aging, whereas those in medulla did not exhibit significant alteration. CONCLUSION: Three molecules whose levels in hair altered with age were extracted. While they are all possible markers for aging, putative dihydrouracil and DHMA, are also suspected to play a role in maintaining hair properties and could be targets for cosmetic supplementation. Mapping of ion localization in hair by IMS is a powerful method to extract biomolecules in specified regions and determine their tissue distribution

2017年度読書運動プロジェクト活動報告書

活動資料 p.(1)～p.(5)はじめに : 藤本 朝巳 p.1読書会 : 三雲 紫恩、有馬 梨咲 p.2-p.3コンテスト・コンクール : 森園 佳子 p.4-p.6展示 : 山下 萌 p.7-p.10コラボランチ : 小根山 桃子 p.11選書ツアー : 中村 好花 p.12文学散歩 : 伊豆 美保 p.13他大学図書館訪問 : 津田 優里香 p.14大学祭 : 本釜 菜津子、林 陽子 p.15-p.17読み聞かせレッスン : 森園 佳子 p.18小学校朗読会 : 小野 紘子、三雲 紫恩 p.19-p.20朗読会 : 阿部 美彩 , 鈴木 珠友、穂積 優香、森園 佳子 p.21-p.24プロフィール p.25-p.32おわりに : 森園 佳子 p.33写真あり表あ

2018年度読書運動プロジェクト活動報告書

活動資料 p.(1)～p.(5)はじめに : 藤本 朝巳 p.1読書会 : 小根山 桃子、立原 優菜、三雲 紫恩 p.2-p.4コンテスト・コンクール : 森園 佳子 p.5-p.7展示 : 山下 萌 p.8-p.11コラボランチ : 社本 衣舞紀 p.12文学散歩 : 中村 好花 p.13選書ツアー : 津田 優里香、鈴木 綾紗 p.14-p.15泉区読書推進イベント : 森園 佳子、伊豆 美保、小林 すずな p.16-p.18絵本講座・読み聞かせ講座 : 森園 佳子 p.19大学祭 : 花房 若奈、林 陽子 p.20-p.22朗読会 : 小野 紘子、関口 恵奈、穂積 優香、三雲 紫恩、児玉 玲奈、平山 真由子、宇野 菜々春、小林 すずな p.23-p.29プロフィール : p.30-39おわりに : 森園 佳子 p.40写真あり表あ

Noise pollution alters matrix permeability for dispersing anurans: Differential effects among land covers

Successful dispersal or movement between patches in fragmented landscapes is key for the survival and population persistence of wildlife. Despite the growing interest in the impacts of anthropogenic noise, how noise alters the permeability of different types of land cover to animal movement in fragmented landscapes is underappreciated. Here, we experimentally quantified the movement distances of a frog species in three types of land cover common to fragmented landscapes (lawns with or without canopy cover and artificial bare land) under two acoustic manipulations (traffic noise vs. a silent control). The results showed that the effects of noise on frog movements varied among land covers: with movement being impeded on bare land and unaffected on lawns with and without a closed canopy. These results suggest that anthropogenic noise and land cover types can interactively affect the functional connectivity of these anurans and increase our understanding of the complex ecological consequences of urbanization. Our finding emphasizes that the impacts of noise on animal movement in fragmented landscapes should be evaluated with consideration of land cover types. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Postpartum infective endocarditis with Enterococcus faecalis in Japan: a case report

Abstract Background The clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis include the presence of predisposing cardiac disease, a history of illegal drug use, and high morbidity in the elderly. Only a few cases of the disease after delivery have been reported in the literature. We describe here a first case of enterococcal postpartum infective endocarditis without underlying disease in Japan. Case presentation We report the case of a 31-year-old Japanese woman with postpartum infective endocarditis by Enterococcus faecalis. She had no significant medical history or any unusual social history. After emergency surgery for severe mitral regurgitation and antimicrobial treatment for 6 weeks, she was discharged from our hospital and is now being monitored at an out-patient clinic. Conclusions We encountered a case of Enterococcus faecalis infective endocarditis that occurred in the native valve of a postpartum healthy woman. Although the pathogenesis of this case remains unclear, it could be due to bacteremia arising from the administration of prophylactic broad-spectrum antibiotics used for cesarean section. Previous use of cefotiam and urinary catheter insertion may be risk factors for nosocomial enterococcal bacteremia in this case

Bone metabolism and inflammatory characteristics in 14 cases of chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis

Abstract Background Chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) is a multifocal autoinflammatory disease that often impairs daily life in children. This study aimed to investigate the bone metabolic and inflammatory characteristics of patients with CNO, and to assess the differences between responders and nonresponders to conservative treatment. Methods We investigated the clinical symptoms; laboratory data including inflammatory and bone metabolic biomarkers; and imaging findings from plain radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), and dual-energy x-ray absorption (DEXA) in 14 patients with CNO. All patients underwent first-line treatment comprising systemic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with or without bisphosphonate. According to the response to the first-line treatment, the patients were divided into the clinical remission/partial response group and the no response group. The differences in bone metabolic and inflammatory characteristics between the two groups were assessed. Results All patients had low bone mineral density assessed with DEXA. The bone metabolic biomarkers (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b) were increased in boys of all ages and in young girls. Multiple inflammatory regions were detected in all patients by using FDG-PET including asymptomatic regions. The no response group had higher immunoglobulin G (IgG) and a greater number of bone inflammatory lesions detected on MRI than the clinical remission/partial response group. Conclusion Our data indicate the involvement of abnormal bone turnover, necessity of whole-body scanning, and association of higher serum IgG levels and greater numbers of inflammatory lesions with prolonged disease activity in patients with CNO

Anti-angiogenic effect of curcumin, curcumin ethylenediamine derivative and curcumin ethylenediamine manganese complex

We investigated the anti-angiogenic effect of curcumin, curcumin ethylenediamine derivative (curcumin ED) and curcumin ethylenediamine manganese complex (curcumin EDMn) through the inhibition of the formation of tube-like structures by human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC). Curcumin, curcumin ED, curcumin EDMn did not show cytotoxicity to HUVEC at concentrations equal and lower than 10 μM. At the concentration of 10 μM,curcumin, curcumin ED and curcumin EDMn inhibited the tube formation by approximately 94%, 40% and 65%, respectively. These results suggest that curcumin ED and curcumin EDMn might be useful as anti-angiogenic drugs in addition to their anti-lipid peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities as described in our previous studies. クルクミン(curcumin),クルクミン・エチレンジアミン誘導体(curcumin ED)及びそのマンガン複合体(curcumin EDMn)を用いて,ヒト臍帯静脈内皮細胞の管腔様構造の形成能を指標にして血管新生阻害効果を検討した。10μMのcurcumin, curcumin ED及びcurcumin EDMn は,管腔様構造の形成をそれぞれ94%,40%及び65%程度阻害した。これらの結果は,curcuminとともにcurcumin ED及びcurcumin EDMnが以前に報告した抗脂質過酸化作用やスーパーオキシドジスムターゼ活性を有することに加えて,血管新生の阻害薬として有効であることが示唆された。21st Century COE Program, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical Universit