マウスガードの自律神経活動への影響 : 瞳孔フラッシュ応答による定量的評価

Background:Recently, it has been reported that mouth guards (MGs), which reduce the incidence and severity of traumatic oral injuries in contact sports, may actually affect sports performance. We have observed that a majority of subjects showed improved dynamic visual acuity during head rotation when using a MG, but subjects who were unwilling to use a MG showed the opposite effect. Thus, we hypothesized that unpleasant sensations due to MGs may decrease sports performance.Methods:In this study, we measured autonomic nervous system activity to evaluate unpleasant sensations objectively and quantitatively by measuring the pupillary flash response (PFR) and heart rate variability (HRV), before, during, and after wearing 3- and 5-mm-thick custom-made MGs in 10 healthy subjects.Results:It was found that the 5-mm MG had a higher incidence of unpleasant sensations (50% of subjects) than did the 3-mm MG (10%). PFR (not HRV) analysis showed that both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activities increased in subjects with unpleasant sensations.Conclusions:We suggest that the unpleasant sensation induced this unusual autonomic nervous system response, which could not be detected by traditional methods such as HRV analysis. By using PFR analysis, it is possible to make MGs without unpleasant sensations for better sports performance.博士（医学）・乙第1306号・平成24年11月27日Copyright © 2012 Japanese Stomatological Society. Published by Elsevier Japan K

Humidity Effects on Unsteady Characteristics of Supersonic Flow

In supersonic wind tunnels, the humidity content of the working fluid is known to have a significant effect on flow conditions in the test section. The intent of this paper is to evaluate the influence of moisture on the test section flow quality for the indraft supersonic wind tunnel located at the Muroran Institute of Technology. The static-pressure fluctuation is measured by means of an unsteady pressure sensor buried in a 10-degree-aperture cone model installed in the test section. The results show that supersonic flow at Mach 2 is contaminated by the self-sustained oscillation of a condensation shock wave for ambient relative humidity greater than approximately 50%. It is also found that for the Mach 2 flow, that the ratio of the static-pressure fluctuation to the dynamic pressure is less than 0.1%, if the absolute humidity is kept below a critical value of 2[g/m3]. Experimental observations also reveal that the three-dimensional boundary-layer transition process is hypersensitive to the influence of free-stream humidity.特集 : 航空宇宙機システム研究センターにおける開発研究2 : 4. オオワシII飛行にむけて並びに関連技術の研究開発（試験設備系

Anti-angiogenic effects of differentiation-inducing factor-1 involving VEGFR-2 expression inhibition independent of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Differentiation-inducing factor-1 (DIF-1) is a putative morphogen that induces cell differentiation in <it>Dictyostelium discoideum</it>. DIF-1 inhibits proliferation of various mammalian tumor cells by suppressing the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. To assess the potential of a novel cancer chemotherapy based on the pharmacological effect of DIF-1, we investigated whether DIF-1 exhibits anti-angiogenic effects <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>DIF-1 not only inhibited the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) by restricting cell cycle in the G₀/G₁phase and degrading cyclin D1, but also inhibited the ability of HUVECs to form capillaries and migrate. Moreover, DIF-1 suppressed VEGF- and cancer cell-induced neovascularization in Matrigel plugs injected subcutaneously to murine flank. Subsequently, we attempted to identify the mechanism behind the anti-angiogenic effects of DIF-1. We showed that DIF-1 strongly decreased vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) expression in HUVECs by inhibiting the promoter activity of human VEGFR-2 gene, though it was not caused by inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggested that DIF-1 inhibits angiogenesis both <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo</it>, and reduction of VEGFR-2 expression is involved in the mechanism. A novel anti-cancer drug that inhibits neovascularization and tumor growth may be developed by successful elucidation of the target molecules for DIF-1 in the future.</p

Movements and activities of male black-tailed gulls in breeding and sabbatical years

Long-lived animals sometimes skip one or more breeding seasons; however, little is known about their movements and activities during such ‘sabbatical’ periods. Here we present novel data on year-round movements and activities of two male black-tailed gulls Larus crassirostris during a sabbatical year. We compare the data with those in a year when they bred and with those of two other breeding males. The year-round migration routes of two sabbatical males were consistent with those of the breeding males: they returned to the breeding area but did not visit the colony in the sabbatical year. They landed more frequently on water (a potential index of foraging effort) during the non-breeding autumn and winter prior to the sabbatical year than before breeding. Sabbatical gulls may forage more intensively to recover body condition immediately after breeding

Collection of Macaca fascicularis cDNAs derived from bone marrow, kidney, liver, pancreas, spleen, and thymus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Consolidating transcriptome data of non-human primates is essential to annotate primate genome sequences, and will facilitate research using non-human primates in the genomic era. <it>Macaca fascicularis </it>is a macaque monkey that is commonly used for biomedical and ecological research.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We constructed cDNA libraries of <it>Macaca fascicularis</it>, derived from tissues obtained from bone marrow, liver, pancreas, spleen, and thymus of a young male, and kidney of a young female. In total, 5'-end sequences of 56,856 clones were determined. Including the previously established cDNA libraries from brain and testis, we have isolated 112,587 cDNAs of <it>Macaca fascicularis</it>, which correspond to 56% of the curated human reference genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These sequences were deposited in the public sequence database as well as in-house macaque genome database <url>http://genebank.nibio.go.jp/qfbase/</url>. These data will become valuable resources for identifying functional parts of the genome of macaque monkeys in future studies.</p