Effects of cellooligosaccharide or a combination of cellooligosaccharide and live Clostridium butyricum culture on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk or milk replacer

The effects of oral administration of a prebiotic (cellooligosaccharide [CE]) and a combination of a probiotic (a commercial Clostridium butyricum strain) and prebiotics (referred to as symbiotics [SB]) on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk replacer (MR) or whole milk were evaluated. Forty female calves (experiment 1) and 14 male and female calves (experiment 2) were used in this study. Calves were fed MR (experiment 1) or whole milk (experiment 2) necessary for daily weight gain of 0.3 kg based on birth weight in two daily feedings and weaned at 46 days. Calves were divided into a CE feeding group, SB feeding group (only in experiment 1), and control group. The CE and SB groups were fed CE at 5 g/day before weaning and 10 g/day postweaning. Only the SB group received 108 colony-forming units (CFU) of C butyricum culture per day. Commercial calf starter was offered for ad libitum intake. Health and feed intake of the animals were monitored daily, and body weight was measured weekly. Fecal samples were analyzed for determination of bacterial community composition by an RNA-based method (sequence-specific SSU rRNA cleavage method) and for organic acid profiling. In 49-day experiments, feed intake, daily gain, and occurrence of diarrhea of the calves were unaffected by either CE supplementation or SB supplementation, and all calves were healthy during each experiment. The fecal bacterial community compositions and the organic acid profiles were not different among groups in experiment 1. In experiment 2, the level of the Clostridium coccoides-Eubacterium rectale group was higher in the feces of CE group than controls at 4 weeks of age and fecal butyric acid concentration was higher (8.0 vs. 12.2 [mmol/kg feces], P <0.05) at that time. There were no differences in prebiotic bacteria (the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) between groups at this time point. These results suggested that CE and C. butyricum supplementation have less effect on the performance of healthy calves fed MR. However, prebiotic supplementation seems effective for modulation of the intestinal bacterial community of calves when administered with whole milk.ArticleLIVESTOCK SCIENCE. 153(1-3):88-93 (2013)journal articl

A Phthalimide Derivative That Inhibits Centrosomal Clustering Is Effective on Multiple Myeloma

Despite the introduction of newly developed drugs such as lenalidomide and bortezomib, patients with multiple myeloma are still difficult to treat and have a poor prognosis. In order to find novel drugs that are effective for multiple myeloma, we tested the antitumor activity of 29 phthalimide derivatives against several multiple myeloma cell lines. Among these derivatives, 2-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-5-amino-1H-isoindole-1,3- dione (TC11) was found to be a potent inhibitor of tumor cell proliferation and an inducer of apoptosis via activation of caspase-3, 8 and 9. This compound also showed in vivo activity against multiple myeloma cell line KMS34 tumor xenografts in ICR/SCID mice. By means of mRNA display selection on a microfluidic chip, the target protein of TC11 was identified as nucleophosmin 1 (NPM). Binding of TC11 and NPM monomer was confirmed by surface plasmon resonance. Immunofluorescence and NPM knockdown studies in HeLa cells suggested that TC11 inhibits centrosomal clustering by inhibiting the centrosomal-regulatory function of NPM, thereby inducing multipolar mitotic cells, which undergo apoptosis. NPM may become a novel target for development of antitumor drugs active against multiple myeloma

A patient with sustained ventricular tachycardia : identification of a responder to amiodarone using signal-averaged electrocardiogram

A75-year-old man suffered sustained ventricular tachycardia with syncopal attack. Ventricular tachycardias appeared repeatedly, and an electrical defibrillator was used after an anti-arrhythmic drug, such as lidocaine or mexiletine, proved ineffective. The tachycardias had multiple origins, and the signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG) showed ventricular late potential before the administration of amiodarone. After administration, the filtered QRS and duration of the late potential increased, but the recurrence of tachycardias was suppressed. The reason for this is thought to be that amiodarone blocked the sodium channel and delayed conduction, consequently blocking reentry, because amiodaron has antiarrhymic properties with a prolongation of refractoriness and minimal effect on conduction velocity in ventricular myocardium, and inhibits sympathetic activity, and blocks L-type calcium channel besides the depression of the fast sodium channel. In this case, SAECG predicted to some degree whether or not this patient’s ventricular tachycardia would respond to amiodarone

Preliminary Design Study of the TMT Telescope Structure System: Overview

We present an overview of the preliminary design of the Telescope Structure System (STR) of Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). NAOJ was given responsibility for the TMT STR in early 2012 and engaged Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) to take over the preliminary design work. MELCO performed a comprehensive preliminary design study in 2012 and 2013 and the design successfully passed its Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in November 2013 and April 2014. Design optimizations were pursued to better meet the design requirements and improvements were made in the designs of many of the telescope subsystems as follows: 1. 6-legged Top End configuration to support secondary mirror (M2) in order to reduce deformation of the Top End and to keep the same 4% blockage of the full aperture as the previous STR design. 2. “Double Lower Tube” of the elevation (EL) structure to reduce the required stroke of the primary mirror (M1) actuators to compensate the primary mirror cell (M1 Cell) deformation caused during the EL angle change in accordance with the requirements. 3. M1 Segment Handling System (SHS) to be able to make removing and installing 10 Mirror Segment Assemblies per day safely and with ease over M1 area where access of personnel is extremely difficult. This requires semi-automatic sequence operation and a robotic Segment Lifting Fixture (SLF) designed based on the Compliance Control System, developed for controlling industrial robots, with a mechanism to enable precise control within the six degrees of freedom of position control. 4. CO2 snow cleaning system to clean M1 every few weeks that is similar to the mechanical system that has been used at Subaru Telescope. 5. Seismic isolation and restraint systems with respect to safety; the maximum acceleration allowed for M1, M2, tertiary mirror (M3), LGSF, and science instruments in 1,000 year return period earthquakes are defined in the requirements. The Seismic requirements apply to any EL angle, regardless of the operational status of Hydro Static Bearing (HSB) system and stow lock pins. In order to find a practical solution, design optimization study for seismic risk mitigation was carried out extensively, including the performing of dynamic response analyses of the STR system under the time dependent acceleration profile of seven major earthquakes. The work is now moving to the final design phase from April 2014 for two years

The ARCH Projects: design and rationale (IAASSG 001)

OBJECTIVE A number of factors limit the effectiveness of current aortic arch studies in assessing optimal neuroprotection strategies, including insufficient patient numbers, heterogenous definitions of clinical variables, multiple technical strategies, inadequate reporting of surgical outcomes and a lack of collaborative effort. We have formed an international coalition of centres to provide more robust investigations into this topic. METHODS High-volume aortic arch centres were identified from the literature and contacted for recruitment. A Research Steering Committee of expert arch surgeons was convened to oversee the direction of the research. RESULTS The International Aortic Arch Surgery Study Group has been formed by 41 arch surgeons from 10 countries to better evaluate patient outcomes after aortic arch surgery. Several projects, including the establishment of a multi-institutional retrospective database, randomized controlled trials and a prospectively collected database, are currently underway. CONCLUSIONS Such a collaborative effort will herald a turning point in the surgical management of aortic arch pathologies and will provide better powered analyses to assess the impact of varying surgical techniques on mortality and morbidity, identify predictors for neurological and operative risk, formulate and validate risk predictor models and review long-term survival outcomes and quality-of-life after arch surger

Effects of cellooligosaccharide or a combination of cellooligosaccharide and live Clostridium butyricum culture on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk or milk replacer

The effects of oral administration of a prebiotic (cellooligosaccharide [CE]) and a combination of a probiotic (a commercial Clostridium butyricum strain) and prebiotics (referred to as symbiotics [SB]) on performance and intestinal ecology in Holstein calves fed milk replacer (MR) or whole milk were evaluated. Forty female calves (experiment 1) and 14 male and female calves (experiment 2) were used in this study. Calves were fed MR (experiment 1) or whole milk (experiment 2) necessary for daily weight gain of 0.3 kg based on birth weight in two daily feedings and weaned at 46 days. Calves were divided into a CE feeding group, SB feeding group (only in experiment 1), and control group. The CE and SB groups were fed CE at 5 g/day before weaning and 10 g/day postweaning. Only the SB group received 108 colony-forming units (CFU) of C butyricum culture per day. Commercial calf starter was offered for ad libitum intake. Health and feed intake of the animals were monitored daily, and body weight was measured weekly. Fecal samples were analyzed for determination of bacterial community composition by an RNA-based method (sequence-specific SSU rRNA cleavage method) and for organic acid profiling. In 49-day experiments, feed intake, daily gain, and occurrence of diarrhea of the calves were unaffected by either CE supplementation or SB supplementation, and all calves were healthy during each experiment. The fecal bacterial community compositions and the organic acid profiles were not different among groups in experiment 1. In experiment 2, the level of the Clostridium coccoides-Eubacterium rectale group was higher in the feces of CE group than controls at 4 weeks of age and fecal butyric acid concentration was higher (8.0 vs. 12.2 [mmol/kg feces], P <0.05) at that time. There were no differences in prebiotic bacteria (the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) between groups at this time point. These results suggested that CE and C. butyricum supplementation have less effect on the performance of healthy calves fed MR. However, prebiotic supplementation seems effective for modulation of the intestinal bacterial community of calves when administered with whole milk.ArticleLIVESTOCK SCIENCE. 153(1-3):88-93 (2013)journal articl