Effect of flag leaf length of erect panicle rice on the canopy structure and biomass production after heading

Increasing the yield potential of rice (Oryza sativa) is the main objective of breeders and cultivators engaged in rice improvement programs. Erect panicle (EP) rice is generally high-yielding with panicles that remain non-curved until maturation. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of agronomic traits with rice productivity in EP rice. Here, we used the recombinant inbred lines (RILs), crosses between Liaojing5 (erect panicle japonica type) and Wanlun422 (high-yielding indica type). The yield varied among the RILs, and the flag leaf length of EP RILs was negatively correlated with the yield; however, the correlation was not significant in the non-EP RILs. The flag leaf length of the EP RILs was also negatively correlated with biomass increase during the late ripening stage. This may reflect the canopy structure of the EP RILs with short flag leaves which had a larger leaf area index in the lower strata. Additionally, the chlorophyll content in the lower leaf significantly differed among the EP RILs with flag leaves of different lengths, resulting in a higher photosynthetic ability of the lower leaf of EP RILs with short flag leaves. In the present study, an EP line, which has the shortest flag leaf, showed a higher yield than Wanlun422 in both years. EP RILs with short flag leaves might show a higher canopy photosynthetic rate in the later ripening stage; therefore, this trait could be a potential phenotypic marker for achieving high yield of EP rice

Biological performance of novel phosphate-based glass microspheres for mesenchymal stem cell therapy in osteoporotic patients

In this study, degradable phosphate-based bulk or porous glass microspheres (BGMS or PGMS), with nominal molar compositions of P45-(45P2O5-16CaO-24MgO-11Na2O-4Fe2O3) and P40-(40P2O5-16CaO-24MgO-20Na2O), were evaluated for cytotoxicity, cytocompatibility and osteogenic potential for Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapy in osteoporotic patients. Evaluations were performed using direct-contact and indirect-contact bone marrow derived human MSC (hMSC)-based experiments, in addition to material characterisations such as morphology, elemental composition and degradation behaviour, which were correlated to the hMSC experiments. Degradation of microspheres (MS) was measured using a novel method where Scanning Electron micrographs was used to assess the number of MS with surface damage (cracks and peeling effect), over 42 days of degradation in culture medium. Results showed that after 42 days, 2%, 46% and 29% of P45 BGMS, P40 BGMS and P40 PGMS, respectively, had cracks or peeling off surfaces. The results for direct-contact hMSC-experiments showed that P45 BGMS supported 1.4 times more hMSCs than P40 BGMS over 31 days of culture period. However, P45 BGMS were not osteoinductive, possibly due to hydrophobic nature of this glass and its slower dissolution rate. On the other hand, in comparison to P45 BGMS, hMSCs seeded on P40 BGMS showed up to 1.7 times higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity on Day 7, up to 1.5 times more collagen and at least 6 times more Ca deposited in extracellular matrix, in addition to osteocalcin on Day 21 of culture, which strongly indicated the osteoinductive nature of P40 BGMS. This effect was also confirmed through indirect-contact experiments where there was higher collagen and Ca production by hMSCs was observed after 25 days of culture in P40 BGMS-conditioned medium as compared to control (no MS) or P45-conditioned medium. Elemental analysis using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopic (EDS) analysis revealed that the Ca-based porogen used in the manufacturing of PGMS, may have been retained on the edges of the pores in PGMS. Therefore, an acid-washing step was introduced at the end of manufacturing process in order to remove the porogen and limit the possible cytotoxic effect of porogen and excess calcium. Characterisation results indicated that acid washing changed the physicality of these microspheres without changing their chemical composition. For example, mean and mode pore window sizes on the surface of PGMS increased from 2.63 μm to 2.73 μm and from 1.15 μm to 1.53 μm, respectively, and closed porosity decreased by 27%, as a result of acid washing. However, more detailed EDS analysis revealed that the Ca-based porogen was not being completely removed from PGMS even after acid washing and this may need further investigation. Cytotoxicity evaluations over 7 days of elution (indirect-contact hMSC experiments) suggested that there was marked improvement in hMSC membrane integrity and metabolic activity in PGMS neat extracts after acid washing. Moreover, direct-contact hMSC experiments also showed higher DNA content on acid washed (AW) P40 PGMS over 7 days of culture. Therefore, based on these results, it was hypothesised that acid washing may have opened up some of the pores and removed some of the glass fragments from PGMS surface, which may have been responsible for cytotoxicity in non-AW PGMS. Direct-contact experiments also showed that over 42-day culture period, there was up to 1.6 times higher hMSC numbers in AW P40 PGMS as compared to P40 BGMS. However, this increase was much lower than the expected range as there was more than 10-fold increase in surface area after the introduction of porosity. This was probably due to presence of <5 μm and <10 μm pore window sizes and interconnection sizes, respectively, in these microspheres, which allowed limited penetration of hMSCs into the porous structures. There was also evidence of at least 2 times more ALP activity up to day 42 of culture and up to 1.7 times more collagen production by day 21 of culture, in case of AW P40 PGMS as compared to P40 BGMS, which strongly indicated a positive effect of porosity on osteogenesis. Interestingly, there was also lower Ca and P deposited by hMSCs in porous microspheres, which was in line with the observations made through indirect-contact experiments, where there was lower collagen and Ca production by hMSCs in P40 PGMS-conditioned medium as compared to P40 BGMS-conditioned medium. This negative effect of PGMS was hypothesised due to excess release of glass fragments/particulates and calcium ions into the medium, possibly leading to cytotoxicity. Based on the results shown here, there is a potential of P40 BGMS and AW P40 PGMS for hMSC-based bone repair therapy. However, future work needs to be done in order to limit the delamination of glass surfaces and release of glass fragments/particulates from these MS, as a result of degradation

SLAM family member 8 is expressed in and enhances the growth of anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Signaling lymphocytic activation molecule family member 8 (SLAMF8)B-lymphocyte activator macrophage expressed/CD353 is a member of the CD2 family. SLAMF8 suppresses macrophage function but enhances the growth of neoplastic mast cells via SHP-2. In this study, we found that some anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) samples were immunohistochemically positive for SLAMF8. However, we found no significant differences between SLAMF8-positive and SLAMF8-negative ALCL samples with respect to age, gender, site, or prognosis. We also identified SLAMF8 expression in ALCL cell lines, Karpas299, and SU-DHL-1. SLAMF8 knockdown decreased the activation of SHP-2 and the growth of these cell lines, and increased the apoptosis of these cell lines. In addition, we observed the interaction between SLAMF8 and SHP-2 in these cell lines using the DuoLink in situ kit. Taken together, these results suggest that SLAMF8 may enhance the growth of ALCL via SHP-2 interaction

Monitoring Sleep and Scratch Improves Quality of Life in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis itch may cause sleep disturbance and impair quality of life. For patients finding topical therapy difficult to continue, it is important to control itch and reduce scratching. This study developed algorithms to measure nocturnal sleep and scratch, using an actigraph device worn on the back of the hand, and assessed smartphone application feedback to improve adherence with therapy. In the first trial, actigraph measurements in 5 participants who wore the device were highly correlated with measurements by a sleep-monitoring device beneath the mattress. Total actigraph-measured scratching duration for each hour of sleep was highly correlated with measurements by a person rating infrared video-recording of the sleepers. In the second trial, 40 patients with atopic dermatitis were randomly allocated into an intervention group that used the actigraph and smartphone application, and a control group that did not. Both groups were instructed to use the same moisturizer. Dermatology Life Quality Index scores decreased significantly from baseline and were lower than those in the control group at week 8. It is suggested that the device and associated smartphone application reinforced therapy adherence, moisturizer use, and contributed to improved quality of life in patients with atopic dermatitis

A 1.5-Mb PAC/BAC Contig Spanning the Prader-Willi Syndrome Critical Region (PWCR)

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a multiple anomalies/mental retardation syndrome. The putative PWS gene(s) remains unknown, and its occurrence is based on genomic imprinting at chromosome 15q11-q13. We have constructed a 1.5- Mb, fine, physical map of PWS critical region (PWCR) between two markers, D15S9 and D15S174 at 15q11-q13. The map is composed of 32 PAC and 3 BAC clones without any gaps. By the PAC/BAC-end sequencing procedure, a total of 26 sequence tag site (STS) markers were newly generated, and 5 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were mapped in the region. The contig map was verified by both STS and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses. Our map has higher resolution, compared with a previous YAC-based map of PWCR. It is useful for further genome analysis, especially on genomic imprinting of this region

Cellular senescence in white matter microglia is induced during ageing in mice and exacerbates the neuroinflammatory phenotype

Cellular senescence, a state of irreversible cell-cycle arrest caused by a variety of cellular stresses, is critically involved in age-related tissue dysfunction in various organs. However, the features of cells in the central nervous system that undergo senescence and their role in neural impairment are not well understood as yet. Here, through comprehensive investigations utilising single-cell transcriptome analysis and various mouse models, we show that microglia, particularly in the white matter, undergo cellular senescence in the brain and spinal cord during ageing and in disease models involving demyelination. Microglial senescence is predominantly detected in disease-associated microglia, which appear in ageing and neurodegenerative diseases. We also find that commensal bacteria promote the accumulation of senescent microglia and disease-associated microglia during ageing. Furthermore, knockout of p16 INK4a, a key senescence inducer, ameliorates the neuroinflammatory phenotype in damaged spinal cords in mice. These results advance our understanding of the role of cellular senescence in the central nervous system and open up possibilities for the treatment of age-related neural disorders.Matsudaira T., Nakano S., Konishi Y., et al. Cellular senescence in white matter microglia is induced during ageing in mice and exacerbates the neuroinflammatory phenotype. Communications Biology 6, 665 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05027-2

Seismicity controlled by resistivity structure : the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, Kyushu Island, Japan

The M JMA 7.3 Kumamoto earthquake that occurred at 1:25 JST on April 16, 2016, not only triggered aftershocks in the vicinity of the epicenter, but also triggered earthquakes that were 50–100 km away from the epicenter of the main shock. The active seismicity can be divided into three regions: (1) the vicinity of the main faults, (2) the northern region of Aso volcano (50 km northeast of the mainshock epicenter), and (3) the regions around three volcanoes, Yufu, Tsurumi, and Garan (100 km northeast of the mainshock epicenter). Notably, the zones between these regions are distinctively seismically inactive. The electric resistivity structure estimated from one-dimensional analysis of the 247 broadband (0.005–3000 s) magnetotelluric and telluric observation sites clearly shows that the earthquakes occurred in resistive regions adjacent to conductive zones or resistive-conductive transition zones. In contrast, seismicity is quite low in electrically conductive zones, which are interpreted as regions of connected fluids. We suggest that the series of the earthquakes was induced by a local accumulated stress and/or fluid supply from conductive zones. Because the relationship between the earthquakes and the resistivity structure is consistent with previous studies, seismic hazard assessment generally can be improved by taking into account the resistivity structure. Following on from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake series, we suggest that there are two zones that have a relatively high potential of earthquake generation along the western extension of the MTL

アルギン酸カルシウム繊維の調製と物性評価

Calcium alginate fibers were prepared by drying the fibroid gel made by ejecting the sodium alginate solution from a needle of a syringe to calcium chloride solution. The shapes of the fibers were observed, and physical properties such as the thickness and the tensile strength were evaluated. It was shown that according to the conditions of drying the fibroid gel, the shapes of the fibers were altered. For example, the structure like the joint of bamboo was formed by drying the gel put levelly on the waste paper. Concentration of the sodium alginate solution influenced the tensile strength of the fibers, but the thickness