Overview of polar exhibit tanks and List of the creatures in house

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions : [OB] Polar Biology, Wed. 4 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor) , National Institute of Polar Researc

Smad Phospho-Isoforms for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk Assessment in Patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) sometimes occurs in mildly fibrotic livers, while HCC incidence in NASH-related cirrhosis is lower than and less predictable than in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related cirrhosis. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling in hepatocytic nuclei is implicated in fibrosis and carcinogenesis. TGF-βtype I receptor (TβRI) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) differentially phosphorylate the mediator Smad3, resulting in 2 distinct phospho-isoforms: C-terminally phosphorylated Smad3 (pSmad3C) and linker-phosphorylated Smad3 (pSmad3L). In mature hepatocytes, oncogenic signaling via the JNK/pSmad3L pathway antagonizes signaling via the tumor-suppressive TβRI/pSmad3C pathway. We immunohistochemically examined domain-specific Smad3 phosphorylation in liver biopsy specimens from 30 NASH patients representing different fibrotic stages and 20 chronically infected hepatitis C patients as controls, correlating Smad3 phosphorylation with clinical course. HCC occurred during follow-up in 11 of 12 NASH patients with abundant pSmad3L and limited pSmad3C but in only 2 of 18 with limited pSmad3L. In contrast, HCC developed in 12 of 15 NASH patients with limited pSmad3C but only 1 of 15 with abundant pSmad3C. Two of fourteen NASH patients with mild fibrosis developed HCC, their hepatocytic nuclei showed abundant pSmad3L and limited pSmad3C. Five of sixteen patients with severe fibrosis did not develop HCC, their hepatocytic nuclei showed limited pSmad3L and abundant pSmad3C. Smad phospho-isoforms may represent important biomarkers predicting HCC in NASH and potential therapeutic targets for preventing NASH-related HCC

Tegafur-Uracil Plus Gemcitabine Combination Chemotherapy in Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Previously Treated with Platinum

BackgroundAn open-label, single-arm prospective study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of gemcitabine and tegafur-uracil (UFT) in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after the failure of previous platinum-containing regimens.Patients and MethodsPatients with advanced NSCLC received 200 mg/m2 of UFT twice daily from day 1 through 14 plus 900 mg/m2 of gemcitabine per day via intravenous injection on days 8 and 15. This regimen was repeated every 3 or 4 weeks.ResultsA total of 40 patients were enrolled. Eleven patients (28%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15–44%) achieved a partial response. The median progression-free survival, median overall survival, and 1-year survival rate were 4.0 months (95% CI, 3.3–6.7 months), 12.6 months (95% CI, 7.0–22.3 months), and 51% (95% CI, 33–66%), respectively. The most common grade 3 or 4 toxicity was neutropenia (38%; 95% CI, 23–54%) and the rate of grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic toxicity remained at less than 5%. A multivariate Cox model showed that adenocarcinoma, nonsmoking history, and good performance status predicted better survival.ConclusionsCombination chemotherapy with UFT and gemcitabine showed a promising effectiveness and acceptable toxicity for patients with platinum-resistant NSCLC

Biosynthesis and Release of Methylarsenic Compounds During the Growth of Freshwater Algae

金沢大学工学部Arsenic transformations by freshwater algae have been studied under laboratory conditions. By the use of a new analytical method, we identified methylarsenic(III) species in the growth medium of green-alga Closterium aciculare incubated under axenic conditions. The arsenate concentration in the experimental medium began to decrease just after inoculation, and the levels of arsenite and methylarsenicals increased with the growth of C. aciculare. Initially, most of the arsenate was converted into arsenite, which peaked in concentration during the exponential phase. Methylarsenicals accumulated rapidly in the stationary phase. DMAA(V) production was enhanced when the ratio of phosphate to arsenate decreased in the culture medium. The levels of DMAA(V) increased continuously toward the end of the experiment. On the other hand, methylarsenic(III) species remained relatively steady during the stationary phase. Methylarsenic(III) species accounted for 0-35% of methylarsenicals. These results suggest that arsenite and methylarsenicals (containing methylarsenic(III) species) are supplied by phytoplankton, and serve as evidence of the origin of methylarsenic(III) species in natural waters. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd

Phospho-Smad3 signaling is predictive biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma risk assessment in primary biliary cholangitis patients

Introduction: Patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) are at increased risk for development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), particularly in the presence of comorbidities such as excessive alcohol consumption. Although liver fibrosis is an important risk factor for HCC development, earlier predictors of future HCC development in livers with little fibrosis are needed but not well defined. The transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad signaling pathway participates importantly in hepatic carcinogenesis. Phosphorylated forms (phospho-isoforms) in Smad-related pathways can transmit opposing signals: cytostatic C-terminally-phosphorylated Smad3 (pSmad3C) and carcinogenic linker-phosphorylated Smad3 (pSmad3L) signals. Methods and results: To assess the balance between Smad signals as a biomarker of risk, we immunohistochemically compared Smad domain-specific Smad3 phosphorylation patterns among 52 PBC patients with various stages of fibrosis and 25 non-PBC patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. HCC developed in 7 of 11 PBC patients showing high pSmad3L immunoreactivity, but in only 2 of 41 PBC patients with low pSmad3L. In contrast, 9 of 20 PBC patients with minimal Smad3C phosphorylation developed HCC, while HCC did not occur during follow-up in 32 patients who retained hepatic tumor-suppressive pSmad3C. Further, PBC patients whose liver specimens showed high pSmad3L positivity were relatively likely to develop HCC even when little fibrosis was evident. Conclusion: In this study, Smad phospho-isoform status showed promise as a biomarker predicting likelihood of HCC occurrence in PBC. Eventually, therapies to shift favorably Smad phospho-isoforms might decrease likelihood of PBC-related HCC

Current Status and Issues of the Succession of Shishimai (Lion Dance) in Naruto City : Analysis of the Questionnaire Survey for the Members of the Shishimai Groups

民俗班では平成28年度，現在鳴門市内で活動している12の獅子舞伝承団体のメンバーに対して，メンバーの属性，活動への参加状況，伝承に関する意識等を明らかにするためのアンケート（調査票）調査を実施した。本論文は，平成28年度に行ったアンケート調査の結果を概括的に提示し，分析を行うものである

Epidemiology of potentially inappropriate medication use in elderly patients in Japanese acute care hospitals.

[Purpose]The elderly receive many medications which may have adverse effects. Little evidence is available about the epidemiology of potentially inappropriate medications being prescribed to the elderly in Japan as defined by the Beers criteria, or whether or not these medications result in harm when used in this population. [Methods]We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to three acute care hospitals in Japan. Trained research nurses followed up patients from randomly selected wards and collected data about their medications and all potential adverse drug events (ADEs). Two independent reviewers evaluated all the data. The use of potentially inappropriate medications and their effects on patients were identified using the updated Beers criteria. [Results]A total of 2155 elderly patients were eligible; 56.1% received at least one drug listed in the Beers criteria (BL drug). The rates of BL drug prescriptions were 103.8 per 100 admissions and 53.7 per 1000 patient-days, and the incidence rate of ADEs related to BL drugs was 1.7 per 100 BL drug prescriptions. Among patients aged ≥65 years, relatively younger patients (p = 0.0002) and those with less complications (p = 0.04) were likely to be prescribed BL drugs. [Conclusions]Although BL drugs were frequently prescribed to elderly Japanese inpatients, the incidence of related ADEs appeared infrequent. These data suggest that re-evaluation of the appropriateness of the Beers criteria is needed before they are used in Japan and other nations to assess quality or for decision support

Function of KAI2 signaling in plant drought adaptation

Drought causes substantial reductions in crop yields worldwide. Therefore, we set out to identify new chemical and genetic factors that regulate drought resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Karrikins (KARs) are a class of butenolide compounds found in smoke that promote seed germination, and have been reported to improve seedling vigor under stressful growth conditions. Here, we discovered that mutations in KARRIKIN INSENSITIVE2 (KAI2), encoding the proposed karrikin receptor, result in hypersensitivity to water deprivation. We performed transcriptomic, physiological and biochemical analyses of kai2 plants to understand the basis for KAI2-regulated drought resistance. We found that kai2 mutants have increased rates of water loss and drought-induced cell membrane damage, enlarged stomatal apertures, and higher cuticular permeability. In addition, kai2 plants have reduced anthocyanin biosynthesis during drought, and are hyposensitive to abscisic acid (ABA) in stomatal closure and cotyledon opening assays. We identified genes that are likely associated with the observed physiological and biochemical changes through a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of kai2 under both well-watered and dehydration conditions. These data provide evidence for crosstalk between ABA- and KAI2-dependent signaling pathways in regulating plant responses to drought. A comparison of the strigolactone receptor mutant d14 (DWARF14) to kai2 indicated that strigolactones also contributes to plant drought adaptation, although not by affecting cuticle development. Our findings suggest that chemical or genetic manipulation of KAI2 and D14 signaling may provide novel ways to improve drought resistance

Cyclical and Patch-Like GDNF Distribution along the Basal Surface of Sertoli Cells in Mouse and Hamster Testes

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In mammalian spermatogenesis, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is one of the major Sertoli cell-derived factors which regulates the maintenance of undifferentiated spermatogonia including spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) through GDNF family receptor α1 (GFRα1). It remains unclear as to when, where and how GDNF molecules are produced and exposed to the GFRα1-positive spermatogonia in vivo. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we show the cyclical and patch-like distribution of immunoreactive GDNF-positive signals and their close co-localization with a subpopulation of GFRα1-positive spermatogonia along the basal surface of Sertoli cells in mice and hamsters. Anti-GDNF section immunostaining revealed that GDNF-positive signals are mainly cytoplasmic and observed specifically in the Sertoli cells in a species-specific as well as a seminiferous cycle- and spermatogenic activity-dependent manner. In contrast to the ubiquitous GDNF signals in mouse testes, high levels of its signals were cyclically observed in hamster testes prior to spermiation. Whole-mount anti-GDNF staining of the seminiferous tubules successfully visualized the cyclical and patch-like extracellular distribution of GDNF-positive granular deposits along the basal surface of Sertoli cells in both species. Double-staining of GDNF and GFRα1 demonstrated the close co-localization of GDNF deposits and a subpopulation of GFRα1-positive spermatogonia. In both species, GFRα1-positive cells showed a slender bipolar shape as well as a tendency for increased cell numbers in the GDNF-enriched area, as compared with those in the GDNF-low/negative area of the seminiferous tubules. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data provide direct evidence of regionally defined patch-like GDNF-positive signal site in which GFRα1-positive spermatogonia possibly interact with GDNF in the basal compartment of the seminiferous tubules