Effect of acetic acid bacteria colonization on oviposition and feeding site choice in and its related species.

Unlike many species of flies that colonize decaying fruits, lay eggs in ripening fruits. The oviposition and feeding site preferences for bacterial growth were quantified in multiple strains of and its closely related species, and . A continuous degree of preference for oviposition sites with growth both within and across species suggested that the separation in resource usage is notable but not complete among these species.

Expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells on poly(vinyl alcohol) microcarriers.

Microcarriers provide a high surface-area-to-volume ratio that can realize high yields of cell products, including human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Here, we report a novel poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based microcarrier for hMSC expansion in suspension culture. PVA microcarriers were prepared as collagen-coated PVA hydrogels 181 μm in size and a high surface-area-to-weight ratio of 2945 cm/g.

Effect of acetic acid bacteria colonization on oviposition and feeding site choice in and its related species.

Oviposition site choice has a large impact on offspring performance. Unlike other vinegar flies that colonize decaying fruits, lay eggs into hard ripening fruits by using their enlarged and serrated ovipositors (oviscapts). This behavior has an advantage over other species by providing access to the host fruit earlier and avoiding competition.

avoidance of microbes in oviposition choice.

While the majority of species lays eggs onto fermented fruits, females of pierce the skin and lay eggs into ripening fruits using their serrated ovipositors. The changes of oviposition site preference must have accompanied this niche exploitation. In this study, we established an oviposition assay to investigate the effects of commensal microbes deposited by conspecific and heterospecific individuals and showed that the presence of microbes on the oviposition substrate enhances egg laying of and , but discourages that of .

Appropriate usage of food thickening agents to prevent non-disintegration of magnesium oxide tablets.

Food thickening agents are used to aid the administration of medicine to elderly patients with dysphagia. Magnesium oxide tablets are sometimes administered with food thickening agents. Non-disintegration and disintegration delay of these tablets in the body are problems associated with food thickening agent use.

Stability of the ABCD1 Protein with a Missense Mutation: A Novel Approach to Finding Therapeutic Compounds for X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy.

Mutations in the ABCD1 gene that encodes peroxisomal ABCD1 protein cause X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), a rare neurodegenerative disorder. More than 70% of the patient fibroblasts with this missense mutation display either a lack or reduction of the ABCD1 protein because of posttranslational degradation. In this study, we analyzed the stability of the missense mutant ABCD1 proteins (p.